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by Richard Stephenson

  “So you think you can just do whatever you want? Every man for himself? You think Florida and Texas have turned into some Mad Max wasteland?” Max turned to Miller and Collins and motioned for them to head around and flank the armory from the left side. They understood and headed off.

  “That describes it to a fuckin’ T. It’s every man for himself. People in Florida are surviving in gangs, banding together and defending what they got from other gangs. I’m telling you, man, I made it to a small town with the main road barricaded like it was an army base or something. Cops there chased people off with gunfire just to keep them out! The only thing that matters now is who has more firepower! That’s just what I’m doing; I’m taking these guns and getting the fuck out while I still can!”

  “Hate to tell you, friend, you ain’t goin’ anywhere with my guns. Not gonna happen!”

  “You forgetting something, you dumb prick? I got one of your men in here! You don’t let us out of here, I’m blowing his head off! Then one of my boys is gonna kill his wife and kids! You better think about who’s in charge around here! I don’t give a shit if you got a badge! I’m in charge, so you better do as I say or this guy is dead!”

  Max turned to Deputy Shackleford from the County Sheriff’s office. “Gene, take Rudy back to the command post. Tell Sergeant Reid what’s going on, and have her give you directions to Charlie’s house so you can rescue his family. Do not key up your radio; I don’t want to tip our hand. If they manage to get out of here, their next stop will be Charlie’s house. He’s got a baby and a toddler. We can’t let these animals do anything to them.”

  Gene shook his head as he and Rudy headed back to the vehicles. They slowly skirted the piles of debris and rounded the corner to the parking lot. Max peered around the corner and could see Miller hiding behind a tree twenty yards to the left of the armory. He gave Max a thumbs up to indicate he was ready, and Max nodded his head in return. All he had to do was somehow convince this gang of thugs to let him come around the corner so he could talk. He would even toss his revolver out in front of them to make them think he was unarmed while leaving his back-up pistol in the small of his back.

  Then Max heard a shotgun blast, followed by three pops from a handgun.

  Max knew they were in trouble because no one on his team had a shotgun. He quickly peered around the corner to see if the guys in the armory were trying to rush him. When he turned around he saw a fat, bald man aiming a shotgun at him and another man close behind with a pistol. Max dropped his weapon and put his hands up. He closed his eyes and tried to find peace in the face of certain death.

  “Jack! We got him! He surrendered!”

  “Good! Bring his ass back here!”

  Max kept his hands up as he warily eyed the two men drawing down on him.

  “Mister, you drop your hands and it’s the last thing you do, I guarantee it. I already done killed those two guys trying to make a run for it; don’t you think for one second I won’t kill you. Start walkin’ … you know the way.” Max obeyed but was able to make eye contact with Miller, shaking his head ever so slightly. If Miller or Collins made a move, people from both sides of the conflict would surely die.

  As Max rounded the corner of the armory, he saw Deputy Charlie Mason sitting on the ground in his underwear with his right wrist handcuffed to his left ankle. Three thugs wearing bulletproof vests were loading gym bags with guns and ammo.

  “Charlie, you okay?

  “Yeah, Chief, I’m real sorry about this. They got my wife and kids locked up in one of the…”

  “Shut the fuck up! I told you to keep quiet!” The guy running the show kicked Charlie in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Charlie spit blood and kept his face in the mud.

  “Stop! Okay! You win! You got us! You’re running the show! Jack? Is that your name? I get it! You don’t need to hurt anyone!” said Max in frustration.

  “Oh, yeah, mother fucker? Is that right? You get it? How ‘bout you get a bullet in the head? Huh? How ‘bout that?” Jack raised the pistol and leveled it at Max’s head, quickly closing the distance between them. “How ‘bout you shut your hole before I kick you in the teeth like your buddy over there! I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do with the two of you!”

  “OK, I’m sorry,” Max said softly.

  “This is what’s gonna happen, asshole. We’re cleaning this place out and taking your vehicles. Reckon we could go places in cop cars much easier. You gotta problem with that? Huh?” Jack rapped the barrel of the pistol on Max’s sweaty forehead. “Whadda ya think? That sound fine with you?”

