by Robert Boren
“Tonight,” he said.
Kitten sat quietly for a moment, her brow furrowed. “That means we can’t give any notice at the restaurant. Doug will be in trouble if both of us disappear.”
“I know,” Alex said. “I’d need to chat with him.”
“He’s working tonight,” Kitten said, standing up. She walked towards the bathroom. “If we’re gonna go talk to him, I’d better get in the shower and wash off this grease. I had to help out on the grill tonight.”
“You were cooking?” Alex asked.
“Troy and Juan both took off,” she said.
Alex smiled. “Ten to one they’re getting involved. I heard them talking about it a few days ago. You know they were participants in the I-40 battle.”
Kitten laughed. “That’s all they ever talk about.”
“Take your shower,” Alex said. “Then let’s go talk to him. Okay?”
She nodded yes and disappeared into the hallway.
Alex got up as he heard the shower start, walking towards his bedroom. He pulled his AK-47 out of the closet, his mind flashing back to the dead Islamist he took it from. He’d been stockpiling ammo for weeks, and now had a few thousand rounds. The shower stopped, and Kitten rushed by his door wrapped in a towel, ducking into her bedroom.
“Got your gun out?” she asked as she dressed.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “I have plenty of ammo. Wish we had two guns.”
“I still have my Mini 14 and my shotgun,” she said. “We’ll bring them too.”
“I know.” Alex picked up the gun and took it into the living room, then went back and got his ammo, making several trips to put it all by the front door. Kitten came out, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, her damp hair hanging stringy around her shoulders.
“Wow, you’ve stockpiled quite a bit,” she said, eyeing the surplus ammo boxes lined up by the door.
“I’ve got more .223 for your Mini 14 too, but not that many shotgun shells.”
“We can get more, I’m sure,” she said, turning to get her guns. “You aren’t bringing any hunting weapons?”
“Nah,” Alex said. “What good are they really, when I’ve got an AK?”
They got the guns and ammo loaded into the Tahoe, covering them with blankets, a tent, and sleeping bags.
“Are we coming back here after?” Kitten asked.
“Depends. Better grab your personal stuff. Stick it in the back seat.”
“Okay,” she said.
They finished loading and locked up the apartment, then headed down towards the Huddle Shack to talk to their boss. He was in the parking lot behind the restaurant when they got there, his bulky frame moving back and forth, loading something into the back of his Wrangler Unlimited.
“Hey, Kitten. Hey Alex,” he said, watching them walk up. “I was going to call you.”
“Why?” Alex asked, shaking hands with the large dark-haired man as he got to his vehicle. There were guns and supplies in the back. “Shit, you’re going too, aren’t you?”
Doug eyed the two of them. “You were coming to tell me you’d be gone?”
“Yep,” Kitten said.
Doug grinned. “I was going to call you because I’m closing down for a few days.”
“Dallas?” Kitten asked.
“Yep,” Doug said. “Hope we have enough people. I’ve heard there’s a couple hundred thousand Islamists waiting to attack.”
“You believe the stories about those apps?” Kitten asked.
Doug shook his head yes. “Rumor has it that we get the apps if we join. Worth it just for that.”
“This is gonna be interesting,” Alex said. “I’ve been reading about the apps for a couple weeks. Wasn’t sure if I believed it or not.”
“Those folks you were with have them in New Mexico, apparently,” Doug said. “Don’t talk about it openly, though.”
Alex nodded. “Which rendezvous point are you going to?”
“Irving. You?”
“Same,” Alex said. “I think we’re gathering by the Trinity River.”
“We’re on the same message boards,” Doug said. “Want to go together?”
“Might as well,” Alex said. Kitten shook her head in agreement.
“I’m taking off in an hour. That work? You can come in and eat something before we leave. I’m shutting the doors in five minutes. We have food that needs to be eaten or dumped.”
“I could eat,” Alex said. He and Kitten watched Doug close his tailgate, and they walked into the back door together.
