The Fall Of America: Fatal Encounters Part 19

The trucks from the convoy, those still moving, rolled past the staff car without a second thought. All drivers were concerned about survival, not risking their necks for some colonel that rode their a.s.ses all the time. Grenades still exploded, screams were heard, and bullets continued to strike the big vehicles. One was seen to leave the road at a high rate of speed, knock down a fence, and then collide with a huge oak tree. It suddenly burst into flames, either from a ruptured gas tank or a 40 mm round. Shrieks of fear and pain were heard, but not for long, because it exploded. The resulting fire set the woods aflame as well.

The trucks continued to move away from the ambush site and within a few minutes the survivors were moving, as fast as the governors on their engines would allow, for Edwards. The scene of ambush grew quiet, with the exception of crackling flames, small secondary detonations, and the moans and screams of the injured. Out of the blue, Zheglov's staff car exploded, sending a huge rolling ball of reddish-black flames high into the air. With the explosion, the injured sergeants screams stopped.

Many long minutes pa.s.sed before Colonel w.i.l.l.y Williams walked from the trees and yelled, "Check out all the trucks and remove anything we can use. Shoot all the injured and no captives." He then moved to the closest truck, discovered the driver dead, his b.l.o.o.d.y head slumped over the steering wheel and the guard laying half out of an open door. His feet were were entangled in the dash of the vehicle. w.i.l.l.y sent a round into the man's head, just to be safe, because he saw no blood.

He and some of his men moved to the rear of the truck and looked inside. A young partisan, barely over 15, turned his head to the right and puked. The back of the vehicle was covered in blood with body parts littering the floor. The dead civilians, most thrown to the rear of the cab when the truck struck a guardrail, were laying in unnatural positions.

"We had no idea what they were carrying, so don't let this get to you son." w.i.l.l.y said to the young man who was wiping his mouth clean of vomit.

A man neared and said, "We've found a bunch of civilians in these trucks, but no supplies. What do you want us to do with the people?"

"Check all the trucks and remove any civilians that are able to move on their own. If they can't walk, put 'em down. Take every pair of NVG's and spare batteries you can find."

"Y . . . you mean, kill them?" The man asked.

"That's exactly what I've ordered, Lieutenant, or do you have a problem with my orders?"

A pistol shot was heard and then the Lieutenant said, "That's murder, sir."

"Phil, how long do you think someone seriously injured will live in a prison camp? These folks were going to Edwards and they don't even have housing for them. They will be given no medical treatment and simply dumped on the gra.s.s inside the wire. It might take some of these folks days to die and they'll do so in great pain. Now, do as I asked, because I'm doing this to be merciful, not because I'm a killer."

Phil muttered under his breath as he walked off and started giving orders to his men.

"Let's hurry folks, because choppers will be overhead shortly. I want to be miles from here before they arrive."

A woman neared w.i.l.l.y and reported, "The officer from the staff car is alive, but with a broken neck."

"Take me to him, Lieutenant."

A few minutes later, in the median, Zheglov met the eyes of Colonel w.i.l.l.y Williams.

"I speak your language." w.i.l.l.y said as he squatted beside the injured man.

"Will you now kill me?"

"I have not decided, but you deserve to die."

"I am soldier obeying orders."

w.i.l.l.y laughed and then said, "Is that why you were carrying people instead of supplies or soldiers? Do not insult my intelligence, Colonel. You were carrying innocent people gathered up to fill your prison camp."

"I hurt. Can you not give me anything for the pain?"

Pulling his pistol, w.i.l.l.y said, "No, we will give you nothing for your pain. My medics think your neck is broken, so to make sure you are removed from all future battles, I must do this."

"Plea-"

The two shots were loud as both bullets struck Zheglov's knee caps, shattering them. The Russian screamed, but more out of fear than pain, because he actually felt nothing from the neck down.

"Colonel Williams, we have choppers in the air!" Someone shouted.

