by Robert Boren
“Hit the link, everybody,” somebody shouted.
“Yeah, let’s,” Ray said.
They did, all of them prompted to focus the front facing camera on themselves. Then a picture of two military-looking gentlemen showed up on the screen. It was a large black man and a medium-sized white man.
“Hello,” the white man said. “I’m Major General Gallagher, commander of the Texas Army National Guard.”
“And I’m Director Wallis of the Texas DPS,” Wallis said.
“Try to speak back as little as possible, or this is gonna get out of control,” Gallagher said. “Maybe elect somebody to speak.”
“Ray,” a few people said.
“I’m good with that,” Ray said.
“Good,” Gallagher said. “Looks like we only had three phones that were afraid to show their faces. They’ve been shut down and are no longer on the meeting. Their apps have been wiped clean.”
“Go ahead then,” Ray said. “We might be attracting a little attention.”
“You will be,” Gallagher said. “You’ll get attacked as soon as the enemy can get together and do it. I’d have people with the best long guns watching the roads you came on.”
“Should we stay here?” Ray asked.
“Yes, because we’re making an air-drop.”
“I hear planes coming,” Jerry said.
“We hear the planes coming,” Ray said into his phone.
“Good,” Gallagher said.
Three planes came in fast and low, dipping down, each dropping packages into the lake. They floated.
“Sorry, somebody’s going to have to get wet,” Wallis said. “Get to it. You’ll need those soon, I suspect.”
“Keep an eye on your apps,” Gallagher said. “Refresh the short-range app often. You’ll see the enemy coming.”
Several men swam out into the lake, grabbing the ropes that were hanging off the edges of the floating crates, pulling them towards shore. Others rushed in to help them get the crates onto the banks.
“Open them up,” Gallagher said.
The men got to work.
“Holy shit,” Jerry said when they got the top off. “Are those M60s?”
“Yeah, and M-16s,” said another man at the second crate.
“Mortars and RPGs,” said a man at the third crate.
“Divvy them out fast,” Gallagher said. “Who knows how to use these weapons?”
“Lots of our folks were in the military,” Ray said into the phone.
“Good,” Gallagher said. “Load them up fast, before you get company.”
“Is this in preparation for when the Fort Stockton team gets here?” Ray asked.
“No,” Gallagher said. “They’re not coming. They’ll hit Highway 60 and I-40 from inside New Mexico while you guys go on the offensive and keep the enemy busy, assuming you’re willing.”
“We willing, guys?” Ray shouted.
“Hell yeah,” one man said.
“Let me at them,” another man said, and others nodded in agreement.
“Use the apps to rout these creeps out of your town,” Gallagher said. “You outnumber the enemy by a lot there. Wallis and I are doing the same thing in several other towns up and down Highway 191.”
“Hey, guys, I see vehicles coming this way,” Jerry said. “Crap, I just got buzzed.
“Me too,” said another man.
“Pass out those M60s and feed in the belts, boys,” Ray shouted. “Let’s give those heathens a reception they won’t forget.”
The men rushed to get the arms out in near panic.
“Ray, sign off,” Gallagher said. “Concentrate on the enemy. We’ll talk later.”
“You got it,” Ray said. “Thanks!”
“Thank you,” Gallagher said.
“Yes,” Wallis said. “Fight well. Be a terror to the enemy.”
The call shut down, and everybody raced up to a good position as the line of enemy vehicles picked their way along the rough road.
“How close do we want them?” Ray asked.
“A little closer, and then let’s hit them with the M60s,” Jerry said.
They aimed their weapons and waited.
“They’re slowing down,” Ray whispered. “I think they sense a trap.”
“Fire,” Jerry said, pulling the trigger, stopping the first several vehicles with machine gun fire. The others tried to turn around, but the blood of the patriots was up. They broke into a run towards the vehicles, many of the firing as they went, hitting all the vehicles, forcing the Islamists to get on foot, only to get cut down in their tracks. The battle was over in less than five minutes.
