Jeff enjoyed having breakfast made for him, the next morning. He refused to eat most of what I cooked, so it became his duty. After breakfast. I met my team. Twenty-two young airmen, green as their fatigues.
"OK." I held back the sighed, I wanted desperately to release, I was their leader, and not once, had any one of the men or woman that lead me into battle showed such disrespect.
"Today, we are going to take the college." the airmen sat a bit more at attention, I wasn't sure why. "It can house at least three hundred, and put out enough food to feed a lot of Cheyenne. People right now need something that resembles what they had..."
"Sir!" One of the youngest interrupted. I nodded at him, he stood and saluted.
He stood ridged, then it hit me what he was waiting for, what he needed "At ease." I nodded at him.
"That you sir!" He paused. "I think I can speak for everyone here, just tell us what to do, we are ready to take this town back." The rest of the airmen either agreed verbally or nodded their heads. The older ones nodding, the younger ones, like exited puppies, barking playfully their agreement..
"Well, that makes this all the much better." I grinned, feeling slightly too powerful, I took a breath and remembered that if shit hit the fan, it was going to hit me first. "We don't seem to have much recent intel, but we do expect it to be mostly empty. remember that anyone in there, could just be scared, trying to do the same thing we want to. This goes against most of your training, but try not to shoot to kill..."
Someone grunted in objection. "We can't just take Cheyenne, we have to give it back to the people.. If we go in guns blazing, no one will trust us. So all body cam video will be avabile to anyone who wants to watch it, so be on your best behavior. There are four entrances, two humvees will enter them, and clear their respective buildings, The dorms, main campus, and the glass monsority on the end. I expect the main campus to take the longest to clear, maybe the dorm. Jeff, Percy, and my self, witll be in Aplpha team, to clear the dorms, Floor by floor, building by building, from there, we will move to the main building with Beta team. Delta team, will take The student bulding, and then the big classroom building. Humvee's from Alpha and Gamma teams will hold one defensive position by the road, and one with better coverage of their buildings."
The room nodded at me. "Be quick, quiet, and listen. Walk lightly, avoid making loud noises, if there is anyone there we don't want to alert them to us being there. We want to find them before they find us." I took questions and then gave the floor to the commander.
"So you are clear, this man, is in charge, his orders are my orders." He spoke directly to the room. "He has more experience doing this, than this entire base put together, if anything we do here is going to matter, we need him, and all of you to come back alive. The best way is to shut up and do what he says." I appreciated his support, but did he need to give this speach? Where the men and women in this room, that out of 'military command' shape? Let's make this happen!" He shouted and the room shouted back.
He turned to me. "Relax, these are the best I have, they all volunteered." He reassured me, sensing my discomfort. "They all knew your history, I just wanted to make sure, that despite being a civilian, you're still in charge... Are you sure you don't want the transports with retrenchments to come with you?"
I shook my head once again dismissing him. "They are loud, if we need them, I want people to know their coming, but not us at first."
"Very well..." He sighed. "Get ready to go and meet at the Convoy in twenty minutes!" He turned back to the room and shouted.
Percy was fixing Jeff's helmet, and armor, in front of our humvee.I inspected the rest of my team, confident, I was as sure as I was going to be, leading my first team, on an important mission, I nodded at them, and assigned them to teams.
"Lets move!" I shouted. "Jeff take the turret."
He hopped up, the commander approached us, Percy and I met him. "Are you sure you want to bring Jeff?" He asked softly so he wouldn't hear.
I nodded. "He is good with the Saw, and pretty cool under fire" THe commander raised an eyebrow. "I can't be sure, but now that he has taken a life, he should be fine." The commander nodded, gave one last pep talk and we left.
Eight humvees left the base, two or three probably would have been a big target, but eight, that was too big of a threat, we left the base and got to North college. "Does anyone know if this is different?" I asked on the radio. I got confirmation that it looked correct.
"The college is to the left about 2/3 a mile down." Percy said. It was nice to have this kind of intel.
