tells me they were all found individually in different places. That leads me to believe that some people are just holing up and trying to survive as best they can; not trying to go out and band together. I’m sure some are grouping together as was evidenced by the marauders at Brunswick but it also seems like others are not venturing out. We’ll have to search everywhere to find whatever survivors might be left. The night runners have strength in their numbers and I feel that will be a large part of our strength as well.
“What do you say we put the additional soldiers you found in a team with Greg leading them?” I ask Lynn after introductions with the newcomers are made.
“Yeah, I already thought about that but wanted to clear it with you first,” she answers.
“I guess we’ll keep with the phonetic designations as we seem to have run out of colors. I mean, I don’t really want to say magenta or lavender team over the radio. I’ll just flat out forget,” I say.
“Roger that. I think we’re up to Echo. What’s the plan?” Lynn asks.
“Well, there are obviously night runners that we’ll have to clear out of here,” I respond having told her of the tracks by the door. “Let’s get the team leaders together and talk over a plan.”
“Okay folks, this isn’t going to be a walk in the park especially if there are night runners in abundance inside,” I say to the group once the team leaders are gathered. “The inside is cluttered with small shelves and aisles scattered throughout along with clothes racks. This will make visibility limited in many areas and prevent clear lanes of fire for any distances. We’re going in with all of the teams and it’s important to listen up on the radios and keep the communication short. We need to keep the channel clear.”
Everyone nods their heads and I continue, “We’ll be going in with goggles on so that means all flashlights off. There are two floors with the second floor overlooking the first floor in the middle. There is also a large centerpiece on the first floor that prevents any vision to the rear of the store.”
I walk over and grab a notebook out of the Jeep. I notice Robert hadn’t joined us for the brief and isn’t with Red Team and wave him over to me. I am still not certain about taking him in but he has shown himself to be quite capable and I did promise him that he would be a part of Red Team. I want him to at least be at the briefing so he can learn. Centering on the group once again as we both arrive, I draw the basic layout of the store.
“Alright, the structure is rectangular with bathrooms to the immediate left and a small, enclosed snack shop against the right wall. Echo Team will enter first and cover the immediate front just inside the interior doors. Red and Charlie Teams will enter on your heels; Red covering the immediate left and Charlie covering right. I haven’t checked to see if the front doors are unlocked as yet. I know the side doors are. Cressman, would you go quickly check and see if they are unlocked?” I ask.
She stands and trots over to the front. I see the doors swing open as she pulls on each set. She then disappears quickly inside and emerges a few seconds later.
“Both the outside and inside sets are unlocked,” she reports on returning to our group.
“That’ll make it easier then. Echo, enter through the left doors and Charlie through the right. Red will enter on Echo’s heels. Alpha and Bravo Teams will then enter, Alpha through the left doors and Bravo through the right. Move past Echo and take positions in the middle to the left and right respectively. There is a large set of stairs leading upward to the second floor balcony to the left by the centerpiece. In addition, there is an escalator on the far left side that also leads to the second floor balcony. Don’t go past the second floor overhang on the entry side. Alpha, you cover the left side balcony and far side escalator. Bravo, you cover the right and far side balcony. Any questions so far?” I ask drawing the annotations and positions on the paper.
“No, sir,” everyone responds. I notice Watkins’ salutation. Perhaps him resorting back to habit in the tension of what we are about to embark upon.
“Okay. Blue Team, you’ll follow behind Alpha and take position at the foot of the first set of stairs and cover them. Delta, I want you to follow Bravo through the right, link up with Charlie and then you both move out to the right covering the right side under the overhang. Black and Green Teams, you’ll then move in and do the same for the left side. Once everyone is in position, Echo, move up to the centerpiece and cover the near-side balcony. Are we clear so far?” I ask pointing to the various positions and entry sequence on the drawn map.
