by Robert Boren
“Looks like it,” Juan Carlos said, “but stay down. The brush is too thick.”
Richardson cruised over to them. “Well, I guess we got some action after all.”
“Seriously,” Juan Carlos said. “Here comes one of the other boats.”
The boat came over. “You Richardson’s group?” shouted a tall red-headed man with a tight crew cut.
“Yeah,” Richardson shouted. “You?”
“I’m Samson,” he shouted back. “Lost one of our boats. Damn Molotov cocktail. They tossed it in.”
“Your men survive?”
“Yeah, they all dived off. Couple are burned pretty badly. I’ve got to get them back to base.”
“How far is your northern boundary?”
“The bridge for Bill Summers International Boulevard,” he said. “Nothing up there. We got all the way there and were coming back. The next couple miles of bank are black from that napalm attack last night. We ran into these folks picking up bodies and weapons.”
“You fire at them first?” Richardson asked.
“No,” Samson shouted. “They tossed the cocktail first. That’s what started it.”
“Okay,” Richardson said. “You guys get back. We’ll go a little ways up and turn back this way. I expect others to show up.”
“Thanks, I’ll let Jefferson know what went on,” Samson shouted.
“Already sent him a message,” Richardson said, “but go ahead and fill him in on the details.”
“Yes sir,” Samson said.
“You don’t have to say that,” Richardson said.
Samson chuckled. “You’re my CO, remember?”
Richardson chuckled. “Shit, you’re right. Carry on.”
Both men laughed, and Samson sped up, heading back towards the base, the second boat following as the third drifted around, still burning.
“The enemy might grab that boat for the guns,” Brendan said.
“We’ll tow it when we come back this way, if it’s not burning anymore.”
“It won’t sink?” Madison asked.
“It might, but I doubt it,” Juan Carlos said. “If the tanks haven’t blown yet it might explode, I suppose.”
“Okay, folks, let’s cruise up a few more miles and then turn around,” Richardson shouted.
“Roger that,” Juan Carlos said, speeding up again. Everybody had their eyes peeled.
“Whoa, there’s the burned section,” Hannah said as they cruised past it.
“Oh, gross,” Madison said. “Some of the men on the bank look like they’ve just melted away.”
“That smell,” Juan Carlos muttered as he drove.
“Why don’t we keep going all the way up?” Brendan asked.
“Good question,” Juan Carlos said. He pulled his phone and sent a text to Richardson. He got a reply a few seconds later.
“Well?” Madison asked.
“Schedule,” Juan Carlos said. “Jefferson wants us back to base on time.”
“Makes sense,” Brendan said. They cruised around a few more bends, watching the black banks, avoiding floating bodies. “That’s a few miles, man.”
“Anxious to get out of here?” Juan Carlos asked.
“It’s the smell, man,” Brendan said.
“Okay, it’s about time,” Juan Carlos said. “Stay sharp while we’re close to the bank.”
Brendan nodded, hands on the gun, eyes peeled. They made the turn and started back, the other two boats following them.
“Get closer to the US bank,” Madison said. “If we’re too close somebody might toss a Molotov cocktail again.”
“She’s right, man,” Brendan said.
Juan Carlos nodded and moved over, watching the banks nervously. They got a little too close, the outboards striking some mud.
“Watch it, man,” Brendan said. “Don’t run us aground here.”
“Don’t worry,” Juan Carlos said. “Still learning the river. I won’t get us stuck.”
They continued, approaching their northern boundary.
“That boat is still burning,” Brendan said. “We’ll have to leave it.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about the guns,” Juan Carlos said. “Look, they were right in the fire. There are plastic parts in these guns. They’re probably toast without a lot of repair work.”
“Good point,” Brendan said. The moved past the area of the battle and past their northern boundary, all of them feeling relieved.
“Well, girls, what do you think? Still want to be patrol boaters?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Hell yeah,” Hannah said. “Maybe we should just sign up.”
