by Robert Boren
“Between that and what George knew, we’ve got all the names but three,” Frank said.
“Good. Been on the satellite view lately?”
“No,” Frank said. “Been busy hacking. Why?”
“Something’s going on. Trucks have been going back and forth between the trailers and the industrial park all day long, one after another.”
“Want me to take a look with the long-range app?” Jane asked, sitting at her laptop.
“Yeah,” the General said.
She nodded and loaded that program. It came up and she studied it. Then an icon appeared and disappeared in the space of about two seconds.
“Whoa!” she said. “Icon just showed, then disappeared.”
“Where?”
“Where those double wide trailers are,” she said.
“They can’t pull vehicles all the way in there,” Frank said. “I’ve got an idea. Move over.”
Frank went over to Jane’s laptop and went into the settings of her long range app. He set a recording switch on by clicking on a check box.
“What’s that?”
“History. You’ll need to keep this running, at least in the background. It will record any icon that pops up, even for a split second. We’ll get a timestamp and the data on the chips for each.”
“Good,” the General said.
“Just got a hit,” Jane said. “Little longer this time. They’re loading or unloading something by the double-wide trailers. Oh, there’s another one.”
***
Rosie woke with a start. Jeb was up, walking towards the bathroom, pulling his IV stand with him.
“You walk?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I feel a lot stronger than I did yesterday. I’m gonna beat this.”
“Yes, you beat,” Rosie said. “But don’t push self too hard.”
“I won’t, sweetie.” He went in the bathroom for a minute. Rosie sat up, trying to shake off the sleep. After a moment, she heard the toilet flush, and Jeb headed back to his bed.
“This war is winding down,” Jeb said. “I’ve been watching cable news while you were sleeping.”
“Yes, apps kill them off,” Rosie said. “Kill them good.”
“When’s the last time you heard from the park?”
“Yesterday,” she said. “Everything go fine there. No more attacks.”
“Good,” Jeb said, lying back. He pulled the sheet over himself. “Doc should be coming in today. Hopefully they’ll have a better idea when I can get out of here.”
“No rush,” Rosie said. “We have all time in world.”
“I know, but I’m getting a little stir-crazy.”
“Me too,” Rosie said. “But we not go until ready. You don’t push doctor.”
“Don’t worry, honey.”
***
Kerry and Scott were sitting in the storage unit.
“What are we gonna do with the station wagon if we buy the motor home?” Kerry asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Scott said. His phone rang. He answered it.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I’m at the motor home,” a woman’s voice said.
“Great, we’ll be down in a minute.” Scott slipped the phone in his pocket. “Let’s go. Remember what I said.”
“Okay, Scotty,” he said. They left the unit, Scott pulling down the door and locking it on the way out. They hurried down the stairs and walked out onto the blacktop. There was a woman of about thirty five standing by the motor home. She looked like bar trash to Scott; tight top and short skirt looking about a size too small, teased bleach-blonde hair, chewing gun. She smiled when she saw him coming.
“Hi there,” she said. “I’m Cindy.”
“I’m Scott, and this is Kerry. Thanks for coming.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Hope we can make a deal. I want to be rid of this thing.”
“Does it run?” Scott asked.
“Of course. My idiot ex-husband spent way too much money on this thing. The last big purchase was tires. Those are only about eight months old. Cost a shit-load of money.”
Scott watched as she unlocked the side door and opened it.
“I take it you ended up with this in a divorce?” Scott asked, squeezing by her to enter the door. She reeked of cheap perfume.
“Yeah,” she said, chomping her gum. “I took it to spite him. He loved this thing. Screw him.”
The inside of the coach was nicer than Scott expected. Everything was clean. There was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, and the seat cushions looked new. So did the microwave.
“Wow, lots of new stuff in here,” Scott said.
“Yeah, like I said, the idiot spent way too much money on this thing. Then he took his floozy out in it.”
Scott studied her. What a piece of work.
“Hey, Scotty, can I check out the bunk?”
“Of course,” he said.
“He a little slow?” Cindy whispered.
“Yeah,” Scott whispered back, getting closer to her. “He’s my brother.”
“You take care of him?” she asked, her eyes softening.
“I’m the only family he’s got left,” Scott said. “We’re buddies. I’m glad he’s with me.”
“What do you know, there are nice men left in this world,” she said, moving a little closer to him, looking into his eyes. He could smell the spearmint from her gum, mixed with a touch of gin.
“Can I fire up the engine?” he asked, breaking her out of her trance.
“Oh, yeah, sure. It’s had an engine rebuild. That’s how Zeke got it so cheap. The engine was blown when he bought it. He rebuilt it himself.” She handed him the keys. “Help yourself. Drive it around the lot.”
“Okay, thanks,” Scott said, taking the keys and climbing into the front seat. The engine turned over quickly. He let it warm up for a few seconds, and then drove off, circling the building a couple of times, trying everything in the cockpit. He parked back in the space and turned the engine off, then came into the back.
“We gonna buy it, Scotty?” Kerry asked.
“We’ll see,” Scott said. He looked at all of the appliances in the kitchen, checked the bathroom, and the bed.
