"You do that, Colonel, and you will also call your supply counterpart in Moscow and request an immediate expedite of this gear, by air. How in the h.e.l.l do you and Moscow expect me to do my job, when I do not have the needed supplies? I want the winter clothing for my troops here and delivered no later than twenty-four hours from now, or you, sir, will be a.s.signed to the infantry."
"Sir, I don"t know if that is even poss-"
"You heard me and I am a man of my word-twenty-four hours. Now, I want all ground patrols and searches for the resistance doubled, around the clock, once we have our winter gear. The partisans will need fires to survive and that means woodsmoke during the day. Once the bad weather pa.s.ses, I want flights out at night looking for the light from these flames. If an aircraft spots a fire, take the light out with rockets, because the people on the ground will be close to the fires. Tell your pilots to use some common sense and check with us to make sure it"s not a fire from one of our groups. Patrol leaders need to call in with their exact map positions, as they usually do, each night."
The legal officer said, "There will be finger pointing, in the event of friendly fire losses. I suspect there will be some instances of friendly fire deaths, due to the urgency of our missions."
"Major, you and your staff determine who is at fault in any accidents. I do not expect, and will not tolerate, long drawn out court fights over guilt. Get to the bottom of it and see justice is served, if there are any cases."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, I have another appointment, so that is all. Dismissed."
A sergeant called the room to attention and Vetrov departed.
Sally was tired, hungry, and cold. While the sun was shining, the temperature was below freezing. The same day the Russians had killed Fred, she"d been caught when she returned to her stall to get the gold jewelry she kept in a cigar box. She was now, along with about two-hundred others, shivering in a barbed wire enclosure about twice the size of a football field. They had absolutely no shelter, no food and no water. The Russians simply locked them in the wire cage and walked away. This was her third day without water, food, shelter or a fire.
A truck backed to the gate and men dismounted. Huge pots, the size of trashcans, were pulled from the back of the truck, placed on the ground, and Sally could see steam coming from each container. Suspecting it was hot food, she, along with the others, ran toward the gate.
A Russian soldier yelled in thickly accented English, "Make line. You want eat, make line."
People fought to get into line and more than one was shoved or knocked to the ground as all wanted food before it ran out.
The soldier yelled again, "Enough food everyone! No fight. Fight, we take food and go."
Fighting stopped instantly.
"All get one cup. Keep cup. No get another cup." The soldier said and then removed the lid to the first steaming pot.
A soldier was handing each person a metal canteen cup as they neared the food. As she drew closer to the food, she saw each person got exactly one ladle of some kind of soup. When her turn came, she received a single ladle of watery soup, and noticed small chunks of something mixed in the broth.
A thin and ill-looking man neared the soup containers once more, he"d already had one cup of soup.
"You! Eat one time, no more. No eat two times." The soldier screamed and pulled his pistol.
"This is not enough. I need more to eat, please?" The thin man Sally only knew by Edward said as he walked toward the pot of soup.
"No, food is for all people. Eat one time."
A woman walked to Edward and said, "My husband is ill and needs more to eat than the others. Please, just one cup more?"
The pistol shot was loud and Edward gave a look of surprise as he was struck in the chest. Blood blew out his back and he collapsed to the ground screaming. His fingers clawed at the dirt as blood ran under him.
His wife screamed madly and ran straight for the guard. The pistol barked twice, each bullet hitting her, and she fell to the ground screeching and jerking.
"Now, no worry about husband. He finished. Never come close to gate. We shoot." The soldier said, and then broke out laughing. He said something in Russian and the pots were placed in the back of the truck and they left the area. Each American had received one cup of watery soup.
No one tried to help Edward or his wife, they simply walked away, except for Sally. Holding her precious soup, she squatted beside the man and knew right off he"d die. His eyes were rolled up into his head and his breathing was irregular. His fingers, no longer digging at the soil, were quivering as his central nervous system shut down.
She moved to the woman and saw one bullet had struck her in the lower stomach and the other in the shoulder. Sally knew a little about medicine, since she"d worked in a hospital before the fall as a nurses aid, and the stomach wound was fatal. The woman suddenly gave a heartbreaking scream and arched her back in pain.
