***
After restraining the urge to kiss the ground when he exited the airplane, Steve focused on the immediate area as he checked for threats coming toward them from the hangars and maintenance buildings that made up the airfield. The nearest structures had their huge sliding doors open, revealing a scattering of equipment and aircraft inside, while the buildings that were further away looked like they were closed up tight. He wasn’t too concerned about the ones that were further away since if anything came at them from that direction, they would have plenty of warning. Switching his attention to a long, low building, he guessed it had once been the main terminal. It was hard to tell, though, since its floor-to-ceiling windows had all been smashed out by looters before a fire had gutted its interior. He was relieved that the airfield was too small to have a control tower, knowing it would make the perfect spot for a sniper.
The dead were not the only thing they had to be cautious about.
From his right, Heather called out, “I’m clear all the way out to the woods.”
“What about Brain?” Steve asked.
Turning so that she could see him on the other side of the airplane, she got a thumbs up from the tech.
“He’s good,” she relayed.
Returning to the hatch, Steve called inside, “Shut it down, but Stacey stays at the controls. You can all get out and stretch if you want to. I want everyone to stay close to the plane, though.”
The engines wound down, making it easier for him to hear as Heather asked, “How long do you think it will take for them to get here?”
Steve shrugged and replied, “I’m guessing an hour, tops.”
Coming down the stairs with Pep, Cindy said, “But it only took us a few minutes to get here.”
Standing next to Igor as they waited for her, Linda laughed and said, “But they have to take the roads, honey.” Seeing her disappointment, she added, “Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”
The words ‘almost there’ echoed in Steve’s head as he scanned the area for threats. It was hard to believe that after making their way out of Clearwater, across the Gulf of Mexico and then through a deserted wasteland where everything wanted to kill them that they were ‘almost there’. He wanted to relax and let relief wash over him at making it, but until they were safe inside a secure area, he knew he couldn’t.
“Well, I hope they get here soon,” Cindy said. “I ate something at breakfast that’s giving me a Hasidic stomach.”
Everyone laughed while Steve corrected, “That’s acidic, kiddo.”
“Whatever it is,” she continued without missing a beat, “someone needs to give me a Valium.”
Their laughter grew louder at her mimicry of Steve.
Connie came down the steps last, her head swiveling as she took in the deserted airfield. After a few seconds, she said, “This place gives me the creeps. Why couldn’t we stay in the air until the people from the Army get here?”
“Not enough fuel to keep circling,” Steve told her. “Besides, we’ve got good line of sight at anything coming for us, so we’re safe until the cavalry arrives.”
“And there they are,” Linda said with glee as she pointed toward a two and a half ton military truck turning from the highway onto a frontage road that led to the end of the runway.
“That was fast,” Heather commented. She smiled and added in Steve’s direction, “And I thought the cavalry was supposed to show up in the nick of time.”
“Maybe they were out on patrol and got a call to come pick us up,” Steve surmised. “Whatever the case, I don’t want to hang around here any longer than we have to.” Turning to Connie, he said, “You and Linda grab the packs from the plane.”
Her voice rising in excitement as she headed for the hatch of the airplane, Connie said, “Oh my God, I never thought I would live to see this day.” After a few seconds, she added, “Literally.” Before climbing the stairs, she crouched down and called out to Brain, “They’re here to pick us up, babe. We made it.”
Brain’s reply was lost on Steve as he studied the approaching truck. It was obviously military issue, but there was something wrong with it. As it came closer, he realized that it wasn’t the truck itself, but the people piled in back of it that had caught his attention. Wearing a collection of colored T-shirts, tank tops or nothing but skin, they looked anything but military. Wondering if discipline had dropped to the point where the officers couldn’t even keep their people in uniform, he resolved to keep his weapon with him at all times. Once the little things began to get thrown by the wayside, the bigger things like theft and murder were easier to get away with.
The truck slowed and turned sideways when it was fifty feet from them. This was when Steve saw that everyone in the bed had some kind of weapon pointing at them.
***
Jimmy’s fear rose as he watched the truck approach. Now that soldiers from the base were here, he would have to move. He knew they would spread out in a defensive perimeter when they stopped, and this meant they would search any place that might hold a threat. Since the helicopter he was hiding in was only a short distance away, it would definitely get a once over. Looking back over his shoulder, he could see the tree line only a short distance away. He had planned numerous escape routes in his mind, but now he would have to see how they panned out in real life.
“Keep it simple, like you planned,” he said to himself. “Get out of the far side of this wreck. Start walking backward toward the woods while keeping the chopper between you and them, and if anyone sees you, run like hell.”
Calmed by his own voice, he watched the truck as it neared, readying his body to move as soon as he saw he was clear. Recognizing the vehicle as the same one that had passed him yesterday, he reconsidered making a break for it. He knew that the brigands had seen the plane land and had come to investigate, so why would they bother with a broken down wreck of a helicopter when they had what they came for right in front of them?
The truck slewed sideways and came to a halt, finalizing his decision to stay put. With the airplane, helicopter and truck making a large triangle with him at the bottom, either the people from the plane or the brigands would spot him before he was a quarter of the way to the woods.
Having heard stories from the survivors of gang raids, Jimmy knew they stuck to a pretty simple mode of operation. They would steal, rape, kill, and then move on. Knowing that rape wasn’t only for women, he slid further down in the foot well of the helicopter and hoped they didn’t spot him.
***
Steve started to raise his assault rifle when a voice called out from the cab of the truck, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Let’s keep this a robbery, and not a homicide. We’ve got every one of you in the kill zone, and there’s nothing you can do about it. All we want is your food, supplies and guns. If you cooperate, we’ll be on our way in a few minutes. I want all of you to set your guns on the ground in front of you and back away from them. Don’t worry, we got no plans to hurt you.”
