by A. American
I looked at him, and in a deep gravelly voice said, “You’re funny, not funny ha ha—” He cut me.
He quickly snatched his hat from his head and started to swat the shit out of me. “See dammit! You’re just like ‘em! Bunch of damn smart asses!”
I tried to fend off the flurry of slaps from the hat. “Alright, alright! I give up!”
He stopped and laughed, “Smart ass. But that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You get it, I know you do.”
Nodding, I replied, “I do.” I knew why. When I worked heavy industrial work we horsed around a lot too. At least with the guys we were friends with.
“And that’s why I’m always fuckin’ with ‘em. If I didn’t, they’d think I was pissed off. It’s just what we do. We always goof around with one another. Just be glad Mikey hasn’t walked up to talk to you with his nuts hanging out of his zipper.”
I started laughing just thinking about it, “Now that’s messed up.”
Sarge got that evil grin again and chuckled, “Yeah, but I don’t think he’ll try that one again.”
“On that note, it looks like I’m in the bunker later, so I’m headed home for some sleep.”
Sarge slapped me on the back, “Get some rest.”
I went inside, telling everyone good night; and then I left the house. Mel and the girls wanted to stay a while as everyone was in a somber mood and no one really wanted to be alone.
Heading over to the house, I decided there was no way I could sleep just yet, so I went in and turned on the Ham radio. I’d strung the antenna in the backyard between some trees in a north-south orientation. It allowed me to pick up transmissions from out west, something I was interested in lately. Turning on the radio, I started to scroll through the bands. It was a clear night and propagation should be good. It didn’t take long to start finding conversations.
I’d stop and listen to the chatter for a moment as I came across them. Most were mundane comparisons of the hardships of the respective operators. All were familiar, no matter the locations. I picked up a few locations, Kansas, Texas and one in Arizona. I listened to the latter for some time as it appeared to be tactical conversation of some sort. From what I could gather, there was a rather large operation ongoing in the area. The operators were using codes so it was hard to discern what they were talking about exactly; but it didn’t take much of an imagination to deduce they were in a protracted struggle with Mexicans looking to reclaim some ancestral lands.
Not interested at the moment to try and decipher the cryptic conversations, I continued on through the spectrum. Slowly turning the dial, I caught the end of a transmission, coming out of Gillette. I paused on the frequency for a moment. Fawcett’s revelation earlier of an operating refinery in Wyoming immediately popped into my head.
“The road’s blocke;, they’ll never make it out here.”
“Just wanted to let you know they were headed your way.”
“Thanks for the info, pardner. I appreciate it. Reid out.” The voice was heavy with a western accent, not quite Texan in nature, but close.
Listening for a few seconds, it appeared the conversation was over. Picking up my mic, I keyed it and asked, “How are things out there in Wyoming?”
After a long pause, there came a reply, “We’re getting’ by. Where are you?”
“Florida, north of Orlando,” I replied.
“Sheeit, better you than me. How the hell have you managed to stay alive in a place like that?”
I chuckled, “It ain’t been easy. But at least we won’t freeze to death.”
“We’ve had our share of that. Lost a lot of folks to the weather. But there’s too many people down there; and I imagine most of them lost their friggin minds.”
“There’s not as many now.”
The voice on the other end laughed, “By God I guess not! I bet millions are dead down there by now.”
“Probably, there have been a lot of people on the move and all. We’re kind of out in the boonies, so we missed a lot of the trouble.”
“I’m out in the boonies friend. You’re in the heart of the shit in my opinion.”
“I hear you’ve got a refinery running up that way.”
There was a long pause before a reply finally came, “I wouldn’t know anything about that. There aren’t any refineries around me.” There was no doubt in my mind he knew about the refinery. But I didn’t blame him for not broadcasting it. For the same reason I wouldn’t say where it was.
“Just a rumor I heard.”
“You’re hearing rumors in Florida about shit that’s supposedly going on out here?”
Now I had his attention, “I talked with the folks using the products coming out of there today. They’re good people.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. Lord knows I could use some fuel. It’d be nice to give my horses a break.”
I laughed into the mic, “I wish I had horses! I think the last ones around here were eaten long ago.”
“Horse is good meat. We only eat ‘em if they ain’t fit for work. Which reminds me, I’ve got cows to bring in. Good talkin’ with you; by the way what’s your name? I’m Reid Mcculloch.”
“Name’s Morgan Carter, stay safe out there.” I laid the mic down and thought about his last statement, cows to bring in. I could just imagine herds of cattle wandering the plains. All that beef and people starving to death. But there was no way to move it, not efficiently now. It would require an old-fashioned cattle drive. Now that would be a sight to see. But now those with the cattle were the only ones eating beef. What a problem that would be, more beef than you could eat. With that thought, I headed for bed where I’d dream about herds of cattle as far as the eye could see.
