A long Lonely Road Box Set 3

by T J Reeder

  After the troops had picked over the mess in the rock pile and wiped the gore off the weapons we rolled on toward the town. Ralph had the plane on the lowboy and with no trees along the road we didn’t worry about ripping off a wing.

  Sandy and May were in the back of the Hummer with Sandy giving May bombing lessons with a lot of hand flying she picked up from Ralph. May was nodding and absorbing it all.

  Charley just sat with his eyes closed and smiled. I hate him too! “Do not!” Stop it! I live in a rolling fur ball with two alley cats. “Meow” from the back seat. Charley laughed. I sighed. This was turning into a long trip.

  We made our approach to the port city slow with plenty of flags flying. I was never sure why the flags seemed to calm people, but I guess it’s got to do with the people’s faith in something.

  We were met at the entry approach of the city by their security chief and two of the Leadership Committee and over a hundred residents.

  After introductions, I made waved my arm and a Suburban was driven forward. Several young girls got out. Somewhere in the crowd a woman screamed and pushed forward and met her running daughter in a bear hug. The other girls were from an outlying area; their families were on their way. We so seldom see these reunions that it affected all of us. Hell, even I had something in my eyes.

  We entered the small city, (really more of a large town) and found it bustling with activity and friendly people- folks smiling and waving, not the norm for us. We met with the full council, told them our goal was to speak to the captain of the trade ship, and that we would like to stay around for a few days in a camp outside town. After concluding our business we were heading west.

  After we were set up in our camp in a park outside the town Charley, the girls, Willy, Joe and I headed for the harbor. Our meeting with the ship’s captain was held on the dock under a shade canopy. His name was about a mile long, but he said to call him Pete. He also spoke perfect English.

  He had spent many years in America before the EMP and was visiting his family in Baja when it happened.

  When the lights went out it had little effect on his village since electric power was a very spotty thing and the people were used to living without it. The village was in a very good spot defensibly speaking, and Pete was quick to gather the people with weapons to form a force to defend their homes. The first test came within days.

  A force of what was supposed to be Mexican Army troops came barreling in waving guns and trying to take over. They were met with a barrage of gunfire. None of them survived- it was the perfect ambush. Whoever heard of peasants being trained in military tactics?

  The result of the short fight was to add twenty AK 47’s and a lot of ammo to the village people. Pete took charge of that, gathered his best people and showed them how to handle the AK’s. They then set about building a series of bunkers around the village and establishing a full time guard force.

  He even developed a scout force that patrolled several miles outside the area. They were tried several more times and won every time- gaining more experience and lots more weapons. As time went by Pete could see they needed some form of commerce so he headed down the coast just looking.

  In a small town along the coast he found a treasure. A ship- a small ship, but a ship. He also found the captain and crew who were living in the town. After meeting the ship’s captain and hearing that he wasn’t interested in going to sea Pete offered to trade weapons for the ship and offered jobs to any of the crew who would agree to serve.

  And thus was born a business. The first mate of the crew got the ship running and headed to sea where they spent two weeks teaching Pete to be the captain (which was of course just a title because two weeks don’t make a seaman). But Pete was the public face of the ship and held the title.

  After a while they took the ship south and made a port call in Costa Rica where he traded a few AK’s for fuel and looked into finding a cargo. What he found was black gold and not oil- coffee! Well, it’s black in the cup. He got a full load on nothing but a handshake with the owner. His plan was to head north until he found a safe market along the coast of America. He took maybe five minutes to see that California wasn’t the place, so he headed further north and found this place and established a trade center with the locals.

  So far things were working very well. He had no interest in growing bigger- he was happy, his village was happy and everybody he dealt with was happy. I couldn’t blame him a bit.

  We settled into business and I asked how much of his load he could sell us. He said he had several extra tons over what he usually dropped off here. He wanted gold because he could use it to buy weapons from the remnants of the Mexican Army and one thing they always needed- ammo.

  He said things were very bad down in Mexico and so far they had held on against all comers, but it was an ongoing battle.

  And now I had a plan. I asked what weapons they needed ammo for , and he said mostly for the AK’s and some 223 as well as shotgun and 22 LR. I asked if he would trade coffee for ammo and he jumped at the idea. We started the horse trading right there. We had tons of ammo with us and while not as much for the AK/SKS, we had a lot of that plus we had all the stuff we took off the slavers.

  We were now in the coffee business. I was saved! Saved from drinking tea made from some spiny cactus (which I refused to do). And besides, pouring good booze in cactus tea is against the laws of the universe! At least in my universe.

