by Robert Boren
“Maybe we’re in one of the few places the UN is operating,” Frank said.
“You think we’re safe here?” Jane asked.
“No. I’m going call George now. Ask him to get with Sam Hinton. Then maybe we should sleep in shifts, in case we have to leave in the dead of night.”
“It’s almost nine now,” June said. “Ever hear back from General Hogan?”
“No,” Frank said. “It’s been a few hours. Another reason to call.”
“If anything really bad has happened, we would have gotten a call from somebody,” Jane said.
“I hope so,” Frank said. He pulled out his cellphone and hit George’s contact, then frowned.
“What’s the matter?” Jane asked.
“No answer,” Frank said. “Went straight to voice mail. I’m afraid to leave a message.”
“Try General Hogan.”
“Yeah,” Frank said. He punched that contact and waited until it went to voice mail.
“Oh, no,” Jane said. “Can’t get him, either?”
“Nope. Could be the cell tower, you know. They had some weather this morning.”
“Wish we still had army radios,” Jane said.
“I know, me too,” Frank said.
“Apps still work?” Jane asked.
Frank loaded it and looked. “Yeah, still working. Still seeing the icons in the detention areas.”
“Looks like the long-range detail app is still working too,” Jane said, staring at her laptop screen.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Frank got up, sending Mr. Wonderful scurrying away. He looked out the window. “It’s Jerry,” he said as he opened the door.
“Sorry to bother you so late,” Jerry said. “I can’t reach the park.”
“Neither can we,” Frank said. “Seems like a cell tower issue to me.”
“Yeah,” Jerry said. “Jasmine’s on the phone with Rosie right now. No problems getting there, at least.”
“I’ll try Gabe,” Frank said. He punched his contact and put it on speaker.
“Frank,” Gabe said. “Was just going to call. Can you reach the RV Park?”
“Nope,” Frank said. “That’s why I’m calling.”
“Crap,” Gabe said. “Hope everything’s okay.”
“You and me both,” Frank said. “You’re on speaker. Jane and Jerry are in here.”
“And Jasmine,” she said as she walked in. “No dice?”
“Nope, honey,” Jerry said.
“What do we do?” Gabe asked.
“I don’t know,” Frank said. “Where are you guys?”
“We’re at a park just west of Indianapolis, waiting on Malcolm and Ted,” Gabe said.
“What are they doing?” Jerry said.
“They’re checking out that storage yard with the FBI,” Gabe said.
“I’ll see if I can conference Malcolm in,” Frank said. He picked up his phone and set it up. It rang.
“Frank? Something wrong?”
“I’ve got you on a conference call with Gabe. Jerry, Jasmine, and Jane are with me in my coach, on speaker.”
“Uh oh, what’s going on?” Malcolm asked.
“None of us can raise anybody at home.”
“Shit,” Malcolm said. “For how long?”
“Well, I talked to General Hogan early in the evening, while the fire-fight with the UN was going on.”
“You guys got into it with the UN?” Malcolm asked. Delson shot a worried glance at him.
“Yeah, at an RV Park in Grand Junction,” Frank said.
“I take it you won,” Malcolm asked.
“Yeah, with the help of about thirty others there. Another group like ours, organized by General Walker.”
“Wow,” Malcolm said. “George said he thought there were others.”
“We’re not sure what to do. You have an alternate way to get to George?”
“I can have Ted put something in his secure drop box, but he won’t get it without cell coverage,” Malcolm said. “Wonder if the whole town is down, or just the RV Park.”
“Now that Howard’s gone, we don’t know anybody there,” Frank said.
“Yes we do,” Gabe said. “Just a minute. Let me put it on speaker.”
“Okay,” Frank said.
“Still hear me?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah,” Frank said. “You were saying?”
“Hey, Dobie, you have the number for that RV shop you got your hitch installed at?”
“Yeah,” Dobie said. “It’s gonna be closed now, though. It’s late.”
“Was it a land line?” Malcolm asked.