Chapter 10
Charles Tabor jumped from his chair and swept his arm across the top of the desk in front of him, scattering stuff all over the room.
“How in the hell did those fucking rednecks take out a fucking MRAP?” He screamed.
The man before him stammered, “They, they had an Apache.”
Tabor’s fury paused. “They had a what?” he shouted.
“An Apache came in and took out the trucks. Then a Blackhawk landed and a couple of them got on it and it left.”
Tabor kicked his chair over, “Shit!”
Mooreland stood the chair up, and looking at the trooper he said, “You can go.” The man quickly left the room. “If they’re working with the Army that closely, we’re going to have to come up with a different plan.”
Tabor stared at the ceiling with his hands on his hips, “If we only had air support, I’d crush those bastards.”
“At least we’re not in that damn prison in Frostproof. Look on the bright side.”
Tabor fell into his chair as a slight smile creased his face. “That was sweet.” He looked at Mooreland. “They didn’t see that shit coming, did they?”
Mooreland shook his head. “No, no they didn’t. We’re just lucky our people got wind of it. I still say you shouldn’t have executed all of them.”
Tabor waved him off, “Whatever; fuck them. They deserved it.” He leaned over the desk and looked Mooreland in the eyes, “The penalty for treason is death.”
“Yeah, well just remember, they’re probably thinking the same way now.”
Tabor spat back at the remark, “Let ‘em. We’ve got more men, and more equipment than we had the last time. It’ll be different this time; you can bet your ass on that.”
Mooreland picked some papers up off the floor. “Maybe so,” he replied, holding the sheets up in front of Tabor. “But don’t forget what our primary mission is. Your little revenge scheme comes second to that.”
For the first time in a long time, Tabor smiled. “No, don’t you see? That’s the best part! We get to use those idiots to get the job
done.” He moved closer to Mooreland and put his arm around Ed’s shoulder. “You see, when we’re done with those fuckers, everyone’s going to hate them. Everyone’s going to want to kill them.”
“We’ll see,” Mooreland nodded.
Tabor jumped up, “What else have you got for me?”
“One of our patrols found a group that wants to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“I think you’ll want to talk to them,” Mooreland said as he turned for the door.
Opening the door, a tall dark-haired man stepped in. Tabor looked at him and instantly recognized the arrogance in the man just from the way he stood. Tabor slowly sat down behind his desk.
“What can I do for you?”
“I hear you’re the man in charge. That you guys are the law around here now.”
Tabor nodded, “I am. And who are you?”
The man straightened, “Name’s Billy, and I’ve got a pretty good-sized group. A lot of strong well trained men. We’re looking to maybe join with you, join forces as it were.”
Tabor leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. “Well Billy, we saw you coming in here; I’ve got a lot of men myself.” He stood up and walked to a window and looked out. “Lots of equipment too. I’ve even got a resupply chain.” He spun to face Billy, “What have you got?”
Billy crossed his arms over his chest. “Talking to one of your people, he said the federal government was in charge.”
Tabor nodded but didn’t speak.
“Well I have a problem with some ass clown calling himself a Sheriff. He’s killed a few of my people and claims to be law of the land around here.” Now Billy walked to the window. “You’ve picked a good spot here. Who would’ve thought an Elks Camp would be turned into a military base.”
“Tactical outpost. We are not the military. Most of those knuckle draggers forgot who they worked for,” Tabor spat back.
Billy turned back from the window. “I’ve heard that. The thing is, this Sheriff’s got some Army types hanging out with him.”
Tabor sat up, “Some Army types?”
“Yeah, one’s an older guy, gray-headed and talks a lot of shit.”
“Wears a hundred and first hat?” Tabor asked.
Billy nodded, “So you know him too?”
Tabor slowly stood up. “Oh yeah; I know him, and I’ve got a plan for his ass too.”
“Then we have something in common.”
Tabor sat back and looked at Billy for a moment. “This isn’t going to be easy. You’ve got to have the stomach for this kind of thing.”
Billy stared back, “We can stomach anything you throw at us.”
Tabor thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright Billy; we’ll see if you’re up to the challenge.” Tabor stood up. “Just remember, you asked for this.”
“I’m good. I assure you that.”
“Mooreland will show you guys where to bunk up. I’ll be in touch later.”
Billy smiled, “I think you’ll be happy with us.”
Tabor waved him off and Billy followed Mooreland out. Now he had some expendable bodies; and if he had read the man right, they wouldn’t be as squeamish about what he had in mind.
About midnight, I got up. It was kind of strange that I could wake myself when I needed to without aid of an alarm. Mel was sound asleep, so I quietly got out of bed, trying not to wake her. The house was cool. Stepping out the front door, it felt like rain, so I grabbed my raincoat from beside the door on my way out. Since it was so nice out, I decided to walk. I found Fred, Jess and Aric in the bunker; they were tired and ready to go.
“Glad to see you, I’m about to fall asleep standing here,” Fred said.
