Jon hears Matt’s answer and asks, “Who’s over there?”
Matt looks at Jon and answers, “The gun shop and those two ladies you guys met.”
“Gun shop? Which one?” asks Whitney.
“I’m not sure of the name, but it’s a small shop and it’s run by two ladies,” answers Jon.
“Were those deer that ran by?” asks Jaws Junior to Mike as Jaws Junior looks at Mike’s computer screen.
Whitney gets interested after hearing Jaws Junior ask about the deer on Mike’s computer screen and asks, “Where is the herd of deer now?”
“They are down by the park now,” answers Mike.
Jaws Junior sees something run quickly through the panel on Mike’s computer screen and asks, “What the hell was that?”
“What?” asks Matt as he looks at Mike’s computer screen.
Whitney smiles and says, “I’m sure you saw something run by the screen.”
“Yeah, what was that?” asks Jaws Junior to Whitney.
“I think it’s a cheetah, but I only saw her once when I was out hunting,” answers Whitney.
“You serious?” asks Jon to Whitney.
“Yeah, I was in a tree and I was there for days. Just waiting for the herd of deer to come around. I heard the trees and leaves rustle and something coming towards my position.”
Matt, Jaws Junior, and Jon attentively look at Whitney and eagerly listen to her story.
“I looked through my rifle scope and saw a lone deer walking through the woods and I was about to fire, when a cheetah came out, jumped on the deer, and bit into her,” says Whitney.
“Why didn’t you shoot the deer and cheetah?” asks Matt.
“It didn’t feel right to shoot either of them. The cheetah earned that kill,” answers Whitney.
“Speaking of deer, do we have any left in here?” asks Mike.
“When are you going to earn your keep around here?” asks Whitney to Mike.
“What do you think I’m doing now,” replies Mike as he looks at his computer monitor.
Whitney rolls her eyes at Mike’s reply.
“I’m going to head to the park and hopefully bag myself a deer,” says Whitney.
“Do you need help?” asks Jaws Junior.
“I go hunting alone,” answers Whitney as Whitney walks towards her bedroom and closes her bedroom door.
“Earn my keep, what does she think I’m doing right now?” says Mike to himself.
“Did you find anything else out?” asks Matt to Mike.
“Something strange has been going on with the power company around here,” answers Mike.
“What do you mean?” asks Matt.
“Someone is blocking power from coming out from the electric company,” answers Mike.
“We already knew that,” says Jon.
“Well, power is still getting out and the power allowance just went up pretty recently,” replies Mike.
Jon walks over to Mike’s computer and asks, “What do you mean? Show me.”
Mike brings up the electric company database on his computer monitor and answers, “This is the power company. Most of the power is off around Tampa Bay, but a few select properties have power right now and full power.”
Jon, Matt, and Jaws Junior look at Mike’s computer screen and Jon asks, “Can you get the power back on? Can you see what properties have full power?”
Mike clicks on his wireless mouse and brings up another screen on his computer monitor and answers, “These locations look to have full power right now. But I’m being blocked on turning the power on or off.”
Jon looks at Mike’s computer monitor and says, “What the hell. The stadium, World of Trade, and Channelside look to have full power.”
Matt says, while looking at Mike’s oversized computer screen, “A couple other places do as well, but I’m not familiar with them.”
The sound of a car starting up and then driving down the street that the orange house is on is heard.
Jon runs to the boarded up front windows and sees the car driving down the street.
“That car is moving, let’s follow it,” says Jon and then Jon exits from the orange house.
Jaws Junior and Matt exit the orange house and they run over to Jon and they enter Matt’s car.
“Come on let’s go Matt,” impatiently says Jon.
Matt starts up his car and drives down the street.
“Which way do you think it went?” asks Matt.
“Try left as right takes you to the street with the fallen tree on it,” answers Jon.
Matt makes a left hand turn and drives down the street. Jaws Junior, while in the backseat of Matt’s car, says, “I think this car needs a tune up. I’ll check it out when we get back home.”