“Did you sign up yet?” Doug asked.
“I was going to do it when we got there,” Alex said.
“I’m about to go on their web page and do it, so I don’t have to wait in any long lines. Check it out, maybe you’d like to.”
Alex nodded, as they went to the prep table in the kitchen. Doug pulled a tray out of the warmer with roast beef and new potatoes. “Help yourselves. You know where the plates and silverware are.”
“Thanks, boss,” Alex said. He and Kitten watched as Doug pulled out his phone and went to the recruitment page.
“Wow, this is easy,” Doug said. Then he froze, watching as two apps downloaded onto his phone. “Hey, this gets you the apps!”
“We need to do that, dad,” Kitten said as she dished three plates of food up.
“I’ll do it right now,” Alex said, grabbing his phone. Kitten did the same after she shoved plates in front of the two men. She took a bite of roast beef as she watched the apps download. Doug got finished first, and reviewed the instructions.
“This is genius,” Doug said. “Here goes.” He clicked on the short-range app. It loaded. “No hits, just a map. Nobody within half a mile.”
“Are we sure all the Islamists have RFID?” Kitten asked.
“That’s what I’ve read, honey,” Alex said.
“Holy shit,” Doug said as he looked at the long-range app. “Look at this!” he held up his phone, showing the Dallas area.
“So, those stories were true after all,” Alex said. “They’ve been avoiding the video cameras pretty well, that’s for sure.”
“They’re spread all over,” Kitten said, now looking at her phone. “Expand your map. They’re as far south as Route 12, and as far north as I-635.”
“Two hundred thousand citizens might not be enough,” Doug said as he moved his finger on the screen. “This isn’t going to be one battle. This is going to be street to street, just like Mosul.”
“I wish the Fort Stockton group was back here,” Alex said.
“You heard from any of them?” Doug asked.
“Not for quite a while,” Alex said.
“We know they busted the bridges near Truth or Consequences,” Kitten said. “That was their main objective. Seems like they ought to be getting back pretty soon.” She moved her view to New Mexico. “I think I know why they’re still there.”
“Why?” Alex asked.
“Look along I-40. There’s a thick line of enemy fighters there. See?”
“You think they need to break that road too, don’t you?” Doug asked.
“Well, they got the north-south road, but the enemy can go around it,” Kitten said. “See that? They can come up through Arizona and cross over on I-40, above the spot on I-25 they blew up.”
“You got a good point, honey,” Alex said as he looked at it. He glanced back at her face, which was fraught with worry. “You saw the contact link on Don and Sydney’s page. Leave a message. It’ll get to him. Give him your number.”
“Isn’t it public?” she asked.
“The link says private message,” Alex said.
“Who’s he?” Doug asked.
“Chance,” Alex said. “He was with the Fort Stockton group in our town. Got to know him and some of the others during the I-40 battle.”
“You don’t have to leave your info,” Doug said. “Just leave your name. You can pass private messages on their site. It’s pretty nice.”
“One thing a
t a time,” Kitten said.
Alex smiled at her and shook his head. “Don’t be a chicken.”
“He might be dead anyway,” Kitten said. “Some of them have died, you know. I’ve read about it.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to know?” Doug asked.
Kitten sat quietly for a moment. “Dad, you need to stop bugging me about this, okay? He wasn’t my last chance. We barely got to know each other.”
“Okay, sorry,” Alex said, patting her shoulder. “Shall we take some of this food with us? I’ve got an ice chest.”
“Yeah, me too,” Doug said, “and the ice maker is full. Let’s do it.”
The two of them walked out of the kitchen, towards the back door. When they were out of sight, Kitten grabbed her phone and typed a quick message.
Chapter 6 – Many Fronts
Kip Hendrix, Governor Nelson, and Chief Ramsey sat in the console room, looking at the display of the long-range detailed app, making notes and sending texts. Maria came out of the living room with Dr. Schultz.
“You guys should eat something,” Maria said.
