by Robert Boren
“Agreed,” General Hogan said with a sigh. “I’d leave the dogs up there, and watch the video cameras, and the apps.”
“There’s one last thing that’s really bothering me,” Frank said.
“What’s that?” Charlie asked.
“We saw a large gathering at Capitol Reef before the attack, remember? Looked like prep for a big meeting. They were planning something. We caught them flat-footed with that nuclear device. How many more are out there?”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” George said. “Something was up. No doubt in my mind.”
“It’s possible Daan Mertens is in the country because of that, too,” Frank said.
“You think perhaps our toys should come out to play tomorrow?” Malcolm asked. “Maybe set up the M107 and get sniper nests set up?”
“We’ve got sniper nests set up already,” Charlie said. “Just for normal long guns, not for a .50 cal, but we could add to that, maybe even set up the mortars. Just in case.”
“Don’t you boys think the enemy will have their hands full tomorrow?” Jane asked.
“I say we do it, just in case,” Jake said. “Better safe than sorry. What else are we gonna do, anyway. Play Parcheesi?”
The Sheriff laughed. “How can you argue with that?”
***
Scott was still driving. Kerry was sitting in the passenger seat. The noise from the bedroom was finally starting to die down. When it got especially noisy, Kerry would look over at Scott with a quizzical expression. They were almost to Richmond now. That’s where Bailey wanted to be dropped off. The bedroom door opened, and Howard staggered out, a big smile on his face. He came to the front of the coach.
“Wow.” He heard a rustle behind him, and turned to see Bailey coming out, trying to pull her pants up on the way. She plopped herself on the couch and smiled at Howard.
“Damn, Grandpa,” she said. “Haven’t been taken like that for a long time. You made me a little nervous when your hands were around my neck though.”
Howard laughed. “You were safe.”
“You still want to get off in Richmond?” Scott asked. “It’s only about a mile away.”
She sat silently for a moment, thinking. “What are you guys gonna do? Really…no BS.”
“We’ll stay on the road home and kill people along the way. Then we’ll make plans for a big event,” Scott said. Howard laughed, looking at Bailey with a wickedness that should have scared her. It excited her instead.
“Can I stay with you guys?” she asked, eyes on fire.
“Now why would you want to do that?” Howard asked. “You could end up on death row, you know, or worse.”
“Are you guys going to kill me?” she asked. “I know that’s why you picked me up.”
“You’re too valuable to kill, missy,” Scott said. “You’re one of us. We know our own. We’d be glad to bring you into our clan, wouldn’t we, Howie?”
“I could live with that,” Howard said, watching her thinking it through. “Make sure this is what you want, though. It’s dangerous, and if we think you’re going to turn against us, we’ll take you out in a heartbeat.”
“I thought she was a dumb bitch,” Kerry said.
“I was mistaken, Kerry. Think of her as more of a big sister,” Scott said, chuckling.
“Big sister, huh?” Bailey laughed. “How could I turn down a gig like that?”
“Here comes Richmond,” Scott said. “It’s now or never.”
“My mind’s made up,” she said. “I’m with you guys. What next?”
“Howard, you should fill her in on the backstory,” Scott said.
“Later, Scotty,” Howard said, “but let’s give her the near term plans at least. You know how fast things happen out here.”
“Sure, go ahead,” Scott said.
“Yeah, fill me in,” Bailey said.
“Okay,” Howard said. “We’re going back to Scotty’s home base in Columbus, Ohio. On the way, we’ll kill at least one more young lady, and leave her to be found with our markings on her. Then we’ll take one or two while we’re in Columbus, and use Scotty’s fine facilities to play with them for a while.”
“You’re trying to leave a trail,” she said. “Why?”
“Our main home base is in Kansas, and there are interlopers there,” he said. “It’s a result of the war, mainly. We think they’re watching us. We want them to think we’re heading away from them. After a short period of time, I’ll go back there and lay the groundwork for an assault.”
“Who are the interlopers?” she asked, mesmerized.
“A bunch of old fart retired folk,” Scott said.
“Now be honest with her, Scotty,” Howard said, looking up at the front of the coach. Then he looked back at Bailey. “I know these people. They’ve seen combat with the enemy and come out on top several times. This isn’t going to be a walk in the park.”
“Wonder if any of them like hot young chicks like me?” Bailey asked.
Howard cracked up. “You know, Scotty, this could work out well.”
“Yes, it could,” Scotty said. “She could be the loving sister of a slow boy, down on her luck.”
“Yeah, that could work,” Howard said. “You’ll have to change your image though. A little less punk rock, a little more country western, if you get my drift. We’ll need to hit someplace like Sears for some new clothes.”
“I get it,” she said. “You want me to seem like a safe, upstanding young lady, who’s good enough to look after her challenged brother all by her lonesome in this war-torn country.”
“Like I said, Howie, I think I’m in love,” Scott said.
Chapter 12 – The Fish Eye
Rosie sat in the waiting room, half asleep. Hilda and Gabe were sitting on chairs across from her, looking at their phones. A doctor came in.
“He’s out of his first surgery,” the doctor said.
Rosie snapped out of her dozing and looked up, worried. “Jeb okay?”
