“Well, thoughts?” I ask after watching the video replays for about an hour.
“Looks like they have about thirty armed guards between the camp and the fields. There may be more depending on whether they have shifts and a night watch,” Lynn says starting off our conversation and planning process.
“And those lights along the perimeter indicate that the camp is lit at night, assuming of course they are functional and have power,” Drescoll chimes in.
“I noticed the guards at the field weren’t paying too much attention to the perimeter but more focused on the people working. But that is only from a moment’s observation,” Greg says.
“And all that is working with some basic assumptions, that they are treating the people as prisoners and using them like slave labor. If our assumptions are incorrect, and I’m not saying they aren’t, then we could be making a big mistake,” Horace adds to the conversation.
“I think we’ll have to work with the assumption that they aren’t up to any good with the way they ran Gonzalez, Robert, Michelle, and Bri off the road. But I could also be biased here,” I say in response. My gut clenches with the thought of the kids still being held captive and being taken like that.
“I agree,” both Drescoll and Lynn say.
“Until we know otherwise, we’ll have to operate with what we know,” Lynn adds.
“Agreed. I see very few options. One, assault both places at once. Two, assault the main compound and wait for the buses to arrive and take them as they come in. Three, conduct a night assault on the compound. Four, take the farm, then the compound and hope they don’t radio in advance. We could use a jammer if we find their freqs and if they are using radios. Five, infiltrate at night and either bring Gonzalez and the kids out or take everyone out. Assuming they need rescuing that is. Six, pull up and negotiate. Or, we could do any combination of these. It basically comes down to an assault, infiltrating, or talking to them,” I say.
“With the assault, we could consider the use of Bradleys or Strykers but that would up the risk to others around,” Lynn adds.
“I would love to go swooping in there and have it over and done with quickly but we don’t know what their reaction will be with the people they have. I hesitate to use the word “captured” but that’s the only way I can think of it considering what happened on the road. It would seem they capture others to use them for their slave labor,” I say.
“We can’t forget about the night runners. That pretty much leaves night operations out of the question,” Franks adds rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“True. We don’t know what they’re doing about those. Those fences won’t keep any night runners out for long, especially with the gaps between the towers,” I respond.
“How about using the M-110’s? We could sneak up pretty close to the field, have teams take out those they can from a distance using the silenced 110’s, and then assault with frequency jammers in place,” Greg mentions.
“All great ideas. Everything depends on what their reaction would be towards the assumed prisoners. Will they turn their guns on them? And there is also the variable of collateral casualties with a direct assault. I think we should take a small team and observe to find patterns. I think we’ll come up with a better plan if we take a closer look for a short time,” I say.
“So, what are you thinking then? Take the helicopter and observe daily?” Lynn asks.
“No, I was thinking more of taking a small team and observing. I know a hill that overlooks that area with plenty of cover. Plus, there’s a back way in so we can get into position without being observed. I also want to know what the night runner activity is like at night and how they’re dealing with it,” I answer.
“And that small team wouldn’t happen to include you would it?” Lynn asks knowing fully well that I intend to be a part but voicing her concern in a roundabout way.
“Um, yeah, I was thinking I would take Red Team to scout it out for however long and come up with a plan based on what we find,” I reply. “Oh, and I’ll be taking Greg along. I’d take you but we still need to get a lot done here before winter sets in.”
“Now why is that such a surprise?” Lynn says with a grin. And with that, our gathering breaks up.
I notify the rest of Red Team, giving them a synopsis of what happened and what our plan is. We begin loading supplies in the back of the two Humvees we plan to take. We would fit in one but two is better in case of a breakdown — two is one, one is none. Plus, we’ll need room to stretch out as I don’t know how long our little excursion will take. I am terribly anxious to get going and be there as if my proximity to the kids will help.
Finished with loading gear, Lynn, Bannerman, Frank, the team leaders and I gather. The goal is to talk about our next phase hoping to secure long-term survival needs and prepare for the winter months. We have plenty of MRE’s and food we’ve scavenged but we will still have to scavenge more from the darkened buildings if we are to make it through. Water shouldn’t be a problem as long as we have power. The sun won’t be as prevalent and with the days getting shorter, we’ll be relying more on the generator if the sunlight won’t keep the batteries charged through the solar panels. We also need to begin building fencing for cattle and horses along with stables, barns, a greenhouse, chicken coops, and farming areas.
“Bannerman, were you able to get spare parts for the water pump?” I ask opening our meeting. I want to hurry this up so I can get a move on but I know this is important to our ultimate survival as well.
“I did. I also have spare solar panel replacements in case we lose some,” he replies.
“Good. I figure if we lose a generator, then we can pick one up and just replace it rather than tinker with it,” I say.
“I already have a couple unbolted and ready to go,” Bannerman says to which I nod.
“Frank?” I ask wanting to hear what he has from his end.
“Well, we’ve picked up a lot of night runner bands and they seem to have settled down to a specific area but there are still roving bands. I haven’t been able to isolate anything down as yet. There isn’t a particular pattern emerging from any of the bands although it does seem that the major streets are utilized to a great extent. The band sizes seem to change from time to time with no pattern there either. I think the roving bands we see are moving because of food. My guess is that their food is becoming even scarcer within the city, especially with us picking up other survivors in the area. We’ll probably start seeing them move out into the country. We’re continuing to set traps but finding they’re being tripped with less frequency. Our cameras have picked up a couple of packs trying to scale the walls at night but their visits are infrequent. As far as we can tell, they’re pretty much leaving this area alone for the time being,” he reports.
We seem to have reached a status quo with regards to the night runners. They have the night and we have the day. We still have to tread into their dangerous domain for supplies and will still need to do that, regardless of our food stores. Hopefully the trips will be less frequent once we get our long-term food needs in order. Thoughts of clearing the area of night runners still runs through my mind but the enormity and anxiety over the kids is my most prevalent thought right now. At least I know where they’re at and that gives some relief; not much, but some.
“Okay. So, what’s our priority then?” I ask. I know my thoughts but I want to hear their concerns as well.
“Well, I’d like to get the wind turbines and water tower in place so we don’t have to rely on the generator so much. The diesel, even with treatments, isn’t going to last much longer. We basically have until next summer and then our mobility will be decreased substantially. That is unless we want to explore Bio-diesel options. That will require more trips into buildings for supplies and growing crops specifically for that purpose,” Bannerman answers.