It Ain't Paranoia if... Pt. 02 Ch. 10

"So, what do we do? Sit and wait? Hope the drones find them? Send helicopters with spotlights when we don't know whether they have SAMs? Send a reconnaissance party, or what?"

Claude calmly answered, "Give the drones a chance before we send a reconnaissance patrol, but organize the patrol and have it move into place, just in case."

"It's a shame there's no moonlight; we've got that expensive telescope on the roof we could use if there were enough light," I reminded them.

"Slow down, boys," Jacki interjected. "My Predator uses lasers and AI to identify anomalies, like vehicles and people where they shouldn't be, and I'm above the road now, approaching your gate...

"Yes! I see them: two APCs and a low-profile tracked vehicle that appears to be a missile launcher! Launching the Hellcat!"

We heard nothing for a moment, then Jacki's excited voice: "I got the mobile launcher but one missile was fired just before impact! It's arcing up... oh, no! It appears to be zeroing in on the Lair!"

That got our attention! Esteban was speaking rapidly over the comms as we watched the missile rise in the air, but what went through my mind was the sure and certain knowledge that the bunker would not stand up to a direct hit from above if the payload was sufficient! If our SAMs don't get it, this bunker may be our tomb!

Our cameras picked up multiple lasers seeking the missile from the ground, and then MANPADs were fired. No one breathed as we watched the triangle of white trails across the black sky, holding our breaths while praying they would intersect.

After too many agonizing seconds, they did! There was a bright explosion high in the sky, followed by a loud boom. We started to celebrate, but Jacki was still at work. "Laser locked on first APC... firing... direct hit!

"The explosion set off a fire that spread into the grass around the road. I can see men scrambling into the brush towards the Lair, so prepare for a direct assault!"

"Did you see anyone carrying SAMs?" Colonel Adams asked. "If not, we can launch the helicopters for support, but we're now seeing the first signs that the campaign is underway, so we are about to get very busy!"

"Signs?" I inquired, hoping for more information.

"Two squadrons of 18 aircraft lifted off from a field in the state of Sonora about twenty minutes apart. The first squadron headed for Texas, the other headed toward Arizona. The helicopters are warming up in the valley the Escamillans are guarding, the tanks have been unloaded off the trucks in New Mexico, and a mass of armed personnel has been spotted in Idaho. We also had a report of armed personnel moving toward the Wyoming capitol, but haven't heard more about them in over an hour.

"For better or worse, your plan worked, MacGregor. They went off half-cocked, and now we find out just how well prepared they are, and we are!"

"Look, keep your eyes on the prize," Claude stated. "We can hold off a few dozen men, as long as they aren't carrying missiles that destroy the house and us beneath it!"

"You realize they will be coming from two sides, right?" I asked him quietly. "This bunch that came off the road, and those who broke away before the avalanche ambush started."

"Yes, I know. Give me a moment to brief the men, and then you and I will talk. Go warn Bill, Joe, and our compadres that they should arm themselves, just in case."

Both the men and women in the congregation room were armed, so I quickly informed them of the dual threat. Of course, a missile fired from one of the North Korean jets could erase the whole place, but we needed to focus on the known, immediate threat; the troops approaching from the northwest and southeast.

Before I returned, I grabbed three XS Tracking Point sniper rifles and started toward the control room. "Sniper nests?" Carlos asked as he joined me.

"Maybe; we'll see what Claude says," I replied.

"I'm in," he stated unequivocally, and took one of the rifles out of my hand.

Claude looked at our rifles and said, "Bossman, I'm supposed to keep you safe, but you're right. You two get settled in and I'll be up in a few. Grab mics and earbuds off the table so we can communicate and keep you informed. And, for god's sake, if someone yells 'incoming,' get the fuck back down here! I'll be up as soon as intruders are spotted."

The sniper nests at the four corners of the roof were added when this mess began to brew many months ago. They looked like decorative stone towers, but they would withstand any kind of small arms fire... except maybe a .50 cal. At the same time, a ladder was built from a closet on the ground floor into the Northwest turret.

