Reclamation (Best Laid Plans Book 4) (40 page)

The fighting continued through the day and into the night, but not along the mountains near them.

Trev's squad sat in their prepared emplacements, alert for the approach of enemies with their weapons in easy reach. As for Trev, he spent most of the time manning one of the lookout spots, keeping the detonator close by so he could destroy the road leading up the canyon at a moment's notice. Even though no enemies came their way the tension still built up in him as the hours dragged by, making it impossible to really relax.

Part of that was because even though the enemy kept their distance there was still plenty to see in the valley to the east. The swift-moving southern army had tried to push into the mountains along multiple routes, including Highway 31, and had engaged Lassiter along I-70 and Colonel Grimes along 6 near Spanish Fork Canyon.

But while they'd likely hoped for a quick victory somewhere, their main goal had been to bottle the US forces in the mountain defenses they'd set up. Once that was accomplished they were perfectly content to withdraw and dig in, while behind them the valley slowly filled with seemingly endless waves of Russian soldiers coming in from the northeast.

From their place in Cedar Creek Canyon Trev and his squad had been able to hear the fighting the next canyon over, including the massive rockslide that had shaken the ground even where they were. He'd watched the helicopter approach, watched it exchange missiles with Davis and Matt's squad up the canyon, and finally watched it retreat to safety.

He didn't know whether to be relieved that his people hadn't had to deal with the same threat, or frustrated that he'd had to sit and watch while his friends and fellow fighters faced the danger. But one thing he did know was that the reinforcements Lassiter was sending their way couldn't come soon enough.

Even setting side the consideration of whether his squad could handle holding this canyon on their own, there was also the fact that they'd basically been on duty for days now, and most of them had been awake for over 24 hours. Even if they could just get spelled for 8 hours to get some solid sleep without having to jolt awake at every noise, Trev's squad needed someone to come take over for them for a while.

Which didn't seem like it would be happening any time soon, as the night grew later and later. The valley below had been a patchy carpet of campfires during the evening, and even through the night lights would spring up as new waves of enemy troops arrived and set up their camps.

Trev sent most of his people to bed and doubled the number of lookouts, having them trade off with the squad's two pairs of night vision goggles and keeping their shifts to two hours so no one would fall asleep on watch. Davis's earlier ceasefire and the apparent relaxed attitude of the blockheads in the valley didn't fool him, and he wanted to be ready in case any enemies tried to sneak their way on foot under the cover of darkness.

That meant his lookouts had to be extra vigilant, panning the valley below and the slopes to either side for the slightest sign of anything unusual. They couldn't just count on telltale headlights or the sounds of engines to alert them to danger, and making that mistake could get them all killed.

Arguably Trev was making his own mistake, staying up into the night manning a lookout post and letting each squad mate who took a shift with him catch an extra nap while he hogged the night vision. But he felt surprisingly alert in spite of the lack of sleep, able to focus on his duty without the slightest weariness sinking in. He'd been like that on road trips, too, able to keep driving and focus on the road without ever nodding off no matter how tired he got.

He'd pay for it later, when his exhaustion caught up with him, but for now he was fine. Better one person sleep during the day while the rest of the squad was rested and awake. It meant four less people who'd have to wake up halfway through the night to take a shift, then return to their beds and try to get some quality sleep afterwards.

Sure, it was something he'd never ask one of his people to do, not only for their sake but because it was an unnecessary risk. But he knew himself, so it wasn't really a risk.

In spite of his fears he saw no sign of blockheads sneaking towards them, which he sincerely hoped meant there weren't any, and neither did the lookouts at the other spot. Better still, a bit before sunrise Davis's voice came through his earbuds.

“Have your squad pack up their things, Smith,” the sergeant said, “you're getting reassigned back to camp for now.”

“About time,” Trev muttered to himself, then toggled the radio. “Copy that, Sarge. When are the replacements coming?”

“We're on our way,” Davis replied. “See you in ten minutes.”

