Project Terminus (14 page)

“Well that’s true, Derrick, and it’s also true we can’t follow them on horses, but I can track them on foot. Here’s what we’ll do. Come with me as far as the knoll, just in case. Then you stay here and lay low. They’re obviously dangerous. I know there’s a lot of real estate separating them from our families, but I’m not taking any chances. I’ll follow them and gather as much Intel as I can, then we’ll get back and brief the boss.”

Several hours later, the men finished piling the bodies, ignited an explosive device, and climbed the hill. They watched it burn for a minute, turned, and disappeared.

“Okay, Derrick, they’re leaving. Let’s go.”

******

When Little Soldier got to the hide, he counted the body depressions and started tracking. The sign indicated there were seven people, one of whom was probably a female. He sent Derrick back to the horses, then two miles down the highway, picked up the track as it entered a forest service road. The trail was simple to follow, and since they weren’t attempting to cover their tracks, it was like walking down the interstate.

When Nina sent him to follow the two men, Cougar took a moment to study the terrain. Before he could decide which route to the knoll would provide the best cover, he saw one of them go back to the grove of trees. When he reached the hilltop, he followed the track to the highway. It took him less than ten minutes to find the service trail they were using. More than enough sign was available and he was able to follow at a fast walk. An hour later, he caught a glimpse of the man he was tracking one hundred yards ahead of him. He settled into stalking mode.

The bizarre parade through the North Carolina wilderness continued for several hours. Wade, Randal, Sean, and Highlander were double timing it to Fort-T, and Tyler Little Soldier was following them. Cougar brought up the rear behind Little Soldier.

Tyler Little Soldier was good, but as the trail weaved in and out of blacktop and service roads, he got nervous
. This is some serious shit right here
, he thought.
I hope to hell they aren’t going much farther.

Always conscious the men he was trailing would slough someone off to cover their six, he stopped every mile, hunkered down, and watched. Time after time one of them came out of the brush and hustled back down the trail. Four hours later, the men left the blacktop road and entered what used to be a service road. He estimated they had gone twenty miles, and stopped again to see if one of them was watching their six. This time it was clear, and since he hadn’t seen anyone for over an hour, he suspected they were getting close to their destination. The sun was down and it was getting dark, but a rising full moon would soon provide enough light to see. Until then, he decided to use his night vision goggles. Flipping them down, he continued to follow. The trail wound down the valley alongside a small river. Coming around a slight bend, he sensed rather than saw the OP. He froze, then crouched and crawled into the brush on the left side of the trail. Peering through the bushes, he could see the four men he was tracking talking to a fifth.

Damn, I almost walked right into that.

He knew from looking at the area map there was nothing there except wilderness, and assumed they had a camp somewhere close by. He sniffed the air, but didn’t smell smoke, and listened, but the only sound was the rustle of the leaves on the trees. Now that he knew the approximate location of their base, he decided it was too dangerous to go any farther. God only knew how many more “hides” there were between this one and their main base, or camp, or whatever the hell they called where they lived. He decided to watch what direction they went or see if they stayed put.

Cougar almost duplicated Little Soldier’s error. He didn’t have night vision, but the moon was bright enough he was able to continue tracking the man. Soon after they left the service road and started up a long valley, he came around a slight bend in the trail and barely saw the man stop, crouch, and crawl into cover. Cougar did the same. He knew the guy was looking at something, but he didn’t know what. He decided to cross the track and get a different perspective. Backtracking to the curvature in the trail, he crossed and came up on the right side about a hundred feet behind and to the right of his quarry. He could see the guys who killed his brothers and sisters right in front of him, not more than one hundred yards away.

He was enraged, but knew there was nothing he could do. Not unless he wanted to die. And Ma Mason’s boy Cougar did not want to die. Not today. Not ever. So he lay still and watched his quarry watching the four murderers. As he watched, he racked his brain to come up with a plan to exploit the situation, until he recalled Nina telling him not to take any chances. His sanity slowly returned, and he decided to stop thinking about it and just observe.