“That bed isn’t bad, even though it’s just a corner bed,” Cindy said.
“Feels okay,” Scott said, checking the curtain that pulled across the opening. “Not a lot of privacy, but it’ll do.”
“I’d show you better if your brother wasn’t here,” Cindy whispered.
Scotty glanced at her, a sly smile on his face. My, aren’t we forward?
“What do you think?” she asked. “It comes with everything in it. Kitchen stuff. Tools out in the storage compartment, and some folding chairs. There’s even some food in the pantry. Oh, and bedding. Nice stuff, but I don’t want it, since the bitch used it.”
“Everything in here comes with it, eh. How about you?” Scott said, shooting her a flirtatious look.
She shot him a sexy glance. “Seriously, you interested in the coach?”
“Give you nine grand,” Scott said.
“I’m asking eleven,” she said.
“I know, but it’s old,” Scott said. “Got cash. Right here, right now.” He pulled the wad of hundred dollar bills out of his pocket and counted them out. Cindy’s eyes got wider, and she smiled.
“Cash, huh?” she said.
“Yeah,” Scott said. “You’ve got the title with you, right?”
“In my purse,” she said, pulling it out. “Registration was paid up a couple months ago.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to be rid of this?” he asked.
She leaned against the kitchen counter, thinking it through for a few minutes. When she looked up, Scott shot her the flirty glance. She smiled. “Okay, you’ve got yourself a motor home. Let’s do the paperwork.”
They sat at the dinette and took care of the transfer documents. Scott handed over the cash, and Cindy handed over the keys.
“Okay, it’s all yours
,” she said, getting up. She walked to the door. Scott followed her. When they got outside, she turned to him and got closer so she could whisper. “You really interested?”
“Sure,” Scott said, eyeing her heaving breasts and her sly smile.
“Good, then come by and see me later,” she said. “My address is on the paperwork. You already have my phone number.”
“Maybe I’ll do that,” Scott said. “Probably won’t be tonight. Got a lot to do. Tomorrow or the next day?”
“Sure, but call me first,” she said.
As she turned to leave, he slapped her butt. She giggled, turning around and smiling at him. Scott went back into the coach as she drove away.
“Scotty, this is so neat!” Kerry said, climbing out of the bunk. “It’s got a better bunk than Howie’s motor home. It’s got windows on both sides that open.”
“Good, glad you like it,” Scott said, smiling. “I’m going to chat with the owner of this place about storing the station wagon here. I’ll be in the office for a few minutes. Why don’t you bring the ice chest and pillows here and make yourself at home for a while?”
“Sure, Scotty,” he said. Scott handed him the keys to the station wagon and walked towards the office.
“Hello, sir,” the man behind the counter said. “Anything the matter?”
“No, far from it,” Scott said. “I just bought a motor home.”
“Oh, that’s why I saw Cindy here,” the man said, grinning. “Zeke’s gonna be pissed.”
“Oh, you know the ex-husband?”
“Yeah, total redneck, but fun to go drinking with, if you don’t mind a brawl every once in a while. That coach was his pride and joy.”
“He doesn’t have access to this place, does he?” Scott asked.
“His card doesn’t work anymore,” the man said. “But he probably still knows the gate code.”
“Wonderful,” Scott said.
“Don’t worry, we all know him. If he shows up, we call the cops. He tried to come in here and steal it about four months ago, after his wife took it in the divorce. He got warned. The cops told him he’d better not be back.”
Scott leaned on the counter. “I’d like to keep that space if I can.”
“You going to leave the coach here?”
“Most of the time I’ll be in that,” Scott said. “I’m between houses right now. I’d like to leave my station wagon there for now.”
“Sure, no problem,” he said. “You even get a discount since you have a unit here.”
“Good, then sign me up.”
“We go by the foot,” he said. “You want to keep it at the twenty three feet, so you can leave the coach here if you want to?”
“Sure, that’s a good idea,” Scott said. “One other thing. Could we stay in the coach here for a few nights?”
“You mean camp?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, normally we don’t allow that, but in your situation, I’ll make an exception, as long as it’s only three nights.”
“Great, thanks so much,” Scott said. “How much for a year?”
“Nine hundred,” he said.
“I’ll pay you for three months, if that’s okay,” Scott said.
“Of course,” the man said. “Three hundred dollars.”
Scott pulled out his wallet and took out the cash, handing it over to him. “Here you go.”
“Okay, we’re square. Enjoy your new coach.”
“Oh, one other thing. You sell propane?”
“Yeah,” he said. “But you won’t need any yet. Zeke filled it up after his last trip, and it’s just sat since then.”
“Thanks! By the way, what’s your name?”
“Drew.”
“Nice to meet you, Drew.”
Scott came back over to the coach. Kerry had the ice chest inside and was stowing the dry goods in the pantry. He went out to the storage compartment and checked it. It was chock full of stuff. Folding chairs, a small barbeque, fishing equipment, tools, and a lots of other junk. He shut that and went to the propane compartment. Yep, it’s full alright. He opened the valve, and then went back into the coach and got the fridge working.
