by Robert Boren
There was a rap on the door. Lita rushed over and looked. “It’s them all right.” She opened the door and stood aside.
“What’s that thing?” Madison asked.
“SMAW,” Richardson said. “We brought it with us from the boat.” He sat it down on the bar with a box of ammo.
“That looks like a bazooka,” Hannah said.
“You guys have guns with you this time, too,” Lita said. “Should we be worried?”
“You hear what happened earlier?” Richardson asked.
“The plane,” Lita said. “Yeah. Was that you?”
“Yep,” Juan Carlos said.
“Why do you look so worried,” Madison asked, walking next to him. “What happened?”
“That plane had a nuke on board,” Brendan whispered.
“Don’t spread that around,” Richardson said quickly. “They’ll throw us in the brig if they know we said anything.”
“We won’t,” Hannah said, fear in her eyes.
“Shit, you think there may be another one you have to shoot down,” Lita said.
“Chances are slim, but you never know,” Richardson said. “We have a good vantage point here. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to bring it.”
“So you guys are going to spend the whole night watching the sky?” Madison asked.
“Madison, you know what just about happened,” Hannah said. “That could have killed all of us.” Brendan pulled her close and caressed her head as she trembled.
“They weren’t going to blow it here,” Richardson said. “They were taking it somewhere with more people. Corpus Christi, or closer to Houston.”
“So why was it flying close to us?” Lita asked, putting her arm around Richardson’s waist.
“If they went out over the open Gulf, one of those Coast Guard cutters would have shot them down. If they went over the land, they’d have to fight off anti-aircraft guns and probably planes too. They figured they could slip through the bay area un-noticed.”
“They were mistaken,” Juan Carlos said. “Man, I love that M-19.”
“What’s a M-19?” Madison asked. She came over to Juan Carlos and sat on his lap. He kissed her, but she broke it. “No, really, what is it?”
“It’s an automatic grenade launcher,” Juan Carlos said. “Fires as fast as I can pull the trigger. It’s mounted on the boat.”
“Wow,” Madison said. “That sounds hot.”
“Oh, yeah, baby,” he said, “but not has hot as you. Come here.”
“I’m already on your lap,” she said. He pulled her face to his and kissed her deeply. She resisted at first, but then moaned into him.
“That looks like fun,” Hannah said, pulling Brendan close to her and kissing him.
“Kids,” Richardson said, following Lita behind the bar. She turned and threw her arms around him, kissing him passionately. Then she looked him in the eyes. “I love you so much. I was scared the whole time you were out there.”
“I know,” he said. “I love you too. Wish this was over.”
“Any idea how long you’ll be around here?”
“The brass isn’t saying anything,” he said. “Let’s just enjoy it while we can.”
“It’s hard,” she said, resting her head against his chest.
“I know, sweetie.” They hugged silently, watching the younger couples making out.
“Wow,” Lita whispered. “Maybe we should be somewhere that they can have a little privacy.”
“We don’t want to go there,” Richardson whispered. “At least not yet. I wanted them to blow off steam. We don’t want them too serious. Not now.”
“We’re serious,” Lita whispered.
“True, but we were serious a couple years before any of this started.”
Suddenly there was a noise outside, approaching from the south.
“Hey,” Richardson said. “Sound like a prop plane to you?”
“Dammit,” Juan Carlos said. “Yeah, it does.”
“Yep,” Brendan said. “Let’s get out there now.”
“You want to go on the roof?” Lita asked. “It’s got some cover. You can get up there through the stock room.”
“Good idea,” Richardson said, picking up the SMAW. “C’mon, you guys. Girls, stay away from the windows, okay? That seaplane we splashed had guns.”
“C’mon, girls,” Lita said, leading them into the kitchen as the men rushed to the stock room.
“Wish we had a .50 cal,” Brendan said as they went up the ladder. Richardson opened the trap door and they got onto the roof.
