Lights Out In Vegas (Book 4): Line of Fire

by Patten, Sean

  He appeared to hesitate for a moment before going on.

  “And I know what you want.”

  “Say it,” I said.

  “You’ve always wanted to be a part of this,” Steve said, tugging on his uniform. “But you never could be. And now that you met some high-ranking asshole who offers you a whiff of the military life you’re ready to turn your back on your own brother to make him happy, to show him what a good little soldier boy you can be.”

  I snapped. I couldn’t tell if it was Steve words, or the stress of all Kelly and I had been through. But without thinking I grabbed Steve by the front of his shirt and shoved him hard against the fence, his eyes going wide with shock at the impact.

  “Justin!” shouted Kelly. “What are you doing?”

  Truth be told, I had no fucking idea. But Steve had struck a nerve, had hit something inside of me.

  “Hey!” he shouted, struggling against my grip. “Let me go!”

  I was out of line and I knew it. Me losing my cool wasn’t making matters any better.

  After taking a long, slow breath, I opened my hands and backed off.

  “What the hell?” asked Steve as he dusted off the front of his shirt where I’d grabbed him.

  “You both need to calm down,” said Kelly, her tone stern. “Whatever we do, this isn’t going to help come up with a solution.”

  She was right, of course.

  “Both of you take some deep breaths and chill the hell out,” she went on. “Because right now, all we’ve got is each other.”

  Kelly’s words pushed the last bit of rage out of me, and I turned my attention back to Steve. With one last deep exhalation, I felt halfway normal again.

  And then I had an idea.

  “What about this,” I said, holding my palms out in front of me. “Where are you staying?”

  “One of the barracks,” he said. “In the military complex.”

  I could tell by his tone that he was still uncertain, unsure what to expect from me.

  “Could you get out without anyone seeing you?” I asked.

  “What? Why?”

  “Here’s what I’m thinking,” I said. “Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. The three us of meet up near…somewhere, one of the intersections on Main Street. And then together we get the fuck out of here.”

  Steve’s eyes went wide, as if he was trying to figure out if I was joking.

  “What?”

  “Just what I said. We leave this place with whatever supplies we can and we never look back. We walk towards Vegas, find a car somewhere—there’s got to be one that still works—and leave for my bunker.”

  I glanced over at Kelly to see if I could tell by the look on her face what she was thinking. But she was inscrutable.

  “There’s no reason for any of us to stay here,” I said. “As a matter of fact, the longer we stay, the harder it’s going to be to leave. And the more dangerous it’s going to get.”

  Steve said nothing, and I went on.

  “In a few days we can be at my ranch and away from all this bullshit. Steve, you have to admit it’s the smartest thing we can do.”

  And that was all I had. I waited for Steve to respond, hoping he’d break out in a smile, pull me into a hug, and tell me it was the best idea he’d heard in a long while.

  But he didn’t. Instead, he cast his eyes downward, shook his head and sighed.

  “You don’t get it, bro,” he said. “What I’m doing. Why I’m doing it.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’m not here because I have to be, or because I’m too scared to leave, or anything like that.”

  He looked past my shoulder, towards the rows and rows of tents behind us.

  “I’m doing what I’m doing because it’s the right thing to do. These people out there, they need protection and they need leadership. Mason’s right—Lambert’s not cut out for this kind of situation. If we don’t do something, and fast…”

  He trailed off.

  “Listen,” he said. “I don’t expect you to be a part of this fight if you don’t want to be. You want to take Kelly and leave, I’ll understand. But I needed to be here to make sure this thing gets seen through.”

  I was at a loss for words. It had never occurred to me that simply wanting to do the right thing was why Steve had chosen the way he had. Not because Steve wasn’t a good man, but because doing the right thing hadn’t seemed to be on anyone’s priority list since the disaster first happened.

  “Steve, there’s no chance I’m going to leave you behind,” I said. “You know this. If you…if you want to do this, I’m there with you.”

  I turned to Kelly, who answered with a nod.

  And then he gave me what I wanted. Steve stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug.

  For better or worse, we were in this together.

  Chapter 16

  May 17

  The air was crisp and still as I made my way to the meeting point.

  Kelly was back at the tent. Our parting…it had been strange, to be honest. There had been an odd kind of tension between us, both of us knowing that there was a significant chance that I might not come back. If this coup were to go sideways…

  I knew I couldn’t think that way. But as I’d said my goodbyes and stepped out of the tent, part of me wanted to turn right back around tell her how I felt. Sure, I didn’t know how I felt, exactly, but hopefully I’d find the words.

  I hadn’t done that, however. Instead, I’d said goodbye as if we were still married and I was going off to work and that I’d be home at the usual time around six, just in time for us to figure out where were getting takeout from for dinner.

  Maybe it was just my imagination, but the camp seemed…dead. Like everyone there knew what was about to go down and they were all waiting and watching to see where the chips would fall.

  But there was no way for the refugees to know plans were in motion that would potentially change their lives forever—plans in which I was going to play a key role.

