by Robert Boren
“I love you,” Brendan told her.
She glanced at Madison, then shrugged. “I love you too. Please be careful.”
The men got back into the SUV and Richardson took off, tires squealing.
“This is what I was afraid of,” Hannah said.
“I know,” Madison said. “You guys finally broke through, didn’t you? I heard what you said.”
She flashed an embarrassed smile, then caught Lita out of the corner of her eye. She was crying.
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” Hannah said, rushing to her side.
Madison joined her. “He’ll be back, and then you’ll get married.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m just scared.”
“How can we not be?” Hannah asked.
“Want to come to my place for a while?” Lita asked. “I noticed some coffee in the cupboard.”
“Yeah, we shouldn’t be alone right now,” Hannah said.
“I agree,” Madison said. They walked to the trailer and entered. Lita plugged in the coffee maker and got down a box of Keurig pods. “Regular or decaf?”
“Hit me with the real stuff,” Hannah said.
“Me too,” Madison said.
They watched quietly as Lita made the coffees.
“Somebody say something,” Lita said. “It’s too quiet in here.”
“Did you really fall for Brendan, or were you just saying that to him?” Madison asked Hannah.
Lita snickered.
“What’s so funny?” Hannah asked.
“That boy had you from the first night,” Lita said.
Hannah looked back at her, tears filling her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Lita said, rushing to her.
“No, it’s okay,” she said. “You’re right, he did. I tried to slow it down, because of this.”
“I know, me too,” Madison said. “This is really hard. We’re going to be scared to death every time they leave.”
“They’re pretty good at taking care of themselves,” Lita said. “We have to focus on that, and how important their jobs are.”
“You already sound like a military wife,” Madison said.
“You have a funny look on your face,” Hannah said. Madison turned red.
“Out with it,” Lita said.
“Oh, nothing,” she said. “I think Juan Carlos might try to get me to marry him.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see you two married someday,” Lita said.
“No, I mean when we’re there for your wedding,” she said in a hushed tone.
“Oh,” Lita said. “How do you feel about that?”
“I told him he’d better not,” she said. “If he does, I might not be able to resist.”
“Might not?” Hannah asked.
“What’s with the silly grin?” Lita said, looking at Hannah’s face.
“Nothing,” she said. “Look at us. These men have us all messed up.”
“True that,” Madison said.
Chapter 23 – Bloody Sedan
Jason, Kyle, Kelly, and Junior ran towards the front gate as Eric’s Class C motor home rolled in, pulling his Bronco. Frances was behind him, pulling Dirk’s trailer. Then came Don’s SUV and the rest of the vehicles in a steady stream, bikers bringing up the rear. They all collected in the big parking area next to the front office. Moe and Clancy came out to greet them as they got out of their vehicles.
“Welcome to Fort Stockton RV Park,” Moe said.
“Where’s Curt?” Jason asked.
Nate and Fritz trotted up. “What’s going on?” Nate asked.
“First group of folks from Fredericksburg,” Kyle said. “But no Curt.”
“He’ll be along in an hour or two,” Eric said. “He helped the Merchant sisters with their distilling equipment. They’re towing his Barracuda. Dirk and Chance are with them.”
Carrie, Kate, Rachel, and Brenda ran up. Carrie had Chelsea in her arms.
“You must be Kim,” Carrie said. “Welcome to the family.”
Kim left Eric’s side and greeted her. “So nice to meet you. What a beautiful daughter.” Chelsea looked at her with a coy smile.
“Any problems on the way out?” Junior asked.
“Nope,” Eric said. “Smooth sailing. It was hard to leave the homestead behind.”
“We’ll get back there eventually,” Jason said.
“Now, if Chris, Jasper, and Earl would show up,” Brenda said, worried look on her face.
“You have people who haven’t shown up yet?” Eric asked.
“Brenda’s ex, co-owner of Texas Mary’s,” Kelly said, “and a few of our folks. They had a bad apple with them. Hope nothing happened.”
“Bad apple?” Francis asked.
