The Fall of America: Fatal Encounters (Book 2) (18 page)

A woman suddenly shouted, “Fred owns it and that's him, right there.”  She pointed to the fat man.

Fred tried to blend in with the others, but couldn't do the job.  He began to shake in fear as the Colonel commanded, “Seize that man and bring him to me.”

Once he was in front of Pankov, Fred said, “S . . . sir, why do you want me?”  Since Fred didn't speak Russian, he had no idea what was going on, but he had fears and suspicions.

Placing his hands on his narrow hips, Pankov asked, “Are you the owner of this booth?”

Fred started to lie, but knew it would do him little good, because he'd already been identified, so he nodded.

“Can you explain why there are human hands and feet in this container?”

“The box is not mine.  I buy my meat from a man who delivers it each morning.”

“Bring me the woman who identified him to me now.”

When the woman neared, Pankov could see she was terrified, so he asked softly, “Is what he is telling me the truth?”  Then, to get the woman's attention, he pulled his pistol.

“No, he brings his meat in from his farm.  Few of us here buy any meat that is white from him, because we know what it is.”

“Oh, and how did you know this?”

“By his tone.  He'd say, 'I butchered another two legged hog last night,' or something like that.  We didn't know for sure, so we said nothing.”

Pankov said, “Take all of them, except these two to the new camp.  They will be our first visitors and while it is crude, it will keep them where we need them.”

“Yes, sir.”  Belonev replied and then yelled, “Get the civilians by the wall in the truck. Let us go, and do the job quickly.”  

Fred noticed everyone was watching the guards roundup the people, so he made a dash for the trees where Sally was watching.  A Russian machine gunner fired and the bullets stitched down the center of Fred's back, spraying blood and bone in all directions.  The butcher screamed, fell to the grasses, and his body jerked violently.  After a moment or so, he stopped moving, and his blood slowly added crimson to the water puddle under him.

Pankov looked at the woman and thought,
she is not ugly and yet young enough to please my men, once clean.  I must keep my troops happy or I will have problems with them eventually.

He could see the woman was not wearing a bra, so he extended his arm and squeezed her left breast.  While she didn't like his touch and gave him a sneer, he asked, “Your breasts are firm.  Do you want to continue living?”

Thinking quickly, she realized if she said no, they'd likely kill her, so she said, “I can make you a happy man, sir.”  
I must survive
, she thought,
even if it's as a whore.

“What do you want done with the woman, sir?”  The Master Sergeant asked.

“Bring her with us, she will be useful entertaining the troops. The men use up women too quickly, but a few will enjoy this one before they grow tired of her.”

While she didn't understand a word said, she was smiling when led to the Colonel's staff car, not realizing the fate awaiting her.

“What of the butcher's body?”

“Drag it to the street and then hang him from his ankles.  Place a sign on his ass that says, guilty of butchering humans and peddling the meat.”

“I will see to it immediately, sir.”

Looking around, Pankov said, “Leave this place as it is, so some of the food and other things can go to the people of this town.  I think their market has just been closed.”

Durchenko and his men were cursing the rain as they moved.  The rain was harder now and it angered him there were no tracks to follow in the mud.  The rains had cleaned all sign of anyone passing.

The radio man walked to his side and said, “Base says the helicopter pilot is on a weather hold and we are to continue to the edge of the swamp.  The commander does not want us to enter without an aircraft overhead.”

“Acknowledge that I understand and we will hold on the edge of the swamp, until the aircraft is in the air.”

Throughout the afternoon, the Master Sergeant wondered why they'd seen no mines or booby-traps, and was beginning to think he was on the wrong trail.  He was an old partisan hunter and knew they often made attempts to scare, injure, or kill, those following, but he'd seen nothing so far.

Looks like no aircraft will be with us this day
, he thought as he neared the edge of the swamp. Turning to the radio man he said, “Contact base and let them know we are at the very edge of the swamp.  Ask them if we should call it a day and start fresh in the morning.  And, get a weather report.”

A couple of minutes later, the man carrying the radio said, “We are to spend the night here.  Weather is forecasting rain all night, with dense fog at daylight.  Once the fog burns off, base hopes to get the aircraft into the air.”

“Give them our exact coordinates and tell them we'll contact them every hour, on the hour, and we will move in the morning when they tell us to do so.”  Then, looking at his wet men, Durchenko added, “Men, we will spend the night here, so move to the small clearing among the trees.  I want two men on guard at all times.  If I catch a guard sleeping, I will beat his ass.”

The men cursed the mission and their luck to have to spend a night out in the rain. Durchenko knew a cursing soldier was common, so he ignored the chatter.  

“Can we have a small fire, to cook on, before it grows dark?”  A private asked.

The Master Sergeant laughed and replied, “If you can find anything dry enough to burn, sure, but it goes out at dark.”  
These men are such fools. It has been raining hard all day and unless they look under big trees, they will find no dry wood.

One of the privates said, “I see a nice log over there.”  

He moved forward and suddenly he erupted in a sheet of fire, his body coming apart before it flew into the air.  Men fell to the ground and once the noise of the explosion, as well as the dust, died down, Durchenko said, “Keep your eyes open for mines, anytime you are in the field.  Is anyone else hurt?”

“We have two others down.”  A junior sergeant said, who Durchenko knew was their medic.

“Well, see to them, fool!”

“What if there are more mines?”

“You'll be safe enough, if you stay behind the dead man.  It's not likely the ones we follow placed a mine field around here.  It was designed to slow us down, so check my men.”

