Fortunately, the compound was situated in a sort of natural bowl on top of the mountain. The only good point of entry was through the front gate. For the moonshiners to try and gain access or even secure a better vantage point from the sides or rear, they would have to do some serious climbing and bushwhacking and in turn expose themselves as they navigated the rough terrain surrounding the camp. No doubt the old man, or whoever built this place, had chosen this spot for just that reason.
Joel’s voice crackled over the radio. “What do we do?”
It was a fairly easy position to defend, but Ben didn’t want to spend days picking the moonshiners off one by one while wasting valuable time and supplies. And what if the moonshiners outlasted them? In spite of all their efforts, they were still basically trapped here. He hadn’t worked this hard to trade one cage for another.
“We fight. Over.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ben knew what had to be done. The fact that it was risky and that he hated the idea gave him reason enough to pause for a minute and try thinking of something else, anything else, but he couldn’t. Nothing would make an impact quite like half a box of dynamite.
If he was going to do this, he needed to act fast. It might already be too late to use the mine cart lift if the generator had run out of fuel. He wished he would have turned it off.
He also didn’t like the idea of leaving Joel, Allie, and Sandy here on their own. Martin was here, but that didn’t give Ben any comfort. There was no way he was sending one of them for the dynamite. There was no telling how old the stuff was or if it was stable. The whole plan might be off if it was in bad shape or damaged from moisture. It did feel pretty damp down in the mine. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea.
“Dad.” Joel’s voice came over the radio again, but before Ben could answer, he heard the crack of a rifle and a bullet whizzed by far overhead. Bad idea or not, it was the only surefire way to end this fast.
“Joel, I have an idea, but I’m going to need you guys to hold them off for a few minutes. Do your best not to let them advance, and try to keep them all in one spot if you can. Over.”
“What are you going to do? Over.”
Crack…crack! Two more shots rang out. Ben popped up from behind the pallet and put a round through the Suburban’s windshield.
Ben turned to face Martin. “I want you guys to keep them busy. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Crack…crack, crack! Three more shots, but this time it was Joel and Sandy doing the shooting.
“Just be ready to open the gate when I tell you. Over.” There was no more time for talk, and Ben clipped the radio to his belt. He took a few seconds to put another round downrange and shatter a second windshield in an attempt to help create a little chaos and panic among the moonshiners.
Ben leaned his rifle against the pallets. “I need you to cover me.”
Martin had a blank look on his face.
“That means you shoot at them while I run!” Ben instructed. “You wanted your chance for revenge? This is it.” He ducked as another bullet sailed by overhead.
“Y-You’re leaving?” Martin looked at him blankly for a moment as he came to terms with the fact that Ben was leaving him here on his own.
“Shoot!” Ben shouted as he pointed toward the moonshiners and took off running. He didn’t bother looking back, but he didn’t have to.
Crack…crack…crack! Ben was well on his way as Martin squeezed off his third shot. Hopefully the guy understood that he needed to conserve his ammunition and not just shoot nonstop. Fortunately, Martin had followed Ben’s lead and grabbed a few magazines of his own before they hurried to the gate. But he was still glad to hear his rate of fire slow. Ben wondered how long he really had to make this happen the way he wanted it to.
As he neared the trucks and the others, the dogs were already barking and worked up from the gunshots.
“I need you guys to stay low and stay put until this is over. It’s gonna be all right.” Ben nodded at his kids, then shot Rita and Carlos a look he hoped would convey the amount of trust he was being forced to place in them right now for his kids’ sake.
Ben heard distant gunshots as he went up the rickety stairs and entered the dark and dirty container, a place he’d hoped to never set foot in again. His outlook improved when he saw the dim glow of the lights running down the mineshaft. That meant the generator was still running and he’d be able to use the cart to bring the box of dynamite to the surface.
Not wasting any time, Ben kicked the chock from the cart wheel and hit the switch. The cart began descending at a pace he couldn’t bear to watch. He headed down the shaft on foot, ahead of the cart. Half-running, half-sliding on top of the loose gravel and scree, he skated down the incline much faster than he ever would have attempted otherwise. He’d beat the cart to the bottom and inspect the dynamite. If it was any good, he could carry it out and be ready to load it up when the cart reached the bottom.
He hated to think about how long it was going to take for the return trip to the surface, but there was no way he could move up the slope any faster than the mine cart, especially while carrying a box of dynamite. One bad step on the loose gravel and it could be game over. There was no