As Sally moved past the man, only one finger was still twitching. She moved to the far corner of the camp and sat in the gra.s.s. Her soup didn"t last long and she almost puked when she discovered a yellow chicken foot in the bottom of her cup. I need to eat this, if I can get it down. I can eat what it takes to survive, but the first chance I get, I"m running. Please, G.o.d, help me.
She picked up the small chicken foot with her hand and placed it in her mouth. She discovered it was mostly small bones, skin, and cartilage. Sliding the bare bones through her teeth, she ate the foot, toe by toe.
Master Sergeant Durchenko heard a visitor and when he opened his eyes, he saw Belonev standing beside his bed grinning.
"What are you grinning about?"
"I have news you will be leaving at some point this afternoon or tomorrow. According to the word I got, a helicopter is coming in with some winter gear and you are to leave with the aircraft when it returns to Jackson. From there, you will be loaded on an airliner and returned to Russia."
Durchenko grinned and asked, "Did you bring me another bottle?"
"You know I did, but you will have to drink it all before you get on the plane in Jackson. The medical staff will confiscate it, if they see it."
"That"s what happened to the last bottle. I was emptying it late last night and in walked the doctor. He got mad as h.e.l.l and kept talking about drugs and alcohol cannot be mixed. I told him he"d never been a real soldier."
Belonev chuckled and said, "You know that p.i.s.sed him off, right? Since they wear a uniform, they like to think they are in the military."
"Most need a haircut, fresh shave, and discipline. And, besides, they are not soldiers and we both know it. Of all our troops, the medical troops need the most discipline."
Handing a pint of vodka to his friend, Belonev said, "I have shipped all of your personal belonging to your farm. I did keep your ration book to use, figuring you will have no additional use for it. If possible, in a couple of years, I will come visit you. How would you like that?"
"I would like that, my friend, but I can see something is bothering you and it is not me."
"Vetrov has ordered around the clock ground and air searches for the partisans, and my future looks bleak to me. But, there is nothing I can do but follow orders and do as I am told. It would be a shame to get killed now, with me being at retirement age. h.e.l.l, like you, I would be retired right now, if they had not extended my service to come here."
"I have known you for years and have never heard you speak as you are now. I think my injury may have changed your thinking. The Belonev I know is strong willed, determined, and a d.a.m.ned good soldier." Durchenko opened the bottle and took a long pull of the clear drink. He then handed it to his friend.
"I can have only one, because it is now against the rules to drink while on duty." He took a quick sip and returned the bottle.
"Just between you and I, things are not going well for the great Russian army. I think this invasion will turn into a real mess, like Afghanistan was for us years ago. It seems we never learn from our mistakes."
"We are a hardheaded country and think strength is always the answer, no matter the question. Crippled as you are, you have no need to ever worry about military service again, my friend."
Giving a loud sigh, Durchenko said, "I am not worried about me, but of my lads I leave behind. Most of these kids are just out of school and have no business in the army. The army is a hard business and you do well or die."
"Your lads, as you called them, better learn the business fast or we will be sending home a bunch of metal boxes. I feel this war is about to turn mean."
CHAPTER 15.
John was at the spot where the dirt road intersects the paved road leading to town an hour before daylight. He"d brought Dolly with him, but no one else. He was squatted in some brush and she was leaning against him as he scratched her head. The weather had turned cold and he thought he"d seen a bit of snow as he walked earlier, but saw nothing now. It"s just a couple of degrees above freezing, he thought. The sun will be up any minute now and that should raise the temperature.
Seeing movement in front of him, he clicked the safety off on his Bison. He watched as a man carrying an old 30.06 deer rifle neared. Dolly gave a low growl. Knowing the man was on edge, his senses keen, John said, "I"m a friend."
The rifle moved toward the sound and John slowly stood, saying, "I"m John, and looking for a man named Jones."
The gun barrel lowered and the man replied, "That"s the boss. I"m Frank. So you"re with Tom"s bunch, are you? I was warned to watch for someone."
"Yep, I am."
First one, then two, and finally a whole group of men walked from the trees behind him. Seeing Jones, John said, "I see you"re still alive and kicking."
"Well, staying that way recently has been a real task. The Russians have patrols out at night and during the day now. Choppers are all over the place, regardless of the time."
Shaking his head, John said, "Come over into the trees and let me tell you what I know is going on, and give you a dispatch pouch I took off a dead motorcycle rider. There are some interesting things in the pouch."
