Golden State Partisans

by Robert Boren

Gil chuckled. “No, I was the help. She wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

  “Then why’d you let her hang around you?”

  “She was scared, and I hadn’t seen you yet,” Gil said, bringing her in for another hard kiss. He had her off balance now, her breath coming hard. She noticed his confidence and laughed.

  “Think you’ve got me under control, huh?” she asked.

  “I don’t think anybody can have you under control. That much I can tell already.”

  “We’re gonna have fun,” she said, locking eyes with him again. “When are we leaving?”

  “Half hour, from what I’ve heard.”

  “Okay,” she said, sitting down in the passenger seat and looking at the controls. “Diesel. You’ll have to show me how to drive this.”

  “I will,” Gil said, sitting behind the wheel. “This thing is the bomb.”

  She smiled at him, then looked out the windshield. “By the way, I’m taking the bedroom.”

  “Okay,” Gil said.

  “So are you.”

  Gil smiled at her, heart beating quicker again. “Wish we had more than half an hour.”

  “I don’t think we even have that,” Tisha said. “Look, they’re opening the big door.”

  “Okay, everybody, let’s fire these babies up,” shouted Sparky, clapping his hands to get their attention.

  “Yeeeeehawww!” shouted Tex.

  “He’s crazy,” Tisha said.

  Gil saw Karen following Tex and the two women who were walking to his rig. Then he looked over at Tisha, and a smile washed over his face.

  “Yes, you did make the better choice,” she said. “Or rather I did.”

  The coach engines started, Jules in the black-striped rig leading the way out the door.

  Chapter 10 – Passing Through Gorman

  Yvonne was driving, the shadows getting longer as late afternoon wore on.

  “We should be hearing from the others soon,” Sid said. “They’ve got to be about settled by now.”

  “We’re gonna get some rest before we take off for Warner Springs, I hope.”

  “We’ll have to, sweetie,” Sid said. “I’ll call Clem and see what’s up.”

  “Yeah, do that.”

  Sid pulled out his phone and hit Clem’s contact. It rang a couple times, and Clem picked up.

  “Sid! Where are you guys?”

  “Just a sec, I’m gonna put it on speaker.” Sid pushed the button and held the phone near his face. “Hear me okay?”

  “Yep,” Clem said. “Where are you guys?”

  “Hi, Clem,” Yvonne said.

  “Hi, Yvonne. How’s Sam holding up?”

  “We’re gonna have to watch him like a hawk,” she said.

  “You didn’t tell me where you are.”

  “Just passed Santa Ysabel ten minutes ago,” Sid said. “We’re close to Wynola.”

  “Oh, hell, you guys are almost here,” Clem said. “No problems on the road?”

  “Not since Sam killed those UN thugs north of Warner Springs.” Yvonne said. “How far past Julian is this RV Park you’re in?”

  “Just a few miles,” Clem said. “Nice place. We’ve got Ji-Ho’s rig up on a ridge. Good commanding view of the whole area from up there.”

  “No problems on the road?” Sid asked.

  “Nah,” Clem said. “The elders, women, and children of the tribe went to an alternate location.”

  “Where?” Yvonne asked.

  “They ain’t telling us,” Clem said. “Not that I blame them, of course.”

  “I know where it is,” Sid said.

  “Well don’t tell us,” Clem said. “I want to keep in good with these folks.”

  “Understand,” Sid said.

  “Here’s Wynola,” Yvonne said.

  “Another bustling metropolis,” Sid quipped.

  Yvonne smiled, looking around. “It looks like a cool little town.”

  Clem laughed. “I should get off the phone. There’s a meeting starting in about twenty minutes, and I need to clean up a little. You guys will probably be here about the time it starts.”

  “Okay,” Sid said. “Talk to you soon.” He ended the call.

  “Well, sounds like things are going well,” Yvonne said.

  “I hope the second location is as secure as they think it is,” Sid said.

  “Where is it?”

  “If it’s the place I’m thinking about, it’s outside of Pine Valley,” Sid said. “Don’t tell anybody.”

  “Understand. Pretty close to I-8. Think that’s really safe?”