The turret nests were configured so you have to fire from the sitting position using a tripod, but the slits offer a nice field of vision in two directions, and the adjustable swivel bench upon which you sit is padded. Unfortunately, the only protection when you're moving across the roof from turret to turret is a two-foot wall, meaning we would have to crawl across it if we must abandon the nests while under fire.

I took the southwest corner, Carlos the southeast. We put Claude's rifle and spotting scope in the northwest nest. It would have been nice to have a sharpshooter at the northeast corner, but I didn't want to pull any of the other men out of the bunker in case it was breached.

As if my mind was being read, a figure dressed in black slipped out of the trap door and hustled across the roof into the unassigned nest. I had no idea who it was, but that helped resolve my concern about the attack coming from the north.

The men in the field had been repositioned, knowing no one was going to cross over the bridge and no one was going to climb down into that ravine and up this side without getting his head shot off by snipers. I chose this nest because vehicular access to the Lair was severely limited by geography, meaning the only access routes to the house were now covered by snipers and/or Ultimate Solutions forces hiding on the mountainside or in hardened positions among the brush.

We sat there in silence, looking through our powerful spotting scopes and listening to the feed from the command at Crescent Moon. From those reports we learned that all hell had broken loose around the canyon in Mexico, the area just north of Lajitas, and along the New Mexico/Texas border south of Hobbs.

Their artillery had managed to fire one salvo before HIMARS from the Dagger Flats Ranch took them out, and concern was being expressed about casualties and damage from the shells fired.

The North Korean MiG-23 jets out of Sonora were laden with missiles and bombs, but half proved to be no match for the salvo of surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles that met them as soon as they violated American airspace.

The others used tight maneuvers, chaff, and flares to evade the missiles, only to encounter a squadron of generation 4.5 F16s with highly skilled and pilots hardened by experiences in the Middle East. The North Korean pilots were well trained and game, but none had combat experience.

From what we learned from observers, if the dogfights weren't Top Gun-worthy, they was closer than any of those on the ground had seen before. As Rene described it later, Jet engines were screaming through aerobatics, smoke trails from missiles crisscrossed, tracers streaked across the sky, planes engaged in combat with one plane had to dodge missiles and cannon fire from another, and aerial explosions sent debris sailing across the sky before hurtling downward, to the terror of those on the ground.

Although they were only moments from engaging the infantry, Rene said he and his men stopped and watched for the ten minutes the aerial contest lasted.

Once it was clear the Americans were superior pilots flying superior aircraft, the remaining MiGs fired their air-to-ground missiles (AGMs) at GPS guided targets, and then adopted 'kamikaze' tactics. Some tried to ram American planes, some tried to dive into an available target.

None was successful. Those aiming for targets on the ground were tracked down and destroyed by cannon fire, air-to-air, and/or surface-to-air missiles before reaching their targets, and those attempting to ram American planes were out maneuvered by their pilots and subsequently shot down.

Two cruise missiles had been launched toward the interior of Texas from somewhere in Mexico, but neither made it out of the Trans-Pecos intact. They were blown up over a remote, very sparsely populated area north of Marathon and northwest of Sanderson by Patriot missiles covertly stationed atop remote plateaus in the Glass Mountains .

Sitting on the southwest corner of my roof, three-quarters of the way up the 6122-foot elevation of the mountain upon which the Lair was built, we had perfect views of the spectacular aerial fireworks to the west and southwest. The intermittent flashes of light on the horizon and the distant rumble of explosions was periodically broken by the flash and roar of missiles fired from the batteries at Crescent Moon, or from the 6400 Ranch.

We were alerted that a hoard of missiles from somewhere near the Chinati Mountains southwest of Marfa appeared to be headed for us. In a scene reminiscent of the Israeli "Iron Dome" during the 2006 war with Hezbollah - which was broadcast live to Americans - SAMs rose up to meet and destroy the missiles one after another before they made their way to us.

Then the war got real for us observers atop the Mountain Lair. "At least ten men approaching from the south," Carlos said into his mic. "They're coming up from the ravine that splits East Point and West Point," our creative names for the two rocky, brushy points of land extending more than a half-mile south from the road.

"I'm on my way," Claude intoned.

"You're in the northwest corner," I replied, and then asked. "Who's in the northeast?"

