by Robert Boren
“I already knew that,” Juan Carlos said, face serious.
“Get out,” she said. “Really? You want me that badly?”
“Madison,” Juan Carlos said, shaking his head.
“Well?”
“Yes, I do want you that badly, you troublemaker,” he said. “You won’t remember any of this later, I suspect. I’ll probably do it anyway, and you’ll get all flustered. Then you’ll still say yes.”
She giggled. “I’m getting sleepy again.”
“Good, sleep for a little while,” he said.
“But I want to be with you,” she said.
“I’m right here, honey,” he said, taking her hand. “Sleep. You’ll wake when the food gets here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 10 - Cellphones
Landry came out of the bedroom hallway, putting his phone away. “Wallis wants me to meet him in the bunker under the Capitol. Who do we have outside?”
“We’ve got an investigative crew out there, according to Ramsey,” Nelson said. “Sure you should go out there? Might be dangerous. Could be snipers around.”
“He said it was important,” Landry said. “He’s sending somebody to pick me up in one of their armored personnel carriers.”
“I don’t like it,” Hendrix said.
“Me neither, but it’s important,” Landry said. “Duty is duty.”
“Let me look at the hallway video,” Hendrix said.
“I’ll get that for you, sir,” Maria said, rushing over to the console. She brought up the video surveillance system. A screen came up with six boxes. All but the downstairs hallway outside of the vault door had error messages over blank screens.
“It must be a mess up there,” Hendrix said. “All the other cameras are toast.”
“When is the vehicle getting here?” Nelson asked.
“They’ll buzz my cellphone when they get outside,” Landry said. “They’ll get as close to the opening as they can.”
“Obviously the elevator won’t be working,” Hendrix said. “When you get outside the vault, take the stairs to the left. With a little luck you can climb out.”
“Should one of us go out there with him?” Maria asked.
“Absolutely not,” Nelson said. “It’s bad enough we’re risking Landry. Nobody else goes out there until we’re sure. Got it?”
Everybody nodded.
“What’s with the other laptop?” Landry asked, looking at it.
“That’s the unclassified system,” Hendrix said. “Thought we should get it out just in case.”
“In case of what?” he asked.
“In case the other network goes down, for one thing,” Nelson said. “Might not be a bad idea to keep tabs on social media, too. I feel blind as a bat down here. We might call you for info after you’ve been out for a while.”
“Feel free, sir,” Landry said. He jolted as his phone buzzed him. “That’s my call.” He pulled out his phone and put it to his hear, listening. He nodded yes to Nelson and Gallagher.
“Maria, get ready to open the vault, then be ready to close it fast,” Hendrix said as Landry slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“I’m ready,” Landry said.
Maria input the code into the console, and the bolts around the vault door retracted. It opened, and Landry slipped through. Maria hit the close button and it swung shut, the bolts going back out.
“Whew,” Gallagher said. “What now?”
“Wallis will call me when Landry has gotten to the bunker,” Nelson said. “Remember, we aren’t completely sure he’s dirty. Keep that in mind. Let’s call Curt and get the phone updates running.”
“I’ve got his number,” Gallagher said. “Got a speaker phone for the land line?
“Yes sir,” Maria said. She punched in some commands at the console and they heard a dial tone over a speaker. “Number?”
Gallagher read it off as she input it. It rang twice, then clicked.
“Who’s this?” Curt asked.
“This is the bunker under Mr. Hendrix’s house in Austin,” Maria said, very businesslike.
“Hey, Curt, it’s Nelson. I’m in here with Gallagher and Hendrix.”
“Good,” Curt said. “Ready to run the phone app installations?”
“Yes sir,” Gallagher said. “Hey Hendrix, what’s the IP address on that laptop?”
“It’s on the open network, right?” Curt asked.
“Yeah,” Gallagher said.
Hendrix read off the IP address.
“Perfect, thanks,” Curt said. “You’ll have to give me permission to get on your laptop.”
