Read Online Countdown: The Liberators-ARC by Tom Kratman - Free Book Online
Authors: Tom Kratman
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used to work together, sometimes."
"A general?"
"Honey, there are three generals here. They're the ones who look really old, except for Ralph, and are wearing ties."
"But you were only a colonel." She wasn't all that familiar with the military but she knew a general outranked a colonel.
"Tools to the man who can use them," Wes answered.
There was the muffled sound of a toilet being flushed. A few moments later another man, maybe five-nine, graying and thinning hair, minor paunch, emerged from the master bedroom. "I need somebody who can hack into DCSPERS, MPRI, Blackwater, and Triple Canopy." Officially, Blackwater was called "Xe." In fact, everyone outside of corporate headquarters still referred to it as "Blackwater."
"What for?" Ralph asked from upstairs.
"Identify personnel. Cazz says he can produce the core of the Marines. I can cover the mech force cadre. Welch has part of a small team in hand or en route. I still need pilots, fixed wing and rotary, both, plus a UD team, and more special ops types. And medical personnel, cooks, couple of sappers, an admin puke to help me . . . "
"I can do that, or Bridges or Lox can when they get here. You'll have to be patient."
"Patience, my ass; I'm gonna kill something."
"Who's that one," Phillie asked in a whisper.
"That's the adj . . . the adjutant. Seamus Reilly. He's only here because he hopes I'll give him a strike mission. He hates being a personnel guy. Sadly for him, he was very good at it." Wes considered that for a moment, then added, "He was good at a lot of things."
"Will you?"
"Give him a strike mission? Maybe. Well . . . probably. But it depends on who else shows up. That said, Reilly's in the unusual position of being able to pull in about half a mechanized infantry company-maybe a full one, if he really tried-just from people who worked for him over the years. Just you watch, too. He's going to pull enough of them in and then present me with a fait accompli. I can hear him now: ‘Well, they're my boys, Wes. They wouldn't follow anyone else.' Never mind that most of those ‘boys' are anywhere from early forties to mid fifties."
"Is it true that they wouldn't follow anyone else?" Phillie asked.
Stauer sighed. "I've known two, maybe three, commanders in the Army that the troops cried over when they left. I've only known one who, after he left command, the troops formed grievance committees and went to demand of the higher commander that their old commander be returned to them. That happened with Reilly, if all reports are to be believed, at least three times." He sighed again. "Yeah, I suppose I'm going to have to give the son of a bitch a strike team."
"Anyway, Reilly's one of six men I've called who can bring the cadre for their own units with them. The others are Terry Welch-he was a Special Forces type-and Bill Cazz, a jarhead, plus Ed Kosciusko, retired Navy, and Mike Cruz, who was a jarhead aviator. Also Richard Thornton who was a SEAL."
"Jarhead?" Phillie asked. She knew what a SEAL was, from the movies.
"A Marine."
"Oh. Reilly said he needed medical personnel. Would an ER RN do?"
"It would help," Stauer conceded. "But before I let you volunteer we'd at least need to have a long talk."
The front door opened. Someone called out, loudly, "Free beer?" In walked Wahab followed by several more men, each clutching a small overnight bag. "Excuse me, Phillie," Stauer said as he turned to the door. "An army marches on its stomach."
He clapped one of the men on the shoulder and said, "Matt, Ralph is expecting you upstairs." To another, a tall, stout black man who looked to be about seventy years of age, he pointed at Phillie and said, "Sergeant Island, that's the lady of the house. If you would see her about messing arrangements?" Stauer's tone of voice contained a lot more respect for Sergeant Island than Phillie had heard him use with anyone, ever. Phillie had a couple of internal reactions to Stauer's words, pleasure at lady of the house and
"A general?"
"Honey, there are three generals here. They're the ones who look really old, except for Ralph, and are wearing ties."
"But you were only a colonel." She wasn't all that familiar with the military but she knew a general outranked a colonel.
"Tools to the man who can use them," Wes answered.
There was the muffled sound of a toilet being flushed. A few moments later another man, maybe five-nine, graying and thinning hair, minor paunch, emerged from the master bedroom. "I need somebody who can hack into DCSPERS, MPRI, Blackwater, and Triple Canopy." Officially, Blackwater was called "Xe." In fact, everyone outside of corporate headquarters still referred to it as "Blackwater."
"What for?" Ralph asked from upstairs.
"Identify personnel. Cazz says he can produce the core of the Marines. I can cover the mech force cadre. Welch has part of a small team in hand or en route. I still need pilots, fixed wing and rotary, both, plus a UD team, and more special ops types. And medical personnel, cooks, couple of sappers, an admin puke to help me . . . "
"I can do that, or Bridges or Lox can when they get here. You'll have to be patient."
"Patience, my ass; I'm gonna kill something."
"Who's that one," Phillie asked in a whisper.
"That's the adj . . . the adjutant. Seamus Reilly. He's only here because he hopes I'll give him a strike mission. He hates being a personnel guy. Sadly for him, he was very good at it." Wes considered that for a moment, then added, "He was good at a lot of things."
"Will you?"
"Give him a strike mission? Maybe. Well . . . probably. But it depends on who else shows up. That said, Reilly's in the unusual position of being able to pull in about half a mechanized infantry company-maybe a full one, if he really tried-just from people who worked for him over the years. Just you watch, too. He's going to pull enough of them in and then present me with a fait accompli. I can hear him now: ‘Well, they're my boys, Wes. They wouldn't follow anyone else.' Never mind that most of those ‘boys' are anywhere from early forties to mid fifties."
"Is it true that they wouldn't follow anyone else?" Phillie asked.
Stauer sighed. "I've known two, maybe three, commanders in the Army that the troops cried over when they left. I've only known one who, after he left command, the troops formed grievance committees and went to demand of the higher commander that their old commander be returned to them. That happened with Reilly, if all reports are to be believed, at least three times." He sighed again. "Yeah, I suppose I'm going to have to give the son of a bitch a strike team."
"Anyway, Reilly's one of six men I've called who can bring the cadre for their own units with them. The others are Terry Welch-he was a Special Forces type-and Bill Cazz, a jarhead, plus Ed Kosciusko, retired Navy, and Mike Cruz, who was a jarhead aviator. Also Richard Thornton who was a SEAL."
"Jarhead?" Phillie asked. She knew what a SEAL was, from the movies.
"A Marine."
"Oh. Reilly said he needed medical personnel. Would an ER RN do?"
"It would help," Stauer conceded. "But before I let you volunteer we'd at least need to have a long talk."
The front door opened. Someone called out, loudly, "Free beer?" In walked Wahab followed by several more men, each clutching a small overnight bag. "Excuse me, Phillie," Stauer said as he turned to the door. "An army marches on its stomach."
He clapped one of the men on the shoulder and said, "Matt, Ralph is expecting you upstairs." To another, a tall, stout black man who looked to be about seventy years of age, he pointed at Phillie and said, "Sergeant Island, that's the lady of the house. If you would see her about messing arrangements?" Stauer's tone of voice contained a lot more respect for Sergeant Island than Phillie had heard him use with anyone, ever. Phillie had a couple of internal reactions to Stauer's words, pleasure at lady of the house and
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