Prepper's Crucible - Volume Six: The End (7 page)

“Why don’t they just drop the supplies in each AO
and save us the trouble of having to distribute all that stuff?”

“Because we’re the only group
that has control of a defined piece of geography.
The other three
take and hold areas for a while, but always end up dispersed all over the
place. A drop into your areas would risk supplying the other side, or losing
the supplies in the event of an attack that would make them
disperse
.”

“When are you heading out?”

“Right now.”

“You shouldn’t be going back by yourself. Let me
send some men with you as far as Phoenix and you can pick up a new escort
there. We can’t afford to lose you now.” Cory nodded his agreement, not liking
the idea of baby sitters, but recognizing the need to stay out of the hands of
the Mexican Army.

“I’ll get them organized. Three should be enough.”

“That’s fine.” Cory shrugged.

EMP PLUS 39 YEARS, SIX
DAYS

PRESCOTT ARIZONA,
TERRITORIAL CAPITAL

Horace reviewed his notes before looking at Cory,
who was perched up on pillows in his hospital bed. He went back a few pages,
frowned, and then said, “Eric told me that you had some sort of lull in the
action after you got back from Tucson. What was that all about?”

“Well, it was the damn Army and Air Force not
delivering on what they promised. I had got used to that by then. It’s hard to
believe they actually won the war.” Cory paused to take a sip of water through
a straw in the water glass on his bedside table, and added, “
it
almost drove us crazy.”

“What happened?”

“We didn’t get the laser designators we needed to
launch the attacks on the armor and bases for over a month, and I didn’t really
know what to do. If we stopped our normal raids on the railroads and convoys,
we would have tipped off the fact that something big was in the making. If we
continued them, we were going to get people killed for no reason – we could
have just waited it out and let the Army take things over. It was excruciating.
I lost 39 men and women when I made that decision.”

“So you decided to continue raiding.”

“No other choice. There was too much at stake. We
were on the verge of getting the country back, and I
couldn’t
stop pressuring the Mexican Army without putting more pressure on our Army on
the Texas border. They would have sent troops down to the border before our
Army was ready, and I
couldn’t
let that happen. It was
an impossible situation.”

“But the Army was in charge by that time. Why didn’t
they just tell you to stand down and let them take over?”

“They did.”

“And you disobeyed?”

“Yes, I was convinced that we had to take our state
back and I was also certain the time was right to do it. I wasn’t about to let
up the pressure on the Mexicans and risk not taking back, at the very least,
our town, and making it an example for the rest of the state.”

Horace again flipped through his notepad and said,
“Eric told me they put out a bounty for you around this time. Is that correct?”

“Yeah they did, but it didn’t bother me much. We had
the forest to ourselves and the photograph was something they managed to get
from the Department of Motor Vehicles database. It was five years old and
showed the clean-shaven version of me. By that time, my hair was long and my
beard was full. I used to see the wanted posters on my travels to Tucson and
Flagstaff and
didn’t
even bother to take them down. We
traveled on secondary highways, most of which had no checkpoints, so it really
wasn’t a problem.”

Horace seemed to think for a long time and then
said, softly, “
what
did Kate do during this time?”

“She ran the communications center.”

“Was she a commander in the movement?”

“No, she was the glue.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“We were all running around all over the state. I
was going north and south, trying to get a handle on the operations, Tim was
handling Flagstaff, Eric was dealing with Tucson, and we had a
guy
in Phoenix, Roger, who took care of their area of
operations. Kate kept us all on the same page by running the operations center
and telling us what was going on everywhere we were not. It was a very hectic and
trying time. We got through it, but it was incredibly frustrating being on the
verge of victory, but having to wait for the Air Force to deliver us what we
needed to end it.”

“So, when did the breakthrough come? What made you
move to the next phase?”

“When we finally got the laser
designators and the forward air controllers.
That was a
month later, and we were getting pretty tired of all the promises we got from
the Air Force by then. They
didn’t
really provide us
with what we needed until they had air superiority, and that was a month of us
losing men and women before we finally could go on the attack. We started
dropping
Paveway
smart bombs on anything that moved
during the day.
Took out tanks, locomotives, trucks.
The laser designators had a three-mile range, so we
didn’t
even have to get close to the targets. Our guys pulled security for the airmen
and they took care of dropping the bombs in the right places at the right
times.”

“He’s getting tired,” Eric said, emerging from the
corner of the room.

“I’m fine,” Cory replied. “I want to get this part
out now.”

“Okay,” Eric replied. “But don’t wear yourself out.”

“So, how did you organize the attacks?” Horace asked
,
his pen poised over the notepad.

