Bug Out! Texas Book 2: The New Republic

by Robert Boren

  “Maybe the Air Force ought to pay a visit to Venezuela,” Juan Carlos said.

  “There’s no maybe about it,” Lieutenant Richardson said. “Wonder what’s taking them so long?”

  “Probably waiting on Governor Nelson’s announcement,” Jefferson said.

  “You think he’s really gonna do that?” Brendan asked. “We really gonna be a Republic again?”

  “Yeah,” Jefferson said. “We’ve already separated. You think the Feds would’ve allowed us to mount the grenade launchers on our patrol boats? They still had us in court over the .50 Cals.”

  “Really?” Juan Carlos asked. “You mean they could’ve pulled them at any time?”

  “Yeah,” Jefferson said. “Don’t worry about it. The Administration fought their way to a stalemate. Couldn’t get around Congress and the Courts.”

  Air Raid sirens started up, the men looking around in a panic.

  “Son of a bitch, we’re about to get hit,” Richardson said. The men ran out of the trailer, the sound of choppers approaching.

  “This ought to be interesting,” Jefferson said. “We don’t think they know about the anti-aircraft batteries yet.”

  “Should we get our boats out of here?” Richardson asked.

  Jefferson looked at Juan Carlos and Brendan. “You guys think you can handle the new hardware a little early?”

  “Piece of cake, dude,” Juan Carlos said. Brendan nodded in agreement.

  “Okay, you guys get out of here,” Jefferson said. “I’ll get the other crews down there.”

  Juan Carlos, Brendan, and Richardson sprinted to the docks as the thumping of the choppers got closer.

  “Why don’t they fire?” Juan Carlos yelled.

  “Not close enough yet,” Richardson said.

  The men jumped into their boat, Brendan undoing the bow and stern lines while Juan Carlos started the engine. They cruised away from the docks, getting out far enough to see several cutters heading towards them.

  “Here they come,” Brendan shouted.

  “Look, there’s the first chopper!” Richardson yelled, pointing. He got behind the starboard gun. Brendon got behind the port gun, and Juan Carlos flipped the switch on the M-19. The gimbal motor whirred as he aimed at the oncoming cutters.

  “Those boats aren’t any better than the ones they had,” Brendan said.

  Thunder came from the anti-aircraft guns and the first chopper exploded.

  “Yes!” Richardson yelled, his fist in the air. “They didn’t expect that.”

  “The second one is almost in range,” Brendan yelled. “Surprised they haven’t split.”

  “I see four more behind it,” Juan Carlos said. “Ready to take on a cutter?”

  “Yeah, before they get close enough to fire on the docks,” Richardson yelled. “We got to protect the other boats until they can get under way.”

  “You got it, dude,” Juan Carlos said. He put the boat in gear and floored it, the three outboards sounding a raspy snarl. The patrol boat jumped onto a plane.

  There was an explosion and fire ball in the air on their starboard side.

  “Scratch two choppers!” Richardson yelled as their boat was getting into range of the cutters.

  “Eat this,” Juan Carlos said, aiming at the first cutter, the gimbal turning the gun towards the big boat. He pulled the trigger and a grenade flashed out of the barrel. It hit the front of the cutter, knocking a good-sized hole in the front of the hull. Juan Carlos fired again, hitting the bridge, stopping the boat. Men were diving off. Richardson and Brendan opened up with their guns, chopping up the water with fire as Juan Carlos hit the second cutter broadside with a grenade. He immediately fired a second round, slamming into the hole made by the first round, blowing up inside. The boat exploded, debris flying into the air.

  “Damn, that’s the ticket,” Brendan said. “Looks like you killed everybody on board. Nice shooting, man!”

  “The other choppers fled,” Richardson shouted. He fired at the men in the water from the second boat. “That other cutter is turning. Let’s go get that son of a bitch.”

  “Hell yeah,” Juan Carlos said. He drove the boat straight for it. “In range. Bye bye.” He fired a first grenade, then a second one, the first making a split, the second getting through the thin armor and blowing up inside. The boat listed to starboard as men screamed and jumped off, and then there was an explosion under the deck, the big boat flying into pieces.

