Read A Private War for Free Online Page A

early to roast hot dogs and have a picnic on the grass. And once a year on the Fourth of July, there were fireworks and a street dance till dawn.
    Now the bandstand was a burned pile of ash and the late season grass was knee high, not a happy place for walking. There was no longer any laughter or dancing till dawn because the times were now enduring very hard times and the town's people worked from dawn to dusk just to survive. Then she thought about the night before with Gaylon and smiled to herself. Her life had taken a turn for the better and she planned on living life to the fullest. She saw Gaylon was walking back toward the headquarters building and Kate walked up to him and fell in step beside him. He smiled as he looked at her; his heart had felt empty for so long since his wife had died. But now, he knew that things were right again and that he could make Kate as happy as possible in the crazy world they now lived in.
     

“I see you got your rifle, going someplace?" Kate asked.
    "Yes, Samuels asked me to go out on one of the patrols that are covering the town and I said I would. I also want to see what we can do to improve the defenses of the town for when the pirates come back."
    "Then, let me run back to our room for my rifle and I'll go with you."
    "Not this time. There are pirates in the area and I don't want you in any danger, especially now. You mean too much to me."
"I thought we had already been through all this, I...!"
"I said not this time. Please, will you just wait here?"
“No."
    "Kate, I don't have the time to talk about this, they’re waiting. This patrol is important and I would feel better about it if you stayed here. Sally said something about stopping by later to see you."
    "All right, I’ll stay." Kate said with a pout.
    "Good, now the patrol is due back in about four hours, so we can have a late snack, does that sound all right?" he asked as he kissed Kate on the neck, "I'll meet you at the mess hall about ten. Look, I really have to run so I'll see you later."
    Kate waved as he ran down toward the edge of town until he disappeared then she turned around and started to walk back to the barracks. But, as she neared the front door she stopped in thought and then ran through the open door waving her Pass to the night guard and headed up the stairs. Slipping into her new combat boots, she quickly laced them up, and then started to load fresh magazine into her assault vest. Slapping a fresh one into her AR, she gave a quick look around and headed for the door. Making her way out of the building she started walking toward the main gate at the edge of town and with a wave, Kate walked right passed the watchtower and out the open gate. As she walked into the gathering darkness, she had to smile; Gaylon could not very well stop her now if she followed him just as she had done before. Making an effort of will, she forced down remembering the deadly battle that it had led her into.
     

The twilight was ending and Kate found she was having a hard time with the heavy brush as she made her way up a small rise. As she finally made her way to the very top she thought she heard voices ahead and hurried to catch up. A giant water tower sat on the very top of the rise and Kate could see men climbing up the metal ladder. One man was guarding the base of the tower and as Kate watched he walked over to a shape on the ground. With the toe of his boot, the man rolled over a dead man and started to go through his pockets. Kate realized the shapes on the ground were the paramilitary guards and the pirates had killed them to get the tower. Its tall structure overlooked the entire valley, the perfect place to get information about the defenses of the town below. Kate raised her AR-15 and sighted on the man in front of her and squeezed the trigger. The pirate turned as the high velocity bullet slammed into his ribs just below his heart. His scream was cut short as the second bullet struck him high in the neck and exited