A Private War (5 page)

“I see you got your rifle, going someplace?" Kate asked.

"Yes, Samuels asked me to go out on one of the patrols that are covering the town and I said I would. I also want to see what we can do to improve the defenses of the town for when the pirates come back."

"Then, let me run back to our room for my rifle and I'll go with you."

"Not this time. There are pirates in the area and I don't want you in any danger, especially now. You mean too much to me."

"I thought we had already been through all this, I...!"

"I said not this time. Please, will you just wait here?"

“No."

"Kate, I don't have the time to talk about this, they’re waiting. This patrol is important and I would feel better about it if you stayed here. Sally said something about stopping by later to see you."

"All right, I’ll stay." Kate said with a pout.

"Good, now the patrol is due back in about four hours, so we can have a late snack, does that sound all right?" he asked as he kissed Kate on the neck, "I'll meet you at the mess hall about ten. Look, I really have to run so I'll see you later."

Kate waved as he ran down toward the edge of town until he disappeared then she turned around and started to walk back to the barracks. But, as she neared the front door she stopped in thought and then ran through the open door waving her Pass to the night guard and headed up the stairs. Slipping into her new combat boots, she quickly laced them up, and then started to load fresh magazine into her assault vest. Slapping a fresh one into her AR, she gave a quick look around and headed for the door. Making her way out of the building she started walking toward the main gate at the edge of town and with a wave, Kate walked right passed the watchtower and out the open gate. As she walked into the gathering darkness, she had to smile; Gaylon could not very well stop her now if she followed him just as she had done before. Making an effort of will, she forced down remembering the deadly battle that it had led her into.

The twilight was ending and Kate found she was having a hard time with the heavy brush as she made her way up a small rise. As she finally made her way to the very top she thought she heard voices ahead and hurried to catch up. A giant water tower sat on the very top of the rise and Kate could see men climbing up the metal ladder. One man was guarding the base of the tower and as Kate watched he walked over to a shape on the ground. With the toe of his boot, the man rolled over a dead man and started to go through his pockets. Kate realized the shapes on the ground were the paramilitary guards and the pirates had killed them to get the tower. Its tall structure overlooked the entire valley, the perfect place to get information about the defenses of the town below. Kate raised her AR-15 and sighted on the man in front of her and squeezed the trigger. The pirate turned as the high velocity bullet slammed into his ribs just below his heart. His scream was cut short as the second bullet struck him high in the neck and exited out below the base of his skull. Kate quickly shifted aim and fired at the men on the metal walk way that ran around the tank. The steel jacketed rounds cast a shower of sparks from the thick metal as Kate poured on the firepower. Dropping the empty magazine, Kate was reaching for another in her vest when a heavy weight slammed into her back and twisted her arms behind her. The pirates had left two other men on the ground and Kate realized she was in the very hands of the pirates she was trying to kill.

Gaylon heard the sound of gunfire and quickly signaled the three man team to follow him back to the area of the water tower they had left but a short time before. The gunfire stopped as Gaylon and his men reached the base of the hill and started the long climb to the top. As Gaylon fought his way up the hill, he could not push away the thought that Kate had somehow followed him again and was in terrible trouble. The gunfire he heard must have been Kate running into the very pirates that he had been looking for. Gaylon grabbed and pulled on tree branches to pull himself higher up the hillside in an effort to try and reach the top before the pirates could kill Kate and get away. As he reached it, he motioned his team to circle the tower in case the pirates were still there. Gaylon saw the bodies of the paramilitary guards and the dead pirate and said a small prayer of thanks that Kate was not with them on the cold ground. One of his team ran up.

"Did you find anything?" Gaylon asked.

"I found some tracks where someone had been dragged off, that's all."

"Show me where."

