“It’s okay. It’s time they know who we are,” says Bakari to Cyrus.
Cyrus grabs his black cloth face mask and puts it over his nose and mouth.
Shaun sees the cloth mask and says, “Holy shit. You are the people from World of Trade. You have those creepy mask things.”
Bakari smiles and says, “That’s one way of putting it. Yes, we are the Ghosts.”
“Ghosts?” asks Jon.
Bakari answers Jon, “It’s a long story, but our group is called the Ghosts.”
“Are you the leader of the Ghosts?” I ask Bakari.
“I’m second in command. My brother is our leader,” answers Bakari.
“I would like to meet him,” I say to Bakari.
Bakari smirks and says, “You already have. A long time ago.”
Shaun, Jon, and I are confused.
“I don’t understand. When did I meet him?” I ask Bakari.
“You met him before the world fell apart. At Tampa Hospital,” answers Bakari.
Bakari explains to me when I met his brother several years ago when I worked at Tampa Hospital.
“My brother has had a rough life. He has several medical conditions and has been in and out of the hospital his whole life,” says Bakari.
“Did I operate on him?” I ask Bakari.
“No, but you did talk with him several times. My brother’s body is failing him, but his mind, heart, and soul are the strongest I have ever seen in a person,” answers Bakari.
I try to think back at my time at Tampa Hospital and I don’t remember any specific moments of patient interactions.
“I’m sorry Bakari, but I don’t remember meeting him,” I say to Bakari.
“That’s okay, we will take you to meet my brother another time. Today was about saving your friends and establishing our relationship,” says Bakari.
“Thank you for rescuing my men, but what can we do for you?” I ask Bakari.
“When the time comes, we will let you know what we need. You stay safe and stay alive. You are more important than you know Ryan,” answers Bakari.
I am not sure what Bakari means by his statement and I don’t know what to say.
“We will be in touch Ryan, but I have a couple more things for you. Please, come back to our vehicle. I want to give you something,” says Bakari.
Bakari, Cyrus, Phil, Shaun, Jon, and I exit my house and walk back over to Bakari’s SUV.
“What type of guns do you usually use?” asks Bakari as we all walk towards his SUV.
“Why?” asks Phil.
Bakari opens the back hatch of his luxury SUV and reveals a plethora of guns and ammunition.
“Damn, you rob a gun shop?” asks Shaun.
“Now why did you have to go there?” asks Cyrus.
“Sorry, big man. Just thinking logically as you have a lot of weapons and ammo here,” answers Shaun.
I look into the back of Bakari’s SUV and see several machine guns, assault rifles, handguns, and several containers of different types of bullets, shells, and casings.
I look at Phil and ask, “What do you think Phil? What do we use?”
Phil answers, “We can use it all actually. We have a plethora of guns, but not enough ammo for them.”
“That’s what we were doing on our run today. Getting the supplies to make bullets to protect this place,” says Jon.
“Good thinking. We have the bullets, the weapons, the tech, and the tools to survive. We just need the right people to join us,” says Bakari.
“Can you get the stuff that we left behind in our truck?” asks Shaun to Bakari and Cyrus.
Bakari answers, “I’ll send a group out to see if they can get your belongings, but it will take some time. We have a lot of stuff going on right now.”
Phil looks at Bakari and asks, “How much ammo can we take?”
“However much you need. We have plenty, but remember you have to repay what you take. We aren’t giving charity around here,” answers Bakari.
Phil and Shaun look at the ammunition and think about what they should take.
I look at Bakari and say, “Thank you. We have something big coming up very soon and we could use your help with it.”
Bakari smiles and replies, “We have our own big things going on right now, but we will be in touch with you after you get everything settled.”
“How much for these three bins here?” asks Phil.
Bakari looks at the shotgun shells, rifle ammo, and handgun ammo that Phil and Shaun want.
“That’s very expensive, but you guys are worth it,” answers Bakari.
“What does that mean?” asks Shaun.
Cyrus answers, “It means that you will owe us something big if you take all that.”
Phil and Shaun look at me for a decision.
