Paul Kirk - Devastation Point

They exited the closet and Connor walked to each window, checking for movement. There was nothing.

“Mac, you’re scaring me.”

“You have your knife handy?”

Amanda touched her right front hip. “Yeah. What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s not right and I don’t know why. It could be nothing. Snuff, stay behind me. Five feet to my left when we exit. You know the drill.”

“What’s your name?”

“They call me Sarge.”

“Military?”

“Yeah, like you, from the looks of it. Was anyway, years ago.”

“Unit?”

“101 stAirborne. You?”

“Any of your men unaccounted for? We don’t want to have to kill,” said Major O’Malley. He stood in front of a large window in a spacious bedroom clearly used as a command post. Sarge was standing in front of the major in zip cuffs and he took his time considering the question. His eyes contained the telltale spark of intelligence and they were quick, missing nothing. He wasn’t pleased that he and five of his group were captives.

“Depends. If you’re not killin’, what you here for?”

Major O’Malley turned to Captain Daubney and nodded. The captain approached Sarge from behind.

“Whoa!” said Sarge, sensing the captain’s movement. “What the fuck you gonna do now?”

Major O’Malley raised his hand to stop the captain and gain the attention of his captives. “Sarge, to show you that I’m serious, I’ll release you and your men from those cuffs. I’m doing this for two reasons: one, with the cuffs on, you’re going to spend every waking minute trying to figure out how to escape. I know that’s how you were trained, so, I’d rather you stay on your own accord; and two, I’m here for info only and I can trade some food and other supplies for that. We’re not here to kill anyone—slaughtering gives us nothing we need and we weren’t sure how you’d react to our presence. I found it necessary to take you by force so that nobody was hurt.”

“Huh, if that’s the case, lower your weapons and we can talk.”

“Well, we won’t lower our weapons just yet, Sarge.” Major O’Malley nodded to the captain who cut the zip cuffs binding Sarge’s wrists. “Release the rest of the men, captain.”

“Yes, sir.”

Major O’Malley kept focus on Sarge. He was a short and balding man who carried himself with more self-respect than most. There was a calm confidence about him and he and his men were relatively clean and neat, a clear sign of a well-run military unit. “Sergeant, my name is Major Michael T. O’Malley of the United States Army. We’re pressed for time and I’d rather not have to kill any of your men. We used infrared from the air and confirmed a minimum of thirty-five to forty people in this area. With six of you here, that leaves at least twenty-nine people unaccounted for right now including your perimeter and house guards. You with me?”

“And?”

“I’m asking you to provide a status for these people. Keep in mind that my men outside have orders to treat them as hostiles. Those orders will change if you can bring your people into a meeting here peacefully.”

The sergeant braced to attention, regaining all his military bearing at that moment.

“Sir! My name’s Sergeant Robert Jensen of the United States Army 101 stAirborne. Retired.”

“At ease, sergeant.”

“Will you permit me to talk with my men, sir?”

“Permission granted.”

The sergeant approached his men, speaking to them in a low voice. “I think this guy’s for real. I want you guys to calm the fuck down—I know you’re pissed. Shut up, Johnny! I know we got taken easily, but they’re a superior force and highly trained for this type of takedown. I want you and Rob to tell the perimeter to come in. They’re to report to the front lawn. Tom and Mark, I want you chasing down the two scouting crews—they’re probably about a mile out by now.”

“But, Sarge—”

“No fucking buts, Do nothing else , hear me? All weapons safe and stowed. Failure to follow this simple rule will probably get us all killed. Joey, you gather up the rest of the group. Lay it out for them crystal clear.”

“Okay, Sarge,” answered Joey. The other men nodded assent and the sergeant turned back to the major. “Major O’Malley, I want to deploy these men to bring in the others. Are there any objections, sir?”

“No objections, sergeant. Trust has to start somewhere. I want your men to instruct the rest of your group to enter this area carrying all weapons in a non-threatening manner. They can keep their weapons, but the weapons must be stowed for now. If any of my men feel threatened in any way, we’ll fire. You and your men understand?”

The sergeant turned to his men. “You guys hear me? You understand what the major is saying?”

“Yeah, Sarge,” came from some of the men. The others simply nodded their assent.

“Okay. Bring our people in safely. I don’t want anyone killed. Do it.” The five soldiers moved away in opposite directions and Sergeant Jensen turned his attention back to the major.

“Major, can I interest you in a shot of Jack Daniels and a cigar?”

Despite the major’s near exhaustion, he smiled at the sergeant. He was easy to like—there was an inherent trust about the man. Captain Daubney visibly relaxed.

“Sergeant, that sounds like a great idea.”

“Would you care to join us, captain?” asked Sergeant Jensen.

“If it’s okay with the major, sergeant.”

“Of course, captain.”

“This way, gentlemen.” Sergeant Jensen led them to a spacious master bedroom at ground level. Inside, the room had enough food stockpiled to sustain a large group for many months. Besides the food, the large bedroom closet contained a well-stocked armory.

“Sergeant, we need to ask you some questions about a man that may have passed through here recently. I want to wait to ask the questions to your entire group.”

“Okay, major. It’ll take an hour or so to round up the rest of my men. In the meantime, I’d appreciate if you could fill me in on the state of the world. I’d guess that you’re more informed about this than I am, sir. After all, you have a helicopter—I never thought I’d see another bird airborne.”

“Sergeant, I’ll tell you our story, but I’m awful parched. You mentioned something about my good friend Jack Daniels?”

“Yes, sir!” answered the sergeant, removing a half-empty fifth and three shot glasses from a battered hutch in the corner of the room. He poured liberally and the three men raised their glasses in a toast to their budding alliance.

“Snuff,” said Connor, barely above a whisper, “we need to leave by the side door—the one next to the garage. I don’t think we can use the back door now.”

“Why?”

“Tactics. In an urban setting, people tend to leave by the same door they entered. It’s human nature. Anyone seeing us enter would naturally expect us to exit the same—that’s where any primary concentration of firepower will be located.”

“Mac, you’re scaring me—I’ve never seen you this keyed up.”

“Listen and learn, okay?”

“Alright.”

“I’m following the feeling that’s kept my ass alive through some serious shit. If I tell you to run, I want you to move your ass.”

“Okay.”

“Act on all my commands without question, understood?”

“Yeah, Mac, I get it.”

“I don’t want to be worried about you if the shit hits the fan. I’ll be a bit busy.”

“I said I get it.”