  “Lots of heavily forested nooks and crannies out there,” Sid said. “What worries me are the state records. They probably know about every plot of land owned by the Barona tribe by now.”

  “Geez,” Yvonne said.

  They rode silently for a few minutes as the road twisted towards Julian.

  “We’re here,” Yvonne said as they entered the town. “Always loved visiting.”

  “Best apple pie I’ve had anywhere,” Sid said.

  “Want to stop?”

  “No, let’s get to the RV Park. I want to attend that meeting. Ought to be starting any minute.”

  “Okay,” Yvonne said. “What street is it again?”

  Sid looked at his phone for a moment. “KQ Ranch Road. Looks like a long way on the map, but it’s only about five miles from here. We’re talking ten minutes.”

  “Give me a little early warning before we get to the road, okay?”

  “Will do, honey,” Sid said. “Pretty around here. Might be a nice place to settle when this mess is over.”

  “You don’t want to go back to Dulzura?”

  “Too many bad memories there,” Sid said. “I would like to retrieve our RV if it wasn’t destroyed.”

  “I know, I miss our home,” Yvonne said. “If we had a few days, I’d go down there and see if we could get it.”

  “That’s an interesting idea,” Sid said, putting the phone up to his face. “Hmmm. Only about an hour to get there. We might be able to find a couple hours for a round trip, but what if it’s destroyed?”

  Yvonne chuckled. “Then we’ve wasted two hours of doing… what?”

  “Depends on when the battle happens, I guess,” Sid said. “They’re gonna need my bow.”

  “Probably. We getting close?”

  “Oh, crap, better focus my phone back on that,” Sid said, moving his fingers on the screen. “Half a mile. It’s a left turn.”

  “I’ll bet John and Sarah would like to get their rig too,” Yvonne said.

  “Hell, Sam’s even got one there,” Sid said. “It’s a small trailer… dammit.” His eyes welled with tears.

  Yvonne looked over at him, fighting back tears herself. “He only needs room for one now.”

  “Might be too hard for him.”

  “Might be,” Yvonne said. “That the turn?”

  “Yep.”

  “Where do I go from there?” Yvonne asked.

  “The road leads right to the place,” Sid said, trying to regain his composure.

  Yvonne made the turn, John and Sarah’s truck following them. They drove the twisty road, then turned into the driveway. Sid pulled all the way forward in the check-in lane, John pulling up tight against him.

  “A little chilly,” Sam said as he climbed out of the truck bed.

  “Elevation,” John said, helping Sarah out of the truck.

  “Might as well go straight to the clubhouse,” Sid said. “The meeting should just be starting.”

  The five of them walked to the clubhouse door. Clem saw them, and raised his hand. He was up towards the front.

  “Sam, so sorry about what happened,” Ji-Ho said as they walked in.

  “Thanks,” Sam said. “How many did we lose?”

  “Only few,” Ji-Ho said. “One Eye was tough.”

  “Such a tragic loss,” Yvonne said.

  “Yes, is,” Ji-Ho said. “I got last cabin for you. Two bedroom. You can all stay
. Also have room in rig for another person or two. Clem’s there.”

  “I got my rig too,” Hank said. “Jason and I are both in it, but it’s a bunkhouse model. I’ve got room for a couple more.”

  “Thanks,” Sam said as they got to the front by the stage.

  “Sam,” Clem said, choking back tears. “I don’t have the words.”

  “I know, old friend,” Sam said. “Life has to go on.”

  “You sound better than I expected,” Clem said.

  “I’m tied up in knots inside,” Sam said quietly. “She was everything to me. She’d want me to go on, to fight. That’s what I’m gonna do.”

  They sat down on one of the long benches facing the stage. Tyler, James, Zac, and Ryan were around the podium getting ready. Tyler saw Sam, Yvonne, and Sid. He broke away from the others and walked to the edge of the stage.

  “Sam, so sorry to hear about your wife,” Tyler said. “Glad you guys are here.”

  “Thanks,” Sam said. “So sorry about One Eye. He was a great man.”

  “Yes, he was,” Tyler said.