“Damn,” Ray said. “That was something.”
“What now?” Jerry asked, Tank standing next to him with a big grin on his face.
“Use the apps. Get them out of the local houses. Teams of at least five for each house. We also have a problem at the Junior High School. We’ll need at least a hundred of us there.”
“Let’s go, then,” Tank shouted. The men carried their weapons and ammo to their vehicles as fast as they could and rushed towards town.
Chapter 23 – The Band
Madison watched Juan Carlos driving. He noticed, looking at her for a moment.
“What?”
“Sometimes I can’t believe your mine,” she said.
“Is that good or bad?” Juan Carlos asked, shooting her a smirk.
“Oh please,” Madison said, smiling at him. “You know the answer to that.”
“Well I feel the same way,” Juan Carlos said. His phone dinged, as did Madison’s.
“That’s gonna be Richardson,” Madison said. “I’ll take it.”
She opened the message. “We’re going to the far side of the lake. Get off I-35 on State Road 306 and take it all the way to the Holiday Inn Resort.”
“Whoa, we’re staying there?” Juan Carlos asked. “That place is frigging swanky. I went to a wedding there once.”
“We’ll be on 306 a while,” Madison said. “Long way.”
“It’s not a bad road, though,” Juan Carlos said. “Any friends around?”
“Nope,” Madison said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the apps pretty often. The closest group I’ve seen that’s more than one or two stragglers is in Wimberly.”
“That’s not very far from the side of Canyon Lake we’re going to,” Juan Carlos said. “How many we talking about?”
“Roughly thirty,” Madison said. “There are two at Canyon Lake, but they’re on the other side. Mystic Shores.”
“We might want to pay them a visit,” Juan Carlos said.
“Yeah, it’ll be hard to hide our operation once everybody shows up,” Madison said. “Somebody’s going to notice.”
“Here comes 306,” Juan Carlos said. He got off the interstate and merged onto the smaller road.
“Look, there’s Brendan and Hannah up there,” Madison said.
“This place has a radical spa and swimming pool,” Juan Carlos said.
“I’m more interested in the room,” Madison said. “We haven’t had playtime for days.”
“Yes, that’s been on my mind a little bit too.”
“A little bit?” Madison asked.
“Okay, a lot,” he said, glancing at her.
“This road takes us past the town pretty fast,” Madison said.
“It does,” Juan Carlos said, watching the rolling hills on either side, covered with oak trees and fine homes. “I always liked this area.”
“I like it a little closer to Austin,” Madison said, “but this is pretty similar.” Both of them jerked.
“Enemy hit,” Juan Carlos whispered. “Check it out.”
“I see them,” she said, putting the screen closer to her face. “They’ll see us drive by, I suspect. They’re just off to the northeast of 306.”
“What’s the name of the street?”
“There’s no street, just driveways,” Madison said, looking closely again. “Looks like a small facto
ry. There’s three buildings, and a yard around it. The nearest street is Millies Lane, and it’s about 800 feet before it, on the other side of the road.”
“Wonder if we should go in?”
“There’s only six of us,” Madison said. “If we go by without attracting attention, I’ll consider us lucky.”
Their phones dinged with a text message. Madison looked at it and chuckled.
“What?” Juan Carlos asked.
“From Lita. Drive casual. Do not engage unless we’re forced to.”
Juan Carlos chuckled. “Okay, guess I’ll need to behave, but keep your M-16 handy, okay?”
“Okay,” Madison said.
“Here comes that street you mentioned,” Juan Carlos said. “Millies.”
“Not much of a street.”
“Nope,” Juan Carlos said. “That’s it, right?”
“Yep,” Madison said. She refreshed the short-range app and got buzzed again.
“They move?”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Madison said. “Remember, drive casual.”
He nodded as they flew past the small factory, Madison getting a good look out of the passenger window. “Nobody outside.”
