Project Terminus (8 page)

Gator nodded.

Randal said, “First question. How long have you been with the Light?”

“Umm…since they started, I guess.”

“When was that?”

“I’m not sure exactly. I mean, it’s not like I keep track of time. But…about a year ago, I think.”

“What’s your function with them?”

“I’m a platoon leader and a resource officer.”

“What’s that?”

Gator hesitated.

Randal said, “We’re done with him. He’s all yours, Hulk.”

Bill started moving the Trail Master’s blade towards Gator’s throat.

He screamed, “
No please
! I’m not lyin. I mean I won’t lie. Just…just don’t kill me.”

Randal gave Gator the evil eye for almost a minute, then said, “You’re starting to piss me off, Gator, but I’ll give you one more chance. If you lie, if you hesitate, or if you candy-coat an answer to make yourself look better, you’ll be dead before the last word leaves your mouth.”

Gator started babbling in a terror-filled voice. “I promise. Ask me anything you want.”

An hour later both of the interrogations were complete, and Wade and Randal met to compare stories.

The Light consisted of approximately 800 members. Gator put the military arm at around 300, while Jim thought it was about 400. They both said The Light was a non-religious, cannibalistic group that took prisoners and either forced them to join or ate them. Gator corroborated Jim’s statement that when a slave’s usefulness ran its course, they were beheaded in a public ceremony, roasted, and eaten. Both acknowledged the leader was Mohammed Saadeh, and in general, agreed on his physical size, long hair, bushy beard, and red cowboy hat.

Gator, who was privy to more information than Jim, told Randal they were heading for Asheville, and it was their MO to take captives and add to their food inventory as they went from town to town. He also confirmed they were in Robbinsville, headquartered at what was once the elementary school.

Wade agreed the information matched and asked if he got anything on their military capabilities.

“Well, it appears they’re not well trained or armed. They’ve been in business for roughly a year, and during their ceremonies, they’re fed some type of homemade hallucinogen. Their general, as Gator called him, is a guy named Paul Justice, who was an NCO in the Army. Sounds like he’s familiar with combat basics, patrol techniques, and the like, but Gator says he’s a total asshole and everyone hates him. As far as weapons go, they have no weapons systems…just a collection of small arms. They do have intra-squad radios and some night vision capability. Their enforcer is about seven feet tall and weighs maybe five hundred pounds. He’s sadistic and does whatever Saadeh tells him to do, but he’s dumb as a rock. They aren’t mobile, but they do have a dozen horses that are used by the hierarchy. Also, they’ve never encountered any type of resistance, so as a unit they’ve never been in a combat situation.”

“All right. Well, for the most part, their stories match. Is there anything else?”

Randal smiled and said, “Yeah, there is, and this is a good one. Nina Lutrova, a young white girl, is Saadeh’s girlfriend. According to Gator, she’s drop-dead gorgeous, extremely intelligent, and cunning. Like Saadeh, she doesn’t have tats—at least on her face—and has a full head of jet-black hair. Gator thinks she’s the brain of the outfit, and that she runs the show through Saadeh. She doesn’t mingle with the others and she performs the beheadings at their ceremonies.

“I asked him about the filed teeth and he said it was mandatory for the men, but the women needed permission. I asked him why, and he said the women could only file their teeth after they proved they could be trusted.” Randal chucked. “I asked him why again, and he said, ‘Would you put your dick into a mouth of sharpened teeth unless you knew it was safe?’”

Smiling, Wade said, “Well, he has a point.”

“They’re due back in two days, and he didn’t know what Justice will do when they don’t show up. He said it’s possible he’ll send out another patrol to look for them. That’s about it.”

“Okay. We need to take out the trash. But before we do, I want the women to eyeball these two morons so they can see what we may be up against.”

“Agreed,” said Randal. “Where do you want to set up?”

Wade told him to bring Gator to where Jim is. “That’s as good a place as any. I’m taking Highlander to sit with the kids. Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll bring the girls down.”

Wade entered the cave and told the women he wanted to talk to them in the mess tent. Then he bent down, and smiling, drew April and Adam close. “Everything‘s fine, and you were both very brave. I’m proud of you. Highlander is going to sit with you for a few minutes while I talk to the women. Okay?”

