by Robert Boren
“Simon Orr,” he said, holding out his hand. Kelly looked at it but didn’t move. “Okay, okay. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”
“Ah, what the hell,” Kelly said, standing aside so the man could enter. He motioned to a table by the door. Simon Orr took a seat. Kelly sat next to him, and Junior sat too.
“Who’s this?” Simon Orr asked.
“We call him Junior,” Kelly said. “Talk. We ain’t got all day.”
“All right,” he said. “Heard some good things about you and your men. Also saw video from the last several days. Impressive.”
“Yeah, so?” Junior asked.
“So I was in town recruiting, and thought I should look you up.”
“Recruiting for what, friend?” Kelly asked.
“We’re trying to form an organization that unites militias from the southwestern states,” he said.
“We’re not exactly joiners,” Kelly said. “Where are you from?”
“I belong to a large militia based out of Williams, Arizona. We’ve got affiliates all over Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. We’re hoping to include some affiliates from Texas.”
“Who’s your leader?” Kelly asked.
“There is no centralized leader per se,” Simon Orr said. “Only leaders of the individual militias. It’s a loose confederacy.”
“So who’s your local leader?” Junior asked.
“His name is Philip. We don’t use his last name.”
“Figures,” Kelly said. “What’s in it for us?”
“You’d be part of taking our country back from the corrupt leftist government in Washington DC,” Simon Orr said.
“Hey, I’ve heard of these guys,” Junior said. “Read an article about them online a couple months ago. They’re secessionists.”
Kelly leaned back in his chair and laughed. “Oh, that’s rich.”
“What’s so funny about that?” Simon Orr asked.
“We tried that before,” Kelly said. “Didn’t work out that well for Texas. You might have heard about it. Happened in about 1860.”
“This isn’t the same as the Civil War,” Simon Orr said, starting to get hot under the collar. “And besides, Sam Houston warned against that. Texas should have listened.”
“Don’t disagree with you there,” Kelly said.
“These folks need to conquer their states before they can secede,” Junior said. “That’s the big problem. Most people just laugh at these nutballs.”
“They won’t be laughing for long,” Simon Orr said.
“Well, I’ll tell you what,” Kelly said. “We ain’t gonna join your militia. That doesn’t mean we might not choose as a state to secede. I’m not happy about the idiots in DC either, but if Texas goes, we go together by choice, not by force. We stick together in Texas. That’s our strength.”
“You haven’t given me a chance to make a good pitch yet.”
“They ain’t interested, sir,” Brenda said. “I’m the proprietor of this bar. Please leave.”
Simon Orr laughed at her.
“You heard the lady,” Kelly said. “Amscray.”
He stood. “Pity. We could use a group like yours.”
“Yeah, whatever. Good luck recruiting. Stay away from my friends, or we’ll run your ass out on a rail.”
Simon Orr nodded and left.
“Wow, get a load of that idiot,” Junior said. “Got a real bad vibe.”
“That guy’s dangerous. Keep your eyes open. He might try to mess with some of the men. He’d convince Jasper and a few of the others in a hurry.”
“Okay,” Junior said. “You’ve got a point. We could put a tail on him.”
Kelly thought about it for a moment. “Nah, we’ve got enough going on with the Islamists.”
Junior laughed. “Maybe he ought to go try to recruit them.”
Brenda got a worried look on her face. “That ain’t funny.”
A loud knock on the door startled all three of them. Kelly and Junior drew their pistols again and rushed to the door.
“Nate, Jasper, Earl, and some of the others,” Kelly said. “Mind if I let them in, Brenda?”
“Yeah, but no booze yet, okay?” she said.
“Of course,” Kelly said. He opened the door and the group flooded in.
“You hear the news?” Nate asked, grim look on his face.
“About the DPS Officers? Yeah, Junior told me,” Kelly said.
“No, about San Diego,” Nate said. “We’re at war, man. There’s battles going on between the US Army and Mexico right now, and an airliner out of San Diego just got shot down.”
Brenda picked up the remote and pointed it at the TV, putting on CNN. The announcer had a nervous look on his face.
“I-10, I-40, and I-15 have all been shut down, both east and west bound, in order to better lock down the area during this crisis,” the announcer said. “Some alternate routes are still open between California and the Arizona and Nevada borders, but they will likely be shut down in the coming hours.”
“Shit,” Brenda said, watching. Kelly rushed behind her and put his arms around her. She leaned into him, trembling as they watched.
“Now here’s the latest on the border crisis,” the announcer said. “Border skirmishes have been increasing between Chula Vista and El Centro, with the US Army now getting directly involved. This after the airliner was shot down while taking off from San Diego’s Lindbergh Field several hours ago, killing all aboard.”
“That video looks like more than a border skirmish,” Junior said. There was a murmur of approval.
“Quiet,” Brenda said, eyes focused on the TV.
“Fighter jets and helicopter gunships from nearby bases have been dispatched to the area and are engaging the insurgents. The Mexican government has had no comments so far, and in fact it is likely that the Mexican government is no longer in place. The Administration is currently trying to ascertain who is leading the border incursions, and have scheduled a press conference for early tomorrow morning. At this time there has been no action against Mexico other than attacks on the forces coming over the border.”
