William H. Weber
LAST STAND:
WARLORDS
Dedication
Writing novels can be a solitary journey, but no author can ever pretend they do it all by themselves. I’d like to take a moment to thank a few people who not only offered their valuable expertise, but also put up with my stream of never-ending questions. I’ve striven to accurately capture as many of the details in the story as I could. If there are any mistakes, they belong to me.
A hearty thank you to John Alex Groff and H. Rossi for helping with the military side of things. Gary Stevens deserves another. After the launch of the first book, he contacted me and his input and suggestions since then have proven invaluable. Thanks as well to Alfred Dearen for the information on permanent magnet generator windmills. Special mentions go out to Stephen Myers, PJ, Damian Brindle and to everyone who read and commented on an early draft of the manuscript. I feel truly blessed that each of you has offered your time and energy to help make this series shine.
Previously in Last Stand: Patriots
Following the EMP that brought America to its knees, the Mack family fled to their cabin and what they hoped would be safety. But that short-lived tranquility was shattered when armed men from Oneida killed Tim Appleby and kidnapped John’s wife and kids. In his attempts to free them, John stumbled upon a group of local Patriots determined to free Oneida from the grip of a newly arrived tyrant—a man who referred to himself as the Chairman. But Oneida’s new leader wasn’t the man he claimed to be. A fifth columnist sent by Russian intelligence, the Chairman was sent to control the vital railway that ran through the town. John’s next discovery was even more disturbing. The United States was at war with Russia, China and North Korea, their forces already pushing up against the Mississippi river. A daring attack on Oneida narrowly managed to overthrow the Chairman’s tyranny, but for John and his new allies, the battle has only just begun.
Quick Reference
APC: Armored Personnel Carrier
GPS: Global Positioning System
HE: High Explosive
IED: Improvised Explosive Device
IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle
JTAC: Joint Terminal Attack Controller
MBT: Main Battle Tank
Captain Bishop: Company commander, 101st Airborne
Colonel Higgs: Frontline commander
Colonel Edgar: Logistics officer
Dan Niles: Waste management
Devon: Young security guy
Dixon: Soldier at the front
Dr. Trent Coffey: Doctor at Pioneer Community
General Brooks: Head of forces in Oneida
General Dempsey: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Henry: Ham radio operator
Huan Wei: Chinese prisoner of war
Jang Yong-ho: Camp Commandant
Jerry Fowler: Former employee at Y-12
Moss: Head of security
Ray Gruber: Vice Mayor of Oneida
Robert Rodriguez: Electronics specialist/radio operator
Shelley Gibson: Water purification
Abrams M1A2: Main battle tank (USA)
Bradley: M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle
M777 howitzer: 155mm towed artillery (USA)
Type 99 & 96: Main battle tanks (China)
ZBD-08: Infantry fighting vehicle (China)
M1097 Avenger: Humvee mounted with eight Stinger missiles
M163: An M113 APC mounted with a 20mm M61 Vulcan rotary cannon
M6 Linebacker: Bradley converted to carry four Stinger missiles
AT-4: Disposable anti-tank weapon
Javelin: Fire-and-forget anti-tank missile
RPG: Rocket-propelled grenade
AK-47/74: Assault rifle (Russia)
BK9: Nine-inch Combat Bowie Knife
M249: Light machine gun (USA)
M4 Carbine: Assault rifle (USA)
QBZ-03: Assault rifle (China)
RPK: Light machine gun (Russia)
Weatherby Mark V: Hunting rifle
Winchester Model 70: Hunting rifle
Chapter 1
The convoy roared south along U.S. Route 27 doing nearly eighty miles an hour. Moss was at the wheel of the lead vehicle, a late 70’s model Ford pickup decked out with flames along the side and a skull and crossbones on the hood. Seated next to him was John Mack, feeding 5.56 rounds into the magazines of his AR-15 and having a hard time of it.
“Moss, your lead foot’s gonna put us in the ditch.”
Grinning, Moss eased up on the accelerator a touch. “Aye, aye, Mayor.”
All in all there were a dozen pickups in the group, each bristling with armed men. Many of them were sitting in the bed, holding on tightly as the pickups swerved left and right to avoid rusted cars abandoned along the highway.
They were heading to liberate Huntsville, Tennessee, a small town just south of Oneida. It hadn’t been more than three or four days since they’d executed the Chairman and his fellow Spetsnaz agents. Just enough time to begin the initial stages of reorganizing and figuring out what to do next. There was so much on the list and all of it needed to be done yesterday. But no longer was America simply reeling from the devastating effects of a super-EMP. Foreign troops were on US soil attempting to cross the Mississippi river, perhaps the country’s last line of defense.
Since the Chairman’s death, John had given his radio operator Henry the job of getting the news out to as many of the surrounding towns as possible. Rodriguez continued to recover from his wounds, and every day his spirits rose. He was anxious to get back into the fight, but John insisted he rest up until he was back at a hundred percent.
The Chairman’s communications vehicle in Oneida had come in handy as a means of warning the neighbouring towns. In many ways, however, it was hard to say whether the message was getting through since no one knew the identity of the people on the other end. Were they friends of the republic or more foreign agents?
“Three minutes,” Moss announced, clutching the wheel with both hands.
John nodded, rolled down his window and held three fingers in the air, all the while trying to fight the buffeting wind. In the side mirror, he saw the signal being passed from one vehicle to another the same way it would be if the men were patrolling on foot. Clear communication was vital in any combat situation, especially when trying to maintain radio silence or noise discipline.
Huntsville was set to be the first town they would liberate but also one they didn’t have a lot of intel on. The plan was simple enough. Roll in, scout around and get a sense for whether the inhabitants were more interested in shaking hands or putting a hole in someone’s head.
Contrary to appearances, this wasn’t a guns-blazing kind of operation. At least it wasn’t supposed to be. The intent was to see if the people of Oneida could reach out and help a neighbor in need, even if that neighbor didn’t know he needed the help.
The edge of Huntsville came into view and Moss slowed the convoy down to a crawl. John lifted a pair of binoculars to his eyes and scanned ahead. On the right were a series of mobile homes. The broken windows and general disrepair told John there might not be anyone living there. Absent too was any sign of a barricade. Sure, U.S. Route 27 was four lanes wide, not including the shoulder, but a school bus pushed onto its side would have done a better job than nothing.