by Patten, Sean
“And that’s when you found us,” I said.
He nodded. “This place got rocked a few times by the mobs. Not much I could do against them; not like I was going to open fire on civvies to stop them from taking aspirin. But when I caught a glimpse of two people heading in, part of me had hoped that you were the other guys.”
“Nope,” I said. “Just us.”
“Listen,” said Ed. “I don’t know what you’ve got planned, but the faster you get into your head that the power’s off and not coming back on, the better.”
“I don’t get how you can say that with such confidence,” said Ramirez. “How do you know?”
“Because the power’s off in LA, too,” I said, recalling what Dante had said earlier. “Heard it from the boss of the Black Mountain guys.”
“Holy shit,” said Ramirez, looking like he was about to start staggering backward from the news. “All of LA? The entire fucking city?”
“Probably, yeah,” I said.
“And if your boys aren’t here yet,” said Ed. “Then…”
He trailed off, making it clear what he was implying.
“No,” said Ramirez, his voice sharp. “Not a chance.”
“Where are they, then?” asked Ed. “You think they’re hanging out, shooting the shit until they decide to make their way over to the rendezvous point? Think about it—you got your ass over here the first chance you got. Don’t you think they’d be doing the same thing if they could?”
“No,” Ramirez repeated. “I was helping people out. Maybe they’re doing the same thing…”
He trailed off again, as if he was realizing as he spoke how unlikely it was.
“They have to be out there,” he said. “I’ll just have to go find them. Maybe help out some people in the process.”
Watching Ramirez try to process the fact that he was likely the last of his men to make it out wasn’t easy. And I knew how he felt. After all, what had happened to the rest of my band, my friends, was only a day ago. It was still so fresh and so surreal that I could barely even think about what had happened without a horrible, sick feeling taking hold of me. I knew that the only thing preventing me from having a total meltdown about it was that there was still so much going on that I barely had a chance to reflect on everything.
There’d be time to mourn for them later. But at that moment, I had to keep myself alive.
“Maybe they’re gone, maybe they’re not,” said Ed, his tone clearly suggesting that he was thinking the former was more likely. “But either way, we can’t stay here. Dante Arco and his men are here, and they’re not going to rest until this entire area’s under their control—power or no power.”
Ramirez got a faraway look in his eyes, as though he was trying to put together a plan. As he did, Ed broke off from the conversation and began going through the mess on the floor of the tent. Ed would pick up a random supply or pill bottle and look it over for a moment before tossing it aside in frustration. I watched as he got rid of several perfectly good supplies in this way, and I began to wonder just what the hell he was doing.
“Don’t we need some of this stuff?” I asked.
“No,” he grumbled.
Then he paused, as if he’d misspoke.
“I mean, yeah,” he said. “Grab some stuff you think we might need and toss it into a bag.”
I got the distinct impression there was something he wasn’t telling me.
“Is there something specific you’re looking for?” I asked.
“No,” he barked out. “I mean…just trying to find some halfway decent painkillers.”
“You’d better not be taking anything you shouldn’t,” said Ramirez, his narrow eyes focused on Ed for a moment before his thoughtful expression returned.
“Don’t worry about it, big man,” said Ed. “This shit’s not doing anyone any good lying here in the dirt. And better me than some nineteen-year-old looking for a high.”
“Just because the power’s out doesn’t mean that the law’s gone,” said Ramirez.
“Actually, that’s exactly what it means,” said Ed. “Power’s gone, civilization’s gone. You want to pretend the old world’s still around, then be my guest. But I’m taking what I need and getting the fuck out of here.”
A moment passed, Ed still rifling through the supplies on the ground, a trace of desperation to him. For a moment I worried that Ramirez might decide to step in and stop him. But instead, a look of realization flashed on his face, as if he’d just put something together.
“You said Black Mountain has this place on lockdown, right?” he asked.
“Yeah,” said Ed. “Got a fucking army here to take it under control. Why?”
“Just thinking about how weird it was that the LAPD only sent three of us here. Three of us for the whole freaking festival.”
“Didn’t you say it was because they didn’t want to go out of their jurisdiction or something?” I asked.
“Maybe,” said Ramirez. “But from what I know about the Black Mountain crew, they’ve got reach. People are even thinking they’ve got guys in the LAPD pulling strings to keep the heat off them.”
“So?” asked Ed.
“So, I’m thinking there might be a chance that there was a reason beyond not wanting to step on another PD’s toes for why there were only three of us.”
“Like…,” I said. “Keeping the police away while they do their drug thing?”
“Just like that,” he said.
“Fuck!”
Ed’s voice cut through the tent, both me and Ramirez freezing in place and staring in his direction. Ed looked furious, like the one thing he didn’t want to happen, whatever it was, had just happened.
“What is it?” I asked.
He took several deep breaths, clearly trying to calm himself down.
“Nothing,” he said. “I mean, there’s nothing here.”
“Ed, are you sure there isn’t something—”
“Forget it,” he snapped. “Just means less stuff we need to carry.”
