by Robert Boren
“We brought three,” Private Peterson said.
“How close do we have to be?” Jeb asked.
“Based on the view Jane just gave us, we must get inside the first ring of icons,” George said. “That’ll probably be close enough, provided there aren’t any sight obstructions we can’t see.”
“Will we be able to see the obstructions with the satellite images?” the Sheriff asked.
“Probably,” Jerry said. “But there’s no substitute for boots on the ground. We’ll have to be ready to adjust when we’re there.”
“When do we go?” asked Earl. “Night?”
“If we drive our vehicles out there at night with our headlights on, we’ll be spotted for sure,” George said. “I say we drive in as close as we can during the day and wait around until darkness. We sneak in on foot when it’s time.”
“All of us, or just the bow and arrow squad?” Jeb asked.
“Maybe the bow team goes in a little early, but not much,” Private Brown said. “We need to cover them, just in case.”
“True that,” Malcolm said. “We gonna have a moon?”
“I’ll check,” Jasmine said, “for the next three or four nights?”
“Yeah,” Jerry said. “We can’t hold off much longer than that.”
“Agree,” General Hogan said. “The determining factor will be when we can shut down satellite access. Hopefully they don’t notice right away.”
“You don’t think they have somebody monitoring it all the time?” Kurt asked.
“No, they can’t stay on all the time without somebody noticing,” George said. “Unless we get really unlucky, we’ll have at least a short window.”
“I don’t know, guys,” General Hogan said. “They’re bringing people into the area. Something’s cooking. They might be accessing the satellites more than normal even though it’s risky.”
“We haven’t proven that they have satellite access yet,” Jerry said.
“They have access,” General Hogan said. “They had an operative at Schriever Air Force Base. There’s no other reason they would bother.”
“I agree,” George said. “That was no coincidence.”
“You will have some moonlight during the next few nights,” Jasmine said. “Going to have some wind, too. Maybe some blowing dust.”
“So, we have the bow team up front, with a handful of us following, and the objective is to get close enough to hit Saladin’s hiding place with the laser target designators,” Jerry said. “We hit them that way first, right?”
“Yes, to keep the leadership from protecting themselves,” General Hogan said. “After that, we hit the rest of the area with mortars and sniper fire. Kill as many as we can, and get away from there.”
“Doesn’t sound like coordination will be much of a problem, then,” Jeb said. “Pretty straight forward.”
“For your team, yes,” General Hogan said. “At the same, we’re going to take out all of the enemy operatives at the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and the White House. That’s already being planned, and could start as soon as tonight, if we give the word.”
“Hey,” Frank said, standing up. “Got our information. They’ve been using the heck out of our satellites, all over the damn place. Denver, most of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. I’m also seeing a lot of scans of Kansas during the last two weeks. Especially around here.”
“They can see us,” the Sheriff said.
Chapter 2 – A Good Team
“You think they’re watching us?” Jeb asked.
“They’re looking for us, but it’s hard to say if they know it’s us at this location or not,” Frank said. “They see the tops of coaches, but we don’t look exactly the same as we did before.”
“We don’t?” the Sheriff asked.
“No, think about it,” Frank said. “We used to have another fifteen coaches with us, so the numbers don’t work out. We’ve also got three trailers we didn’t have before, plus Malcolm and George’s rigs. They might suspect we’re here, but they won’t know for sure.”
“What if they were watching when we did the ambush?” Jeb asked. “They might have followed us back here.”
There was silence for a moment. Frank was thinking it through.
“We took both enemy forces completely by surprise,” he said. “If somebody was watching, they weren’t well connected enough to get a simple warning out. I doubt if we have to worry about that.”
“Oh,” Jeb said sheepishly. “You’re right. Sorry.”
“The Kansas border is still shut,” General Hogan said. “Remember? It’s not even like they’re just searching every fifth car. They aren’t letting anybody in, period, unless somebody official sets it up ahead of time.”
