Part 14 (1/2)

”No, nothing. Only I hardly call peeing on the floor of an old bedroom a toilet.” She gave a big smile.

Margie said, ”It pa.s.ses for one here. We're walking out today, so if you start to feel faint or dizzy, let one of us know.”

John said, ”We leave in a few minutes. The rain stopped early last evening, but we'll have some mud to deal with during the whole walk. Once out of the swamp, we'll travel overland as quickly as we can, and avoid all trails. It's still cloudy, so I expect more rain at some point today, which is good, because it will wash our tracks away.”

Ten minutes later they were moving down a muddy path toward the west. John didn't want to use the same trail to leave that they'd used to enter the swamp, in case it was mined or an ambush was waiting for them. He remembered an old sergeant who once said, ”Never enter and leave by the same route, because your enemies may wait and ambush you. Always leave by a different path.”

Nothing was seen and little was heard, except for the occasional low splash as something entered the water from a log or from the trail. The sky remained overcast, and Margie prayed they'd not have to sleep in the swamp overnight. Just the thought of snakes and alligators filled her with anxiousness.

It was shortly after noon, when John called for a short ten minute break and they'd just left the swamp. Sue was holding up well and hadn't complained of pain, but he suspected she was hurting. Margie must have thought the same, because she removed two over the counter pain relievers and said, ”Wash these down with some water. Once we get back to our base, we have something a little stronger for you.”

”If you want to eat, do the job now, because we'll leave in ten minutes.”

Walking to an oak tree with Sue following, Margie removed her pack and sat in the damp gra.s.s. Sue, due to pain, sat closer to the tree and leaned back against the rough gray bark.

John ate a can of pork, was.h.i.+ng it down with a tonic drink, and then for dessert, jam on a biscuit. He then fed Dolly beef stew and a biscuit. Once she'd finished eating, he glanced at his watch, and said, ”Saddle up, we need to be moving.”

For hours they kept a fast walk and the miles disappeared behind them. Finally, nearing a blacktopped road, John said, ”We cross one at a time, on a run. Once near the edge of the roadway, jump as far into the gra.s.s as you can. That way we'll leave no tracks in the mud beside the roadway. I'll come last, so I can cover the sign we'll leave pa.s.sing through.”

Margie was just about to make a mad dash across the road when Sue said, ”Stop, because I hear something.”

”I hear it too, now, but I didn't a second ago. Here,” he handed her Dolly's leash and added, ”take her, and she'll jump at the same time you do. She'll offer you a bit more protection once you're on the other side. Now wait and let's see what's causing the noise.”

A lone motorcycle rode over a slight hill in the road moving south at a good speed. Then a few seconds later a convoy approached. They counted ten trucks and still they waited, to see if another motorcycle was riding drag. After almost ten minutes, John said, ”Go.”

Margie ran across the road and at the end, leaped high into the air, landing beyond some brush, with Dolly at her side.

Looking at Sue, John asked, ”Ready?”

”Uh-huh.”

”Go!”

Her run was almost an exact copy of Margie's and she landed on the other side of the brush as well.

John had just broken cover and was almost to the middle of the road when a motorcycle, moving south at a high rate of speed suddenly appeared over the hill. The encounter spooked both men, but John recovered first and fired three rounds at the bike. The motorcycle fell to its side and slid down the road with the rider's left leg trapped under it. It came to rest about twenty feet from John, who approached, shot the rider the head, and then took most of the man's gear. He then slipped an ace of spades card into the dead man's mouth.

Then he made tracks in the mud from the side of the road toward the bushes on the side he'd just left, hoping to confuse any Russians. Hopefully they'd head the wrong direction, the way they'd come. He realized it'd not fool a good tracker, not for long anyway, but might buy him a few minutes of precious time.

Going back to the dead rider, he picked up the man's pistol, a Makarov PMM, and PP-19, ”Bison” sub-machine gun, with the magazine pouch, and oil can. Then, he placed the pistol in his trouser cargo pocket and the four spare magazines in his s.h.i.+rt pocket. It was then he noticed a dispatch pouch, so he picked it up and threw the sling around his shoulder. He placed his AK-47 strap around his neck and carried the Bison as he joined the others.