“Once we got the designators and four forward air
traffic
[MLF1]
 
controllers, we
called the area commanders in and had a planning session. We identified
seventeen targets in the four AOs, and prioritized them so we took out the
tanks and trucks first. We wanted to take away their ability to move and use
the armor to respond to the fight on the border.”

“According to my understanding, they moved the tanks
and most of the men to the border before you attacked.”

“The Army wanted us to attack everywhere, including
in the cities. The original plan was for us to take out as much as we could
before they started moving. Apparently, at some point, the Air Force changed
their minds. They were afraid to bomb in towns and decided to wait until they
were in the open. So, much of the Mexican armor and transport was spared from
our attacks. After we hurt them enough, they realized that the Air Force was
not going to bomb the cities, and moved everything into the urban areas.
So
, we did some damage, but nowhere near what we could have
done. I wanted to attack in the towns as quickly as possible. In the end, they
controlled the aircraft, so I lost that round.”

“We know that the Air Force decimated the columns
that moved to the border,” Horace said. “They did get them south of Tucson, and
that broke the back of the Mexican Army. We also know that the militia did, in
fact, attack and push them out of all major cities,” he added. “Can you tell me
what happened here in the cities?”

“When the original plan fell apart, we went from
seventeen targets to only one in each city. The Mexicans left a token force in
each AO at their headquarters. They severely underestimated our strength.” Cory
paused for a moment and then added, “
in
retrospect,
the Air Force saved a lot of militia lives by refusing to attack the facilities
in town, and not having us attack the tanks and other hard targets. When we did
attack the headquarters in each AO, we faced almost no armor or anything else
that could have turned us back. I told all the local commanders to change
whatever they had to change, but attack that evening. We were out of time and
there was no way
to fully coordinate
the attacks, so I
threw caution to the wind and hoped for the best.
Truth be
known
, I exercised very little control over the other commanders. I
pretty much left them to make decisions and carry out operations. There was no
real way to really control much, but the Army wanted a single commander, so we
gave them one for appearance sake and to get their help.”

“That’s not how I understood it.”

“That’s how it was. History has a way of making
heroes out of lucky fools.”

“Well, tell me what you can. It’s all valuable to
me.”

Cory thought for a minute and then continued the
story. “Flagstaff overran their headquarters without a fight. Tim negotiated a
truce with the colonel they left in charge there. In Tucson, our team leader
had a real fight on his hands. They were closer to the column that was
moving southeast toward the border, but in the
end
they managed to get them out of their command and control center, and that’s
when the Mexican Army threw in the towel and began heading back across the
border. Phoenix was also a real fight and it took a full day to take out their
headquarters. Here, we had a fairly bloody battle.
But
we prevailed in the end, and I know you know about all those battles because I
read your book on the retaking of the Territory. So I’m not really sure why
you’re asking these questions.”

 “Well, different people see different things
in the same story and have a different perspective, and I want to make sure I
get it right.”

“You need to spend more time writing the articles
about statehood and getting public opinion on our side. We need that to happen
soon.”

“I’m working on one now that covers the time when
you decided to introduce the legislation to prohibit the state from rejoining
the Union for twenty years. It comes out tomorrow and explains the speech you
made to the legislature and how you have now changed your mind.
It’s
a good piece and I am going to commission a poll next
week to see how voters feel about getting back into statehood. I am guessing it
will be a positive result for us, but voters are fickle and there’s no way to
really know until the poll results are back.”

“When we get to a 55 percent
approval to adopt statehood, come back and we can talk some more.
Right
now
I’m going to take a nap, and Eric can tell you about the
final battle for Prescott. He fought by my side and probably remembers more
than I do.”

EMP PLUS TWELVE MONTHS

PRESCOTT, ARIZONA,
TERRITORIAL CAPITAL

The men were ready. Everyone was well equipped and
good to go. Eric fussed over all of them, making sure they had enough ammo and
grenades to make the final attack on the county court house. After assigning
medics to each group, he formed them up in ATVs that would transport them to
town, and went to the cave to get Cory to address them. He stopped as he
started to enter the cave when he heard Cory and Kate talking. He stepped to the
side of the cave entrance and listened.

“Kate,” Cory said, “we’re going into battle tonight
for our future, and I want you in my future. I get the fact that you are
grieving over Don, but I am doing the same with Julie and the kids. Do you
really want to live the rest of your life without loving anyone?”

“It’s too soon, Cory. Let’s go fight the battle and
come back safe. At some point, we can talk about things. But right now, keep
your head in the fight or you might lose it.”

Eric backed away from the cave entrance and walked
back to where the fighters stood waiting. Later, Cory joined them and walked
through the crowd, shaking hands and chatting with the assembled group.

“We good to go?”
Cory asked
Eric.

