by Robert Boren
“That’s the 3D printers?” Kyle asked.
“Yeah,” he said, “and the supplies. Let’s go check the others.”
They went to each, righting them and then opening the tops. None of the contents got damaged. Several trucks were making their way through the dirt of the field.
“I’m gonna handle the loading of the 3D printers,” Curt said. “You guys can handle the rest of this stuff.”
“Fair enough,” Kyle said.
“Hey, look, here comes Amanda in that bobtail of hers,” Jason said, pointing.
“Geez,” Curt said. He motioned her over to the 3D printer container. “Hope she doesn’t get stuck.”
“Those have a lot of grunt,” Nate said. “No problema.”
Amanda pulled next to Curt, smiling from the cab. “Figured everything that needs to go to the toy haulers could fit in here,” she said.
“Yeah, with room to spare,” Curt said, helping her down. “None of it got damaged.”
“That’s great,” Amanda said.
“I’ll help you lift the printers,” Kelly said.
“Me too,” Junior said. They got to work, loading the printers into the truck one by one, then the supplies.
Kyle, Jason, and Nate put weapons into the trucks that pulled up, the drivers coming out to help.
“Think this’ll be enough?” Gray asked as he got out of the first truck.
“Probably,” Kyle said. “We could use the bobtail for overflow.”
Dirk and Chance got out of their cab and rushed over to help. Eric got out of the third truck with Don and Francis.
“Damn, we’ve got a lot of hardware now,” Francis said. “Where are we going to put it all?”
“I think we should distribute most of it,” Jason said. “We don’t want it all in a centralized location. If we get surprised, that’d be bad.”
“You ain’t kidding,” Gray said, carrying several mortars to his pickup truck. “This is top-notch stuff. Looks brand new.”
“These are bitchen,” Chance said.
“What?” Dirk asked.
“These M60 machine guns,” he said.
“Careful with those mortar rounds,” Don said, watching Francis struggle with a crate. He rushed over and took an end.
“Thanks,” Francis said. “Heavier than it looked.”
Curt looked at the back end of the bobtail with all the 3D printers and supplies loaded. “We got more room here if you need.”
“Good, you can take these M-16s,” Kyle said. “They take up quite a bit of room.”
“I’ll back it over there,” Amanda said, heading for the cab.
“Shit,” Eric said. “My phone just buzzed.”
Curt froze. “Track them.”
“Yeah,” Eric said, looking at his phone. “Hell, it’s another person from east Texas.”
“Deadwood?” Don asked.
“No, Carthage again,” he said. “What’s going on there, I wonder?”
“That’s a couple days from here,” Francis said. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“Worry about every attempt,” Curt said. “Even the ones that are far away. Somebody thinks they need to ping you.”
“He’s right,” Jason said. “They already know that we’re onto them. This is worrisome.”
“Might be nothing,” Eric said. “Maybe somebody found the phone of a dead enemy fighter. If they just charged the phone, it might have tried to reconnect, right?”
“You didn’t have that number when you were back there, did you?” Dirk asked.
“Son of a bitch, you’re right,” Eric said. He looked at his phone again. “Can they be pinging phones by geography?”
Curt looked at him, thinking.
“Uh oh,” Amanda said, watching Curt.
“No, don’t worry,” Curt said. “Eric might be right. They might try to ping numbers that are attached to the cell towers in this area. They probably got a list of numbers and have been trying to re-acquire us.”
“They know where we are,” Jason said.
“True,” Curt said, “but they don’t know where we will attack. Some of them must think they can still track us.”
“We need to make sure nobody has an unprotected phone,” Kyle said.
“Yeah,” Curt said. “I think I can do that. We’ll need to gather a list of phones attached to the nearby cell towers.”
“You know how to do that?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, basically,” Curt said. “Don’t want to spend the time on it, but we’d better.”
“This is actually good news,” Kelly said. “We know at least some of them still trust their tracking system. We can exploit that.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Curt said. “They can’t connect to our phones. That might tip them off right there if they weren’t already convinced.”
“The enemy forces might not be where these phones are,” Junior said. “Maybe we ought to monitor cell towers up and down I-10. Get the numbers and connect.”
Curt shook his head. “There you go again. Yeah, that’s a brilliant idea.”
“Anything else to go into my truck?” Amanda asked.
“I think we’re good,” Jason said.
“Good, then let’s take these back to camp and set up the printers,” Amanda said. “You can work the cell tower angle later.”
“All right,” Curt said. “I’ll ride back with you.”
Amanda nodded, and they got into the truck. Jason and Kyle watched as they drove away.
“Nice idea, Junior,” Kyle said.
“Yeah,” Kelly said. “You continue to surprise me.”
“It’s no big deal,” Junior said.
“Yes, it is,” Jason said. “We can track them without them knowing we’ve connected. Assuming their phones aren’t already set up like ours are.”
“We should keep that possibility in the back of our minds,” Eric said. “Just in case. Still bugs me that I’m getting pinged from Carthage.”
“Me too,” Jason said. “Might be a diversion.”
“This truck is full,” Gray said. “How’re you guys doing?”
“We’re ready to go,” Dirk said.
