Precipice: V Plague Book 9 (21 page)

It was
approaching mid-afternoon by the time we were back inside the shelter.  My
plan was to leave after it got dark, so I had several hours to kill.  When
I asked, Titus provided everything I needed to strip down all of my weapons and
give them a thorough cleaning and oiling.  I couldn’t remember the last
time any of them had received any attention, other than from my trigger finger,
and was mildly surprised I hadn’t had any issues.

After I
cleared our plates, washed them and put them away, I spread out on the small
dining table where we’d eaten breakfast.  Titus sat and watched me for a
while, occasionally telling me something about his past.  I felt for
him.  Wished he’d reconsider and come with me.  But then I thought
about that and realized I didn’t have anything to offer him other than running
and fighting.  At least here he had plenty of food and water and was warm
and dry.

Rifle and
pistol finished, I reassembled them and began loading all of my empty magazines
from a case of ammo that Titus had brought out from his armory.  Firearms
taken care of, I started working on the edges of my Kukri and knife.  Both
had been used heavily and the blades were showing the wear. 

While I worked
with a whetstone, Titus disappeared into the surveillance room.  Couldn’t
say that I blamed him.  Watching someone sharpen a knife is about as
exciting as watching someone paint a wall.  I stayed at it, occasionally
adding a drop of oil as I worked, until the edges were back to razor
sharp.  Sheathing them, I started cleaning up, pausing when Titus called
out.

“Sumthin’s
up with the Rooskies.”

Leaving the
mess where it was for the moment, I stood up and joined him.  He was
staring at a monitor that displayed a street view I hadn’t seen before. 
It had become a grey afternoon, washing the colors out.  Walking slowly
down the street was a Russian patrol, one of them with the microphone for a
loud hailer held to his mouth.  He was obviously speaking into it, the
other soldiers around him keeping a close eye on their surroundings.

“No
audio?”  I asked.

“Nope. 
Not on the cameras in this part of town,” he said.

“This part
of town?  Seriously.  How many cameras do you have?”  I asked,
keeping my eyes on the Russian patrol.

With a sigh,
Titus hit a few keys on one of the keyboards then pointed at one of the
monitors.  A line diagram of the town of Mountain Home drew itself, then a
whole host of red dots appeared, covering most of the small city.

“Those are
cameras?”  I asked in shock.

“Yep. 
Told you this place cost a fuckin fortune.  Lot of it went into the
goddamn surveillance system.  Eight hundred and seven of the fuckers.”

I was
amazed.  I guess when he said he had more money than he knew how to spend,
he wasn’t exaggerating. 

“OK, so how
do we find out what that prick’s saying?”  I asked.

“Hang
on.  I ain’t as good with this as my daughter was,” Titus said, typing in
commands with his index fingers.

Close to a
minute later the views changed and the cameras began cycling.  Leaning
forward, Titus adjusted a volume knob I had failed to notice and the white
noise of an empty town came over speakers set in the ceiling. 
Occasionally, when the system cycled through a certain camera, we could hear
the sounds of a helicopter.  Then one of the monitors blinked and I could
see a Russian patrol with a powered megaphone, the sound blasting out of the
speakers.

“…surrender
yourself in exchange.”  We had come in at the end of a message and Titus
entered a command to stop the system from changing to another camera.  A
few moments later I saw the Russian lift the microphone to his mouth to repeat
the message.

“Major John
Chase of the American Army,” he spoke passable English with a heavy Slavic
accent.  “We have your wife.  She is unharmed and will remain that
way if you surrender yourself in exchange.”

I stood
rooted to the spot, barely able to process what I’d just heard.  They had
Katie?  My hands balled into fists as anger coursed through me.  I
must have escaped too soon and they were able to chase her down.  Goddamn
it!  Spinning, I stormed out of the surveillance room and began sorting my
weapons out and getting them settled on my body.

“What do you
think you’re doing?”  Titus had followed me.

“Going to
get my wife,” I growled.  “Open the door and let me out.”

I pulled the
charging handle to load a round in my rifle.  Titus stood there looking at
me, shaking his head.

“What?” 
I challenged, ready to go commit murder and mayhem.

“Have you
seen her?”  He asked, the idea hitting me like a slap of cold water.

“But…” 
I started to say, my voice trailing off.

“You’ve seen
a fuckin’ Russian running on at the mouth about them having your wife. 
Maybe they do, maybe they don’t.  But if they don’t you’re gonna feel like
a goddamn fool for running right into their arms for nothin’.”

He was
right.  But could I take the risk?

“Got plenty
more cameras,” he said.  “’Fore you go charging off like a bull with a hot
poker up his ass, let’s see what we can see.”

I stared
back at him for a few moments, thinking about what he was saying.  He was
right.  I nodded and gestured at the surveillance room, following him
through the door.

He sat down
and started working on the keyboards, the views on the monitors slowly
cycling.  I was standing behind him, watching him work, trying to remain
patient as he hunted and pecked across the keys.

“Whyn’t you
go get a chair from the kitchen.  Bring it in here and have a seat. 
You’re buggin’ the hell out of me, breathin’ down my neck like that.”  He
didn’t look up or stop working as he spoke.