“Like you did for us,” Jerry said.
“Yeah,” the General said.
“What about General Kincaid?” George asked.
That brought another silence in the room.
“We can check on that,” General Hogan said. “I’ll make some calls and shut down anything he might have put in place.”
“Good,” Frank said.
“Okay, the plans are in place,” Jerry said. “What aren’t we thinking about?”
“Scott,” Malcolm said. “We need enough people here to watch out for him and whoever he might bring.”
“Uh oh, what have you found out?” Dobie asked.
“Scott’s putting a show on for us, to make us think he’s on the way east,” Malcolm said. “He screwed up yesterday and tipped his hand. I’m on to him. He’ll be coming back here, probably within the next week, two at the most.”
“What does he want?” Kurt asked.
“His home, and silence about the prior actions of his clan,” Malcolm said.
“How bad is this guy?” George asked. “Are we talking somebody like Jason and Earl, or is this guy a piker?”
“I wouldn’t rate him up with Jason,” Malcolm said. “But he’s bad enough. Look how long the killings went on, and nobody caught this guy. We need to keep the dogs on patrol and make sure nobody strange is allowed in here. Can the dogs patrol at night?”
“Yeah, as long as I have Princess out with them,” Dobie said. “Kind of a bummer, though. It would’ve been nice to have all four of them with us at Capitol Reef.”
“You’re the pistol champ, aren’t you?” George asked.
“Yeah,” Dobie said, smiling sheepishly.
“You ought to be one of the people watching this place, then,” George said. “Capitol Reef won’t be a combat pistol gig. It’ll be a longer range situation.”
“Okay,” Dobie said. “I’ll be wherever you guys think my dogs and I will be the most help.”
“Too bad I lost Jackie,” George said.
“Jackie?” Jeb asked.
“My Australian Shepherd,” George said. “I lost her during some action a few years ago. She’d be helpful.”
“Sorry to hear that. What about Miss Lucy?” Jeb asked. “Perfect job for her.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jane said, a worried look on her face. Lucy was under her chair, and lifted her head.
“Who’s Lucy?” George asked.
“She’s our Jack Russell,” Frank said. “She’s saved our bacon more than once.”
“I love that dog,” Jeb said. “She’s amazing.”
“It’s up to Jane,” Frank said.
“Don’t you dare lay that on me, Frank,” Jane said. “If you think she should go, I’ll deal with it, but I wasn’t even expecting you to go. Are you planning on it?”
“Yeah, I need to go,” Frank said. “My systems will be critical, and I might need to make adjustments on the fly.”
“If you’re going to go, will you at least dump that damn Winchester?” Jerry asked, chuckling.
“Hell no,” Frank said. “It’s served me well so far, and remember that my main focus won’t be shooting. I’ll leave that to those most qualified. I’ll be the technical support.”
“You know I’m goin
g if you’re going, right?” Jane said.
Frank sighed. “Yeah, I knew that was coming,” he said. “No use arguing.”
“Same goes for me,” Jasmine said.
“You’re pregnant,” Jerry said.
“I’m not very far along,” she said. “Besides, I’d rather be where you are than here waiting for Scott to show up. I’d rather be dead than caught by that guy.”
“We’ll have a limited amount of space in the vehicles, you know,” General Hogan said. “We’ve got three Jeeps and a Humvee.”
“How bad is the terrain?” Jeb asked. “We might be able to field more vehicles if it isn’t too crazy.”
“On it,” Jasmine said.
“What are you planning to use for a computer out in the field?” asked Private Brown.
“My laptop, I guess,” Frank said. “Wish it had better battery life.”
“I suggest you use one of our hardened laptops,” Private Brown said. “I’ll go get one. We have several in the chopper.”
“Good idea, son,” the General said.
The Private left the clubhouse.
Jeb laughed. “You know, if somebody is watching via a satellite, they might wonder why a Chinook is sitting on our lawn.”
