by Robert Boren
“We need as many of those mounted and ready to go as possible, and in a hurry.”
“Oh, shit, what happened now?” Junior asked. All the women were instantly alerted and had terrified looks on their faces.
“We found out that there is a new alliance between the Islamists and a group of secessionist militias in the Southwest,” Ramsey said. “We have reason to believe that Simon Orr is allied with Islamists in Texas. We also have reason to believe that he didn’t really leave the state. At least not yet.”
“Son of a bitch,” Curt said.
“What does that mean?” Kate asked.
“That means that Simon Orr might be joined by hundreds of Islamist fighters. They might be gathering to attack you as we speak.”
“Oh my God,” Carrie said.
“What can we do?” Rachel asked.
“Start installing the M19 sets that you have already, so they’ll be ready to use. Work through the night if you have to. Meanwhile we’ll use satellite imagery to find the enemy. We need to confirm that’s what they’re up to.”
“How did you get access to the satellites?” Curt asked. “I thought the Feds cut us off.”
“General Walker has a civilian partner who’s been able to provide access,” Ramsey said. “Can’t say any more than that.”
“Okay, I know what to do,” Curt said. “We need vehicles brought to my space. I have four sets for Jeep Wrangler roll bars. One that will go on Eric’s Bronco. The other four we’ve completed are for trucks with roll bars in the back, but we only have two trucks that have the roll bars in place. We need to get more, and pronto.”
“They might be available in town,” Rachel said. “I’m not drunk. I can drive. Junior, think you’re up to going with me?”
“Yeah,” Junior said.
“Me too,” Kelly said. “One of them is going on my truck.”
“No, you’re not up to it,” Brenda said, “but maybe you’ll be up to installing one of those roll bars in your pickup truck if I stuff you full of coffee.”
“I’m game,” Kelly said.
“Good,” Curt said. “I’ll start installations right away.”
“What kind are the four that are still in the 3D printer process?” Jason asked.
“Two Jeep, one more pickup truck, and one special version for Amanda’s bobtail.”
“Okay,” Ramsey said. “You know what to do. Call me if you need anything. I don’t care what time it is.” He ended the call.
“Well, let’s not just sit here staring at each other,” Brenda said. “Let’s get going.”
“Yeah,” Curt said. “Ready, honey?”
Amanda looked up at him. “Hey, I like it when you call me that.”
“Let’s go,” Carrie said. “Jason and Kyle, back to camp. Start drinking coffee. Jason, give Curt the keys to the Jeep.”
Jason fished the keys out of his pocket and handed them to Curt. “I’ll help you with the top in a few. Need to go wake up Eric. I’ll get him to bring the Bronco over.”
“Who’s got the pickups that already have roll bars on them?” Kate asked.
“Dirk has one,” Don said. “I think I saw Clancy in one too.”
“Good, go talk to them,” Curt said.
“Who has Jeeps?” Brenda asked.
“Moe has one,” Don said. “There are others spread around the park.”
“We need more vehicles,” Carrie said.
“Maybe we ought to buy more Barracudas,” Kyle said.
“Not a bad idea for a drunk guy,” Curt said, laughing. “Let’s get busy.”
The group dispersed in several directions. Curt took Amanda’s hand and they hurried back to their camp.
“Hey, honey, you want to start step two on the printers while I work Jason’s Jeep?”
“Again with the honey?” she teased.
“Answer the question,” he said, half a grin on his face.
“Yes, of course I’ll do that,” Amanda said. “We’ll crank these puppies out like hotcakes. You’re gonna show me the installation side too, right?”
“Yep,” he said. “It’s a two-person job during part of the process.”
Jason rushed over to Eric’s Class C and banged on the door.
“What’s up, brother?” Eric asked as he came out.
Jason told Eric and Kim what was happening, both of them getting wide-eyed.
“I’ll drive the Bronco over there right now,” Eric said. “I hardly drank anything tonight.”