“Got it,” Hendrix said, sitting in front of it. The permission box popped up, and he clicked the OK button. “There you go.”
“I’m on, taking control of the desktop,” Curt said. “Who’s first? And what kind of phone?”
“Governor?” Hendrix asked.
“Yeah,” Nelson said, stepping up with his phone and USB cord.
“It’s an iPhone 10,” Hendrix said as he plugged it in.
“Got it,” Curt said. “Let’s do the other iPhones after this.”
“Look, we can see what he’s doing,” Maria said.
They gathered around and watched as Curt did the installs and rebooted the phone.
“Okay, that one’s done,” Curt said. “Hook up the next one.”
“Will do,” Hendrix said. Gallagher handed his phone over. “Another iPhone 10. That’s what I have too.”
“Nobody has an Android?” Curt asked.
“I do,” Maria said. “Assuming you want to do this to my phone too.”
“Yes, we do,” Hendrix said. “I don’t want you tracked.”
“No problem,” Curt said as he worked on Gallagher’s phone. “What about that other general?”
“Landry,” Gallagher said. “He had to leave.”
“Okay, that one’s done,” Curt said. “Next?”
Hendrix connected his phone and watched Curt run his process, and then hooked up Maria’s phone.
“Okay, that’s it,” Hendrix said.
“Instructions?” Nelson asked.
“Your phone will buzz when an enemy phone tries to install the virus,” Curt said. “It’ll record the info and block the attack. That protects you from being tracked. If you want to reverse track, punch that new app. It’s on the first page. That will give you a listing of all the phones that have tried an attack. You can choose to track one or more by clicking on the check boxes next to the numbers.”
“Got it,” Nelson said.
“Oh, and one other thing,” Curt said. “If you’ve already had a virus connection, the enemy phone will try to re-infect you if a scan is run to determine your position. Expect to get pinged quickly.”
“That’s a valuable feature in this situation,” Nelson said.
“Should be, Governor,” Curt said.
“This is great,” Gallagher said. “Anything else?”
“Nope, that’s it,” Curt said. “I just sent an email to this account. It’s got the applications attached, along with instructions, so you guys can do this yourself. There’s an app for iOS and one for Android. I wouldn’t spread it too far and wide yet, though. We’ll get a good advantage from this if the enemy doesn’t know how well they’ve been screwed.”
Gallagher snickered.
“Excellent,” Nelson said. “Thanks. Talk to you in a little while.”
“Okay,” Curt said. The call ended.
“I didn’t know he would give us the ability to do this ourselves,” Hendrix said. He opened the email and looked at the instructions. “This is easy.”
“Good,” Gallagher said. “Now all we have to do is figure out who’s on the enemy’s side, and give this update to everybody else.”
Nelson laughed. “Sounds like a big job.”
“Oh, yeah,” Gallagher said. “Wonder if Landry is gonna make it to the Capitol? If he’s dirty, he’s liable to flee.”
“We should hear
from Wallis soon,” Nelson said.
“Wallis isn’t really at the Capitol bunker, is he?” Hendrix asked.
“Oh, hell no,” Nelson said. “He’s far too valuable to put anywhere near Landry. He’s in a secure location outside of Dallas. Landry doesn’t know it yet, but they’re only going to teleconference.”
Hendrix jerked as his phone vibrated. “I just got buzzed.”
“No, really?” Gallagher asked. “Who was it? Anybody you recognize?”
Hendrix pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked. A wicked grin spread over his face.
“You do recognize it,” Nelson said. Maria approached, eyes wide.
“Well, who is it?” Gallagher asked.
“My old pal Franklin,” Hendrix said.
“No way,” Nelson said, a smile on his face.
“Who’s Franklin?” Gallagher asked.
“Assistant Attorney General of the United States,” Hendrix said. “He’s the guy who’s trying to blackmail me.”
Gallagher was silent for a moment, thinking. “Is he an outlier in the federal government, or is he an insider?”
“Insider,” Hendrix said. “He’s the AG’s right-hand man.”