“Quiet back there, backseat driver,” jokes Matt.
Matt comes to an intersection and asks, “Which way should I go?”
Jon looks down each path of the intersection and he doesn’t see any sign of the car.
“I don’t know, but take a right as it will bring us home,” answers Jon.
Matt makes a right hand turn and approaches the Citrus Oaks entrance. “Man, that entrance looks good,” says Jaws Junior with a smile on his face.
“Yeah, it sure does,” replies Matt.
Matt drives into Citrus Oaks and the gate closes.
As the Citrus Oaks gate fully closes, the car that Matt was trying to follow comes down the street and turns into the small neighborhood where Jerri-Lynn’s old house is, and Charles and Chelsea currently still live.
The car drives down the street and parks in Charles and Chelsea’s driveway.
The driver side door opens and then closes. The person walks towards the cranberry front door of Charles and Chelsea’s house. The person unlocks the cranberry front door and then enters the house.
“Everything okay?” asks Charles to the person as they walk into the living room.
“Yeah, everything is okay, but I think we might have to move Chase. His safehouse may be unsecure,” answers Chelsea as she locks the cranberry front door.
“Why?” asks Charles.
“I saw Matt and Jon from Citrus Oaks and they were in that neighborhood today,” answers Chelsea.
“Did they see you or your brother?” asks Charles to Chelsea.
“I don’t think so, I tried to stay hidden, and I doubt Whitney would sell us out,” answers Chelsea.
“Good, let’s keep our connection with Whitney going,” says Charles.
“Definitely, she gave me the heads up that Jon and Matt and some other guy were inside her house and they asked about our car,” replies Chelsea.
“Let’s get rid of your car and move to another safehouse,” says Charles.
“I already started checking out some nearby neighborhoods,” replies Chelsea.
“Good, we have to get away from Citrus Oaks before they find Chase,” responds Charles.
“I won’t let them get to Chase,” says Chelsea.
“I know you won’t, you have always looked out for your brother,” replies Charles to Chelsea.
Chelsea looks at Charles and worries about what she may have to do to protect her father and brother.
CHAPTER 16
ALLIES
“What time are they coming to get you?” asks Lauren to me as I’m standing in the Medical house with Lauren.
“Eleven. It’s only ten right now,” I answer Lauren.
“Are you sure about this trip today?” asks Lauren.
I place some medical equipment into a large medical travel bag, and I answer Lauren, “No, but when are we ever totally sure of anything now?”
I take Lauren’s questions and comments as concern and worry, and I don’t take offense to them.
I look at Lauren and see that Lauren is worried for me and I say, “I’ll be okay sweetie. I’ll have Shaun, Phil, William and Bruce with me.”
“You don’t need your wife to protect you?” jokes Lauren.
“I could alway
s use my strong wife by my side, but I think going in with less people will show them that we are here to help, and we aren’t a threat,” I reply.
“What if they attack you?” asks Lauren.
“Then we’ll put them down,” I joke.
Lauren and I finish packing up the medical supplies that I want to bring to the Factory today and then we make our way back to our house.
It’s 10:30 in the morning and I make my way over to Shaun’s garage to meet with Shaun and Phil and wait for William and Bruce.
“Going with the light armor today?” asks Phil to me as Phil sees that I’m wearing a long sleeved shirt, pants, and my bulletproof vest but not my samurai armor or body armor chest plate.
“Yeah, I might have to operate or something today and I can’t move as free in my armor,” I answer Phil.
“Smart, good thinking,” says Shaun.
“How many people is William bringing today?” asks Phil.
“I have no idea, but hopefully it goes smoothly,” I answer Phil as I sit in a lawn chair inside Shaun’s garage.
“How’s the writing coming?” asks Shaun to me.
“Pretty good, but I’ll have to clean it up before I print these pages. I keep writing every military person as a soldier. I’m sure not every person in the military is classified as a soldier,” I answer.
