Part 13 (1/2)

”Danke, Colonel,” Lenz said with a smile.

Schlosser stepped to one side. The man behind the colonel seemed somehow familiar to him. Tall, with a lot of gray in his hair. Hard mean eyes, too. Old for a major. Probably fifty. The man stared directly at him and Schlosser was suddenly very uncomfortable under the hard gaze.

He was only seconds away from becoming a whole lot more uncomfortable.

For a very brief period of time.

Colonel Lenz and Ben Raines stepped past Schlosser and entered the command post.

General von Hanstein looked up from his desk, stared at the tall major, and felt the blood drain from his face. ”That's Ben Raines!” he screamed.

Jersey gave Major Schlosser a burst in the belly from her H&K and the slugs knocked the major backward. Sergeant Carlos Rogillo grabbed for his pistol and Major Dietl shot him through the heart. Carlos fell across 156.

the pastry table and died with his face on a cookie platter.

General von Hanstein felt the muzzle of a .45 not too gently touch the side of his face. He cut his eyes and stared into the face of Ben Raines.

”Welcome to Texas,” Ben said. ”You a.s.shole!”

157Chapter Fourteen The battle for the headquarters of General von Hanstein was very short and very brutal. The Rebels and the GSG 9 men took only a few prisoners, General von Hanstein among them. The (Rebels and the GSG 9 personnel gathered up all the weapons, ammo, and food, loaded up the beds of trucks, and took off, heading south. The radio operator had been killed in the first burst of gunfire, so it was doubtful he managed to get off any messages ... but Ben wasn't going to take any chances.

”We'd never make it by heading north,” he told Colonel Lenz. ”So we head south and cut east once past Austin, then cut north once we're clear of Schleyer's Eighth Division lines. I've marked maps in case we get separated.”

”And if we meet enemy long the way?” Colonel Lenz inquired, a hard glint in his eyes. The commander of the German troops liked the way Ben Raines fought a war.

Ben smiled. ”Why ... I guess we'll just have to engage them, won't we?”

158.

The two men laughed, shook hands, and ran to their vehicles.

General von Hanstein, trussed up like a pig, lay in the bed of a deuce and a half. He glowered at everyone who came near him, and refused to speak a word.

”They've discovered the camp,” Corrie told Ben, monitoring on a Blacks.h.i.+rt radio. ”Hoffman's ordered a full-scale search underway immediately. He's ordered planes up.”

”Head straight for the ruins of San Antonio,” Ben said. ”They'll never expect us to do that. We can't make it tonight, but we can make this state park a few miles down the road and camouflage the vehicles. The roads are in too bad a shape to try running at night without lights.

Step on it, Coop.”

The convoy made the old overgrown state park, hurriedly camouflaged their trucks and armored cars, and settled in for a very tense night.

”Do we b.u.mp Therm and tell him where we are?” Corrie asked.

”Negative. No transmissions of any kind. No fires, no smoking. Cold camp. We just sit tight and silent.”

”Ike is going to be screaming and climbing the walls,” Corrie reminded Ben.

”Good,” Ben said, opening a field ration packet and smelling it before tasting it. ”Maybe he'll lose some weight.” '

Ike McGowan wasn't the only one screaming and climbing the walls. Field Marshal Hoffman was having a temper tantrum. Hitler would have been proud. Between violent fits of temper, which included breaking 159.

gla.s.ses, cups, and one very old bottle of brandy, Hoffman ordered a replacement commanding general in to take over von Hanstein's division,a ma.s.sive air and land search underway, the sentry who let the Rebels and the GSG 9 men through put up against a wall and shot, and then a bottle of aspirin and two tranquilizers. When he finally managed to calm down, he called a meeting of his staff officers. None of whom were looking forward to the meeting.

”The few wounded the Rebels missed during their coup de grace said many of the attackers spoke German,” Hoffman told his people in a surprisingly calm voice. ”That means the GSG 9 people have linked up with Raines. The G.o.dd.a.m.n filthy traitors. The wounded also heard General von Hanstein scream out Ben Raines's name from his office. They also confirm that General von Hanstein was taken prisoner. Thrown into the back of a truck. The nerve of that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Raines. Taking a small force deep into our territory and carrying out a successful raid.”

