A Private War Read online

  “The door itself is ten feet by ten feet and a foot thick with one inch of steel plating on each side and ten inches of concrete and reinforcing rod in the center. I had to have the door built in place by contractor friends of mine. It was a real bitch but that door should last a while if someone tried to break their way in. That along with the concrete center makes cutting very tough. Then the I-beams set vertical here behind it will give the door support if someone tried to use a shape or demo charge. They could try blasting at the sides where the door meets the cave wall. But that area is also reinforced with steel and concrete. This was the way in for all the big stuff I needed inside the cave. It not a fast way in or out and I seldom use this one anymore. But, there is room for a couple of trucks to park inside here. If we decide to get some more transport.”

  “How do you open the darn thing?” Kate asked.

  “Believe it or not, but it is easy to open! There is a ½ horsepower electric motor that can open and close it in less then a minute. The bitch is removing the I-beams with the block and tackle. Outside is a hidden keypad to use but forget using it unless the I-beams are gone. The door opens in!” Gaylon explained. “There is another smaller door down the other fork that we can use to get the snowmobiles in and out. It is reinforced the same as this one but is only six feet across. That is where the other snowmobile is now. Come on, I’ll show you!”

  Walking back, Jill looked at Kate with a small smile showing. Man and Boys and the size of their toys crossed both of their minds. A short walk down the second fork showed them the snowmobile, a small tank of gasoline (with venting to the outside) and computer screens.

  “This tunnel, the larger tunnel, and the front door to Granite House are all controlled by a computer system with the main terminal by the pool. You all have seen it and I have pointed out the switches and camera feeds. That network allows me to open and close the doors, see using the IR and Color cameras, and fire the M-60 machinegun at the front door. But, it also controls a series of demo charges in the walls and ceiling to all three opening. Thereby allowing us to bring down half the hillside to permanently seal them off. If that happens there is a crawl space tunnel in the Greenhouse that you can use to break through to the outside.” Gaylon said as he opened a program on the small computer, “You can login using your first name and the code word “granite” And that concludes today’s lesson. Please remember to study for tomorrow quiz!”

  “Gee, thanks teacher” John said in a low voice.

  Gaylon watched the snow fall from the shelter of the cave’s overhang. Four feet of snow already laid the area in a blanket of snow and ice with many of the trees bowing from the heavy loads and others falling as the load got to be too much. Raising his field glasses to his eyes, he scanned the area for any tracks before they would be covered up by the current falling snow. Seeing none, he placed them back in their case and pressed the hidden cover to the entrance keypad and tapped in a long string of numbers. He had no plans of making it easy for someone else guess the code. The entrance door slowing opened enough for him to pass through the opening. Warm air and the smell of food greeted him as he took off his coat and placed it and the field glass case on a hook.

  “Boy, something smells good! What on the menu for today?” he asked.

  “Beef Stew... without the Beef!” Jill replied from the kitchen,” nothing that a good cook couldn’t handle. We got some of the first potatoes from the Greenhouse! And along with some baby carrots and peas, we had the making for some soup. I saw you had a large stock of Beef Jerky, along with Beef and Chicken Bullion so I figured we could try a stew. The cold weather seemed to call for it. And Kate has made some Sourdough Bread to go with it.”

  “That sounds great! Where is Kate now?” Gaylon asked as he walked through the kitchen. “Is she lying down?”

  “Yes, just a little touch of afternoon Morning Sickness”

  “Thanks, Jill!”

  Gaylon walked along the tunnels to the area he designed as the Master Bedroom. The side tunnel had a steel door and he closed it gently behind him as he quietly walked over to the bed. Kate smiled up at him as he sat on the edge of the bed next to her. The long weeks as winter deepened had caused her to lose some of her tan and her eyes were sleepy shade of blue.

  “Hi hon, Jill told me you were lying down. Feeling a little better now?” He asked, “We have some crackers, if you think it will help.”

  Kate just smiled, “No, Junior is just fine. He kicked today for the first time. Felt like a football player just warming up for a field goal.”

  “Really, that’s wonderful! I saw the message from Dr Kravaal that he thought your pregnancy was going well. Do you think you’ll be up to some of Jill’s Beef Stew later?”

  “Yes, I’m fine!” she answered as she stretched her arm above her head, “I’ll be up soon. Just Junior making his wishes known something about Strawberries and Pickles!”

  Gaylon laughed as he kissed her forehead and pulled the blanket up to cover her as she fell back asleep. Walking back to the door, he smiled again and shook his head. Pickles!