Live video of the battlefield was streaming as the announcer left the screen.
“Holy shit, look at the M-1 Tanks,” Jasper said. Several tanks drove to the front of the American line and opened up with their cannons and their machine guns as the infantry dropped to the dirt and held their ears.
The video was shut off abruptly and the announcer came back on.
“Total BS,” Junior said. “They didn’t want us to see that.”
“Quiet,” Brenda said. “There’s a map of Texas on the screen.”
“Texas has been the scene of a mounting level of violence, culminating with the beheading of eight DPS Patrol Boat officers last night at Falcon Lake. This followed an open battle in the streets of Austin yesterday with Islamic insurgents, and the attack on the Dripping Springs Superstore two days ago. The attack at the Superstore led to several revenge attacks in the Dripping Springs and Fredericksburg areas.”
“What do they mean Islamic insurgents?” Nate asked. “Those were foreign troops.”
“Yeah, and why didn’t they mention the Venezuelans?” Jasper asked.
“A large demonstration was held today in downtown Austin. It was supposed to be a pro-Sharia Court demonstration targeting the bill in the Texas Legislature which would ban all religious courts. A counter demonstration many times larger than the original demonstration started. A few pro-Sharia Court demonstrators tried to get violent with the members of the counter demonstration and were nearly beaten to death.”
“Good,” Junior said.
“No, that’s not good,” Kelly said. “This is getting crazy. Maybe we ought to go down there and put a stop to it.”
“Don’t you go down there and poke at the hornets’ nest,” Brenda said to him. “The Islamists are probably watching for you guys to arrive.”
“We didn’t poke the hornets’ nest yesterday. We rode to t
he rescue, and it’s a damn good thing we did. You didn’t object when we went yesterday.”
“I wasn’t ready for you to know how I felt yesterday,” she said softly, “but I was worried sick the entire time you were gone.”
“You’ve been interested in me for a while, haven’t you?” he whispered.
“Never you mind,” she said. “That doesn’t matter now.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t,” he said, pulling her close. “You’re mine now.” He kissed her. The others broke into a cheer. Brenda broke the kiss and rushed back into the kitchen.
“I’ve got work to do,” she said.
Kelly chuckled. Chris walked in and smiled at everybody.
“I figured you’d be here after I saw the news,” Chris said. “Brenda didn’t open yet, did she?”
“No,” Kelly said. “Nobody’s been served. You’re good.”
“We got another forty-five minutes,” Chris said. “I’ll go help Brenda in the kitchen.”
Nate, Junior, Jasper, and Earl walked over to Kelly.
“What are we gonna do, Kelly?” asked Nate.
“I don’t know,” Kelly said. “Thinking about it.”
Chapter 28 – Texas Border
“How much further to the border?” Kim asked. “We’ve been on the road for almost seven hours.”
“Not too much longer,” Eric said. “That construction really messed with our travel time. It’s almost five o’clock already.”
“Don’t remind me. How are you holding up?”
“Glad we’ll be stopping soon,” Eric said.
“Paco needs another break pretty soon.”
“I know. Look up ahead. Everybody’s slowing down. Hope there’s not more damn construction.”
“You and me both,” Kim said.
They rode along, getting slower and slower, and then Eric could see the roadblocks going across all lanes.
“I don’t like the look of that.”
“What are they doing?” Kim asked
“Looks like they’re talking to everybody. Something’s not right.”
“Maybe they’re trying to catch terrorists,” Kim said.
“Maybe,” Eric said. “Haven’t heard about any terror attacks in Louisiana yet. Just in Texas and California so far, so why stop people going this way?”
They crept along at a snail’s pace, finally getting up to the officer in their lane. Eric rolled down his window as the he approached.
“Good evening,” the officer said. “Are you a Texas resident?”
“No, but I was born here. My father just passed away, so I’m coming home to bury him.”
“But you aren’t a current resident?” the officer asked. “Do you have a Texas driver’s license?”
“No, I’ve been living in Florida for a while.”
“Do you own property in Texas?” the officer asked.
“Well, I guess I do now, since my father passed away. There’s only my brother and me now.”
“Sorry, that’s not good enough. You’ll have to turn around. The border is closed to non-residents.”
“For how long?” Eric asked.
“For as long as the current crisis continues,” the officer said. “I’m sorry. Follow that van there back onto eastbound I-10 please.”
Eric started to get angry. Kim saw it.
“C’mon, sweetie, let’s go,” she said softly.
Eric sighed. “Okay.” He drove onto the makeshift turn-around and headed east.
“Geez,” Kim said. “What now?”
“I don’t know. Sneak in somehow. We’ll have to go quite a ways north to do that.”
“Why?”
“The Sabine river,” Eric said. “It’s on the border all the way up into northern Louisiana.”
“You think we can get across after that?” Kim asked.
“Maybe, if we can find a dirt road where nobody’s around. If not, we’ll have to go up into Oklahoma and drive across the plains.”
“Well, you’ve been driving for almost eight hours now, so we need to stop for the night.”
