Surviving Home by A. American

Author:A. American
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2013-06-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Mike and Sarge stayed in their positions and watched as the three men slowly approached the clearing. There was enough light now that they could see the men without the aid of the NVGs. As they approached, the men stopped and took a knee. After a moment, the point man rose and stepped out. When he was about four feet out and twenty from Sarge, Sarge called out in a low voice, “Stump Knocker.” The man froze and the ones behind him fell prone to the ground. The point man was scanning the area, looking for the source of the voice. After a moment, he answered, “Swamp Rat?”

Sarge rose up from under the palms. The point man immediately saw him and raised a hand, and Sarge responded likewise. The other two men in the element came into the clearing and joined them. Mike stayed in his position waiting for Sarge to signal him to come out. Two of the men moved to the edge of the clearing, and Mike watched as the man who had passed through the clearing earlier returned to the edge of it. With a security perimeter set up, the man with Sarge motioned for him to take a knee and did likewise.

“First Sergeant Mitchell?” the man asked.

“Correct.”

“We called you guys out because they were about to bring the world down on you. The brass wants to bring you guys in. We’re preparing to make some moves and will need all the help we can get.”

“We left some welcoming gifts for them, heard one of them go off. What the hell is going on?” Sarge asked.

“From what the DOD has been able to determine, the solar flare was used as cover for an EMP strike. We’re not sure who did it, but the intel geeks are working on it and developing a theory.”

“What are your plans?”

“We’re not going into that right now. We just came to bring you guys out.”

Sarge sat for a minute weighing his options, though this was really his only one.

“What’s our exfil route?”

“Our intended landing zone is a regional airport in Steinhatchee.”

“Steinhatchee, that’s over twenty miles away,” Sarge snorted.

“I know, but we didn’t want to bring any assets in too close to the shitstorm you guys started.”

Sarge smiled at him, the camo paint on his face cracking when he did. “Just following orders.”

Mike rose from his position, causing the men on the perimeter to snap toward him with their weapons raised. Sarge said, “He’s with me.” The men looked over and lowered their weapons, though they kept them shouldered.

Mike ran up to Sarge’s side. “We got trouble.”

“What’s up?”

“Ted’s got movement to the west, about two hundred yards away. We need to get back to them.”

The other man asked, “How many?”

“He’s not sure. Fifteen to twenty.”

“We’ll never get to them in time. They could try and get out, take the truck and run,” Sarge said, looking at Mike, who was listening to Ted on the ham handheld. Mike shook his head.

“Stand by,” the other man said and began talking into a radio headset he was wearing.

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