"Disperse, and do the job now! Break into small two man teams and meet back at our base when you can." He placed his pistol back in the holster and said to Zheglov, "You may live, Colonel, but you will never use your legs again and I pray your neck is truly broken. Tell your boss we will resist the Russians until no single American lives. We will have our country back!" He placed an ace of spades card in Zheglov's s.h.i.+rt pocket.

Hearing the sound of the chopper, w.i.l.l.y broke for the trees at a hard run. Once under cover, he squatted beside three of his men as the chopper landed on the highway, close to the staff car. He watched as men exited the chopper and ran to each truck, and two made their way to the staff car, stretchers in hand. A gunner was scanning the countryside, his nerves obviously on edge. Another chopper circled overhead.

Suddenly w.i.l.l.y had a change of mind. He motioned to a man beside him that he wanted his weapon. Taking the RG-6 in his hands, he waited.

Minutes later, two men walked toward the helicopter, packing Zheglov on a stretcher. The other men were boarding on the other side. As the stretcher was placed inside the aircraft, w.i.l.l.y quickly fired two grenades from the RG-6. One struck in the c.o.c.kpit area and the second struck the tail boom. The resulting explosions were loud, and then the fuel went up with a loud swoosh. Engulfed by flames, two human torches moved from the flames walking aimlessly as they screamed. An explosion vibrated in the trees and a giant ball of fire suddenly appeared where the aircraft had been resting on it's skids. The two burning men, were knocked to the ground by the detonation and remained unmoving.

Turning to his men, w.i.l.l.y said, "Move, but take the long way back to camp."

The chopper flying overhead saw the explosion from the aircraft on the ground and quickly radioed the main base to report the aircraft down. Then, the aircraft commander zoomed down to tree top level as they searched for partisans. Spotting a small group of three men, the door gunner reported, "Three men at your three o'clock position, sir."

"Fire, fool, and if you kill them all, a bottle of vodka will be given to you."

The rat-tat-tat of the machine-gun was heard and the gunner walked the bullets into the men. Dirt, gra.s.ses, stones, blood and bones flew high into the air as the bullets pa.s.sed through two of the men, but the last seemed unharmed.

"Go around, go around now!" The gunner screamed into his intercom system.

When they returned, two men were seen on the ground, but the third was gone.

"Start circling slowly, sir." The gunner said as he kept his eyes on the ground and his finger on the trigger, ready to spit lead death at the last man.

Slowly the aircraft circled and was about to turn away, when w.i.l.l.y stood from some brush with a smile on his face and the RG-6 in his hands. The Russian gunner saw w.i.l.l.y a second too late and before his mind could register what his eyes were seeing, the thump of a launcher was heard on the ground.

The big 40 mm round struck the chopper in the engine area and then exploded. Smoke began to stream from the engine and flames were shooting from access panels. The aircraft fought to gain height, and was running rough and shaking violently as the pilot made an attempt to get to the highway to land. The pilot was about ten feet from the ground when the engine seized and it dropped hard to the concrete.

On impact both the pilot and co-pilot suffered severe back injuries, but the pilot quickly reached up with his right hand and hit the fire agent discharge b.u.t.ton, which shot a thick fire preventing foam into the engine compartment smothering the flames. He then turned all power switches off. If the aircraft was leaking fuel, the sparks of any electrical device could cause an explosion.

The gunner crawled from the chopper and took his machine-gun with him, guarding against any ground attacks. The man had a cut over his left eye, where the edge of his helmet had struck him when they slammed hard to the ground. He removed his helmet and pulled his first aid kit open. Removing a bandage, he soon had his injury wrapped.

Five minutes later, a helicopter arrived with Colonel Pankov as the senior officer on board the aircraft. A team of medics jumped from the aircraft and moved to the downed bird.

