Bug Out! Part 13: Finale

by Robert Boren

  “Yes sir,” Hopper said.

  “Good, our people have as well. Let’s exchange information, and then we can brainstorm a plan.”

  “Sounds good,” Hopper said.

  “Yes,” Frank said.

  “Okay, here’s what I’ve found out via my contacts, and via Frank’s auto-snapshot program. The Islamic fighters who were hiding in Arizona, southern Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico have moved themselves into southeastern New Mexico. They’re using Carlsbad Caverns and a lot of shielded structures and vehicles to hide themselves there. We know when they started this move, and we’re watching them now.”

  “How are you watching them?” a voice asked. “Oh, Walter Stennis here.”

  “I’ll take this one. This is Frank. We set up my detailed app to take snapshots any time we get a hit from an enemy chip. We’ve had it focused on the entire Southwest. The enemy can’t keep shielded every second. They have to move from one structure to another. Even if they’re outside for a second or two, we see it and record it. We know where their structures are, down to a few feet.”

  “Wow,” Walter said. “Impressive.”

  “When we get into an actual battle, we’ll be able to see them, won’t we?” Hopper asked.

  “Yeah,” Frank said. “One thing to keep in mind, though. It helps us, but it also helps them, and they know we can see them now.”

  “Helps them?” Shirley asked.

  “Yeah,” Hopper said. “They can use their command and control, and we can’t surprise them since they know they’re visible.”

  “Yes, we’ll have a different dynamic on the battle field this time,” General Hogan said.

  “How will we know when we should attack? Jacob Orr here.”

  “That will be the real trick,” George said. “We’re hoping we can get some Intel from Boise.”

  “What’s going on up there, anyway?” Hopper asked.

  “Daan Mertins found out that my daughter was living up there,” Frank said. “He sent operatives to find her. We’re on our way there now to set a trap.”

  “Is your daughter safe?” Shirley asked.

  “Yes, she left the area with her husband,” Frank said. “And by the way, she’s pregnant.”

  “Oh, boy,” Hopper said. “How far along?”

  “Not enough to keep her from moving quickly,” Jane said.

  “Good,” Shirley said. “What else?”

  “Daan Mertins is holding three of our people in northwestern New Mexico,” General Hogan said. “We need to rescue them.”

  “Jeb and Rosie, right?” Hopper asked.

  “Yeah, and my brother Dick Branson,” Ned said.

  “What’s the plan? You going to assault the place they’re being held?” Hopper asked.

  “We’re afraid to do that, because they’re in a large industrial park, and we don’t know which building,” Ned said.

  “Sounds kinda hopeless,” Jacob Orr said.

  “Not really,” Ned said. “We’ve got a contact in there. He hasn’t been able to pinpoint the building for us, but he knows they’re being held in the complex. He also knows that Daan Mertins is there on and off, and he heard they are about to move everybody to the southeastern part of New Mexico.”

  “Be best if you can get them on the road,” Hopper said.

  “That’s what we’re thinking,” General Hogan said.

  “Hey!” Gabe shouted, looking out Malcolm’s windshield. “Look, down by the front gate!”

  “Oh, crap, UN there?” Ned asked.

  “Yeah, three blue vehicles parked in the staging area,” Gabe said. “We better get off the phone.”

  “Be careful!” Hopper said.

  Chapter 10 – Sangria Night

  “What should we do?” Gabe asked, watching out the window at the blue vehicles.

  “Remember what General Hogan said,” Jane said. “Boise is more important.”

  “Maybe I can help,” Agent Williams said. “They might consider the FBI to be an ally. Given what I found out, I’m sure they are, in the upper levels.”

  “Yeah, that might be our best shot,” Ted said. “Maybe we ought to mosey on down there and have a chat.”

  “Yeah, I’ll tell them we’re in the middle of an investigation, and we don’t need them stirring the pot,” Agent Williams said. “Ted and Malcolm, want to come along?”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Malcolm said.

  The three men left the coach, walking through the darkness towards the front office.

