Bug Out! Part 4: Mortars and Motorhomes

by Robert Boren

  “Great,” Jerry said. “What about all these folks who weren’t part of the core group?”

  “That’s what I was thinking about when you walked over. I don’t know. I wonder if the heat will really be off if word gets around that we are gone.”

  “Some of the cretins may assume that their supplies are still here.”

  “Maybe the Army will make as big a deal about using this as a base as they do about us leaving,” Frank said.

  Jerry nodded. “There is one thing that worries me, though,” he said.

  “What’s that?”

  “You know damn well that we’ve had a lot of leakage of enemy personnel into areas that we consider ‘safe’ now.”

  “Yes, you are probably right about that.”

  “So if they are in contact with the militia here, they may still try to hunt us down, and we will be in a strange place without the support system we have built up here.”

  “That has crossed my mind,” Frank said. “I think we’ll need to keep moving, and hide our whereabouts as best we can.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I’d better get back. Jane is making us something to eat, and I’m really hungry.”

  “Okay. I assume we’ll see you two in the clubhouse later?” Jerry asked.

  “Yes, the General is coming over, and I’d like to chat some more with him and Major Hobbs too. We also have a wedding and a funeral to plan.”

  Jerry nodded, and walked back to his rig.

  Frank opened the door of the rig and got in, with Lucy bounding ahead of him. Jane already had food down in their bowls, and Mr. Wonderful was attacking his. Lucy ran over to hers and started eating too. Jane was in the bedroom. Frank could hear her talking to somebody.

  “That’s great honey,” she said. “I’ll worry about you, but I think you’re doing the right thing.” Jane looked up and saw Frank walking into the bedroom. “Here’s your father. Want to say hello?”

  Frank nodded and sat down on the bed next to Jane.

  “Alright, Robbie, love you too. Here’s your father.” She handed the phone to Frank.

  “Hi, son, how are you doing?” Frank asked.

  “Good, dad. We’re getting ready to leave…..a couple of days. I’ll lock everything down in the condo before we take off.”

  “Thanks, son. You’re mother told you that we are leaving Utah, correct?”

  “Yes, she did. I think that’s good. You aren’t in a good place.”

  “We were hoping we could come back to California, but they are sending us east.”

  “You don’t want to come back here, dad.”

  “Really? Why not.”

  “This isn’t free anymore,” Robbie said. “We’re still under martial law. There is some scary stuff going on.”

  “Scary?”

  “Yes. Won’t say any more on the phone.”

  “Why did you enlist?”

  “To get into the fight against the bad guys.”

  “You aren’t making sense.”

  “I’ll fill you in later, dad.”

  “Alright. Heard from Sarah?”

  “She hasn’t called you yet?” Robbie asked. He snickered. “Chicken.”

  “What?”

  “Just call her dad. She’s good, don’t worry. She has something to tell you.”

  “Hmmm,” Frank said. “Alright, we’ll call her. Love you son, take care.”

  “You take care too, dad. Love you.”

  Frank put down the phone and looked at Jane.

  “That was a strange phone call,” he said. “Did he say anything to you about California?”

  “No, why?”

  “He said not to come back there. He said it’s bad.”

  “Oh,” she said. “That’s strange. He told me he enlisted. I think he was afraid to talk to me about it.”

  “Did he say anything to you about Sarah?”

  “No, he didn’t,” she said. “But I heard you asking him. What’s up?”

  “I think we’d better call her right now,” Frank said. He dialed the number. It rang several times, and then there was a click.

  “Mom?” Sarah asked.

  “No, it’s dad,” Frank said. “I’m on mom’s phone. Everything alright, honey?”

  “Is mom there with you,” she asked.

  “Yes, she’s right next to me.” Frank said.

  “Good. Would you put the phone on speaker? I have something to tell both of you.”

  Frank looked over at Jane, and then put the phone on speaker.

  Chapter 11 – Capitol Crime

  “Mom, Dad, can you both hear me now?” asked Sarah. She sounded nervous.

