by Robert Boren
“That’s two shooters, or they’re moving around quick,” Junior said, hawkish eyes staring at the ridge.
Jason scurried back with the BAR, diving to the ground. He took aim and fired, 30-06 rounds peppering the ridge. Dirk got up and ran to his truck as more enemy fire started up, diving behind it as a couple of rounds hit the side.
“Dammit!” Dirk shouted.
“You hit?” Kyle asked.
“No, but they punched holes in my truck. I’ll kill the bastards for that.”
Junior snickered. “Think we can hit that far with an M-16?”
“Yeah,” Jason said. “Go get it while Eric is setting up that mortar.”
“Why don’t you call Ramsey and have him hit the whole damn ridge with napalm?” Kelly asked.
“That’s a good idea,” Jason said. “Somebody take over with this BAR.”
He rolled out of the way and made the call. More gunfire came from the ridge, but now Dirk had the M60. He opened up, rocks on the ridge shattering.
“They’ve just got semi-autos,” Junior said. “We got them way out-gunned.”
“Yeah, but they’ve got position,” Eric said as he finished setting up the mortar. He made the initial adjustments to sight it in, then pulled over the box of rounds. “They ain’t gonna like this much.” He dropped in a mortar round. It popped as it flew into the air, falling about a hundred yards short of the ridge.
“They just crapped their pants,” Junior quipped. He fired at the ridge with his M-16. “Useless but fun.”
“Think the M19 on the Barracuda will go that far?” Kyle asked.
“Good question,” Jason said as he ended his phone call. “Ramsey’s on the air attack.”
“Good,” Kelly said.
“Here we go,” Eric said, dropping a mortar round in. It flew, blowing up just feet from the top of the ridge. Eric made a quick adjustment and then dropped another one, which hit just behind the ridge. Somebody screamed. The gunfire stopped.
“We might have just gotten them,” Kyle said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Eric said, as he dropped another round in the mortar. It blew up just to the left of the last one. Then they heard a roar.
“Fighter jet,” Kelly said, pointing.
The sleek plane flew low over the ridge, liquid fire coming out of its belly along the whole length of the ridge.
“That ruined their whole day,” Kelly said.
“I suggest we get the hell out of here,” Chance said.
“Yeah, let’s,” Jason said.
They all ran to their vehicles.
“Who can drive the Barracuda?” Jason asked.
“I’ll do it if somebody can drive my truck back,” Kyle said.
“I got you covered,” Junior said. “We’ve got to take Gray’s body back.”
“Let’s put him in my truck,” Kyle said.
The men went to pick him up, lifting his lifeless body, putting it carefully in the truck bed. All of the men had tears in their eyes.
“He was a great guy,” Kelly said.
“Yes, he was,” Kyle said.
“His poor wife,” Junior said, brow furrowed. “My God, this was a bad day.”
“Yeah, it was,” Dirk said. “Worst we’ve had since we left Deadwood.”
The team drove home, the sorrow hitting them harder on the way.
Chapter 23 - Shopping
Lita woke up in Richardson’s arms as the morning sun seeped through the window. She stretched. “Finally, a good night’s sleep.”
Richardson turned towards her, smiling. “Yeah, it was nice.” He got out of bed. “We have a few errands to run today. Wonder what they have in town.”
“Errands?” she asked.
“Last I checked, we’ve each got one set of street clothes,” he said.
“Oh, that,” she said. “I thought you were talking about the other thing.”
“Other thing?” he asked. He turned so she wouldn’t see his sly smile.
She threw a pillow at him. “Stop that. You know what I mean.”
He turned towards her, smiling. “Yes, but I can mess with you, can’t I?”
“Oh, I guess, but not too much,” she said. “I’ll see if there’s a courthouse around here.”
Richardson face showed worry. “You know, that becomes public record pretty fast. It’ll show where we are.”
Lita froze, looking at him. “Dammit, you’re probably right. Maybe we should call them and ask.”