Adam looked up at his father and in an excited voice said, “But, Dad, I want to know what happened. Did you have to shoot somebody? I want to see.”

Wade tousled his hair and said, “Not this time, champ. You stay here and help Highlander protect April. Okay?”

Adam was not happy, but reluctantly said, “Okay, Dad.”

Wade joined the women in the mess tent.

“We had a patrol of…umm…interesting people, make an effort to assault us. We took them out and captured two of them. The interrogations have ended. I’ll fill you in on the information we obtained, but first I want you to take a look at them. They’re not pretty, ladies. I don’t want you to say anything to them. Just look. And try not to show revulsion. Above all, don’t chuck.”

“That bad, Wade?” asked Maggie.

“I’ll let you be the judge of that, Mags.”

Moments later, Randal informed Wade they were ready.

Coming around the boulder where the cannibals were being held, the women got their first
look at Gator and Jim.

“Oh my God,” breathed Carol.

Gator and Jim looked at the women, and in an apparent gesture of friendliness, gave them a huge open-mouthed grin. The five women stared, mouths agape, and simultaneously, without a sound, turned and started back up the hill to the Fort.

Bill smiled. “Well that went well.”

“Yeah,” grinned Wade. “I think so.”

Randal went to the OP and informed Bill and Sean they were tasked with taking out the trash. He told Sean if he didn’t want to do it, it was okay.

“No, Randal, I’m good with it. I mean, it’s not like we can integrate them into Fort-T, right? And we can’t just let them go. They’d be back with the rest of their clan, and I’ll be damned if any of us are going on their menu.”

“Good. Go get an entrenching tool. Bill, you know the drill.”

Heading through the woods on the eastern side of the valley floor, Bill led the way with Gator and Jim in the middle and Sean bringing up the rear.

Gator, sensing something was wrong, asked Bill, “Where’re we goin?”

Bill told him they were going to a better place, but Gator wasn’t buying it. “Bullshit, man. You said you wouldn’t kill us.”

Bill said, “Yeah, I know, Gator. What can I tell you?” Then, turning, he pulled the Trail-master and in one smooth motion, plunged the blade into the side of Gator’s neck, and pushed it out and down, simultaneously severing both the carotid artery and the windpipe. “I lied.”

As Gator crumpled to the ground, Jim stared, mouth agape, horrified.

Bill turned, looked at him, and said, “I almost feel sorry for you, you dumb-ass,” as he pushed the big blade through Jim’s throat.

******

“What you just looked at, ladies, were members of The Light. They’re cannibals. There are about eight hundred of them in Robbinsville, but they don’t pose a threat to us for about two more days.”

Carol, with a grimace, said, “Jesus, Wade, you could have warned us before you took us down to see them. It honestly takes a lot to make me queasy, but
that
turned my stomach.”

Wade grinned and said, “Yeah, I could have told you they were nasty cannibals, but I wanted you to experience the impact of seeing them without a preconceived idea of who they were or what they looked like. They are nasty. No doubt about it. Now it’s imprinted on your mind. But they’re a lot nastier looking than they are competent. I just wanted you to see what we may be facing in the future.”

It took several hours, but the battlefield was sanitized and the other six Tangos were buried alongside Gator and Jim.

At 1200 hours, Randal sent Sean to man the OP and Highlander to grab some rack time. Wade, Randal, Bill, and Chris met in the mess tent, and Linda brought them coffee from their dwindling supply. When they initiated Project Terminus, they rotated coffee beans every two weeks until just prior to full occupation. At that time, they stored a hundred pounds of vacuum packed beans.

“Not much left,” she said. “There’s enough for maybe ten more pots. That’s it.”

“No prob,” said Bill. “The beans are old and stale anyway, but thanks for the heads-up, Honey.”

