Feral Nation - Convergence (Feral Nation Series Book 6) Read online

  “We don’t need him,” Nantan said.

  “Not really, but he did talk, so there’s that. And you know, I may have a little job for him before we hit that compound.” Eric was lost in thought for a moment.

  “Is that what you have in mind?” Nantan asked. “Taking the compound?”

  “I don’t see any better options. That truck is disabled, and we can’t catch that convoy on horses. I’m thinking of asking this ‘chief’ fellow to give his guys in that escort truck a call. He can tell them there’s been a change of plans and that they need to bring the convoy to a stop and return to base with the woman. Have you got a better idea?”

  “I can’t think of one,” Nantan admitted.

  “You know, you and your men have done more than enough, once again. I can’t expect you to engage with these assholes and put yourselves at risk for something that is my fight.”

  “It’s our fight too, brother. I told you that already. Now we know for sure that we are dealing with people who are supporting the takeover of these lands. That’s one of the reasons why we came with you, to find out who and where they are. It will be an honor to help you kill more of them, if that is what it takes to get back your wife.”

  Thirteen

  NANTAN’S ANSWER WAS THE one Eric had been hoping for, even though he wouldn’t have asked him to if he and his men didn’t volunteer to help. The biggest thing working against him now was time, because the farther away they took Shauna, the lesser his chances of stopping them. Eric knew he had to move, and now. There was no time for real reconnaissance or to formulate a detailed plan. He had to rely on the information his one source had given him, and now that they were going forward with this immediately, Eric decided to make the man a part of the plan, or at least the main diversion that would give them the edge they needed to get in there and secure that radio.

  The necessity of taking out some of the men posted at the work station turned compound was a given. Eric had no qualms about launching a proactive attack on them, knowing what he knew now about their activities here, not to mention what he already knew of this outfit’s reputation. But aside from that, they’d taken Shauna against her will, burned Bob Barham’s cabin, stolen all their weapons and supplies and killed helpless horses in cold blood. If any group he’d encountered since coming back here deserved the full fury of Eric’s wrath, it was these C.R.I. contractors upon which he was about to unleash it. A quick pow-wow with Nantan and his men was enough to proceed with it, despite the lack of recon. Nantan fully understood his part:

  “We’ll use our horses to close the gap and then get them off the road before we’re in sight of the entrance. I’ll take Tommy with me and circle around to the north, and Luke and Red can close from the south. You’ll have the full attention of the guys manning the gate, and while they’re trying to figure out what in the hell is going on, I’ll pick them off as I can with this.”

  Eric eyed the black rifle Nantan had taken from the case strapped onto his packhorse. It was a suppressed Ruger 10/22 rimfire carbine, fitted with an oversized variable power scope. Eric knew it was a precision weapon, capable of pinpoint accuracy with a very low sound signature, but it required getting in really close to be effective, and he commented on this, even though he knew it wasn’t news to Nantan.

  “Don’t worry about that part,” Nantan said. “Remember what happened when you tried to sneak across our land? I can get close without being seen.”

  Eric did, and he knew this little band of modern-day warriors that made up the Jicarilla security force prided themselves on working to recreate the stealthy fighting skills the word ‘Apache’ had become synonymous with. And to a man, they all had a background in special forces that also gave them the contemporary training and experience that made them even more deadly.

  “The little .22 doesn’t pack much punch, but if I put it into the side of a man’s head or neck from inside of 40 or 50 yards, it’ll do the job.”

  Eric knew it would, because he’d used similar weapons himself for special applications. If Nantan could quickly reduce the number of adversaries they were facing and stop the guards from raising the alarm, it would be quick work to mop up the rest with the M4s when the shit hit the fan. The key to the whole thing though was showing up at that entrance with something totally unexpected, and that was where this Wilson fellow came in. Eric warned him before they moved out that his participation was the only thing keeping him alive, and he promised the man that if he did as he was told and didn’t try to help his friends resist what was coming, then he would let him live when they left there to do what they had to do next. Complying with all of this was the only way he would be afforded that luxury though, and Eric could see the understanding in the man’s eyes when he reiterated that truth.