“Yes.”

“So everybody knows the plan?”

“We got it.”

“I’m going along. I can’t miss this.”

“Not a good idea.”

“No matter, I’m going.” Cory got into the nearest
ATV, rested his M-16 against his thigh, and waited for the group to leave. Eric
got in, waved his hand in a circle over his head, and then pointed down the
trail toward town. The group of vehicles moved out. They moved through the
forest in a long column of captured Humvees, ATVs, and a few captured trucks.
No attempt at stealth
was taken
, and they turned onto
Williamson Valley Road with headlights blazing and quickly moved up to a high
rate of speed. They turned toward the downtown plaza where the last Mexican
outpost in town still operated and split into four columns, with each parking a
block behind the square at every compass point.

Cory directed his group to the north side of the
square, where his shooters took up positions behind a brick church. His two SAW
gunners deployed to either side of the building, and his sappers kicked the
door in and moved through the building to the front side, where they opened the
windows and rested their carbines on the windowsills. As Cory entered the
church, men rushed by him and pounded up the stairs to the second floor of the
building. Cory examined the building more carefully. It was rectangular and
parallel to the surrounding buildings.

On the south side of the square, the same scenario
played out, with SAW gunners and sappers occupying the old Prescott Brewing
Company building and the bank building on the corner. Again, men moved to the second
floors of the buildings.

On the east and west side of the court house, the
longer sides of the building, Cory ordered the .50s to be deployed in the old
Palace Saloon and the abandoned hotel four doors down the street on the other
side of the plaza. Both were also brick buildings and offered good cover. On
those two sides, the difference was that they placed the .50s, in both
locations, on both the ground floors and the roof.

“Is everyone in place?” Cory asked Eric.

“We’re good to go.”

Cory went to a window and donned his NVGs. He
scanned the plaza and noted that no guards were in the streets. The
court house
was surrounded by razor wire, but the outposts
weren’t manned. Cory scanned the building and saw there were crew-served
automatic weapons at most of the windows on the building. He took the NVGs off
and sat down with his back to the exterior wall. He again got up and looked at
the building the Mexicans occupied and noted there were no lights on in the
building. They were obviously ready for the attack.

“Crap,” he said, sitting down again.

“What?” Eric asked.

“They knew we were coming long before we got here.
No lights on, sentry posts
abandoned,
and crew-served
automatic weapons at almost every window. This is going to get nasty before
it’s
over, and we’re going to lose a lot of men and women.
The plan
we made to assault across one side and overwhelm
them
might not work. Whoever decided to leave them here left them well
armed.”

“Why don’t we ask for their surrender?”

Cory thought for a minute and said, “
get
on the radio and tell everyone to hold fast while I talk
to the general.”

“On it.”

Cory got up, leaned out the window, and yelled,
“General Sanchez. I want to meet you at the gate under a white flag.” A long
moment passed and Cory heard the reply, “yes, but come unarmed and without your
men.” Cory was surprised that the man’s English was unaccented, but shrugged it
off as unimportant.

“Agreed,” he yelled back.

Cory turned to Eric and said, “
do
we have a Barrett on the front of the compound?”

“We have two: one on each corner on the roof at the
Palace Saloon. They both have line of sight on the front gate.”

“Tell them to zero in on the general and take him
out if I raise my right hand and run it through my hair.”

“Done.”

Cory removed his holster and placed it on the floor
of the building, walked to the back entrance, and told Eric, “
if
I go down, you take them out. We need to end this now.”

“I don’t think this is smart.”

“It’s probably not, but this is going to be a real
bloodbath if we can’t get surrender. We
don’t
have the
air support we thought we would have when we planned this. There has been
enough death and sadness in this fight to last me a lifetime. I have to go and
see if we can work this out without further loss of life.”

Cory walked to the back door and exited the
building, walked down the side until he came to the sidewalk on the plaza, and
proceeded to the front gate of the compound that now surrounded the
court house
. He stopped in front of the gate, held his hands
out to his sides with the palms facing toward the building, and waited for the
other side to appear. The massive entrance to the building opened and a man in
a dress uniform walked out. He approached Cory and stopped on the other side of
the gate.

“You want our surrender?” he said as he approached,
stopping short of the gate that surrounded the compound. He was a large man,
burly, and his black eyes seemed to glow with a fierceness born in anger.

“Yes.”

“Not going to happen,” the man replied. Cory studied
him for a moment before replying, “
no
reason to get
all these men killed when your Army is already on the run back to the border.”

“This will be our Alamo.” His tone was mild, but his
eyes continued to glow.

“That didn’t end too well for us.”

“It created something good. It’s a story of bravery
unsurpassed until now.”

“Why don’t you take a few minutes to think it over?”