“Simon Orr,” Junior said. “That’s why we came back early, remember? I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”
“Me too,” Brenda said.
“All, meet the people from Deadwood,” Eric said as he saw Don and his girls walk up with Francis and Sherry. He introduced them.
“Nice to meet you,” Francis said.
“Yeah, very good to be with you,” Don said. His girls looked bewildered.
“You’re right about one thing,” Eric said. “This is right on top of I-10. I can see it from here.”
“Yeah,” Junior said. “I hope Landry was right about the Air National Guard.”
“I’ll feel better when Curt gets that Barracuda back here,” Kyle said.
“You’ve got some pretty good weaponry on your truck,” Kelly said.
“I know, but a .50 cal just doesn’t have the impact of an M-19,” he said.
“Boys and their toys,” Brenda said, shaking her head.
Jason’s phone rang. He looked at it. “It’s Curt,” he said, worried look on his face.
“Well answer it,” Kyle said.
“Hey, pencil neck,” Curt said.
“Curt, where are you guys?”
“Almost to Sheffield, making good time,” Curt said. “Should be another hour or so.”
“Sounds kinda windy,” Jason said.
“I’m in the Barracuda, being towed behind Amanda’s bobtail truck.”
“Oh,” Jason said. “Figures. How do you like her?”
Curt chuckled. “She’s like a female version of me. The rest of the crew get there?”
“Yeah,” Jason said. “We’re gathered around them up by the office.”
“Good,” Curt said. “Keep your eyes open. The enemy knows we left.”
“Crap, what happened?”
“Had to waste two truckloads of cretins on the road,” Curt said. “Not a problem. They didn’t even get a shot off.”
“But they might have checked in with their leadership,” Jason said. “Dammit.”
“I’ll let you go. Warn everybody.”
“Will do,” Jason said. “Be careful.” He ended the call.
“Everything okay?” Kelly asked.
“They got attacked on the road,” Jason said.
“Shit,” Kyle muttered.
“Don’t worry, Curt wasted them with the M-19. Amanda’s pulling the Barracuda behind her bobtail truck. He’s riding in it, like he did when I towed him that time.”
“Son of a bitch,” Kyle said. “They know we’ve left, then.”
“Yeah, that’s why he called,” Jason said. “We’d better stay sharp.”
“Hell yeah we’d better,” Junior said.
“I’ll get up on the roof with the binos,” Clancy said. “All the tanks manned?”
“Yeah,” Gray said. “We’re ready.”
“Let’s get everybody settled,” Moe said. “Anybody who needs space, come on into the office and we’ll get you taken care of.”
“Let’s go back,” Rachel said, putting her arm around Junior’s waist.
“I’m ready,” Junior said.
“Hey, Jason, where are you guys?” Eric asked.
He pointed towards the southwest side of the park. “Over there. All the
spaces around us are taken, though. You’ll be further to the east, I suspect.”
“Okay, see you in a while.” He took Kim by the hand and followed Moe into the office.
“Hey, who’s that?” Clancy yelled, pointing to a smoking, bullet ridden sedan creeping to the gate.
Kelly whirled around and looked. “What the hell? Is that who I think it is?”
Brenda looked. “Oh no, that’s Chris!”
Kelly and Brenda rushed over as the dieseling engine stopped with a shudder. Junior noticed and whispered something to Rachel, then trotted over to the car.
“Chris, what happened?” Brenda cried as she got to the car. He looked at her through foggy eyes and then passed out. His sister was in the passenger seat, half of her head blown away.
“Get back, honey,” Kelly said, looking at the sister’s body. “You don’t want to see her.”
“Oh my God!” Brenda cried. “No!”
“I’ll call the doctor,” Clancy shouted from the roof, pulling out his cellphone.
Nate and Fritz rushed over. “Oh shit,” Fritz said.
“Where’s Jasper and Earl?” Nate asked.
“We don’t know,” Kelly said. “Hope Chris makes it. He doesn’t look good.”
“Look, his eyes opened,” Junior said.
“Chris,” Brenda said, getting closer to him. “What happened?”
