Part Twenty-One
Vicinity of Bethel
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0840 Local
Tyler flipped open the phone as soon as he heard the soft tone. He'd turned the volume almost completely down as traffic in his area increased. "'Tyler," he whispered.
"Chegwidden, Ensign," AJ spoke quietly, taking his cue from Tyler. "Are you all right?"
"Yes sir. A bunch of militia showed up half an hour ago. They're combing the area."
"Will you be safe?" AJ didn't want anything to happen to the young man.
"Yes sir. The leaves are pretty thick and they don't look up often."
"Good. Ensign, when you said Capt. Perez called you? Did he use a cell phone?"
"No sir, we all have hand-held radios."
"Have you tried to contact Capt. Perez?"
"No sir, we were afraid we might compromise his position. Anybody with a radio can hear these things."
AJ sat for a moment in thought, the ensign had a point. "If you can get to the road you came in, do you think you can get out of the area without being seen?" If he could get Tyler to a place where he could give specific directions, it would make any rescue op a lot easier. After talking to Tyler the first time, he'd talked to a Lt. Barker at the Memphis JAG. What he learned made him want to blister the hide off someone. The MP assigned to Mac and Singer had been found in the parking lot with a skull fracture. There'd been no sign of any of his JAG officers this morning. Tyler, Bell and Capt. Perez had been listed as UA. Apparently Admiral Crowley, mindful of negative publicity, had treated the MP as a simple random assault. His opinion, expressed in scathing terms to Lt. Barker, was that the missing JAG officers were an undisciplined bunch, were no doubt responsible for the UAs and would turn up eventually. When Chegwidden arrived in Memphis this afternoon, he would have that man's ass. The sound of Tyler's voice brought him back to the present.
"Yes sir, but sir? I think I could do more if I stayed here. Once these guys have cleared out, I can scout the area."
"Tyler, I don't want them to find you. Right now you're my only link to the rest of my people."
"Sir, they're not looking for me. They were... are... looking for the Colonel and the Lieutenant. I guess Cmdr. Rabb and Capt. Perez got them out. Tink and I were just in the wrong place when they found out about the escape."
AJ's eyebrows went up in surprise, he had assumed his three officers and Capt. Perez were in the hands of the militia. That they were on the run put a whole new spin on the problem. However, in either case, good recon would be invaluable. "No offense Tyler, but can you do it and not get caught?"
"Yes sir. Growing up, I spent more time in the woods than I did in the house. Half these militia guys stomp around here like they've never been further than their backyards. I'd really like to try it, sir." Tyler threw in his final argument, "We're not supposed to leave our own behind, sir."
Covering a chuckle by clearing his throat, AJ took a moment to think it over. At last he said, "All right, Tyler. I'm going to give you my cell phone number. I want you to check in every two hours or as the situation merits, understood?"
"Yes sir, thank you sir!"
"Oh and Tyler? I will be out of touch during my flight to Memphis this afternoon. That would be from 1320 to 1450, your time. Try to stay out of any life or death struggles, will you?"
"Aye-aye, sir."
Vicinity of Bethel
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1318 Local
Mac pillowed her head with her good arm and idly watched Harm fiddle with a small radio. He'd come off watch thirty-two minutes ago. Lt. Singer was taking her shift and Capt. Perez was napping. Neither man would agree to her taking a turn. She hadn't really expected them to, but thought she'd give it a try anyway. Waiting was boring and left too much time for introspection. Her body had taken enough physical abuse without adding a self-inflicted mental beating. The plan was to move out at dusk, six long hours away. She started to take a deep breath and then stopped, trying not to wince. The gash along her ribs was becoming more sensitive. She'd rather not let Harm know, there wasn't much he could do and she wasn't in the mood for fussing. The wound was long and shallow. She considered it annoying but not life-threatening.
Mac glanced back at Harm and was surprised to see him sitting quite still, listening intently. She concentrated and then realized the background sound she'd been hearing subconsciously was growing louder. At almost the same time, Singer came sliding down the slope, wide-eyed and anxious. "Jeeps! A lot of them! They're heading this way!"
Perez had popped awake as soon as the Lieutenant had begun her descent. He looked over at Harm, "If they flood this area with searchers, they're going to find us."