  “Take what you want, just don’t kill us.”

  “Take off your clothes.”

  “What?” Max looked at him in horror.

  “You heard me – strip! You want me to shoot your friend here? I’ve always wanted to be a cop. Take off your god damned clothes! Hurry up!” Jack walked over to Charlie and aimed at his head.

  “Stop! Okay!” Max began to take off his wet uniform.

  “That’s better! Joe, cuff these two pigs together, his arm to his leg.” Jack tossed a set of cuffs to the fat man holding the shotgun.

  Joe caught the cuffs and leaned his shotgun on a pile of rubble. “I’m gonna like being a cop! Always wanted a badge and a gun. Hot damn!” The fat man pushed Max to the ground next to Charlie.

  “You behave now, or I’m gonna shoot your friend.” Jack aimed the pistol and Charlie’s head. “Go on and snap those cuffs on your wrist and to his ankle.”

  With the men distracted by his uniform, Max leaned into Charlie and whispered, “Is your radio off?”

  “It’s in my patrol car at my house; I don’t have it with me. They grabbed me on my way in.”

  “Good. Just stay calm. Miller and Collins are in the woods, ready to attack when they can get us out of the line of fire.”

  “God damn! We hit the jackpot! Check out this cool shit!” Jack surveyed the duffle bags piled up at his feet. “These grenades look badass! Can’t wait to find out what they do!”

  “Hell yeah, we’re gonna run some shit for sure!” said the fat man.

  “Hey Joe, keep an eye on these two. I think I wanna try on my new uniform.” Jack stripped out of his dirty clothes and put on Max’s wet uniform. Then he bent down and picked up Max’s duty belt, fitting it around his waist. “My oh my, this fits perfect! Whaddya think Joe? I look like a cop?”

  “Hell no,” laughed Joe.

  “Shut up, you fat ass! Hey, you two clowns got everything loaded in our new cop cars?”

  Max watched the two nameless henchmen grab the last duffle bag and head toward the parking lot.

  “Can we move it along, please? Assholes? Hello? Hurry up! Let’s go!” Jack was screaming at his two underlings, clearly letting them know who was running things.

  “Well, now we get to the hard part. What are we gonna do with you guys?” Jack was pacing back and forth in front of Max and Charlie.

  Joe walked over next to Jack and dug in his pocket. “Well, I know what I’m gonna do,” the fat man said, pulling his smartphone out of his pocket. “I’ve gotta take a picture of these two lovebirds.”

  “They do look sweet in their little love pretzel. Smile!” Jack laughed at how upset Max was getting.

  “Well shit, we might as well kill ‘em. Already got two dead bodies in the parking lot,” said Joe.

  “Holy shit! I just got the funniest idea!” Jack laughed hysterically.

  “What? Spit it out man!” said Joe.

  “You know what we should do? Shoot one and not the other. Leave one of ‘em handcuffed to a dead body!”

  “Jesus Christ, Jack! That’s some twisted shit!” the fat man snorted as he laughed.

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t care less about killing fuckin’ cops. What about those little kids in the prison cell? I’m not killin’ a baby.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Your fat ass would eat a baby before you shot one.”

  “That’s gross dude! Shut
up!”

  “OK, fine. Listen up, lovebirds; this is what’s gonna happen. Once we leave outta here, the two of you can play naked Twister and figure out a way to get over to the jail cell. The cell door key is on the hook next to the door. You let the bitch out and I’m sure she can help you out of your love knot. Sound like a plan?”

  Max nodded.

  “Well, shit, look here what I got. Didn’t even notice it when I put on the belt — a walkie talkie radio! Maybe we can listen to this thing and figure out what the cops are doing!”

  Max closed his eyes and hung his head. Elizabeth.

  One of the unnamed henchmen came running around the corner. “Jack! Some lady is on the radio asking for these cops, said she was at a command post.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t respond!” Jack screamed.

