“What’s the problem, Professor?” asked the colonel.
“There’s some bad shit out there, ma’am,” he answered. He had seen something the other’s hadn’t yet caught.
“Where?” asked Major O’Malley.
“Phoenix was there, ma’am. And not too long ago, I think.” He turned the hovering helicopter slowly to face the plume of smoke head on and slowly began gaining altitude. When the bird had gained enough height, they caught sight of the devastation about a thousand yards away.
“What is it?” asked Colonel Starkes. Her eyes were not nearly as sharp as those of Shamus and she had no training to evaluate landmarks or military activity from the air. GT and Scott maneuvered in the bay area for a better position.
Shamus described what he saw over the intercom. “Listen up,” he said. “A battle skirmish just went down on Route 51. Explosives were in play. Looks like it happened in the last few hours. I repeat, a skirmish on Route 51 with explosives.”
“Phoenix’s army was here, ma’am,” said Major O’Malley.
“I see the evidence,” said the colonel.
“What are your orders, ma’am?” asked Shamus over the intercom.
Colonel Starkes studied the scene through her binoculars. There was a large cluster of dead men and horses surrounding a smoking hole immediately beyond an overpass south of Perryopolis. The men and horses had been left where they died, as if someone was in a hurry to leave. Perryopolis was not too far north from their position and smoke was seen billowing from the approximate location of the town. Based on the size of the explosion that had occurred past the overpass and the smoke coming from the town in the distance, the colonel suspected Perryopolis was likely burnt to the ground and the occupants dead.
“Somebody got that asshole’s attention,” she said.
Major O’Malley focused his binoculars on the scene near the overpass. From what he could tell, the dead men looked naked and were stripped of most useful items of clothing and boots. There were no weapons lying about. The unlucky men in the immediate vicinity of the eighteen-wheelers perished in a whirlwind explosion. “Colonel, there’s about two dozen dead men down there and maybe a dozen or so horses.”
“I must say, it’s very nice to see evidence that Phoenix’s ranks are continuing to be thinned out a little at a time. I expect, by the colonel and our men. ”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Professor?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Where’s Phoenix’s army? Shouldn’t we have seen him?”
“Ma’am, based on the freshness of that explosion aftermath, and the fact that we cut across the fields to get here, I estimate his army is on Route 51 in the four or five mile section that we just bypassed. We just missed ’em, ma’am.”
“Damn!” said the major, “Ma’am, do you wanna go back down Route 51 to come up on him and engage?”
“No, not yet, major.”
“Ma’am? Our men are most likely ahead of him and running their asses off.”
“True, major. And they’re doing a pretty damn good job of making Phoenix’s life quite miserable. They can hold their own for a while longer, major.”
“Ma’am?”
“Major. I want some hard intel as to what we’re getting into here. I want confirmation. It’s possible the colonel and our team may have simply diverted and hunkered down to wait for the extraction tomorrow. There are too many options to consider. We can’t assume the colonel’s ahead of that army at this point.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Based on the extent of the explosion, ma’am, that’d be the last of the C-4 carried by our team,” said GT.
“Good point, GT,” said Shamus. “Whoever planted those explosives knew what he was doing. My guess is it was Mickey or Daubney.”
“True. I hafta agree,” said Major O’Malley.
Colonel Starkes smiled as her men commiserated as to the projected battle plans and outcome. “Take us around this mess, Professor. We need to see Perryopolis—I want to find out what happened there. I need some realtime data. Make a loop. Approach the town from the north.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Shamus maneuvered the helicopter expertly to a heading directly west and drifted north before he dropped altitude to the treetops and came upon Perryopolis.
The colonel held her binoculars pressed hard to her eyes. She was worried about the fate of the small community, thinking the town’s occupants may have met an unpleasant end. “The town’s probably burned to the ground.”
“We’ll see in a few minutes, ma’am.”
“Lieutenant Wahlberg?” asked the colonel.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“How many people did you say are in Perryopolis?”
“About two hundred, ma’am.”
Major O’Malley leaned toward the colonel. She removed her headset so their conversation would remain unheard. “Our men are most likely the cause of what went on at that overpass, ma’am—are you sure you want to check out this town first?”
“Yeah, our team’s likely responsible for the explosion, but don’t you think that indicates they’re holding their own, major? Those men are extensively trained. They can certainly handle a novice army for a little while longer. Besides, like I said, they’re likely busy with evasion and misdirection protocol. In the meantime, I want to see what havoc Phoenix has perpetrated against Perryopolis.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You seem skeptical, major. It’s worth the trip to find out anything of value. If anyone’s alive there, they should be a treasure trove of info.”
“Understood, ma’am.”
The smoke became denser as they neared the town. But when they edged closer, it was apparent there were only two buildings fully destroyed and those were in their death throes, skeletons smoldering. The buildings adjacent to the two burning were brick and appeared to have sustained minimal damage.
“Do a slow fly-over, Shamus. Head toward the southern gates. Everybody, eyes open for unfriendlies. Major?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Have your team scoping the buildings while the Professor flies over—weapons hot. This is not permission to fire—we’re looking for friendlies that might still be alive. When we touch down, I want you to take Major McLoy and his men with you. Take Scott and GT, too.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Remain stationary for a moment, Professor. Then head toward the south gates and then do a 360. Pick a safe landing spot on the northern edge—one we can vacate quickly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The fly-over from the north sector revealed no further movement. A few dead bodies, or rather, what was left of them, were seen near the doors of the burning buildings. The gates on both sides of the town were wide open, yet showed no evidence of having borne a recent defensive battle. Both gates were formidable, but were simply open for ease of passage. Other than the open gates and the two burned buildings, the town appeared to be mostly intact.
“I think Phoenix’s army just blew through the town,” said Scott.
“Yeah, it doesn’t look like they took the time to destroy much of anything except those two buildings,” said Major O’Malley. “It doesn’t look like there’s been any skirmishes right here. Does anyone see any turf battles inside the gates? Any bodies besides those near those two buildings?”
“I got nothing,” said GT. The others simply shook their heads. “It’s very strange.”
“I agree,” said Scott. “Let’s hope they all got out alive.”