“Yeah, I saw… Vlad, I think we may be able to help each other.
“Here goes my pitch:
“We have a group of about 30 men, women and children up in McKinney. Like I said, we are headed to Colorado. One of my buddies out there,” he added, pointing to the parking lot, “grew up out there and his parents live on like a 400-acre ranch with a 10-acre garden.
“I know you can’t stay here forever, Vlad. It may be years before this shit storm blows over, and you can only shoot one gun at a time.
“So the deal is, you join our group and bring everything we can carry from your store to be used by the group. If we make it, you live out your days in the beautiful mountains of northern Colorado.”
“Who’s the guy?” asked Vladimir.
“My buddy, Lance,” pointing outside.
“Let’s have a chat with him,” added Vladimir.
After moving the furniture blocking the door, Lonnie peered out and shouted “Hey, Lance! Come here for a minute.”
“Be right there,” I yelled back. “Hold my weapons,” I told Jake. “I don’t want to look like a threat… Cover my ass, though, just in case.”
“I always do,” Jake laughed.
I slowly headed towards the front door and it opened as soon as I was close.
“You’re Lance,” said Vladimir, extending his hand. “Yes, sir,” I said, sizing him up. Vladimir looked like Vladimir Putin. I could almost see him riding a horse or fishing outside of Moscow but thought it wise not to point out the stereotype.
“My good friend Lonnie here has extended an offer to me, as I’m sure you know.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied. “I am on board with it. We all are,” pointing to the others outside.
“Tell me of this place in the mountains,” he said. I hear it is 400 acres with a garden of 10 acres, yes?”
“It’s 350 acres with six acres being the garden, to be exact,” I replied. “I grew up there as a kid. It’s a spiritual place that welcomes all. There are about 150 people who live there now, including my parents and brother.
“They have a year’s worth of food, a few weapons, a well, and even a fire truck. The valley is about four miles long, protected on two sides by mountains and shared with a large group of The Church of the West members, who keep mostly to themselves.”
“Why would they add 30 more people?” asked Vladimir, suspiciously.
“This is why,” I interjected, pointing to his many guns on the back wall. “Plus, they like me!” I added with a laugh.
“I see,” said Vladimir, still stone serious. “Since I lost my wife, Mary, a few years back it’s been just me and my shop. This is all I know. But things are really getting fucked up and lately I have been thinking about what to do. Then you come here,” pointing at Lonnie.
“I can’t even leave here to go home and get food now. So to be straight, if I give my guns to the group, minus a few special ones of my choosing that I would be keeping for myself, then I am a full member to Colorado and after, yes?”
“Yes,” we both said together.
“Wait here,” he directed, as he disappeared in the back.
“What do you think?” I asked Lonnie in a low voice.
“I don’t see as he has much choice. He can’t defend this place too much longer. Way I see it, he gives us the guns and buys freedom to leave here or someone else takes them and his days are over. I hope he makes the right choice. He’s a good man,” he added.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Seventeen ~ McKinney, Texas
Joy had lunch made in under thirty minutes, with the help of Nancy, Tina, Kelly, and a few of the other ladies. Canned chicken in flour tortillas with salsa was on the menu, along with corn chips and cookies for dessert.
“I’m going to miss cookies,” said Joy to another mom. “They are not so easy to make anymore.” The kids dug in, and to her surprise not one of them complained about the food.
After lunch and a quick cleanup, they were out to the backyard, watching some of the children play on the trampoline. Jax, Hudson and Hendrix were playing with old friends from the neighborhood and making new ones.
“I wonder what’s happening out there?” questioned Joy.
They heard occasional sounds, like gunshots, far off in the distance. A week ago they would have driven her inside with the kids in a panic, calling the Police, and now it was just another sound, like a car going down the road.
“I wonder what everyone is going to do when the food really does run out?” asked Kelly.
“I don’t know,” Joy replied, “but I hope we are far away from here when it does.”
“When are we going to Colorado, Mommy?” asked Hudson. “Yeah,” Hendrix chimed in. “We want to go now.”
“Sorry, guys. When Daddy gets back we will maybe have an idea of when we can leave. Until then, go have fun, gentle boys.” “I think you mean gentlemen,” said Hudson. “Not yet, my son…not yet.”
She gave herself just a minute to dream about the trip to Colorado. The whole group traveling together in a line of cars or RVs…just a few days and they would be back in Colorado, safe and sound.
She, Lance and the boys had been back almost every year for vacation, and they all like it there. Her mind was wandering and her daydream was pleasant. Then the doubt crept in like a thief. What if we can’t find more working vehicles or gas? What if other people want to take our food or hurt us? What if we can’t protect the children?
