Slasher attempted to cajole the townspeople, “We mean you no harm. We’re simply looking for food and fuel and then we’ll be on our way.” He spoke in a manner to allay any fears these people might have. But it didn’t work. Their reputations had preceded them.
“Git or die!”
One of Slashers accompanying slavers approached the roadblock, shouting belligerently “You hicks don’t seem to understand. We can come back with a thousand men and roll over all of you and take whatever we want… including your women and children.”
To make his point, the town’s leader shot him dead and turned his rifle toward the others. “You’ve had your last warning. We will start firing into your group if you aren’t out of our sight in the next sixty seconds.”
Slasher and the remaining slavers kicked-started their motorcycles. “It’s best we leave, we’re in the open here and they have cover. There’s no reason to commit suicide to make a point.” He rolled on the power and headed down the highway away from the townspeople.
In another thirty seconds, they were well out of rifle range and he pulled over. “Unless we make an all-out frontal assault, we’re better off leaving these people alone. They are well-armed and they obviously mean business. Let’s head south and take the coastal highway and bypass this town. One of us is down, that’s enough for now.” Slasher cranked up his motor and headed south. The others fell in behind him in a cloud of exhaust fumes. They picked up speed and disappeared over a rise in the highway.
In the meantime, the group that headed toward Klamath Falls, Oregon, was met at a roadblock on the highway leading into town. They were fired on at their approach but no one was hit. The message was loud and clear. “If you come this way, we are ready, willing and able to fight.” It was useless to try to engage the townspeople, so they turned around rather than get chewed up by the superior fire-power of the residents. The group decided to report back to Bone Breaker.
None of the slavers wanted to engage in this kind of fight because it was easier to pick up strays. Most of the time, there was no resistance from the people encountered. Going up against people who resided in towns was a different story. They were prepared to fight for their homes and families. Why attack a fortified position when the easy pickings were out there just waiting to be taken by force?
The leader of this group was a man called Soldier. He was a veteran of Bosnia, an ex-Marine and hard as nails… but he wasn’t a fool. He realized that taking this town defended by a determined and well-armed group might cost him many of his people. Maybe even his own life. It was better to go back to Bone Breaker and let him know what they were up against. There was no reason to waste his men with little prospect of a major gain. There were no heroes these days, just a bunch of outlaws looking for easy pickings. It was best to just turn around and leave. Their mission was mainly to scout things out anyway and they had done that. The decision to do anything else was in the hands of Bone Breaker.
Several more bullets came their way, but they were comfortably out of range and no one was hit. It was a clear warning meant to let the slavers know the defenders weren’t fooling around. “We’re heading back to see Bone Breaker. Let’s do it.” They turned around in a synchronized swing to the opposite direction and roared away.
Chapter 13
Conquest
THE GROUP OF TWENTY outlaws was approaching Redding, California on their bikes, and could see the town up ahead. There was a barricade erected at the town’s entrance that appeared to be manned by about fifty men armed with shotguns and rifles.
They had a hot air balloon hovering above them with two men in the gondola looking at them with binoculars. It was connected to a winch mounted in the back of a one-ton truck.
Peeking over the top of the truck cab was a thirty caliber belt-fed machine gun. It was probably taken from the National Guard Armory in town. Boomer, the group leader, had the bikers pulled off the side of the road for a conference.
“It’s looking to me like they aren’t going to lay out the welcome mat for us! Hustler, you and Ralph go down to the barricade and see if you can negotiate some sort of agreement. Tell them we simply want food, water and gas. Tell em’ we ain’t looking for no trouble.”
The two bikers cranked up their bikes and headed toward the barricade with a white flag flying from a pole. A volley of shots tore up part of the road and the two bikers crumpled and went down. Their motorcycles fell and sparks from metal on pavement showered out, leaving a meteor like display in a wide arch until the gas tanks caught on fire… first one, then the other. The bikes continued to slide toward the barricade, just before they exploded. The two slavers didn’t move. A pool of blood began to grow under and around their dead bodies.
Boomer surveyed the damage and spoke matter factly, “Well fellas, don’t look to me like they are in any mood to negotiate. Let’s fall back and see what we can come up with. There’s plenty of em’ at that barricade and we don’t have much of a chance of sneaking up on em’ or just drivin’ right up to them. We need to come up with somethin’ a little more realistic or we need to go around them.”
After some further review the group decided to go back and meet with Bone Breaker and the others. There was no reason to make an attempt on the townspeople without more men and ammo. This seemed to be the consensus of all of the bikers.
In the meantime, the group landing at Klamath Falls faced a similar confrontation. Each group made the prudent decision to head back and meet with Bone Breaker to discuss their future plans.
When most of the groups had arrived back at the main camp, they slaughtered a cow one of the groups had happened upon in a field. They had also appropriated some bushels of corn they found in an old barn. The women baked loaves of bread and laid out dinner around a huge campfire. They might as well party while they planned their next move.
