Survivors – A Novel of the Coming Collapse

Lars Laine was asked to explain the plan to set fire to La Fuerza’s vehicles. He rose and said, “If we get enough thickened gas burning in, on, or under most vehicles, it’ll do the job. We can speed things along by puncturing fuel tanks with rifle fire. Assuming we have to destroy fifty vehicles, we anticipate needing about two hundred Molotovs. And that’s the number we brought.”

Ian Doyle observed that they had brought a motley assortment of rifles and shotguns. They included everything from World War I-relic Mausers and Springfield 1903s to high-grade bolt-action deer rifles. He was glad to see that nearly half of the volunteers had semiauto battle rifles, including M1As, FALs, HK91s, L1A1s, AK-47 clones, and AR-15s in various configurations. Other than his own Ingram M10, he learned that they had only a few full-auto guns. These included a registered Stenling submachine gun (a Sterling SMG, built on a Sten receiver tube), an unregistered M2 carbine, and two unregistered AR-15 selective-fire conversions. Ian considered handing out a couple of his M16s but then thought better of it, realizing that in untrained hands semiauto rifles would actually be more effective in the assault.

Based on their intelligence, six ten-member squads would attack Dewey and two ten-member squads would attack Humboldt. The attacks would be coordinated to begin at 3:10 a.m., just before moonset. They wanted the skies to be as dark as possible to facilitate their escape following the raid.

Laine realized that many of the people involved had no combat experience. So, for fear of ruining the element of surprise with a negligent discharge, everyone except for the two men with sentry removal responsibilities were instructed to travel with their gun chambers empty until 3:09 a.m.

Ian’s sentry removal counterpart in Dewey would be Doug Parker, an Iraq war vet who owned an HK .45 ACP SOCOM pistol with a registered Gemtech suppressor. Parker seemed a bit boisterous, bragging that he’d make “one-shot stops to the ocular window.” That worried Ian, especially when Parker admitted that he had no formal handgun training. Parker’s small-arms training in the Army had all been with M16s, M4s, and M240Bs. In Iraq he had been on a 4.2-inch mortar crew.

It was decided that the two team leaders for the coordinated attack would be Lars Laine (for Dewey) and Alex Doyle (for Humboldt.)

They used a 60-power spotting scope. To reduce the risk of the sun glinting off the front lens of the scope, they made a foot-long extension tube from scrap cardboard and attached it with strips of olive drab duct tape. Their first vantage point was a long east-west ridge that lay between Humboldt and a mountain called The Anthill. Then they surreptitiously hiked to the military crest of a small hill on Eagle Drive, overlooking the sprawling ranchette developments of Dewey.

Prone in the brush, they had a great view of the closest houses that were occupied by La Fuerza. Lars thought that the full-length fur coats worn by their women looked comical. He noted that both the men and women carried rifles, carbines, or submachineguns at all times.

The scouting team’s observations confirmed what Jamie Alstoba had described. He was also apparently correct about the times that guard shifts changed: six a.m., noon, six p.m., and midnight. Lars mentioned that it was good that they were six-hour shifts: “We want them to be exhausted and not very alert when we hit.”

They ran through several rehearsals. The most important one, he stressed, was the “Break Contact Under Fire” drill. He told them, “You’ll need to do this and do it right, so pay attention.”

There were five eleven-member squads, plus two platoon leaders and Blanca, who was designated as the vehicle guard. The Molotovs and ignition papers were distributed evenly among the assault team members. Nearly everyone except the medics carried four Molotov jars each. The jars were carried in backpacks and satchels with sheets of bubble wrap for padding.

Each team member carried enough food and water for two days. “The goal is for you to be able to escape E amp;E-to get out of La Fuerza’s way and safely home. This is a one-shot deal, so use your own best judgment about how and when you get home,” Lars explained.

Doctor K. helped Lars conduct the inspections. They made sure that each team member carried a full canteen or hydration pack of water, and that each team had their rifles with loaded magazines but empty chambers. To check for noisy gear, they had each team member jump up and down in place.