“Don’t be giving them ideas like that, man,” Brendan said.
“Why not?” Madison asked.
“Because we’d be worried all the time,” Juan Carlos said.
Hannah and Madison looked at each other and snickered.
“Now you know how we feel all the time,” Madison said.
Chapter 22 – Angus
“The tanks are getting a head start?” Kelly asked, walking over to Jason and Kyle.
“Yeah,” Jason said. “Some of the bikers are riding shotgun, just in case, and we’ll all be on the road in ten minutes.”
“Glad we all gassed up,” Kelly said. “We’ll likely have some issues with fuel as we get towards I-25.”
“Could be,” Kyle said.
“We’re meeting the recon team up in Carrizozo, where Highway 54 runs into Highway 380,” Jason said. “We should top up there if they have gas. The recon team will be running on fumes by then.”
“They took a lot with them,” Kelly said. “I helped them load up.”
“That was smart,” Kyle said. “We ready to go?”
“We’ll just be waiting in line at the gate if we saddle up right this second,” Kelly said. “I’m gonna go help Brenda get ready, though.”
“Who’s driving Junior’s rig?” Kyle asked.
“I am,” Kelly said. “Brenda’s driving the truck. She’s towed before.”
“Good,” Jason said. “See you in a little while.” He and Kyle watched Kelly walk away.
“He’s worried sick about Junior and Rachel,” Kyle said.
“So am I,” Jason said. “Worried about all of them. My brother, for example.”
“I know,” Kyle said. “I’m gonna go finish off the last minute stuff. Who’s driving Curt’s toy-hauler?”
“Don,” Jason said. “Sydney’s pulling their trailer in the SUV.”
“Okay,” Kyle said. “How about Dirk’s trailer?”
“Cindy’s doing that,” Jason said. “I think we’re covered.”
“Good, see you later,” Kyle said.
Jason got back into his rig.
“We ready to go, honey?” Carrie asked.
“Yep,” he said, getting into the driver’s seat. “You get everything stowed?”
“I did,” Carrie said. “Just have to strap in Chelsea.”
“Oh, mom, do I have to get in my car seat the whole time?”
“Yes,” Jason said.
Carrie looked over at Jason and smirked. “You heard daddy. C’mon. Right now.”
She climbed into the car seat, on the dinette bench, and Carrie strapped her in as Jason fired up the engine.
“Still taking highway 48 to highway 37?”
“Yep, and then west on Highway 380,” Jason said. “We’ll stop at Carrizozo to meet with the recon team and gas up.”
“We’ll barely be off full when we get there,” Carrie said.
“I know,” Jason said, “but we’ll have everybody top up anyway. We’ll be dry until we get to I-25.”
“Sure there will be gas on I-25?”
“The enemy is getting fuel someplace,” Jason said. “We might have to fight for it.”
“Not so loud,” Carrie whispered. “It scares Chelsea.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Jason said. He drove up to the line at the gate, which was moving along well.
“We’ll be o
ut of here ahead of schedule,” Carrie said.
“Yeah, that’s a good thing,” Jason said.
“You trust the tribe?”
“Stanton Hunt, yes. The others? Who knows?”
The convoy made it out of the RV park in another ten minutes.
“Here comes the first of the curves,” Jason said, gripping the wheel. “Wish this was straighter. We’ll be lucky to stay above fifty on this road.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not that bad up ahead,” Carrie said, looking at her phone, “and highway 37 is better still, for the most part. We get on that road at Angus.”
“Okay,” Jason said. “Highway 380 looked really straight.”
“It is,” Carrie said, eyeing the ridges above them. She dropped her voice. “I don’t like it in here.”
“Neither do I,” Jason said, “but the apps are telling me there’s no enemy around, so we should be fine.”
“Maybe I should take a look while you’re at the wheel.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get buzzed if somebody’s close,” Jason said. “I’ll feel it.”
“Yes, I know,” she said. “I want to use the long range app to look ahead a little.”
