“Nothing,” Elle said.
“Same.”
“No matter,” Stryker replied. He opened the pouch and they moved closer to look into it.
“My God! How many are there?” Elle asked.
“Twenty-two. These are 1.2-ounce American Buffalo gold coins. They were minted four years ago. At that time, they were worth around 1,200 dollars apiece. This is enough to get everything we need for the next couple of years.”
“When are we leaving for town?” Haley asked.
“Now. Let’s get the place locked up and load the Jeep.”
A few minutes later, they were heading south on Highway 67 on their way to the Sunset Mall. Haley rode shotgun in front and Elle sat on the driver’s side in the rear. They both had their windows down, gun barrels sticking out.
“What kind of clothing stores does the mall have?” Elle asked.
“There’s a Marshalls, a JC Penny, and Dillard’s.”
“Skip the first two and go directly to Dillard’s,” she replied.
“I hope you’re buying if we’re going there,” Haley said.
“Of course my dear,” Elle replied. “Anything for you.” They both giggled and Stryker rolled his eyes.
They pulled into the Dillard’s parking lot and parked in an area where several other cars had apparently been abandoned. They walked to a smaller entrance and Stryker tried the door, but it wouldn’t budge. He sighed and walked back to the Jeep, got his wrecking bar, and returned. “Stand back,” he said, and then swung the bar with all the force he had.
The glass shattered, he reached through and turned the deadbolt, and then held the door open. Haley and Elle walked by him, guns up, and he followed. They moved through the store until they reached the women’s apparel section. Stryker said, “You guys stay together and I’ll stand guard. Let’s make this as quickly as possible.”
“Sure,” Elle replied, and they moved between the racks, plucking items off the racks and shelves. When both were fully laden, they started trying items on and asking each other’s opinions on their selections. Stryker’s eyes methodically checked in every direction, never really stopping. After twenty minutes, they filled six large shopping bags and walked over to Stryker.
“Done?” he asked.
“We have everything we need, including the stuff for Erin.”
“Okay, let’s go to the trading post and then head home.”
“What are we buying there?” Haley asked.
“Fresh fruit, veggies, and meat.”
“Do they ever have fish?” Elle asked.
“Sometimes.”
“Well, this is my day, so I’m feeling lucky. I just got 2,000 dollars’ worth of clothes for free.”
“Now that you’ve done your victory lap, let’s head to the market.”
“Can you help us with the bags?”
“One of us has to have hands free.” Haley shrugged, and both women looped their fingers though the bags handles, and with some effort, carried them to the car. They loaded the bags into the passenger side back seat and drove to the university parking lot. Stryker had two coins in one pocket and one in the other. He left the rest under the seat in the locked Jeep.
The number of people at the site was almost double the last time he visited the place, and there were a lot more vendors. As Stryker looked around to see if any threats were visible, he saw Tom, the organizer of the event, approach with a look of concern on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Stryker asked.
“Two soldiers showed up this morning and said they were going to provide security for the event. They’ve been taking things and not paying for them.”
“Are you sure they’re soldiers?”
“They’re wearing cammo with nametags on the blouses, and carrying M-16s,” he replied. “They’re also making lewd comments to the women.” Tom looked panicked.
“First, calm down,” Stryker said. “Every person here is armed. Why doesn’t someone tell them to stop?”
“Some of the guys talked about it, but decided it wasn’t worth a gunfight with soldiers who have fully automatic weapons. Who knows who might get shot?”
“Why don’t you introduce me to them,” Stryker said quietly. He turned to Haley and Elle and added, “you two stay here and don’t move until I get back. Both of you need to be aware of who’s around you. Anybody gets within twenty feet of you, guns up. If they don’t stop, shoot them. You got that?” They both nodded solemnly.
“Let’s go,” Stryker said. “Once you introduce me, go away.”
“Okay.” The two men walked through the market until they saw two men dressed in BDUs. Tom and Stryker stopped about five feet from the men and Stryker glanced at their weapons.
“This is Stryker. He wants to talk to you,” Tom said nervously before he turned and left. Stryker’s M-4 was pointed toward the ground, as were the men’s M-16s. Neither wore a pistol, but both had three spare mags attached to their vests. Nobody spoke for close to a minute, with the men staring at each other. Stryker noted their nametags both said “Ericson” and they resembled each other.
Assess and evaluate.
They both looked like beefy, corn-fed farm boys, probably heavily muscled, but not the brightest bulbs in the pack. They were big men, but not as big as Stryker. The man on the left was obviously the alpha dog because the one on the right glanced at him as though expecting an order. Stryker decided he didn’t want to kill the men. They were bullies, but probably kids who joined the army to get away from slopping hogs.
“You two need to leave now,” Stryker said quietly. He exuded confidence and his expression was neutral.
“We’re not going anywhere,” the alpha dog said.
“Yes, you are. Only question is whether you walk out or get carried out.”
“Don’t think so.“
“This is the last chance you’re going to get.”
“There are two of us and only one of you.”
“Wouldn’t matter if there were six of you. That wouldn’t change the outcome. It would just take slightly longer.”