“It’s close,” Juan Carlos said.
“Who’s best with this thing?” Richardson asked.
“Brendan,” Juan Carlos said.
“Okay,” Richardson said. “You help him reload. I’m gonna call it in. Hopefully those choppers can be here in a hurry.” He pulled out his cellphone and called as Brendon set up the SMAW.
“Hand me a rocket,” Brendan said. Juan Carlos fished one out of the box and handed it to him. “Have the next one ready.” He inserted it into the launcher and held it up, aiming at the sky.
“Where is it, dude?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Can’t see it yet,” Brendan said. “Damn fog.”
“Choppers are close by,” Richardson said. “If we don’t hit it, they’ll take it down.”
“What if they decide to set off the device?” Juan Carlos asked.
“We’ll all be par-boiled,” Richardson said. “Don’t worry about it. Do your jobs.”
“Roger that, sir,” Brendan said. “There it is, look! Another frigging seaplane.”
“Lead it,” Richardson said.
“The SMAW rockets are faster than the M-19,” Juan Carlos said. “Remember that.”
“Chopper!” Brendan said, watching it emerge from the fog. It was almost to the seaplane when tracer bullets flashed out of the side door, hitting the chopper, sending it crashing to the water below.
“Dammit!” Brendan shouted. He pulled the trigger, the rocket flying, hitting the side of the plane. It exploded, but the plane kept going.
“Reload,” Richardson said.
Brendan had the next round in the launcher before Richardson was done talking.
“Think skeet, dude,” Juan Carlos said. “You’re good at that.”
“Yeah, I am, he said, following the plane. He pulled the trigger. The rocket hit just behind the cockpit, blowing the plane into two pieces.
“Yes!” Brendan shouted as he watched the debris hit the water. Two other choppers showed up and peppered the water around the wreckage with their mini-guns.
“I’ll call it in,” Richardson said. “Let’s leave this thing up here in case there’s another one coming.”
“Maybe we ought to stay up here,” Juan Carlos said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Brendan said. “We could let the girls come up, right?”
“Right,” Lita said, her head poking through the trap door.
Richardson looked at her, phone to his ear, and nodded yes. She came up, followed by Madison and Hannah.
“You did it, didn’t you,” Hannah said to Brendan.
“It was a team effort,” he said
“What’s wrong, honey?” Lita asked, looking at Richardson’s face.
“We’ve got to go now!” he said. “Grab the equipment.”
“Why, what’s happening?” Lita asked.
“Several Migs and a bunch of Venezuelan attack choppers on the way,” Richardson said. “There’s going to be an air battle here. We don’t want to be around. We need to get inland.”
“We can’t go over the bridge,” Juan Carlos said. “We’d be like sitting ducks on that.”
“Seriously,” Madison said.
“My dad’s fishing boat is right down there,” she said. “C’mon.”
They rushed down the steps and out the door of the bar, heading for the docks as the sound of choppers approached. Then there was the roar of a jet, and the bar exploded behind them.
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p; “Oh my God!” Hannah cried, looking back at it. Lita was already in the boat, firing up the engine.
“Get in, now!” she cried. The men helped the women in, and Lita took off, racing for the mainland as jets flew at each other and helicopter gunships fought it out above them.
“Where should we land?”
“We can make Port Isabel,” Lita said. “Those aircraft are busy with each other now.”
There was an explosion to their right, and a big piece of the bridge came down.
“Oh no!” Hannah said, watching cement and vehicles come down onto the water.
“Load the SMAW,” Richardson said, watching the skies. “We might not be done fighting.”
“Yeah,” Brendan said. Juan Carlos handed him another round, and he put it in the launcher and aimed.
“Here comes a chopper.”
“You sure it’s not one of ours?” Madison asked.
“Yeah, that’s Russian,” Richardson said.
“We’re fighting the Russians?” Hannah asked, eyes wide.
