Rob was talking with Brad. They had to get this under control much faster. Right now it was simply a standstill with both sides waiting for the other to make a move. Rob asked Brad what he thought. “We’re screwed with that man on top of that admin building. We have to flush him out somehow. The distance we’re at is killing us.”
One of Rob’s group had positioned himself up on the feed store’s roof where he had seen Haliday fire from a couple of days earlier. He took aim at the militia sniper’s position and fired a shot. The shot dropped far too low. The man’s rifle was underpowered. He raised his rifle to adjust the aiming point and fired again to try and flush the man out.
The militia sniper was aware of this position and dialed in his scope. He had invested in an ATN gen three scope and looking at the man on the feed store roof was not a problem at all. He fired his round and struck the man on the feed store roof in the top of the shoulder. The round travelled through his upper body cavity. The man tumbled down off the roof and fell to the pavement.
Brad asked Rob who the best shot was. Rob told him it was Tom. The guy had a knack for hunting. Go get him. Rob jumped in the four wheeler and went and got Tom. When he got back, Brad pointed to the map. He said, “Tom, you think you can climb a tree over in this clump here and get the bastard on the roof of their HQ?”
Tom looked over the map and looked at the scale. “It’ll be hard. I won’t lie, but I might be able to do it.”
Brad looked at Rob, “Can we get him there?”
Rob said, “Sure, give us about 20 minutes.”
“Ok, you get there, and then get Tom up in that tree.” He told Tom to wait for the signal.
“What is the signal going to be?” he responded.
“It’s going to be like the Fourth of July. When the fireworks start, you try and get that guy.”
“Rob, after you take Tom there, go around and get these guys ready. Tell them to launch on my signal. I’ll pop a flare, and once they start, it’s Toms ball game. Anyone else who can get a shot in should take it.” Rob and Tom got back on the four wheeler. Rob drove down a ways and cut back up through the same path Haliday used to ambush the track.
They came across the track and both Rob and Tom just looked at it. It gave them shivers to think about the people sitting in that thing burning. The stench of burnt rotting flesh was pungent. The militia had not been able to get the bodies out of the track. They both looked at each other then looked up toward the trees in panic, but nothing was there.
Rob had to back up the four wheeler and find another route. The track blocked the path and he couldn’t get past the trees in the woods. They hurried up, and they were cutting it close. They had to make sure Brad didn’t start early. Rob skirted the woods and passed along a brick and block company. Those would have been useful to build some blockades, he thought.
He turned the lights off on the four wheeler and they crossed the road. They parked and got out and headed toward the clump of trees. As they passed the house, Rob saw people looking out the windows. He told them to get in the basement. The people just watched. Rob told Tom, “Some people think this is a game, and they just want to watch. Like it’s a giant Xbox or Playstation.”
Rob gave Tom a boost and he started climbing the tree. He kept looking over at the roof, half expecting to get hit. He climbed as high as he could get and braced himself. He could barely make out the militia sniper. He watched and waited for movement. This was not going to be easy.
The militia was talking back and forth as they tried to identify where the aggressors were. The flare went off and arced over the airport building then came down without incident. In a matter of minutes, several large fireworks started going. Michigan had just come around to allowing the good stuff to be sold, and as with any state that sells them, they were abundant in tourist traps.
As the fireworks were dancing in the sky several more flares were launched toward the buildings and mainly toward the admin building. Numerous fire work tubes were aimed at the buildings as well. The militia almost laughed at the attack; however, the admin building was getting pelted consistently. One lucky shot made it into the militia snipers position and he moved to avoid it.
Tom took this opportunity along with two more townspeople and started firing. Fifteen shots had been fired rapidly toward the sniper. He laid up on the roof as blood ran down from the rooftop. The militia positions returned fire toward the riflemen but were taking hits themselves from almost 30 different people. The sniper threat had been removed but at the cost of one more of Rob’s group dead and two injured.
Tom scrambled down the tree amidst the fire. He fell the last seven feet and came down on his ankle, snapping it. Two townspeople assigned to regular posts here provided enough fire so Rob could get Tom out of there. He took Tom back to the four wheeler and drove him over to the tooling shop they had started to use as their meeting area. They had a nurse there and she would do what she could. They were not able to convince any doctors to get involved yet.
Rob went back and met with Brad again. With the sniper gone now, they would make some moves to get closer. They thought of every possible contingency. Getting into the compound would be vital to eliminating as many of the militia as they could. Rob wondered how Haliday was doing.
Chapter 29
The Jeep stopped about 10 feet from the woman. Two guys jumped out and ran over to her. They each grabbed a side of her and got her to her feet and were taking her to the Jeep. She couldn’t move well and they struggled moving her. She was insisting they take the man’s body with them. The man down turned out to be her husband.
The driver of the Jeep was yelling at them to hurry. They had to get out of there quickly. The smoke was practically gone. He put it in reverse and continued to yell at them to rush. As he waited for them he fired his own rifle into the house and at the landscaping areas around it. He was panicking; this rescue was taking far too long.
The driver was firing only toward the house now thinking people were at the windows. Blake, Mike and Kevin were returning fire along with Alan, who was firing from the second floor portal. There were Three more militia groups firing at the house from this side. The Jeep driver stopped firing and popped a can of smoke and tossed it in front of him hoping this would help continue to blind them.
Alan was taking aim into the center of the smoke when a round came in grazing his cheek and splintered the wood next to him causing bits of wood to fly. He backed away and put the rifle down. He grabbed a pouch from his pocket and tore it open and held it to the massive gash which had gone almost gone completely through his cheek.
He called downstairs for help. Bev came up the steps with a bag. She took the quick clot off his cheek and squeezed the gash together. She placed a few butterfly band aids over it and then taped another bandage over it. Right now this was going to be the best that he was going to get.
Haliday fired, striking the Jeeps’ driver in the back of his head. The round penetrated the windshield as well. The driver fell limp and the Jeep slowly rolled in reverse as the militia members were trying to get the woman into the side of the Jeep. They dropped down and crawled toward the vehicle in the ditch. They weren’t sure where the round came from.
The woman started to crawl that way as well, but was having a hard time. She was pleading for help. There wasn’t going to be any. The men who attempted her rescue were concerned with getting out of the area and getting to a safer location, so they let her lie there. They actually considered whether or not to try to get in the Jeep.