The Fall Of America: Fatal Encounters Part 22

A machine-gun opened fire and started to riddle the wooden building. John ran with all his strength, suspecting a cannon shot, but it didn't happen. He flew out the back door and ran into the woods. Once with the others he noticed the machine-gun had stopped firing, so as they moved he listened for a cannon shot, but heard nothing. A few minutes later, he heard the grenade explode and knew he'd killed at least one more Russian.

John ordered, "Move at a slow jog and keep it up for a couple of hours. You'll run into a creek in a couple of miles; move downstream once there and stay in the water."

After about a mile, John said, "Take everyone and keep moving with the stream. I'm going to double back and see if we're being followed. If so, I can get a look at how many are on our a.s.ses, see how they're armed and if they have a dog. I'll take Dolly with me."

Dolly and John broke from the main group, went up the side of the creek and entered the woods. Then, at a slow jog, he moved toward the trail, but closer to the garage. He quickly identified the spot they'd entered the woods, so he moved back into the brush to watch. His wait was short and just a few minutes later, three Russians and a single dog moved down their trail. Since he was downwind, the dog never knew they were there.

The dog handler carried a pistol, but no long gun and the other two were armed with AKM a.s.sault rifles. John knew the rifles carried 30 round magazines, and his Bison gave him more firepower than them. He carried 60 rounds in his magazine and being a submachine-gun, his 700 rounds a minute beat their 600, so he had them outgunned-only slightly. But I need to take all three of them out with the first burst or I'll lose my a.s.s. I'm glad the dog handler has his animal on a leash and it looked like it was looped around his wrist. If I miss one or two, the s.h.i.t will hit the stump, John thought as he stood and started moving at a jog to the spot where they'd entered the creek.

Twenty minutes or so after he'd been at the creek, he heard and then saw, movement toward him on the trail. The dog had his nose to the gra.s.s and was moving at a steady pace. Once they were in close, about twenty feet, John raised his Bison and fired. A storm of bullets struck the three men, but the dog got loose and moved right for John; Dolly lunged and met the dog head on.

Around and around the dogs went, flying into the air at times, as each made serious attempts to kill the other. John dropped his Bison, which hung from a sling around his neck, and pulled his pistol. He could see blood on Dolly's right shoulder and the other animal had blood on it's neck. Finally, the dogs broke free and Dolly stood giving a deep growl, her hackles up, and her bloodstained teeth showing. Blood tainted saliva dripped from her chin.

Raising his pistol, John fired two fast shots and the Russian dog collapsed to the gra.s.s, unmoving. John called Dolly to his side. Petting her, he checked her for injuries. It looks like a deep claw mark on her shoulder and a couple of bites that are bleeding on her legs, so she was lucky, he thought. He then moved to the three men, where he discovered they were dead. Returning to his dog and pack, he pulled out his medical kit and dressed her wounds. Of the three, the shoulder was the deepest injury, but the punctures from the bites would have to be cleaned and dressed better once he met the group.

He then returned to the dead Russians, took their gear and weapons, and b.o.o.by-trapped all three.

"Come, girl." He said and took off at a slow trot.

Sandra looked at John and said, "She'll be fine. I gave her a local, sewed part of her shoulder together, and the bites I covered with triple antibiotic ointment."

Tom asked, "Was that all you saw, just the three men on the tracking team?"

"Uh-huh, and they were alone."

"What now?" Margie asked.

"We keep moving. We need some miles between us and the garage. We'll keep moving until close to midnight, then sleep for four hours, and start moving again. I want all ears in the air as we move. Since they know the general direction we were moving, they'll have birds in the air looking for us. Right now, we'll head due west, so let's get out of this creek and start in that direction." John said, and then gave a weak smile.

"Why the smile?" Sandra asked.

"I was thinking of how much I loved this part of the state before the fall of our nation. It was so special to come out and hunt during deer season, you know?"

Tom said, "You're still hunting, only men now and not deer. Let's move. The longer we stay here talking the longer we'll have to walk tonight."

Hours pa.s.sed and it was well after dark when the group stopped to rest and eat. They all gathered under a huge oak to eat. The night was cool and the low clouds John had seen earlier could bring snow or rain. He knew if it snowed it would never amount to much, because Mississippi never got over two inches in all the years he'd lived in the state.

