by Robert Boren
“Scared?” Curt asked.
“Don’t,” Gray said to her.
“Oh, stuff it, Gray,” she said. “We’ve had terrorists chasing us all the way. They keep popping up.”
“Islamists, right?” Curt said.
“You a cop?” Gray asked.
“I’m on leave,” Curt said. “They been hunting you, huh?”
“Yes,” Cindy said. Gray shot her a harsh glance.
Curt smiled. “They were doing the same to us until we found out how they were tracking us.”
“Why would they be tracking you?” Gray asked.
“See those guys over there, with the two women and the little girl?”
“Yeah,” Gray said. “They with you?”
“Yep,” he said. “They were involved in that attack at the Superstore in Dripping Springs.”
“Really?” Gray asked. Cindy looked sick to her stomach.
Curt got close enough to whisper. “The Islamists hacked Austin PD’s cell phones. Everybody who talked to an infected phone got a virus. It gave control of the phones over to the enemy. They got control of the microphone, camera, GPS, files, everything.”
“Oh, shit,” Gray said, hand going to his pocket.
“I can tell if you’ve been hacked. Let’s see your phone.”
Gray resisted, but Cindy grabbed Gray’s phone out of his hand and handed it to Curt.
“Open the screen,” Curt said, handing it back.
Gray nodded and punched in his code. Curt took it back and moved his hand over the screen. “Yep,” he said. “I can turn this around on them. It’ll allow us to see where they are.”
“Do it,” Cindy said. Gray nodded reluctantly.
Curt moved his fingers on the phone, taking about three minutes to change the tracking program. Then he shut down the phone and counted to thirty.
“What are you doing?” Gray asked.
“Reboot. I reversed their tracking program,” Curt said. “Did the same to my phone. Look.”
Curt pulled out his phone and showed the program. “The people who’ve been on my phone aren’t there, but if they were, you’d see dots on the map.”
“Or your program doesn’t work,” Gray said.
Curt chuckled, handing Gray’s phone back to him. “Log back in.”
Gray did that. “Okay, looks normal.”
“Punch that icon in the lower middle of the first screen.”
His eyes got big as he saw the new icon. He hit it, and an alarm went off.
“Son of a bitch,” Curt said. “Hey, Kyle and Jason, we’re about to have company.”
“What does that mean?”
“Islamists on the way. See those dots there on the map display? We got about ten minutes. You guys have guns?”
“Yeah,” Gray said. “I’ll go get the others.”
Kyle and Jason ran over. “What?”
“This is Gray,” Curt said. “He was being tracked. I reversed his app. They’re coming.”
“Oh, shit,” Jason said, rushing back over to the women.
“Brushy,” Curt said. “We’re about to have some Islamic guests.”
“Ah, crap,” he said. “Did they follow you here?”
“No, they followed Gray here. He had a hacked cellphone.”
“Tarnation,” Brushy said. “My damn meat’s gonna burn.”
“Pull it off the grill and get your gun,” Curt said. “You can cook it the rest of the way after we’ve iced these creeps.”
Brushy laughed. “I’m starting to like you, boy.”
“We got about ten minutes,” Curt said. “There a PA system here? Might want to warn the other residents.”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Get your guns,” Curt said to Gray. “Hope your people know how to fight.”
“They do,” he said. “I’m obliged to you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Curt said. He trotted to catch up with Kyle, Jason, and the women, getting to their campsites in less than a minute.
Brushy’s crusty old voice came over the loudspeakers. “Islamist Terrorists are on the way to the park. Get ready. If you have guns, now’s the time to get them out.”
“Girls, grab the Thompsons,” Jason said. “Kyle and I got the BARs.”
“Mommy, I’m scared,” Chelsea said.
“Get in the bedroom and lay on the floor,” Carrie said.
“No,” Curt said, running over. “Put her in the back of my rig. I’ve got Kevlar in the walls. I’m pulling the Barracuda out now.”
