by Dave Bowman
But Bobby became aware that many people were trying to flee the city. They didn’t want anything to do with the gang. And that enraged him.
He couldn’t let all these healthy people escape – he needed their labor. So one of his first courses of action was to station guards all over the city to prevent people from leaving. They shut down the interstates first, then moved on to the smaller roads. Soon, the population of Denver that was left was trapped in the city.
Most of them surrendered and accepted their new fate in life. Some fought. And the ones who did, mostly lost.
The troublemakers were sent to work camps. The camps and farms addressed the third priority: to become self-sustainable.
Bobby didn’t know anything about farming. But he knew that truck deliveries bringing in food to the city were a thing of the past. So he made sure his recruitment soldiers brought him anyone with agricultural experience. Once he had assembled a group of farmers, engineers, and even a soil scientist or two, he sent them to manage the farms. They rest of the recruits, the ones Bobby couldn’t use as soldiers, were sent to the high-security farms and water treatment plants to spend their days working to feed the BSC’s new empire.
It was all starting to come together. Sure, the population was slashed. Denver was no longer a bustling city. But that just meant Bobby didn’t have to worry about the law anymore. Now, everything was ripe for the taking. And there was almost no one to stop him.
Of course, he still had to deal with attacks from Los Pumas. The rival gang was also recovering from their reduction in numbers. Bobby got word they were recruiting survivors from the suburbs to the north. The Pumas still held their territory in the northern-most parts of Denver, but they became less and less of a threat as the BSC expanded and took over more resources.
No one was fiercer or better organized than Bobby and his crew. The BSC now controlled most of Denver, and they would work on taking over the territory held by Los Pumas. Eventually, they would travel to Boulder, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs to scour the area for surviving people to join the BSC as security, operations, or on the work camps.
Soon, the BSC would control all of Colorado, and then they’d set their sights bigger. They’d take over the farmland of Kansas and comb the neighboring states of New Mexico, Utah and Arizona for survivors. Hell, one day they’d take over California and the rest of the West Coast. As far as Bobby was concerned, the entire country was just there for the taking. There was no limit to how far he could climb.
They’d rebuild cities and infrastructure, with BSC operations in every town. They’d create a legion of members who would blindly carry out Bobby’s orders. This was beyond his wildest imagining as a kid on the streets. It was beyond anything his brother had ever imagined, either.
Bobby was going to be king.
His hand went to the pistol on the table. Tucking the gun in his waistband, he felt his shoulder twitch. It was a nervous tic he’d had for years, and he hid it well. Today, though, it irritated him. He didn’t want to be reminded of his mortality. He liked to think of himself, like his operation, as a perfect machine. There was no room for flaws.
And his dealings with the little ragtag group from New Mexico had been a thorn in his side for a few days now. His men had failed him, over and over again.
First the little showing at the truck stop. The three idiots in charge of the interstate truck stops in the southern suburbs had botched it up. Some woman had shot one of them and given another a concussion.
And before she escaped, she managed to steal one of his men’s guns. Aaron, who had lost his gun to her, had made his second big mistake in one day: he’d had the nerve to show his face to Bobby again.
Then another few trucks with New Mexico plates charged into his city like they owned the place. Whenever someone from out of town drove into Denver, the protocol was to gun them down, remove any of their weapons (though most people had none), and bring them to headquarters for their assignments. Most people went to the work camps, unless it was a tough guy who Bobby thought could be put to work on security, or someone with specialized knowledge Bobby could use.
But these clowns from New Mexico had driven into Bobby’s turf. His men had spotted three vehicles, but had somehow lost track of two of them, because they radioed in that they saw only one turning around at the road block.
Somehow, those bastards were able to take down five of his men. And they made off with their weapons and ammo.
But the final blow had come a couple of nights ago. Bobby was enraged by the tenacity of these outsiders to come riding through his turf and take out several of his soldiers. He’d sent in a fleet of guys to the cabin where the bastards were staying near Idaho Springs. He had expected that would be the end of them.
He was wrong.
Every one of his soldiers had fallen. Every one.
It had been a slap in the face. A handful of nobodies from New Mexico, half of them women and children, had gunned down his men? Somebody would have to pay the price for this.
Bobby had gotten some satisfaction when one of the spies he had sent to the cabin had dragged back with his tail between his legs. Apparently the guy had been knocked unconscious for most of the battle, and he escaped after the group had left the cabin.
The spy had been stupid enough to return to Denver, which was good for Bobby. He gave Bobby useful information about the group, including the name of the leader. Nick.
But the little crew from New Mexico were still out there. They had escaped to the mountains, and none of Bobby’s men had found them. But it was just a matter of time. The BSC were crawling all over those peaks. Sooner or later, they’d run into the little group. And that would be the end of them.
A BMW speeding through downtown stopped in front of the hotel. Bobby looked down at the SUV and smiled. It was one of the men he’d sent to the mountains.
He better have good news.