“I already have. You better go now.” He turned on
his heels and walked back into the building.

“No luck,” Cory told Eric when he stepped through
the door.

“We need to use the
Barretts
to take out as many of the crew-served weapons as we can. Get the spotters to
identify those targets and tell them to call us and let us know when they’re
ready.” Cory stood silently, desperately attempting to think of some way to
keep his casualty rate down, while Eric went to the radio and whispered quietly
into the microphone. After a minute, he returned and waited for further orders.
Cory’s face suddenly lit up.

“What is it?” Eric asked.

“Come with me.” They went to the last window of the
building they occupied, where Cory pointed toward the northeast corner of the
courthouse. “Tell the sappers to make their approach directly at the corners of
the buildings before tossing the grenades into the windows. That will leave the
Mexicans only the two corner sets of windows to engage
from
.
All the other windows won’t have an angle of fire.”

“Of course.
That makes
sense.”

“Okay. Now check
out the heavy
machine gun on the second floor on the windows to the right
as we face
the corner. You see how he has the barrel pointed as far to the right as it
goes?”

“Yes.”

“Follow a path from the barrel to the building
across the street.”

“It can’t reach our sappers,” Eric said excitedly.
“It’s about 15 degrees short.”

“Yes. From now on we call that the weak corner and
the ones that have line of fire that will reach our guys – the one on the left
side in this case – the strong corner.”

“If we can keep the gunners in the strong corners
down with the .50s, our guys get a pretty clean approach. If we head for the
corner of the building, the Mexicans on the weak corner windows
either have
to shoot left-handed or lean out the windows to
get a shot. Get our snipers to keep those weak corners under constant fire. I
need the
Barretts
and .308s on the weak corner
windows, one each for each window on that side. The fire has to be constant
once it starts, so we need the .308s. On the strong corner, I want either a Ma
Deuce or a pair of SAWs for each window.
Again, constant
fire.
If the SAWS have to take turns while reloading,
that’s
fine.
But
we can’t stop firing until the sappers are
hugging the walls of the courthouse. Get lots of ammo for the weapons and keep
all our shooters as close to that corner as possible.
That’s
makes 90 percent of the Mexican fighting positions on the long side of the
building useless. Their machine guns can’t traverse to fire at that angle.”

“Got it,” Eric replied, leaving Cory to review the
plan in his head and worry about what he may have overlooked.

The sappers and assault teams stood in two stacks in
the entryway of the former shoe store that sat at a perfect angle from the
corner. Cory came down from the roof and asked the fighters to huddle before he
spoke. He looked at the group and realized that almost half of them were women.
Cory sighed at the idea that females were combatants, but pushed the thought
away. He looked up again and said, “we have .50s and SAWs on every window.
But
you guys need to get through the razor wire and get on
the building in less than two minutes. At that point, we might lose fire
superiority and that would get you all killed.”

“Got it,” Lloyd replied. “Just keep them down for
those two minutes and we’ll get the first floor corner cleared.”

“Okay, we are a go in two minutes.” Cory and Eric
left the room and went back to the rooftop observatory where they intended to
run the battle. Cory put on the NVGs again and Eric keyed the radio.

“Status?”
Eric asked.

“We’re good,” Lloyd replied.

“On my command.”

“Roger.”

“Commence assault.”

Two sapper teams left the building and the first
group of six reached the wire without incident, cut through the razor wire, and
huddled around the opening they created. The second team moved up and ran
through the wire.

“Open fire,” Cory said to Eric.

“Take them out,” Eric said after keying the
microphone, and the air filled with the song of heavy caliber weapons
discharging on full auto. Cory watched the fight dispassionately and saw that
the Mexicans were deploying RPGs from almost every window in the building. He
watched two of them leave their launchers and
impact
the front of two buildings to the north, and then two more impacted the
building he was on. He also saw another one where the Mexican soldier trying to
shoot the RPG
was taken out
by one of the snipers,
fell back into the room he fired from, and the RPG detonated in the building.
Fire burst out of the window, and the rate of gunfire slowed for a moment, then
picked up again and became a wall of sound that zeroed out any other sensation.

Cory turned his sight again to the sappers and saw
they had breached the razor wire and the assault team was moving beyond them to
the building. The second sapper team followed, carrying bags of grenades and
C-4 charges, and fanned out around the north side of the building. After throwing
grenades into the ground-floor windows, they moved to place charges in the side
door of the building. Two
were shot down
by gunfire
from the courthouse and another two died when grenades hailed down from the
upper floors of the building. The assault team stacked up outside the door,
waiting for the blast, and when the door blew off the building, they entered
the opening, still in a stack, and fanned out to clear their side of the
structure.