When The Grid Went Down

by Nick Randall

  “We’ll only need a hundred people for this assault,” said Butler, as he drew his SIG Sauer P220R .45 pistol from the safe and holstered it on his right hip. “You’re right, Gale, twenty is a very generous estimate for their number.”

  “So what’s the plan then?” asked Jones.

  Bulter pulled out one more gun from the safe, a hammerless Smith & Wesson .38 J-frame, and concealed it in his vest pocket. He then stepped back over to the map and set both of his hands back on the table.

  “George, I’m going to task you with maintaining the defense of the Compound,” he said. “Have guards on high alert on the walls and patrols within a three mile radius. There are to be a minimum of five people per patrol, at all times.”

  George nodded and tried to contain his excitement, but his wide smile gave it away. For the first time in his nineteen years, his dad had just tasked him with a major responsibility that he previously would have only given to Gale or Gerald.

  Butler looked back over the map again and then looked up to Gale.

  “Gale, you and I will be leading the attack,” he said. “We’ll take a hundred of our most able bodied and well armed members and meet up with this guy Phil or whatever his name is. We’ll drive on up to the northern end of the lake and surround their cabin. That way, they’ll have nowhere to run but to the water. The Parkers won’t stand a chance. They’ll either all be killed or they’ll have to surrender. And if they surrender, well, let’s just say that they’ll wish they were killed after all.”

  * * *

  Afternoon was coming to an end and evening was starting to set in as Randall, Robert, and Duncan walked back to their Hi-Lux truck through Coeur d’Alene. Each of them were carrying two duffle bags filled with food, medicine, clothing, blankets, and guns and ammunition. Due to the weight of the bags, their progress to the vehicles were much slower than when they had come.

  Many desperate and hungry looking people approached them to ask what was in the bags, but Randall and Robert simply went on their way. When people became too inquisitive or forcibly tried to take them, they were forced to draw their sidearms to ward them off.

  They finally reached their Hi-Lux where they had left it and tossed the duffel bags in the back.

  “Are you going to kill me now?” Duncan asked, his voice wavering.

  “No,” said Randall. “And when we go back to your people to pick up my cousin and drop off half the supplies like we promised, you better tell the truth about what happened, alright? Alexandra was a nut and you know it.”

  Robert fired up the truck and the three of them piled into the front seats, Duncan between them.

  Robert drove back down the network of dirt roads the way they came.

  * * *

  It was nightfall and pitch black outside when Robert pulled the Hi-Lux back to the spot at the dirt road where Joe and his gang had stopped them before.

  Robert brought the vehicle to a steady halt and honked the horn three times. Within a thirty seconds, Joe and the five members of his gang materialized out of the trees.

  Randall, Robert, and Duncan climbed out of the Hi-Lux.

  “Where’s my sister?” Robert asked.

  “Hold your horses, where’s the supplies?” asked Joe.

  “WHERE’S MY SISTER?!” Robert demanded to know.

  “Alright, alright,” Joe rolled his eyes. “Get out here, little girl!”

  Jane stepped out from behind one of the trees, her .30-30 rifle in her hands like it had been when they had left. She had no bruises or scratches of any kind as far as Robert could tell.

  “Are you alright, Jane?” Robert asked.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “Wait a minute, where’s Alexandra?!” cried Joe. “Where the hell is she?!”

  It was then that Randall noticed Joe had a black semi-automatic pistol in his hand. He looked at Robert.

  “She’s dead,” Randall said, his hand resting on the grip of his .45 in case anything went bad, which he sensed it might.

  Joe took a moment to let it sink in.

  “What do you mean she’s dead?!” he asked.

  “I mean she turned on us and held us captive at gunpoint,” Randall responded. “We were scavenging at my parent’s place and a neighbor showed up and told her to drop her gun. She didn’t and he shot her when she raised her gun. That’s what happened.”

  “It’s true, Joe,” said Duncan.

  “Shut up Duncan!” Joe yelled angrily.

  “I said it’s true!” Duncan yelled back.

  Randall pulled out three of the six of the duffle bags from the back of the Hi-Lux and threw them on the dirt road.

  “There’s half of the supplies like we agreed,” said Randall.

  “No, we did not agree to Alexandra getting killed!” screamed Joe.

  He raised his pistol at Randall, but Randall drew his 1911 and aimed back. Each of Joe’s gang followed suit and took aim at Randall as well. Jane cocked her rifle and aimed at the back of Joe’s head.

  Just like that, Randall and Robert had found themselves in the middle of another Mexican standoff.

  “It wasn’t our fault!” Randall said. “It was her fault and her’s alone.”