  “I’ll flash my FBI badge and ask them what’s going on,” Agent Williams said. “Follow my lead. You guys are both packing, right?”

  “Yep,” Ted said.

  “Of course,” Malcolm said.

  “Good, but keep a cool head,” Agent Williams said.

  There were several UN Peacekeepers in office when Agent Williams opened the door, two leaning against the counter and the rest sitting on a bench against the wall. They eyed Agent Williams cautiously.

  “Good evening, gents,” Agent Williams said, pulling his FBI badge out. “What’s going on?”

  One of the UN Peacekeepers at the counter took his badge and studied it. “Good to meet you,” he said with a German accent, smiling. “I’m Gerhard Bruner. Can I help you?”

  The young man from behind the counter came back out, a scared look on his face. “The owner said you have to get a warrant.”

  “There’s no need for a warrant,” Gerhard said.

  “You guys aren’t planning on searching the residents, are you?” Agent Williams said. “You’ll screw up our investigation. Please do this another time.”

  “Investigation?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Agent Williams said. “You heard about the altercation outside of Cameron, right?”

  “Ah, yes,” Gerhard said. “Messy incident.”

  “We’re following two accomplices who escaped. If you guys try to search them, they’ll start shooting.”

  “So we take them out,” Gerhard said. “So what?”

  “You don’t understand,” Agent Williams said. “They’re returning to their clan in Idaho. We want to catch the lot of them, not just these two. It’s the best chance we have.”

  “I’ll have to check that,” Gerhard said. “Angelo, get the FBI on the phone and ask if Agent Williams is legit.”

  “Yes sir,” he said. He scrolled through the contacts on his phone and hit one, then put the phone to his ear.

  “Now, about the warrant,” Gerhard said to the young man. “There’s no need for warrants at this time. We have an agreement with the US Government. We may disarm the public during this emergency.”

  “No you can’t,” the young man said. “I know what the Constitution says.”

  “Gerard, he’s really an agent,” the man said. “You want me to ask any questions?”

  “Yeah, ask him if this agent is on the investigation of the Cameron incident.”

  The man muttered the question into the phone as Gerhard stared at the young man.

  “Yes,” the man said, hanging up his phone. “He’s on that investigation.”

  “Okay, men, we’ll pick this one up another time,” Gerhard said. “Nice to meet you, Agent Williams. Good luck on your investigation.”

  “Thank you,” Agent Williams said.

  The UN Peacekeepers left the office.

  “They really going to leave?” the young man asked.

  “Yeah,” Ted said, checking out the window. They heard the engines start.

  “Is there really somebody here?” he asked.

  “No,” Malcolm said. “We just wanted them out of here.”

  “Oh, and you’re right to refuse them,” Ted said. “They aren’t here legally. They’re every bit as much of an enemy to the US as the Islamists are.”

  “Why didn’t you just kill them?” he asked.

  “It will mess up our real mission,” Agent Williams said.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “It’s better for you
if you don’t know,” Agent Williams said. “Suffice it to say that it’s fighting them, and it’ll damage the UN much more than taking out a few of their low-level goons.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Thanks. I’ll call the owner and let him know they left without any trouble.”

  “Don’t tell him about us,” Malcolm said.

  “Okay,” he said.

  They left the office and headed back to Malcolm’s coach.

  “Everything okay?” Jane asked.

  “Yeah, it worked,” Ted said, smiling.

  “Good, let’s see if we can get back onto that conference call,” Frank said. He hit the contact and put it on speaker.

  “Frank?” General Hogan asked.

  “Meeting still going?”

  “Yeah, I’ll patch you in. There was a click, and then conversation of the group came through.

  “Everybody, Frank’s back on the line,” General Hogan said.

  “What happened?” Ned asked.

  “Agent Williams flashed his FBI badge and told them we were following two survivors from Scotty’s clan back to their home base. We didn’t want them messing with our investigation.”

  “They bought that?” George asked, chuckling.

  “They called the Bureau,” Agent Williams said. “Luckily all they asked was if I was on the investigation of the Cameron incident.”

