Blue Plague: Decisions, page 24
“Ten Apaches, twenty Blackhawks, and four Loaches,” Steve answered.
“Jimmy, keep the fixed wings on standby. You decide how many but if we get in shit be ready to send everything you can,” Bruce told him, and Jimmy nodded.
“You still haven’t told us how you’re going to attack them yet,” Angela said.
“I haven’t made up my mind. It all depends on them,” Bruce told her, and Angela shook her head.
Stephanie stood up, looking at Bruce. “That’s okay Bruce, you will fix it, but I have a request,” she said. Bruce just nodded his head. “I want Omega to leave Friday. Wednesday is Buffy’s birthday and she’s turning thirteen,” Stephanie told him.
“I’m okay, Stephanie,” Buffy said from the back of the room. Stephanie just stared at her and Buffy looked down.
“Fine, then Omega and Gamma leaves Friday. Platoon leaders start vehicle checks by squad. I want all gear loaded by Sunday and all equipment and munitions loaded by Monday. Omega and Gamma will have Tuesday and Wednesday off, then we get back in the war,” Bruce said.
“Bruce, what are you going to say over the radio?” Stephanie asked.
“Still working on that too,” he said.
Angela leaned over to Stephanie. “If I hit him, will you protect me?” she asked.
“Just shoot him in the leg,” Stephanie told her.
“Well come on before you shoot me. Let me talk on the radio first,” Bruce said, grabbing his rifle and heading to the door with Angela and Stephanie hot on his heels. The rest of the command group watched them leave and turned to Mike.
“What? Don’t look at me. I have no idea what he’s going to do,” Mike told them.
“Mike, come on,” Willie said.
Adam cleared his throat from the back of the room as he stood up. “Has Bruce led all your attacks so far?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?” Marcus asked.
“Well, I’ve watched some of them with dozens of others and I have to admit he is very unorthodox, but he knows what he is doing,” Adam said.
“He pulls them out of his ass,” Mike said.
“That may be, but he knows what he’s going to do, or I should say he has several ideas,” Adam said.
“For most of our attacks he’s had plans laid out days in advance,” Willie told him.
“Most,” Adam said, grinning. “Those are the attacks he’s not worried about. He wants as many of the odds in his favor as he can get, then makes a plan. I bet if I ask him how to attack the government sites he could give me thirty plans off the top of his head.”
“He has sixteen working plans now,” Mike said.
“The more I know about Bruce, the more I like him,” Adam said and looked around him at the kids. “It’s his family that scares the shit out of me,” Adam stated.
“Bruce finally let me look at those videos he has and I can’t even begin to tell you how he comes up with his plans,” Marcus told them.
Paul stood up and looked around at the group. “I can say this to everyone’s face. He is the only one I want running this war. He has proven his ability to lead and command. He doesn’t sacrifice people for nothing and he loves this clan. I have not seen that in anyone else here. The next closest would be Mike,” Paul said, pointing at Mike. Then Paul stared at him. “Mike, you’re a great warrior but you let your heart get in the way of some of your decisions. For that I’m grateful though, because you are the only person that can stop Bruce if he gets out of hand.”
Mike smiled. “Thank you Paul.”
“I wasn’t saying it to make you feel better, I was just stating the truth,” Paul said and looked at the four new command members. “Each of you has the ability to lead but needs to work on it. I hope you’re taking the responsibility that Bruce put on you seriously.” Paul gathered up his stuff before continuing, “Because with both Bruce and Mike in the field fighting this war, you might be called on fast to lead.” He nodded curtly at them, then turned and walked out the door.
Chapter 17
Gopher was in his studio as the three walked in. There were three studios around one master control room for the radio station. Angela and Stephanie went to their studio and started going over the notes for their broadcast at noon.
Gopher saw Bruce and waved him in. Music was blaring out of the speakers and Gopher turned down the volume. “Hey Bruce, ready to address the nation?” Gopher asked.
“Yep,” Bruce said, laying down his rifle and grabbing a pair of headphones.