“That’s big talk.”
“Okay,” Stryker said to the left guy. “I’m going to shoot you first. Since both of you desk jockeys have your weapons on safe, this will be over fast.” When both men looked down, Stryker took one long stride toward the left guy and delivered a vicious butt stroke to his face. Spinning on his right foot, he carried the momentum to the man on the right to deliver an elbow strike; but the man reacted by ducking and raising an arm and deflecting Stryker’s elbow. It did little good as the rifle butt was following right behind the elbow and the man went down instantly.
Stryker turned back to the left guy, who was trying to bring his rifle up as he stood, and grabbed the barrel, pointing it away. He raised his M-4 with his right hand and placed the muzzle against his forehead. “Let go of the weapon or die.”
“Okay,” he mumbled through shattered teeth. His nose was also clearly broken and blood streamed down his chin. He released the rifle. Stryker backed away, glancing at the one that was still down. He lowered his carbine, placed the M-16 on the ground behind him, set the other M-16 next to the first, and walked back to the man still standing, who cowered at his approach.
“Give me the spare mags.” The man yanked them free and handed them to Stryker, who placed them on the ground next to the M-16s.
“Tom, come get their rifles and spare mags,” he yelled over his shoulder. He glanced back and saw Haley and Elle, both guns up and aiming at the standing man. “Jesus, will anybody ever just do what I ask them to do?” he muttered. Tom grabbed the rifles and mags and carried them away.
Stryker again approached the standing man and glared at him. “This is your idea of upholding your oath?” he said in a menacing voice. “What kind of pond scum are you to come here and take things from people and use that uniform and those weapons to intimidate them?” Stryker paused while the man apparently struggled for an answer, then added, “Never mind answering
that. You just need to pick up this piece of shit and get out of here. If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you both without a second thought.”
“I think he’s dead already,” the man stammered. Stryker glanced down.
“He might be. I don’t really care. You crossed the line when you pulled this crap, and if he’s dead, I’ll spend the next one second worrying about it. Okay, I’m over it now. Either carry him out of here now, without weapons, or I’ll end you now. Up to you.”
“We’re leaving,” he mumbled. Stryker stalked away, not sure if he should leave the man alive or not, but accepting the outcome as the best one possible. He was considering really ripping into Elle and Haley for not doing what he asked, but tempered the thought as he approached them. Tom stood to the side of Haley, his face drawn and pale.
“What did you think I was going to do?” Stryker demanded as he faced Tom. “Violent men only cease to be violent when confronted by a greater violence.” He waved his hand in a disgusted motion. “Why the hell didn’t anybody here stop this before it got out of hand? Are you people all sheep?”
“We talked about it,” Tom said.
“And decided to do nothing,” Stryker spat back. “Are any of you people men? Or, are you all twelve-year-old girls looking for their first date?”
“We tried,” he answered.
“Yeah, well let me tell you something. You organize this market and you’re responsible for security. Get your act together.” Tom remained mute, and Stryker walked away in disgust. He felt a hand on his arm and turned to face Elle.
“Stryker, you’re scaring us,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re really upset and you’re scary right now.”
“Well, I don’t mean to be that way.”
“Well, you are.”
“I guess I’m sorry. I don’t want you guys to ever be afraid again; but I can’t just ignore things that are wrong.”
“Can you just calm down for a minute and then come back?”
“Sure.” Stryker walked away and tried to regain his composure, but it was impossible for him to understand why the men in the market didn’t take control of the situation. It was infuriating that he had to do what he did to maintain order.
He turned to Elle and Haley, still angry, but said, “Thanks for having my back there.” They both looked relieved. When they saw his expression as he approached, they thought he was going to blow up at them.
“Ahh, no problem,” Elle said.
“Stryker, after what you did for us, we’re always going to have your back. Count on that.”
“I appreciate that, ladies.”
“Do you think that guy is dead?” Elle asked.
“Yes.” Stryker looked away. “I tried to end it without that happening, but sometimes you can’t predict outcomes.”
“Do you feel bad?” Elle asked.
“I wish I did. Let’s get our trading done and leave.” He turned away and walked to a flatbed trailer that had a freezer mounted on it with a small Yamaha generator wired into it.
“Hi Stryker,” the man who shook his hand was small with a long, grey beard and washed-out blue eyes.
“Hi Gus. How you been?”
“Never better. What do you need?”
“Meat and fish. What do you have?”
“I got beef steaks, pork chops, whole chickens, and some catfish.”
“You got a cooler to pack it in?”
“Sure, but that will cost you.” Elle and Haley walked up and stood beside him.
“You ladies want to pick out what we want?”
“Sure,” Haley replied. They picked two packs of catfish, two packs of steaks, two whole chickens, and two packs of pork chops.
“How long will that hold us?” Stryker asked.
“About two weeks,” Elle replied.
“What else you got, Gus?” Stryker asked.
“I got some lamb chops.”
“Add a couple packs of those, too.”