  I turned the corner between the first bank of supply depots and headed into the first one. Inside, fifty or so men and women were gathered, geared up like they were about to ship out. Mason stood at the head, and Steve hurried up to me as soon as he saw me.

  “There you are,” he said. “Was worried you weren’t gonna show.”

  “Nah,” I said. “I’m here with you all the way.”

  Truthfully, it was the only reason I was there. Between Mason and Lambert…I had no idea. Lambert struck me as a good man, sure. He clearly cared about the lives he’d been entrusted with, and that was the problem. Mason had a point that he was perhaps a little too soft, that he didn’t have it in him to make the tough calls. And his lack of a cold, calculating side might end up bringing down the whole operation.

  But Mason could be the devil we didn’t know. From the little time I’d spent hearing him talk, there was no doubt in my mind that he’d be everything that Lambert wasn’t. He struck me as hard, serious, willing to do whatever it took to complete his mission, even if that meant twisting the rules. What would Esperanza be like under his command, if he even managed to pull off the coup? No way to know.

  And then there was the possibility that the coup would fail, and that a few hours from now I’d be lined up for a firing squad right along with my brother.

  “That’s everyone,” said Mason as Steve and I formed up with the rest of the group.

  He took a slow, deep breath and spoke.

  “I want to thank you all for being here,” he said. “The decision we are making together is not an easy one. We’re soldiers, and soldiers do what they’re told—ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die, as they say.”

  Mason went on, marching slowly back and forth in front of the group as he’d done last night.

  “But when the stakes are what they are, when this many lives are on the line, there’s only so much standing back a soldier can do. Are you with me?”

  In unison, the
group responded.

  “Sir, yes sir!”

  Mason nodded, clearly pleased with the response.

  “The plan is simple,” he said. “And we’ve got plenty of people on the inside who are going to make this as easy for us as they can.”

  “More people are in on this?” I asked Steve quietly.

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “Lots of troops. This has been going on for a while.”

  Mason went on.

  “We march into Lambert’s office, we relieve him of command, and the moment the old man’s out of the picture, we start running this place the way it needs to be run. Don’t think for a second that there’s going to be a party when this is over—our work starts the moment I take command. Got it?”

  Another explosion of “Sir, yes sir.”

  “Then let’s not waste another moment. Let’s move!”

  Mason took point as some of the men pulled open the sliding entrance door to the depot, morning light pouring into the space. The soldiers formed up and we were off, tension tightening my gut as we stepped out.

  I looked around at the group, noting that some were armed, some weren’t. Steve had a pistol tucked into his belt, and I was of course, without anything. How I was supposed to help out if things got dicey was anyone’s guess. Meat shield, maybe.

  “You sure about this?” I asked Steve as we marched.

  “Sure am,” he said.

  That settled that, then.

  We passed through the camp, attracting the attention of soldiers and refugees, all of them sensing that something major was going down. Before too long we reached the general’s tent, the eyes of the guards posted at the door going wide when they saw us.

  “Soldiers,” said Mason. “Stand aside. I’m only going to ask once.”

  The troops exchanged a glance, and I watched carefully, hoping that they’d do the smart thing and surrender. After several long, tense seconds, the troops handed over their rifles and stepped away from the door, and the knot in my gut loosened just slightly.

  Smart kids, I thought.

  Steve and I were near the front, both of us catching Mason’s attention.

  “You five,” he said, pointing out a group that included me and Steve. “Come with me. The rest of you form a perimeter around the office. Move!”

  The hell? I thought. Why does he want me to be a part of this?

  But I wasn’t about to say no.

  Steve and I joined with Mason and the rest of the troops he’d picked. Mason opened the holster of his side arm and took it out.

  “You’re not going to kill him, are you?” I asked.

  “No,” said Mason. “As long as he doesn’t give me a reason to.”

  With that, Mason opened the tent and stepped inside. The rest of us followed, and soon the small group was in.

  And there he was. Seated at his desk, his head in his hands, was Lambert.

  Asleep.

  But he didn’t stay that way for long. He lifted his head and looked around, confused.

  “Lieutenant Mason?” he said, confused. “What the hell is going on?”

  The office was still a mess, papers and trash scattered everywhere. It was hard to imagine any work getting done in a place like this, and part of me wondered if Lambert had simply given up.

  “General Lambert,” said Mason, his gun in his hand. “I’m here to relieve you of command.”

  “Is this some kind of joke, Lieutenant?” he growled.

  “Not a joke, sir,” said Mason, his voice stern. “Esperanza needs new leadership, and the change is happening now. You have two options—walk out of here with your dignity, or be marched out in cuffs.”

  There was a third option, one unspoken but made clear by the pistol in Mason’s hand. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

  “Mason,” said Lambert, now fully awake, a trace of exhausted desperation in his voice. “Think about what you’re doing…this is a coup!”

  “I know exactly what I’m doing,” he said. “And the only one that needs to be thinking is you, thinking very carefully about how you want these next few moments to play out.”