I look at Bakari and ask, “What will you want us to do if we take all that ammo?”
Bakari smiles and answers, “It’s hard to quantify a price, but we will work it out. Trust me. You will want to be on our side.”
“How about you get our stuff from our destroyed truck, plus your ammo in here for whatever you want us to do?” asks Jon.
Shaun picks up a strange looking bullet that is made for a rifle and says, “And a couple of these too.”
Bakari looks at the bullet that Shaun is talking about and asks, “You know what those are?”
“No, but they look badass,” answers Shaun.
“Well, they are extremely rare which makes them extremely expensive,” answers Bakari.
Cyrus laughs, looks at Bakari, and says, “These boys can’t handle those ER’s.”
Shaun gets mad and says, “We want them.”
“You sure guys?” I ask Shaun and Phil.
Shaun and Phil look at me and answer, “Yes.”
“Okay. So, we want the ammo from your vehicle, the stuff that was left in the truck, and anything else guys?” I ask Jon, Shaun, and Phil.
“I want one of those masks that you have,” says Jon to Bakari.
Bakari looks at me and says, “That can all be arranged.”
Bakari sticks his right hand out towards me.
“I want you on our side,” I say as I shake Bakari’s right hand.
“You won’t be disappointed. We have a lot of connections in Tampa Bay, Florida, and around the country still. Glad to have you on board Dr. Briggs,” replies Bakari.
Shaun, Jon, and Phil take the ammunition from Bakari’s SUV.
“Keep a record of what they took Cy. We will want payment for it,” says Bakari.
Shaun, Jon, and Phil take the ammunition into Shaun’s garage.
Cyrus writes down what Shaun and Phil took on a small electronic tablet.
“We will get back to your truck and get your supplies and weapons. We will be in touch Dr. Briggs,” says Bakari to me.
“Please Bakari, call me Ryan,” I say to Bakari.
“Sorry, I just see you as the renowned Dr. Briggs who fixed my shoulder,” replies Bakari.
Cyrus walks over to Bakari and me.
“I’ll be in touch Ryan,” says Bakari.
Bakari and Cyrus walk towards their SUV.
“How?” I ask Bakari.
“We have our ways,” answers Bakari as he gets into his SUV.
Cyrus starts up the SUV and drives towards our main entrance.
“What the fuck just happened?” asks Phil.
I watch Bakari’s SUV exit our neighborhood and see two other vehicles follow behind his SUV.
“Did he have people waiting outside for him?” I ask Jon and Shaun.
“Yeah, another black SUV and a yellow sports car,” answers Jon.
“Okay, just wanted to make sure that they didn’t just get attacked outside of our neighborhood,” I reply to Jon.
“We got tons of ammo from Bakari Ry. We should be set with ammo for a while now,” says Phil.
“Great. I’m glad. That is one less thing to worry about,” I reply to Phil.
“What do we d
o now?” asks Jon.
I look at Phil and say, “Let’s get in touch with Hector and meet him at the Haven.”
“I’ll get right on it. I’m going to put all this ammo in the armory first though,” replies Phil.
Phil looks at Shaun and says, “Help me with this.
Shaun and Phil start to place the ammunition they just got from Bakari into several different plastic totes.
“Where the hell is Matt?” asks Shaun.
“I guess he’s taking the world’s longest shit,” jokes Jon.
I laugh at Jon’s joke.
“Do you think we can trust Bakari and the Ghosts?” asks Jon.
Shaun answers, “I hope so. They had some heavy-duty firepower and ammo. I wonder what else they have?”
I answer Jon, “I hope so also. Bakari is good people, but this world can make good people turn bad very quickly.”
“You should have seen Shaun’s face when Bakari came over to us with his skeleton mask on. I thought he was going to cry,” says Jon.
“Dude, those masks freak me out for some reason. I’m not a big fan of people wearing masks. I don’t like masks, clowns, or dolls,” says Shaun.
“Good, I know what to get you for your next birthday,” I joke with Shaun.
“A clown doll that is wearing a mask,” jokes Jon.