He rushed to his toy hauler, opened the back gate, and drove the off-roader, out.
“You might want to stay in there with her,” Curt said.
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Carrie said. “One of you want to take this Thompson? I’ll take the mini-14 and my pistol in there.”
“Yeah, I’ll take it in the Barracuda with me. It loaded?”
“Yeah,” Carrie said.
Jason rushed over with his BAR. Curt looked at it and laughed. “Lord have mercy.”
“Good, I was gonna suggest you take her into the garage,” Jason said. “Curt said it has Kevlar in the walls.”
“Yeah,” she said. “The side door too?”
“Yep, except the window, of course,” Curt said, “but not the salon, and if somebody hits you with something big, get the hell out fast. It’ll probably blow.”
“Got it,” Carrie said. Curt and Jason pushed the ramp closed.
“This bullet proof?” Jason asked.
“Against an AK-47? Yeah,” Curt said. “Against your BAR, probably not for long.” He chuckled, then pulled out his cellphone and made a call.
“Who you calling?”
“Gray, that guy with the hacked phone. I want to pick up what he has.” He put the phone to his ear.
“Who’s this?” Gray asked.
“Curt. I needed to call to pick up your virus.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Gray asked.
“So I can see where the bad guys are coming in. You should use it for that too. You guys well-armed?”
“We got some captured AK-47s and a bunch of hunting rifles. What do you guys have?”
Curt laughed. “A couple BARs, a couple Thompsons, and other assorted toys.”
“Holy shit, where’d you get BARs and Thompsons?”
“Long story. We’ll get acquainted at the barbecue.” He paused, looking at the phone screen. “Crap, they’re half a block away, coming right down Crockett Street. I’m gonna drive the Barracuda up to the front gate and give them the welcome they deserve.”
“What’s a Barra…never mind. I hear them coming. Gonna go get my men out there.”
Curt stuffed his phone back in his pocket. “They’re here,” he shouted, driving the Barracuda up to the front of the park.
“You gotta to be kidding me,” Brushy said when he saw the off-roader with its big gun. Curt shot him a grin and nodded, then pulled up to the street, just as the first truck was getting there. It was a large troop transport truck. He aimed the Mark 19. The driver and passenger in the cab saw the big barrel pointed at them, eyes getting big as the grenade flew at them. It went through the windshield and blew up, splattering them to bits.
Men jumped out of the back of the truck, only to be hit by fire from Kyle and Jason’s BARs and Kate’s Thompson machinegun.
“There’s two more trucks coming!” Brushy shouted, just as Gray and his people showed up.
Curt drove around the ruined truck and shot the second one, lifting it into the air. Gray’s men ran over and opened fire on the men trying to flee from the burning wreckage.
“Hey, Curt, the other one’s turning around!” Kyle shouted while reloading his BAR.
“I see them,” Curt shouted, driving around the second truck. He sped up, shooting a grenade at the back. It flew inside and blew up, killing the men in the back, but the truck kept rolling. “Dammit.” He floored the Barracuda, but he was close to full speed already, and the truck was exte
nding its lead fast. Curt fired off another grenade, and it went through to the wall between the cab and the back of the truck, blowing up, sending the truck flying into a ditch. He rolled up behind it. Two men were running away. Curt picked up the Thompson, pulled back the bolt, and opened fire, hitting both of the men.
Kyle and Kate arrived, holding their weapons. “Get them all?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Curt said. “Let’s grab their guns and ammo.”
“Good idea,” Kyle said.
“I’ll grab their phones too,” Kate said.
Back at camp, Gray’s men were sifting through the wreckage, picking up anything that looked valuable. Jason walked up. Gray looked at his weapon.
“Where the hell did you get that BAR?”
“My father had a collection,” he said. “I’m Jason. You must be Gray.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Curt is quite a character. Glad we ran into you guys.” Brushy came out of the office, double barrel shotgun in his hand.
“Hey Brushy, you gonna call the cops?” Jason.