“Kerry, you want to load up the fridge?”
“Sure, Scotty. Didn’t know it was on. There’s no power.”
“I just turned on the gas. It’ll cool down after a while, but put the bags of ice in there too, for now.”
“Okay, Scotty. Do we get to hang out for a while?”
“Yeah,” he said. “The storage yard guy said we can stay here for three nights.”
“That’s great, Scotty. I put your pillow on the bed back there, and mine’s up in the bunk.”
“Good. I think I’ll go catch a little shut eye. Wake me up before it gets dark, okay?”
“Won’t it be hard to sleep tonight?”
“I’ll be busy tonight, Kerry.”
***
The caravan made its way to the gate. Malcolm in his Jeep Unlimited, then Ted in his rental car, and Dobie and Gabe pulling the fifth wheel. Jake joined Terry and Trish on the porch of the clubhouse and watched them leave.
“You get dog duty?” Terry asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “This makes me nervous as hell. I hope Dobie and Gabe take care of themselves.”
“Oh, I think they’ll be fine,” Trish said. “They’re not going up against the enemy or anything like that.”
“I hope the roads are safe,” Jake said. “Long way to Columbus, and they’ll have to cross the Mississippi, too.”
“From what I’ve been hearing, there’s ways to do that now,” Terry said.
Charlie and the Sheriff walked out on the porch.
“Did I just see Dobie’s fifth wheel leave with Malcolm and Ted?” asked the Sheriff.
“Yeah,” Jake said.
“Shit,” Charlie said. The Sheriff had a worried look on his face.
“Didn’t they say they wouldn’t involve any of our people in this escapade?” the Sheriff asked.
“Yeah, but Dobie talked them into it,” Jake said, “and Gabe didn’t want Dobie to take off by himself.”
“I don’t like it,” Charlie said. “Wish they would have brought it up with the group first.”
“I don’t like it either, Charlie, but this is not a dictatorship,” Jake said. “People are free to come and go as they please.”
Charlie was silent for a moment, looking out at the road. The caravan was out of sight already. “I know, Jake. I’m just worried about them, that’s all.”
“You think they’re going to find anything at the house, after the incident at the jogging path?” Trish asked. “Scott and Howard might be in FBI custody, right?”
“I doubt it,” the Sheriff said. “Nobody’s heard from that missing FBI agent yet. Something went wrong. Our guys are liable to walk right into a trap.”
“Wonder what’s up with the general?” Jake said, pointing towards the barn. The general and his son were trotting towards them.
“What’s up, General?” Charlie asked. “Hear something about the WTO delegation?”
“Yeah,” the General said, trying to catch his breath. “They’re doing a southwest tour to survey the former battle areas.”
Chapter 17 – Uncle Jasper
Frank looked up and saw the General trotting towards him.
“Hi, General,” Frank said. “What’s up?”
“News on the WTO,” he said.
“Good,” Frank said.
“The WTO is taking a tour of the southwest, to survey the battlefields. New Mexico isn’t on the itinerary, but they won’t be far.”
“What is on the itinerary?” Frank asked. Jane turned to listen.
“They’re coming in through San Diego and touring some of the former hot spots in Southern California. After that they’re making several stops in Arizona, then Utah, Colorado, West Texas, and back to San Diego.”
“Isn’t Arizona still hot?” Jane asked.
“Yeah, in sp
ots, but its calmed way down over the last few days,” General Hogan said.
“So if they’re going to hit New Mexico, they’ll probably do it on the way back to San Diego from Texas.”
“That’s what we’re thinking,” General Hogan said.
“When are they starting this trip?”
“Next week,” the General said.
“We gonna do something?” Frank asked.
“I don’t know yet,” General Hogan said. “I’m not even sure if Daan Mertins is making the trip.”
“How about the full members?” Frank asked. “Some of them are shady.”
“I assume they’ll be coming, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
“Is the army going to escort them?” Jane asked.
“No, the Army doesn’t know what they’re doing. I found out from other sources.”
“Interesting,” Frank said. “You trust these sources?”
“Yeah,” General Hogan said.
“Anybody in the army know about the New Mexico situation yet?” Jane asked.
“I haven’t told them,” General Hogan said. “I think I’d have heard about it by now if there were officially sanctioned activities going on.”
“This seems crazy to me,” Jane said. “Why would these folks be coming here? Seems way too risky to me.”
“I’ve been banging my head against the wall on that one,” General Hogan said. “I got a hint this morning.”
“What’s that?” Frank asked.
“Chatter about Europe,” General Hogan said. “Bad chatter.”
“You saying there might be an attempt to do in Europe what they couldn’t get done here?” Jane asked.
“Starting to look that way,” General Hogan said. “Could just me being paranoid.”
“If I were the enemy, I would have started with Europe,” Frank said.
“Why?” Jane asked.
“I know why,” General Hogan said. “Most Europeans allowed their governments to disarm them.”
***
Malcolm was tired of sitting in traffic. His phone rang.
“Yeah.”
“Hey, Malcolm,” Ted said. “Didn’t know Kansas City had such a bad rush hour.”