  “They did a good job picking his replacement,” Sid said. “Congrats.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “I hope I can do as well as One Eye. He’s a hard act to follow.”

  “You’ll do fine,” Yvonne said.

  “Thanks,” he said. “We’ll get started in a moment.” He walked back to the podium.

  “He’ll be good,” Sid said.

  “Yep, that was a great choice,” Clem said. “He dived right in with both feet, too. Impressive young man.”

  “Good Afternoon,” Tyler said into the microphone. He was at the podium, the others gathered behind him.

  There was a smattering of applause. He held up his hands to end it.

  “As you know, the enemy has retreated from Julian. Thanks to Sam, Yvonne, and Sid, we know which city they’re in. It’s Warner Springs, about half an hour’s drive from here.”

  “Do we know the exact location yet?” Seth asked.

  “No, not yet,” Tyler said. “I propose that we send scouts out to look around.”

  “Who?” Ji-Ho asked.

  “We’ll ask for some volunteers. James, Zac, and Ryan have already agreed to be part of the team.”

  “We’ll go,” Kenny said, standing next to Bradley.

  “I’m willing to go,” Trevor said.

  Kaylee looked at him, then up at the stage. “I’m going if he is.”

  “Not a good idea,” Sam said. “I’m gonna go. I suggest that Trevor wait. He’s going to be needed to run the team that follows us.”

  “Follows us?” James asked.

  “If you guys get close enough, you’re likely to be seen,” Sam said. “We need to be ready to hit them right away. So the small team needs to go in and poke around while the rest of us are on the way.”

  Tyler stood silently for a moment, thinking.

  “He’s probably right,” Ryan said softly behind him.

  “Yes,” Tyler said. “Okay, Sam, I agree that’s a good way to handle this.”

  “Who’s in this second team?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “All of us,” Trevor said. “Anybody disagree?”

  “You’re right,” Sam said. “It needs to be everybody who can fire a gun. We need to have a decisive victory.”

  “I take battle wagon,” Ji-Ho said.

  “You mean that huge RV of yours?” Kenny asked.

  Trevor laughed. “That thing has a lot of capability. I agree. We take that, but he’s in back when we go in. We don’t want to tip off the enemy.”

  “Yes, I get you out of jam if needed,” Ji-Ho said.

  “I’m still not getting this,” Kenny said.

  “It’s got a mini-gun mounted on a turret,” Trevor said. “And it’s bullet-proof. It also has machine guns in front and rear, and some other neat tricks.”

  “You’re kidding,” Kenny said.

  “I know about this,” Tyler said. “We rode up with him. I agree with Trevor. We need that vehicle, just in case we run into trouble.”

  “You’re forgetting about some other folks,” Hank said. “The towns people of Julian and Warner Springs. Jason and I know Warner Springs like the back of our hands, and we also know a lot of the people there. We need to be in the first team. We’ll find out where the base is a lot quicker that way. You folks would be stabbing in the dark.”

  Tyler smiled. “You’re right. Thanks for speaking up. I think you two ought to lead the away team, then. You okay with that?”

  “Yep,” Hank said.

  “I’m ready,” Jason said.

  “How many of the townspeople would be interested in joining the second group?” James asked.

  “At least fifty,” Hank said. “Maybe more. Remember who kicked these cretins out of the town in the first place.”

  “They also called for help, though, didn’t they?” Sid asked.

  “Yeah, they did, which tells me there’s more bad guys collecting in Warner Springs to attack them,” Sam said. “You know where the request came from, Hank?”

  “Yeah, my boss,” Hank said. “The Sheriff.”

  “Does he know where the base is?” Tyler asked.

  “No,” Hank said. “Asked him a little while ago. He has some suspicions.”

  “Where?” Sam asked.

  “There’s a place on the north side of town,” Hank said. “It’s an abandoned resort. He thinks they might be there, based on comments from some of the locals. It’s the first place we ought to check, and it’s easy to sneak up to. Lots of cover.”

  “When are we going?” Seth asked.

  “I suggest we time it so the first team arrives in early morning,” Hank said, “when it’s still dark. We hit them with the second team at first light, if the first team can find the location.”