  “This is insanity,” said Lambert, shaking his head. “Utter insanity.”

  “Think of it whatever you want,” said Mason. “But your time as CO of Esperanza is over.”

  “What are you going to do with me?”

  “We’re going to make this easy for everyone,” Mason said. “A car’s waiting for you right now. Once you’ve surrendered, you’ll be taken to the outskirts of General Donahue’s command and let loose. There you can link up with him, or take your chances in the city. Your call.”

  “You really think Donahue is going to let you seize command like this?”

  “What’s he going to do?” asked Mason. “Use the troops he’s already got stretched to the brink to invade Esperanza? No—by the time he’ll be able to do anything, the camp will be fully under my control. I don’t expect him to take the news well, but he’s a man who’s capable of seeing the bigger picture; I’m sure he’ll come around.”

  Lambert said nothing for several long moments.

  “I…I hope you know what you’re doing, son,” he said finally. “Because there’s no coming back from this.”

  “That’s the hope,” Mason said.

  Lambert nodded, seeming to accept his fate. I said nothing through the whole process, silently hoping that it wouldn’t come to bloodshed.

  “Okay, okay” said Lambert, clearly flustered. “Let me just collect a few things. Sentimental things. Old soldier things. You know.”

  Each word felt more defeated than the last.

  “Fine,” said Mason. “But if you try anything…”

  Lambert swiped his hand through the air.

  “Don’t you worry about me. I think the last bit of fight left me when you all stepped through that door. Like I almost knew what you were going to say before you said it.”

  “Fine,” said Mason. “But make it fast.”

  Lambert grabbed a cardboard box from nearby and dumped out the contents, then opened his desk drawers and began filling the box with items, small things that I couldn’t make out. As he did my eyes went to the grenade on his desk, the dummy from his time in Afghanistan. Strangely, he didn’t touch it.

  Once the box was full he approached Mason.

  “Let’s do this and be done with it,” he said.

  “First thing you’ve said in a long time that’s made some sense, sir,” said Mason.

  As they left, Lambert’s eyes flicked to me. It was hard to hold his gaze. In his expression I saw fear and worry and…disappointment. As if he saw in me every man he’d trusted who was now betraying him.

  And then together the men left.

  I let out all the air in my lungs once Mason and Lambert were gone.

  “Holy shit,” I said. “That was intense.”

  Steve put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

  “You okay, bro?” he asked. “It’s over—we won.”

  It sure as hell didn’t feel like a victory. Even standing there, the coup only seconds over, I knew that the look Lambert gave me as he was led out of his office would stay with me for the rest of my life.

  “It’s over,” I said tentatively, as if making sure it were true. “Now what?”

  “Let’s move out,” said Steve. “See what Mason has to say.”

  The rest of the group agreed, and seconds later we were in front of the tent. Lambert was nowhere to be seen, and Mason stood with his hands clasped behind his back before a growing crowd of soldiers, some part of the coup, others just trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

  Before too long the crowd was in the hundreds, Mason statue-still in front of them.

  “Soldiers of Camp Esperanza!” he called out, his voice booming. “There has been a change in command! As of now, I am overseeing this operation. Full briefing will be given at this location at twelve-hundred hours. Spread the word!”

  And that was that. So
much for a rousing speech.

  Mason departed, and the group broke up. And all I could think about was whether or not I’d made the mistake of a lifetime.

  Chapter 17

  12:00

  Four hours later we were back at the scene of the crime. The crowd there was even bigger than the one that had assembled in the wake of the coup, this time a mix of soldiers and refugees.

  Word had spread, just as Mason had wanted. The change of leadership, and what it might mean for the future of Esperanza, had been all anyone at the work site had been able to talk about. Some of the men had ben excited, thinking that Mason might be able to finally crack down on the increasing lawlessness around the camp. Others were less certain, thinking that Lambert’s leadership had been soft, but at least you knew what you were getting.

  Mason stepped up onto a small stage that had been erected in the hour before his speech, six armed troops standing on each side at ground level. There was no mistaking what message this was intended to send—Mason’s rule would be backed with deadly force.

  I found Steve in the crowd right at the moment Mason piped up.

  “Soldiers and men and women of Camp Esperanza!” he began. “My name is General Mason!”

  “General,” I murmured. “Guess he took the liberty of promoting himself.”

  Steve said nothing, his eyes fixed forward as Mason went on.

  “As I’m sure you all have heard by now, I am the officer in charge of Camp Esperanza, having relieved General Lambert of his command this morning. And I’m here to let you know that things are going to be run a little differently from here on out!”

  Good, I thought. Cut the bullshit and get right to it. Tell us just what the hell you’re planning for this place.

  “First thing’s first,” Mason said. “No one in or out of the camp grounds—and that includes the wastelands! Starting tonight my men will be making their way through the outer reaches of the camps and escorting off-site anyone who does not have proper papers. If you do not have your papers, report to the processing station you received them from and obtain copies. No papers, and you’re out of here!”