The medic cursed under his breath and then moved to the injured men.  He squatted by the first man, shook his head, and opened a bag he carried, and removed a needle.  He gave the man a shot and then moved to the next man.  After a few minutes he returned to Durchenko and said, “One will die, he has been hit in the gut, and the other has a slight head wound.  I have dressed the head wound.”

“And, Doctor Sergeant, what makes you think the belly wound will die?”

“The blast took a big chunk of his spine out and even on the base, a doctor could do nothing for him.  He will be dead in a minute or two.”

I think you have given the man too much morphine for his pain, so he will die for sure.  I would want you to do it to me, if I was hurting and had no chance to live
, Durchenko thought and then removed a ration from his pack.

Near midnight, while all were asleep, one of guards opened fire at something he thought he saw moving in the water of the swamp.  

“What in the hell are you shooting at?”  The Master Sergeant said as he stood, weapon in hand.

“I think I saw a man swimming toward us in the water, so I shot.”

Durchenko moved to the edge of the water and saw a huge alligator dead near the bank.  The body of the animal was leaking blood from a half a dozen bullet holes.  He laughed and said, “Come here, fool, and see your man.”

The guard, visibly shaken by the experience, walked to the edge of the swamp, looked into the water, and then said, “It looked just like a swimming man.”

“Alright, everyone back to sleep.” Durchenko said and then turned to the young guard, “When you are tired, it's late and dark, your eyes often play tricks on you.  The next time, wake someone instead.”

When morning arrived, fog draped the swamp and low areas in a veil of white that looked to go forever.  The men ate and then relaxed as they waited for word from the base.  The radio man neared Durchenko, who was making coffee, and said, “This fog will not be gone until around 10 hundred hours.  Weather says a cold front collided with a warm one, which is causing the current conditions.”

“Let them know we are ready to move when they give the word.”

The rain had eased and was more like a mist now, but each man wore a poncho.  The man with the belly wound had died the night before, as well as the man with the head injury.  The old Master Sergeant knew head wounds were tricky and sometimes the best medics didn't understand a head didn't need to be bloody to be a serious injury.  But, he hadn't known the names or anything about either of the dead, so he forgot about them.  
I need to concentrate on keeping these men alive and not worry about the dead.  They are beyond worrying over now
, he thought as he picked up his canteen cup.

An hour later, at 0900, the radio man neared and said, “Weather is breaking near the base, so a helicopter will be airborne shortly.”  

“Do they want us to enter the swamp now?”

“No.  We are to wait until the pilot contacts us before we move in any direction.”

Durchenko nodded and then said, “Check your gear and make sure nothing rattles.  When we enter the swamp, keep a close lookout for snakes.  Most of the water snakes in this part of the country are poisonous, so watch where you place your feet and hands.”

No sooner had the fog dissipated than the Master Sergeant heard noise from the radio.  The radio man grinned and said, “I understand.”

“Well?”

“We are to wait here until the helicopter checks some areas in the swamp.”  The radio man said and then added, “We might not have to enter at all, not the way things are looking.”

“We will enter. The aircraft is checking now to see if he can catch anyone out walking.  I do not think he will be an hour checking either, so get rid of the grin.”

“I can hope, Master Sergeant.”

The radio squawked and when the man answered it, he spoke for a minute or two and then said, “We are to enter.  He claims the area looks clean and informed you to not go more than five kilometers in to this place.”

“Alright, don your packs and gear.  I want a man on point with good eyes, and another man on drag.”

Soon they were moving down a trail, but there were no tracks or marks indicating anyone had ever been here before.  Mud was ankle deep and it slowed the men down.  The chopper kept flying near and at times he'd drop low to check out suspicious looking area or to break the boredom.

The man on point covered about two kilometers when he suddenly stopped and said, “Tripwire.”

Durchenko moved forward, looked at the wire, and marked it with a stick in the mud in the middle of the trail. “It is marked, so move forward, but keep your eyes open at all times.”

No sooner had the Sergeant turned, than the point man took a step forward and a loud explosion filled the morning air.  Durchenko was knocked to his face in the mud and there came loud screams, as debris from the mine fell from the sky.  Slowly sitting up, his ears bleeding, the Master Sergeant looked around and saw over half of his men down.  Unable to hear, the sergeant moved to the prone radio man and said, “Call the helicopter and ask if he can pick up the most severely injured.”

When the man didn't raise his head, he turned the man over and discovered he was bleeding from his throat and as dead as it gets.  Picking up the headset, the Sergeant said, “I have been wounded and cannot hear you.  I am the ranking man on the ground and need you to take my wounded out without delay. I will need another aircraft, as I have many wounded.  If you understand, move to my position now.”

He grinned as the helicopter turned and made his way to him. Durchenko looked around, saw an uninjured private and yelled, “You, private, come and speak to the helicopter, it is time for you to earn your first medal.  Come now, and be a hero.”

He watched the private communicating with the aircraft and felt a dull pain starting in his lower back and his legs. He moved his hand to the spot on his back and when done, he noticed blood on his hand.  The helicopter started slowly descending until the right skid was near the bank.

When the seriously wounded were gone,  Durchenko said, “Get some defenses set up and cover our asses.  The second aircraft will be here soon.”

M
argie made her way to John, touched his right foot and said, “I have movement, but I won't swear it's not a gator.”

“It's okay to wake me.  I'd rather you wake me than get me killed.  Let's move to your window and check out the movement.”

They moved to the window together, but John saw nothing, initially.  He squinted his eyes in an effort to see better, only no luck.  He waited, patiently.  Finally, he saw movement and it looked to be human, too.  If it was a person, they were injured, because they appeared to be crawling.  John expected an attacker to be bent at the waist to make a smaller target, not crawling.