  John slowly made his way to the edge of the bluff. The snow had made climbing tough and he wanted to take a good look around before the snow got too heavy. His white snowsuit made him nearly invisible to anyone, but he was taking no chances and wormed the final few feet on his stomach. Pulling out his field glasses he slowed scanned the valley below checking along the river and tree lines for tracks. And unlike Peters, he did see that there had been movement today. A small patrol was making its way along the far valley floor. He counted four men in snow suits and bunny boots. The white suits had large bloodstains that someone had tried to wash out with water. Samuels had sent a message that he had lost contact with his patrol in Gaylon’s area two days ago. And Samuels felt he was the better one to go looking for them. Now seeing the blood stains he knew what had happened to them and as he watched he saw two more groups making their way slowly in the direction of Granite house. Worming his way farther over the bluff’s edge he looked down at the bottom of the bluff. Three more groups were working their way on John’s side of the river valley. Only his movement along the ridgeline had helped him from leaving tracks that the patrols could find easily. He needed to get back to Granite House to warn everyone that the hunt was on for them.

  Captain Samuels face was a study in worry as heavy lines marked his faces and jaw line. The loss of his patrol weighted heavily on his mind. And there was currently little he could do to support Gaylon and the rest. His only hope was that their location would not be discovered from Murdock’s men as they covered every foot of the valley floor. That they even knew where to look was worrying him even more as it meant that there was a mole inside the town. Someone who was either radioing or leaving messages to inform Murdock of the current patrols locations and where Gaylon might be found. There were only a small number of people who could freely walk in and out of the gates. And Redway watched constantly for any break-in’s in the walls and wire fences that surrounded Redway. There were also tangle foot and tripwires on both sides to stop someone from doing exactly what he now feared. There was a Traitor in Redway and it could only be a member of his own Paramilitary. As they were the only ones who were able to come and go as they pleased. Samuels looked out of the window at the falling snow and went over the message Gaylon had sent. The way things stood, the teams looking for Granite House would be near the entrance in another day or two. A lot depended on the weather and how well the search was being conducted. Knowing Murdock, they would check into every prairie dog barrow and hollow tree until they found Gaylon. Who stated that they may be able to handle the search teams so long as the weather stayed overcast and snowing. Something about what Peters had been working on lately. Gaylon didn’t say much more in his message as he was afraid that they could be broadcasting their location. The radio system they were using was pretty high tech at one time. But, it was based on equipment that anyone could buy before the War started. It was even used by loc
al Ham Radio members to send and receive Internet Emails by radio. The system Samuels used to call the Army was secured by encryption systems. But, Samuels did not have the spare systems to allow Gaylon to have one. So, a digital modem system based on a Ham Radio technology allowed Gaylon to send and receive both voice and email message that were semi-secure. But, if Gaylon had it, then others in the area could have also have the same radio. And more than likely were as a number of houses were raided by Pirates who had Amateur stations installed that could then be used by others. There was even Ham Radio databases that listed the name, address, and callsigns of all Ham Radio operators in the local area. Samuels had even heard radio calls that consisted of nothing but letters and number. These types could not be read without a codebook and others that were nothing but weird bits of sound. Efforts were being made to set up direction finding stations but the weather again put a delay on their construction and limited what could be supported. Samuels walked over to the Radio Operator and asked him to contact Gaylon and to send the message he was writing right now. The message was classified Top Secret and he was to use the new codebook. The operator just nodded and started to type up the message using number and letter combinations from a Red covered book marked as being Top Secret Codeword Crypto. As he finished the message he handed it back to Samuels who then took the message form and walking over to the stove throw in on the fire and watched it burn completely to ashes.

  Music was playing in the Great Room as Kate made her way into the Kitchen. The greasy tummy had passed and she was feeling fine again. Having Morning sickness in the afternoon was normal but it didn’t help how sick she felt at the time. Kravaal said it should improve as the weeks passed and she was able to do more each day. The smell of the stew made her hold her stomach for a moment but the empty stomach then rumbled to show it was hungry. Jill saw the look as Kate’s face reflected how she felt and Jill started to laugh.

  “It’s a bitch being pregnant isn’t it?” Jill asked her she handed Kate a bowl of stew and a buttered piece of sourdough bread. “Only good point is that our two wolves have more to fight over at meal time. I swear I saw teeth and fangs at breakfast this morning. But, then John had his first cup of coffee and all that disappeared.”

  “A man needs to wake up in the morning before he can face the day. And I just got to have a kick start is all!” John yelled from the Great Room couch. “I remember someone looking more like a stepped on cat this morning, with hair sticking out all over and those Bunny slippers, at less until Gaylon had his first cup of coffee!”

  “Hi Kate, feeling ok now?” Gaylon asked as he came to the kitchen to get his own bowl of stew. “You don’t look as pale as you did earlier. Jill, grab your bowl and come on down to the couch. I got a message from Samuels a little while ago and I want to brief everyone at the same time.”

