“Shed Q eight.”
She nodded and headed for the row. Again, we glanced around nervously, then lightly knocked on the door. Moments passed. There was no answer.
“Are you sure they’re here?” Pam wondered.
I shrugged. “They’re supposed to be. Unless something happened to them.” My stomach fluttered.
Tanya knocked again, slightly louder.
“Why don’t we just lift the door?” Quinn suggested.
“What if they have guns?” I asked.
“It’s a risk we’ll have to take.” He bent down to grab the handle when the door flew upward.
I placed my hand over my gun, suddenly aware we might walk into a trap. Several hours had passed since our escape, and it was safe to assume the entire city was on high alert. With any luck, they thought we left, but Liet knew better. He knew what we wanted to accomplish. We’d have to keep our eyes open.
I relaxed slightly when Bill’s thin figure appeared before us. His eyes scanned each of us intently, narrowing when they got to Tanya, but widening when they fell upon Quinn.
“Quinn?” He reached forward and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, drawing him into a hug. Kyle joined them.
“Krista said you were dead.” Bill held Quinn at arm’s length.
Kyle looked up, his eyes glistened with tears.
“And I probably would’ve been if it wasn’t for her.” He glanced at me. “She bumped Liet just in time.” He smiled.
“This reunion is very touching, but I think we should get inside.” Pam’s voice had a hint of urgency to it.
Bill stepped back, and we proceeded into the shed. He pulled the door closed and we formed a circle in the middle of the floor. Kyle stood in front of Tanya, his hands on his hips.
“What’s she doing here?” The contempt was apparent in his tone.
“Helping us,” Pam answered.
Bill spit onto the ground, stirring up a tiny cloud of dust. “Did you know she’s the reason we were put into jail in the first place? She’s the one who turned us in.”
I positioned myself so I was between the brothers and Tanya. I hated being there. If anyone deserved to get revenge on Tanya, it was those two. But we needed her. She was the only one who knew where the weapons were.
“We know,” I told them. “Tanya confessed everything to Pam and Quinn. They wouldn’t have gotten into Florida without her. And now she’s going to make it up to everyone.” I looked at her, raising my eyebrows in silent question.
She nodded. “I am. I’m going to make it better.” Sympathy covered her face. “I’m sorry for what I did,” she told the guys. “I wasn’t thinking. I was so mad. If I could take it back, I would.” Her voice choked with tears.
I glanced at the brothers. I could tell they weren’t convinced, but they didn’t look like they were going to attack, either. That was good enough for me. “Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way.”
I turned to Pearl, who stood at the back of the shed with an older man, probably somewhere in his forties. His hair was salt and peppered, his skin tanned and wrinkled from working in the sun. He had on a pair of khakis and a white polo. I glanced at his shoes. Brown loafers. Not exactly my choice of attire for a takeover, but what did I know? Maybe it was comfortable. The clothes I wore I borrowed from Tanya. Someone might have thought a tank top and jeans weren’t the best clothes for a takeover, but I was comfortable.
“Krista, this is my uncle, Tom. I told you about him last time you visited.”
He nodded in my direction, then nodded at the others. “It’s nice to finally meet you all. Pearl’s told me a lot about you, Krista. Especially the most recent events.” His eyes flashed with mischief. “I think you and I might have a lot in common.”
I placed my hand on the butt of my gun. It wasn’t a threatening posture, I just didn’t have anywhere else to put my appendage. “How so?”
“We have the same goal in mind: getting rid of The Families.”
The rest of the group stepped up beside me, which could have definitely been construed as a threatening stance. If anyone walked in at that moment, it would look like we were surrounding Pearl and her uncle, preparing to beat them. But Tom didn’t seem fazed.
“We have to take back what’s ours. We can’t continue to live in fear. I’ve assembled a group of people who feel the same way. We only need some weapons.”
I nodded toward Tanya. “That’s where she comes in.”