  “No, just listened is all.”

  “What do we care about a command post? Let’s get moving and get the hell outta here!” said Joe.

  “Think about it, stupid! A command post’s got supplies, probably all kinds of good shit. We got the uniforms, the bullet proof vests, and guns!”

  “Shit, yeah! Let’s get moving!”

  Jack and his hooligans took off toward the parking lot. Once they rounded the corner, Max turned towards the tree line and yelled, “NOW!”

  Miller and Collins burst from the bushes and sprinted through the downpour to Max and Charlie.

  “No! Forget us, you have to stop them! They’re looking for the command post!”

  Collins understood immediately and took off after them with Miller close behind. All Max could do with his wrist handcuffed to Charlie’s ankle was wait helplessly and hope they stopped the men before things got completely out of control. If the two henchmen had taken the time to dig weapons out of the bags and load them with ammo, it was going to be an ugly fight. Max hoped the element of surprise would be to their advantage. He listened in horror to the sound of shotgun blasts and the quick pop-pop-pop of a pistol over and over again. Then after thirty nightmarish seconds, he heard a vehicle speed away.

  All that remained was the sound of the rain.

  “Miller! Collins! Somebody talk to me! What happened? HEY! YOU GUYS ALL RIGHT? MILLER! COLLINS!”

  Charlie began to cry angry tears. “Those fucks killed them! Fucking animals! What kind of man takes a mother and two small babies and tosses them in a jail cell!”

  “Charlie, listen, we need to figure a way to slide over there. Tell you what — lie on your back and tuck your chin. I can stand up and drag you on your back.”

  “Okay, it’s worth a try.”

  The plan was awkward but effective. As they moved slowly forward, Max searched for his two officers. Miller was lying on his back, his nose and left eye missing along with most of his jaw. A shotgun blast does horrific damage to its target. Miller was dead – no doubt about it. Max saw Collins ten yards away, leaning up against a piece of broken wall.

  “Collins! You okay?”

  Collins gave a thumbs-up.

  “You get hit?”

  Collins made a gun with his fingers and shot himself in the chest. Then he made a fist and pounded the vest.

  “Vest stopped it and knocked the wind out you, probably broke some ribs?

  Collins nodded in agreement.

  “Son, I need you to toss me your restraint key so Charlie and I can get out of this situation.”

  Collins tossed the key to Max. Once the two were separated, Charlie ran quickly to the cell door, reuniting with his wife and kids in a barrage of hugs and kisses.

  Max sat down next to Collins. “I know it hurts, Collins, but I need you to talk, even if it’s a whisper. How many of them are left? How many made it out of here?”

  “Three. Fat man is in the parking lot. The other three took our vehicles and left. One of them took a bullet in the arm. Managed to shoot out one of the truck tires; they won’t make it too far in that.”

  Max walked over to the obese man who way lying on his back, his chest heaving rapidly as he desperately tried to fill his torn lungs with air. Max leaned down and picked up his shotgun.

  “You’re not a cop, you fat piece of shit.” Max shot him in the head.

  Ignoring the stabbing pain in his hip, Max limped over to Rudy’s dead body. He gently closed Rudy’s vacant eyes and dug in his front pockets for the truck keys.

  “I’m sorry, Rudy. I’m going after the men who did this. I promise you I’ll make them pay. I’ll make sure your wife is safe, and we’ll take good care of her.”

  Max turned to find Deputy Collins standing behind him. He took off his jacket and handed it to the chief. Max put the windbreaker over his shivering, wet body.

  “You feelin’ better?”

  Collins placed his palm over his rib cage just beneath his sternum and whispered, “Hurts like a bitch to breathe and talk, but I’ll be okay.”

  “Let’s get going. Once we find those bastard rednecks we won’t be doing much talking.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  President Malcolm Powers was getting impatient. He and his former guests were sitting in the underground bunker beneath the White House waiting to be moved back up topside. His Chief of Staff had not spoken a word to him and he knew the reason. He would have time to deal with her later. More important things required his attention, like the symbol of the office of the president being directly attacked and an Iranian sub in the water with a nuclear warhead aboard.

