by Robert Boren
“Good. I’m glad you guys didn’t go down there.”
“Should I call Jeb?” George asked.
“Give it a few minutes,” Malcolm said. “I think they’re going to take off any second. They’re unhooking the two coaches they hijacked, too. Rather not have them meet the boys at the gate.”
“Okay, I’ll text them,” George said, pulling out his phone.
Jeb, cretins getting ready to leave. We’ll let them go & text you. Better avoid meeting them at gate.
Heidi, why don’t you get Rosie on the radio and let her know, so she doesn’t sit there and worry.”
Heidi nodded and picked up the radio.
“Rosie?”
“I here.”
“Jeb and the others are safe. They’re parked at the grocery store. We’ll let them know when the bad guys leave, and then they’ll be back here.”
“Okay, thanks Heidi.”
George’s phone dinged. “Jeb got the message,” he said.
“There goes the main coach,” Malcolm said, watching it pull away.
“How many getting into those other coaches?” George asked.
“Looks like there was five in one, and six in the other. The main coach must be pretty full.”
“Refresh your short range apps,” George said.
“There goes number two,” Malcolm said. “Number three just pulled behind it.”
“The local app is showing they’re all in those coaches,” George said.
“You guys are going to follow them tonight, aren’t you?” Heidi asked.
“Probably,” he replied. “We can’t have them blowing up a bridge that the army needs.”
“Looks like they cleared the gate,” Malcolm said. “Watch them on the apps, or better yet, contact Jane and have her let us know when they’re on the interstate.”
“Good idea,” Heidi said. “I’ll text her.” She typed on her phone.
Jane, check bad guys heading out of park. Please let us know when they’re on the interstate.
There,” Heidi said. Her phone dinged right away. “She got it, said will do.”
“I could get used to this style of warfare,” George said, laughing. “Those guys in the canyon had no idea.”
“These cell phones aren’t very secure, though, you know,” Malcolm said. “And pretty soon the apps are going to be released. That will change the dynamic. It’ll be bad for the enemy, but it will make our operations more dangerous too.”
“True,” George said. “Hope Frank can come up with those names pretty soon.”
Heidi’s phone dinged. “It’s Jane. All three enemy coaches are on I-80, heading west. That other group that’s coming east is bogged down in traffic again. Denver must be a madhouse of evacuations.”
“I’ll tell Jeb to come on in,” Malcolm said. He typed into his phone.
“How far ahead can you guys let them get?” Heidi asked.
“We have some time,” George said. “Blowing a bridge takes a while. I think we ought to get after them when they are about 40 miles out.”
Malcolm’s phone dinged. “They’re on their way,” he said.
“Good.”
Howard’s Class C was off the interstate, cruising through the Kansas City streets.
“Park right there,” Scotty said, pointing to a spot on a quiet side street, just a block from the University.
Howard nodded and parked the class C on the curb. There were apartment buildings on both sides of the wide street.
“Okay, we’re here. What’s the plan, Scotty?”
“We wait and watch for a pretty young thing to show herself. Then I’ll show you the beauty of the passenger side coach door.”
“You grabbed them using RVs before, I take it.”
“Yeah, Howie. When everybody got cellphones, the tow truck routine got too dangerous, remember? Let’s get out of the front seats. We can watch from behind.”
Howard got up. He was throbbing with excitement. It was written all over him. Scotty noticed, and chuckled.
“Doesn’t take long, does it?”
“Stuff it,” Howard said. “I’m not happy about this.”
“You will be. Look,” Scotty said, nodding forward. A lone student was coming, phone glued to her ear, books in her arms. She looked like she was about to drop something, and she was walking fast. “Watch the master, and learn. You’ll grab the next one. Get ready to drive.”
Scotty got by the door, watching out the window. When the girl was just slightly past it, Scotty opened the door, bounded out, and grabbed her around the waist. She screamed, and her books and phone went flying. Scotty yanked her through the door, shoved her onto the couch, and slammed it shut. She continued to scream, and he slapped her across the face several times. She fainted and fell to the floor.
