The Reaper: No Mercy (12 page)

"We need medical supplies, or some won't make it. We suffered casualties leaving Moberly and I have four septics right now that are dying," she whispered. Jason nodded.

"We also need medical supplies for critically wounded, Jay," he spoke into the microphone again.

"
No worries, brother. I'll have Rob arrange it
," spoke the governor of Michigan.

"Everything else going OK on your end?"

A tired sigh sounded over the airwaves, then Jay's voice responded. "
The usual, as I said, and we have some murders Fridaddy is sorting through, and of course our friends on the dark side keep sending operatives in. We're catching most but I'm quite sure not all
."

"I get it. Keep up the good fight. The Lord is on your side."

"
You bet, but wait. I have someone special here who wants to say hello
."

Then a soft voice came over the shortwave, and it was obvious she was very young. "
Papa J
?"

Emma's sweet voice filled the airwaves, and immediately tears formed in the corner of Jason's eyes as he swallowed hard, a lump instantly forming in his throat. His mind went back to a month ago, finding his entire family including his darling granddaughters dead, and then rocking the little girls in his porch swing for hours ... crying. Then helping Newaygo make a stand against the evil spawn of Satan, and meeting their commander's daughter as she was stealing food from his plate at that first meeting. Emma. Sweet, tiny, two-year old Emma, who looked so much like his grandchild Heather who had been ripped from his life. Gathering Emma up in his arms had almost earned the Reaper a bullet in the head by Jay, her father, but from that time forward, he and Emma had become practically inseparable. Jason had vowed to visit her once a month as he was able. That hard lump in his throat was moving upward as hidden emotions welled forth; then he coughed and spoke.

"Hey sweety." The Reaper was leaning forward in order to hear every nuance of her voice.

"
Come home, Papa J. I miss you
."

"I miss you too sweetheart, but I can't. Emma, sweety, I will see you in a few weeks."

"
Promise?
"

"Yes, I promise, munchkin."

"Will you bring me a present?
" Emma’s soft, sweet voice requested.

"You know I will, sweety. It will be a nice present."

"
Ok, bye. Love you Papa J
." Jason's heart caught in his throat again before he responded.

"I love you too munchkin." A giggle sounded, and then the cold stern voice of Newaygo's commander again filled the airwaves. Behind Jason, he could hear the others whispering, but paid them no attention.

"
Glad Emma had a chance to talk to you, Jason. She misses you, and you are her godfather, after all."

"I miss her too, and I know."

"Then get your ass back here. You're needed."

"Jay, we had this conversation."

"Right. What you are doing is important, brother, and we will provide any support you need."

"Thank you."

"I'm handing you back to Rob. We have another infiltration going on that needs squashing, soonest. I need to get back out there, but Reaper, don't be a stranger!"

"Thanks, Jay."

Immediately, Major Robinson's voice filled the air, and the Reaper leaned forward once again.

"What do you need, Reaper, and what's the situation there?"

Quickly, Jason filled him in about the marauders, their actions, and the captives they held. Then he listed his own assets, that of the group he was currently with, and the other three near them. He then reiterated his need for munitions, supplies, medical, and men.

"Linked .50 and 7.62 we have in plenty, and I'll send that along with some unlinked. I assume 5.56, and will a tactical medical resupply be adequate?"

The Reaper quickly looked at Nancy, who, with wide eyes, nodded vehemently.

"Yes, and yes."

"I can loan you two teams from my 9th, it's all I can spare right now. But I want them back!"

"No problem there, Major. You'll get them back."

"We'll evac your most seriously wounded when they exfil (exfiltration or extraction), out of Mexico City, or whichever strip we decide on. The additional security will make it workable, if so."

"Got it."

"Anything else?"

"Demo. C4. I have a plan but I’ll brief the teams when on ground. Do you have any spare AT4s?" An individually-held, line-of-sight, light anti-armor missile, the AT4 was the perfect weapon against unarmored and even lightly armored vehicles. The Reaper knew they had stores of the AT4s in Newaygo, and counted on acquiring at least a few to help even the odds. The AT4 could also be used against hardened stationary targets, and if the marauders thought they could barricade themselves against attack, that weapon would easily create a new doorway or opening. The C4 he would use on the ground for improvised IEDs to the detriment of the enemy. Much of this was basic countermeasures that all military personnel learned in ITS (Infantry Training School), and there was no need to go into detail, for such things were understood.

"Plenty. We just raided the mother lode of supply depots, Reaper. We are full up on everything. I'll send a pallet, which will give you about forty. Is that enough?"

"Plenty!"

"Anything else?"

"Standard field comm and NVGs would help." NVGs, or Night Vision Goggles, were a handy piece of field equipment, and the Reaper already had thought of uses for them.

"Done, and already factored that in as we honestly have plenty; besides, you'll have my men. Hold on, I'm getting an estimate."
A pause, then,
"We are looking at real-time satellite now. Sheldon says the drop will occur tomorrow at 2300 Lima. Point to be the empty field south-southwest of your position 1500 meters out. Call sign is Blue One on frequency 134.156. Copy that?"

"Wait one, Newaygo." The Reaper turned to see the compartment was now very crowded with everyone staring at him in disbelief. Beside him, Rodriguez breathed, "Wow, and now I know who Emma is. Who is the 9th? Surely not the 9th Special Forces out of Fort Campbell."

"The same, Rodriguez. An understrength light battalion which joined Newaygo's forces. What about the drop location?"

