by Robert Boren
“If they saw somebody, he’d be dead by now,” Jeb said.
“I’m glad they’re still up there,” Terry said. “We’re only guessing that we got them all, you know. There could have been more than six people in that pickup truck. I counted eight men coming down the side of I-70.”
Dobie stopped in his tracks. “Bob said they didn’t find any more cretins back in town.”
Jerry and Jeb looked at each other.
“I reckon maybe we should go up by that truck and follow the tracks a little more carefully. We only checked for another vehicle.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Jerry said. “Let’s go.”
“Want me to follow along with Duchess?” Dobie asked.
“Yeah, but hang back a little bit,” Jeb said.
“Alright,” Dobie said. “I’ll help with the bodies and be along in a few minutes.” He helped Gabe and Terry load the bodies in the back of the pickup truck.
“Should we go back now?” Gabe asked.
“Why don’t you two get out of sight and watch,” Dobie said. “If there’s more enemy around here, we can throw them on the pile too.”
“I’m going to get back into the trees with my rifle,” Terry said. “Good vantage point, especially if you guys flush the bad guys back down through here.”
“I’ll join you,” Gabe said. They wandered off towards the stand of trees as Dobie walked along the creek bed with Duchess.
Jeb and Jerry were up by the pickup truck, looking at footprints.
“Crap, Dobie did a lot of stomping around here,” Jeb said. “Tracks are all mashed around the truck.”
“Let’s go towards the ridge,” Jerry said. “That’s probably where they all went. It’s the only direction that gives them any cover.”
The two men walked carefully along the small trail that led up towards the ridge.
“This is a well-worn trail,” Jerry whispered.
“Mountain goats, probably,” Jeb said, his eyes starting at the dirt in front of him. “Looks like quite a few tracks to me. More than four, and that’s how many Dobie counted that were on the ridge.”
The hackles on the back of Jerry’s neck went up as they rounded a small curve.
“Hold it right there,” said a voice off to the right. Jeb and Jerry froze and looked over. There were two Islamist fighters holding AK-47s on them, crouching in the rocks. The one speaking didn’t look like an Islamist. He looked and sounded like militia.
“Doesn’t look like that set of pajamas fits you very well, traitor,” Jeb said.
“Put those rifles down real slow,” he replied.
Jerry and Jeb looked at each other, and then set their rifles down in front of them. The militia man nodded to the Islamic fighter, who stood up to walk over.
“Keep your head down, you idiot,” the Militia man said. Then there was a rifle blast from up on the ridge, hitting the Islamist in the back of the head, splattering the militia man. Jeb and Jerry dived for their weapons as the militia man tried running down the mountain. Then there was growl.
“Duchess,” Jeb said, grinning. The militia man took off running towards the creek, with duchess right behind him, snarling and snapping.
“Dobie has his pistol out,” Jerry said. He and Jeb were trying to make it down the side of the hill after him.
“Hard shot for a pistol at that range,” Jeb said. The militia man hit the valley floor and sprinted towards the creek, when another rifle shot went off, hitting him square in the chest. He fell to the ground.
“Great shot, Terry,” shouted Gabe.
Jeb looked up on the high ridge. Jackson and Earl were standing up, jumping up and down, and clapping. “Those two guys saved our bacon again,” he said. They got to the valley floor and met Dobie.
“That’s a good dog you got there,” Jeb said. Duchess was sitting back down in front of Dobie, leaning against his shins.
“Yeah, but she’s not as sharp as Princess,” Dobie said, patting her on the top of the head. “Princess would have figured out those two were here on her own.”
“How come you didn’t bring her?” Jerry asked.
“She keeps Simon and Peabody focused,” Dobie said. “Lead dog.”
“Oh,” Jerry said.
“You see any tracks up there that would lead us to believe there’s more enemy fighters around?” asked Dobie.
“No,” Jeb said, “but I’d have Jackson and Earl hang around up there for a while longer just in case.”
