A Private War (15 page)

“Is that what you have been up to in here? It’s awesome! I wish I had thought of it!” Gaylon explained as he walked around the machine. “I see you used a similar setup as the cycle had. You won’t have the range as the gas engine, but you should get about the same speed.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to wait until it snowing to try it out. Don’t want any tracks leading back here. But, yes, it should do a great job and be whisper quiet.” Peters replied. “And with your hydropower system, you can use that to recharge the batteries and not use any gasoline. So the best of both worlds.”

“I have another setup and snowmobile in storage that we can change over to this. That will let us take patrols and get us in close if needed.  I wish I had finished the motorcycle as it would be handy to get around with or get to town on.”

“Well, we’ll just change them back in the spring,” John said with a wink” Now if I can just knew where to find more Lithium- Ion batteries. But Gaylon, I do have just one question! How did you get these in here? Your front door is too narrow unless you took them in piece by piece.” He explained. “So what’s the story?”

Gaylon smiled, “I never said that was the only door as that would be pretty dumb on my part so come along and I show you the other ways in and out.”

Gaylon walked out of the Maintenance Bay and headed down a fork to a dark tunnel, turning on lights as they went deeper into the hill than ever before. Finally they came to another fork on the tunnel and Gaylon turned to the left. This tunnel was much larger then any of the others and seemed to climb slightly. Then before long they came to a large open space and what appeared to be a huge door. There were heavy steel I-beams that sat vertically in holes in the concrete floor. Above them sat a massive block and tackle that Gaylon explained was to lift the I-beams out of the holes and over to the side. This then uncovered a massive steel and concrete reinforced door.

“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 local 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.”