Robert and pats him on the back. “Nice job in there. Good shooting,” she says with a nod.
“Thanks,” Robert says with no small amount of pride surfacing. He is walking a little straighter and I can tell he is beaming.
The vests add to the heat of the day and, with the sun shining upon us and the after effects of the adrenaline, sweat is streaming down our cheeks and forehead. The others pull up in the vehicles parking in front. I pull the Jeep into the now lit shop, stopping just shy of the night runner bodies lying on the floor. Several already-made security pull-down doors line the wall to the left.
“Will you see if there are some that will fit what we need?” I ask Bannerman and point to the doors.
“You bet,” he answers and heads over to the doors with Frank.
I see Mom, Nic, Bri, and Michelle with Robert and assume they are seeing if he is okay. He is using his hands while talking and I watch him as he describes the action. Michelle moves closer to him and gives him a hug as he apparently finishes his story. The rest of Red Team squats by the entrance door, taking a rest and talking amongst themselves.
“We found some that will work,” Bannerman says coming up behind me. “We even found the mounting brackets and hardware.”
“That’s great. Let’s load them onto the Jeep rack,” I say and motion for Red Team to help.
“We even found some shutters that should work for the windows,” Bannerman adds.
“Even better. Will they fit in the Humvees?”
“They should,” he says.
“Okay, let’s get loaded up and head back.”
“Are you okay?” Mom asks walking over from Robert.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine thanks,” I say.
“I was worried when we pulled up and I saw blood on your face,” she says staring at my forehead.
“Oh,” I say wiping an arm across my face but only manage to smear it more because of the sweat already there.
We finish loading the doors on the Jeep and the shutters in the Humvee, tying the doors down with 550 cord. Piling back into the vehicles, we caravan back to Cabela’s, arriving just before 1630. The sun is wending its way across the sky quickly and I’m thankful for the summer days allowing us longer periods of daylight. This would have been impossible if all of this happened in the winter. I am still worried about getting finished here and being able to get down to Portland to help Kelly. So much to do and seemingly so little time. The night will come, whether I want it to or not, and with it, the night runners. If we don’t have a secure place by the time the sun goes down, we’ll be screwed. We can head back and stay another night in the 130 but I’d rather not.
The Rat’s Nest
I’m a little concerned that Lynn hasn’t shown up yet. We’ll have to clear this building or at least see if it can be cleared. We have enough people to do this but the inside doesn’t really support a section by section clearing. The open interior and the fact that a second floor overlooks the main floor won’t be an easy task if a multitude of night runners are housed within as the footprints seem to indicate.
I turn my phone back on and check on Kelly’s text. She wanted to know if I was on my way so I text back “soon.” While the others offload the equipment and lay them on the ground, I lean against the Jeep staring at the structure waiting for an answer or plan to spring forth. The only thing I know at this point is that it will be dark inside so the NVG’s and gear we picked up from the armory will be extremely useful. All of the nooks and crannies created by the rack of clothes and shelves of equipment scattered throughout the facility will make it very dicey to keep all angles covered. I wish I could tell better just how many are inside by the tracks near the door but that just isn’t possible. If they were made in the dirt or some other soft substance, then
“Thanks,” Robert says with no small amount of pride surfacing. He is walking a little straighter and I can tell he is beaming.
The vests add to the heat of the day and, with the sun shining upon us and the after effects of the adrenaline, sweat is streaming down our cheeks and forehead. The others pull up in the vehicles parking in front. I pull the Jeep into the now lit shop, stopping just shy of the night runner bodies lying on the floor. Several already-made security pull-down doors line the wall to the left.
“Will you see if there are some that will fit what we need?” I ask Bannerman and point to the doors.
“You bet,” he answers and heads over to the doors with Frank.
I see Mom, Nic, Bri, and Michelle with Robert and assume they are seeing if he is okay. He is using his hands while talking and I watch him as he describes the action. Michelle moves closer to him and gives him a hug as he apparently finishes his story. The rest of Red Team squats by the entrance door, taking a rest and talking amongst themselves.
“We found some that will work,” Bannerman says coming up behind me. “We even found the mounting brackets and hardware.”
“That’s great. Let’s load them onto the Jeep rack,” I say and motion for Red Team to help.
“We even found some shutters that should work for the windows,” Bannerman adds.
“Even better. Will they fit in the Humvees?”
“They should,” he says.
“Okay, let’s get loaded up and head back.”
“Are you okay?” Mom asks walking over from Robert.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine thanks,” I say.
“I was worried when we pulled up and I saw blood on your face,” she says staring at my forehead.
“Oh,” I say wiping an arm across my face but only manage to smear it more because of the sweat already there.
We finish loading the doors on the Jeep and the shutters in the Humvee, tying the doors down with 550 cord. Piling back into the vehicles, we caravan back to Cabela’s, arriving just before 1630. The sun is wending its way across the sky quickly and I’m thankful for the summer days allowing us longer periods of daylight. This would have been impossible if all of this happened in the winter. I am still worried about getting finished here and being able to get down to Portland to help Kelly. So much to do and seemingly so little time. The night will come, whether I want it to or not, and with it, the night runners. If we don’t have a secure place by the time the sun goes down, we’ll be screwed. We can head back and stay another night in the 130 but I’d rather not.
The Rat’s Nest
I’m a little concerned that Lynn hasn’t shown up yet. We’ll have to clear this building or at least see if it can be cleared. We have enough people to do this but the inside doesn’t really support a section by section clearing. The open interior and the fact that a second floor overlooks the main floor won’t be an easy task if a multitude of night runners are housed within as the footprints seem to indicate.
I turn my phone back on and check on Kelly’s text. She wanted to know if I was on my way so I text back “soon.” While the others offload the equipment and lay them on the ground, I lean against the Jeep staring at the structure waiting for an answer or plan to spring forth. The only thing I know at this point is that it will be dark inside so the NVG’s and gear we picked up from the armory will be extremely useful. All of the nooks and crannies created by the rack of clothes and shelves of equipment scattered throughout the facility will make it very dicey to keep all angles covered. I wish I could tell better just how many are inside by the tracks near the door but that just isn’t possible. If they were made in the dirt or some other soft substance, then
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