by Robert Boren
“Dammit,” Angel whispered as he got out of sight. Trevor got down too. “Good thing we killed them all. They don’t know where we came from.”
“Think they’re just going to leave, or will they try to find us?” Trevor asked.
“Hopefully they’ll just leave.”
“If they don’t, think we can take them on?” Angel asked.
“I counted four Islamists and four gang-bangers. That’s less than we took on earlier.”
“Yeah, but none of those gang-bangers had AKs,” Angel said.
“True,” Trevor said.
They stayed in the backyard, listening. Suddenly there was shouting in broken English.
“Son of a bitch,” Angel said, popping his head above the fence. He got back down in a panic. “Hey, man, they’re pulling people out of the houses across the street from the park.”
“One of them might know where we came from,” Trevor said. “Better wake the others.”
“Yeah, man,” Angel said. They rushed inside. Trevor shook Seth. Angel ran to the bedrooms, waking Jamie and Matt. They all met in the living room with their guns.
“So what do we do?” Jamie asked.
“I say we go take them,” Trevor said.
“You want us to go against Islamist fighters with AKs?” Matt asked.
“Yeah,” Trevor said. “We can do it.”
“What’s going on?” Emma asked, reaching for the switch on a lamp.
“Don’t turn that on,” Trevor said. “Enemy fighters outside.”
Kaylee came out. “You aren’t going out there, are you?”
“You want them coming in here?” Angel asked. “They’re pulling people out of houses around the park. One of them probably knows where we came from.”
“Lock and load, gentlemen,” Jamie said.
“Yeah, what he said,” Trevor said. The boys loaded their guns and grabbed extra ammo, then snuck out the front door. A woman screamed, then a man yelled. There was a single gunshot, and more women screaming.
“Shit, they just shot that woman’s husband,” Trevor whispered as they peeked around the corner. “Now they’re tearing her nightgown off.”
“That ain’t gonna stand,” Jamie said. “C’mon.”
Trevor shot first, hitting one of the Islamists who was assaulting the woman. The others opened fire, dropping two more Islamists, leaving only one, who dived under cover, firing wildly in their direction. The gang-bangers raced for two trucks and a car. Seth fired at the first truck, splattering the brains of the driver all over the inside of the cab, the two men with him screaming. Matt leveled the shotgun and fired into the cab, the blast hitting both of the other men in the face.
“Look out,” Trevor said, nodding towards the Islamist, who was running at them with his AK-47. Seth, Trevor, and Angel all popped up and fired, hitting him with at least two .44 mag slugs, dropping him right away.
“That was the last of the Islamists,” Trevor shouted. “Get that car and the other truck!”
All of them raced out into the open and fired, several bullets crashing through the windshield of the truck as it attempted to roll past them. It went out of control and drove onto the porch of a house.
“Get the car!” Angel shouted. He fired. Jamie ran out and emptied a clip into the side windows, but the car got away, heading around the corner before they could stop it.
“Let’s go check for survivors,” Jamie said.
“Yeah, and stop their clocks,” Trevor said.
Seth looked at him and snickered.
“Careful, you guys, they might have somebody left that can shoot back,” Angel said. “Stay under cover as much as possible.”
“He’s right,” Jamie said. He ran in a crouch, pistol in two-handed combat grip as he got to the spot where two Islamists were hit. They were both dead, as was the one who had been assaulting the woman.
“This one bought it too,” Seth said, poking the fourth Islamist with the barrel of his Winchester.
Several of the neighbors came out slowly, looking in all directions. One of them had a shotgun with him.
“Thanks,” he said. “You saved Gretchen from being raped right out in the open.”
The woman walked over, holding her torn nightgown around herself, reaching out for Trevor and kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome,” Trevor said.
“If I were you kids I’d get the hell out of here,” the old man with the shotgun said. “They know which house you came out of.”
“How?” Jamie asked.
“One of your neighbors told them just before you opened up,” he said.
“We might be okay,” Matt said. “Only one of them escaped, in that car.”
“How many were in the car?” Seth asked.
“I was pretty close,” Jamie said. “Only saw the driver.”
“Might have been somebody else in there, staying down,” Seth said.
“That’s true,” Jamie said.
“I don’t think we can trust that the person or persons who escaped don’t know which house,” Seth said. “I think we should take off before they come back.”
“And go where?” Angel asked.
“Kaylee’s uncle,” Matt said. “He lives way on the far side of the hill.”
“There’s your ticket,” the old man said. “You’d better scoot before they show up.”
“What about you guys?” Seth asked.
“We’ll be okay,” the old man said. “I got more guns hidden away, and so do several of my neighbors.”
“Okay, thanks,” Jamie said.
The boys walked back towards the house.
“If those guys are so ready, why’d we have to save their bacon?” Angel asked.
“Same thing I was thinking,” Seth said.
They walked into the house. Kaylee and Emma rushed up.
“Kaylee, call your uncle,” Matt said. “We need to get out of here now.”
“It’s 4:00 AM,” she said.
“Don’t care,” Matt said. “One of the gang-bangers got away, and one of the people those Islamists were terrorizing told them about this house.”