“Yeah,” Dobie said. “See your point. I’ll call right now and see if it rings.”
“He’s trying now,” Dobie said.
“There’s a better number to call,” Malcolm said. “I’ll have Ted call the local police. He called them before we attacked Sherry in town. Somebody will be at the police station, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Frank said.
There was silence on the line for a few moments.
“I’m getting a ringing phone at the RV store,” Dobie said. “Went to voicemail after about ten rings. I’d say the land lines are up, at least.”
“Don’t like the sound of this,” Jane said.
“Hey, folks,” Malcolm said. “Ted got the police station. They said cellphone service is up and running in town.”
“Somebody targeted the tower close to the park,” Jerry said. “Had to be on purpose.”
“How far are you guys from home?” Gabe asked.
“On it,” Jane said, typing on her laptop. “Crap. About eight hours.”
“We’re 14 hours away,” Dobie said. “Dammit.”
“What do we do?” Jasmine asked.
“Ted can ask the local cops to do a drive by,” Malcolm said.
“Our folks are liable to blast them,” Gabe said. “We can’t get word to them ahead of time.”
“I’ll get on a satellite,” Frank said. “Gonna be tough after dark, though.”
“Yeah, Frank, you do that,” Malcolm said. “Gabe, I’m coming, and we’ll start home, okay?”
“Sure that’s not rushing things a little bit?” Frank said.
“My best friend in the world is at that park,” Malcolm said. “I have to go.”
“We’ll be ready when you get here,” Gabe said. “Get on I-70 west, then take Route 36 south. I’ll call you back when you’re on the road.”
“Okay, thanks,” Malcolm said. “I’m signing off.”
“Watch out for the UN,” Jerry said.
“Will do,” Malcolm said. “Bye.”
“Should we leave too?” Jane asked.
“We’re closer,” Frank said. “I say yes.”
“Maybe Jasmine and I ought to take off tonight and get Jeb and Rosie,” Jerry said.
“Yes, you guys do that,” Frank said. “You okay to do the drive without sleeping first?”
“I’m not falling asleep anytime soon,” Jasmine said. “C’mon, Jerry, let’s get out of here.”
“Okay,” Frank said. “I’ll go get us unhooked, honey.”
“Good, I’ll get things stowed in here, and take Lucy out.”
“We’ll see you soon,” Gabe said. “Signing off.”
Frank picked up his phone as Jasmine and Jerry rushed out of the coach. He unhooked the utilities.
“Frank, maybe you ought to touch base with Clint,” Jane said out the window.
“Good idea,” he said. He trotted over to the office. Clint ran out to meet him.
“You see it?” Clint asked. “We need to clear out now.”
“No, what?”
“There’s a bunch of UN troops in Durango,” he said, out of breath. “They’re headed this way.”
“Son of a bitch,” Frank said. “We’re leaving. Jerry and Jasmine are heading to Utah to pick up Jeb and Rosie. We’re heading for our RV Park in Kansas.”
“Why?” Clint asked.
“We can’t reach them all of a sudden,” Frank said.
“Where is it?” Clint asked.
“Outside of Sharon Springs.”
“Want some company?”
“Hell yeah,” Frank said, “but we’re leaving now. That number we called to get a space - Is that your cell?”
“No, my cell is 555-358-9954.”
Frank punched it in and called him. Clint saved the number in his contacts. They nodded to each other, and ran off in opposite directions.
“What’s the matter, Frank?” Jane asked as he got behind the wheel in a panic.
“Clint was on his way to us,” he said. “There’s a whole mess of UN troops headed up here from Durango. The folks at this park are leaving too. I told them they could go to our park.”
“Good,” she said. “Let’s punch it.”
Frank started the engine and drove towards the gate. Jerry fell in behind them. By the time they got to the highway, Frank could see a long line of RVs in his rear view mirror. Frank got on the eastbound side, Jerry on the westbound.
Chapter 13 – Race Homeward
Malcolm put his phone back in his pocket, and looked at Ted.
