by Geo Dell
“Not too bad,” she had replied.
He nodded, not really knowing what else to say.
She looked at him. The little worry lines he had seen from across the cave returned. “We… We’re not going to let this stop us from leaving on the first, are we?” she asked.
Mike shook his head. “Not if I can help it,” he answered.
“Good,” she said and handed Bob the electrical tape.
“Well,” Mike said now. “Let’s test it.” He depressed the button on a hand held unit. “Test… Testing one two three.”
The scanning model in the truck caught testing and followed the rest, then waited in the smooth silence for more conversation. After a few moments, the scan feature kicked in and the radio went back to scanning all the channels.
The C.B. and the F.M. remained silent. He had sent radios down to the truck block and up top, as well as the other end of Old River Road where it dead ended.
“One,” he called now. “How do you read me?”
“Clear. One out,” Tim’s voice said.
“Two,” he asked. “Can you read me?”
“Got you,” Patty said.
“Three, you there?”
“Three, got you,” Tom’s voice said.
“Okay. From now on this is base and we’re on if you need us. Base out.”
“Read you,” Tom said.
“Okay,” Tim said.
“Two reads you,” Patty said.
Mike listened to the other two silent radios. Both in scan mode, both picking up nothing. “Well,” he said. “If they did catch that, they’re playing it real cool.”
Bob shrugged “I don’t think they understand cool… or subtle, if the earlier stuff was any example.”
“We still don’t know what set that off yesterday,” Mike said. “And that bothers me a lot. I don’t want to believe that they’re so unpredictable that they’d just snap at the drop of a hat.”
“It seems to me like it was about them, not us. Maybe us as a secondary, but it seemed like they tried to take each other out,” Bob said. “It just didn’t go the way they wanted it to go. Maybe they’ll think twice this time... especially when it comes to us.”
“Maybe,” Mike agreed. “Maybe.” He paused. “I’m going to go see my woman. Spell Patty so she can spend a little time with Ronnie,” Mike said. He pushed away from where he’d been leaning through the truck window listening to the radio.
“I’m going to finish this truck up,” Bob said. “May as well. We got two sitting here. I’ll get them done, then I’ll swap these two for the ones out on the block and do those two, like that.”
Mike nodded. “Okay. You know where I’ll be.”
~
Mike was gone little more than an hour when the VHF portable he was carrying squawked at him.
“Mike,” Bob called.
“Yeah,” he answered.
“I’m sending someone to relieve you. Uh, you probably want to be back here. Something’s going on, on the radio,” Bob finished.
“Like?” Mike asked. “This is secure, Bob.”
“It isn’t that, Mike… it’s… I don’t know what they’re doing. Maybe working out a truce, but they’re also talking about us. You’ll want to hear it, Mike. You should hear it.”
“On my way,” Mike said, returning the radio to his belt.
“Love you,” Candace said.
He kissed her and then left reluctantly.
He passed Lilly on her way to share the post with Candace. She nodded shyly and said hello on her way by.
Bob was the only one sitting in front of the radio as he walked in. Everyone else was either on watch, sleeping while they could, or preparing the night meal. The two little ones, Brian and Janelle, tired from a day of hard play, lay curled on a stack of sleeping bags close to the truck. The dog raised his head and wagged his tail from where he was stretched out beside the children. Mike settled in, took a cup of coffee Jan brought to him and began to listen.
They were talking on one of the F.M. Stations.
“… … Wasn’t.” One voice said.
“Someone shot first... It wasn’t us… We were happy.” A voice answered the first.
“They haven’t said their names yet,” Bob interjected.
“Well,” the first voice continued. “We had everything to lose. It was one of the others. Probably sneaked up to ambush us. Someone broke those women out of where we had them… had to. My guys said they saw someone, couldn’t give much of a description, but we saw them again later after they gunned down some of our guys. They were trying to catch those three women. Tall… Thin… Dark haired young white guy… Shot them down, run right out and took their rifles too. Must have been others with him. Bunch of shots came all at once, but they only saw the one. Them shots took out three of mine… They killed one of the women too,” he finished.
“Why would they do that?” The other voice asked.
“I ain’t them. How would I know? My point is they killed my guys and one of the chicks. The other two bitches they got,” he said.
“So?” the other voice asked.
“So is this… That was probably the plan, to get us to fight each other, I mean. Then they can steal the women, see?”
“What I see is, you got a dozen machine pistols and I was supposed to get three women. Not only didn’t I get three women, but I gave you weapons you turned around and used on my own men… You see how that makes me look?”
“Yeah… Yeah… And just what in fuck would you do if you was shot at?”
“Okay. Point taken,” The voice said. “What you wanna do?”
“Well, stop killing each other to start, then go after them that did it... Get them others. If we come together, we can take them easy. We figure that they got maybe thirty people… Maybe thirty five tops. We can’t take that many on our own.”
“These guys are sure full of it,” Bob said.
“Thirty,” Mike asked. “Maybe it’s good they think that.”
“Maybe,” Bob allowed.
“How many you got that can fight?” One of the voices asked.
“How many you got?” The other voice from the F.M. Asked.
