Retribution (Soldier Up - Book Five 5) (21 page)

              “I’ll go down there and see what’s going on,” Sergeant Bishop responded.

              “How do you propose on doing that?” SSG Roy asked.

              “I’ll find some civvies and change into those and wander on down there like I belong,” Sergeant Bishop stated.

              SSG Roy thought about it a moment, “That’s not a totally absurd idea Bishop, and there’s got to be some clothing around here some place.  Bishop you and Curtis find some clothing and I want both of you to go.  Hopkins I want you to cover them with the long-gun. Now let’s get moving.”

              Sergeant Curtis and Bishop took off searching the building they were in for civilian clothing that would fit and looked appropriate.  Fortunately for them, the Army of Baltimore had no uniforms. They wore what they had and sometimes it was pretty ratty stuff.  While they did that Corporal Hopkins set up a firing position, which would allow him to keep an eye on what Bishop and Curtis were up to down on the deck.  The two Sergeants returned with arm loads of men’s clothing, dropping it all on the floor and allowing all the team members to sift through it.  The two Sergeants got undressed and put on the civvies. It had been a few days since they shaved and two months since they had gotten a haircut, so once dressed and in the half-light they didn’t look like Marines.

Colonel Bit was fifteen miles east of Fredericks. He and his Marines had dug in and were preparing for at least one Brigade element heading their way, according to the intelligence reports they had received from the 19
th
.   The Artillery Batteries had been set up and the LAVs had been positioned over-watch on avenues of approach that Colonel Bit’s planning staff had identified.  The enemy movement towards their position was still a day or so away. They were taking their time.  Colonel Bit had sent out scouts. They estimated the Brigade size to be three thousand men and women.  They were outnumbered three-to-one. Colonel Bit joked around that it was the Army so it would be an equal fight.  It was far from the truth. As Colonel Bit understood it, these were professional soldiers, very capable soldiers equal to his Marines.  His only advantage as he saw it, were the LAVs, APCs and AAVs, which allowed him to move his forces faster to fill the gaps and bring down more pain on them.

              Regardless, Colonel Bit knew the importance of his mission. He knew that if the Brigade broke his lines they would have free reign in the rear of the 28
th
Infantry Division and nothing stopping them between them and Washington D.C. It was all or nothing.  By midnight reports were coming into his CP of engagements with the Brigades scouts. They were repelled and even some were captured.  To say the Soldiers were surprised to find Marines here was an understatement.  By two in the morning the forward elements of the Brigade had stumbled into one of the avenues of approach covered by the LAV-25s. They opened up with their 25mm guns, shredding the advancing company that got caught.  They quickly pulled back and regrouped.

              So far the Brigade hadn’t caught on to what was happening. Colonel Steven Walowski, First Brigade, Army of the Potomac was under the impression they were engaging the furthest elements of the 28
th
Infantry Division.  He knew their lines must be stretched thin if they were this far out, so he ordered all units into the fight, feeling that it wouldn’t take long to overcome the 28
th
.  Second Battalion, First Brigade was the tip of the spear for first Brigade. At 0400 they drove head-first into the center of the Marines lines.  The Marine Artillery Batteries opened up on Second Battalion. The Marines on the line returned fire with heavy machine guns and mortars.  They were successful at driving back Second Battalion because the second Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lechman wasn’t prepared for such a defeat, thinking the line was solid.

              Colonel Walowski ordered the First and Second Battalions back into the fight. He ordered Third and Forth Battalions to continue two miles east, then turn and head southwest, in an attempt to get behind them and finish this.  The fight was on, all fronts were slugging it out, and it was slowly becoming apparent to Colonel Bit that they were losing ground. They were being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of soldiers, even though his Marines were doing their job and inflicting a lot of pain.  Many of his LAVs, all of his APCs and most of his AAVs had been destroyed. He ordered the ones he had pulled back. They were looking for a gap in the Brigade lines. If they found that he would order his remaining LAV-25s through to attack the enemy from within.