“Wish I’d been that smart,” Jason said. “Feeling almost sober now, though.”
“Adrenaline,” Kim said. “Paco, you have to stay, boy.” She shut the door and climbed into the Bronco with Eric and Jason. They drove to Jason’s coach, arriving at the same time that Carrie and Chelsea got back with Kyle and Kate.
Don went to the office with Sydney and banged on the door.
“Just a minute,” Moe’s sleepy voice said from inside.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Clancy yelled from the roof. “I see people scurrying all over the damn park.”
“This better be good,” Moe said, coming out the door.
“We heard from Ramsey,” Don said. “We might have a big attack coming.”
“What, those eighty guys that Simon Orr had didn’t really leave?”
“It’s much worse than that,” Sydney said.
“Oh, shit,” Clancy said. “What?”
“It’s likely that Simon Orr is allied with the Islamists in Texas. They might be massing a force of several hundred to attack us.”
“Might be?” Moe asked.
“Yeah, might be, so we’re kicking the weapons production and installation into high gear. We need you to bring your Jeep down to Curt’s place, and that pickup truck of yours, Clancy.”
“Bitchen,” Clancy said.
“You think this is good, kid?” Moe asked.
“I’m ready to kill some enemy scum,” he said, climbing off the roof. “I’ll drive it over and leave the keys in her. Better come back here and watch afterwards.”
“I’m going to drive to each of the tanks and let the men know what’s going on,” Moe said. “Then I’ll leave my Jeep with Curt.”
“Excellent idea,” Don said. “Thanks a million, guys.”
“Don’t mention it,” Moe said.
Back at the toy haulers, Amanda pulled the finished parts out of the 3D printers, changed the programs to step two, reloaded the material feeders, and started the process on all four. Then she went outside, where Curt was setting up lights to shine on the vehicles. It was dusk, total darkness approaching fast. Eric was helping Curt with the lights as Kim was helping Kate and Carrie get coffee into Jason and Kyle.
“What a time to have tied one on,” Kyle said sheepishly.
“It was a wake for dear friends,” Kate said. “I know I messed with you a little bit, but I understand completely.”
Curt switched on the lights, which flooded the area well.
“Looks good,” Amanda said.
“Yeah, this will work,” he said. “Did you get the next step running on the printers?”
“Yep,” she said. “I can help you with this.”
“Good,” Curt said. “Want to give me a hand with the top on this Jeep? We need to take it off.”
“Sure,” she said. They got to work.
“Anything I can be doing on the Bronco to get her ready?”
“Nah, yours is gonna be easy,” Curt said. “Hope your brother doesn’t mind me cutting through the padding on his roll bar in a couple of places.”
“I heard that,” Jason said. “No problema. I can help with the top too. Just about have this cup of coffee down. Feeling pretty lucid now.”
“Good, pencil neck, then get over here,” Curt said.
“Now there’s the Curt we know and love,” Carrie said, coming out of the coach. “I feel like doing something.”
“Load the magazines on the Thompsons,” Jason said. “I cleaned them yesterday and
didn’t reload them yet.”
“You and those relics,” Curt said, shaking his head as he and Amanda took the front pieces of the Jeep roof off.
“Hey, don’t knock them,” Carrie said.
“Yeah,” Kate said. “Although one of them did jam on me at the hog blind, remember?”
“I know, but that doesn’t happen very often,” Carrie said, “and I can show you how to avoid that problem.”
“Good, then I’ll help you load them,” Kate said, following Carrie to her rig.
Moe drove his Jeep over, top already down. He pulled up behind Jason’s Jeep.
“Good, you got a soft top,” Curt said. “That’ll save us some time. These hardtops are a pain in the ass.”
The team’s work intensified as more people arrived to help. Rachel and Junior came back with three more roll bar kits.
“Only three?” Curt asked.
“We bought all that they had,” Junior said. “Asked them to order us five more. They’ll be there tomorrow before noon.”