Twenty minutes later, John was done speaking and Jones sat quietly. The orders in the pouch instructed all units to increase the frequency of their patrols, take captives and to fully interrogate those captured. It ended ma.s.s executions, but allowed immediate killing of those caught bearing arms. Tanks and other vehicles were to be placed at the intersections of remote roads and check points established. It also explained in detail how to establish a prisoner camp, when to feed and water prisoners, how much food and water each was to receive, and what to do with anything of value recovered from a prisoner. As far as John was concerned, the pouch held the whole Russian game plan for the near future.
John asked, "I wonder what w.i.l.l.y will say once he reads these Russian orders?"
"He"ll be p.i.s.sed and while we"ve already learned of the camps, the food they intend to give our people will starve most of them to death. I doubt the diet in these orders is even 800 to 900 calories, and a person needs more than that to stay alive."
"So, what do we do?"
"w.i.l.l.y wanted confirmation of the camps starting before we do anything, but I know what he"ll want now, or at least think I do. We need to hit and destroy these camps before they"re fully manned and operational. Once they have lights, electric fences, machine-guns, guard towers, and are full of troops, we"d never overrun one without a serious loss of life. It"ll be too late to do much then."
"We can hara.s.s the workers with sniper fire, at least until w.i.l.l.y decides what kind of action we need to take."
"Do it, and if I get word one way or the other about an attack, I"ll send a runner to you. Out of all our cells, I"ve only located about a fourth of them. Oh, before I forget, Davie, bring me your spare toy."
Davie walked to the men, squatted and opened his pack. He then removed an ugly looking gun of some sort that had an oversized revolving cylinder. Seeing the confusion in John"s eyes, he grinned and said, "This is a RG-6 and it shoots six 40mm grenades. It"s semi-automatic and able to launch two grenades a second, or something like that. Ugly, it surely is, but I"ve not used one yet to see how deadly it is. I was to leave it with your group earlier, but to be honest, I wanted the extra protection as we traveled toward Vicksburg. Now that we"re heading home, I want you to have it."
"Do you have any grenades for it?"
"More than just a few, but our supply is limited. Once you use what I give you, you"ll be on your own for ammo after that, so use it sparingly." He then pulled a vest out that had many pockets, and each held a grenade.
Calling another man forward, Davie took a crate from the man and handed it to John. "This box isn"t full; only a little more than half of the grenades remain. I"ve kept the rest for us. These are the first RG-6"s I"ve seen, but I suspect the way things are heating up, the ammo will soon become common."
Jones looked at his watch, stood, and then said, "We need to be moving. So, it"s time to put your sniper to work and I want to wish you good luck."
"I suspect with our sniper and this RG-6, we"ll keep them busy at Edwards." John extended his hand and shook with Jones.
Once back with his group, a meeting was held and John explained what was to happen. Kate smiled and said, "Give me a few shots and I"ll have my new sniper rifle, with night vision scope ready to use."
"Try to shoot an officer, if you see one, and only wound him."
She gave a deadly smile and replied, "I know how the game is played."
John handed the RG-6 to Tom and said, "Since you carried an M-79 before, this will be a step up for you. As far as I"m concerned, a "blooper" is a "blooper", but figure you"ll enjoy using it. I have a vest and a few more rounds in the crate I packed in earlier."
Tom grinned like a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of money.
John and the rest waited in the darkness, behind a hill, as Margie and Tom checked the prison camp to see if workers were still on the job. It would do little good to kill a few men, unless they created a great deal of confusion in the process. Joshua, much better than an average shot, was using Kate"s old 30.06 and once she started the show, he was to join in, but be selective in his targets. The first priority was to kill or injure officers, then sergeants, or workers that looked to have specialized skills. Finally, worker bees would be taken out.
It was snowing hard and the temperature was well below freezing. Tom had argued to wait for better weather, but John knew any dedicated commander, especially one with headquarters on his a.s.s, would have his troops out working, no matter the weather conditions. Besides, the weather conditions in Russia were harsher than this, so it should be just another workday for the troops.
Tom and Margie returned a few minutes after midnight and grinned. "Got a s.h.i.tload of "em working tonight. The place is well lit up too, just as clear as daylight." Margie said.
"Joshua, you and Kate move to positions you think will give you the best shots. Tom, did you see any tanks or other armor, in or out of the wire?"