Terry walked up.
“Nice shooting,” Jeb said.
“Thanks. I’ll go get the chip out of that cretin up there and drag him down.”
“Good,” Jerry said. “We’ll take care of the one down here.
The men met back on the valley floor, and loaded the last two bodies onto the pickup truck. Then Jeb and Gabe got into the cab.
“I’ll bring the jeep back in a minute,” Jeb said. The truck pulled away.
“Damn, Terry, I guess you aren’t locking up in a fight anymore,” Jerry said.
“He was a big help when we were trying to get out of town,” Gabe said. “We’ll have to make sure his lady friend hears all about this one too.”
“Now guys, don’t keep at her,” Terry said, a sheepish look on her face.
“Don’t worry,” Dobie said. “We’ll knock it off. I must admit it gives me some hope to see a young couple amongst us.”
“Yeah, it really does,” Jerry said.
“We aren’t a couple,” Terry said. “At least not yet. She does have a say in this, you know.”
“So do you, but I think I know what you want,” Gabe said, chuckling. Terry rolled his eyes and shook his head.
Jeb’s jeep rolled up to them, and they all got in. They drove forward past the gate, and Jeb stopped.
“What’s up?” Terry asked.
“Gabe asked me to lock up the gate on the way out.”
Jeb pulled the gate back across the road and locked it, then got back in and drove off towards the highway. They hit the pavement and accelerated, going around a few switchbacks, until they saw the three-lined creek along the left hand side of the road. You could see the razor wire shine as the sun hit it.
“This place is starting to look like an armed camp,” Dobie said. Jerry looked at him and snickered.
The jeep got to the driveway and drove in. The moat was about twenty yards in from the pavement. They slowly rode across the drawbridge. When they were across, Gabe rode up in the backhoe. He jumped out and hooked the heavy chain onto the back, and then got back in and pulled the drawbridge back. Then he unhooked, drove the backhoe over to the meadow where the other graves were, and started digging a new hole.
Jeb drove his jeep over next to his rig, and parked. Everybody got out, just in time to see the Sheriff driving the pickup truck over next to the hole that Gabe was digging.
“We should go help out,” Jerry said. The men walked over. It took them about twenty minutes to get the bodies buried. Then the Sheriff drove the pickup truck back over by the barn, and Gabe followed with his backhoe. They all met on the veranda of the clubhouse, and went in.
Jeb saw Mary talking with Rosie and Hilda. He hurried over. “How’s Kurt doing?” he asked.
“He’ll be alright,” Mary said. “He’s extremely lucky. That could have killed him.”
Jerry walked over to Frank, who was sitting in front of the PC. He had a programming screen up.
“What’s cooking, Frank?”
“I’m doing a little setup work, that’s all,” Frank said. “An application that will read the chips, provided we figure out how to pick up their signal and translate their payload.”
“Java, eh,” he said, looking at the screen. “You making phone apps?”
“Yeah, I’m planning on doing an iPhone app and an Android app, eventually.”
“Good idea,” Jerry said. “Got the signal generator?”
“Yeah, it’s right over there,” Frank said, pointing.
&
nbsp; “Great,” he said, looking at it. “That’s a good one. I heard that the back of Jake’s truck got shot up a little.”
“Sure did, but he didn’t lose much, luckily. He was pretty shook up when he saw how close the bullets got to the rear tires.”
“Maybe I’ll go out and help him,” Jerry said. “Unless you need me here.”
“I’m good, go ahead,” Frank said.
Jerry walked out the door and headed for the cinder-block rental units that Gabe had in the middle of the park. Terry was walking in that direction already, and met up with him. Dobie was already there, helping Jake dig through things.
“Hey, Jake,” Jerry said. “Gonna unload everything?”
Jake smiled as he saw him walking up. “Naw, most of it is going to stay right here, in case we have to beat a hasty retreat.”
“Good idea,” he said. “How much got damaged?”
