Lone Star Odyssey- First Steps

by David Wilson

  Chapter Five

  I finished stuffing the clothing bag into the bottom of my pack and then stood and walked over to the area Don was standing at. He was standing behind the gun counter and had laid several boxes on top of the counter. Shining my headlamp on the boxes, “Do they work?” I blurted out. Don laughed, “Well Einstein, we won’t know until we try them. Now make yourself useful and run over to the battery rack and get a bunch of double A and CR123’s so we can find out if they work.” Not arguing with the man, I stepped over to the battery rack and grabbed all the batteries I could hold and returned to the counter. Dropping the batteries onto the counter, I grabbed the nearest box and ripped it open. It was an Armasight PVS14-3 Gen 3 night vision device. I had seen these at Shot Show last year but could never dream of owning one as they ran around 3,500.00. This version could work as a stand alone monocular or could be used as a NVG riflescope. It came with its own mount and was as simple as tightening down on flattop of the M4. It also came with the battery adapter, which was great as it was a pain to carry enough CR123’s, and I made a mental note to get grab a small solar charger and rechargeable double A’s. Hopefully the store carried Anker Solar panels, which I have at home, but once again they are not going to do me much good there. Holding my breath I slide in the batteries screwed the cap on the battery compartment and hit the power button. To my amazement the device powered up. I looked over at Don and saw he was looking around the darkened store with the device he had put batteries in. Don met my eyes and said, “Lucky for you that I didn’t have this a few hours ago.” I nodded, “Ya, my wife would have more than a little pissed at you. She has always said that if anyone was going to get to shoot me that it would be her.” Don laughed, “You had best load up on these batteries as it will be safer for us to move at night than during the daylight when all the crazies will be out.” I paused and looked over at him, throwing him a question look, “Let’s just get packed up and we can discuss what comes next after we are set. I want to be packed and ready to go before the golden horde arrives.”

  I carried the device back to the camping area and immediately loosened the ACOG on my M4 and quickly replaced it with the PVS14. Don watched and followed suit on his chosen AR. I said, “You need to find you a good sling for your rifle, I would recommend a two point sling but you pick what you're comfortable with.” Don nodded and headed off to find his sling as I continued to get acquainted with my new toy. Bringing the M4 to my shoulder I quickly scanned the interior of the huge store. The difference between a Gen 1 or 2 compared to the Gen 3 night scope was amazing. Gone was the heavy green tint of everything and the need for an external light source. Of course the scope still had an infrared light but unless there was no ambient light there was no need for the light. Turning off the scope, I got up to find a case that would work for both my ACOG and the night scope, as I would be changing them back and forth each morning and each night.

  While looking for a small hard sided case for the scopes, I grabbed a new headlamp, a Goal Zero battery charger which charges double and triple A batteries, two packs each of rechargeable double and triple A batteries, and an Anker 21 Watt Solar panel. The headlamp took triple A’s while most of the other devices took double A’s. While I was there I also grabbed a new Sure Fire and removed its packaging, you can never have to many lights. Placing batteries into the new Sure Fire, I double-checked that it worked and dropped it into my pocket. Returning to my ruck I found a home for all of the equipment. I hefted my ruck and frowned, the ruck was pushing the upper limits of what I wanted to carry. I would have to be very choosy about anything else I picked up.

  Don was still behind the gun counter and was getting down a collection of shotguns. I looked over what he was getting down, mostly Remington Tactical 870’s and Mossberg 500’s. Without saying anything I walked over to the shotgun ammo and begun pulling boxes of the Hornady Coyote loads and the Federal rifled slugs. Returning to the counter I began opening the boxes of shotgun shells for loading the guns he had selected. “How do you want these loaded?” I ask. Don looked at me and said, “What would you recommend?” “I personally would load two rifled slugs and top the shotgun off with buckshot. That way if the buckshot doesn’t get them before they get to cover then you have the slugs to deal with any cover they get to, “ I said. “Sounds like a plan to me, “ Don replied.

