by AJ Newman
Tom had just told the team to search the construction site for tools or other useable items when Kendra called Tom on the radio. “Tom, several pickups are heading down Highway 99 toward you. The men in the back are armed. You need to leave now and cut across to Green Springs Highway by taking Reiten Drive to Neil Creek.”
Tom replied. “We’re leaving now.” He then yelled, “Load up! We have hostiles on the way! Leave the tractor. No time to load it. Follow me!”
Tom led the group in the pickup with Colt in the back of the last farm truck, ready to shoot anyone following them. Doris and Greta gunned their trucks and followed Tom southeast on Reiten Drive and then northeast on Neil Creek Drive. Tom drove carefully and a bit slower since the trucks were overloaded and pulling overloaded trailers.
“Kate, did we lose the pickups?”
Kate answered, “Yes, but they are searching the area. One just stopped by the tractor. Shit! One of the men just ran his hand over the tractor and yanked his hand away. They know someone just left. Oh! They just split up and headed out in different directions. One is heading your way. Pull off and hide!”
Tom looked around and saw a large stand of trees across Green Springs Highway on Neil Creek Road's left side. He gunned the engine and crossed the highway. He found an open spot in the woods and drove the pickup into the copse of trees until the larger trucks were deep enough to be hidden from the road.
Tom grabbed his AR and ran back to the others. “Bring your rifles and follow me. I want to kill every one of the bastards if they find us. We need to stop them from alerting anyone that we’re here.”
Tom ran up to the edge of the trees and heard the truck approaching the intersection. “Duck down! Here they come.”
The pickup stopped in the middle of the intersection, and the men jumped down from the bed. They looked up and down Green Springs Highway and on ahead up Neil Creek Drive. Two appeared to argue, and then they loaded back up and headed north on Green Springs Highway. Tom told the others to get in their trucks while checking to make sure the gang didn’t double back.
He ran up to the intersection and saw the truck drive out of sight. “Jackie, I don’t see them. Is it clear to head back to the barn?”
“No, drive over to Emigrant Lake and hide. A dozen more trucks are searching for you.”
Tom did not want to stay. “Sis, if we leave now, we’ll be out of the area quickly.”
“Tom, no! Something tipped them off to us being in the area. This is a wide net they cast, and men are searching on all of the roads you need.”
“Okay, we’re heading over to Emigrant Lake.”
Tom drove south around the lake and then drove up into the hills on the lake's east side. He parked among some trees behind an abandoned homestead and then walked back down the dirt road to ensure the trucks couldn’t be seen. Satisfied no one could see them, he walked back to join the others who had searched the home and outbuildings and found them empty.
Tom said, “Let’s have some lunch and take turns napping and guarding. My guess is we’ll be here for a while.”
Colt asked, “Did Jackie have any indication how they knew we were down in Ashland?”
Tom said, “No, she didn’t. They didn’t appear to know where we were but did know someone was intruding on their turf. I wonder if they have the locals reporting any unusual traffic or people wandering through Ashland. Our trucks certainly make a lot of noise. I’d hoped most locals would have thought we were part of the gang and ignore us.”
“This could make fetching the grain impossible if they keep up this level of surveillance. Maybe we need a way to focus their efforts elsewhere,” Colt proposed.
Tom cocked his ear toward Colt. “Hmmm, a distraction might do it.”
Tom thought for a minute and radioed Kate. “Babe, I miss you but really needed a distraction. I’ll be home tonight. Thanks for the distraction.”
Kate paused as she wondered what the heck Tom meant, and then it became clear what he needed. “Hon, do you want the small crackers or large ones for supper?’
“I think the small ones for tonight. Maybe three or four servings.”
***
The cave
Kendra’s brow was furrowed. “What was that?”
Kate turned to her. “That was my hubs asking us to drop some bombs on Northern Ashland to draw the search party to the north side of Ashland. I have an idea that should make it work.”
Kate sent Kendra to fetch Rick. Kendra and Rick promptly appeared by the barn. Kate asked, “Rick, what channel were the gang’s radios set on that we captured?”
“They communicate with the gang members on channel thirteen, and Tom thinks the higher-ups conduct business on channel 18. Why?”
Kate grinned. “I’m going to have Kendra send a drone over to north Ashland and send a message on channel thirteen about a group attacking the gang. Then I’m going to drop some bombs to distract the search parties that have Tom pinned down.”
Rick said, “So you fix a servo to push the talk button on the radio and then speak over the drone’s loudspeaker into the radio. It would work. I’d land the drone and stop the motors so you don’t get the propeller noise. That’s a darn good idea. You will have them chasing their tails if you keep them from seeing the drone.”
Kate asked, “Give me three targets that will get their attention but not a full scale war.”
***
Tom heard the radio squawk. “Hon, supper is waiting. Be home in thirteen minutes if you want to listen to the president’s speech.”
Tom shook his head. “Okay, I’m close to home now.”
Kate said, “Good, I have to drop the kids off at the pool.”
Doris broke out laughing. “That was a very confusing conversation. Is she taking a dump or dropping bombs?”