  “Yes, sweetheart, we’ve got you on speaker,” Frank said. “What’s up?”

  “I’m married,” she said. Frank and Jane looked at each other.

  “Who did you marry?” Jane asked.

  “Steve. He’s my roommate’s cousin. You know, the one that I was staying with in Boise.”

  “Is he a good man?” Frank asked. “Does he have a career?”

  “Yes, Daddy,” she said. “He’s an EMT, and is working towards getting a job as a fireman in Boise.”

  “You’re still in Boise?” Jane said.

  “Yes, I won’t be going back to Portland. I found a job here already.”

  Frank and Jane looked at each other and smiled.

  “Well, congratulations, sweetheart,” Frank said. “I wish we could come right over and see you, but there isn’t a way to get there right now. In fact, they are moving us further east soon.”

  “Who’s they?” asked Sarah.

  “The Army. Long story……I can’t tell you everything now. We’re really glad you stayed in Boise. This General that we met yesterday told us it is safer than Portland. That’s why we were calling you….we were hoping you were still there, and were going to suggest that you stay.”

  “Oh,” Sarah said. “That sounds kinda scary, you being moved by the Army.”

  “Don’t worry, honey,” Jane said. “We’ll be fine. Maybe you could sent pictures of the wedding, if you have any.”

  “It was just at the court house, but I do have some pictures of the two of us. I’ll e-mail them to you.”

  “Perfect,” Frank said. “You didn’t have to be afraid to tell us this, you know. We just want you to be happy, and we know you’re a good judge of character.”

  “Yes,” Jane said. “As long as you two love each other, you’ll be fine.”

  “I love him so much, mom,” Sarah said. She started to choke up.

  “Good,” Frank said. “We’re so happy for you, sweetie.”

  There was a tap on their door. Frank got up and walked over. He saw Jerry standing outside. He opened the door.

  “The General is in the clubhouse,” Jerry said. “We’re going over in a few minutes.”

  “Great, we’ll be there soon.” Frank shut the door and went back into the bedroom.

  “That was Jerry. The General is in the clubhouse.”

  “Great,” Jane said. “Sarah, we have to go now. There’s a meeting starting up. Thanks so much for telling us. I love you, sweetie. Stay safe.”

  “I love you too, Sarah,” Frank said. “Take good care of your husband. We’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Love you guys,” Sarah said. “Bye.”

  She hung up. Jane picked up her phone and looked up at Frank.

  “You okay with this?” she asked.

  “Yes, as long as he treats her right. Firemen usually want to take care of people, so that’s a good thing. I’m so relieved that she’s staying in Boise.”

  “Me too. Ready to go?” she asked.

  “Sure,” Frank said. They both got up and walked into the salon. Lucy was jumping up and down.

  “Should we take her?” asked Jane.

  “Sure, why not,” Frank said. “She’ll be good. Come here girl, let’s get your leash on.”

  Lucy scampered over and stood still as Frank attached the leash. He grabbed the p
oop bags on the way to the door.

  “See you later, Mr. Wonderful,” Frank said, looking at the cat. He was sitting on the dashboard looking out the window, but he casually shot a glance to Frank and Jane as they opened the door and stepped out. Frank locked it up, and they started towards the Clubhouse.

  “Before the world went crazy, I would have been upset that Sarah up and got married without saying anything to us. I’m glad now,” Jane said. “I’m going to miss being involved in a wedding for her, though.” Her eyes were glassy. Frank pulled her close as they walked.

  “I know, sweetie. I’m sorry about that,” he said.

  They got to the clubhouse just as Earl and Jackson were walking up.

  “Hey, guys,” Frank said, smiling at them. They both smiled and nodded. Inside were Charlie and Hilda, General Walker and Major Hobbs, Jerry and Jeb.

  “Where’s Jasmine and Rosie?” Jane.

  “They’ll be along in a few minutes. Rosie had to primp a little bit before meeting the General.” He grinned. Jane and Frank cracked up.

  “Well, at least this will take her mind off of Chester for a little while,” Jane said.