“Maybe after we eat,” Brushy said. “I’d better get that meat back on the grill.” He went to the barbecue, picking up a big tray covered with foil, using his tongs to put the meat back on the grill.
“He’s kidding, right?” Cindy asked.
“I doubt it,” Jason said. He saw Kyle and Kate walking back over.
“Gray, this is my partner Kyle and his girlfriend Kate,” Jason said.
“Good to meet you folks,” Gray said.
“Likewise,” Kyle said. “You guys did a good job on that second truck.”
“Yeah, after Curt split it wide open,” Gray said. “What the hell is that thing he has mounted on top?”
“Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher,” Kyle said. “You got his app, right? Better check it and make sure no more guests are on the way.”
“Good idea,” Gray said. He pulled out his phone and looked. “Don’t see anybody.”
“Good,” Jason said. “I’m gonna go get Carrie and Chelsea.”
“Keep your guns on you,” Brushy said. Jason nodded as he was walking away.
“None of the other residents came out,” Kyle said.
“Most of them are older folks fleeing the trouble,” Brushy said. “I suspect some of them will be leaving in a few minutes.”
Curt drove back into the park, grinning ear to ear. “Well that was fun.”
Brushy turned towards him from the grill, the meat sizzling again. “Nice toy you got there.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Almost lost that last truck. This thing is fast for the dirt, but on the street just about anything can outrun it.”
Gray and his men gathered around. They were a collection of old bikers. Most of them already had beers in their hands.
“Where’d you get that grenade launcher?” Gray asked.
“Trade secret,” he said. “I made the gimbal and sight assembly with my 3-D printer and some surplus electronics.”
“Do tell,” Gray said. “Love to mount something like that on my Harley.”
Curt laughed. “Hell, that would have been good today. I doubt that truck can outrun a Harley.”
Jason returned with Carrie and Chelsea.
“How’d it go in there?” Kate asked Carrie.
“It was scary not being able to see what was going on outside,” she said. “The Kevlar does a good job of sound isolation. We could hear the gunfire, but it was really muffled.”
“Really?” Curt asked. “I’ll have to remember that.”
“You gonna put the Barracuda away?” Kyle asked.
“No, I think I’ll leave her out for now. The phone app has a pretty short range. There may be more company before the night is over.”
“You said the phone app is like a virus,” Gray said. “I’ve talked to all my men with this phone. Should we do something about that?”
“Yeah,” Curt said. “Bring them to me. I’ll reverse the apps on all of them.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t have dumped our phones,” Jason said.
“You didn’t have a choice,” Curt said. “You didn’t know how to reverse them.”
“Where you guys headed?” Gray asked.
“West,” Jason said. “You?”
“Hell, I don’t know,” Gray said. “We’ve just been running.”
“How’d you get on these guy’s radar?”
“Caught a bunch of them coming over the Rio Grande. We fought them. Killed a bunch, but they captured some of our people. Beheaded them.”
“And got their cellphones,” Curt said. “Some of your men tried to call them.”
“Yep,” Gray said.
“There goes the first one,” Brushy said, waving as a big motor home with an old couple behind the windshield pulled out. It stopped and the driver opened the side window.
“Sorry, Brushy, we can’t stick around. We’re too old for this sort of thing.”
“Understand, Ken,” Brushy said. “Take care.”
“You too,” he said.
The meat was ready after another ten minutes. The group sat down to eat and talk. After dinner Gray’s people lined up in front of Curt, and he took care of their phones. When he was done, he walked over to where Kyle, Jason, and Kate were sitting. It was dark, chill coming in the air.
“Carrie hit the sack already?” he asked.
“Yeah, she’s beat, and she took Chelsea to bed,” Jason said. “Hope the stress doesn’t hurt the baby. I’m worried about her.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Kate said. “Women were built to cope with this kind of thing, remember.”
“Hope you’re right,” Jason said. “You got all the phones fixed, Curt?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Yanked batteries out of all the enemy phones too, except the iPhones.”
