Bug Out! Part 9: RV Ambush

by Robert Boren

  “You were saying we should help the resistance. We going focus on that, or the game?”

  “Both,” Malcolm said. “I guess it depends on if something presents itself that we can help the folks with. They might just be laying low now, you know. They barely escaped Utah and Colorado.”

  “And Arizona, from what my sources tell me.”

  “Yeah,” Malcolm said. “If there’s nothing to do, so be it, but that hasn’t been the pattern with these folks.”

  “You think they’re looking for action?”

  “No, George, I think they’ve become targets for the enemy. They’re probably safe right now, because they’re in Kansas, and it’s pretty locked down. The way things have been going in Denver, I wouldn’t relax just yet, if I were them.”

  “If they found something by that RV Park, and our current target can hack even half as well as Jason Beckler could, they might be in danger from him.”

  “Yes, George, that’s been in the back of my mind too.”

  Heidi walked back over after a little while, her hair tied up in one of the towels. “That was heavenly,” she said, smiling. “You should go get your shower done before you crack another one of those Sculpins, Georgie.”

  “Yeah, Georgie,” Malcolm said, chuckling. “You go ahead. I’m going to go check out the Wi-Fi for a few minutes.”

  George downed the last of his beer, and followed Heidi into the coach. He emerged wearing swimming trunks, carrying a towel in one hand, soap and shampoo in the other, in a drawstring bag. He walked over to the men’s shower building, input the code, and went in. Heidi was right, it was a nice facility. He picked one of the large shower stalls and got started. He was enjoying the warmth of the water, feeling it relieve the tension in his shoulders. He finished and shut off the water, reaching for his towel. As he was drying himself off, he heard somebody come in. He was talking on his cellphone quietly, just above a whisper. Is that Arabic? George froze, trying to be silent. He heard the man end the call, and then heard the stall door open, a few stalls down from him. The man got back on the phone. This time he spoke English.

  “Phillip, I’m in Nebraska now. The others are in that motorhome we stole, waiting for me. We’re going to go out and scout in the van. We’ll find a place where we can hide a few hundred men, and stay there. You know how to find us.”

  George’s heart started to beat faster.

  “Yes, I know that, Phillip. We know which bridge to blow. After the men have arrived, we’ll move the motorhome over there, and get the job done. Then we’ll head into the east side of Denver and open a new front.”

  George smiled. Want to bet?

  The man ended the call, and turned on the shower. While it was running, George quietly slipped his trunks back on, and gathered up his stuff. He snuck out the door silently, and waited in the bushes, of to one side. There was a bench there, so he sat. It seemed to take forever for the man to finish, but he finally emerged from the shower building. He looked Arabic to George, but he’d been over there. The man was trying to look Hispanic, and it probably fooled most people. George waited until he got down the path a ways, and then followed him. He got into a big diesel pusher, towards the back of the park. There was a van sitting next to the rig, with the side door open. George was careful not to look too closely. He hurried back to his space, and went to Malcolm’s rig.

  “Hey, George, that took a while,” Malcolm said. “Ready for another beer?”

  “No,” he said, looking out the passenger side window. “See that coach?”

  Malcolm looked out the window. “You mean that big pusher with the van parked next to it?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Enemy. I overheard the guy talking in the shower room. They’re going to take off in that van in a little while, and go scope out a place they can hide a few hundred men.”

  “Oh, crap,” Malcolm said. He walked over to the sink and poured out his beer. “Let’s get one of the jeeps unhooked.”

  “How about yours?” George asked. “I’ll go get dressed while you’re working on that.”

  “Roger that,” Malcolm said. They both left the coach, Malcolm walking to his jeep, and George going into his coach.

  “Feel better?” Heidi asked as he walked in, not looking up from her iPad. He didn’t answer right away, so she looked up. “Uh oh, what?”

  “Enemy fighters,” George said.

  “What?” Heidi asked, looking concerned.

  “I overheard a conversation while I was in the shower room. They’re about to go scout a place for several hundred men to hide. Malcolm and I are going to follow them, and ruin their fun.”