  I began stuffing shells into the shotguns and once I had all the tubes full, I jacked one into the chamber of each and added one more shell to top off each of the guns. “So what favor do you have in mind,” I ask. Don paused and said, “I need to get home to and I was hoping that we could travel together to my place and than you can head on to Texas from there.” He could see the hesitation on my face and said, “I would understand if you don’t want to do this, because it’s just not me getting to my house, my grandson is a freshman at the University of Maryland, I am the only family he has up here, his parents are divorced and I have been looking after him for the last couple of years.” “Do you know if he is going to stay in place or would he head up this way with all the trouble going on and the power out?” I ask. Don paused again thinking over my question, “I believe he would head this way, that why I decided to stay here and watch over the store. He would know that with the power out I would be staying here to make sure there were no break-ins. We have an apartment about a 1/2 mile from here that he might check first but would head over here once he saw I wasn’t there.”

  “OK,” I said, “After he gets here where are you planning to head to. I would recommend not staying here any longer than you have to. This place will be a mob magnet once people realize the shit has really hit the fan.” “Oh, we have a hunting and fishing cabin out in the Blue Ridge that we will head to. It’s not much but it does have its own well, a wood stove, and I have a couple of months of food stored there. We should be ok if we can kill a deer or two during the winter.”

  “OK,” I said again. “OK?” said Don, surprised at my answer. “Yes,” I said, “I’ll help you and your grandson get out to your cabin. You helped me when you didn’t have to, so why does it surprise you that I would help you?” Don smiled and said, “Well most folks these days only care about what’s in it for them and I know you have a wife and young ones down in Texas and need to get home to them.” “Well to be totally honest,” I said, “that is the direction I’m going anyway and there is safety in numbers. It would be a little slower traveling in a group but I think the security of having 3 of us while we try and get out of the populated area would be better than just myself.” “I appreciate it,” Don stated, “while I know which end of a gun the bullet comes out of, I’m by no means an expert and we would really like to have someone that at least kind of knows something about moving though hostile areas with us.” “Well,” I said, “what I’d suggest we do right now, being that we are going to wait here for your grandson, is to get the rest of this place set up so we can defend it if we have to. Also after we do that, we need to make sure we have you and your grandson a loaded pack ready to go so we can get out of here fast if we have to.” “Sure sounds like a plan to me,” said Don.

  Over the next two hours we were able to create several strong points inside the store. The exits from the store directly into the mall area had drop down metal gates that would be extremely difficult to breach. Grabbing a case of Taninite, I mixed three of containers together in accordance with the directions and poured the mixture into a one-gallon plastic drinking jug. Seeing that this only filled the one-gallon container part way, I continued to mix until I had all three of the gallon containers full of the Taninite. Taking a roll of duct tape with me I had Don open the gate into the mall high enough for me to slide under. Fake tree timbers bordered the entryway into the store and I duct taped two of the containers on the left and right sides of the entrance. Dragging a bench over to the entrance I stood on the bench and taped the third container to the exit sign hanging over the entrance. Double-checking that I could see all of the containers from inside the s
tore we closed and locked the security gate. I was pretty sure that the containers would not sympathetically detonate when I would shoot one. Pretty sure, thinking that I would want to grab a pair of earmuffs. Of course after explaining to Don what I was doing he just about flipped out, but I convinced him that most (maybe) of the damage would be to the hallway. Fact is I had never played with Taninite but I have watched the guy on Demolition Ranch blow up all kinds of things with it.

  The loading docks were secured from the inside with metal garage doors that again would be extremely difficult to breach. Not impossible, but difficult, and no one would be able to get in without a lot of noise. We staged weapons and ammo, along with a few bottles of water at each of the strong points. At each of the strong points we placed at least two shotguns and one high caliber rifle with plenty of ammunition for each weapon. While Don was moving guns and ammo to the identified strong points, I was rigging trip wires along likely avenues of approach if someone was able to gain access to the store. Most were rigged to noisemakers like bear bells to let us know if someone tripped over them. I also mixed up several more containers of Taninite and duct taped the containers above all the entry points and set several of them on top of displays visible from the upper offices where Don had almost shot me from my attempted entry. I placed a large Shoot and See target on each of the containers facing the upper offices. These would come as a very unpleasant for anyone near one when it went off. I also retrieved three sets of Howard Leight electronic earmuffs, three sets of eye pro, and three Midland two-way radios. I rigged up the radios with Midland headsets so we could all stay in contact within the store. I loaded them all up with double A batteries and set them all to the same privacy frequencies.