They waited for the group from the south to arrive, eventually coming to the realization that they never would. Many wondered if the plague had ravaged them in their quest for plunder. Bone Breaker spoke to his men, “I understand there was some trouble while the groups were out. Each person will report on what’s happening out there and we’ll figure out our next move. Slasher, you start.” He looked over at Slasher and the man quickly rose.
“Just after the war started, we had it good. The pickins’ were easy! That’s no longer the case. The towns are blocked shut with armed sentries. The towns are regrouping and the people appear to be well armed. There are many more of them now doin’ the guarding. We can no longer just ride in and take over. I have a plan but we will have to change the way we’ve been operating.”
He stopped talking and looked around at the large contingent. Everyone waited and Bone Breaker nodded for him to continue. He was just as curious as the others. “Making a frontal assault is insane. All we’re gonna do is lose more people if we try it, and we can’t afford that. We’ve lost many good men and women to the plague. All we have to do is remember the attack on Fitch and what those well-armed farmers did to us. I’m guessing we are about four hundred warriors and a few hundred women… not counting the slaves.”
“We need to fight the townspeople and ultimately take them over by stealth. We’ll send our people posing as couples into each of these towns and fortifications and conquer them from the inside out. A Trojan Horse, so to speak.” Nods of agreement came from everyone.
“Except we’ll do it with just one man and one woman, and not to alert the townspeople. The couples will blend in, work alongside them and learn all they can about their operations. Where they keep their stores and weapons, the schedules they keep. How often and where they change their guards. In a couple of months, we’ll attack, while we have our people on the inside working with us.” He paused again and waited for someone else to say something but no one spoke.
He continued, “We need to pick our spies carefully. They have to be trustworthy because the information they give us must be reliable and accurate. Once they gather enough information, th
ey will sneak out and tell us everything we need to know. We’ll give them a date and a time to leave and a predetermined place where we will meet up with them. When we determine their weaknesses, we can plan an attack. Once we plan and execute a full attack, we will be resupplied with everything we’ll need to go on to the next town. I say we take them one at a time. There is less risk that way. We can’t afford to lose too many of our own. We’re no longer getting the recruits we once were.” He paused, again to let his words sink in, and remained standing.
There was talk among the others. Then everyone began talking at once, they appeared to like the idea. Slasher continued, “While we’re waiting to get the inside scoop on the towns we penetrate, I say we spread out and really start working smaller places off the beaten path. There are still hundreds of small communities out there and I’m sure there are plenty of people just waiting to be overtaken.” A cheer went up and he stopped talking.
Boomer stood up to be recognized and Bone Breaker nodded at him to advance. Getting the green light from Bone Breaker, Boomer began speaking to the group, “Slasher made some excellent points. There are a lot of small groups out there that have come together to protect themselves and we can profit from them. We can take their stuff and their women.”
“We can convert some of the men into slaves and in general make a small haul. I mean, it’s always nice to take over a whole town and get a lot of stuff while we’re at it, but those days of getting it handed to us are over and we all know it. I also think there are a lot less people because of the plague, starvation, and other sicknesses. God only knows what other catastrophic events could happen. The other day, one of our women died because she had a cut on her foot and it became infected. We just didn’t have the medicine to treat her. That can happen to any of us.
If we go into battle, we can expect that some of us will be wounded and some will die. We need to fight smarter, not harder.” Seeing as no one made a move to stop him, Boomer continued. “I say we patrol other areas, and note where we have been on maps, so we don’t go to the same places over and over. Gas is critical right now and we need to find more of it. It’s out there somewhere, all we have to do is get to it before someone else does. I also think there is a lot of medicine out there, we just need to find it and use it for ourselves.” People were whooping in agreement as he sat down.
Next, Angel stood. He had a reputation of being a merciless killer, and he had been a killer before the war. He looked over at Bone Breaker and Slasher before he spoke. “I’ve thought about this ever since we formed up and began motoring around taking whatever we wanted. By doing a lot of traveling around, we’ve burned up lots of gas. We eat lots of food and we’re constantly motoring back to our main camp where Bone Breaker and Slasher are. We’re still waiting for the group that went down the coastal highway. Who knows what happened to them or how far they got. I want to throw my suggestion out there as to how we can cut down a little and at the same time cover more territory.”
He looked over at Bone Breaker and was given a go ahead nod. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m suggesting anything other than what I am putting forth here. I’d like to see the top lieutenants split away from this main group and go out and stake a territory of their own to watch over and control. We’re like the Knights of the Medieval days. We are loyal to our King and we obey his orders… but we’re like kings in our own right. Perhaps Earls or something like that. We can control a territory and spread out permanently and we can still rally around our King whenever we’re needed. Our reward for good service is our own territory. We can continue building our individual camps with men, women, slaves and supplies. Eventually we can control all of California and Oregon. “
“We’ll monitor everything that comes and goes and charge taxes on the use of our land… such as anyone traveling on our roads or crossing our territory. That will keep supplies coming in more regularly than simply taking at random. Once a month or once every three months, when we’ve been at it for a while, we can have a big get together and divide up the spoils with our King.”