  “I’m going too,” she said.

  “No, I need you to stay here and watch their rig. If it leaves, we need to know about it right away. It’s over there,” George said, pointing out the window. Heidi looked.

  “The big diesel pusher next to the van?” she asked.

  “That’s it,” George said, going into the bedroom. He got dressed in a flash, and came back out, carrying a pistol and a rifle. He stuck his head out the door and looked around. Nobody there, so he hurried out the door with the guns, stashing them in Malcolm’s jeep.

  “What you got?”

  “Magnum pistol and the .270,” George said.

  “I’ve got the M-16, a shot gun, and my .45 auto,” Malcolm said.

  “Good, let’s sit down where we can see the van,” George said.

  “Yeah.” They went over to their chairs and sat, watching as several men loaded supplies into the van. “Look, George, they’re planning on camping out there for a while. Wonder how many folks are going to be left at the coach?”

  “Don’t know. I told Heidi to call us if that thing moves while we’re gone. It’s probably loaded with explosives. The guy was talking about blowing a bridge.”

  “They’re in for a surprise, aren’t they?” Malcolm said, laughing. “This is gonna be fun.”

  “They’re leaving,” George said, getting up. He got into the passenger side of the jeep, and Malcolm got behind the wheel. They watched as the van got onto the road going out of the park.

  “That ought to be enough lead,” Malcolm said. He drove slowly out onto the road, watching as the van made a left turn. They followed them, several hundred yards behind.

  Chapter 3 – All for One and One for All

  Dobie watched as the fifth wheel install was getting finished.

  “That wasn’t as difficult as I expected,” he said.

  “Yeah,” the tech said. “After you get the holes drilled, it’s not bad at all.”

  Gabe walked over. “Almost done?” he asked

  “Pretty close,” Dobie said. “The wire harness is installed and tested, and they just buttoned down the hitch.”

  “Good,” he replied.

  “How’d it go at Walmart?”

  “Good. We got quite a bit of food, and some other staples. The place was almost deserted. I think people are getting the willies because of what’s going on in Denver.”

  “What’s going on in Denver?” Dobie asked.

  “You haven’t been listening to the radio?”

  “Nope,” Dobie said.

  “The enemy is advancing, taking over several neighborhoods to the west. The army is retreating.”

  “Dammit,” Dobie whispered. “Looked at the app lately?”

  “It’s been a while,” Gabe said. He pulled his phone out. “Crap, I see some hits northeast of Denver. In Nebraska, along I-80.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Dobie said. He pulled out his phone and took a look. “They could get to us along route 83.”

  “There’s a small clump a ways in, not far from Sidney, and a large group moving towards them along I-80,” Gabe said.

  “They’re going to try an assault on East Denver,” Dobie whispered. “Where the hell is the army?”

  “Okay, Dobie, we’re finished,” the tech said, walking up. He noticed the worried look on his face. “Everything alright?”

  �
�Oh, yeah, sorry,” Dobie said. “Just worried about Denver.”

  “You and everybody else. My wife wanted me to stay home today, and pack up the truck.”

  “You guys think the enemy’s going to come this way?” Dobie asked.

  “I don’t, but a lot of folks do. I’ve seen a lot of people taking off for vacation,” the tech said.

  “C’mon, Dobie, let’s get going,” Gabe said.

  “Yeah, I’ll just go settle up,” he said. Then he looked over at the tech. “Thanks, man. Nice job.”

  In Nebraska, Malcolm was carefully following the enemy van. They turned off the highway, taking a small two-lane road to the north of I-80.

  “They’re going off into the boonies,” Malcolm said.

  “Of course,” George said. “What were you expecting?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, someplace with a building perhaps. An abandoned factory or something like that.”

  “There’s a lot of hills back here,” George said. “Those oil rigs over there?”

  “Looks like it,” Malcolm said. “They don’t look active.”

  “They’re turning left,” George said. “Into that hilly area over there.”

