Ashes - Standoff In The Ashes Part 31

"That son of a b.i.t.c.h is!" Jersey yelled, pointing toward Cooper. "I'm gonna put some knots on his head."

"No discipline whatsoever in this army," said Ms. Ross-Harris. "I don't understand why so manypeople hold them in such high esteem."

"Disgraceful behavior," another reporter said. "You certainly would never see anything like that in our army."

"Absolutely not!" said another reporter. "We have professionals in our armed forces."

Jersey and Cooper had circled the growing knot of257 257.

reporters a couple of times, and now both were taking a short rest in the parking lot before the chase resumed.

"I wonder which one is Ms. Prissy-a.s.s?" Jersey panted.

"Probably the one who looks like an advertis.e.m.e.nt for one of those old adventure mail-order catalogs we used to see all the time when we were prowling around deserted buildings," Cooper replied, wiping the sweat from his face.

"Yeah. She must have twenty pockets in that jacket. Wonder what she carries in them."

"Nothing."

"Well, why the h.e.l.l does she wear the jacket, then?"

"It's fas.h.i.+onable, you hick redskin. Don't you know anything about being in style?"

"Hick redskin?" Jersey yelled. "Why, you white trash, possum-eating, swamp-crawler-" She picked up her club.

Cooper stuck his tongue out at her and took off, Jersey right behind him.

"At least I didn't grow up eating Gila monsters and rattlesnakes!" Coop yelled over his shoulder.

"I'm going to make you look like a Gila monster, you goober mouth!"

"Goober mouth?" Coop yelled.

"General Raines," Ms. Cynthia Ross-Harris said, walking up to Ben as he stood at the edge of the awning covered walkway of the minimall. The others in her group were still watching Cooper and Jersey race around the parking lot. "Your troops putting on that little show for us?"

"Nope. Those two have been at each other for years. I suspect they'll get married one day. Did you ever find a man, Cynthia?"

"I haven't been looking, General Raines."

"Too bad. A stiff d.i.c.k would work wonders for your disposition."

Cynthia leaned close to Ben and whispered, "f.u.c.k you, Raines. You pig!"

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Ben laughed, and that got the attention of the other reporters. They all walked up to where Ben and his team- minus Cooper and Jersey-were standing.

"Quite a group," Ben observed, looking over the twenty or so reporters.

"It's a good thing the entire bunch didn't come down in one plane. All of you leaning left would have caused the plane to fall out of the sky.""Very amusing, General," said a middle-aged man. "Ha Ha."

"Well, well," Bensaid. "Mister Harry Bell. The socialist's best friend.

What rag are you working for these days ... since New York City no longer exists?"

"The city will rise again, General. A ma.s.sive rebuilding is taking place. As if you didn't know."

"Like the Phoenix from the ashes, eh, Harry?"

"Something like that, General," the New York journalist replied coolly.

"That's good. I always did like to visit New York City." Ben smiled at the man.

Harry's returning smile was very thin.

Ben spoke to each of the reporters, and they were led off to their quarters. He would meet with them later.

Jersey had stopped chasing Cooper around the parking lot and they were resting, sitting on the sidewalk curb, talking. Both received some strange looks from the reporters ... which they ignored.

'' Security is getting edgy, Boss, "Beth said to Ben.' 'They've received reports that a large number of infiltrators are in this area."

"Their objective?"

"You."

Ben paused in his rolling a cigarette. "They never give up, do they?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

"What does security have in mind?"

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"They might want to move you again."

"Where?"

She shrugged her reply, then said, "They don't know. They're talking about it now."

"I've been expecting some attempt at an end-around by the Feds." Ben smiled-very knowingly, Beth thought. "Our lines are so long, and there are so many gaps a division could walk through."

"I saw you studying the maps, pinpointing the areas where the Feds concentrated on blowing the mines in the strip."

Among other things, Ben thought. "They did a good job of it, too. One area is just west of here, the other is just east."

"This bunch of reporters wanted to see some action. Looks like theymight get more than they bargained for."

"I really need to get them out of here for their own safety, but if I tried that they'd think ..." Ben paused and shrugged. "h.e.l.l, who cares what they think? They're going to blast me with words no matter what happens. They knew the danger coming in, or should have. If they get their a.s.ses shot, it's their fault."