  The three made their way down to the pool of water and set to eating the warm stew. Jill’s use of the new vegetables from the greenhouse was a big hit and everyone told her so. The slices of bread were also used to wipe up the last bits before they all put their empty bowls down. Gaylon stood and faced them.

  “Captain Samuels agrees that Murdock’s patrols will find the location of Granite House in less then a week. The storm is increasing in strength as it moves passed us and he feels this will give us a few extra days. But, that is all. Finally he states that there is little he can do at the present time to assist us. So, we need to do what we can to prepare to move out of Granite House. And to come up with a plan to delay the search teams so you two ladies can get to Redway.”

  “There is no way we can leave you two here to face that mob!” Kate cried, “You said we would never be apart again and I’m holding you to it.”

  “Gaylon, have you thought about doing a little hunting? Samuels loaned me a nice M24 sniper rifle that came in on the Riverboat. And you have lots of .308 brass and with your reloader I can cook up some accurate loads. That along with your FNAR sniper rifle in .308 will give us a long reach. So far Murdock’s men are staying in the valleys. But, that won’t last long.” Peters stated, “So, we need to get started hunting as soon as possible. If we use the new electric snowmobiles, they will not be able to hear us and we can leave before they can get to us.”

  “Yeah, that sounds like it will buy us the time we need. It will take us about two hours to get the reloads we need. But, Jill and Kate can help make more while we are gone. The electric batteries are already charging and should be good to try on this first trip with them. I’ll prepare the tunnel door so we can use it and tow the second snowmobile you finished down by the first one. That will take me about ninety minutes all told. So we can leave right after you finish the reloads. My FNAR is sighted in at two hundred yards so you’ll need to tell me what adjustments to make on it for a longer distance.” Gaylon stated as they headed up the tunnel towards the Maintenance Bay.

  Tom Reynolds was heading up the search teams that Murdock had sent out after receiving the report from his spy inside the town of Redway. The heavy snow and the constant whining from his men were really getting on his nerves. But, they had orders to keep searching for Gaylon Master’s cave no matter what the conditions. Finally, even Tom had to call a halt until sunrise as the snow and darkness caused men to be afraid of their own shadows. More then once there was shouts and gunfire that only lead to hung faces and whispered replies as tired men shot at ghosts. By ten o’clock that night, his men huddled under trees to escape the blinding ice and snow. So, camp fires were lit and shelter or tents were put up for a few hours of rest. Tom ate a cold can of soup as he leaned against the side of a large evergreen tree. The lower branches cut off and lay on the snow to get him off the cold ground. A fire burned by his sleeping bag, his open protection as he lay down to sleep. He could still smell the smoky remains of his retreat from the campground months ago when Gaylon and that bitch of his had attacked them. He had lost his motorcycle and most of his gear in that fight. But, he was pleased to hear that the kid he shot was the bitch’s brother. Teach them to mess with him even if it did end up causing his fall far down the pack order. And Murdock had the memory of a steel trap as he had recalled that fact and put him in charge of this shitty detail. Throwing the empty can into the darkness; he leaned his rifle against the tree and burrowed down into the smelly bag. His last thoughts on warm summers and hot women as sleep took him. And they were also his final thoughts as a hand reach around the tree and slammed a sharpened wooden stake into his right eye and far into his brain.

  Peters slowly crawled away into the darkness and snow covered his tracks so no one could tell how Reynolds was killed when he was found later that night. An huge uproar had developed when three more men were found with either their throats cut or a stick jammed into their eyes. Some men fired into the darkness before anyone could stop them. And others wanted to turn tail and run as far as they could. They were sick with fear of Murdock but even more of the ghost who killed without a sound. Reynold’s Deputy took his pistol to one man and shot another in the back before order was restored. By the time it started to brighten in the east, no one had gotten much sleep and all of them were cold and tired. Reynold’s replacement was a mean and hated man, this was not the first time he had shoot one of his own men and only fear stopped others from shooting him. He had gotten the name “Cleaver” in Austin when he was seen taking a meat cleaver to a man’s head.

  “Ok, pack up, we are moving out!” Cleaver shouted as he booted a few men who were slow in getting packed, “Murdock wants this bastard found today. Reynolds was soft to let you stop searching last night. And look what it got him!! So, get your ass in gear!”

