Hatred in the Ashes, page 22
Ben and Anna hurried back to the SUV, geared up as much as possible, and then headed east. They had walked for perhaps half a mile when the Rebel artillery barrage began. Ike was really laying it on heavy, and the Rebel gunners were right on target.
Rebel 155's and 203mm, located just across the border, were laying down a wall of steel.
Ben and Anna didn't have time to dig a hole, but they did find a deep ravine and hurriedly got in it, huddling close to one side while the artillery shells came crashing around them. Bits of hot steel filled the air, whistling a deadly song. The Rebel gunners were using various types of rounds, including high explosive-fragmentation/projectile and white phosphorus. The HE projectile contained sixty anti-personnel grenades.
That round was among the most feared and dreaded of any artillery round.
Just a half mile to the west of where Ben and Anna huddled in the ravine explosions were ravaging the night, and the sky was lit up with fires as fuel tanks were ignited. From a half mile away, whenever the heavy artillery barrage let up for a few seconds, Ben and Anna could hear the 255
faint cries of the horribly wounded men and women in the convoy.
A full squad of troops came running through the brush and timber, not in panic, but just getting away from the deadly barrage that was raining down on the convoy.
They ran right into the decidedly unfriendly fire of Ben and Anna.
The pair cut the squad by fifty percent during the first few seconds of fire.
"What the hell!" a man called. "It's the Rebels. They've come across the border. They've sent ground troops onto US soil. Get on the horn and alert the-"
He never got to finish. Ben stitched him with 5.56 rounds and Anna started screwing the lid of the coffin down tight by tossing two grenades into the still knotted-up band of Federals.
Ben finished it with a full magazine.
He didn't know if someone got off a transmission in the seconds before the squad was finished. He could not take the chance. He had to assume they did.
"Get some full magazines off the bodies," Ben told Anna. "Quickly, Baby.
Then we've got to get the hell out of here. I'll stand watch."
Anna hurriedly began filling a couple of rucksacks with full mags and grenades. They both ignored the moaning and the cries for help from the wounded.
"You picked the wrong side, boys and girls," he muttered. "You pays your money, you takes your chances."
Ben found a walkie-talkie that worked, and then they started moving swiftly toward the east southeast. The going was very slow and chancy.
The night was cloudy, threatening rain, and as black as pitch, visibility limited to only a few yards in front of them.
Gradually they began putting the sounds of battle behind them, but they would have to put more miles behind them before they no longer heard the deadly sounds of the rolling thunder of the barrage.
During a rest stop Ben said, "We're only a few miles 256
north of our border, and maybe only a mile or so from a small river.
When we reach the river we'll stay on the west side and cut due south.
We'll be home by dawn."
She sighed. "A deep tub filled with hot water and bubble bath. I can hardly wait."
"You're gonna have a long wait, bitch!" The voice came out of the darkness. "But I think we can come up with something to help us pass the time."
Ben lifted his CAR and pulled the trigger, burning about half a mag in the direction of the voice. The instant Ben fired, Anna threw herself to one side and came up on one knee shooting. When Ben had burned half a mag he went to ground and rolled to his right, offering no target to the Federals.
The sudden resistance from Ben and Anna was totally unexpected by the Federal patrol. The voice would never speak again: Ben's fire had taken him in the chest and neck. Anna's CAR spat and hammered and knocked two Federals down. The other members of the enemy patrol fired at where Ben and Anna had been, their rounds chewing up the earth and nothing more.
Ben and Anna fired together at the muzzle flashes and put down several more members of the patrol.
"How many of them are there?" a Federal called.
"Just two," he was answered. "General Raines and his bitch kid. Has to be them."
"Mel?"
There was no reply.
"Dick?"
Nothing.
"Sarge?"
Sarge had been the first to go down from Ben's firing. He would never speak again.
"Allen?"
No response.
"Bobby?"
That was answered by a groan.