He turned to Ramirez.
“What were you saying?” he asked. “About the gang?”
Ramirez regarded him for a long moment, as if trying to figure out just what he was hiding. Hell, I was wondering the same thing.
“Maybe this whole situation’s got me suspicious,” Ramirez said slowly, “but I’m starting to wonder if it wasn’t a coincidence that there were only couple other guys here with me. And I’m a fucking rookie!”
“Yeah,” said Ed. “It’s all weird. That, the new runners of this place being all secretive, the gang showing up like the fucking army.”
“No kidding,” said Ramirez. “Making me wonder if the whole point of this concert was to actually put on a show.”
“What are you saying?” I asked. “That this entire concert’s just been one big front or something?”
Neither of the guys said anything, both staring at me as if I’d just put it all into simple words. It sounded crazy in my head, but right after I spoke I realized that this had to be the answer. It was the explanation for everything.
“Black Mountain must’ve figured that this was the perfect cover for their distribution operation,” said Ed. “Bet you anything Screw The System’s just the hipster front to the whole thing, bunch of LA cool kids as the face to throw off the scent while Black Mountain runs the rest of the show.”
“It’s fucking insane,” said Ramirez. “But it makes sense. Out here in the middle of nowhere’s the perfect place. And no one’s going to be wondering where there’s a ton of warehouses out here and tons of trucks coming and going.”
“You’re right,” said Ed. “They had all the angles worked out. And the amount of product they were moving…shit.”
“All the angles but the power going out,” I said. “The one thing they had no way to anticipate.”
“Wait a minute,” said Ramirez. “This is that EMP thing, right? That solar flare or whatever they were talking about on the news yesterday.
”
“That’s what my money would be on,” said Ed. “No way to know for sure, but it would explain what’s happening.”
An expression of focus and determination formed on Ramirez’s face.
“Then there’s no time to waste,” he said. “We have to fight back. We have to take out the gang from the inside out. And we’re the only ones who can do it.”
Ed, an expression of total confusion on his face, glanced in my direction.
“You listening to this?” he asked.
“I am,” I said. “And I’m with him.”
10 Ed
Frustrated as I was, I knew there was no getting around it. Sure, I could’ve told Ramirez to fuck off and let him go on his little mission of justice. But he seemed on the level, and I needed all the help I was going to get if I was going to make it out of there.
And there was the matter of Amy. Somehow Ramirez had managed to get her on board with his crazy fucking plan. Much as I wanted to hightail it out of there, I still felt obligated to the girl for what she’d done for me. I’d be dead in the dirt right alongside Lenny if she hadn’t stepped in. Letting her run off without making sure I’d gotten her safe and sound to Sandy Vista didn’t sit right with me.
I crossed my arms, my eyes still flicking down to the piles of medicine on the ground on the off chance that I’d missed the medication I’d been looking for. But there was nothing—just over-the-counter painkillers and nothing else that could help me. There was no way we’d be able to spend the rest of the day going from tent to tent trying to find what I needed. Best I could hope for was getting the hell out of Dead Air and trying to find a pharmacy that would have it.
It was my only chance.
“You there, Ed?” Ramirez asked.
“Yeah,” I said, snapping out of my thoughts. “I’m here.”
“Good,” he said. “Because we’re going to need to focus on what’s happening next.
“You’re really serious about this?” I asked. “You think you can take out Black Mountain all by yourself?
“Doesn’t matter if I can or not,” he said. “I’ve got to try.”
“Spoken like a man who’s ready to throw his life away,” I said.
“Hey,” said Ramirez. “You want to go it alone, you know where the door is.”
He pointed towards the entrance flap to the tent, and I glanced over at Amy.
“This really what you want?” I asked.
She nodded. “It is. And you don’t have to help.”
“No,” I said. “I owe you. One good turn deserves another, you know?”
The smallest hint of a smile formed on her face.
“You can be a huge help,” said Ramirez. “How long you been working this festival for?”
“Since the beginning,” I said.
“Then you know the ins and outs of the setup here.”
“Something like that,” I said. “But we could have a blueprint of this place right here in front of us and it wouldn’t do us a damn bit of good without some kind of plan.”
“Well,” said Ramirez, putting his hand on his gun. “I’m a hell of a shot—top marksman in my graduating class.”
“That right?” I asked.
“Sure is,” he said, the youthful confidence returning to his tone. “I can drain an entire clip into a target at fifty yards.”
“Impressive,” I said. “But you being a good shot isn’t a plan.”
“It could be,” he said. “We take these fuckers out one by one, take their weapons and ammo, kill their leader before they even know what hit them.”
I couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh.
“Sounds so easy when you say it like that,” I said. “But you haven’t seen what I’ve seen.”
I glanced over at Amy.
“What we’ve seen,” I corrected.
“Then what’s your big idea?” Ramirez asked.
“Not sure,” I said. “But it’s important to keep in mind that these aren’t some random thugs with guns—this is one of the biggest criminal organizations in the country. I mean, they were able to get men and equipment here even with the power out. And that means they can bring more in.”
