A New World: Taken (28 page)

She lets go of an agonizing scream, runs back to the man, and begins pummeling him on the arms and chest.
 
The young boy just stands where his mother left him and stares at the body on the ground.
 
The man tries to ward off her blows and finally shoves her away.
 
She staggers back and turns toward her son.

“Say the word, sir,” I hear Gonzalez say by my side.

I look down and see her kneeling on the pavement sighting down a 110.
 
Her, McCafferty, Henderson, Denton, and the rest of Black are also kneeling with their weapons trained on the man.
 
I am standing with my red dot centered over his body.
 
The man shouts again but she ignores whatever is said.
 
I flip to the 4x setting on my scope and can see the uncertainty on his face.
 
I have the feeling he is deciding whether to force them to go along or just head out on his own.
 
Uncertainty while holding a gun is never a good thing.
 
Anything can happen in that situation.
 
He takes a step toward the woman.

“Drop the gun,” I shout.

I’m not certain he can hear what I said as I couldn’t hear any of his shouting words but he definitely hears the yell and looks our direction.
 
He stops.
 
Apparently seeing ten armed soldiers with weapons trained on him halts any notion he might have of going to the woman.
 
Again that uncertain look materializes.
 
With her son by her side, the woman stops and kneels next to the unmoving body of Bob.
 
A resolute look comes over the man’s face and he takes another step towards his apparent wife and child.
 
I seriously can’t believe we are in this situation and it boggles my mind that we are.
 
It’s so out of the blue but here it is nonetheless.

“Gonzalez, one round on the ground in front of him if you would, please,” I say.

The loud clap of a 7.62mm round leaving the barrel fills the parking lot startling the gathered crowd.
 
The echo of the shot covers the loud intakes of breath from many of them.
 
A spark flares off the pavement of the entrance road just inches in front of the man’s foot as the round strikes hard and ricochets off into the distance.
 
He may not be able to hear our words but there is no mistaking the communication we have just sent.
 
The man jumps from the impact and the whining of the round as it is off to find another target.

I see the startle register on his face as he looks in our direction.
 
Our eyes appear to meet in the scope.
 
He looks to the woman and child and then back to us.
 
The boy is looking at his dad and shies behind his mom.
 
The woman, having been drawn up from weeping at the side of Bob by the sound of our shot, is looking over at the man.

I don’t want to shoot the man, especially in front of his son.
 
Some people are just so driven by anger that it consumes them and leaves them with only that emotion.
 
I’m guessing the forced captivity he endured built it up until it has to be released.
 
But it’s obvious the woman doesn’t want to go with him and the man is volatile.
 
I do not like this situation one bit!
 
The man’s lips tighten and the muscles of his cheeks define more as he clenches his jaw in anger.
 
His eyes narrow.
 
Uh oh
, I think trying to gauge his reaction.
 
He looks to the woman and begins to raise the gun.

“Gonzalez,” I say with resignation.

Another loud but muted clap.
 
This time the heavy caliber round isn’t issued as a warning.
 
It streaks out with deadly purpose and closes the distance quickly.
 
A splattering of blood sprays lightly into the air from just beside the nose.
 
The large bullet flattens from the tremendous force and continues into the sinus cavity before rocketing out of the back of the head.
 
The air is filled behind with a chunky mass of red tissue.
 
The man falls hard to the ground on his side.

“Gonzalez, McCafferty, go see to the woman.
 
Henderson, keep them covered,” I say bringing my M-4 down.
 
The women rise and run to the woman and child.

“Okay, how the hell did he get a gun?
 
Did we recover the guns from the guards inside?”
 
I ask addressing Lynn.

“I’m guessing not,” she answers.

I shake my head.
 
I should have taken their weapons but with everything happening, I didn’t get around to it.
 
I feel like shit because this tragedy could have been avoided if I’d paid attention.
 
Disarming a group of people should have been a natural thought but it just plain slipped mine.
 
So many other things to do last night but I never thought to separate the people we were rescuing from any weapons; didn’t think about them using those weapons to harm others in the group.
 
I should have considered of it nonetheless.

“It’s not your fault,” Lynn says seeing my downcast eyes and putting a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m not so sure about that,” I say.
 
“I should have at least thought about it.”

“Jack, that guy wasn’t right and it doesn’t matter if he had the gun or not.
 
He would have found something to use and we’d still be facing the same situation except without your guilt trip happening,” she replies.

“Anyone else armed,” I say looking up and shouting to the group.
 
One hand raises skyward.

“Lynn,” I say nodding toward the young gentleman with his arm in the air.
 
She advances and retrieves another handgun.

McCafferty and Gonzalez arrive at the woman and child, put their arms around them, and guide them back to the group.
 
They return after making sure there is someone to look after the woman and child.
 
They mention that the woman was Bob’s daughter.
 
They noted there were some ‘he had it coming to him’ and similar comments.
 
The sound of vehicles approaching stirs the air.
 
I see the Humvees driving by the far end of the field and they soon enter the parking lot now having to drive around the two bodies in the entryway.

“That looks like it was an interesting story,” Greg says stepping out of the vehicle parked close by.
 
Lynn shakes her head as if to say ‘it’s not the right time or place.’
 