  “It’s scary that the FBI would be telling them that,” Hopper said.

  “There are big problems in the bureau,” Agent Williams said. “It’s been compromised. That’s one of the reasons I’m with you.”

  “We’ve got a group near Cheyenne,” Shirley said. “Know which direction the blue helmets went?”

  “Yeah,” Ted said. “I-80. Eastbound.”

  “Good, that should be easy,” Jacob Orr said. They won’t live through the night. I’ll make a call, if you’ll excuse me for a moment.”

  “Okay, what’d we miss?” Frank asked.

  “Our new allies had a good suggestion,” General Hogan said. “Use their old connections to get somebody into the base in southeastern New Mexico.”

  “Think they’ll go for that?” Agent Williams asked. “As of now, they haven’t even told the militia about that location.”

  “True,” Hopper said. “That’s the challenge, but we still have some connections within the Islamist forces who trust us.”

  “You hope,” Shirley said.

  “Yes, I hope,” Hopper said.

  “Whoever ends up going in will be going on a suicide mission,” Jacob Orr said.

  “Doesn’t have to be, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s really dangerous,” Hopper said. “If that looks like it’ll work, I’ll be the person going in.”

  “You’re too valuable for that,” Shirley said. “Cut the macho bull shit.”

  “It’ll have to be somebody high in the organization,” Jacob Orr said. “Our Field Marshall might not be the best choice, but it’s going to have to be one of the upper echelon.”

  “We have things to do before that,” George said. “We need to concentrate on the Boise operation, and also get a team on the way to northwestern New Mexico, so we can be ready to save Jeb, Rosie, and Dick.”

  “The rescue operation might be a good way to build a storyline for the final mission,” General Hogan said.

  “How do you mean?” Hopper asked.

  “I think I know,” George said. “We work together, but make it look like you’re trying to stop us from getting away with the hostages. You’ll almost succeed.”

  “Exactly,” General Hogan said.

  “This is gonna be fun,” Jacob Orr said.

  “Yes, it is,” George said. “Can’t wait to work with you guys.”

  “Okay, I think that’s enough for tonight,” General Hogan said. “Great first meeting. Tomorrow morning we ought to plan a phony attack on our RV Park. That way we can have a face to face meeting and make Daan Mertins think we’re fighting each other.”

  “Sounds great,” Hopper said. “Two birds with one stone.”

  “Afterwards we can retire to the lounge for a few drinks,” Jackson said, laughing.

  “The Lounge?” Hopper asked.

  “Yeah,” Charlie said. “Wait until you see this joint.”

  “Looking forward to it,” Hopper said. “You all have a good night.”

  “Same to you,” General Hogan said. The call ended.

  “Wow,” Jane said, looking around at the group. Malcolm got up and went to his fridge. “Beer, anybody?”

  “Yeah, what the hell,” Ted said.

  “Think I’m going to hit the sack,” Frank said. He got up with Jane, and they left the coach.

  “Think we’re gonna be able to keep Frank and Jane safe?” Ted asked. “I sure don’t want to be responsible for them getting killed.”

  “I think we can do it,” Dobie said. “One thing to remember, though. Those two are very capable on their own.”

  Malcolm brought out the beers. “Let’s spend a few minutes brainstorming, gents.”

  ***

  Jake walked up to Clara’s rig. She and Frankie had made a pot of chili and invited him over. They were both sitting in front of the coach, enjoying the light breeze of the evening. Frankie saw him, and rushed over, throwing her arms around him. They kissed.

  “Ahem,” Clara said when it kept going.

  “Sorry,” Jake said sheepishly. Frankie still had her arms around him, looking up at his face.

  “Wow, Frankie, when you fall you really fall,” Clara said.

  “Yeah, yeah, wait until you meet yours,” she said. “It’s coming. Quick.”

  “Not that again,” Clara said, rolling her eyes. “You and that paranormal nonsense.”

  “Haven’t you seen enough yet?” Frankie asked. Jake looked at both of them, wondering if he should say anything or not.

