EMP [Collateral Darkness] | Book 4

by Tony Mastrolacasa

  Chapter 17

  “Are you out of your damn mind? We’re not going all the way back to Burwash. We’re heading south not north.”

  “Xander, you need to listen to me for a second.” Ken said, insisting. “Bray’s gone and Geoff is basically useless, so we’re down to six guys here, man. How the hell do you expect this to work with so few of us left?”

  “You’re forgetting that we still have four guys at that resort waiting for us.” Xander said. “Mick and his guys will jump into it as soon as we get there.”

  “I’m not forgetting anything, Xander.” Ken said. “I’m also not forgetting that you told us they had several armed guards there. Shit, Tom told me that some of them are even military.”

  “Hey, you pantywaists just about ready to go?” Mars asked as he stepped inside. “Daylight’s a-wastin’ ladies.”

  When they had first arrived back at Mars’ cottage everyone was too shell shocked to get much done. This morning, though, they were all keeping busy getting things ready for the trip. The only thing slowing them down was their constant need to keep watch from the rooftop. Nobody was interested in anymore surprise encounters with the local wildlife.

  Once they had all of the stashed weapons and ammo pulled out from under the floor boards and the Minecats running, Xander had given his number one an important task to perform. He had heard the gunshots, but as curious as he was to find out how it had gone, Xander knew that he needed to settle this manpower issue first.

  “Ken here seems to think we should go pick up them other guys first.” Xander said. “The crews that drove back up to Burwash.”

  “Yeah, I was wondering if that was gunna come up.” Mars said. “I think I have a pretty good idea where they went, so it shouldn’t take us long to find them.”

  “How long?” Xander asked.

  “Shit, I don’t know… two hours maybe.” Mars replied. “It’ll still hold us up another day though.”

  “It won’t take us that long, Mars.” Ken said.

  “It’s already around 11:00 a.m. shithead.” Mars said. “By the time we find them, wait for them to pack their shit and then drive back down south, it’ll be dark already.”

  “Yeah, if their Minecats are as frozen as yours were that’ll hold us up too.” Xander said. “None of you guys know the layout of that resort. We’ll need to use the daylight to get this done.”

  “We’ll also need more than six guys.” Ken added.

  Xander exhaled loudly as the reality of the situation finally set in. This is not at all what he wanted. None of them had eaten anything in 24 hours and it was starting to effect Xander’s ability to think straight. He was seriously looking forward to sitting down in one Hal’s greenhouses and eating everything in sight. None of them were starving per se, but had they found those three wolf carcasses still hanging out back, Xander would have fired up the barbecue without hesitation. The fact that Xander had found the very idea of eating a wolf repulsive only a day earlier was hardly lost on him.

  “Fuck it, we go to Burwash first.” Xander said, finally relenting. “Ken, you better hope those pricks have got something for us to eat.”

  “I’m sure they will.” Ken replied.

  “Alright, so how did your experiment go?” Xander asked, turning back to Mars. “Is it gunna work or not?”

  “I think we’re good, Xander.” Mars replied. “The only bullet that made it through was from the .308 and that was from close range. The 5.56mm and 9mm barely even made a dent in that dump box. Turns out the sides are made out of 10mm hardened steel plate.”

  “My man, that’s the break we needed.” Xander said. “Looks like we got ourselves an armoured car, boys.”

  “It’s more like a damn battle tank.” Mars said. “Anything or anybody that gets in our way will be rammed with the plow and the ones we miss will get gunned down by the guys in the dump box.”

  “And they’ll be able to see over the walls?” Xander asked.

  “That’s how the North Koreans were doing it.” Mars replied. “They piled a bunch of pallets in there to stand on. There’s spent brass all over the place back there. The guys will easily be able to pick off anybody that tries to get behind us too.”

  Xander smirked and said, “There won’t be anyone behind us but dead shitheads that should have just surrendered.”

  ◆◆◆

  “Okay, Leo, now come at your mother and try an attack.” Stacey said. “Syd, you defend. Remember your options, leg sweep, front kick, or dodge and counter… your choice.”

