Without Law 19, page 9
“Well, I’m sure it’s not helping,” she grumbled as she tried to navigate through the twigs and roots on the ground.
I knew better than to argue, so I just shook my head and held onto her waist as we made our way out of the trees.
“There you two are,” Paige said as we broke the tree line.
“We were getting worried.” Bailey frowned.
“Not me.” Anna raised her hand. “I said you were probably just making another baby.”
“And I said that’s not how it works,” Paige laughed.
“Let’s hope not.” Tara smiled. “Or I’m going to be hanging quintuplets after how many times Tav has pumped his baby batter in me.”
“Jesus,” Anna groaned as she covered her face with her palm.
“Save some for us, sweetie,” Paige chuckled.
“Oh, he’s still got plenty for you, babe,” Tara laughed, and then she stuck her tongue out at the brunette beauty. “We’ve all gotta get knocked up after this war, right?”
“She just never stops,” Anna groaned again.
Anna, Bailey, and Paige had the camp set up nicely. They’d found some stumps and logs to put around the fire so we had places to sit, and they’d also brought a small box of supplies over, as well as a pot for cooking. With how many people we had, and only a fire to cook on, it made more sense for everyone to cook for themselves, though I was sure Tara would offer now and then.
It was a large undertaking to feed so many people, though, and I didn’t want her to strain herself in any way.
“It looks great,” I told the girls as Tara and I sat down.
“Thanks.” Anna smiled. “We thought it felt pretty homey.”
“It certainly does,” I told her.
“Oh, that makes me miss home.” Bailey smiled softly and stared into the fire.
“If you miss home why are you smiling?” Tara laughed.
“Well, I miss everyone, but it’s kind of bittersweet, too, you know,” the blonde explained.
“No, I don’t know.” Tara shook her head.
“I miss them now, but I know that once we finish the war here, they’ll be safe for good, so missing them for a little while is worth it.” Bailey smiled and stoked the fire.
“Huh, I hadn’t thought about it like that.” Anna nodded. “You’re right. It’s definitely worth it. Though, I miss baby Anthony. I bet he’s going to be giant by the next time we see him.”
“He does grow super fast,” Paige chuckled. “It seemed like he was a baby one minute, and now he’s like a real tiny human.”
“He’s always been a real tiny human,” Bailey laughed.
“I mean, yeah, but you know what I mean,” Paige huffed.
“I do.” Bailey smiled. “They grow quickly.”
“They better,” Tara said. “I’m not changing diapers forever.”
“I mean, you still have to do that for a couple years,” Bailey said.
“What?” Tara scoffed. “A couple of years? I can’t potty train when he’s, like, a few months?”
“Ummmm, no,” Bailey laughed.
“Oh, Tav,” Paige said, and she pulled out her maps from her bag and laid them on the stump next to her. “I looked at where we’re at on the map so we could prepare for the roundtable.”
“Good call.” I nodded and walked over to look at where she’d marked.
“So, if we’re here,” she said with a point. “The NK troops are most likely to the south of us.”
“I think that’s probably right,” I agreed.
“But there’s a good amount of forest around,” Paige said. “We should be able to take them out once we know where they’re at.”
“I love that we show up and are like ‘hey, that thing you’ve been trying to do for weeks, or months now, yeah, we’ll do it,’” Anna laughed.
“I mean, but it works most of the time,” Tara said.
“Yeah, but it’s still kind of funny.” Anna shrugged.
“Most men don’t have the training or teamwork skills you all do,” I said. “And a lot of the time people start looking at a problem from only one angle when they’ve been faced with it for a long time.”
“That’s true.” Anna nodded.
“Besides, we don’t have a plan yet,” Paige pointed out. “Once we know where the NK troops are, then we’ll really be able to figure out what we should do.”
“Right.” I nodded.
“Hey!” a man’s voice called out, and I looked up from the map to see a group of soldiers headed to us. They were my age, maybe younger, and they all wore standard issue boots, camo pants, and filthy, no longer white T-shirts.
“Yeah?” I asked as I stood up.
“Can we check out the MiG you brought?” the guy in the front asked with a grin. He had a southern accent, short brown hair, a nice smile, and a slightly crooked nose I could only imagine resulted from a bar fight gone wrong.
“Sure,” I chuckled and gestured to the plane that was parked to our right behind all the camps we’d set up.
“Thanks, man,” the guy said, and he stopped to talk to me while his buddies walked over to the MiG and checked it out. “That thing flies, yeah?”
“It does.” I nodded.
“We’ve got a couple of pilots who’ve been going stir crazy around here.” He shook his head. “I’m sure they’d love to get in that thing.”
“We have one of our own, too,” I told him.
“No kidding?” he laughed. “You all really did show up with everything.”
“Is that what they’re saying?” I joked.
“Pretty much.” He grinned and looked around. “You showed up with men, plasma, and what appears to be enough food to last a year.”
“We’re lucky to have a farm back home,” I told him.
“No shit.” He nodded. “Once this is all over I think I’d like to find a farm somewhere. I used to dream about traveling and seeing the world, but shit, I feel like I’ve seen enough right now.”