“No, Venezuela has Russian aircraft,” Brendan said.
“Better hit them now,” Richardson shouted. “If they get any closer, they’ll open up on us with their mini-guns.”
Brendan squeezed the trigger, the rocket flying into the front of the chopper, blowing it apart. The heat of the blast blanketed them for a moment.
“Reload, dude,” Juan Carlos cried, handing Brendan another round. He loaded and aimed again, waiting to see another chopper.
“I don’t see any close by,” Richardson said.
“We’re almost to the harbor,” Lita shouted, turning into the long channel.
There were flashes beyond the island, and another Russian chopper fell.
“Good, they got those Coast Guard cutters in place now,” Richardson shouted, watching the fireworks above.
Lita pulled into the harbor, taking the first open slip she found.
“Let’s get indoors,” she said. “My folks place is just down the street.”
“They home?”
“No, they left the area,” Lita said. “Too dangerous. They tried like hell to get me to leave this morning.”
Brendan and Juan Carlos tied the boat up, and they ran off the dock, the jet and chopper noise and explosions still going on.
“How are we going to get back to the patrol boat?” Brendan asked.
“We might be in trouble there,” Richardson said.
“You can take my dad’s boat over there,” Lita said.
“I saw explosions close to those docks,” Richardson said. “Our boat might be toast.”
“No,” Juan Carlos said. “Really?”
“C’mon, man,” Brendan said. “We got the precious cargo out of there, and we’re alive. I don’t care about the damn boat at the moment.”
“Am I precious cargo?” Hannah asked, grabbing Brendan’s hands as they walked quickly down the street.
“What do you think?” Brendan asked, looking in her eyes.
“There it is,” Lita said, out of breath as the made it to the villa. She input a code on the massive gate and it rolled to the side.
“Whoa, dude, look at this joint,” Juan Carlos said as they entered the front door. It was ornate marble and wrought iron with art all around, a huge curved staircase in the entry way. They walked past it to the living room.
“You don’t think they’ll mind?” Brendan asked as they sat.
“No, and frankly, I wouldn’t care,” she said.
“We aren’t out of the woods yet,” Richardson said. “This whole area is a target. There a basement in this place?”
“Yeah,” Lita said, “Don’t know how strong it is, though.”
Richardson’s phone rang. He answered it.
“It’s Jefferson. You guys safe? Put it on speaker.”
Richardson put his phone on the coffee table in front of the couch and motioned for the others to gather around. He pushed the speaker button.
“We’re at my girlfriend’s parents’ house in Port Isabel,” he said. “With two other women. Don’t know about the patrol boat.”
“It’s gone,” Jefferson said. “Our spotters saw the whole dock complex on fire.”
“Dammit,” Richardson said. “What now?”
“Lie low tonight. Get inland in the morning. Take your women.”
“Why?” Lita asked.
“There’s about twenty thousand troops heading that way from Matamoros,” Jefferson said. “Take route 100 to I-69E. Then take route 2 all the way to Laredo. Wait for instructions there. You have access to a car?”
“There’s one in the garage,” Lita said. “How do you know the enemy won’t get here before morning?”
“They’re waiting for armor,” Jefferson said. “They ain’t gonna get it. We’re gonna blow it up tonight. That will slow them down for a while.”
“How do you know they’re going to come here?” Richardson asked.
“They won’t have any place else to go,” Jefferson said. “The US Army is coming at them fast from Reynosa.”
“The US Army is in Mexico?” Lita asked.
“Long story, but yeah, we’ve got significant forces there. I’ve got to go. Be out of there by no later than 8:00 am. Got it?”
“Yes sir,” Richardson said. He ended the call.
“You girls okay with this?” Richardson asked.
“I assume you’re not talking to me,” Lita said.
“No, I’m not talking to you, sweetie,” Richardson said.
“I’m going with you guys,” Hannah said.
“Me too,” Madison said.
