Without law 17, p.2
Without Law 17, page 2
“Yeah, I’m glad she stayed behind,” Bailey said. “Not because I don’t want her here, but I just want her and Anthony to be safe. Knowing they’re back home waiting for us makes me happy.”
The sweet hippie girl smiled at me in the rearview mirror, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“It makes me happy, too,” I told her.
It had been bittersweet leaving Kimmy behind, but I knew she had to take care of her son. He’d called me Dada just before we left, which gave me all the more reason to make it back to them in one piece. I had started to think of the boy as mine long ago, and I was ready to do whatever was necessary to get our country back and keep him and my women safe.
The further we drove into the city, the worse the destruction got. It looked like a scene out of a movie where the earth was invaded by aliens, and they’d flown around and destroyed the city as people panicked and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. That's what I imagined happened when I saw how terribly fucked up the place was. Buildings with holes in the sides of them, basically torn down. Every single home, store, and everything in between was ransacked beyond recognition. The whole city had a sort of dingy gray and black color to it from the crumbling buildings. The signs had faded from the rain and snow and all their color was long gone.
I scanned the area to see if I could find any signs of someone living there, but I saw nothing. The place was a ghost town, and just driving through it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
We made our way over to the military circle first, but it was just as destroyed as everywhere else in town. We also tried the airport but found nothing.
There were no signs of our boys, or anyone else for that matter. The entire area seemed too silent, and as we drove further north in the city, I couldn’t help but feel something was out of place. I was missing something, I just wasn’t sure what.
“We could head to Hampton,” Paige suggested. “I know you didn’t want to have to cross the big bridge there, but the troops could have moved over there. It would be easier to control who could get in if they have the bridge blocked.”
“True,” I agreed. “But that means we have to cross the bridge ourselves.”
“Right.” Paige chewed on her lip.
“Can we get a vantage point to see?” Bailey asked.
“I’m afraid not.” I shook my head. “I doubt we’ll be able to see across the whole bridge.”
“We have plenty of firepower,” Anna pointed out. “We’ll be prepared for whatever happens.”
I thought about our options for a second. We could continue to try and look around Norfolk, but something told me there was nothing there. Hampton was probably our best bet. Paige was right, it would be easy for the troops to control the flow of people if they had the bridges secured. The only way over to Hampton from Norfolk was by bridge, so no NK troops coming from the south would be able to get to them without being seen.
That meant we wouldn’t, either.
If we went across the bridge and the troops were over there, then they’d see us coming. We would only fire in defense, but I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. I also hoped whoever saw us coming wasn’t a complete idiot. It was clear we weren’t with the enemy, though we did have enemy weapons on us. Anna was right, though, whatever they threw at us, we’d be ready. All I needed to do was speak to whoever was in charge, then we could get down to business.
Hampton seemed like our best bet.
“Let’s go to Hampton.” I nodded.
“Alright,” Paige said. “Keep going north.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s ‘The Hamptons’,” Tara said nonchalantly.
Paige caught my eye in the rearview mirror, and the brunette tried to stifle a laugh by covering her mouth with her hand.
“You can’t be serious,” Anna laughed.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Paige giggled, and she put both her hands over her face and started to laugh uncontrollably.
“What?” Tara asked, and she looked at Paige with furrowed eyebrows.
“We’re nowhere near the Hamptons,” Anna said with a shake of her head.
“Paige just said we were headed to the Hamptons,” Tara scoffed.
“No.” Bailey shook her head. “She said we’re going to Hampton. No ‘the’, and no ‘s’ at the end. Just Hampton.”
“Oh.” Tara blinked.
Paige busted up laughing all over again, and I had to try and stifle my own laugh in response.
“Of course the only Hampton you’ve heard of is ‘The Hamptons’,” Anna chuckled and rolled her eyes. “I bet you spent summer vacations there every year.”
“Oh, no.” Tara wrinkled her nose. “Only for Labor Day. I spent summer vacay in Cabo or Saint Tropez.”
“France?” Paige asked, and her jaw dropped.
“Yeah,” the platinum-blonde confirmed. “But that was mostly when I was younger. My dad thought it would, like, give me culture or something. But as soon as I got to pick it was totally Cabo.”
“Can we just push her out of the jeep?” Paige asked with a straight face.
“You’re just jealous,” Tara said, and she stuck out her tongue at the brunette.
“Duh!” Paige laughed and leaned over to playfully shove Tara.
“Hey, now,” I chuckled. “We can’t push her out. Not yet anyway. Wait until we’re out of enemy territory.”
“Tav!” Tara giggled and reached up and slapped my shoulder.
“You’re lucky this time,” Paige told the platinum-blonde with narrowed eyes.
“Try me,” Tara replied, and she narrowed her eyes, too.
“Is this technically enemy territory?” Anna asked, and she looked at me sideways.
“The enemy is heading this way,” I said. “It will be soon enough.”
“Alright,” the redhead said. “I guess Tara’s off the hook. For now.”
“You bitches have no idea who you’re messing with,” the platinum-blonde said.