“Simon Orr,” he said quietly, barely conscious. “Turned Jasper and Earl. Said we could leave, but then followed us.” He passed out, his breath shallow and raspy.
“Shit, he ain’t gonna make it,” Nate said under his breath.
“The doctor will be here in about ten minutes,” Clancy called from the roof. “He said not to move him until he gets here.”
“Got it, thanks,” Kelly shouted up to him.
Eric rushed out when he heard the commotion, Kim by his side.
“Is this who you were waiting for?” he asked.
“Some of them,” Junior said. “Two still missing, and the bad guy.”
“We’ll have to hunt this creep down,” Nate said, angry rising in him.
“Maybe we should leave it alone,” Fritz said. “If Jasper and Earl are turned, we might have to kill them. Don’t think I could.”
“Here comes the doctor,” Clancy shouted, pointing to the driveway. The car stopped, and a thin middle aged man with balding hair rushed over.
“Out of my way,” he cried. Brenda and Kelly moved away from the car.
“Dr. Knudsen,” Clancy said. “Thanks for getting here so quickly.”
He nodded and got his face inside the window, checking vitals. “This man’s been shot in the back and shoulder. Who’s the woman?”
“His sister,” Kelly said as Brenda watched, tears streaming down her face.
“That was a large caliber weapon,” he said, looking at the woman’s head wound. “At least she didn’t know what hit her. Somebody help me when I open the door. I don’t want him falling out.”
Kelly, Nate, and Fritz stood by the door as the doctor opened it, hands out to catch Chris. He rolled into their arms.
“Let’s carry him into the clubhouse,” Doctor Knudsen said.
“Shouldn’t we put him on a stretcher?” Brenda asked.
“Won’t matter,” he said. The men lifted Chris and rushed him in as carefully as they could, laying him on a table.
The doctor ripped Chris’s shirt off of him and looked at the wounds. “He’s bleeding internally.”
“Oh no,” Brenda said.
Dr. Knudsen looked at her. “You a relative?”
“Ex-wife and business partner,” Brenda said quietly.
“He was our friend,” Fritz said. “A very dear friend.”
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Knudsen said, his hawkish eyes glancing around the room. “You know who did this?”
“He said it was Simon Orr,” Kelly said.
“Well, you’d better keep your eyes open, because this didn’t happen very far away. He was probably shot less than ten minutes ago.”
“We would’ve heard it, wouldn’t we?” Nate asked.
“Don’t count on that,” Moe said. “The wind around these flatlands will play tricks on you sometimes.”
“Another car coming,” Clancy shouted from the roof. “Pickup truck.”
Kelly and Nate glanced at each other, pulled their pistols, and ran out the door. Junior and Fritz followed them. Brenda collapsed onto a bench, eyes wide with fear and grief.
Chapter 24 – Battle of Baffin Bay
Richardson stopped the car in front of the headquarters building and rushed to the door, Juan Carlos and Brendan on his tail. “What’s happening?” he asked.
Captain Jefferson turned and saw them. “Thanks for getting here so fast.”
“No problem,” Richardson said. “Which boat is ours? Anything we need to know about it before we take off?”
“Yeah,” Jefferson said. “There’s a tech down there waiting for you. The others haven’t arrived yet.”
“Okay, let’s go, guys,” Richardson said. They rushed out the door and ran down the path to the boat house.
“You Richardson?” asked a man standing on the dock just under the roof of the boathouse.
“Yeah,” Richardson shouted. “Which one is ours?”
“Number 49 there,” he said, pointing.
“Damn, it’s bigger,” Juan Carlos said. “Inboard. Good idea. We got our powerhead shot up on the outboards.”
“This is much better protected,” the tech said. “I’m Jim Shelton. Nice to meet you guys.”
“I’m Juan Carlos, pilot, and this is Brendan, our weapons expert.”
“What’s going to be different about this boat?” Richardson asked as they climbed onboard.
