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The following morning was Sunday. The North Homestead had decided to copy East Homestead and have a church service on the back deck. Since no one had time to prepare a message, it was an impromptu get together with a few hymns sung off key and plenty of sharing to get started. Sean's brother, Joshua, finally took the lead and read the story of the prodigal son's return from Matthew. It was a beautiful morning with the sun shining and the birds chirping loudly. There was so much to be done to make their new retreat ready for the quickly approaching winter, but for now no one was concerned with work following the miraculous return of Sean's father and uncle the night before.
Sean sat next to Maria on the back deck, holding her hand while he listened to his brother read. Maria was trying to keep their newborn son, James, quiet and eventually succumbed to his cries and whimpers, wrapping a shawl over her shoulder to breastfeed him. She was just getting situated when the new handheld radio came to life in Brody's hand. "Heads up! There is someone approaching the retreat! He's wearing camouflage pants and a black t-shirt. He is armed with a rifle, but I can't tell what kind. He's walking at a quick pace and will probably reach the gates in two minutes or less."
As soon as the radio transmission ended, Sean's family scrambled inside to grab their weapons and get into positions. "Roger that. Let us know if anyone else approaches," Brody responded into the walkie talkie as he followed Sean and Maria inside. Sean’s mom helped corral all the children to the basement. It was obvious to Sean’s dad that the family had run drills and he was impressed with their efficiency.
The family had placed a makeshift LP/OP at the end of the street to give them warning of anyone approaching. It was actually just a few branches and fallen trees piled up not far off the road to provide some concealment. Digging in a proper LP/OP at that location was on their short list of immediate security concerns that needed taken care of. It wasn't long before the solitary figure approached the front gates. His approach was one of purpose and he had obviously ignored the "No Trespassing" sign further up the road. Even though Sean didn't recognize the man, he assumed he had been sent from Tionesta.
Sean stuck his head out the front door and yelled out to the man, "State your business!"
"I was sent here by the mayor!" the man yelled back. "We were attacked last night and he wanted to give your family a heads up. He also wanted me to ask if Brody and Sean would be willing to bring me back to town and speak with the council!" Sean was already walking up the front walk before the man had finished speaking. He unlocked the front gate, allowing the man to enter, and then re-locked it behind him.
"Come on inside and we'll get you something to drink," Sean responded to the sweating older gentleman. "We'll discuss it and see about getting you a ride back to town."
"Much appreciated," the man thanked Sean as he removed his hat and wiped the sweat off his brow. "That's quite a hill to climb to get up here,” the man mentioned as they walked.
"Did you walk all the way from town or did you bring a bicycle?" Sean asked curiously. If he had walked, then he had made really good time.
"I was actually dropped off at the bottom of the hill by Timothy in the Impala. The mayor had him run up to Warren to warn the townspeople up there as well."
"Why didn't he just give you a ride up the hill?" Sean asked with a chuckle. "It would have only been a few miles out of his way."
"Well, Pastor Dan wanted him back before the council meeting, if possible, and he is really going to have to speed to get up there and back in time," the man explained
Brody met Sean and the man on the front porch as they climbed the stairs. "How large of a raiding party was it?" Brody asked the man bluntly.
"I don't know...twenty, thirty maybe. They said it was hard to tell exactly, but they were very well armed. We held the bridge, though, and after a couple hours of shooting, they left. They didn't even take their dead. We lost three men total, including the two men that were on security detail by the main gate on the bridge. They got pinned down in face-to-face fighting and eventually ran out of ammo. The mayor radioed for them to sit tight and stay down behind the concrete barrier, but once the raiders figured out they were out of ammo, they stormed the gates. We had plenty of men and ammunition on our side of the bridge, but with the distance, we couldn't safely provide cover fire for them. When their position got over-run, they tried to make a run for it and jump off the bridge into the river, but were cut down. At that point, our guys apparently unleashed hell on the ones that made it through the gates and onto the bridge. Only a couple of them made it back off the bridge alive. We found a dozen bodies there and another one up in the woods,” the man said bitterly.
"What direction did the looters go when they left?" Sean asked the man.
"They headed north...up Rte. 36. If they are serious about crossing the river, the next bridge crossing is in West Hickory, which isn't far up the road from you guys," the man answered.