  “Mike, tell me something good. I’m ready to get out of here.”

  “Mr. President, we have the airports shut down and roadblocks are being set up on every major road leading out of the capitol. Once all air traffic is grounded and if nothing else happens, we can move you up top.”

  “How long?”

  “An hour, two at the most.”

  President Powers looked at Admiral Mack. “Are the Enterprise and the George Washington underway?”

  “Yes, Mr. President, they’re moving at full speed to join the blockade in the Arabian Sea.”

  “Radiation levels?”

  “Continuing to rise, Mr. President. The weather system continues to spread radioactivity into the area. Much of the region will be uninhabitable for decades.”

  CIA Director Jimenez coughed and growled, “Animals are killing their own people just to come at us.”

  Everyone in the room looked gravely at each other. The president continued to address Admiral Mack. “Bunker Five?”

  “We still can’t get a clear read on it, Mr. President.”

  “What if they launch directly from the bunker? Will we be able to stop it in time?”

  “Yes, Mr. President. We would be able to shoot it down over the Arctic Circle or over the Atlantic Ocean. We are still confident that they do not have a working ICBM.”

  “Well, their actions lead me to believe that they’re capable of anything. I’m not going to underestimate them; ensure that you do not as well, General Moody.”

  “Yes, Mr. President.” The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff responded with a cold, stern face. He did not like being talked down to.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if you will excuse me, I’m going to retire to my quarters for a short time to freshen up and spend some time reflecting on the horrible events of this day. Please make yourselves comfortable. Just as soon as we are given the all clear, we will all return to the White House.”

  The president stood up, and every person in the room followed suit. The CIA director placed his hands on the arms of his wheelchair and sat up as straight as he could.

  “Stacy, would you join me, please?”

  “Yes, Mr. President.” The president’s Chief of Staff stood up and followed her boss down the short hallway to his private quarters. He opened the door for her, ushering her in. Once he closed the door, he braced himself for the ass-chewing he knew would follow.

  “Malcolm, I want one good reason why I shouldn’t hand you my letter of resignation!”

  Stacy Reid had been Admiral Powers’
campaign manager. Once he took office, she was the obvious choice to be his Chief of Staff. She accepted the job on one condition — when they were behind closed doors, she could speak her mind and deflate his ego if it was growing unchecked. Malcolm gladly accepted the condition and would have insisted on it anyway. He needed someone to keep him in check, someone who wasn’t concerned about furthering their own career or just wanted to kiss his ass. Malcolm had studied JFK’s biggest blunder, the Bay of Pigs, and came to his own conclusion that if JFK’s advisors had spoken their minds and not worried about damaging their careers, JFK could have avoided the biggest blunder of his presidency.

  “Stacy, just hear me out. I wanted to bring you in on this from the start. Keeping you in the dark was a very tough call. I regret it now, and I apologize. I should never have done that to you.”

  “I hope you have a damn good reason. I’m waiting.”

  “Well, I made the decision based on two reasons. The first is that you’re from Florida.”

  “What? How dare you! You think I couldn’t give you sound advice? That’s outrageous! I hope your second reason is better than that.”

  “What would you have done if you’d known about my plan?”

  “Your plan to lie to the American people? I think you can figure that one out.”

  “Exactly my point. I need you, Stacy. I can’t afford to lose you, especially now, given what’s at stake. I hope you can work past this and we can come to an understanding.”

  “I need time, Malcolm. I just don’t know.”

  “Take all the time you need. In the meantime, I hope you can continue to perform your duties as well as you always have.”

  “If I’m even going to think about staying, no more lies, no more hiding things from me.”

  “Of course.”

  “You know I would have left quietly.”

  “I know you would, but I couldn’t afford the press putting two and two together. Okay, let’s talk about today. What do you think?”

  “Personal feelings aside, I don’t think you’ll be able to contain Governor Prince for much longer. She’s bound to go to the press.”