The Fall of America: Enemy Within (Book 3) Read Free

injured man under his shoulders and pulled him from the pit. Thanks to the powerful analgesic, only a few grunts were heard from Gise.
    “Damn, he is in for a long hospital stay.” the medic said to no one in particular.
    “These stakes are smeared with shit?” Master Sergeant Rusak asked.
    “Yes, so he is infected. At the hospital, they will run an IV with antibiotics into him for a few days and see if it clears up. I'm treating him with penicillin right now, too.”
    “Will he live?”  Corporal Babin asked.
    Looking up from his medical bag, where he was looking for his antibiotics, Elout replied, “I think he has a better than average chance, once I get some penicillin in him, but it will still be a difficult injury to treat.” He pulled out a syringe and raised it, pushing the plunger just enough to release any trapped air, and then gave the injection into the injured man's good leg.
    “I see the helicopter approaching from the west.” Junior Sergeant Shubin said as he pointed at the aircraft.
    The radio operator said, “He is unable to land, of course, so he will hover next to this trail. He wants the dead and wounded loaded quickly. He will return to base once loaded, refuel, and then come back out.”
    Glancing at Lieutenant Markov, Master Sergeant Rusak said, “Sir, he must suspect we will have more trouble or he would not have said what he did.” Then glancing around, Rusak said, “Get the dead and wounded ready to travel and do it now.”
    Soon the whop-whop sound of an approaching helicopter sounded and the men made ready to lift their loads.  
    When the chopper neared, Rusak saw Warrant Officer Paley was the pilot, so he waved, and then spotting for the bird, he lowered it by hand signal, until about a foot above the water. The dead and wounded were quickly loaded and the aircraft lifted almost straight up, then the nose lowered, and away the chopper flew.
    Paley was known to Rusak as a trader, thief, and man that all units needed and most had on hand. He'd take things they didn't need and trade with another unit for something they did need. All organizations did it and in many ways it made life easier for the soldiers, because it provided things the normal supply system couldn't or wouldn't. It was faster, too. Paley drank and smoked too much, and played a lot of cards, but he was also a brave man. When combined, these traits made him the ideal man to trade things and often his trading was desperately needed.
    “Move them down the trail and now, Master Sergeant.” Markov said.
    The rest of the day was uneventful, but with a lot of stress. Twice, booby-traps were marked on the trail and the men stepped over them and continued on, their senses on guard for danger. It was an hour before dark when the Lieutenant had them move off the trail a little and make camp for the night.  
    Sergeant Bluska, the line NCO, said, “If you want to eat, do the job now. Before dark all fires will be extinguished and covered with mud.”
    Rusak didn't like being in the platoon leading the invasion into the swamp. He knew they'd start having more and more problems the deeper they went. The American traitor didn't know the location of the ancient mansion, but had revealed the number of men, their arms, and also the names of some of the leaders. As far as the Master Sergeant was concerned, he didn't want to tackle any group led by the prior Green Beret, Willy. He'd heard them compared to Spetsnaz, and they were some coldblooded men in his mind. He suspected they'd not do much except move around in the swamp and get the hell shot out of them, or be blown up by mines.
    He'd just placed his canteen cup on the flames to boil water, when a man to his left gave a short scream and fell to the mud jerking with half his head gone. Then everyone heard the shot.
    Going to ground and crawling behind a log, he thought, s ince it took some time to hear the shot after our man was hit, the sniper must be at a great distance.
    Another