by Robert Boren
“First the good news,” Wallis said. “Richardson and his team got out of Corpus Christi unharmed. They’re heading towards Canyon Lake now. I’ve given them an initial briefing on the training they’ll be doing.”
“How’d they take it?” Ramsey asked.
“Pretty well, but they’re leery of being discovered again.”
“I don’t blame them,” Hendrix said. “How about the recruits?”
“The first batch will be there in a few days, just before the boats arrive,” Wallis said. “They’re chomping at the bit.”
“Good,” Ramsey said. “Now the bad news.”
Gallagher cleared his throat. “The enemy foiled our plans to use Arizona’s highway 191 to take out I-40 and Route 60.”
“Dammit,” Hendrix said. “How?”
“We don’t know for sure,” Gallagher said. “They might have just looked at the damn map. It’s not that hard to figure out.”
“You think it’s something worse, though,” Hendrix said. “I see it written all over your face.”
“They’ve been torturing civilians along the way,” Gallagher said. “We’re afraid they’re getting detailed accounts of the social media campaign our folks have been running.”
“I doubt this is the first glimpse they’ve had of that,” Hendrix said. “Our folks aren’t still going to Arizona, I hope.”
“They figured out an alternative that keeps them inside New Mexico,” Gallagher said.
“You’re worried about it,” Ramsey said.
“I’m not worried about their safety. We’ve reviewed their plan, and it’s a good one. I’m worried about the people they recruited in Arizona.”
“How many did they recruit?” Ramsey asked.
“Thirty thousand, give or take,” Gallagher said. “We aren’t telling them about the change in plans.”
“Shit,” Hendrix said. “That’ll get some of them killed.”
Gallagher shook his head yes. “And if we risk telling them and somebody gives up the info after torture, it’ll put the core team at risk. I’d rather bring them back to Texas than allow that to happen.”
“We do need to talk to the governor about this,” Ramsey said.
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Hendrix said.
“I’ll go wake him,” Dr. Schultz said. “I agree. We don’t have a choice.”
He got up and left the room, heading for the bedroom hall.
“This is bad,” Hendrix said. “It could break the trust we’ve been building with the citizens.”
“What’s going on?” Nelson asked as he walked into the console room.
“Sorry to have to wake you, governor,” Ramsey said.
“Don’t worry, I was already awake.”
“The Fort Stockton team isn’t going to Arizona after all,” Gallagher said.
“Uh oh, what happened?” Nelson asked, rolling a chair over and sitting down.
“The enemy flooded Highway 191. They’ve been killing civilians all the way up and down that road, and are getting ready to hold it.”
“They found out our plans?” Nelson asked.
“We’re not sure,” Gallagher said. “Here’s the rub. They’ve been torturing people. They might have a good account of how we’re recruiting civilians.”
“Oh,” Nelson said. “You know they might already understand that, right?”
“That came up in the discussion, yes,” Hendrix said.
“Something really bothers you guys.”
“The Fort Stockton team isn’t planning on telling the recruits that they won’t be in Arizona after all,” Gallagher said. “I agree with them, but there are ramifications.”
“The recruits could go out on a limb and be killed waiting for the Fort Stockton team to arrive,” Nelson said. “We can’t warn them, because if somebody spills the beans, it puts the core team in severe danger.”
“You got it,” Gallagher said. “The new plan is to travel west to Pie Town on Route 60, blow that road up, and then travel north on smaller roads to I-40.”
“There’s a section of I-40 within their reach that has some good bridges,” Wallis said. “Better than what we had closer to the Arizona border.”
Nelson was quiet for a moment, thinking. Hendrix shot a worried glance at Maria and Ramsey.
“What are the other options?” Nelson asked.
“Option one – we notify the recruits via social media, tell them to keep quiet, and then follow through with the Pie Town plan,” Gallagher said.
“Option two – we bring our folks home to Texas post haste,” Wallis said, “and notify the recruits to stand down.”