“Bad?” Ted asked.
“I got to go,” he said. “You want to stay with these guys or go with me?”
“Go where?” Agent Williams asked.
“We can’t reach the RV Park in Kansas,” Malcolm said. “Something’s wrong, and my friends are there. They need me. I’m taking off.”
“Tell you what,” Ted said. “I’ll stay with these guys for now, and then see if we can hit the park in western Missouri. Scott will probably be gone by the time we get there, but maybe we’ll luck out and nail him. You take off, but keep in touch. I’ll rejoin you as soon as I can.”
“What about your car? Gabe’s driving it.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll handle that problem,” Agent Williams said. “You go ahead. Call me if you need anything.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Chief Hanson asked, as Delson looked them over.
“Can you guys keep a secret?” Malcolm asked.
“You sure you want to do that, Malcolm?” Ted asked.
“Yeah, I trust these guys,” Malcolm said. “I can trust you, right?”
“Yes,” Delson said.
“Yeah,” Chief Hanson said. “C’mon, spill.”
“You heard about the group in the southwest who took the enemy at Capitol Reef?”
Chief Hanson’s eyes got big. “Those are the guys that came up with the apps, right? You with them?”
“I’m a more recent member, but yeah,” Malcolm said. “They might be in trouble. I need to get back to them.”
“Those guys are patriots,” Chief Hanson said, eyes welling with tears. “You need anything from me, you just say the word.”
“Thanks,” he said. “You’ve got the right idea already. Resist the UN. Fight the enemy. Question the edicts coming out of DC.”
“I know a lot of like-minded police chiefs. Even some in the bigger cities,” Chief Hanson said. “I’ll get on the horn with them about the UN.”
“That’s why I wanted to tell you,” Malcolm said, a twinkle in his eyes. “We’ll meet again. Take care. Ted and Agent Williams, you take care also. Let me know what you find out. See you soon.”
Malcolm rushed out of the office, hopped into his Jeep Unlimited, and roared away.
Agent Simone came into the office. “Hey, Agent Williams, Malcolm just took off like a bat out of hell,” he said. “Weiss and I just watched him. What’s going on?”
“Trouble at home,” Agent Williams said. “I’ll tell you about it later. Let’s get this wrapped up as quick as we can, okay?”
“Okay,” Agent Simone replied. “We’ll go help the techs.”
“Good,” Agent Williams said.
***
“This reminds me of the early days,” Jane said, looking in the passenger side rear view mirror. “Look at that line of coaches behind us.”
“Seriously,” Frank said. “Hope we get far enough ahead of the UN forces before they realize we’ve left.”
Frank’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it.
“Frank?” Clint asked.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Just wanted to touch base. Everybody got out of the park okay, and we have our semi-truck at the rear, right in back of my coach.”
“Semi-truck?”
“Yeah, Frank. It’s heavily armored in back, with a gate that goes half way up. We’ve got a .50 cal in the back. If an enemy comes up behind us, they ain’t gonna have a good day.”
“Sounds great, just hope we don’t have to use it. If those guys have access to real-time satellite imagery or drones, they’ll probably try to cut us off from the front or the side.”
“Think they have that?”
“Yeah, there’s a pretty good chance,” Frank said. “Hope we’ve got a good enough lead on them.”
“Well, I’ll watch the back,” Clint said. “Talk to you later.”
“Okay, thanks,” Frank said.
“What was that all about?” Jane asked. “They got some kind of battle wagon at the end of the line?”
“Yeah, an armored semi with a .50 cal in the back,” Frank said. “If we have to use that, we’re probably toast.”
“Wonder if the UN has choppers?”
“They might,” Frank said. “Love to know how the US armed forces feels about this.”
“I guess that’s the real question,” Jane said. “If we’ve lost them, this will be bloody.”
Frank’s phone rang again. He answered it.
“Is this Frank?”
“Yeah,” Frank said. “Who’s this?”
“Sam Hinton.”
“Oh, hello,” Frank said. “Can’t get ahold of George, I’ll bet.”