'Your Expert Rifleman, Sir," replied a voice I knew too well. "I'm using the other XS1 with the digital scope; I don't have a spotting scope."

I wanted to yell at her, scream for her to get her cute little butt back into the bunker, but she really had qualified Expert with Felix, which is two levels above my Marksman designation.

Of course, the rifles we were using fired Expert all the time, but I also knew my wife was cool under pressure - she'd already saved my ass once in the Koreans' RV, and had piloted my small drone during the firefight with Ruben Escamilla's men at the Desert Lair. Not to even mention surviving kidnapping, rape, and torture...

I sighed loudly, then said, "Okay; you and Claude watch for the invaders coming from the Valentine road; we've got this side covered. Carlos, let them emerge from the ravine so our men on the ground can get involved without showing themselves."

"That's Bravo Squad," Claude said. "Chad, are you guys hearing us?"

"We are. We're shifting our positions now; should be in place in two minutes."

We had to wait almost 14 minutes for the intruders to emerge from the brushy canyons, spread out along the road, and move forward in a skirmish line. Suddenly, Claude said, "We now have intruders to the northwest, moving along the base of the mountain. It appears at least two have RPG launchers."

Carlos replied, "Yes, now that they're visible, I believe there are at least two launchers in our group. Chad, can you confirm?"

Chad quickly replied, "Cannot confirm from this position."

I spotted them just as Claude asked. "Bravo, Charlie, Alpha: does anyone have shots at the targets with launchers?"

"Can't tell which have RPGs, but can see eight men," replied Bravo.

"This is Alpha. We're on the mountainside behind the house; we have long shots at those to the south, but only at three of those along the mountain just below us. Only those three are visible."

"Charlie has shots at those along the mountain, but can't determine those with RPGs."

Before anyone else could speak, I stated, "We'll take those with RPGs from the roof; as soon as we shoot, open fire from your positions. Carlos, you take the one on the left end of the skirmish line."

Claude said, "I have the one to the rear; Expert, your target is second from the front."

"Roger. I have him. Fire on command?"

"Is everyone ready?" I asked, and received positive responses. "Then fire at will."

Our shots were so close they almost sounded like a single retort with an echo, but they were immediately followed by a volley of small arms fire from the front and back of the house as Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie opened up. The intruders returned fire, but over the course of the next few minutes the return fire slowed, then stopped. Our squads crept cautiously toward the intruders' positions while we kept watch.

One of the downed combatants stealthily brought his rifle to bear on Bravo squad; I targeted him, and two shots rang out - Carlos had seen him too. He jerked twice, then lay sprawled and still.

Each body was examined; two were injured but alive, and well-trained medics attended to them in the field before they were transported on stretchers into a makeshift field hospital in the gym.

We were informed that none of the four carrying RPG launchers was alive. The next radio communication gave me pause: "Mam, where were you aiming?" someone asked as they stood over a body. "At the junction of chest and neck; a branch obscured his head" Kaitlyn replied calmly.

"Congratulations, Mam! That's a Bullseye!" he responded.

Given that the recipient was a female civilian with a gentle nature, that exuberant congratulations sounded crass! I was concerned that Kaitlyn would be devastated by knowing she had just killed someone, but her response was, "Thank you. Felix taught me well, and this rifle doesn't miss!"

I was briefly shocked by her unflustered response, before realizing that she, like the rest of us, only did what she needed to do to protect those she loved. We were merely using tools at our disposal to protect home and family from well-armed enemy combatants, who arrived at our doorstep for the expressed purpose of killing us all.

The cold grey light of dawn - especially the dawn of Christmas Day - might bring regret to all of us, but right now, our eyes and minds are necessarily focused on the more distant terrain and the sky, looking for other dangers.

****

With the interlopers neutralized and no reports of other infantry or tanks nearby, we decided to go back inside, just in case a missile made its way to us. We proceeded to the lounge to join the others, who were listening on speakers that communicated our chatter as well as reports from Crescent Moon.

They knew the intruders were no longer a threat, so there were no questions and no discussion about our encounter, nor were congratulations offered. It was a businesslike atmosphere, because we had taken care of one problem, but the battle wasn't over.