“Drive, idiot,” Scotty shouted, adrenalin pumping, eyes wild.
Howard jumped into the driver’s seat and took off. Scotty picked the girl up and started taking her clothes off. She came to and started screaming again. He slapped her a few more times, and continued pulling her clothes off. She started kicking and clawing. Scotty got a grin on his face as he fought her. “This is the part I love. Take us out of town. Fast.”
“Okay,” Howard said, sounding out of breath, voice trembling. He headed for the interstate and got on. “How far?”
“There’s an off ramp right outside of town,” Scotty said. The girl tried to claw his eyes, but he grabbed her wrists. “Take it and roll towards the back country. I’ll be in the back entertaining our guest.” He dragged her kicking and screaming into the bedroom and shut the door.
Howard’s heart was beating a mile a minute. He could hear the struggle going on, the girl’s screaming, and Scotty laughing like a maniac. He knew what was going on back there. He was ready for his turn. He drove faster. No traffic. Good, he thought. His wickedness was awake again. His only thought was to enjoy the prey…enjoy the kill. He knew how he’d feel afterwards. He’d feel free for the first time in years.
Jeb drove the jeep next to his coach, and everybody got out. He rushed to the door, going inside and giving Rosie a hug. She started to cry, but had a big smile on her face.
“I told you it’d be alright,” Jeb said.
“It not over,” Rosie said. “But you do good.”
Jeb nodded. “I know, we have to be after the others. In a little while.”
The rest of the men came into the coach, and went to the fridge. They pulled out snacks and soft drinks.
“How long until we follow them?” Kurt asked.
“Don’t know,” Jeb said. “Let’s go talk to Malcolm and George.”
Just then there was a knock on the door. Malcolm, George, and Heidi came in.
“Nice job,” George said, smiling.
“Same to you,” Jackson said. “We make a pretty damn good team.”
“Sure do,” Malcolm said. “We aren’t done yet, though.”
“Yeah, we know,” Jeb said. “How much of a lead should we give them?”
“Maybe forty minutes, max,” George said. “Once they get to the bridge, it’ll take them close to an hour to get the charges set. We should arrive when they’re busy.”
“Just what I was thinking,” Earl said.
“Jane and Jasmine are still watching,” Jeb said. “I’ll text them, and ask that they let us know if they stop somewhere.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Malcolm said.
Jeb picked up his phone and typed.
Girls, we’re all safe, giving cretins some lead time before we go get them. Let us know if they stop anywhere. We don’t know which bridge they’re headed for.
He got an immediate response.
On it. Be careful.
“They’re on it,” Jeb said.
“Good. This is going to be a different kind of operation,” George said. “It’ll be more dangerous.”
“Yeah,” Jeb said. “We probably won’t have cover.”
“They’re going to be watching,
too,” Malcolm said. “Assuming they know what we just did. And now we have that second group coming.”
“Yeah, better check on them,” Kurt said. He pulled out his phone and loaded the long range app. “They’re trying to link up. I’ll bet they’re coming to guard the folks blowing the bridge.”
“Shit,” George said. “We should go now, and take out those coaches on the road.”
“Yeah, if we wait until they’re working, we might not be able to get to them,” Malcolm said.
“Agreed. Saddle up, guys,” Jeb said. “We can probably catch up to them if we leave now.”
The men grabbed their weapons and got back in their jeeps. Heidi stayed in Jeb’s coach with Rosie this time.
Jeb led the way, Malcolm following, as they quickly drove out of the RV Park.
“We still have some grenades left, right?” Kurt asked.
“Yeah, we didn’t use any of those at the canyon,” Jackson said. “We’ve still got the mortars, too. I could set one up fast.”
“Any Willie Pete left?” Kurt asked.
“Only one,” Earl said. “The rest are conventional.”
“If that main coach is full of explosives, a regular round would be better anyway,” Jeb said. “One of you should be on the app at all times.”