“Yeah, Marines are Marines, soldiers are usually people in the Army, and military personnel usually hate to be called the wrong thing,” answers Phil.
“You really think you’ll get your notes published?” asks Shaun.
“I don’t know, but if we find a printing press somewhere around here I think we should check it out,” I answer Shaun.
The front gate of Citrus Oaks opens, and a lone hybrid SUV enters, our Citrus Oaks guards check the SUV, and the SUV drives down the street and stops in front of Shaun’s house.
William and Bruce exit from the hybrid SUV and Phil asks, “Is it just you two today?”
The rear passenger side SUV door opens, Dr. Vargas exits from the SUV, and answers, “I’m here as well.”
“Bringing the big guns today,” I joke at the sight of Dr. Vargas.
“Just trying to keep the situation calm with you and Hector,” says Dr. Vargas.
“Appreciate it, but don’t they need you back at the Haven?” I ask Dr. Vargas.
“We have a couple people looking over the medical room at the Haven, we’ll be fine for a couple hours without our doctor,” answers William.
“Let’s get going,” says Bruce to me, Shaun, and Phil.
Phil, Shaun, and I get into the large oversized hybrid SUV and Bruce exits Citrus Oaks.
“I’m glad you cleaned up your beard. You were looking to much like a mountain man,” says Dr. Vargas to me as I sit in the seat next to Dr. Vargas.
I stroke my facial hair and reply to Dr. Vargas, “It was getting a little out of control.”
“What are we looking at today?” asks Phil to William and Bruce.
“It will most likely be a hostile environment at first, but if they see you are valuable to them then they will keep you around. Javier only keeps people around who have value to him,” answers William.
“Great, sounds like a fun time,” jokes Shaun.
“Just don’t go punching anyone again,” jokes Dr. Vargas to me.
I smile, shake my head, and joke, “If that little shit comes at me, then I make no promises.”
Bruce enters St. Petersburg and we pass The Grove.
Shaun, Phil, and I look at what remains of The Grove and I can’t help but to remember what happened there.
Bruce makes a right hand turn and drives down a back alley. William says to Bruce, “Hector said to use the rear entrance to the Factory.”
“Yes sir,” replies Bruce.
Bruce approaches the rear entrance of the Factory and I start to feel anxious as I’m going to see Hector and I’m not sure how this meeting is going to go.
Dani sees that I’m anxious and says to me, “We are here to make sure things go smoothly. I’ll deal with Hector in there. I got your back.”
“Thanks D. I appreciate it,” I say to Dr. Vargas.
“And we got your front bro,” jokes Shaun.
“Man, I’m covered then,” I joke.
Bruce parks his hybrid SUV at the rear entrance of the Factory and I see four Spanish men standing with high-powered automatic weapons at an open warehouse bay.
I look at the alley and see that it’s secured with some fencing all around. There are no signs of zombies and I think about the fact that I didn’t see any zombies on the way over here or around the streets of St. Petersburg. “Did you guys see any zombies on the way here?” I ask Shaun and Phil.
“Slowly get out of the car!” shouts a large Spanish man as he points his automatic weapon at Bruce’s SUV.
William says to me, Shaun, Phil, and Dr. Vargas, “Stay in here and let us talk with them first.” William and Bruce exit from the SUV and talk with the Spanish gentleman.
“I don’t care who you are, do as I say or I’ll put you down,” says the Spanish man to William.
Bruce gets protective of William and puts his right hand on his handgun.
“That won’t be necessary,” says Javier as he exits through the open back bay with Hector and comes over to Bruce, William and the large Spanish man.
Dr. Vargas exits from the SUV and walks over to Hector. Hector and Dr. Vargas hug and kiss.
Shaun, Phil, and I sit in the back of Bruce’s SUV and Shaun jokes, “Guess were waiting to see how it goes before we make our move.”
I look, through Bruce’s SUV front windshield, at the interaction with William, Bruce, Dr. Vargas, Javier, and Hector.
“So where is the infamous Dr. Briggs?” asks Javier to William.
