61

“Why in the hell is he waiting to strike?” Books bitched to the roomful of gang leaders. “He’s up to something.” He stood with his back to the men and women, staring out the window at the street below. The bodies of the slaves had been removed and burned and the scene looked almost tranquil.

“Do we have anybody left on the islands the Rebels control?” Vic Keeler asked.

“No. Well, if we do, they’re not sending out any radio signals. I just can’t understand why Raines is waiting so long to strike at the Believers on the big island. I don’t know what he’s planning and it’s frustrating.”

“I hope he waits ten years,” Polly Polyanna said. “I’m not that anxious to die.”

Susie Loo glanced at the gang leader. “I still say we got a chance to come out of this.”

“A damn slim one,” Polly muttered.

Bobby entered the room, carrying a dispatch from communications. “Books, the big ships laying offshore have shifted. They’ve come in closer and gone broadside toward us.”

62 “Now what the hell does that mean?” Slick Bowers asked.

He, along with the others, got their reply in the form of a dozen 155mm rounds impacting against buildings and earth. When Ben had learned of the wholesale killing of slaves, he had ordered the ships to commence their bombardment of the major cities on Oahu and Kauai.

“Son of a bitch!” Big Jess shouted, as a round came dangerously close to the building being used as Books’s command post.

“Grab anything of importance!” Books yelled over the din of incoming rounds. “Clear the city. Raines is going to bring it down.”

120mm mortars located on board ships joined the 155s and the 105s and began pounding at the city of Honolulu. The outlaws and assorted crud and crap went into a panic as willie-peter and HE rounds started dropping in full force, blowing away the tops of buildings and starting fires. Those caught in the streets were showered with bricks and other killing and maiming debris.

Freshly resupplied, the Rebels would keep up the bombardment until the cities were burning out of control and useless to the outlaws. Books’s plan to kill the slaves had backfired and blown up in his face.

Thermopolis accepted his new assignment and did not make any effort to hide his pleasure at the reshuffling. He now was in complete charge of Headquarters Company with two hundred and fifty men and women under him. And for the first time in years, Ben’s desk was clear and he could take to the field without having a guilty conscience.

Buddy Raines was given command of Eight

63 Battalion and the young man was understandably nervous about it.

“Nothing changes, son,” Ben told him in his office. “Your battalion goes into Kaupulehu, take the airport, then split your forces and move down to Keahole Point and seize the airport there. You’ll do just fine. If I didn’t think you could handle it, I wouldn’t have put you in charge.”

“What are you grooming me for, Father?”

“Someday, you’ve got to assume command of all the Rebel forces, son. I won’t live forever. Tina doesn’t want it. She and West will be married before too much longer and she wants to settle down and have babies. Colonel West is not much younger than I am, and he’s going to want to retire when he marries. I think as soon as this Nazi threat is over, there will be some major reshuffling of command. If this Nazi threat is ever over, and that is one hell of a big if. Who did you put in charge of your Rat team?”

“Diane.”

“Good choice. She’s tough as a keg of nails. Did you get any flak from the men?”

“Oh, no. They all like and respect her.”

“Get to your command and meet with your officers and sergeants. We hit the big island in seventy-two hours.”

Ben walked over to Headquarters Company and was pleased to see the place humming. Thermopolis had taken hold and jerked things together almost immediately. There were huge boards showing placement of troops and ships. Maps with colored pins showing areas of combat, possible combat, and landing sites. Therm could put his finger on every scrap of material belonging to Rebels anywhere in the world. The place buzzed with efficiency. Made Ben nervous.

64 “What’d you do with Emil?” Ben asked.

“Put him in charge of all portable toilets,” Thermopolis said with a grin. “Believe it or not, that is one hell of a large responsibility.”

“I believe it. Especially when you’re trying to find one of the damn things.”

“Look here,” Therm said, taking Ben’s arm and leading him to a huge wall map that covered much of one wall. “The red pins denote trouble spots all around the world. The black pins are the Nazi columns moving up through South America. The orange pins are General Payon’s troops. I’m in contact with Base Camp One and with General Payon’s liaison several times a day. The blue areas are Rebel outposts in America. Over on this map are highways. You can see where bridges are blown and sections of highway that are impassable. This map denotes Rebel storage areas and fuel dumps. I’ll be fully operational in here in a couple more days.”

“How long would it take you to pull this down and pack and move?”

“Less than an hour.”

“You’ve taken a hell of a lot of trouble off of my shoulders, Therm. And I appreciate it.”

“Not nearly as much as I do, Ben,” the hippie-turned-warrior said with a smile. “Now I get to sleep in a real bed every night… with my wife!”

On the big island of Hawaii, the creepies waited for the assault against them. They were under no illusions. They knew the Rebels did not take prisoners of Believers. Even if they tried to surrender, the cannibals would be shot on sight.