Tom snickered. “Doris, I think we need to change your radio to channel thirteen to hear something about the bombs dropping.”
Tom changed the channel. They heard the following conversation:
“Red one, this is Rover. Rover, they fell for it and are south of Ashland. Attack! Attack!”
“Rover, this is Red one. The attack will begin now!”
Tom was too far away to hear the explosions, but they could all hear muffled explosions through the radio. He said, “Kate is dropping the bombs now. The search party should be charging north about now.”
Tom’s radio squawked, and they heard Jackie’s voice. “The skies are clear, and we need the girls home now.”
Tom replied, “Roger.”
Tom turned to the others, “We need to work on our top secret communication.”
They all laughed and began the trip back to the cave.
*
Chapter 6
The Cave
Unloading the building materials took two full days. Then Jerry began building grain storage bins while Rick’s crew made the cave's living area between the cabin and the brick grain bins. Every one of Tom’s team at the cave worked on one of the construction projects except the drone operators who kept watch over the ranch and the cave.
Jerry used cinder blocks for the first three grain bins and increased their size to eight feet by ten feet so the bin could be used for bedrooms or other storage. He installed an outside steel door on every bin to help with unloading or entry if the space was necessary for additional storage or living room.
Tom helped Rick and his crew install the two by four framework for the rooms’ wall. He was amazed at how quickly they had covered the wall with half-inch plywood and filled the voids between the two sides of the wall with insulation.
Tom had an idea about how to move the grain and thought it out thoroughly while working. He motioned for Rick and Bill to join him outside of the cabin. “I had a brainstorm. What about having Sam contact the vigilantes to have them create a diversion, so we can move the grain?”
Bill asked, “Why would they help us?”
“We offer a truckload of grain, and they pay us by jerking Mend
oza around. I don’t want to use the drones too much. Mendoza might catch on to them if they never see anyone kicking their asses. The vigilantes are bound to have something planned that could help us. We could even drop a few bombs to help make a bigger disturbance,” Tom proposed.
Rick asked, “What if they want more than one truckload of grain?”
Tom smiled. “Easy answer. They just have to bring some empty trucks.”
Bill asked, “How does Sam contact the vigilantes?”
Tom grinned, “I don’t know, nor do I care how she contacts them as long as she doesn’t expose our location. We will watch her every move to see how she contacts them.”
***
Kate knocked on Sam’s door. “Sam, can I come in?”
Kate knew Sam and Lucy were in the room but didn’t hear anything. She banged on the door and heard, “Just a minute.”
The door opened, and Sam poked her head out. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”
“I need you to come to the library to discuss the vigilante group with Tom and me.”
A smile washed over Sam’s face. “I haven’t seen Tom in weeks. I hope he’s in good health. I’ll dress and be there in fifteen minutes.”
Tom looked at the wall clock. “Her fifteen minutes have been forty-five minutes. I’m going to explain to her that when I say jump, she’d better ….”
The door opened, and Sam walked in and stood beside Tom. “Sorry, I’m a bit late.”
Tom held back on the cussing she deserved. “Have a seat. We need you to contact your vigilante group. Can you contact them?”
Sam replied, “Yes, but we’d have to travel to where I stashed my walkie-talkie that I use to talk with them.”
“We have walkie-talkies. What channel do you use to talk with them?” Tom asked.
Sam said, “That’s a secret between them and me.”
Tom gripped his chair’s arm. “Sam, are you part of our team or their team? You can’t be on both teams.”
Sam huffed. “That’s ridiculous. They are good people, and our group is made up of good people. Why can’t we all be on the same team?”
Tom insisted. “Sam, they might be good people, but we don’t have the same goals. You need to decide what team that you’re on and who you trust. They don’t even want you on their team. I need some help from them, and for that help, we will give them a truckload of grain. They’re bound to need more food to make it through the winter.”
Sam asked, “What kind of help do you need?”
Tom was tired of the cat and mouse conversation. “Sam, that’s none of your business. I’ll discuss it with their leader.”
Sam’s face flushed and quickly matched her flaming red hair. “That’s bullshit. I’m their leader!”
Tom’s patience was at an end. “Why are you with us if you are their leader? Did you forget they threw you out and told you not to come back? Cut the crap and show me how to contact them.”
“If I do, I must be part of the meeting,” Sam replied.
Kate tapped Sam on the shoulder and then said, “Go back to your room and consider yourself to be under house arrest.”
Sam looked at Tom as she batted her large eyelashes at him. Tom stood up with his fists clenched. “Get your ass out of here and go to your room.”
Tom followed her and locked the door behind Sam. Sam beat on the door, yelled at Tom, and called Kate several un-ladylike names. Tom then walked to his room to find Kate. “Kate, I hope you have a plan because Sam is the only one who can contact the vigilantes.”
Kate’s head shook side to side. “Tom, my forgetful hubby. Did Sam help you contact them when you flew the drone over their hideout and threatened to drop bombs on their sorry butts?”
Tom slapped his forehead. “The drones! We know the location of their hideout and can just talk with them through the drones.”