Trev woke up his squad and got them organized and ready to leave, keeping the lookouts at their places and making sure their things were packed for them. He was glad Davis had finally acknowledged Cedar Creek Canyon's need for a change, although he hoped his people weren't being taken from the frying pan and tossed into the fire.

They'd go where they were needed, though, and hopefully their replacements here would be in a better position to defend the canyon.

In spite of their unexpected awakening and short notice, Trev's squad was ready to go by the time Davis jogged down the canyon, leading half a dozen of his Marines from 2
^nd
Squad. And Fred Vernon and his men.

“Get your camp set up,” the sergeant ordered the former sheriff, then turned to his soldiers. “Higgins, get with Smith's squad and get a rundown on how they've been guarding the canyon and where all their emplacements are. Smith, with me.”

Trev followed Davis a short distance away. “You've got to be kidding me,” he told him once they were out of earshot of the others.

“No, I don't,” Davis said flatly. “Vernon's got well trained and experienced men. He's more than capable of holding the canyon. And in case you think I'm a complete idiot, you'll notice I've got half of 2
^nd
Squad here to keep an eye on them.”

“Is an eye going to be enough? If they bail on us, our main camp could get attacked from behind by blockheads who walked right past our defenses along 31.”

“Smith,” the sergeant warned. Trev clammed up, and the man continued. “I hate to be the one who tells you to get over it, but it was a truck. A truck you stole in the first place. I've talked to Vernon and he's got a lot of admirable qualities. Ones that aren't diminished by one moment of weakness.”

“Yeah, I thought he was the most noble guy around too. Right up until he betrayed me.”

Davis looked like he was doing his best to hold in his temper. “Go brief my Marines on the defenses here, then get your squad back to main camp,” he snapped. “I'm giving you the morning to sleep and unwind. After that your irregulars will have new duties, ones I'm confident you're prepared for.”

Since they were civilians the sergeant didn't like it when volunteers saluted, and he
really
didn't like being called “sir”. So Trev just nodded and went to get his squad. He spent ten minutes or so hiking around the canyon to the various vantages, showing the soldiers what they'd done. Once that was finished he circled his squad well around where Vernon's people were setting up camp and led them up the path Davis had just come down.

On the way Tom came up to walk beside him. “Got to say I appreciate Sarge's thoughtfulness. He assigns us back to camp, and just to be sure there's no trouble he sends those criminals out here so we never have to be in the same place together.”

Trev hadn't considered that. And in spite of his misgivings about Vernon he
was
a bit relieved he wouldn't have to be around him and his men. “There's that.”

He took it easy with the pace to give his sleep-deprived squad a break, so they'd reach the main camp in twenty minutes of walking instead of ten jogging. After all the traveling he'd done it felt like a trip to the mailbox, but there was no point needlessly tiring anyone.

But in spite of the easy pace he
did
stop at the first bend in the trail that gave them a view of the camp ahead, although that was more to gawk than to rest.

Davis had failed to mention that the reinforcements had finally arrived. The camp had already held hundreds of people, the last few stragglers who'd managed to make it to safety ahead of the enemy convoy. But now it held at least a hundred more, judging by the tents set up where the rest of the volunteers were camped. He also saw enough uniforms to easily fill two squads; with the sergeant and half of 2
^nd
Squad back at Cedar Creek that could only mean more soldiers had arrived as well.

A few dozen of the new arrivals were bunched up near the Aspen Hill camp, and Matt was there with Rick and a few others from his squad talking to them. Trev guessed that Davis had asked them to fill in the new volunteers on how things were run here, as well as what they'd be expected to do.

His friend broke away from the meeting as soon as he saw them coming, though, pulling Trev into a crushing hug. Which Trev returned wholeheartedly. “It's good to see you're still in one piece,” he said. “It sounds like things got pretty crazy here.”

Matt's smile faded somewhat. “Yeah, we had a few close calls, and we were the lucky ones.” He nodded to the rest of the squad and shook Tom's hand, since he was the nearest person. “How about you guys? Has it been quiet all night?”

