by Robert Boren
“We heard you were giving those nurses a run for their money,” Jane said.
“Oh, yeah, I love to flirt with nurses,” the Sheriff said with a grin. “Too bad I didn’t need any sponge baths.”
“I give if you want,” Rosie said. “I nurse.”
Everybody in the room cracked up, and Jasmine rolled her eyes again, then shook her head.
“Seriously, folks, I just wanted to thank you for saving me. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh yes we did, you old coot,” Jeb said. “You’d have done the same for any of us.”
“Yes, I would,” he said. “And thanks for saving my nephew, too. He’s the last family I have left.”
“We are going to be moved out of here, Sheriff,” Charlie said. “Maybe you could come with us. You’ve probably got a target on your back too.”
“I figured, that’s why I wanted to get over here. To make sure I thanked all of you,” he said. His eyes started to mist up. “I can’t leave, though. I’m the only law enforcement that we have in the town. I don’t even have any deputies to hand it off to.”
“Sheriff, I was going to offer the same deal to you,” General Walker said. “You are probably being used as a propaganda target too. Your town would be safer if you and your deputy hit the road.”
“We could use you, Sheriff,” Charlie said. “It might get rough out there.”
“But what about the town?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about that, Sheriff,” General Walker said. “We’ll be bringing more folks in here. We could always station a detachment in your Sheriff’s station and have them patrolling.”
“Can they be nice?” the Sheriff asked. “This is a town full of civilians…mostly older folks but also a bunch of rednecks who live on the outskirts. Those rednecks can be independent and stubborn as hell. I don’t want to see them getting shot by some private.”
“We’d put good people in there, Sheriff,” Major Hobbs said. “But I understand how you feel. Think it over. We’ve got a good three days before we need a decision.”
“Fair enough,” the Sheriff said. “I’ve got to talk it over with my nephew as well. I also need to find out when he’s coming out of the hospital. I doubt he’ll be out in four days. He got pretty messed up.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll airlift him out when the time comes,” General Walker said. “Do you have an RV?”
“Yes, I’ve got a nice Monaco Camelot sitting in my backyard.”
“Well, we could give you an approximate replacement, new, from a handful of manufacturers, but you’d need to bring your rig in here and park it, so Uncle Sam can take it over.”
“Oh, you guys aren’t driving out of here?”
“No, way too dangerous,” General Walker said. “The plan right now is to airlift you with as much as you can carry to a location right outside of Oklahoma City. You’ll pick up your new rigs there, and then be free to go where you want to.”
“Alright, makes sense,” the Sheriff said. “I’ll think on it. Is there going to be a memorial for Chester?”
“Yes, we are going to have that here, tomorrow afternoon,” Hilda said. “The Reverend will be here. The body won’t be brought over, though…..he wanted to be cremated, so the mortuary in town is taking care of that.”
“Alright, I’ll be here of course.”
“And you have to stay after the wake,” Hilda said. “There’s going to be a wedding.”
“Really?” Who’s getting hitched?”
“Charlie and I,” Hilda said. The Sheriff’s face lit up.
“She finally hog tied you, did she?” the Sheriff said to Charlie. “I saw that coming.”
“Yes, she’s got me hog tied alright, but I’m glad,” Charlie said. The two men shook hands, and then hugged.
“I know you’ll take good care of her,” Sheriff said. “And I know she’ll take good care of you.”
Frank looked over at Jerry and Charlie, and nodded at them to join him over in the corner. They followed him away from the main group.
“Want to get going early on the security system tomorrow morning?” asked Frank.
“Suits me, Frank,” Charlie said.
“Me too,” Jerry said.
“Good. I’m hoping we can get the physical installation done by the end of the day tomorrow. I’ll work the software too, but I probably won’t get it done until the following day. It’s a fairly complex job.”
“Any chance you can set this up so Hilda can monitor her park remotely when we’re gone?”
“Of course,” Frank said. “It’s going to be on the internet. Security is the thing that’s going to take the longest. We don’t want the enemy being able to hack in and use the cameras against us. Once I’ve got that set up, we’ll all be able to access the whole system from wherever we are.”
“That’s great news,” Charlie said.
“Hey!” shouted Earl. He had his iPHONE in his hand, and was looking at the screen. “Turn on the TV. Something bad has just happened in D.C.”
“Uh oh,” Hilda said. She picked up the remote and switched the TV on. There was an image of the smoking wreckage of the U.S. Capitol building.
“Oh, no!” General Walker said. “There was a joint session of Congress going on today. All of our legislators were there.”
Bug Out! Part 5 is available now in the Kindle Store!
Copyright
Bugout! Part 4 copyright © 2014 by Robert G Boren. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any format without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Thanks to Laura Thomas for the fine editing work!
About the Author
Robert G Boren is a writer from the South Bay section of Southern California. He writes Short Stories, Novels, and Serialized Fiction. Most of his work is about people from the South Bay.
Other Books by Robert Boren
Never A Loose End - The Franklin and Davis Files Book One
Serial Killers. Maniac Ex-cops. CIA Assassins. White Slavers. Strippers.
In "Never A Loose End", they all come together, racing towards their frightening destiny.
This is the story that started it all for George Franklin and Malcolm Davis. Some of you know them from the later episodes of the Bug Out! series, set seven years later. This is the story of how they met, and the battle that forged them into a formidable team.
George and Malcolm are both targets, marked for death, but why?
A clan of Serial Killers is active again, after hiding for years. What has brought them out?
Follow George and Malcolm as they dash through the Southwest in their Motorhomes.
Murder, gun battles, bombings, and general mayhem reign in "Never A Loose End"
Who will survive? Will the hunted be brought down, or will they become the hunters instead?
Find out in "Never A Loose End - The Franklin and Davis Files Book One"
Note: This full length novel carries a hard R rating, unlike the PG-13 Bug-Out! series. "Never A Loose End" contains graphic violence and sex. Discretion is advised.