  Capt. Pete was also aware of the Black ship. He had seen it and after a run in with them had avoided them. When told what they had been up to he was not surprised and was very glad we had ended the whole mess. I told him we weren’t quite done with them and that we would be heading south to finish cutting off the snake’s head. And when done we would like to head further south to buy a load of coffee if he was willing to help us. He was, but didn’t want us in competition with him. When I explained my whole plan he was very excited about it. It would also help his people.

  With our business complete we called for Fox to bring in the black ship, which caused a stir in the town, but when they realized it was with us it helped.

  Fox had got the crew settled down by assuring them that they would be put ashore when we were done. And they would be. Which shore was yet to be determined.

  Capt. Pete and his crew helped us load the cargo holds of the black ship with as many of our Hummers as we could load along with the trailers stuffed with all the supplies we might need.

  After the trucks were loaded with the coffee beans they headed for home with Joe and Willy in charge. I kept an all-volunteer group of four people to the Hummer. We had fifteen Hummers and trailers loaded to the max.

  Charley headed out with several Hummers and loaded trailers full of food, fuel and ammo. He had his own mission and its success was essential if this whole plan was going to work out. He was hauling ass as fast as they could safely go.

  The next morning we set sail south following the trade ship; during the days at sea we stayed sharp with workouts and shooting at floating targets off the fantail of the ship.

  Fox and his band of cutthroats had the ship in good order; the former crew was scared to death, as well they should be.

  Our destination was in the Gulf of California- the body of water between Baja and mainland Mexico, to a place called Empalme. It was a coastal city and was the home port for the black ship.

  Here was where the females were unloaded and then sent into the slave pipeline. I was sick with the knowledge that we would not be able to save every one that had been taken but I was going to make sure this pipeline was closed and those involved were dead. Another might rise to take its place but for now this was the target.

  The plan was to enter port under cover of darkness, and using the information from the captain, we would start the dance after we unloaded our vehicles, but there was work to do first.

  Captain Pete was heading on south to start the wheels turning on our plan. But first he followed us and waited until we were
ready to start the dance.

  Ralph would fly the chopper off the trade ship from the hasty landing deck we had built.

  He had Jasper and another door gunner with him and two security people. The plan called for several scouts and shooters to infiltrate into the dock area where they would take out anybody who was around; if they were armed then they were bad guys. Sorry, but there it is.

  Fox and some of his lads went in first, swimming the last 200 yards from the Avon boat. After that the boat would return and load the scouts and shooters who would be landed on the now-hopefully secured dock. I wanted to be there but I knew the youngsters could handle it better than me, plus had I gone the girls would have gone- so it was best to remain on board the ship.

  We were about a mile from shore and blacked out, as was the trade ship which was loitering along waiting for word to send the chopper in.

  It was a long time (or so it seemed) before we spotted a flashing light from shore which meant ‘come on in’. I had Sandy standing looking the captain of the ship right in the eye while he eased us into the docking area.

  His crew each had guards on them holding suppressed handguns aimed at their heads. I know nothing about docking ships but I’ll give this guy points for doing it right the first time. I almost didn’t feel the bump when we eased against the dock.

  The crew very quietly got the gangway swung out and in place, which allowed the troops to head off into the dark. The ship was shut down except for one engine that provided power. The Captain and his crew were locked in a closed-off compartment with no way out except the one hatch which we dogged and locked.

  I left a few people on board to guard the ramp against boarders while the rest of us headed into the night. We met up with Fox and the rest of the troops who were scattered out along the dock, unseen in the shadows. So far so good.

  We closed in on a warehouse that was the holding area for any captives awaiting transport inland. They were apparently held here until payment was made then delivered to the buyers in another town.

  The scouts eased away into the darkness to start their entry into the building.

  Time slows down so much while you wait for either the quiet word that all’s well or the sudden blasting of rifles.

  Shortly, a scout returned to lead us into the place. Inside we found holding cages with several girls in each cage. These bastards were collecting every girl they found regardless of race. I had assumed they were only after white girls but I was wrong.

  Out of the security force guarding the place only two survived the scouts. The two were babbling a mile a minute. Sandy and May headed right for the cages with the rest of our women, where they told them they were safe and would be freed soon. A lot of weeping began.

  The talkers told us a large party was coming in the morning to collect all the captives held here. We had work to do. Interrogated separately they both said that for the most part the people of the town, (the few still living here) stayed away from this area and weren’t involved in the slave ring. That was good news; now we could kill everybody we saw with a weapon.

  He said they would just drive up and come in to start the loading process. He expected about ten men in three covered Army trucks and all were armed with M-16’s thanks to the good old US Government.

