"The Scout" - Chapter 34

The Scout

Chapter 34

By Dwayne MacInnes

"I thought St Paul had fallen to the Anarchists or the very least the warlords," Scott stated to the newcomers.

Doug smiled, "No, after your visit, we went to work. You'd be surprised what had been laying around in some of those factories. I'm glad we found those cannons to mount on the Cougar -- she's a classic.

"Anyway, by the time the wasters brought their tanks to the Twin Cities we had Minneapolis in our hands and defenses laid out. They lost a couple of their precious tanks in their assault. That sent them packing.

"Our small force here was to make sure they did not come back. That's when we heard your message on the radio."

There was a loud explosion to the west. Scott watched as a huge fireball mushroomed into the sky. Pieces of debris rained down from above onto the small town below. Scott also saw the first of the fleeing civilians running through the town.

"They got the warehouse where you had the prisoners store the contents of the trailers," Julia's voice blared over the radio in the Charger.

"Can you spring the trap?" Scott asked. He had purposely let one of the prisoners escape before he had the contents of the warehouse moved into a bank a few blocks down.

"All the recoilless rifles are gone," Julia continued. "The Anarchists are flooding in too thick and are effectively covering the tanks."

Scott frowned, his plan had been to lead the tanks towards the warehouse and then take them out. The only weapon now that could possibly stand a chance of destroying the tanks was the 25 mm Bushmaster on the Armadillo.

Scott looked again at the Cougar; the M61 Vulcan originally came from a combat aircraft. It was also possible that the 20 mm rounds could take out the old tanks.

"Doug, we could sure use your help," Scott said.

"Okily dokily, what you need us to do?"

"Well, we'll need you to take out some tanks," Scott replied.

"No way!" Weston said from the car. "Our 20 mm guns were made to take out aircraft and lightly armored vehicles not a tank!"

"You are all I've got," Scott responded hotly.

"Maybe we can take out their road wheels, they are aluminum," Weston mused allowed. "That is if we can deflect the turret low enough. Then they would be stuck."

"That's better than nothing," Scott conceded. "We'll give you an escort if your comrades want to join us."

The Armadillo and the Cougar progressed forward surrounded by Scott's Charger and the remaining escort vehicles from Billings and St Paul. The firefight still raged on both sides. The tanks fired their main guns at any buildings that may be hiding a person armed with an antitank weapon. Meanwhile the APC fired suppression fire at the foxholes and trenches obstructing the wasters' progress.

Lighter Anarchist vehicles buzzed back and forth firing their weapons at the remaining trailers and the convoy ground forces. Fire from buildings and destroyed trailers and vehicles blazed madly covering the air with thick noxious smoke. Bullets whizzed back and forth.

The flotilla of escort vehicles threw themselves into the midst of the Anarchists. The lighter escorts fought it out with the lighter Anarchist vehicles, most of the buggies and motorbikes were long gone by now. The Cougar made short work of the remaining APC. The personnel carrier belched smoke and fire from its bullet riddled side.

The Armadillo moved onto the first Patton as the main gun turned to meet the big rigs assault. Julia at the last possible minute weaved the vehicle to the side of the tank as the big gun fired into the empty air the big rig used to occupy. A distant building exploded as the errant 105 mm shell slammed into it.

The gunner on the Armadillo fired the Bushmaster into tanks treads. The steel tracks buckled under the onslaught of the 25 mm rounds. The Patton pulled forward only to leave its tread behind it. The tank now disabled and incapable of moving still contained its deadly guns.

Doug wove the Cougar through the wasters. Weston fired the front and top guns into the opposing vehicles. The Anarchists cars, trucks, and vans would almost literally dissolve as the 20 mm rounds fired in burst tore into them. In air-to-air combat, the Vulcan could fire 6,000 rounds per minute. The minigun could fire between 2,000 to 4,000 rounds a minute depending on the gunner's selection. On ground, these left only carnage in their wake.

Doug tried to maneuver the Cougar so that they could line up a good shot on the remaining tank's drive wheels. However, the wasters had picked-up on the defenders tactic and the wasters guarded remaining tank at all costs.

The tanks, though one immobilized, had finished taking out the semi-trailers. The twisted burning hulks of metal lay useless where they smolder. The entrenched defenders started to pull back. All that remained between them and the Anarchists were the charging escort vehicles.

Scott drove his Charger in between the circling wasters. Sam repeatedly fired the M60 machinegun, while Scott added his own firepower of the two .30 and .50 guns mounted to the front of the black scout vehicle. They left in their wake a line of flaming wreckage.

By the time the sun started to descend into the west, the wasters' numbers were starting to tell. Overwhelmed, the escort vehicles started to fall one by one to the deadly horde. Until only the most heavily armed vehicles remained. That left one 1970 Dodge Charger, one 1976 Mercury Cougar, and one modified Mack truck.