Eddie's Journal
You remember that movie with the boat where they're going upriver to kill a man?
marginalia - maybe you don't. do they show movies again where you are?
"Never get off the boat!" they warned. Good advice that. Just head downstream. Drop a few lines in the water. Let your meal come to you. Don't mess with us and we'll return the favor. I swear, people are idiots.
sept 11th
Let's start with our first idiot. Mr. "I'm going to beat a civvie for waving at us". Leo and Taduez, he takes soundings and watches for snags, are on the bow as we come up to this little town on the southern bank. There's folk on the bank doing the fishing and cleaning routine. Some of them scamper off as we come into sight. Others are just standing, staring at us. Leo gives them a big wave as we pull past. One guy gives a tentative wave back. Just then, some soon to buy it moron comes out of the crowd and buttstrokes him right in the back. I'm open mouthed having a WTF moment when there is a crack from the bow. Leo had snatched up his SVD and took a 200 meter shot on the fly. Drilled that man right in the head.
Capt, nope, Major Paterson now, chewed him right up one side and down the other. We're not starting things.Leo just shrugs it off. "He won't hit anyone again."
mp = major (only one captain on this boat) paterson
MP's right though. Less than a half-klick down river it starts raining mortar shells. Someone wants their pound of flesh. We're getting wet from rounds dropping in the drink, but they can't hit us. Leo spots an OP, he says later, so he climbs up into the commander's seat of the T-72 and takes the gun. Puts two rounds of HE on the bluff, redecorating the landscape a bit, and the mortar fire falls off and behind.
We sail on.
sept 12th
Next day, we're passing a big town on the north bank with a bridge. Rataj tells us there's still a working drydock here if we need repairs in the future. Signalman on the shore waves flags at us. Orders us to stop and prepare for inspection. Leo points the big gun at them. They run and hide. A little "customs launch" leaves the dock area. We outweigh and outgun it by a factor of a billion or so. They decide to turn right around. The men they had on the bridge could have dropped grenades or rocks if they'd wanted to. Seems they had a sanity attack too. They left us alone, we did the same.
Pity the raiders at the next bridge didn't have the same response. We could see some guys shaking down a pair of wagons. Got big ideas when we sailed up. Let the civvies pull a runner as they preped for us. Morons dropped a couple Molotov Cocktails on us. No one got hit and we put out the minor fire easily. In exchange, we put a few tank shells into the bridge and sprayed the survivors as they ran. Darwin awards all around!
GD-it, Doc tells me they only count if they kill themselves. Suicide by tank does not count.
Later that day the river began to wind northwards and we came to yet another bridge. This one has some Polish soldier boys camped out on it. Doesn't look like more than a rifle or two among them. All except one grabs some ground. The hero of the moment, puts one foot up on the railing, shades his eyes and gives us the once over. Polite wave from Leo. Polite wave back. He hails us once we're in shouting range. Leo and him have a nice chat. Very reasonable man.
He tells us; "My superiors say I should tell you to pull over to the bank and make ready for inspection." We decline. "Oh, my superiors say I should check your vessal for contraband heavy weapons. Do you have any?" No, not us. "Good, my superiors say that I should check your papers. Do you have your papers?" Leo reaches into the tank and waves a clipboard at him. "Very good. Those are nice papers!" He recognized Tadeuz once they got close enough and inquired about Captain Rataj's health. Told him he was crazy, but wished him luck none the less. Told us to give the river scum an ass beating. Gave us some final advice as we pulled away. "My superiors, on the east bank, are worried about American marauders. I know Captain Rataj would not work with American marauders, but others, on the east bank, do not know him as well. I will tell them, when they ask, that I have seen no American marauders."
Tadeuz tells me the man used to work the barge trade before the war
Sept 13th
Passed the wreck of Rataj's first attempt to get to Warsaw. Ran into a houseboat going south. They bailed out onto the river bank after we turned the gun to cover them. Adults with children.
MP told me later she was that close, fingers held an inch apart, to telling Leo to kill it.
sept 14, 2000
Swamp land on either side now. Found a cabin cruiser, dead in the water. They'd been with a group, a floating city, outside of Warsaw. Things were too hot so they headed out one day for Krakow. They'd had engine trouble. MP and Leo pumped them for information while Iosef banged out a part in the tug's machineshop. Once underway, MP got us all together and laid out the new facts.
___________________________
"I'm going to lay out the situation as I understand it. Leo, let me know if I got something wrong, your Polish is much better than mine."
"Da, Kapitan"
"The boaters told us they were part of a much bigger riverine community based out of Praga, a district in Warsaw. The pirates forced them out of Warsaw proper and upstream. "
"The community has enough arms to make taking them a risky proposition for the pirates, but the individual boats have to leave the safety of the community to fish, trade and salvage. The pirates hit those boats every so often and take what they want. Some of them do a catch and release while others just kill everyone. Depends on the captain and how hard the boat people fight"
"Unfortunately, the boaters and the pirates know their own vessels and crews, so no one's flying helpful flags."
"Not that it would matter, Major. The pirates would false flag if the people of the river adopted a pennant."
"Correct, Captain Rataj. We'll need to exercise extreme care as we head closer. We want to be sure that we hit the right targets, not just any targets."
"We have one advantage Kapitan. The boat people mostly operate alone or in pairs. The pirates wolf pack."
"Thank you, Leo. I'd missed that. Our friends don't have exact numbers to share. However, they did say the biggest is the river patrol ship that scuttled Captain Rataj's first attempt. They claim there are another 4 boats, smaller than the Vistula Krew, with "big" guns and maybe twenty odd small boats, cabin cruisers and speedboats with a mix of machineguns and light mortars. Oh, and boarders, lots of cutthroat boarders."
"We know what to look for, groups of boats, five or more, packed to the gunwales with armed men. We'll work them with the tank and mortars. I trust they won't last to get into melee. If they do, that's what the RPGs and Machineguns are for."
"If we see a smaller group, or one without obvious armament, we'll approach and try to talk. Leo, pass on to Sgt Ormen that we'll keep the tank on them the whole time. If they try to charge he doesn't have to ask."
"Any questions?"
"Dismissed."
_________________________
"Captain Rataj, could I have a moment?"
"Yes, Major."
"There is more, but it wasn't anything my men needed to know to get their jobs done. The boaters didn't have any current information about communities inside Warsaw. They did recognize your brother-in-laws name though. He was a leader in the Sielce community before they were forced out. Does that name mean anything to you?"
"Yes.... Sielce is one of the Warsaw districts. On the south of the city and on the west bank. We wouldn't have to go that far in to reach it."
"Last they heard, this Baron Czarny was pressing the settlements hard. We'll get through the pirates, but extracting your family could be more akin to a hit & run than a 3-day stop over."
"I understand. tell us what to do. The crew and I will make it happen for you. Then we can all go home.
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