"Jesus, Don, there's only two of us left."
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"What the hell do you want me to do about it? I can't raise the dead."
"Let's get the hell out of here."
?No way, Merle. Taking those two will mean a promotion for both of us.
Think about it, man. Couldn't you use the extra money?"
"I guess so."
"No more talk," Don said. "Let's just take them."
"How?"
"Watch me and learn."
But it was all over for Don. Ben had pulled the pin on a fire-frag grenade and tossed it. The mini-bomb landed a couple of feet from Don and blew, scattering various body parts of the Federal over what had been a large portion of his immediate area.
"Help me, please," Bobby moaned.
Bobby was ignored. "Don?" Merle called. "Don, talk to me, man."
The bits and pieces of Don remained silent. And would forever.
"I'm hurt bad," Bobby called.
"Shut up, Bobby. For God's sake, please shut up! I can't think with you talking."
"I hurt, Merle. Man, I really hurt. You got to help me, Merle. Please!"
"Be quiet, Bobby."
Ben and Anna said nothing, not wanting to give away their position. They waited. In the distance, the pounding of Rebel artillery could still be heard. Ike had ordered his people to pour it on and keep it up.
"Mel's still alive, Merle," Bobby called. "He's right beside me and he's got a pulse. Please help us."
"What the hell do you want me to do, Bobby? Just tell me that, will you?"
"Give it up, that's what. Jesus Christ, man! What choice do we have?
Rebels will be compassionate to prisoners. That's what I keep hearing from people who've fought
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them. But they won't give no quarter to people who keep righting them.
They'll kill us, Merle."
"Well ... you two are hurt. Mel's still alive? You sure about that?"
"Hell yes, I'm sure. I can hear him breathing. He's right beside me."
"All right, Bobby. OK. We'll do it your way. Hey, General Raines, or whoever you are. We surrender. We give up, man! You hear me?"
"I hear you. Leave your weapons on the ground and stand up," Ben told the men. "Hands in the air. If I see what even looks like a weapon, I'll kill you. Do it!"
"Mel can't stand up, General. He's unconscious."
"Then you and your buddy stand up ... right now!"
Two shadowy forms rose slowly to their feet, hands in the air.
"Walk toward me a few steps," Ben told them. "Right there. Stop and sit down. Both your hands on the top of your helmet, fingers laced. Do it."
"Watch them, Anna. I'll see about the wounded one."
Using a small flashlight, Ben checked out the one called Mel. He was indeed alive, his pulse strong. One round had knocked his helmet off, and another round had creased his skull. He would have one hell of a tremendous headache when he came out of it, very much alive.
Now what to do with the prisoners?
As if reading his mind, Anna said, "We could just shoot them. It would save us a lot of trouble."
Ben didn't know if she was joking or not. With Anna you never knew.
"Let's keep them alive, Anna," Ben said, shutting up the very sudden and urgent babbling from the two prisoners.
"Whatever," Anna said.
Ben checked out Bobby's wounds. They were very minor, but painful.
"You let us go, General," Merle said. "And we're gone from here. We won't cause you any problems, and that's a solid promise, right, Bobby?"
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"Oh, you bet! A promise."
"Be quiet," Ben told them.
"Yes, sir! Whatever you say, sir."
Ben quickly made up his mind. "Take off your boots, both of you."
"Our boots?" Bobby asked.
"Those things you have on your feet. Take them off. The socks, too. Toss them over here. Easy now."
"Yes, sir."
A moment later, the two Federals were barefooted.
"Strip!" Anna said.
Ben looked at her in the darkness and smiled.
"Strip? Is that what you said?" Merle asked.
"Strip, damnit!" Anna said.
"Yes, ma'am!" Bobby said, and started peeling down to the buff.
In a few moments, both men were standing buck-assed naked. Ben rolled up their clothing and he and Anna gathered up all their gear and the weapons of the Federals.