“I don’t want to play this fuckin’ game,” the first voice came back.
“Yeah… I tell you, you know… You know how strong we are. You attack.”
“And I could say the same.”
“…Ten,” The F.M. voice said.
“Oh come on. I say nine, you say ten. Cut the bullshit. You only had seventeen to begin with… counting kids and women. You lost some just like we lost some.”
“… … Seven,” The voice said.
“So if we get together we got nineteen. Nineteen against thirty... maybe thirty five.”
“Yeah,” the other voice said quietly.
The radio fell silent. Crackles and pops of static spitting into the silence in the cave.
“I got to talk this over with my people. I’ll get back to you in… Say an hour from now?” the first voice asked.
“Me too… But you better be straight with me. I’m gone,” The first voice said.
Mike and Bob sat in the silence listening to the pop and crackle of the static.
“Well?” Bob asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine, but they’re lying to each other. One of them started that fight. The one, whichever one that would be, knows that, knows it wasn’t us. So I’d say that person is setting up the other side. Has to be, because we know for a fact it didn’t go down the way they’re trying to paint it,” Mike said.
“But… How does that help us?” Bob asked.
Mike shook his head. “I don’t know yet, Bob, but I’ll figure it out. We’ve got an hour before they decide. We’ve got a little time to get our heads around it.”
Bob nodded.
Mike stood. “I’m going around to everyone on post… let them know… lay it out. See how they all feel and listen to the feedback they got for me. You think about it while I�
��m gone, Bob. Talk to Jan… the two new women too, Molly and Susan. Feel them out about it, what they think, what they feel, whether they think they really will come for us. I’ll be back, and we’ll have our own plan regardless of what their plan is.”
“Okay,” was all Bob said.
The radio continued to spit static. Bob reached down, pushed a button and switched it back to scan mode.
Mike thumbed his own radio. “One… Two… Three… I’m coming around in that order. We’ll talk about this new thing.” He released the button.
“Got you… One.”
“Two, got you.”
“Three, standing by.”
“Alright, Bob,” Mike said. He turned and walked out of the cave entrance. The daylight was fading; night was coming on. The air was cold, not snow cold, but cold nonetheless. He walked down to the truck barricade.
~
The radio crackled to life a little over an hour later.
“You there?” The first voice asked.
“Yeah,” the second voice replied.
“What do you figure to do if we do team up with you? What I mean is, who gets what? Like the cave… them women?” the first voice asked.
“What I understand, it’s a big cave. We could share it, I guess,” the second voice said.
“No… Can’t do that. That’s like making us all one people. My people are my people. We got the North side sewn up. You can have the cave. We got something over here. But, let’s say you get the cave… Should be a better split for us on the women, is what I’m thinking... See?” the first voice asked.
“…That sounds fair. But, we don’t know how many there is,” the second voice said.
“Don’t need to. We only need to know the split. First off, we get the first three picks… Then… Let’s say there’s twelve women, we get eight you get four,” the first voice said.
“Sure… Sure, when pigs fly. I was born in the day time, but it wasn’t yesterday, you know what I mean? … No… Listen… You get the first two picks. If it’s twelve we go fifty, fifty, like that, ‘cause you know you’re gonna take the best looking bitches anyway. You know it, so do I. Probably there will be six ugly or old ones and we’ll get stuck. You wouldn’t want them anyway. This way it’s fairer. And it ain’t like the cave’s an issue. You said you don’t want it,” the second voice said.
The radio hissed static.
“When,” the first voice asked?
The other voice laughed. “That’s good… What say we get together tomorrow... Early… Talk out what to do and how to do it?” the second voice said.
“Okay… Peace out,” the first voice said.
“Peace out,” The second voice repeated.
Bob and Mike looked at each other.
“That’s that,” Mike said.
“Yeah,” Bob said.
Mike stood, “I’m going to make the walk, let everyone know.”
“Everything they said? About… About the women too?” Bob asked.
“… Yeah,” Mike decided. “Everything. About the women too. Everyone’s in it. They should all know the truth,” Mike finished as he began to walk to the front entrance.
“Okay,” Bob said softly.
Mike walked off into the darkness.
~ March 25th ~
It was three hours before dawn. Everyone except Candace, Ronnie and Tom were up and gathered in the cave. The three of them were still at their posts, but Mike had talked to them earlier. They knew what this conversation would be about. Mike had also spoken to Bob, and Bob and Tom had spent part of the night finishing the work on the remaining four trucks, three pickups, one other Suburban. Now everyone was waiting quietly for Mike to speak.
“We’ve decided what to do. When I say we, I mean all of us. I’ve been around and talked to everyone. I listened to every idea that came at me. I know you look to me to lead, and I do, but this is not a decision I could make on my own. It affects all of us too much.”
“If you noticed that Candace, Ronnie and Tom weren’t here, be assured I got their feedback and opinions, and it weighed into the decision. Here’s what we’ve decided to do...”
They listened while Mike spoke, and when he was finished, there were no questions. Mike had thought there might be. There were also no dissenters... at least no vocal dissenters. If anyone thought it was a bad idea, they kept it to themselves.