Once with the others, he handed his AK-47, along with spare magazines to Sue as he said, ”You take this. Are you familiar with using it?”

”It's what I carried before, but lost it during the ambush, or else my cell took it with them. I remember having it before I blacked out.”

”Follow me and we'll take the long road back home.”

An hour before dark, they neared the cellar and John called out. Tom stuck his head from the doorway and replied, ”Come on in! We thought you'd been captured.”

”No, but it was close for a bit there.” John said as he left the trees and made for the cellar. Seeing no guard he asked, ”Surely you have a guard posted?”

”Kate's watching and you can be sure she had you in the cross-hairs of her 30.06 for a few seconds. She has a new sniper rifle, a VSS Vintorez, with a case of 9X39 mm SP-5 cartridges, but hasn't sighted it in yet. The information we have is it will penetrate body armor. She was given five, ten round, magazines to go with the rifle and even a NSPUM-3 night vision sight. I've been carrying the night vision sight to scan the area with after dark.”

”Did Santa Claus come to visit?”

”Nope; w.i.l.l.y blew up a convoy and they discovered a s.h.i.+tload of these sniper rifles, along with ammo and sights. A group pa.s.sing through this area gave the rifle, ammo and gear to her. Apparently, w.i.l.l.y sends out groups in general directions hoping they make contact with folks like us.”

Margie approached, handed her burlap bag of food to Tom and said, ”Have someone put us a decent meal together, because I'm worn out.”

He grinned and said, ”Come on in, and John, I know a woman's who has been worried sick about you.”

Later, over a meal of fresh beef stew, the first in years for many of them, John gave an update and then had Margie tell her tale of the town of Edwards. When the prison camps were explained and the poster announcing the executions shown, Tom shook his head.

”What are you thinking?” John asked, as Sandra sat by his side holding his hand.

”I think the poster is outdated and they've grown tired of killing, because it gained them nothing. Now, it doesn't mean they've turned soft, actually just the opposite. The camps, I suspect, will be well guarded and not something we'll want to attack, unless we have an advantage in some way.”

”What will w.i.l.l.y do?” Margie asked.

”Hard to tell, because he's original in thought, but he needs this information so some of the resistance can move their families, unless it's too late.”

”Is the group that gave you the sniper rifle coming back this way?”

”They said they'd be back this way tomorrow, and if we needed to contact them to be close to the spot where the dirt road intersects with the pavement. Jones, the leader, said they'd be in the area a little after sunrise.”

John said, ”I know Jones, and he's a good leader. In the morning, I'll take Dolly and meet him. I'll tell him what we know and have him pa.s.s it on to w.i.l.l.y. h.e.l.l, we don't even know where w.i.l.l.y is, so we can't contact him at all.”

”It's on purpose, so if we're captured, we can't say where the boss is hiding, don't you see?”

”Oh, I understand easily enough, but it makes it hard to get needed intelligence to the man.”

Tom nodded and then said, ”Joshua, go relieve Kate. Oh, I hear ya, John.”

”Sue,” Sandra said, ”come to me and let me take a look at your shoulder. In the conditions we live under, it doesn't take long for an infection to occur.”

CHAPTER 14.

Durchenko was the last man off the trail in the swamp, and he felt weak and dizzy. He'd refused to leave until his men were loaded first. Once in the chopper a medic inserted an IV and started checking his vital signs. His pain was severe and the medic gave him a shot of morphine to give him some relief. As they flew, the Master Sergeants world, gradually, grew slightly darker until he entered a deep black void.

When he awoke, he couldn't open his eyes; they felt too heavy. A feeling of serenity filled him, so he was not scared, and soon drifted back to sleep. Then he heard metal striking metal, and his eyes still wouldn't open. He attempted to stay awake, fighting the urge to sleep, only he could not.

When he next awoke, his eyes opened quickly enough, only he was confused. I am in a hospital, but how can that be and why? He thought.

An attendant saw him moving, walked to his bed and said, ”Master Sergeant Durchenko, can you hear me?”

”Yes, of course, you d.a.m.ned fool, but why am I in a hospital?”