“Hm, is it the same girl who slept with her phone every night for a month even after it clearly didn’t work?” Anna asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
“I thought the power might come back on,” Tara said through gritted teeth.
“Turn right here!” Paige exclaimed, and she pointed ahead.
We were all quiet and focused after Paige’s outburst. The bridge was just ahead of us, and everyone knew it was time to get back on track.
As much as I loved the girls’ playful chatter, when it was go time they didn’t have a problem focusing on the task at hand.
“I want everyone’s weapons out,” I said. “You don’t need to have it up, but have it ready.”
“Alright.” Paige nodded. “We should tell the others.”
“Good idea,” I agreed. “Let Jeff know and tell him to pass on the signal.”
“Jeff, come in,” Paige said as she held the walkie talkie up to her mouth.
The brunette explained the protocol for the situation while I surveyed the area ahead of us. I could see a little ways down the bridge, and I didn’t see any blockades, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
There could easily be a block further down, or even somewhere near the end on the other side.
I held my laser gun in my right hand and steered the jeep with my left. The gun sat just between my legs, but my finger was on the trigger, ready to go. I didn’t want to shoot anyone on our side, but we were headed into the unknown.
There was no telling if our troops would be in Hampton, or if we’d find the enemy there. Or possibly nobody at all.
Whatever the outcome, I wanted my team prepared. We would shoot to defend ourselves, but we weren’t trying to attack our troops, especially since it was such a stressful situation already. I didn’t want them to think we were there to do anything but assist them. The last thing I needed to do was piss them off right away, though I doubted they would turn down any help at this point.
I pulled up to the bridge and stopped the jeep. The caravan behind me stopped as well, and I scanned the area.
“What’s going on?” Tara whispered. “Why aren’t we moving?”
“Tav?” Anna asked, and she looked at me with concern. “Are you okay?”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I knew something was wrong.
“Someone’s here,” I said.
“What?” Paige asked, and she started to look around.
The word had barely left the brunette’s mouth when the familiar sound of footsteps filled my ears. Men in full camo gear swarmed out from under the bridge where the beach was and ran up to our caravan.
In the blink of an eye our jeep was surrounded, and there was an M9 pistol pointed right at my head through the glass.
My own weapon was held up at the ready as well, and I glanced in my rearview to see all the girls had theirs out, too.
It looked like we’d found our troops.
Chapter 2
“Get out of the fucking car!” the man with his pistol in my face yelled. He had short brown hair, deep brown eyes, and a mean five o clock shadow going on. He was tall and thin, but muscular, and he stared at me with a cold and steady gaze.
“Whoa, there,” I said, and I leveled my plasma gun at him. “I don’t want to use this. We’re on your side here.”
“If you’re on my side, then you’ll get out of the fucking car,” the guy said, and he tapped his pistol against the glass.
I looked into the man’s deep brown eyes and saw his sheer frustration and fear. He’d clearly seen a lot, and since he appeared to be in charge here, I wasn’t going to risk pissing him off any more than I already had. I needed to talk to him, which meant I couldn’t shoot him, no matter how much I might like to at the moment.
“Are you the American resistance?” I asked slowly without lowering my weapon at all.
“Who the hell are you?” the soldier sneered.
“I’m the guy who’s here to volunteer to help,” I said, and his response had told me all I needed to know. I’d only asked as a formality, but this guy was obviously in no mood for such niceties. Still, I needed to be cool. If we all shot each other, then we’d lose the fight against the NKs before it truly began.
“Look around,” I said clearly and slowly. “My team is here to volunteer.”
“Who the fuck are you?” the guy sneered.
“Connor Tavish,” I answered as I raised my jaw slightly. “I served with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Rangers out of Fort Benning, and I’m here to volunteer once again for my country.”
The man’s eyes widened for a second before they narrowed in on mine.
“You’re a Ranger?” he asked, and his head tilted back slightly.
“I am,” I answered with a small, curt nod.
“And… this is your team?” the guy asked as he leaned to the side to look at the girls in the jeep.
“Hey, pal,” Tara said from the back seat. “Watch it. You don’t wanna get your ass beat by someone wearing lipstick. Your buds won’t let you ever live it down.”
“Feisty,” the dark-haired man said with a slight chuckle before he turned back to me. “Where are you coming from, Ranger?”
“Everyone calls me Tav,” I said. “We’re coming from Vermont.”
“And how did you know where we were?” the guy asked, and I saw his eyes narrow on me even more.
That was the real question he’d wanted to ask. I was a Ranger, and I could tell at the moment he was torn between wanting to show me some respect, and wanting to rip my head off since he knew nobody had called me for help. I wasn’t sure our men had any working radios at the moment.
“We intercepted orders by the NKs,” I said. “They were in the glove box of one of the vehicles we took out.”
“You speak Korean?” the dark-haired man asked me.
“Actually, only part of it was in Korean,” Paige said from the back seat. “The orders were coded, so we had to translate and also figure out the code.”
“Right.” The guy nodded.
Paige’s outburst seemed to have helped us. The soldier clearly had experience with NK orders, and he seemed to believe us.
“I’m going to get out of the jeep now so we can talk,” I said calmly.
