by Jeremy Lock
“What are his chances, you think?”
“Not good. He has no marketable skills most likely and he clearly has not nor will he come to grips with what has happened.” Jason said.
They drove the remaining miles to Jeff’s apartment and headed inside.
“Point me to the guns and ammo while you pack your clothes. I’ll start loading the truck; I have a feeling that by this evening things may get hairy.” Jason said.
Jeff showed him to the second bedroom where the large gun safe and ammo cans were along with a good deal of food and camping equipment. Jason grabbed a few cans of ammo and brought them down to the truck. Jason had been working for over an hour and felt he had made a million trips, but the guns, ammo, food and most of the camping supplies were loaded. Jeff had packed up his clothing and other items from the rest of the house and had loaded them into his jeep. Jeff had to replace almost every fuse and get a jump off Jason’s truck to get the jeep started. The battery was probably ruined but hopefully one of the thousands of batteries sitting in the abandoned vehicles would work. After 3 hours of hard work everything was loaded into the Suburban or the trailer except for the few items Jeff loaded in the Jeep.
Chapter 9
They left and headed towards a major shopping store in the more business oriented part of town. Jeff had to stay with his Jeep as he couldn’t turn it off, so he kept guard duty in the parking lot while Jason headed inside with his large wad of cash. As he got to the front door he saw the manager talking to a small group of angry people. Jason tried to walk past but the manager stopped him.
“Sir, we have no power so were not open.” The manager said.
“I have a flashlight and cash.” Jason replied showing the man the large stack of money.
“Ok, but I will have to have one of my people go with you.” The manager replied.
“Fine by me.” Jason said as he entered the store.
Jason met the young man who was to escort him around the store, his name was Mark. He was a 21 year old student at the local community college. Jason and Mark chatted throughout the store, both pushing carts, which were quickly filled. Jason went straight to the hygiene products and loaded up with bulk sizes of soap shampoo, feminine hygiene products, razors, toothpaste, and tooth brushes. Next he hit the pharmacy area and added bandaging supplies, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, large quantities of antibiotic ointment, several extra-large containers of multi-vitamins, foot care products, and several different over the counter medications in large quantities. They then headed to the gardening section and picked up 2 new axes, a splitting maul, several pairs of work gloves and an incredible amount of organic seeds. Both carts were now full but Jason wasn’t close to done. They staged the 2 carts and got 2 more adding 2 large bow saws 2 new chainsaw chains and then headed to the automotive section. He picked up a case of motor oil, as many containers of gas stabilizer as he could find and grabbed 2 batteries that should fit Jeff’s jeep. He quickly hit the hunting section and really went nuts. He grabbed at least 20 different knives most fixed blade sheath knives. 2 compound bows, 6 dozen arrows along with broad heads and other accessories. In the camping section he grabbed 2 very large tents and several tarps. He picked up nearly 20 decent quality LED flashlights that all ran on AA batteries and several bulk packages of AA batteries. They headed back to the front of the store but first Jason hit the food section. He grabbed 10 large containers of coffee, five 20 lb. bags of rice, about 20 large boxes of different desert mixes including brownies, cakes and cookies. He grabbed 6 large containers of vegetable and olive oil and 10 large containers of shortening. He rolled his 4 carts to the front of the store where the manager was waiting.
The man was shocked “How can I ring all this up?” the man asked.
“How much do you think I owe you?” Jason replied.
The man looked over the items and answered “It got to be 2 or 3 thousand dollars” said the manager.
Jason handed over $3500 in $100 bills and told him to keep the change. Jason wished the store sold ammo but they couldn’t in NJ. The manager took the cash and Jason headed out of the store with Mark in tow. They brought all 4 carts out at the same time, it was difficult but it was better than leaving the items unattended. There were still several people in the parking lot and they were eyeing up Jason as he walked out of the store. They got to the suburban and started unloading.
“How’s it been out here?” Jason asked Jeff.
“No real problems but the natives are getting restless, if I were the boss here I would grab what I need and get the hell out. These people will be looting this store soon enough and someone will probably get hurt.” Jeff said.
After they finished loading the truck Jason turned to Mark “Do you remember what I told you?”
“Yeah I got it” Mark replied.
“Ok, don’t wait too long, we will be expecting you.” Jason said as he got in his truck.
