by Robert Boren
Bug Out! Texas
Texas Lockdown
Book 1
Robert G Boren
Contents
Chapter 1 – Soft Target
Chapter 2 – Austin Insanity
Chapter 3 – Falcon Reservoir
Chapter 4 – Closed Door Meeting
Chapter 5 – Stategy Call
Chapter 6 – News Spin
Chapter 7 - Field Station
Chapter 8 – Night Attack
Chapter 9 – Flight
Chapter 10 – Texas Mary's
Chapter 11 – News Conference
Chapter 12 – Fredericksburg
Chapter 13 – Eric
Chapter 14 – The Love Nest
Chapter 15 – Back on Patrol
Chapter 16 – Raylene's
Chapter 17 – Streets of Austin
Chapter 18 – Peace Offering
Chapter 19 – Rio Salado
Chapter 20 – Pleasure Plantation
Chapter 21 – Hog Run
Chapter 22 – Unlikely Alliance
Chapter 23 – Debrief at Zapata
Chapter 24 - Boondocking in Biloxi
Chapter 25 – On the Lawn
Chapter 26 – Morning at Hog Run
Chapter 27 – Kelly and Shirley
Chapter 28 – Texas Border
Chapter 29 – SMAW Attack
Chapter 30 – The Pool
Chapter 31 – Chase in Louisiana
Chapter 32 – Cell Phone Warning
Chapter 33 – Newark
Chapter 34 – General Walker
Chapter 35 – Austin Presser
Chapter 36 – Dirt Road to Texas
Chapter 37 – Arroyo Chapote
Chapter 38 – Ambush
Copyright - About the Author
Chapter 1 – Soft Target
Jason Finley sat in his recliner, watching the TV, his daughter Chelsea curled up on his lap, thumb in her mouth. The front door opened.
“Jason?” a gruff man’s voice said.
“I’m back here, dad,” Jason said. He shook Chelsea and she stirred, thumb coming out of her mouth. “I’ll turn on Bubble Guppies,” he told her.
“Okay, daddy,” she said, slipping off his lap, looking at him with groggy eyes as he switched the channel with the remote.
Jason stood, his strong six-foot-four build giving him a commanding presence as he walked to the kitchen. He rubbed his sable hair in the back, bunched up from dozing in the recliner.
His father was walking towards the coffee maker. He looked like an older version of Jason, still strong and upright for seventy-four, gray hair getting a little shaggy. “Want coffee?” he asked, looking at the coffee mugs in the cupboard above the counter.
“Yeah, sure, why not,” Jason said. “Where’s mom?”
“She’ll be along,” he said, putting a coffee pod into the machine and a cup into place. “Somebody from church called her while we were parking. Big pot-luck this weekend. You ought to come along with the family. Been a while.”
“Gotta work,” Jason said, leaning against the counter. “Some nut-balls from downtown are gonna demonstrate in downtown Austin again. The citizens are fighting back now. We’ll be there to get between them again.”
“What are they demonstrating about this time?”
“They want to ban open and concealed carry and put in that stupid assault weapons ban that the President has been flapping his gums about lately,” Jason said. “Oh, yeah, and they also want the bill to ban religious courts rejected.”
The old man rolled his eyes. “How can you stand to be a cop in Austin?”
“Let’s not have that conversation again, dad,” Jason said.
“Why not? I can get you hired into my old department in Fredericksburg just like that.” He snapped his fingers.
“I like living here in Dripping Springs,” Jason said, “and I have more room for advancement in Austin than I do in a small town department like Fredericksburg.”
“You don’t want to be a muckity-muck in a big city department. Trust me. Been there, done that. In Dallas, remember?”
“Yeah, and you got a better pension because of it,” Jason said.
“Jason! Randolph!” an old woman’s voice called from the front door.
“In the kitchen, mom,” Jason shouted. “Chelsea’s in the den if you want to see her.”
“I smell coffee,” she said, walking into the kitchen.
“Hey, Liz,” Randolph said. “Everything okay?”
