I made my mind up to take Gulf Blvd. to 66th Street. We would travel 100 yards apart. If one truck gets attacked it can withdraw quickly. The other vehicle will be the backup. We would take the two black SUVs which we picked up a while back from the Feds at Ellenton because they are bullet proof and have run flat tires.
Amy will be with Tommy in one and Maggie will be in the other with me and Albert. I’ll drive and take the lead. It was ten am as we pulled off of Tocabaga and our family waved good bye to us. The women weren’t happy we were leaving but didn’t make any verbal objections.
As we drove down Gulf Blvd. we saw a few people walking around but not many. It was an eerie sight watching people roaming around like zombies searching for food. Some tried to wave us down and yelled for us to stop. A few people had guns but no one shot at us. We proceeded past the dilapidated Pasadena Hospital where we saw a few cars driving around and wondered what they were doing.
Hospitals use to be a safe place to go if you became sick. After the government took control of everything they became a place of death. If you were old and went there for an operation or illness you never came out alive. People just stopped going to the hospitals because it was too risky. Most of them have been closed over the years. Small clinics owned by real Doctors, operating under the radar without government approval, are where most people go now for medical care.
Driving the lead truck I had just turned the bend from Pasadena Ave. onto 66th Street losing sight of the other vehicle as we went around the sharp curve in the road. I looked in my mirror and saw a car coming up fast from behind and … BAM … it rammed us in the back end jarring the whole truck.
Maggie yelled, “What the fuck is that guy doing?”
Maggie got on the radio to Amy, “We’re under attack!”
BAM … it rammed us gain so I hit the gas.
Amy replied, “Ok, we’ll be right there.”
I told Maggie and Albert, “Get your guns ready he’s pulling up on the passenger side. We can’t outrun them. When he’s next to us I’ll slam on the brakes and stop, then we’ll jump out and start shooting.”
The car pulled up next to us at 60 mph. We observed there were four men inside and three of them were aiming handguns at us. I slammed on the brakes coming to a tire-screeching stop and the car went zooming past us, just as I planned. They slammed on their brakes and started to back up from about 200 feet away.
The three of us jumped out of the truck and started to fire our M4s’ on full auto peppering the back of the car. One of our bullets hit their gas tank and the car burst into flames but it was still slowly rolling towards us.
I yelled, “Maggie, Albert, get inside.” Climbing back in I mashed the gas to pull away just as the men in the other car were jumping out. I pulled forward about 200 feet and stopped again. We dismounted and started shooting at the fools.
Our other truck sped onto 66th Street with Amy standing in the sun roof firing the SAW light machine gun. I watched four men fall to the ground riddled with bullets and then … KABOOM … the gas tank blew creating a huge fire ball. The whole incident was over in about five minutes.
Tommy pulled up next to our truck and I told them, “Good job!”
Amy replied, “No problem Daddy O. That’ll teach them. You don’t mess with the Gunn family!” That’s what; I like family loyalty.
We were approaching the Mall area and I got on the radio, “Tommy, speed it up to about sixty miles per hour to zoom by the mall. I don’t want to have any problems here.”
“Roger that,” he replied.
Speeding by the mall I glanced out my window to see the poor homeless people wandering around the mall parking lot. It looked just like the scene at Ellenton. I didn’t want to go there because the people at this mall are of a different character. They are meaner and more violent than the simple country folk at Ellenton.
Years ago, when things were going downhill and before Tocabaga came into existence, I went to the mall to purchase some boots. I was at the main entrance and noticed an old woman rummaging in the garbage can for food. She had a babushka on her head and wore an old black heavy wool coat even though it was 90 degrees outside. My Grandmother used to wear a babushka so she reminded me of her. I walked up to her and said, “Grandmother, here take this and buy something to eat,” as I handed her one hundred dollars.
