“Quiet down men. Quiet down. We brought liquor, women, snacks and we have a pig roasting on the spit. Tonight’s party time. Tomorrow you can rest up and sober up, but the day after is going to be a workday. We’re moving all the supplies from here over to the other farm and consolidating our holdings. There’s more room there and the barn’s big enough to hold our women and more.
“You men pitch tents before you get too drunk. Somebody get the music going. We brought back a box of country CDs. Have at it boys. Be easy on the women. Don’t beat ‘em or fuck ‘em to death. Somebody’s got to make coffee in the morning.”
“Let’s go,” Ada said. “We can’t help the women tonight.”
On the walk back to the cabin, Max found the weight of the bags uncomfortable and awkward to carry. He knew blind determination, borne of necessity had enabled Ada to carry the heavy duffle bag such a great distance. That feat deepened his positive opinion of her. At one of the infrequent clearing they encountered, he lengthened his stride to walk beside her
“Ada, when we get to the cabin, I think my splints need adjusting. How are your shoulders?”
“They scabbed over, but I think the scabs rubbed off. My pullover’s sticking to the raw places. The muscles in my arms are burning too. I have to shift the bucket from hand to hand.”
“Do you think ointment covered with bandages would help? Stop your clothing from scraping it.”
“Just ointment tonight. How’s your forehead? Any headaches?”
“No, but the stitches itch.”
“It’s still swollen, but not more than it was earlier. Hattie used to tell us itching meant the cut was healing. She was the official stitcher of the clan. “Iffen ya ain’t got a squirter and can’t see no innards ain’t no need to go wasting good money on sewing.” She stitched me plenty of times.”
Max reflected on the three stitches he could remember Ada doing for him. “There must have been some god-awful screaming going on.”
“Oh yeah. But we got lollipops.”
***
Another clear crisp day. Breakfast was fried ham from a can and scrambled powdered eggs. Ada did the cooking and Max the cleaning. He also did the coffee honors. He set her cup in front of her and took his seat at the table.
“Ada, I want to run something past you. We have enough food to last three more days at most. Judging from your experience in Toccoa, I don’t think we’re going shopping anytime soon.”
“You’re right about that. I doubt Cornelia or Clarksville are any different. Especially Cornelia. It’s right on a main freeway. No telling how many scumbags are trying to set up shop there.”
Max, said, “I can dress your sores while we talk. There’s a partial roll of duct tape in the bin under the counter. Grab the ointment and cut some cloth squares.”
They gathered the material, and Max continued talking while he dressed her sores.
“The man, Captain Tuffs, said they were moving to your farm tomorrow. What I think happened is the Captain and Billy Ray hung around my farm because of all the tools and equipment in the barn and because of the mountain of food stored in the basement, not to mention a truck load of animal feed.”
Ada flinched from Max’s fingers on her right shoulder. “Easy on that one, it’s the worst. We have a lot of supplies at our place too, but most of it’s in a storage cellar Dad and the rest built a few years ago. None of our homes has basements. The entrance looks like the ones you see for a storm shelter. They may not have checked inside yet.”
“I’m sure they’ll find it sooner or later, but let’s wrap our minds around the fact that for now your place is vacant. Maybe we could set some booby traps, take out a few of the bastards on moving day.”
Ada presented Max an odd smile, nodding her head at the same time. “We could blow them up.”
“You have dynamite?”
“Nope, hardly anyone uses dynamite anymore. There are some blasting caps and accelerators in our barn. We can mix a batch of ANFO; Ammonium Nitrate and fuel oil, the preferred explosive of homegrown American terrorists.”
Ada saw his confused expression. “Fertilizer mixed with diesel fuel in the right proportions. Jacob and Otis used it a lot for blowing stumps when they were clearing land for more pasture. That was when I was a kid, but they would make up a batch on the fourth of July and on New Year’s just for fun. I helped them make it a few times. You simply mix the two together.”
Max wasn’t convinced. “And this ANFO stuff makes a big explosion. Come on, it can’t be that easy.”
