Уильям Дитц - Seek and Destroy

By that time, Mac had been working so long that it was difficult to disconnect even though she knew the flotilla was 120 miles from Memphis and the rebel-held territory that lay beyond. She forced herself to visit the crowded dining room, discovered that she was hungry, and was eating a large breakfast when Lieutenant Hicks sat down. While they were chatting, Hicks revealed that rebel drones were monitoring the flotilla’s progress, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that would mean trouble later.

After finishing her meal, Mac went looking for her cabin and was pleased to discover that it was equipped with a window, a desk, and a tiny bath, in addition to the neatly made bed. Her gear was piled in a corner. Atkins’s doing perhaps? She would find out and thank whoever the person was. But the first order of business was a hot shower and eight hours of sleep. It arrived quickly and pulled her down.

Mac awoke feeling reenergized. Based on the strength of the vibration under her feet, she knew the ship was still under way.

After a shower and a hot meal, Mac went looking for her troops, most of whom were quartered on the Mississippi . It turned out that Alpha and Bravo Companies were down on the main deck and sleeping four to a cabin. That meant the accommodations were crowded but still better than living in the field. Especially since the troops could access the twenty-four/seven dining facility.

Because Quick was on Barge 1, Overman was in command of the troops. Mac found Overman in a tiny cabin, where he was ass deep in paperwork. The door was ajar, so she walked in. Overman stood and was about to salute when she waved the courtesy off. “No need for that. How are we doing?”

“Everything is going well so far… But it’s hard to do any PT. We don’t have enough space.”

Mac considered the possibility of using the spud barge for PT but pushed the thought away. “Let them rest. Odds are that they’ll be very busy during the days ahead.”

Overman nodded. “The colonel has been calling on us to supply work parties.”

“That’s his privilege. But if it starts to have a negative impact on combat readiness, let me know. Atkins will be with me most of the time, and I will carry a radio as well.”

“Will do,” Overman replied. “I’ll keep you in the loop.”

From there, Mac went up to deck three in hopes of getting a sitrep from Russell’s adjutant. The waiting area was empty. The door to Colonel Russell’s office was open though, and light spilled out onto the floor.

Mac went over to take a look, and sure enough, Russell was seated at his desk. When he looked up, Mac saw that he was in need of a shave. “Please come in, Major. I was going to send for you in an hour or so.”

Mac entered the office and took a seat. “Thank you, sir. What should we expect today?”

“We’ll pull into Memphis soon,” Russell predicted. “That’s where the Riverines will meet us.”

“Riverines, sir?”

“Yes. The navy is loaning us a couple of thirty-three-foot special operations boats. They’re heavily armed and should be able to keep reb speedboats from getting in close. A lieutenant is in charge, and I want her to report to you. Once we reach Helena, Mississippi, I’ll be too busy to deal with the swabbies.”

“Helena, sir? What’s the situation there?”

“The channel is blocked,” Russell replied. “The Helena Bridge carries, or carried, US-49 east- and westbound, and the Confederates dropped one of five spans into the river. And, because the navigation channel was only eight hundred feet wide to begin with, nothing of any size can get through. So we’ll have to stop, put divers down, and cut the wreckage into manageable chunks. Once that’s accomplished, the crane on the spud barge will lift them out. We won’t attempt to clear everything… just enough to restore traffic.”

Mac’s mind was racing. “How long will that take?”

“That depends on what the divers encounter,” Russell responded cautiously. “But I expect us to be there for at least three days, working around the clock.”

Mac remembered what Hicks had told her about the rebel drones. The bastards knew the flotilla was coming and would be well entrenched by the time it arrived. Would Russell’s engineers be able to do their jobs while the enemy fired on them from the remains of the bridge and both riverbanks? Of course not. Mac cleared her throat. “I’d like to make a couple of suggestions, sir. I think there are some things we could do to limit our casualties and increase theirs.”

Russell nodded. “Please proceed. I’m all ears.”

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

After being forced to run for their lives from Fort Leavenworth, Victoria and her team had returned to Fort Hood. Then, while meeting with her father, Victoria had accepted a new mission. “Don’t worry,” Bo Macintyre told her. “You’ll get a chance to deal with Robin. But there’s something more urgent that I need you to take care of right now.

“Based on a number of intelligence reports, it looks like the Yankees hope to break the existing stalemate with a two-pronged attack. Efforts are under way to clear the Mississippi, so they can send troops downriver. And, we believe they plan to invade the Confederacy from the Gulf of Mexico. The most likely point of attack is New Orleans. I don’t need to tell you how important the Big Easy is in terms of shipping. Especially now that we’re importing so many things from South America. And, if the bastards manage to take control of the Mississippi, they will cut the Confederacy in half. We’ll fight for the river, needless to say… But what if we lose? That’s when Operation End Zone will come into play.”

Victoria had been confused. “End Zone? I don’t understand.”

Bo nodded. “There’s no reason why you should. After giving the matter a lot of thought, President Lemaire and his cabinet came to the conclusion that there’s only one thing that would be worse than losing New Orleans—and that would be to let the enemy occupy it.”

Victoria remembered staring into her father’s eyes. “So we’ll destroy it?”

“No,” Bo had assured her. “Not unless the situation becomes hopeless.”

Now, days later, Victoria was standing near the Bonnabel Boat Launch, looking out over Lake Pontchartrain. She was wearing a white hard hat, reflective vest, and jeans. Just like the power-company workers who kept the city’s power grid up and running each day.

A stiff wind was blowing in from the north, and an endless succession of waves rolled in one after another to explode against the rocks lining the bottom of the embankment. And there, right in front of her, was the weapon Victoria needed. She knew that the average elevation of New Orleans was between one and two feet below sea level, while some areas were even lower. All Victoria and her teammates had to do was to place explosives near key floodgates and pumps and detonate them at the right moment. And, because New Orleans was located inside the Confederacy, they could plant the charges with impunity.

And there was another advantage to the plan as well. The explosions could be timed to coincide with the moment when Union forces arrived—thereby making it seem that the enemy was responsible for the destruction. That perception would serve to rally the population behind the Confederate government. The thought brought a smile to her face. She turned away. It was time for a beignet and a cup of coffee.

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

The Mississippi and the rest of Flotilla 4 was docked at the Beale Street landing just blocks from what had been the downtown business district. But as the first Stryker rolled off Barge 1, all Mac could see was a lead-gray sky, pillars of black smoke, and mountains of rubble.