She replied, “Danke sehr,” which is German for thank you. She couldn’t speak English and it surprised me because my Grandmother was also German. I gently took her old wrinkled hand putting the money in it and she cried. I led her to the food court and purchased a cup of soup and a sandwich for her. Then I went to the security office and told the officer about her. He advised me she comes around every Tuesday at noon. I asked him to watch out for her when she comes around.
I would go to the mall each Tuesday at noon and give Grandma a hundred bucks. After about six months Grandma didn’t show up. No one knew what happened to her, she just disappeared. I should have done more to help her. My guess is some dirtbag killed her for the money I gave her. Weird shady people hang around at the mall looking for easy prey like old helpless women. That’s why I don’t like the mall. People think there’s safety in hanging around in a large group. That’s only true if they are honest people of good character.
As we approached 30th Ave. I started to slow down because I noticed there was a road block with four men standing guard making it impossible to proceed. I stopped about 100 feet away and Albert said, “Wait here. I know these guys. Let me go talk to them.” Our backup vehicle stopped behind us as Albert got out leaving his M4 behind and approached the men.
Albert yelled to them, “Hey guys it’s me, Albert Madison.” They waved him over to the road block.
Tommy and Amy got out and came over to my truck and we discussed the situation. I said, “It looks like we’re not going to be able to take the trucks down 29th. If Albert goes in two of us will go with him and the others stay here guarding the SUVs. I suggest Maggie and I go in with Albert.”
Maggie replied, “Ok, sounds good to me.”
“If we get in trouble, Tommy, you ram though the road block and pick us up. Amy, you provide cover fire for the group. Everyone got it?” All replied we got it.
I wanted Maggie to go with me because she had already been tested in combat and has 3 kills to her name. She wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone who was a threat. Maggie recently killed Scotty and Farmer Horn, shooting him in the eye when he tried to kidnap her for breeding purposes.
I was watching Albert talk to the four men. They pointed at us and it seemed they were discussing who we were. Ten minutes later Albert walked back to us advising, “They’ll let us in so I can talk to my wife, Sue. The bad news is my son is dead and she is living with another guy named Buck who is the head man on this block. My friends told me he runs everything and they’re afraid of him because he’s in a motorcycle gang. He has six gang members with him at all times.”
I said, “Sorry to hear about your son, Albert. How did he die?”
“They didn’t say, so I don’t know.”
I asked Albert, “How many men live here?”
“I don’t know how many now but there used to be fifteen men who lived on this block. However there’s one problem.”
“What’s the problem?”
“We can’t take any guns in with us.”
“Shit … that’s a big problem. I should have known that would happen.”
“They did promise me we would be safe.”
“Yep, I’ve heard that before. Well I guess if you want to see your wife we better get going. Maggie hide your subcompact Glock in your panties and keep your machete on. They won’t frisk you there but they’ll search me.”
“Tommy, I’ll have my radio to stay in touch. If I say the words FUBAR bust down the road block with the SUV and you guys come to the rescue in one truck. Amy shoot everybody and everything with that machine gun.”
Amy replied, “I think it’s too risky. It wo
uld be better if Albert went in by himself and if he gets into trouble then we can all come to his rescue.”
I thought about this for a minute and Tommy spoke up, “Dad, Amy is right. Albert should go by himself and if he gets into trouble then we’ll have four guns to save him.”
I looked at Albert and asked him, “Well Al, what do you think?”
“I think they’re right but I don’t think I can handle it by myself. I know the men at this road block are big chicken shits and if shooting starts they’ll run for the hills. The problem is I don’t know Buck and his men. It could get nasty real quick.”
“I don’t like letting Albert go in by himself so let’s stick with my original plan. If Albert goes by himself it makes him look weak so they might take advantage of it and kill him on the spot.”
I would try to bring in my Black Bear knife for use as a possible weapon. Maggie had a gun shoved in her panties and the machete hanging from her belt so we had some weapons if needed.
We walked over to the guards and they frisked Albert and me but didn’t say a word about my fighting knife. They went to frisk Maggie and she yelled at them, “You touch me and it’ll be the last thing you ever touch,” as she put her hand on the big machete. They let her pass with no further comments.