“But it is, and it’s really powerful. It doesn’t take much to blow up a truck or a house. Max, I’m thinking. Like I said, ammonium nitrate is fertilizer. There are at least ten bags in the barn. Plenty of diesel fuel in there too.
“Grandma kept black plastic bags full of empty gallon size bottles. Milk jugs, and bleach jugs. Max let’s make some bombs.”
Her enthusiasm was contagious, but Max was still leery. “So what do we do, light ‘em up and toss them?”
Ada laughed. “We could do that, but we’d probably get shot. Don’t forget, I’m the electronics expert you were going to hire to set up the surveillance system. Let me think on it for a while.”
Max gently placed a narrow strip of duct tape across the last bandage and gathered her coffee cup. “I’m finished with your bandages. You can try a shirt. It should be all right. I’m finished with coffee too, you want another?’
Max set the cups on the counter. “We talked about moving camp. Is that still on?”
Ada considered the question. “Yes and no. Whatever we do as far as booby traps go, it will have to be tonight. Three miles deeper into the Management area there’s a creek with a small cave on the bank above it. I say we move our supplies there and let it be bug-to spot in case things go bad.”
“I agree. There were enough men gathered at my place to enable a wide search and this place would be indefensible.”
Ada stood from the table. “Come over to the cot. I’ll redo the splints.”
“Can we shorten them an inch or so. The ends rub my hand when I flex my wrist.”
“Grab Otis’s pig sticker from the counter and I’ll trim ‘em.”
An hour later, they were in the woods headed for the cave. The terrain they encountered was hillier than what lay between the cabin and the farm. The trees were older and taller, especially the pines. Max guessed some of the trunks were over three feet thick. Shaded by the thicker canopy, the undergrowth was less dense, and moving through the forest was exponentially easier.
They came to the base of a high ridge and ascended it. Ada pointed to the next ridge across the valley between the two.
“In the valley over the next hill is the creek with the cave. If we’re split-up, and you have to make a run for it, head to the cabin first as a starting point. Run straight from the rear of the cabin, cross two hills and then find the cave.”
The cave was simply a small, waist-high opening a short distance up the hill on the far side of a wide, shallow creek. There was a flat area paved with rocks, making a patio at the entrance. The inside of the cave had a level floor, roughly rectangular shaped. The roof appeared to be a solid slab of granite.
Max guessed the floor area was about two-hundred square feet. He could stand and still have a foot of headroom in the lowest part. The opening allowed enough light to barely see the rear of the space. There was a table made from planks split from a log, and two stools of the same craftsmanship.
He set the duffle bag full of their supplies against a sidewall, and stretched, arching his back to relieve muscles. He was thankful the trip wasn’t fifteen miles. He could tell he’d have suffered the same blistered-fate as Ada.
Ada set the smaller bag with the ammunition beside the duffle. “King found this cave a long time ago. It wasn’t as big then, but he had his boy’s, Dad and Otis dig it bigger. They used the dirt to build up the ground for the paved area in front. This was King’s headquarters for when he poached deer out o
f season. It’s not as nice as the cabin and we can’t have a fire in here because of the smoke, but it’ll do as a hiding place if needed.”
“We need access to our property.”
“Yes we do Max, and I think we’re going to have it. It’s chilly in here. Grab a stool and let’s talk outside. By the way, the bandages did the trick. My shoulders are much better today.”
Max picked up a stool, followed her out the entrance, and set it close to hers. He let his eyes wander, taking in the view of the creek and the forested hill on the other side. To the left and right, the valley between the ridges extended hundreds of yards until the trees and foliage converged and obscured the creek.
“It’s beautiful. Did you come here often?”
Ada nodded. “Sometimes in the summer I’d spend days and nights here. It feels like air conditioning inside, even on ninety-degree days. I’d bring food and books, a sleeping bag. Just light a lamp and read and chill. Do you love nature?”