Suppressing
a sigh, I did as he asked.  I wanted to grab control from him, but being
able to type faster doesn’t help if you don’t know how to work the
system.  Returning with a chair, I set it down gently at the end of the
desk and lowered my ass into it.

Forcing
myself to focus on the monitors and not Titus’ keyboarding took a supreme will
of effort, but I managed it.  The views changed regularly and at first I thought
he was repeating the same camera when I saw a Russian soldier with a megaphone
several times in a row.  Then I realized it was different patrols,
broadcasting the same message.

“If they’ve
got her, they’ll be at some place they’re using for a command post.  Can
you get a view of city hall?”  I asked.

Titus
grunted and spent a few minutes clicking.  Several monitors changed and he
looked up and pointed at one of them.  All I could see was a plain, brown,
single story building.

“That’s city
hall,” he said.  “Let’s try a few other places.”

He kept
clicking, naming off the buildings as he pulled up a live image of each. 
We checked the police station.  The county recorder’s building.  The
library.  All were quiet.  Next he started looking at schools, beginning
with elementary and working his way up through the grades.  Still nothing.

“I don’t
know where else to look.  Maybe they ain’t really got her.  Maybe
they ain’t holding her here.  Maybe they got her down to the air
base.”  Titus looked up at me and shrugged his shoulders.

“No,” I
said, thinking about the situation.  “If they have her, they’ll want her
here so she can be used quickly if I’m spotted.  Maybe they aren’t worried
about setting up in a building.  It’s not like it’s a permanent occupation
of the town.  The whole thing can be run with a laptop and radio. 
All they’d need is…”

“What?” 
He asked when I paused.

“Large open
spaces,” I said.  “Large enough for a big helicopter to land. 
Parks.  Golf Courses.  Maybe the football field at a high school, but
that might be a little tight with the bleachers and the goal posts.  How
many parks in town?”

“Only one
big enough for a helicopter,” he said, already working on the keyboard.

As soon as
the feed came up, I knew I’d guessed right.  A Hind Mi-24 sat in the
middle of a large, grassy field.  A small squad of Russian soldiers was
marching across the grass, away from the helicopter.  I couldn’t see
anyone close to it, but I couldn’t see the far side of the aircraft.

“Can you get
a view from the other side?”

More typing
and an image of the park came up on a different monitor.  This time I
could see several people outside the Hind.  Four indistinct figures stood in
a row between the helo and a giant tree, each with an arm held up like they
were trying to touch the sky.

“Just a
sec.  I think this one’ll zoom,” Titus said.

When he was
able to push in with the camera the details blurred, jumped, then came into
focus.  The helo’s winch cable had been stretched out and secured to the
trunk of a huge tree.  The four figures standing along its length each had
a wrist handcuffed to the braided steel line.

I stared in
shock when I recognized Irina and Martinez.  I had thought they were
dead.  Was certain I’d killed them.  But there they were, and so were
Katie and Rachel, on either side of Martinez.  She must have been injured
because they appeared to be holding her up.

“How do I
get there?”  I asked, jumping to my feet.

“Whoa there,
big fella,” Titus said, leaning back in his chair.  “I’m guessing one of
those ladies that’s strung up is the missus.  And I’m also guessing you’re
about ready to go charging in like Rambo, which will just get you and them
killed.”

“I’m usually
a little subtler than that,” I said.  “And yes, one of those women is my
wife.”

“Take
another look at the monitor,” he pointed and I turned.  All I saw was the
same view as before.

“Not that
one,” he said impatiently.  “The one with the view from the back side of
the helicopter where you can’t see the women.”

I adjusted
my gaze and stared at the display, but still didn’t see anything he could be
talking about.  Starting to turn my head to look in Titus’ direction I
froze as my eyes picked up something that didn’t belong.

The camera
was high in the air, most likely mounted on a street light.  It had a wide
field of view, partially covering a couple of roofs in its frame.  On one
of those roofs I could see the legs of two men who were prone on their
stomachs.  They were barely in frame and I couldn’t see anything above
their knees.

As I watched
the screen, the angle changed.  Titus moving the camera.  When it
panned for a better view of the roof I cursed myself for having gotten
impatient.  The two men were a sniper and his spotter.  From their
position they had an unobstructed line of sight to everywhere in the park
except for directly on the opposite side of the Hind where the girls were
restrained.  I had little doubt there was a second sniper team set up to
cover that area.

“Like I
said,” Titus muttered.

I sat
staring at the monitors for a few moments.  As I watched, the ball of
anger in my gut churned, threatening to overwhelm me and send me running to
rescue the four women and rain vengeance down on the heads of the
Russians.  But I knew that Titus was correct and I needed to proceed carefully. 
Charging in with guns blazing only works in the movies.

“Can you
zoom in some more on the people next to the helo?”

A couple of
minutes passed as Titus laboriously pecked at the keyboard, then the image on
the display swelled.  Katie, Rachel and Irina looked unharmed, but
Martinez didn’t look good.  The right leg of her pants was soaked in blood
below about mid-thigh.  I guessed that she’d been shot.