"We are going to take point, wait here until I signal," I said. I drove the humvee down, to the college, the first entrance, had four cars in front of it, making two T's. Commander, I am seeing some signs of activty here." I radioed.
"I see that." he said. "It is your call."
"Can we get some of that light armor, you got."
There as a long pause. "Is that nessacary?" He asked nervously.
"Perhaps not..." I said as we got to the second entrance. "Second entrance, doesn't appear to have a blockade, but id still feel better knowing that I had back up three minutes away..."
"No loses today, they will be there in fifteen minutes." The commander ordered.
"No loses." I radioed back. "Teams take your positions, watch your backs." I turned us back to our position, the rest of the team moved into their spots. "I looked at Jeff, then at the other two soldiers in the turrets. "Stay here and keep an eye out."
"Your going to leave me to babysit the damn car." Jeff protested.
"That means we are babysitting you." One of the soldiers grumbled
Jeff and I had developed an interesting nonverbal method of communication, at times playful, other like now, a quick staredown, reminded him that I was in charge. "Teams to your targets, check in every ten minutes."
Percy and I lead the way to the dorms, Percy got to the door, waited for my nod, he pulled the door, it was locked. "That's a good sign." He nodded at me. I took the butt of my gun, and busted the door's glass out, and opened it. "Let's go!" I ordered. Percy and I moved in. We drew our guns, pointed down a long hallway, I motioned Percy to go cover the left side, while I took the right. I motioned the rest to the go foward." "Teams report." I got reports from them, indicating there was very little activity, I reported to the commander, no further activity We secured the first floor, of all three connected dorms. as we secured each doorway into the first floor, Percy took a piece of painter tape and put a piece of tape on each one.
"If someone opens it..." He started.
"They rip the tape." I finished. "Very good, how much more do you have?"
"A three pack!" He smirked. "I am an egal scout after all."
I broke the rest of my soldiers into teams, we broke into the office and rummaged around until we found what appeared to be a few master keys.
"Three teams. three sets of stairs." I said while handing out the tape, Every door into every room, press the tape down firmly, put it out of the way, we each take a stairway, we clear each floor meet in the middle do it again, until we get to the roof.
"All dark like this, like nothing, happening in here, it's fucking creepy." one of the airmen, shuddered.
"Kinda sad." Percy said. as he unlocked and opened a door. I brushed by him, cleared the little common room, The two other air men followed me after I signaled them, the went to the door into the 'bed room', cleared it, Percy and I took the opposite door, we tapped the doors shut, moved on, despite feeling like a cemetery to the old way of life the inside was clean and clear.
We got to the roof. "Sir I got something." One of the airmen gestured me over.
I walked over to the corner of the building. I looked down at what she was looking at. "Hmmm." I said as I crouched down "Ciggerets." I picked one up, looking at the filter.
"Marlboro?" Someone asked. "I'd kill for a red."
"Fuck." I sighed, I checked a few more, sniffing them.
"That can't smell good." The voice pointed out.
"Sir I got more!" Percy said. "And some liquor bottles."
"Vodka?" I asked.
"How'd you know that?" He asked back.
"Are the cigarettes Russian, do they smell like they've been burnt recently?"
"Now that is creepy." He nodded his head.
"Teams, fall back to the last cleared rooms, fortify your positions." I said on the radio.
"What did you find?" The commander asked. The teams reported in, they were safe for the moment, I let my mind wander back to the old world. My mission, I had really just started, I willed back to me, the plot to cause unrest. They had survived the end of the world, then I thought what if they didn't give up on their mission? I shivered.
"Teams report!" I kept calm, despite every hair on my body begging me to leave. They all reported clear and safe.
"Reinfocments, move in." I ordered on the radio. I sighed. "I found the reason why I came to Cheyenne, and perhaps the source of your hits."
The light armor roared into the college's parking lots. a few airmen poped out of the backs of them, I assigned them to reinforce the search teams. I looked off the roof across the street there was a newish neighborhood.