The ground was trampled and brass shell casings reflected in the small hand flash as Gaylon searched the area. He picked up one of the brass and looked at the stamp markings on the base. The stamp mark of his own reloading press shone back at him. Gaylon frowned and swept the flashlight farther around and then stopped. Reaching down into the grass, Gaylon picked up one of Kate's hair barrettes that she always wore in her hair. Slipping it into his pocket, he motioned for his team to find the trail and after a moment of thought, started after them.

Kate could no longer feel her hands as the rope cut deeper into her wrists and she silently cried from the pain caused by the pirate’s beatings. All she could think was that Gaylon must have heard the shots and was searching for her even now. She just had to survive until he could rescue her and knowing the pirates, she hoped it was really soon. One of the pirates fell to the ground, blood covering the front of his shirt. Kate realized that she must have shot him on the water tower before she was jumped. The pirates tore up part of a shirt and re-bandaged the man’s chest as best they could, then helped him to his feet. With a jerk on the rope around her neck, they walked on. The trees were only dark shadows, but Gaylon had little trouble following the trail through the woods. The quarter moon reflected enough light to see well through the open woods and the stars were bright in the heavens. Gaylon looked up and thought of Kate as she had been the night before. He wished that he had had more time before this had happened, but knew that they would never be apart again if he got her back. The man on point signaled for them to stop and Gaylon quietly made his way forward. The man quickly flashed his light down and Gaylon knelt on one knee and touched a dark spot on the ground that was outlined in the red beam. Gaylon's fingers came away sticky and dark with blood, his first thought was that it was Kate's, but there had been no blood where she had been captured, so it had to be one of the pirates. A torn bandage cover and part of a shirt lay near the blood, a man's shirt. They moved on.

Kate stared at the camp fires that stretched out before her as the pirates approached their camp. Dozens of pirates were partying and dancing around a huge bonfire in the center of the camp. In the darkness, Kate could hear the sounds of women's screams as their bodies were violated. The very sound of it chilled Kate to the bone and she prayed that if that was to be her future that she could somehow take as many of them as possible with her before she died. Because no one was going to rape her while she still lived. As they neared the center of the camp, a group of pirates approached them and started asking questions about the town. One of the pirates looked at Kate and gave her a swift kick that sent her rolling in the wet grass. As the pirates moved to kick her again, one of the pirates grabbed his arm and motioned him away. Then reached down and helped Kate to her feet. Kate could feel the strength in the man's grip and cried out as he tightened it on her forearm.

"Who the hell do you think you are, bitch, shooting two of my men!"

"I tried to kill them all!"

The man struck Kate with the back of his hand and shook her, then taking a fist full of hair, asked her again. "Bitch, you've got just five seconds to tell me who you are and why you were at the water tower, or I give you to my boys. They would love to cut up that pretty face of yours."

"My name is Kate Johnson."

"Why were you at the water tower, you one of those damn paramilitary pussies?"

"No, you killed my parents and my brother, and I mean to make you pay. I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do, you motherfucker!"

"My, my, aren't we a little bad ass. Throw her in with the others, I'll decide what to do with her later, and get that guy patched up." The man told his men and turning, walked back to the fire. Two men grabbed her by the arms and dragged her across the camp toward the far side of the camp. As they approached a barbed wire enclosure, Kate could see the pale faces of people as they stared at her from the darkness. Opening the crude gate, one of the pirates pushed Kate through the opening and laughed as she fell against the huddled mass of bodies. Kate struggled to her knees and stared about her as the men and women moved around her. One man motioned Kate to turn around so that he could untie her bonds. Kate signed and looked at her bloody wrist then started to rub them together to get the blood started again. Turning, Kate looked at the man who had untied her hands. Cuts and bruises covered his face and she saw that most of his teeth were broken shards. Looking at the others around her, she saw the same kinds of beatings on all of them. Many of the women had a dull glazed expression on their faces and Kate didn't have to ask what had happen to them.

"Who are you people, where did you come from?" Kate asked the man who had helped her.

