Surviving the Dead 03: Warrior Within (44 page)

He smiled at me, put down his food, and leaned forward to throw his arms around my shoulders, squeezing hard. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see your ugly-ass face, Gabe.”

I laughed in spite of myself and patted him on the back. “I’m happy to see you too, old friend. Now get the hell off me.”

He sat back down and picked up his food. “How’s Allison doing? She okay?”

“She’s fine. Busy as hell, and worried about you, but fine.”

He nodded, his hands slowly falling to his lap, eyes distant. “God, I miss her. I can’t wait to get home. I can’t believe it’s only been six weeks. Feels like forever.”

“Just imagine how she feels.” 

“Yeah.” He was silent for a while after that.

I heard footsteps approaching, and looked through my goggles to see Great Hawk drawing near. I climbed down to help him carry up his equipment, and once we were settled, the Apache dug a touchscreen device out of his pack, touched a few icons, dialed a number, and in a few seconds, Steve’s face appeared on the screen. Great Hawk propped the tablet on an old roof-mounted A/C unit, and we all sat back far enough for the Army captain to see us.

“Damn good to see you alive, Riordan. Do you need medical attention?”

“No, I’m fine. Listen, Steve, we need to get things moving here. We don’t have much time.”

Steve’s eyes went flat. “What do you mean?”

Eric told us his story, and relayed all the intelligence he had gathered. From start to finish, it took a little over two hours. When he mentioned the supply cache with the Chinese rifles, Russian ammo, and Korean shipping manifests, I saw something flicker across Steve’s face.

“What do you make of that, Captain?” I asked, pointedly.

He sat still, his face blank. Several seconds passed. “Gentlemen, you deserve an answer to that question, but right now, there’s no time. It would take too long to explain. Furthermore, it’s irrelevant to the task at hand. We can discuss it once the Legion has been dealt with, and you’re all home safe.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Eric held up a hand. “He’s right, Gabe. There’s no time. We’ll deal with it later.”

It was frustrating, but I bit down on my retort and let Eric continue. By the time he was finished, the mood had grown decidedly grim.

“Lucian is the key to all of this,” Eric said. “If we can get our hands on him, we can find out everything there is to know about the Legion. Their numbers, alliances, bases, supply caches, everything. He’s the mastermind behind their whole operation. And the sooner we get him, the better. He’s planning an offensive against Hollow Rock, and there’s no telling when he’ll leave Central to oversee it. If that happens, we might not get another chance to capture him. We’ll be back to square one.”

For the first time that night, Great Hawk spoke up. “I do not believe that Lucian is the only leader. The evidence is clear that someone is helping the Legion. There is a larger group, probably the Midwest Alliance, that is giving them troops and equipment. From what you are telling us, their numbers have doubled from what Captain McCray thought they were a few months ago. There is no way they have grown so much by capturing people as they did with you. Also, there is the matter of the Spetsnaz commando. I believe there is a larger game being played.”

Steve tried to keep his face blank, but I saw his jaw twitch, and he didn’t quite keep all the irritation out of his voice. “That may be, Great Hawk, but again, it’s irrelevant to the task at hand. I agree with Riordan; we need to capture this Lucian character, and as many other insurgent leaders as we can. We have assets not far from your location. We need to mount an offensive against that warehouse, and we need to take Lucian and his lieutenants alive. Eric, how long before the Legion starts searching for your crew?”

“We’re not expected back for a week, and it took us two days to get here. So a minimum of nine days before the Legion realizes their men are missing.”

“Good. That will give us more than enough time to send in infantry and air support. It’ll be tricky maneuvering around the Legion’s patrols, but there’s nothing for it. If we have to engage them, we will.”  

“Steve, I think you’re forgetting something,” Eric said. 

The captain’s eyebrows came together. “What?”

“The hostages. There’s more than thirty women being held as sex slaves, and at least forty men working in the tunnels.”

McCray nodded. “We’ll have to take steps to ensure their safety. But for now, I’ll get on the horn and get the ball rolling with the reinforcements. Grabovsky, Wilkins, and Marshall will be airborne within the hour. I’ll give them your info and have them contact you. The unit closest to you is a Ranger platoon. They’ll be under orders to split in two, with one of our people as liaison to each squad.”

“They are not going to like that, Captain,” Great Hawk intoned.

“Right now, I couldn’t give less of a shit what they like or don’t like. I’ve been dealing with the Legion for over six months, and I’m ready to put an end to this mess. Make no mistake, gentlemen, this is a full-court press. I’m throwing everything I have at this, including the kitchen sink. So fuck the politics, and let’s get this done. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Eric said, speaking for all of us.

Steve turned his head, and I heard the rustling of papers being shuffled off camera. “I think the best way to proceed is to have the two squads of Rangers approach from the north and the east, respectively. They’re closest, so they’ll be in position first. I’ll take charge of the Hollow Rock militia personally, and cover the south flank. Anyone who escapes will be driven west, right into the waiting arms of an entire company from the First Reconnaissance Expeditionary. I know those people; I served in that brigade for eight months. They’re out of Fort Bragg, and every last one of them has seen action. The Legion won’t stand a chance.”

“There’s still the matter of the tunnels,” Eric said. “If we just go at them head-on, then when the fighting starts, a lot of Legion troops will try to escape that way. That will make it difficult to rescue the hostages.”

“Okay. What do you suggest we do about it?”

“We don’t want this to be a slugfest. Too many of the wrong people could get killed. This needs to be a surgical strike. I have a plan, but it hinges on whether or not you can provide me with what I need.”

Steve said, “And what would that be?”

“First, I need these two guys.” He pointed his thumbs at Great Hawk and me. “We’ll also need a few soldiers to help us. Maybe five or six men altogether. Seasoned veterans only, no
newbies. They need to have experience conducting operations at night, preferably in an urban environment.”