“No, I can’t,” he said. “You know what’s going on?”
“We can’t reach them either, so we’re on our way back home.”
“You aren’t in Kansas?”
“No, we were on our way to Utah to pick up a wounded friend from the hospital. When we couldn’t raise anybody at home, we decided to head back.”
“Good. If I send somebody in there to take a look, you think they’ll get shot at?”
“Yeah,” Frank said. “So be careful. You know General Hogan?”
“Of course,” he said.
“Think his Humvee has a military radio in it?”
“Probably,” he said. “Good thinking. I’ll get on that.”
“Good,” Frank said. “What’s going on with the UN? We’re running from them now.”
“Shoot them on sight. We’ve already arrested most of the officials who allowed them in.”
“Is the army going to get involved?” Frank asked.
“The army is tied up in southern Arizona and western New Mexico,” Sam said. “There are a lot of Islamist fighters still on the loose, and they’re using shielded vehicles. It’s not working well for them, though. Most of them have fled into eastern New Mexico.”
“I know, Carlsbad Caverns,” Frank said.
“Oh, you know about that?”
“Yeah, we’ve been able to see them. They can’t keep hidden every second, so I’ve been recording snapshots with my detail view app whenever a hit is detected.”
“Good,” Sam said. “I’d better get going. I want to try that radio idea.”
“Okay, let me know,” Frank said.
“Will do. Take care.”
“That was George’s guardian angel, wasn’t it?” Jane asked.
“Yeah, Sam Hinton,” Frank said. “He’ll try the military radio in the general’s Humvee.”
“Good,” Jane said. “Hope it works.”
“Shit, look over there!” Frank said. “Way down in that valley, coming on Route 82.”
“Oh, no,” Jane said. “How far away is that?”
“A few miles, but they’re coming fast. Call Clint,” he said
, handing the phone over to her. “Recent calls, next to last one.”
Jane took his phone and hit Clint’s number.
“Clint? This is Jane. We see blue vehicles heading towards I-70 from route 82.”
“Oh, shit,” Clint said. “You gonna get past it before they get on?”
“Barely, but we won’t all get past them,” Jane said.
“We’ll try to tighten up the ranks so they can’t get on in front of the semi,” Clint said. “I’ll call up my folks and let them know.” He ended the call, and Jane sat the phone on the console.
Frank stepped on it, speeding up to about 70 mph.
“Sure you want to speed up?” Jane asked. “Clint’s going to try to tighten up the convoy so they can’t get on in front of that semi.”
“Good idea,” Frank said, slowing back down to about 60 mph. “Look, they’re already tightening up.”
“Yeah, I see,” Jane said. “Should I get the guns up here?”
“Yeah,” Frank said. “I still have a few grenades too. Grab those, but be careful.”
“All right,” she said, getting up and moving to the back of the coach.
Frank glanced back at the string of coaches again. “Wow, everybody’s close. Almost too close.”
“Good,” Jane said, coming back up front with her M-16 and Frank’s Winchester. “You got your handgun up here already, right?”
“Yeah, in the map pocket,” Frank said. “Loaded and ready to go.”
“Good,” Jane said, strapping herself in. “Glad there’s no traffic. Can’t see the UN guys now.”
“They’re around a bend.”
“Oh,” Jane said.
“There they are!” Frank shouted as they drove past the ramp from Route 82.
“Whoa, one of them is coming on, trying to force over the coach about four behind us!” Jane shouted. “Ouch!”
“Ran him off the road!” Frank said, laughing.
“Shit, hear that?” Jane asked, as the crack of gunfire started behind them.
“I see rifles sticking out of the side windows,” Frank said. “We’re shooting back. Hope the enemy doesn’t disable any coaches.”
“Somebody in one of the UN vehicles has an RPG!” Jane shouted.
“Yes! Got him!” Frank shouted back, as he saw the man with the RPG hit in the chest, the round firing straight up into the air. It came down next to another UN vehicle and blew up.