Shelter: Book 2, A Long Days Night (29 page)

“Randy, if you’re not back, I’ll bring the main body into town to rescue you. I’ve got your back.”

“George, I know you do. Either way, see you in four hours.”

Randy selected another man and a woman to go with him. They left their rifles with the militia. They took a small sack of food and three bottles of water with them. They left the woods to walk on the main road into town. They walked three abreast smiling as they walked into town. They are intercepted 200 yards from town by four guards, two soldiers and two town’s people who were in foxholes along the road. One of the soldiers held his hand up, “Hello there.”

“Hi.”

“Mind telling us who you are, where you’ve come from and where you’re going?”

Randy asked, “Is travel on the nation’s roads forbidden now?”

The soldier smiled, “No, it’s just we want to make sure anyone who visits isn’t doing recon for a criminal element. We’ve been trying to bring a degree of security to the country. If you’re not a criminal, we welcome you. We have a MASH unit who would be happy to give each of you a quick check up, provide you with any medical assistance you may require.”

“My name's Randy, this is Joe and our neighbor Joan. We were from a small town, Clarksville, we thought there might be work to be found in Chicago.”

The soldier laughs, “Sorry to tell you, Chicago isn’t safe yet. Most of the cities are still experiencing problems. We’d advise you to pass the city. There could be work here for you. Are you carrying?”

Randy asks, “Do you mean, are we armed? Yes, is it a problem?”

“No, not as long as you open carry and follow common sense rules.”

“You mean we don’t have to turn over our side arms?”

“Nope, the second amendment gives you the right to carry. We only request you open carry so everyone knows you’re carrying. We also ask that you carry with the safety on so there isn’t an accidental misfire. Fewer people have a chance of getting hurt, including you. If you need ammo, stop by our supply tent, we should be able to help you.”

Randy looks in surprise, “Wait a minute, you’re offering us ammo?”

“Yes, as long as you follow common sense rules, we need all the help we can get to keep the countryside free of gangs and criminals.”

“What if one of us might have had a record?”

“Our captain feels everyone deserves a second chance, he believes the entire country needs a second chance. We’ve fallen hard, everyone needs a helping hand. As long as you follow the posted rules you won’t have any issues. I should warn you, the rules are taken very seriously. Almost everyone is armed, if you break a rule, there’s a high probability you will be shot. If you’re caught breaking a law, you will be arrested and brought in front of the joint civilian and military court, there’s no lawyers, sentence will be issued within 24 hours.”

Randy’s mouth hangs open, “Who came up with that process, is it even legal?”

“We’ve found many towns have decided to set up their own laws, most are common sense based. Most are fed up with the old legal system where someone could get off on a minor technicality. The mayor and town council asked our captain to support their experiment.”

“Sounds too good to be true.”

“A word of advice, just don’t break any laws. Enjoy your visit, if you need something, just ask someone.”

“Are you guys staying here?”

“If you mean us, as in the army. We’re currently using this town as our base camp. We’ll be moving on soon. We’re going to be visiting every town between Chicago and Nashville. We’ve been reinforced with M1 tanks. We’re sending scouts out to check on all of the towns around us. When we move, we’ll do the same thing. I don’t know our schedule, I’m a corporal, I work for a living. Our captain makes all the big decisions. You’ll see him around town, look for the uniform with double bars as the rank emblem.”

“Thank you. We promise to follow the rules.”

Randy, Joe, and Joan look at each other as they walk into town. Joe says, “This doesn’t match at all what we were told. The army isn’t making these people into slaves. They’re all working together to rebuild the town. Look at how happy everyone looks. If this is real, I like it. We better tell George someone yanked our chain. I’m starting to wonder who those guys were who sold us the ARs.”

“Brother, I agree with you. Something is fishy here. If what the corp told us is true, we’ve been set up.”

Joan nods, “I agree. I want to check out the MASH unit.”

Joe says, “Christ, I just remembered them telling us they’ve sold a lot of weapons they liberated from a warehouse to other militias, I hope those other militias aren’t planning on attacking the army here. They won’t stand a chance against tanks. I wonder how we can contact them.”

“Good point, I think we should do a quick recon and get back to George as quickly as possible. I don’t want to see some of our brothers die in a setup.”

“I agree. I suggest we break up and check out the town in an hour. We’ll meet at their mess tent before we make our way back to George.”

Joan asks, “Won’t the soldiers at the checkpoint question why we’re leaving so quickly?”

“Yes, which is why I plan for us to slip through the woods so the army doesn’t think we were here scoping out the town.”

“Great, see you at the mess tent in an hour.”

The three split up to check out the town. Forty-five minutes later the three meet in front of the mess tent. Joan says, “I’m convinced we were set up. The army is helping these people and all of the towns in the local area to get back on their feet. They’re really helping the average people. I’d like to find out who sold us the weapons.”

Joe and Randy agree with Joan, Randy saying, “We’ve been screwed. We almost made a huge freaking mistake. We would have been wiped out had we attacked the town. We didn’t know about the tanks or armored vehicles. Christ, they would have cut us to pieces. I suggest we get back to George so he can contact his counterparts before someone gets hurt.”

