"Sweetheart sweetheart are you fast asleep? Good.
'Cause that's the only time that I can really speak to you.
And there is something that I've locked away
A memory that is too painful
To withstand the light of day."
Pink Floyd, "The Heroes Return"
Gila Pack House
New Mexico
Alpha Robert Hastings walked back into his office flanked by his Betas, having left orders for the mess in the challenge circle. He had directed them to wrap Gabe's body in a tarp and place it by the driveway to the house for now. Maria and Caleb were on their way to the outdoor shower to clean off the blood from their brief but satisfying fight. He had just enough time to strip, leaving shorts and a shirt tied to his leg, before shifting and letting out a war howl. "Reserve group with me, home defense warriors to your posts, all non-combatants to the safe room." It was nearly time for the attack and the plans were in place. The safe room in the basement would contain all the children, pregnant women and elderly who were not fighting. The wolves left to guard them were on each side of the heavy steel door, their mates inside. They would die before anyone got past them.
The reaction team warriors met their Alpha as he moved with speed and purpose towards the ambush site on the east side of the territory near the Highway 40 exit. Will, senior Beta of the group from the Johnson Pack, ran just behind him. His men and their gear were already in a truck on the way there. There was no mental chatter, the group was totally focused on the fight ahead.
"Alpha, contact, we have six vehicles in a column that just blew past the sentry post. Ed was able to take cover, he verified they were shooting silver and wolfsbane ammunition. He was shot once but it isn't bad, it went through his right arm. We've got an armored HUMVEE in the lead, followed by four black armored SUV's and a military ambulance. We can't spot occupants, but estimate the attack force at between twenty and forty. Lead vehicle was using automatic carbines and machine pistols. They are traveling down the entrance road at high speed, five minutes to the ambush point."
"Understood, everyone keep your heads down. Wendy, you respond to help Ed, Doc you stay back near the ambush point. Places, everyone, check in with your Betas when in position. Betas, report to me when your groups are ready." The pack members were settling in, the plan was good, they were ready for this.
His lead beta Daniel and the Beta in charge of defending this approach, Alex, were already in the command post they had set up when the group arrived. Alex moved off with the reinforcements, directing them to positions on the cliff before and after the ambush point. The chosen position for the ambush was perfect; as the road went through the canyon the river below curved about 70 degrees below them. The road was about fifty feet above the river, with rockslides and large boulders below. On the uphill side the road was cut close to the overhanging cliffs, with just a narrow ditch to catch the rocks that would travel down from up to a hundred feet above. The road was just wide enough for two vehicles to pass each other, and there was no safe place to pull off. Along the top of the cliff were numerous large boulders and cracks that were perfect hiding holes for the dozens of wolves and their weapons.
Yes, weapons. The Gila Pack hadn't gotten into open combat during the Were War, preferring to stay hidden, but they had been ready. They had prepared for human attack for decades and they trained relentlessly in the open desert. Marksmanship training had been mandatory for all pack members, as was self defense. The defenders were more than capable of defending themselves.
The opposite side of the canyon, about 200 yards away, was similar in nature and was now populated by a dozen wolves with scoped high power rifles. The Johnson Pack snipers with the .50 cal rifles were on top of the canyon, with commanding views and overlapping fields of fire. Their job would be to defeat the armored vehicles, and to do so they had rounds with armor piercing tungsten tips.
"Alpha, two minutes out." They could hear the column of vehicles approaching. Alex had returned to the post. He had designed the defense and he would run it. "All stations, remain hidden until after the explosion and make sure you are taking cover if you are near the blast zone." Alex looked at his Alpha and senior Betas. "We did some timing with our test blasts, that rock with the red 'x' on it is the trigger point. When the lead vehicle reaches that, we unleash hell on them." They were about 400 yards away, watching with compact binoculars, when the column came into view. "Wait... Wait... five... four... three... two... one...GO GO GO."
A series of loud explosions was the first indication the mercenaries had that their lives would end. A series of holes had been drilled through the rock of the cliff above the road, with explosive charges lowered into each and connected with detonating cord to a blasting cap. Alex had an explosives expert on the hand trigger, when he twisted the device it started a chain reaction explosion that sheared a sixty foot section of cliff face from the rock behind it. The wall of rock crashed down the mountain, burying the armored HUMVEE and two Suburbans below the bouncing rock chunks.
The remaining vehicles escaped being crushed but had their own problems. The third SUV swerved to avoid the rocks, but went off the road. It bounced and rolled a half dozen times before coming to rest on the rocks near the river. "Team 1, cover the SUV by the river and keep them pinned down." Riflemen from both sides of the river started to pepper the armored vehicle with fire, seeking out the openings created by popped out glass and twisted metal.
The last SUV swerved towards the cliff face, stopping just before it hit it. A half dozen mercenaries spilled out, seeking cover between the vehicle and the cliff face. The ambulance stopped but was soon disabled by the .50 caliber rifles, it wasn't as hard a target as the other vehicles. The heavy rounds punched into the engine block as other riflemen took out the wheels and windows. Half the people inside were dead before they could get a door open. Three men armed with rifles dove to the ground and ran for the SUV ahead of them, but only one made it.
It truly was a turkey shoot. The Pack held superior firing positions, including directly above the vehicles once the defenders rushed forward to the new overhang left by the explosives. There was no place for them to hide. The volume of fire lessened over the next few minutes as there was simply nothing left moving to shoot at. The forward vehicles had been flattened, no movement had been sensed from them yet. The SUV by the river had started to return fire but the accurate rifle fire had quickly stopped that. The remaining vehicles on the road were turned into Swiss cheese.
Finally, the shooting stopped. Alpha Hastings surveyed the destruction. "Stay in position until I tell you. Anything that moves, kill it."
For a long minute nothing moved. A white shirt appeared from below the SUV on the road, a bloodied arm waving it. The man made it halfway out from under the truck. "Sniper, take him." A shot rang out and the man dropped to the ground and stopped moving.
