The Plan: How the Bug Out! War Began

by Boren, Robert

  “Nope, but the bell’s still ringing,” John said. “Let’s go to the clubhouse.”

  Clem nodded and walked over.

  “Wait for me,” Sarah said, rushing down the steps and shutting the door behind her.

  “What’s going on?” Sid asked as he joined them with Yvonne by his side.

  “Don’t know,” Sarah said.

  Harry was already at the clubhouse with Nancy. Others were gathering around quickly as the bell continued to ring.

  A middle aged man appeared, large and tan with a shaved head. He walked off the office porch with a bullhorn, looking out over the small crowd, and then stood on the planter wall in front of the clubhouse.

  “You all hear me?” he asked.

  “Yeah, Sam, we hear you,” Clem said.

  “Connie, shut the bell off,” he said through the bullhorn. The bell stopped ringing.

  “What’s going on, Sam?” Sid asked. “Somebody get hurt?”

  “There’s a large Mexican gang heading this way on Highway 94,” he said. “They just went through Barrett Junction. Killed the Sheriff and his deputy, took a couple of women hostage, and killed several other men in town.”

  “You think they’re coming here?” Yvonne asked.

  “We’re off the road far enough, so we’ll probably be okay,” Sam said. “But you never know. No fires today. Try to keep the noise and the smells down. Then maybe they’ll just pass us by.”

  “What are they driving in?” Sid asked.

  “Big transport trucks,” Sam said. “They look like military surplus. There was at least twelve of them.”

  There was a worried murmur in the crowd.

  “I think maybe I’ll find a good vantage point and keep watch,” Sid said. “With my rifle.”

  “Don’t you go trying to take these folks on,” Sam said. “That might lure them here. They might kill all of us.”

  “I won’t,” Sid said.

  “Take somebody with you,” Yvonne said.

  “No,” Sid said to her. “Nobody else here knows those hills like I do, and they’re treacherous. We don’t need somebody rolling rocks down at a bad time.”

  Sam stared at him for a moment, then sighed. “All right, Sid, if you want to be our early warning system, be my guest, but don’t tip them off that somebody’s around. No pot-shots. Call us if you see them coming this way. Agreed?”

  “Yeah, I agree,” he said. “Any of you folks who are armed, load your guns and be ready, just in case.”

  “I was gonna suggest that,” Sam said, “but be careful. Gunshots can be heard for a considerable distance. Don’t be messing around.”

  “We ain’t stupid, Sam,” Harry said.

  “Sometimes you are,” Nancy said quietly.

  “I heard that,” Harry said. “Don’t worry.”

  “How long till they get here?” Sid asked.

  “Twenty minutes, give or take,” Sam said. “If any of you is thinking of leaving, do it right now. Okay?”

  A few people nodded in agreement, and then the crowd dissipated, most people looking really scared.

  “Should we leave?” Sarah asked John as they were walking back to their rig.

  “I couldn’t get ready to leave in under twenty minutes,” John said. “We’ve got to ride this out, sweetie.”

  Chapter 23 – Bug Out! California - South Bay Mayhem

  “Be careful by the windows,” Robbie said as they all got up the stairs. A couple of gunshots sounded.

  “That’s not very far away,” Gil said. “Your dad have any guns around here?”

  “He has a gun safe, but I don’t have the combination,” Robbie said. “If he bugged out in the motor home, he probably took most of his guns with him.”

  “I’ll put the food and beer in the fridge,” Steve said.

  “Cool,” Robbie said. “I’m gonna fire up my dad’s PC and see if I can access the video cameras.”

  Justin sat on the couch in the living room and turned on the lamp next to him. Steve came in from the kitchen and sat on the other end of the couch, pulling out his phone.

  “Is your sis someplace safe?” Justin asked.

  Steve looked up from his phone. “She’s in Hermosa. Said the vibe there isn’t right. She’s going up to her friend’s house in Palos Verdes with a few other people.”

  “Wish I was with her,” Justin said.