  They forced him to climb up into the saddle of one of the horses and then Eric mounted his own, taking the reins of the other to lead it as he set out down the road with the Apaches. The extra time that had passed since the convoy left was a bit of a concern, but Wilson said the guards at the gate wouldn’t be too worried if the second truck wasn’t back immediately. The three of them that had left in it were off duty after that detail, and he said the men sometimes enjoyed a break from the compound when they had a chance and that the guards would probably assume they’d stopped for a smoke and bullshit session. Even so, Eric didn’t want to waste any more time than necessary getting there. The group set out at a fast pace, knowing that if anyone from the compound came looking for the missing three, they would be in a motor vehicle that could be heard in time to react. But they had no encounter on the road, and when they had reached the point on the map where they’d decided that Nantan and his men would leave their horses and go on foot, Eric waited with Wilson, giving the Apaches the agreed on five minutes to reach their positions on either side of the compound.

  Eric had secured Wilson’s wrists in front of him with one of the many zip ties he found in the cargo pockets of his BDUs, and several turns of cord through that secured the plastic tie to the saddle horn. When they started moving again, Eric’s rifle was behind him, out of sight, while his Glock was in its holster under his coat, easy to access but hidden from view as he and Wilson rode two abreast down the middle of the road.

  When they rounded the bend and came into view of the chain-link perimeter fence and gate, Eric urged his horse forward, unperturbed by the sight of the two armed guards that stood up from where they’d been sitting and reached for their weapons. He was counting on Nantan to take care of the problem, but if these men were trigger happy and ready to shoot on sight, then he was an easy target for them. The reaction he wanted was the one he got though. Both men leveled their rifles in his direction, but they could clearly see that he had one of their own with him. Eric slowly raised his hands, so that they could see they were empty.

  “Tell them!” He whispered, without looking at the prisoner. “Don’t get it wrong!”

  “DON’T SHOOT! We ran into trouble on the road! This guy helped me out!”

  Eric still had his hands up, but he was watching the two guards intently, trying to anticipate their reaction. They looked at each other for a second, one of them saying something he couldn’t hear, and then the other shouted back, his order directed at Eric: “Keep your hands up where I can see them and stay where you are!” Even as he said it, the other man had turned and started back towards the nearest building that was visible in the compound. Eric didn’t see anyone else outside in the parts of the yard that he could see from that vantage point, but he knew the second guy was about to alert everyone there that something was up. The one remaining at his post stood there with his rifle pointed at Eric, all of his attention focused on the unexpected visitor and his own comrade who’d left in a truck and returned riding a horse. And so it was that he didn’t seem to notice when the other man behind him, who had taken several long strides in the opposite direction, suddenly stumbled and clutched at his neck, before collapsing onto the hard gravel surface of the
yard.

  Eric showed no reaction to this event that might tip off the one focused on him, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, because just seconds after the first man fell, the other also dropped his rifle as his body went limp and gave way beneath him; Nantan’s head shot killing him before he hit the ground. Wilson saw it all of course, and he was struggling against his bonds in desperation, but he didn’t dare try to yell, so Eric wasn’t concerned with him for now. Eric dismounted with his M4 in hand and quickly led the two horses into the brush beside the road, where he tied them off. A quick scan of the compound when he emerged revealed no indication their arrival had been noticed yet, and Nantan came out to help him drag the bodies out of sight.

  The suppressed .22 caliber rifle had done its job, and no one in the compound seemed to have heard it. Eric figured the rest of the men were inside the two main buildings, one of which looked like the office, with the radio tower standing tall nearby, and the other a large metal-roofed workshop area and garage, where the forest service had maintained their equipment and vehicles. If what Wilson had told them was the truth, there were only six men remaining there, including the chief, since the men of the escort detail and gate security made up more than half of the total number working from this post at the present time. That seemed about right to Eric, knowing what he did of such operations, but he wasn’t taking Wilson at his word and was ready for anything as he and Nantan quickly crossed the yard to the nearest wall of the office building. Red remained hidden near the perimeter, covering them with his rifle. He was in pain, but he’d insisted on doing his part, saying it wouldn’t affect his ability to shoot. Luke and Tommy were in position to provide crossfire from the opposite direction, so Eric focused on his main goal of gaining control of the radio and persuading the chief to use it to call the men of the escort detail.