“Joy! Joy!” she heard, coming out of a daze.
“The shots in the distance are a bit closer now. It’s time to get the kids inside,” said Jim. “We’ve been walking the neighborhood and things are getting less safe out there.”
Jim was always a good neighbor to Joy and me. His kids were grown and his wife passed a couple of years ago to breast cancer. I never understood why he stayed in that big suburban house all by himself. But now I guess I understood. It’s hard to find really good neighbors these days.
I was happy he was one of the guys staying back, in case something happened to us. He was a former marine in Vietnam. He didn’t talk much about it but I knew he would be a solid protector if it came down to it.
Suzie and Veronica were good with our boys. The girls were talking more every day. They didn’t ask about their mom much anymore, but we always tried to ask about their old life with her as much as we could. They were ours now—a part of the family for sure.
Food and water was the talk of the day. How much and how long would it last?
“Water is not as much of a concern,” Joy told Nancy and Tina. “We have enough water filters to have clean water for a group of 40 for the next 30 years. We just need to have the safety to go get it from the local ponds, rivers and lakes. Once the boys get back home, we should be good. Food however, is always going to be a struggle.”
“We are going to have to really stock up to get to Colorado, don’t you think?” asked Tina. “It still won’t be enough,” stated Nancy.
A local TV show popped into Joy’s head. Armando Montelongo, a Texas house flipper, once said when he first got to town he was so down on his luck, he came in riding on fumes. He since turned it around, into a big business.
She couldn’t help but smile, thinking they would be skidding into Colorado on fumes, sliding sideways on bald tires. She hoped once she got there it would be everything she was hoping for. A place for her family to start over and a place to feel safe again.
There was a loud bang, as the picture window they were standing next to shattered from a golf-ball-sized hole. Joy looked down to see a shard of glass stuck in her forearm. There was a lot of blood and the kids started screaming.
“Everyone get down on the floor,” yelled Jim. They all did as instructed.
“Let me take a look at your arm,” said Nancy, without hesitation. While Nancy crawled across the floor to get her medical kit, they waited for more shots.
Fifteen minutes later, Nancy had Joy’s wound butterfly bandaged and ther
e were no more shots.
“You got lucky,” said Nancy. “The bullet missed you by a few inches. You had better keep that clean for the next couple weeks, though.”
“Who would do something like that with all these kids around?” Joy asked Jim.
“We ran the perimeter and don’t see anything suspicious. One of our guys outside said he heard the shot quite a bit off in the distance. Just a random gunshot, I’m afraid. The bullets have to end up somewhere… We will need to fortify this house quick,” he added.
“Lance has some plywood and other things in the attic for a rainy day,” answered Joy.
“That would be now,” replied Jim, and headed to the attic without another word.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Eighteen ~ Loveland, Colorado
Bill awoke early, surprised at how deeply he slept. He dressed quickly. Kissing Sharon good-bye, he headed down to the hospital to check on John.
The four-wheeler he grabbed from the growing Ranch stock felt a little sluggish. He made a mental note to talk to one of the mechanics about it.
He was nervous about John’s condition but was relieved he didn’t have a knock on his door during the night. That must be a good sign, he told himself while riding down the deserted canal road behind the Ranch. It led straight to The West’s hospital without drawing any attention from the main road to the front of both properties.
He recognized a man in the front lobby from the end-of-the-valley shootout with the bikers, who looked to be well on his way to recovery.
“How is he?” Bill asked the front desk girl.
“I’ll get the doctor,” is all she said, and disappeared into the back room.
Dr. Melton came out and took off her mask. “He’s stable,” she announced. “He lost a lot of blood and we have done what we can with the transfusions available. He is still unconscious and not out of the woods… We are doing our best with what we have.”
“That’s all you can tell me?” Bill asked, frustrated.
“That’s all we know right now. I wish I could give you better news.”
“Can I see him?”
“Just for a minute,” said Dr. Melton, as she led him to a recovery room towards the back of the hospital.
John was on a ventilator and his eyes were closed.
Bill took John’s hand and whispered, “You’re a tough son of a gun and I know you can pull through this. We all need you to get well and come back to us… I will look after the Ranch until you’re back.”
When Bill returned to the Ranch he stopped at the Pavilion, where there was a crowd of people. They were starting to panic as they yelled out questions to him about John and the shooter.
I’m glad I’m not famous, he thought to himself. It had only been a few minutes and it was already getting old.
He stopped in the middle of the growing crowd of 50 or 60 people.
“Quiet down, please,” he announced, as he raised both hands in the air. “Please quiet down,” he repeated, until they were mostly quiet.
