Without Law 14, page 19
Once everything was packed, though, we used some ratchet straps that I kept in the jeep to secure the vehicles together, then we drove them back down the road to where we had hidden the jeeps before. We took them all deeper into the woods and covered them with foliage so they couldn’t be seen from the road. Unfortunately, by the time we had finished it was already late afternoon.
“Well, we got all the supplies hidden,” Anna said, and she looked at me solemnly. “But it’s going to be getting dark in a few hours.”
“It’s still summer,” Paige said. “And it’s only maybe five o’ clock or so, so we technically still have time to get to Boston.”
“How far of a drive is it?” Bailey asked.
“It’s about three hours on the main highway,” the brunette replied. “But since we’re going on the back roads, it could be closer to four.”
“Plus we’re not going to pull into Boston,” Bailey said. “We’re going to park in the suburbs and walk in, right?”
“Right,” I agreed.
“What do you think?” Anna asked me. “Should we try and make it tonight or should we wait for morning?”
I wanted to get to Boston as soon as possible, but the girls had a point. Even if we made it to Boston tonight, we wouldn’t be able to get any reconnaissance done until tomorrow.
Besides, if it took us longer than expected for some reason, then we might have to turn on the headlights for the jeep, and I didn’t like to drive with them on. It was too much of a giveaway.
“I’m thinking we should stay the night here,” I sighed.
“I know you wanted to get there today,” Paige said with a frown. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright,” I told her with a smile. “Things don’t always work out the way that we want. We got a lot of good weapons out of the deal, though, so I think less than a day’s delay won’t hurt us too badly.”
“Where should we set up camp?” Tara asked.
“We can build a fire in one of the back corners,” I said. “And we’ll sleep in one of the buildings.”
“Okay,” the platinum blonde agreed. “I’ll start the fire and get to work on dinner.”
“That’d be appreciated,” I told her.
“I do help every now and then,” she teased.
“I’ll help you,” Bailey offered.
“I’ll grab our sleeping bags from the jeeps,” Paige said.
“Is there anything that we can do?” Micheal asked.
“Hm,” I said, and I thought for a moment. “I think we’ll let the girls make camp. Why don’t we focus on getting some practice in?”
“What kind of practice?” Omar asked excitedly.
“We’ll do some shooting practice,” I said, and I looked down at the standard issue M9s each of them had on their hips. “Let me see your weapons.”
Missy handed me her weapon first, and I inspected the M9 and found it to be spotless. West Point was the best military academy in the world, so I shouldn’t be surprised at how well they managed to keep their weapons clean. They would have learned that on day one.
“How long has it been since you’ve cleaned this?” I asked with a smile
“I just got it on the way here,” she said. “We each took a pistol from the arsenal. ”
I hadn’t even thought about the fact that they had probably been left without weapons the entire time they were at the school. If the Guard came through and took the older year students, then of course they would have taken the weapons as well.
“Let me see your weapons,” I told the boys, and they handed them over.
Their pistols were just as clean as Missy’s, and I felt a smile come to my face. There might have been a slight hiccup earlier in the day, but I was impressed with their gun ownership.
“Have you fired these since you got them?” I asked.
“No, sir,” Micheal said quietly.
“Well, let’s change that,” I said with a grin.
“I didn’t even think about practice,” Omar said with a slight shake of his head. “It seemed like a waste of ammo. I was just happy to have some protection on the road.”
“Smart thinking, Cadet,” I said with a smile. “But we have plenty of ammo here right now, and it’s been how long since you’ve fired a weapon?”
“Over a year,” Micheal said seriously. “I trained at the range a bunch before I went to school, and we shot some there, but I haven’t trained since.”
“I think it’s time we do some shooting then,” I said.
While the cadets loaded up magazines, I set up some targets. We’d found plenty of ammunition, so I figured that a couple of magazines each wouldn’t hurt. They’d need to practice at some point, and since we were stuck here for the night and we had virtually unlimited ammo, it seemed like the best time to go for it. Besides, their weapons were spotless, and I felt that deserved some kind of reward.
“You guys doing target practice?” Bailey asked as she and Paige came over to stand behind the Cadets.
“About to be,” I said with a smile.
“Mind if we watch?” the blonde asked.
“Not at all,” I told her.
It might make the Cadets more nervous, but in a real situation where they needed to use their weapon they had to remain calm, no matter the circumstances. This would be a good test of how they would do under pressure, especially since they’d seen Bailey hit a grenade mid air earlier. Even I knew that wasn’t an easy act to follow.
“Micheal,” I said, and I gestured for him to step up next to me.
I’d hooked some of the warning and no trespassing signs up to the fence as makeshift targets some fifteen yards away.
“Try to hit the N in No Trespassing,” I told him.
“Alright,” he said, and he took a shooting stance that was quite good.
He raised his arms and pointed his M9, then he took a deep breath and let out a shot. It didn’t hit the N, but it did hit the sign a few inches lower. It was in the bottom right hand corner instead of the top left, but it was honestly better than I had expected for him having not shot a weapon in over a year.