Harm scrubbed a hand through his hair, "Yeah, we need to get out of here." He looked around for a moment, "The road could be a boundary for the search area. If we can get north of it, we can probably keep ahead of them." He helped Mac to her feet and steadied her while she regained her equilibrium. "Let's go." They hurried to the edge of the dell and cautiously peered out. Although the engines sounded nearer, they still didn't see anyone. Harm looked at everyone, "Try to stay undercover as much as possible 'til we hit the road, then run like hell."
"I'll take the Colonel," Perez said. Harm glared at him. Mac cut in, "He's right, Harm. We're closer in height, it's easier on me when we run."
Harm nodded although still scowling, they didn't have a lot of time. Quickly, the four made their way to the underbrush close to the roadside. They spread out to attract less attention. Mac and Perez would be the biggest risk, they'd go last. Harm moved to the edge of the road and crouched there. He signaled and Lt. Singer sprinted across. Harm went next. He had just reached the far shoulder when the first jeeps came into view. He dove and rolled before scrambling into the brush on the other side. Mac and Perez saw him come up alongside a tree and almost as one, they all looked up the road. For one moment, they thought they'd gotten away with it. Then the sudden acceleration of the lead jeep and accompanying yells proved them wrong. Harm threw one last look their way and then he and Singer took off at a run.
Perez flattened further into the leaves as four jeeps skidded to a halt not ten yards away. A dozen men leaped out and began the pursuit, leaving a driver in each jeep. The captain had a hand on Mac's good shoulder, he had no idea what she would do. She was rigid with tension. Three more jeeps came up, skirted the four parked vehicles and headed up the road. No one even glanced at the south side of the road. The two marines lay motionless, hidden by the scrub as the sounds of the pursuit faded into the distance.
Fifteen minutes passed, twenty... the drivers had congregated together to smoke and chat. Then the silence was broken by the sound of a rifleshot, closely followed by another. Mac jumped at the first, Perez clamped down harder. At the second, her hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, her knuckles white from the strength of her grip. Neither moved again. The minutes dragged by. The drivers who had milled around excitedly after hearing the shots, soon settled back in their vehicles. Perez glanced over at the Colonel. She could have been carved in stone. He looked back across the road and focused on his breathing, he didn't want to think just yet. Finally, the sound of voices came drifting on the breeze. Although neither moved, there was an almost tangible sharpening of attention. It took an eternity but a crowd of men came into view. Mac's hand jerked once when Harm and Singer appeared in their midst.
Hands bound behind, they were being pushed along by laughing, jeering men. Both looked worse for wear. Their pantlegs were wet from the knee down, small scratches and tears were evidence of headlong flight through thick underbrush. An angry red mark on the side of Harm's jaw told of the bruise yet to come and a thin trickle of blood worked its way down his forehead. They were loaded onto separate jeeps. The rest of the militia piled in where they could and the group turned around and headed back. Still, the two waited. Five minutes later, the last three jeeps sped by.
When they could no longer hear the engines, Perez felt Mac release her hold. Slowly, he rolled over and sat up, his body protesting the prolonged inactivity. He looked at the Colonel, she had pulled her arm in front and was resting her forehead. Perez waited silently, he couldn't think of anything to say. At last, she raised her head and looked at him, "Help me up." He pulled her to her feet and watched expectantly as she stood and stared at the ground. When she looked up, he almost stepped backward at the suppressed anger in her eyes. "We're going back."
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1120 Local
Tink sat with his back to wall of the small storage shed. The metal roof was quickly collecting heat. He had already taken off his shirt. He didn't think it would get hot enough to kill him but it would definitely be uncomfortable. Vaguely, he wondered if they had bought his Neanderthal act. People generally believed what they wanted to believe and he certainly didn't look like a Rhodes scholar. With a little luck maybe they wouldn't shoot him out of hand. Truthfully, he thought he had pulled it off. If he read the militia leader right, the man craved power and, more importantly, the appearance of power. Having someone of Bell's size and demeanor at his beck and call would be a huge boost to his ego. And leaving Bell in this shed for a few hours could just be a subtle demonstration of his authority... that or the idiot had forgotten Tink was in here.