During their time in the store Mark started asking Jason questions about what he was doing and what was going on. The kid had no clue that things were as bad as they were. Jason then started asking Mark about his family a home situation. Mark was an only child whose parents had adopted him from the state. They had both passed a couple of years before and Mark was on his own. He really didn’t have much but was trying to better himself. Jason found out that Mark worked 2 jobs plus went to school full time and with a little government assistance he was able to get by. Mark had worked for a construction company on and off during the summer for years. He was also an avid fisherman and had some gun hunting experience. The kid was bright but most importantly the kid was a hard worker. After hearing what Mark had to say Jason had offered him a place at the house. He would work around the house taking care of the animals and would help with security and occasionally hunt for food. Jason gave Mark $500 and gave him a list of things to get. Jason and Jeff would head to the sport shop and pick up a few things and then would come back for Mark if they could. Mark didn’t know if he would just leave his manager hanging with no help and didn’t want to just leave so the plan was for Mark to pick up some items and buy a mountain bike and ride to the house later in the day. Jason told him to get the bike, a good sheath knife, a big backpack, a tent and flashlight, some warm good clothes and some food and water. Mark accepted the cash and went back into to the store and spoke with his manager. After the short conversation they both agreed it was time to get out of dodge. The manager allowed Mark to grab whatever he wanted from the store after they locked up the front with the security cage and they would sneak out the back. Mark had his large pack loaded for bear and got on his mountain bike 2 hours later with his boss and headed in opposite directions.
Chapter 10
Jason and Jeff headed over to the local sport shop where they frequently bought hunting gear and weapons. They both knew the owner, Bill Walsh, from their frequent trips and because their friend Sean had worked in the store for several years. As they pulled up to the front of the shop they knew something was wrong. Three men were at the front door and all appeared to be armed. Two of the men were attempting to kick the door in while the 3 man provided security. When Jason and Jeff had pulled into the shop the 3 man had already drawn a bead on their cars but hadn’t fired. Jeff and Jason quickly angled their vehicles so that the engine blocks of their trucks were between themselves and the armed men. #3 got the attention of #’s 1 and 2 and now they all faced Jeff and Jason. Without warning #3 fired his shotgun at Jason’s SUV. Jason quickly took cover as the rest of the men began firing. Jason tried to concentrate on the sound of the guns. He was pretty sure it was 2 shotguns and a pistol. Jason was only 30yds away and well in range of all the guns. Jason grabbed up his AR15 and prepared to meet the attack. He and Jeff had done some tactical work together and had worked on hand signals. Jason pointed at Jeff and then used his hand to cover his head, he then pointed to himself and walked his fingers as a person running and then pointed to the corner of the store. Jason pulled up his AR and popped
his head up enough to see the men and was immediately met with a barrage of fire. He ducked back down and set himself. He was going to sprint full out to the corner of the building and safety. This would draw the fire away from Jeff and give him an opening, at least he hoped.
Jason counted backwards to himself “3...2...1... “ And he was sprinting for everything he had. The gun fire picked up rapidly as he left his cover. Jason reached the corner of the building and stopped, trying to catch his breath. It was a very short run but with the adrenaline pumping through his body it was quite overwhelming.
“Jason!” he heard someone yell.
He went to the corner of the building and peered around. Jeff was approaching the front of the store with his weapon pointed out in front of him. Jason brought his gun up and also began walking forwards. He could see at least one of the men lying in front of the store. As they approached Jason saw the mass of bodies lying in front of the store. 2 of the men seemed to be alive but not for long. The damage to the bodies was horrendous. Jeff explained that he unloaded the shotgun into the 3 men, who had no cover and were all standing together. The 54 buck shot pellets from the 6 rounds Jeff had fired had ripped the men to shreds. Jason looked up from the bodies and to Jeff. He was completely pale. Jason grabbed out for Jeff just before he fell over. Jason helped him sit on the curb a few feet away from the men. Jeff vomited twice and then started to shake.
“It’s alright man; you did what you had to do. It was us or them” Jason said trying to console his best friend.
“That’s Mr. Anderson” Jeff said barely audibly before vomiting again.
Jason couldn’t place the name for a moment and then it had hit him. Mr. Anderson was the father of one of the girls Jeff had dated a few years before. Lisa if Jeff remembered right. They had dated for 7 or 8 months and Jeff got along well with Mr. Anderson who was a farmer who enjoyed hunting. If Jeff had only gotten along as well with Lisa it might have worked out.