“I never spent time in it. I think I envy you. This has to be one of the most peaceful places on earth. I never understood the term babbling brook, but the sound of the creek splashing over rocks must be it.”
Ada laughed a soft pleasant sound. “That’s a babbling creek for sure.”
“Tell me something good, Ada. I’m not a dummy, but you’re more in your element than I am. Oddly enough, I worked for a firm that was surely involved in using explosives, but I seldom left the office except to visit sites during the bidding process.
“I’d never fired a weapon until a few weeks ago. I don’t know anything about camping or survival. For now, I’m comfortable with you as the brains and I’ll be the brawn.”
“Thank you, but I’m sure there will be times when it’s your knowledge that will be more important. I have a few ideas to run past you. Let’s bounce them back and forth and try to blow holes in them. If we can’t, then let’s make plans on killing that gang of bastards.”
Max said, “There aren’t words vile enough to describe them, but I’m with King on language. Let’s elevate ourselves far above them morally. Let’s strive to keep our mouths soap-less.”
“Max, I know you’re not a prude, I’ve heard some potty mouth from you too, but I understand where you’re coming from and I’ll join you. How about we call them, bangers?”
“Good a name as any.”
“Okay then, let’s kill the bangers. Tonight we sneak back to my family’s farm. Now listen, I think I have this planned pretty good. First thing is to collect some of the listening devices that Dad and Otis put in place, at least ten of them. Then we go to the barn.
“In the barn, we get three bags of fertilizer and one of the five-gallon containers of diesel fuel attached to the tractor. We’ll move all our material along with the bags of gallon jugs into a stall.
“I’ll show you how to mix the ANFO and while you do that, I’ll modify the listening devices to act as triggers for the detonators. That’s the scary part. I’ll set the gain on the devises so it takes a very loud noise to set off the explosion. When we put them in place, we’ll have to be damn... sorry. Darn sure to creep silently away from them, otherwise our banger killing days are over.”
“That sounds dangerous,” Max, said.
“You’ll have to trust my skills. I’d prefer a radio signal as a trigger, but we’re pressed for time. I know how to rework the devices. They’re simple. I’ll wire a bridge to engage the battery when sound activates the radio signal. It’ll probably destroy the circuit in the process, but we’ll get voltage to the detonator.”
“You lost me, but I’ll take your word on the process.”
“Here’s the good thing and something we need to keep in mind. If we place several bombs within say, a hundred feet of each other, the sound of any of them exploding will set off the listening devices on the others. We need to plan for that possibility to have the maximum effect when we place the bombs.”
Max nodded agreement. “Think about the bangers. They’re changing locations. The Captain is in charge. Let’s put ourselves in his place. How would he organize the move?”
Ada said, “That’s a tough project, but we should be able to make some guesses. Two things: He wasn’t drunk. He wasn’t slurring his words and he went inside after giving the speech. The other is. He’s dealing with a bunch of unruly idiots.”
“Okay, a smart sober guy with idiots to command, plus I doubt he trusts any of them. He let them party last night. He won’t let them do it again tonight. He’ll want them functional bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“Keep talking Max. He’s a man. You’re a man. Get in his head.”
Max rose from the chair and paced the small patio. “He’s military and that means he’s used to managing groups of men. He’ll be organized, demand organization. There’re a lot of vehicles at his disposal. He’ll want all of them loaded and ready to move as one convoy.” Max paused speaking to collect his thoughts.
Ada asked, prodding him to continue, “Will he lead the convoy, go with it, or will he send Billy Ray or one of the Simpsons to handle the unloading.”
“Oh, he’s the man, top dog. He’ll go with them.”
“What about the women?”
Max pondered her question for a long moment. “He won’t want them underfoot. He’ll leave them for last. Probably leave a few men to guard them, keep them from running away. Not many. He won’t consider them a priority and he’ll want as many hands as possible working at your farm to unload the trucks. At least four left behind as guards though.”
Max stopped pacing and glanced at Ada.