She sighed. “Oh, yes,” she said, as she put her purse on the kitchen counter. Liz was a handsome woman with medium length hair dyed auburn and a short, trim frame.
“So what was so important?” Randolph asked.
“Mrs. Pickens, bless her heart,” Liz said, taking the cup of coffee that Randolph brewed for her. “That woman is going to drive me over the edge.”
“I thought you weren’t talking to her anymore,” Randolph said.
“I’m not. She’s throwing her weight around, and Mrs. Howard got all upset.”
“So what else is new?” Randolph asked.
“Grandpa!” Chelsea squealed as she ran into the kitchen. “Grandma!”
“Hi, sweetheart,” Randolph said, squatting and petting her curly brown hair. “How are you this fine morning?”
“Hi, Chelsea!” Liz said, squatting too, making a funny face at her. Chelsea giggled with delight.
“I wish your brother would settle down,” Liz said. “We need more grandkids.”
“Eric never gives us the time of day anymore,” Randolph said. He sighed. “Hope he grows out of that someday.”
“We’ve got another one coming, remember,” Jason said.
“Yes, and none too soon,” Liz said. “Where is Carrie, anyway?”
“Shopping,” Jason said. “She ought to be back any minute.” Jason’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it. “Speak of the devil.” He put the phone to his ear.
“Jason! There’s shooters at the Superstore! Oh, God, I’m so scared.”
“Calm down, honey. Where are you now? In the store?”
“Yes, in the stock room,” she said. “I hear them shooting people outside. What should I do?”
“Stay hidden,” Jason said, eyes narrowing. “I’ll get Kyle and be there in a flash.”
“Hurry, but be careful,” she said, sounding on the verge of tears.
“I gotta go,” Jason said, stuffing his phone into his pocket. “Can you guys watch Chelsea for a while?” He rushed into his bedroom and grabbed his handgun, a rifle, and a shotgun.
“What’s happening?” Randolph asked, right on his heels.
“There’s a shooter at the Superstore,” Jason said, rushing towards the door
“Oh, no,” Liz said. “What are you gonna do?”
“Help,” Jason said, bursting out the door, running to his four-door Jeep Wrangler. Jason fired up the engine, tossed the guns in the back, and peeled out, driving towards Old San Antonio Road. He pulled his phone out and hit Kyle Wilson’s contact.
“Jason, what’s up?” Kyle asked.
“Get your guns. I’m picking you up in three minutes.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Shooters at the Superstore. Carrie’s hiding in the back. She said they’re shooting people in the store.”
“Dammit. I’ll be waiting on the curb.”
“Thanks, partner.” Jason floored it, the Jeep taking off like a rocket down the street. Kyle’s street was on the right, two blocks ahead. Jason slowed down to make the turn, and saw Kyle standing on the curb a few houses in. He opened the rear passenger door and put his guns on the b
ack seat, then jumped into the front passenger seat.
“I called the local PD,” Kyle said.
“Good. They ought to be along by the time it’s over.” Kyle was built like a linebacker, buff from working out and doing triathlons. He had sandy blonde hair and a closely-cropped blonde beard.
“How many shooters?”
“Don’t know,” Jason said. “Look, there’s the parking lot. People are running out into the street.”
“Pull over there and let’s sneak in,” Kyle said, pointing to a side street right before the parking lot.
“Yeah.” Jason turned right and parked under some trees. They both got out, careful not to slam their doors. Gunfire and screams flowed out of the parking lot ahead of them. There was a grassy berm between the street and the parking lot. The two men crept up on their bellies, peeking over. There were two young men pointing AK-47s at an old man and his wife, shouting something at them. The old man flipped them off and reached into his pocket. The two young men fired, killing both of them.
“Shit, you hear that? Arabic,” Kyle said.
“You sure?” Jason asked.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, getting a bead on the first one with his rifle. He pulled the trigger, splitting the man’s head open like an overripe tomato. Jason hit the second man square in the chest before he could move.