  “Hell, I don’t think any men survived that one either,” Brendan shouted. “What now?”

  “Let’s see if we can find more,” Richardson said. “We got a full tank of gas and plenty of ammo.”

  “Look, here come the other patrol boats!” Brendan said, watching three more coming towards them. The radio scratched to life.

  “Nice shooting, men! Over.” It was Captain Jefferson.

  “Hey, boss, you coming out too, eh? Over,” Juan Carlos said into the mic.

  “Wouldn’t miss it. There are two big barges on their way across. Just left Arroyo Del Diablo, heading for the Zapata boat ramp facilities,” Jefferson said. “Let’s go get us some. Over.”

  “You got it,” Juan Carlos said. “Over and out.” He put the mic back on the holder. Their boat flew past the floating debris and bodies of the three cutters, maneuvering to avoid it.

  Brendan laughed. “What a mess,” he said. “We’re gonna give them a real hard time with these grenade launchers.”

  “Yeah,” Richardson said, “but remember that we don’t have many boats left. We’re gonna be under a lot of pressure for a few weeks, and we aren’t indestructible. If we run into a chopper out here, we’re gonna have a problem.”

  “Don’t be a buzz kill, dude,” Juan Carlos said.

  “Just don’t get over-confident,” Richardson said. “Be careful. Be smart. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “We get it,” Brendan said.

  The other three patrol boats caught up with them. They travelled alongside each other for about ten minutes. Brendan reloaded the guns. He noticed the SMAW down in the storage compartment with a crate of rockets.

  “Hey, man, they gave us more rockets for the SMAW,” he said. Juan Carlos grinned back at him.

  “Bitchen, dude,” he said.

  “Keep that in reserve,” Richardson said. “Use the M-19 when we’re firing from the boat. We don’t know when we can get more SMAW rockets.”

  “Insurance,” Brendan said. “That’s what we wanted them for anyway.”

  “Look,” Richardson said. “Two barges. No cutters around. Let’s get ‘em.”

  Juan Carlos banked the patrol boat towards the launching ramp. Men on the barges noticed, getting their guns ready.

  “Watch it, they’ll be firing at us,” Richardson said.

  “Don’t see any cannons on these barges,” Brendan said.

  “Probably don’t think they need them with the cutters,” Richardson said.

  “We’re in range,” Juan Carlos said. He aimed the M-19 and fired two grenades in rapid succession, both blowing up on the first barge. It stopped, fires breaking out on the deck as men screamed and dove off.

  “Go hit the second one, and then we’ll finish both of them off,” Richardson said.

  “Yeah,” Juan Carlos said, turning towards the other barge as it tried to move faster towards the docks of the launching ramp. He fired two grenades again, both of them hitting the target. The barge didn’t sink right away, a group of men fighting back with small arms. The bullets pelted the boat.

  “Watch it, men,” Richardson shouted as he opened up with his gun. Brendan did the same, the .50 cal bullets mowing down the men on the deck. Juan Carlos fired another grenade, hitting the side of the barge hull, sending it flipping into the air on one side. He came back down, fire breaking out as the men dived off in a panic.

  They heard an explosion behind them. One of the other patrol boats had fired on a third barge, and it was burning. The other two boats arrived, concentrating gun
fire on the decks.

  “Good,” Richardson said. “Let’s finish these two off.” Juan Carlos hit the first barge with another grenade as the .50 cals fired. The second barge was already under water, no survivors around.

  “I’m gonna hit those trucks on the launching ramp,” Juan Carlos said.

  “Can you hit them from here?” Brendan asked.

  “Only one way to find out,” he said, aiming and pulling the trigger. The grenade flew, going further than the others. The men on the ramp saw it, trying to move the truck as the grenade hit it, exploding it into pieces on the ramp.

  “Hit the others before they can leave,” Richardson yelled. He went back to firing his gun at the fighters in the water.

