"Shoshone. We hit a few pockets of resistance today, and neutralized them. Trash, mostly. All bl.u.s.ter with nothing to back it up.

However, we do have some children with us that need to be flown out ASAP.".

"That's ten-four, Dan. We'll try to keep the airport at Twin Falls intact. Right now, I want you to start throwing up a line between Shoshone west to the In- terstate, Dan. Block all exit points north. I don't want these people to have any opportunity to link up with those outlaws in the north."

"How about south?"

"Negative. We don't have the people to plug all the holes. If they run into Nevada, well deal with them later. I've ordered all units north of us to hold what they've got. As soon as the southern part is clear, well turn and head north, clearing as we go." "That's ten-four, General."

"Eagle out." He looked at Corrie. "Now b.u.mp Cecil, please."

Cec on the horn, Ben said, "Give me a position report, Cec."

"Twenty-five miles east of Lewiston, Ben.

Rested and ready to go."

"Let them sweat awhile, Cec. Georgi has a plan to put them in a box."

"Affirmative, Ben."

Corrie got General Striganov on the horn.

"Georgi, hold what you've got. Cec and West are doing the same. Put your plan into effect. If it works, I'm thinking this is not going to be much of a fight."

"Yes," the Russian agreed. "I think we can take them without losing a person."

"See you soon, Georgi" He turned to his immediate crew. "Get some rest, people. Tomorrow might get real busy."

With Leadfoot and his bikers again spearheading, Ben's column rolled out at dawn, heading west while Ike struck at the Bandits' position from the north.

Ike hit Mountain Home on two fronts with main battle tanks punching the first hole through and crushed the resistance without losing a person or sustaining any wounded. The Bandits who survived ran east to link up with the Starlighters while the h.e.l.lraisers pulled out and headed west, to join them all at Twin Falls.

What'd you want to do with the town, Ben?" Ike radioed. "Or what's left of it I ought to say.

d.a.m.n, but these people lived like hogs."

"Bring it down, Ike. I'm destroying as we go."

"That's ten-four, Ben. Putting the torch to it now."

"We're doomed!" Francis yelled. "If we stay, they'll wipe us out to a man."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with you," the leader of the b.l.o.o.d.y Bandits said. "The first part anyways.

You bein' a man is up for grabs. And we got nowhere to go but south."

"Look here," the leader of the h.e.l.lraisers said, pointing to the east. "Raines is burning Rupert and Burley."

Smoke was curving up into the skies, visible from fifty miles away.

"You know that savage Ike what's-his-name is doing the same west of us. So it's Nevada for us, people,"

Francis said. "We're packed up and ready to go."

But what they didn't know was that Ben had sent Buddy and his Rat Team out the night before, racing west over county roads to set up an ambush point on Highway 93, about twenty-five miles south of Twin Falls. And not telling any of the other commanders what he was doing. That was the only logical route for the bunched-up outlaws to take. Ben knew they wouldn't try for Utah, for they would not be welcome in that state.

The outlaws left the Twin Falls area very nearly in a blind panic. They had listened to radio reports and knew the rebels were closing in on them from three sides, burning everything in their path. And anybody who had dealt with the Night People could hang it up comthe Rebels weren't taking any prisoners.

The outlaws pulled out in an a.s.sortment of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, leaving behind most of what they had stolen over the years. And rode right into death.

Buddy and his Rat Team had lined both sides of the highway with Claymores, set up machine gun emplacements, and then had taken turns resting for a few hours. With someone always on sentry duty.

Several miles north of the ambush site, Buddy had ordered an observation post set up, well off the road and concealed. The observation post radioed in as the outlaws roared past their position, fleeing Ben Raines and his Rebels. Several hundred died during the first five seconds of the ambush, as Claymores unleashed their deadly barrage, literally blowing bikers out of the saddle, shredding flesh and breaking bones and slamming bits and pieces of outlaws all over the road.

The car Francis was riding in was riddled with machine gun fire and the gas tank exploded, cooking any left alive after the machine gun fire. They screamed in agony for only a few seconds.

The leader of the b.l.o.o.d.y Bandits lived long enough to see his little empire literally blow up before his eyes as his driver's head exploded from .50-caliber machine gun bullets, splattering him with brains.

He rolled out of the car and stood for a second, wiping the gore from him. He turned his head and looked straight at a Claymore placed by the side of the road.

"No!" he managed to say, holding out his hands.

"Gimmie a break. I'll join up with you boys."

Then the Claymore blew and splattered him all over the other side of the highway.

The Rebels continued spraying the b.l.o.o.d.y and burning ambush site for another full minute, all their weapons set on full rock and roll.

Buddy called for a cease-fire. The Rebels surfaced from both sides of the road, to stand or squat, leaning against their rifles, as they looked down at the body-littered highway.

"So much for that s.h.i.t," a Rat Team member summed it all up.

"They're some alive," a medic called. "What do you want to do with them?"

"Nothing," Buddy said, his eyes as cold as the eyes of his father. "They had a choice. They just chose the wrong one. Let's go." i Ben, Ike, and Dan joined forces on the western edge of Twin Falls. Behind them, the city was burning.

"Buddy reports the ambush was a success,"

Corrie said. "His ETA is one hour."

"Well wait until he joins us before pulling out,"

Ben said. "We've got to wait for the birds to fly these kids out, anyway." He lifted a map.

"Dan, the breeding farm of the creepies is located just north of the Snake River. Right here." He laid a finger on the spot and grimaced. "You cut off of the Interstate here and neutralize that obscenity."

"Right, sir. With pleasure."

"Beth, have trucks and medics waiting to go in at Dan's signal." "Yes, sir."