"Your friend on the ground has a bad head wound," Ben lied. "If you move him, he'll die. If he wakes up, he'll probably live. You'd better stay with him. If you try to follow us, we'll kill you."
"We're staying right here, General," Merle said. "Bet on that."
Ben and Anna turned and disappeared into the darkness.
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Chapter Twenty-six
Ben and Anna reached the river about a half hour later and cut south.
They walked steadily, but not hurriedly. Ben figured they at least had a good two hour's head start, maybe a bit longer, on any pursuit from the Federals, if they were lucky-But luck had a nasty habit of running out.
The two men would stay with their wounded buddy for a time-until they figured out Ben had lied to them about the seriousness of his wound.
Then they would take off, trooping naked and barefoot back to their lines.
The artillery barrage had ceased its deadly rumbling in the distance.
There would be practically nothing left of the long Federal convoy, and damn little left of the road on which it had been traveling.
After several hours of following the river and making their way through the thick brush, Ben and Anna reached a clearing.
"The no-man's-land," Ben said. "It runs all around our borders. It was originally only a few hundred yards wide, but in many places now it's several miles wide." He took the radio from his rucksack and keyed the switch. "This is the Eagle with his chick. Anybody listening in the nest?"
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The response was almost immediate. "We read you five by five, Eagle.
What is your twenty?"
"North side of the no-man's-zone. On the west side of the river. Between the river and the road the Federal convoy was using on their way south.
You copy that?"
"Affirmative, Eagle. Choppers on the way. You have anything to mark your location?"
"As soon as I hear the choppers, I'll light a fire on the north side of the zone. Just at the edge of the clearing. That's going to have to do it."
"I copy, Eagle. Give the dust-off about forty-five minutes."
"Ten-four. We'll be ready."
Ben turned to Anna. "Let's gather up a pile of dry brush. A big pile."
He pointed. "Stack it right over there. Then we wait."
"Let's pull up lots of this real dry grass. That'll light easily."
"Good thought, Kiddo."
"Bubble bath, here I come," Anna said. "And you can get reacquainted with a razor. I can't tell you how much I hate that damn moustache you grew."
"Oh? I thought it gave me a Clark Gable look."
"Who the hell is Clark Gable?"
Just moments after Ben and Anna had gathered up a mound of dry brush and stacked it at the edge of the clearing, on top of armloads of dry grass, they heard the sounds of running boots coming from the north.
"Federals," Ben said. "We're between a rock and a hard place now."
Ben didn't have to explain. Anna knew the no-man's-zone was heavily mined, and it was a death trap for anyone who blundered out in it.
"Over there," Ben said pointing. "That will at least give us the high ground." He glanced at his watch. "Thirty 263
minutes at least before the choppers arrive. We've got to hold out.
We're too close to home to pack it in now."
The beams from what appeared to be dozens of flashlights were getting closer when Ben and Anna finished their run for the high ground and settled into position. They were about ten to twelve yards apart on the ridge.
The both laid their grenades and full magazines out to one side, for easier grabbing.
"I was getting tired of lugging these things around, anyway," Anna said.
She scooted over a few yards closer to him.
"Yeah, we'll see if we can't lighten the load some. They were getting a little heavy."
"The civil war between the USA and the SUSA is going to really begin right here, isn't it?"
"The combined events of this night will probably start it," Ben agreed.
"It was inevitable, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Ben said slowly. "It really was, Baby. But all of us who began the Tri-States movement knew that from the beginning, when it was just a dream."
"That bastard and his bitch kid are around here somewhere," the voice came from the woods.
"If I'm not a whore, I'm a bitch," Anna whispered. "I'm beginning not to like these people."
"Out there, Al," another voice said. "They're in the no-man's-zone."
"That's crazy, Ed! They wouldn't have gone out there. They'd be blown to pieces. There are hundreds, thousands of mines all over the damn place."
"Maybe they know the way through?" someone else said. "If General Raines doesn't know, who would?"
