The Fall of America: Enemy Within (Book 3) (30 page)

Rusak marked the line with a stick stuck in the dirt and sent his Sergeant forward.

Near noon he stopped to allow his men to have a meal. Moving had been slow, because many mines and booby-traps were encountered, and each time they were marked. They'd moved off the trail and were eating under a large oak tree. He'd allowed no fires to heat the meals and some of the men were complaining.

Laughing inside, because he knew from his days as a Master Sergeant, his men weren't really mad.  It was just harder to eat a meal with a good quarter of an inch of grease on top cold. They had small chemical tabs for burning, but when he said no fires, he meant it. All it would take is for a sniper or other eyes to be drawn to them and they'd have a fight.

I hope we can reach the source of the smoke and take them out quickly, because it'll make the men all more confident,
he thought as he ate his simple meal.

About an hour later, very near the source of the smoke, Rusak stopped the men and then made radio contact with base. He discovered some aircraft were in the air and near him, but he wanted to see what the target looked like first. If aircraft support was needed, it was nice to know he had it overhead now.

“Sergeant Sliva, lead us to where we can see the camp and then stop.”

The Sergeant gave a nervous look and then moved forward. A little later, from the top of a slight incline, they could see a small camp below. He counted twenty people, but most weren't carrying weapons or looked to be fighters. Near the camp, covered with brush, he spotted ten medium size tents.  
This must be a supply point or why so many tents?
 Rusak thought as he double checked the camp.

Leaning close to his Sergeant he said, “I want you to toss two grenades and I will do the same.  Once they explode, we charge in shooting. Try to get some prisoners for Colonel Eline to interrogate, okay?”

The Sergeant, facing only the second combat situation in his career, nodded and removed two grenades.

“Now, throw them.” the Colonel ordered.

Both grenades were tossed well, landing in the middle of the people working near the fire and Rusak threw his to land on the ends of the group. A loud scream was heard, followed by four explosions almost immediately after.  After the blasts, more screams were heard from those injured or dying.

The Russians entered camp with guns blazing and the new men were shooting anything that moved.  A small naked male child, not much over three, stood crying beside a woman's body until a bullet struck the kid in the chest and down he went. Two resistance men fired at Rusak, just missing him by inches, but before he could return fire, a long line of automatic fire stitched them across the chest and they fell screaming. Private Yudin moved ahead of the group and a bullet caught him in the neck which knocked him to his knees. His injury sent blood streaming through his fingers as he was grasping at it, hoping in some way to stop the flow of blood. The Russians moved past the injured Private and the opposition was quickly silenced.

“Sergeant!” Rusak called out.

“He is dead, Colonel. He was the first man to fall, I think.” Private Jur, the medic, said.

“What do you need, sir?” Corporal Belsky asked.

“Open each of these tents and see what is inside.” Lieutenant Colonel Rusak ordered as he walked toward the fallen form of Sergeant Sliva. He discovered the man on his back with four bullet holes in his body. Three bullets had struck his chest and one in the head. Rusak knew any one of the shots would have been fatal. He walked back and watched as his men checked the Americans for any signs of life. Jur was seen moving from person to person looking each over closely.

Finally, Private Jur walked to him and said, “We have three captives, but the others are all dead or soon will be. I counted fourteen dead beyond any doubt and two more will join them within minutes.”

“What of Yudin?”

Private Jur grinned and said, “It looks much worse than it is. The shot actually missed a major artery and he will live. I have him patched up, shot him full of morphine, and he is fine until we can get him picked up.”

“Colonel, you need to see this, sir!” the Corporal yelled from near the tents.

When Rusak neared the man, the Corporal said, “Explosives, ammunition, and a big supply of medical supplies.”

The Lieutenant Colonel had Belsky inventory and write it all down. Most of the gear was Russian, but some had Chinese marking, which confused him.

Turning to his radio man, Rusak said, “Contact base and tell them we have hit a huge supply depot and some of the supplies are clearly marked in Chinese. Also let them know we have three captives, all women, an injured Private, and one man killed.”

“Will do, sir.”

It was while he was speaking to Belsky, the radio man said, “Colonel, they want all the Chinese items sent out by helicopter. Additionally, secure the captives for transportation, as well as our wounded and dead.”

 Rusak had it all completed by the time the “whop-whop” sound of the Ka-60 approaching was heard. Belsky popped a smoke flare and guided the chopper to a perfect landing. Within five minutes, all was loaded and the chopper moved away.

“Colonel, the helicopter pilot asked for you to remain here until he could deliver you two replacements for the men we lost.”

“Let him know we will do that, because we have some supplies to destroy.”

D
amn me,
Sandra thought as she looked around the inside of the Russian chopper and made eye contact with Margie. Both were left behind when John and the rest had moved into Alabama to assist in attacks on gulags. She had no idea they'd end up prisoners and now she'd be beaten and raped. Margie, who was near an opening on the side, where the door had been removed, suddenly tilted and fell from the aircraft. She'd screamed, “Victory for America!” before she fell.

The gunner yelled and the aircraft circled once and then assumed a straight course, which Sandra thought was to Edwards.