“Good job,” Bailey said with a smile.
“Uh, thanks,” he said, and his cheeks turned red with embarrassment.
“Try again,” I told him.
The young man took another deep breath, then he adjusted his weapon and let another round off. This time he hit the middle of the sign, so he was closer to the target, but not quite spot on.
“Good effort,” I congratulated him. “Again.”
I had him go through the entire magazine, and the more he shot the better his aim was, which told me that he wasn’t a terrible marksman, he was just rusty.
After Micheal had shown his skills, we had Omar next. The young man with the shaggy blonde hair and the scrawny, tall body stood next to me and took a much too wide stance.
“Wait,” I told him, and I kicked his feet in and straightened up his back. “Like that. Doesn’t that feel more comfortable?”
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“Okay, fire,” I said.
By that point all the girls had come over. They sat on the pavement and observed the Cadets as they tried to take out their target. Omar’s was the A in a Warning sign.
The first shot was a complete miss, and the boy let out a sigh and hung his head slightly. I knew they practiced marksmanship heavily at West Point, but it had been over a year since he’d shot as well. There was no need for him to be so hard on himself. They didn’t say practice made perfect for no reason. He just needed to get his muscle memory back.
“It’s alright,” Bailey cheered from behind him. “You got this!”
My hippie girl could always be counted on for some encouragement, and I smiled at her before I stepped up to Omar.
“Show me how you hold your weapon up,” I told him.
“Like this,” he said, but it sounded like more of a question than a statement.
He held up the M9 just as he had before, but from my new angle over his shoulder I was able to see that he had it tilted to the left just slightly so his sight was off.
“You’ve got to make sure you’re totally straight,” I said as I adjusted his hands. “Use your sight, it’s your best friend.”
“It really is,” Bailey chimed in.
“But it doesn’t help unless you’re holding your weapon properly,” I added.
“Okay,” he said, and I could see the sweat bead on his brow. It was still hot out, but this looked to be more nerves rather than poor training.
“It’s alright,” I told him, and I put my hand on his shoulder. “Just relax and take a deep breath. Then take another one. Release your breath as you pull the trigger, just make sure that you’re lined up properly. Now, whenever you’re ready.”
“I don’t want to let you down.” The shaggy haired boy took a dozen seconds to adjust himself, and he took a couple of deep breaths before he finally pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the bottom part of the letter A, and all the girls and Cadets gave a little cheer afterward.
“Good job,” I told him with a smile. “Now, let’s work on going faster.”
I had him empty his magazine as well. He landed his shots more accurately when he had more time to prepare, but he wasn’t too far off when I had him go quickly. As much as they trained at West Point, some soldiers were better shots than others, it was what it was.
“Alright, Missy,” I said after Omar had finished. “You’re up.”
“You got this,” Micheal told her, and he clapped her on the shoulder as she walked over to me.
“Show me your stance,” I said, and the brunette spread her legs just past hip width apart and raised her arms with properly bent elbows. “Very good.”
“Thanks,” she said with an excited smile.
“Your target is the T on the Military sign,” I said, and I stepped to the side. “Whenever you’re ready.”
After the way that Omar shot when I gave him the time, I figured I’d allow Missy some time to set up her first shot as well. I was surprised when just a split second later she let out a breath and the sign dinged as her bullet hit it.
She’d made contact just barely to the right of the T, but I was still impressed, especially considering the amount of time she’d taken to line up her shot. Out of the three of the Cadets she was the best as far as a quick shooting went, and that would serve her well in actual battle.
The boys were decent shots, but they couldn’t fire off a round that quickly that was anywhere near that accurate. That was alright, though, it was something that we’d work on.
They didn’t have to be perfect shots, they just needed to be able to hit the target. We all knew that Bailey was the best shot we had, and Paige was the worst, but everyone had their strengths and weaknesses in the group.
Where the boys lacked with a quick shot, they would make up for in other places. Omar would probably make a decent sniper. If he could have the time to set up his shot then he didn’t miss it. Micheal was clearly the leader of the little group, and, as Anna had demonstrated time and again, that skill came in handy quite often.
“Whoa,” Anna laughed after Missy’s round hit the target. “Nice shot.”
“Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “Good job.”
“Thanks,” Missy said softly, and she brushed a lock of her short brown hair behind her ear.
“Are you up for a challenge?” I asked her.
“Sure,” she said with an eager nod.
“Empty your clip as fast as you can and as accurately as possible,” I said.
“As fast as I can?” she asked.
“Go,” I said with a smirk.
“Oh, shit,” the girl said, and she fumbled for a second before she got back into her stance and let off round after round.
She fired off the remaining fourteen rounds in her pistol, and out of the total fifteen she only missed three.
“Impressive,” I told her after she had finished.
“Thanks,” she breathed. “It’s been a while.”
“Dang, Missy,” Micheal laughed.