“I’m on it,” Jackson said.
“Me too,” Earl said.
In Malcom’s jeep, George was trying to re-arrange the weapons.
“Ever drive this thing with the windshield folded down?” he asked.
Malcolm laughed. “I know what you’re thinking. You want to use the M107.
“Yeah, I could rest the tripod on the hood,” George said.
“Well, I think that’s a great idea, but let’s not put down that windshield until we get closer. Neither of us have goggles.”
“Yeah.”
“What do you think of our friends?” Malcolm asked.
“One of the best groups I’ve ever worked with. I can’t believe they’re amateurs. They’re battle hardened.”
“Yes, but that’s not all. The support team. Frank, of course, with his apps and hacking ability, but also Jane and Jasmine and several of the others.”
“Wars aren’t only fought on the front lines,” George said.
“I’m enjoying the hell out of this, and we haven’t even gotten to the Nighthawk case yet.”
George’s phone dinged. So did Malcolm’s.
“Text coming in,” George said, pulling his phone out. “Jane. That other group of enemy fighters just got past the Denver traffic jam; they’re heading towards the other group in a hurry.”
“How far away are our targets?”
“Looks like about twenty miles. We’re gaining on them slowly but surely.”
“We’re going to beat the other group to them, though, right?” Malcolm asked.
“Oh, yeah. By over an hour,” George said. “You know they might not be heading for the demolition team, though, right? They might be going to rescue the larger team.”
“I know,” Malcolm said. “We won’t know until after we’ve taken out the demolition team.”
“Maybe we should lay off the Willie Pete this time. Might help us if their chips are still working.”
“Thinking about a trap, huh?”
“Well, yeah,” George said. “If the chips stop in a place where they shouldn’t, it might draw the larger group over to investigate.”
Malcolm laughed. “I almost wish these apps weren’t going into wide distribution. This is too much fun.”
“If they don’t, I think we’ll lose a lot of citizens.”
“I said almost,” Malcolm said.
George chuckled.
Back at the Kansas Park, Jane and Jasmine were still at their laptops.
“Getting tired?” Jasmine asked.
“Yeah, but we can’t stop now,” she said. “Not with our guys still in the thick of things. Hope they’re not getting too tired.”
“They’re going to beat that new group to the smaller team, at least,” Jasmine said. “What’s going on back at the canyon?”
“There was one icon that moved slowly for about twenty yards. Probably crawling. Then it stopped. I’m guessing dead or unconscious.”
“Good,” Jasmine said. “No other movement out of the Denver area?”
“Not that I can see,” Jane said. “There are still icons moving into the Denver area from the west, though.”
“Where are all these folks coming from?”
“I’ll zoom out and take a look,” Jane said. “Canada. A new route has been opened up, from the look of it.”
“The demolition team is slowing down,” Jasmine said. “I think they’re getting off the road.”
“I’ll text the guys,” Jane said. She started typing on her phone.
Enemy slowed, probably off interstate now.
“They stopped,” Jasmine said, “but there’s one problem I see.”
“What’s that?”
“There’s no river there. Not in miles and miles. What bridge are they going to blow up there? Maybe it’s not their final destination.”
“I’ll look at Google Earth. Coordinates?”
“Looks like about 41 degrees north by about 103 degrees west,” Jasmine said.
Jane studied her screen as Google Earth found it. She zoomed in.
“There it is. This is brilliant, really,” Jane said.
“What?”
“The railroad that goes into Denver,” Jane said. “It’s under an I-80 overpass. They blow that, they take out both the best rail route and a major highway route towards Denver.”
“Better text the guys,” Jasmine said.
“Yeah.”
Chapter 8 – Roadside Inferno
“We’re only about three miles out,” Jeb said. “Let’s keep our eyes open.”
“All three coaches look like they’re together,” Earl said, looking at the app.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m seeing,” Jackson said. “That other group is a long ways off. Maybe we can take out these guys, and then lay in wait for the second group.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Jeb said.