He closed his eyes and shifted a little to try and get more comfortable. Bell wondered if Tyler was all right. He was a funny little guy. He rarely lost his temper, had a surprising amount of guts and was a fount of eclectic information: fact, fiction and everything inbetween. Tink thought he had the makings of a good officer - almost as good as Perez. If nothing else, this whole episode with the JAG officers was giving him a helluva experience. Bell smiled to himself, he was also aware that Tyler was somewhat enamored with the Colonel. Tink could afford to be a touch condescending about it, looking at it as he did from the weight of his twenty-five years. At twenty-one, Tyler was just a kid. He could understand the infatuation, she was intelligent and good-looking. And completely unavailable, if he was any judge of the tall Naval Commander. Tink, himself, hadn't had much experience with female officers, the Colonel wasn't what he'd been expecting. Lt. Singer, on the other hand, was. Maybe it was the difference between being a Marine and just a Naval officer. He could see where overcompensation might occur.
He hoped the Captain and the Commander had gotten them safely away. From all the commotion before he was grabbed, it was pretty obvious the Colonel and the Lieutenant had escaped. Still, they were in the middle of nowhere, on foot and surrounded by hostiles. Tink didn't think their odds were all that good. Which made it even more important that he work himself in with the militia. It would be stupid to expect any sort of trust on their part. What he was hoping for was complacency. If they thought he was dumb as a post, maybe they wouldn't keep that close an eye on him.
He broke off his musing at the sound of the padlock being handled. Suddenly tense, he forced himself into an attitude of stolid acceptance. The sunlight streaming in when the door opened made him squint. He could just make out the silhouettes of three large men. The first one spoke, "Well, boy, Rev. Trask thinks we might just make a soldier outta you. It's gonna be my job to whip you into shape." He lowered his voice threateningly, "You make sure you do what you're told, boy, or I'll kick your ass."
Tink stared up at him. If this guy was trying to intimidate him, he was doing a piss-poor job of it. Obviously, he'd never been through Parris Island. On the other hand, Bell was ecstatic. They'd bought his story and he was getting out of this frigging little box. Continuing to gaze at the men, all he said was, "I'm hungry."
Vicinity of Bethel
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
0840 Local
Tyler flipped open the phone as soon as he heard the soft tone. He'd turned the volume almost completely down as traffic in his area increased. "'Tyler," he whispered.
"Chegwidden, Ensign," AJ spoke quietly, taking his cue from Tyler. "Are you all right?"
"Yes sir. A bunch of militia showed up half an hour ago. They're combing the area."
"Will you be safe?" AJ didn't want anything to happen to the young man.
"Yes sir. The leaves are pretty thick and they don't look up often."
"Good. Ensign, when you said Capt. Perez called you? Did he use a cell phone?"
"No sir, we all have hand-held radios."
"Have you tried to contact Capt. Perez?"
"No sir, we were afraid we might compromise his position. Anybody with a radio can hear these things."
AJ sat for a moment in thought, the ensign had a point. "If you can get to the road you came in, do you think you can get out of the area without being seen?" If he could get Tyler to a place where he could give specific directions, it would make any rescue op a lot easier. After talking to Tyler the first time, he'd talked to a Lt. Barker at the Memphis JAG. What he learned made him want to blister the hide off someone. The MP assigned to Mac and Singer had been found in the parking lot with a skull fracture. There'd been no sign of any of his JAG officers this morning. Tyler, Bell and Capt. Perez had been listed as UA. Apparently Admiral Crowley, mindful of negative publicity, had treated the MP as a simple random assault. His opinion, expressed in scathing terms to Lt. Barker, was that the missing JAG officers were an undisciplined bunch, were no doubt responsible for the UAs and would turn up eventually. When Chegwidden arrived in Memphis this afternoon, he would have that man's ass. The sound of Tyler's voice brought him back to the present.
"Yes sir, but sir? I think I could do more if I stayed here. Once these guys have cleared out, I can scout the area."
"Tyler, I don't want them to find you. Right now you're my only link to the rest of my people."
"Sir, they're not looking for me. They were... are... looking for the Colonel and the Lieutenant. I guess Cmdr. Rabb and Capt. Perez got them out. Tink and I were just in the wrong place when they found out about the escape."