  I walked over to where Don was packing up two of the Ascend Mountain Series backpacks. I handed him two of the radios, earmuffs, and eye pro. “Don, go ahead and put the radio and headset on. I would recommend always wearing the eye pro and hang the muffs around your neck. If we have to do any shooting in here it’s going to get really loud, really fast. Really wish you carried the new Walker Game Ears. They are only the size of hearing aids but work just like the originals.” Don nodded, “I couldn’t agree more as my ears are still ringing from the one shot I took at you and that’s been several hours ago. But just so you know, those new Walkers Game Ears are over on aisle eight.” “That’s good, do you want me to set you a pair up? We can only use one for right now because your radio ear bud has to go in one ear. I’ll get them set up and grab all of the batteries I can find for them. They will be great to wear while we are on the road and at night standing guard duty. I think we pretty much have everything we can do finished up. You go on back up topside so if we do have visitors soon you will be back up where you were earlier. Do NOT shoot the Shoot and See targets over the main entrance and on the displays unless shit has gotten out of hand or there is a group of three or more clustered near the target,” I explained. “Why?” ask Don. I laughed and said, “Lets just say you are not going to win store manager of the year from corporate if you shoot one or more of those targets. Under each of those targets is a half pound of Taninite and about a half pound of lead split shot mixed in. If you shoot one of them you might want to duck after you pull that trigger.”

  Don’s eye grew large and he sputtered, “We can’t set that stuff off in here, it will destroy all kinds of stuff.” Attempting to be patient with him, I explained, “Don, if the people breaking in here are not deterred by a couple of warning shots what do you think they are going to do to you. Look I’m not saying we have to slaughter them but if it comes down to them or us, you need to shoot the damn targets or we need to get out of here and let them have this place.” Don thought about that for a minute and nodded, “Lets get the rest of this stuff packed and get it moved back towards the exit point you picked. That way if we have to get out in a hurry we can.” I agreed, “Sounds good to me, I already have my stuff staged back there. After that we need to get something to eat and some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day and always remember, rest is a weapon. I’ll grab a couple cots and bags and get them set up behind the gun counter by the door to the back.”

  After getting the cots and sleeping bags set up, I used one of the pallet jacks to move several of the pallets of feed corn over to in front of the gun counter. While they might not stop much they were better than nothing. It was just after 0200 and Don had offered to take first watch for a couple of hours. I laid down and was out fast. My last thoughts were of my kids and wife. What were they doing, had her Mom and Dad made it down to the house? Were they safe?

  It was almost 0500 when Don’s voice sounded in my headset. I didn’t realize I had not taken off my radio headset when I lay down. It took my a moment to remember where I was and then keyed the radio, “Will be right up.” Don replied, “Coffee is hot on the stove and the eggs have been setting for about ten minutes.” I double clicked the send button to indicate I had heard and understood Don’s last transmission and headed over to the bathroom in the back.

  Quickly finishing my business in the bathroom, I hurried over to the stove and grabbed a cup of coffee and the bag of Mountain House eggs before heading to the upper office floor where Don was. He stood as I climbed the stairs and he handed me the night vision bino’s, “You won’t need these much longer, but they will still help out with the shadows for the next hour or so,” Don said. “Thanks for breakfast,” I muttered around a mouthful of eggs, “go get some sleep, I’ll call if we have any visitors.” With a wave of his hand, Don headed downstairs and quickly disappeared into the darkness. Taking another bite of the eggs, I raised the night vision bino’s to my eyes and could clearly see Don sitting on his rack taking his boots off. I watched as he flopped down on his rack and didn’t move.