After Linda left, Wade said, “We have two choices. We can set up for another assault and hope Justice does nothing, or if he does, that he sends in another squad of dipshits. Or, we can be proactive and take the fight to them. Based on the Intel from Gator and Jim, they’re not a formidable foe. In fact, assuming it’s correct, no one has resisted them and they’ve never been in a firefight. We know from firsthand experience they lack training and discipline. In fact, they’re pretty bad. But we’re going to assume they’re capable and have access to heavy weaponry. We were told they’re fed some sort of hallucinogenic drug, and when they’re under its influence, they’re extremely fanatical, so we have to take that into consideration. I don’t know if we can take them all out, but I’m positive we can screw them up for a long time. Bill, go pull the sat-maps of Robbinsville, and let’s get a look at the school layout and surrounding terrain. We’re going hunting.”

Bill was back in two minutes with the topographical and satellite imagery maps of Robbinsville and the surrounding area, and spread them on the mess tent table.

“Randal, your show,” said Wade.

Stepping to the table, Randal located the Robbinsville Elementary School, as well as the high school.

“Let’s hope they gave us the right school. We’ll plan for the elementary school, but we’ll prepare a backup in case they’re actually at the high school.” Using a rifle-cleaning rod as a pointer, he continued. “Here’s the elementary school. It’s roughly twenty-three miles from Fort-T to the football field. We can get there via this route.” He indicated a series of forest service roads and state highways. “We can make that distance in roughly five and a half hours with fifty-pound packs. Call it six if we go heavier. We’ll set up on this ridge, which is approximately five hundred yards from the center of the football field. It offers decent concealment, good views, and if we have to take a shot, it’ll be a simple one. We’ll gather as much Intel as we can and decide what the next step will be after we analyze it.”

Wade interjected, “That sounds good, but we don’t know if they’re going to send out another patrol to look for Gator’s patrol. We should assume they will. If they do, they’ll probably stay on the blacktop. That’s the route his patrol took to get here.”

Randal thought for a second, then said, “Good point, Dad. Okay, we’ll stay on the obvious route their patrol would take, which is this highway, right here,” he said, tapping the map. “But because we won’t be going in a straight line, it will increase the distance by roughly five miles and our time to about six hours. We’ll set a point two hundred yards ahead, and if we encounter one of their patrols, we’ll take them out. What we’re not going to do is allow
anyone
to get through to Fort-T. Dad…you, Bill, Chris, and I will do the recon. Highlander and Sean will remain here to guard Fort-T. Let’s pack for a full assault in case things go south. Does anyone have any questions or suggestions?”

There were none.

“All right, they’re going to miss that patrol in about twelve hours. If we hustle, we can get there before they send out another one. Dad, I’ll fill in Highlander and Sean. You brief the women. Say your goodbyes, load up, and be ready to go in thirty.”

Randal told Highlander and Sean to man the forward OP, four on and four off. In case of another assault, they had the Claymores and C4 already in place, and if necessary, the women could join in the defense. “I think it’s highly unlikely, but just in case, you guys keep the women and kids safe even if that means abandoning Fort-T. Got it?”

Sean and Highlander said, “Got it.”

Wade gathered the women and informed them of the operation. He told them the likelihood of another assault was remote but if there was, they were to join in the defense, and if it looked like they were going to be over-run, they were to abandon the fort and get the kids to safety through the crow’s nest. 

Adam, who was standing behind his mom, peeked around her and said, “Dad, I want to go with you.”

Wade looked at his youngest son, put his arm around him, and said, “I know you do, Son, but I need you to stay here and protect your mom and April. Can you do that for me? I’m counting on you.”

Adam was not a happy camper, but he never argued with his father. “Okay, Daddy, if that’s what you need me to do, I’ll do it.”

Looking at the apprehensive face of his youngest son, Wade realized that in spite of all his bravado, Adam was simply a brave but frightened little ten-year-old boy, and tousling his hair, said, “You take care of your mom and April. I’ll be back soon.”

Maggie and Wade embraced, and Maggie said simply, “I love you more than life itself, Wade. Make sure you come back to me.”

The four shooters were packed and back at the mess tent within twenty minutes. After performing a radio check, they headed toward Robbinsville in a late afternoon drizzle. The women and kids stood in the rain and watched until they disappeared.

Linda said, “Four against eight hundred.”

“Yeah,” said Carol. “I feel sorry for The Light.”

When they hit the blacktop thirty minutes later, they stopped, suppressed their weapons, and Bill took point.

