The targeting system had thermal and IR sensors so it could ‘see’ in the dark and through the blowing snow. Once the Abrams decided to kill a target, very few could survive. Maybe another main battle tank, but nothing the gangs had. The A2 version added a new feature to the tank, each of the six tanks shared targeting information so no single target would receive more than one shell.
Since the Colonel knew the gangs held people hostage or were selling slaves, he sent in two squads of his best surviving troops to locate and free those being held against their will before he released his tanks to open fire and destroy the trading camp. The squads were dressed in winter camo and silently entered the camp area at night. They knew from drone footage where the hostages were being kept. They slipped in by cutting the throats of the guards who stood in front of the door to the hostage cells. Once inside the old jail which held the hostages, they opened the cells and led the people out, three of them were Jon’s family. Trinity shouted with joy when she was able to hug her mother again, her shout alerted a gang member who was walking to the bar. He drew his gun thinking another gang member was taking advantage of one of the captured females when everyone had been told not to touch them so they could get the best price.
The gang member stuck his head in the police station. The cells were in the back of the station and when he stuck his head in, he was shot by one of the soldiers with a silenced rifle. The gang member fell backwards out of the station almost at the feet of the gang’s leader who was coming to check on his ‘goods.’ He drew his sidearm and began to slowly step over the dead member when he heard noise in the building. He stepped back and grabbed the first person he saw, “Somethings wrong in the station. I think someone’s trying to release the females. Quietly wake everyone and tell them we’re under attack.”
“Attack?” Asked the wide eyed twenty-year-old.
“YES, now go follow your orders.”
The young teen forgot the part about being quiet, he ran to the center of the area and grabbed the rope to the church bells and began pulling it, ringing the large bells, this was the alert signal for the gangs. People ran out of their buildings, some half-dressed, all armed.
The soldiers were angry, and they knew they were outgunned. The sergeant in charge of the squads whispered, “Get the women away from here, eight of us will remain here and start a firefight to draw their attention away from you, now get them out of there and tell the Colonel to hurry up with the tanks.”
Once the women, the three Coats and six others ranging in ages, 12 to 29 were out of the lethal zone, the tanks circled the camp area and opened fire with their main guns. The canisters opened up when they left the tank’s main barrel, they spread their steel death. The steel balls cut through cars, walls, and people. The few buildings were destroyed with high explosive shells. The gangs attempted to shoot the tanks with their rifles, the bullets bounced off of the thick armor. Two gang members fired RPGs at the tanks, one struck the thickest armor and didn’t penetrate, the other missed the tank and exploded against the wall of the jail, bringing the wall down on the six soldiers still inside. Three were killed and two injured from the falling bricks which covered them.
The nine women were taken to the Bradly fighting vehicle, pushed inside and told to hang on while the armored vehicle drove to the base camp so they could be checked out and the Coats could be reunited with Jon while the soldiers attempted to figure out who the other six were related to. If none of their family survived, they would be moved south with the soldiers until they reached an area where they could be safely resettled.
Jon stood in the icy wind and blowing snow with his shoulder bandaged and his arm in a sling waiting for the rear ramp of the Bradley to lower so his family could be with him. It seemed like it was taking forever for the ramp to lower and a soldier to check it before he waved the nine women that it was safe to exit. Erin walked down the ramp. At first, she didn’t see Jon standing in the doorway of the mess hall and it took her a moment to recognize the man standing like a fool in the blowing snow was her husband. She screamed, “Girls! Daddy’s here!”
The three of them ran into Jon so hard they knocked him into a snowbank, all three cried. Jon’s women hugged him like they hadn’t seen him in years, and they didn’t think they’d ever see him again. Erin helped him up, “I thought you were dead, I can’t believe you’re okay.”
“I most likely would have died if Gary hadn’t come back to check on the convoy with the soldiers. They had a medic with them who patched me up. The Colonel was really angry. He decided he was going to deal with the gangs before he moved on. Did you see any of the fighting? Did the soldiers get them all?”
“I don’t know, once they got us into the thing over there, all we heard were loud booms.”
“That was the tanks firing. Come on in out of this cold. They have a nice meal laid out for you.”
“Real food?”
“Soup and
