by Robert Boren
Chapter 13 – Hot Bunk
“Finally,” Madison said when she saw the sign for Brownsville. “I’m so tired.”
“Me too,” Juan Carlos said from behind the wheel of the truck. “Doubt if I’ll fall asleep right away, though.”
“Not tonight,” Madison said. “In the morning, okay?”
Brendan chuckled. “Honeymoon already over?”
Hannah elbowed him. “Oh please. It’s been a long day.”
“We don’t even know where we’re stopping yet,” Juan Carlos said. “Wonder if Lita found us a place?”
“She’s driving,” Hannah said, “so Richardson can run the app. I’ll send him a text.”
“They’re supposed to turn off the app right after we get to the base, aren’t they?” Madison asked.
“That’s what Richardson said, but after General Hogan got kidnapped, they might have their hands too full to worry about it,” Juan Carlos said.
“Let’s hope so,” Hannah said. “That’ll help us on the water.”
“Yep,” Brendan said.
“Motel, just inside town,” Hannah said. “Get off onto the frontage road and take Highway 550 under the freeway. Make a left on Olmito North Road.”
“That’s right there,” Juan Carlos said, swerving over to the right lane and getting off. Lita followed in the rental truck, then Gerald and Hector, and Roberto and Kris in their camper.
“Not the best area,” Madison said.
“It’s just the frontage road,” Juan Carlos said. “There are some nice parts of Brownsville.”
“How far is the river from here?” Brendan asked.
“Walking distance,” Hannah said, pointing out the window. “Wish we were a little further away.”
“Here’s 550,” Juan Carlos said, turning left. He went under the freeway, and made another left onto Olmito North. “There it is. Looks like every other motel along the interstate.”
“Hope the rooms are decent,” Madison said.
“I’m hungry,” Brendan said.
“Me too, dude,” Juan Carlos said. “Look, there’s a restaurant right there.”
“Let’s go check in first, okay?” Madison asked.
“Yeah,” Juan Carlos said. “We should’ve just taken the Frontage road on the other side. I’ve got to make a couple left turns to get into that motel.”
He made a left on Couch Road, and another on Lomax Road, which put them right at the motel driveway.
“Deadsville,” Brendan said as he opened the door. Hannah joined him outside, then Juan Carlos and Madison. The other vehicles parked nearby, and they met on the sidewalk.
“You guys see that restaurant over there?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Yeah,” Gerald said. “I’m powerful hungry.”
“Me too,” Hector said.
“I’ve got to walk the dogs for a few minutes,” Roberto said as he opened the back door of the camper. “I’ll catch up with you.”
“We could just stay in the camper, I suppose,” Kris said.
“No, let’s get a decent bed,” Roberto said. “The dogs can stay in the camper. I’ll feed them and then join you guys.”
“Okay,” Kris said. “I’ll try to get us a place overlooking this part of the parking lot.”
Roberto nodded as he walked the dogs towards the grassy median at the far end of the parking lot.
The others went into the office, paying cash for a few nights.
“Should we meet down here in half an hour?” Lita asked as they headed for the elevators.
“Fifteen minutes,” Hector said.
“Yeah, I like that better,” Madison said.
They took the elevator upstairs.
“I hope we aren’t in trouble here from the start,” Madison said to Juan Carlos, watching him unlock the door.
“We could use a break,” Juan Carlos said. “Wonder if Richardson’s seen any bad guys on our tail?”
Madison walked to the bed and sat down. “We’ll probably find out at the restaurant.”
“Maybe the food will give you a second wind,” Juan Carlos said, eyeing her.
“You’ve got a one-track mind.”
“We’re newlyweds, remember?” he said, bending down to kiss her forehead. “It’ll be nice to have a shower in the morning.”
“Where’s the base?”
“I don’t know,” Juan Carlos said. He looked out the window. “You know that river we saw there isn’t the Rio Grande, right?”
“I thought it was,” Madison said.
“No, it’s man-made. The Rio Grande is a few miles from here at least. See over there?” He pointed out the window at it.
Madison got up and joined him by the window. “So that’s Matamoros, in the distance?”
“Yep,” Juan Carlos said.
“It’s bigger than Brownsville, isn’t it?”
“Probably,” Juan Carlos said. “I’ll bet there was a lot of travel between the cities before the war started.”
“Maybe there still is,” Madison said. “We should get back to the lobby.”
“I know,” Juan Carlos said. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Madison said, her breath quickening. “Let’s get down there before we lose interest.”
Juan Carlos smiled at her. “Don’t worry, I’m hungry.”
They left the room and joined the others downstairs.
“Should we walk or drive?” Gerald asked.
“Drive,” Lita said. “I’m not walking across that dirt field to get there.”
“Seriously,” Kris said.
They got into their vehicles and made the short drive, meeting again at the restaurant, and getting seated quickly.
“Smells good,” Lita said.
They sat down and the waitress handed out the menus. “Would you like drinks?”
“Water here,” Madison said. Most of the others nodded in agreement.
“I’ll take a beer,” Gerald said.
“Me too,” Hector said.
The waitress nodded and walked away.