He stopped talking and looked at Bone Breaker for a sign of approval. Bone Breaker was smiling. Angel took this as a good sign, but you never knew about the big guy. He was tired of the nomadic life and wanted to settle. They had been at this plundering business for a while now and it was time to divide up the boundaries… at least as far as he was concerned. He wanted an opportunity to control his own area for a change.
Bone Breaker stood up. “That’s a good idea. I like it! I think once we get a few wrinkles ironed out, we can concentrate on your idea and put it into effect. As far as going off to control Oregon, I don’t like that. I’m content to control most of California. As long as the people from Oregon don’t bother me, I’m not going to bother them…” he grinned, “unless I need to!” People laughed.
“For now,” he continued, “someone else can do their thing and we’ll do ours. We’ll talk about this again. I like everything I’ve heard here today. I think we should all think on it, and put it all together. In the meantime, everybody have a great time and eat your fill.”
Slasher didn’t say anything, but his mind was racing. There was no reason to stop at California. Why stop there when there was an entire United States to reap tribute from?
It was inevitable… with or without Bone Breaker. There would never again be a more opportune time to completely take over the continent, and he planned on doing just that! Bone Breaker had little foresight, and he wasn’t an able leader. He was the leader right now through brute force, but Slasher knew that would change in the future. All men have their moment to shine, but most didn’t last long.
It was his new quest to make sure Bone Breaker’s reign was coming to an end. Preferably by the death of the big man. He would see to it personally. Bone Breaker smiled at his trusted lieutenant and Slasher gave back a wide grin.
Yes sir, Mr. Bone Breaker, I’ll see you dead. Only his eyes belied his thoughts. You’re gonna die, you big slob!
Over the next few days, a search began for the six couples to be Bone Breaker’s spies. It was determined that the women should be pregnant to illicit sympathy from the townspeople. The women had to be smart, and most of all, they had to be loyal to the slavers and Bone Breaker. If the townspeople detected them, it could be a major factor in diminishing the returns they were hoping to get. A couple of women lied about being pregnant and were quickly eliminated from the prospects. One woman managed to convince those in power that she simply had made a mistake about her monthly cycle and that she was currently menstruating.
Another woman was killed for her apparent betrayal; they used her as an example in front of the whole camp. They tied her to a pole and whipped her to death. It squelched any other ideas about trying to trick the selection committee. They eventually decided that the women selected had to be showing in their pregnancy to eliminate any more attempts at deceit.
At long last six couples were selected for the job. They would be dropped off at least twenty miles from the entrance to the various towns they were trying to infiltrate. This would ensure they weren’t spotted as slavers by anyone as they approached the town. The chosen towns were Redding in the south, Fitch in the east, Bishop in the northeast, Stockton in the southeast and finally, Chico and Sacramento. The couples resembled refugees by wearing rags for clothing, not bathing for days, and not eating so they appeared as skinny and undernourished as possible. Once they were settled into the towns, they would be on the verge of giving birth, or would have already given birth.
This would allow them another six weeks before they would be energetic enough to travel. So the deadline was three and a half months from the day they were dropped off. They all rehearsed their stories. They were laced with true events of their real past lives and embellished with made up stories about how they had managed to survive since the start of war. They would tell of their sheer luck in managing to avoid not only the plague and the slavers but total starvation as well.
Slasher was the master planner… ruthless, ambitious and very smart. He was much smarter than Bone Breaker and his contempt for the big guy was becoming harder to hide. He realized that he must continue the charade until just the right time. He was determined to kill the man and take over the gang of outlaw bikers. His ultimate plan, of course, was to take over and dominate the entire United States of America… what was left of it anyway. Perhaps, in a few years, he could take over larger tracts of land in other countries… but that was far into the future. He had to deal with the here and now first. Bone Breaker was a ‘dead man walking.’
Three weeks later, the spies were delivered to their drop-off points to begin the long walk to their assigned towns.
Chapter 14
Spies
SAM AND MILLIE went over the details of where they had supposedly come from and how they desperately needed medical help for the baby, which was due pretty soon. The twenty mile walk was a long journey and was especially hard on the pregnant Millie; frequent stops were necessary.
The sentry notified both Fitch and Avalon about the bikers who had dropped off Sam and Millie. The slavers had passed by without noticing the manned tower hidden from their view, and they ended dropping their passengers in plain view.
Mike prepared his Cessna 182 for a trip down to Fitch to see what was about to happen. Things had been quiet for some time and he wanted to hear the stories those two had to tell. These were unusual circumstances and he especially wanted to be there when they arrived and the questioning began.
Avalon: Beyond the Retreat (The Avalon Series Book 2) Page 12