“Shit,” Kaylee said, rushing into the guest room to get her phone.
“You guys mind if I come along?” Jamie asked.
“Are you kidding?” Matt asked. “You’d better come along.”
“Yeah, seriously, man,” Angel said.
“Those weren’t just gang-bangers out there, were they?” Emma asked.
“There were four Islamists out there,” Seth told her.
“We should have grabbed their weapons,” Angel said.
“Let the neighbors have them,” Trevor said. “We trained on the Winchesters. That’s the best thing for us at this point.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right about that,” Seth said.
Kaylee rushed back out into the living room. “He said we could all come over.”
“He’s got room?” Seth asked.
Kaylee cracked up. “He’s rich. Wait till you see his place.”
“Yeah, been there once,” Matt said. “It’s got a panoramic view of the ocean. Catalina Island to the south, Santa Monica Bay to the north. It’s bitchen, man.”
“You guys have to behave,” Kaylee said. “Watch your mouths when you’re there.”
“How about the guns?” Trevor asked.
“He said to bring them. He’s a gun nut too. You guys will get along just fine.”
Matt chuckled. “Yeah, I think that’s why he likes me.”
“All right, let’s load ‘em up,” Jamie said. “Before we get company.”
“Which cars?” Trevor asked.
“All of them,” Jamie said. “C’mon. Which way?”
“Get on PV Drive West heading south,” Kaylee said. “Take a left on Cloyden Road, then another left on Paseo Del Mar.”
“Holy crap, that’s a high priced area, all right,” Jamie said. “What does your uncle do?”
�
�Import business,” Kaylee said. “Korean electronics.”
They were ready to go in less than ten minutes. Matt and Kaylee led the way. As they were leaving the neighborhood, automatic weapons fire opened up behind them.
“Dammit, you think that’s them?” Matt asked. Kaylee looked over at him, eyes wide.
“Drive faster,” she said.
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Matt said, pouring on the speed. His sedan took off, the others speeding up behind him. They hit PV Drive West and sped up more, the street deserted. Then they made the two lefts, turning into the driveway of the mansion on Paseo Del Mar. The others followed them through the gate. When they were all on the huge curved driveway, a small middle-aged Korean man walked out with a remote and clicked it, the big heavy gate rolling across the driveway entrance.
“Welcome,” he said as they got out of the cars.
“Thanks, Uncle Ji-Ho,” Kaylee said, rushing over and hugging him. “Where’s Aunt Ha-Yoon?”
“I sent back home when trouble started,” he said. “She’s with mother in Busan.”
“Oh,” Kaylee said. “There’s no trouble over there?”
“Yeah, my sources said North Korea involved with the trouble here and Europe, but at least she not up in Seoul. That way too close to DMZ.”
“Good,” Kaylee said.
“Heard from parents?” Ji-Ho asked.
“Yeah, and I’m worried,” she said. “They can’t get here. All the roads are closed.”
“I think there be martial law soon,” Ji-Ho said. “Introduce me to friends.”
Kaylee did the formal introductions, and they all went inside the mansion.
Chapter 11 – Cameras
“That’s all the cameras,” Sam said.
“They were easy, except that flagpole,” Clem said. “Let’s go to the console and check them out.”
“Oh, you mean the clubhouse PC?” John asked. He looked at Clem and snickered.
“Yeah, yeah,” Clem replied. “Hey, it was my job for years, okay?”
“What would have happened to your career if these new wireless cameras were out then?” Sam asked.
“At first it would have made things easier,” Clem said. “Eventually people would’ve gotten wise to how easy they are to set up.”
The three men walked towards the clubhouse door.
“A lot of jobs like that are going away,” John said. “Wait until robotics really hits. It’ll tear the country apart.”
“I know,” Sam said. “Though I wouldn’t mind having a robot or two to help out at the park.”
John snickered. “Doing what?”
“Cleaning the toilets, for instance.”
“That wouldn’t be bad,” Clem said, “but it will take some jobs away.”
“True,” Sam said as he turned on the clubhouse lights. The PC was in the far corner of the room.
“That fresh coffee I smell?” Clem asked.
Sam turned on the PC and then looked at Clem. “Yeah, the big pot is on, but Connie made it before they left for town, so it might be a little raspy.”
“I wish they’d get back,” John said. “Been a while.”
“Me too,” Sam said. “You want to do the setup, Clem?”
“Sure,” he said. The others watched as he sat down in front of the PC and opened the surveillance program. He got all the cameras connected within a couple of minutes.
“That’s pretty easy,” John said. “I see what you’re talking about.”
“Told you,” Clem said. “You can cycle through the cameras every five seconds, or pick one and stay on it.”
“How does the front one look?” Sam asked.
“Let’s check it out,” Clem said. “See the selection dialog box here?”
“Yeah,” Sam said, looking at the screen. Clem clicked it and the front camera came on. There was a clear view all the way to the bend in the road. “Wow, that’s great!”
“Tell me about it,” Clem said. “What’s next?”
“The gate alarm,” John said. “Let’s go get it done.”
“The stuff is in the back of my jeep,” Sam said. “Let’s go.”