“I will speak with the elders,” who he was sure would already be gathered downstairs. “And then I will come and speak to you. Please stay calm and help each other out until I return.”
He headed downstairs to find the elders in a much more refined and controlled state of panic.
“Bill, what do we do now?” one of the elder ladies asked.
“Let’s start with what happened yesterday,” Bill suggested. “I’ll tell you everything I know so far.”
Fifteen minutes later, his story was done.
“Before I take any questions, we know that John appointed me second-in-command last year and you all supported that with your vote. If anyone has changed their mind, please raise your hand.”
There were no hands raised.
“I’m going to ask you and everyone in our community to step up. You will do and see things that you won’t like. This is just the beginning and it will get worse before it gets better. We are now in survival mode as a group, for as long as it takes. Everyone with me, raise your hand.” With all hands raised, Bill thanked them for their loyalty and support until John recovered and could resume his leadership.
Bill headed upstairs to calm the growing crowd. He gave a short update on John and got the feeling they already knew as much as he did.
“Starting tonight, we will have a three-man night watch from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. around the perimeter of this Ranch, from the farmhouse to the north, the front edge of the lake to the south, the edge of the Rimrock to the east, and just across the canal road to the west. This will happen seven days a week. Names will be drawn this afternoon for the upcoming week.
“Our night watchmen will be armed with AR-15 rifles and will each have a four-wheel ATV to cover more area. Any man who needs to learn or have a refresher on the ARs will meet with Mac this afternoon up by the cemetery for some shooting practice.”
“Won’t that just draw attention to us?” asked one of the men in the back of the room.
“Well,” replied Bill. “If I heard a bunch of AR rounds being shot off, I don’t think I would think to run towards it. If anything, it will be a warning to anyone in earshot to keep moving on past us. I’ll let Samuel and both the Valley checkpoints know before we commence. We are on a limited supply of ammunition, so let’s not go crazy,” he added, gesturing toward Mac.
“I’ll take care of it,” Mac said, with a grin of a six-year-old boy with his first BB gun.
Bill pulled Mac aside and in a low voice said, “Let’s see what we can find out about what happened to John last night. Maybe it was an accident but maybe not.”
“I’ll grab a couple good guys and take a look around,” Mac replied.
“Thanks Mac. I need men like you around that I can trust to get things done.”
“Whatever you need, Bill, I’m your guy.”
* * * * * * *
Chapter Nineteen ~ Plano, Texas
Vladimir returned from the back of his store with the first smile I had seen on his face.
“OK, I take the deal,” he said with a smile as he poured three shots of vodka.
“Beluga, I assume,” asked Lonnie.
“Only the very fucking best for you and my new friend here.
“I have a trailer around back but my truck won’t start,” he added.
“We can pull the trailer but let’s try to cover everything up. Could be a lot of interest in a large cash of guns and ammo,” Lonnie suggested.
“Can you go out and talk to the guys?” Lonnie asked me. “I especially want to get Jessup paid off and finalized before we get back to his ranch and that numb-fuck son-in-law tries to ask for more.”
“Sure thing,” I told him, slowly heading out the door.
I motioned for Jake and Mike to meet me halfway so we could talk.
When we reached each other I told them about the deal and asked what we should give to Jessup as a fair settlement. We decided that ten weapons with 300 rounds for each seemed fair. We would let him pick the caliber, with no more than two being AR-15s or AK-47s.
We got to the truck and ran the plan past Jessup. “Is that fair?” I asked when Mike was done explaining it.
“Hell, yeah,” asserted Jessup. “I never really figured your buddy’s gun guy would still be here, so I would’ve been happy with just the two ARs you promised. As agreed, we will send you off with some food from our farm to help your group out as well,” he added.
An hour later we had the trailer loaded down with every rifle, pistol and ammo round out of Vladimir’s shop.
“Hey, guys,” I asked, after we hooked up the trailer to the truck. “Can we have a quick prayer?”
“Sure, sure, sounds good, can’t hurt. Let’s do it.”
“All right, guys. Gather in, but eyes open on this one.
Dear Lord, thank you for bringing all of us together today. We are thankful that you have kept us safe and provided us with much-needed equipment to continue our journeys in this new and unforgiv
ing land.
With your guidance may we support and keep our families safe. Families first. It’s in your name we pray. Amen.
“Families first,” they all said. “Amen.”
“Let’s get headed back before it gets bad here,” said Jessup. “About three hours of daylight left and I don’t want to have our asses hanging out after dark,” added Mike.
Next World Series (Vol. 1): Families First Page 16