"Nothing that I saw and I looked for it, too. I did see their fuel dump and hopefully I"ll take it out in a few minutes."
"Keep in mind, with Kate using her suppressor, they may not know what is going on at first. All they"ll see is men dropping. With that said, if you get a good shot into a group, Joshua, after Kate opens the dance, take it."
"I"ll take out the fuel and ammo dumps." Tom said with a big lopsided grin.
"Now, let"s move people, and get to your positions. Remember, no shooting until Kate drops a man, so keep your eyes on the compound."
Ten minutes later, as John watched the compound an officer fell to the dirt, unmoving. A man moved to his side and then suddenly fell over the first man. Confusion resulted and men began to run in all directions. Joshua fired and a man fell, and then Tom fired and a huge explosion filled the cold air and flames rolled into the sky. A machine-gun opened fire, from the back of a truck, but the gunner soon fell over and John suspected one of his snipers had taken him out.
He heard a bloop and then a ma.s.sive explosion sounded and flames burst to the sky. The ground shook as the ammunition went up, but John knew Tom had been lucky, because the ammo wasn"t all stored in one spot. It was likely his round struck an open door to a storage building or an ammo truck parked near the dump. Three more explosions rocked the ground, one after another, and John was confused. Surely the Russians had ammo bunkers for explosive storage.
Tom, seeing the trucks by the ammo bunkers, fired, hitting one, but had no way of knowing the other three vehicles carried ammunition and explosives, too. The night sky was suddenly daylight, as the trucks exploded. Seeing a large electric fence around a group, he sent a 40 mm grenade into the wire, blowing a huge hole. He then blew the wire wide open in two other locations. Civilians screamed as they ran out of the prison compound, but many were killed or wounded in the process, because the Russians were firing at anything that moved.
Colonel Vetrov ran to the camp, wearing no shirt and began to shout orders. Officers and enlisted men scattered to do as he commanded. He held a pistol in his left hand and when Sergeant Belonev arrived, he said, "Take a company of men and search the area around this place. Use night vision goggles and bring me the heads of those responsible for this!"
"Yes, sir." Belonev replied and then thought, Stand out there like a fool in the light, because if you stand there too long, we will get a new commander.
From on a hill, well over two hundred yards away, Kate brought the cross-hairs up on Vetrov"s chest, took a deep breath, and as she released it, she gently squeezed the trigger. The sound of her shot was low, more like a thump than the sharp crack of a rifle shot. Moving the scope back to her target, she saw he was down. Another man ran for Vetrov, so her rifle coughed once more and the man fell screaming to the ground. Through the scope, she saw the top of his head was missing.
Belonev ducked behind some sandbags the second the first shot struck Vetrov, and watched as a private he didn"t know ran toward the colonel. The runner collapsed with most of his head, from the ears up, missing. "Sniper!" The Master Sergeant yelled.
Two others attempting to get at the Colonel were down, and then the Sergeant realized the sniper was playing an old game. Down an important person and then shoot everyone who tries to save him, only to kill your first victim eventually. "I think I know where that shot came from," he said, and running to a machine-gun, he pushed the dead gunner out of his way and sent a short stream of bullets toward the spot. He fired five more times, before he was knocked to the side and realized he"d been shot. His face was in the gra.s.s and he smiled as he looked at the snow covering most of the ground around him. Then his world turned gray before he entered complete darkness.
Glancing at his watch, John saw it was time to withdraw, so he pulled a whistle from his neck to his lips and blew three long blasts. The others would either hear the whistle blasts or realize no one else was firing and leave. He heard the low thump of the RG-6 and when he glanced toward the base, something exploded, sending more fire into the sky, and most likely killing more Russians.
John left the area and once away from the light of the base, started a slow trot that would allow him to cover some distance. The winds were high now, with the cold cutting through his coat and chilling him. Snow was falling harder, and he knew they had to return to the cellar before the snows stopped or even a child would be able to follow them.
Seeing a shape nearing, John yelled, "Civil!"
"War!" The voice replied with the proper countersign.
"Is that you, Tom?"
"Yep, with the rest right behind me. I"m on point. Let"s move straight to the cellar or we"ll not be able to return until this snow melts."
"Any wounded?"
"No, no wounded but we had one fatality, Kate. I"ll explain more at the cellar."