  Robert, who was still standing behind the Hi-Lux, pulled his AR-15 from the seat and took aim at Joe as well. Since everyone else just had pistols, shotguns, or rifles that needed to be re-chambered after each shot, he by far had the best firepower of anyone there.

  “Joe, I am telling you they are telling the truth!” said Duncan, the only one there without a gun.

  “Jane, make your way back here!” Robert shouted.

  “No, don’t move!” Joe yelled back. “Or I kill both of you and her!”

  “You shoot, and I blow out your brains!” said Jane.

  “Do you want the supplies or not?!” Randall asked. “We can still all walk away from here without a shot being fired.”

  “I want all of your supplies!” Joe said. “For the death of Alexandra I get all of it! That’s a very generous offer!”

  “Half and half like we agreed!” countered Randall.

  “Joe, please, he is telling the truth, Alexandra was crazy and you know it!” shouted Duncan. “You know full well she was crazy!”

  Everyone continued to stand there tensely with their guns aimed at one another.

  “I told you to shut up, Duncan!” said Joe. “All the supplies! All of it! Or we gun all of your bastards down and you with them, Duncan! For all I know you’re one of them now!”

  Randall could see this was going nowhere. He analyzed the situation: his Colt may have been aimed directly at Joe’s face and likewise Joe’s gun was aimed at him, but even if he could get a shot off to kill Joe, Joe and all of his gang would fire at once and cut him in half in a hail of bullets. Jane would also be able to shoot Joe with her rifle, her standing behind him, but she would be gunned down by Joe’s people as well. Robert might be able to pick off a few of them with his AR, but due to the fact that they were heavily outnumbered he’d most certainly be shot and killed too.

  Randall realized there was only one solution to this situation that didn’t involve all of them getting killed. To the surprise of everyone else there, he holstered his .45 in his gun belt, and then took off his gun belt and threw it in the back of the Hi-Lux where the rest of their guns were.

  “Alright,” said Randall. “You get half the supplies and you get me. You return Jane and let her and Robert move on.”

  “Randall, what the hell are you doing?!” Robert yelled.

  “This is the only way, Rob,” said Randall. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t do this, Rand!” said Jane.

  “If this is what it takes to get you two to safety and the supplies to our family, then so be it,” said Randall.

  “Wait a minute, you’re handing yourself to us?” asked Joe, extremely surprised by this turn of events and lowering his weapon.

  “That’s right,” said Randall. “You take me and do whatever
you want with me. But you let Jane and Robert go with our share of the supplies.”

  “Done,” said Joe, lowering his pistol a little bit more. “Alright, you step forward to us and the little girl goes to you.”

  Randall stepped forward to Joe. Two members of his gang immediately rushed forward, grabbed him by the arms, and pushed him down to the ground with their shotguns pressed against his back.

  Jane cautiously stepped over to Robert with her rifle still aimed at Joe.

  “Get in the car, Jane,” Robert ordered, his AR-15 still trained on Joe. “I’ve got you covered.”

  Jane stepped into the Hi-Lux.

  “Turn the engine one,” said Robert, still carefully aimed at Joe.

  Jane reached over to the ignition where the keys were and turned them to roar the engine to life. She then rolled down the window and aimed her rifle at Joe.

  “I’ve got you covered now,” she said.

  Robert looked at Randall, on the ground and taken captive.

  “Robert!” Randall called out.

  Randall managed to look up at Robert from his position on the ground. Then he said: “Don’t try and rescue me.”

  Robert said nothing. After a few more seconds, he sat back into the Hi-Lux with his AR-15 and closed the door. He pressed down on the engine and took off quickly down the road until they disappeared around the corner.

  Once they had gone, Joe turned to his gang and ordered them to retrieve the duffel bags. He then turned to Randall who was on the ground.

  “Stand up,” he ordered.

  Randall stood up, when Joe suddenly punched him hard in the gut and Randall fall back down with an “UMPH” and groaned in pain.

  Joe then raised his foot and brought it crashing down against Randall’s gut again. Randall emitted another groan. Duncan simply looked on helplessly.

  “You’re going to pay for what happened to Alexandra,” said Joe through clenched teeth.

  “How do you want to kill him?” one of the gang members asked.

  “Kill him?” Joe asked, and then grinned. “No, no, no. We’re not going to kill him. At least not yet. I have something better in store for him.”

  Chapter Ten

  Jane was in tears as Robert drove.

  “Randall’s dead, isn’t he?” she said.

  “We’ll rescue him,” said Robert. “We rescued Thomas, we can rescue him too.”

  “If he’s even alive by then,” Jane sobbed.

  A tear streamed down Robert’s cheek. That hadn’t happened in a long time.

  “Randall is a fighter,” he said. “He’ll keep himself alive like Thomas kept himself alive. And then we’re going to save him. I promise you.”