Then more and more choppers landed and infantry troops began to secure the area. As soon as the troops were off the aircraft, each chopper returned to the sky, flying in lazy circles. A Lieutenant Colonel walked to Pankov and said, "We have secured the area, sir."

"Thank you, Yakubov, now have some of your men remove our dead. Be sure to get me a body count of our troops."

"What of the dead civilians, sir?"

"Leave them where they lay. Pour gas on each truck that is beyond repair and when we leave, burn it all."

A medic neared and said, "The co-pilot has a broken back, we are not sure about the pilot's back and both gunners sustained injuries, with one having a concussion."

Pankov walked to what remained of Zheglov's helicopter and realized they'd never find enough of the man to bury. Three fourths of the aircraft was gone and the only bodies seen were two men laying on the pavement, burnt to a crisp. Both were so badly disfigured by the fire, their own mothers wouldn't recognize them. Smoke from the fire still reached for the sky, but thinner now than just minutes ago.

Two hours later, dozers from the base cleared the highway and the troops returned to base. Pankov was p.i.s.sed about the attack, but not overly so, and returned to his room. Once showered to remove the smell of death from him, he had supper in the officers mess and returned to his quarters for a few drinks. He picked up a book and began reading when there came a knock at his door.

A young lieutenant was standing in the hallway when he asked, "Yes?"

The young officer saluted and said, "Colonel Vetrov has asked to see you immediately, sir."

"Return to the Colonel and inform him I will be there as soon as I get my boots on."

"Yes, sir."

Pankov closed the door and thought, What does the d.a.m.ned fool want from me now? I suspect he wants an update on the partisan attack, but why at this hour? He placed his feet into the boots and then moved for the door, thinking, Well, he cannot blame this last attack on me, it was all Zheglov's idea.

He entered the hospital ward to find Vetrov looking sour and p.i.s.sed, staring at his hands. The Colonel looked up and asked "And, where in the h.e.l.l have you been? I expected a report from you right after you landed."

"I showered, had a bite to eat and had no idea you wanted to speak with me, sir. You sent no word to me, nor did you say anything at the staff meeting this morning." Like I can read your small brain.

CHAPTER 19.

Three days later, as John and Joshua scouted in cold weather, they spotted men moving toward them. They crouched in the bushes and waited for the men to get closer. Seeing they were Americans, John said, "That's close enough. Who are you and what do you want?"

The man on point stopped, swung his weapon in John's general direction, but said nothing.

Long seconds pa.s.sed before the man called out, "Bill, come to me."

A minute later a tall man with black hair, said, "I'm Bill and was sent by w.i.l.l.y Williams. We need to talk, if your name is John or Tom."

"My name is John. What does w.i.l.l.y want?"

"He wants a strike on Russian railroad traffic started immediately. If possible, derail the engine and other cars when you do the job." Bill removed his pack and sat it on the ground beside him.

John smiled and said, "We can do that."

"In the mean time, all other rail lines will be hit, too."

"We'll start tonight. Was that all he wanted?"

"Nope, I have a few pounds of C4 explosive for you to use on the job." He pulled a paper-wrapped bundle from his pack, handing it to John.

"Do you have time to eat?"

Shaking his head, Bill said, "No, I have to get back. I'll inform w.i.l.l.y you'll start this evening."

Donning his pack, Bill and the rest disappeared into the trees.

Glancing at the low clouds overhead, John said, "Let's get back. It looks like rain or snow coming, and we've a mission to prepare."

Once back at the cabin, they discussed the mission and how to do the most damage with the least effort. Ideas were kicked around and around, until John said, "I like Tom's idea and think it will cause the most damage with the least danger to us. We move at dark, only Dolly will stay here to give you a little more protection."

At dark, three of them were moving north toward the railroad and it was quiet. A light drizzle fell, so each wore a poncho, and the weather was cold. It was perfect hypothermia weather with temperatures in the mid thirties. According to Sally, a train pulled into Edwards each night near midnight to offload supplies for the military. Civilians were not allowed on the trains and the only traffic was military. The only dangerous part of the mission, so far, was crossing the main highway, which they did one at a time. They'd encountered no problems and a little before 2300 hours arrived at the tracks.

