Part Thirty-Six

Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1305 Local

Tyler had just gotten to his insertion point when he heard the shooting begin. Swearing a little under his breath, he sprinted to the back of a building. Reaching his goal, he took a quick look around. It was still clear. He could hear the gunfire growing more intense. Cautiously, he made his way to the corner and peered around. The militia camp was in an uproar. A number of men were streaming towards the shooting, weapons in hand, an equal number was obviously fleeing. All of them, it seemed, found it necessary to do everything at the top of their lungs. He'd taken off his fatigue shirt earlier, leaving his t-shirt. He didn't look much different than a lot of the men running around. Taking a deep breath, he took a firmer grip on the riotgun and joined the crowd.

No one paid any attention as he jostled his way through. He was counting on Tink's immense size to make it easier to spot him. He worked his way away from the shooting, anxiously scanning in all directions. Tyler was getting more nervous with each passing minute. He'd been positive that Tink would be relatively easy to find. Suddenly, he heard gunfire from a different quarter. Spinning towards the sound, he took off at a run. It couldn't be the Feds, which meant someone in the militia was firing at something else. Fear clutched at him, what if he had heard an execution?

He turned a corner without thinking and smacked into something solid. He landed on his back with the wind knocked out of him. Blinking, he saw a huge foot coming at him. Tyler rolled to the side, coming up with his shotgun aimed at his assailant. His mouth dropped open in surprise, "Tink!" He was even more surprised when he realized the person Tink was carrying was Colonel MacKenzie. Tink was equally amazed. Pick was the last person he expected to see. A bullet whizzing by caused them both to duck and scramble around the corner. Tyler cautiously peered back down the alleyway. Four men were pounding towards them, guns drawn and more were entering at the far end. He ducked back, chambered a round and counted to three. Throwing the shotgun to his shoulder, he pivoted into the alley and opened fire. Three rounds later, the alley was clear.

He came back around the corner to find Tink leaning against the wall. "That should slow them down for while," he said. He scanned the area nervously, "We need to find a place to hide until the Feds can secure the place."

Tink nodded wordlessly and pushed himself upright. He hurried towards a series of smaller buildings. Passing the first three, he stopped and looked at Tyler, "See if we can get in this one."

Tyler came forward and tried the door. He looked back and grinned, pushing it open. He stood aside, gesturing for Tink to go in first while he kept watch. There was still no sign of their pursuers. No doubt, they would be very cautious in their approach. With one last glance around, Tyler entered the little building. It was a small storage shed, crammed with all manner of items. He slung the riotgun over his shoulder and began pulling barrels and crates in front of the door. Tink had moved to the back, still holding the Colonel. Tyler finished up and stood for a second, surveying his handiwork. Satisfied it would slow the attackers down, he moved to the back to join Tink. He got his first good look at them. "Sweet Jesus, Tink, you both look like hell."

Tink gave him a lop-sided grin, "Nice to see you, too, Pick." He grimaced a little, "Help me get the Colonel on the ground, Pick. I don't want to drop her."

Tyler hurried forward and looked at his friend anxiously as they lowered Mac to floor, "What's wrong?"

Tink settled on floor next to Mac, "I think I took a round in the back."

"You think?! For godsakes Tink, that kind of thing usually catches a person's attention!" Tyler looked at him incredulously.

"Well, it didn't start to hurt until a little while ago. Right after you crashed into me, as a matter of fact." Tink tried an accusing stare. When he saw Tyler wasn't buying it, he sighed, "I don't think it's that bad. I'm more worried about the Colonel. They drugged her somehow and I'm beginning to think they gave her too much."

"You don't know what they gave her?" Tyler was aware, even as he asked, that it was a stupid question.

Tink contented himself with a look and then continued, "I don't think they injected it. It was just her and Trask at lunch. He'd have needed someone to hold her down or even one-handed, I think she'd have kicked his ass. They must have put it in the food or the drink." He sat thinking for a minute and then looked at his watch, "It's been eighteen minutes since they called me into the dining room and she was already out. Most of the food was gone from her plate, so she ate a full meal before it took effect." He looked at Tyler, "There hasn't been enough time for the food to fully digest."

Tyler stared at him for a long moment before his eyes got wide, "She needs to throw up the food? How's that going to happen? She's out cold." Tink continued to stare at him. Tyler stared back before squeezing his eyes shut and grimacing, "Oh man! You want me to... aw man, that's gross! She's a Lt. Colonel in the Marine Corps. She'll have my ass when she finds out! Why me?"

"You're the officer here, Mr. Pick, sir." Tink was looking insufferably smug, "I don't think this is an appropriate job for a non-com." He turned serious again, "It's gotta come up, Pick. Otherwise, I think that crap is gonna kill her. Look... it's an involuntary reflex, you probably just have to get it started."

"All right, all right, fine," Pick said miserably. "Let me find a bucket or something." He rummaged around and came up with a plastic wash basin. "Can you hold her over this with that dent in your back?"

Tink nodded, "Yeah, I think so. You'll have to hold her head though. Let me get myself braced." He scooted himself backwards until he was up against the shelves. He looked up to see Tyler eyeing him suspiciously. "What?"

"What's going on, Corporal Bell?" Tyler fixed Tink with a hard stare, although his heart was beginning to hammer in his chest.