  I figured none of them would make it ten feet from the trucks. I assigned two shooters per enemy and all were using suppressed rifles. I didn’t want one shot fired by the BG’s, knock on wood.

  One thing I want to expand on is that while luck has a lot to do with our success, the fact that we operate together, train together and live together as family makes us a very good force. We all know each other. We know who is able to handle what. And we never send anybody on a mission that is not needed, not planned out as much as possible and only those who volunteer.

  Male or female, all are treated the same. From myself to the communications runners... except the little brownie stealing shit- her I’m gonna get.

  If I can do it and not get caught by ‘Them’ about the only thing I can do is maybe drop her off the cliff to the lake below but she’s half fish so that might not work. “John, stop it, you’re not going to do any such thing, act your age.”

  Shit! I keep forgetting about them. There must be some kind of range on it like a radio. Further away less contact? I’ll have to check that out!

  “HAHAAHAHAHAHHA.”

  My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching vehicles. They pulled up in front of the building and all the men unloaded and started pissing and lighting smokes. They were scattered out and I heard a click on the radio followed by watching the BG’s dropping like flies. One managed to get his gun ou,t but was shot to rag dolls before he could pull the trigger. Damn, my people are good! Scary good.

  Full daylight saw the bodies being loaded into a truck to be dumped in a gully out of town. We now owned the town, so to speak. Now we would start the next phase of the battle.

  Our equipment was offloaded onto the dock. We spent the day getting everything ready for the next phase, which was gonna be the hard part. But first we needed to finish cutting the snake’s head off.

  From the two warehouse guards we knew where they were supposed to be taking the girls and that was the next step. Fox and the scouts headed toward the objective because he spoke Spanish like he was born to it… which maybe he was. They were using the guard’s wheels- an old ford van.

  We were going to hold off till just about dusk to start, and travel undercover of the darkness, right behind the three trucks who would light the way for us so we could run blacked out.

  The freed captives remained in the warehouse with our ladies as security. Sandy and May decided I need minders more than the freed girls so they came along.

  Of course they entered into a long argument on who got the machine gun. I refused to be drawn into it so they did the rock, scissors, paper thing, which didn’t go well because they know each other too well, so I took a ballpoint and wrote a number on my hand and they guessed it. May won. She hugged me while Sandy punched my shoulder. Shit, can’t win for losing. But she finally slid over, kissed my cheek, then jammed her tongue in my ear as far as she could! I fucking hate that more than anything else she could do. I ran off the road and damn near took out a power pole.

  She was laughing so hard I thought she was gonna die for lack of oxygen. She’s as funny as a grenade without a pin rolling around on the floor under your feet, just more dangerous.

  May was laughing and leaned forward to hug me and slipped her tongue into the other ear. This time I was ready and didn’t run off the road but I swear I will get payback!

  “Shhh, he’s plotting again.”

  “Yea I know, but we will win and he knows it.”

  “You know I can hear you, right?”

  “John? Did you say something?”

  I hate them both.

  And they are laughing out loud now.

  Here we are heading into the night to kill a bunch of people and they find it amusing to stick tongues in my ears. What does that say for us? Or them, anyway?

  We need home time; I need baby time, and Beth time!

  “We all do, John” says Sandy with a, “Yep” from May. “We want this shit over with and wanna go home to our happy rock pile on the ridge.”

  We all got quiet then and both got as close as the sorry hummer would allow. I hoped if all went as I planned we would be home within two weeks. If not, then who knows?

  ‘Hermosillo’ the sign read, and it was a pretty big place before the event, we could see fires burning for cooking and heat. Some windows with lights showing either from candles or maybe solar. Just outside the town we met up with Fox and crew.

  They had gone in on foot and found the place right where the talkers said it was. They said it had maybe twenty people loitering around outside but none really on guard. One of the scouts was able to look in a window and saw bunk beds lined up, most were empty. The captives were held in a cage at the far end of
the room and were pretty much ignored.

  From here on out I wasn’t overly worried about noise. ‘Course we’d like to avoid it as much as possible but if we couldn’t, so be it.

  These people were gonna die and the sooner the better. I wanted to be done and rolling long before daylight. I just wanted to save some for information because this was just a way stop. I wanted the head of the snake.

  Fox, the scouts, and our shooters with suppressed weapons eased away into the night. About an hour later I heard an AK open up for a full 30 rounds, and then it was quiet. I could only hope none of our people were hit.

  We rolled right into the place and saw all the bodies. The door was open and inside we found Fox with a bloody rag around his left arm and holding a pistol in his right.

  Kneeling on the floor was five men all pissing their pants. as well they should be.