“It’s not your fault. He made the decision to try to kill us first. We were just defending ourselves.” Jason said.
“I know, it’s just fucked up! Everything is fucked up, why?” Jeff asked rhetorically.
Jason tried to console him but was taken away by a voice.
“Who’s out there?” yelled the voice
“Bill its Jason and Jeff, open the door its safe!” Jason yelled.
“Jason and Jeff who?” yelled the voice.
“Open the damn door Bill, we just killed 3 men out here and we don’t need these games!” Jason yelled back getting annoyed.
“What do you want?” Yelled Bill.
“Well I was going to buy some ammo from you but considering what we just went thru I wouldn’t mind a thank you!” Jason replied.
“You got cash?” Bill yelled.
“Of course I have cash Bill! I always pay cash, now open this god damn door before I kick the fucking thing down and kick your stubborn old ass you son of a bitch!” Jason yelled with pure anger in his voice.
After a moment of silence the door partially opened with a shotgun barrel sticking out. “Jason, put that gun down on the ground.” Bill ordered.
“Jesus Christ Bill, knock this stupid shit off! Jeff and I just killed 3 men protecting you and this is how you greet us?!” Jason screamed while putting his rifle down on the ground.
Bill opened the door the rest of the way and looked down at the 3 dead men on the ground. He visibly relaxed.
“Sorry about that Jason, I had to be sure.” Bill said, Jason noticed the wound on Bills left arm.
“How’d you get that?” Jason asked.
“That stupid son of a bitch Walter Davey shot me when I refused to take his credit card. I killed him inside and the others took off, but they decided to come back and just take what they wanted. I guess they had their shotguns in Shad Andersons truck. He actually drove it up here. First car I’ve seen in 2 days.” Bill explained.
“Well things are only going to get worse. We’re going to belly up at my farm for a few months, just wanted to top off some supplies.” Jason said.
“Well come on in and Ill set you two up, and thanks for the help, probably saved my life.” Bill said walking inside.
Jason went to check on Jeff. Jeff was better. He seemed to be pulling himself back together.
“Bill will sell us some ammo, come on inside and we will stock up with what cash I have left.” Jason said.
“Ok” was Jeff’s quiet reply.
The two walked in and saw Walter Davey’s body lying in a pool of his own blood by the far wall. They walked up to the counter and started talking to Bill. Jeff noticed the gunshot wound and immediately asked if he wanted it looked at.
“It’s just a scratch, I was lucky, it will be fine.” Bill said.
“Just let me look at it, if it gets infected you’ll be in trouble.” Jeff replied.
“Alright fine, if it makes you feel better.” Bill said.
“Where’s your first aid kit?” Jeff asked.
Bill pointed and Jeff retrieved it and started inspecting and cleaning the wound. It was just a graze but pieces of Bill’s flannel shirt were embedded in the wound.
“Bill I gotta scrub this out quick, you’ve got pieces of shirt in it and if I don’t get them out it will get infected. Antibiotics are going to be real hard to come by soon.” Jeff said.
Jason noticed that Jeff’s demeanor changed quite a bit while tending to Bill. Jason figured it was a reminder of the real world. Sadly, treating gunshot wounds was not unusual for the inner city of modern America. With Jason’s help it took about 5 minutes to clean, treat and bandage the wound. After some quick treatment instructions they finally got down to business.
“So what can I get for you boys?” Bill asked.
“Mainly ammo. Need some .45 ACP the most. Could use some 12 gauge, 9mm and .308 as well.” Jason said.
Bill thought for a moment and then began to speak.
“Well I’ve got a deal for you two. If you two help me load my inventory up so I can get it home I’ll hook you up with some ammo for nothing.” Bill offered.
Jason looked to Jeff, who nodded. “Alright deal, but were gonna take the guns those 4 had who came after you.” Jason said.
“Ok, I don’t think I’m going to have a shortage on guns anyways.” Bill replied with a chuckle.
It took the 3 of them another 2 hours to load up all the ammo and guns even though they pulled the Anderson pick-up right up to the front door. While moving the guns and equipment Jason came across a few items he decided to buy and as they finished loading he settled up with Bill. For $3000 dollars Jason and Jeff left Bill with 1500 rounds of .45 ACP HP, 500 rounds of 12 ga buckshot, 500 12 ga slugs, 1000 rounds of 9mm +P and 500 rounds of match grade .308 Winchester. The 4 guns they picked up all looked serviceable. They got a Remington 870 12 ga, a Mossberg 500 12 ga, a Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm and a Remington 700 .308 rifle. Jason also picked up 6 extra magazines for the M&P, a Smith and Wesson M&P 15 AR 15 and three Gen 2 night vision optics which could clip onto any picattiny rail or be used by hand and as many extra batteries for the NVG’s as bill had. Jason knew Bill had given him one hell of a deal. After installing the new battery in Jeff’s Jeep and they hauled their heavy load of gear back to the homestead to wait out the coming storm.