“So we know the Feds are in on this,” Nelson said. “I already knew that, of course. That’s why I took us out of the union. Now we have proof.”
“What are we gonna do with this proof?” Hendrix asked.
“Not a damn thing yet,” Gallagher said. “This is way too valuable to give up. They’ll figure it out fast enough as it is.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Nelson said. “Continue on as if nothing happened, but keep close track of every contact you get. We don’t want to close the net until all the traitors are inside.”
“So you’re thinking that people within our Texas government are using this system?” Gallagher asked.
“We’ll find out,” Nelson said. “I suppose it’s possible that the Feds are keeping this closer to the vest than that.”
“Doubt it,” Gallagher said. “They have to be using it on the ground, based on what we’ve been seeing.”
Nelson jumped as he got buzzed. “Well, that didn’t take long,” he said, pulling his phone out. He looked at Hendrix and Gallagher.
“Who was it?” Gallagher asked.
“Landry.”
Chapter 11 - Supplies
“It’s time,” Jason said, getting off the couch in his motor home.
“Already?” Carrie asked.
“Do I get to go, mommy?” Chelsea asked.
“Yes, but bring your coloring book,” Carrie said. “You have to be very quiet while the meeting is going on, okay?”
“Yes, mommy,” she said.
There was a knock on the door.
“Kyle?” Carrie asked as she pulled on a fresh blouse.
“And Kate,” he said.
“I’m ready.” She walked towards the door. Chelsea followed her with the coloring book and crayons.
Jason opened the door. “Hey, guys.”
“Ready to go?” Kate asked.
“Yep,” Jason said.
Jason locked the door and they walked towards the clubhouse. Kelly, Brenda, Junior, and Rachel were in front of them.
“Hey, Curt, you coming?” Kyle yelled as they passed the toy hauler.
“I’ll be there in about five minutes,” Curt said. “Got a gimbal piece coming off the printer in two minutes, and I want to get the next one running before we go.”
“You just want to smooch with Amanda,” Jason said.
“Shut up, pencil neck,” he said.
“Yeah, shut up,” Amanda said. “Come here, big boy.”
Everybody laughed as she took him into her arms. Then she backed off. “Just kidding. I’ll make sure we get there soon.”
“I’m teaching her how to run this,” Curt said.
“Good,” Jason said. “C’mon, guys, let’s go.”
They continued on.
“Wonder if the other groups are gonna be in this meeting?” Carrie asked.
“I doubt it,” Jason said. “I think this is just us.”
“How are you feeling, Kate?” Carrie asked.
“Morning sickness again,” she said, “but it wasn’t so bad.”
“Glad I’m way past that now,” Carrie said. “I’m too warm all the time, though. Being pregnant in the heat isn’t the best.”
“Hey, bro,” Eric said, joining them with Kim at his side.
“Eric,” Jason said. “How are you two?”
“We’re good,” Kim said.
“Yeah,” Eric said. “Where’s Curt?”
“He’ll be along,” Jason said.
“Good,” Eric said. “I got pinged on my phone.”
“Really?” Jason asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Ran the trace. They’re in east Texas, near Carthage.”
“Still?” Kyle asked. “Holy crap.”
“Yeah, it’s a trip. Probably just an old connection. I doubt if they’re looking for me.”
“I haven’t gotten pinged,” Jason said.
“Me neither,” Kyle said.
“Actually, that’s understandable,” Jason said. “The folks that were tracking us are mostly dead.”
Eric got a sheepish look on his face. “Yeah, at a certain point we were just running for our lives.”
“We were all by ourselves during most of that, honey,” Kim said.
“I know,” Eric said.
They got to the clubhouse and found seats inside.
“We’ll be ready in a few minutes,” Moe said, standing by the console on stage.
Don walked in with Sydney.
“Amanda still with Curt?” Sydney asked.
“Yeah, they’ll be along,” Carrie said. “He was waiting on a gimbal piece to come off the 3D printer, so he could start the next one before coming over.”