When the song ended, Gopher began. “Hello again, I’m still here, and to those that sent in requests for Lawrence Whelk, forget it. America, I’ve got a treat for you. Back from another successful trip in the wilderness we have Bruce, the commander of Omega,” Gopher almost shouted.
“Hello America,” Bruce stated calmly.
“Bruce, what brings you on the air today?” Gopher asked.
“Well Gopher, Omega has refitted and is heading back out and I just wanted to talk to America,” Bruce said.
“Bruce, is it true Omega’s sister unit Gamma has brought in over two thousand survivors?” Gopher asked.
“Yes it is, and we are projecting another two thousand,” Bruce told him.
“Bruce, can you talk about Kansas City?” Gopher asked.
“What do you want to know?”
Gopher asked, “What was it like facing over five million blues?”
“Well it was interesting for a few minutes. Omega is used to grilled steaks in the field, and with that many attacking us I had to cancel that and it pissed off the troops. I did make it up to them though and let them grill out when we burnt the bodies and to let America know, that pile is still burning,” Bruce said.
“You canceled their steaks?” Gopher blurted out.
“Yeah, I mean most of the time, after my troops eat steak they want to take a nap. It would be very unprofessional to take naps with that many attacking us. Now in Little Rock, since we only fought a million, I let them have their steak. I mean, it was just a million. Now before anyone takes off to those cities, I want to tell them they are not pacified. We just went to pick a fight with large hordes. Those cities still have thousands left in them and more have moved in since we left,” Bruce told him.
“You say million like it’s a small number,” Gopher said to Bruce and not the radio.
“Come on Gopher, Omega has bagged close to twenty million, give or take a million. My troops don’t even like to get excited unless we are picking a fight with at least half a million,” Bruce said.
“That’s a shitload of infected,” Gopher pointed out.
“You’ve seen the two hundred miles of I-10 piled up with bodies. Omega likes to kill lots of blues,” Bruce told him.
“No shit Bruce, but what about the gangs?” Gopher asked Bruce in disbelief.
“Well, since we have to go out long distances now to find hordes, the troops want to just kill the gangs wholesale. I reminded them I’m in command, and for the first time I allowed two gangs to surrender, as your audience heard. Omega just wanted to kill them all, but like I said, we are rebuilding America. I want the gangs, the lowest life form we have, to know they have a choice. Omega can pop a mushroom on your ass but the troops like working up close.” Bruce stretched the truth some.
“Omega wanted to kill the gangs instead of letting them surrender?” Gopher asked as the man in the control station was motioning for him to speak into the mic.
“Gopher, my troops are leaving their family and friends when we go out. They don’t mind it if we get to kill lots of blues and gangs, and of course, there’s always steak,” Bruce said.
“What’s the largest gang so far Omega has fought?” Gopher asked.
“The gang we wiped out in south Texas was almost five thousand. It was hard to get an actual count because of all the body parts. The team moved in and just waded in blood.” Bruce didn’t really stretch the truth that much.
“Five thousand,” Gopher said. He didn’t know Bruce had just wasted the camp with bombs.
“Yeah, it took a long time to kill them. I mean we were there for almost two days.” Bruce was really lying now.
“Two days!” Gopher shouted. “Bruce, have you found any more gangs that size?” he asked.
“Oh yeah, several. One is in Mississippi just outside of Grenada on the east side of the lake. They are about three thousand strong,” Bruce told him.
“Why in the hell are you saying this over the air?” Gopher asked, trying to cover his microphone up.
Bruce took Gopher’s hands off the mic. “Gopher, it’s not like they actually scare my troops. We’re going to attack them in two weeks.”
Gopher grabbed the mic and covered it with his hands again. “Bruce, they can hear you,” Gopher whispered loudly and he was right, America was listening.