The four men spent a couple of minutes talking to a fifth
guy, then he hunkered down, and the original four continued walking up the valley.
Observation Post
, he thought, and made a mental note of where it was located. He was pleased with himself. Finding the monster’s lair would make Nina happy. He lay there basking in the glow of his sense of self-worth for several minutes until movement ahead disturbed his reverie. The man he was following was slowly crawling backwards. When he was out of sight of the OP, he rose and started jogging back the way he came. Cougar knew he was heading back to Robbinsville.

Little Soldier double-timed it back, arriving five hours later where Derrick waited with the horses at the copse of trees. Entering the woods, he gave a soft whistle and Watts materialized out of the brush.

Watts asked, “Did you find them?”

Little Soldier grinned. “Cat have an ass?”

“How many are there?”

“I don’t know. They’re in a valley twenty, maybe twenty-five miles north of here. They have an observation post set up about a mile in from a forest service road. I almost walked right into it.”

“So you don’t know how many? Or exactly where their camp is?”

“No, not exactly, but it’s got to be close to that OP, and there were seven distinct trails leading away from the hill over there,” he nodded towards the knoll. “So I’m guessing there are fourteen of them. Probably some kids too. Maybe twenty people total.”

Watts said, “Do you think that’s enough for our dipshit king to send us back with the cavalry?”

Laughing, Little Soldier said, “I don’t know. Let’s get back to base and give the info to the boss. He can decide if it’s important enough to relay to his highness.”

Watts said, “Okay, but I know I don’t want any part of those guys.”

Little Soldier nodded. “I second that, man. Let’s go.”

******

The moon was high in the sky and bright. In fact, it was like twilight, and Cougar easily followed Little Soldier back to Robbinsville. The man entered the small copse of trees just north of the football field, and moments later, reemerged with the other one. They were leading two horses and began walking north on the highway. When they were about a mile up the road, they mounted.

He pondered whether or not to follow them for a few moments, but decided he would never be able to keep up with a horse. Especially if they fast tracked it back to wherever they came from.

I did well,
he thought.
Nina is going to be beyond happy. She’ll be ecstatic.

He continued to watch the two men until they were out of sight, then headed for the high school. When the school came into view, he stopped in a grove of trees and waited. He didn’t see anyone, but after what happened on the football field, he was gun shy and wasn’t going to take any chances. So, he watched. Fifteen minutes later, two people came through the double entrance doors and stealthily move towards the elementary school. He wasn’t sure because it was dark and clouds were beginning to erase the moon, but he thought they were part of what was left of The Light. He decided to wait until dawn just to be on the safe side.

Conflicted, Cougar remained where he was for another hour. The cloud-obscured moon cast just enough light for movement to catch his eye, and he vaguely saw two people crossing the field in front of the high school. They went in the main entrance, and he wondered if it was
the same two he’d seen earlier. He couldn’t tell, but ten minutes later his question was answered. The doors to the school opened and dozens of people came out of the building. The first one was easily recognizable, even in intermittent moonlight. It was Nina. He was elated, and started across the field.

Nina saw him coming and raised her weapon. “Stop!”

He stopped and said, “Nina, it’s Cougar.”

Nina lowered her weapon and instructed her people to do the same. Then she turned and told them, “You know what to do. Heather, I have business to take care of. Find your stuff. Then go to my old quarters and see if you can find my leather outfit and sword. We’ll make additional trips if we need to.”

Turning to Cougar, she said, “Come with me.” She led him into the high school, down a hallway, and into a large room at the end, closed the door, and said, “Report.”

While Cougar was filling her in, she stood motionless and said nothing. When he got to the part about finding their location, her lips curled into a smile and she said, “Cougar, can I trust you?”

Cougar was confused. “Of course you can, Nina. I’d do anything for you.”

She looked at him and said, “Yes, I believe you would. You did well, Cougar. I’m very happy. I want you to be my main scout. When we’re ready, we’re going to make them pay, and you’re going to lead us to their lair.”