  “Good, that gives us time to sleep,” Megan said.

  “Yes, I suggest everybody hits the sack early tonight,” Tyler said. “We need to be up by about 3:00.”

  “Sounds like a good plan,” Sam said.

  “We be ready,” Ji-Ho said.

  “I’ll talk to the townspeople,” Hank said. “We done here?”

  “Yes,” Tyler said. “Unless there’s any questions.”

  Nobody said anything, so the group disbursed. Sid looked at Clem and Sam.

  “Something on your mind, Sid?” Sam asked.

  “Does that fancy camera at the Dulzura park still work?” he asked. “The one you can turn around?”

  “Haven’t checked for a while,” Sam said. “Why?”

  “If we survive this battle, it’d be nice to go get our rigs. It’s only an hour’s drive from here.”

  Sam got a grim look on his face. “I don’t think I can go back there.”

  “You don’t have to,” Yvonne said. “You mind if we do?”

  “No, as long as you don’t get killed,” Sam said.

  “I might be interested in that,” John said.

  “Honey, no,” Sarah said.

  “Don’t you want our home back?”

  “It’s probably blown apart anyway,” Sarah said.

  “That’s why I was asking about the camera,” Sid said. “Think it can turn around and see our coaches, Clem? You set it up.”

  “If it still works, we can move it in that direction,” Clem said. “That’s a big if, though.”

  “You have a rig too, Clem,” Sid said. “Maybe you’d want to go along.”

  “I might at that,” he said. “Better think this through, though. It might be dangerous. Very dangerous. I’d suggest we forget about the camera and risk the time to go there without trying to look.”

  “Why?” Sid asked.

  “The enemy knows what the IP address of the video feed is. They might notice that somebody manipulated the camera. Might tip them off to set up a trap.”

  “Shit, he’s got a point,” John said.

  “Yes, he does,” Sam said. “Of course, we could get there, set up an ambush ourselves, and th
en manipulate the camera. Might have a good chance at killing the bastards who nailed our friends.”

  Sid and Yvonne shot each other a nervous look.

  ***

  Tex drove the yellow rig through the darkness, feeling lonesome. Alexis and Lily sat next to each other in the dinette, chatting about what they were going to do when they were let go. Karen sat on the couch alone, sulking since they left, which was more than an hour ago. They were passing Gorman, the big rig handling the grade well considering its weight. Tex couldn’t even feel the Jeep they were towing behind them. He hadn’t seen any of the other rigs for a while. Jules had them leave at ten minute intervals so they wouldn’t look like a giant caravan on the road. That was good and bad. His eyes darted around, dwelling on the rear-view mirrors much more than normal.

  “Mind if I sit up here?” Karen asked softly.

  “I’d love it, little lady,” Tex said. “Was getting a tad lonely.”

  “I don’t really want to talk,” she said. “I just had to get away from Frick and Frack back there. The chattering was getting to me.”

  He smiled, glancing over at her, taking in her beautiful face and thick red hair. “It wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

  She shot a glance at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “You and Gil,” Tex said. “I saw what happened.”

  “Nothing happened,” she said.

  Tex chuckled. “You got aced out by that little hottie. You’re pissed, and you’ve been sulking about it for the whole time we’ve been on the road.”

  “Shut up,” she said. “I said I didn’t want to talk.”

  “Okay,” Tex said. He reached for the radio and turned it on, finding a country-western station. He turned it up and sat back, enjoying the music.

  “Oh, please,” Karen said. “Gonna slop the hogs when we get to camp?”

  “Now that’s not nice,” Tex said, trying not to laugh out loud. He turned it off.

  “You’re messing with me,” she said softly. “Stop it.”

  “I’m not messing with you,” Tex said. “Not really. Not much, anyway.”

  “I don’t think you’re charming,” she said. “I know what a drugstore cowboy is. Do you even like girls?”

  Tex laughed again. “This is gonna be a long drive.”

  “Well then just stop talking and we’ll get along fine,” she said.

  “That will make the drive even longer, so you can forget that.”