“I stashed them in the crawl space under the coffee shop. I figured it was the best place to keep them hidden. How many people are we talking about here?”
“Hundreds,” Tom said. “Dispersed throughout the entire state.”
Tanya frowned. “I don’t think we have enough weapons for that many people.”
“We have a few guns,” Tom interjected. “And other weapons to get us by. It would be helpful to have more.”
“We’ll give you all we have,” I said. “And if you need more, you’ll have to take them off the guards.” A thought occurred to me, and I placed my hand on my head. “Oh, wait! Liet! He brought down a stack of AR fifteens from the cave. We could use those.”
Pam stepped forward so I was in her line of sight. “Do you know where they are?”
I glanced at Pearl.
“Right after I saw them take you out of the suite in chains, I caught the end conversation between Mrs. Johnson and Liet. He said something about guns, and she said they wouldn’t worry about them right now. Eventually, she wanted him to take them to the gate.”
“So, where are they?” Pam asked.
“I assume they’re still in the back of the Hummer he brought,” Pearl stated.
“And where is it?” Kyle inquired.
Pearl smiled. “The parking lot of the high school.”
“Perfect,” I said. “We get that vehicle, and you’ll have more guns.”
Tom nodded. “More guns will definitely help, but we’ll still be outnumbered. I have a plan to compensate for that, though.”
We all moved closer, anxious to hear what he had to say.
“It will be a coordinated attack. Since we don’t have the resources to hold one city and then attack another, we’ll attack simultaneously. If we take out each Family, the towns will fall.”
“Sounds logical,” Quinn stated.
“So,” Tom continued, “the easiest way to get in and around the security systems is to cut all of the power in the city. My plan is to take over every power station and hold it while a small group takes The Families hostage. Without power, they’ll have to give into our demands. People don’t want to live without their luxuries.”
We were quiet for a moment, absorbing the information.
“Makes sense,” Quinn broke the silence. “Hopefully, it will minimize the amount of lives lost. You’ll still have to deal with soldiers, though. They won’t be happy about you taking over the power supply.”
“We know.” Tom nodded. “And we’re prepared for that. We’ve been working on this idea for months.”
“So, how do you plan on getting into the power buildings?” I wondered.
“Easy,” Tom smiled. “I’m head Electrical Engineer.”
I smacked the side of my head. “Of course! Pearl told me that the last time I was down here.”
“We’ve already got things set up. We can electrify the fences around the perimeter, and we have a closed circuit communication system. The last thing we needed was more weapons, just in case. Now that we have those, we’re ready to go.”
“Sounds like a plan. How long will it take to put in place?” Quinn asked.
“Give me a day, just so I can get the weapons to the farthest cities.”
“That’s feasible,” I said. “But we need to get the Hummer for you. Once that’s in our possession, you can take it where it needs to go.”
“Won’t someone notice it’s missing?” Concern laced Pearl’s voice.
“Probably.” I shrugged. “But by then, ho
pefully we’ll have the plan in full motion.”
“So, who’s going to get the Hummer?” Pam stared at me.
“No one knows who you are, except Liet, and I doubt he’ll be guarding the vehicle. You take Kyle and go after the Hummer. Bill, you and Tanya will go after the other guns. Pearl, Tom, you tell them where they should meet you.”
“What are you and Quinn going to do?” Tanya’s tone had a hint of suspicion to it.
“We’re going to watch your backs. Neither one of us is in any shape to actually do physical labor. The coffee shop and high school are right next to each other. We can take a position on a roof and let you know if there is trouble. Everyone surely knows about the prison break by now, so they’ll be overly cautious. Once everything and everyone is in place, we’ll take over the Johnson household.”
“There’s another thing I should tell you,” Tom interjected. “Once we leave here, there’s no way to contact each other. The power stations can talk, but using walkies or cell phones is too open. We might be tracked. Wait for the signal before making any move. The signal will be the power going off for three seconds, coming back on for ten, then going off indefinitely.”