"John, do you know of anyway to protect ourselves from infrared or thermal detection?"

"Only stories and none that really work, why?"

"I've heard the only thing that really works well is rain. For some reason rain makes the screens look cluttered and hard to see the heat on the ground. From what I've read, the infrared systems in choppers are a handful for just two men to operate, and usually the chopper is used to find folks. They then radio troops on the ground to engage the enemy. Of course, if we run into a gunship, the party is over, because they're designed to kill."

"I've heard wool blankets mask human heat, but it seems to me the wool would absorb the heat and make you a bigger target. I've also heard s.p.a.ce blankets or casualty blankets work, but only for a minute or two, because after that the edges of the blanket will start to glow from escaping heat. I saw a movie once, while on active duty, and a guy tried to get away from an aircraft by swimming, but on the screen he was clearly seen, and his movements in the water glowed behind him, leaving a trail."

"Let's just pray we never run into that problem. The next time we hook up with w.i.l.l.y, we need to find something for choppers." John said.

"We're wearing mostly new BDU's from the batch w.i.l.l.y gave us and I heard, but can't confirm, that BDU's were treated with something that cut down on thermal image readings. I think it reduces the amount of body heat given off. I even remember reading something about it on a label sewed on a BDU shirt one time."

"Well, even if it does, 80 to 90 percent of a person's body heat exits from the top of their head, so I hope our boonie hats were treated with the same s.h.i.t."

Tom laughed and said, "Then the feet will give a good clear reading and so will the hands."

"The problem," Sandra said, "is the human body is almost a hundred degrees and the surrounding areas are cooler, so your body heat would stand out clearly. The only place in the world where it might be easier to hide, might be on a hot road at night or in desert sand. They'd both be pretty hot, but you'd have to be one lucky sonofab.i.t.c.h to find a road at the right temperature."

"I think a s.p.a.ce blanket would be the best or just not moving. The risk with not moving is they might smoke your a.s.s anyway, because they know something is alive."

"I heard they don't get a reading in a house or under canvas, but I hope to never have to find out."

As they talked, they ate a quick meal and were soon on the trail once again, moving west. As they walked, a light sprinkling of rain started to fall, so everyone donned a poncho. There were many bright flashes of lightning but no loud thunder, so they continued to move. After a couple of hours, the trail became slippery and more than one fell and regained their feet cursing.

It was shortly after midnight, when Sandra, who'd been on point said, "I have a house in front of me, and I see a light inside."

"Did you spot anyone moving around?"

"Not outside, but I saw two different men walk by the window."

"Well, it ain't Russians, or a guard would have been posted."

Tom said, "It could be a different cell, so do we knock on the door or what?"

"You can knock on the door if you want; I don't think I'd try it, because they'll likely shoot your a.s.s." John replied.

"Why don't we stay behind shelter and call out to them? If we can explain who we are, they might let us stay the night." Margie said, and then wiped the rain from her face.

"Okay, we'll do as Margie suggests, because I can't think of a safer way to do this. I'll go forward with Margie. John, you stay here with Mollie, Sandra and Dolly. Once we're inside, we'll come back for all of you. If you hear shooting, don't join us, because we'll try to withdraw."

"When do you want to do this?" Margie asked.

"Why not right now? The longer we stand here the wetter we'll get, if that's possible." John said and then added, "Come on."

He let her lead and near the edge of the trees was an old farmhouse that was way overdue a paint job, and some of the windows were broken. The light was clearly seen in what may have been the living room.

John called out, "h.e.l.lo the house. We're needing shelter from the rain."

Minutes pa.s.sed before a voice said, "Keep walkin', we're full for the night."

"Do you know w.i.l.l.y Williams? If not, how about Top?"

Again, it was a couple of minutes before the same voice said, "One of you move toward the door. If we see more than one, we'll start shooting. I want no weapons on you, which means no pistols or rifles, understand?"

Handing his rifle to Margie, he stuck the pistol in the small of his back and stood. Even in the darkness, he felt vulnerable as h.e.l.l. "I'm coming in, but keep your fingers off the triggers."