“This is going to be expensive,” Gus said. “You can’t expect me to cut you a deal because you got rid of those guys.”
“I’m just asking how much.”
“What you got to trade?”
“Gold.”
“That’s going to be about a half ounce.”
“What can I get for one ounce?”
“Around double that.”
“Let’s do that. But throw in the coolers.”
“Done.” The two men shook hands and Stryker looked at Elle.
“Go get the fresh veggies and fruit. It’s at the stall over there.” He pointed to the stand and she nodded. She and Haley left and Stryker watched them negotiate for a moment before turning back to Gus. “I have 1.2-ounce coins and I don’t want to give you a whole coin.”
“No problem. I can cut the coin with a bolt cutter and give you back the change.”
“That works.” Stryker stacked the four Styrofoam coolers in one pile, walked over and gave Elle the sliver of the gold coin that remained. “I’m going to load the Jeep. Pay with this and don’t move until I get back. I mean it this time and I’m going to be really pissed if you don’t listen to me.” They both looked back at him and nodded.
He went back to where the M-16s sat in a heap on the ground, picked them up, grabbed the spare mags, and walked back to the Jeep. He returned and picked up the four coolers stacked on top of each other, lifted them as one, and loaded them. He returned to find the women in a heated discussion with the vegetable vendor.
“What’s the problem here?” he asked.
“She won’t sell us stuff,” Elle replied. Stryker blinked, wondering how simple things became complicated.
“Why not?”
“She wants canning stuff and won’t take the gold,” Elle answered.
“We can give Tom the coin and he can write you script for the canning stuff you want,” Stryker said, addressing a tiny little woman behind the folding table who looked like she had been sucking on lemons. Her eyes narrowed and then she recognized him.
“You’re the guy who helped Sara when that big guy attacked her?”
“Well, yes. She didn’t deserve to get beat up over that.”
“Hmmm. Well, okay, take the crate of stuff; but I want that chit from Tom.”
“You got it. Elle, can you go get Tom and bring him over here?”
“Sure. Right back.” After she left, Haley looked confused and didn’t speak.
“What?” Stryker asked.
“The big guy?”
“Yeah.”
“So, he was bigger than you?”
“Yes.”
“Nobody is bigger than you.”
“He was.”
“What did you do to him?”
“He was going to beat up a woman, so I took care of it.” Stryker shrugged.
“And you weren’t scared?” Stryker barked a laugh.
“There are lots of things to be scared of. But, I’m only scared of what I can’t see coming. The rest of it is just figuring out how to come out on top. If you know the threat, you know the response.”
“You’re a strange man.”
“Thank you, I guess,” Stryker replied. After Elle came back, they sorted out the issues with the vegetable vendor and finished loading the Jeep. The women looked at each other and then Haley spoke.
“Can we just look around for a half hour?” she looked at Stryker in the way he imagined a teen-age girl would look when asking for an extra hour out after curfew. He didn’t have the heart to say no.
“Go ahead, but stay together and keep your weapons in your hands at all times.” They both scampered off, giggling and whispering excitedly. Stryker shook his head and sat on the hood of the Jeep to keep an eye on them. They stopped to look at merchandise displayed on the tables, had brief conversations with several people, and when they returned, seemed content.
“Thanks, Stryker,” Haley said as they got into the Jeep.
“Yeah,” Elle added.
“It was fun just being around people for a while.”
“I’m a person.”
“Well, at times,” Elle replied.
They drove back to the ranch in silence until Elle said, “I don’t really understand why you got into that fight back at the trading post.”
“Someone had to.” Another silence ensured, so Stryker said, “my grandpa once told me that all evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing. I took that to heart and I still do. I can’t just walk through life looking the other way. It’s not honorable and I took an oath to defend this country and its people.”
“Jesus, Elle, he could have just shot those guys. But he tried to end it without anyone dying,” Haley said.
Stryker’s eyes continued to scan in all directions as he drove. He cued up the Allman Brothers’ song “Melissa” on his mental CD player. The song was 3:42 minutes long, melodic, and filled with aching melancholy. His version of the song was from a live performance he attended years earlier, and featured acoustic guitars that served to make the song even more whimsical. Stryker always found the refrain of the song to be particularly poignant. He continued to take part in the conversation, scan the landscape around them, and listen to the song. When it ended, he cued it up again.
It was still playing as they passed through the gates to the ranch and he parked the Jeep in front of the house.
CHAPTER NINE
DIE OFF PLUS TWO YEARS, ONE MONTH
“I guess that should do it,” Sarge said, wiping his brow with a bandanna.
“It’s going to have to. We can’t find any more trailers.” They both looked at Stryker’s yard. It was covered with every sort of trailer known to man, including flat beds and horse trailers. They were loaded with fertilizers, animal feed, building supplies, and a few diesel generators they scavenged from surrounding farms and ranches. They even found a small utility trailer in the power company maintenance shed. They had been to every feed store, hardware store, lumberyard, and home improvement outlet within sixty miles of the ranch.
“How many trailers are there?” Erin asked as she approached the men.
Stryker: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale Page 16