“I’m okay with that, but if there’s a danger, I think we should wait until we get to Houston.”
“Can’t argue with that, honey,” she said. “I’ll get on it.”
“If you talk to anybody on the phone, don’t give them any personal info. No name, no location.”
“I’m not a dummy, you know,” she said.
“That’s not what I meant. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Hungry?”
“Very,” he said. “There was a coffee shop about a block down the street. Maybe we could walk over.”
“I’m game, but let’s get the others. We need to drive instead of walk, because of Madison.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” Richardson said. “I’m batting a thousand this morning.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
He put his clothes on quickly. “Want me to wake the others?”
“Yeah, do that,” Lita said. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Richardson said. He went to Brendan and Hannah’s door and knocked softly.
“Who’s there?” Hannah asked.
“Richardson. You guys want to get breakfast in a few minutes?’
Brendan opened the door. “Where?”
“Coffee shop down the street,” he said.
“Sounds good to me,” Brendan said.
“Me too,” Hannah said from behind him. “Madison and Juan Carlos going?”
“I’m on my way over there,” Richardson said.
“Okay, we’ll be out in a few,” Brendan said.
Richardson went to Madison and Juan Carlos’s cottage and knocked on the door.
Juan Carlos opened it a crack, then smiled and came out. “How are you, dude?”
“Hungry,” Richardson said. “You guys want to go with us to the coffee shop?”
“I do,” Madison’s voice came from the couch.
“Yeah, me too,” Juan Carlos said.
“We going to hit a clothes store?” Madison asked.
“I think Lita has that in mind,” Richardson said.
“Good, see you in a few minutes,” Juan Carlos said.
Richardson got back to his unit just as Lita was coming out the bedroom door. “They all in?” she asked.
“Yep,” he said. “Madison wants to get clothes too.”
“Don’t blame her,” Lita said. “Hers have blood on them.”
“You know where the clothes stores are?”
“Yes,” Lita said. “I also found out where the courthouse is.”
“Did you find out the information?”
Lita shook her head no. “Nobody answered the phone. Maybe we can stop by there after we eat and shop.”
“Maybe,” Richardson said. “We’ve got nothing better to do, I guess.”
“Want me to throw another pillow at you?”
He snickered. “I’ll stash the guns and get the car pulled closer for Madison.”
“Good idea,” Lita said, checking out the window. “Brendan and Hannah are already out there. I’m gonna join them. Lock up, okay?”
“You got it,” Richardson said.
Lita went outside, Hannah rushing over. “Hey, big sister, how you doing?”
“Slept like a baby for the first time in a while,” she said. “You?”
“Same,” Hannah said. “We going shopping?”
“Don’t think we have much choice,” Lita said. “My clothes are getting a little ripe.”
“This fine shirt is still pretty clean,” Brendan
said, pointing proudly to the silly picture on the front. Hannah rolled her eyes.
“I’m helping you pick out the new clothes,” she said.
Lita chuckled. “I suspect Madison is gonna say the same thing.”
“What?” Madison asked, slowly hobbling over on her crutches, Juan Carlos next to her. He watched her carefully, like a mother watching a toddler.
“I was just saying you might want to have some say in what Juan Carlos gets at the clothes store.”
“Oh,” she said, grinning. “Yeah, one of these stupid shirts is enough. Oh, and thanks a lot, Brendan.”
“His is worse,” Hannah said. “How you feeling, girl?”
“My foot throbs a little, but it’s not biting pain anymore. I’m trying to avoid taking much of the pain killer.”
Richardson backed the car out of its stall and parked it in front of the group. “Ready?” he asked out the window.
“Hell, yeah,” Juan Carlos said. “I’m gonna order up a huge plate of pancakes.”
“Mmmmmm,” Madison said, “That sounds good, especially if they have blueberry pancakes.”
Juan Carlos helped Madison into the back seat, while Hannah and Brendan got into the third row. Lita took shotgun.