“Good,” Richardson said. “Let’s get some shuteye.”
“I’ll show you where the bedrooms are,” Lita said. “C’mon.”
They followed her up the stately curved staircase.
“Separate rooms?” Brendan asked, looking at Hannah.
“Not on your life,” she said, putting her arm around his waist as they walked. She was trembling.
Lita and Richardson shot each other a glance, then looked at Madison.
“What?” she asked quickly, looking very agitated. “Of course I’m spending the night with him. So what? I’m scared.”
Lita giggled. “I’m not saying a word.”
Chapter 23 – State of the Republic
The buzzing woke Hendrix up right away. Maria’s naked body was pressed against him. She stirred, raising her head.
“I need you,” Hendrix said. “C’mon, we can use the console in here.”
“They’ll be able to see us, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, better cover up.”
He got out of bed and threw on a robe that was hanging in the closet. Maria pulled the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around herself, groggy as she sat in front of the keyboard. Hendrix switched on the monitor, and she input the codes.
“We’re here,” Hendrix said. “Who is it?”
“Hi, Kip, it’s Nelson.”
“Good,” Hendrix said. “No video feed?”
“Not from this side. I can see you and your lady friend.”
“Maria,” Hendrix said.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“I’m here by choice,” Maria said. “Completely.”
“It’s a good thing she’s here,” Hendrix said. “She knows the protocol. And yes, we do have a relationship, just so you know.”
“I have no problem with that,” Nelson said. “Happy for you.”
“We have more people coming?”
“No,” Nelson said. “Things have gotten a lot worse over the last couple of hours.”
“What’s going on?”
“We’re evacuating most of the Texas state officials out of the city,” Nelson said.
“Did they get to the Capitol district yet?”
“No, the citizens stopped them, so they finally gave up and spread out to other places.”
“What about the citizens in the rest of Austin?” Hendrix asked.
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“General Hogan and General Walker have been organizing around the city, asking the able-bodied fighters to retreat to locations in the burbs. We’ll come back in and retake the city soon, but we need leadership for that type of operation. Hogan and Walker are trying to get people with leadership capability up to speed in hours. It’s a tall order, but if anybody can pull it off, it’s those guys.”
“What about the National Guard and the US Army forces who were left in Texas?”
“The US Army still has too many bad apples,” Nelson said. “They’re bottled up on their bases at the moment, as we investigate everybody.”
“How many more tanks are out there?”
“At least fifty,” Nelson said. “Could have been a lot worse. We took out the enemy’s connections at Fort Bliss, and saved the lion’s share of them.”
“Why aren’t we using the tanks against them, then?”
“Oh, we are,” Nelson said. “We’re stretched way too thin. That’s the real problem. We have battles going on in San Antonio and down around South Padre Island, next to the border. There are enemy troops massing along the New Mexico border. Another group of enemy fighters are collecting close to the east side of Houston. And now we have an armored column heading toward Dallas. We’re racing what’s left of our tanks to Abilene to cut them off at the pass. We don’t want a tank battle in Dallas, that’s for sure.”
“Dammit,” Hendrix said. “What do you want me to do?”
“Stay put for now,” Nelson said. “You’re one of five secure locations we have left, and you’re in a good position to observe. There’s the surveillance setup on the roof. You know how to use it, correct?”
“Yes, but you have to be up there to do it,” Hendrix said.
“That’s a risk we’re going to have to take. I need you up there at least once an hour during the daylight to scan the area. Look for tanks and large groups of troops moving around.”
“You expecting more to be coming here?”
“No, the enemy is holding the southern half of the town, and it appears they aren’t going to go further for the moment. We’re worried about them taking off, towards either Waco or San Antonio.”
“Oh,” Hendrix said. “We aren’t using satellites to see this?”
“Feds cut us off,” Nelson said. “We’ve been using planes, but it’s risky. We need them for combat, because there are still a lot of Migs south of the border.”