“Alright then,” Mike concluded. “Let’s go get them.”
Everyone had a job to do, and they got to it. They talked to one another in subdued tones as they did.
~ Overheard on C.B. Channel Eighteen ~
“They’re moving,” the first voice said.
“Check… uh…Check,” The second voice said.
“Looks like… Two Jimmies or Chevy Suburbans… Two people in each one… Looks like they’re heading back out… Back out Washington Street… … Lost them, they… …Shit… Okay… Okay, got them… That’s four; two pickups coming by as well. Okay… That’s me… Six will pick them up in a little…”
“Uh, yeah, good… Anything yet, Six? Look like they’re up to anything?”
“Still waitin’,” Six replied.
“Um hmm… …”
“... Six... Yeah, um, okay this is Six... Two and two... Nope. Looks like they’re going out to the dealerships… Maybe... I don’t see nothin’ funny… Looks legit.”
“Yeah. I read you, but two and two and another two and two… So eight… Eight out of thirty, thirty five? What kind of sense does that make? Does it make any kinda sense?”
“Naw. It don’t… Maybe, though, they just want more a them batteries…?”
“Okay… Eight? … Eight?”
“Yeah… I hear them but I don’t see them yet.”
“Okay Eight… Just let me know. Uh… Keep advised.”
…a few minutes later…
“Uh base this is Eight… Just passed me… Blew by the boat place and went right up the hill… We ain’t got nobody out there.”
“I know that… Don’t matter. Just watch for them to come back…”
“Uh base this’s one.”
“Yeah, one?”
“Holy shit this’s good… Go to channel ten… They’re talking on channel Ten, Base.”
~ Overheard on C.B. Channel Ten ~
“Well… Just keep your eyes open while you’re going,” Bob said. “Those guys could be anywhere, anywhere at all.”
“Got you… Listen… You care what kind of trucks we get?” Mike Asked.
“He said he doesn’t care. Just pickups. Trucks are trucks. Those Suburbans are too hard to handle bringing stuff back…. What ever runs, I guess,” Bob said.
“Got you,” Mike Agreed.
~ Overheard on C.B. Channel Eighteen ~
“Okay… Okay, good One, good… You guys watch for them to come back… Sounds like they’re just swapping out trucks. I could see where those bigger Suburbans could be a pain in the ass, I suppose… Let me know when they’re on the way back again… I’ll monitor them here too… Base out.”
“One, got you.”
“Six standing by.”
Base clicked once to acknowledge both.
~ Overheard on the VHF Band Radio ~
“Okay,” Mike said, “We’re here … We’ll be coming back at you in about a half hour with two pickups… Is everything okay back there?”
“Seen nothing at all,” Bob said. “Like there’s nothing going on.”
“That’s a good thing,” Mike said. “I’m standing by… Switching to the hand held.”
“Okay,” Bob said. “I’m here when you need me.”
~
Mike pulled the trucks off the pavement and headed towards the tree line about three hundred yards behind the dealership they had chosen. There were many game trails, snow mobile trails and off road tracks that cut through the woods at random. Some of them were well used off road trails that had been established for years.
He found a trail that would be easy to locat
e again from the dealerships rear lot, and nosed the Suburban down the trail and out of easy sight from the tree line. He drove about a quarter mile down the trail and pulled the suburban off to one side. The second Suburban coasted to a stop behind him and shut down. Nell, Patty and Molly climbed out of the Suburbans along with Mike.
“Let’s go,” Mike said as he started back down the trail at a trot. “We’ve got to find two more Suburbans and then two more pickups. And we can’t take too long, they’ll get suspicious.”
The others fell in behind him as he made his way back down the trail to the dealership.
Finding two pickup trucks was easy; finding two more white suburbans was not so easy. They settled for a white one and a light gray one. Mike and Patty pulled the two trucks to the rear of the lot, side by side; took the keys they had located inside the dealership and tossed them into the nearby field. If anyone came checking, it would look like the two suburban’s they had driven out from the caves and abandoned. Mike paused, took one of the hand held VHF radios from his belt and keyed the mic. Button. “Ninety-nine,” he called.
Tim’s voice came back. “We’re fine,” he said.
“Hang tight,” Mike told him.
“Okay,” Tim answered.
Mike re-clasped the radio to his belt and he and Patty hurried over to the pickup trucks where they idled waiting for them. A few minutes later they were making their way back down the hill into Watertown.
~
The posts observed the trucks on their way back into Watertown. The groups in the pickups were unable to hear them on the way back, but Mike heard from Bob who was keeping track of the conversations concerning them from the front seat of one of the pickup trucks parked outside of the cave.
There were no problems, and they pulled back past the two truck blockade and onto the front asphalt area that fronted the cave and shut down the newly acquired pickup trucks. Mike walked over to Bob.
“And then there were seven,” Mike said and smiled.
“And then there were seven,” Bob Agreed.
Twenty five minutes later, the remaining suburban rolled off the end of Old River Road. Behind it the two pickup trucks re-blocked the road. Mike pulled away from the mouth of the road and headed into the square, around the traffic circle with its cracked and missing pavement, and headed out of the square onto Washington Street.