“Very little equipment,” he said. “Our clothes took a beating, though, and some of Trish’s books.”
“Where is Trish?” Terry asked.
“She went over by the pool to sit on a lounge chair for a while. She’s pretty worked up…not in a very good mood, either.”
“You need to introduce the dogs to Trish and Jake, Dobie?” Jerry asked.
“They already know each other,” Dobie said. “Princess loves Trish. She was all over her when they got here, apparently.”
“Sure was,” Jake said. “I think we need to lay off of her.”
“Trish?” Jerry asked.
“Yeah. We need to let her settle down a little…and we need to quit pushing these two kids together.” He looked at Terry and smiled. “Not that it’s your fault, Terry.”
“I want to go talk to her,” he said.
“Do so at your own risk,” Jake said, chuckling. “Like I said, she’s not in a great mood.”
“I’ll chance it,” he said, and turned to walk towards the pool. She was sitting on a lounger, back towards him, her hair shining gold and reddish in the sun.
“Hey,’ he said.
She jerked, as if startled, and turned towards him.
“Hey. The oldsters send you over here?”
“No, they warned me that you were in a bad mood,” he said, walking over and sitting down on the lounger next to her.
“They’re right,” she said, looking down. “I suppose you want to hear me compliment you on your brave actions today.” She looked him in the eye, squinting because of the sun, her nose and brow furrowed.
“No,” Terry said. “C’mon. They mean well. Don’t take it too seriously.”
“My stuff got shot up,” she said. She was trembling.
“You’re pretty shook up,” Terry said to her. She got up and paced back and forth next to the swimming pool.
“They could have killed all of us,” she said. Her eyes were getting glassy. She looked at Terry like a scared child. He got up and pulled her into his arms. She pushed back.
“I’m not yours,” she said.
“I know. It’s okay,” Terry said softly, and pulled her back to him, hugging her tightly. She broke down and sobbed in his arms, laying her head against his chest, hugging him back. They stayed in their embrace for several minutes.
“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling away from him. She sat back down, looking calmer. He sat down next to her.
“Your dad didn’t know how upset you were, did he?”
“No,” she said, looking down. “I hid it. That’s why I came over here.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t want him to feel bad,” she said. “He’s a good dad. He’s just overwhelmed, and he never was that good with the emotional stuff.”
“What about your mom?”
“She’s gone,” Trish said, still looking down.
“They don’t get along? Divorced?”
“No, I mean she’s dead. She died several years ago. Cancer”
“Oh,” Terry said. “I’m sorry.”
“Dad’s been pretty good considering,” she said. “Now that I’m older, I see how much help he needs…how lost he is. I worry about him a lot.”
“Did you leave friends behind in town?”
“You mean boyfriends?” she asked, looking him in the eye.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Terry said. “You don’t need to be that way. I’m not thinking that you’re my automatic girlfriend just because we happen to be thrown together. Really.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I know I can be a real bitch sometimes.”
“Look at the world we’re living in now. We’re both lucky we haven’t gone off the deep end. I almost did, in the beginning. I almost got us in a lot of trouble once. I came out of it.”
“What happened?”
“I was supposed to be guarding the back of an RV Park we were at in southern Utah. I got scared when the enemy showed up. I kinda shut down. I almost got a few people killed.”
“Well, you’re obviously past that now.”
“My uncle,” Terry said, tears forming around his eyes. “After it happened, we talked and talked and talked. Some people think he’s not too bright. They’re wrong. He brought me back from the edge.”
“Which one is he?” she asked.
“The one dressed in the Sheriff’s uniform.”
“Oh. He’s nice.”
“Yes, he is. This is a nice group of people overall. We’ve been through some crazy stuff together, and it just keeps driving us closer together.”
“Is it safe here?” she asked, looking intensely at him.
“I don’t know for sure. We’ve done a lot to this place.”
“The enemy was right around the corner, though.”
