Matthew Mark - Dark Days Rough Roads

Rob had his people keep a closer eye out on the compound. They noticed that same night that there was indeed another group of people who snuck into the compound. It looked like it was two adults and a younger child around 12 years old. Brad and a few others had taken it upon themselves to check and mark the vehicles in the area so they knew which ones had been there and which ones were new.

Haliday told them to use chalk and mark the inside of a tire so it wasn’t obvious. They could double up by placing a small stone just under a tire. If the first number in the license plate was an even number it went under the drivers front tire, if it was odd it went under the passenger front tire.

They had remembered the newer vehicles that popped up and checked them out. With the help of the auto parts store, they were able to get two of the three running and confiscated them. They would use them for now and then return them if they could convince the owners to leave.

The next 48 hours were spent on preparing for the assault. Brad had brought out groups of people who were given a crash course on tactics they would need to employ during the assault. Some basics on cover, fire, escape and evade. Not nearly enough training, but more than any of them had ever had.

The exception was that Brad was able to find five veterans and three police officers in the group to help them out and take on roles as squad leaders. One of the police officers whose name was Chuck had formal SRT training and picked a few guys to help with building entry. There would be two teams for building entry.

After the initial assault, Mark would take over the main assault group while Haliday and Chuck split off with the two entry teams to do the building checks. Once they cleared the buildings another guy was assigned to lock them down. It was as simple as locking the door and then breaking a key off in the tumblers. They had a locksmith who could open them later.

They had found some more tractors to use and took them over to the metal fabrication shops in the area for armoring. They would armor the driver’s front and the buckets or dozer blades. These were only going to be used for the assault. Just enough to get some guys in and breach one side of the compound. The south end was fairly accessible, but most of the people and buildings were all at the north side of the airport.

They went through again and picked out the best hunters they could find. Each was assigned an area of the compound to cover. They were also each assigned spotters to watch in the area for any surprises or attacks from the rear. They had no idea who might try to sneak up behind them or even if they would.

Brad had a stock full of tannerite targets. He asked Roger what they could do with them. “Easy,” Roger said. “You lay a piece of scotch tape down, a line of heavy finishing nails on the tape and wrap it around the can of tannerite. Use the giant slingshot and launch them into the compound. The hunters will have a target full of flechettes to fire on.”

“The militia won’t want to touch them or come close after a few go off. Try and launch a bunch simultaneously and have the guys shoot them simultaneously as well. That will be a huge psychological kick in the pants. After word gets out when one lands near someone they’ll want to leave.”

Brad looked at him, “You’re a sick man.”

“Guerilla warfare Brad, that’s all it is. The days of taking twenty paces and dueling with pistols ended a while ago,” he replied.

They wrangled up as many tires as they could. They placed them around the outside of the compound in stacks. The militia laughed at them. Those things wouldn’t stop a .22 round was what they were thinking. What they didn’t know was that these would be lit on fire to create a smoke screen to help block some of their activities and to smoke out the militia as much as possible.

Haliday had them gather up bricks from the brickyard and use those to reinforce some of their fighting positions around the compound. He also had them place a good number of spike strips along the roads so any vehicles making a run for it would get flat tires. They would let people go, but would have to make their point so the militia would know it was over and they would be expected to disband completely.

Roger made sure that the guys that would be entering the compound and buildings had mirrors to use, these were simple contraptions made of compact mirrors from the cosmetic counter of the drug store, shortened broom sticks and duct tape. Simple, effective and cheap. Easily tossed aside or thrown away with no bother of how much they had cost.

Haliday covered clothing with the guys. “Make sure you do not wear any camo. We can not have anyone getting hit by friendly fire. You have all seen that they wear the Russian camo and know what it looks like. Wear plain black or regular clothes. Make sure they are loose enough to give when you move, but tight enough so they do not get caught on stuff. Your shoes are important as well. Boots with ankle support are the best option, avoid tennis shoes.”

“Everybody gather around me,” Haliday said. “I’m going to cover the rules of engagement. No children are to be fired upon unless they are actively firing on you. Anyone else that is armed and engaged is fair game. If they drop their weapons and surrender, you zip tie them behind their backs. We shoot to neutralize the threat.”

“What’s that mean?” he heard someone yell.

“Kill,” Roger answered back.

He made a quick count of the people involved. There were almost 120 of them total. These people were starting to get hungry and that meant they were ready to fight. They were starting to realize real quickly now what was happening and what their future held. It wasn’t just them; it was their families as well.

He called everyone close in. “I have a little speech to give here people. I hope it doesn’t change your minds about anything. People are going to die. That is a cold hard fact you all need to come to grips with. The fight is being taken to them because if you don’t, they will become stronger and you will become weaker.”

“There are no ‘ifs,’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts’ in this. It’s a matter of getting it done and getting it done the right way, right now. As corny as it sounds, and as often used as it is in the movies, look around you. This is the reason you are fighting. This is who depends on you. This is who you must depend on. With that being said, Depends might not be a bad option; some of you will shit your pants.” He got quite a few chuckles at that, even though it was probably true.

“Any questions before we leave?” There weren’t any. Just a lot of thank you’s, good lucks and prayers. Haliday shook Rob’s hand and Brad’s hand. “I’ll see you all in the morning.” Haliday and Mark headed back to the house. They walked in and the mood was somber. “I’m not going over it all again ok. It’s gotta be done, plain and simple.”

Morning came and Mark and Haliday were ready to go. When they went downstairs everyone was there waiting for them. A lot of hugs and kisses. Kayla walked up and gave Mark a hug. She went over to Roger and gave him a big hug with tears in her eyes. “You better be coming home. You promise me that Dad.”

“I can’t promise you that sweetheart. What I can promise you is that I will do everything I can to make it happen. I want you to know how proud of you I am. I could never have asked for a better daughter who has grown into a fantastic young woman. You can accomplish anything you want in life kiddo. Never give up. Take care of the family here. You’re the boss for now.”

Haliday and Mark got into the Jeep and took off. They didn’t say a word to one another on the way there. They just went over the assault plans in their heads. They arrived at the police station. Everyone else started to arrive as well. Haliday pulled out a big pot and a bunch of Styrofoam bowls. One of the folks took charge and started doling out oatmeal with bananas that Haliday had brought.