“What’re you saying?”
“I’m saying that trying to go all Rambo on these assholes might not be the best move. Might be better to slip out of here, take out a few guys if we can, and that way you can connect with your guys in the LAPD and plan a bigger operation.”
“Then you want to just leave everyone here?” asked Amy.
“Not everyone,” I said. “But there are thousands of people here. What are we gonna do, herd them all out?”
“Maybe…” said Ramirez. “Maybe if we had some kind of distraction.”
“A distraction?” I asked. “For what?”
“We distract the guards somehow, that way they can break out of the main concert area and make a break for it.”
I considered the idea.
“That…could work,” I said. “We cause some kind of distraction, the people can haul ass out, and in the confusion we could grab one of the Black Mountain crew’s cars. Yeah, that could work. Only thing is coming up with a distraction big enough to get everyone’s attention. Not an easy thing with no electricity.”
Before I could put too much thought into the matter, Amy’s face lit up.
“Wait a minute,” she said. “Weren’t they planning a big fireworks show for the last night of the concert?”
“Yeah,” I said. “The big send-off they do every year.”
“So,” she said. “That means somewhere on the concert grounds there’s a giant stash of fireworks just waiting to be set off.”
“I’m no scientist,” Ramirez said. “But I know enough to know that fireworks don’t need electricity.”
I racked my brain trying to remember where the hell they kept them.
“Fireworks weren’t my thing,” I said. “That was some other crew they hired specially for the job. But they kept them…”
My gut sank as I remembered.
“Warehouse in the north section of the grounds, near the far entrance to the VIP villas.”
“How far away is that?” asked Ramirez.
“Far enough that it’s dangerous as hell to even attempt it.”
“But it might be the only chance we have,” said Amy. “Not like they’re just going to let us out of here.”
I nodded somberly. She was right.
“Okay,” I said. “I don’t like it, but I think it’s either that or stand around and hope that the cavalry comes to save us.”
“No way I’m doing that,” said Ramirez, just as confident as he’d been. “If I can make a difference, I’m going to try.”
“Same here,” said Amy. “I don’t want to see anyone else die, no way.”
That was that. We had a plan. Not a great one, but a plan.
“How much ammo you got?” I asked Ramirez.
“This magazine and a backup in my pocket,” he said. “Seventeen shots a mag means thirty-four rounds.”
As he spoke he took the gun out of his inner holster, raised it, and closed one eye as he stared down the sights.
“And you’re a crack shot with that thing?” I asked.
“Wait until you see me work,” he said. “Set something up and I’ll put a round right through it with my eyes closed.”
The kid was eager. I had to give him that.
“Save your shots for the bad guys,” I said. “And only shoot if you have to—make them count. And don’t go flashing that badge around. The Black Mountain guys see that and you might as well put a big target on your ass.”
“Then we’re ready?” asked Amy.
“As ready as we’re going to be,” I said.
Ramirez nodded as he tucked his gun back into his hidden holster.
“Let’s do this.”
After taking a couple of the water bottles that I’d found hidden among the mess, we formed up and prepared to leave. One by one, the three
of us slipped out of the back flap to the tent, my eyes taking several long seconds to adjust to the bright desert sun.
“Jesus, it’s hot,” I said as we moved.
“Those people on the main grounds,” said Amy, as empathetic as ever. “They’re roasting alive in this.”
“Not for long,” said Ramirez. “We’re gonna find them and we’re gonna free them.”
“I like that idea,” said Amy.
“I fucking don’t.”
A gruff voice spoke behind us, my blood running cold at the sound of it. The three of us froze in place at the same time.
“Now don’t move a fucking muscle,” spoke the voice. “Not unless you want to die right where you’re standing.”
11 Ed
“Easy,” I said, keeping my voice as calm and even as possible. “No need for any violence.”
“I don’t remember asking for your goddamn opinion,” spoke a second voice, just as deep and harsh.
I glanced over at Ramirez, his hands in the air at shoulder height. His eyes flicked down to where his gun was hidden, and I could tell right away what he was thinking. I shook my head, and he managed to see me and give me a nod in return. Amy said nothing, her eyes wide and her hands in the air.
It didn’t matter how good of a shot Ramirez might’ve been—I didn’t need to turn around to know that there were two or more mean-looking biker pricks covered in tattoos, both of them just itching for an excuse to use their firepower. Ramirez might manage to get a single well-aimed shot off before the remaining thug mowed us down.
“We’re not looking to cause any trouble,” I said. “No reason to do anything rash.”
“We’ll do whatever the fuck we want to do,” said the first man.
“There a reason why the three of you assholes aren’t in the gathering area?”
“Got lost,” Ramirez grunted.
One of the men let out a derisive snort.
“Bullshit,” he said. “You gonna tell me you dumbasses decided to just wander around after we gave you direct fucking orders?”
“Especially when we made it loud and clear that the penalty for disobeying was a bullet to the dome,” the other man added.
“Maybe a few.”