"The pirates captured us about a week ago. We came down from the north. Big cholera thing going on up there, people dying like flies so we came down this way hoping to get away but ran right into these bastards. They killed most of the men right away, except me and another guy. Been raping the women and cutting some of them up pretty bad."

"Have you tried to escape, this fence doesn't look too tough to get around." Kate asked as she looked around.

"Some tried, the dogs caught them right off, tore them apart, they did. God, I’d never seen anything like it. They got these big dogs and they seemed to egg them on, bettin' on them like. God, it was bad, real bad."

"Who's their leader, the big guy?"

"Yea, that's Murdock. Real bad ass, heard tell he used to be in the Special Forces. He killed two guards and escaped from prison the night of the War. He's been getting all the pirates together, telling them to go to the farms, towns, and the like. I also heard," the man said in a low voice," that he got his ass kicked a while back and he's real pissed about it. Damn, I wish I could have seen it. Must have been a good one."

When Kate heard this news, she had to smile. This had to be the same group they had attacked themselves. Kate knew that Murdock would love to have his hands on the people that had destroyed his other camp. Quietly, she told him that others were following her and that a rescue could take place at any time. But when the captives heard that only one man would be coming, they just shook their heads and moved away. No one man could attack the pirates and live, but then they didn't know Gaylon.

Gaylon studied the pirate camp as he lay in the wet grass on the hilltop overlooking the valley below. He could see the fires of at least three hundred pirates and there were dozens of motorcycles and trucks there was even a semi-tractor trailer rig with a big silver tanker on the back." Enough gasoline for a small war", Gaylon thought. Pulling a box out of backpack, Gaylon donned a pair of strange looking goggles. The darkness turned to day-glow green. Picking some dry grass, he dropped it to test the wind. West to east, prefect.

"I'm going to cross over to the far side and have a look. If I'm not back in two hours, high tail it back to town and tell Samuels what you saw. And that a few rounds of HE would do wonders on this place. Might make him sleep better at night," Gaylon told his men as he adjusted the night vision glasses.

"You got it, Gaylon"

"Can do, Skip!"

Gaylon made his way down the near side of the ridge line till he was on the floor of the valley. Slowly he circled the valley to the east, moving from tree to tree and scanning ahead of him with the night vision goggles. The trees and grass showed as a bright green in the lens and the patches of sky was bright with green stars. As Gaylon moved from one tree he stopped. A tin can appeared suspended in the air in front of him. Gaylon looked left and right and found two more. Taking his backpack, Gaylon lay down on his back and grabbing the pack with one hand, made his way under the trip wire. Standing on his feet again, Gaylon replaced his pack and after slipping the strap of the M-4 over his head, pulled his sword. Slowly, step by step, he made his way in the darkness. As he did so he saw a form became visible, that of a man standing next to a tree. Gaylon grabbed the sword with both hands and slowly cat walked behind him. Scanning quickly around, Gaylon stopped a few feet from the tree. Suddenly the man turned, Gaylon slashed with blinding speed. The steel blade bit deep into the man's neck just below his left ear and cut through flesh and bone in an instant. Blood gushed from the man's mouth and neck, his head slipping backward as if on a giant hinge, a bit of skin was all that kept the head with the body. Gaylon reached forward quickly and grabbed the body as it started to fall and eased it to the ground. Wiping his blade on the dead man's clothing, Gaylon moved off into the greater darkness.

Kate sat in the darkness and stared into the trees in front of her. She prayed that Gaylon would appear before it was her turn by the fire. Then time seemed to slow as she heard movement in the trees, but there was nothing. Then as she was about to give up hope, a black form appeared out of the trees. Slowly it crawled in the wet grass toward the fence. Suddenly another shape appeared out of the tree line and ran toward the other. Steel reflected for an instant as the two shapes met. A yip came from the dog as the steel impaled it. With a twist, the blade was pulled free. Running quickly, the man ran to the fence and fell on his stomach in front of Kate.

"Honey, we’ve just got to stop meeting like this. Are you, ok?" Gaylon asked.