Chapter 43

When we got completely inside, I saw the Chief's stuff neatly stacked just inside the door. Sarah was ahead of me and her squeals of delight were like a soothing balm to me as she oohed and ahhed over everything inside. I showed her what was to be her room and she squealed and jumped on the bottom bunk, stretched out, and pretended she was sleeping. I laughed out loud and tickled her as she lay on the bottom bunk. Her laughter and squeals of indignation seemed to make the house feel like a home.

"This place is great, Pops! I hope we can move in soon; I love it here."

"Well, remember it may be awhile before we settle in. Meanwhile, why don't you put your things in the drawer and I will make some coffee for the Chief and me? I have cold sodas in the little fridge in the kitchen when you get thirsty."

I left her grinning at me and got the coffee brewing. I moved the grenades to a more secure place in case Sarah started looking through the cupboard. I finished brewing the coffee and poured two large cups, then headed back outside. I looked in Sarah's room and was surprised to see she was out like a light with a big smile on her face. I just shook my head in wonder and went outside. I sat the cups on the small table and unslung the AK, leaning it beside the cabin in easy reach and sat down.

"Ok, Chief, this better be good 'cause I am not happy with your actions so far."

"Yeah, I can imagine. But, in my own defense, I hadn't planned on getting caught in the middle of taking a shower. I figured I would be in and out and just wait till you showed up."

"Well, when you quit feeling sorry for yourself, you can signal for the rest of your team to come in. I imagine they are getting pretty hot with all that gear on."

He just looked at me in total shock then raised his arm and made a circling motion. I watched as five men moved in towards where we were. The sixth man came from behind the cabin. Hmm, I thought, a seven man patrol. Now this was definitely interesting since they had to have hid their buggies somewhere outside the walls. I knew they hadn't walked all the way here from the fort. They settled in a circle around us, dropping the heavy packs they were all carrying on their backs. None of them said a word, just looked at us as they sat down. Damn, I thought. They could have taken me and Sarah out the moment I opened fire on the Chief, and I wondered why they hadn't. All of them were probably in their mid twenties and watching them I realized they were not newbie's, but seasoned vets doing a job.

"Ok, Chief, time to come clean. With all this firepower they could have taken me and Sarah out when I opened fire on you. I don't know why they didn't, but I guarantee you I would have taken you out before they did. I checked and you hadn't noticed some of the little surprises I had already in place. The man behind the cabin would have been gone if he had moved a foot to the side. Chief, I am not a dummy, so I think you need to quit with all the bull and come clean with me."

He took a deep breath and sighed out loud, looking at me in a baffled manner before he started talking.

"Well, I can't say I am surprised that you knew what was going on in your little home here. Everything I was told about you so far has been true. Peters said you were dangerous as hell and didn't take anything on trust. Sarge, I have all my teams out of the fort and my rank is Commander, not Chief like you think. I was sent here from Norfolk to assess this base. We have big problems here and it's coming to a head faster than I thought it would. When your two teams from Bragg come in tomorrow, do not send them out. That slave camp has over two hundred men who have been warned you will be coming their way. Over half of them are Army personnel who have gone AWOL and joined up with that bunch. There are more joining them every day, and they are bringing anything they can to strengthen them. They have two attack choppers that were supposed to be out of commission and in for repairs. They are fully loaded with weapons and ammo with two pilots for each one. We have been observing that camp for over a week and you can imagine our surprise when we found out it was a slave camp. They had several men scouting your friend's camp this morning. They won't be coming back to give their report but sooner or later, they are going to try to take it over. Kittrick is a babe in the woods when it comes to what's going on around him. Sarge, this is gonna get bad, and I came here to warn you because I was ordered to liaison with you and you only. Someone out there knows you well, and he has the utmost confidence in your abilities. And before you ask, I have no idea who it is. I do know that he outranks any living Commander out there because when he gives orders, the Base Commanders ask no questions. Also, Kittrick's second in command is in with them and he gets the word out about everything Kittrick does. I also have a large packet of classified papers for you."