  “Alright.” Sydney said uneasily. “Leo, you better not hit me hard.”

  “For Pete’s sake, Mom, I’m not gunna hit you at all.” Leo said. “Just do your job and knock me down… unless you’re too scared.”

  Seconds later, Leo wondered how he ended up lying in the snow with his mother’s boot resting gently on his neck. He pretended not to hear the giggling coming from dock where a group of kids were watching.

  “Awesome work, Syd!” Stacey said. “Leo, that was pathetic.”

  “Whatever.” Leo said as he got back up. “Like I’d really attack my mother.”

  “You wanna give someone else a try?” Stacey asked.

  “Who… like you? Are you nuts?”

  “Oh, come on, I won’t hurt you.” Stacey said, ignoring his protests. She picked up a couple of her practice bo staffs and tossed him one. “Let’s see if you’re getting any good with these things.”

  “You really are nuts, Stacey. I can’t compete with you.” Leo said.

  “Don’t be a baby, Leo.” Stacey said. “These are only the basswood trainers. We don’t spar with the oak ones… ever.”

  “I’m sure basswood hurts plenty.” Leo said.

  “Oh, it does.” Stacey said flatly. “It probably won’t break any bones though. You don’t have to worry about any of that because I’m not going to strike at you, Leo. I’ll just defend myself and try to relieve you of your weapon.”

  “I’m not thrilled with the idea of hitting you either, Stacey.” Leo said.

  “Aw, that’s sweet.” Stacey said, tilting her head and smiling. “Now come put on this hockey equipment before I change my mind and crack you over the head with this thing.”

  Looking apprehensively at his mother, Sydney just shrugged and motioned for him to go for it.

  “Alright, Stacey, but you better not be messing with me.” Leo said. “I was kind of hoping that my first sparring partner wouldn’t be a second degree black belt.”

  “Third.” Stacey said. “I recently promoted myself?”

  “Great…”

  During one of their earlier scavenging runs they had come across a very nice chalet style cottage that Stacey had insisted on checking out. Being a beautiful place, she was sure that it would hold some quality treasures and other interesting items that they could use. Once inside, however, it occurred to her that she might be able to get the group some nice new clothes out of the deal too. With that goal in mind Stacey began rummaging through the closets. Her favourite white parka with the fur trimmed hood and the five float jackets had all come from that very cottage.

  Despite those wonderful finds, more interesting was what those items had been hanging from. In keeping with the rustic theme of the place its owners had installed a 30mm thick solid oak rod in the closet. Checking throughout the cottage, Stacey discovered oak rods in all of the closets. Most were too short to be used as a bo staff, but a few were close to two metres in length. Once she shortened them a little, Stacey had three hardwood bo staffs that were every bit as dangerous as the real deal. After finding a pile of basswood poles in a second cottage and some hockey equipment in a third, she had everything she needed to set up a relatively safe bo staff training program.

  Over the following weeks, Stacey had introduced all the adults to the simple elegance of the bo staff. She insisted they all attend a training session at least once per week even if only for the exercise. ‘When your ammo runs out there will always be a b
ranch or a pole lying around that you can use.’ She had reasoned. ‘Might as well learn how to swing one around correctly.’ They had all reluctantly agreed, but most of them had no intention of getting into a stick fight any time soon.

  Leo, on the other hand, hadn’t needed any extra convincing at all. He was very excited to learn all that he could and had been spending a lot of time practicing with the weapon. He had a few of the spins down and a couple of the strikes, but his thrust and block combos still needed some work. Regardless, he felt confident that he could at least make contact with some part of an opponent’s body.

  Once they were both fully suited up with helmets, shoulder pads, hockey pants and shin guards, Stacey and Leo picked up their bo staffs and prepared to engage. Only their hands remained unprotected, as bare hands were critical to proper technique.

  Leo started into a two handed front spin slowly building more and more speed. He would soon find out if Stacey would be the first to taste the sweet fruits of Leo’s labours.

  She wouldn’t be.

