“I’m Molly Hunter from This Week Has Sixty Minutes.” Her smile became slightly bashful. It was a perfect win if you were ever recognized.
“Welcome to Fort Knox, Miss Hunter.” The militia Commander puffed himself up with pride. “Please excuse us, we weren’t expecting visitors.”
“Obviously,” Hatch muttered.
“It appears you might have more company very soon.” Molly tried to ignore Hatch and the hard feelings he was stirring up. “We’re here to warn you.”
“What kind of visitors?” The militia Commander suddenly had a hard look in his eye. Alright, he has a formidable side.
“Anywhere from 8 to 15 Stryker armored vehicles, possibly 40 or 50 troops inside.” Hatch gave the news while his eyes felt the sting of the sunshine. “How many men have you got?”
“Another four maybe,” The reply came from the big man standing behind his Commander.
“That’s it?” Hatch was incredulous.
“Yeah, that’s it.” The militia Commander clearly was getting to the end of his rope with Hatch. “We take care of the fort and protect it from hostiles. That’s our job out here.”
“We need to protect this fort.” Hatch stabbed a finger in mid-air between them.
“You’ve got a chopper.” The big man spoke up.
“It’s unarmed.” Hatch informed them.
“You knew these people were coming here and you bring an unarmed helicopter?” The militia Commander was just waiting to make a dig. “What’s your next move, flyboy?”
“What kind of weapons do you have?” Hatch ignored the man. They were running out of time.
“We’ve got some automatic weapons and handguns.” The militia man shrugged. “Did you think of letting the Kentucky National Guard know about this?”
Hatch paused. That wasn’t the plan. They were expecting one hell of a lot more troops. There used to be an armed forces base around here. His eyes wandered around the desolation of the place. It appeared like an outpost on the edge of forever. Molly had been right, Hatch had to admit. The grass should have been a giveaway.
“I have orders to defend this position.” Hatch felt his jaw line harden.
“...With what?” Molly had to jump in.
“Anything I can get my hands on.” Hatch replied, he hated how melodramatic it sounded but he was drawing at straws here.
“....and that would be.......what, Mr. Hatch?” Molly sipped her coffee and looked around before returning her gaze to the Black Ops Lieutenant. “Unless these guys have a tank lying around, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Hatch was about to give a snide reply when an explosion made them all jump and turn toward a single spot. The blast had sounded almost metallic. Of course it did, the metal fence crashed to earth, bouncing once off the pavement.
“Somebody just rang the doorbell.” Molly spoke in a low, husky tone.
*
The Commander blinked at the ear splitting detonation and watched part of the gate rise into the blue sky. It seemed to be turning end over end as it plummeted slowly back to earth, it rattled off the road before coming to rest in the tall grass. His radio came to life.
“Sorry sir,“ the voice apologized. “I think I used a little too much.”
“Don’t worry about it, Hojo.” The Commander replied calmly. “It’s better to use too much than too little.”
“Yes sir.”
“Send the first platoon in.” The Commander started issuing orders quickly. He was already looking over his shoulder. They’ll be coming soon, we’ve made noise. They always come to check out noise. “Let’s make it quick, we don’t have a lot of time.”
“Birk.” The Commander spoke into his microphone again.
“Here, sir.” Birk barked out his words.
“You’ll be bringing up the rear, have an eye behind us, okay?” The Commander was already wondering how to break through the second gate without damaging it. The last thing they needed were hostiles wandering around the interior.
“Yes sir, There are some about a thousand yards away.” Birk was quick to reply. “I think they could take a few minutes before they get here.”
“Alright, let’s move.” The Commander banged on the side of his hatch twice for the signal to get going. The vehicle lurched into gear and then began the slow, predator like crawl forward. The machine guns on his vehicle had been repaired by nothing more than duct tape, but he was still suspicious of their reliability. “I need a sparrow in front of us.”
“Sparrow launched, sir.” One of his men reported, “Uploading video link to your vehicle.”
It was such a small target as it began to rise into the air, almost silent in the sky. The cameras came on line and began streaming pictures within a few seconds.
If the Commander had been feeling poetic he would have wondered at being able to experience the world like a bird, watching the land fall away with a few effortless motions. To be free of the grasp of planetary shackles for a few minutes, to have your world grow in size from the earth to the sky.
Gunfire........
“Sir, we’re receiving fire.” It was the platoon leader, a corporal.
“How many?” The Commander was concentrating on the pictures, from one of the horizontal slits in the main building he saw a muzzle flash.
“Just two, I think, sir.” The reply was calm, professional.
“Sir, it’s Birk.” He reported in with bad news. “They’re getting closer.”
“Okay,” The Commander tapped his index finger on the screen. “Hojo, aim your 30’s at the second window on the right from the entrance. I see a muzzle flash.”
“Target acquired, sir.”
“Fire!”
The window erupted in a hail of exploding cement. The dust enveloped the target like a gritty fog. All that was visible was firecracker lights continuing to explode around the window. Whatever had been there was silenced for now. A second 30 millimeter machine gun pair opened up. This time it was from behind the Commander.
“Sir, we have company.” It was Birk. The thrumming machine guns echoed through the radio.
“I need the closest 75 millimeter to the fence.” The Commander called out on his open line. “I need a shell point blank into the lock.”
“Yes sir.” The lizard like form of a Stryker moved passed his vehicle. Its’ turret lowered toward the glittering silver bars. It focused on a small box on the right hand side while the Commanders’ machine guns probed for possible anti-tank gun fire. A shudder went through the vehicle as it fired. A huge, billowing explosion rose up from the point of contact as the fence began to open slowly, nudged open by the physics of a 75 millimeter shell. Sparks trailed away from the point of impact. The electronic lock had been obliterated.
“Go!” He shouted to his driver and the vehicle began to move forward. “Follow us in, Birk. Collapse the pocket”
“Yes sir.” There was a shade of relief in his voice as machine gun fire echoed from the radio.
The Commander’s Stryker turned left slightly once inside the gate to allow others room. After a few tense moments the Commander knew that whoever was here had no anti-tank weapons. Two more vehicles made their way into the gate followed by the platoon of troops. The corporal in charge kept shooting glances