TSHTF

[sssarawolf]

thank you very much

[Vtshooter]

Woo Hoo! Liking this one very much! Thank you.

[nancy98]

Starting to get a little excitment now. Thanks

[ejagno]

Thank you for keeping the chapters coming quickly. The story is amazing.

[dstraito]

Tim, Garrison, and Steve exemplified the expression, ‘thick as thieves’ as they took what they wanted or needed. They’d also managed to round up five more people.

They picked up Jim Pruitt ransacking a Wal-Mart. There wasn’t much in the store as looters had pretty much cleaned it out. They came across Joe Williams beating up an older couple so they helped hold them, agreed to split the limited spoils which amounted to a Timex, a wallet with worthless money and credit cards and their wedding rings. They found Candy Barlow in a dumpster looking for food. They were going to leave her there but Steve thought she looked hot with her tramp stamp showing, her ripped jeans and dyed blond hair.

“Might be good for some laughs.” Steve said. Candy said she didn’t mind whatever they wanted as long as they fed and took care of her.

They found Willis Jones who stupidly tried to rob Garrison while he was going through the ruins of a Seven-Eleven. When confronted by Garrison, Tim, and Steve all pulled out weapons they’d stolen or taken Willis quickly gave up. He was a six foot six black man and they figured they could use his muscle against other groups.

The last member they recruited was John Stanley. He was trying to steal a car and he’d hot-wired it correctly only to find out that it was out of gas. Of the group, he was the scariest one. He wasn’t the biggest, his physical presence wasn’t what was threatening rather it was his eyes. “I’m Crazy” just emanated from his eyes so that even Willis didn’t mess with him.

They’d managed to ditch their stolen cars and steal a van carrying ten church members who were trying to figure out how to siphon gas from another vehicle but they weren’t being successful at it. Tim directed the ones still in the bus to get out and then displayed his civic duty by showing them how to siphon. He explained the procedure as Garrison performed it. They managed to get about two gallons out which they put into the van. They waved good bye to the Church members who were now on their own.

“I guess we are the 1st Calgary Church of Christ now.” Steve said.
Tim nodded in agreement. “Okay people, whenever we approach anyone try to act church like.”

Candy interrupted her servicing Steve in the far back seat with a snort.
The van held eight people, all narcissistic self-involved types who banded together because it gave them better odds should they run into any other individuals or groups that were like themselves.

Tim Halloway was the obvious leader though. He’d squelched more than one argument between his followers and Garrison had related the story of the cold blooded killing of the Sherriff.

Tim shouted out “Everyone listen up. For us to be successful I have a few rules you are going to follow.”

Willis muttered “Rules, we don’t need no stinkin’ rules.”

Tim continued. “And anyone that doesn’t want to follow my rules, we can let them out at the side of the road, right now.”

Given that it just started pouring down rain and the fact they weren’t sure if being let out meant while alive, everyone shut up.

“I am your leader. I have advanced military training. We have a few light weapons, we will procure more. We will take what we can by force and we don’t let our victims survive because that could cause problems for us in the future. The grid has been down for over almost a month now. We are going to have a long grinding existence but the key word here is exists. Life will be simple but demanding. We have to be focused and alert at all times. This is our first and most important layer of defense. You will listen to orders I give as it will most likely save your lives. If you doubt that, think about how we came upon you and you are now with us. When we go into areas we are going to look for houses that still have people in them.

Most likely they will have prepped and what they have, we will need. I know the best tactics to employ to seize property and other people’s goods. One of the keys is gathering intelligence and target selection. Targets include those who have large quantities of fuel, food and other valuable supplies. Anyone we talk to we will question them about other people. Who seems well-fed? Who still has transportation? Who has lights? Who has prepared? People will talk either in person or on the radio. One of the main things we are looking for is two-way radios so we can not only improve our communication but listen to other peoples. If you hear a generator running, machinery, cars, tractors, or gunfire, that is a clue. We are constantly looking for victims, anytime of the day or night. At night we look for any sort of light. Even a small flash indicates somebody with electricity and that means a rich target. There is a concept called Operational Security (OPSEC). It is an important concept for you to understand and maintain. No one outside our circle needs to know about our plans, preparations or procedures. Our cover story is we are church members on a mission to help other people. Stick to this story guys.