Cell phones? It boggled my mind to think they still had technology down there.
“How will we know if the takeover is a success?” Pam inquired.
“After the teams have gone into their respective Families’ houses, they will call this number.” He handed me a card with a number on it. “If we don’t hear from you within half an hour of the power outage, we’ll send reinforcements.”
“Wow.” Quinn looked around at all of us. “Sounds like you’ve got all of your bases covered. Glad to know people down here are willing to help.” He looked at me. “Makes our job much easier.”
“Good luck to everyone,” Tom said. “May we be successful.”
We all nodded our agreement.
I turned to Pam, Tanya, and the brothers. “Good luck. Stay safe, and be careful. This is what we planned for, we can do it.”
We pulled together in a large circle and hugged. I didn’t particularly want Tanya in there with us, and I’m sure the brothers could have lived without hugging her, but she was risking her life. She was going to make it better. And if she didn’t, I had no doubts in my mind that Bill would make her pay. That’s why I sent them together.
When we pulled away, I turned to Pearl and Tom. I held out my hand, and Tom shook it.
“Thank you for all your help.” I wanted to say more, to tell him I owed him my life and what he was doing was going to change the course of history, but the words wouldn’t come out. I turned to Pearl. She pulled me into a hug.
“I know you’re scared,” I whispered in her ear, “but things are gonna be all right. Stick close to your uncle, and you’ll be fine.” I pulled back and looked into her face. She nodded and sniffed. I thought she might cry, but she kept her emotions in check.
“When this is over,” she pointed a finger at me, “you owe me a week of hanging out.”
I smiled. “I promise. But, you have to come to Quinn’s ranch to do it.”
Her face paled. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I won’t let anything happen to you. Don’t worry.”
“All right, crew.” Pam’s voice was authoritative, but not shouting. “We’ve got a job to do. Let’s head out.”
We walked to the door and waited while Bill raised it slightly. Kyle got down onto his stomach and looked through the crack. He made a cutting motion at his neck. I sucked in a breath and held it. I could see the shadow of feet moving under the door.
“What do we do?” Pearl whispered.
Tanya pointed to the back. “Head to the shadows. I’ll take care of this.”
We did as she instructed. When we were as concealed as we could get, she lifted the door as high as her waist and ducked under. She pushed it closed.
“Oh, hey,” we heard Tanya’s voice through the door. “What are you doing here this early?”
“Looking for escaped prisoners.” The voice was distinctly male, but it didn’t sound like Liet. More than likely, it was just some guard. “You see anything suspicious?”
There wasn’t a response, so I assumed she shook her head.
“What are you doing out here?”
“You know, just checking things out. We’ve been having some issues with mice, so I wanted to place some traps.”
“With the door closed?”
“Don’t need other ones getting in. Plus, that sun beating into the shed makes it really hot.”
There was a long silence. What was going on? What was the soldier thinking? He believed her, he had to believe her. We were so screwed if he didn’t believe her.
I tightened my grip on my gun. I wasn’t going to let some minor-league guard ruin our plans. I didn’t want to have to kill anyone, but I would. Too much was at stake. And I refused to go back to jail.
Eventually, the scuff of dirt drifted into the shed. A few minutes later, the door opened. Tanya signaled with her hand for us to move. We hurried out of the darkness. Squinting, I looked to my right and left, trying to figure out which way the guard had gone. He wasn’t anywhere in sight, so I figured we were safe. Tanya and Bill headed toward the coffee shop. Pam and Kyle skulked toward the high school. Pearl and Tom disappeared around the corner.
“We should get on top of that building right there.” Quinn pointed. “Looks like maybe it’s a convenience store or sandwich place. Either way, it’s right between the high school and coffee shop. We’ll have a great view of both.”
I nodded my agreement. It didn’t matter if we were ready or not, the plan was in motion.