The Night People, Believers, creepies, whatever one chose to call them, were the most hated of all the

65 enemies the Rebels had ever faced. Ungodly and inhuman, Doctor Lamar Chase called them.

Ben usually added a few other words to that.

On the evening before the jump-off to the big island, Ben walked over to Headquarters Company and had coffee with Thermopolis.

“Now you’re going to see just how big a responsibility I’ve handed you, Therm,” he told the men. “Once we’re on the island and moving, this room becomes the hubof all operations. Don’t expect to get much sleep for the first twenty-four to thirty-six hours. This isn’t exactly what a Headquarters Company is supposed to do, but here in this army, we tend to do things differently. I’ll be in contact with you quite often once we hit the big island.” He held out his hand and Therm shook it.

“Luck to you, Ben.”

“Keep it running for me, Therm.”

“Will do.”

Ben walked back out into the night, a smile on his lips. It was about to get real busy around the HQ.

Back at his office, he went over his equipment. His personal team was doing the same. “We board the boats in one hour,” he called to his people. “Double-check everything. Once we enter Hilo, we don’t get resupplied for some time.”

Ben slipped into his body armor and then slung his battle harness on and hooked it in place. He slipped his pack on and picked up his M-14. He did not realize it, but he was smiling. Ben was a warrior, not a desk soldier. He would die fighting in some battle, somewhere, not keel over with a heart attack laboring over paperwork in some damned office.

Corrie and Cooper and Jersey and Beth stole glances at Ben, then looked at one another and smiled. This was going to be an interesting cam—

66 paign, for they could see that Ben was all fired up and hot to go.

Ben walked out of his office and into the anteroom. He winked at Jersey. “What’d you say, Jersey?”

She smiled. “Let’s go kick some ass, General!”

Boats of all description were being loaded when Ben and his team arrived. Ike had rumbled in, leading his fleet of PT boats, and Ben and his people climbed on board. “Straight to the docks at Hilo, Admiral,” Ben told the ex-SEAL.

Ike looked hard at him. In the distance, the big guns on board ship were still pounding away at Honolulu, the barrage never letting up. If there was anyone left alive in the city, they either had nerves of steel or were totally insane after days of shelling.

“Hilo hasn’t been softened up, Ben,” Ike reminded him.

“Resistance will be light in the towns,” Ben replied. “We’re going to have to dig the bastards out of the caves and tunnels. Crank it up, Ike. Let’s go.”

Ike slowly grinned. “I heard that you had changed into a real fire-eater after having all that paperwork lifted off you.”

“Not me, Ike. I’m still the same old peace-loving person I always was.”

Ike said a very ugly word and shoved off.

“Mountains, deserts, and rain forests,” Beth said, when they were out of the harbor and on their way. “Four thousand square miles. That’s the big island.”

“It isn’t going to be a picnic,” Ben said, his words just audible over the rumbling of the power plant.

Ben, Danjou, and West were the first to leave, followed by Georgi, Rebet, Dan, and Buddy. Ben studied maps and rested below decks as the armada

67 made its way toward the big island. Hours later, Corrie stepped down the ladder.

“Danjou laying offshore, General. Hilo coming up fast now.”

Ben went up the ladder into the predawn darkness and Ike handed him binoculars. Ben could see no sign of life in the town of Hilo. No fires, no smoke, no movement, nothing.

“It had a population of about thirty thousand before the Great War,” he said.

“Maybe the creepies had a big banquet,” Cooper suggested.

“Gross-out, Coop!” Jersey said.

“I hate these goddamn people,” Ben muttered, handing the night lenses back to Ike. “Corrie, order the attack to begin. Let’s go, Ike.”

Hilo was a ghost town, the buildings long abandoned and thick with dirt and mold.

“Well, where the hell are they?” Ben questioned the dawning day. “They could have inflicted heavy casualties on us during the landing. Something is all out of whack here.”

“Buddy, Rebet, and Dan reporting heavy fighting,” Corrie said. “West is just hanging on at Ka Lae. General Striganov and Danjou reporting only very light resistance.”

“Gunships into West’s position,” Ben ordered. “Advise West and have him radio coordinates.”

“Scouts report the airport is heavy with creepies,” Corrie said, after getting the gunships up.

“I might have guessed,” Ben said. “What is their fascination with airports? I have never understood that.” Ben looked around him. “Where is Coop?”

“Rounding up some transportation,” Jersey told him. “He’ll probably come back in a damn hearse.”

Coop came panting up. “Not a usable vehicle to be

68 found, General,” he reported. “But I found a whole bunch of bicycles.”

“Well, shit!” Jersey said.

Ben laughed. “How many bikes, Coop?”

“Whole warehouse full, General.”

“Come on, gang,” Ben said. “Let’s go pedal our way into battle.”