Chapter 11
Michael Werts stood looking in the mirror of the confined space. Michael hadn’t gone by his given name in about 15 years and it was odd to ever hear it. “Money Mike” or just “Money” was his name for nearly all of his adult life. As he looked at himself in the small stainless steel mirror in his jail cell he smiled. He was 35 years old and in prime physical shape, especially considering his off and on heroin problem and the fact that he had been shot 3 times and stabbed 14 times in 5 separate incidents. He bore the scars as proudly if not more proudly then his multitude of gang tattoos. He had never been a real bad kid in his younger days, just a stupid kid doing stupid things and got caught up in an armed robbery without ev
en realizing it, until it was over. That was his first adult arrest and the judge had hammered him to set an example. He spent 12 years in prison on a 15 year sentence. During that time he quickly learned it was kill or be killed in prison and allied himself with others for protection. This is where he first learned the ins and outs of gang life. He joined the Neta prison gang as they were the strongest and offered the most protection. He had to work his way up from the bottom which involved a lot of violence and hard work. Mike was a gifted athlete as a kid and took to the most common prison activity well, weight lifting. With nothing much more to do in a day Mike easily spent 6+ hours a day lifting weights and was soon one of the largest men in the prison. Before prison Mike was 6’3” and a solid 225lbs. After his 2 year in prison he now weighed in at 260lbs of rock solid muscle. He became an enforcer quickly and within his first year in prison he had killed his first man. He had shanked the man in the shower room and never had gotten caught, he had never known why the hit was ordered and didn’t really care. He didn’t enjoy killing, but it didn’t really bother him either, it was just part of prison life. Through the years he had raised himself to the position of lieutenant and was in charge of the drug running operation within the prison walls. It wasn’t hard to pay off a few guards and civilian workers in the prison to look the other way and soon he was bringing in record profits within the prison gang. After 12 years of his 15 year sentence he was paroled back to the streets. This is when his gang connections really paid off. He worked a very lucrative drug running business that brought drugs from the inner city areas of Essex and Passaic counties up to the rural counties of Sussex, Morris and Warren counties of New Jersey and even up into PA and NY. Heroin was a real problem in these counties and Money could double his money selling them in these rural areas. 2 years ago Money Mike had met a young man who was having a real rough patch and had turned to drugs. Mike noticed the kid’s potential right away. The kid was clean cut, from an upstanding family and most of all the kid was a genius. Mike took him under his wing and got him off the drugs to start. Next Mike set him up with a place to live, clothes to wear and food to eat. Mike had even given him his street name, at first it was meant to piss the kid off, but it didn’t and eventually it stuck. Evan “Jew boy” Greenburg was the antithesis of Money Mike. Standing 5’6” tall and weighing 145lbs Jew boy was not intimidating at all. Jewboy had an IQ of 150 and had been able to raise Money mikes profits by 25% mainly but keeping the drugs from police seizures. Jew boy worked out every day with Mike and he was actually fairly strong. He had gained 20lbs of muscle over the last 2 years with Mike but he was still small. But no one messed with Jewboy because they knew they would have to deal with Money Mike and no one wanted to be on his bad side. 3 months earlier while breaking down 2 kilos of heroin to be sold on the street Money Mikes “Safe house” was raided by the police and he and Jew boy along with 4 other guys were busted. It was obvious that he had a rat in his group and had to figure out who it was. While in jail Money Mike and Jewboy were classified to the same housing unit. They were eventually housed together and were able to get a lot of work done out on the streets. Jewboy and Money worked out the timeline and figured out who the rat was and he was soon eliminated. Jewboy then started filing motions on their behalf trying to get evidence suppressed and the case thrown out. Jewboy had actually gotten the 2 kilos of heroin thrown out as evidence on a technicality and they were waiting on the Judge to rule on the Prosecutions motion for a continuance when the power had gone out. Two days without power now in November and the Jail was getting cold.