“Well, here we are,” Richardson said.
“What’s going on with the enemy?” Brendan asked.
“There’s gobs of them across the river,” Richardson said. “None over here that I can see.”
“Good,” Juan Carlos said. “What about Seguin? Did the bad guys start coming our way?”
“I haven’t looked for a while,” Richardson said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He zeroed in on Seguin. “Nope, they went back to the north side of town, where we saw them initially.”
“Good,” Madison said.
“Where’s the base?” Roberto asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Richardson said. “After we’re done here I’ll chat with Jefferson.”
“You texted him that we arrived, right?” Hannah asked.
“Yes, from the motel,” Richardson said. “No reply yet.”
“Hope there’s nothing wrong,” Madison said.
“I’m sure he’s okay,” Richardson said.
“How can you be sure?” Hannah asked.
“Because there’s no bad guys this side of the river,” Richardson said, “and this town has great LTE, so we have nobody hiding in no-coverage zones.”
They ordered their food when the waitress came back with the drinks.
“Well, here’s to ya,” Gerald said, raising his beer.
“I wouldn’t drink too much,” Lita said.
“I won’t,” Gerald said.
Richardson’s phone dinged.
“Shit, is that the enemy?” Madison asked.
“No, it’s Jefferson,” Richardson said. “He was on a call with Wallis. He’s fine.”
“What’s going on?” Juan Carlos asked.
“They’ve approved our plans to use you guys in the boats,” Richardson said as he skimmed the message.
“Even us?” Hannah asked.
“Yep,” Richardson said. “W
e’ve got drones overhead too. They moved them here from the eastern part of the gulf coast.”
“They’ve left Houston and Galveston un-protected?” Brendan asked.
“No, the US Navy is covering the area now,” Richardson said. “With ships and with aircraft too.”
“Excellent,” Roberto said.
“Where’s the base, and when do we have to report?” Lita asked.
“We report first thing tomorrow morning,” Richardson said.
“Wow, that’s fast,” Madison said.
“It’s because of the enemy build-up across the river,” Richardson said.
“Makes sense,” Kris said.
Richardson smiled. “The base is the US Customs facility right on the river, on East Elizabeth Street, where International Boulevard runs into it. They got more crews since last time we talked. We’ll have fifteen boats launching tomorrow morning.”
“Wow,” Juan Carlos said. “That’s a lot for this section of the river.”
“It is,” Richardson said. “They’re going to hot-bunk them.”
“What does that mean?” Madison asked.
“It means they won’t sit in port,” Richardson said. “They’ll be in operation all the time. Whoa.”
“What?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Twelve hour shifts, guys, at least until we get more crews down here,” Richardson said. “We’re gonna be tired.”
“We getting paid?” Madison asked.
“Yep,” Richardson said. “With OT for the hours past eight.”
“Geez, we’ll get four hours of OT every day?” Brendan asked. “Times two?”
“Like I said, we need those rings,” Madison said.
“The problem will be finding the time to shop,” Lita said. “I assume this is seven days per week for a while.”
“Only for a couple weeks,” Richardson said. “Then we’ll settle into our new jobs. Brendan and Juan Carlos will train and command. I’ll be in more of an executive position at the base. Jefferson will run the western region, in command of all boat teams.”
“Where are the others?” Juan Carlos asked.
“South Padre Island, and near Big Bend National Park. Also up by El Paso.”
“Geez, we’ll have a lot of boats,” Brendan said.
“You two might be at other locations training for a few days at a time,” Richardson said.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Madison said.
“Things should be calmer by then,” Brendan said.
The food arrived, and they ate, slowing the conversation. They finished up in about fifteen minutes.
“That was pretty good,” Lita said.
“Yeah, it hit the spot,” Juan Carlos said.
“What are we gonna do about the dogs?” Kris asked. “When we’re on the boat?”
“I want to take them,” Roberto said. “Think that will work?”
Richardson thought about it for a minute. “I’ll ask, but bring them either way tomorrow. You might have to get a place for them if the brass pushes back.”
“You are the brass, now, aren’t you?” Lita asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t know if I have the power for this one. We’ll see. There’s still a lot of unanswered questions.”
“Fair enough,” Roberto said.
“Let’s pay the check and get out of here,” Lita said. “Tomorrow will be a long day.”
“Yeah,” Richardson said, getting the attention of the waitress. They were back at the motel in a few minutes.
“Meet down here at six, okay?” Richardson asked. “We’ll get a quick bite to eat and get on the road.”
“Sounds good,” Gerald said.
The group went to the elevators. Madison and Juan Carlos got into one, holding the door. Hannah and Brendan rushed in.
“Where’s the others?” Juan Carlos asked when Brendan let the doors close.
“Richardson needed to get on the computer in the business area,” Brendan said. “I think the others went into the bar.”
Juan Carlos snickered. “Gerald and Hector. Those guys are party animals.”
A low rumble shook the building.
“Crap, what was that?” Madison asked, looking at the roof of the elevator. Then there was another low rumble, then another. The lights shut off and the elevator car stopped.
“Oh no, what now?” Hannah asked, getting closer to Brendan.