We walked down the middle of the street with Albert in the lead. I tried to observe every detail I could. Taking in my surroundings, making a mental note of everything, who was on the street, how many people there were, and who had guns with them. For the most part there were only a few people outside due to the heat. It was noon and here in Florida people don’t stand around outside in the 98 degree heat. They find some shade to sit in and hope for a cool breeze.
After walking about a quarter mile Albert said, “Here’s my house.” We walked up four steps to a small porch and he knocked on the screen door.
A woman came to the door and said, “Oh my God, it’s you Albert.” She started to cry. Albert’s wife, Sue, was about 45 years old and in her younger days she was probably a beautiful woman. Now she looked old and worn out.
She opened the screen door stepping out into the sunlight and you could see bruises on her face and arms. It looked like her nose was broken and her teeth were rotten. You could tell she had been beaten by someone. Al wrapped her in his arms and hugged her for a few minutes as he wept.
The screen door opened again and out stepped an ugly-looking guy who said in a deep voice, “Hey! She’s my bitch. Who the hell are you?”
I saw the gun right away, it was a big Desert Eagle pistol, in a shoulder holster under his left arm. He had his hand on the grip, getting ready to draw, as he visually checked us out to see if we had any guns. Satisfied we didn’t he lowered his right arm which was covered in tattoos.
Albert replied, “I’m Albert her husband.”
“I’m Buck the Boss man around here and I told you she’s my bitch now.”
I looked at Maggie and she had her hand on the machete. Buck looked at me and asked, “Who the hell are you guys?”
“I’m Jack Gunn and this is Maggie. We’re here to help Albert.”
“You’re here to help Albert do what?”
“We’re here to help him get back his wife.” Buck laughed at that comment and roughly pulled Albert’s wife over to him.
I was surprised that Albert didn’t object more strongly because he only said, “Don’t do that.”
Buck replied, “What are you going to do about it geek. I should kill all three of you right now,” as he stepped up to Albert’s face. Albert immediately backed away from him not wanting to escalate the confrontation. Buck is a bully and I hate all bullies so in my mind this guy needed to die.
Buck was about 50 years old and about 6 feet tall. He looked like a big slob but I’m sure he was strong. He had a long gray beard covering his face. A bandana was wrapped around his fat head keeping his long black hair tied back and he wore a black leather vest which showed his motorcycle gang colors. The tattoos on his arms and neck showed he was into white supremacy. He was the gang leader and cycle gangs’ deal in selling meth and other drugs. Maybe that’s why Sue’s teeth were rotten. I wondered how many gang members we would run into.
Buck smiled, an evil smile, while looking at Maggie and said, “Ok, Albert can have this old bitch back and I’ll take this pretty little thing.” He pushed Sue back into Albert’s arms.
Buck is a bully and bullies usually get their way by intimidation and threats. They like to make their prey suffer and beg. Bullies are really cowards and only fight if they know they can win. He has no idea what he is up against.
“Maggie, I like that army outfit you got on. It’s kind of kinky. How come you got that on?”
“I wear this because I’m a Warrior, an Amazon Warrior.”
“A warrior uh, well warrior on this,” and he grabbed his crotch.
“Come over here little warrior girl.” Buck reached over to grab Maggie’s arm and she quickly pulled back while drawing out the Barong.
Maggie replied, “You touch me asshole and I’ll cut your fucking arm off.”
I put my hand on the Black Bear getting ready to draw it out. I never draw my knife unless I’m going to slice someone. I guessed that I could draw my Cold Steel Black Bear fighting knife and stab him in the throat before he could get that cannon out of its shoulder holster. I probably could kill him three times before he drew that big gun. So right now we had the advantage with him standing so close to us. He had no idea what we could do to him in a split second.
It occurred to me that Buck was the only person here. Where are the others? Are they sleeping or drugged up … if so then this is the time to kill Buck and take Albert’s wife back.