Laughter from the back of the truck told Steve otherwise. Knowing they weren’t in a good position for an all-out firefight, he slowly lowered his M4 but didn’t set it down. Wanting the attention on him so he could give Linda and Igor time to get Cindy out of the line of fire, he said, “How can we trust you?”
“You can’t,” the voice answered. “But if you don’t drop your weapons, we’ll kill you where you stand.”
Eyeing the numerous automatic rifles and three M60 machine guns aimed at them, Steve wondered why they hadn’t gone ahead and killed them when they rolled up. With the firepower they had, they could have shredded everyone in his group before any of them had a chance to shoot back. Looking closely at one of the machine guns, his eyes moved to the other two before scanning the heavy machine guns mounted on the front and back of the truck. Now he knew the reason.
Raising his M4 and pointing it directly into the cab of the truck, Steve smiled evilly as he said, “How about this: if
you
don’t drop your weapons, we’ll cut
you
down.”
The voice from the cab asked, “Are you crazy? We’ve got the drop on you.”
Knowing he had called it right by the slight tone of fear in the man’s voice, Steve gave a half-laugh and said, “Those M60s are belt fed, and I don’t see any belts in them. The .50 calibers don’t even have an ammo box attached to them. If you’re going to bluff, at least make it realistic. Some of your guys in the back of the truck might have a few rounds in their magazines, but none of your heavy weapons have any bullets. That evens the odds up enough for me.”
Turning his head to the right, Steve could see that Heather had her CAR-15 aimed at the men in the back of the truck. Beyond her, he spotted Brain crouched behind the landing gear of the airplane, his rifle at the ready. Looking up, he saw two shadowy figures in the hatch. He couldn’t tell which one was Connie and which one was Stacey, but the outline of their rifles was unmistakable. Slowly spinning his head to his left, he spotted Igor and Linda standing in front of Cindy, their weapons at the ready. Pep crouched next to them, baring her teeth.
The voice from the cab called out angrily, “The heavy guns might be out of ammo, but we have more than enough firepower without them to blow you away. Now drop your weapons.”
Steve straightened his posture and said, “I don’t believe you. You drop your weapons.”
“You drop your guns, I told you first,” the voice bullied.
“And I told you second, and two’s bigger than one,” Steve retorted. Wanting to break the impasse, he added, “Let’s start out like this: you lower your weapons, and we’ll lower ours. Everyone is nervous, and I don’t want any accidents.”
Exaggerating his movements, Steve slowly moved his M4 from where he had it shouldered to port arms. A few of the men in the truck mimicked him, giving him hope that they could find a peaceful end to this situation. Motioning to Heather, he watched out of the corner of his eye as she lowered her rifle to point at the ground. One by one, everyone on both sides pointed the barrel of their weapon away from human flesh.
Steve knew this was a risk, but he had to defuse the situation. The situation still might turn into the Wild West in half a heartbeat, but he consoled himself with the knowledge that Stacey and Connie were still on target. Hidden in the darkness of the plane, they were practically invisible.
“Now why don’t you put your truck in gear and take off,” Steve suggested. “No harm, no foul. You go your way, and we’ll go ours. Just so you know, we were in contact with the Army before we landed and they should be here any minute now to pick us up.”
No reply came from the cab, and the vehicle stayed where it was. Steve noted that the men in the bed of the truck who had been manning the heavier machine guns had backed away from them and picked up rifles. Not automatic rifles, but hunting rifles. Seeing their bluff had been called, the others in the back had set their automatic rifles down and picked up pistols and small rifles. This told him that they did have some ammunition, just not enough for the rapid fire weapons. The question now was if their leader was crazy enough to put his men up against a well-armed group.
Even though they had the people in the truck outgunned, Steve knew he and his group were vulnerable out in the open. Turning to look, he could see Linda and Igor edging Cindy toward the airplane. Not the best of cover, but it was the only game in town. He knew that no one on his side was going to open fire unless attacked, so it all depended on what the man in the cab of the truck chose to do.
***
Jimmy watched with interest as what had started off as robbery, rape and murder turned into a Mexican standoff. He had felt sorry for the people in the airplane when the truck rolled up and the men in back drew down on them, but now it looked like they were holding their own. They had even gotten the bad guys to lower their guns.
Reconsidering his initial assessment of their character now that he had a chance to compare them side by side with a real gang, he realized that they didn’t appear to be the usual sort of riff-raff that roamed the country preying on their fellow man. They were clean looking, well-armed, had women and a little girl with them, and on top of that they had arrived in an airplane. Most of the roving gangs on the road today were lucky to find enough fuel to make it from point A to point B and then have enough ammo to raid point B. They were made up mostly of men, and he had never heard of any of them having children with them.
Looking down the length of the truck, Jimmy watched the driver’s side door of the cab slowly open and a man cautiously climb out. Reaching inside, he pulled out a scope-equipped rifle and crouched down next to the gas tank. He could see him clearly from his vantage point, but he knew there was no way the people from the airplane could.
When everyone had put up their guns, Jimmy thought it was over, but it looked like the bad guys were going to try an ambush.
Looking back over his shoulder at the nearby woods, he knew that with everyone’s attention on each other, he could easily slip away. His mind screamed out to him that this was someone else’s battle and that all he was trying to do was get home to Louisiana and find his family. With this thought in his head, he lifted his body to slide backwards and make his escape.
Before his chest lost contact with the metal floor of the cockpit, though, his heart took over for his brain and he reached up to unlatch the cockpit door in front of him.