Without Law 18 Eric Vall (reading well TXT) 📖

the door open from the inside. His bushy gray eyebrows were pulled together, and a concerned wrinkle was on his forehead as he stepped to the side to allow us in. “Is everything alright?”

“Not exactly,” I said. “I don’t have a lot of time, but we need to find anti-aircraft missiles. Right now.”

“What do you mean you don’t have a lot of time?” he asked, and he looked around at the girls. “What’s happened?”

“The NK troops from Boston are on their way here,” Paige explained quickly. “They’re just outside of Richmond.”

“Richmond!” the Captain exclaimed, and his whole body jolted backward slightly with surprise.

“Yes,” I said. “So, do you know where we can find any?”

“We already asked Hammer,” Paige added. “He said the Navy Supply Center used to have them, but it’s ransacked too badly now.”

“I don’t know if you saw, but a MiG flew overhead today,” Anna said. “We need those missiles to take down those planes.”

“Do you know where we can find any?” I repeated.

“Uh, I…” the man stammered and looked around for a second. “Hang on, let me think.”

The Captain started to pace around the room frantically muttering to himself. He put his pudgy hands on his head as he walked, and the floor creaked under his weight with each step.

“Come on, Captain,” Anna said after a moment. “We don’t have any time to waste.”

“Give him a minute,” Paige whispered. “We just sprung this on him.”

“I know, you’re right,” Anna said quietly, and she took a step backward and looked out the door.

“Ah, yes!” the Captain exclaimed after a moment, and he looked at me and held up one finger to wave it back and forth. “Now, I don’t know if it’ll work, it’s not the most modern, but it’s all I can think of.”

“Captain!” Tara pushed. “Out with it.”

“Right, right,” the gray-haired man said. “The Air Force Base is the only thing I can think of. There are a couple of old M51 anti aircraft guns on display.”

“M51s?” Tara asked. “What are those.”

“You don’t mean Skysweepers, do you?” I asked, and my eyes narrowed on the man.

“I do.” He nodded.

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Tara asked.

“The Skysweeper was made in the 1950s,” I explained.

“Oh, damn,” Tara said. “You think it will still work?”

“Well, I should say so,” the Captain said. “I doubt the EMP had any effect on them.”

“There's two of them?” Paige asked.

“That’s right.” The Captain nodded.

“You don’t think somebody took them?” Bailey asked.

“I highly doubt it,” the Captain said with a shake of his head. “They’re old, heavier than hell, and I doubt most civilians would even know they were operational.”

“How do we know they’re operational?” Anna asked.

“Fair question,” Tara said, and she pointed at Anna with her thumb.

“They were operational when they were put on display,” he replied. “I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t work now.”

“I guess that’s true.” Tara nodded.

“Besides, nobody would be able to move them without a vehicle,” the Captain said. “And those are pretty scarce nowadays.”

“I think it’s worth a shot,” Paige said, and she turned to me and bit her lip. “Tav, what do you think?”

“I think you’re right.” I nodded. “It’s the best chance we have at the moment.”

“Where are they at on the Base?” Paige asked.

“I can’t remember where exactly.” The Captain shook his head. “But they’re somewhere around the center area by the commissary.”

“By the commissary,” Paige repeated with a nod.

“Alright,” Anna said. “So, how do we get there?”

“More importantly, how far away is the base?” Paige asked.

“Twenty or thirty minutes,” the Captain said.

“Okay, so like fifteen with Tav driving,” Tara chuckled.

“The sooner we get there, the better,” I said.

“I can get us there,” Paige said as she pulled a map out of her backpack. “Just give me a few minutes to mark out a path.”

“Mark it on the go,” I told her.

“Are we leaving now?” Anna asked.

“We need to find Hammer first,” I said. “Let’s go.”

We rushed toward the door, but I turned and saw how confused the Captain looked, so I stopped for a moment.

“Thank you, sir,” I said sincerely. “This was a big help.”

“Be careful, son,” the Captain said, and his blue eyes were intense and emotional as he looked at me.

I nodded and followed the girls out of the room.

It felt like the day had flown by faster than I could even think after we’d received that call from the Boston soldiers. I knew it had only been an hour at most, but that meant we only had five left to get the bridges blown, the howitzer set up, find these skysweeper guns, and get everybody into position before the NK troops arrived.

I quickened my pace as we came down the stairs and reached the main level of the old soda factory.

As soon as I opened the door to outside, I heard Hammer’s voice. He was explaining what was going on and going over the plan.

“Hey, there he is,” someone said as I came out of the building. “Tav, is this true?”

I realized it was Jeff who was speaking. The brown-haired man stood a few feet away from Hammer with his mouth slightly agape with shock.

“I’m afraid so,” I said as I approached the group.

Hammer had everyone gathered together. My civilians, along with the rest of his SEALs, and the other navy guys as well.

Everybody was clearly distraught, but nobody was being too loud about it. There were some quiet murmurs amongst the crowd, but once I moved to the front of the group they all quieted down.

“I hadn’t quite gotten to the plan yet,” Hammer told me as I moved to stand next to him.

“It’s alright,”