  * * *

  The Compound

  Butler stepped out of his office building with his Mini-14 rifle slung over his shoulder.

  Arranged in front of him were Gale, George, Mitchum, Jones, and one hundred of the Compound’s strongest and most eager militia members. They varied in age from 16 to 50 and around eighty percent of them were male. Behind them, the armada of vehicles were lined up and ready to go.

  Butler nodded in approval, and then began his speech: “As I’m sure my sons have told you already, we have identified the location of the Parker’s. They’re on the northern end of Priest Lake in a private cabin. We’re going to meet up with some more folks on our side on the way up. Once we meet up with them, I’ll lay out our strategy to deliver them what they deserve and punish them for their sins! Tonight is the night that justice will be brought upon them! Only then will we have peace! For Gerald and Mike!”

  “For Gerald and Mike!” everyone exclaimed enthusiastically.

  * * *

  Butler and Gale led the convoy of ten vehicles down the dirt road on their way to the northern end of Priest Lake. The headlights of the vehicles shined so brightly in the darkness that they were visible through the trees and brush for hundreds of yards.

  Butler figured there would be around an hour’s worth of driving before they reached their destination.

  First, they stopped by Phil’s camp. He had eight other men with him waiting around a campfire.

  Butler and Gale brought their vehicle to a halt and the convoy stopped on the road behind them. They stepped out and walked over to the campfire.

  “Lewis Butler,” Butler extended his Yeti-like hand. “You must be Phil.”

  “That’s me,” said Phil, a little anxious.

  They shook hands.

  “You know Gale already,” said Butler. “Before we start, I want to say thank you. You’re risking your lives to help us bring these people to justice. I promise you, when this is over there will be a place for you and your families within the walls of our Compound. Food, medicine, water, it’s all yours.”

  “And a house too, right?” asked Phil.

  “You’ll have a house alright. Who do you have with you here?”

  “All I managed to bring is eight guys, but we’re ready to fight if that’s what’s it’s gonna take to keep our families safe.”

  “And your families will be kept safe,” Butler guaranteed. “You’re doing the right thing.”

  Butler turned back to the convoy.

  “Everyone out, gather around!” he said.

  After a few minutes everyone climbed out of the SUV’s and trucks and gathered around the campfire. With over a hundred people there it was a large crowd in such a small camp.

  Butler stood in the center to address them.

  “Their cabin is just twenty to thirty minutes north of here,” he said. “It’s positioned against the lake, so if we surround them completely north of their immediate position, they have literally nowhere to run. I want us to separate into three groups of twenty each. My son Gale will lead the first group, Mitchum and Jones will lead the other two. All three groups close in at once from all sides. Simple but effective. They won’t even know what hit him. You guys ready?”

  Everyone in the circle either nodded in acknowledgment or made their agreement known verbally.

  * * *

  Robert and Jane drove down on the dirt road heading back to the cabin. They had swung around north of the cabin in an attempt to lose track of anyone in case they were followed. Now they were heading south on the primary road.

  Just then, they saw multiple headlights on the road ahead of them. Robert brought the Hi-Lux to a stop. The headlights that were in front of them came to a stop too.

  Sure enough, it was Butler’s convoy. There was maybe fifty yards between the convoy and Jane and Robert in their Hi-Lux.

  Gale was riding shotgun in the front vehicle in the convoy with Butler driving. He squinted to make out the truck that was in front of them.

  His eyes went wide as he realized, “That’s our Hi-Lux! That’s the Parkers!”

  Back in their Hi-Lux, Robert and Jane’s hearts were beating fast.

  “Is that them?” Jane asked. “The Compound?”

  “Yes,” said Robert under his breath. “We’re in for another fight.”

  Part III - Facing The Enemy

  Chapter One

  Dirt Road - Night

  Robert and Jane sat tensely in their Toyota Hi-Lux truck.

  Robert knew immediately where Butler and his militia were going… and he wasn’t going to let them take a step further without a fight.

  “Jane,” said Robert. “Grab one of the pistols in the back.”

  Jane took a moment before following her brother’s orders and reaching into the back of the Hi-Lux. Her hands fumbled around before retrieving Randall’s Beretta 92FS that he had left behind.

  “Now when I tell you to, I want you to get out of this car and run like hell for the cabin,” Robert continued, breathing slowly, knowing a gunfight was imminent. “Warn them to get into the other Hi-Lux and high tail it north to safety.”

  “What about you?” Jane asked.

  “I’ll hold them off for as long as I can,” said Robert. “Don’t worry, I’ll link up with you guys later
. Just warn our family to get as far away from the cabin as possible and in the fastest amount of time.”

  Robert clicked the safety off of the AR-15 on his lap.