  He and Nantan had just taken up positions on either side of the wooden porch across the front of the office building when the main door opened. Both of them ducked below the level of the deck and Nantan raised the Ruger to take the man out once he’d stepped down to the ground, but Eric shook his head and gave him a signal to hold off. For all he knew, whoever was coming out could be the chief, and even if he wasn’t, Eric needed a new hostage on the inside of the compound to use for leverage. The doorway to this building was angled in a way that anyone coming out couldn’t immediately see the front perimeter gate, so Eric knew the man wouldn’t realize anything was wrong until he descended the four steps to the yard, and then only if he happened to glance that way. Eric signaled to Nantan again to watch the door in case someone else followed him out, and then he placed his M4 on the ground beside him and prepared to spring. From the bottom step to where he was crouched was less than ten feet, so when his adversary’s foot touched the gravel, Eric had already launched himself for the tackle. His body weight slammed the man into the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of him, and Eric followed up with two vicious blows to the face with his fists, further stunning him before he had a chance to cry out or react. Eric pulled him under the edge of the deck and out of sight, checking him for weapons before doing anything else. He found a full-sized pistol in a thigh holster on his right leg, and quickly yanked it away and tossed it farther under the deck, before pushing the muzzle of his own Glock into the man’s temple and leaning over so that he could talk to him in a low voice.

  “One word and a round goes through your brain, got it? Don’t answer, just nod your head!”

  The man did, and Eric continued. “I’m looking for the man you call ‘chief’, the one who’s in charge here. Is that you, or is he inside this building?”

  The man turned his eyes away, saying nothing, and before Eric could offer him more persuasion, he was stopped short by the sound of the door opening again. This time, whoever was coming outside seemed to be in a hurry, storming across the deck and yelling for someone named ‘Mullins.’ Eric knew it was the one he’d taken down when his captive completely ignored his directive and called back to his boss: “CHIEF!”

  It was the last word he uttered before Eric silenced him with a hammer blow to the temple from the butt of his Glock, but it was more than enough to set into motion the sequence of events that would wrap up the action in the compound. First, there was the shout from Nantan, ordering the other man on the porch to freeze. But by the time Eric was able to look, Nantan was firing towards the door with the suppressed .22 and Eric heard it slam shut as the chief retreated inside. Seconds later, bullets tore through the wooden door from within and Eric and Nantan flattened themselves against the walls on either side.

  “Did you hit him?” Eric called to Nantan.

  “Yes, at least once in the upper leg. I was trying to take him down without killing him.”

  “Good! That’ll keep him inside.” Eric knew the sounds of the chief’s gunshots would draw the attention of the others, who were likely in the work building, and it was best to let those who responded believe the only threat was here, where their leader was pinned down in his office. He stuck his head around the corner to look, and sure enough, saw men with rifles rushing outside to see what was going on. Eric fired a couple of rounds in their direction just to keep them interested, knowing that he was putting all his faith in Tommy and Luke to take care of this from the other side. And if any got through, they still had Red out there watching from near the front gate.

  The men who were advancing on him were professionals, and once they understood there was a real threat at the office building, there was no hasty or heroic charge to come to the aid of their boss. They were no doubt working out a plan to flank him and take him out, but what they hadn’t counted on was that they were the ones walking into the trap, rather than closing one of their own. Eric heard the reports from beyond the perimeter as Tommy and Luke opened fire. They were shooting in semi-auto mode, but at a fairly rapid rate of fire between the two of them. Eric then heard Red’s rifle from out front and figured at least one of the contractors had tried to escape the crossfire from the rear and had exposed himself to Red. It was clearly a slaughter back there in the compound yard behind the office building, but Eric and Nantan could see none of it from where they waited. The shooting was intense and seemed to go on for a long time, but Eric knew that the perception of time in a firefight was often different than the reality, and that the whole thing was probably less than a minute. He and Nantan waited much longer, just to be sure though, and there was still the matter of the chief, who was armed and still alive inside the office. When Nantan’s men moved in after sweeping the rest of the compound to check for resistance, they assured him all was clear. They had the office surrounded, but Eric had no time for, nor was he in the mood for, a standoff.