“I know,” he said. “Dammit.”
“Know of any places close by?”
“I used to overnight in a nice RV Park in Sulphur. I think it’s only half an hour away. We can get on Hwy 27 north from there, then switch to Hwy 171. That’ll get us close to the border above the river.”
Kim punched Sulphur into her map application. “Yeah, says twenty-eight minutes.”
“Good,” Eric said. He handed his phone to her. “Look at my contacts. There’s one called Sulphur RV. Call them up. They’re liable to be busy thanks to this mess.”
Kim took the phone, called the contact, and made a reservation.
“We’re set?”
“Yeah, just in time. They only have four spaces left.”
“Wow,” Eric said, taking his phone back. “That’s a first. They must be loving this.”
“They said they aren’t taking discount cards right now,” she said.
“Can’t blame them for that, I guess,” Eric said.
“You’re always so nice,” Kim said. “I think it’s highway robbery. Most of these folks have to come up with money they didn’t plan to spend as it is.”
“Good point,” he said. “You okay? You look pretty scared.”
“You’re not?” she asked.
“I’m more angry than scared.”
“Oh,” she said, staring at the road ahead, brow furrowed. “You think we can really get across the border without landing ourselves in jail?”
“Yeah,” Eric said. “There is some danger here, though. I won’t candy coat it. If you want, I’ll get you a bus ticket back to Florida when we get to Sulphur.”
She looked at him, tears forming in her eyes. “You don’t get it, do you?”
“What?”
“I’m in love with you,” she said. “I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, but I can still be worried about what happens to us.”
“Oh,” he said softly. “Sorry.”
“So you don’t love me?” she asked.
He sighed. “I feel like I do.”
“Well, you almost said it,” she said, smiling through her tears.
“The last few relationships I’ve been in haven’t worked out well. I’m afraid that you’ll come to your senses and take off.”
“Eric, we knew each other for a while as friends before we dated, remember?”
“I know,” he said. “If I didn’t think there was something between us, I wouldn’t have brought you.”
“I had to practically force you into it,” she said.
“Yeah, because I don’t want you in danger,” he said. “Jason and I are going after the bad guys. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I know,” she said. “I’ll help. Need I remind you that I helped you with the Russian guy?”
“That’s true. Still, if something happened to you because of what Jason and I are doing, it would just kill me.”
She chuckled.
“What?”
“Molly,” Kim said. “She had you pegged.”
“In what way?”
“She said you were the All-American Boy.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’re like the hero from a 1940s movie. True blue to the end. Innocent in a sweet way.”
“Oh, brother,” he said. “Here’s our off-ramp.” They drove onto the surface streets, into a light industrial area. The RV Park was nestled in there, full of coaches but with a peaceful air about it. They pulled up in the staging lane behind two other rigs and went to the office, making payment and getting their packet with the rules, codes, and Wi-Fi password. They walked back to their coach.
“Think we need to walk Paco before we go to our space?” Kim asked.
“Nah, he can wait until we park,” he said. “This is a pull-through. We won’t have to take the Bronco off unless you want to go to a restaurant or something.”
“Anything nice aroun
d here?” she asked.
Eric chuckled as he got back into the driver’s seat. “No, not really.”
“Then let’s eat in.”
They pulled into their space and stopped.
“This is pretty,” Kim said, looking out the window. “We can see their lake from here.”
“It’s more like a pond, but it’s nice,” Eric said. Paco scampered over, jumping up and down. “Okay, boy, I get the message.” They took Paco out and walked him along by the pond, watching people getting their barbeques going, drinking beer or wine or cocktails and relaxing.
“Wonder how many of them got turned away at the border?” Kim asked.
“Or how many of them will get a nasty surprise tomorrow,” Eric said. “Why wasn’t news of the border closure on the radio? We listened for several hours on the way there. Not a word.”
“Maybe they’re hoping to catch bad guys trying to get in,” Kim said.
“Maybe,” he said. “Let’s get back and have dinner.”
“What should we have?”
“I’ve got two bass filets. You like fish?”
“Love it. What should we have with it?”
“Well, I don’t have any veggies left,” he said. “I usually shop the day after we left. We could have mac and cheese with it. It’s out of a box, but it tastes okay.”
“Sounds good,” Kim said. They went inside coach.
“Oh, almost forgot, I need to hook up the utilities.”
“Okay,” she said. “Want me to feed Paco?”
“Please,” he said, going outside. He hooked up the electrical and water, then came back in. Paco was feasting from his bowl up in the cab area.
“I found the fish in the freezer. Shall I defrost it?”
“Yeah, the microwave will work now that we’re plugged in.”
“What else do we need to do?”
“Nothing,” he said. “They have good showers here if you feel the need.”
“Maybe tomorrow morning,” she said.
“Oh, and I should call Jason about the border.”
“Tomorrow, okay? I want you to myself tonight.”
He smiled. “I guess it can wait.” They worked on dinner, then ate at the dinette, both of them tired.
“How far do we have to go to get past the river?” Kim asked.
“All the way to Mansfield,” Eric said. “It’s a few hours, I think.”