  They walked over to where the General and Major Hobbs were talking with Hilda and Charlie.

  “Frank, how are you,” Major Hobbs said. “And Jane. I heard that you and Jasmine saved the day.”

  “And Chester,” Jane said.

  “So sorry to hear about what happened to him,” Major Hobbs said. “He was a good man.”

  “Yes, he was,” Frank said. “You know he’s the person who told us about Charlie’s place, and that’s how we ended up here.”

  “That’s right,” Charlie said. “I had a gun on you folks until I saw that Chester was with you.”

  “You have an RV Park too?” asked General Walker.

  “Yes, but it’s near the Grand Canyon,” he said. “I had to leave it.”

  “Oh, I assumed that this place was yours and Hilda’s,” General Walker said.

  “Well, it will be soon enough,” Hilda said, smiling. “We’re getting married.”

  “Ah, great news,” General Walker said. “I was very impressed with Charlie while we were in town. Good man.”

  “Yes he is,” Hilda said. Charlie looked embarrassed.

  “Where new General?”

  It was Rosie and Jasmine, walking through the door. Everybody turned and smiled at them as they walked up. The General gave Major Hobbs a quizzical look, and Hobbs cracked up.

  “Rosie – she’s Jasmine’s mother, and she’s quite a card,” Major Hobbs said. “How much you want to bet she asks you if you’re married.”

  “I don’t think I’ll take that bet, Major, judging by the faces in the crowd here.”

  “Oh, handsome General,” Rosie said as she looked him over. “You married?”

  Everybody cracked up.

  “Yes, I am,” he said.

  “Too bad,” she said.

  “Not saying anything?” Frank asked Jasmine. She rolled her eyes.

  “Did you ever see it do any good?” she said, smirking.

  “How about Happy Hour?” Rosie asked.

  “Well, I guess we could have some cocktails,” Hilda said. “I think we deserve it.”

  “Oh, and congrats on engagement, Hilda. You got good man,” Rosie said.

  “Thank you, dear,” Hilda said. “Charlie, want to help me get out the cocktail cart? I’m still not 100%.”

  “Of course, lead the way,” Charlie said. They walked off towards the kitchen area.

  “Well, you still available,” Rosie said to Jeb. He turned red.

  “I don’t think I could handle you, Rosie.” He snickered. “Might be fun to try, though.”

  “Alright, you two,” Jasmine said. Jerry was standing next to her cracking up.

  “I don’t know, I couldn’t think of a better father in law to have than Jeb,” he said.

  “Now you talkin’,” Rosie said.

  “General, we have a question,” Frank said. “There are about twenty more rigs that came here with us. They haven’t been directly involved in the fighting, but they’ve been helping out in other ways. If they want to stay with us, can Uncle Sam accommodate that?”

  “Major Hobbs told me about that. I’ve got a question in about that to folks at the Pentagon. Do you have any idea how many of them would like to go?”

  “No, I really don’t,” Frank said. “Possibly none. There are some down sides to going beyond losing our rigs.”

  “What do you see as the other downsides?” asked the General.

  “I can take this one,” Jerry said. “I’m thinking that at least some of the enemy have already leaked out to the east.”

  “Good assumption,” the General said.

  “If they are in contact with the militia here, we are liable to have enemy folks coming after us, even if we are a couple of states to the east. We won’t have the infrastructure and support there that we have here.”

  “That’s a valid concern,” the General said. “You have to weigh the risks of that against the risks of staying here.”

  “We get to take all of our weapons with us, correct?” asked Jeb.

  “Well, everything but the tank,” Major Hobbs said, laughing. Jeb cracked a smile.

  “Who wants a drink?” asked Charlie, as he and Hilda rolled the cocktail cart over.

  “Wow, this nice,” Rosie said. “You didn’t use before.”

  “No, we just used the tables by the stage last time,” she said. “But it’s too much work to get all of that set up now.”

  “I make Weng Weng for anybody who wants,” Rosie said. She got next to the cart.

  “Beware of those things, gentlemen,” Frank said to the Major and General. “They will peel paint off a barn.”