“Good,” Juan Carlos said. “This ought to tell us if they can still track us.”
“Huh?”
“You know how they kept on finding us over and over,” Juan Carlos said. “Now we can see them react if they’re going to.”
“We don’t have any of the same vehicles or the same cellphones,” Madison said. “How the hell could they see us?”
“They following us yet?”
Madison refreshed the app. “Nope, they’re still in the same place.”
“Good,” Juan Carlos said. “At least this is a long way from our destination.”
“Big housing development,” Madison said. “Look, it goes on both sides of the road.”
“Yeah, that’s sizeable, with big lots,” Juan Carlos said. “Upper middle class.”
“Think we’ll get there?”
“Yeah,” Juan Carlos said. “I do. Eventually.”
“You’re not going to stay in the service for a long time?”
“Nah, never wanted that. I wanted to pay my dues and get a break on some education,” he said. “Funny how we haven’t talked much about that stuff.”
“Well, our lives have been a little busy,” Madison said.
“This is true,” Juan Carlos said. “I’d like to get a business degree, and then use that to open a small business.”
“What kind of small business?”
Juan Carlos chuckled. “Something near here would be good. A boat repair shop, or even a dealer.”
“Takes a lot of money to start a dealership. My uncle had a car dealership. It was tough. He worked all the time, too.”
“What do you want to do?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Finish my degree, eventually,” she said. “I’ve got a pretty strong urge to have kids, though, and that might get in the way.”
“We can plan for that,” Juan Carlos said. “I want you to be happy.”
“I know,” Madison said. She refreshed the apps. “Crap, those guys moved back there. I think they’re in their vehicles.”
“All of them?”
“Just a sec,” she said, expanding the view with her fingers, zooming in. “Only two of them. Never mind, they’re going the other direction on 306.”
“Probably going to get a beer and a ham sandwich,” Juan Carlos said. Madison smirked.
“Shit, they made a U-turn,” Madison said. “They’re coming this way now.”
“Text the others,” Juan Carlos said, gripping the wheel, his eyes darting to the rearview mirror every few seconds.
Their phones dinged. “They beat me to it.”
“What’d they say?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Lita said stay steady,” Madison said. “I don’t like this.”
“I see them coming,” Juan Carlos said. “Shit, they’re chasing somebody. They’re about to pass us.”
A Japanese sedan flew by them, several girls inside, looking panicked. Then a pickup truck flew past them, with two men inside.
“Islamists made up to look like Mexicans,” Juan Carlos said. “They’re going on a tail hunt. We need to do something about this. Text Richardson.”
“Yeah,” Madison said, shooting a text off. Her phone dinged after a moment.
“What?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Hit them,” she said. “Richardson and Brendan are both turning around.”
“Pass that M60 over here.”
“Don’t get tangled up with the ammo belt,” Madison said.
“Don’t worry,” he said, hitting the accelerator. “We got a better truck. I’ll catch those bastards.” The truck roared forward.
“Don’t take that curve too fast,” Madison said, pushing her feet against the floorboard. Juan Carlos braked, slowing down slightly, making the curve, then flooring it again.
“I think they noticed you,” Madison said, checking her M-16. “What are you gonna do?”
“Pull up alongside and spray them with lead,” he said, foot still on the floorboard, the engine racing as he caught up to them.
“They’re signaling you to back off.”
“The girls just pulled over,” Juan Carlos said. “Look, the cretins are slowing down. Come to papa.”
He got along side and stared at them. The man in the passenger seat showed his weapon, a menacing look on his face. Then Juan Carlos raised his M60 to the window frame and fired, killing both men, their truck hitting the ditch on the left side of the road and rolling over several times.
“Wow,” Madison said. “Do we need to check?”
“Nah, I hit both of them in the head. How about the girls?”
“They’re getting back on the road, heading in this direction.” Madison said.