“Good enough,” Curt said. “Jason’s Jeep and Eric’s Bronco are ready to go.”
“You putting the machine guns on anything?” Junior asked.
“Nope, haven’t done the design work for those yet,” Curt said. “I’ll do that if we don’t run out of time, but we’re days away from a prototype, even if I dropped everything else. Can’t do that now.”
A buzzer went off in the back of Curt’s toy hauler.
“Good, another step done on the printers,” Amanda said, getting up. She removed the finished pieces and started work on the next step.
“Wish those things were faster,” she said when she got back next to Curt.
“It is what it is,” Curt said. “Wish we had another couple of weeks.”
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Almost nine,” Curt said. “It’s gonna be a long night.”
Chapter 30 – Nick of Time
Lita answered the door. It was the food. Chinese, in white cardboard containers. She paid cash to the delivery boy and took the food, Richardson rushing over to help.
“Smells good,” Richardson said. “Should I go get the others?”
“Send them a text,” Lita said. “Just in case they’re occupied.”
Richardson chuckled. “Occupied?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” he said as he typed the message and broadcasted it to them.
“Did you figure out a place for us to land in Houston?” Richardson asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “By the Johnson Space Center. There’s a lot of residential surrounding it. A little pricey, but it looks nice. Webster or League City, for example.”
“Good,” Richardson said. “There a DMV in the area? A big office?”
“Yep,” she said. “No problem there. Not sure how far it is from your base. I figured the south side would be our best bet.”
“Agreed, but I want us in a place dense enough that we can get lost. We don’t want to be somewhere like Seabrook or Kemah. No little sleepy coast towns. League City might even be pushing it.”
“Understand,” Lita said. “They coming over?”
“Yeah, they both responded. They’ll be here in a few minutes. Wish we had some beer.”
“I don’t think we should drink. I think we should get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow and take off. That way we’ll have most of the day to find places.”
“We’ll probably be in a hotel for a few nights,” Richardson said. “We don’t have enough cash for things like security deposits.”
There was a knock on the door. Richardson opened it. Hannah and Brendan came in. He could see Juan Carlos and Madison coming from the other direction, so he waited with the door open.
“Cute outfit,” Lita said to Hannah. “Nice to have something clean?”
“Sure is,” Hannah said.
“I miss my t-shirt,” Brendan said.
“Oh, please,” Hannah said, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, everybody,” Madison said as Juan Carlos helped her through the door.
“Wow, don’t you look nice,” Hannah said. “Nice outfit.”
“Thanks, you too,” Madison said. “You look good too, Lita.”
“Thanks,” Lita said. “Food is on the table.”
“I can smell it,” Juan Carlos said. “I’m hungry.”
“Me too,” Brendan said.
They sat at the table, squeezed a little tight.
“Glad these places had kitchenettes,” Lita said. “At least we have plates and silverware.”
They passed around the food and ate quickly, very few words uttered.
“That was pretty good for a two-bit town like this,” Juan Carlos said.
“A little heavy on the MSG,” Madison said, “but it tasted good.”
“Know where we’re gonna go?” Hannah asked.
“I’ve been looking around the Johnson Space Center,” Lita said.
“I know the area,” Hannah said. “A little expensive. Is it close enough to where the base is?”
“I don’t want it very close,” Brendan said. “I don’t want you in danger.”
“Seriously,” Juan Carlos said.
“How early can we leave?” Madison asked.
“Anxious for some reason?” Hannah asked.
Madison sighed. “Our cards are all out on the table now. Why are you still teasing me?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Hannah said. “Habit.”
Juan Carlos shook his head, laughing. “I like the way you look when your face is red.”
“I know,” Madison said softly. “Don’t care. I’m not going to hide it anymore.”
“You haven’t done a very good job of doing that for a while now,” Lita said. “We knew.”
“I’ll help with the dishes,” Hannah said, getting up.
“Me too,” Madison said.