Bruce moved his hands off the mic again. “Gopher, I hope they can because I want them to get ready if they are going to fight us. My troops are wanting to face a group that knows how to fight. They love taking prisoners that are fighting so I can teach them manners. Another reason I’m saying this is if that gang leaves and doesn’t take the hostages with them, Omega will let them go. Just as long as they don’t enter Arkansas or Louisiana, but if they take the hostages we follow and kill everyone. If we move to them and they are still there we will give them two hours to surrender, and if not we attack and America gets to listen as I teach,” Bruce told him.
“Are you fucking insane!?” Gopher shouted, causing some feedback from the sound system.
“You are the second person today that has asked me that, but no, not today. Just to let the group in Grenada know, we took some of your men,” Bruce said, then read off their names. “We know all about you and your little outpost to try to see us if we attack you. But they are forgetting our motto, ‘Your last vision before death.’ If you see us you’re already dead. Oh yeah, and I can’t forget about the gang in south Mississippi outside of Laurel. We know about you but y’all aren’t that big. If Omega shows up, I’m sorry but you won’t be given a chance to surrender. If we ride that far the troops will just have to kill you. If you leave the hostages unharmed I won’t follow you. To either gang, if you start trying to harm hostages to make us back off, I’ll just level your camp. Hostages, I’m sorry but I can’t allow them to escape,” Bruce said, grinning.
“Have you ever played Risk? This is not how you fight a war. You don’t tell your enemy you are coming and when,” Gopher said.
Bruce laughed, “Gopher, they aren’t that good of an enemy. If I could tell all the blues to come and see us I would,” he lied. “Omega isn’t scared. There is a super horde moving down the Eastern seaboard of about twenty million. I’ve had to talk my subordinates out of launching an attack on them. If they move closer we will, but I refuse to have several semi-trailers loaded just with steak to go that far,” Bruce ended, grinning.
“If I make you mad will you tell me so I can apologize?” Gopher asked and Bruce tapped the mic to remind him they were on the air. “I mean if—do you allow friends to apologize before you come and see them?” Gopher asked.
“My friends never fear me, that’s only for my enemies. The clock starts now for both gangs, and if the hostages are harmed we come for you. I don’t care how many steaks we have to bring. We will chase you off the continent,” Bruce said, scowling into the mic.
“Ah, thank you, Bruce, it’s now time for the news with Angela and Stephanie,” Gopher said and the on air light went off. “Bruce, how could you tell them you’re coming?” Gopher asked.
“Part of my plan, so don’t say anything else over the radio about it or you could cost me men,” Bruce said, standing up and grabbing his rifle. “I have given up too much of my soul Gopher, but I’m willing to give up the rest to win this war.”
“Bruce, you’re kind of important so please don’t take unnecessary risks,” Gopher said. Bruce didn’t answer as he walked out and sat in the control booth where he listened to the girls do the news. Gopher’s wife brought in food and took it in to him as Bruce waited on the girls.
When they finished and Gopher went back on the air, Bruce looked at the man running the control area. “How long does Gopher stay on?” he asked.
“0900 to 2100 and the rest of his family take turns covering the night shift,” he replied as Angela and Stephanie came out.
“Well, did you enjoy coming to work with us?” Angela asked.
“Hell no! They won’t let me play with the buttons,” Bruce said, getting up and walking out with them.
“Bruce, I hope you know what you’re doing,” Stephanie said as she climbed in Bruce’s truck.
“Me too, Little Red, me too,” Bruce said as he drove back to the farm.
Sunday morning, Bruce woke up to a knock on his door. Looking at the clock, Bruce read 0810. ‘If someone hung themselves I’m gonna be pissed’, Bruce thought, getting out of the bed. Opening the door, Bruce saw Jake in the hall. “Dad, you need to see this,” he said and headed downstairs. Bruce followed in his underwear.
Jake led him down to Mission Control flight area. The east wall was covered in large monitors and there were three rows of workstations running the width of the room. Jake stopped in the middle of the wall of monitors and Bruce stood beside him. “Replay,” Jake said over his shoulder.
A forty-inch monitor blinked and Bruce recognized the gang’s compound in south Mississippi. Then a shitload of motorcycles and trucks pulled out, heading north. “Damn, they left,” Bruce said.