“We are too,” Francis said.
“What about the drop containers?” Don asked.
“Leave them here for now,” Jason said. “We’ll come back for them later. We can probably use them for storage.”
“Good idea,” Chance said.
The three trucks moved out, heading back to the park. Jason, Eric, Kyle, Kelly, and Junior walked back.
“This could be a new beginning for us,” Eric said.
“It could also be our undoing,” Jason said. “We need to be careful. The enemy might have been tipped off about the supply drop. We know we have moles.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Junior said.
“Me too,” Kelly said.
They crossed the dirt road and walked through the gate of the RV Park. Moe saw them and came out.
“That everything?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Jason said. “We’ll go pick up the containers tomorrow.”
“Don’t matter none,” Moe said. “Nobody will care about them sitting there.”
“The enemy could see them and know we’ve been supplied,” Eric said. “Those are military containers. Won’t take a genius to figure out what they were for.”
“Good point,” Kelly said. “We’ll get them in the morning, and put them someplace where they won’t be seen.”
“Okay, I’m convinced,” Moe said. “What are we doing with the weapons?”
“We need to distribute most of them,” Jason said. “We don’t want them sitting in a central location if we get attacked.”
“I was hoping you were gonna say that,” Moe said. “How do you want to do it?”
“Good question,” Jason said. “Looks like all the trucks except Amanda’s bobtail stopped in front of the clubhouse. Maybe we ought to call everybody to pick things up.”
> “Some folks are asleep already,” Moe said. “It’s nearly ten.”
“Maybe we should put it in the clubhouse. Hand them out in the morning,” Kyle said.
“Fine by me if you guys want to do that,” Moe said. “I can lock it up overnight.”
“If we leave the stuff there overnight, some people should sleep in there with it,” Jason said.
“Clancy sleeps in the room next to the clubhouse,” Moe said.
“Well, figure it out and let us know. I can bed down in there if you want,” Kelly said. “We best get to unloading this. Getting late.”
“Yeah,” Junior said.
“Kyle and I should go help Curt with the 3D printers,” Jason said.
“No problem,” Moe said. “We got enough people here to unload the pickup trucks.”
“See you guys later,” Kyle said as he and Jason walked away.
Amanda parked the bobtail next to her still, with the tailgate pointing towards the three toy-haulers parked across the road. Jason and Kyle walked up as she finished.
“Good enough?” Amanda asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” Curt said. “Good, I was hoping you pencil necks would be over to give us a hand.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Kyle said. “They heavy?”
“No,” Curt said. “They’re more awkward than heavy.”
“That means I can help you,” Amanda said.
“Yeah,” Curt said. “We have to be careful, though.”
“Where do you want them?” Jason asked.
“Two in each of those toy-haulers Moe brought over.”
“You aren’t putting another one in your rig?” Kyle asked.
“Nah, we might have to high-tail it, and I want enough space inside to park the barracuda.”
“Makes sense,” Jason said. They got busy carrying the printers and supplies to the toy-haulers.
“What about all these M-16s?” Amanda asked when they finished.
“Leave them there till morning,” Jason said. “We’ll pass stuff out then, over at the clubhouse.”
“Okay,” Amanda said. She pulled the tailgate down and latched it. “Think I should lock it?”
“I wouldn’t bother,” Curt said. “We’re all here.”
“Okay,” Amanda said.
“Help me shut the ramp on these toy-haulers,” Curt said.
Jason and Kyle followed him and they lifted each, latching them shut.
“Good day’s work,” Kyle said. “I’m beat. Gonna go hit the sack.”
“Yeah, not a bad idea,” Jason said.
They went back to their rigs. Amanda looked at Curt.
“Well, what now?” she asked.
“Bedtime, I reckon,” he said. “You can sleep in one of the other toy haulers.”
“You don’t want me with you tonight?” Amanda asked.
“I’ll leave that up to you,” Curt said. “I’m not going to push it. We’ve got time. We’ve both got a lot of thinking to do.”
She looked at him for a moment. “Probably not a bad idea, I guess. Too tired to do anything anyway.”
Curt smiled. “I can have a goodnight kiss, though, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I suppose.”
They embraced and kissed passionately.
“Wow,” she said. “There’s something there.”
“Yeah,” Curt said. “If I’m gonna be alone I’d better go now.”
She giggled. “Nice to know I have that effect on you.”
“You already knew,” Curt said.
“So did you,” Amanda said. “Good night.”
Curt nodded and went into his toy hauler. Amanda stood watching the door for a moment after it closed, and then shrugged, heading for the toy-hauler next to his. Gonna be a long night.
Chapter 15 – Leaked from the Left Coast
Hendrix and Nelson watched Gallagher slip out the vault door.
“Be careful, Gallagher,” Nelson said. “You’ve got a detail going with you, correct?”
“Yes sir, and I’ll be in an armored transport the whole way, with a large escort,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”
Maria closed the vault at the console. “Want me to turn on the TV?”
“Yeah, I could use a look at the news,” Hendrix said.
“Sure, good idea,” Nelson said.
Nelson’s phone rang as they got into the living room. He answered it.
“Landry is in the bunker, Governor,” Commissioner Wallis said.
