Chapter 49: Eyeing Sides

Nathan Dees was excited. He had been watching the three on three fight unfold from behind the safety of the car wall. When the Black Rats started their retreat, he probably cheered louder than anyone else present. His plan had worked.

Hopping over the cars in front of him, Nathan was the first to congratulate Gillian. "I knew I put my trust in the right man. Well done!" Nathan said throwing an arm over Gillian's shoulder.

Gillian was still breathing heavily from the fight, but still managed to sound triumphant. "The pleasure is all mine. I am just glad that these old fists still have some punch left in them."

"Well if you hadn't asked the twins to join us then the bluff might not have worked so splendidly!" Nathan said enthusiastically. Looking their way, he shouted, "Congratulations to you two as well. You did great!" The twins both gave a thumbs up and Gillian continued speaking.

"Perhaps." Gillian replied mopping at his brow with a cloth. "We shouldn't let our guard down. There were a lot of Black Rats members out there. This plan won't be enough to stop all of them."

"I understand." Nathan replied calming down some. "You're right, I better let everyone know that we better stay at the ready." Nathan turned towards the cheering crowd and shouted for their attention. "Everyone! Everyone, we need to stay vigilant. The Black Rats may have had a defeat, but the battle is not over!"

The crowd quieted some and Nathan was able to continue.

"Everyone needs to return to their posts and continue to monitor the situation. Once we know more about the situation then we can act accordingly. But let's not forget this feeling of this victory!" Nathan said raising his fist into the air.

The East River Militia personnel cheered again. They then slowly scattered off to carry out their duties. Nathan too had to return back to the headquarters in the warehouse. Being a leader from the rear was didn’t feel like his style. He just had to be there, on the front lines, to see what was really going on. On his way to the warehouse Henry Flanagan, the East River Militia Vice Leader, came out to meet him.

"Well done on the success of your plan." Mr. Flanagan said with a smile. "I hope the rest of this situation plays out just as well."

"As do I." Nathan replied enthusiastically. "I feel like we have the potential to actually pull off this take over. We just lack the know-how."

"I agree. We definitely have the patriotic advantage.” Replied Mr. Flanagan, then he gestured to the scattering crowd. “Many of the residents here in our town have been longing for the chance to free their homes. But as things are, they still are only armed civilians."

"Has there been any news if those out doing the town survey have returned?" Nathan asked as the two entered inside the warehouse together.

"Not yet." Mr. Flanagan sighed shaking his bald head.

The two soon arrived back in the main room that the leaders of the ERM used for meetings. Several of the main council members were already present. Looking around, Nathan determined that there were enough present to start the meeting.

"We don't have all that much time, so let's get this started." Nathan said taking his seat at the head of the table. "We need to discuss our next move. According to the spy's we sent out before that fight, the numbers of the Black Rats that came here was not their full force. There should be many more out there. As of this moment our survey teams are scattered around, and we need to get them back here immediately."

Gillian had also just come in from getting patched up and heard that last part. He waved over one of the men under his command and told him to send word of the recall. When the man left, Gillian looked at Nathan and gave a nod. Nathan nodded back and then continued.

"Once they get back, I suggest that we send out a force to flank the gang from this area." Nathan stood up and pointed at a printed map of the town that was laid on the table. The area he indicated was a residential zone with mainly apartment complexes. The buildings would be able to hide a midsized force easily, as there were numerous court yards to stage the counterattack from.

"If the gang attacks at us like before, we will have our counter forces sweep behind and force them to fight on two fronts. An older gentleman that has been helping me sense the riot, pointed this fact out to me just this morning." Nathan finished and sat back down.

Gillian was the first to speak. "A good idea, however, if the flanking attackers are not able to deal enough pressure on the gangsters, then I am afraid that they will end up getting cut off from us. Their numbers alone will be enough to overwhelm us."

Several others in the meeting murmured their agreement with Gillian's observations. Yet no one had any alternative option to solve this problem. After a moment Mr. Flanagan was the next to speak.

"If it were me, I would do the same, but with three forces. Our main force would be here with us. The second would be at the apartments like Mr. Dees recommended and a third here." He said while placing a finger on the map. "The industrial factory here can hide enough troops for a possible secondary counter force."

"That area is considered private property." Joshua Zimmerman head of the Judiciary committee interrupted. "I know we are in a form of war, but if we don't maintain order, who will?"

"I understand the issue." Said Mr. Flanagan. "However, I know the owner of this particular building. He's actually here defending with us. If we ask him, he is sure to help without a second thought. Besides without electricity that building has no other practical use."

