Bug Out! Part 10: RV Race to Battle

by Robert Boren

  “Kerry, does Bobby Joe live with your mom?” Scott asked.

  “Sometimes,” he replied.

  “Not helpful,” Howard said. “They might not know she’s here.”

  “Oh, I think they do,” Scott said. “Remember what she said about the surprise?”

  “Yeah, but she might be bluffing. For all we know, they might not be together anymore.”

  “That thought has crossed my mind,” Scott said. “Johnny could probably tell us. I’ll call him.”

  Scott pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed.

  “Johnny?”

  “Yeah, Scott, what is it? I’m working.”

  “Oh, just a quick question. How’s the chances that Emma is still with the biker dude?”

  “They were all here last month. Had a big party at the house. Brought in a band and a bunch of people. I could hear it all the way over at my place.”

  “Thanks, that answers my question. Talk to you later.”

  “Okay, Scotty. Bye.”

  Scott looked over at Howard. “Yeah, they’re still together. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are around already. They were just here for a big party a month ago.”

  “Well, it is Saturday,” Howard said, grinning. “They’re probably off work. Wonder if they’ll be over tonight?”

  “There’s only two bars in this crappy town,” Scott said. “If they’re in town, I’ll bet they’ve shown up in at least one of them.”

  Scott looked at his phone again, searching for nearby bars. He called the first one.

  “Hello, is this Rocket’s Bar and Grill?”

  “Yes sir. What can I do for ya?”

  “Seen a group of bikers there this morning or last night?”

  “Nope, can’t say that I have.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “Something the matter?”

  “No, just trying to locate my friends.”

  “Well, they might have gone to Crusty’s. It’s down the street. Want the number?”

  “Sure, thank you kindly.” Scott looked over at Howard and winked.

  “It’s 555-335-4287”

  “Thanks.”

  “My my, people are so helpful here,” Scott said, as he dialed the number. Howard laughed.

  “Hello, is this Crusty’s?”

  “Yes, can I help you?”

  “I’m looking for my friends. They’re bikers. They been in there today?”

  “Yeah, there were some bikers here earlier. They got a little too rowdy so I asked them to leave.”

  “Sounds like my buddies. You know where they went?”

  “They were talking about a vineyard about twenty miles north of here.”

  “Great, thanks.”

  Scott put his phone down. “What kind of biker gang goes wine tasting?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Howard said, laughing. “This will be too easy. They probably aren’t even armed.”

  “Yeah, probably not,” Scott said. “Wonder if any of them are wearing their Bluetooth headphones from work?”

  “What’s that?” Kerry asked, a dull look on his face.

  “Bobby Joe works at the bank,” Blake said. “Remember? He’s got one of those things. I saw it in his ear before. It looks funny.”

  Scott and Howard cracked up.

  “You know what sucks about this?” Howard asked.

  “What?” Scott asked.

  “These guys are going to go out with the kind of image they want, but they ain’t gonna deserve it.”

  “Yep,” Scott said. “When they drive in here, we’ll pull your class C across the driveway. With those fences on both sides, they won’t be able to escape.”

  “What’s in the back?” Howard asked.

  “The dirt road ends a little ways back. Last I looked, there was barbed wire fence, around the part of the farm that Emma sold off.”

  “We better go check. We don’t want any of them getting away,” Howard said. “Feel up to a little walking?”

  “Yeah, it’d do me good,” Scott said. He stood up, and looked over at Kerry and Blake, who were listening intently. “Hey boys, there any guns in the house?”

  “Yeah, but they’re locked up, in the closet upstairs,” Blake said.

  “Why don’t you show us?” Howard asked.

  “Sure,” he said, “but we don’t have the key.”

  “No problem,” Howard said. “I got the keys from your mom, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Kerry said. “That’s how you let us out.”

  “I’ll wait down here if you don’t mind,” Scott said. “Don’t want to overdo it.”

