by AJ Newman
Juan replied. “Boss, it’s almost noon. You had too good a night. These people showed up at nine o’clock, and I had Manny keep them outside in the snow. I thought they’d freeze and go home, but the mayor showed up and brought more with him.”
Carlos relieved himself in the chamber pot and then dressed while speaking with Juan. “It was a great night. What happened to the raven-haired beauty?”
Juan chuckled. “She kept falling out of the bed after you passed … went to sleep. I sent her home.”
Carlos said, “Tell the freaking mayor to come into my dining room to join me for breakfast. I’ll talk with him while we eat. Oh! What is the bastard complaining about today?”
“The snow! It’s ass deep to a giraffe out there. Boss, why are we up here in this frozen land? We should have stayed in Mexico.”
“Juan, because I said so! … And my father said to take advantage of this attack to establish our most northern state to join the cartel. My idiot brothers got California! That damned redhead keeps screwing me over and over. I’d kill her if my father wouldn’t disown me.”
Carlos Mendoza was thirty-five years old, of medium height and coal-black hair. He sported a pencil thin mustache with a small goatee on his chin and fancied himself a lady’s man. Carlos always wore a white suit with a black or red tie. He was the middle son of Jorge and Elena Mendoza. His father was the leader of the number one drug cartel on the DEA’s list. He’d been a disappointment for his father because he was lazy and avoided responsibility. He was sent to the Northwest USA to take over the area and develop the drug and prostitution businesses. This was as much punishment as it was a test for Mendoza’s wayward son.
Carlos stated, “Mayor Jones, please sit down and join me for breakfast.”
The mayor’s face was flushed, and his fists clenched. “Sir, the streets are impassable, and my citizens are mad as hell.”
“Do you think it’s wise to come into my palace and get angry with me? Why didn’t you send my people home and meet with me in a civilized manner to resolve the matter?” Carlos replied.
“I’ve found you to be a reasonable man when I’ve brought problems to you,” the mayor said as he fidgeted with his hat.
Carlos gave him a toothy grin. “I am reasonable when you come by yourself and politely ask me to help. Now! What … do … I do about this unruly group on my doorstep threatening my men and me?”
The mayor swallowed a chunk of ham and almost gagged. “I’ll have a stern talk with them. It won’t happen again.”
Carlos raised his hand and motioned to Juan. “Have the mayor get the names of the leaders and lynch each of them in front of their homes. That will stop this protest nonsense.”
The mayor exclaimed, “That will just make the others madder.”
Carlos grinned, “So maybe you give him the names of the men who’ll get mad, and they’ll also be lynched. If this happens again, Mayor, you’ll be lynched. I’ll get another mayor with enough balls to stand up to our people.”
The mayor choked. “I … uh … I’ll handle them. It will not happen again.”
“Good boy. Now, tell me about the snow.”
Mayor Jones said, “The snow drifts are five feet high on some streets. We can’t get food or water to half of the houses. We need you to have your men run plows through the streets.”
Carlos motioned for Juan again. “Juan, do we have any snow plows or men to shovel snow?”
“No, sir! Our men are responsible for policing the city. The mayor is responsible for keeping the streets cleared. I can loan you several trucks. You should be able to attach some of your city’s plows to them. You should also give shovels to every man and boy above ten to start shoveling their own streets. They don’t have much else to do these days, and it will keep their minds off protesting,” Juan said.
The mayor replied, “But the ….”
Carlos raised his hand. “Shut your mouth. Maybe Juan should be the mayor. He knows how to get things done. Mayor, I want you shoveling the snow from the front of my palace. That will set a good example. Juan, tell Manny to have one of his men guard the mayor and give him the incentive to clear all the paths around the palace.”
Later that day, Carlos beckoned Juan to his side. “Do you have an update on the search for the redhead? My father will be here soon. He sent a runner up from Sacramento to tell me of his business. The redhead is his favorite.”
“Carlos, the snow is one foot deep with drifts as high as five feet all around us. We can’t get vehicles to move, much less drive through that crap,” Juan said.
Carlos exhaled a deep breath. “I guess the snow is also slowing down the search for the redhead.”
Juan knew the senior Mendoza would be furious if the redhead wasn’t available and in a good mood when he arrived. Jorge was still pissed about her escape attempt, and Juan had lied about recapturing her. Juan knew that somehow he or Manny would be the sacrificial lamb if she weren’t found before Jorge arrived. “Boss, I have men out on horseback searching for her. We lost her a month ago when our men were ambushed during their attack on that vigilante group. I think she rejoined the Clark group. We’ve searched from Medford to twenty miles below Ashland and halfway across the mountains and haven’t found hide or hair of them.”
Carlos looked down at his feet and wrung his hands. “I have a plan to handle my father just in case we don’t find her. I think you want to become number two in my new position as head of the Mendoza cartel. Put a plan together to make that happen if we don’t find the redhead.”
“Boss, we’ve tried to find Sa ….”
“Don’t say that bitch’s name. I will make her wish she was still servicing my father when I get finished with her.”