  Juan Carlos fired at the last two trucks in rapid succession, blowing them up where they sat. “These guns are fast,” he said. “They’ll be insane when we’ve got enough practice on them.”

  “Listen,” Brendan said. “Choppers.”

  “Head back for base,” Richardson said, looking into the sky for the choppers. “Full bore.”

  “You got it,” he said, turning the boat and flooring the engines. They jumped on a plane, racing back. The other boats got the message and followed them. Richardson looked in the air behind them.

  “Here they come,” he shouted. “Four choppers.”

  “They’re gaining on us fast,” Juan Carlos said. “Dammit!”

  “Keep going,” Richardson said.

  “Want me to shoot at it with the M-19?”

  “No, drive,” Richardson said. “Hear that?”

  There was the sound of a jet fighter overhead, and two of the choppers blew up in mid-air.

  “Texas Air National Guard!” Brendan shouted. “Finally.”

  “The other two choppers are leaving,” Richardson said.

  “I hear more choppers coming,” Juan Carlos shouted. “They sound different.”

  “Apaches!” Brendan said. “Hope they’re on our side.”

  “They are.” Richardson asked.

  “Why don’t they attack?” Brendan asked.

  “I’ll bet they’re trying to follow them back to base,” Richardson said. “Those enemy choppers don’t see them yet.”

  “I think you’re right,” Brendan said. “They aren’t trying any evasive action at all.”

  “Those old Russian choppers are no match for an Apache,” Richardson said.

  “I think you’re right, they’re keeping their distance,” Brendan said. “Those enemy choppers have to see them by now.”

  “They do,” Richardson said. “They just turned towards the Mexican border. Probably think we’re still following the old rules, and won’t follow them there.”

  Brendan laughed. “If the administration was still in control, we wouldn’t.”

  “Yep,” Juan Carlos said. “They got a nasty surprise coming.”

  “We’re almost back to base,” Richardson said. “We ain’t gonna see what happens, I’m afraid.”

  “Want me to slow down?” Juan Carlos asked.

  “No, get back to the docks. We need to re-supply and get back out there ASAP. We got them with their pants down. Let’s use it.”

  “Roger that,” Juan Carlos said as he banked into the cove. The crews were waiting for them on the docks with crates of ammo and grenades.

  The other three boats pulled up too, the men whooping and hollering.

  “That was a good day,” Jefferson said as he got off of his boat, walking over to Richardson. “What do you think?”

  “I think if we didn’t have air power this time, we would have lost most of the boats, sir,” he said.

  “True,” Jefferson said, coming down from his enthusiasm. “So the question is how long will we have the air cover after Nelson makes his announcement.”

  Major General Gallagher hurried down to the dock, calling Jefferson and Richardson over. “Don’t go back out right away.”

  “Why not” Jefferson asked.

  “We’ve got full control of the air right now. Landry wants to hammer the enemy hard while we have the chance. We want our boats out of the way.”

  “They going into Mexico now?”

  “They’ll dislodge the enemy from the US side of the lake first,” Gallagher said, “using Texas air power. The US Airforce will operate outside the US Border for now.”

  “We saw two Apaches follow some Venezuelan choppers into Mexico,” Richardson said.

  “Yeah, they followed those idiots right to their base. Knocked the hell out of them, but one of the Apaches got damaged on the way out.”

  “Shit,” Jefferson said.

  “It’s okay,” Gallagher said. “Nobody got hurt, and the chopper made it back to base, plus we have lots more where that one came from.”

  “Good,” Jefferson said. He returned to the men on the doc. “Go get some rest, men. We aren’t going out right away. We’re going to hit them from the air. We don’t want our boats in the middle of it.”

  “When are we going out again?” Juan Carlos asked.

  “Tomorrow night at the earliest,” Gallagher said.

  “Good, then let’s go have a beer,” Juan Carlos said.

  “Yeah, you do that,” Gallagher said. “I’ll probably join you later. Good job out there!”

  Chapter 16 – Last Leg to Fort Stockton

  Jason walked out of the motor home in the early morning sunshine. Kyle and Curt were already outside, kicking back in folding chairs, sipping coffee.