The three slip into the woods, they don’t know they’re being watched by Sergeant Hill, who reports to Captain Black. “Sir, you were right, those three are ringers for someone. They just slipped into the woods. Want me to send a couple of people to keep an eye on them?”

“Yes, something doesn’t smell right to my nose, pass the word to everyone, tell them, Threatcon Delta. (Threat of immediate attack) Tell everyone to carry heavy and loaded just in case we’re attacked. I want the tanks and armored vehicles manned and their sensors running, they should be able to see into the woods if anyone is approaching. Let’s plan to stop any threat outside of town. I don’t want any collateral damage.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sarge, tomorrow take two scout teams and continue with our mission. Someone is out there telling stories and selling bullshit about us. I want to know who it is and why.”

“Yes, sir.”

An hour later the three militia scouts rendezvous with George who says, “What’s the story?”

“George, we’ve been sold a tale of bullshit. The army isn’t enslaving the town, they’re rebuilding the area, they’re protecting the people.”

“Really?

“No bullshit, who told you we needed to attack the army and free these people?”

“The guys who sold us the rifles and ammo.”

“Something is wrong.”

“I’m going to go with you in the morning to town to see for myself and if possible meet with the army captain. Get yourselves some dinner.”

The next morning the four start back towards town through the woods, they are intercepted 500 yards from town by a platoon of troops. “Lady and gentlemen, welcome, we assume you’d like to have breakfast with our captain.”

George looks surprised, he’s not used to be surprised and caught flatfooted. “Yes, that would be excellent.”

The four are escorted to Captain Black’s tent where there’s a table set with five plates and cups, Captain Black smiles as his guests are led into his tent. George extends his hand, “Captain Black? I’m George Washington.”

“Nice name, there’s a little history behind it.”

George smiles nodding, “Which is why I selected it.”

“Let’s discuss the current situation, eggs and bacon OK for breakfast? What can you tell me about the group that sold you your weapons and ammo?”

“How do you know these weren’t ours before the meltdown?”

“Because we’re in the people’s republic of Illinois, so-called assault rifles were illegal, you couldn’t have owned them. I’m sure a few of you could have bought them out of state and hidden them, but not everyone. Plus these rifles are brand new. So why don’t we cut through the bullshit and you tell me who sold them to you? I think someone is spreading a lot of lies about my mission. They’re spreading weapons so groups like yours will attack us. If you did, or anyone else attacks us, they will be cut down very quickly, the river will be flowing with your blood. 5.56 rounds bounce off of armor. I can get almost all of my people inside armored vehicles and come after you. I don’t think jeans and cotton shirts are going to provide you much protection.”

George smiles, “Got me there. I’ll tell you what I know, how we found out about the weapons for sale, how we made the deal and everything I know about them.”

“Great, I’m hoping to meet these people. More coffee?”

@@@@@

Our generator is supplying enough power for our emergency lights, Fred is leading four men to the emergency tunnel so they can exit the shelter and see if they can figure out what happened to our external power and if something is jammed against the front doors. We’re hoping we can get some regular power restored and the door opened to get Jay and the away team released. They’ll be able to join us through the emergency tunnel. Our fear is there are thousands of armed people just waiting for us to exit so they can rush us and take over our shelter. The four we’re sending out are armed as heavily as we can make them, each has a fully automatic M4, plus an automatic Uzi. Both have eight additional magazines for each weapon, they also have a first aid kit, protein bars, and water. They’re wearing body armor and a helmet. We’re all scared of what they’re going to find when the rear door is opened. Fred looks at the four who are going to exit the shelter, two of them his sons. He says, “Mark, we haven’t opened the rear emergency tunnel since the tunnel was built, the camera we had over the tunnel is gone. We have no idea what you’re going to find when we open the door. Be alert at all times. The sheriff may be hiding just outside, the mob may be there. Be on your highest level of alert.”

“Dad, what concerns me the most is we have to crawl through the tunnel, why is it so low?”

“Jay used standard culvert cement pipe. He said if anyone saw it, it would look like a standard run off pipe, he hoped no one would pay it any attention.”

“I understand, it’s just going to be a pain in the ass to crawl through the pipe loaded down as we are.”

“Sons, be careful out there, I wish you weren’t going. Your mom and I are going to worry every minute you’re outside. Make your recon as quickly as possible and find a way to free our outside door. We need to get Jay and the others released before they go crazy in there.”

“Dad, we’ll be careful. What are your instructions if we come across the mob that overran us?”

“If they or anyone shows any hostile intent, take them down. We can’t afford a long drawn out firefight with the possibility of others finding our location. We need to get our power back and free Jay ASAP.”

“Dad, I understand our mission, how do we clear our front door without anyone seeing us?”

Fred shakes his head, I wish I could tell you. If the storm was as bad as we think, you will most likely find a lot of debris around, use it to mask your activities. Remember, always leave two people on overwatch. Do everything within your means to keep everyone away from our door.”