“Yes, he survived the surgery, but he’s not out of the woods yet,” he said.
“You said first surgery,” Hilda said. “He’s going to need more?”
“Yes,” he said.
“What his chances?” Rosie asked.
“Right now, I’d say about 60%. It’ll help if he’s a fighter.”
“That sounds pretty serious,” Gabe said.
“When next surgery?” Rosie asked.
“Day after tomorrow,” the doctor said. “The first surgery repaired the bleeding. He’s got a nick in his spine, and some bullet fragments we need to take care of. It’s amazing he lived through this.”
“We’ve learned never to count Jeb out,” Gabe said.
“He’s had a fairly recent injury,” the doctor said. “Looks like he was shot in the leg.”
“Yeah, he was treated here,” Hilda said. “I’m surprised you didn’t see the records of that.”
“The enemy destroyed our computer system,” the doctor said. “We lost everything.”
“Oh,” Hilda said.
“When can I see?” Rosie asked.
“Give us about two hours,” the doctor said.
“Thank you, doctor,” Rosie said. “I be here. You let know?”
“Yes, I’ll make sure the nurse lets you know when you can visit.”
He smiled, then turned and walked away.
“Well, what now?” Gabe asked. “Do we find a place to hang out for a few days?”
“There used to be a motel right down the street,” Hilda said. “Wonder if it’s still open?”
“I sleep here tonight,” Rosie said.
“There’s not much of ‘tonight’ left,” Gabe said, laughing. “It’ll be light in a couple of hours.”
“It okay,” Rosie said, stretching herself out on the couch. She closed her eyes. A nurse came over to them.
“There’s a few beds that aren’t occupied,” she said. “The doctor told me to take you to them, so you can get some rest.”
<
br /> “Oh, that would be perfect,” Gabe said. “That okay with you, Rosie?”
“Yes, good,” she said, smiling. “Thank you.”
They got up, and Gabe helped Rosie along as they followed the nurse.
“I’m surprised they have open beds,” Hilda said.
“Wait until tomorrow,” Gabe whispered. “This place is gonna be a zoo.”
***
Howard was back at the wheel of the class C rig, and Bailey was sitting in the passenger seat. It was late, and they were looking for a place to park for the night. Scott and Kerry were already asleep, Scott in the bedroom, and Kerry up in the overhead bunk.
“How about there?” Bailey asked, pointing down at a big shopping center off the road.
“We can’t,” Howard said. “There’s a chance that somebody saw this coach when we were at the farm. There may be people watching for white class C rigs stopping to overnight.”
“Oh,” she said. “That wouldn’t be good. That stain by the door - is it what I think it is?”
“Yeah, it’s blood,” Howard said. “If anybody takes this sucker away from us and does a forensic job on it, we’re toast. And not just because of the blood.”
“What else is here?”
“Well, both Scotty and I had a good time with two different victims back in the bedroom,” he said. “Sorry, I know it’s kinda gross since you were back there.”
“Actually, it’s kind of a turn on,” she said.
“Are you for real?” Howard asked.
“I like to walk on the wild side,” she said. “It’s always been my undoing. I quit school because of something bad that I did there.”
“Care to tell me about it?” Howard asked.
“Later,” she said. “I’ll take a look at my phone for a place we can pull off. I’m beat.”
“Okay,” Howard said. He glanced over at her. The light of the phone’s screen highlighted her pretty young face. She caught him looking.
“You can have me again after we find a place,” she said. “I know that look.”
He smiled at her, and looked back down the road.
“Hey, here’s something,” she said. “Take the next off-ramp. Then go down about half a mile. There are dirt roads on either side. Looks like they’re the back end of a couple of large farms. Google Earth is showing some tree cover back a ways on the road to the left.”
“Great,” Howard said, moving over to take the ramp. The local road was dark, so he clicked on his hi-beams.
“Where are we gonna sleep, anyway?” she asked.
“The dinette makes into a bed,” he said. “I’ve got blankets and pillows under the seat cushions.”
“Sounds cozy, Howie,” she said. “Don’t hit that dirt road too fast. I can’t tell how bad it is from this display.”
“I figured,” he said. “That it up ahead?”
“Yeah,” she said.
Howard made the left turn and moved very slowly onto the dirt.
“There’s a sweet spot on the road,” Howard said. “It’s not even going to be bumpy.”
“That’s good, right?” Bailey asked.
“Good and bad,” he said. “We won’t get stuck, but this dirt road probably gets used a lot. I’ll have to go to bed with my handgun under the pillow.”
“Look, there’s the trees. Nice turnout under them too,” she said.
“Tailor made,” Howard said. He pulled the rig over to the side and parked. “Let’s get that bed made.”
It took just a few minutes to get the bed done. Howard stripped out of his clothes and got in against the wall, stuffing his handgun under his pillow. Bailey undressed quickly and climbed in. He turned to her, caressing her and kissing her cheek.
“You gonna tell me what happened at college?” he asked.
“It’s a pretty juicy story,” she said, sliding her naked body against him. “Total defilement.”
“Do tell.”