Buck spoke softly in a low growl warning Maggie, “Look you little bitch, put that thing away or I’m going to take it and hurt you real bad. You ain’t got the guts to use that pigsticker.”
I knew what was going to happen next because I knew Maggie. Stupid Buck didn’t have any idea what he was getting into. He was going to activate a killing machine.
He reached out his right arm and grabbed for Maggie again so I knew what was coming … WHACK. I heard the blade strike the bone in his right arm at the wrist, which was his gun hand, chopping it off slick as a whistle.
He watched his hand fall to the floor making a plopping noise when it landed. Blood was squirting in pulses out of his arm as Buck tried to stop the profuse bleeding.
I yelled FUBAR into the radio signaling Tommy to come pick us up. Maggie reached deep into her panties pulling out the little Glock 26 and tossed it to me. I racked a round into the chamber. I was going to shoot Buck, but didn’t because it would have made too much noise.
Buck was crying like a baby while holding his bloody arm, “My hand, you cut off my fucking hand.” He fell to his knees in shock and tried to reattach the severed hand to the bloody stump.
I shouted, “Maggie finish him off!”
Maggie grabbed him by the hair and said, “Ok, don’t move Buck or this could hurt. Wait for it … wait for it!”
Buck was on his knees in shock and couldn’t move or speak. He just gazed at Maggie with his eyes wide open as she pulled him by the hair, holding his head up high, to expose his throat.
Maggie took another powerful swing … WHACK … cutting off his head. Actually his head was dangling by the spinal cord. It was kind of swinging in the air like a bobble head doll as he fell over dead on the blood splattered floor.
Maggie said with a frown on her face, “Fuck you, Buck! I told you not to touch me!”
I told Albert, his wife, and Maggie to run for it. I covered the door as they made their escape. I was standing next to the door, back up against the wall, when four dudes came running out to see what was causing all the commotion. They saw Buck laying there headless and were startled. The dopes didn’t see me standing behind them as they gazed at Buck’s bloody body.
One dumb dork yelled, “Holy shit, who the fuck did this?”
I
greeted them, “Howdy boys. It’s time to meet your maker.”
As they turned around to see who was speaking I shot each one in the head, from six feet away, in rapid order … BAM … BAM … BAM … BAM … they dropped to the ground one after the other like bowling pins. I couldn’t miss at that range.
A head shot will kill a person almost every time, but a great head shot right between the eyes makes a person just drop to the floor like a bag of beans leaving no doubt they are dead. It takes a lot of practice to make a great head shot.
I jumped off the porch and made a run for it. I heard machine gun fire coming from the road block meaning Amy had killed the four men guarding it. The black SUV came crashing thru the cars blocking the way. Tommy stopped, picking up Maggie, Albert, and Sue. By the time they were all in the truck I arrived and jumped in right behind them. I yelled, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Tommy backed up crashing through the road block in reverse. He stopped next to our other truck so Maggie and I scooted out, and quickly climbed into it. I cranked up the motor and we sped away at full speed following Tommy.
Speeding by the Mall Maggie said, “That was easy!”
“Maggie, you’re one crazy bitch but I really mean that in a nice way. Your timing was perfect when you sliced that jerk up. It was a thing of beauty. I knew you would cut off his arm when he tried to touch you.”
Maggie looked at me and smiled while letting out a little giggle, “Thanks Jack, that means a lot to me and I knew you had my back. We make a good team.”
“In just one swing of the Barong you cut off his fucking head. I liked it when you told him … don’t move Buck or this could hurt. That was really funny!”
We both started to laugh to ease our tensions and reduce the adrenaline that was flowing through our bodies. My hands were trembling as I was driving so I lit up a smoke to relax me.
I looked at Maggie, who sat there with a smile on her face and commented, “We’re lucky we won this fight. You can tell the story at the fire circle tonight.”
THE TOCABAGA CHRONICLES: (BOX SET - PART I - BOOKS #1-5) Page 41