“He’s scared to face me?” jokes Hector.
“Come on now, he’s here to help and he feels bad for what happened with you last time,” says Dr. Vargas to Hector.
“What happened last time?” asks Javier to Dr. Vargas.
Dr. Vargas looks at Javier, but doesn’t know how to answer.
“Hector told us that he beat Dr. Briggs up, is that true?” asks Javier to Dr. Vargas.
“I don’t know as I wasn’t there,” answers Dr. Vargas.
“It doesn’t matter, but let’s get this going today,” says Hector.
Javier takes Hector’s statement as an insult and glares at Hector.
Dr. Vargas, Bruce, and William all feel the tension now between Javier and Hector and William says, “I’ll go get Ryan and we can get this meeting underway.”
William opens the rear passenger SUV door and says to me, Shaun, and Phil, “You guys are up.”
I exit from Bruce’s SUV and I’m followed by Shaun and Phil.
Shaun hands me my medical bag and I approach Javier, Hector, Bruce, and Dr. Vargas with William, Shaun, and Phil.
“I’ve heard much about you Dr. Briggs,” says Javier to me.
“Hopefully good things,” I jokingly reply to Javier and then I look at Hector.
Hector looks at me, but doesn’t say anything.
“Hector isn’t the only one in here that knows you,” says Javier.
I hear Javier’s statement and I’m confused.
“What do you mean?” I ask Javier.
“Let’s go inside and I’ll show you,” answers Javier.
Javier walks towards the open bay and I say, “I’m not going in there unless I know my people and I will definitely be coming out.”
Javier stops walking.
“You’ll be safe here Ryan. Don’t think so highly of yourself,” says Hector.
I glare at Hector and Hector looks back at me.
I walk right up to Hector’s face and Hector looks up at me.
Everyone around me and Hector doesn’t know what to do and just looks at us.
I look Hector in his eyes and say, “I’m sorry for choking you at the Haven.”
Dr. Vargas looks at Hector a
nd wonders how he will respond.
“What about kicking me?” jokes Hector.
“That to,” I reply with a smile on my face.
I put out my right hand for Hector to shake and Hector looks at me and says, “I’m sorry as well. I shouldn’t have said that about your father. I’m sorry that you lost him.”
Hector shakes my right hand and Javier shouts, “You’re getting soft H!”
I look at Javier and ask, “Give your word that we are safe here.”
Javier smiles and answers, “What kind of a man do you think I am?”
“I don’t know yet, but not much of one from what I see,” I jokingly reply.
Javier looks at me with a serious face and everyone standing around doesn’t know what to do. I can’t judge if my joke was taken the right way by Javier or not.
Javier smiles and shouts, “Hector told me you can be a smart ass!”
“Come on let’s get this going. People need your help in here,” says Hector to me and then Hector and I walk into the Factory followed by Dr. Vargas, Bruce, William, Shaun, and Phil.
I enter the Factory through the rear entrance, and I see people working on various projects, metal grinders making sparks on different metal pieces, and people organizing supplies.
Shaun and Phil look around the large open warehouse of the Factory and they are stared at by everyone they pass.
“It’s real Spanish in here,” says Shaun as he passes a group of people working on various weapons.
I turn towards Hector and say, “I met with DK. I heard you met him.”
“He’s not welcome here!” shouts a woman as she opens a door and comes speed walking towards me.
I see the woman come darting at me and I notice who the woman is.
“Friend of yours?” jokes Dr. Vargas to me.
I make eye contact with the woman and I see that it’s Gloria.
Gloria comes right for me and I see that she is angry. I brace myself for whatever Gloria is about to do and I see that Gloria takes her right arm back and is about to swing at me.
Suddenly Gloria’s right arm is grabbed by another person and Gloria turns towards the person that has her right forearm in their grasp.
“Now that’s no way to greet our guests Gloria,” says Javier to Gloria with a threatening tone of voice as he holds Gloria’s right forearm.
Fight 4 Us (Book 11): Access Page 17