  “You want a drink, Jake?” Clara asked. “I’ve got a pitcher of sangria in the coach.”

  “Sure,” he said, sitting next to Frankie. “Haven’t had that since the seventies.”

  Clara got up and fetched him a glass.

  “Thanks,” Jake said.

  “Frankie tells me you two are similar with the paranormal stuff,” Clara said.

  “A little,” he said nervously.

  “More than a little,” Frankie said. “Clara will just make fun of us, though.”

  “I know. Gabe and Dobie like to tease me,” Jake said.

  “Known them a long time?” Clara asked.

  “Yeah, we all came from the same area,” Jake said. “Those guys saved Trish and me. They talked me into moving out to Gabe’s RV Park as the enemy was approaching.”

  “Really?” Frankie asked.

  “Really. I was trying to hole up in my electronics store. It was in the center of town. They got us out of there just before the enemy overran the place.”

  “That’s where you got that bobtail full of electronic stuff, I suspect,” Clara said.

  “Yep,” he said. “Took as much as I could. Some of it got shot up on the way out of town, but most of it survived.”

  “Wow,” Clara said.

  “He’s got some fascinating stories,” Frankie said, her look lingering on him again.

  “Geez, Frankie,” Clara said, watching them. “Good thing you’re already through the change, or you’d be popping babies out left and right with this guy.”

  “We haven’t even consummated yet,” Frankie said.

  “Oh, really?” Clara asked. “Why not?”

  “I just wanted to take it slow, make sure it was right,” Jake said.

  “And Frankie let you get away with that?” Clara asked, laughing.

  “Oh, I’ve been trying, trust me.” Frankie said. “Maybe tonight’s the big night. Drink up, sweetie.”

  Jake chuckled.

  “Well, if you’re worried about this being a passing thing with her, I wouldn’t,” Clara said. “She hasn’t been like this with a man since her husband passed.
”

  Frankie sat up straight suddenly and looked down the road, then looked at Jake. “Feel that.”

  “Yeah, but it’s coming from her,” Jake said, nodding towards Clara.

  “What now?” Clara asked with a sigh.

  “Your man is walking up,” she said. “Turn around.”

  Clara rolled her eyes. “I’m not doing that.”

  “Wow, something smells good,” a man’s voice said behind them.

  “Hi, Ned,” Jake said. “You met Clara yet?”

  He walked next to them and looked at Clara. Their eyes locked on each other in silence.

  “Wow,” Frankie whispered to Jake. “Look at that.”

  Clara shook herself out of it and looked quickly over at Frankie. “Shut up.”

  “Everything okay?” Ned asked, looking uncomfortable.

  “Yeah, of course,” Jake said.

  “Why don’t you sit a spell and have some chili with us?” Frankie asked.

  “Yeah, and some sangria,” Jake said, a twinkle in his eye.

  “Yes, please,” Clara said, getting up, eyes still focused on his face. “I’ll get you a glass.”

  “Thanks,” Ned said, watching her climb the steps.

  “Pretty, ain’t she?” Jake said, breaking Ned out of the trance. Frankie giggled.

  “Yes, very much so,” he said. “You two come in with Clint?”

  “Yes, they did,” Jake said. “This is Frankie, by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you, Frankie,” Ned said. He turned to see Clara walking gracefully down the steps with a tumbler of sangria in each hand.

  “Here you go, Ned,” she said. They sat down next to each other.

  “You married, Ned?” Frankie asked. Clara glared at her.

  “No, not anymore,” he said. “She passed. Years ago. Never could bring myself to marry again.”

  “Oh, I think you’ll get married again,” Jake said. “I never thought I’d be interested again.”

  “You two?” Ned asked, smiling.

  “Shhhh,” Frankie said. “He’s not supposed to know that yet.”

  They all laughed. “You people are a lot of fun,” Ned said.

  “Clara’s not married either,” Frankie said. Clara eyed her, then sighed.

  “Frankie here thinks she’s a psychic,” Clara said. “She’s got all these ideas about me.”