  A few men gave him bad looks behind his back but no one was crazy enough to stand up to him. The night’s snow fall made even walking hard and difficult with snow drifts well over eight feet high in spots. Two teams were sent back across the river to continue the search on the north side of the valley. And the other three teams were reformed and started their search on the south side
. The loss of four men had cost them a team and Cleaver had to make do. As he stopped and observed the river as it curved to the South, a man next to him fall and blood splashed across Cleaver’s face. A single gunshot sounded three seconds later in the stillness and men fall to the ground and tried to find shelter in the snow. Cold and wet snow started to soak into his coat and he reached up one hand to wipe the blood from his eyes. He was no fool and knew that the shot was fired from a long distance away. Finally, knowing he could not wait any longer, he got to his feet and yelled for his men to get off their ass and watch for any movement on the distant ridgelines. They were all looking forward toward the bend in the river when another man fell across the river from Cleaver’s location. Again, everyone hit the dirt and some started to cover themselves with snow as not everyone had white overcoats or white bed sheets to cover themselves with. This gunshot was not as far away as the sound of the shot had only taken about a second and a half to reach Cleaver’s ears. But, unlike the first shot, this one had come from behind them and eyes everywhere scanned the Bluffs and hilltops for this second shooter. But, after waiting over an hour in the freezing snow, Cleaver again stood and ordered his men to get up and more forward. The likely location for the last shot was a rocky cliff face with no possible way to climb up to it. But, Cleaver shouted for two teams of men to climb up where they could and search the area along the ridges on both sides. And another team he sent across the river to support the search for Gaylon’s cave. No further shots were made and ridge top search teams took most of the day in reaching the top. No tracks were seen and this was shouted down to the valley floor. Cleaver motioned for them to continue moving forward and they finally reached the river bend. But this only limited their search more as the water had cut towards the south and they were forced to swim the icy cold water to the north side of the valley. Cleaver had to order fires to be started to warm up him and the other men. Others had to give up share clothes and blankets while wet clothes were hung on branches to dry. An hour later as darkness fell a massive explosion lit up the sky to the south only to be followed a minute later by four single gun shoots. Cleaver’s face hardened as the darkness returned. Pointing to two men, he motioned for them to climb to the far ridgeline. These were seasoned hunters and fighters; they both reached into their packs and pulled out large heavy duty plastic bags. Making their way to the river they quickly stripped out of their clothes and put everything into the plastic bags. Tying on their rifle to the bags, they slowly swam across the water with the bags helping to support their weight. Finally reaching the river bank they crawled out and put on their dry clothes then disappeared into the darkness. Gaylon had followed the search team on the south side of the river as they slowly made their way to the ridgeline and then headed west. The night before he had set up a claymore mine on the trail with a trip line of black wire for someone to step on and set it off. He was waiting nearby when the mine blasted the four men was a thousand ball bearings shot by terrible explosive force. Gaylon turned on his night vision gear and quickly ran up and fired a single shot into the head of each man. They had been tightly packed together and were already dead, but the gun shots were not for them. They were for the searchers down below as frightened men made mistakes. Picking up the guns and equipment that was not too damaged, he walked down the trail to the snowmobile and tied them on the back. Then made his way back the way he came. John Peters had made his shot from over a thousand yards away and he smiled as the Pirates tried to hide in the snow. Gaylon’s shot had followed minutes later as they had arranged. Peters then got on his snowmobile and made his way west after leaving tracks in the snow so that seemed to lead north east. He knew they would find the correct direction, but the point was to tire them out on dead ends. He had also watched the team climb the hillside to reach the ridge and had smiled. This was as fun as the night before had been. Slaying the men as he did had a great psychological effect on the rest of Murdock’s men. And the claymore he heard later only added icing to the cake. He too had placed a number of claymores along the hilltop along with pongee sticks covered over with branches and snow. A number of tripwires were also strung to a number of trees. Nothing was wired to them as that was not the point, time and fear was being used to make the searchers break ranks and run. Seeing a tripwire, they would have to stop to find the mine, or try to go around it. Only to drop into a pit dig into the snow with sharpened sticks that John had frozen in place with melted snow. One man had already done so and was now limping with a bloody bandage on his right calf. John had heard the man yell as his feet dropped into the pit. And was nearby as they had to stop and pull the stake out of the man’s leg. They would now fear every step as they made their way forward. And each man now used a long stick to probe the snow in front of him. Hours later, with the darkness adding more terror and fear with each probing step, the leader hit an open space with his stick and jerking it back out, pulled the pin on a grenade. The blast lifted him several feet into the air and he screamed as his left leg was sheared off below the knee. Another man fell as the pieces of wire from the grenade impacted his chest and face. He was not killed directly either this caused the other two men to turn and fire into the darkness around them. The first victim cried for his Mother and quickly went silent from loss of blood and died soon after. But the other man continued to scream as the hot steel burned into his flesh. The man who was nearby looked over and then fired a burst into his chest and the screaming stopped almost has quickly as it had started.