  “You’ve got such a crush on Katie,” Steve said. He smiled at him. “You should ask her out. She’s made nice comments about you before.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really,” Steve said.

  “Bingo!” Robbie yelled from the front downstairs bedroom.

  Steve and Justin rushed down there and joined Gil, looking over Robbie’s shoulder at the PC display. The screen showed four video feeds. One in the garage, one pointing at the driveway, one pointing at the front door, and one pointing into the living room.

  “My mom and dad can access this from wherever they are,” Robbie said. “It’ll link up to smart phones.”

  “Nice,” Justin said. “They’ll see us here eventually.”

  “Yeah, if they’re okay,” Robbie said.

  “They’re okay, man,” Gil said.

  “I’m gonna set my phone up,” Robbie said.

  “You guys want beer?” Justin asked.

  “Think we’re safe enough to hang out and drink here?” Steve asked.

  “I suggest you don’t get plastered,” Robbie said. “Just in case. My dad’s office downstairs has a big sliding glass door, and somebody could come into the back yard from next door on either side. Same with my mom’s office in the back.”

  “There people in the other two units?” Steve asked.

  “A couple lives in the front unit,” Robbie said. “Rick and Diane. Original owners like my folks. The middle unit is a rental. Looked pretty dark when we came in.”

  There was another gunshot outside, startling all of them.

  “Dammit, that was closer,” Gil said.

  “Sounded like the Galleria to me,” Robbie said. “It’s less than a mile as the crow flies.” He pointed out the window towards the northeast.

  “Should we go upstairs and watch the TV?” Steve asked. “Maybe the news has some chopper video. I keep hearing one out there every few minutes.”

  “Yeah, me too, circling,” Robbie said. “I’ll be up in a minute. I want to see how much food we have. My mom usually has a lot of Costco stuff in the deep freeze, out there in the garage.”

  “We don’t have clothes over here,” Steve said.

  Gil laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “Don’t worry, when it’s daylight we can go check things out,” Justin said. “We might want to find a better place.”

  “See you guys up there,” Robbie said. He went to the garage as the others went back upstairs. The chest freezer was just outside the door. He opened the lid. There was food, but not as much as usual. They took a lot with them. He shut it and went upstairs, going to the walk-in pantry. Lots of canned goods. Soups and other stuff. Lots of cereal. A case of beer. A bag of potatoes and a bag of onions. Then he looked in the fridge. It was pretty well packed. Some of the veggies looked a little old. Why didn’t mom dump them in the trash? How much of a panic were they in to leave? Why didn’t they call me?

  Justin found the TV remote and clicked on the large flat-screen in the living room, then went to one of the local channels. The screen showed helicopter video of the Galleria. “Holy crap, look at this,” he said.

  Steve and Gil came in off the balcony. “Damn, that the Galleria?” Steve asked as he looked at the video on the screen.

  “Yeah,” Justin said.

  Robbie walked in with a beer and sat down on the couch. “There’s a lot of cops there.”

  The news readers came on the screen, the scene from the helicopter showing in a smaller square in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

  “There is mayhem in the South Bay at this hour,” the woman n
ews reader said. “Police are trying to clear out the Galleria, which was under attack earlier by a large mob of gang members. The gangs left when the police arrived, but since many of the storekeepers had fled, the crowd took advantage and began carrying off merchandise.”

  The male newsreader took over.

  “This is the first night that the gangs have attacked west of Hawthorne Boulevard and south of El Segundo Boulevard. The police were ready but out-numbered. Several officers have been shot, along with several gang members.”

  A map graphic came up of southern California, with flame icons at the trouble spots. The woman news reader stood in front of it like a weather person.

  “As you can see, there are problems in many parts of the South Bay,” she said. “Carson, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Redondo Beach, Harbor City, and parts of Wilmington are under attack at this hour. Mass looting, assaults, rapes, and murders. Some of the areas are so bad that police have abandoned them, urging residents still there to evacuate.”

  The male commentator continued.