I can't follow you, Margie, or I would.  I'm packed in the center of this chopper,
Sandra thought and then shook her head slowly.
John will want to come for me, but will Colonel Tate allow it?  I doubt it, because there were just three of us taken captive.  John, no matter what happens, baby, I love you.

The Chopper sat down on the Edwards Air Base flight-line a few minutes later and the captives were taken to the gulag and placed in individual cells. Sandra soon discovered her room was exactly four paces wide by eight paced long and she estimated the ceiling was eight feet high. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all concrete and the bars looked to be steel. The door was of solid oak and heavy, the hinges reinforced with long bolts through the door frame. The lock was simple, a huge padlock on a wide hasp on the outside. At the bottom of the door was a slot, that she knew food was placed in her cell through, and the honey bucket in the corner was passed through for emptying. She knew immediately she'd not get out of her cell.

That day and night, no one bothered her and it frightened her more not be interrogated, because her mind was working double time on what they might do to her.  She'd heard horror stories, the most recent from Colonel Tate, about how brutal the Russians were with prisoners. She fully expected to be raped, beaten and maybe executed.  While she expected rough treatment, it was how the torture would be done that scared her.

Near dark the slat on the bottom of her door opened and a tin plate was passed inside. It contained about a cup of beans and a few slices of some sort of meat. The meat was sliced paper thin and easily missed in the meal. As she suspected, it was pork. The jailer slid a cup of water into her cell next and then closed the slat.  

Standing on her metal bunk, she looked out the only window in her cell, through the bars. It was then she felt a light wind blowing and realized the window had no glass. She saw no source of heat in the room, no overhead vents, or radiators near the floor. Her overhead light was without a shade and had been burning since she arrived. It would never go out the whole time she lived in the cell.  

She prepared herself for death, because few ever escaped the Russians, and it was likely she'd be tortured to death during an interrogation. While she knew her mind was strong and her body was pretty damned tough too, she knew all people the Russians questioned broke at some point.  The resistance asked all partisans to try not to break for 24 hours, because that would allow them time to move fighters or relocate supplies. Most of the members of the resistance had no idea where they were half the time and it was done that way on purpose. A person couldn't tell what they didn't know and the whole idea was to keep members in the dark.

Her head quickly snapped toward the door as she heard keys rattling and few minutes later, the cell door swung open.

A huge, muscular looking soldier in uniform said in poor English, “Come.”

Sandra stood and moved toward the door, praying God would give her strength for what was to come. She knew she'd return to the cell beaten and in sad shape.

The walk to interrogation was short. The room used to question prisoners was in the same building, but the room was dark. As she entered, Sandra noticed one low wattage bulb burning overhead, the walls were padded, and three metal chairs were bolted to the floor.  The chairs, all of them, had straps and chains attached to them. The guard pushed her roughly to a chair and said, “Sit.”

Sandra sat in the hard chair and immediately the guard buckled straps around her wrists, ankles, waist, and neck.  He then left her alone in the room.  From her chair, she could vaguely see a table, just out of the dim light, and it had a number of items intended to inflict pain on those who did not answer questions promptly.

Nearly an hour later, Colonel Eline and the big Russian Private entered the room. Not a word was said as the Colonel lighted a cigarette, inhaled deeply and the released the smoke from his nose.  Smiling at Sandra he asked, “Well, looks like my first client is a beautiful woman.”

Here it comes, and Lord, give me strength,
she silently prayed.

Eline walked to Sandra, ran his hand down her face, and continued moving down until he cupped a breast in his hand.  He smiled and said, “I have a few questions, before we get to know each other better and you will answer them, my dear, one way or the other.  See, I have ways to make you talk.  Some of my techniques cause extreme pain and others will maim you for life. It would be a shame for a beautiful woman like yourself to finish life blind, no tongue, or your face severely disfigured.”

At the last sentence he'd lowered his face almost to hers, so Sandra spat in the Russian's face.  He gave a mad laugh, wiped his face off with a handkerchief pulled from his coat pocket.  Then partially turning, he swung his right hand hard and punched her on the side of the head.  She saw stars and actually thought she'd pass out, but wasn't that lucky. She felt blood running down her right cheek.

Colonel Eline said in Russian, “Private Artyom, use a metal rod and break her right arm. Then, leave the room and find ten men who want to use an American woman.”

Hours later, alone in her cell, Sandra felt dirty, used, and in pain. Her right arm throbbed. She knew it was broken, she'd been raped countless times, and both of her ears were missing. She'd held on for as long as she could, but eventually passed out.

I can't return to John like I am.  He'd take me back easily enough, but I feel so filthy and dirty now.
 
The arm and ears I can do nothing about, but endure the pain. Lord, why are you allowing this to happen to me?  I ask you to help me,
She thought as she looked around her concrete room.

A few minutes later, either from fatigue or pain, she fell asleep.

The day the women from his cell were taken, John and the rest returned from Alabama to find their camp a black spot in the woods. All the supplies were gone, numerous dead were left unburied, and the only survivor, a young man of seventeen said three women were taken away by the Russians. The witness went so far as to name the three women and John almost panicked when he hard Sandra's name spoken.