Kurt’s phone rang.
“Kurt.”
“Malcolm here. We’re going to stop for just a second.”
“Why?”
“George has this hair-brained idea that we should fold the windshield down and stick the M107 out there.”
“You know, that’s a damn good idea. We’ll slow down for a few minutes.” Kurt put his phone back in his pocket.
“What?” Jeb asked.
“Slow down for a few minutes. Malcolm’s going to pull over, so they can fold the front windshield down.”
“Why?”
“So they can stick the M107 out the front and wail away at the enemy.”
Jeb started laughing. “Cool. Rat Patrol.”
“What’s Rat Patrol?” asked Jackson.
The other three men started laughing. “Kids,” Jeb said. “Wonder why they never re-run that one?”
“Good question,” Kurt said. “Always wanted a jeep when I was a kid. It was because of that show.”
“I’m surprised Earl remembers it,” Jeb said.
“My dad loved that show,” Earl said. “He bought all the episodes on VHS. I thought it was stupid until I actually sat down and watched it.”
“Somebody going to tell me about this?” Jackson asked.
“It was a show about World War II, set in North Africa,” Earl told him. “The US Army had jeeps with machine guns mounted in the back. They used them to go after the Germans. I’ll never forget the shots of those jeeps flying over sand dunes, catching air, with the machine guns blazing.”
“Oh, I get it,” Jackson said. “Cool.”
“How’s George gonna control that M107 when it’s not tied down?” Kurt asked.
“Well, I doubt that they’ll be catching any air going over sand dunes,” Jeb said, laughing. “Going down a straight smooth highway, it’s pro
bably doable. I’d fold this one down if we didn’t have the rag top on it.”
“Here they come,” Jackson said, looking back. “Damn, the barrel on that sucker looks huge.”
“Seriously,” Earl said. “Better start slowing down. We’re getting close. Glad there’s a moon out.”
“Look, there they are, just past the off-ramp,” Kurt said. “Do we go down the ramp, or past?” Just then Kurt’s phone rang. He answered.
“See them there?”
“Yeah, Malcolm. Going down?”
“We can see all three coaches from the road. We’re going to stop and wail away at them with the M107. We’ll try to concentrate on the original coach, since we know it’s got explosives in it. Why don’t you guys go past the bridge and hit them from the other side?”
“Sounds good. We have some grenades left.”
“Perfect, Kurt. Talk to you in a few minutes.”
“Go past the bridge a little ways, then we’ll attack them from that side,” Kurt said. “Maybe lob some grenades down on them.”
Jeb nodded and kept driving, going over the bridge and down about fifty yards. “I don’t think they can see us here.” He pulled over to the side, and the men jumped out with their weapons and grenades, just as they heard the M107 open up.
“Thar she blows,” Jeb shouted. They ran over to the bridge in the darkness. One of the motorhomes was already on fire, lighting the whole area under the bridge. A second coach was smoking, but the original one was still rolling, attempting to escape down an access road. Jeb and Kurt opened up, shooting at the tires. A rifle barrel came out one of the side windows and started shooting at them, but it was too late. Two tires were done, and the coach sank. The M107 opened up on it again. Jackson ran up close to the bridge with a grenade and threw it. It didn’t get under the coach, but it got close enough. It went off about three feet on one side, and the hot shrapnel hit the gas tank, causing a fire to start. Men were running out of the door in a panic as the fire started to rage, but Malcom and George were hitting them as they ran. Then the motorhome exploded, lifting up in the air about three feet and then falling down, losing its driver’s side wall and part of the back end.
“Wow,” Jackson said. Then a bullet whizzed by his head, followed by more rounds from several other AK-47s. He dropped, and crawled over to the edge of the bridge, another grenade in his hand. He pulled the pin and tossed it down. It went off, and then there was silence, until the second motorhome caught fire. Somebody screamed from inside, and then took off running through the door. Kurt and Jeb opened up, sending him sprawling to the ground with several bullets in him.