Before he could continue, an aide rushed into the room and handed him a slip of paper, then quickly departed before Hoffman could read the radio message and once more fly into a fit of rage.

Hoffman read the message and barely managed to contain his anger. He took several deep breaths and composed himself. He said, ”At least a full division of Ecuadorian, Peruvian, and Venezuelan troops have closed our highway supply routes. Those supplies that we were expecting will not arrive. The convoy was ambushed and all supplies seized. There were no survivors. All supplies will have to be flown in from this point on.”

He was silent for a time. ”The world seems to be 160.

ma.s.sing against us,” he said finally, his words softly spoken. ”But we expected that. All right. I antic.i.p.ated something of this nature. I will s.h.i.+ft Eighth Division down to guard the airport and roads around what is left of San Antonio. Supplies will be flown into there and trucked out into the field. Eighth Division will also have the responsibility of providing guards for the supply convoys. From this moment on, we are in no rush. We advance daily, but we do so slowly and carefully.”

”Then we are standing down from our defensive positions?” a staff officer asked cautiously, knowing the question had to be posed.

”Yes,” Hoffman said, no anger in his reply. ”I overreacted and will admit it.”

”What about the message we received from the commander of Base Camp One?” Hoffman was asked.

Cecil had sent word that Hoffman could, under the terms agreed to earlier, freely and safely staff hospitals within the boundaries of what used to be Louisiana- and was now a neutral zone-but under no circ.u.mstances would he allow any SS troops to be treated in that area.

He had issued orders that any and all SS troops were to be shot on sight, no matter what their physical condition might be.

Hoffman merely shrugged at that. ”We will provide care for our elite troops. We do not need the protection of a neutral zone for them. The Rebels in the field will not attack a hospital. General Cecil Jefferys's orders came as no surprise. Considering what he is. All combat troops will stay out of the neutral zone.”

Hoffman met the eyes of his staff officers. ”Let's return to the matterof Ben Raines. That son of a b.i.t.c.h!”

161.

Ben and his command, deep in enemy territory, hit the small patrol of Blacks.h.i.+rts very swiftly and very hard. The five vehicle patrol had made the mistake of entering the old state park. It was their last mistake.

Five rockets from Armbrust launchers turned the trucks into blazing death traps. Within seconds the Rebels and the GSG 9 personnel had put out the flames so the smoke would not be seen and had dragged away the searingly hot rubble, the bodies entombed forever in the twisted and melted metal.

”For years I have heard of Ben Raines and the Rebels,” Major Streicher said to Ben, as they sat in the darkness of the cold camp. ”At first we thought it was just a rumor. Then rumor became fact as more and more countries-splintered and torn as they may be- began adopting the Rebel philosophy. Those countries who are sending troops here are now virtually free of crime and are rapidly rebuilding their societies.

Those who have not adopted the Rebel way are nothing but raging battle zones. They will have to be dealt with at some future point. By us.”

”I'm afraid you're right,” Ben agreed, grimacing as the night breeze picked up and brought with it the odor of freshly charred human flesh.

”That is, providing we manage to knock the blocks from under Hoffman and his n.a.z.is.”

The major smiled in the night. ”Oh, we will, General. All of us sensed that the moment we met you and your people. Your movement is unstoppable. We might die, but the movement will live on.”

162.

”Ike's raising h.e.l.l, General,” Corrie said, walking up. ”He's getting everybody else all worked up, too.”

”Let him holler,” Ben said, wis.h.i.+ng he had a hot cup of coffee and a smoke to go with it. ”We'll b.u.mp him as soon as we're clear of this box we're in. I don't even want to risk a burst. The d.a.m.n Blacks.h.i.+rts are all around us. They could get lucky.”

”This General Ike McGowan,” Colonel Lenz said. ”Will he send out rescue patrols?”