“First of all, it’s faster. A lot faster,” Shelton said. “Gets better mileage too, since it’s not two-cycle, but it draws more water. You can’t get into the shallows as easily. Start her up.”
Juan Carlos got into the pilot’s chair and hit the ignition. The engine fired up, settling into a raspy purr.
“Nice,” Juan Carlos said, grinning ear to ear. “This the navigation system?”
“Yeah, turn it on. Button on the bottom left side of the screen.”
Juan Carlos switched it on. The GPS found them within a few seconds, and a map showed up. Then it re-oriented itself, zooming out, showing an X up near the mouth of Baffin Bay. “Hey, is this the enemy?”
“Yeah,” Shelton said. “Won’t work by itself. We have to focus on the enemy with our radar planes. When we’re working together, we can send the info to you, but if there’s no radar planes nearby, you’ll only get GPS navigation.”
“These guns have grenade launchers on them,” Brendan said.
“Whoa, I thought these were still experimental,” Richardson said.
“I won’t tell anybody if you won’t.” Shelton snickered. “See this lever, over the trigger handle?”
“Yeah,” Brendan said, getting into position behind the starboard side gun.
“Flip up for grenades. Down for the .50 cal. Mind the belts. Ammo feed can be an issue with these. We’re still working on them.”
“Anything different about the M-19?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Only the sight,” Shelton said. “See this switch? Turns on the FLIR night vision system.”
“Sweet,” Juan Carlos said. “It fires the same, though, right?”
“Yep,” Shelton said. “Larger grenades than the side guns.”
“What’s with the seat belt?” Richardson asked, looking at the pilot seat.
“When you floorboard this baby, you move around a lot in the chop,” Shelton said. “Some of our testers couldn’t hold steady enough to aim the main gun. We found that the seatbelt helped.”
“What’s the range?” Richardson asked.
“About twice what the old boats were,” he said.
“Anything else?” Richardson asked.
“It feels different,” Shel
ton said. “Get used to it on the way down there. Make some fast turns. Try out the guns. Use the navigation system. We were gonna train you guys for four or five hours before sending you into combat. Can’t do it now.”
“Roger that,” Richardson said. “Let’s go men.”
Juan Carlos nodded, watching as Richardson and Shelton pulled off the dock lines. Then Richardson climbed aboard and got onto the port gun. “Let’s go.”
Juan Carlos idled out of the slip and turned the boat towards the mouth of the small bay. “Hold on guys,” he said as he got past the no-wake buoys.
“Go for it, man,” Brendan said, bracing himself.
Juan Carlos gunned the engine. The boat jumped up on a plane and took off like a rocket. “Holy shit, dude!”
“Damn, this puppy flies,” Richardson said.
“Seriously,” Brendan said. He aimed his gun and let off a small blip of machine gun fire, then flipped the switch and fired a grenade, which flew to the sandy bank and blew up. White sand flew high into the air. “Yes!”
“I guess I ought to try it too,” Richardson said. He fired a grenade at a dilapidated shack, blowing it sky high.
Juan Carlos laughed. “Dude, you sure nobody was in there?”
“Yeah, I could see inside through the broken door,” Richardson said. He fired off a few rounds of .50 cal. “This thing shoots like a dream.”
“I’m going to do a few maneuvers,” Juan Carlos said, breaking into a zig-zag fashion. “Feels different steering with a rudder instead of an engine.”
“The inboard engine is so much quieter,” Brendan said.
“Yeah, we’d be yelling at this speed in the old boat, dude.”
“How close we getting to the enemy?” Richardson asked.
Juan Carlos looked at the navigation screen. “Half a mile. They don’t appear to be very fast.”
Suddenly gunfire came at them from the sides, hitting the bullet shields and the armored sides of the hull.
“Shit, see where that came from?” Juan Carlos shouted.
“I did,” Brendan said, turning his gun towards the bank. He fired a grenade at some structure on the beach, and it blew up with a loud rumble.
“You hit their ammo, obviously,” Richardson said. “Get those men running away.”
Brendan nodded and switched to machine gun mode, strafing the beach, hitting all the men he could see.