“Scratch two,” Jason said.
There was more yelling in Arabic, and men were rushing towards Kyle and Jason.
“Look, that’s about twenty men,” Jason said, panic in his eyes. He opened fire with Kyle.
“There’s too many of them for these bolt-action rifles,” Kyle said.
Suddenly they heard a yeee-hawwww and three four-wheel drive trucks flew onto the parking lot, the beds loaded with men firing rifles and shotguns, blasting the Islamists, sending them running for cover.
“First time I’ve been happy to see armed rednecks show up,” Jason said. “Let’s go get us some.” The two men got up with their shotguns, leaving the rifles in the bushes, running, shooting everybody they saw with an assault rifle. After a few minutes there was silence in the parking lot. Kyle, Jason, and a couple dozen rednecks went row by row looking for survivors. Every few minutes there was a scream, a frantic Arabic voice, and several gun shots. Police sirens approached.
“Geez, about frigging time,” Kyle said, shaking his head.
“Let’s go get Carrie,” Jason said, trotting towards the front doors of the Superstore. They were closed. One redneck rushed from the parking lot to the doors and was hit by machine gun fire.
“Dammit,” Kyle said. He looked at Jason, who had a steely reserve on his face, eyes narrowing, tears forming. “Don’t do anything stupid, man.”
“I’ve got to get her out of there,” Jason said, sneaking closer.
“Well don’t through the front,” Kyle said. “Let’s take the side or the back.”
A man in white garb appeared on the roof. Somebody fired a shot at him but missed. Then they heard the raspy sound of a bullhorn.
“Hold your fire or we kill all forty-three hostages,” the man said with a heavy Arabic accent.
***
Carrie sat in the dark janitor’s closet with two other women. One of them was whimpering.
“Shut up or you’ll get us killed,” Carrie whispered in her ear.
“We’re dead anyway,” the woman said in a New England accent.
“You packing?” Carrie whispered to the other woman.
She nodded yes, and got close to Carrie. “I’m Kate. All I have is a .32 pea-shooter, and those guys have machine guns. What do you have?”
“My hubby’s old .40 cal Glock,” she whispered. “He’s Austin PD, and he’s outside now, probably trying to figure out how to get inside. I called him when this started.”
“You two have guns? That’s disgusting,” said the whimpering woman.
Kate looked at her in disbelief. Carrie chuckled. “She ain’t from around here,” she whispered.
They heard opening and closing of lockers and closet doors approaching them, and foreign voices.
“Oh, no, they’re coming this way,” the whimpering lady said.
“Shut the hell up or I’ll shoot you myself,” whispered Kate, glaring at her in the dark.
“They’re gonna find us,” Carrie whispered. “Hide your gun on your person. Don’t leave it in your purse.”
Kate nodded and slipped her small pistol into the pocket of her coat.
Carrie slipped hers into the waistband of her maternity pants and dropped her big maternity shirt over it. “Sometimes it pays to be preggers,” she whispered.
The opening and closing of doors was just a few feet away. Then the janitor closet door flew open, and two young men stared in, their AK-47s aimed at the women. The whimpering one screamed as she rushed out.
“Hand up, or we kill,” shouted the first man.
“They have guns!” the whimpering woman shouted. Both men looked at her, and by the time they looked back at Carrie, she had her gun out, shooting both of them before they could react.
Kate stepped over to the whimpering woman and hit her with a right cross, dropping her to the floor. “You stupid bitch.”
“Never mind her,” Carrie said. “Now we have machine guns. You know how to shoot these?”
“Not a clue,” Kate said.
Carrie showed it to her. “Hold it tight against your shoulder. Put you hand either on the fore-grip or the magazine, but don’t cover this port here, because shells eject there. It’ll burn your hands.”
“Okay,” Kate said.
“Safety is this big lever here. Pull it down to turn it off. Keep it off while we’re hunting out there, but keep your trigger finger here until you’re ready to fire,” she said, showing her. “Lean into your shots, because these things kick.”