She takes Greg to the side and catches him up on our recently transpired events.

“There are some seriously stupid people in the world,” Greg says as his only response.

I make contact with the base and catch Drescoll up on our situation.
 
I ask if he feels like he can do without one additional team and to send them our way with some transport vehicles.
 
He says they were just holding down the fort for the day and they would be on their way shortly.
 
I ask the crowd to start loading into the school buses.
 
Several people from the crowd break off and find a tarp over by the stadium.
 
They return, wrap Bob’s body up in it, and place it on one of the buses.
 
Robert and Bri walk with Julie.
 
I see them talking by the front door of one of the vehicles.
 
Well, it looks like it’s mostly Julie talking and Robert and Bri shaking their heads.
 
After more talking and shaking of heads, they hug and Julie gets on the first bus.
 
Robert and Bri walk back and sit by Gonzalez and McCafferty.
 
The others load into two school buses and I send Greg and Echo Team back with them as an escort.
 
I let Drescoll know he’ll have company soon.
 
I would wait until the transports arrive but don’t want Drescoll to be short-handed for long as this has taught us a valuable lesson; there are threats other than the night runners about.

The buses leave with two of the Humvees and, after Greg and Echo Team pull the remains out of the way, head out of the downed gate.
 
A chill wind starts blowing across the lot.
 
The rest of us, Red and Black Team, gather by the remaining vehicles and watch the area.
 
I have seen neither hide nor hair of anyone since last night but that doesn’t mean some of the marauders didn’t make it and are still around.

Lynn and I are standing a little off from the others.
 
Robert and Bri are with the other team members telling war stories or exchanging recipes.
 
I’m not sure which as the hand motions could mean either one and they’re too far away to hear.

“So, what do you think about heading out when Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Teams return and try to find out about the soldiers’ families?”
 
I ask during a moment of quiet.

Lynn pauses for a moment, no doubt thinking of her own family.
 
“What brought that about, Jack?”
 
She finally asks.

“Well, a couple of things actually.
 
One, we’ve been helping out those I know and my family for the most part.
 
I just thought it fair to see about the others as well.
 
We don’t have that long until the jet fuel degrades to the point where we’ll be earthbound and the weather will be setting in soon,” I say looking at the overcast sky.

“Well, Jack, we still have a lot to do but I think the others will appreciate an effort.
 
We’ve been so busy setting everything up and focusing on survival that I think that thought has been pushed down for a lot of them but it will surface eventually,” she answers without really answering.

“That’s my thought as well.
 
So, what do you think?”

“I think we see what we have to do, prioritize, and if we can, then bring it up.
 
If we do go, that will draw away a lot of our teams.
 
I’d like to see us get a few more through training first so we have some semblance of a force ready to deal with things in case something like this,” she answers encompassing the area with a swing of her arm, “occurs again.”

“Yeah, you’re right but we can’t wait long.
 
The weather will set in soon and our chance will vanish with it.
 
It’s not that we can’t fly in it but getting down might not be so easy.
 
I’m not a fan of flying without weather reports and there won’t be anyone to keep the runways clear,” I say.

“Let’s talk about it at our next group meeting,” she says and goes silent.

I know I shouldn’t have brought it up as it has made her think of her own family.
 
I can certainly stick my foot in my mouth sometimes.
 
I look over at Robert and Bri chatting it up with Gonzalez and McCafferty.
 
I am so thankful they are okay and I feel a warm flush of love flood my heart.
 
They are the world to me and I’ll go to any length to see them safe.
 
That warm flush is mixed with a touch of concern though.
 
Seeing the makeshift splint on Bri’s arm reminds me of the same old quandary; keep them safe yet let them get experience and learn.
 
This isn’t the same as watching them drive a car for the first time and letting them stall it out.

“I don’t know what to do,” I say quietly.

“What do you mean?”
 
Lynn asks coming out of her thoughts.
 
I thought I had said that to myself but apparently not.

“I was just thinking about the kids.
 
I don’t know what to do with them.
 
Training is one thing but how much do I let them actually participate and get experience,” I say.

“Jack, they’ve done very well in training.
 
I don’t rightly know how to answer that for you but face it, you’re not going to be around forever, Jack, and they have to learn,” she says watching them with me.

“You’ve changed your tune.
 
But what is the right amount of participation?
 
That’s the one that has me stuck,” I reply.

“I don’t know that there is a right answer to that one.
 
Robert has seen a lot of action and he has done well but you know anything can happen at any time regardless of the where or what.
 
I’m afraid you’re on your own with this one,” she answers.

“Yeah, thanks,” I respond.

Movement in my peripheral catches my attention and I whip around bringing my M-4 up.
 
Lynn, seeing me move like that, turns, and just as quickly, goes to her knee with her weapon ready.
 
I see three people walking slowly across the far end of the parking lot by the auditorium. They freeze at our movement.

“You over there,” I call out.
 
“Hands where I can see them and walk slowly over.”

The raise their arms and begin walking toward us.
 
I see in my peripheral that my shout has caught the attention of the others and they are kneeling by the vehicles or sighted across them.
 
I turn quickly and check out behind us in case this is a ruse but see nothing.