“Neither of those options are great,” Nelson said. “We really need to shut down those roads.”
“Excuse me, but I have another option,” Hendrix said. “We’ve got thirty thousand civilian fighters waiting in the wings for something to do. We could let Gallagher take command of that group, and get them a target to attack. Thirty thousand is a large force.”
“Double down, huh?” Nelson asked. “Keep the enemy busy fighting the civilians while we ruin their routes into Colorado. I like it.”
“So do I,” Gallagher said. “Not sure I can do this by remote control, though. I might need to take my staff and go out there.”
“No,” Nelson said. “I won’t risk losing you.”
“We can do this remotely,” Wallis said. “I’ve already got some ideas how we can pull it off.”
“I’m all ears,” Gallagher said.
“Okay, you two go off and figure this out,” Nelson said. “Report back with your plans. Be quick about it.”
“You got it, boss,” Gallagher said. “Talk to you soon.” The console went black.
“You missed your calling,” Nelson said to Hendrix. “You should be in the Pentagon.”
Hendrix laughed. “Thanks, but I don’t think so. That was common sense.”
“No, it was uncommon sense,” Ramsey said. “I’m impressed again.”
Chapter 21 – Reserve Gas
Junior and Kelly were in their truck, the bed full of jerry cans.
“Glad you thought of this,” Kelly said, looking at him from the driver’s seat. “There’s nowhere to fuel up once we leave I-25 for Highway 107.”
“I just hope this will be enough,” Junior said as they neared the truck stop.
“Where’s Clancy?” Kelly asked. “He should be here by now with the rest of the cans, right?”
“He’ll be along. He was looking for some help. I think he’s bringing Francis.”
“There it is,” Kelly said, turning onto the lot. He pulled up to an empty pump, and the two men started fueling the cans. Clancy drove up a few minutes into it.
“Hey, guys,” Clancy said as he got out. Francis joined him.
“Anybody scoped out Pie Town for fuel yet?” Francis asked. “If there’s nothing there, we’ll have problems.”
“Rachel and Brenda found a few stations there,” Junior said. “We should be fine, as long as none of our friends show up there and cut us off at the pass.”
“How many have already left?” Kelly asked, moving from one jerry can to another with the fuel nozzle.
“Most of Stanton Hunt’s people are already on Highway 107,” Francis said. “Been watching the apps. Nobody around Pie Town. Nobody on the way, either, from what I can tell.”
“How about Highway 191?” Kelly asked.
“Arizona’s a mess,” Francis said. “Looks like they’re setting up a trap for us.”
“I don’t like what we had to do with those recruits,” Junior said.
“Yeah, me neither,” Clancy said. “We’d better be able to make a good case when we’re asked about that.”
“It makes perfect sense, when you take the war effort together as a whole,” Junior said. “Doesn’t make it easy, though.”
They continued filling the cans, both Kelly and Clancy having to re-input their cards as they went over a hundred dollars.
“I�
��m done,” Kelly said.
“I’ve got three more cans,” Clancy said. “Oh, and this truck.”
“Dammit, forgot that,” Junior said, laughing. He took the nozzle to the gas fill of the truck and started fueling.
“Think this hair-brained scheme is gonna work?” Francis asked.
“They mostly have so far,” Junior quipped, a twinkle in his eye.
“We’ve been lucky a lot, though,” Francis said.
“True,” Clancy said. “We’ll lose some people in this operation.”
“Don’t say that, man,” Kelly said.
“Just being realistic,” Clancy said. He finished filling his truck. “I’m done.”
“Me too,” Junior said. “Let’s blow this burg.”
“Yeah, I got to get this thing hitched back to my trailer,” Kelly said. “We’ll need to distribute this gas around.”
“That’s the plan,” Clancy said. “Miss that bobtail that Amanda used to have.”
“Yep,” Junior said. “We might want to acquire more vehicles like that on the way back into Texas.”
“We can put a lot of these gas cans in the other toy-haulers,” Kelly said as he got into the truck. “They’ve got the capacity.”