I started
looking at the other people, all of whom were wearing Russian uniforms.  A
very young looking Captain stood at the edge of the group, speaking on a
radio.  Closer to the women stood a tall, thin man wearing Major’s
rank.  He was talking to Colonel Grushkin, gesturing frequently at the
girls.

So Grushkin
had survived.  I wasn’t really surprised.  He had struck me as a
tough bastard.  The gash on his head had been stitched up and he looked
quite a bit like Frankenstein’s monster with the long, jagged line of black
sutures running across his scalp and forehead.  I briefly regretted not
having taken the time to shoot him when I had the chance, then dismissed the
useless emotion.

Continuing
to stare, I was concerned when I didn’t see Igor, Scott, Crawford or Dog. 
Had everyone that couldn’t fit the role of my wife been killed when the women
were taken?

“You
OK?”  Titus asked, bringing me back from my musings.

“No, but I’m
better than they’re going to be,” I said.  “Thanks for stopping me
earlier.”

He nodded,
lit a cigarette and passed me the pack and lighter.  I absently pulled one
out and stuck it between my lips.  I clicked the Zippo and lit up, my mind
finally starting to analyze the situation from a tactical rather than emotional
standpoint.

“Can you
start looking for other snipers?  They’ll probably be pretty close to
directly opposite from the ones we’ve already spotted.”

He nodded
and leaned over the keyboard.

“And, do you
have any maps of the town I can look at?”  I asked.

“There. 
In the top drawer.”  He pointed at a short, three drawer filing cabinet
that was pushed against the far wall.

I went to it
and pulled the indicated drawer open, finding it stuffed with manila file
folders.  Each one was clearly labeled and held a neatly folded map. 
I found one of the town and stuck it under my arm, continuing to flip through
the tabs to see what else might be of use.  I shouldn’t have been
surprised when I found one for the tunnel system and it quickly joined the
other one under my arm.

Nothing else
of immediate use jumped out at me, so after closing the drawer I moved to the
kitchen table so I could spread the maps out.  I had to clean up the mess
from my earlier weapons maintenance, then spread out the two large pieces of
paper.

Both
appeared to be survey maps rather then just standard commercial issue. 
That meant they were likely accurate, and when I checked the dates on each I
was happy to see neither was more than two years old.  I didn’t imagine
there had been that much about Mountain Home that had changed in the past
couple of years.

I stared at
both of them for a while, getting my bearings.  Once I understood the
symbols that were being used they were easy to read.  There was only one
problem.  I had no clue where I was on the map.  Scooping them up I
carried both into the surveillance room to get Titus to show me.

“Got the
bastards,” he said when I walked in.

I looked at
the monitor he was pointing at and saw the sniper team on the edge of the field
of view.

“Excellent,”
I said.  “Now do me a favor and make a mark on here to show me where we
are.”

I handed him
the maps, careful to not set them down on top of the cigarette smoldering in an
ashtray.

“And while
you’re at it, mark the buildings where the two sniper teams are.”

Titus dug a
red marker out of a desk drawer and peered at the town map.  Soon there
was a circle for us and two Xs for the sniper teams.  He then placed the
tunnel map on top of the town map and held them up to the light.  I hadn’t
realized they were the exact same scale and could be laid on top of each other
for reference.

I looked up
and checked on the women, but nothing new was happening with them.  Part
of me wanted to stand there and just look at them, but I had work to do. 
Taking the maps back from Titus I returned to the kitchen.  He followed a
few moments later.

With them
layered, I was able to get a good sense of the layout of the town and could see
exactly where the tunnels ran under the streets.  Staring at all the
converging lines and symbols, I smoked my cigarette and a plan began to take
shape.

“Titus,” I
started speaking without taking my attention off the maps.  “I’ve seen
your armory.  Saw several big, locked cabinets.  What all you got in
there?”

I looked up
and met his eyes.  After a couple of moments, he grinned and motioned for
me to follow.  Crushing the cigarette out I followed him in, watching as
he pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked all the doors.

“See for
yourself,” he said, stepping out of my way.

The first
cabinet was stuffed with communications gear.  Not the type of stuff you
can buy on eBay or Amazon.  The type of stuff that a government contractor
produces and has to account for every unit built and all the components that
were used.  In the second cabinet was body armor and night vision
goggles.  The third was stuffed with all kinds of things that go
boom.  Grenades, Claymore mines and about five pounds of C-4.  Triggers
and detonators filled two large, clear plastic boxes that were sealed around
the lids with duct tape.

I turned and
looked at Titus.  This was a fucking windfall.  I couldn’t wish for
anything that wasn’t here.  Well, I could, but a few thousand pissed off
Rangers won’t fit in a storage cabinet.

“Your
son-in-law?”  I asked.  Titus nodded and grinned. 

Just about
everything I was looking at was illegal for a civilian to possess.  Hell
it was illegal for a member of the military to possess for personal use. 
I was looking at about a hundred different federal felonies and several
lifetimes of hard labor at Fort Leavenworth, but that was before the
attacks.  Now, these were what I considered the basic necessities of life.