"Any other details you can think of?" Brody asked
"Not really," the man shook his head. "Except for the fact that two of the bodies we found were wearing prison jumpsuits. I wasn't actually involved in the shoot out. I was on guard at the east gate when the shooting started. Also, I was told to let you know that we already sent someone to your other location east of town to give them warning as well. The mayor is holding an emergency council meeting at noon and specifically requested that you two be present. I think he is asking for Damian, Randy, and Caleb to be there as well."
"Okay," Sean said, squeezing the man's shoulder. "Let's get you that drink. Let us know if you think of anything else." Sean passed the man off to his aunt with instructions to get him something to eat and drink while Brody radioed the LP/OP and let them know it was okay, but to stay alert for anyone else.
"We should take a run in and see what the mayor wants," Sean said to Brody.
"Or, we could be smart and just stay here to get this place secured," Brody responded dryly. "Sean, we have no plan B in place, no fall back location established, no proper LP/OPs.... Heck, we don't even know where our retreat's escape tunnel comes out."
"I hear you, Brody. But if they were travelling north, they are probably headed for Pleasantville." Pleasantville was the next small town up Rte. 36. "They don't have a river acting as a natural barrier and it would be a lot easier to attack than Tionesta. Even if they did cross the bridge in West Hickory, do you really think they are going to head right back to the same town that just gave them a shellacking?"
"No, I don't, Sean. But we are talking about a bunch of ex-cons here and not professional soldiers or military strategists, so I wouldn't put it past them. If I were to guess, I would say they have either gone to lick their wounds and grab reinforcements, or moved up to Pleasantville like you mentioned. However, at some point they will definitely double back... if for no other reason than their pride."
"Again, I agree with you, Brody. But for the next few hours, I think we should be okay. We should go to that meeting to see what the town has planned and see if we can help them out in any way. Plus, we haven't worked out a bug out plan with the other homestead. We should meet with Randy, Caleb, and Damian to work out some details in case one of the homesteads is attacked. If we take the Bronco, we'll only be gone for a couple hours. It's eleven o'clock now. We can spend the next forty minutes getting some things started here and still make it to the council meeting."
"Alright," Brody agreed reluctantly, as both men turned to see Maria walking out with her full kit on.
"Okay, what?" she asked with exaggeratedly squinted eyes.
"Tionesta was attacked this morning and the mayor has asked us to attend an emergency council meeting at noon," Sean answered.
"Yeah, I heard the man say all that. When are we leaving?" she asked without hesitation.
"We are leaving in about forty minutes," Sean said, nodding at Brody to let her know that she wouldn't be coming.
Maria let out a snort in reply to her husband excluding her. "Well, I'm coming with you this time," she insisted with an icy glare at Sean while planting her hands firmly on her hips.
Sean glanced over at Brody who let out a half smile. "I've gotta go.... somewhere else," he mumbled, trying to hide a chuckle as he turned and headed back into the house, leaving Sean to face his irritated wife alone.
"What about the baby...," Sean started before she cut him off.
"What about the baby? What about the baby?" She asked back rhetorically. "Don’t use our son to try and get your way. I’m tired of being cooped up here. I'll feed him again just before we leave. I already talked to your sister and she's going to watch him since your mom is still not feeling a hundred percent yet."
"Sweetie, it's not really a safe trip. Those looters could be out there anywhere...," Sean was cut off again.
"B.S.!" she exclaimed. "I was standing right inside the doorway the whole time you guys were talking. You both think that it's pretty safe for the time being. I told you at your parents’ house, back when this whole thing started, that I go where you go. No exceptions, remember?" Sean nodded his head that he remembered and tried to speak, but she continued. "You've been leaving me behind a lot lately and it's going to stop, you hear me?"
Sean started to protest again, but she just kept on and didn't let him speak. "I'll get my stuff together and be ready to go in forty minutes.... I'm glad we had this discussion." She gave him a little pat on the cheek and a sly smile before leaving him speechless on the front porch.
Sean wasn't really upset and was actually looking forward to having his wife by his side once more. Recently, when he went off on his own, he always spent half his time worrying about her anyhow. "That wasn't much of a discussion, though," Sean muttered to himself.
COLONEL HARRIS WAS going over the final details of his plan with Shifty on how to deal with Lieutenant Jenkins when a knock came at the door. Bruce was expecting it to be Lieutenant Jenkins ready to head out, but instead Sammy stepped inside.