              As Colonel Bit and his staff were working a new plan of attack, his CP had come under attack, the Marine line had finally broken, and the First and Second Brigade Soldiers poured through.  They were less than a half mile from his CP. Colonel Bit knew it was over; they had done the best they could.  It was only a matter of time until they were here.  The Colonel ordered his men to begin to destroy any equipment, and then reports came in that his arty batteries had been overrun.  Then it grew quiet for a moment, dead silence—the only thing they heard was the whistling of artillery flying over the CP. 

              “Sir.” Major Dunlap said. “That Artillery is outgoing.”

              “What’s your point Major?” Colonel Bit said.

              “Sir! The Artillery is OUT going!”  The Major repeated.

              Colonel Bit’s eyes lit up. “Where the hell is it coming from?”

              Three heavily armored Humvee’ pulled up to Colonel Bit’s CP, along with truck after truck filled with paratroopers. There were hundreds, if not thousands, marching into the Marines lines.  Out of the Humvee jumped out one Colonel March, who had recently been made commander of the 184
th
Infantry Regiment (Airborne), “Sorry we’re late for the party, but I wanted to make sure we made a dramatic entrance.”

              Colonel Bit knew Colonel March, but he was at the time on Brigadier General Clayton’s staff.  “Damn glad to see you!” Colonel Bit said, smiling at Colonel March. “What took you so damn long?”

              Colonel March, not missing a step, “We stopped off at the IHOP down the street for some pancakes.” Both men laughed, shook hands, and then Colonel March asked, “What’s the plan Colonel?”              “Beat the shit out of them and send them packing!” Colonel Bit responded.

              “Sounds like a reasonable plan to me,” Colonel March stated.

              With that, the two officers headed back into the CP and came up with a new plan, which included the 184
th
. 

BG Lane and three of his senior staff met with the Admiral and the respective Captains of the Iowa and Hornet.  They met to discuss the battle plan and what BG Lane was going to need from the Navy, which was more than eager to help.  The Admiral stated they didn’t sail this far under these conditions, to sit on their asses and watch.  The meeting lasted several hours, but the General and his staff were able to get a nice hot meal and a shower before heading back.  General Lane was satisfied with the battle plan. He knew there were a hundred different ways it could go wrong, yet they had covered every contingency they could think of.  It was time now to get back to his Marines and get them ready to go and prepared to move out.

              There were two Marine Force Recon teams in Baltimore now. Their original mission was for twenty-four hours and had been extended for seventy-two.  The first team, led by SSG Roy, was to scout and verify that the Supreme General’s HQ was in fact at the location General Zenrick stated. In addition, they were to verify that the Supreme General was actually there.  The second team, led by SSG Becker was to verify the primary location of the base where the largest concentration of soldiers of the Army of Baltimore was located.  They didn’t have as far to travel as the first team, about half the distance.  However, if they really fucked-up the mission the six-man team would have to deal with thousands of soldiers on that base, which would mean certain death.

              Like the first team they had to get through one of the open side streets that weren’t barricaded; they had no problem taking out the poorly trained soldiers on guard.  They stashed the bodies in a nearby house and drove quietly through town encountering no one.  Once at the point, they found themselves near a residential neighborhood, where there were several homes with large garages.  They searched the homes and found them vacant, including three empty garages.  It was a perfect place to leave the vehicles.

              Once the team was satisfied the vehicles were secure and well hidden, they took off at a slow jog through the streets.  They kept close to the houses, as they didn’t know if any of them were occupied or not. SSG Becker suspected that not all of the former gang members would be at the so- called base.  In his experience growing up in East Los Angeles with gangs, they were very territorial and he believed they wouldn’t up and leave to satisfy some Supreme General.  Like the other team they were scheduled to make their objective by midnight and report in.  There were no lights any place, so it was dark, very dark. The team also had night vision equipment and was able to move through the neighborhoods with ease.

              It would seem the only problem were the feral cats and dogs in the area that had gained their freedom after the event.  The animals were hunting at night and rummaging through the houses, causing the team to stop any forward momentum and check out the noise.  They spotted two packs of dogs, which they let pass, but the dogs weren’t interested in them or failed to see them. They arrived at their objective at 2200 and set up shop in a three-story commercial building located on a hill less than a quarter of a mile away.  From the third floor, they had a clear, unobstructed view of the base. To their surprise it wasn’t large at all, even though according to General Zenrick it housed thousands of fighters. However, the truth looked to be more like several hundred. 