"Sir?" Tink answered unctuously. Tyler continued to stare at him. Finally, he grimaced. Colonel MacKenzie didn't have time for this. "Okay... my legs are getting a bit numb." He hurried on, ignoring the look on Tyler's face, "Pick, there's nothing you can about this, but any more delay might kill the Colonel."

Tyler looked at him in shock.

"Pick! Dammit! I didn't rescue the Colonel and go through this, just to let her die in some friggin' little shed. Move your skinny little ass! ... Sir!" That seemed to break the spell.

Tyler blinked and then hurried over and together they positioned Mac across Tink's lap. He rocked back on his heels, nervously scrubbing his hands on his pants. At another look from Tink, he leaned forward and placed a hand on Mac's forehead. It felt cold and a little clammy. He lifted her head just enough to have her mouth open and then, taking a deep breath, stuck a finger in and pushed down at the back of her throat.

He was shocked at how fast the retching started and barely got his hand clear. After that it was a matter of waiting while she threw up an amazing amount. Tyler resolutely kept from looking, how had his mother stood this with seven kids? He'd take blood and gore any time. At last, Mac was reduced to dry heaves and then finally, she stopped and went limp. Tink pulled her back a bit, while Tyler gingerly picked up the basin. His muttered oath caught Tink's attention, "What?"

Tyler shot him a worried look, "There's blood in this. What the hell did they give her?" He walked the basin over to the barricade in front of the door and put it on top of a barrel. With a little luck, it would spill on one of the bad guys. Tyler wasn't adverse to grossing someone else out. Of course, with a little more luck, it wouldn't spill at all. He turned back and pulling her off of Tink's lap, did his best to make the Colonel as comfortable as possible. He'd found a number of canvas tarps while looking for the container earlier. They weren't the softest pillows but it was better than nothing. Finishing with Mac, he turned back to Tink, "Okay, your turn."

Just Outside Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1255 Local

The Feds had opted for a surprise assault, counting on their opponents to be unable to organize quickly enough to seriously oppose them. AJ disagreed with their estimate of the opposition. SAC Ramos was confident the militia would quickly surrender when they realized the Feds had the drop on them. After listening to Tyler's observations, Chegwidden thought Ramos was only half right. There was a hardcore group that would probably fight to the bitter end. That would turn the envisioned quick round-up into a protracted house-to-house battle.

AJ's biggest problem was the time factor. With the Feds bogged down, Trask and Koslov would have ample time to execute their prisoners and disappear into the woodwork. Even if they were eventually brought to ground, it would be improbable that they'd be held accountable for the murders. The waters would be too muddy to overcome reasonable doubt - and his people would still be dead.

That left it up to AJ and his group to try to bypass the fighting and get into the camp quickly enough to save Rabb, MacKenzie and Singer. He looked at Walters, "Call Perez. If he doesn't think they're needed any longer, have them come here. We'll be bringing up the rear on the assault and we need to make our own plans."

Perez arrived just as the Feds began to move. AJ looked at him in surprise, "Where's Tyler?"

Looking somewhere between defiant and worried, Perez said, "He's in the militia camp, sir."

AJ stared at the captain for a long moment, "He's where?"

"He was worried about Corporal Bell, sir. He thought the Feds would take one look at the Corporal and just start shooting. I agreed, Tink can look menacing when he's asleep. Tyler was confident he could slip in unnoticed and after the assault started, he'd be able to move freely in the confusion. Once he hooked up with the Corporal, they'd either lay low or try to get to Rabb, the Colonel and Lt. Singer." Perez finished and then waited a little nervously for the Admiral's reaction.

"So you took it upon yourself to support this plan without checking with me first?"

Slowly, Perez nodded, "Yes sir."

"Good work, Captain," AJ turned and gestured for the others to follow, "Come along gentlemen, let's see if we can meet up with Mr. Tyler." They fell in behind the assault wave and the next few minutes were intense. It went as Chegwidden had feared. The militia didn't get itself organized until the agents were most of the way across and then it became a building to building fight. Fortunately for the Feds, at least half the militia panicked and ran or they'd have been greatly outnumbered. The ones that were left, however, clearly intended to go down fighting.

AJ reached the side of a storage shed a little ahead of Perez and Walters. They skirted along the edge, quietly moving away from the firing and making steady progress. They were halfway between two buildings when half a dozen militia jogged around the corner. Weapons snapped up and both sides froze.

Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1318 Local

Harm stared at Singer. She was quite right, they had no idea where to start looking. Mac might or might not still be in the building and time was critical. The wrong choice could result in her death or worse, her disappearance. He was used to making life or death decisions in a split second but this was different. Harm wasn't used to being indecisive - it made him feel off-balance. Normally, even if he was unsure of the best course, he would make a decision and go. He was always confident that he'd be able to successfully deal with the consequences. Normally, he was right more often than not, but being wrong now would be devastating. Finally, he said, "We'll search the building first, it's not that big." ... God help him if he was wrong and God help Trask when he found that bastard. They were just re-entering the dining room when they heard the unmistakable sound of three shotgun blasts closely spaced.

Harm stopped in shock, "That's too close to be the Feds. Oh God... !" He turned and sprinted back to the kitchen where he'd seen a door leading outside. Singer was close behind.