“Not really, Dad,” Jake said.
“They didn’t leave the hostages?” Bruce asked.
“Most of them, but look at the route they’re taking,” Jake said, holding up a map.
“Shit, they’re moving to Grenada,” Bruce said. “When did they leave?” he asked.
“0651 this morning,” Jake said.
“How many hostages are left?” Bruce asked.
“They are just wandering around the compound, but we guess it’s close to eight hundred. It looks like they took a couple of hundred with them,” Jake told him. “Live feed of the gang,” Jake called over his shoulder.
“They aren’t even halfway,” Bruce said.
“No, it will take them three and a half hours to make it but I’m putting it at four and a half. They will have to stay on back roads and avoid all towns,” Jake said.
“What do you have overhead now?” Bruce asked.
“Two MQ-1 Predators, one armed with two Hellfires. I launched two Reapers and they will be on station in fifteen minutes. Each is armed with fourteen Hellfires,” Jake said.
“Fourteen!” Bruce yelled, making Jake jump back.
“Yeah Dad,” he said.
“How did you do that? The Predator can only carry two?” Bruce shouted.
“Not the Reaper Dad, it can carry fourteen,” Jake told him.
“So that’s how Nancy rained down Hellfires?” Bruce asked and Jake nodded. “How many Predator-type aircraft do we have?” Bruce asked.
“Twenty-one MQ-1, twenty Reapers, and twelve Gray Eagles,” Jake told him.
Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why wasn’t I told?” he asked mildly.
“Dad, you’ve only cared about the pictures not the types,” Jake answered.
“Jake, if one can carry fourteen Hellfires that is a weapons platform first and an observation platform second,” Bruce told him. He looked back at the monitor. “Have they stopped yet?” he asked.
“No Dad, and they are averaging fifty-one miles per hour,” Jake told him.
“How many more of the Reapers can you launch and how fast can they get there?” Bruce asked.
“I have one team ready to launch one now and I can wake up some more pilots and operators and get the other seven up in thirty minutes, give or take. Flight time there is just over half an hour,” Jake said, and Bruce snapped his head at Jake. “The Reaper can fly over five hundred miles per hour,” Jake informed him.
“So not only can it carry a ton of shit, it’s fast,” Bruce said, shaking his head. “Launch the super Predator and wake up enough to launch four more. Someone get Steve and get Omega ready to roll in an hour,” Bruce said, and Jake pointed at people who took off running.
“What are you thinking, Dad?” Jake asked.
“To be honest, I was hoping the other gang would have been the one to move south. The compound there is easier to take. If I would have known we had super Predators I would’ve kept them on station and dumped on them when they stopped,” Bruce told him.
“They are Reapers,” Jake told him.
“Stack your planes every four hundred feet starting at five thousand feet. Keep the slow Predators over the gang and the Reapers on the edge, but close enough to start raining down on them when we need it,” Bruce told him.
“How do you know they are going to stop?” Jake asked.
“Son we have watched both of these gangs for months and they have never traveled to each other, have they?” Bruce asked, and Jake agreed. “They can’t just show up or they will get shot, and I told them the other gang has lookouts so they will have to stop. Then they will send in a few guys and talk to the other gang,” Bruce told him.
“That makes sense,” Jake said. “What if they don’t?” he asked.
“We hit them when they are fifty miles from the other camp,” Bruce told him as Steve walked in.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Steve, get your wing up. You will be taking half of Omega by air to the southern compound in Mississippi and they will be packing heavy. I don’t care how you get us there but we need to get them in a few hours. Let me know something in half an hour,” Bruce said, and Steve took off running.
Mike walked in and looked at Bruce standing in his underwear, barefoot, looking at the monitor. “What’s so important that you’re in underwear only?” he asked. Bruce told him and Mike looked at the screen. “Yeah that would do it,” he said.
“Jake, would you tell someone to go and get my robe and house shoes?” Bruce asked, never taking his eyes off the monitor. Jake pointed at someone and they took off. “Jake, what were you going to do?” Bruce asked.