“They followed us here,” Terry said. “They high jacked some poor guy’s pickup truck and followed us after we got away from them in town.”
“Oh,”
“Trish! You still back there?” shouted Jake. He was looking towards them.
“Yeah, Dad, I’m fine,” she yelled back. “I’ll be back over there in a little while.”
“Okay, honey, no rush,” he shouted.
“You want me to go?” Terry said.
“Could you stay with me for a while?” she asked.
“If it doesn’t bother you, I’d like that.”
“Sorry I was tough on you,” she said.
Terry looked at her pretty face and smiled. His heart was starting to beat faster. He put his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned over against him. They sat silently together for a while.
Back at the clubhouse, Frank continued to work on his program. Jane walked over and sat down next to him.
“You can already work on this part?” she asked. “I thought it was the final piece.”
“It is,” Frank said. “I’ll have to make some adjustments later, but I can get the basic structure up and running. It’ll save a lot of time on the back end.”
“When’re you guys taking the motorhome out to run your tests?”
“Soon, now that we have the equipment.”
“I’m glad,” she said.
“Really? I thought you were scared of that idea.”
“I don’t feel safe here anymore.”
“Because of what happened today?”
“Yeah,” Jane said. “Our friends were in exactly the right place at exactly the right time to run into those Islamist fighters. Seems way too tidy to me.”
“Tidy?”
“Yeah. Think about it. They just happened to be on that road and saw these guys, during a one-off trip into town.”
“You’re thinking that the enemy was watching for us, and knew we were sending somebody into town?”
“No. If they knew that much, they’d have already gotten here, I suspect. I think that there are a whole lot of those folks arriving in this area. I think they’re massing here to get staged for the attack on Denver, but since there’s so many of them around, it’s only a matter of time before they pay us a visit.”
“Oh. I hope you’
re wrong.”
“Me too.”
Suddenly there was a rifle shot. Then another. It sounded a little ways away. Frank and Jane jumped out of their chairs, and joined the others in the room at the windows, guns in hand. Jerry ran in the door.
“Just got a call from Earl,” he shouted. “They just shot a small drone out of the air.”
“Crap,” Jeb said. “We’d better get ready again.”
Chapter 08 – Enemy Rescue
Jeb, the Sheriff, and Charlie ran outside with their rifles. Frank followed, with Jane and Lucy right behind him.
Terry ran over from the pool area, with Trish beside him. “What happened?” he shouted.
“Earl and Jackson just took out a small drone,” Jerry shouted. “Whoever is flying that sucker is close by. Does Trish know how to shoot?”
Terry looked at her, and she nodded yes back at him, as Gabe, Dobie, and Jake ran over, guns in hand.
“I’ll get you an AK,” Terry said, running over to the Sheriff’s rig. He pulled one out, checked it, and showed it to her. “Ever fired one of these?”
“No, just hunting rifles,” she said, panting from the run.
“It’s easy,” he said, showing her how to load and fire. “Try it…hit that tree over there.”
Trish pointed the weapon at the tree and pulled the trigger. Several shots went off, and the gun jumped around in her hand. She missed the tree completely. She gave Terry a scared look.
“Try it again. Hold on tight, and squeeze the trigger. Don’t just hold it down…try to let only a couple of bullets go.”
She took a deep breath and tried again, sending wood splinters flying. She smiled at Terry.
“Perfect,” he said. “You’re a natural. Let’s find a good spot.”
Jerry ran to his coach, and got his drone and controller. Then he climbed up the side of the mountain as quickly as he could, joining Earl and Jackson.
“You guys see anybody?” he asked, panting from the climb.
“No, not yet,” Jackson said. “How close would you have to be to fly that?” He pointed down at the wreckage.
“That’s a really crappy drone,” Jerry said. “It has lousy range. Whoever flew that sucker is really close by. This drone is quite a bit better. I’ll fly it over the ridge.”
“Won’t they shoot it down?” Earl asked.