That brought another silence over the room.
***
“Chet raped you?” Howard asked, a stunned look on his face.
“Yeah. Didn’t know that, did you, Scotty? Your dear old dad and one of his friends had me down here for hours, after a binge.”
Scott’s head was spinning, and he looked away from her, silent.
“Those heroes of yours were pigs, straight up,” Emma said. “I don’t want to be around anybody connected to those jerks, including the evil spawn up there. Typical inbreeds.”
There was silence, and then bumping from upstairs, and a muffled cry. “Mom, let us out of here! Please!”
“Howard, get the keys from this bitch and let my brothers out,” Scotty said, looking up, a crazed anger on his face.
“Screw you,” she said, heading for the stairs. Howard caught one of her legs and yanked her onto the floor, pulling the keys out of her pocket as she fought him. She followed him up the stairs.
Scott pulled his pistol out from under his pillow and cocked it. Emma froze and looked down at him.
“What, you’re going to kill your cousin now?” she spat, laughing. “You idiots are priceless.”
“If you hurt those boys again, I’ll carve you up and feed you to the hogs,” Scott said, his voice dripping hatred so intensely that it sent a chill through Emma. “Get your ass back down here.”
She slowly came down the stairs. “So what now, punk? Your daddy isn’t here to look after you anymore.”
“You’re going to sign this place over to me,” Scott said.
She laughed hard, doubling over, her cackle filling the room. “In what lifetime do you think that’s going to happen?”
“Either you do, or your lifetime will come to an end much earlier than you expected,” Scott said, smiling.
There was a shuffling of footsteps upstairs, and Howard came back down.
“They’re out, Scotty,” Howard said. “What should we do with the bitch?”
“I’ve just told her the only way she’ll live through this,” Scott said.
“You know who she hangs out with, right?” Johnny asked. “Bikers. You’ll have to tangle with them.”
“Why’d you tell him that, Johnny? I wanted it to be a surprise.” She cackled again.
Scott and Howard looked at each other, grinning.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Howard asked.
“Yeah. Love bikers. Biggest blowhards in the world. Love the way they cry for mommy when they realize they’re done. Hey, Emma, any nice looking babes with them, or are they all like you?”
Howard cracked up, but Johnny looked scared. “If you’re going to tangle with those guys, I’m getting out of the area.”
“I’m not gonna tangle them, I’m gonna kill them,” Scott said. “And I’m going to make it look like they killed the bitch here.”
“In your dreams,” Emma said. She looked a little less confident. “Why would you want to do that, anyway?”
“My brothers are your next of kin,” Scott said, grinning.
“This is going to delay our plans,” Howard said. “Sure you want to do that?”
“Yeah, I’ll take a slight detour to make this happen.”
“Oh, brother,” Emma said, oozing hatred. “Like father, like son. Going to rape me now, too?”
“Shut her up,” Scott said.
“Pleasure,” Howard said. He walked over to her and punched her hard in the face, sending her to the floor, unconscious.
“You friend or foe, Johnny?” Scott asked.
“I don’t know,” Johnny said. “Can’t you leave me out of this? I don’t want to go back to the way it was when Jason and Earl were around.”
“You don’t have to participate,” Scott said. “You just have to be quiet.”
“How are you gonna take on those bikers?” he asked.
“Well, tell me about them. Are they organized crime bikers, or lifestyle bikers?” Scott asked.
“Not sure what you mean, Scotty.”
“Are they handling the drug trade? Are they friendly with the local PD? Do they get thrown in jail around here?”
“Yeah, they’re always in and out of jail,” Johnny said.
“What for?” Howard asked.
“Fights. Breaking up bars. Pushing people around,”
Howard and Scott looked at each other and grinned again.
“What?” Johnny asked.
“Lifestyle bikers. Posers,” Scott said. “I’ll bet all these dweebs have nine to five jobs. They throw their weight around after work and on weekends.”