  “You can surrender now, and live, or we’ll just throw a grenade through the window and be done with this. Your choice!” Eric called out to him. There was no immediate reply, so he followed up. Eric and the Apaches had no grenades, and of course he didn’t want to take the guy out just yet anyway, because he thought it best if the radio call to the men in the escort came directly from their boss, rather than a stranger they would disregard. “My men and I have you surrounded, and all of your security neutralized, including the crew of the truck returning from the road. We know who you’re working for, but I’m not concerned with that part of your operation. Three or four days ago though, you raided a cabin in the mountains to the southeast of here and took a woman captive. We know she left here this morning in one of the vehicles your men were escorting. All we want is that convoy stopped.”

  “Why would I do that? You’ve killed my men, and you’ll kill me too!”

  “The answer is simple. If you do nothing, we kill you right now. If you cooperate, we take you with us to wherever those trucks are stopped, and if the woman is there and unhurt, then you and your other men are free to go. I’ve stated my offer, and you have thirty seconds to decide. My stopwatch is running!”

  Eric was confident the chief would accept his offer. To get wh
ere he was in this outfit, Eric knew the man was loyal to no one and accustomed to working for the highest bidder. This time, the price was his life, and his entire team in the compound had just been wiped out in a matter of minutes. The man knew a deal when he saw one, and before those thirty seconds ticked away, Eric had his answer.

  “Okay! Hold up! I surrender!”

  “Open the door slowly and come out with your hands on top of your head. You know the drill, Chief!”

  Eric and Nantan stood waiting with their rifles aimed at the door. Nantan’s other men stood by from a safer distance in case something went wrong. But the door opened as directed, and the chief stepped out, limping. Blood had soaked through the right leg of his pants all the way down to his boot, but the chief had wrapped several turns of duct tape around the wound in his upper thigh to slow the flow and seemed unfazed by the pain as he stood there facing his captors. He was a wiry middle-aged man with sandy blonde hair and a clean-shaven face that bore a long scar across his left cheek and jaw, and he stared back at Eric and Nantan, sizing them up as they waited for him to speak.

  “So, who is this woman and what is so important about her that you have gone to all this trouble and killed good men to get her back?”

  “She’s my wife!” Eric said. “That’s what!”

  Fourteen

  SHAUNA WAS SO COLD in the unheated supply room where they’d locked her up that she was unable to sleep at night. The man who brought her food, water and a bucket to serve as a toilet had also given her a single wool blanket, but even wrapped tightly in that, she was far too cold when the temperatures plunged after dark. She found stacks of invoices, purchase orders and catalogs on the shelves left there from when the forest service had been using the place and spread them on the bare concrete floors to create some insulation, but it still wasn’t enough. That first night was excruciating, because she’d had no more contact with the chief or anyone else that would talk to her, and she had no idea how long it would be until they turned her over to the Army, like he said they would. She didn’t want to end up in one of the refugee camps, but anything was better than this, or so it seemed at the time. But as she lay there shivering in the cold, she couldn’t help but think Jonathan and Vicky were worse off than she. How were they going to survive up on that mountain without the shelter of the cabin or even the barn? It still didn’t make sense to her that they would have gone far enough away to be unaware of what was happening there, or to hear the automatic rifle fire when she was captured by the men chasing her. The only thing Shauna could think of was that perhaps they had seen and heard it all and had wisely remained hidden out of sight. She hoped that was the case, and that they really did have Tucker with them, since he was missing from among the other horses. Thinking about the poor animals that were shot gave Shauna a sick feeling inside. What kind of man was this ‘chief’ to order such a thing? The kind she couldn’t trust, she knew that, and the more time went by without hearing from him, the more she began to doubt he was going to do what he said he would and take her to the authorities. And if he didn’t do that, then what did he have in mind for her? Shauna didn’t know, but she was determined to fight to the end if it came to that.