“What if I run out of bullets?”
“Drop it and go to your pistol,” Carrie said. “Oh, and ditch it if you see the cops, so they don’t think you’re one of the bad guys.”
Kate looked at Carrie and giggled. “Important safety tip.”
“I’ll report you,” the whimpering woman said.
“You want some more?” Kate said, walking towards her.
“Kate, don’t, but let’s lock her sniveling ass in the closet so she doesn’t go up front and get the good guys killed.”
The two women dropped their weapons and dragged her as she kicked and screamed, tossing her into the closet and then blocking the door with a mop handle.
“Onward,” Carrie said. They picked up their weapons and snuck onto the store floor.
“Look, over there,” Kate said. “Standing on top of those shelves with the gun pointing down.”
“Yeah, see him,” Carrie whispered. They got closer and Carrie motioned for Kate to go to the right, to catch anybody coming down the aisle after them. Carrie aimed the AK-47 and pulled the trigger, hitting the man in the back, knocking him to the floor along with a bunch of cans on the shelf.
Kate opened fire at two men who came around the corner onto their aisle, hitting both of them before they knew she was there. Then there was the sound of a big handgun.
“Take that, you friggin low-life,” an old man’s voice cried. There were more shots, some frantic talking in Arabic, and more gunfire. Then there was a crashing sound at the front of the store.
“Somebody’s breaking through the glass in the front,” Carrie said. “Probably cops. Let’s ditch the AKs.”
Kate nodded and set hers down. She joined Carrie and they rushed to where the hostages were. Several of them had handguns out.
“Everybody okay here?” Carrie asked.
“We showed these creeps how we do it in Texas,” an old man said, slipping his handgun back into his concealed holster. The sound of rushing footsteps came towards them.
“This is the police. Drop your weapons.”
“The bad guys are dead, slowpokes,” the old man yelled back. “We’re on aisle six.”
/> There some laugher from the group, and the cops hurried over, guns drawn, looking in every direction. One of them got on his chest radio.
“The hostages are safe,” he said.
There was static, then somebody said “Nice work.”
“We didn’t do it,” the officer said. “These people saved themselves. God bless Texas.”
There was a loud crash in the back of the store. The police rushed back there as several men entered.
“Austin PD,” somebody shouted.
“That’s Jason!” Carrie yelled.
“Your hubby?” Kate asked.
Carrie shook her head yes and rushed to the back of the store, falling into an embrace with Jason. Kyle came in behind him, then some local deputy sheriffs in uniform.
“Thank God you’re okay,” Jason said. “I was so worried.”
“Kate and I turned the tables in here,” she said.
“Who’s Kate?” Jason asked.
“Me,” she said, walking up. “You’ve got quite a wife.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Jason said. Kyle looked at Kate from behind him. Their eyes locked.
“Hi there,” he said.
“Hi yourself,” Kate said. Jason and Carrie shot each other a glance.
“Hey, let’s go get our guns,” Carrie said.
“Yeah, finders’ keepers,” Kate said. They rushed back onto the floor and picked up the AK-47s.
“What the hell?” Jason asked.
“We took these away from two guys back here,” Carrie said.
“Yeah, after we shot them,” Kate said, batting her eyes at Kyle.
“I think I’m in love, Jason,” Kyle said. “You married, Kate?”
She smiled at him silently, shaking her head no.
“Good,” Kyle said.
“Blah blah blah,” Jason said. He looked over at Kate. “Better watch this guy. He thinks he’s a player.”
“Does he now?” Kate asked, looking at Carrie.
“Ah, he can be tamed,” she said. The two of them giggled.
Somebody banged on a door, causing Kyle and Jason to whirl around and pull their weapons.
“Don’t worry, that’s just the whiner,” Carrie said. “She almost got us killed.”
“I’ll let the bitch out,” Kate said. “Maybe I’ll get to pop her one again.” She pulled the mop handle out of the way and opened the door. The woman stomped out, glaring at both of them.