“I know the feeling.” I smiled at the young man and clapped him on the shoulder.
“I bet,” he said. “Word is you’re a Ranger.”
“That’s right,” I agreed. “But, honestly, we’re all just Americans trying to take our country back now.”
“That’s what all the important people say, am I right?” he chuckled and elbowed my arm.
“Tav,” Sergeant Wilson’s voice rang through the air, and I looked over to see him headed straight toward us.
“Sergeant,” I said with a nod.
“We’re ready for you,” he told me, and he looked at all the girls, too. “Follow me.”
“See ya later, Ranger.” The young man smiled and walked over to where his buddies were talking to Ben about the MiG.
“Tav, come on,” Tara said, and she grabbed my hand and pulled me with them.
As we walked, I couldn’t help but think about what that young soldier had said. I never liked to think of myself as better than anyone, or above them in any way, but he was right, I was headed to this meeting, and he wasn’t.
I reminded myself there was a reason for that. Not everyone was meant to be in a position of power, and I’d experienced firsthand how detrimental it could be to everyone if the wrong person was in charge.
The soldier clearly wasn’t upset by it, though, and I got the sense he felt like he could trust me. I wouldn’t let him, or anyone else, down. I was here to do what I could to put an end to this damn war, and that was what I was going to do, no matter what it took.
I followed Sergeant Wilson toward the same warehouse we went to earlier, but just as we crossed the dirt driveway, a familiar sound made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Instinctively, I looked to the sky, and a split second later a NK MiG appeared just above us.
We couldn’t seem to catch a break today.
Chapter 6
“Get inside!” Wilson called, but just then I heard another voice call out, and the familiar sound of an anti-aircraft gun rang through the yard.
The rocket went straight toward the NK MiG, but the plane was able to avoid the missile and disappeared into the darkness.
“Okay, what the actual fuck,” Tara said, and she threw her arms up in the air with exasperation.
“Right,” Anna mumbled. “I’m starting to think we should’ve just let these guys handle it. What the hell is happening here?”
“You girls aren’t used to flyovers, eh,” Sergeant Wilson chuckled, and he opened the door to the building and ushered us in.
“Not exactly,” Bailey admitted. “We usually take care of anyone bad in our area pretty quickly.”
“Well, hopefully you’ll figure out a way to do that here, too,” Wilson said, and he led us down the hallway toward the war room again.
“So, I’m guessing that’s pretty common around here, too?” Paige asked.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “They come by from time to time, but we’re always ready for them.”
“I noticed that,” I said. “I’m guessing you have guys posted near those AA’s 24/7.”
“That’s right,” Wilson agreed. “It’s the only way we can be right now. This is all enemy territory, and they’re just waiting for us to slip up.”
“So you’re splitting up into small groups to try and slowly dismantle the NK troops,” I guessed.
“That’s our current strategy,” he acknowledged. “But it’s slow moving. I think they’re trying to funnel us into one large area, and as soon as they can get us there, their firepower would make quick work of us.”
“That makes sense,” Anna said. “They’ve got the MiGs and those huge weapons, if they had all of us in one place, we’d be sitting ducks.”
“They have air superiority.” I nodded. “But if we could get on level footing with them, we could easily take them out.”
“How do you figure that?” Wilson asked, and he turned around slightly.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but these guys rely on their superior firepower,” I said. “They’re not the greatest shots, and I have yet to see a single one with a standard issue weapon, they only use the plasma stuff.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty much like storm troopers,” Paige laughed.
“Right,” Anna chuckled.
“True.” The Sergeant pressed his tongue against this cheek.
“We brought plasma with us,” I explained. “So, we’re already on even ground there, but these assholes are smart enough to know if they tried to shoot at one of the plasma tanks, the explosion would take out their troops, too.”
“I’d hope so.” He shook his head. “This fucking blue shit is driving me insane.”
“But we also have traditional artillery,” Paige said.
“Exactly,” I agreed. “And that being the case, we have the upperhand, at least to some degree.”
“But they still have a big advantage over us in the air,” Bailey chimed in.
“Which is exactly why that’s the first thing we need to take,” I said. “We can work on those larger vehicles they have, but if they have the MiGs, it won’t matter. We need to take the air back if we’re going to win this.”
“You know, I knew I liked you.” Wilson turned to me and smiled before he opened the door to the war room. “Bring that same attitude in here, will ya.”
“You got it.” I clapped the man on the shoulder and walked inside.
It felt good to be back where the action was, and I realized in that moment that I actually missed my time in the military. I guess I didn’t have to miss it any longer, though. I was back in it, whether I liked it or not.
As we walked in the room, I took a quick look around to see who else was there.
Tara’s father and the man with the glasses from earlier sat in the far left corner. The General was all the way in the back, and he paced back and forth against the wall as he waited to get the meeting started.
There was also a short asian man, a tall, stocky soldier who looked like he was probably special ops, and an older man wearing a flannel and jeans.
Suddenly, I realized I wasn’t the only one looking at who else was in the room. Everyone was staring at the girls and I with a sense of curiosity, but I ignored them and led my women to some open seats at the table.
