Through Many Fires (Strengthen What Remains) (24 page)

“
Actually
its Captain now.” The man looked at him carefully. “Caden? I thought you were a
civilian.”

“
So did
I,” he grinned. “Well, congratulations on the promotion, but I can’t say that
I’m happy to see you here.” Caden wanted to draw out the conversation so he
said, “I thought they sent you to Korea.”

“
It
never happened. The Defense Department is pulling troops out of there and
Japan.”

“
Are
you still able to get letters from your wife?”

“
Yeah,”
he smiled, “the post office is functioning.” Then the humor drained from his
face. “I have orders from the Commander-in-chief to assist with the arrest of
Governor Monroe….”

“
I no
longer recognize the orders of President Durant.”

“
I
don’t want to fight you, but if you block the convoy, I will. It will be bloody
for both of us.”

Caden
nodded.

Turner
looked frustrated. “A lot of good men will die today.”

“
I
know that. Don’t attack. Durant wasn’t elected and what he is doing is
unconstitutional and violates everything that….”

Turner
threw up his hand. “That’s treason and I won’t hear it. I’m going back to my
convoy and you should return to your rebels.”

“
We’re
not rebels…”

Turner
already had his back to Caden and walked away.

Reluctantly,
Caden climbed into his jeep and the two men parted company.

Back
in his foxhole a few minutes later, Recon 3 came over the radio, “Vehicles are
moving forward with troops along the side of the road. We’ve got to move.”

In the
distance came the sound of gunfire. Recon 3 fell silent.

Through
the light of early dawn, Caden saw five Humvees pull up and stop on the
opposite shore. Turner’s troops hurried into positions as gunfire from both
shores commenced.
The rest of the convoy must be behind the trees.

Pings
and thuds sounded on both sides as he lowered his profile behind the rocks and
dirt at the edge of the foxhole. A tree limb fell in front of him and a bullet
ricocheted off a nearby rock. Gunfire became a continuous roar.

They’re
expending a lot of ammo. Do they think we will return fire and run out first?
Just in case he turned
to a nearby soldier. “Unless you have a good shot, hold your fire. Pass it
along.”

Turner
can’t get by us this way. It’s three hundred yards across the lake. We could
shoot back and forth all day to no great effect and, apparently, he doesn’t
have mortars.

Gradually
the soldiers from the armory slowed their pace, but the troops on the far side
continued and roared the engines of the Humvees.

The
sun was still behind the trees, but daylight now illuminated the battlefield.
Caden spotted a soldier running along the tree line of the far shore. He fired
and missed. The man raced for cover.

“…
come
in. Please Caden, come in.”

Was
that Maria’s voice on the radio?
“Maria? Is that you?”

“
They
shot two of your men near the farm. After they left I went to help them but
they’re dead.”

“
Get
away from there!”

“
I
will but I’ve got to tell you—the convoy is heading down the road by the farm.
I think they’re going to the logging road where the men removed the culvert.”

All
this shooting and noise—it’s a diversion.
“Roger, thanks. Now, get away from
there.”

His mind
raced. Caden ran to Brooks. “Keep fifth squad here and hold this position. I’m
taking the rest of the soldiers to the logging road.”

Caden
was leaving only ten men to guard the causeway. Turner had been outmaneuvering
him all morning. If Caden was wrong this time and Turner attacked across the
causeway his men would be overwhelmed, but decisive action was required.

Two
deuce and a half trucks carried all of Caden’s soldiers down the bumpy logging
road. They stopped about a half-mile from the river. Caden heard a bulldozer
nearby. With point men in the lead, he deployed the squads perpendicular to the
narrow dirt road.

Progress
through the forest was slow. The bush, knolls and trees provided many places
for an opponent to set an ambush. With each yard forward the bulldozer roared
louder and Caden’s apprehension grew greater. Each twig that snapped under his
feet sounded to him like a thunderclap.

A
gunshot.

The
men dropped to the ground.

Rapid
fire.

The
guardsmen shot blindly into the forest.

“
Cease
fire! Cease fire,” Caden yelled. He listened. The steady roar continued, but it
came from hundreds of yards in front of them.
They’re not shooting at us,
but if Turner’s men didn’t hear our shots, this is our chance to get close.
Then together they moved out.

By the
sound of the dozer and gunfire, Caden knew he was only a few hundred yards away
so, with the First Sergeant and a few other men, he crawled ahead. Seeing two
soldiers about thirty feet ahead, they stopped.

Caden
signaled he would shoot the one on the left, Fletcher should get the other.

That
accomplished they quickly moved on to the ridge line above the river. Peeking
out from there they could see the main body of the convoy. Turner had about 100
soldiers firing as they moved up the slope from cover to cover toward the
opposite ridge. Near the top was a dump truck at an angle across the road
blocking any retreat of the convoy.

They
don’t know we’re here.
Caden had no idea who his allies were, but he was thankful
for the help.

The
bulldozer worked to narrow the river where the culvert had been. Logs had been
cut and brought down to the shore. One already spanned the opening where the
culvert had been. Caden wasn’t sure if the plan was to make a temporary dam or
a bridge. In either case it wasn’t complete and he was there to stop it.

Turning
to Fletcher, Caden said, “Get the men and deploy them along the ridge. Tell
them not to fire until I do.” Then he waited anxious minutes as the men came up
and positioned themselves along the edge.

Finally
Fletcher gave him the thumbs up.

Caden
took careful aim at the dozer driver. He pulled the trigger and the man
dropped.

All
the guardsmen opened fire.

Many
of Turner’s soldiers fell. The others scurried for cover.

The
sound of gunfire rose to a constant thunder.