“Nothing but crickets,” Alice said.

“Good.” Matt jerked his head towards their camp. “If your people can get set up without you, Trev, I could use a hand whipping these guys into shape. You did a good job with your squad.”

Trev glanced at Tom, who nodded and led the squad on towards camp to set up their tents. He noticed Alice just dropped her backpack off and went over to where Rick and Pete were sitting in front of their tents cleaning their weapons. The young woman gave both of her friends hugs and immediately pulled them into an animated conversation, which from the sounds of it involved Rick describing the worst parts of the previous day's fight while Pete boasted about how many blockheads he'd shot.

“All right, people,” Matt said, clapping his hands and turning back to the volunteers gathered nearby. “Get anyone in your groups who's never held a gun before, or who's been out shooting less than five times. My friend Trev here is going to give them an introductory gun safety course and then work them through some dry fire practice that will very likely save their lives.”

His friend took a breath and continued in the same loud voice. “Everyone else come with me. We've got enough ammo to let each of you demonstrate your aim, and from there I'll decide if you need to join your friends training or if you're ready to pitch in right away. If you are, I'll send you along to Corporal Williams to assign you where you're needed. So be prepared to have your groups possibly split up, and consider how you want to do that if asked.”

The gathered people, who seemed to be leaders in their groups of volunteers, nodded and dispersed to their camps to get their people situated. Matt turned towards him. “You okay with that?”

“Sure,” Trev said, although Davis had technically promised them the morning off. “I'll have my squad help out, since the training's still fresh in their minds and I've drilled it in until it's practically second nature. Although I think you should at least run everyone through the rules of gun safety and the most important firearm handling and shooting procedures just to be safe. It couldn't hurt to run them through all the dry fire drills so they can practice on their own time, too.”

“Good point.” His friend clapped him on the shoulder. “For now just get together everyone you're going to be training and set up a time and location for getting started. That's probably all the time we'll have before breakfast.”

Trev perked up at that. He'd put thoughts of food out of his mind along with sleep, and was suddenly aware of the hollow pit where his stomach should be. Of course it reminded him of his exhaustion, which chose that moment to come crashing down, but he thought he could hold it off until the late afternoon if need be and still stay kind of in sync with his squad's sleeping schedule. “Deal.”

He headed over and gathered up his people, including a reluctant Alice, and quickly explained the situation. They seemed to like the idea of passing on their knowledge, although a few looked nervous at being tossed into the instructor role. Trev assured them they'd just be doing more of what they'd already been doing for weeks, only with an audience, which seemed to help.

After a brief confusion as the new volunteers got separated between him and Matt, Trev stood in front of about forty people. That was less than he'd expected in some ways, although more than he would've liked for recruits who'd come to join the fight against the Gold Bloc. He introduced himself and his squad, then did his best to go around and get everyone's names and where they'd come from.

When he mentioned splitting up and meeting after breakfast the group balked slightly, preferring to stay with him, so Trev led fifty people towards the mess tent, biting back a yawn with every step. He hoped the civilians who'd volunteered to help cook in lieu of actually joining up wouldn't be too slammed by that many people all at once.

Just to be sure he left his people in the growing line in front of the mess tent and went in to check, weaving through a crowd of soldiers, volunteers, and refugees to get to the front. He was almost there when someone spoke up abruptly from a table off to his right.

“Hey, I remember you. You're the candy bar guy!”

Trev didn't even consider that the man was talking to him, and ignored the call as he started to round the food tables to reach the cooks serving food behind them. That is, until he saw the man stand up from his table and hurry towards him wearing a broad grin. “Trev, right?”

“Right.” It took a moment more for recognition to kick in, but when it did it was a pleasant surprise. “Trent Lincoln. I met your family west of Newtown.”

“I'm surprised you remember.” Trent held out his hand, and when Trev accepted it shook vigorously. “Man, those candy bars you gave us were the highlight of our trip.”