  Stacey waited patiently as Leo’s bo staff became a whirling blur of speed and power. She couldn’t help but be impressed with Leo’s improvement and how quickly he was able to at least appear as though he knew what he was doing. Just as quickly, however, Stacey reminded him that he really didn’t. Leo’s technique was sound, but his strategy was deeply flawed. She didn’t want to discourage the young man’s enthusiasm, but her need to offer him a proper education had to take priority.

  As Leo advanced, Stacey nonchalantly poked her bo staff into his marvelous display. Leo’s weapon was immediately knocked from his hands and sent flying into the trees. Then she quickly flipped her bo staff around and tapped him lightly on the side.

  “You’re ribs are broken and you’re lying on the ground gasping for air.” Stacey said.

  “Well, that sucked.” Leo said.

  “There’s only two types of people that I would never try a spinning attack on, Leo.” Stacey said. “The first is someone with another bo staff. While your twirling yours around, impressing all the girls, you don’t have a firm grip on it 75 percent of the time. Your opponent’s weapon can easily reach inside your spin and knock it out of your hands.”

  “Case in point.” Leo said, looking towards where his bo staff had landed. “What’s the second type?”

  “Syd, you want to answer that one?” Stacey asked, recalling a similar discussion between the two of them.

  “The second type would be someone with a gun, Leo.” Sydney said.

  “Bingo.” Stacey said. “Full disclosure, that rule applies to pretty much any martial arts weapon. No technique can stop a bullet, kiddo, but wasting time twirling a stick around would just…”

  “…be idiotic.” Leo said.

  “There ya go.” Stacey said. “Now go find your weapon and try something a little less flashy.”

  ◆◆◆

  “What the hell is going on here?” Xander asked. “Don’t tell me these shitheads are actually doing better than we are.”

  “There were 30 of them.” Mars said. “They wouldn’t have had any trouble taking over this place. I doubt it would have supported them all for long though.”

  They slowly approached the small guard house at the entrance of a fenced off property. Due to the dense pine trees, they couldn’t see much beyond it, but it looked like they had arrived at a swanky Inn or an upscale lodge. If there had ever been a welcome sign it had long been removed, no doubt to discourage ‘visits’ such as this. They still didn’t see anybody outside, but just past the gates a long line of Minecats sat covered in snow. If nothing else, they at least knew that their men had been here at one time. Regardless, smoke coming from the chimney of the guard house told them that somebody was still living here.

  “Movement in the guard shack.” Mars said.

  Xander’s initial alarm was immediately replaced by a slight chuckle when he saw the lone gunman stepping outside to warn them off.

  “Ha. Look at this asshole.” Xander said.

  “Shit… is that Finn?” Mars asked.

  “Oh, this should be good.” Xander said. “Mars, don’t shoot anybody.”

  “Hmph, no promises.”

  Mars stopped the plow truck well short of the gates and waited as Finn walked cautiously towards the driver’s side door. Xander and Mars could tell that Finn still didn’t recognize them. Finn had his rifle shouldered, but he was being very careful not to point it directly at them. That was the only reason why Mars didn’t partake in a little gun pointing of his own. It didn’t stop him from pulling the pistol from his holster though.

  “Take it easy, Mars.” Xander whispered.

  As the tanker and the three Minecats came to a stop behind them, three other young guys came scurrying out of the guard house. They were still struggling to throw on their coats while they fumbled with their rifles. It was obvious that they had been asleep only moments earlier. Realizing that these anxious ‘kids’ could accidentally set off something that would get them all killed, Mars decided to call out to their man.

  “Finn… put that fuckin’ rifle down before I shove it up your ass.” Mars shouted.

  “I don’t believe it… Mars?” Finn asked, still a little uncertain.

  “Yes, it’s Mars. Tell those other idiots to calm down too.” Mars said.

  “Guys, put your guns away.” Finn said, immediately turning back to his friends.

  “I’ve got Xander in here with me.” Mars said. “There’s a few others back there in the others vehicles too.”

  “Okay, man, come on out. We’re all good.” Finn said as he slung his AR-15 back over his shoulder.