Bullets
pinged on both sides as dirt flew up in Caden’s face.

A man
to his right rolled down the slope and lay motionless.

Bark
and tree limbs fell like rain.

It was
clear to Caden that he held the superior position and Turner’s losses were much
greater. After a few more minutes he shouted, “Cease fire.”

The
crescendo of fire peaked and faded into silence.

“
Your
position is hopeless,” Caden shouted, “Throw down your weapons and you will not
be harmed.”

There
seemed to be confusion from the convoy, and then a female voice shouted, “We
surrender.”

“
Pile
your weapons in the road and line up along the shore.” As the soldiers of the
convoy stacked their arms, Caden, had the medic check the wounded and, with the
rest of his men, crossed to the other side of the river. “First Sergeant,
secure their weapons and search them.” Looking at the soldiers he had just been
fighting he asked, “Where is your commanding officer?

In a
shaky voice a young woman said, “I guess that’s me.”

“
Where’s
Captain Turner?”

“
We don’t
know, sir.”

Pointing
to her he said, “Come with me.” Together they checked the wounded and the dead.

Caden
found Turner half-submerged in the river. He pulled him from the icy waters and
collapsed alongside him. Cold fingers checked for a pulse, but the gaping wound
to the neck told him the sad news. Gently he closed the eyes and cradled the
body in his lap.
You said a lot of good men would die today. I knew it would
be true, but I swear I never thought one of them would be you. I’m sorry.

He
didn’t know how long he sat there, mourning the death of his friend. Hearing
movement behind him he rested the head on the shore, stood and saluted a fallen
comrade.

Turning,
he saw Maria with tears in her eyes. All Caden could say was, “How? When?”

“
I
came in the dump truck. We wanted to help.”

Caden
looked beyond her. His father, Hoover, Neil Young and several deputies in SWAT
gear along with other civilians stood with his men. He hugged Maria tight as
sadness rent his soul.

Holding
a silver platter, Caden eased down the hall trying to avoid the squeak of
floorboards. He turned the doorknob and slowly crept across Maria’s room. On
the tray was a cup of coffee, a ring and a note that read, “With all my love,
Caden.”

She
stirred, but didn’t awaken.

Pleased,
he set the plate on the nightstand and followed the scent of breakfast
downstairs. Stepping into the kitchen his mother held up an egg. “The hens laid
seven this morning. Breakfast will be ready in a couple of minutes.”

He
smiled and headed toward the sound of the television.

In the
living room his father switched quickly between news programs.

Caden
sat beside him.

Local
reporters dubbed the actions of earlier in the week as the Battle of Olympia
and spoke of little else. The victory at JBLM was the big news; the skirmish at
Hansen was just a minor footnote. The New York networks, under the control of
Durant, talked of a battle with insurgents and terrorists and the need for
greater security.

Caden
shook his head.
An awful bloody struggle has just begun.

He
stood and walked to an old roll-top desk in the corner of the room. Finding pen
and paper he sat and stared blankly out the window.
What could I write? What
could I say that would bring some meaning or comfort?
He sighed and with
sudden determination wrote the first words that came to mind. “Mrs. Turner, I
knew your husband, he was a good and honorable man.”

ACU
Army Combat Uniform.

AK-47
The AK
-
47 is
a selective-fire military rifle, developed in the USSR, but also
used by the People’s Republic of China. In chapter 25, a Chinese soldier hits
David Weston in the face with an AK-47.

CID
United States Army
Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC, usually abbreviated as just CID)
investigates serious violations of military law within the United States Army.

EOC
An Emergency
Operations Center is a central command and control facility responsible for
carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness and emergency management,
or disaster management functions.

Fueler
An army fuel truck.

GMRS
The General Mobile
Radio Service (GMRS) is an FM UHF radio service designed for short-distance
two-way communication similar to Citizens Band (CB) radios, but requiring an
FCC license.

Humvee
High Mobility
Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), commonly known as the Humvee, is a
four-wheel drive military vehicle.

JBLM
Joint Base
Lewis-McChord (JBLM) is a large military installation located nine miles
south-southwest of Tacoma in Washington state.

LEPC
Local Emergency
Planning Committees (LEPC) are quasi-governmental bodies, generally at the
county or municipal level that do emergency planning.

M11
United States military
designation for the SIG P228 pistol. See SIG P228.

M2
The M2 is a Browning
.50 caliber machine gun.

M4
The M4 is a common
U.S. military magazine-fed, selective fire, rifle with a telescoping stock.

M9
The M9 is a
semiautomatic, 9mm, pistol in common use by the United States military.

M35
A military truck in
the 2½ ton weight class, often referred to as a “deuce and a half.”

MOPP Level
MOPP is an acronym for
“Mission Oriented Protective Posture” and as used in the book it refers to the
level of protective gear used by military personnel in a chemical, biological,
radiological, or nuclear combat situation. MOPP Level zero means gear will be
carried, but not worn.

MRE
Meals, Ready-to-Eat
(MRE) are
self-contained, individual military field rations
.

MURS
Multi-Use Radio
Service (MURS) is an unlicensed two-way radio service similar to Citizens Band
(CB).

Recon
Military slang for
reconnaissance.

ROTC
The Reserve Officers'
Training Corps (ROTC) is a college program for training commissioned officers.

SIG P228
A compact pistol in
use with many law enforcement agencies and the military where it is designated
as the M11. Caden is given a M11, 9mm .40 S&W, in Chapter 13 along with two
15 round magazines. Caden refers to the M11 by the SIG name.

SINCGARS
Single Channel Ground
and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) is a combat radio currently used by United
States which ha
ndles voice and data
communications.