"Sounds good." Nathan said. "After the meeting go ahead and ask him."

"Very well." Mr. Flanagan replied. Mr. Zimmerman also nodded his approval.

Gillian spoke up again. "The issue still remains that if the gangsters aren't all that well organized, then the chances of both sides becoming overwhelmed is minimal. As long as we attack them hard enough and take out their leadership, they will scatter."

Everyone nodded approvingly. They were not soldier’s or tacticians, just regular civilians. War was practically a foreign concept to them. Yet this was the best they could do.

"How are we on supplies and weaponry?" Nathan asked looking towards Gillian and Nelly Havens, the Head of Records.

"Handheld weapons are in no short supply. We have enough to last any battle as long as it’s no more than a day. What is concerning is the lack of larger firearms that we have. Only less than half of our forces have any kind of guns. Additionally, the survey groups have most of them now." Gillian replied giving some thought. "Ammunition is not an issue at this time. There is plenty to go around. The Marriot Hotel had several rooms stocked with ammunition."

Miss Havens was shuffling through several papers while Gillian had been speaking and appeared to have found what she had been looking for. "Ah, yes. We currently have enough food and water to last us one week if need be. Any longer or doing harsh rationing would be very problematic."

"So, we need to beat them in less than a week." Mr. Flanagan said clasping his hands together into a fist over his mouth in thought. "It shouldn't last that long. If we can cut the head off the rat the rest will wriggle and die. Killing or capturing Garret, the gang’s leader, is the best thing to do now."

Everyone knew he was right. If they wanted the towns problems to end soon the gang’s leader must be ended.

…

"Are you kidding me!?" Garret yelled as he threw a wooden chair at the wall. The chair shattered into pieces above the heads of his two lieutenants, Adam and Diana. The two flinched involuntarily. "How did you two loose to those two freaks!"

"S-sorry boss. We didn't think they were that good and didn’t fight seriously as we could have." Adam stammered.

"Sorry is not going to cut it. Next time you come across those two you better not come back until they are dead! You hear me!" Garret yelled hoarsely.

Adam didn't say anything but nodded vigorously.

"Same goes for you, Diana." Garret said turning towards the tired looking woman.

"You got it boss." Diana replied. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke. "Next time I'll be fighting with my weapons and they will not be able to get close to me. They will suffer at my hand for sure."

"They better." Garret said and he sat down heavily onto a white plastic chair.

The gang was congregating in and around several dozen houses only three blocks from the ERM front line. They had scavenged all the resistances in the immediate area for food and supplies. There wasn't much and they only had enough for two days at most.

There then came a heavy knock at the door and then one of the gang members stepped inside. "Hey boss, the others are back. They are on the porch."

Garret grunted angrily and stood up. "They better have some good news."

Garret headed out onto the porch where Erin, Marco, Terry and Zane were all waiting. The sun was now starting to set behind the mountain. The main battle would have to happen tomorrow. Seeing the boss coming out of the house they all turned his way.

"Good news boss." Marco spoke first. "We all found a bunch of militia members out doing stuff and we wiped them out. Took a bunch of their guns to."

The three lieutenants relayed the fights they were in and how everything had turned out. By the end Garret was smiling with approval. They had carried out their part with in Garrets expectations.

"What about you, Zane? I know you were not just standing around waiting to help out." Garret asked.

"That's right." Zane said giving a slow nod. "We interrogated lots of people while we were waiting. They all were saying the same things. The militia is being led by a guy named Nathan Dees. As far as we know there are only the militia men at their main base. They are ready to fight us and are well armed. Though we still seem to outnumber them substantially."

"Huh, well something good after all." Garret said shaking his head. Adam and Diana had followed Garret to the porch where everyone was to listen. "Well now that we are all here, here's what my new plan is."

He then cleared his throat and hopped onto the porch railing to sit and get comfortable. "Since they lost a good amount of men, they will definitely be on guard. They may have that wall of cars around the place, but didn't you all notice it?" He asked looking at Adam and Diana. The two shook their heads 'no' and Garret continued.

"They had absolutely no other cover. To get from that warehouse building to the car wall, they will have to cover several dozen meters just to get between the two. I want as many rifles as we can on surrounding rooftops to lay cover fire. If we keep them pinned down long enough for our main force to reach and cross over the wall, they won't be able to fight back for long. Then we can get over the wall first and overwhelm them without larger forces all before they could ever hope to stop us."