“Part of that is correct. Jackie and I have kept track of them. They moved to another location after they fetched their sick and elderly people. They’re now hiding south of here off Green Springs Highway on Buckhorn Springs at an abandoned bed and breakfast.”
Tom pinched Kate’s side. “And why didn’t I know this?”
Kate said, “Because you’ve been very busy and missed several of our weekly drone surveillance meetings.”
“Kate, my darling, you do know that we sleep in the same bed.”
Kate grinned. “I don’t talk business in bed. Our bed is for sleeping and pleasure. That wasn’t sleeping and surely wasn’t a pleasure to me.”
Tom gave up. “How soon can you put surveillance on their location?”
“Give me a few minutes.”
Kate returned ten minutes later. “Jackie and Greta have drones heading to their location. By the time we get to the barn, they should be overhead.”
“It will only take two minutes to get to the barn.”
Kate locked the library door. “Not if we work on that pleasure thing for an hour.”
Kate leaned back on the table and pulled Tom down to her.
***
Tom and Kate walked out of the bunker door in the barn and stepped outside to join Jackie and Greta. Jackie saw the whisker burns on Kate’s face. “So, y’all have been messing around while we did all the work.”
Tom’s face was already red. “Maybe, maybe not. I will tell you that any man who wouldn’t mess around with his gorgeous wife isn’t much of a man. Now, let’s get down to business. What have you found for me?”
Greta said, “It appears they’re getting ready for a big operation. There’s more activity going on than we’ve seen before. I saw their leader go in that barn about fifteen minutes ago.”
Jackie said, “I brought my drone back, and I’ve prepared it to drop bombs or a message. You need to write a message.”
Tom wrote what he wanted to say and secured it in the can below the drone. “Let her rip.”
The drone took off, and Tom and Kate took a stroll around the barnyard. Kate said, “Our romp in the hay reminded me that my implant wears out mid-next year. Will that be too soon to start a family?”
Tom didn’t expect that question and took too long to answer. Kate said, “Well, silence is golden. I guess that means no.”
Tom replied, “No, it doesn’t mean no. It took me so long to gather my thoughts because there might never be a good time to have children. If people always waited until the perfect time, we wouldn’t have any kids. The well thought out answer is – why not. Assuming we’re not starving or in a major war, we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. I do think we need to plan to deliver our child in mid to late spring.”
Kate kissed Tom and held his hand.
Jackie yelled, “Tom! Tom! Get your butt over here. The drone is over the target and ready to drop the message.”
Tom yelled, “Drop it! I’ll be right there.”
Tom and Kate arrived in time to see several men come running out of the barn after the can hit the tin roof and rattled all the way down. One of the men picked the can up and took the note from the can. He waved both hands over his head and then stood still, looking skyward.
Tom said, “Take her down to the ground about twenty feet away. If they approach, fly away as fast as you can.”
Tom greeted the vigilante leader but wasted no time in getting to the meat of the matter. “I think you understand. We’ll trade grain for your help in creating a diversion. It can be one of your regular attacks, and we’ll help by dropping a few bombs on the asshats.”
The leader looked at one of his men then back at the drone. “We want two truckloads of grain, and then it’s a deal.”
Tom said, “I can’t supply another truck, but we'll fill it if you bring one of your trucks. Your bonus is that you’ll know where we get the grain. We’re taking enough to see us through the winter and most of next year.”
The leader asked, “Is there enough grain for the both of us?”
Tom said, “There is enough that you can eat cornbread for a year for your
forty some odd people, and we can feed all of ours.”
“Okay, how do we know where to send our drivers? I’ll send about five farm trucks. Can you load all of them?”
Tom replied, “Yes, we repaired an old grain auger. Just bring two men per truck to shovel the grain to the auger. We try to get the hopper under the chute, but sometimes it clogs up. We are ready. Can you do your part tomorrow morning at sunrise?”
The leader said yes. “Our target will be the elementary school on Helman Street. Can your bombs take out the two small buildings at the corner of Helman and Cypress Streets?”
Tom said, “Yes. We’ll drop enough bombs to do the job right. Who or what will be in the buildings?”
“Meth and pill factories. We need to hit them before the citizens get there about eight o’clock. Six sharp will be the safest time for them. Okay, now where do my trucks need to be at sunrise?”
Tom said, “Have them at the abandoned farm in that sharp curve on Emigrant Road just off Green Springs Highway.”
“The one right before the dam road?”
Tom said, “Yes. We’ll lead them to the source of the grain and turn them loose to load up. The gang should be distracted, but tell your crew to be ready to run or fight. Our drones will keep an eye on things, so we’ll have plenty of warning. If it’s a small group, we’ll just take them out.”
The leader said, “We’re searching the area for drones to help us combat the gang. We’ve found a bunch of small ones but only one as large as yours. Is there any way you would help us get started with the drones? None of my guys has had any experience with them.”
Tom was a bit leery about sharing the technology. “I’ll talk with my drone team and see if we can do some training. You know this means we have to start trusting each other, or we’ll be blowing each other’s drones out of the air.”