“Alright,” the soldier said, and he licked his lips and took a step back.
He didn’t lower his weapon, so I didn’t lower mine. I knew it was up to me to calm this situation down. This guy seemed to believe what we had said, but he still didn’t fully trust us. He didn't have a lot of reason to, and I couldn’t blame him for being cautious, but the sooner he led us to their base of operations, the sooner we could get a plan underway. Arguing was only wasting time, and we didn’t have a lot of that left until the NK army showed up.
“Tell your men to put their weapons down,” I said.
“And why in the hell would I do that?” the guy asked. “I’m still not sure I trust you. That plasma gun in your hand looks awfully familiar.”
“You and I both know this was stolen from the enemy,” I said. “I’m sure you all have some, too. The longer we spend here arguing, the less time we have to prepare for the NKs.”
“What do you mean, prepare for them?” the soldier asked, and I could tell I’d piqued his interest.
“Let’s put our weapons away first,” I said. “Then we can talk.”
The guy leveled his gaze at me, took a deep breath, sighed, and nodded to his men. They all lowered their weapons at the same time as my own crew lowered theirs.
“So, Tav,” the man said as he holstered his pistol. “What’s this about preparing for the NKs?”
“The orders we found detailed part of their plan,” I explained.
“And what part would that be?” he asked.
“The part where they come down here to take you all out,” I said seriously.
The smug look on the guy’s face disappeared just a tiny bit, and I knew I really had his attention then. This asshole was irritating the piss out of me, but I had expected nothing less. I knew whoever we found was going to be difficult to deal with. It was never an easy thing to accept new teammates, especially so late in the game. This guy wasn’t sure he could trust us yet, and honestly, he only had my word to go off of, so I couldn’t blame him for being skeptical.
Still, I had to make sure I remained calm as I spoke to him. It would look better for my team if we came in with level heads. I didn’t want anyone to think we would be more trouble than we were worth.
“We came to warn you,” I said, my voice a bit softer then. “And to volunteer to help. As you can see, we’ve managed to get some of the enemy weapons. We figured they could be of some help in the upcoming battle.”
“I see that.” The soldier nodded as he looked back at the caravan behind the jeep.
The man pushed his hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh before he lifted his head so his dark eyes met my own.
“Sorry about that, Ranger,” he said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve come into contact with anyone who showed up to help.”
“I don’t doubt that, soldier,” I said with a nod. “No apology needed.”
“Hammer, and it’s ‘sailor’ actually,” the guy said, and he held his hand out to me. “Navy SEAL.”
“Hammer?” I asked, and I cocked my eyebrows up as I reached out and shook the guy’s hand.
“Real name’s Nathan,” he said with a shrug. “But everyone calls me Hammer.”
“I get it.” I half smiled with amusement.
“It looks like you brought quite a group with you,” he remarked as he looked at the vehicles behind us.
“About fifty men.” I nodded. “And plenty of weapons for everyone.”
“We’ll take whatever we can get,” Hammer sighed, and for the first time in our interaction, I could see the tiredness in his eyes. I’d known plenty of SEALs, and those guys never got tired, so I guessed Hammer really needed our help.
“I’m guessing it’s been pretty rough out here,” I commented. “We drove through the city.”
“You can say that again.” He pushed his hand through his hair again. “We’ve lost a lot of good men.”
“You’re holed up in Hampton?” I asked.
“Yorktown,” he corrected, then he looked out at my group. “We should take you to the Captain.”
“Captain?” I asked, and my eyebrows furrowed at his use of the word.
“You heard right.” Hammer nodded, then he turned and waved his hand. “Follow us.”
I hopped back in the jeep and waited as the men retreated back under the bridge. A moment later, Hammer and a couple other guys came back up in an old beat up truck. The vehicle had seen better days, and it reminded me of the truck the doomsday preppers drove. It was painted a deep blue with a silver stripe down the side, but the paint was chipped, and it looked like it’d been used by an old landscaping company or something. A faded logo adorned the side.
The men took off down the bridge, and I started the jeep up and followed them.
“What did he say?” Anna asked once we got moving. “I couldn’t really hear.”
“Yeah,” Paige said. “Is he taking us to whoever’s in charge.”
“That’s what he said.” I nodded. “We’re going to the Captain.”
“Hey,” Tara said with a smile. “That’s what we call you.”
“So, they’re Navy guys?” Paige asked.
“Yes,” I agreed.
“Captains are from the Navy?” Tara asked. “Are they farthest up on the social ladder?”
“It’s not a social ladder,” Paige said. “It’s a ranking system.”
“Whatev.” The platinum-blonde rolled her eyes. “Are they the highest?”
“He must be the highest ranking man here,” I said. “But no, Captains aren’t the highest rank in the Navy.”
“They’re not?” Tara asked with wide eyes. “If he’s not the highest ranking officer, then why are we going to talk to him? Where’s the boss?”
“He is the boss right now,” I explained. “Admirals outrank Captains, but there aren’t any Admirals here. If there were, then they’d be in charge. The Captain is the highest ranking officer here, which puts him in charge.”