“Good,” Sydney said. Don was looking around the crowd for Alyssa and Chloe, but Sydney saw them before he did. “There they are.”
The two teenagers came over.
“Hey dad, still with Sydney, eh?” Alyssa smiled.
“Yeah,” he said. “You okay with it?”
“About you two?” she asked. “Yes, I think it’s nice.”
“Me too,” Chloe said.
“Thanks,” Don said. “Where’s your friends?”
“They don’t care about this stuff,” Chloe said. “They need to grow up a little.”
“Give them time,” Don said. “I wish you two didn’t have to live in this world. I’d protect you from it if I could.”
“You’ve done a good job of protecting us so far, dad,” Alyssa said. “We’re still alive.”
“Hey, they’re coming after all,” Chloe said, pointing. “Want to go over?”
“Sure,” Alyssa said. “See you later, dad.”
Don watched them walk away.
“You’ve done a good job with them,” Sydney said.
“I try,” Don said.
Dirk, Chance, Francis, and Sherry walked over and sat nearby. Gray and his people came in also, then Nate and Fritz.
“Where’s Earl and Jasper?” Jason asked.
“Right behind us,” Nate said.
“Here they come,” Fritz said, nodding towards the door.
“You guys trust them all the way?” Kyle asked.
“I’m trying,” Nate said. “I have doubts. So do Kelly and Junior.”
“That’s healthy,” Jason said. “We’ll just watch them for a while.”
“They saved our butts at Texas Mary’s,” Nate said.
“I know,” Fritz said.
“Look, the meeting is coming up on the screen,” Kate said.
“There’s Nelson, Hendrix, and Gallagher,” Jason said. “Don’t see Landry. Who’s the nice looking woman?”
“Looks like she’s with Hendrix to me,” Carrie said. “Look at the body language between those two.”
“Where’s Landry?” Kyle asked.
“Good question,” Eric said.
“Who’s Landry again?” Kim asked.
“Head of the Texas Air National Guard,” Eric said. “He was in the last meeting.”
“I hope he’s tending to our air support,” Dirk said.
“Yeah, seriously,” Chance said.
Curt and Amanda rushed in.
“We miss anything?” he asked.
“Meeting hasn’t started yet,” Kyle said. “Done smooching?”
“Shut up,” he said.
“What, no pencil neck?” Jason asked.
Amanda laughed. “Do you guys always tease each other like this?”
“Pretty much,” Kate said.
“They’re starting,” Carrie said.
Nelson stood at the head of the conference table. “You hear me okay?”
“Yeah,” Moe said. “Everybody out there hear okay?”
“I hear fine,” Kelly said.
“Me too,” Gray said.
“You hear us?” Junior asked.
“Yeah,” Nelson said. “You all remember Kip Hendrix and Major General Gallagher?”
“Who’s the pretty lady?” Gray asked.
“Oh, sorry. This is Maria. Systems expert and wife of Kip.”
Maria nodded, looking self-conscious.
“Didn’t know you were married, Kip,” Kelly said.
“It’s a recent development,” Hendrix said, smiling.
“Okay, let’s get going,” Nelson said. “We still have a security problem with these telecoms, so we don’t want to be on for long.”
“We’re all ears,” Moe said.
“Where’s Clancy?” Junior asked.
“On the roof, watching for the enemy,” Moe said. “I’ll fill him in later.”
“How come the other groups aren’t on this meeting?” Kelly asked.
“We aren’t one hundred percent sure about all of them yet,” Gallagher said. “Please don’t discuss this meeting with them, at least for now. Everybody agree?”
There was nodding and a smattering of yes around the room.
“Good,” Nelson said. “Here’s the situation. The enemy is trying to keep us busy with these small attacks in Austin and elsewhere. Meanwhile they’re running an enormous number of new troops over the Mexican border into New Mexico.”
“What’s in New Mexico?” Eric asked.
“A good route to Arizona, Utah and Colorado, where they have large forces building up,” Gallagher said.