  Howard nodded and turned to the boys. “Lead the way.”

  The boys scampered up the stairs, with Howard hurrying to keep up. They got to the big landing. There were three doors: right, left, and straight ahead. They opened the one that was straight ahead and walked in, looking back at Howard to make sure he was still behind them. The room looked like a guest bedroom. It was large, with an old brass bed in the middle, unmade. It smelled like stale beer. The twins pointed to a closet door on the right side of the room.

  “The guns are in there,” Blake whispered.

  Howard tried keys and found the right one quickly. He opened the door and was hit by the smell of gun cleaning fluid. There was a chain hanging, so he pulled it, turning on the light.

  “Wow!” he said. “Hey Scotty, lot of hardware up here.”

  “Good,” Scotty yelled from below.

  There were three pump shotguns leaned against the right side wall of the closet, two hunting rifles leaning on the left side, and two old double-barrel shotguns in the back. The shelf above on the back wall was stuffed with boxes of shotgun shells and rifle cartridges. Howard stared pulling the guns out, checking to see if they were loaded, and putting them on the bed behind him.

  Okay, boys, help me out,” he said, loading up their arms. They carried them down the stairs.

  “Damn, the mother lode,” Scott said, laughing.

  “Boys, put those down, and go get all the boxes of ammo on that shelf.”

  “Sure, Howard,” they said.

  “Scotty, I think I’ll drive the rig up here, so we can load everything. It’s a lot to carry.”

  “Good idea, but be quick about it. We might have company any time now.”

  “Okay,” he said, leaving the house and trotting over to the barn. He drove the rig up to the house and got out, leaving the door open.

  “Boys, help me with this stuff, okay?” Howard called to them, as they were walking down the stairs with the boxes of ammo.

  “Sure, Howard,” Blake said. Howard picked up four of the guns and went through the door, the twins following with the ammo still in their arms.

  “Wow, that’s neat,” Blake said as they approached the coach.

  “Yeah,” Howard said. “C’mon in, and put the ammo down on the table.” He dropped the guns on the couch, and they headed back inside.

  “Can you take us for a ride?” Kerry asked, a grin on his face.

  “Of course,” he said. “Help me with the rest of these guns.”

  Scott watched as they scooped up the rest and took them out. Then he heard the engine start, and looked out the window, watching Howard back the coach down the driveway and into the barn. Then Howard and the twins were walking up the driveway, all smiles.

  “Scotty, we got to ride in the motor home!” Blake said, grinning ear to ear.

  “That’s great,” he said, smiling. “C’mon, Howard, let’s check the back.”

  “Yeah,” Howard said. They walked outside. “You look better already.”

  “Yeah, it hurts a little to walk, but I can do it,” Scott said. “Wish my brothers were a little more together.”

  “Yeah, they seem to have stopped development at about ten years old,” Howard said. “I kinda like them, though. It’s like having my grandkids around.”

  “Good, that fence is still up,” Scott said, pointing ahead of
them. “Let’s move Emma’s car over to block the driveway to the back of the house, so they won’t be able to get behind it too easy.”

  “Yeah, good idea. What are we gonna do with her during this?”

  “Oh, she’ll have a front row seat,” Scotty said, a wicked grin on his face.

  Chapter 4 – Hole in the Barn

  The Sheriff walked back towards the trailers, his thoughts spinning through the mayhem to come. Dobie came walking towards him, with Gabe and Jake following.

  “Gonna talk to Terry?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, when you’re done, could you send Trish up to the clubhouse, please?” Dobie asked.

  “Sure, I figure both of them would be coming over there,” the Sheriff said. “We’ve got work to do for both teams.”

  Trish looked out the window of the trailer, and then disappeared. The door opened.

  “C’mon in,” Trish said softly. “I know why you’re here.”

  The Sheriff nodded, his face grim. He climbed the steps into the trailer. Terry was sitting on the couch. Trish sat next to him, and the Sheriff sat on the chair facing them.