“All right, that’s probably smart.”
Carrie loaded the long-range app and studied her screen, moving it around with her fingertip every so often.
“Whoa,” Carrie said.
“What?”
“Lots of enemy hits coming north on 54,” she said. “Hundreds. Hope they don’t keep going north after they pass highway 70. If they do, they’re probably trying to catch the recon team.”
“Crap,” Jason said, fishing his phone out of his pocket. “Keep an eye on that. Tell me right away if they don’t make the turn.”
“Who are you calling?”
“Stanton Hunt,” Jason said, hitting the contact. He put it on speaker and put the phone in his shirt pocket.
“Jason?” Stanton asked.
“Yeah. How many Islamists were you expecting today?”
“The delegation was supposed to be twelve men,” Stanton said.
“We see hundreds coming north on Highway 54,” Jason said.
“Son of a bitch. How are you seeing that?”
“Our people are flying drones over the area.”
“Who are your people?”
“Governor Nelson’s team,” Jason said, hating the lie.
“There’s more just getting on Highway 54 now,” Carrie said. “Hundreds.”
“Carrie just told me there’s a bunch more getting on Highway 54 right now.”
Stanton was quiet for a moment. “Thanks. We’ll be ready.”
“Good luck,” Jason said. The call ended, and he put his phone on the center console. “Shit.”
“They’re probably going to hit the tribe,” Carrie said.
“I know, but then they’ll come after us. We’re going to need more people to take them on.”
“They have four thousand warriors, though, right?”
“That’s what they told me,” Jason said. “I have no idea how good they are, or if they’re divided and not ready for a big fight.”
“Should you call Ramsey?”
“Yeah,” Jason said, picking his phone back up. He set it down quickly as they entered a curve, putting both hands on the wheel. Carrie reached for his phone.
“Keep your hands on the wheel. I’ll hit his contact and put it on speaker.”
“Good idea,” Jason said as he came out of the turn. “That was pretty tight.”
Carrie hit Ramsey’s contact and put the phone on speaker, setting it on the center console.
“Jason?” Ramsey asked over the tinny speaker.
“Yeah,” Jason said. “We got a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“We just saw hundreds of Islamist fighters heading to the Mescalero Reservation.”
“They were supposed to have a meeting, weren’t they?” Ramsey asked.
“Yeah, with twelve people.”
“Dammit,” Ramsey said. “You warn them?”
“I called Stanton Hunt and told him.”
“How did you tell him you were seeing the enemy?”
“I made up a story about drones being in the air,” Jason said. “Run by you guys.”
“Okay,” Ramsey said. “We do still have the drones in the air. We’ll fly them over Highway 54 and 70 to get a look. Thanks for the heads up. You guys are on the road right now, I hope?”
“Yeah, we’re off. Heading north on Highway 48.”
“Good,” Ramsey said. “I’ll get to work on this. Thanks.”
The call ended.
“Well, that’s all we can do at this point,” Jason said.
“You look really worried.”
“I am really worried,” Jason said. “About Eric and Kim. And the others, of course.”
“You don’t think the Islamists are on their way after us, do you?”
“No,” Jason said. “Where are they now?”
“The first group is almost to the reservation,” she said. “The second group is on Highway 70 now as well.”
Jason’s phone rang. Carrie picked it up. “Eric. I’ll put it on speaker.”
“Hey, brother,” Eric said.
“What’s up?” Jason asked.
“We’re just outside of Carrizozo. Don’t want to drive these heavily armed vehicles into town, so we’re parking a few miles outside. Where are you guys?”
“We’re about two miles from Angus,” Carrie said, looking at her phone. “We pick up Highway 37 from there. We should be able to speed up a little when we get on that road. Highway 48 is a slow drive.”
“We saw a big group of Islamists heading for the Mescalero Reservation,” Jason said.
Eric was silent for a moment.
“You okay?” Jason asked.
