A railway line crosses the road via an old bridge. The bridge has long fallen in, but abutments form two walls. The road still passes this narrow gap – the railroad tracks could be crossed with an offroad-vehicle or motorcycles, but rigs, vans and normal cars have to go through the gap. It’s the only choke point of any kind for a long stretch which also offers some cover to would-be ambushers.
A ruin sits deserted to the west. The former motel has long lost its roof to the elements, its interior is reduced to rubble and the thin walls are full of holes. It is a good place for hiding a sniper or two.
To the south, a rusting school bus provides cover. Only a few yellow patches hint at its former function, wheels and engine have completely decayed and some hardy brushes cluster around. It lies close to the road and affords a good view through the gap and up and down the road.
Three boxcars rest on the rails east to the gap. A position here provides an excellent view all around, while the old steel containers offer good protection.
After surveying the area in the growing light, the men hammer out a plan. The cars are hidden behind the bus, covered with camouflage netting. Ben, Mal and Jose will stay with the cars, while Dan takes up position at the old boxcars on the tracks. Two bombs will be placed, one right in the gap, one a bit further north. According to Mal, the Black Flag uses two armored vans: While the explosives in the group’s stash are more than enough to blow softskinned cars to bits, a direct hit will be necessary to kill these vehicles. Thus, split-second timing will be everything.
Dan quickly rigs up two explosive devices from a few sticks of dynamite and a handful of frag grenades, severely depleting the group’s stash. He spends no more than five minutes per unit: “I did this all the time when I was younger. Used to juggle them.” The bombs are triggered via electronic signal. They are covered with some sand in one of the many potholes in the road: one just in the gap and the other about 30 meters further north.
The vehicles of the group will be hidden just behind the school bus. From there, Ben, Mal and Jose have a nice view down the road. Mal gets the trigger to the bomb in the gap, and every man gets a scoped rifle of some kind. Dan takes position between the old wagons. He will survey the road towards Mercy and give the signal when they Black Flag company comes in. He carries the trigger to the bomb further north and will snipe at anything worthwhile with his scoped M16. The plan is to blow up the first van with the bomb in the gap and block the road, and hopefully, to catch the second van with the other bomb. Dan is to harass any survivors with sniper fire, and to vanish with his dirtbike if the Black Flag mounts a counter attack – which is very probable. The others will concentrate their fire on the first van, if the bomb does not take it out, or does not go off, or something else happens. Everyone will stay very close to the jeeps, for a quick retreat might become necessary. Dan gets the first hand-held radio, Ben the second. The group will meet up in Point Transit, if they have to make a run for it and get split up.
During the day, two small trading parties rush by without noticing the group or their camouflaged vehicles.
When the sun starts sinking, a large plume of dust in the north heralds the arrival of a large convoy. It is preceded by a lone motorscout on a street machine. The man races up to the gap and takes a desultory look around, before returning to his bike. He kickstarts the machine and howls past the school bus covering the two jeeps of the group…only to stop after a hundred meters. Did he notice something? Two large shapes just behind the wreck? The group, hidden in their jeeps, does not dare to look out. After a few seconds, the engine splutters to life, and the single scout races away, towards the south. He possibly just stalled his engine. The ambush stays undiscovered.
The main convoy comes into view. Dan makes out a ramshackle jumper and a dirtbike in front, followed by an armored van flying a black flag. This van once served UPS or FedEx, now it ferries the warriors of the Black Flag across the wastes. A grin appears on Dan’s face – a happy hunt is about to begin. But then other vehicles appear in the dust: Three massive long-nosed tractor trailers, ferrying timber from the north. Their long exhaust pipes blow black clouds of diesel smoke as they labor south at fifty clicks an hour. The dull roar of their engines fills the air. Behind them a second black van, equipped with makeshift armor, and a low-slung black chase car roll along. A gaggle of bikers forms the end of the column.
Things just got complicated.
Dan uses his battered handheld to tell the others about the convoy they are facing: Clearly, these are not just the two vans they expected. Ben recognizes the rigs as timber merchants, while Mal is not sure at all – he does not voice his suspicion, but he thinks the Black Flag might have hijacked these rigs. As the convoy roars closer to the gap, Ben tells Mal not to blow up the first black van, as the following rig could rush into the wreck. The last thing he wants to have on his hand is a dead trader. Instead he wants Dan to blow up the second black van – and possibly the chase car -with the northern bomb. But this means also that the main part of the convoy will pass the gap: God knows how many riflemen, bravos and motorscouts are riding with this outfit, and the whole mob would then be able to reach the school bus.
Dan is not exactly enthusiastic about this change of plans and, clearly bent on attacking the rigs, he concocts something about the rigs being driven by black-clad mercenaries. The fib does not work, not even on the walkie-talkie. Ben decides that he won’t be able to exert his authority via the usual channels. Words might fail, so instead, he opts for a different kind of message. He raises his rifle, aims and puts a bullet in the wagon next to Dan.