  “The reasons for the sharply increased violence aren’t clear. There have been bank failures and some unrest due to suspension of state entitlement payouts two weeks ago, but most of the late payments have been made as of yesterday. There are reports that agitators from outside of the United States are whipping up violence and leaving before the police arrive. We have no confirmation on that from official sources.”

  The woman took over again.

  “Sources in Sacramento have indicated that the Governor is considering martial law in the areas hardest hit by the unrest. These areas include San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, Ventura-Oxnard, Los Angles and many of its suburbs, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, and San Diego. The California borders with Arizona and Nevada have been closed.”

  “Geez,” Steve said. “What would martial law be like?”

  “Not good, but probably better than this,” Robbie said.

  “They’ll come in and disarm the citizens,” Gil said. “Wait and see.”

  “Your gun isn’t going to protect you,” Justin said.

  “I’m not so sure you should be saying that,” Steve said. “We might be dead right now if Gil didn’t fire a shot over those gang-banger’s heads. Remember?”

  “Let’s not argue,” Robbie said.

  There was a scream outside, and a couple of men laughing wickedly.

  “Shit, that’s right out front,” Robbie said, rushing to the balcony.

  “Wait for me,” Gil said, grabbing his rifle.

  “Diane!” Robbie yelled, watching two gang-bangers assault the middle-aged woman in the front section of the driveway, ripping her blouse halfway off.

  “Rick!” she screamed. Suddenly the garage door rolled open, a German Shepard rushing out, snarling. It grabbed one of the men attacking her. The other man backed off, watching the dog chewing on the man’s calf.

  “Call it off, ese,” yelled another gang banger, who ran up pointing a gun at the dog.

  Robbie heard Gil’s lever gun cock next to him. Gil aimed and fired at the man with the gun, hitting him square in the chest. He fell dead. Diane screamed, and Rick rushed out of the garage with a baseball bat, hitting the other gang-banger in the head, killing him instantly.

  “I’m gonna burn you out!” shouted another gang banger who ran over. Gil got a bead on him and fired, hitting him in the side. He screamed in pain and looked Gil in the eye. “I’m gonna kill you!”

  Gil cocked the gun and aimed again, but a car pulled up, and the wounded man was pulled inside. The car sped away.

  Rick looked up. “Thanks! That Robbie?” he yelled, helping Diane cover herself.

  “Yeah,” Robbie yelled back. “You okay?”

  “I think so. We’re leaving. Maybe you should too. They’ll be back after this.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Robbie yelled.

  “Take care of yourself. Say hello to Frank and Jane when you talk to them.”

  “You know where they went?” Robbie asked.

  “They told me they were going to Arizona in the motor home,” he yelled. “Gotta go.”

  “Be careful,” Robbie yelled back. He watched as they drove away in their Range Rover, running over the bodies of the gang bangers on the way out of the driveway. Gil and Robbie walked back into the living room, their hearts still pounding.

  “You just put a big target on our backs,” Justin said.

  “He did the right thing,” Robbie said. “Trust me. They were getting ready to rape Diane right in the driveway. They would’ve killed her and Rick if Gil wouldn’t have shot at them.”

  “They might come back for us after that, you know,” Gil said.

  “They’ll be back soon enough,” Justin said.

  “Don’t be so sure,” Steve said. “They have no idea how many of us are armed. We killed one of them and wounded another.”

  “Rick brained one of them with a baseball bat too,” Robbie said. “The one their dog had ahold of.”

  “He dead?” Justin asked.

  “Probably,” Robbie said. “Rick ran him over on the way out the driveway.”

  “How many rounds you got left?” Steve asked.

  Gil emptied his pockets. “Eleven loose rounds. Four left in the gun.”

  “Only fifteen?” Robbie said. “Dammit.”

  “Don’t worry, we’re pretty well protected here,” Steve said.

  “Except for those downstairs windows,” Justin said. “They could start this whole place on fire.”

  “Right now they’re worried about getting medical attention for their guy,” Gil said. “They won’t be back tonight. They’ll go someplace where they can get free stuff without getting shot at.”