They quickly placed two Claymore mines facing each other on the opposite sides of the tracks and ran the wires from the mine on the far side, under the steel beams and covered them with small rocks. Then fifty yards down the track, east, they placed some C4 which Tom rigged up to blow on command.

They then ran the wires from their explosives to a ditch that ran parallel to the tracks. They'd be in the ditch when the C-4 and Claymores blew. Joshua moved a distance behind to cover their rear as they did the dirty work. Once the explosives were detonated, he was to join the other two in shooting up the train.

At 2345 hours they heard the train approaching and a bright light was s.h.i.+ning from the engine. The speed was low, approximately twenty-five miles an hour, and when it neared, John spotted people on a platform in front of the engine. They're using captives to make sure the train isn't attacked; well, it won't work today, he thought as he picked up the clackers for the Claymore mines.

"We let the captives go by and when I yell now, we blow the mines. Hopefully no civilians will be killed. Okay?"

"I'll squeeze when you give the word."

As John waited, he decided to set the explosives off a second before the engineer's door reached the mines. John thought his forward speed would have him in the kill zone and most of the hostages out, but no matter where the civilians were, this train would be destroyed.

The engine ran over the C4 and kept moving and just before the engineer was between the two mines, John yelled, "Now!"

Both mines exploded, riddling and knocking the engine off the tracks, where it quickly fell on its side, smoking. Tom exploded the C4 and two flatbed cars loaded with troops flew high into the air. He then picked up his RG-6 and sent 40 mm grenades into the five remaining cars.

Joshua opened up and heard his bullets. .h.i.tting cargo cars and pinging off into s.p.a.ce. Then one car exploded, a large fireball lighting up the darkness as clear as day. Screams were heard from the engine, so John ran to the train. The engineer was dead, his b.l.o.o.d.y head almost ripped from his neck. He quickly untied the prisoners and told them to go. They scattered into the winds in ones and twos and some had minor injuries, but he couldn't help them.

Russian bodies were spread all over the place and all were dead. John pulled an ace of spades from his pocket and placed it in the open mouth of a dead Master Sergeant. He then used his right foot to close the dead man's mouth.

"We need to move and do the job now. I'm sure they'll have choppers up looking for us shortly." Tom said.

The drizzle had changed to rain so they began a distance eating trot to put some distance between them and the tracks. At the main highway, they crossed as a group, to lessen time needed to cross, and were soon back in the trees.

An hour later, choppers were heard overhead, but they simply stopped and hugged a tree. Minutes later the aircraft moved away.

Lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the area, and a few seconds later a loud boom or crack was heard. They never slowed and soon saw the safety of the cabin in front of them. It was pouring rain now and each was tired, wet and hungry. John wanted to dry off, eat a little and then get some much needed sleep.

Walking up to the door, John knocked twice, waited a second and then knocked twice more. Sandra opened the door and asked, "Well?"

"The Russians are short a train and a large number of men. I'll tell all of you about it after we dry off, get something to eat."

"There is some stew on the stove. We opened a few rations and placed the canteen cups on the edge of the stove to keep warm."

As soon as they'd changed into dry clothes, they each took a canteen cup from the stove and started eating. John told his story as he ate.

When he'd finished, Sandra said, "Sounds like it went smoothly."

He laughed and replied, "It did and that scared me, too. Most missions have something go wrong, but not this time."

"We're lucky, that's all." Tom said. "I think because they've never been attacked before we got away with it, this time. We need to s.p.a.ce the attacks out and hit them on different days and not show any routine. If they get the rhythm of our attacks, we're dead meat."

"Yep, I know, so tonight we'll hit them again."

"Tonight? Have you lost your mind?"