CHAPTER 19
I had second thoughts about helping out the inhabitants of Florida. I stood in the alley behind the building, staring up at Quinn as he climbed the access ladder to the roof, and wondered why we didn’t just leave. I mean, they seemed to have everything under control. Tom said they’d been planning the attack for months, which meant they wanted to do it long before we took over North Platte. They didn’t need our help, they could handle things just fine without us.
Well, after we got them their guns they could handle things without us. We didn’t really need to put ourselves at risk. If we were captured, they’d shoot us on sight. It was risky enough being in “Johnsons’ Town,” let alone having to spend an entire day there. Where were we going to go? If we really wanted to, we could crawl down from the roof, take a car, and disappear into the West. But Quinn would never do it. He felt obligated to help them out. He was definitely a better person than I was.
He signaled me from the roof, waving his hand for me to come up. With difficulty, I climbed the ladder. At the top, he grabbed me under the armpits and pulled me onto the roof. Man, it was hot up there! I suddenly missed the wind in the West. It would’ve cooled me off. Our feet crunched on the gravel as we scurried to the other side to keep an eye on things. Sweat already dripped from my forehead. I hoped they hurried up with their missions.
To my right, I saw Tanya and Bill heading into the coffee shop. Bill glanced around nervously. I knew he would feel much more comfortable once he had a weapon. I would. I just hoped he used it on those who were actually deserving and not out of spite. Of course, it could be debated that Tanya deserved to be shot, but she also was allowed the benefit of the doubt. In front of us, Pam and Kyle crouched and headed toward the high school parking lot. From my vantage point, I saw the Hummer parked close to the building. Typical of Liet, he was in a handicap parking space. A guard sat on the bumper, but I don’t think he was actually guarding the vehicle. He had a cigarette in his mouth and a relaxed attitude. Why would he think anything was going to happen? If he was watching it, he was probably angry about it and didn’t give the job his full attention. That would be detrimental to him. Pam and Kyle weren’t going to mess around.
Thankfully, the city still slept. A few cars drove on the streets, some people, maybe teachers, coming to work, but nothing we co
uldn’t handle. A few soldiers milled around, too. They drove the roads in Jeeps, but they headed away from the school, more than likely to do a search of the perimeter and outside of town to find us. They had no reason to believe we’d still be in town. Liet might, knowing we wanted to take things over, but he also knew we didn’t have the manpower. He didn’t know Quinn was still alive, and The Families thought Tanya was on their side. We had surprise on our side. For a while at least.
We got to the edge of the building and crouched down. A three-foot wall gave us great cover. Quinn had his rifle with him, and his revolver on his hip. I had my handgun too, but it wasn’t going to be much help if I had to shoot too far. If it came down to it, we could only hope the shots would be enough to scare any attackers into cover. With any luck, it wouldn’t come down to that. I glanced to my right.
Tanya and Bill disappeared into the building. I looked forward. Pam and Kyle were close, two cars away. The soldier sucked on the last of his cigarette, blissfully unaware of what was going on. Pam and Kyle separated, each heading in a different direction. They were going to surround the Hummer. The guard pushed himself away from the bumper and idly paced around. He was a few feet away from the truck. Pam straightened up and tucked her gun into her waist band at the small of her back. She quickly glanced to see where Kyle was before approaching the man.
My palms began to sweat, my mouth went dry. I didn’t know exactly what she was doing, but I hoped it worked. The guard didn’t know who she was, he couldn’t. Besides, she wasn’t wanted like we were. Yeah, if Liet saw her he’d shoot her, but Liet wasn’t around. This had to work.
The guard stiffened when he noticed her, tightening his grip on his gun, but he didn’t raise the barrel in her direction. Their voices were distant, but I caught the gist of their conversation.
“Hey, man,” she had her hands out to her sides to show she wasn’t a threat. “Can I bum a cigarette off you?”
The man hesitated for moment, eying her suspiciously.
“Hey, if you don’t have any, that’s fine.” She went to turn around.
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