“You at a good stopping point?” Ramsey asked the other two men.
“Not quite,” Kip said. “I want to finish mapping the Dallas area. We’re sending citizens there, and we’re not making any attempt to hide them.”
“What are you doing?” Maria asked, sitting next to him.
“I’ve broken the city into grids, and I’m recording how many hits in each. I’ll do this once an hour - got it set up so I can do it quickly.”
“We need an automated way to do that,” Ramsey said.
“I agree,” Governor Nelson said. “We should contact Brian. He’s good with that sort of thing.”
“Is he back on the job?” Ramsey asked.
“Yeah, but from home,” Nelson said, “until they put the capitol building back together. It sustained a lot of damage during the attack.”
“He can come here if you want,” Hendrix said. “We’ve got the room and supplies.”
“He doesn’t want to leave his family,” Nelson said. “Can’t say that I blame him.”
The console beeped. Maria rushed to it and pulled out the keyboard, typing while watching the screen. “It’s Director Wallis and Major General Gallagher.”
“Put them on,” Nelson said.
“Just a sec, I need to capture one last area,” Hendrix said, writing notes furiously as he watched the screen. “Okay, go ahead.”
“All right,” Maria said. She switched to the conference call mode. “I can cast the output of the detailed app to that other monitor, you know.”
“Good idea,” Hendrix said.
She nodded and did that as Gallagher and Wallis appeared on the screen. Neither looked happy.
“Oh, crap, what now?” Nelson asked.
“It shows, huh,” Wallis said. “EU Navy ships are heading for the gulf.”
“Dammit,” Nelson said. “Have we gotten any messages?”
“Nope,” Wallis said.
“It gets worse,” Gallagher said. “Tell them, man.”
“They’ve got HARM missiles. They can take out our radar installations along the gulf coast.”
“We’ll have a hard time replacing those,” Gallagher said.
Nelson leaned back in his chair for a moment. “Do you think this is retaliation for us attacking the enemy ships?”
“I think we have to assume that,” Wallis said.
“Maybe we should engage the EU Navy,” Ramsey said. “It’s not like they’re the US Navy.”
“They chased the US Navy out of there,” Wallis said.
“More like lured them out of there,” Hendrix said.
“Either way, those boats could attack our coastal cities,” Gallagher said, “including Houston. It’s not very far from the water.”
“Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves?” Hendrix asked. “Can we lock down our radar installations until they take off?”
“That’s easier said than done,” Wallis said.
“They got any aircraft carriers with them?”
“Nothing like the US Navy has,” Wallis said. “They do have a few, but they only carry choppers, not fighter jets.”
“Can we chat with the US Navy?” Nelson asked.
“We’d have to go through General Hogan,” Wallis said. “They haven’t been taking my calls.”
“What the hell is going on?” Nelson asked, getting up to pace. “See if we can get Hogan. Even if he can’t help us communicate, we can run ideas by him.”
“I’ll try,” Wallis said. “Be right back.”
He left the screen.
“We hear anything new about the Fort Stockton group?” Gallagher asked as they waited.
“I’m just about to call them,” Ramsey said. “Haven’t talked to them since the attempt on their tanks.”
“We don’t know what happened to the core member who was wounded?” Gallagher asked.
“Not yet,” Ramsey said. “I’ll send a text message while we’re waiting.” He pulled his phone out as the screen came up. Wallis was back.
“He’s not available right now,” Wallis said. “They’re in the middle of an operation.”
“Okay,” Nelson said. “Let’s keep going on our own, then.”
“Want some good news?” Ramsey asked.
“Are you kidding?” Nelson asked.
“Kyle’s woman is okay,” Ramsey said. “She’ll be released from the hospital in the morning.”
“Good,” Nelson said. “That’s something, at least.”
“We should push them to begin the next attack right away,” Wallis said. “We need them back here pronto.”
“Dallas will start before they can get back here, even if they left now.”
“Dallas won’t be one battle,” Hendrix said.