“No, Madison!” Lita said. “Stay off your feet as much as possible. Tomorrow is gonna be another long day. Hannah and I have this.”
“Thanks,” Madison said. “I hate feeling so helpless.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie, it won’t be for that long,” Juan Carlos said.
“How’s the pain now?” Richardson asked.
“It was hurting pretty bad by the time we got home from the courthouse,” she said. “Resting for a while helped. It’s just a dull throb now.”
“Good, that means it’s healing,” Richardson said.
“Why don’t you guys map out the route for tomorrow?” Lita asked.
“Good idea,” Richardson said, picking his phone up off the table. He moved his finger on the screen for a few minutes as the others watched.
“Route 77 to route 59,” Richardson said. “Straight shot, not too close to the coast. Says about four hours travel time.”
“Think that’s a big enough road?” Brendan asked. “How about I-10?”
“Hmmm,” Richardson said, moving his fingers on the screen. “A lot further north, and if we want to avoid San Antonio, we’d be on a small road to get up there. Says five and a half hours.”
“Wonder if it’s enough safer to be worth it?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Good question,” Richardson said. “We know they can’t track us with the phones now.”
“Maybe you should talk to Jefferson,” Brendan said.
“Yeah, they’re heading out too, aren’t they?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Okay, I’ll call him,” Richardson said. He hit the contact and put the phone to his ear. As he held it, his expression started to slip. “That’s odd. No answer.”
“Maybe he’s in the john,” Juan Carlos said.
“Or even on the road already,” Brendan said.
“I’ll call the base,” Richardson said. He hit the contact and listened to the phone ring for more than a minute. “Dammit. Something’s wrong. Let’s turn on the TV. Maybe something happened.”
“Call the hospital,” Madison said, her e
yes dilated, her hand trembling as she pulled Juan Carlos closer.
Richardson made the call. A woman answered, sounding on the verge of panic.
“Is this the police?” she asked.
“No, I’m a member of the DPS Patrol Boat force. What’s going on? I can’t raise the base.”
“We’re being overrun,” she said, voice trembling. “Hundreds of Islamic fighters landed. They’ve been going building to building and killing people. They’re on their way here.”
“Flee,” Richardson said. “Now.” He put the phone down and rushed to the TV remote. The first channel that came up had chopper video of a large force of enemy fighters on the beach, coming into town.
“Oh my God,” Madison said.
“What’s going on out here?” Lita said as she and Hannah rushed out of the kitchen. Lita froze when she saw the TV screen. “That’s close, isn’t it?”
“We’re leaving right now,” Richardson said. “Load the guns and our clothes in the car. Brendan, get the SMAW ready. Same drill as the trip out from Port Isbell.”
“Got it, boss,” he said.
“Stay here,” Juan Carlos said to Madison. “I’ll get our stuff. Be back in a flash.” He opened the door. There was the pop of gunfire coming from a few miles away.
“Dammit, listen to that,” Madison said.
“I say we take the north route, up to I-10,” Richardson said as he gathered up weapons.
“Don’t take that little road to avoid San Antonio,” Lita said. “It’s in the middle of nowhere.”
“Yeah, I agree,” he said. “We might have to hide in San Antonio for a day or two.”
Juan Carlos rushed back in, piling his and Madison’s stuff by the door.
“Let’s go get ours,” Hannah said to Brendon.
“Be back in a flash,” Brendan said, getting up to join Hannah. They ran out the door.
“Get the clothes while I back the SUV up,” Richardson said. Lita nodded and rushed into the bedroom as he went out the door.
“Got ours,” Brendan said as Richardson rushed by.
“I’m moving the car over now,” Richardson said.
“That gunfire sounds closer,” Hannah said.
“Yeah it does,” Brendan said, watching Richardson back up towards them. When he stopped, Brendan grabbed their stuff and shoved it into the back. Juan Carlos came out and put his and Madison’s stuff in, as Richardson sprinted into the cottage to grab the rest of the weapons.