“I was almost hoping they were the real thing,” Howard said. “The real thing always has a lot of cash around. The gang we took out with Jason and Earl that time had lots of cash. Hell, that’s what got me started with the truck stop.”
“Yeah, my dad was pissed, though,” Scott said, laughing.
“Why was Chet pissed?” Johnny asked.
“Because those guys had the local cops on their payroll, and they liked being on the payroll,” Howard said. “Chet thought we’d get caught, and the cops would find out about the clan.”
“Jason was too smart for that,” Scott said. “Helped that he was ‘dead’ at the time.”
“Dead?” Johnny asked.
“You remember. It was after the Bozeman incident. He laid low after that one, for a long time, thanks to the bitch. Had to change his markers when he played.”
“Ah yes, Sadie,” Howard said. “Always wanted a piece of that one. She was hot.”
“Poison,” Scott said. “But good looking poison. Oh, well, let’s reminisce later. We’ve got some planning to do. Why don’t you tie the bitch up to the wall over there and wake her.”
Howard went over, lifted her, and carried her to a section of the wall that had handcuffs hanging. He put her wrists into them and locked them up. “Maybe I should strip her. She looks strange hanging there with clothes on.”
“Nah, I’d rather not see that,” Scott said, laughing. He poured water into his glass. “Here, you can wake her up with this.”
Howard grabbed it and sent the water splashing into her face. She woke up with a start.
“Dammit, let me go,” she said, trying to blow the water out of her nose and mouth.
“Can I go now?” Johnny asked.
“You never answered my question,” Scott said. “You friend or foe?”
“Friend,” he said.
“Alright, go ahead. We’ll see you later,” Scott said. Johnny picked up his plastic medical case and started towards the stairs. “Wait.”
“What, Scotty?”
“Call my phone, so I’ll have your number,” he said.
“Oh,” he said, relieved. “What’s your number?�
�
Scotty read it off to him, and he dialed. Scott’s phone rang, and he answered it. “Thanks, cousin.”
“Don’t mention it,” he said. Then he hurried up the stairs.
“You trust him?” Howard asked.
“Maybe,” Scott said. “I won’t kill Jason’s nephew, if that’s what you’re getting at. He knows better than to go to the cops.”
“Yeah, that’s what you think,” Emma said, laughing.
Scott sat up, wincing.
“You sure it’s time to sit up already?” Howard asked.
“Yeah, I’m just a little sore,” he said. “We’ve got to get this show on the road. Let’s go upstairs and chat. We don’t want the bitch hearing what we’re gonna do to her boyfriends.”
“What about the twins?”
“Don’t worry about them, Howie.”
***
Hilda and Mary walked through the park.
“You okay?” Mary asked.
“It’s coming up,” she said. “The big battle. I’ve been dreading this.”
“I know, me too,” Mary said. “How many of our men are going, I wonder?”
“They’re working that out in there, I suspect,” Hilda said. “They won’t send all of them.”
“They’ll send Kurt,” Mary said. “Wish he wasn’t so good with a bow and arrow. He’ll be right in the damn front.”
“Yeah, it’s the same for Jeb. I wonder how Rosie is dealing with that.”
“Probably about like I am,” Mary said. “I won’t make a fuss. This needs to happen.”
“We’ve done well so far,” Hilda said. “I hope our luck holds out.”
“Maybe we should go talk to Rosie. She’s probably stuck in Jeb’s coach.”
“No, she’s down in the lounge,” Hilda said. “I saw Jeb help her down there before the meeting started.”
“Oh,” Mary said. “Maybe we should go join her.”
“Okay, let’s go.” They walked to the barn and down the steps to the bunker.
“This place still gives me the creeps,” Mary said, as they walked towards the lounge door.
“With all the mayhem going on, I’m not bothered by it much anymore,” Hilda said. They entered the room. Rosie wasn’t alone. Gabe and Jake were there too, all of them sitting at the bar quietly. They looked over and smiled.