They piled in and drove down to the front gate by the highway.
“Hope that cordless drill you got is enough to get through the metal,” John said.
“It’ll be good enough,” Clem said. “No problem.”
They worked on it for about twenty minutes, just as the day was starting to heat up.
“Here come the girls,” John said. “Thank God.”
The SUV drove through the gate and stopped. The women got out.
“Get what you needed?” Sam asked.
Connie shook her head yes. “They didn’t have the pain meds, so we had to wait while a runner drove to the next town and back. That’s why it took so long.”
“That town felt awful locked down,” Sarah said.
“Sure did,” Nancy said. “How’d you do with the video system?”
“Done,” Clem said. “The alarm is the last piece.”
“Glad you girls are back here,” John said, putting his arm around Sarah’s shoulders. “I was worried sick.”
“You didn’t see any enemy vehicles when you were out?” Sam asked.
“Not a one,” Connie said, “but people are scared to death.”
“Yeah, that runner didn’t really want to go,” Sarah said. “Can’t say that I blamed him.”
“Let’s go back,” Nancy said. “I want to check on Harry.”
“Okay,” Connie said. “You coming, Sarah?”
Sarah kissed John. “Yeah, I’m coming.” She hurried over to the SUV.
The men watched as they drove towards the park.
“Pull that gate closed,” Clem said as he worked on the wiring.
John and Sam walked the gate shut and put the hasp down to hold it in place. Clem put the batteries in as Sam drilled holes in the thick metal. Then Clem mounted the device.
“Does this sound a buzzer down here when it goes off?” John asked.
“No, it uses a radio signal that goes to the alarm up at the park.
“How loud is it?” Sam asked.
“It’s in the back of the Jeep,” Clem said. “Let’s try it out.” He got it out and switched it on.
“Battery operated too?” John asked.
“Yep,” Clem said.
“What’s to stop somebody from taking the batteries out of that unit on the gate?” John asked.
“This key,” Sam said, holding up a strange looking device.
“Most people don’t know what these alarms are,” Clem said. “It’s also got a fail-safe. If somebody removes it from the gate or breaks it open, its internal backup system will send a signal. It sounds different than the normal alarm.”
“Ready for me to open the gate?” Sam asked.
Clem set the remote speaker on the hood of the Jeep and then plugged his ears. “Go for it.”
Sam pulled the gate open, breaking the connection on the sensor, and the speaker made an ear-splitting siren noise.
“Holy cow,” John said, covering his ears. Sam laughed and closed the gate.
“How long does that go on after the gate has been opened?” John asked.
“If it stays open, three minutes, and then every five minutes until the gate is closed,” Clem said. “We can adjust the volume. This is the default. We should figure out how much volume can be heard down here and adjust accordingly.”
“Yeah,” Sam said. “I’ll take you guys up and then come back here and open the gate.”
“Okay,” Clem said. “I’d lock that.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sam said, putting the big padlock onto the hasp and closing it. “Let’s go.”
They jumped into the Jeep and Sam hit the gas.
Connie ran up to them as they pulled into the RV Park.
“Sam, the CHP called. They want you to call them.”
“About what?” Sam asked.
“They didn’t say,” Co
nnie said.
“If they find out about our machine gun, they’re liable to confiscate it,” John said.
“We won’t let them do that,” Sam said. “I’m going back down to the gate. Stand by with the remote speaker. I’ll call you if I don’t hear it.”
“Okay,” Clem said. “Connie, send a message out on the PA telling people this is a test. We don’t want a panic.”
John laughed. “Yeah, this sucker is loud.”
Sam jumped into the Jeep and took off towards the highway gate.
“What’s he doing?” Connie asked.
“We want to adjust the alarm so it can’t be heard down by the gate,” John said.
“Oh, I get it,” Connie said. “You don’t want them to know about the alarm.”
“Yep,” John said. “Hey, Sarah.”
“Hi, sweetie,” she said.
“How’s Harry?” he asked.
“Better now that he’s got decent pain meds,” Sarah said. “Dr. Grace was in with him when we got back. Said he’s gonna come through fine.”
“Good, glad to hear it,” John said.
The group milled around in front of the clubhouse for a few minutes.
Suddenly the alarm went off, making everybody jump.
“Shoot, I forgot to send out the PA message,” Connie said, running to the office as the siren sounded.
“That thing is awful,” Sarah shouted.
“Yeah, but it might save our lives,” John said.
The siren stopped after a couple minutes. Connie’s voice came over the PA system.
“Attention everybody. That was only a test. Everything is okay.”
Clem’s phone rang. He answered it.
“Yeah, Sam,” he said.
“Did it go off?”
“Sure did. You hear it?”
“Nope,” Sam said. “Guess we’re okay. I’ll lock the gate and come back up. Look around for a good place to park the Tigr, okay? Hidden but with a clear shot down the road.”
“You got it,” Clem said. He ended the call.
“He can’t hear it down there?” John asked.
“Nope,” Clem said. “He wants us to look for a place to park the Tigr. I think I know a good place.”
“Let’s check it out,” John said. They walked down the pathway, past the office, then down a little further to a small berm next to the road, heavily wooded.