"Don't you have your radio on, Colonel?" Major Samuelsson asked. Bruce reached down in his pocket and pulled his radio out to find that the batteries must have died. Sammy saw Bruce fumbling with the radio, so he continued, "A patrol just picked up a man who drove a car up here from Tionesta. He said that Tionesta was attacked this morning by a large raiding force and he was sent up here to warn Mayor Thoms. The patrol is asking if they can release the man. He is apparently growing agitated and says that he needs to get back to town as the mayor there is expecting him back in time for a meeting or something."
"Maybe this can buy us a little more time," Bruce said to Shifty just as Lieutenant Jenkins stepped into the open doorway.
"I'm ready to go, Colonel," the LT said as he entered.
Bruce gave Captain Whalen a sideways glance and wondered if the LT had heard what he just said to Shifty, but the LT didn't let on if he did. "Change of plans, Lieutenant. We just got word that a large raiding force has attacked a small town just south of here."
"Yeah, I heard it over the radio," the lieutenant responded dryly. "What about it?"
"Maybe it was the Rangers? I think we should take the platoon down to Tionesta and get some details before heading to check on those old rumors in Kane. In fact, I'm thinking about tagging along. I'd like to introduce myself to the town's mayor and get more details. What better way to do that than at one of their council meetings."
"I really don't think it's the men we're looking for," the lieutenant disagreed.
"Oh, really?" Bruce asked him sarcastically. "And what are you basing your opinion on? Do you have some intel that you're not sharing with me? We have a local town that has just been attacked by a large raiding force which could very easily be the Rangers you are assigned to track down and eliminate. You stood here last night and told me that Derrick didn't give you any concrete evidence of the Rangers residing in or near Kane. You told me you had suspicions that he was lying to you but no concrete evidence. Here we have concrete evidence of a large raiding force in the immediate area, yet you don't want to check it out. That is very peculiar to me," Bruce said with a mock grin. "What aren't you telling me, Lieutenant?"
Colonel Harris knew that he had finally trapped Lieutenant Jenkins in a lie. The LT knew that the Rangers weren't looters, so he would have to be quick on his feet to answer. "I'm basing my opinion on the radio transmission from the patrol that said the attacking force was large. The Rangers aren't that large of a force, and if it had been them, I doubt they would have been chased away so easily." The lieutenant paused and really had to force the next words out of his mouth. "But you are correct, Colonel. It is probably a good lead to check up on."
"Well, thank you for the compliment, Lieutenant," Bruce said sarcastically. He couldn't help himself, so he went on. "I'm not sure how you could have formed that opinion based on the short radio transmission that I heard." He didn't really hear the transmission, but he continued. "I didn't hear any solid details on the size of the raiding party and I didn't hear anything that said they had been defeated 'easily.' But, I'm really glad we are all in agreement now." Bruce could see Sammy smiling behind Lieutenant Jenkins’s back, happy that his commander could get in a good dig on the arrogant young man. The lieutenant gave the colonel a perfunctory nod and smile even though Bruce could tell he was seething.
"Sammy, the batteries are dead in this thing. Do me a favor and swap me out, please," Major Samuelsson nodded and traded radios with him. "Do you remember which patrol called it in?"
"Yeah, Patrol 5, I believe," Lieutenant Jenkins answered quickly before Sammy could say anything. Sammy rolled his eyes at the lieutenant's back and knew that the LT was just trying to point out that he had remembered the patrol's number and the colonel hadn't.
Bruce ignored him and keyed the mic. "Patrol 5, this is Whiplash, over."
A moment later the reply came, "This is Patrol 5. Go ahead, Colonel."
"Let that man know that he will be free to go shortly, but I'd like to speak with him first. I'll be there in ten minutes."
"Roger that," the soldier replied over the radio.
Bruce turned his attention back to Sammy. "Alright, Major Samuelsson, please take Lieutenant Jenkins with you and tell the men we are leaving in five minutes and inform the drivers that we are heading to Tionesta, not Kane."
Sammy nodded once and turned to leave, followed by Lieutenant Jenkins who was just relieved to leave the room. Bruce nodded towards the door after they left. Shifty walked over and peeked outside before closing it softly and returning to his chair.
"I'm thinking about a new plan that will be less risky and involve a lot less people," Bruce said quietly. "I want you, Timms, Lopez and three others, including the driver... men that you completely trust...to ride in the same vehicle. I'm going to change vehicles and jump in with you at the last moment after I speak with the man they sent from Tionesta. I want us to be in the last vehicle in the convoy, Okay?"
"Yessir," Captain Whalen nodded. "What are you thinking?"
"Not sure yet, Shifty. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. We'll discuss it on the drive down there."