Chapter Eleven

The Merger

When they returned to Fort-T, Wade met with the women and explained what happened on the Robbinsville mission. Chris, Bill, and Sara had already briefed them on the basics, but they were still mesmerized by Wade’s recitation. “That’s it. Since we never found a body, it looks like Nina escaped. Sara believes she’ll seek revenge, and while that may be true, she isn’t going to present a threat to us for a long time…if ever. And, Sara, if no one has done so yet, I’d like to officially welcome you to Fort Terminus, and into our family. You’ve earned the right to be here.”

Sara stood and said, “Thank you, sir, everyone…you’ve all been very kind. It’s-it’s been so long since I’ve felt safe that I-I’m…I mean, I guess I haven’t wrapped my head around it yet.” She started crying.

Maggie rose and hugged Sara. “You’ll get used to the feeling soon, Sara. And trust me, there’s not a safer place on the face of this earth than Fort Terminus.”

The men talked quietly for about fifteen minutes, debriefing and unwinding, until Wade stood and said, “Okay, guys, get cleaned up, get some chow, and grab some Zs. Standard watches on the OP and the Nest. Sean, man the OP at 2400 hours. Chris, take the crow’s nest. At 0400, Bill has the nest and Highlander has the OP. We can’t afford to assume The Light is through, so stay alert. We’re going to start the merger with the Northern Groups immediately.”

Maggie handed Wade some clean clothes and a towel, and told him to clean up the moment he returned to their tent. The smell of burning flesh permeated his clothing.

“Leave the clothes outside the shower, I’ll wash them tomorrow.”

By the time he finished and took a seat on the edge of his cot in their tent, Maggie magically appeared with a bowl of soup and a glass of milk. “What time are you leaving in the morning?”

“I’ll be leaving about 0300, Mags. I want to complete the move ASAP. I don’t want you to worry, but I’ll feel a lot better when we have a dozen more shooters.”

Maggie looked concerned. “So you
do
think Nina’s still a danger?”

Wade took her in his arms and said, “It’s possible, but honestly, I don’t think she’s in any position to be a threat to us right now. The fact is, a group of eight hundred maniacs were a mere twenty miles away and we had no idea they existed. It makes me wonder how many other bad guys are out there we don’t know about. I’m just being cautious, that’s all.”

******

At the Ranger camp soon after first light, Wade told Sergeant Wilkerson to send someone to get Sergeant Cole from the Delta group and double time it back. He told Wilkerson to assemble his people.

“Do you want the kids at the meeting?”

“Sorry, Joe, but no, they definitely don’t need to hear what I have to tell you.”

“No prob. My wife can sit with them and I can fill her in later on. I’ll set everything up. Give me five.”

Five minutes later, Wade told the Ranger Group about Robbinsville and what had gone down to date. “When I tell you these guys are bad news, I can’t emphasize strongly enough how bad they actually are. We’re not positive Nina escaped, but it looks like she did. We also don’t know how many of her clan survived, but the possibility exists that enough of them escaped to allow them to reorganize.

“More importantly, according to Sara, Nina
will
seek revenge. I don’t believe they’re a threat right now, but that could change in the future. At this moment, they’re off the board. My concern is eight hundred of them were within a fast five-hour walk from us and we had no idea they were there until their patrol showed up. I would have liked to bring you guys in on the mission, but the time frame precluded that.

“So here’s the deal. There may be other groups within striking distance of us we know nothing about. And while we have the manpower to repel any attack against Fort-T, we do
not
have the capability to send out extended patrols. It’s time to start creating a new society. That society starts with a much bigger and better Fort Terminus. Any questions?”

The Rangers were stoic, but the women, like the women at Fort-T, were aghast at the thought of cannibals in their midst. Wade knew the terrified look on their faces had nothing to do with personal fear. It was the image of cannibals getting to their kids. Wade assured them no cannibals would ever, under any circumstances, get to their children.