  “Hi, uncle,” Terry said.

  “Hi, Terry. You know why I’m here?”

  “Of course,” he said. “When do you need me?”

  The Sheriff looked uncomfortable, trying to avoid eye contact with Trish.

  “Don’t worry,” she said, forcing a smile. “I knew this was coming. Knew it before we got married.”

  “It’s still hard,” the Sheriff said. “I’m going too.”

  “You sure you should?” Terry asked. “I’ve been around Capitol Reef. There’s gonna be a lot of climbing.”

  “So I’ve heard,” the Sheriff said. “I’m still pretty spry, you know. Besides, Jeb and Kurt are going.”

  “Yeah, I figured that, because they’re the only ones who are good with a bow,” Terry said.

  “Malcolm is too, so he’s going,” the Sheriff said.

  “Good, I was hoping those guys would be with us,” he said.

  “We’ve also got the four privates,” the Sheriff said. “It’ll be a good fighting force.”

  “What’s Terry going to be doing?” Trish asked.

  “He’s good with a rifle, and he’s young and fast. He’ll probably be backing up the archers.”

  “Oh,” Trish said. “What about those of us who are staying here? I saw Dobie come over and get my dad and Gabe.”

  “They’ll need you, too, Trish,” the Sheriff said. “Charlie is leading the home team. We’re pretty sure that the enemy has an idea where we are.”

  “How?” Trish asked, looking concerned.

  “Frank could see who’s been requesting satellite access for this area. He matched some requestors to his list of bad guys,” the Sheriff said. “This part of Kansas has been looked at quite a bit.”

  “Crap,” Terry said. “So we win this, or they’ll find us eventually.”

  “What about the serial killer?” Trish asked.

  “Malcolm’s been watching. They just nabbed another girl from St. Louis, and dumped her further on the east-bound road,” the Sheriff said.

  “So he doesn’t think they’re coming here?” Terry asked.

  “Oh, he thinks they are coming here, but he thinks it’ll be at least a week before they show up.”

  “Oh,” Trish said. “You guys will be back before that, right?”

  “This should only be an over-night trip,” the Sheriff said. “We’re leaving mid-morning tomorrow, and should be back the following morning.”

  Terry looked over at Trish. “You okay with this?”

  “You know we have no choice,” she said. “We both knew it was coming. Don’t worry about what I think. I want you focused on staying alive.”

  “You’re a good woman, Trish,” the Sheriff said. “I’ll go back over. See you in a little while.”

  He stood up. Trish stood up too and gave the Sheriff a hug.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, eyes tearing up.

  “You love him as much as I do,” Trish said. “I feel better that you’re going.”

  He smiled weakly and nodded, then left the coach.

  “Hold me for a minute,” Trish said, pulling up on Terry’s hand. He got up and took her into his arms. She was trembling.

  ***

  Dobie came into the lounge, with Jeb by his side. Rosie, Mary, and Hilda were all down there, sitting at the bar, quietly chatting.

  “You go?” Rosie asked, looking at Jeb.

  “Of course, honey,” Jeb said. “Let’s go to the clubhouse. We need to get to work.”

  “They need us too, I take it,” Hilda said.

  “Yeah, Charlie needs to meet with us. He’s leading the home team,” Dobie said.

  “Charlie’s not going?” Hilda asked, a surprised look on her face. Then she looked sheepishly over at Rosie and Mary.

  “Don’t worry,” Mary said. “I knew, remember? Damn bow and arrow.”

  “I proud,” Rosie said. Jeb came over and hugged her, and she sobbed quietly as she rested against his chest.

  “Okay, we should go,” Dobie said. “There’s planning to do, for the away team and the home team.”

  They all got topside and walked over to the clubhouse. Charlie was standing on the porch, looking out over the park silently. Hilda walked to his side while the others went in.

  “You okay with staying here?” Hilda asked.

  Charlie pulled Hilda next to him. “Yes, makes sense, I guess.”