The team leaders look up from the map and nod. I don’t bother talking about silence or the need to remain silent as I know it is next to impossible for fifty-four men and women to keep silent while deploying. That is one reason why recon teams are kept small. A small number of people can remain much more silent.
“After we’re in position, then Red Team will clear the bathrooms and Charlie will clear the small store to the right. Red Team will fold back to the middle and act as a reserve while Charlie meets back up with Delta. Following that, Black and Green Teams will head down clearing the left side of the first floor. Charlie and Delta will do the same on the right keeping in line with the others as best you can. Halt at the left and right corners respectively. If we don’t see anything at that point, then Black and Green Teams will sweep the back with Charlie and Delta pulling back out of the line of fire. All other teams will keep watch on your assigned sectors for them. We’ll cover the second floor sweep after clearing the first floor. Are we still clear on what everyone’s assignment and positions are?” I ask.
“Yes, sir,” the responses echo from all.
“Lynn and Drescoll, keep in mind that the side doors are open if you have to escape out that way. If that happens, then Red will move to the left and cover your area. Okay, go brief your teams and then we’ll do a quick walk through,” I say. We haven’t all worked together before so it’s important we get this down and start learning how each team and its members function.
With the teams together and everyone briefed, we walk through the entry procedure in the parking lot. The others not assigned to teams and the birds flitting about the area look on. Only, the birds don’t seem overly interested in what we’re doing. They are off performing whatever errands they happen have on this warm summer day. The afternoon breeze blows across the tall brown grass surrounding the parking lots. A soft whishing comes with it as it blows through the tall firs by the driveway entrance. I look across to the hills of the Cascades for a moment as we regroup and see that the air has become clearer even in this short time since our carbon footprint on this earth decreased dramatically. It’s not that I see them clearly but the purplish smudge they used to be, when you could see them at all, has become a brighter blue. They even look closer and Mount Rainier looms over the city with the sunlight gleaming off its snow-covered slopes.
“Lynn, would you see to it that everyone has been issued the latest gear?” I ask coming back to the moment.
“Already done, Jack,” she answers.
The next few minutes are spent going over instructions on the gear and how it functions. We don our earpieces and throat mics and each team member tests their radios. Loading up on magazines we head over to the front doors in team formations and line up at the entrance in order of entry. I stop at the shattered door on the left and listen for a moment. An occasional gust of wind blows, rustling my pant legs but does nothing to soothe the pounding in my chest. Pre-action jitters are racing through my body. Robert is by my side with the rest of Red Team and I have a tense feeling in my stomach about taking him in. Not a precognizant feeling, just a feeling of worry. We’ll be in the background in reserve for the most part so I’m not overly worried.
I don’t hear anything other than the sound of the wind against our clothes. The portion of the building in front of the doors is covered so light doesn’t penetrate far inside. The small foyer between sets of entry doors receives light from outside but the interior beyond is pitch black; a dark abyss. Charlie, Bravo, and Delta Teams are lined up across the entrance doors from us. I take a step back with Red Team following and allow Echo Team to take its place first in line by the broken glass door.
“Okay, let’s do this,” I say into the radio. “Go!”
A soft explosion of sound and movement follows my command as Echo and Charlie Teams enter through their respective doors and rush inside. The boots of Echo Team crunches over the broken glass on the ground near the entry doors. The swish of clothing grows louder as they proceed in as teams. The clink of metal on metal of sling attachment points moving adds to the soft rush of noise. Pulling my NVG’s down and turning them on, I rush in as the last member of Echo enters. Red Team rolls in behind me.
I spy Bravo Team entering alongside us. I rush through the second set of doors into the darkness. The interior shows crisply through the goggles; cast in a green glow. Echo has taken kneeling positions in line twenty feet in front of the doors. Their infrared aiming lasers reach out into the darkened building, waving from side to side as they search for any movement of night runners. Red Team forms next to them facing left and covers the area. I stand behind them and glance over to see Charlie set up in a similar manner on the other side. No