By 9 pm, they’d covered twenty miles of the distance to Robbinsville and were just five miles from their objective. Calling a brief halt, Randal brought Bill back in.

“You should be able to see the school from the spot we enter the woods to get to the hide. Hold there and watch for patrols leaving from the school. When we get there, you continue. We’ll remain at the cutoff until we’re sure we didn’t miss a patrol. We should all be in the hide no later than 2330 hours.”

At 2315, Randal, Wade, and Chris joined Bill in the hide.

Bill said, “There’s a lot of movement between the buildings above the field. There’re three men on watch there and there,” he indicated positions at opposite ends of the building complex, “and there,” he pointed to a makeshift stage on the west side of the football field. “There’s a bonfire in the middle of the field, and there’re about a hundred of them partying down. Since I can’t see the front of the school, I don’t know what’s there.”

Randal said, “Okay, we need to check the front. Dad, you recon the right and right front, and I’ll take the left and left front. Chris, you have over-watch. We re-group here at 0200. Bill, grab some Zs.”

At 0200, Wade and Randal returned from their recon and woke up Bill. Chris reported there was no significant change in activity, but the revelers had packed it in and disappeared into the buildings on the upper middle portion of the complex.

“Yeah, probably going to make some
little lights
,” offered Bill.

Chris said, “The two morons on watch are totally worthless, and haven’t been relieved yet.

Wade said, “The right side of the school consists of a large building that appears to be the auditorium. There are three buildings in the middle—probably classrooms. There was one man on watch at the main entrance, but he was sound asleep.

“The left side is a hodge-podge of buildings that may or may not be part of the school complex,” said Randal. “A building—probably a classroom—just above the football field, generated a lot of activity. Might be their HQ. Let’s pack it in for the night. Bill, you have the first watch. Reveille is at 0600.”

It was still dark at 0600 when Bill told them the three tangos on watch were relieved at 0400, and their replacements promptly fell asleep.

At 0730, Chris reported movement a mile to the northeast of the school. “It looks like a patrol returning with some captives. I make it eight Tangos and four captives; two men and two women roped together.”

The complex had already sprung to life as the incoming group made its way to the football field. Like ants, members of The Light swarmed out of the buildings and assembled on the field.

“I think breakfast is about to be served,” muttered Bill.

The captives were put on stage and the members of The Light assembled below, chanting and waving their arms.

“Sure wish we could hear what they’re saying,” said Wade.

Chris said, “Does it matter? They’re probably calling dibs on cuts of meat.”   

“Regardless, this is FUBAR,” muttered Bill.

Randal suggested they’d know what was going on shortly, and they settled in to watch.

Within minutes, the field was packed with cannibals and Wade estimated the group did, indeed, number about eight hundred. A man dressed in military fatigues and wearing a US Cavalry Stetson appeared on stage and held up his hand for silence. The group went quiet.

“My guess is that’s Paul Justice,” whispered Randal.

Moments later, the crowd began an increasingly louder chant. 

“You’re right, Randal,” said Bill. “They’re chanting ‘Justice.’”

Justice pointed to the left side of the football field where a man in a red cowboy hat and a woman dressed in black leather stood waiting.

“Saadeh and Lutrova,” said Wade.

Standing behind them was a giant. “That’s gotta be Aziz. Man, he
is
a big motherfucker,” said Bill.

The crowd, seeing Saadeh and Lutrova, began another chant, which could clearly be heard at the hide. As the entourage began to walk towards the stage, the mob began screaming, “Saadeh, Saadeh,
Saadeh
!”

“I think I saw this movie,” said Bill.

“What was the name of it?” asked Randal.

“I can’t remember, but the good guys pop the assholes with the cowboy hats, shoot the giant in the nuts, and then…damn, Gator was right. She
is
one good lookin bitch.”

When they got to the stage, Saadeh and Lutrova moved to stand in the middle. Holding up both hands for quiet, Saadeh spoke to them for a few minutes, and when he finished, they started to disperse.

Moments later, Wade whispered, “Heads up, five o’clock.”