“That can be arranged,” Steve said. “What else?”

“I know a way in that won’t alert the men in the warehouse, but we’ll have to take out the perimeter watch and a few other guards to make it happen. How many snipers do we have at our disposal?”

He leaned back in his chair and thought for a few seconds. “Each squad, both Rangers and regular infantry, have designated marksmen. But full-fledged snipers? Including you, Great Hawk, and Garrett, that gives us maybe seven or eight.”

“That should be enough. Can we outfit them with the same long-range thermals as these two?” Eric gestured to Great Hawk and me.

Steve grimaced. “We can, but I’ll have to call in some favors.”

“Call whoever you have to. Just get us those scopes.”

“Before I do that, how about you lay out your plan?”

Eric did.

I could tell he had been thinking about it for a while. It was careful, methodical, and detailed. He had thought through solutions to every contingency it was possible to anticipate. As for the rest, we would just have to adapt and overcome. But on the whole, it was a good plan, and I said as much to Captain McCray. He agreed, and Great Hawk offered no objections.

“Lucky for you, the Rangers have a couple of Barretts on hand. Between that, and Garrett’s .338, you should have all the firepower you need. But once you get the hostages out, haul ass. I’m not going to wait long to send in the cavalry. If you can, grab that Lucian bastard while you’re at it.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for him,” I said.

“Very well. I’ll have the Pave Hawk make a supply drop as soon as I can. In the meantime, you three get some rest, and get ready to move out at first light. I want you to get back to the Legion’s encampment and conduct surveillance. Keep me in the loop, and stay in touch with the other operators. I want this to go smoothly, gentlemen. No fuck-ups.”

“I have a question,” Eric said.

“Go ahead.”

“If you’re leading the militia, who is going to be coordinating things back in Hollow Rock?”

“General Jacobs is on his way as we speak. He should be here in the next twenty-four hours. He’ll be overseeing the operation personally.”

“This must be important to the top brass,” I said. Steve’s eyes shifted in the camera image. “Isn’t it unusual for the head of Special Operations Command to personally take part in combat operations?”

“Is used to be,” Steve replied. “We live in a different world now. You men have your orders. Update me if anything changes. Any questions?”

No one responded.

“Good. I’ll contact you when the Pave Hawk is inbound with your supplies. Good luck, gentlemen.”

McCray reached forward, and the screen went blank.

*****

The Pave Hawk caught up with us on our way back to the Legion’s central headquarters. It dropped off food, ammunition, and explosives. Additionally, Steve had provided combat gear for Eric—MARPAT fatigues, ghillie suit, web gear, NVGs, a radio, M-4 carbine and Beretta M-9 sidearm (both suppressor equipped), first-aid kit, tactical light, combat optics, laser sights, and an assault pack stocked with MREs. We divided the rest of the new equipment among us. No one was happy about carrying the extra weight, but we were determined not to let it slow us down.

At the bottom of the crate was a black metal box. Eric opened it, and showed it to me with a broad grin. Inside were three stainless steel syringes with short needles and plungers, and a small handbook with detailed instructions explaining what was in them, and the correct way to use them. I didn’t recognize the name of the drug. It had about a two dozen letters, and was completely unpronounceable. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was just a random assortment of consonants.

“I’m guessing that’s for Lucian?” I said.

He nodded. “And Aiken, and the engineer in charge of constructing the tunnels.”

“Let’s hope we get a chance to take them alive.”

Eric’s grin faded. He closed the box and stashed the syringes in his pack.

We made good time getting back to the warehouse, reaching it in a single day’s hard travel. Great Hawk took point the whole way, and set a blistering pace. Eric and I were beat by the time we reached our destination, but the Apache was no worse for wear. I was beginning to understand why General Jacobs held him in such high esteem.

Under cover of night, we set up hides on three hillsides that, between the three of us, gave us 360-degree coverage of the compound. Once set up, we settled down to wait.

Two more days passed before all the pieces were in position. It was a tense time for Eric and me, but Great Hawk seemed to be enjoying himself. Nothing amused him more than having a patrol pass a few feet away, and not see him.

“Do me a favor, Hawk.” I radioed to him after watching him ghost three Legion troops for nearly an hour.

“What is that?”

“Don’t tie anybody’s shoelaces together. We don’t want them getting suspicious. And don’t slit any throats either.”

“I will make you no promises.”

I don’t think he was joking. 

I stayed on the satellite phone when I could, and worried over my dwindling supply of batteries. It was a relief when Steve finally got all the leaders on the net at the same time and we hammered out the final details.

Grabovsky was with the Ranger squad to the north, and Marshall was with the one to the east. Both were dug in less than half a mile from the Legion compound. Neither had been spotted by patrols yet, but the longer we waited, the more likely that possibility became. Captain McCray was leading the Hollow Rock militia straight up the middle from the south, and Wilkins had met the infantry platoon converging from the west. The Rangers would be the primary assault force, with Steve’s troops providing reinforcements, and the regular infantry staying put to catch anyone who tried to escape. Their commanding officer wasn’t happy about not being in the middle of the fight, but Steve explained to him that we needed seasoned, experienced troops on standby to hunt down anyone who got away. It would be better to herd them in one direction than have to chase them all over hell’s creation. The CO hadn’t liked it, but he’d agreed. Not that he had much of a choice; General Jacobs had made it clear that McCray’s orders were the law.

The two Apache Longbow attack helicopters were standing by and could be on station within a matter of minutes, along with a pair of Chinooks to transport hostages and prisoners back to Hollow Rock. The AC-130 would be in the air shortly after nightfall, but other than helping us track down escapees using their FLIR, I hoped we wouldn’t need its services. Gunships aren’t known for subtlety.