Anna walked up. "Why is security so uptight?" she questioned. "What's going on?"

"Infiltrators, Kiddo."

Corrie walked up and said, "Infiltrators have been spotted, Boss. East, west, and south of us. A major offensive by the Feds is just getting underway north of us."

Ben was silent for a moment. The security detail at his CP was not nearly large enough to beat back any major attack launched against them.

They were, as the old saying goes, between a rock and a hard place.

"You can bet some Federals will be under orders, if they break through our lines-and they will in some places- to drive south as hard as they can and box us in here,"

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Ben said. "It's what I would do if I knew the commander of all Feds was stationary in one spot, with only a company or so of troops. Son of a b.i.t.c.h!"

"This was not a good idea," Cooper remarked.

"Cooper," Jersey said. "You are belaboring the obvious. Shut up."

"Be quiet!" Corrie snapped. "Both of you. Squabble some other time." She held up a hand. "I'm getting a lot of transmissions."

Corrie was the unofficial leader of the team, and Jersey and Cooper shut up immediately. Beth and Anna exchanged glances and smiles.

"Fed troops advancing toward this area as we speak," Corrie said. "From all directions."

"Get those reporters back on the choppers and get them out of here," Ben ordered. "Do it, Anna. Move!" He turned to Cooper. "Get the wagon ready to roll, Coop. Move!'' He looked at Jersey and Beth.' 'Draw supplies.

You know what we need. Take off. How close are they, Corrie?"

"In another fifteen minutes you can ask them personally, Boss."

Ben smiled at her. "That close, huh?"

"You bet."

The sudden whine of the choppers' engines filled the afternoon air.

"Corrie, b.u.mp Base Camp and tell them to do something about those new staff members coming in. Divert them somewhere.""Done, Boss. First thing."

"I should have guessed that. OK What are we forgetting before we bug out of here?"

The reporters ran to the choppers and scrambled aboard.

"Short visit," Corrie shouted over the roar of the choppers, gesturing toward the reporters.

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"Long enough for me," Ben replied.

A couple of minutes pa.s.sed. The choppers lifted off and the reporters were out of harm's way. Rebels were hurriedly loading gear into the backs of trucks in preparation for bugging out.

"There's Coop," Corrie said.

"The team is with him," Ben said. "OK. Everyone is accounted for. Let's get the h.e.l.l out of here."

A mortar round landed just in front of the big nine pa.s.senger wagon and blew out the front window. Water started pouring from a busted radiator.

The team appeared to be unhurt.

"Get out of there!" Ben yelled. "Grab what you can and get clear."

The team scrambled out of the wagon, grabbing backpacks, rucksacks, and weapons, and ran over to Ben and Corrie.

Ben took a pack and rucksack. "Get in that deuce and a half over there,"

Ben told his team. "I'm right behind you in the next truck. I've got to get something from the office."

"I'll stay with you," Jersey said.

"You'll get your a.s.s in that truck like I told you," Ben said. "Move, all of you!"

The team obeyed orders. None of them liked it, but they did what they were told.

Ben had parked a HumVee behind his office. He had plans for that vehicle. He waved at his team as the truck pulled away. "I'll catch up with you!" Ben yelled.

The team waved at him.

"The h.e.l.l I will," he muttered. Ben had known about the infiltrators before anyone else connected with his CP. He had intercepted a message from communications ... before Corrie had a chance to see it. It seems that General Walt Berman was feeling his oats, and had insisted upon 262.

leading the team of infiltrators now converging on Ben's CP. Ben hadradioed intel about the message.

"Has this rumor been confirmed as fact?" Ben had asked. "Berman is really leading this group?"

"It's a fact, General. He is definitely leading one of the teams."

"The man is a fool!"

"Yes, sir. But he has sworn to kill you personally."

The infiltration teams had not materialized when intel had said they would, and Ben dismissed the report as pure rumor. Hours later, rumor became fact, and Ben had put on a good show of not knowing anything about it. It had been difficult to keep a straight face while doing it.

He was pretty sure that Anna had picked up on the ruse but had not been able to really figure out what he was up to. By the time they did figure it out, it would be too late for any of them to do anything about it.

"I guess I'm a pretty good actor," he muttered, ducking behind the minimall, tossing his gear into the Hummer, and cranking it up. "I should be nominated for an Academy Award for my performance this afternoon."