“Yeah,” Eric said. “You saw them on the apps, of course.”
“Yep, and I warned Stanton Hunt. Told him we saw them coming via the drones.”
“Did he buy it?”
“I think so,” Jason said.
“How many Islamists are we talking about?”
“Several hundred,” Jason said.
“They’re gonna get hit,” Eric said.
“Looking that way.”
“The first group just turned into the reservation,” Carrie said.
“We’ll know what’s going on pretty fast,” Eric said.
“The main group is heading down a road to the back part of the reservation,” Carrie said. “A handful of men are still moving up the main road.”
“Don’t tell me, let me guess. Twelve.”
Carrie focused on her phone screen. “Yep, twelve. It’s a trap.”
“Where’s the other group?”
“A few miles outside of the reservation,” Carrie said.
“I’m gonna go,” Eric said. “I’m watching this on my app now. Be careful. See you soon.”
“Okay,” Jason said. The call ended.
“Geez,” Carrie said.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “What if somebody in the tribe tells the Islamists about us?”
“We’ll see them heading for the RV Park, I suspect,” Jason said. “I wouldn’t be so sure that the enemy has the drop on the tribe. We warned them. They probably saw the large group as soon as they got on their property.”
“I hope you’re right,” Carrie said, leaning back on her seat, setting the phone aside. “Let’s concentrate on what we’ve got to do. We’re almost to Angus.”
“Roger that,” Jason said. “There’s the sign. Angus.”
“Good,” Carrie said. “I’ll be so glad when we can speed up.”
“We’ll still be limited by the tanks,” Jason said.
“I know, but at least we can go sixty or more.”
“What’s with all the red roofs?” Jason asked, nodding towards the driver’s side window. Carrie leaned forward to look, and then got on her p
hone.
“That’s Bonita Park,” she said. “Looks pretty deserted. Look at the grass. Hasn’t been mowed for quite a while.”
“Yep, it’s gone to seed,” Jason said. “People are turning left ahead of us. Must be Highway 37.”
“It is,” Carrie said. “Slow down a little.”
“Will do,” Jason said. He made the turn, and then sped up to catch the group again. “You’re right, this is a faster road.”
“There’s a big sweeping curve at Crockett Canyon, but it’s pretty straight after that. There’s one more big curve a few miles this side of Nogal.”
“There’s a lot of RV Parks around here,” Jason said. “See them? Some of them have people there, from the look of it.”
“Wonder what the draw is around here? Looks like wasteland to me.”
“Don’t know,” Jason said. “What’s happening with the hits at the reservation?”
Carrie moved her fingers around on the screen for a moment, her brow furrowed. “The second group is in the reservation now. All of them are at the center.”
“So they’ve attacked or they’re talking with their cards on the table. Wish we could see the Indians.”
“Maybe Ramsey’s got the drone pictures,” Carrie said.
“Maybe. I’m gonna leave it alone for now.”
“Why?”
Jason sighed. “Nelson’s having anxiety issues, and they’re all stuck in that bunker. If Ramsey sees something important, he’ll call. Trust me on that.”
“Okay,” Carrie said.
Jason’s phone rang again. Carrie picked it up and accepted the call, putting it back on speaker.
“Hey, Kyle,” Carrie said.
“Hey. You guys see the Islamists at the reservation?”
“Yeah,” Jason said. “Warned Stanton Hunt, so they weren’t taken by surprise, at least.”
“How did you explain that to them?” Kyle asked.
“Drones,” Jason said. “This isn’t good.”
“I know, that first idiot we talked to probably already spilled the beans.”
“They don’t know where we are,” Jason said.
“If they go to the RV Park, it’ll be easy for them to figure out. The roads are dusty since the place is deserted. We left tracks.”
“Shit, he’s right,” Carrie said, looking alarmed.
“Don’t worry, we can see them, remember,” Jason said.
“You’ve got more confidence than I do,” Kyle said. “Heard from the recon team?”