A runner was approaching the stage waving his arms. When the man got to the stage, he talked to Justice and then nodded several times, turned, and double timed it to one of the buildings in the school complex. Justice turned and had a brief conversation with Saadeh and Lutrova, who abruptly left the stage with Aziz following. Justice remained on the stage, but was soon joined by eight armed men.

Randal said, “My guess is they’ve realized Gator’s patrol didn’t come back and these guys are going out to find them.”

The men did appear to be getting instructions, and when Justice stopped talking, they departed toward the highway that would lead them to Fort-T.

Randal said, “It’s 0900. We have to take out that patrol. Chris, maintain over-watch. Let’s get back to the cutoff point. We’ll take them there. Suppressed weapons and, needless to say, they can’t get off a shot. Bill, take the left side of the highway a hundred feet north of our exit point. Let them pass you. Dad, you stay at the highway exit point, I’ll take the left side a hundred feet south of the exit. When we go weapons hot, Bill takes the rear two; Dad, the middle two; I’ll take the front two; and we’ll all cut loose on the remaining two. We’ll drag the bodies into the brush, police the roadway, and hustle back here.”

“Roger,” said Wade.

“Roger,” said Bill.

Ten minutes later, they were in place and the patrol was coming toward them up the highway. Walking two abreast, like they were on a Sunday stroll at the mall, they noisily continued toward the concealed warriors. When they were adjacent to Wade, Randal whispered, “Weapons hot,” and in two seconds the patrol was down. The only noise was the clatter of their firearms and the thud of their bodies hitting the blacktop. Emerging from concealment, they pulled the dead men into the surrounding underbrush, policed the area, and returned to the hide.

“Anything new, Chris?” asked Randal.

“Negative. They took the captives up to the middle building and people have been walking around doing whatever. Other than that, nothing unusual.”

They watched for the remainder of the day, taking turns to grab some much needed sleep.

Just before dusk, the captives were brought back to the stage and forced to sit on the left front side. Within seconds, Light members gathered and jostled for position in front of the stage. Laughing and dancing, it appeared they were high on the hallucinogen Gator mentioned. As the flames grew in the rekindled bonfire, the shadows of the revelers danced across the football field in an eerie display of decadence. When it was totally dark, six buckets of strategically placed oil lit the stage and Saadeh and Lutrova made another grand entrance. As before, the giant Aziz trailed behind. When the entourage gained the stage, Saadeh addressed the crowd. It was impossible to hear what he was saying, but there was little doubt what his gestures meant. When he was finished, he stepped back and Nina Lutrova walked to the center of the stage. She stood motionless, staring into space. Saadeh motioned to Aziz and the giant picked up one of the men, dragged him to the center of the stage, and made him kneel at her feet.

The horde of drug-crazed cannibals roared.

Saadeh nodded and Aziz brought one of the women to center stage. He pushed her to her knees just to the left of the first captive. The process was repeated until all four captives were kneeling in front of Lutrova. Saadeh walked to the first male and, using thumbs up/thumbs down gestures, exhorted the crowd. The man was short and impossibly thin, and the cannibals—now completely under the influence of the drug—yelled and screamed and gave thumbs down. Saadeh placed his hand above the head of the young pudgy female captive and again made the thumbs up/thumbs down gesture.

They went ballistic, chanting, “Saadeh, Saadeh, Saadeh!” 

Saadeh raised his arms for silence and they obeyed. He put his hand back above the girl’s head and made the thumbs up gesture.

The cannibals, in a demonic demonstration of acceptance, began jumping, dancing, and screaming their approval. The process was repeated with the next two captives. The remaining man, who was short but obese, was given the thumbs up. The other female was elderly and frail; she and the skinny guy were taken off the stage and out of sight.

Saadeh began screaming at the crowd, but it was impossible to hear what he was saying because the din from the cannibals had approached deafening levels. Minutes later, Aziz stepped forward and turned the two captives so they faced Lutrova, then stepped back. Saadeh again raised his hands and commanded silence. When they quieted, Saadeh nodded to her. Standing in front of the two captives with a look of rapture on her face, she gazed into the distance for nearly a minute. It was so quiet you could hear the proverbial pin drop. Suddenly, in one smooth motion, she withdrew a sword from the scabbard on her back and beheaded the man, then the woman.