“You don’t sound so eager to cross at one of the state police checkpoints. How come?”
“I don’t trust cops. Are you guys part of the York County Readiness Brigade?”
“Maine Liberty Militia. The real militia. Not that horseshit bean-supper brigade,” said Radioman, causing his sidekick to snicker.
“Never heard of it,” said Alex.
“Now you have,” said Radioman.
“You guys have a good day,” said Alex, half-expecting to take a bullet in the back.
Alex hopped into the Jeep and closed the door, surprised to find the barrel of Charlie’s rifle protruding a few inches past the headrest. Careful not to disturb his aim, Alex examined his firing position. Charlie had raised the front passenger seat headrest to its highest point and had braced his rifle in the gap between the seat and headrest. He had propped the three assault backpacks next to him to support the right side of his body, providing a stable platform to aim his rifle through the gap and beyond the windshield. He was relieved to see that Charlie had taken the initiative to cover him, and that he’d chosen a method not easily detectable. He was little disturbed that nobody was watching the road leading to the other bridge.
“I know what you’re thinking, but I didn’t like the way they looked. Ed was watching you and the road, and I had my eye on those two. I think they’re running some kind of racket here. That was one of their guys in the car back there,” said Charlie, engaging the rifle’s safety before setting it across his lap.
“Maine Liberty Militia. Ever heard of them?”
Charlie shook his head. “Probably one of those offshoot groups. A dozen sprung up after 2013.”
“Whoever they are, I think they’re running more than just a racket. Let’s go back down Foxes Ridge Road.”
Ed put the Jeep into reverse and executed a two-point turn. When they passed the industrial site, Ed broke the silence.
“Now where are we supposed to cross? If we keep following the border hoping for the best, we’ll end up driving to the goddamned Canadian border!”
“We’re crossing in Milton Mills,” said Alex.
“How? This isn’t SEAL Team Six, Alex. You saw the guys down there. We don’t even know how many we’re dealing with.”
“Probably twelve,” said Charlie. “I saw three guys on the other side through my scope, talking to a bunch of bikers. Weapons aimed right at them. Looked like a heated debate going on. We have to assume the same setup on the other bridge. Two cars of three.”
“Twelve at the border and more at the church,” said Alex.
“That’s too many,” said Ed.
“We only have to get past six of them,” said Alex.
“With the rest of the Maine whatever-the-fuck Liberty gang coming to the rescue? What about the church? How many reinforcements do they have waiting over there?”
Alex glanced at Charlie. “We’re headed there next.”
“Recon?” asked Charlie.
“If my suspicions are correct? Direct action. No survivors.”
“Wait. Hold on. You’re going into the church? You’re out of your mind. These guys are fucking crazy!”
“Which is why it’ll work. I saw two of them up close. They’ll never expect this. When the bullets start connecting, they’ll break.”
“You can’t guarantee that. If something goes wrong, our kids are screwed. I’d rather walk to Boston to—”
“Ed! Walking to Boston is not an option! We need to be in Boston tonight. I can get us over this bridge.”
Ed shook his head and muttered obscenities for a few seconds before turning to Alex. “If this is too much for you and Charlie to handle, we find another way. I’m trusting you to make that call. Why is the church so important, again?” he asked.
“The guy at the roadblock said the only way to get across was to voluntarily give up your vehicle. They take your car and supposedly drop you in Sanford,” said Alex.
“The last car turned into the church,” said Ed.
“Exactly,” Alex stated. “I want to know what they’re doing with the families. They’re sure as shit not driving them to Sanford. I saw kids in that SUV.”
“They definitely didn’t take the family to Sanford,” said Ed.
“I’m shutting this operation down effective immediately,” said Alex.
Ed sighed. “This is going to get us all killed.”
Chapter 27
EVENT +30:59 Hours
Acton, Maine
Alex approached the next tree trunk, careful not to snap any of the larger dogwood branches. Charlie trailed one tree behind, following his path through the dense forest growth. They had established an effective pattern in which one of them rushed forward while the other watched for threats.
Charlie crashed down next to him, pointing his rifle across the parking lot. Alex covered the northern door and the pavement area visible beyond the corner of the building. The two men he’d seen when they passed the church on the way to Milton Mills had been headed in the direction of the gazebo. Alex had taken precautions during their approach, stopping and observing for long periods of time. He detected no signs of an organized, defensive surveillance effort.
“I think we’re clear to approach the back door. Careful with that corner. I’m pretty sure the gazebo is on the other side,” he whispered.
Charlie nodded, watching his sector. Alex had been impressed with his neighbor’s ability to move quietly through the forest and follow simple hand signals. Charlie’s years of experience stalking animals had paid dividends, and he walked quieter than Alex, when he didn’t stumble. He hadn’t completely mastered the “ready carry” technique, which required him to aim over his rifle’s sights and maneuver without looking at the ground. The last hundred yards had shown a marked improvement since they left the Jeep, with Charlie effectively shifting lines of sight without tripping.
Alex drew his pistol and retrieved a dark cylindrical object, screwing it onto the pistol barrel.
“Jesus Harold Christmas! Is that legal?” Charlie exclaimed.
“What do you think? Swap rifles with me.”
“Why?” whispered Charlie.
“Because there’s gonna be some shooting, and we need it to be as quiet as possible,” said Alex.
“This is crazy,” muttered Charlie. He unclipped the rifle from his one-point sling and handed it to Alex, casting a doubtful look.
“We’ll be fine, Charlie, as long as you stay close to me and remember what I tell you. We clear one room at a time. I enter the room first, staying low and sweeping from left to right. You’ll lean in aiming high, sweeping from right to left. When the room is clear, you enter the room and transition to cover the hallway or whatever open space we just used. We’ll clear the building room by room until we find what we’re looking for. Clear?”
“Clear. What are we looking for?”
“The families they brought here. Ready?”
“Not really,” said Charlie.
“Good. Let’s go.”
Alex rose to his feet and clipped Charlie’s rifle into his own sling harness, shifting the rifle and sling behind his back. Charlie raised Alex’s rifle to his shoulder and stared through the ACOG scope, shifting his aim a few times. He nodded at Alex, and they started forward. The back door burst open. Alex pushed Charlie down and furiously low-crawled to the next tree trunk several feet ahead of them, squirming through rain-soaked underbrush. He wasn’t worried about noise. Cover and concealment was his primary goal for the moment.
He reached the tree without the hissing of bullets through foliage, confident that they hadn’t been spotted. He laid the pistol on the damp ground and twisted onto his left side to wrestle Charlie’s rifle forward. Charlie rustled through the bushes a few seconds later, settling somewhere behind him.