“Keep going Max, you’re on a roll. The whole gang gathers at my farm, but at your place only four guards and the women. Captain is with the big group.”
“I figure Captain Tuffs will push them to load and arrive at the farm no later than noon. They’ll eat lunch at your farm because the major will feel more in charge being in control of when and where they eat. Let me think. What will they eat?”
“Do you have any MRE’s or other types of instant meals at your farm?”
“Thirty cases of generic MRE’s. That’s all I found at Sam’s Club. Yeah, thanks Ada. That’s what they’ll eat.”
Ada said, “I think they’ll eat in the big open area in front of King’s house. The Captain will want the main house for his quarters and he’ll want the supplies close so he can keep them secure.”
Max stopped pacing and sat down again. “You’re right about that. He’ll want everything under his absolute control.”
Ada reached to touch his hand. “We may be going against a gang of bangers led by a captain, but I swear I’m watching a general in action. I can’t see a hole in the assessment.”
“Okay. Back to you, bomb girl. What does this assessment mean to you?”
“It means we’ve got a small problem and need to make an adjustment. The best time and place to do the most damage to the gang is at lunch when they gather in a relatively tight grouping. Most of our bombs need to target on that space. Thing is, ANFO creates a great blast, but I don’t know if a blast alone will kill all of them.”
“Too bad we don’t have a bunch of marbles to load in the jugs.”
“Ah, ha! Thanks Max. Not marbles, gravel. The drive through the center of the barn is paved with gravel. King recently had pea gravel spread to fill in the gaps between the large crushed granite. He was worried about Hattie twisting her ankle. The guy that delivered it misjudged what he needed and dumped a small pile outside the rear doors. Otis had his boys rake it into a pile. A pile of ready-made shrapnel.”
“So we have everything we need right there at the barn. Ada, you do know I could just be blowing smoke.”
“No. I believe you did a great analysis, General. Here’s the plan for the bombs. Did you notice the two oak trees in the front yard of King’s house?”
“How could I miss them?”
“They are huge. We’ll string at least six jugs, maybe more in the trees. We can put several j
ugs together as long as one has a detonator.
“I’m thinking two jugs with detonators on the porch beneath the dinner bell. I’ll tell you why in a minute. There’s an old, cast iron claw-foot bathtub close to the front of the house. Gramps had it for watering the dogs, and the pet lama he used to have. Hattie was afraid one of the younger children would fall in and drown, so she made him turn it over. I say hide two jugs under there. That cast iron will make great shrapnel. Big chunks of it.”
“Sounds good, now tell me. Why two under the dinner bell?” Max asked
“Okay. We don’t want the explosion to happen until they’re all together. I’ll set the control to where it takes a very loud noise to trigger the bomb. After the bombs are in place, we’ll hide in the loft of the barn. When the time comes, we shoot the bell, making it ring and in turn, the bombs blow. The noise of that explosion triggers all the other devices attached to jugs. What do you think?”
Max shrugged. “I say let’s do it exactly the way we’ve laid it out. If it works, bravo, we kill most, if not all of the bangers in one go. If things aren’t perfect, we’ll wait and watch. Sooner or later, we’ll have a chance to take out the Captain and others like the Dobbs and Simpsons.
Ada stood from her stool. “We’re going to be all night making the ANFO and putting the bombs in place and I doubt we’ll sleep much tomorrow. Let’s bring our bedding out here. I’m getting used to you. Seems like the closer I am to you, the warmer you get. You’re a living, breathing oven.”
CHAPTER 11
Max and Ada arrived at the forest boundary at the edge of the field behind King’s home just before the sun set. They remained concealed as they moved along the edge, looking for the fake rocks hiding the listening devices. They located eight. Not wanting to dare the risk of exposure, they slid a long piece of dead wood onto the field at each location to make the task of relocating the devices at night easier.
They returned to a position that allowed them to see the steps leading up the hill to King’s house. They observed and listened while they waited for dark. After thirty minutes, the sun fully set.
DISASTER: Too Late to Prep Page 16