"That's a thought, Jake."
"At night?" Al scoffed. "No way, guys. Nobody goes walking through a minefield at night."
"Not to mention black wire, razor wire, punji pits, and all kinds of other evil shit."
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"You're sure right about that, Pat. Those goddamn Rebels really fixed this strip up nasty."
"So what do we do?" a new voice was added.
"I don't know, Dave, I'm not going out into that strip, you can bet on that."
"What hell is that over there?" a Federal asked.
"Where, Donnie?"
Donnie put the beam from his flashlight on the mound of brush Ben and Anna had piled near the edge of the strip.
"It's just a pile of brush. Shoved there when they were clearing this area."
"I don't think so, Ricky," Al said. "Not the way that stuff is piled. It looks like ... well, I'm not sure. Hell!" he suddenly blurted. ?That's for a signal fire! That's what that is. I'm sure of it."
"Then they're ... real close," another Federal said softly, his words just audible to Ben and Anna.
"Probably looking at us," Al said, glancing all around him. "But where?"
In the cloudy night, Ben and Anna watched as the Federals began slowly backing up, edging their back toward the protection of the timber on the north side of the no-man's-zone.
"There!" one Federal yelled, lifting his weapon. "They've got to be on that rise right there!" He pulled his weapon to his shoulder.
Ben shot him.
Anna squeezed the trigger on her CAR and two Federals went down.
The night was torn apart with the rattle of gunfire and sparkled with muzzle flashes.
Ben lifted his mike. "This is the Eagle. You copy?"
"Copy, sir."
"We're in a firefight with twelve to fifteen Federals. They're in the timber on the north side. We're on a small ridge just inside the zone.
We'll be unable to light the signal fire, but you should be able to spot the muzzle
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flashes. When you come into visual, we'll toss a couple of grenades. You should be able to pick that up."
"That's ten-four, sir. We'll spot you with night vision. The gunships will handle the Federals. When they come in, keep down. You copy?"
"Ten-four. What's your ETA?"
"Approximately fifteen minutes, sir."
"Ten-four. We'll be here."
Ben and Anna suddenly came under heavy rifle fire from the Federals in the timber. They could do nothing except keep their heads down. The Federals poured on the lead, but succeeded only in tearing up the earth in front of Ben and Anna.
The Federals paused in their fire for a few seconds and the pair on the ridge opened up, returning the fire. No one was hit, but the Federals learned the Rebels could bite.
"Let's rush 'em!" a Federal shouted. "Up and at 'em. Go!"
"Now it gets hairy," Ben called. "We've got to hold out for twelve more minutes,"
"Will do, Pops," Anna replied calmly.
Then there was no more time for talk as shadowy figures began running out of the timber toward the high ground.
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Chapter Twenty-seven
Ben and Anna waited until the Federals had begun the scramble up the slight incline before opening fire. Their first burst knocked several of the government troops back and sent them rolling to the ground. The savage fire put the rest of them scrambling away from the base of the incline and running for whatever cover they could find.
One of the Federals made the mistake of running around to the rear of the small rise of earth, trying to get a shot at Ben and Anna from behind. He stepped on a mine. There was a tremendous roar in the night, then stunned silence except for the dull splatting sounds of blown off limbs hitting the earth.
"Oh, God, Al!" one of the Federals hollered. "Larry stepped on one of those fucking mines. Oh, Jesus God in Heaven. He's splattered all over the place."
"Settle down, Wally," Al called from the darkness. "You can't help him now."
"Goddamnit, Al," another soldier called. "This ain't worth a shit. They got the high ground and the area behind them is mined. We'll never take them."
Wally was crying and making no effort to hide it.
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"Shut up, Wally!" Al yelled. "Goddamnit, just shut your fucking mouth and act like a man's supposed to act."
"Me and Larry was recruited together," Wally said, his voice a sob in the night, "we went through basic together." He broke down again and began weeping.