*
Chapter 12
The Cave – several days later
Tom and his team made it safely to the bunker and back, even with the cattle balking the entire way. They spent two days butchering the cattle and packing the meat in ice and hay. Tom had his team pack the meat into several empty food-grade drums he’d brought to the cave to store potable water. The drums were perfect for keeping the vermin out of the meat. They placed the drums in the unheated part of the cave just outside their partition and covered the drums in snow and hay. They routinely hauled snow to keep the drums covered.
Jackie had the duty to fly the drone around the cave and ranch every morning that week. She always started by checking around the cave for people or tracks in the snow. The weather had turned for the worse overnight. A blizzard had blanketed the area with another foot of snow, and the snow was still falling. She directed the drone to fly several times around the entrance to the cave. She used the IR camera to search for people, and no one had braved the storm.
The storm lasted another day, and the snow was now over two feet deep. Jackie woke up that morning and grabbed a cup of coffee from the pot that had been by the fire all night. It was bitter but just the jolt she needed to get moving that morning. Jackie took the drone and its control from the docking station and walked through the front barrier door to be greeted with a wall of icy air. The drone flew away, and she made her usual circles around the cave and then flew over the ranch. Everything was blanketed in snow, and no humans were venturing into the area. She only saw a few deer and one coyote and decided to look at Ashland and see what was going on down in the valley.
Jackie guided the drone down the mountain following Dead Indian Road and noticed the road had been plowed at least once. This was a big surprise to her. She flew over the town and was shocked to see a dozen older trucks plowing the streets and dozens of men shoveling snow around the gang’s headquarters.
She’d seen enough, so Jackie steered the drone back up the hillside in the shortest direction back to the cave. The hills and forest were beautiful in their new white winter clothes. She did a double take and guided the drone back down the hillside to find where the tracks started. The tracks appeared to start out of a clump of bushes about two miles from the cabin. The footprints in the
snow stood out every time they were in the open as black dots into the snow.
Jackie set the drone to hover, went to the barrier, opened the door, and yelled, “Tom, come out here. Now!”
Tom ran out the door as his sister watched the screen on the drone’s controls. “Has the ranch been attacked?”
Jackie heard him. “No! Tracks are heading up the hillside toward us. Whoever it is spent at least one night hiding in the brush and bushes.”
Tom looked at the screen. “Go ahead and find the intruders. I’m concerned they’re heading straight for us. Could it be the gang?”
Tom asked Kate to launch another drone and search for any other people while they found these intruders. Kate had the twin to Jackie’s drone in the air quickly after Jerry added two of his homemade bombs. Jerry prepared the fixture that held the shortened 10 /22 Ruger rifle for Kate’s drone when it came back. Tom flitted between the two monitor screens like a mother hen watching her brood.
Kate saw the tracks head south. “This group turned south into that little valley about three-fourths of a mile from here. The tracks are probably a day or two old since the snow from last night had begun to fill them. Oh! Shit! A man is lying in the snow. He must be dead. I see a woman and three children. The kids appear to range from about ten up to maybe fifteen. It’s hard to tell with all of the coats and blankets they have on to brave the cold.”
Tom moved the screen closer to get a better view and saw the group was huddled under some branches to ward off the wind. They’d made it to the bottom of the valley, which blocked most of the wind and had cut the branches to help keep them warmer.
Tom was hoping the people were from the gang, so it would be easy to kill them. Now he was faced with a woman and some kids that would die without help. He knew they couldn’t take in every stray but felt bad about even deciding if they would help the kids.
Tom spoke. “Crap! It’s a woman and kids! More mouths to feed that can’t help us survive.”
Kate and Jackie both looked up, amazed at what Tom had said. Kate responded, “My heart says we have to save them, but I think the group should vote.”
Jackie shook her head. “No! It is Tom’s decision. Tom, what do you say?”
Tom looked at Kate and then his sister. “You’re both right. I have decided that the group will have the final say today for this group. I will also tell everyone that we can’t keep taking people into the group that can’t bring food or contribute to our survival. Billions of kids have died in the past several months. Every kid we take in now takes food from someone on our team. Kate, focus on them and tell us what they’re up to while I gather the team.”
Tom filled the team in on his dilemma and had them gather just inside the barrier to the front of the cave. He yelled for Kate and Jackie to join them. Both sent signals to the drones to hover in place.
Tom looked at his group and gave the floor to Kate. “It appears they fled from Ashland without proper clothing or supplies. The woman just fed the kids from one can of pork and beans. She didn’t eat. The man is definitely dead, and they will die if we don’t help them.”
All but a few of the people looked down at the ground and didn’t make eye contact. Rick spoke first. “I say we take these in and stop after them. We just lost James and his family. These kids won’t eat more than the James family.”
Jack’s head shook, but he didn’t speak. Tom said, “Jack, I see your head shaking no. Is that how you’ll vote?”
Jack looked up but didn’t make eye contact. “Last year, I would have given them the shirt off my back. Now, I’m busting my ass just to keep my family and friends alive. I don’t owe those folks a damned thing.”
There were a few grumbles after Jack spoke. “Now, now, everyone has a right to their own opinion. I can see both sides of the argument. That’s why I’m seeking the group’s wisdom instead of making the decision myself. Anybody want to speak up?”