A moment later, a knock at the door. Bobby bellowed for Gabrielle, his best girl and head assistant, to come in. Not only was she gorgeous, but she had Bobby’s back.
“Bobby, there’s someone here to see you.”
He held up his hand to stop her advance toward him, and she stuck out her lower lip in a pout.
“I’ll meet him downstairs,” Bobby said.
He watched as she turned on her stiletto heels and disappeared out the door.
Bobby threw on his leather jacket and left the room soon after Gabrielle. He took the stairs down calmly, then breezed into the hotel lobby, where several guards were stationed. Travis stood by the door, waiting for his boss. Bobby looked at his face, trying to read it, but it was blank.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Bobby said without breaking his stride.
Travis fell into step with him, following him out the front entrance into the street. He still hadn’t said anything. Which could only mean one thing.
Bobby led him into the parking lot. His shoulder twitched.
“So, what’s the word, Travis?”
Travis took a deep breath. “We saw them. They were heading north on a rural road –”
“Which one?” Bobby interrupted.
“State Highway 311, in the middle of nowhere. I clocked it. They were stopped twenty-five miles north of the intersection with 276.”
“Go on.”
“Well, Randolph and I were parked off the road, overlooking this big valley, when we hear voices. We couldn’t see who it was at first, they were too far away. So we had to get closer. But we wanted to surprise them, so we walked along the side of the ridge – we didn’t drive, I swear. We didn’t start the car or nothing; we were really careful. Just like you told us to be.”
“Spill it, Travis.”
Travis’s face turned red as he struggled to find his words.
“We saw it was them. They’re in only three trucks now, but …”
“Which three?”
“The Forest Service one, the Dodge Ram, and the Ford. That Ford was all shot up, though.
”
Bobby nodded his head impatiently.
“There’s still eight of them. Anyway, me and Randolph got behind some big rocks where we could get a good shot on them. I shot first. I was aiming for the bigger guy. But man, that guy is so fast. He was firing back at me before I could squeeze the trigger again.”
Travis looked down at his hands, which were fidgeting nervously as he spoke. He shoved them in his pants pockets and continued.
“Then that blonde girl started shooting at us. Then the rest of them started shooting at us, too. It was all me and Randolph could do to keep up.”
“All of them were shooting?” Bobby asked, his eyes narrowing. “Was the little girl firing an AK?”
Travis’s hands flew out of his pockets to gesture nervously again. “Okay, maybe not all of them. But there were a lot of guns shooting at us. We were outnumbered.”
“And Randolph?”
“He got hit,” Travis said, flinching. “In the head. Died pretty much immediately. I was going to get hit too, if I didn’t get out of there. I figured it’d be better for me to come back and report their whereabouts. If I got killed back there, it wouldn’t do you any good, would it?”
“That’s right, Travis,” Bobby said. “It wouldn’t.”
A nervous smile spread across Travis’s face.
“So you’re not pissed, boss?”
“I’m a reasonable man, Travis,” Bobby said. “Now get back to your guard station in Stonegate. I need you down there.”
Travis’s face lit up.
“Oh, thank you, Bobby! You’re a good man for not holding this against me. I have to say, I was pretty scared to come back here.”
Travis beamed, shook Bobby’s hand, and turned away. He walked off toward the front of the hotel where his BMW was parked with a bounce in his step.
Bobby pulled out his pistol as Travis skipped off. The single, deafening shot broke the silence.
Travis staggered forward, hanging onto his balance for just a split second, before he crumpled to the ground with a thud.
Gabrielle and several of the guards came running into the parking lot with weapons raised. When they saw Travis lying dead on the asphalt, they lowered their firearms.
Gabrielle froze for just a moment. Before the shock and horror could settle on her face, she replaced it with her usual steely expression. She propelled herself forward, sidling up to Bobby like a cat.
“He let you down, baby?”
“Yeah, he did,” Bobby said. He holstered his gun and ran a thumb over Gabrielle’s cheek.
He raised his voice and spoke to the guards. “Don’t let anyone move this body. I want everyone to see this. Everyone needs to know what happens when you don’t follow orders.”
The guards nodded and returned to their posts silently. Bobby refused Gabrielle’s advances and returned to his hotel room alone.
How had the group from New Mexico been able to cause such a ripple in his operation? How had they been able to escape defeat from his best guys?
He was going to take those bastards down.
Even if it was the last thing he did, those people were going to pay.
18
Daniel’s heart began to pound as he drove through the quiet town. As he approached the far end of the neighborhood, where the handful of city streets converged at the single road out of town and the only exit, he leaned forward to get a better view.
“What are they doing?” his mother asked breathlessly.
As the truck moved toward them, the people in the road came into view.
Anne gasped.
A barefoot woman in a tattered dress stood beside a man with a long beard. A small child of about ten stood off to the side. All three of them had guns – the man with a shotgun and the woman and child with pistols. As Daniel drove toward them, they raised their guns and aimed at the truck.
Daniel applied the brakes and came to an abrupt stop, his tires skidding.