  As I had not seen the store from this vantage point I took my time getting familiar with the layout of the store and took note of all the Shoot and See targets. The platform I was standing on in front of the upper level office spaces was about 15 feet wide and ran about half the length of the store on the North side. The wall facing the store floor was high enough that it almost concealed the offices along the North wall. The platform gave a commanding view of the store with only an area directly behind the center display blocked from view. It was almost too bright already to use the night vision bino’s if I looked towards the front of the store. While it wasn’t bright to the naked eye, the light from the rising sun was almost to the point of overpowering the device. Putting down the bino’s I picked up my M4 and switched out the night vision back to the ACOG. Placing the night vision scope into the small Pelican case, I placed the case near the top of the stairs so I could grab it if I had to vacate the upper platform in a hurry. With that done I decided to go ahead and make a round of the store and see what I could see out the front doors of the store and of course make sure I hadn’t missed anything that could make my trip easier.

  After ascending the stairs I walked carefully on the stamped concert floor so my boots would not squeak and making sure to watch out for all the trip wires I had put out earlier. Heading first towards the back of the store where the store led into the mall. Stopping in the shadows near the back exit, I stood and observed for a couple of minutes. Seeing no movement and hearing no noises, I turned and headed back into the main area of the store. As I walked back by the stairs I remembered my bag of eggs and cup of coffee upstairs. Making the detour to get my food I slung my M4 across my chest and began shoving eggs into my mouth as I moved slowly towards the front of the store. I am always surprised how good some of the Mountain House food is as I looked down and discovered I had finished off the 2.5 servings bag. Sitting the empty bag on a nearby shelf I took a sip of the strong black coffee Don had made. It was only lukewarm warm but it was strong enough to stand a spoon up in it.

  Chapter Six

  I had just gotten to the front store area when the silence was broken by a loud banging noise coming from the loading docks area. Turning and heading that way, I saw D
on getting out of his cot and trying to get his boots back on. I ask him, “Do you want to handle this and I will stay out here or should we both go see who is knocking on our back door?” He gave me a puzzled look and I continued, “If it was me and I knew someone was in here guarding the place, I would attempt to draw your attention to either the front of the store or the back of the store and than enter where you were not looking. One of us should stay out here to cover the store front and the mall entrance, just in case.” “Ok,” said Don clearly understanding the why of it now, “I’ll go check it out and will give you a call on the radio if I need any help.” I nodded and headed back to cover the main floor of the store.

  The banging noise stopped as soon as Don yelled to stop beating on his door that he was coming. After a few seconds I heard shouting coming from the back of the store and I turned to glance over my shoulder towards the back hallway. As I turned I caught movement in the shadows of the hallway which turned into a group of several individuals pouring out of the hallway. Dropping to one knee and bringing up my M4, I flipped the safety to three round burst and called out, “Freeze or die,” in a loud command voice. As if by magic the young men froze in place just as Don’s voice came into my earpiece, “Talon, my grandson and some of his friends are here,” a very happy Don said. Don appeared from the hallway and looked around at the frozen boys, then looked over at me with my M4 shouldered. I saw him also freeze but relaxed a little when he saw me lower the muzzle of the M4. “Old man,” I said, “don’t do that to me again, these boys are lucky they were not carrying any weapons or we would have had a huge mess.” Don laughed nervously and said to the boys, “Guys, this is Talon, I would suggest you listen to whatever he has to say and if he tells you to do something, just do it without questioning why.” One of the boys ask, “Sir is it ok for us to move now?” I replied, “Yes, but for the time being please stay away from the rifles and shotguns laying on the counter. Most if not all of the guns you see are loaded and I don’t want any of you messing with them until we can get you checked out on them.” The boy looked at Don and Don nodded his head, “You boys head on over to the camping area and we will get some food fixed for you.” The boys relaxed and moved off towards the camping area with the occasional glance over their shoulder at me. As the group moved off, Don grabbed one of the boys and stopped him from going with the small group. The boy, young man really, was a good-looking kid, about 6 feet tall with a lanky athletic build, and had the same light brown hair hat Don did. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see the strong family resemblance.