"Come."

He walked across the clearing, half expecting to be killed any second, and when he stepped on the porch and it gave a loud groan, he cringed at the noise. The door opened and short man with a shotgun said, "Get in here."

John entered but remained by the door.

"h.e.l.l, James, that's John and I know him well." Top said with a big grin.

"Can I bring my people in, Top? It's pretty wet out there."

"Sure, John. You did it properly, James, but John's a good man and one of our cell leaders."

John pulled the pistol from his back and placed it back in his holster. Top broke out laughing and said, "Still don't trust worth a s.h.i.t, do ya, John?"

"Nope, never have and never will, I guess. How have you been doing?"

"Not so good. Here about, oh, a week back a chopper caught us on a hill in the middle of the night. I suspect they were using thermal imagery, because they shot us to h.e.l.l and back. Out of twenty, five of us survived the attack. But, that was miles from here."

"Tom and I were talking about the same subject earlier. Do we have anything to protect us at all?"

"Not really, not as far as I know. I'm to meet up with w.i.l.l.y in a couple of days, so why don't y'all hang around and go with us?"

"I think I'll do just that."

CHAPTER 22.

Lieutenant Dyomin stood looking at the garage where his men had set off the grenade planted by John, and the young officer was seething. He'd warned the first troops in the door to do the job slowly and to check for danger as they moved, but they'd kicked the door in and entered in a rush. A few seconds later came the explosion and he had three dead men to place on the truck beside the dead tank commander.

d.a.m.n fools. Do they think the Americans are idiots? I have stressed we are fighting well trained soldiers, but they cannot accept that in their small brains, Dyomin thought as he watched a squad of men returning from the woods. He'd sent them after the team tracking the Americans and from what he could see, they'd been killed or seriously wounded. Just the fact that bodies were being packed out and the dog was nowhere to be seen, added to his apprehension.

Senior Sergeant Delov, leading the group, walked to the Lieutenant and said, "Three more dead men and we lost our dog, too. I found where a single man waited to ambush them. The tracks indicate he had a dog with him. Our dog had blood on his teeth and head, but a pistol killed him. To me, it means we have at least injured their dog."

"Vetrov will s.h.i.t! We have seven dead men and all we did was injure a dog? We must have better results or the Colonel will start taking heads. I want these men to break into small groups and search for the partisans."

"Which group do you want me to join, sir?"

"You stay with me. Make sure each group has a radio, plenty of ammunition, and rations for a few days. Stress to them we must find the Americans and the group that finds them will be greatly rewarded. I want your experience behind the communications, so we have some control on each group."

"What kind of reward, sir, because they will surely ask?"

"Promise them women, vodka and a few days off. I have yet to see an infantryman who did not enjoy that sort of thing. Also, tell them Colonel Vetrov will mention them by name in communications with Moscow and a medal can be provided, as well as a promotion. We have got to start doing better or we will all end up in a prison someplace."

Delov came to attention and asked, "Will that be all, sir?"

"No, contact the flying squadron and have them keep a helicopter in the air at all times, night and day. If possible, try to get a bird or two with thermal imaging capability, so we can go on the offense. We must be aggressive without being stupid, and thorough without being slow. The aircraft are not to attack the partisans, but radio the locations to us. I want us to get the credit for killing the Americans, not the helicopter crews."

"Yes, sir, I fully understand. I will take care of your request immediately." The Senior Sergeant replied. Typical officer, wants the credit for the kills when the aircraft could just fire one missile or use his cannons to kill a houseful of partisans. It is all politics for officers, and I am glad to be enlisted.

Waving his hand, to indicate to Delov to handle the situation, Dyomin thought, In the time they have been gone from here, even if they walked fast with no breaks, they must be within twenty miles. I will have the crews start twenty miles out and work inward. We will either check each building or send a missile into it. If I handle this properly, I am sure to make at least one promotion out of this war, or an early death.

The radioman and Delov walked to the Lieutenant, where the radio operator handed the headset to him and said, "The operations officer for the squadron wants to speak with you, sir. He needs some additional information about where to start this search."