AJ's eyebrows went up in surprise, he had assumed his three officers and Capt. Perez were in the hands of the militia. That they were on the run put a whole new spin on the problem. However, in either case, good recon would be invaluable. "No offense Tyler, but can you do it and not get caught?"
"Yes sir. Growing up, I spent more time in the woods than I did in the house. Half these militia guys stomp around here like they've never been further than their backyards. I'd really like to try it, sir." Tyler threw in his final argument, "We're not supposed to leave our own behind, sir."
Covering a chuckle by clearing his throat, AJ took a moment to think it over. At last he said, "All right, Tyler. I'm going to give you my cell phone number. I want you to check in every two hours or as the situation merits, understood?"
"Yes sir, thank you sir!"
"Oh and Tyler? I will be out of touch during my flight to Memphis this afternoon. That would be from 1320 to 1450, your time. Try to stay out of any life or death struggles, will you?"
"Aye-aye, sir."
Vicinity of Bethel
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1318 Local
Mac pillowed her head with her good arm and idly watched Harm fiddle with a small radio. He'd come off watch thirty-two minutes ago. Lt. Singer was taking her shift and Capt. Perez was napping. Neither man would agree to her taking a turn. She hadn't really expected them to, but thought she'd give it a try anyway. Waiting was boring and left too much time for introspection. Her body had taken enough physical abuse without adding a self-inflicted mental beating. The plan was to move out at dusk, six long hours away. She started to take a deep breath and then stopped, trying not to wince. The gash along her ribs was becoming more sensitive. She'd rather not let Harm know, there wasn't much he could do and she wasn't in the mood for fussing. The wound was long and shallow. She considered it annoying but not life-threatening.
Mac glanced back at Harm and was surprised to see him sitting quite still, listening intently. She concentrated and then realized the background sound she'd been hearing subconsciously was growing louder. At almost the same time, Singer came sliding down the slope, wide-eyed and anxious. "Jeeps! A lot of them! They're heading this way!"
Perez had popped awake as soon as the Lieutenant had begun her descent. He looked over at Harm, "If they flood this area with searchers, they're going to find us."
Harm scrubbed a hand through his hair, "Yeah, we need to get out of here." He looked around for a moment, "The road could be a boundary for the search area. If we can get north of it, we can probably keep ahead of them." He helped Mac to her feet and steadied her while she regained her equilibrium. "Let's go." They hurried to the edge of the dell and cautiously peered out. Although the engines sounded nearer, they still didn't see anyone. Harm looked at everyone, "Try to stay undercover as much as possible 'til we hit the road, then run like hell."
"I'll take the Colonel," Perez said. Harm glared at him. Mac cut in, "He's right, Harm. We're closer in height, it's easier on me when we run."
Harm nodded although still scowling, they didn't have a lot of time. Quickly, the four made their way to the underbrush close to the roadside. They spread out to attract less attention. Mac and Perez would be the biggest risk, they'd go last. Harm moved to the edge of the road and crouched there. He signaled and Lt. Singer sprinted across. Harm went next. He had just reached the far shoulder when the first jeeps came into view. He dove and rolled before scrambling into the brush on the other side. Mac and Perez saw him come up alongside a tree and almost as one, they all looked up the road. For one moment, they thought they'd gotten away with it. Then the sudden acceleration of the lead jeep and accompanying yells proved them wrong. Harm threw one last look their way and then he and Singer took off at a run.
Perez flattened further into the leaves as four jeeps skidded to a halt not ten yards away. A dozen men leaped out and began the pursuit, leaving a driver in each jeep. The captain had a hand on Mac's good shoulder, he had no idea what she would do. She was rigid with tension. Three more jeeps came up, skirted the four parked vehicles and headed up the road. No one even glanced at the south side of the road. The two marines lay motionless, hidden by the scrub as the sounds of the pursuit faded into the distance.
