by Paul Moxham
“Hmm,” Joseph muttered. “Well, I guess that’s better than nothing.” He looked back into the dark basement. “We have twelve here, well, eleven now. Peter disappeared early this morning …” Joseph paused at the sound of a commotion at the top of the stairs.
Footsteps pounded down them and, a moment later, a young man with a crew cut came into view. A bullet had nicked his left ear and blood was dripping down. Puffing and panting, he collapsed into a nearby chair.
Joseph stared at the man. “Where the hell have you been, Peter?”
Despite the blood on his clothes and his untidy appearance, Peter smiled. “I wanted to teach those thugs a lesson.”
“What do you mean?” Joseph asked.
“I took those explosives we found the other day and planted them at the warehouse. You should have seen the crater it left. Epic!” Peter spun around as if noticing the others for the first time. “Just who are you again?”
“We’re here to rescue you,” Xavier said.
“Hell no. We don’t need rescuing. I’m going to teach those bastards a lesson. You don’t get away with killing my wife and live to tell about it,” Peter said, a fierce determination in his voice.
“How many times have I told you not to take those explosives?” Joseph said, clearly exasperated. “You went against the decision—”
“The decision?” Peter interrupted. “It was your decision not to use them.”
A young woman stepped forward. “Stop it, Peter. You know it was a group decision. We can’t have people doing stupid stunts that will endanger the lives of everyone here.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Logan said, “but we’d better get going.”
Peter shook his head as he walked over to the wall and grabbed a backpack. “You can go if you want, but I’m staying here. Well, not actually here. I found an old warehouse south of here. I met some of the people that live there and they’re like me. If you don’t want to take out Sanchez, then I guess I’ll have to go with them.”
Joseph tried to talk Peter out of it, but within a few minutes, Peter had left the basement, taking his backpack and a shotgun.
Logan turned to Joseph. “Who’s Sanchez?”
Joseph sighed. “Carlos Sanchez was the head honcho of a ruthless drug cartel, and now he’s the main gang leader in San Francisco.”
“Does he operate out by the airport?” Kenneth said.
“He controls the heart of the city,” Joseph replied. “He doesn’t normally go as far as the airport, though. Why? Did you encounter trouble there?”
Xavier nodded. “Yes, but we got away okay.” He glanced at his watch. “We should get going. We lost our pursuers back at the airport, but they might catch up with us.”
“I understand.” Joseph turned to the group of people behind him. “You heard what the man said. Grab your stuff and head upstairs.”
Everyone hurried up the stairs. Xavier walked quickly to the window and glanced out. He saw nothing. He relaxed, but then stiffened a moment later as two army Humvees roared up the road and stopped behind the parked Land Rover. “We’ve got company.”
The others hurried over. “What do you see?” Kenneth asked.
Xavier pointed to the two Humvees as the men climbed out of the vehicles and inspected the Land Rover. “They might be on a routine patrol, but if they’re—”
“Hey, they’re army Humvees,” Logan interrupted. “Maybe they’re part of the US Army.”
Xavier shook his head. “Of course I thought of that, but, if you recall, those Humvees we saw at the airport looked like army Humvees, and those men were not dressed in army uniforms.”
Logan nodded. “Sanchez must have raided the nearby army base.”
“If he could get those Humvees, imagine what else he could have gotten,” Kenneth said.
“Get the others together, Logan,” Xavier said. “We’ll go as soon as the men leave.”
As Logan hurried back to Joseph, Kenneth turned to Xavier. “You do realize that we’ll need transportation if we’re going to get everyone to safety?”
Xavier ran a function check on his rifle for the hundredth time. “What’s your point?”
“So why don’t we kill two birds with one stone and get rid of those men?”
“Four trained men are more than a match for us,” Xavier replied. “Good, they’re leaving.” He watched in silence as the men climbed back into their Humvees.
Suddenly, the driver of the first Humvee stopped and bent down, peering at something on the ground. He called the others over to the spot.
“What are they doing?” Kenneth asked, worried.
“I’m not sure.” As the men stood up and looked toward the house, Xavier let the curtain fall back into place. A frown was etched on his face. “I wonder.”
“Wonder what?” Kenneth asked.
Xavier hurried to the back door. Pausing, he shined his flashlight at the ground. A dark red spot was splattered on the floor. “Damn!”
Kenneth bent down and touched the substance. “Hmm, it’s blood. I didn’t know anyone was wounded.” He thought for a moment. “Only that guy that came in before, Peter.”
Xavier went to the front door and looked at the floor. There was no visible blood. “He probably left a trail all the way from the warehouse to here. At least he went out the same way that he came in, but …” He went to the window and looked out.
One of the men appeared to be on his radio, while the others were searching the road.
“We’ll have five minutes at the most before they see the trail of blood that goes to the back door,” Xavier said. “We’ll have to tell Logan the news.”
“Tell me what?” Logan asked as he approached.
Xavier let the curtain fall back into place as he quickly explained.
Logan sat down on a nearby seat. “If they think that whoever is responsible for the explosion is here, they’ll take no chances. We’ll have to get the hell out of here before more come.”