  Mars holstered his pistol, opened the driver’s side door and climbed down. He then reluctantly accepted a handshake from Finn as Xander climbed down. Looking back towards the tanker, Mars motioned for Ken to stay put. Geoff had been travelling as Ken’s passenger, but he wouldn’t be going anywhere until somebody came over to give him a hand. The three Minecats were driven by Tom, Cam and Easton. They were already told to stay put until somebody came to get them.

  “Good to see ya, Mars.” Finn said. “Hey, Xander.”

  “Finn.” Xander said.

  “You guys remember Tyler, Curtis and Owen?” Finn asked, turning back to the three young men behind him.

  “Why the hell would we…?”

  “…Of course, Michael Yesmar’s boys.” Xander replied, cutting Mars off. “Your dad was a good friend of mine. Horrible, what happened to him.”

  “Yes sir.” Tyler said.

  “So, Finn, you guys look like you’re doing alright up here.” Xander said.

  “Well, we have control of the place, but… You know what, why don’t you guys follow me over to the lodge? We can talk there and get out of the cold. These guys can watch the entrance on their own for a while.”

  “Lead the way.” Xander said.

  As they climbed back up into the cab, Finn and the boys worked away at opening the gates wide enough for the trucks to drive through. The snow depth was making the task far more difficult than it should have been. It had obviously been a while since they had needed to open them.

  Mars still had the blade down on the plow, so he cleared the snow away from the gates for them. Tyler, Curtis and Owen would find closing them again effortless. Mars also plowed out the driveway as they drove over to the main building. He made a point of getting as close to the line of Minecats as possible. Depending on how this day went, those little pickups might need to be dug out and jump started soon.

  “How the hell did you remember those three little shit stains?” Mars asked as he slowly followed Finn down the driveway.

  “Ha! Their father brought them out to the warehouse one day.” Xander replied. “I’m sure you remember their dad, Mikey Y? Chatty fucker…?”

  “Oh, right… ‘Yammer,’ the guys called him.” Mars said. “The guy that didn’t know when to shut up. Didn’t he end up getting executed while he was sitting on the jo
hn?”

  “That’s the guy.” Xander replied. “He had the cops breathing down his neck. Old Yammer was about to give up our whole operation, so one night I paid him a visit.”

  “That was you?” Mars asked, surprised at the information. “I heard that was all some sort of drug thing.”

  “That’s just how I made it look.” Xander replied. “I left some blow around the place for the cops to find.”

  “I heard that was quite the scene the cops walked into.” Mars said. “…found still sitting there with his pants down around his ankles.”

  “Anyways…” Xander said. “When his sons came around looking for work I figured I’d cut them a break. They have no idea who killed their father… neither do the cops. Never had anymore problems with snitches either.”

  The tree lined driveway opened up into a large parking lot where they found themselves staring at an enormous three story lodge. Smoke billowed from three separate chimneys, one at each end and one near the entrance. Xander had no doubt that the entire building was being kept warm and cozy.

  “Damn… look at this place.” Mars said. “Little weasels managed to score themselves a five star resort.”

  “I don’t see anybody else around though.” Xander said. “A place this size must have had at least 20 people working here.”

  “Maybe they’re all out back chopping firewood.” Mars said with a smirk. “That’s gotta be a full time job.”

  While the guys in the tanker and the Minecats stayed back, Mars took a few additional minutes to clear a bit of snow from the parking lot. Once he had enough cleared for their vehicles, he parked the truck and waved for Ken to pull the tanker up along side.

  “We’re going inside.” Mars said, shouting through his window. “You’re with us, Ken. Geoff, you stay put. I’ll tell the others to come help you down in a few minutes. You guys can come in once we’ve had a chance to talk to Finn.”

  “You got it.” Ken said.

  “Yeah, okay.” Geoff said.

  Finn ushered Xander, Mars and Ken inside and led them over to a large front lounge area by the fireplace. Half of the room held a heaping pile of firewood. Xander understood the need to keep a dry supply close at hand, but the haphazardly tossed logs clashed considerably with the posh motif of the place. Form had definitely taken a backseat to function in this particular room. What was once the casual meetings place of millionaire moguls now only played host to a perpetual fire and the fuel to keep it burning.