              There were blinds in the windows, which helped shield the Marines from being seen.  Security was set up on the bottom floor, well-hidden and with a clear view out the front and side windows. They would be able to see any patrol coming towards their position.  They would rotate every few hours, two on rest, two on security and two on overlook.  The two on overlook would sketch what they could see of the base.  Collect the types of vehicles and identify weapons and any weapons systems, any daily routines and anything else that would be considered important.   The base itself was what used to be one of the many city parks. They had cleared the trees, created a motor pool, a parade field and a weapons range.  For housing they used the many apartment buildings that surrounded the park.

              After twenty-four hours it was apparent to the Marines that there were only at most eight hundred soldiers here.  The vehicles were mostly trucks—Toyota, Ford, Chevy, nothing special. They could have picked them up at any dealership.  The weapons they carried were light arms, mostly hunting rifles and AR-15s, but they didn’t see any machine guns or heavy weapons.  Against a largely unarmed civilian population, it doesn’t really take much to take it over.  If you have the people and guns you can eliminate the other side that has the same amount of firepower, but more soldiers.  What also mattered was what lengths the opposing force was willing to go. The more brutal you were, unfortunately, the odds were more in your favor of conquering your opponent.  Unless your opponent has far superior firepower, a larger force and more training, you can’t beat that.

              The Marines sent back their reports to the rear, follow-on orders came, and they were told to sit tight and continue to collect information and radio it back.  In the meantime, following the reports back from the Marines in the field, Brigadier General Lane felt the need to get some clarification from General Zenrick.  BG Lane sent for the General Zenrick, “Good evening General Zenrick.”  BG Lane was trying not to be condescending towards him.

              General Zenrick only nodded his acknowledgment and sat down.  BG Lane had brought in three very large intimidating, heavily armed Marines that looked as mean as hell. General Lane sat down across from him.  General Zenrick was staring directly at the three Marines and BG Lane, “General Zenrick I don’t think you’ve been totally honest with me,” BG Lane simply stated.

              “How so?”  General Zenrick said bluntly.

              “Well for starters, the base you mentioned, it doesn’t house thousands of soldiers, maybe a few hundred at most.”  BG Lane was looking intently at General Zenrick, waiting for a reaction from the man.

              “How in the hell would you know that!” yelled General Zenrick.  There was the reaction BG Lane was looking for.  General Zenrick lunged at BG Lane, but one of the Marines was prepared for it and butt stroked General Zenrick with his weapon, knocking him clear across the CP.  The two other Marines picked him up, dragging him back to his chair and forced him into it.

              “We have boots on the ground, watching.  That’s how we know.  You’d better start being straight with me General, or I’m going to let these three Marines have their way with you.  They’re itch ‘in to tear you limb-from-limb.”  BG Lane said, giving General Zenrick a hard look.

              General Zenrick looked from Marine-to-Marine, and each Marine stared right back at him, smiling and shaking their head. The General was thinking about his next move.  “There are no more than…maybe….seven-to-eight hundred men and women there.  The rest are spread-out through their respective neighborhoods.  Selma, the Supreme General, was never able to convince everyone to leave their hood. The plan was if we were ever attacked, they would defend their own turf.”

              This was excellent news to Brigadier General Lane; it wasn’t much of an Army as it was still a very large, divided gang.  There was no way the so-called Army of Baltimore could mount a successful attack on his Marines and expect to win. He still had the Iowa and her guns, as well as the aircraft on the Hornet.  BG Lane ordered the prisoner returned to the makeshift brig. It was time to get the show on the road.  General Lane sent word out to the Hornet and Iowa the plan was a go and to implement it within thirty minutes. 

              The Marines located near the Supreme Generals compound were ordered to stay; they had already sent in coordinates and confirmed that Selma was in the headquarters building.  Their new orders were amended. They were to verify that the
Iowa
’s shells were on target, and then after the shelling to give an assessment of damage.