Dyomin quickly explained his idea to the Major on the other end of the radio and then waited for a reply. He knew the operations officer had to get the commander's approval before the search would start.

Finally, the Major said, "We will start looking today. We currently have three aircraft with thermal capabilities, but two are down for maintenance. I expect to have all three in the air before the end of the week."

"Good. I appreciate your a.s.sistance, sir, and I think by working together we can achieve a great deal of success against the partisans."

"We shall see, Lieutenant, but you have our support."

Dyomin replied, "Thank you, sir." He handed the headset to the radioman and then said, "Get the teams moving and do it now."

As the teams walked in the general direction of John and his small group, Delov wondered, How many of these men will return alive? Most of my soldiers are boys and this game is about to become deadly.

The radio operator yelled out, "Lieutenant Dyomin, we are to return to base right away by order of Colonel Vetrov."

"Load up the remaining men and let us move!"

Colonel Vetrov was in his office, his right arm in a sling and in pain, but the war was not going well for him. Over the last few weeks he'd lost well over a hundred men and had killed less than a dozen Americans, including the prisoner they'd had. His aircraft kept breaking down, his motor pool was having vehicle problems, and supply had yet to provide winter gear for his troops. He had a list of problems on a sheet of paper in front of him and beside it, on the same paper, a list of things going well. He had two things going well that he'd identified; his troops were all healthy and the attacks on the trains had ceased. He was unsure if the attacks had stopped because he now placed a tank on a flatcar to protect the trains, or if the partisans had moved on to other ripe targets.

Lieutenant Dyomin stood at attention in front of Vetrov and nervously licked his lips. The Colonel had exploded when told of the deaths of seven more men, but then grew quiet. It was the silence that scared the young officer.

"So, you have how many teams out searching for the American's, Lieutenant?"

"Twelve, sir, and I think by using the helicopters and my men, we can at least find the partisans. Then, working together we can kill them and maybe even get a prisoner or two."

Vetrov looked at his papers, shook his head and then said, "Dyomin, I hope you realize both of our careers are riding on your teams right now. I am d.a.m.ned sure if we do not have some good word for Moscow soon, heads will roll, and they'll start with ours."

"Y-yes, sir."

"I want a helicopter to take you to a team, so you can keep an eye on how things are done. I also want Delov dropped off with another team. Now, listen to your Senior Sergeant, because he has been in the army longer than you have been alive. That means use the radio before you fight, and I want you to stress to your men that the partisans are experts with mines and b.o.o.by-traps. Do you fully understand what your orders are?"

"Yes, sir, and I will discuss all plans of attack with my sergeant before I take any action."

"Good. When you are in the field, keep in mind I will fully support you and if you have need of something, let me know. We must take the offensive and start improving our partisan body count, or our careers are over. I've warned you of our careers twice in this meeting, because the situation right now is most grave."

"I will do my best, sir." Dyomin replied and knowing the conversation was over, he saluted and left the room.

He found Delov talking to a guard at the prison camp gate and informed him of the Colonel's orders, leaving out he was to discuss any attack plans with the sergeant. He then said, "Arrange a helicopter, just one, to take us both into the field as soon as possible. We'll be delivered to two different groups. Once on the ground, contact me, and let me know you're in place and ready. Then, hopefully, we can find our targets."

Thirty minutes later, both men were in flight. Delov was dropped off first, to a group of men near a creek, and Dyomin was released on the edge of a large field. The temperature was cool, but not really cold, and a light rain fell. After he'd been on the ground for half an hour, Delov contacted him and informed him they were moving.

Slowly the rains increased in intensity and all teams were forced to seek shelter for the night. Most of Dyomin's men felt uncomfortable with the young officer along and they complained about it among themselves as they made shelters from their shelter-halves. A guard was placed and the rest turned in for the night, some too tired to even eat.

It was near four in the morning when Dyomin was awakened by the radio operator. "Sir, one of the helicopters reports movement about 3 miles from us."

The Lieutenant took the headset and spoke for a few minutes with the crew. Finally he smiled, handed the headset back and said, "Get the men up and ready to move. One of the aircraft with thermal imaging discovered a man coming and going from a rundown house near us. It seems he was looking for, or collecting, wood for a fire."