Chapter 21

I was looking forward to seeing of the fort as we headed in that direction to refuel. I had never been there and wondered what it looked like from the air. When we topped the last peak, it was in clear sight in front of us and I was surprised by how much it was spread out. From the looks of it as we got closer, everyone was busy doing something as I could see people all over the place. We landed close to the building and the pilot told me we would be about twenty minutes, and that Kittrick was waiting for me inside. When I got inside, it was air conditioned and felt great. I spotted a restroom to my right and didn't hesitate to head for it. When I got done, I washed my hands and headed out to look for Kittrick. I didn't have far to look as he was standing in front of a large window looking out across the runway where a plane was landing.

"Visitors, Colonel?"

"No, Marshal, it just a routine shift of supplies that are being brought to the main warehouse from one of our outlying warehouses. We have been moving everything in close where we have better control and it's easier to keep an inventory of what we have. Now I know you didn't come in here where it's nice and cool for a bullshit session, so what's on your mind?"

I was ready to say something smart until I saw the grin he was trying to hide. Ok, I thought, two can play this game. I opened up on him with my thought about the Rodeo situation and why I thought that McGuire had a problem there. He didn't say anything after I finished what I was saying, but I could see he was thinking about it.

"One more thing you need to know, Colonel. Several of the raiders at that ranch had Border Patrol vehicles and were wearing uniforms."

"What? Shit, that's all we need, a bunch of rebel agents making our jobs harder. Damn, I will tell Dan, but I will also send in a team to see if we can spot their base and free whoever they are holding. What do you think your friend Mike needs most right now?"

I told him a few ideas I had and what I thought would help them the most right now. He seemed to agree with me and said he would get a load out to them before dark.

"Thom, the last report I had from several bases was that the spread of the disease here in the states seems to be dying off, but it's still going strong up north and overseas. Ramstein in Germany says there are more walking dead than people who are alive in their area, and they have lost half of the base because they are being overrun by them. They are talking about bugging out to another remote location until they can get it under control. Hell, from the reports I have been getting, we and Ft. Bragg are the only ones in good shape. We have the whole border mined now and have pulled most of the personnel back in to help here. We have regular patrols and spotters strategically placed to give us warning. Now, when you fly over Lordsburg, see if you can get some kind of count on how many there are there. Thom, we need that fuel and I understand there are boxcars full of food and supplies just sitting on the tracks there, and we can use it. If you see any of them bunched up, call in for an attack chopper and we will try to kill as many as we can to lower their numbers. How about San Simon; do you need anything?"

"From what I know, we seem to be in pretty good shape right now. Everyone is helping out and we haven't had any major problems. When I get the buggy running, I plan on visiting Mike to see how they are doing and set up a radio for them so they can keep in touch. Meat wise, they have enough in the lower canyon to feed them for months if they don't eat too much. Since Mike is in charge I figure he won't let that happen. Some of the goats and cattle have young so if they can capture a few of them, they will have milk for the babies. But the formula you are sending will help out, until they can get settled in. We have several pallets of baby food and only two babies so if you need it just ask. We haven't heard from Bowie since this all started so I don't know how they are doing."