“He’s right,” Gallagher said. “I’ve been studying the locations of enemy fighters. They’re spaced way too wide. They’ll hit us in an area, trying to draw us out, kill some of our people, and then retreat, only to open up a front in another area shortly thereafter.”
“The slow bleed, huh?” Hendrix asked.
“Yeah,” Gallagher said.
“Do you think they know we can see them?” Ramsey asked.
“I’d be a little surprised if they don’t know by now,” Gallagher said, “but we’ve been pretty careful. They might not.”
“Should we continue to hide it?” Maria asked.
“That’s the big question,” Wallis said. “The apps are going into wide release soon. Sometime this month. Then they’ll know for sure. Do we limit our reactions in Dallas to keep up a belief they might not even have anymore? Not sure what that buys us.”
“I’m leaning towards not worrying about it,” Nelson said, “since it won’t be dangerous to General Hogan’s team at this point. Are we going through with distribution of the apps to the Dallas team?
“Yep,” Gallagher said. “I gave Don and Sydney permission to put an auto-download feature on their recruitment site. If you volunteer, you get the apps.”
“And they’re using that for Dallas?” Nelson asked. “Already?”
“Yep,” Gallagher said. “Also in New Mexico and Arizona. And by the way, that group in Arizona has effectively shut down Highway 191 in the eastern part of the state. The enemy can no longer use that to travel to I-40.”
“Does that mean that we can forget about hitting I-40 and bring our people home right away?” Ramsey asked.
“No,” Gallagher said.
“Why not?” Ramsey asked.
“Highway 191 is so damn flat most of the way that the enemy can go around the damage,” Gallagher said. “They can’t get through now because the team is still together, and they’re blasting anybody who gets on the road. We can’t count on that for the long term.”
Nelson got up and paced again, thinking. “What if we used that team to knock out I-40, instead of the Fort Stockton team?”
“I think we s
hould use both,” Gallagher said. “It’ll insure there’d be fewer casualties.”
Nelson kept pacing, mind working a mile a minute.
“This makes you nervous?” Dr. Schultz asked.
“Don’t worry, not in that way,” Nelson said. “I’m trying to think, but I’m not overly agitated. Stay with me on this, guys. Why couldn’t the Arizona team take out I-40?”
“They don’t have M-1 tanks,” Wallis said. Gallagher looked over at him and nodded in agreement.
“Can we get any mobile artillery to them?” Nelson asked.
“We’d have to capture some there, and I don’t know if there’s any around,” Gallagher said. “Moving that capability from Texas into Arizona would get us in trouble.”
“If that’s true, why are we getting away with taking the tanks in there?” Hendrix asked.
“Good point,” Nelson said.
“We’d have to spend resources to move artillery there, and we know there are scavengers around with no RFID chips,” Wallis said.
“Hmmm,” Nelson said. He finally sat down. “We’ve got the Fort Stockton team in place. We should let them finish the job quickly and get them back. Any mop-up could be done by the Arizona team. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good to me,” Wallis said.
“I’m okay with it,” Gallagher said. “If I can get a line on some artillery in Arizona, is it okay if I help them capture it?”
“Yes, but be careful,” Nelson said. “Job one is guarding Highway 191, with the secondary possibility of them helping with I-40.”
“You’re not sold on having them help more than that?” Gallagher asked.
“Nope,” Nelson said. “The greatest help they can be at this point is holding back enemy forces from using Highway 191 and I-40 to stop our demolition strategy.”
Gallagher was silent for a moment, then whispered something to Wallis. They both looked forward again. “Okay, Governor, we think that has merit. We’ll play it that way.”
“Good,” Nelson said. “Now, what about the EU Navy?”
“If it were me, I’d hit them with air power,” Wallis said.
“You know that’s a risk, though, right?” Hendrix asked.
“I understand,” Wallis said. “They’re going to hit us anyway. It’d be self-defense, and we could send that out into the media.”