  ***

  Sid climbed up the hill, looking for a comfortable place to watch the road. He got to the ridge and rested for a few minutes, and then lifted his head. The stretch of road was below him. He could see a mile on either side. Perfect. He heard an engine coming right away, his heart starting to beat harder. The vehicle came into view. It was an old station wagon pulling a utility trailer full of stuff. Family inside. Fleeing.

  The hot desert sun beat down on him, and it wasn’t anywhere near the heat of the day yet. His phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket.

  “You in a good place?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah,” Sid said. “Just saw a family on the way out. Station wagon towing a trailer. Grapes of Wrath, man.”

  “You’re liable to see a lot of them,” Sam said. “Keep your head down. If the gang is still on the road, they’ll be coming through any minute.”

  “I’ll be watching. Are people ready down there?”

  “I’ve seen a lot of people walking around with guns,” Sam said. “John and Clem are up here with me, ready to fight. We’ll be in trouble if we get a truck-full of bad guys here, though.”

  “Get more people up front and be ready,” Sid said. “You’ve got signs up on the road. RV Parks full of retirees are easy pickings. They’re likely to show up.”

  “Just don’t do anything to help that along,” Sam said.

  “Don’t worry.” Sid said. He ended the call and went back to watching. Another car came by, loaded to the max with people and possessions, rounding the curve, driving a little too fast. Then an old Class C motorhome came into view, towing a small boat. Sid’s heart pounded as he saw it, afraid that it was going to turn down their driveway. It didn’t. Two more loaded cars drove by. One of them had steam coming out of its radiator. “Don’t break down here,” he muttered to himself, watching the old sedan until it was out of sight.

  He wondered how Yvonne was doing at the trailer. He told her to get ready to leave, just in case. When she asked where they would go, he had no answers for her. He just shrugged, leaving her nervous and scared, her Ruger Security Six on her belt.

  A large truck rolled into view, military with a canvas cover over the back. There they are. Sid’s heart hammered in his chest as he saw it approaching
the RV Park turnoff. It went past that, continuing down the road. Sid sighed, trying to settle himself down. Another one. Same as the other, but with some bullet holes on the side, part of its canvas top ripped, exposing the tired men in the back. It went past the driveway. The next cars he saw were two sheriff’s cars. They had men in white garb driving.

  What were they doing with the sheriff’s cars? Sid ran over the possibilities in his mind. Those patrol cars were a total bust. Probably had sensors in them, being tracked every inch of the way. Two more of the military trucks rolled into view, one of them slowing by the driveway. No. They’re looking at the sign. The truck picked up speed again and continued on. Then a third sheriff’s car appeared. This one had uniformed officers, both in the front seat and the back. That isn’t right. It turned into the driveway. Sid fumbled with his phone in a panic, almost dropping it. He hit Sam’s contact.

  “Yeah, Sid.”

  “Phony Sheriff’s car with four men on its way in. They were with the bad guys in the trucks. Be ready.”

  “Dammit,” Sam said. “Okay. You’re sure about this?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” he said. He ended the call and watched the road some more. There were no other trucks for several minutes. He called Sam back.

  “I think that was all the trucks,” Sid said. “I’m coming down. That Sheriff’s car make it there yet?”

  “No,” Sam said, worried tone to his voice.

  “You’ll have to kill them. I’m on my way to the ridge above the park.”

  “Be careful,” Sam said.

  “You too.” Sid slipped his phone back in his pocket and moved as quickly as he could to the ridge east of the RV Park. It wasn’t far. He got into place and checked his rifle. Wish I had the scope.

  He saw a flash of white on the road up to the front gate. The top of the police car, with its call letters. It pulled over, out of sight of the gate. The men got out, all of them holding AK-47s. Sid called Sam.

  “They got out of the car. Gonna walk in. All of them have AKs. I can probably hit at least one of them. You got good people by the gate? Don’t try to talk. Kill them.”

  “Roger that,” Sam whispered. He ended the call. Sid got prone in his spot and aimed the rifle at the men. He could see Sam, Clem, and John in position, rifles aimed at the gate.