Commando City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 7) by Mitchell T. Jacobs Read Free Book Online

sucker punch us while we're fighting in the north, and then where will we be?”
    That was becoming a serious concern. Groups from several of the southern and eastern hubs had already made contact with the Old Chicago region, and she knew that many of them were keen to expand. The Dallas region, in particular, seemed to be a serious prospective threat. Their major alliances had called a ceasefire, seeking to expand their territory in other directions. Might they end up colliding with the Hydra Alliance and sparking a conflict? If so, they'd be in serious trouble, because they couldn't afford to fight a two front war. As it was, Hydra was having trouble sustaining their efforts solely in the north.
    “Keep in mind that going too fast is also going to cause problems,” Karen cautioned. “If we don't do this right then we're setting ourselves up for a pretty bad loss, and that let's Ragnarok have the initiative back. I'm pretty sure we don't want to give that to them, if we can help it.”
    No, Nora agreed silently. Their enemies had held the initiative for far too long, and she preferred being able to dictate the terms of a battle, whether it was on the tactical, operational or strategic level.
    “We have to weigh the risks of taking too long versus the casualties we might take,” David spoke up again. “I know it's not an easy decision, but I think it's a risk we're going to have to take.”
    “Let me say this,” Zach said. “Do we actually have a choice in this matter? If it comes to a vote there's enough of you to overrule us, right?”
    Nora made a quick count in her head. Cody, David, and Bryce were in favor of the plan. Shayna hadn't spoken, but she usually followed David's lead. She couldn't get a proper read on Gina, and Lex was a mystery to her as well.
    So that left four for and two against, with one likely siding with the yeas and two swing votes. And judging from their silence, Nora guessed they were willing to go along with the plan. If they were opposed, she would have expected a lot more resistance.
    “We'll put it to a vote if we have to,” Bryce said, “but we'd like to get you on board with us this time.”
    “That's a tough proposition if we don't want to go along with it,” Neil said.
    “There's not going to be a mutiny this time,” Anna cut in, giving him a stern look. “We might not agree on the methods chosen, but we do realize that it might be our best option, regardless of what we believe.”
    “Agreed,” Zach said. “Like it or not, we have to find some way to keep pushing forward. My only real problem with this is that it might be too ambitious. What's going to happen if you can't break through St. Francis and Jones Harbor in time? I don't think Ragnarok's going to be charitable enough to just give us ammunition.”
    “That's why we chose the Shorewood District,” David said. “Since it's along the lake front we can send in supplies by boat. We can also parachute them in, or deliver them by helicopter.”
    “Are you sure about that?” Robbie finally spoke up. “That's going to be a lot of flying over enemy territory, and Ragnarok still has air superiority. It's pretty likely that if we try to perform supply runs during the day we'll end up getting jumped.”
    “Same goes for the lakeside resupply,” Liz said. “There's a reason we use the land route most of the time. All it takes is one dive bomber patrol in the wrong place at the wrong time and our entire resupply stock is at the bottom of Lake Michigan.”
    Nora looked down at her map again. “And then there's another big problem. If we're dropping that far north, where's our heavy support coming from? We can't bring anything heavier than a recoilless rifle or light mortar with us, so how are we going to deal with tanks and artillery effectively? It's out of range of our guns in Cudahy too.”
    “Close air support,” Bryce informed her.
    “Again, Ragnarok has air superiority, and putting a bunch of helicopters above