  “We aren’t going to be drinking,” General Walker said. “Too much enemy activity.”

  “Well, I’ll have something,” Jeb said. “Just whiskey, though.” He picked up a short glass off of the tray, used the tongs to put a couple of ice cubes in, and then filled the glass with Jack Daniels. He swirled the glass and backed away, taking a sip. “Oh, yeah.”

  “There is one thing we would like you guys to do before you leave,” Major Hobbs said.

  “The security cameras?” asked Frank.

  “You got it.”

  “No problem,” Frank said. “We can probably finish all of the installations tomorrow. It might take me another day to get the software set up.”

  “We won’t be able to get you out of here for at least four days anyway,” General Walker said.

  “Where are you proposing we get dropped off?” asked Charlie.

  “We were going to suggest a place outside of Oklahoma City,” he said.

  “Okla-by God-homa,” Jeb said, raising his glass. Everybody looked over at him. “Used to work with an old Okie named DC Winters. That’s what he called it. He came west during the dust bowl.”

  “Of course you guys don’t have to stay there…..you have most of the Midwest and South to choose from.”

  “I think we will need to keep moving,” Jerry said. “Just in case the bad guys are still looking for us.”

  “I would advise that,” Major Hobbs said. “And keep your eyes open at all times.”

  “This doesn’t sound very safe,” Jane said.

  “Well, again, like I said, you have to weigh the safety of that versus the safety of staying here,” General Walker said. “As of right now, I believe it’s a lot safer to leave.”

  “How about the replacement rigs?” asked Charlie. “Anything more about them?”

  “Yes, actually,” the General said. “Apparently we’ve been supplying a lot of these to people who we’ve been relocating. We have contracts with several of the large manufacturers. They will get as close to the model that you have now as they can.”

  “What manufacturers?” asked Jerry.

  “Fleetwood, Forest River, Thor, and Winnebago,” he said. “If you had an expensive one, yo
u can trade it across, but the deal is a little different than I thought. If you take the basic model, which is an entry level Thor, you can use it until this is over, then give it back and get your old rig back.”

  “Assuming your old rig is still in one piece,” Jeb said.

  “Yes, but you will be compensated if it’s not. If you want a match to a more expensive coach, Uncle Sam will keep your rig, and probably re-deploy it to somebody else eventually. We might even use it here, if Central Command feels that they want to put a lot more troops in here.”

  Hilda got a worried look on her face.

  “I am going to get my park back when this is over, correct?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes, of course,” General Walker said. “And we’d take good care of it. If it gets damaged, we’ll fix it.”

  Jane looked at Frank and smiled.

  “We should be able to get another Georgetown 328. I know Forest River is still making them,” she said.

  “Yes, that suits me fine,” Frank said. “Not looking forward to the new rig shakedown, though.”

  “Here, Jackson,” Rosie said, handing a Weng Weng to him. He took a sip and his eyes lit up.

  “Damn, this is tasty, and it goes down easy too,” he said.

  “Did you watch her mix that, Jackson?” asked Jerry, laughing.

  “No, why?”

  “Its way stronger than it tastes,” he said. “Think Zombie, or Long Island Iced Tea.”

  “Oh,” he said sheepishly.

  “Be man, you can handle,” Rosie said. She grinned.

  “Now mom, don’t try to get everybody plastered,” Jasmine said.

  “They big boys now,” she said. Then she smirked, and took a big slug of her own Weng Weng.

  “She’s certainly the life of the party, isn’t she,” General Walker said, grinning.

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Jerry said.

  The door opened. Everybody turned and saw the Sheriff hobble in slowly. Lucy barked, and wagged her tail. When the Sheriff got close, she jumped up and sniffed his leg. The Sheriff bent down and petted her head.

  “Hi, everybody,” he said. “What’s cookin?”

  “Sheriff, so glad to see you up and around,” Frank said.

  “Want drink?” Rosie said.

  “Sure, but no Weng Weng. I learned my lesson with those,” he said. “You’ll take advantage of me.” He chuckled.