“She is quite a good shot,” I agreed with a smile.
“Any pointers for us over here?” Omar teased.
It was evening by that time, and the air had started to cool slightly. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but the sun had definitely made its way west, and it wouldn’t be long until dusk hit us.
“Alright,” I said. “I think it’s time to put the pistols away and grab something to eat.”
“Oh, yeah,” Tara said. “Dinner is totally ready. We were just having fun watching.”
“I figured as much,” I chuckled.
The Cadets holstered their weapons and followed the girls and I over to the fire that Tara and Bailey had built. As we got closer I could smell something faint but delicious.
“What did you make?” I asked.
“Just some chili type stuff,” Tara said, and she picked up the pot and placed it back onto the fire. “I managed to find a pot in one of the buildings. It’s probably cold, though, so we should heat it back up.”
“It smells delicious,” Micheal said, and I thought I heard his stomach rumble as he sat down next to me.
“It does,” I agreed.
We all were quiet for a minute while Tara stirred the chili. It had been a long day already, and tomorrow was going to be even longer. I wanted to leave as soon as there was enough light for us to drive. Boston was about four hours away, so we could make it there well before noon if we left early enough.
My shirt was still damp from earlier when the sun had gotten to us, and my hair was no better. The day had cooled off, though, and the sun had dipped behind the trees so it didn’t hit us directly. The warmth from the fire actually felt nice since my damp shirt gave me chills once the sun disappeared from our direct view.
“Hey, Tav,” Micheal said softly.
“Yeah?” I asked as I looked at the young man.
“I just wanted to say thank you for today,” he said. “I mean, we all did. We really appreciate you taking the time to give us some training.”
Missy and Omar nodded next to him, and they all smiled at me with slight embarrassment.
“Of course,” I told him with a smile. “It was the perfect time for you to learn since we were stuck here for the evening.”
“Yeah, but we just want you to know how much we appreciate it,” Omar said.
“Really, thank you,” Missy added.
“You’re welcome,” I told them.
It obviously meant a lot of them that I’d taken the time to work with them, and as mad as I had been earlier about Missy blowing our cover, I had to recognize that they were doing their best. These were still just kids, after all. The oldest was twenty-one, which meant he’d only been nineteen or twenty when the EMP hit.
It was hard to imagine that they’d been on their own for most of this time. They’d managed to survive fine, it seemed, but I was sure that they had to miss their families and the normalcy that they knew before everything happened.
In a way, they reminded me of the girls. Anna, Paige, Bailey, and Tara had never hung out together when they were in school, but they were thrown together by circumstance and had become a family of sorts. I wasn’t sure if the Cadets had been friends before the EMP or not, but they definitely were now. It was easy to see that they cared about each other.
Part of me thought there might be something between Missy and Micheal, but I didn’t want to assume anything. Even if there was, they were able to keep it professional in front of everyone, and I appreciated that.
We still had a lot more dangerous ground ahead of us with our trip to Boston, but seeing Missy shoot gave me hope that they could hold their own if they needed to. And while Micheal and Omar might not be the best shots, they were clearly in shape, so I was sure that they’d be able to keep up if things started to go haywire and we had to run for any reason.
“So,” Bailey said after a moment. “Missy, where did you learn to shoot?”
“Oh, um, I used to go hunting with my dad when I was a kid,” she said.
“I figured you already had some training,” the blonde chuckled.
“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “We used to go every year, but that was always with a rifle, not a pistol. I didn’t really use a pistol until I got to West Point.”
“Well, you’re pretty good with one,” Anna chuckled.
“Thanks,” the brunette said, and her face went red once more.
“West Point only takes the best of the best,” I said. “I bet the three of you all got straight A’s in high school and were valedictorians.”
“We were, actually,” Micheal laughed.
“Oh! Bunch of smarty pants!” Tara smiled as she dished us up chili in the collapsable bowls we brought and passed it around.
It was somehow well seasoned, and I savored each bite as it hit my tongue. She’d used several kinds of beans and mashed them together some so that it had a nice texture to it.
“Tara,” I said after I’d eaten about half of my bowl. “How’d you season this so well?”
“Must you know all my secrets?” the platinum blonde asked.
“You’re sneaking extra stuff into your to-go bag again, aren’t you?” I laughed.
“Maybe,” she said with a smile. “It’s my bag, though, I don’t mind the extra weight if it means we don’t have to eat bland food whenever we leave the house.”
“Fair enough,” I chuckled.
The platinum blonde was notorious for bringing along extra things that weren’t approved. I had rules for the to-go bags for a reason, but she always seemed to break them. Still, she managed to have everything she needed in it, so I couldn’t be too mad if she added a few extras every so often.
Besides, I did prefer her seasoned food to something bland.
The sun set while we ate, and after a while I could tell that everyone was tired. It had been a hot day and working out in the heat had definitely taken its toll on everyone.
“Head to bed,” I said. “I’ll keep watch.”
“I’ll take the second shift,” Anna offered.