  “I’ll drive past the road a ways. Keep your eyes open.”

  “Okay,” George said.

  They went past the fork and George took a good look.

  “Looked like an oil road, didn’t it?” Malcolm said. “Just saw them rounding the bend around that rocky hill.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I saw. Wonder how far back they are?”

  “Good question,” Malcolm said. “Should we turn around?”

  “Yeah, but stop before we get to that road. See if you can find a good place to park. We don’t want them coming out and seeing us.”

  “Okay, then what?”

  “Let’s climb up the side of that hill and check out the terrain. Maybe they’re close in enough that we’ll see them.”

  “Should have brought the M107,” Malcolm said.

  “If they’re back there in the kind of terrain I’m hoping, then I say we wait for their friends to arrive, and then we use the M107 to give them a real bad day.”

  “You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Malcolm said, as he pulled the jeep up against the hill. “How’s this?”

  “It’ll do,” George said, getting out and grabbing his rifle. He slung it on his shoulder. “C’mon.”

  The two men started looking for an easy place to get up the hill. They found a trail, down from their jeep about fifty yards. They started up. The dirt was loose. Malcolm almost started to slide.

  “Careful,” George whispered.

  “Sorry,” Malcolm said. “Not as young as I used to be.”

  They managed to get up to the top of the ridge, but it took them about twenty minutes, and they were both tired. George pulled a water bottle out of the bottom pocket on his cargo shorts, and took a swig. He handed it to Malcolm.

  “Thanks,” he said, taking a drink. Then they crept up to the edge of the ridge and peered over.

  “Wow, this’d be a perfect spot for an ambush,” George said. “Talk about a turkey shoot.”

  “Seriously,” Malcolm whispered. They watched as the team pulled tents out of the van and started setting them up.

  “I see six…no…seven guys,” George whispered. “All armed.”

  “I’m taking the GPS coordinates down,” Malcolm said, his iPhone in his hand. “You ought to do the same.”

  George nodded and pulled his phone. “What now?”

  “I say we go back to the RV Park, and watch their coach,” Malcolm said. “When it leaves, we’ll know the enemy troops are here.”

  “We’ll have to let the folks in Kansas know we’ll be a few more days.”

  “I know,” Malcolm said.

  “Maybe we ought to invite them up,” George said. “Having a few more snipers would really help with this operation.”

  “You think they’d trust us enough for that?”

  “Maybe,” George said. “Especially if we can talk them into getting on the phone with us.”

  “Alright, I’ll start with an e-mail to Jane,” Malcolm said. “Why don’t you drive us back so I can send it on the way?”

  “Sounds like a plan,” George said. “Now let’s see if we can get back down this hill without killing ourselves.”

  “Seriously,” Malcolm said.

  They got down to their jeep without a problem, and drove back towards the RV Park.

  Back in Kansas, Dobie and Gabe were driving through the gate.

  “Hey, look,” Terry said to Gabe and Trish. “Jeb, the Sherriff, and Charlie are on the roofs, with their rifles.”

  “Uh oh,” Trish said.

  “They saw the cretins coming into Nebraska,” Gabe said. “Wonder if they’re coming this way now? I haven’t looked for about half an hour.”

  “Good question,” Terry said. Gabe drove over to the trailers and parked. Dobie pulled up next to his fifth wheel, got out with Duchess, and quickly let Simon and Peabody out.

  “Not worried about the fence situation?” Gabe asked, walking over to Dobie.

  “Something’s up,” Dobie said. “Princess will keep them in line. Let’s go to the clubhouse and find out what’s going on.”

  They all headed for the clubhouse. Trish looked like she was going to cry.

  “Glad you guys are back,” Jerry said, as he hurried over to them. “Been watching the apps?”

  “Yeah, we saw the folks in Nebraska. Are they on their way here now?”

  “Not yet. We see two groups,” Jerry said. “A large one that’s slowly making its way east on I-80, and a group of about 10, in two clusters. Looks like the largest group of them are in the sticks, in a canyon. There’s a few in an RV Park in Sidney, too.”