“Off we go,” Richardson said, taking off when everybody was settled.
“It’s only right down the block, right?” Brendan asked.
“Yep, we’ll be there in about a minute,” Lita said. “See, there it is.”
Richardson parked in an open space close to the front door, and they headed for it, Juan Carlos bringing up the rear, helping Madison.
“Look at him,” Lita whispered to Hannah as they went through the double doors of the coffee shop. “He’s attending to her like a puppy dog.”
“I heard that,” Juan Carlos said.
Madison looked at them, embarrassed. “Be nice, you two.”
“It wasn’t a bad comment,” Lita said. “I thought it was cute.”
“It didn’t bother me any,” Juan Carlos said, helping Madison through the door behind them. Richardson was already at the stand talking to the hostess. He pointed to a table near the back.
“Looks good, honey,” Lita said.
“I thought a table would be easier than a booth for Madison to deal with.”
“Thanks,” Madison said.
They got seated and the waitress came over with menus. “Coffee?”
“Hell yeah,” Brendan said.
“Might as well bring coffee for everybody,” Lita said.
“Yes!” Madison said, looking at the menu. “Blueberry pancakes!”
“I don’t know how you keep that gorgeous figure of yours, Madison,” Lita said.
“If Juan Carlos has his way, her figure will expand soon enough,” Hannah said with a wicked grin.
“Will you shut up,” Madison said, face red. She looked at Juan Carlos, who had a big grin on his face. “Don’t you dare.”
“I didn’t say anything,” he said.
“You don’t have to,” Lita said.
Hannah snickered. “Yeah, the look said it all.”
“Look who’s talking,” Madison said.
“Yeah, look who’s talking,” Brendan said.
“Oh, brother,” Hannah said, glancing at him.
“Hey, it’s a tough job but somebody has to do it,” Brendan said. Everybody at the table chuckled as the waitress brought the coffees over.
“Ready to order?” she asked.
“Better give us a few minutes,” Richardson said. She nodded and walked away.
“Wow, look at this omelet,” Brendan said, pointing it out to Hannah.
“That’ll make me too gassy,” she said.
“TMI,” Lita said.
Richardson laughed, but then his phone rang.
“Shoot,” he said, looking at it. “Jefferson. I’ll be right back.”
He got up and walked away from the table, everyone eyeing him nervously.
“Please don’t have to go back early,” Madison whispered, her hand going to Juan Carlos’s under the table. He squeezed it tight. Richardson came back after a few minutes with a smile on his face.
“Good news?” Lita asked.
“Yep,” he said. “They’ve brought in a team to move the boats into Galveston bay. We’ll be able to drive up together.”
“Thank God,” Madison said.
“Seriously, dude,” Juan Carlos said. “How many days we got?”
“Four, but that’s got to include the trip there.”
“Maybe we ought to take off earlier and settle,” Hannah said. “We can find places to stay then.”
“I’ve got no problem with that,” Madison said.
“You don’t want to hang out for a day or two to rest?” Juan Carlos asked.
“I think I’m in good enough shape for a long car ride,” Madison said.
“Let’s have breakfast and do some shopping,” Lita said. “Maybe get together for drinks at our place tonight. We can decide then.”
“Sounds good to me,” Richardson said.
The others at the table nodded in agreement.
“I still want to go by the courthouse,” Lita said. “I want to ask how they handle the records. It’ll apply in Houston too.”
Hannah and Brendan glanced at each other. Madison noticed and let out a snicker.
“Won’t make any difference in Houston,” Richardson said. “Maybe we ought to just wait until we get there.”
“I think Hannah wants to check it out too,” Madison said.
“Shut up,” Hannah said. Then she slapped Brendan’s hand under the table. He laughed.
“Let’s see how we feel after we’ve gone shopping,” Juan Carlos said. “Madison might be a little tired by then.”
“I’ll be fine,” Madison said.