"Sir, that's right behind us. We can be there inside two minutes."

The Reaper turned back to the transceiver. “Got it, Newaygo. We'll be there. Thanks!"

"
We're all in this together, so no thanks are necessary. We need you Reaper, so quit being the lone avenger! Newaygo out,
" and the carrier wave went dead.

The Reaper turned off the communications equipment before turning to those assembled.

"Any questions?"

"No sir, but since we now know who Emma is, and you’d better find her a present," remarked Rodriguez. The nervous tension in the room dissolved into laughter, the Reaper taking the ribbing good-naturedly.

*****

Rodriguez sat down hard, his entire world turned upside down. This man, this captain who called himself the Reaper, was more than he could handle right now. If what he said, and what Dennis heard was true, they were good to go. They had quickly returned to the industrial complex and now the Reaper was looking at him. He pulled himself to attention and saluted.

"Don't salute me indoors. Marines don't do that," commented Jason dryly.

"I'm not a Marine, sir."

"Point made."

"They're really sending two teams of Special Forces here?" Rodriguez was still having trouble coming to grips with the enormity of the help they were about to receive.

"Two twelve-man teams, yes," responded the Reaper. Special Forces had five completely separate missions. This was right up the alley of direct action.

"Hell yes, sir!" and for the first time that day, Rodriguez smiled while hugging his Nance tightly.

The Reaper went on. "We have work to do. I need to do a recon tonight of this cemetery and I need your best man to go with me."

"That would be Staff Sergeant Schuster, my number two. He's former cav-scout, and was local reserves when called to active duty. He's on his way back now. I did as you asked and contacted him by field radio. He should be here shortly."

The Reaper nodded, and then growled, "Do you have area maps, Rodriguez? If so, bring them." The Reaper was no nonsense, and Rodriguez ran to get them.

Returning quickly, Rodriguez spread them out, then rotated the main topographic map so the Reaper would not have to view it upside down. Rodriguez was pointing with his finger, touching the heavy paper.

"We are here sir, and over here is where the drop would be." Two spots close to each other were indicated, and the Reaper nodded as he examined the map.

"And the marauders?"

"Over here, sir." Another spot was indicated and the Reaper removed a grease pencil from his pocket and circled the last location.

"Where is this Schuster?"

"Coming now, sir, he just arrived."

A medium-height camouflage-attired man ran up breathlessly and saluted Jason, who was no longer wearing his camouflage utility cap with its captain’s insignia, but Rodriguez was pointing at him.

"Staff Sergeant Schuster reporting, sir." The Reaper ignored the salute and indicated a spot on the map.

"Tonight we'll do a recon of this area. I want to start here," a point was touched on the map, "and circle around like this," a line was drawn in grease pencil, "then eventually circle their outer perimeter to the south. It will take most of the night. You up for it?" the Reaper inquired mildly as he watched the newcomer.

"Absolutely, sir, I've been wanting to do a thorough recon since we arrived. How many men did you want to take?" It was obvious that Schuster realized why the salute was not returned and gave it no thought.

"I was thinking just the two of us."

"Sir, with respect, I would recommend at least two more. We'll definitely run into zombies and they move in packs these days. They're like silent feral dogs, sir. We may also need support while in the field."

"I'm familiar with the tactics of the Godless, Schuster. Do you have two specifically in mind?"

"Yes sir. They're good."

"Accepted. Now let's plan the specifics."

With that, the Reaper and Schuster went over the map in finer detail, planning out the route they would take. Partway through their meeting, Jason turned to Schuster and said, "By the way, call me Reaper."

"Shue works for me, Reaper." Both men nodded to the other. Then Schuster continued as he pointed at the Reaper’s coat. "Since we're on first names here, I think you should swap out the carhartt for one of our spare camouflage jackets. This is a recon and that coat is not exactly invisible."

The Reaper glanced down at his signature brown Carhartt, covered in grease and old blood stains, yet still very much an orange-brown, before sighing. "You're right. I've been meaning to get around to that."

"Got you covered, Reaper." Shue was grinning as they turned their heads to the map again.

*****

"Let's go," murmured the Reaper to Staff Sergeant Brian Schuster as he led the way. Brian turned to the two men behind them, Hamilton and Barber, both PFCs, and waved for them to follow. Schuster stayed at the Reaper’s side, yet slightly behind, as they silently crept forward. The moon was up and bright, but deep down in the forest, what little light filtered down made travel treacherous. The chief threat of course, was the zombies, and what Jason would not have given for a set of NVGs (night vision goggles).

Staff Sergeant Brian Schuster was thirty, born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and had joined the Army three days after his eighteenth birthday. After boot camp he had been assigned to the Infantry with the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. There, he had spent years participating in various actions, while being assigned to various duty stations before transferring to the cav-scouts. Serving four tours with the scouts in the middle east had been exciting though dangerous and he had finally decided not to reenlist and instead transferred to the Active Reserves to keep the extra monthly paychecks coming. The flu epidemic and ensuing panic had caught all of them by surprise, but when called to active duty by Presidential Declaration he had reported for duty.

Headquarters had immediately split their supply battalion into smaller units, in an attempt to cover as many major and larger cities as possible. The men had drawn their ammunition and supplies, then immediately embarked for Moberly to quell the spreading riots. He was desperately worried about his parents, older sister, and younger brother he had left behind, and had been tempted to go AWOL more than a few times to see if they were still alive. He could only thank God that he had never married and had no children.