“But seriously guys, I’m glad you are safe. That’s the big thing here,” I say to Jon and Shaun.
“I’m glad we are safe as well, but I left Silencer in the truck,” says Jon.
“That’s right. I left my rifle in the truck as well,” says Shaun.
“Bakari and his group will hopefully be able to get your stuff back,” I reply to Shaun.
“I hope so. We also got a lot of supplies that we needed to make our bullets,” says Jon.
“We can always go back there,” I reply to Jon.
“It was a weird location though. The industrial complex warehouses with the building materials were so close to the shopping center,” says Shaun.
“Was it the shopping center that JJ told us about?” I ask Shaun.
“Yeah,” answers Shaun.
“Why did you go near there?” I ask Shaun.
“Matt had it written down from Dutch and Cage. I didn’t remember the shopping center until it was too late,” answers Shaun.
“Plus, it was raining and tough to see at times,” says Jon.
“Well, we don’t need anyone going near that place again. Sounds like you guys got lucky today,” I say.
“Yeah, we did. The shooter picked apart the old pickup. Shot out the windows, the engine, and the tires,” says Shaun.
“Was the shooter missing you on purpose?” I ask.
“Yeah, I think so. He easily could have killed us and definitely could have killed Matt,” answers Shaun.
“Damn, well I’m glad you made it out alive. Never a dull moment around here,” I reply to Shaun.
“That’s for sure,” says Jon.
I say goodbye to Shaun, Phil, and Jon and then walk towards my house.
“I want some of those bullets!” I shout as I cross the street.
Shaun shouts, “We will divide them up evenly!”
“You better! I know you’ll keep those special bullets for yourself!” I shout as I walk up my driveway.
I walk inside my house.
Shaun picks up one of the special bullets that Bakari gave us and asks, “I wonder why they call you ER?”
CHAPTER 14
I’M AFRAID
“I think you should be good now,” says Jaws Junior to Bobby G as Jaws Junior looks at the engine of Bobby G’s old SUV that is parked inside Bobby G’s garage.
“Thank you Jaws Junior,” replies Bobby G.
Bobby G looks at the engine of his old SUV and says, “You know I love this old SUV. It means a lot to me.”
“I know what you mean. Vehicles can definitely mean a lot to people. I love my motorcycle,” replies Jaws Junior.
“You ready to get going or what?” asks Darlene to Jaws Junior as she walks over to Bobby G and Jaws Junior.
“Yup, we should be all set here,” answers Jaws Junior to Darlene.
Darlene looks at Jaws Junior and asks, “How did you sleep last night?”
“Pretty good. Those meds Ryan gave me really knocked me out last night,” answers Jaws Junior.
“I slept like crap on that shitty mattress in that medical house,” complains Darlene.
“How’s the shoulder?” asks Bobby G to Jaws Junior.
“It’s sore, but it feels much better. The whole arm does actually,” answers Jaws Junior.
“Well, let’s get going. I’m sure Indy misses us,” says Darlene.
“You guys still living at the dealership?” asks Bobby G.
“We have some stuff there still, but we moved back into our house,” answers Darlene.
“That’s great. It’s gotta be nice to be back home again,” replies Bobby G.
“Yeah, it’s great. The Conquerors tore up the place and the neighborhood, but I’m just glad they are gone,” says Jaws Junior.
I walk over to Bobby G’s garage.
“Thanks again Ryan. Thank you for helping us,” says Darlene.
“You are welcome. I’m just glad the bullet didn’t hit an artery. The shoulder should be good to go after it heals up,” I say to Jaws Junior and Darlene.
“I would tighten up those bolts on the engine before you take her out for a test drive Bob. They could come loose if you try to drive it before securing them,” says Jaws Junior to Bobby G.
“I will, thank you,” replies Bobby G.
Darlene and Jaws Junior walk to their car and exit Citrus Oaks.
“You ready Bob?” I ask Bobby G.
“What’s going on today?” asks Bobby G.