Chapter 14 – The Ridge
Eric was behind the wheel of the Bronco, Kim in the passenger seat. It was dark, tough going even with the moonlight.
“How much further?” Eric asked.
“About fifteen miles. We go east ten miles from where we crossed Highway 54,” she said. “Then it’s south another ten miles. Glad we have this river bed to drive in. At least it hides us from the highway.”
“This is more like a wash than a river bed,” Eric said.
“We’ll have to stop and refuel those off-roaders before too long, I suspect.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Eric said. “It’ll be a good time to chat.”
“Still no enemy icons showing up outside of the base,” Kim said. “I’m a little surprised. I expected a patrol.”
“So did I,” Eric said. “You still have strong cell signal?”
“Three out of five bars,” she said. “Not terrible. LTE has been on the whole time.”
“Good,” Eric said. “Look, Dirk’s truck is stopping.”
“Probably time for the fuel stop.”
Eric drove next to the truck. Clancy’s Jeep rolled next to them, and then the off-roaders came into view.
“Hey, pencil neck,” Curt said as he stopped. “Seeing any enemy patrols?”
“Nope,” Eric said, walking over with Kim. “They’re all sitting inside the air force base.”
“Interesting,” Curt said. “I’m surprised. They must not expect trouble.”
“Hope they didn’t get tipped off by the tribe,” Clancy said.
“Wouldn’t that make it more likely that they’d have patrols running?” Kim asked.
Chance thought about it for a moment. “What if the tribe is doing the patrols?
“Hope that’s not the case,” Dirk said. “We can’t track them.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t be good,” Clancy said.
“Wait a minute,” Junior said. “You’re forgetting something. The enemy doesn’t know we can see their RFID chips.”
“Shit, he’s right,” Eric said. “This is a good indication that the tribe didn’t warn them. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”
“There’s a lot of hits in town,” Kim said, looking at her phone.
“Alamogordo?” Curt asked.
“Yes,” Kim said. “There’s also a few on the road between the air force base and the town, on highway 70. Another clump is sitting near the White Sands visitor center.”
“Where’s that?”
“Eight or ten miles west of the base, on Highway 70.”
“They probably consider the air force base to be safe, and are doing their patrols around the town instead,” Chance said. “To keep an eye on the people who are still there.”
“Bingo,” Junior said. “Wonder if Don’s team can make contact with the civilians in that town?”
“Good question,” Curt said. “They’d have to be careful with that. Good way to tip off the enemy.”
“We’d better fuel up and get moving again,” Junior said.
Curt nodded and got out of the Barracuda. He met Junior at the truck, and they both grabbed Gerry cans. They had their vehicles topped up in a few minutes.
“How are we doing on fuel?” Eric asked.
“Hell, this thing’s been idling along,” Curt said. “I wasn’t even empty, but I’d rather be pretty close to full when we get to the vantage point, just in case we need to high-tail it.”
“Yeah, same for me,” Junior said.
“I’m surprised how comfortable this thing is when we’re not driving lik
e maniacs,” Rachel said.
“Yep, rides like a Cadillac,” Junior quipped.
“Mine doesn’t,” Curt said. “It’s all business.”
“He’s a macho man,” Junior said.
“Keep it up, pencil neck,” Curt said. Both of them laughed as they got back into their vehicles. They took off, the other vehicles following them.
“You don’t think the tribe is with the Islamists, do you?” Kim asked, looking at Eric in the dark.
“I’d be surprised, but we don’t know them,” Eric said. “Still no hits other than inside the base?”
Kim looked at her phone again. “Nope. I think I’d better plug this thing into the charger. The apps burn up battery kinda fast.” She took care of that and asked if they should hit the base.
Eric glanced at her. “That’s a good question. I hope we find out enough tonight to make a good decision. It’s not as high a priority as getting that road shut down.”
“I hope this ridge we saw will give us a good enough view,” Kim said. “If it doesn’t, it’ll be much more dangerous.”
“I know. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. How far are we from the ridge?”
Kim picked up her phone. “Not very. Rita’s Draw is a couple miles at most, and the ridge is a couple hundred yards south of that.”
“Wonder what that is?”
“Rita’s Draw?” Kim asked.
“Yeah,” Eric said. “There’s nothing there.”
“It’s on this dry river. Probably a place to draw water back in the day.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Eric said.
“Hmmm. Enemy movement.”
“Crap. Where?”
Kim focused her view. “On the road between the White Sands visitor’s center and the base, along Highway 70.”
“Keep refreshing it,” Eric said. “Let’s see where they go.”
“You got it,” she said.
They rolled along for another few minutes, as Kim refreshed the screen. “They just passed the base. They’re going into town.”
“Alamogordo?”
“Yep, looks like it,” Kim said. “They might just be relieving their crew.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Eric said.
“We’re almost to the spot,” Kim said.
“Yep, I see Curt and Junior slowing down up there.”
Eric parked next to the two off-roaders. Curt, Junior, and Rachel were already on foot, carrying guns and binoculars. Dirk, Chance, and Clancy arrived and joined them as they walked.