I noticed, however, that everyone obliquely eyeballed Kaitlyn; they were looking for signs of distress, I guess. She sat next to me, held my hand, and listened to the reports, seemingly blasé about her actions on the roof. Her mom never stopped checking, but everyone else turned his/her attention to the reports frequently received from The Bend, Mexico, and West Texas.

Reports from other fronts were also being relayed to Crescent Moon, and therefore to us. The colonel informed us that our plan to tempt the enemy into an early start had been slightly delayed only to make sure all the other battlefronts were equally prepared. When all reported their readiness, central command gave the 'go' to our subterfuge.

Sheriff Goodson ordered the bus Jeff Davis County uses to transport convicted felons to prison to come get the 34 prisoners still alive from the ambush that started it all. They had to drive the long way around, since the road was impassible from this side. The captives were shackled and taken to a site on the Crescent Moon that had been set up to house prisoners of war.

The squad led by Clay returned to the Silverleaf after the prisoners were incarcerated. Clay came inside; the others took up defensive positions around the ranch. Clay's burgeoning relationship with Ashley was never clearer than when he walked back inside.

I'd seen her nervousness grow as time passed, but when he walked into the bunker, she vaulted off the couch, took three big steps, and leaped into his arms.

The kiss they exchanged made Kaitlyn wiggle closer against me, and whisper that we were going to need a long nap after this was all over. I kissed her on top of her head and agreed.

It was a bright moment in a long, scary night.

****

The fighting continued in the desert north of Lajitas and at the Mexican canyon, but, in the larger sense, the invasion of Texas had been thwarted. They might still weak havoc on a local level, which we were doing our best to prevent, but the conquest of Texas had been stymied.

When the F16s and AGM-140 SSMs were ready, Raymundo's men were ordered to withdraw from their positions around the canyon, which was about to be hit with a "shock and awe" display reminiscent of 2003 Iraq. The F16s were crossing the river when the missiles passed them en route to the canyon. They made a helluva dust and firestorm, and when that settled a bit, the F16s finished whatever was left.

We waited with bated breath for other reports from central command, which was located at Camp David in Maryland. About the time things were dying down in Texas, they reported that a firefight had broken out between the elite Marine Security Company guarding Camp David and the sicarios, who had been joined by several hundred insurgents. The elite Marine unit was as well armed and trained as any on earth, so we weren't THAT concerned about command being disrupted, but it was still an anxious time.

From other sources, base command at Crescent Moon learned of battles raging in Arizona, Idaho / Eastern Oregon, Wyoming, and Florida. The insurgents in Texas and Arizona had been joined by foreign troops and mercenaries hidden in Mexico. Those in Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming included foreign reinforcements who had infiltrated through the lightly-guarded 5,255-mile Canadian/American border, the longest border in the world.

Though well-armed and prepared, our para-military units in Idaho had the disadvantage of fighting in heavily-forested areas where UAVs weren't as useful. Those in Oregon drove the insurgents from the plains into the forested mountains, but didn't pursue. Unless they surrendered, the mop up operation in those two states would likely take months, if not years.

In Wyoming, the sides had battled to a standstill, but the relatively small group of rebels was pinned down on open ground. They knew their position would become untenable with sunrise, and had reached out to the Wyoming Military Department by phone to broach terms of a ceasefire. When informed that US military forces, including planes and drones from Warren AFB, would engage at dawn, the discussion turned to terms of surrender.

The home-grown insurgents in Florida had been receiving weapons and personnel from foreign countries via boats and ships, including cruise ships. They thought they had a good plan, but they were the last to join the revolution on Christmas morning due to tactical mistakes and timing.

The swamp lands that hid them so well turned into a major impediment when their plan to ferry personnel out all night via airboats went to hell because the revolution began early. That they began their efforts without all their troops and weaponry, hours after the other battles had begun, meant the twenty-one military bases in Florida were on full alert when they began emerging from the swamps on Christmas morning.

The military bases in Florida house members of all American armed services, so it was never a good plan, but timing made it a very bad plan. The high casualty rate among the invaders/insurrectionists led to the surrender of the living before the sun was fully in the sky.