There were questions. He answered them honestly and simply, adding, “We’re starting the merger immediately. Pack your personal gear and start breaking down the camp. Leave the stove in the cottage. We’re going to keep this site as an emergency location. We’ll restock it with the necessary gear later on.”

Within minutes, the Ranger Group was getting ready for the trip to their new home.

“Joe, Bill and Highlander will be here in the morning with two 4-wheelers and a trailer. We’re going to move everything in one fell swoop. Have the travois been constructed?”

“Yes, sir, they’re over there,” he nodded to the side of the cottage.

Two hours later, four shooters from the Delta Group arrived and Wade re-explained the Robbinsville mission. “Pack your camp and move everything here. We can take most of it on the 4-wheelers from this location.”

At 0930 hours the next morning, the faint sound of the 4-wheelers maneuvering through the valley below was little more than a whisper in the wind. At the edge of the camp, Wade, Wilkerson, and Cole caught fleeting glimpses of the two machines weaving in and out of the trees. When they started up the mountain, the faint sound of the engines grew in intensity as the load on the engines increased. 

Cole laughed, “Damn that’s loud out here. I haven’t heard an engine running in years.”

“Yeah, we’re not gonna sneak up on anyone with those suckers. And Highlander modified the mufflers to quiet them down. But, they’ll reduce the difficulty of the move. Weighing the engine noise against the minimal risk of discovery makes it a no brainer.”

At 0945, Bill and Highlander pulled into camp. Since none of the kids had ever seen a 4-wheeler, much less ridden on one, they were excited about the trip to their new home.

******

Fifteen minutes after the machines arrived, Joe Wilkerson turned to Wade and stated the obvious. “We’re ready, Captain.”

Wade nodded and turned to Bill, who was checking the load on his machine. “This is not going to be as simple as it sounds. You’ve got seven rangers, seven wives, and eight kids to move through the mountains. Keep the pace slow but steady. You may want to consider relieving two of the rangers of their travois and attaching them to the 4-wheelers. That allows one Ranger to take point and one to assist others as necessary. It’s going to be too late to return after you unload, but be back as early as possible in the morning. The Delta group has already moved their non-essentials, and they’ll have their entire camp moved here by this evening.”

At 1100 hours they headed down the mountain. Wade watched until they were out of sight, then sat waiting for the Delta group to return.

With all hands contributing, it took them two days to move the contents of both camps to Fort Terminus, and another day to restock the Ranger Camp for use as an emergency location. Three days after the move started, Fort Terminus had a new look and a new vitality.

On the morning of the fourth day, Wade addressed the combined occupants of Fort Terminus. He told them he was inspired and impressed by the sense of family and dedication he witnessed while their three groups merged seamlessly into one cohesive unit. “We still have to re-arrange our quarters and make Fort Terminus more user-friendly, but I pronounce us fully operational. We’ll have an updated chore list, soon. Until then, pitch in and help as you’re able.”

The women developed a temporary work agenda, which was comprised primarily of cooking, cleaning, and daily school for the kids. The men followed Wade to the supply tent.

He said, “We need to reset the watches and work up patrol schedules. Here’s what we have. Seventeen SPECOPS warriors; one ex-police officer with SWAT experience, who is also a world-class sniper; and two civilians who have been trained by Randal and have proven they’re capable and reliable. That’s a total of twenty
shooters.

“We also have thirty-five civilians, which includes twenty-one women and fourteen kids. The women can shoot and are familiar with basic combat techniques, so if necessary, we can field forty-one shooters. But we all know we don’t want the women—any of them—to ever pick up a weapon and fight alongside of us. And with any luck, we won’t be involved in any firefights either. But since none of us believe in luck, and because we know The Light is probably not the only bully on the block, we’re going to reset our defense. Randal?”