“What did you do with those?”
“I’m about to throw them on the fire,” he said, nodding to the campfire. “Find my friends will work on those. Difficult to shut that off since you can’t take the batteries out.”
“You think Gray and his folks are gonna want to tag along with us?” Kyle asked.
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Curt said. “They’re good people. I’d be game. They got a couple of un-attached females, too.”
“Saw that,” Kate said. “You meet them?”
“Yeah,” Curt said. “One of them is interesting.”
“We gonna build ourselves a militia?” Jason asked, grinning.
Curt laughed. “Why do you think that?”
“We’re gonna meet up with Kelly’s people in Fort Stockton, right?” Kyle asked. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“True,” Curt said. “Could end up working out that way. We could do a lot worse, by the way.”
“You sure we should head straight west?” Jason asked. “Maybe we ought to go get the rest of those Mark 19s you have stashed in San Antonio.”
“Been thinking about that, but it’s really far out of the way.” Curt said. “Let’s talk tomorrow. We should hit the sack now.”
“Sounds good,” Jason said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Kate and Kyle stood, glancing over at the front of the office. “Brushy is conked out in that lounge by the door,” Kyle said. “Maybe we ought to wake him and get him to bed.”
“I’ll do it,” Curt said. “Got to go over there and dump these iPhones in the fire anyway.”
“Okay, see you in the morning,”
Chapter 12 – Redneck Contact
Kelly snuck out of bed and got his laptop out as Brenda snored softly. He set it up on the dinette and plugged it in, then got the coffee pot loaded and put it on the front burner of his stove. He glanced out the kitchen window. The sun was coming up.
The laptop got through its boot-up. Kelly grabbed the scrap of paper with Wi-Fi instructions on it and punched in the password. The laptop connected right away. He navigated to his e-mail. Three messages were waiting. One from Nate, one from Jasper, and one f
rom Curt. He smiled and opened the message from Nate.
“You up already?” Brenda asked, walking out of the bedroom, pulling a robe on.
“Yeah, thought I’d see if Nate sent me a message.”
“They can get e-mail to you without it being seen?” she asked.
“Far as I know,” Kelly said. He watched her slide into the dinette bench across the table from him.
“Get anything?”
“Yeah, messages from Nate, Jasper, and Curt.”
“Nothing from Chris?” she asked.
“No,” Kelly said. “I’m a little surprised, actually.”
“Hope he’s okay.”
“Might not be Wi-Fi at his sister’s place,” Kelly said as he opened Nate’s e-mail.
Brenda laughed. “Yeah, Chris’s sister is technology-challenged.”
“Nate got further than we did,” Kelly said, reading the message.
“Where’s he at?”
“Harper,” Kelly said. “Or rather he was in Harper. They left before the sun came up.”
Brenda looked at her phone, pulling up the map app. “Hell, that was only forty minutes from here.”
“No matter, we’ll meet them in Fort Stockton,” Kelly said.
“That coffee is smelling good,” Brenda said. “Haven’t had percolated coffee in a long time. How come you don’t have a Keurig?”
“I used to camp in the boondocks a lot,” Kelly said. “Electric coffee makers only work where you can plug in, unless you have a generator.”
“Oh,” she said. “What time are we leaving?”
“Sooner the better,” Kelly said. “I’m gonna look at these other messages.”
“Okay, I’ll get dressed. Want bacon and eggs for breakfast?”
“Sure,” Kelly said. He laughed.
“What?”
“Curt,” Kelly said. “Look at this picture he sent me.”
Brenda looked over his shoulder. “What the hell is that?”
“One heavily armed off-roader,” Kelly said. “Typical Curt. He’s with those two Austin cops who were at the Superstore attack.”
“Really? Where are they now?”
“Sonora,” Kelly said. “They’re going the same place we are.”
“Good,” Brenda said. “The more the merrier.” She went into the bedroom and dropped the robe. Kelly glimpsed her naked back.
“Nice,” he said.