If we decide to mount an attack we have to blend in with the surrounding environment. If we decide to test fire weapons we do it in one sequence to avoid a prolonged noise signature. Once we find a target we not only plan the attack but the retreat. Only a fool would try to rush in and overwhelm a group of ‘survivalists’. We might take a day or two trying to size up a large opportunity and the best way to take it down. We will observe activity from nearby-concealed positions. We will get an idea of their numbers, weapons, routines and more by careful surreptitious observation. If the group we are watching seems alert, we will try and trigger a false alarm with a dog or child to watch how they react to a threat. Knowing how they respond, how strong they are will let us plan our attack.

Regular patrols at irregular intervals focused on likely observation points and avenues of approach could keep us at bay. One method of detecting their recent travels would be to put down sand or other soft soil in key choke points.”

At that point Steve was finishing up with Candy. He gave a loud groan and her head left his lap and she spit.

“Steve, you’d better be listening to this.”

Several of the others gave a quiet laugh but otherwise kept quite so as not to anger Tim.

Tim continued the lecture on tactics and safety.

“We need to know if they have any dogs because their advanced sense of hearing and smell are able to detect and alert them to us. A 24 hour manned observation point with high quality optical tools is a must. Also on our shopping list are binoculars and scopes. If they have seismic intrusion devices, night vision or thermal imaging they greatly decrease our chances of success unless we too have those, so add those items to our shopping list.

This area has a bunch of hunters. We are looking for some hunting rifles like 30-06 or even better if we could find a .50 caliber. Recognize that a ‘defender’ is always at a disadvantage. By definition a defender will be reacting to our attack. Modern warfare has emphasized the ability of the attacker to operate faster than opponents can react. There is a concept called the OODA loop. These are the steps a defender goes through when under attack.

Number one is observing or noticing the attack.

Number two is Orient to the direction, method and type of attack.

Number three is deciding what the appropriate response will be.

Number four is acting on that decision.

As attackers we will try and operate at a pace faster than they can adjust to. We will change direction, pace, timing and methods to force them to continue to process through the OODA loop. This creates confusion and wastes their precious reaction time. We will disrupt or reset your defenders timing with a counter-attack.
Here are a few tactics we might use.

There is the Snipe and Siege tactic. We begin the attack when we can engage at least half of their personnel in one coordinated effort. We will infiltrate into concealed positions between 50 to 75 yards. We will try to identify their leadership with the first volley. We will each fire two magazines in the initial exchange and then move to new concealed positions and wait. We will stay concealed and wit until they come out to attend their wounded and dead. We repeat the attack as necessary until any resistance is crushed.

We could kidnap one of their members and use them to negotiate our way in.
We could use the fire and maneuver technique. This is not the best option but sometimes it is tempting. We typically infiltrate quietly at night to prearranged start points and begin our attack just before dawn when their senses are dulled by a long night watch or from sleep.

Lastly we develop a plan to evacuate and evade capture. When faced with a significantly superior force it may be the only viable option.

Most of the members of this nefarious crew paid attention. Willis made Steve get up and they changed places. Willis wanted some of the same treatment Candy had given Steve.

Tim said “You guys think about what I’ve said. I’m going to go over it again later and I want you all familiar with our strategies.” He looked in the rear-view mirror to see Willis’ eyes rolled back in his head and Candy’s head bobbing up and down. “That includes you Willis.”

Willis didn’t open his eyes but replied “Yes bossman.”

[Deadmeat]

Interesting POV... the bad guys.

[Sammy55]

Yes, interesting.

However, I would have been happier without the "servicing" descriptions. As soon as I realized what I was reading, I stopped and moved to a different spot. But not soon enough to stop from getting a bad taste in my mouth. (pun on words, I guess)