“Okay, men, first things first. We’ve inventoried our weaponry and armaments and we’re in really good shape there. We have a total of three SAWS; five sniper rifles, including two Barretts and thirty-six 5.56 M-4s in various configurations. Sixteen are fully automatic. There are also twelve tactical twelve-gauge shotguns, two M203 grenade launchers, and one RPG with eleven projectiles. And, just for fun, we have six M136 AT4 disposable anti-tank weapons; thirty-six claymores; ninety-two fragmentation grenades; and a couple dozen each of smoke grenades, C4 pipe bombs, and napalm pipe bombs.

“We have thirty-two and a half pounds of C4 remaining, along with enough det-cord and timers to blow up a lot of shit. We also have enough ammo and reloading supplies to keep us supplied, depending on how much we use, for an indefinite period of time. In other words, we have enough ammo for a firefight or two.”

The firefight comment brought forth a collective chuckle.

“Our armory also contains sixty-five pistols ranging from 9mms to forty-fives, a dozen twenty-two pistols, and eight twenty-two rifles. We have silencers for twelve M4s, both Barrett sniper rifles and all three M24 sniper rifles. We also have silencers for sixteen of the 9mms and two for the twenty-two pistols. In addition, we have six .177 caliber pellet rifles for small game hunting and four compound bows with one hundred and six arrows.”

When he completed the recitation of the inventory, everyone had big shit-eating grins.

Bill said, “Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin about. We could hold off all of Delta Force with that shit.”

Cole, grinning, poked Bill in the chest. “You frogs aren’t even qualified to carry Delta’s jocks.”

Grinning back, Bill replied, “Yeah, Cole, but you guys don’t wear jocks, you wear panties.”

The friendly banter went on for several minutes until Wade broke it up. “That’s really funny guys, and it’s nice to see there’s still an inter-service rivalry. Our world has returned to normal. But for your information, we are no longer SEALS, Delta, Green Berets, or Rangers. The kids have given us a name. The Fort Terminus Terminators. And that’s who we are from this moment forward.”

The group was still chuckling when Linda, who miraculously found five pounds of coffee beans hiding behind some cans of peas, looked in and announced, “Coffee’s on.”

They shoved and pushed each other good naturedly, jockeying for position. When their cups were full, Randal said, “I want to reposition our watch posts. I don’t like the fact that The Light’s patrol made it to the forward OP before they were spotted.”

******

The crow’s nest, the forward OP, the SAW position, and the far mountain sniper-hide positions were circled in red on a sat-map of the valley. Randal positioned the desk lamp to brighten the center of the map and said, “Gather around. This is what we have now.” He pointed to the circled positions. “Under normal circumstances, we only man the forward OP and the crow’s nest. That’s no longer good enough. We couldn’t do it before because we didn’t have the personnel, but now that we do, we’re going to set up an OP here.” He circled an area to the right of the service trail looking out onto the blacktop highway. “From this position, we can observe anyone approaching up or down the roadway. In addition, we’re going to set up another sniper hide here,” he circled an area three hundred yards up the mountainside, in front and to the right of the existing OP.

“Adding these two positions will provide us with increased security. We’ll know if any bad guys are coming long before they get anywhere near the service road, and we can engage them far away from the fort. So we’re going to need rotating twenty-four-hour watches at the extended OP, or EOP for short, and we’ll continue to man the forward OP and the crow’s nest. Any time we think it’s necessary, we’ll man the two sniper hides. So we need a total of three posts manned twenty-four seven. Let’s make the watches six hours each. That’ll require twelve bodies a day to man the three positions, and will allow us to send out two man patrols for extended periods. In addition, this schedule gives everyone ample time off for much deserved face-time with their families.”

Cole wanted to know if the sites for the EOP and the new sniper hide had been selected, and Randal informed him they had not. Then he said, “I’ve thought about this for months, Cole, but since we weren’t able to man them we never scouted positions. You know what we need. Why don’t you take a couple of guys and make it happen—make sure the EOP can accept reinforcements from the side or backside without undue exposure to an enemy. We’ll want to keep one of the SAWs at the EOP and maybe one or two of the AT4s too.”

“Are you expecting an armored attack,” asked Cole.