“Get down!” he instructed his mother, and watched as she ducked down as far as she could in the floorboard.
With his hands shaking, he rolled the window down partially and held his hands up out into the early afternoon light.
“Don’t shoot!” he called from behind the steering wheel. “We’re just trying to leave your town. If you’ll let us pass, we won’t bother you anymore. We won’t hurt you, I swear!”
The people didn’t answer, but the man moved his gun toward Daniel.
Daniel ducked down below the steering wheel just as the man fired. The shot missed the truck completely.
His mother yelped. “Let’s get out of here, Daniel!” she cried.
Daniel’s mind raced. Should he return fire? Should he turn around and retreat back into the town? But there could be others waiting behind him. And this road was the only way out of town.
Barbed wire fencing, cacti and forest lined the sides of the country road.
“There’s nowhere to go! They’re standing in the middle of the road.”
Nowhere to go but forward.
Daniel slid lower in his seat to gain as much cover as possible. He raised the window and jumped as another shot rang out, hitting the dirt several feet from the truck.
“Hold on, Mom,” he said, throwing the shifter into gear. “And stay down.”
The truck set out with a lurch. The gunfire began to come faster as all three of the people on the road started to shoot. Daniel kept to the right side of the street, headed directly for the spot where the man stood, blocking the way.
As the Nissan truck hurtled down the road, the three people kept their position, continuing to shoot. The distance between them and the truck rapidly closed in as a shot hit Daniel’s window. The glass shattered.
But they were too close now to turn back. Daniel accelerated. The woman and child jumped away, running to safety. The man pulled his trigger twice more.
Daniel could see his face for just a split second as the truck was nearly on top of him. The man’s eyes were wild, boring into Daniel with a viciousness he had never seen before.
At the very last second, the shotgun-wielding lunatic jumped out of the way, throwing himself off the road.
Daniel sped past, and in a moment the shots continued from behind them. This time, though, nothing hit them, and soon, they were out of range.
Anne ventured to poke her head up enough to look out the back window.
“Thank God, we’re safe now,” she said.
Daniel looked at her with big eyes. He was panicked.
His hands shook as he tried to steer and keep the truck steady on the road. He felt dizzy and disoriented, but he pushed himself to keep driving. He had to get them as far away as possible. They couldn’t stop now – what if those crazy people had a vehicle to follow them?
“What is it?” Anne asked as her gaze fell on Daniel, who was turning white.
Her eyes moved to the red splatter on the seat behind her son. She jumped. Her fading terror was instantly restored tenfold.
“Oh my God, you’ve been shot!”
19
The road seemed to be never-ending. Nick and Jessa drove the two trucks through the white-knuckle mountain passes all morning and well into the afternoon. The hunger and fatigue were bad enough, but the tension and fear of running into another SUV full of gang members took their toll on the eight travelers.
“I’ve got to lie down,” Bethany said suddenly as Jessa began to ascend another steep hill in the Forest Service truck. “I can’t go any farther without some rest.”
Jessa glanced at her, taking her eyes off the road momentarily. She saw the fatigue and pain etched in Bethany’s face. She gripped her round belly as she shuffled in her seat, trying to relieve the sciatic nerve pain running down her leg.
Jessa bit her lip. She didn’t want to push a thirty-seven-week pregnant woman to do more than she could. In different circumstances, Jessa would have been happy to pull over and find Bethany a place to rest. But there were no empty hotels or houses in
sight – there hadn’t been for miles. And stopping to rest in plain sight on the highway would be asking for trouble.
“I know it’s hard,” Jessa said. “But maybe we’ll pass by something soon. There’s got to be a cabin somewhere in these woods. Can you wait just a little longer?”
Bethany grimaced and shook her head.
“No, I can’t take it anymore. I’ve got to get out and rest.”
Jessa knew she was struggling. Bethany wasn’t one to complain much, so Jessa took her words seriously.
Bethany brushed tears away. “I’m sorry, I know I’m a burden. I guess I should have stayed in New Mexico when I had the chance. I’m just slowing everyone down and putting us all in danger.”
Jessa reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.”
In the backseat, Liz kept her head down. She had motion sickness from being tossed around on the curvy roads, and being cramped in the close confines of the back seat of the truck made her nausea worse. The idea of getting out and taking a break sounded good to her.
“I’ll flag Nick down,” Jessa said. She flashed her lights and slowed down.
Nick slowed down in the Dodge, and Jessa pulled her truck alongside his.
“Bethany needs to rest,” Jessa said. “She’s feeling really bad and needs to lie down. There was a little dirt road back there about a mile and a half. I think we should drive down there and see if we come across anything. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Nick looked at Bethany, who was leaned against her headrest with her eyes closed.
“I’ll follow you,” Nick said.
They turned the trucks around and made it back to the side road that split off the main state road they had been traveling on. It was a nondescript road with no signs. Heavy forest lined it on both sides. It didn’t seem to Jessa that anyone would have built a home down this isolated road, but she hoped for Bethany’s sake that she would be wrong.