"Well secure the airport at Boise first and fly out any survivors from the farm from there. Now then, this Ted Ashworth and his bunch are putting up a fairly stiff fight against Cecil and West; but Cec says the area should be secured by late afternoon.

We'll hit the Boisestationampa/caldwell area at dawn. Start moving the artillery out now."

Villar, Khamsin, Ashley, Kenny Parr, and the bikers had found transportation and headed east out of Montana. At an old military base in North Dakota, they found a huge underground warehouse filled with field rations, cold weather clothing, and ammunition.

The terrorists were back in business.

After studying a map, Villar called the men together.

"We're going to take the southern route. I don't see where we have any choice in the matter. We can't cut across Canada to get to Alaska. The Russian, Stri-ganov, has people who would report us immediately. If we try to cut straight west from here, we're going to run right into Ben Raines. So we'll cut south and work our way west, avoiding the Rebel outposts. Just north of the panhandle of Texas, we'll cut west. We've got to stay north of those secure zones in New Mexico and avoid the outposts in Arizona. After that, we're home free. L.a. is hot with radiation; one of the few places that really did get hit, I think, so we d.a.m.n sure have to avoid that.

Once we hit California, we cut north and keep going."

"Lan," Kenny Parr said. "What in the h.e.l.l are we going to do in Alaska?"

"Rebuild our armies. Don't worry, we'll find people up there who will be willing to join us. The place is teeming with outlaws. The trick is to pull them all together. And that's very easily done.

I know; I did it all over Europe."

"And it will give us a couple of years of freedom from that G.o.dd.a.m.ned Ben Raines," Ashley said.

"Exactly," Lan agreed. "We can also use the time to build up artillery and tanks. There were several military posts up there that Raines's people didn't get to. Well get to them and get that equipment in shape."

"And then?" Khamsin asked.

"We return to the lower forty-eight and kick the snot out of Ben Raines and his Rebels." "It's time for us to haul our a.s.ses outta here,"

Red Manlovich told his people. "We've had a good thing goin' for a good many years. Now it's over.

Thanks to that G.o.dd.a.m.ned Ben Raines."

"Pull out to where?" Red was asked. "There ain't no place safe no more."

"Yeah," another said. "Utah sure ain't safe.

Them G.o.dd.a.m.n Mormons is worser than Ben Raines."

"n.o.body is as bad as Raines," Red said. "That ain't possible. We'll just slide on over into Oregon and work our way up to Alaska. Ever'body I've talked to says Raines ain't interested in Alaska. So I reckon that's where we'll head.

Pack it up, boys. We're gettin' gone from this place."

"How?" he was asked. "Them d.a.m.n Rebels done sealed off ever' d.a.m.n road all around us."

"All the main roads, Jackie. The main roads. But we know roads them b.a.s.t.a.r.ds don't even know exist. It'll take us awhile, but we'll get out. We just got to be careful and take our time.

Let's do it."

"Go," Ben gave the orders. The airport had been cleared and the big guns began roaring, sending their lethal loads crashing and roaring into Boise. A light rain was falling as the artillery opened up.

Trapped inside the city, the Night People cursed Ben Raines; they were unable to do much else, for Ben did not commit troops when he could use artillery to destroy an enemy.

The savage bombardment ripped the morning as Ben gave the creepies all the fury he could muster from every gun at his disposal. Stretched out along the Interstate, the guns of Ben Raines soon had the downtown area flaming as Willie Peter and Napalm turned the buildings into infernos, driving the creepies into the street, where antipersonnel sh.e.l.ls exploded and ripped their flesh with shrapnel.

The Rebels had the battle plan worked out to perfection; none of them had to be told their jobs.

All around the besieged city the Rebels had set up ambush and sniper points and machine gun emplacements. The creepies had no place to run except straight into the outstretched arms of death.

Ben ordered his people in closer, working the shattered, smoking, and oftentimes still burning streets like a grid, flushing out those creepies who thought they could hide and be safe from the guns of the Rebels. Most were wrong in that thinking.

The Rebels hunted them down ruthlessly and killed them without pity or remorse. The G.o.dless cannibals did not cry out for help as they lay wounded. They knew better. For the Rebels would not show them one morsel of compa.s.sion. The only soothing balm the creepies could expect from Ben Raines's Rebels was a bullet to the head. And any wounded creepie the Rebels came up on got just that.

The creepies' last act of desperation came when they tried to make a deal with Ben.

"Let us go and we'll tell you the locations of all our breeding farms and holding pens around the nation," a Judge radioed from the burning city.

Ben's eyes were killing cold as he listened to the message being repeated. He smiled at Corrie.

"Tell the gunners to cease firing."

Boise fell eerily silent as Ben consulted a map.

"Are you accepting our offer?" a Judge radioed.

"Tell him I'm thinking about it," Ben said. "And to shut up until he hears from me."

The message was related.

"Get voice-stress equipment up here," Ben ordered. "And a qualified operator with it." When the equipment was in place, Ben said, "Get the b.a.s.t.a.r.d on the horn."

"Yes, General Raines?" the Judge spoke.

"Go to CB equipment," Ben told him. "I would imagine you don't want your fellow Night People around the country to know what you're doing, right?"

"That is correct, sir."

Low power CB'S were hooked up.

"If I think your information is valid," Ben radioed, "I'll let you walk. You and your . . .

people will use Capitol and Americana to cross the river and get out. Those will be your only exits. Is that clear?"

"Yes, General."

Ben turned to Buddy. "Set up machine gun emplacements at the intersections along Crescent Rim Drive. Go!" Ben looked at Corrie.

"Tell the b.a.s.t.a.r.d to start talking and record all this."