“Here comes Richardson and Brendan,” Juan Carlos said. Richardson made a left turn onto a parking lot for the housing development, Brendan following. Juan Carlos turned into it. They all got out.
“You killed them?” Richardson asked.
“Oh yeah, dude,” Juan Carlos said. “Hit them both in the face with my M60.”
“Well, that’ll do it,” Brendan agreed. “Look, that car is pulling in here.” He raised his weapon.
“No, those are the girls they were chasing,” Madison said. Brendan lowered his weapon as they drove next to them, stopping by Juan Carlos and Madison’s truck.
“Thank you so much,” said a pretty young blonde girl, no more than eighteen years old. “They were gonna get us.”
“I hate this road now,” the brunette girl in the back seat said, her eyes wet with tears. “They took some of our friends. Raped them and left them dead on the side of the road.”
“Oh, so you’ve seen them along here before?” Richardson asked.
“Yes,” the first girl said. “The sheriff knows about it, but they keep moving around, and they’ve made themselves look different. I think they’re planning something here.”
“Who are you guys?” asked the brunette.
“DPS Patrol Boaters,” Richardson said. “We’ll be in the area for a while. Maybe we can help out with this situation.”
“Why are you girls out on the road, anyway?” Lita asked.
“We’re working a job at the main hotel by Canyon Lake,” the brunette said. “Jobs are scarce. Most places are closed down. We had to take it.”
“What do you do?”
“We have a cover band,” the blonde said.
“Can we go now?” asked the other blonde, sitting in the passenger seat. “This is too scary out here.”
“Yeah, Stacey, in a minute,” the blonde behind the wheel said. “Thanks again.”
“Be careful,” Richardson said.
“Yes,” Lita said. “Do you have to drive home after dark from your gig?”
“No, we told them we wouldn’t take it if we couldn’t spend the night,” the brunet
te said.
“Excellent,” Lita said. “Good luck. Break a leg.”
“Thanks,” the blonde said. She drove away.
“Wonder where they were going before they made the u-turn to follow those girls?” Madison asked.
“That’s a damn good question,” Juan Carlos said. “We’d better get going. Somebody’s going to notice that crash, and we don’t want to be around.”
“Seriously,” Hanna said.
They got into their trucks and drove back onto 306.
“Well, that was exciting,” Madison said, looking over at Juan Carlos. “Think I’ll have to reward you for that later.”
“Be still my heart,” Juan Carlos said, smiling at her as he got up to speed.
Chapter 24 – Vistas
“Makes me nervous being on the tail end,” Carrie said, sitting in the passenger seat of the rig, watching Jason drive.
“I’ve got my eyes peeled, and you’re watching the apps. That’s about all we can do, honey.”
“Mommy, how long till we get there?” Chelsea asked, belted down onto the couch behind them.
“A couple hours, honeybun,” Carrie said. “You okay?”
“I’m bored,” she said.
Carrie shot Jason a glance, and then got out of her seat, joining Chelsea. She reached behind the back of the couch and brought out a couple books. “I’ll read to you.”
“Thanks, mommy,” Chelsea said.
Jason half listened as he drove along, his mind racing from one scenario to another as they drove down deserted Highway 107.
“You want a coke or something?” Carrie whispered. “She’s out.”
“I’m good for now,” Jason said. Carrie got back in the passenger seat. “It’s pretty deserted out here.”
“Sometimes it looks like a wasteland, but then you’ll see the vista of a range of mountains, all purple and tan. It’s really cool.”
“I went to Santa Fe once,” Carrie said. “One of my friends got married at La Fonda.”
“What’s La Fonda?”
“A beautiful old hotel in downtown Santa Fe,” Carrie said. “Great big pueblo-style building. They have a nice bar. My friends and I got a little out of control there after the rehearsal dinner.”
“Oh, really now?”
“It was before we were together, so no judgment,” Carrie said.
“Does that mean you’re gonna tell me all about it?”