Dan is impressed, but not in the way Ben intended. Ben’s walkie-talkie squeaks: “You are a dead man!”
This moment, the first biker and the beaten-up jumper pass the gap and approach the school bus. They are rough looking fellows, in makeshift armor, covering their faces with scarves and ski goggles and clutching hunting rifles. Then the first black van, clad with steel plates, its windows covered with metal lamellas, rolls into the gap. Mal presses the trigger of his detonator and the first bomb goes off, right underneath the van. The blast hammers through its soft underside and ignites the fuel tanks. Suddenly a fierce, white explosion fills the gap. The van is lifted into the air and crashes on its side. Fire and smoke shoot from the windows of the wreck, which blocks the gap completely. Oily smoke obscures everything behind it. The drivers of the rigs react with admirable speed. The brakes of the tractors squeal, and the first rig comes to stop only a few feet before the fire, with the other two large trucks piling up behind. The second black van and the chase car break to the right, away from the road and the bomb hidden there. The rearguard spreads out, away from the road – the bikers search for cover. Before the chase car is obscured behind the rigs now idling on the road, Dan puts three rifle slugs through its hood, cripples its engine and takes out the only vehicle in the convoy apart from the motorcycles that might have had a chance at pursuit. On the southern side of the gap, Jose and Mal take out the lead biker and the jumper.
The convoy seems to be in confusion, but some people keep their cool. Guards scurry for cover and search for the attackers, while the Black Flag starts to mount a well-executed defense and counter-attack. Shortly, Dan is hit by rifle fire: One of the traders’ guards gets a lucky shot in, piercing his leg. Dan keels over, screaming “I’m hit” into his radio. Mal does not hesitate: His Nissan Conquistador rumbles out of cover, up towards the wagons. On the other side, shooters belonging to the Black Flag have left the second van and taken position on the top of the tracks. They zero in on the jeep moving through the broken ground and pepper the vehicle with their high-powered rifles: Mal’s jeep takes further damage, and one of the bullets pierces the armor and hits Jose in the chest. His Kevlar vest protects him from serious injury, but he grits his teeth as the jeep labors up the incline towards Dan.
From within the school bus, Ben makes out the flashes of gunfire from the tracks to the northwest. The riflemen concentrate their fire on Mal’s bouncing jeep – possibly they don’t even know that Ben is still in the school bus. He curses and tries to get one of the snipers into the sights of his scoped hunting rifle. One of the men does not disappear fast enough, and Ben drops him. At the wagons, Dan is bundled into Mal’s jeep, losing his radio in the process: Communication between Ben and the rest of the men breaks down. Dan's dirtbike is left on the tracks. Mal decides to make a run for it, straight to the east, keeping the wagons between them and the remaining shooters on the ridge. It’s to dangerous to move back down, and one will meet up in Point Transit anyway.
Ben goes to ground and crawls towards his own car: To raise his head now would invite deadly retaliation from the ridge. Just as Ben reaches his jeep, Jose turns to the rearview window of Mal’s jeep and sees something like an expanding white line reaching for the school bus. Then, a rocket propelled grenade hits the other end of the wreck: The Black Flag is done playing around and breaks out their heavy gear. Ben starts his car and goes straight to the south as fast as he can. Bullets whistle past or ping into the chassis, then, another rocket misses him – he is the only target, and the men on the tracks seem to be eager to blast at least one attacker from the road.
The others see the muzzle flashes and the rockets streaming after Ben, while they are largely shielded by the wagons. Mal decides to blow up the second bomb to create a diversion. At the second attempt, the bomb goes off under the third rig, destroying a trailer with timber, but sparing the truck itself.
Ben drives like hell and soon reaches Barricade. The little camp seems to be in uproar. He tells something about an attack on the road and is let through. He reaches Point Transit one hour later.
The others take a long trip cross-country before they return to the road. Just as they reach Barricade, they see a large group of bikers and jumpers leaving the camp, going north. They, too, are questioned about the attack. While some parts of their story do not wash, Grant “No Mercy”, leader of the camp, is satisfied: Yes, the merchant they were accompanying and lost in the chaos came through here. Yes, he went to Point Transit. Yes, he was flustered. They, too, reach the city as the night falls.
People met:
- Three unknown timber traders and their guards
- The Black Flag Mercy company
- Grant “No Mercy” of Barricade, a petty warlord trying in vain to police his little stretch of the road
- Jimmy Marlin, distrustful guard in Barricade
People met their demise:
- At least four caravan guards
- An unknown number of Black Flag Mercy Company members: More than one, less than ten.
- Dan was hit in the leg and will need a crutch…again. Jose took one to the chest, but he wears Kevlar, and is a singularly tough hombre, so he should be fine.
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