Nice place. John admired the large deck that seemed to wrap around the entire building, but he was all business by the time he got to the front door.
He was surprised to find the door unlocked. It put him on guard. He listened carefully for several seconds, but all was quiet. Next, he shouldered his M4 and pulled out his sidearm. He quickly checked the weapon. It was ready for action.
And so was he.
John took a deep breath. Then with one smooth motion he opened the door and stepped through, his eyes scanning all angles for movement, his weapon squared in front of him as he turned.
Nothing. No movement, no sound.
He listened again for several seconds and took a few steps into the open living room. He could see hallways at both ends, at the very back of the open space. He looked up and saw the railing of a bridge on the second floor overlooking the large room. It separated the two wings of the building. The stairs leading up to the second floor were in front and off to the side. Standing in the middle of the room, he allowed his senses to focus and listened carefully. Again, there was no sound.
Satisfied for the moment, John made his way back to the front door and slipped out. He collected Bill at the bottom of the steps and signaled that they should retreat. They angled back to the orchard to their left and traveled just inside the protective cover of those trees, towards the road and their waiting companions.
John allowed himself to break noise discipline once the vehicles were back in sight.
“Bill, head to your vehicle. Tell BB to follow us in but leave some distance between us.”
Bill nodded and immediately ran off. John watched the soft-spoken soldier jog away.
National Guardsman, John corrected himself. And reserve, at that. He corrected himself a second time.
But a good soldier, nonetheless.
He entered the vehicle and tapped Mike on the shoulder. “Have you guys seen any sign of life, or otherwise?” Mike shook his head. “Nope. It’s been too quiet. If that’s a thing...”
John nodded, understanding the feeling all too well. “Yeah. I hear you. We ran into one bogie in the orchard but spotted nothing else. The driveway is clear, and the house looks abandoned. Drive in nice and slow.” He turned to Abi and Jack. “Heads on swivels, guys. Call out any movement you spot or anything that looks out of the ordinary.” Finally, he faced Jack with a small reassuring smile. “No chances.”
Jack returned his smile, although John could tell that the kid didn’t quite understand what he had meant.
You’re not getting hurt on my watch, Jack.
THEY DROVE UP TO THE farmhouse two minutes later, stopping about thirty yards short of the impressive log structure. Rain continued to fall from the concrete sky, but the wind had died down some. BB pulled his vehicle up closer to the barn, well away from the first Humvee. Better not to block one vehicle with the other in case they needed a hasty retreat.
John reached out to Abi and she quickly placed the radio mic in his hand.
“OK, guys, here is the plan. First, all of you: maintain noise discipline. We don’t want to attract any attention to ourselves.” He waited for a second to let that sink in before continuing, “Tammy, you stay inside your vehicle and Abi stay in this one. Pop open the hatches so that you can have an unobstructed view. You guys will be our lookouts.
“Michelle, you and BB go check it out that barn. Bill, provide them support.
“Nat, you get over here. We will search the house. Over.”
He received a 10-4 back.
“Mike, Jack, on me,” John said as he reached for the door.
Jack watched in amazement as John left the vehicle, his weapon immediately held to his chin as he stepped away and scanned the surroundings. It reminded Jack of a video game he’d played recently.
His movements were so smooth! So controlled.
Jack followed; his pistol held exactly as John had taught him. When John was satisfied, he lowered his weapon and stepped towards the house. Mike came up with Nat, who had joined them. John had left the front door wide open. They looked in. The interior seemed undisturbed.
“Jack, you’re with me. We’ll go straight up those stairs. Mike, you and Nat check this floor. There is a hallway leading off to the right, at the back of this open area. There is another one to the left, but the door is closed — so check the right first.”
He made sure to meet everybody’s eyes and receive affirmative nods before signaling with a chopping motion of his hand. Mike and Nat preceded them into the open living area. John led Jack towards the stairs on their left.
On any other day Jack would have been impressed with the home. He loved the log-cabin look and this place was even a step above that. The folks who had lived here obviously put a lot of money and pride into their dwelling. But at the moment, Jack was too nervous to think about that.
He had no choice but to follow John up the steps, noticing that the ex-soldier made less noise than he did, despite his much larger size. Jack tried to step more carefully, emulating the way John placed his toes first on every step. Try as he might, he still couldn’t be as silent.
They got to the landing at the top of the stairs without incident. The vaulted ceiling extended out over the large, open living room and kitchen. The sounds from downstairs echoed up to them. They stood and listened for a few seconds, hearing Mike and Nat work their way through the lower level.
“No contacts. Just the way I want it,” John whispered softly.
A quick look to their right showed a closed