“If I could get some explosives, I could rig something together and disable their vehicles,” Xavier said.
Logan glanced around, stopping when he saw Joseph. “Hey, do you have more explosives left?”
“A few sticks of dynamite. If you want, I can send a man down to get them.”
“Do it. We’ll need all the firepower we can get our hands on.” Logan turned to Xavier. “We have to get as many people out as we can. If they surround the house, this building will become a death trap.”
Xavier nodded. “Go and check out back. If it looks okay, send the people two doors down. If you hear shooting, come and find me.”
“Will do.” Logan looked at Kenneth. “Come with me.” The two of them hurried to the back door and opened it. It looked quiet. Almost too quiet. “I’ll scout next door. Stay here and keep guard.” Quickly but quietly, Logan walked across the grass, past two bushes, and into the neighbor’s garden. All was quiet.
He hurried into the next garden and was pleased to see that it was also quiet. After spotting a shed, he walked closer and opened it. It wasn’t the nicest place to stay, but it was better than nothing. Hurrying back to Kenneth, he told him the plan. “There’s an old shed in the garden two doors down. Let them go five seconds or so apart.”
Kenneth nodded. “Will do.”
“I’ll get them to come to the back door.” Logan hurried inside. He told Joseph the plan, then went to see what Xavier was doing. He found him peering out of the bedroom window.
“Are the people getting out now?” Xavier asked.
“Yes,” Logan replied.
Xavier watched as one of the men walked past the driveway and headed down the side path. “I’ll have to take him out—silently if I can. Open fire if the others respond.”
Xavier hurried out of the room, across the hall, and into the other bedroom. Opening the window, he spotted the man down below as he made his way to the back door. Leaving his weapon by the window, Xavier flipped out his Applegate Fairbairn combat folder an
d steadied himself.
The intruder had just enough time to raise his rifle halfway before Xavier landed on his shoulders and the gun skidded into the grass. The militiaman somehow rolled with the fall and came up on a knee, facing away. He clicked on his radio, but only managed a slight gurgle as Xavier slammed the blade into his windpipe.
The body stopped spasming by the time Xavier dragged it into a nearby bush. He collected his new weapon and hurried to the back door. Not even a single bird outside had squawked a warning. He tapped the door with one finger and hissed. “It’s me, Xavier.”
There was silence and then the door opened. Xavier stepped in and paused when he saw Kenneth holding a pistol. “There’s no need to use that. I got rid of him. But there may be others. Get the rest of the people out, pronto.”
Leaving Kenneth to do just that, Xavier hurried upstairs, where he found Logan glued to the bedroom window. Just as he approached, the men began calling out.
“So they’ve discovered he’s missing, huh?” Xavier said.
Logan nodded. “I didn’t hear a thing, so good job. But I don’t know how long it’ll be before they track him here. If we only …” He paused as a man came close to the house and shined his flashlight around. Before he could move, the light lit up the bedroom window. Logan pulled back, hoping he hadn’t been seen.
A moment later, the stranger lost his patience. “Come down from there!”
Logan looked at Xavier. “Should I answer?”
“Delay him. Mutter something in a foreign language. Anything to keep him from being suspicious.”
Logan hollered down in Spanish, using a few words that he remembered from school. A moment later, the man shouted back.
“What did he say?” Xavier asked.
“I don’t know. Should I say something else?”
“Let’s wait. Every second gives the others more time to escape.”
The two of them peered through another window, careful not to be seen. The seconds passed by. They watched as the man shouted again, then called to the others.
As two of them advanced on the front door, Xavier took his Glock and aimed out of the window. “Open fire when I do. And don’t let anyone get away in the Humvee.”
As the two men reached the door, Xavier fired. Logan joined in. The two men collapsed on the road. The others ran for cover. Not knowing where they were, Logan concentrated his fire on the two Humvees, aiming for the tires.
After disabling one, he went for the other, but then shells poured through the window. He pulled back and saw that Xavier had done the same.
They waited in silence as bullets pounded the woodwork. Once the bullets had stopped, Logan went back into position. But before he could aim at the remaining Humvee, bullets from another direction started nicking the wood. He pulled back and turned to Xavier. “Let’s move. The others should have escaped by now.”
Xavier followed Logan down the stairs, stopping as Joseph hurried up. The man handed Logan three sticks of dynamite. “Here’re the explosives. The others are waiting in the shed.”
Logan took the dynamite and handed one to Xavier. “Light one and throw it out the front door. While that distracts them, I’ll throw mine toward the Humvees. Just give me a minute to get into position.” He turned to Joseph. “Do you have a lighter?”
“No, but you can take a candle,” Joseph replied.
Logan took a lit candle and hurried outside. He got into position and waited. Half a minute later, he heard an explosion. He quickly lit his sticks and hurried forward. Once he was in view of the Humvees, he chucked the sticks toward them with all his might.
As soon as they left his hands, he turned around and sprinted back to take cover in the back garden. Bullets chewed up the dirt near him. He somehow melted deeper into the ground. Suddenly, two large explosions rocked the area. He smiled grimly. That was the end of those Humvees.