“We are going to the Haven to get a plan for The Grove. Hector has some new info for us, and I want all of us that are going to The Grove to hear it,” I answer Bobby G.
“Okay, well let me go wash up. I’ll be ready to go in like fifteen minutes,” replies Bobby G.
“You still up for The Grove?” I ask Bobby G.
“Yeah, I want to help protect you and the guys,” answers Bobby G.
“Just making sure. I don’t want anything happening to you. You have been through a lot so far and I’m not sure you got anymore lives left in you,” I reply to Bobby G.
“Maybe not, but I can’t just sit around and worry about you and the guys. I want to help,” replies Bobby G.
“Okay, go wash up and meet us at my house in fifteen minutes,” I say to Bobby G.
Bobby G walks into his house through his front door.
I look at Bobby G’s old SUV and remember when he got it. It was his retirement gift to himself. A brand-new SUV just for him.
Lauren walks out of our house and I walk over to her.
“Good, you didn’t leave yet. I want to come with you guys to the Haven,” says Lauren.
“Are you coming with us to The Grove?” I ask Lauren.
“Probably not, but I want to see Li again. I have been working with my sais, but I want Li to show me a couple more things,” answers Lauren.
“Okay, we are leaving in fifteen minutes though,” I say to Lauren.
Lauren runs back inside our house.
I smile and shake my head.
Phil drives an electric truck down my street and parks it in my driveway.
I look at Phil as he gets out of the electric truck.
“You ready?” asks Phil.
“Yeah, just waiting on Lauren, Bobby G, Jon, Matt, Shaun, and Brody,” I answer Phil.
“Brody is coming with us?” asks Phil.
“He wants to get back to the Haven. He hasn’t been there in a while,” I answer Phil.
“Okay, we got a full boat then,” says Phil.
Matt walks out of his house and comes over to Phil and me.
“What’s up Matt?” I ask Matt.
“Hey Ryan. Hey Phil,” answers Matt.<
br />
“You okay bro?” I ask Matt.
Matt puts his bag into the back of Phil’s electric truck and answers, “I’m okay. Why? What’s up?”
“Just making sure man. You seem a little off. Like something is bothering you. I have barely seen you,” I answer Matt.
“I’m doing okay, just a little tired is all,” replies Matt.
“I just think I would see the guy that lives across the street from me more often though,” I say to Matt.
“You are right Ry. I have been feeling off lately. I hate what the world has become. I used to have such a normal life with a normal job and a normal wife,” replies Matt.
I go to reply to Matt, but Matt interrupts.
“I’m worried about Kylie, the baby, my mom, this place, and really everything. I’m in a constant state of worry,” says Matt.
Phil goes to respond to Matt, but Matt interrupts.
“The world is a crazy place and it’s forcing us to make terrible decisions. Like killing people, hurting people, and stealing,” says Matt.
Shaun walks over to Matt, Phil, and me.
“What’s up ladies?” jokes Shaun.
“Matt is just venting his frustrations about the world,” answers Phil.
“Shit, again with this,” says Shaun.
I look at Matt and say, “I hear ya Matt. The world is a shitty place right now and your normal life is probably gone. The world forever changed the day that the zombies started roaming the streets.”
“I get that, but I don’t like it. I keep going to sleep and hoping that I’ll wake up in my bed in Raleigh, and I’m late for work or something. Something that I used to hate about everyday life but would kill to have now. Like being stuck in the morning coffee line,” says Matt.
“I hate coffee and those overpriced coffee places,” I say to Matt, Shaun, and Phil.
“You know what I mean. Just to have some part of my normal life back. Where we didn’t have to worry about freaking zombies or someone trying to take what we have,” says Matt.
Lauren walks out of our house and over to me.
“Everything okay here?” asks Lauren.
“Yeah, we are just waiting on Jon, Brody, and Bobby G now,” I answer Lauren.
An electric car comes driving down my street and stops at the edge of my driveway.
Jon exits from the electric car that Kelly is driving.
“We’ll make sure we bring him back around five,” jokes Phil to Kelly.
Fight 4 Us (Book 9): Settlement Page 15