  “Isn’t it a little early to be putting snipers on the roofs?” Gabe asked.

  “Well, they wanted to get set up,” Kurt said, walking over. “They’ll probably be back down here in a few minutes. We’ll have enough warning for them to scramble back up.”

  Jane ran into the room, out of breath. “Hey!” she shouted.

  “What?” Frank asked, getting up from the PC desk.

  “New message from Malcolm,” she said, still trying to catch her breath. “I forwarded it to you, Frank.”

  He sat back down and pulled it up. Everybody in the room rushed over and gathered around.

  Friends,

  George, Heidi, and I will be a little later than expected. We overhead some enemy fighters talking in our RV Park up here in Sidney, Nebraska, and followed them. They are setting up a camp for a larger group of enemy fighters, in a canyon outside of town. We would like to take them on. Are expecting a group of about 100-200 in the next day or two. Are you interested in participating? We could use additional snipers. Please call us. 555-344-5820.

  Regards,

  Malcolm

  “Holy Shit,” Jerry said.

  “Go get the rest of the group in here,” Frank said. “We need to have a quick chat.”

  “Yes, definitely,” Kurt said. He trotted outside and called everybody in. It took about five minutes for everybody to show up, Jeb and Rosie coming in last.

  “Okay, what’s up?” asked Charlie.

  “Jane just got an e-mail from Malcolm,” Frank said. “Gather around the screen here and read it, and then let’s talk.”

  The people who hadn’t already seen the e-mail huddled around the PC screen.

  “Okay, everybody done?” Jerry asked.

  People nodded as they walked away from the PC.

  “So what do we do?” Charlie asked.

  “Here’s my proposal,” Frank said. “We call them, get them set up with the apps, and then decide during our conversation if we should go help them.”

  “You sure you trust these guys?” the Sheriff asked.

  “We know they aren’t lying about the two small groups of cretins,” Jerry said. “Frank’s new long range PC program has the enemy pi
npointed within a few feet. The larger group is in a canyon that is a perfect kill zone. We could rain bullets and mortar fire in there. Love to send some Willie Pete their way.”

  “I’m ready for a turkey shoot,” Jeb said. “Let’s do it.”

  “Call them,” Charlie said.

  Frank looked over at the Sheriff. “Any objections, Sheriff? Now’s the time.”

  “No, I don’t think we have any choice,” he said with a sigh. “If we don’t help, we’re liable to get a visit down here from the enemy. It’s a short drive. Get them on the horn.”

  Frank pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number.

  “Malcolm Davis.”

  “Hi, Malcolm, this is Frank. I’ll put this on speaker.”

  “Good, I’ll get George and Heidi into my rig and put this on speaker too.”

  “Thanks.” Frank put his phone down next to the PC and hit the speaker button.

  “Frank, still there?”

  “Yes, Malcolm. Our whole group is in here listening.”

  “Good. Thoughts?”

  “Do you guys have smart phones?” Frank asked.

  “Yeah, why do you ask?”

  “What kind, Malcolm?”

  “iPhones.”

  “Which version?”

  “Mine’s the oldest. It’s an 8. Heidi and George both have the new 10s.”

  “Good. You guys know how to side-load apps?”

  “Yeah, I do,” George said.

  “Good. I’m sending you two apps via e-mail. You’ll want them.”

  “What do they do?” Malcolm asked.

  “The first app will show the position of enemy fighters on a GPS map. It’s long range. The other app is peer to peer, and tells you if there are any enemy fighters within about half a mile of you, even when there’s no cell coverage.” Frank send the e-mail message.

  “How the hell are you doing that?” George asked.

  “All enemy fighters have a chip planted in their triceps. They’re similar to RFID, and activated by LTE signal.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Malcolm said. “You going to release this to everybody?”

  “Yes, in about a week and a half. Long story. We’ll fill you in completely when we meet. Suffice it to say that the release will come after we’ve taken out as many leadership folks as we can.”