Part 23 (2/2)
”This is so. Raines is givin' his main army time to clean out the Los Angeles area. Then punks up there ain't got but one direction to go, south. Now if the street punks and them gawdawful cannibals is bein' pushed south, and we allow ourselves to be pushed west, where is that gonna put us, Jim?”
Texas Jim had to ruminate on that for a couple of minutes. Get his directions all straightened out in his mind. He frowned and chewed at a dirty thumbnail and finally said, ”In a d.a.m.n box, I reckon.”
”That's right. With the Mexican forces south of us, sealin' off the border like they been doin,” and the Rebels north and east of us, if we allow ourselves to be herded, where would that leave us?”
Texas Jim sighed heavily. ”Drown-ed in the d.a.m.n ocean,” he said glumly.
”That's right. And I ain't got no desire to become shark bait. Do you?”
”h.e.l.l no! But where does that leave us to go?”
”Alaska.”
”Alaska!
Jesus Christ, man. It's cold up there.
We'll freeze our a.s.ses off.”
”Would you rather have your a.s.s shot off by a Rebel bullet?”
”Puttin” it that away, no. You ever et blubber, Banniger?”
”Can't say as I have.”
”Me neither. But I seen pitchers of it. It didn't do nothin' for my appet.i.te.”
”If Ben Raines gets hold of you, you gonna lose your appet.i.te forever.”
”That there's a pure fact. We beside' take some women with us, Banniger. There ain't no women up there neither.”
Banniger laughed at him. ”Get your boys together, Texas. We're pullin' out.”
”When?”
”Right now, partner, right now.”
Some very weary-looking and badly used men and women met the Scouts at a small town just a few miles north of the Arizona line. The Scouts radioed back to the main column and waited for Ben.
”Texas Jim joined Banniger and they pulled out several hours ago,” a man told Ben. ”We've been slaves here for a couple of years. Some of the peoplehere for longer than that. We were sure that we'd be killed, but Banniger just turned us loose. He said that he didn't need any more marks against him in General Raines's tally book.”
”He headed east on the Interstate, General,” a woman said. ”But we found this in his headquarters.”
She held out a well-worn map.
Ben took it and carefully unfolded it. A map of Alaska. He studied the neat handwriting on the map edges. Ben leaned up against a fender and slowly nodded his head. ”It makes sense,” he said, handing the map to Buddy.
Buddy glanced at the writing and grunted. ”Now we know where Villar and Khamsin and the others are heading.”
”If we can believe the writing on the map, yes.
And it's probably true. Banniger was in such a hurry to pull out, he forgot about this map. Well, they don't have anyplace left to go in the lower forty-eight, unless they wanted to link up with Sister Voleta.”
Buddy shook his head. ”I can't imagine they would want do to that.”
”Neither can I. They're thugs and outlaws, not crazy. All right, so now we know what is waiting for us in Northstar.” He looked at the ragged and physically abused group of men and women.
”What is left of Yuma?”
”It's intact, General. It's dirty and trashed but still standing.”
”Could you people make a go of it if we resupplied you and got you all set up?”
”We would give it our best, General. But I can guarantee you this. You arm us, and no bunch of thugs and punks will ever again overrun us.”
Ben chuckled. He'd heard this story many times before.
And he knew the answer to his question. ”So you people were all pacifists after the Great War, eh?”
The man's smile, and the smiles of those around him, held no humor. ”We tried extending the hand of peace and friends.h.i.+p to any who came our way. It looks real good on paper. In practice it was a royal f.u.c.k-up!”
Ben laughed and patted the man on the shoulder. ”Come on. We'll get you all fed and outfitted and have the medics give you all a good exam. I think you folks are going to fit right in.”
Ben and his contingent of Rebels stayed in Yuma for four days, while the medics checked over the newly freed people and determined who needed what in the way of medicines. Many of the ex-prisoners were in bad shape, both mentally and physically; those would be sent back to Base Camp One for hospitalization. The Rebels cleaned up the small airport and got a runway in shape.
Ben made no effort to chase after Banniger and Texas Jim. He knew, or at least had a pretty good idea, where they were going, and he would deal with them later.
Ben wanted to clear the lower forty-eight of as much human crud as possible before he started giving alot of thought and planning to Alaska and beyond. Sister Voleta and her Ninth Order took up some of Ben's mental time. The woman had a way of pulling thugs and perverts and deviants to her like metal shavings to a magnet. Ben decided that would be work for the battalions he left behind.
Buddy and his Rat Team, working with Dan's Scouts, had gone out and brought back valuable information concerning the enemy that lay to the west.
”Corrie,” Ben said, after listening to his sons report, ”see if you can patch me through to the HQ of the Mexican army.”
”No problem,” she told him. ”I have their operating frequencies.” It did not take her long. ”A General Payon waiting, sir.”
”General Payon, General Raines here. I congratulate you on restoring order in your country and look forward to working with you.”
”Thank you, General Raines. We are moving along swiftly. As you have been. We will both succeed with a little bit of luck and many smiles from G.o.d. And now, sir, how may I be of a.s.sistance to you?”
When Ben finished, General Payon chuckled. ”It is truly a fine plan, sir. A fine plan.
And you have our full cooperation, of course. I will begin moving troops into place immediately.”
Ben smiled as he handed the mike to Corrie.
”Now, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds,” he muttered. ”Let's see you get out of this box!”
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