“Oh, so you want to go, do you?” Juan Carlos asked. She punched him on the arm.
“Don’t you start too,” she said, trying to look stern, but then breaking into a giggle.
Richardson and Lita shot each other a glance as the waitress arrived.
“Everybody ready?” Richardson asked.
“I am,” Madison said.
“I know,” Juan Carlos said, which brought another punch on the arm.
“All right, you guys,” Lita said. “Yeah, I think we’re ready.”
They ordered, and the waitress walked away.
“Who knows Houston?” Lita asked.
“I do a little,” Hannah said. “My uncle used to live there.”
“He moved?” Brendan asked.
“No, he passed,” she said. “He was older than my parents by about ten years.”
“Oh,” Brendan said. “Was it nice?”
“The air is kind of bad,” she said. “But no worse than most cities on the Gulf. It’s a big city, so you can do just about anything you want. Lots of great nightclubs and restaurants. Pretty parks. I could get used to it, I think.”
“Me too,” Juan Carlos said. “I’ve been there a lot of times. It’s pretty. Not dry like Dallas or San Antonio.”
They chatted happily until the food came, then dug in, eating quickly.
Madison finished first, pushing her plate away from her. “I’m stuffed.”
“These are good,” Juan Carlos said, still working on his plate of pancakes. “Glad I ordered them.”
“Where’s the store?” Hannah asked.
“There’s a mini-mall down the road about two miles,” Lita said. “Probably our best bet.”
“Any of you want to go home first?” Richardson asked.
“Not me,” Hannah said.
“Me neither,” Madison said.
The rest nodded, so they got up, paid at the register, and left, Richardson driving them out onto the street.
“Turn left,” Lita said, looking at her phone. “I’m so glad we have phones again.”
“That’s for sure,” Hannah said. “Even if they’re not iPhones.”
“I like mine more than I
thought I would,” Madison said. “I’ll probably hang onto it.”
“Me too,” Brendan said.
They rode quietly for a little while, watching out the window as people were rushing around in the morning sun.
“Doesn’t seem like the people around here are scared,” Lita said, “but we’re close to the danger zone. Kinda weird.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Richardson said.
“Why do you think they changed their minds about the boats?” Lita asked.
Richardson shot her a glance. “I’m not sure. Maybe they wanted to separate us from the boats for a while. The enemy might be running surveillance on them. The Feds still have access to satellites.”
“There’s the mall,” Hannah said from the back.
“It’s barely what I’d call a mall,” Madison said. “There’s maybe ten stores there.”
“True, but I see a big clothing store,” Lita said. “It’ll be good enough for now. We can restock when we get to Houston. You should be able to get anything there.”
“Yeah,” Hannah said. “We used to go to the mall there when we visited. My cousins hung out there a lot. It was nice.”
Richardson turned into the parking lot and found a place close to the doors. “Good enough?”
“Good enough,” Madison said.
“You’re lucky, man,” Brendan said as he and Hannah climbed out.
“Lucky?” Juan Carlos asked as he helped Madison out.
“You’ll have to help Madison in the changing room.”
Hannah laughed and shook her head.
Madison looked at Juan Carlos and giggled. “Didn’t think about that.”
“No hanky panky,” Lita said. “We don’t want to stay here all day. We’ve got other errands to run.”
Juan Carlos made eye contact with Madison. She shook her head no, and he chuckled.
“What’s going on between you two?” Lita asked, eyeing them.
“Nothing,” Madison said quickly, getting situated on her crutches.
They entered the store and looked around. “Men’s stuff on the second story,” Hannah said, looking at the listing just inside the door. “Women’s on this floor.”
“I see it,” Richardson said, pointing to the back right-hand corner, obscured by the perfume and jewelry counters.
“This is an old-fashioned store,” Hannah said as they made their way to the clothes section.
“Maybe you girls should shop together and us guys should go to the second floor,” Richardson said. “You guys can help Madison.”