Once we were seated, the General stepped up to the table and gestured over to us.
“I’m sure you’ve all noticed our newest additions,” he said. “This is Tav, he’s an ex-Ranger who led the Vermont militia down here to assist us in this war.”
I nodded to the men around, but Tara’s father simply leaned back in his chair and regarded me coolly. I wasn’t sure where we stood, but his daughter was having my baby, and if he didn’t like me because of that, it was his problem as far as I was concerned.
Still, I’d make a point to talk to him later and see if I could set things straight. Tara had sprung the pregnancy news on him fairly quickly, and I couldn’t blame him for feeling uncomfortable. He hadn’t seen his daughter in nearly two years, and she showed up pregnant and talking about how good she was at hand to hand combat. I’d be a little unnerved, too, if that was my daughter.
I smiled at the thought of a daughter but quickly shook that thought out of my head and focused on the General.
“So, to catch Tav up to speed, let’s go over what’s gone on this week,” he said.
“We’ve still got ten platoons spread out,” the man in the flannel shirt said. “The first showed up tonight, the rest will follow in the next couple of days, then we’ll send out the other groups to take up their posts.”
“Right.” The General nodded and looked at me. “I told you before we can’t send any troops out without casualties.”
“I understand, sir,” I assured him. “Head to head wasn’t working, so you’ve decided to go with the long con.”
“Long con, I like that.” He smiled. “That’s right. We’ve been trying to dismantle them as best we can, but they’re spread out, too. Our country is great, but she’s huge, which is both a good thing and a bad thing for us.”
“Right,” Anna said. “Because it’s harder to find them to dismantle them, but it also makes it more difficult for them to keep their troops all supplied.”
“Exactly.” The General’s eyebrows pulled together slightly as he regarded Anna.
“The supply lines have to be pretty long,” Paige said. “Do you have troops set up along them? I’m sure they’re using the same supply routes, or maybe alternating ones.”
“Yeah, have you done any reconnaissance on their movements?” Anna asked.
“We have,” he answered.
“Before we discuss all that, I have a question,” Bailey said, and she raised her hand slightly.
“What’s that?” the General asked.
“Sergeant Wilson told us the NKs come by with their MiGs every so often,” she said. “And we saw one of your men fire on them, but it didn’t hit them.”
“I thought I heard another one of those damn things,” the General sighed.
“My question is, how well stocked are you on those anti aircraft shells?” Bailey asked.
“Only enough for a couple more months,” General Lopez said seriously. “And that’s if they keep coming irregularly like they have been. If they attacked all at once, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Hm, do you think they’re just trying to get you to waste your ammo?” Bailey asked, and she cocked her head to the side. “Because they didn’t try to shoot.”
“I think they might be.” He nodded. “My guess is they’re trying to wait until we’re all here to strike.”
“I’m sure they realize that the traditional ammunition will deplete far faster than their plasma ammo, too,” Paige added.
“So, if you’re trying to dismantle them unit by unit, that’s going to take a lot of time,” Anna said. “And if you only have enough ammunition to keep the MiGs at bay for a couple of months max, then that’s too long.”
“Right,” Tara said. “If they can hold off for any length of time, it won’t matter if you’re all together or not, as soon as they realize you’re out of ammunition, they’ll bomb the entire place.”
“Yeah, they know the ground troops you have out would run out of supplies without this place here eventually,” Anna agreed. “So, I’m betting this is their real target.”
“I would say so.” Bailey nodded. “They can handle the smaller troops since they have superior fire power there, but if they don’t have this place, they know you’ll be able to keep up the fight.”
“Ladies,” I said, and I gestured to the General who stared at them unmoving as they spoke. “I think the General has something to add here.”
“Oh, right, sorry,” Paige said, and she turned to smile at the man. “What else were you going to say?’
“Ahem,” he cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. “Right, well, I think everything you’ve said is spot on. I believe they’re trying to get us all in one area so they can take us out at once. They want a head to head fight because they think they’d win.”
I expected someone else to chime in, but it was quiet for a few seconds, and I realized everyone was staring at my team.
“If I may,” I said. “I think our best course of action right now is to gain air superiority.”
“I think you’re correct there,” the General agreed. “The problem is, how do we do it.”
“Where’s their airfield?” Tara asked. “If we know where it is, I’m sure we can figure out a way to take the MiGs out.”
“What about the MiG you brought?” the guy in the plaid shirt asked. “Is there maybe a way we could use it to covertly attack.”
“Hm, that’s not a bad suggestion.” I pursed my lips. “But, it puts my pilot in far too much danger, and I’m not willing to do that. We need to be smart about this, I try to keep a zero casualty goal.”
“Zero casualties?” Tara’s father asked. “That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think. You’re bound to lose a few men in a fight like this.”
“It’s worked so far.” Anna shrugged.
“You haven’t lost a single man?” the General asked, and his thick, dark eyebrows pulled together.
“I’m proud to say I haven’t,” I answered, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tara’s father shake his head in awe.