  “We really in danger here?”

  “There is some danger, based on what Frank saw when he looked at satellite access requests.

  “Can they get across the border?”

  “Well, that’s the real question,” Charlie said. “The General is checking to see if any groups have been given permission to pass.”

  “That bad general at Schriever could have, right?” she asked.

  “General Kincaid. First person we thought of, but the General checked, and he didn’t. He’s checking for access requests from any official now.”

  “Oh,” she said. “We better get in there.”

  “Happy?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she said. “But sad too, for my friends. Mary especially.”

  “I know,” Charlie said. They walked in the door.

  ***

  Howard and Scott walked back up to the front of the house.

  “I’m gonna move Emma’s car back there,” Howard said.

  “Good, you do that,” Scott said. “We’d better hurry up with this. I have a feeling our guests will arrive soon.”

  “Right,” Howard said, trotting to the car. He drove it to the back of the driveway, and angled it so no motorcycles could get behind the house. Then he squeezed his way out.

  “Perfect,” Scott said. “Nice big kill zone here. We’ll have to hit them fast, or else they’ll be on foot, running away.”

  “I know,” Howard said. “What are we gonna do with Emma?”

  “I saw another set up cuffs sitting on the work bench down there,” Scott said. “Let’s attach them to the wall on the veranda and hang her there.”

  “Ah, so that’s what you meant by front row seat, huh?” Howard said, chuckling.

  “Yeah,” Scott said. “You want to go prepare the victim?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “We do need to consider the fluid issue, you know.”

  “You want me to do that? Really?” Howard asked, looking disgusted.

  “Well, I can’t do it,” Scott said.

  “Why don’t we just rig something up so it looks like the bikers got her? We’ve already left our calling card down the road, remember?”

  Scott leaned against the railing of the veranda, thinking. “Okay, Howard, I see your point.”

  “What about the boys?”

  “Let’s take them into the coach with us,” he said. “I don’t want them in the line of fire, and I don’t want any potential
hostages if something goes wrong.”

  “Okay, sounds good. I’ll go get those cuffs and put them out here. There tools down there?”

  “Yeah,” Scott said. “I’ll go chat with the boys.”

  “Going to have to knock her out again,” Howard said.

  “Yeah, I know, but don’t kill her,” Scott said. “I don’t want her going too easy.”

  Howard smiled, and went through the house to the basement, turning on the light.

  There was a cackle. “Well, it’s one half of the inbreed patrol,” she said.

  “Shut up,” Howard said, as he walked over to the work bench. The cuffs were there, on chains. He looked through drawers until he found some lag bolts and washers.

  “Hey, you got any power tools around here?” he asked.

  She laughed and moved against her chains. “Wouldn’t you like to know? My old man get here yet?”

  “Not yet,” Howard said, chuckling. “They wanted some action, so they went wine tasting. Pretty tough hombres.”

  “Yeah, they’re probably robbing the place,” she said, cackling again. “They’ll be all warmed up for ya.”

  “You just keep telling yourself that,” he said. “Bingo!” He found a power drill and extension cord in a cabinet under the bench, along with some bits. He selected a drill that was the right size for the lag bolts, then picked everything up and rushed upstairs.

  “Leaving so soon?” she yelled.

  “Perfect,” Scott said, seeing what Howard brought up. “There’s a plug right inside the front door.” He turned back to the twins, who were staring at him wide-eyed.

  “When are they gonna get here, Scotty?” Blake asked. “Can we leave?”

  “We’re gonna take you and Kerry into the motor home. You’ll be safe with us there.”

  “What’s gonna happen to mom?” Kerry asked.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “We’ll make sure she won’t hurt you ever again. Same with the bikers.”

  Kerry and Blake looked at each other, trying to understand.

  “Why don’t you boys go wait for us in the barn, next to the motor home? We’ll be along in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, Scotty,” Kerry said.

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Blake said. They left the house.