Fifteen minutes passed, twenty... the drivers had congregated together to smoke and chat. Then the silence was broken by the sound of a rifleshot, closely followed by another. Mac jumped at the first, Perez clamped down harder. At the second, her hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, her knuckles white from the strength of her grip. Neither moved again. The minutes dragged by. The drivers who had milled around excitedly after hearing the shots, soon settled back in their vehicles. Perez glanced over at the Colonel. She could have been carved in stone. He looked back across the road and focused on his breathing, he didn't want to think just yet. Finally, the sound of voices came drifting on the breeze. Although neither moved, there was an almost tangible sharpening of attention. It took an eternity but a crowd of men came into view. Mac's hand jerked once when Harm and Singer appeared in their midst.
Hands bound behind, they were being pushed along by laughing, jeering men. Both looked worse for wear. Their pantlegs were wet from the knee down, small scratches and tears were evidence of headlong flight through thick underbrush. An angry red mark on the side of Harm's jaw told of the bruise yet to come and a thin trickle of blood worked its way down his forehead. They were loaded onto separate jeeps. The rest of the militia piled in where they could and the group turned around and headed back. Still, the two waited. Five minutes later, the last three jeeps sped by.
When they could no longer hear the engines, Perez felt Mac release her hold. Slowly, he rolled over and sat up, his body protesting the prolonged inactivity. He looked at the Colonel, she had pulled her arm in front and was resting her forehead. Perez waited silently, he couldn't think of anything to say. At last, she raised her head and looked at him, "Help me up." He pulled her to her feet and watched expectantly as she stood and stared at the ground. When she looked up, he almost stepped backward at the suppressed anger in her eyes. "We're going back."
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1120 Local
Tink sat with his back to wall of the small storage shed. The metal roof was quickly collecting heat. He had already taken off his shirt. He didn't think it would get hot enough to kill him but it would definitely be uncomfortable. Vaguely, he wondered if they had bought his Neanderthal act. People generally believed what they wanted to believe and he certainly didn't look like a Rhodes scholar. With a little luck maybe they wouldn't shoot him out of hand. Truthfully, he thought he had pulled it off. If he read the militia leader right, the man craved power and, more importantly, the appearance of power. Having someone of Bell's size and demeanor at his beck and call would be a huge boost to his ego. And leaving Bell in this shed for a few hours could just be a subtle demonstration of his authority... that or the idiot had forgotten Tink was in here.
He closed his eyes and shifted a little to try and get more comfortable. Bell wondered if Tyler was all right. He was a funny little guy. He rarely lost his temper, had a surprising amount of guts and was a fount of eclectic information: fact, fiction and everything inbetween. Tink thought he had the makings of a good officer - almost as good as Perez. If nothing else, this whole episode with the JAG officers was giving him a helluva experience. Bell smiled to himself, he was also aware that Tyler was somewhat enamored with the Colonel. Tink could afford to be a touch condescending about it, looking at it as he did from the weight of his twenty-five years. At twenty-one, Tyler was just a kid. He could understand the infatuation, she was intelligent and good-looking. And completely unavailable, if he was any judge of the tall Naval Commander. Tink, himself, hadn't had much experience with female officers, the Colonel wasn't what he'd been expecting. Lt. Singer, on the other hand, was. Maybe it was the difference between being a Marine and just a Naval officer. He could see where overcompensation might occur.
He hoped the Captain and the Commander had gotten them safely away. From all the commotion before he was grabbed, it was pretty obvious the Colonel and the Lieutenant had escaped. Still, they were in the middle of nowhere, on foot and surrounded by hostiles. Tink didn't think their odds were all that good. Which made it even more important that he work himself in with the militia. It would be stupid to expect any sort of trust on their part. What he was hoping for was complacency. If they thought he was dumb as a post, maybe they wouldn't keep that close an eye on him.
He broke off his musing at the sound of the padlock being handled. Suddenly tense, he forced himself into an attitude of stolid acceptance. The sunlight streaming in when the door opened made him squint. He could just make out the silhouettes of three large men. The first one spoke, "Well, boy, Rev. Trask thinks we might just make a soldier outta you. It's gonna be my job to whip you into shape." He lowered his voice threateningly, "You make sure you do what you're told, boy, or I'll kick your ass."
Tink stared up at him. If this guy was trying to intimidate him, he was doing a piss-poor job of it. Obviously, he'd never been through Parris Island. On the other hand, Bell was ecstatic. They'd bought his story and he was getting out of this frigging little box. Continuing to gaze at the men, all he said was, "I'm hungry."