  “Want some, Jason?” Curt asked. “Got the coffee pot running in the garage.”

  “Sure, thanks,” he said. He walked up the ramp, squeezing by the Barracuda to the counter and sink on the inside wall. He poured himself a cup and joined the men outside. Kate walked over.

  “Carrie up yet, Jason?”

  “Yeah, she’s giving Chelsea a quick rinse in the shower. Go on in.”

  “Thanks.” She walked up the steps and went inside.

  “She is a looker, Kyle,” Curt said.

  “Yeah,” Kyle said. “More to her than that, though.”

  “What are we doing?” Jason asked. “Heading to Fort Stockton? Or are we gonna double back and hit San Antonio?”

  “We were just talking about that,” Kyle said. “Fort Stockton is only about two hours from here. Curt looked it up on his phone app a minute ago.”

  “Yeah, I knew it was pretty close.”

  “I think we ought to go there, get settled, wait for the rest of our friends to show up, and then take one of the pickup trucks and hit my place in San Antonio. Drive through the night.”

  “How long does it take to get to San Antonio from Fort Stockton?” Jason asked.

  “Checked that too,” Curt said. “We’re talking a little over four hours.”

  “That’s not so bad,” Jason said. “If you got two drivers, you could get there and back overnight.”

  “Assuming there aren’t any problems on the road,” Kyle said. “I keep thinking about those numbers we heard. Half a million enemy fighters.”

  “You really believe those numbers?” Jason asked.

  “I do,” Curt said. “I believe the sources.”

  Jason got a grim look on his face. He took a sip of coffee. “If that’s really true, this is gonna be a long battle.”

  “No shit,” Curt said.

  “Hey guys! Good morning.”

  Curt, Jason, and Kyle looked over. It was Gray and two his men.

  “Good morning,” Jason said.

  “Want coffee?” Curt asked. “There’s some in the back of my toy hauler.”

  “No thanks, been drinking it all morning,” Gray said. “This is Tyler and Logan.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Tyler said. He was tall and thin, with light brown hair and a reddish beard, about forty.

  “Me too,” Logan said. He had long dark-brown hair in a ponytail, clean shaven, medium build and height, mid-thirties.

  “Good to meet you guys,” Jason said. “What’s up?”

&nb
sp; “We were wondering if you’d like some company on the road,” Gray said.

  “Funny, I was gonna come over and invite you guys after we finished our coffee,” Curt said. “We talked about it last night before we crashed.”

  “I’m good with it,” Jason said.

  “Me too,” Kyle said. “Glad to have you guys with us. You were good in that fight last night.”

  “Thanks,” Gray said. “You’re going to Fort Stockton, right?”

  “Yeah,” Curt said. “We got other people showing up there too, but it’ll take a few days for them to show. They’re all east of here right now.”

  “More good fighters?” Tyler asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” Curt said. “Remember the rednecks that showed up at the Superstore attack in Dripping Springs?”

  Logan’s face lit up. “Yeah, I saw the video. It was awesome! You know those guys?”

  “Yeah,” Curt said. “They’re broken up into several groups, but they’re all on the way. They’ll probably be the last to arrive.”

  “Nah, my brother will be the last to arrive,” Jason said. “He’s coming from east Louisiana.”

  Logan got a grim look on his face. “Any idea where he is exactly?”

  “He was coming over the border north of the Sabine river,” Jason said, worried look on his face. “I’m not in contact with him now, though. He’s the one who figured out the cell phones were being used to track us. He had to dump his out in the middle of nowhere. I sent him an e-mail yesterday, but haven’t heard back from him yet.”

  “Deadwood got wiped out last night,” Logan said. “My brother-in-law lived there. Everybody had to flee. Lots of people got killed.”

  “They’re coming in from the east too, eh,” Curt said. “Dammit.”

  “Carthage got attacked last night too,” Logan said, “but only with artillery. There’s Texas National Guard troops on the way there now.”

  “I think I’d better go check my e-mail again,” Jason said. He got up. “What time we leaving?”