“True,” Francis said.
The two trucks left the gas station, heading back to their encampment off I-25. Vehicles were lined up by the time they got there.
“Good, you guys got all filled up,” Jason said, watching the trucks roll up. “A few have to gas up their rigs on the way out, but most of us are full.”
“We need to distribute what’s in my truck,” Kelly said. “With the tongue weight of the trailer, it’ll be more than this old truck can handle.”
“Several of the toy haulers have their rear ends open just for that purpose,” Jason said.
“Good,” Junior said. “I’m going over there.”
“I’ll just leave these in the back of the truck and drive it that way,” Clancy said. “Don’t think I can tow Moe’s Jeep, though.”
“Curt already has it hitched up to the back of his toy-hauler,” Jason said, “since he’ll be in that with Amanda.”
“Oh, good,” Clancy said. “I’m ready to go, then. Where’re the tanks?”
“They left early with Stanton Hunt’s people and some of the bikers. Take the lead, if you want. We’ll start leaving in five-minute intervals now.”
“You want to ride with me, Francis?” Clancy asked.
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather ride with Sherry,” he said.
“No problem,” Clancy said. “See you guys.”
The others nodded, watching him drive out to I-25, getting on the northbound side. Jason stayed at the start of the lineup, letting people go as he watched the time on his phone. He saw Junior and Kelly finish distributing the gas cans. Kelly hitched the truck to his trailer, and Junior got into his Brave and merged into the line. His phone rang. It was Ramsey. He put it to his ear, plugging the other ear due to the noise of the vehicles.
“Hey, chief, what’s up?”
“Hi, Jason,” Ramsey said.
“Just a sec,” Jason said. He motioned for the next vehicle to take off, then got back on the phone. “Sorry, I’m metering the exodus here.”
“Ah, very good,” Ramsey said. “Got something to pass along, but keep it with the inner circle, okay?”
“Uh oh,” Jason said.
“No, it’s good news,” Ramsey said. “Gallagher is gonna take over command of the people we recruited in Arizona. He’ll use them to attack the enemy. That ought to keep them too busy to respond when you folks start blowing things up in New Mexico.”
“Going on offense, huh?” Jason said. “Brilliant. Who came up with that idea?”
“Kip Hendrix,” Ramsey said. “That man is wicked smart.”
Jason laughed. “I remember him being wicked, without the smart.”
Ramsey chuckled. “After working with him in this war, he’ll always have my respect, regardless of our differences.”
“War brings out the best and the worst in people, I guess,” Jason said. “Do we need to do anything? With the social media team, for instance?”
“That’s the main reason I called. Tell them to continue to recruit, but don’t change the story.”
“You got it,” Jason said. “I’d better call Don and Sydney in a hurry, then. I think they’d mostly shut down.”
“You do that, and take care,” Ramsey said.
“Thanks,” Jason said. He ended the call and motioned for the next vehicle to move out, then sent a text to Don and Sydney. They responded right away, saying they’d get back to recruiting as soon as they were rolling.
Curt and Amanda rolled up to the first slot.
“Hey, pencil neck, you being a traffic cop now?”
“Kinda sorta,” Jason said. “Be careful out there.”
“No problem,” Curt said. “Sounds like the enemy is busy in Arizona, which should help. Still a little worried about fuel, though.”
“We should be fine, assuming we don’t run the stations in Pie Town all the way out.”
“Can I leave yet?”
Jason looked at his phone. It was a couple minutes early, but he shrugged. “Go ahead. See you there.”
Curt pulled away. Carrie trotted over. “Where do you want our rig?”
“We’ll take up the rear,” Jason said. “How’s the munchkin?”
“She’s oblivious,” Carrie said. “She’s always happy to be on the road again. Eric and Kim are watching her while I’m here.”
“Good,” Jason said. “I’ll be back there in about half an hour. Might want to feed her, and yourself.”
“Will do, and I’ll have some hand food ready for you when you get behind the wheel.”