"Have you checked the neighborhood across the street?" I asked on the radio.
"It was deserted." The commander answered. I sent the light armor into the neighborhood.
"I will explain it all, its too much for the radio, I just want to be cautious." I called on the radio to the commander.
I monitored Percy to me. "Vodka is vodka..." I whispered, but your smokes are your smokes." I explained why I was in Cheyenne and my theory on the hits.
"Well, that makes sense." Percy said. "The math just works" I sent the light armor into the neighborhood, to scout the first few streets in front of the school, and then sit nestled away out of site.
"We are going to move to the closest section of the main campus.." I checked in. "everyone else how's it going?"
"We have the 'glass monstrosity' or tech building clear, we are headed to the ops building, and then we will enter at the Ark." The leader for gamma said.
"We are in the op's building now." Delta's leader chimed in. "Just as boring as you'd think, but there are some things that might come in handy.
"Beta team? What's up?" I asked.
"I'm not sure, we missed it the first time, but once we fell back, we noticed it." The leader of beta said uncomfortably.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"The library."
I tried to recall the map of the campus, but couldn't. "How far are we from the Library?" I asked Percy, as we walked into the Fine arts building.
"This building, the dining hall, then the library." He nodded, as he broke the glass on the door, and opened it. The rest of Alpha team moved into the building, guns pointed down, but ready shoot. We took that building, taping the doors. We crossed the hallway into the Dining hall.
"There is no stench." I pointed out as we got to the kitchen.
"We knew the food was rummaged." An airman said.
I looked at his uniform. "I know, Reynalds." I nodded at him. "But why hasn't anyone else been here, by all accounts this is a resort." I paused and let that sink in. "Another thing, where are the people in the neighborhood across the street? That doesn't feel right either."
"Maybe they left..."
"Foxtrot Uniform." The leader of the light armor called in on the radio, sounding alarmed.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Someone set a few houses on fire."
My heart almost stopped beating, not in fear, nor dread, but so I could think. My mind raced, pushing deeper into thought.
"I think we need to pull back." The commander said. "Abort mission...."
"Hold your ground." I ordered on the radio quickly. "Commander we are still here, we are almost done. light armor, take a defensive position next to the Humvee's." I imaged the pause on the radio that the commander was sitting in the ops room, leaning back rubbing his temples in anxiety. "If we fall back now, we lose the college, whoever set those fires, wants to shake us up, we need to steady the course."
"I am sending in the second round of light armor." The commander said sternly. I knew he was going to let us stay, I didn't want the extra firepower, for just a few house fires.
"Have them sit on North College on either side of the campus." I radiod to the commander. "I want to watch for anyone leaving the area."
"Very well." The commander sighed.
We cleared the dining hall and continued on, until we found Beta in a music room. "Sir!" Beta's leader said at me. Him, and his team stood behind a Grand Panio.
"What is it?" I asked as I approached them, nothing looking unusual, until i got to the open panio. "Dear God." I sighed, I looked down to see a few grenades, RPG's, and a few light arms.
"All Vehicles keep your eyes out for incoming heavy fire." I shouted over the radio.
"What do you see in there?" Jeff asked.
"Russian weapons, enough that had we found them first, we would have aborted." I paused, then looked at Beta team leader "Take a position in either room across the hall, stay out of sight." She nodded at me.
"We are moving to the last building." I said on the radio.
"Delta should be in route in 5." Delta leader checked in.
"We are headed that way." Gamma checked in. Despite not being as smooth, or as alone as we figured we would be, it was still textbook easy.
"Commander." I reported in on the radio from the roof of the last building, surveying the now raging fire from deep in the neighborhood. "The campus is ours now. I suggest we keep the armor, and the soldiers from the armor, here behind the campus, just in case."
"If you hadn't suggested it." The commander chuckled. "We were going to talk afterward." His tone was more concerned than anything, I dismissed it, considering it to be the nerves from his first serious op. I assigned the armor to sit back behind and between the buildings, and the rest of the soldiers back to their humvees