Nelson nodded to Hendrix and Maria, then went back into the console room as they sat down on the couch.
“Good,” Nelson said. “He put up a fight?”
“He tried to leave the armored personnel carrier on his own, and then he wanted to wander around in the bunker by himself. The detail had to push a little, but it wasn’t a problem.”
“He try to make any calls yet?”
“Not that I know of,” Wallis said. “The cell amplifier is being monitored. Figured I’d check in the morning.”
“Good enough,” Nelson said. “Think he bought the story?”
“Hard to tell. Maybe. He didn’t balk too much about the plans.”
“You were able to turn Major Carlson?” Nelson asked.
“He wasn’t in on it. I’m pretty sure of that.”
“Sure he’s not just a good actor?” Nelson asked.
“I don’t think so,” he said, “and that presents a problem. There’s probably somebody left in his organization who was in on it.”
“Dammit,” Nelson said.
“Don’t worry too much,” Wallis said. “Landry has no way to communicate other than the cell amplifier in the situation room. If he contacts anybody, we’ll know right away.”
“How much did you tell Carlson?”
“Not much,” he said. “We made up a story about Landry being in extreme danger, and he was with me in the bunkers at Dallas for the meeting. I’ll be staying in here for a while to keep up that illusion.”
“Yeah, we don’t know that Dallas is any safer than Austin for members of our government,” Nelson said.
“Heard the drop in Fort Stockton went off like clockwork,” Wallis said.
“Great,” Nelson said. “Didn’t get word yet. Thanks.”
“No problem. How long you plan to stay put?”
Nelson sighed. “I don’t know. Probably a week at least.”
“You still trust Hendrix?”
“Yes,” he said. “Bothers me that Holly and Jerry Sutton are both missing.”
“I know, seems a little weird. Why are you so sure about Hendrix?”
“We go way back,” Nelson said. “He’s been working as a double agent for a while now.”
“I remember,” Wallis said. “Franklin, right?”
Nelson chuckled. “Yeah, and Franklin’s phone attempted to reconnect after Kip’s phone got updated.”
“No shit,” Wallis said. “So right now he’s wondering why Hendrix’s phone won’t let him connect?”
“Yeah, and I hope that isn’t too much of a tip-off.”
“All right, Governor. I don’t have anything else. You?”
“Nope, Wallis,” Nelson said. “Keep up the good work, and stay safe.”
“You too, old friend.”
Nelson ended the call and walked into the living room. Kip and Maria were sitting next to each other on the couch.
“Hey Governor, you’ve got to check this out,” Hendrix said.
“What is it?” Nelson asked, sitting in a recliner.
“Leaked video from California,” he said. “This is a little old, but it’s interesting.”
“How old?”
“Two months,” Hendrix said. “I’ll start it over.”
“I’m going to the kitchen,” Maria said, getting up. “Don’t want to look at the bodies again.”
“Bodies?” Nelson asked.
“Yeah, some guy named Ivan the Butcher hit a bunch of checkpoints in LA County. Hung the UN Peacekeep
ers who were manning them from the light posts.”
“The UN is manning checkpoints?” Nelson asked. “Heard rumors, but haven’t gotten confirmation.”
“You’ll see it on the video,” Hendrix said.
“You guys want ice cream?” Maria asked. “There’s a bunch of Ben and Jerry’s in the walk-in.”
“I’ll take some,” Nelson said. “Thanks.”
“What flavors do you like?”
“Vanilla if we have any,” Nelson said.
“Still with the vanilla,” Hendrix said, chuckling. “I’ll take Chunky Monkey. I made sure we had some of that.”
“Okay, I’ll be back after the beginning of the video is over.”
“Fine, sweetie,” Hendrix said.
The two men watched her leave the room.
“She’s good for you, Kip,” Nelson said.
“You don’t know the half of it,” he said. “Your wife and family coming here?”
“No, I’ve got them hidden elsewhere,” he said. “That’s why I can get away with the ice cream,”
Hendrix laughed. “Oh, you’re on a low-fat diet?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I don’t think one will hurt me too much.”
“I’ll start the video,” Hendrix said. He used the remote to click play on the YouTube screen. The video started, Nelson watching wide-eyed.
“My God,” Nelson said. “What do you know about Ivan the Butcher? I remember the name but not much else.”
“He was in the news back after the USSR fell,” Hendrix said. “He helped found a big part of the Russian mob, before being run out of the country on a rail.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember now,” Nelson said. “He tried to set up shop in the EU too, right?”
“Yeah,” Hendrix said. “Got chased into hiding when the EU and the Russians teamed up against him.”
“And now he’s in California?” Nelson asked. “Any proof of that?”
“Yeah, there’s video of him making a TV appearance at the end of this video. It’s a riot.”
“They shut him down yet?” Nelson asked.
“You know how it’s been in California,” Hendrix said. “They basically have a civil war going on there.”
“It’s not just the citizens against the enemy?”
“It’s a lot more complicated than that, from what we were seeing before you came in,” Hendrix said. “Half the state is with the resistance, against the UN. The other half is for Global Governance, and welcomes the UN. They aren’t too bright, though.”