“Perfect,” Jason said. He watched as she walked away, her frame slowly expanding with the pregnancy, the waddle already showing. A pulse of worry rushed through him.
Chapter 22 – Little Reservoir
Ray and Jerry slipped into the back door of the VFW hall, stepping over the bodies of two men near the back door.
“Dammit,” Ray said, looking at Trixie’s body splayed out in the booth, a red hole on her forehead.
“There’s Matt,” Jerry said, scratching his full black beard, fighting back tears. His heavy-set body trembled
“Yeah, Mike’s by the door,” Ray said, his lanky figure moving from one body to another on the floor. “Those bastards.”
“Glenn’s behind the bar with half his head gone,” Jerry said.
The sound of an approaching vehicle floated in from outside.
“Freeze, dude,” Ray whispered, holding still until it was obvious that the vehicle continued past the building.
“What now?” Jerry asked.
“Re-group,” Ray said. “Most of our guys are free. A few are being held in their homes.”
“We need to regroup in an area where there’s a larger number of us.”
Ray’s phone dinged, then Jerry’s.
“Something’s up,” Ray said, pulling his phone out. He sat at an empty booth. “Holy shit, check this out.”
Jerry was nodding as he read off his phone. “Hit the download link.”
“Just did, man,” Ray said.
They watched their phones as two apps were downloaded and installed.
“Who sent these?” Jerry asked. “You heard of this guy?”
“General Hogan. Are you kidding? He’s the leader of the resistance in the Southwest.”
“That’s where I heard that name before,” Jerry said. “It just got finished. Cool, here’s some instructions.”
They read their phones, their eyes getting wide. “Whoa,” Ray said. “Wonder if the Fort Stockton team had access to this?”
“I’d say yes,” Jerry said. “Firing it up now.” He hit the short-range app and it loaded, showing a screen. His phone buzzed him right away, and icons came up all around the city. Ray’s phone buzzed too.
“Lots of ba
d guys within half a mile,” Ray whispered. “I’m trying the long-range app.” He loaded it, looking closely, then glancing up at Jerry. “There’s a line of enemy fighters up and down 191, and we can see exactly where they are.”
“Yeah, I can see which houses are occupied here, too,” Jerry said. They both got dinged with another text message. “Somebody named Major General Gallagher. Heard of him?”
“No,” Ray said. “He wants us to meet together by Little Reservoir.”
“Who?”
“All the recruits in this area,” Ray said.
“What if it’s a trap?”
“I don’t think it is,” Jerry said. “Otherwise why would they have given us these apps?”
“What if the enemy has some of our phones?”
Jerry smiled. “They’ll have to be fast about getting to us. The meeting starts in five minutes. We’ll barely get there in time.”
“Let’s haul ass,” Ray said.
The two men snuck back outside and jumped into their truck, heading south on 191 and then taking First Street south to the lake.
“Look, more of us,” Jerry said. “There’s Tank’s Jeep ahead of us.”
“Yeah, Casey’s truck is right behind us,” Ray said. They sped up on the thin road, seeing a group of vehicles near a cove. Men were outside their vehicles talking, all of them with their hunting rifles and shotguns.
“You guys believing this?” Jerry asked as he walked to the group with Ray.
Tank turned and looked at them, a huge man, his belly spilling over his belt, his blonde beard half-way down his chest. “I believe it. You know who Gallagher is?”
“Who?” Jerry asked.
“Leader of the Texas Army National Guard,” Tank said. “He’s probably the leader of Don’s social media team.”
“Anything from them?” Ray asked.
“Not for a while.”
The men continued to arrive, until there were several hundred there. A link appeared on everybody’s phone, to get them hooked into a meeting.
“They want us using the camera,” Ray said, reading a new message. “You don’t show your face, you get cut off, so be ready.”
“Why they doing that?” asked one of the men.
“So they’re sure they don’t have Islamist scum on the call,” Ray said. “Borderline genius.”