“Soon as the guys get here, you can leave,” I replied with a smile.
“What happened on your trip today?” Jess asked.
I shrugged, “We met with some General. They’re going to get us some help, food and whatnot.”
“What’d they say about the DHS?” Aric asked.
“They told Sarge the gloves were off.” I laughed and said, “I’d hate to see what that was like if he’d been wearing them all this time.”
“Yeah; no shit,” Aric replied with a chuckle.
“They’re bringing in a field hospital tomorrow too. I told them we needed some help with all the wounded from the incident at the store the other day.”
“Wow, that’s nice. I didn’t know they had those kinds of resources,” Jess said.
“Apparently they’ve got a lot of stuff. It’s just that the need is so great that it’s hard to make a difference.”
“At least we’re getting some help,” Fred added.
Looking out the front port, I saw two guys coming down the road. I grabbed the NVGs that were hanging on a nail and took a look. “Here come Ian and Perez. Looks like you can head home for some sleep.”
Aric stuck his head out and looked up into the dark sky. “Good; let’s get out of here before it rains.”
“You better hurry; I got a feeling it’s fixing to pour!” Ian shouted as he jumped off the top of the bunker.
“We’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Jess said as she went outside.
Perez stepped down into the bunker carrying a folding chair. He set it up in a corner and immediately sat down. I laughed. Shaking my head, I said, “We’re not interrupting anything are we?”
“He hates the nights; old man needs his sleep,” Ian replied.
Perez was smoking a cigarette and took a long hard drag on it, bringing the tip to a bright cherry red. He flicked it at Ian and it bounced off him with a shower of red embers in the dark bunker. “Shut up peckerhead. I’m not awake yet.”
“This is going to be a long night,” I said as I took another look through the NVG.
It was so dark I had to adjust the gain on the device to the extreme to be able to see. It caused the image to be very grainy and pixilated. “I can’t see shit.”
“Yeah, wish we had thermal,” Ian said.
The rain started about an hour later. What started as a slow drizzle turned into a downpour, making it nearly impossible to see anything, even with the NVGs. Ian stood at the front port looking out, “This is bullshit. There could be a hundred people out there and I wouldn’t see them.”
Perez walked over and looked out, “There ain’t anyone out there. No one’s going to be out in this shit.”
“Shit, this is exactly the kind of crap that crazy old fucker would want to go out in.”
“I doubt even Sarge is out in this crap,” I replied.
“Maybe; but this is exactly the kind of night you’d want to hit someone on. Can’t see or hear anything,” Ian said as he scanned the murk with the NVG.
“Well, let’s hope there’s no one out there that’s motivated to come after us,” I said. I had a feeling it would be a tense night.
But the night would prove to be uneventful, as after what felt like an eternity, the sky began to lighten. The rain had slacked off to a dull drizzle that showed no signs of letting up. We had spent considerable time trying to keep water out of the bunker, but the bottom was now full of water. It was obvious we were going to have to put some sort of floor in the thing. Putting on my raincoat, I went outside and looked around. With the sun coming up out there somewhere, I could actually see; though everything was gray and murky with a very depressing feel.
I was standing beside the bunker when a voice behind me said, “Good thing I’m not out to get your ass. You’d be deader n’ shit.”
I spun to see Sarge standing in the rain. He was wearing a poncho, and rain dripped from the bill of his Boonie hat. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Let it be a lesson. You need to turn the hell around from time to time. You didn’t ev
en see me coming, dumbass.”
“I saw you the whole time,” Ian said from the bunker entrance.
“You didn’t see shit, ya sea-goin’ mutt,” Sarge shot back.
“Maybe; but I knew you’d be pokin’ around at some point.”
Sarge laughed, “You don’t know nuthin’ and you suspect even less, dumbass.”
“What’s got you in such a chipper mood this morning?” I asked.
“Choppers won’t fly in this soup. If this crap doesn’t blow over soon, we won’t be getting any delivery today.”
I looked up, “I didn’t think about that, damn.”
“This is bullshit!” Perez shouted from the bunker.
“What the hell’s eatin’ that Mexican?” Sarge asked, looking at the bunker entrance.
Perez came out of the bunker, “I ain’t no fuckin’ Mexican. I’m Puerto Rican!”
Sarge waved him off, “It’s all the same; dry up Maria. What’s rubbin’ yer ass this morning?”
“This damn hole in the ground is full of water! This is BS!” Perez shouted, pointing into the bunker.
“Huh, who’d a thought a hole in the ground would fill with water?” Sarge said in a snarky tone.
“We’re going to have to do something. It’s a fucking mess,” Perez replied.
Sarge bent over and twisted his face up, “Maybe your madre will bring you a warm cup of horchata and tell you it’s going to be alright.”
“Horchata is for kids,” Perez spat back.
“Eres tan hombre!” Sarge shouted back and smiled, “Sí, hablo español cabrón.”