“Okay, it was one of the girls in the sorority. She was all proud about how she was this good girl virgin. Talked about how she had integrity all the time, but she wore outfits that told a different story. Total tease.”
“I remember the type,” Howard said.
“So there’s this frat next door that we throw parties with, almost every weekend. I know one of the guys over there pretty well. We used each other for booty calls quite a few times. Kind of a friend with benefits thing. Nothing serious between us. He’s kind of a wimp, and I don’t like wimps much. Anyway, he had the hots for the teaser. He talked about her all the time.”
“What’s her name?”
“Lexi,” she said. “He asked me to put in a good word for him, so I did. She went out with him, too, and totally teased him. Then she dumped him. He was really broken up. It pissed me off.”
“So you came to the rescue, I take it?”
“Yeah, during one of the parties at the frat house. I told the guy that I’d make sure she got good and wasted at the party,” she said. “I slipped her a roofie and led her up to this guy’s room, then told him she was ready.”
“That was naughty,” Howard said. “What happened?”
“She was ready, alright, and he had a good time with her. Over and over.”
“This isn’t going to end well, is it?”
“No,” she giggled. “She woke up the next morning and remembered a little too much of what happened. Then she brow beat this guy into admitting what happened, and my name came up.”
Howard sighed. “I see. You really couldn’t have just gone home. You weren’t very honest with us.”
“I guess that was a little white lie,” she whispered, moving closer to him. “The police are looking for me. It was time to run.”
“I can’t believe it,” he said with mock indignation. “You aren’t staying with us due to our sparkling personalities?”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” she said, moving against him more. “I’m really excited to be with you guys. What you’re doing makes me so hot. But I’ll admit that I decided a little quicker because I really don’t have many options.”
“How do we know you won’t just cut and run as soon as you get a chance?” Howard whispered.
“Get me involved in the next killing. Then I’ll have as much to lose as you guys do,” she whispered, swinging one of her legs over his torso. “You’re not sorry you picked me up, are you?”
She kissed him on the lips, and they melted into each other, their passion building fast.
“We’ve got to be quiet,” Howard whispered.
***
It was morning at the RV Park. Charlie was already up, sweeping up the debris in the clubhouse. The place wasn’t damaged as much as he expected. A few tables had holes in them. He had to shave away the jagged splinters around the holes underneath with a knife. The floor was cement. There were chunks gone here and there, but they weren’t bad enough to trip over. There was a hole in the door of the walk-in freezer, and a couple of containers got ruined inside. He put several layers of gorilla tape over the hole. He was just finishing up when Jerry and Jasmine came in.
“Sleep well?” he asked.
“Yeah, we were both exhausted,” Jerry said.
“The morning sickness is finally starting to die down,” Jasmine said. “I’ll go get the coffee pot going. It didn’t get shot up, I hope?”
“Nope, it’s good,” Charlie said. “Hey, Jerry, want to man the dust pan?”
“Sure,” he said, picking it up off the table and following Charlie to a pile he had in the middle of the floor.
“Anything else screwed up?” Jerry asked.
“Not that I’ve found so far,” Charlie said. “That Chinook is toast, of course. I think they only got a short run before the jets caught up with them. Could have been a whole lot worse. They hit their top two targets and then got creamed.”
“They didn’t hit the barn?”
“Nope,” Charlie said. “Not even a hole in that, thank God. Glad they can’t see the gen
erators and water system from the air.”
“Heard from Hilda or my mom?” Jasmine asked as she joined them.
“Yeah, Hilda texted me. The hospital put them up for the night. Jeb made it through the first surgery, but he’s got a harder one coming in the next couple of days.”
“He needs more than one surgery?” Jerry asked.
“Yeah, the first one was emergency surgery to stop the internal bleeding,” Charlie said. “His spine got nicked, and there’s still bullet fragments in him. They’re going to try to fix that tomorrow if he’s strong enough.”
“How much chance does he have?” Jasmine asked.
“Doc gave him about 60%,” Charlie said, face looking grim. “Not so good.”
“Well, better than even, at least,” Jerry said.
Charlie leaned the broom against the wall in the corner. “The clubhouse doesn’t look too bad now,” he said. “Good enough for the meeting. Have to patch the roof before the rainy season starts back up.”
“What time are we getting together?” Jasmine asked
“I’m thinking early as we can get away with. Maybe nine or so?” Charlie replied.
“Yeah, that should work,” Jerry said. “Too bad we were up so damn late last night.”
“Mmmmm, I smell that coffee,” Charlie said.
“Yeah, it’ll be ready before too long,” Jasmine said. “It’s almost eight now. Maybe I’ll go check the pancake mix for bugs. If it’s good, I’ll whip up a bunch.”
“I’ll help,” Jerry said. They walked into the kitchen together. Charlie walked outside. The morning was a little overcast and muggy. He was missing Hilda.
Terry walked up with Trish.
“We going to meet this morning?” he asked.
“Yeah, at about nine,” he said. “Jasmine and Jerry are in the kitchen whipping up some pancakes.”
“That sounds good,” Trish said. “Why don’t we go help?”
“You go ahead, and I’ll meet you there,” Terry said. “I’m thinking I ought to go wake up Dobie and Jake.”