Tom looked at each person before he said, “Apparently, no one else has an opinion they want to share. Raise your hand if you do not want to help these people.”
Jack, June, and Cole’s sister, Carla, raised their hands. Tom said, “Now, raise your hands if you want to help these people.”
Everyone else raised their hands. “I guess we’ll help these people. Now, the question is … do they join us, or do we give them some food and send them on their way?”
There was silence in the room. Granny B spoke, “We take them into the group. Giving them food and shooing them along would just postpone their deaths by a day or two.”
Tom nodded, “Everyone, for taking them into the group, raise your hands.” Only Greta, Jack, June, and Carla didn’t want the new people to join the team.
Tom saw the number of hands for join was much greater than not to join. “Join it is. I’ll work with Colt, Bill, Jerry, and Rick to quickly figure out how to approach them and then get them here safely and without giving away our location.”
Granny B said, “Let’s start by taking them a couple of thermoses full of hot soup. That will give them some energy to get to the cabin.”
Most of the group turned to look at Granny B with frowns on their faces. Tom watched their expressions and then turned to his grandmother. “I was thinking the same thing. We’ll set them up in the cabin, leave a couple of guards, and return to the cave. Then after we see if they are a fit, we bring them into the cave.”
Colt asked, “What if they’re not a fit?”
Tom said, “I guess it’s nut cutting time. If they are a threat, we eliminate all threats. If they are just lazy or not a fit, we send them on their merry way after dropping them off far from here.”
Colt’s sister cocked her head, and a grimace spread across her face. “That could be a death sentence for the kids.”
Tom raised his hands. “Life is tough, and people die. We can’t save everyone. We only save the ones who can contribute. Everyone who was added to our family was judged on their ability to help the group survive. You passed or wouldn’t be here. I know I sound blunt and mean, but I don’t give two shits about that. My mission in life is to make sure as many of us as possible can survive.”
Tom stopped and gazed at his people. “That’s where we stand. You have to start using your brain more and heart less about adding people. Next year, after a full growing season, we can loosen up a bit, but for now, every added person takes food from someone else. I’ve said enough.”
Bill and Lou started clapping, and all but Carla and Lucy joined in with them. Rick said, “I’m glad Tom said what most of us have been thinking. I, for one, cringe every time we add someone because I know the world is only nine meals from starving these days. Even with our hunting and scavenging, we must realize we’re all eating Tom and his family’s stockpile of food to survive. Without that preparation, we’d all be out fighting and scrounging to survive.”
Colt’s shoulders dropped, and he stuck his hands into his pocket. “I guess we didn’t appreciate what Tom and his family contributed to the group. I know my family didn’t think about the work and money that went into building the bunker and stocking the bunker and this cave. Tom, you took us in, and we didn’t realize you gave us the gift of life while jeopardizing yours.”
*
Chapter 13
The Cabin by the cave.
Tom left the meeting, and he’d barely headed to their sleeping area when Kate and Jackie stopped him. Kate held one arm, and Jackie had the other. Kate said, “Husband, you are a full-time job keeping you from screwing up. That’s a lone woman trying to keep a passel of kids from dying or being captured. Count on her having a gun.”
Jackie jumped into the conversation. “You need to let me and Kate approach her first. She won’t be as threatened by another woman. Of course, you will have a sniper ready if the meeting goes sideways.”
Not to admit he was wrong, Tom said, “That’s why I keep you two around. Of course, I’d thought about that and just assumed you two would volunteer to introduce us
to the poor woman.”
Kate said, “I smell bull hockey. Jackie, you were right. His right eye twitches when he lies.”
“Yep, he can’t play poker worth a darn. I always knew when he bluffed and when he lied to Grandma.”
“Ladies, stop the cackling and get your gear together.”
“Please,” Kate said with emphasis.
Tom knew he would lose. “Please d..e..a..r.”
Kate pinched his side. “That was sarcasm. You will pay for that tonight.”
Kate walked through the trees cautiously until she was only about twenty-five feet from the woman and kids. Jackie was behind her and ready for a fight, and Kate had her pistol in her parka’s pocket. Tom, Bill, and Colt were spread out around the people and watched for any other dangers. Tom had sent Jerry and his wife to the cabin to start a fire.
Kate waved her hands above her head to get the lady’s attention. “Hello! I’m here to help you!”
The woman picked up her rifle but didn’t aim it at Kate. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
“I’m Kate, and if you put that rifle down, I’ll come to you and help you move the kids to a warm shelter. I’ll bet you’re hungry. We’ve been watching you since yesterday.”
The woman looked at the children and turned back to Kate. “Why do you want to help us? Are you part of the gang?”
Kate said, “No! We are just some survivors who have it better than you do right now. We don’t want to help you, but it’s the right thing to do. Your husband is dead, and you will die soon if you turn down our help.”
One of the boys tugged on the woman’s sleeve. “Mom, I’m cold and hungry. I can’t feel my feet.”
Kate took a thermos of hot chicken soup from her coat pocket. “Here, pass this around,” she said as she pulled the other one out and handed it to the woman.