Xavier and Joseph were waiting for him at the back door. “Good job,” Xavier said. “I hate to leave the Land Rover, but there’s no telling if those men radioed for help beforehand. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”
The three hurried to the shed. Satisfied everyone was safe, the group crept farther down the block.
“What’s the game plan?” Kenneth asked.
“We need transportation.” Xavier looked around. “If we go to the road, we might come across a vehicle we can use.”
Chapter 7
The group made their way onto the road and was soon walking down it. Before long, they saw an abandoned bus.
Xavier went to the driver’s side and climbed in. The keys were in the ignition. He started it up. It spluttered and then came to life. He saw that it had some gas left. He guessed that the driver had pulled over as soon as the invasion happened, and no one had touched it since.
He switched it off and hurried back to the others. He had just told them about the status of the bus when he heard a noise.
Xavier pulled down his night-vision goggles and turned to the others. “Logan, Kenneth, follow me. Everyone else, lie down.”
“What? Why?” the group called out.
“Just do it. There’re two vehicles coming this way, and I want them to think you’re dead.” Xavier hurried into the bushes as everyone lay down.
Logan stared through the leaves as a Humvee and motorcycle came closer. “I hope your plan works.”
“A bus is good, but a Humvee will provide a good place to shoot from if we’re attacked. And it’s much faster than the bus.” Xavier went silent as the vehicles came to a stop.
They watched as the men climbed out. Before they could ascertain if the people were alive, Xavier and the brothers emerged from the bushes.
“Hold it right there!” Xavier flicked his safety off.
The men went to fire their weapons, but the three reacted faster. Within seconds, all four attackers were dead.
As the brothers collected the men’s weapons, Xavier went to the bus and started the engine again. He opened the doors and everyone piled in.
The brothers loaded the weapons and ammo in the Humvee. Kenneth started the vehicle while Logan climbed aboard the motorcycle.
Logan roared up beside the bus and spoke to Xavier. “Let’s head west until we hit the coast. That way we should evade anyone that tries to find us.”
Xavier nodded and waited for Logan to take the lead. Once he had, he slammed the bus door shut and followed Logan while Kenneth took the rear.
~*~*~
A new day dawned as the vehicles left the outskirts of San Francisco. After a while, the convoy pulled over and everyone climbed out.
Kenneth turned to Logan. “We did it!”
Logan nodded as he looked at Derek and Molly, who were holding hands. “I didn’t think we’d be successful.”
Derek looked up from talking to Molly and, after a glance around at the other people who had been rescued, turned to the three men. “I think I say this for everyone when I say thanks. We couldn’t have got out without you. I also wouldn’t have been reunited with Molly.” He hugged his little sister. “She means the world to me and, well, with our parents probably dead, she’s all I have left.” He smiled as he tried to hold back tears.
Logan’s voice choked as he thought about Lucy. “I’m just glad I could help.” He cocked his head at Xavier. “Where should we go?”
“Carson City.” Xavier explained for the benefit of the others. “I have a contact up in the mountains who believes a large group of men—a thousand or more—are camped near Carson City. They’ll have a place set up where you can get some food and rest.”
“What if they’re foreign soldiers?” someone moaned.
“Does it matter?” Kenneth replied. “As long as they’re not Seods, anything is better than staying here.”
“Will we have enough gas to get there?” someone else called out.
“I don’t know,” Xavier answered. “We’ll see. If that’s all, let’s get going.”
As everyone climbed back into
the bus, a middle-aged woman with frizzy black hair paused and stared at Logan. “Are you Logan Pollack?”
Logan frowned. “Yes, how did you know?”
“I read all the gossip magazines. You were due to be married to Lucy Thorn just before the attack, right?”
Logan nodded. “Yes.”
The woman grinned. “I never thought you’d be alive.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a reporter. I was doing an article on your wedding and saw your helicopter getting Swiss-cheesed by aliens.”
Logan sighed as he thought back to that fateful day. “Yeah. That was something else. I survived, but I can’t say the same for Lucy.”
The woman gasped. “Oh, you don’t know?” She paused. “Of course not. Forget it.” She dashed away.
“What?” Logan hurried after her. “Do you know something about Lucy?”
The woman hesitated and then nodded. “But it might be best if I don’t tell you.”
“Is she dead?” Logan had been dreading asking that question to someone who might know the answer to whether or not Lucy had survived ever since the attack, and today wasn’t any different. But he needed to know. As much as it would hurt him to know that she was indeed truly dead, he had to know for certain. For as long as there was a chance, even if it was slim to none that she was still alive, he would keep on hoping.
“No, but she’s as good as dead,” the woman replied.
“What do you mean?” Kenneth asked as he joined his brother, who was so stunned that he couldn’t speak.
The woman fidgeted with her hair before answering. “Carlos Sanchez.”
“What does he have to do with Lucy?” Logan asked.
“He’s taken her under his wing. She goes with him almost everywhere he goes.”
“What? But Lucy wouldn’t do that,” Logan spluttered. “Not the Lucy I knew.”
“She doesn’t have a choice. It’s that or …” The woman paused. “Well, you get it.”
“What’s holding us up?” Xavier asked as he strolled over.
Logan turned to Xavier. “Lucy’s alive.”
