by Robert Boren
“Look, there’s PV Drive North,” Trevor said. “Stay sharp. Won’t be long now.”
“Still many people on road,” Ji-Ho said. “Good.”
“Wonder if the checkpoints around San Pedro were taken out?” Angel asked.
“Some, I sure,” Ji-Ho said. “Look up there.”
“Yeah,” Angel said, “there’s Gus and his guys, in that church parking lot.”
“I see them,” Seth said, turning right into it.
Gus trotted over. “We got a problem.”
“What’s the matter?” Trevor asked.
“There’s a checkpoint at Western,” Gus said.
“Thought so,” Seth said. “It hasn’t been attacked?”
“Oh, yeah, it’s been attacked,” Gus said. “It drew out some of the enemy troops from the supply depot, which is off Gaffey Street, in a construction site just past the softball fields. They’re trying to cut the bodies off the traffic lights.”
“Dammit,” Seth said. “What now?”
“We need to attack them with part of the group, while the rest goes to the depot and blows everything up,” Gus said.
“Sounds like a combat shooting mission,” Trevor said. “Winchester loaded and ready, and I’ve got about fifty rounds in various pockets.”
“Good,” Gus said. “I’ll join you. Who else feels confident enough?”
“I’ll do it,” Angel said.
“Me too,” Seth said.
“No, you drive car, Seth,” Ji-Ho said. “Help Matt and I with ordinance.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Gus said. “One of my guys is an expert with bow and arrow, and I have my crossbow. We’ll try to take the men at the checkpoint out without any gunplay.”
“Yeah, we don’t want to tip off the depot,” Seth said.
“Exactly,” Gus said. “If we need to shoot we will. You guys get into position first and call us.”
“Don’t take PV Drive North,” Ji-Ho said. “Take carriage road next to this parking lot. Cross Western on far side of Green Hills. Go across open fields to Gaffey.”
“Good plan,” Gus said. “Take Gaffey up past the softball diamonds. The depot is right there. Hard to see. It’s where the building’s atrium will be. Watch yourselves. They probably have sentries all over the damn place. We’ll join you guys as soon as we nail the cretins at the checkpoint.”
“Sounds good,” Seth said. He watched as Trevor and Angel joined Gus, and then drove to the back of the church parking lot.
“There carriage road,” Ji-Ho said. “Dirt. Be careful. Dirt across Western too. Turn off lights.”
“Okay. We’ll use four-wheel drive if we need to,” Seth said.
The dirt road was bumpy and dark as they crept along.
“How much further?” Seth asked.
“Right past mausoleum, see?” Ji-Ho said.
“Oh, yeah,” Seth said. He climbed up onto Arroyo Drive, the hard edge of the road rubbing the underside of the 4Runner.
“Careful, dude,” Matt said.
“Still nervous?” Ji-Ho asked.
“I’m okay,” Matt said. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I not worried,” Ji-Ho said. “You be brave. I know.”
“It’s curving towards Western,” Seth said.
“Yes, there it is,” Ji-Ho said. “No left turn. Make right.”
“I know that tract over there,” Matt said, pointing across the street. “Turn left at that chute. Go into the neighborhood. The road is on the outside of the tract. Follow it until you get to the park, then drive off the end of the parking lot into that big field. Take a right on the dirt road. It’ll take you to Gaffey.”
“Excellent,” Seth said. He followed Matt’s instructions, getting to Gaffey in less than five minutes. He stopped and looked both ways on the street.
“How’s our time?” Matt asked.
“It 8:37,” Ji-Ho said, looking at the display on the dash. “We make it no problem.”
“Hope there’s a good place to set up,” Matt said.
“I’m turning on my lights,” Seth said as he turned left onto Gaffey. “It’ll look worse if I leave them off with this traffic.”
“Yes,” Ji-Ho said, “but turn off as soon as you get to road between softball diamonds and construction site. Park in shadows and we watch.”
“Got it,” Seth said.
They rolled up the street for a few blocks.
“There’s the softball diamonds,” Matt said.
“Go to far side and turn left,” Ji-Ho said.
Seth nodded, turning onto the dirt road adjoining a big dirt parking lot. He switched off his lights and parked in the shadows, next to a small shed on the far end.
“Good, nobody around,” Seth said as he parked. “Don’t slam the car doors.”
“Seriously,” Matt said. They got out and crept to the temporary chain link fence surrounding the construction site.
“What are they building here?” Seth whispered.
“Another medical building,” Ji-Ho said, “but stall for money. Site abandoned.”
“Sounds like a good place for vandalism,” Matt said.
“There’s a break in the fence,” Ji-Ho said. “Let’s go see where to point mortar.”
They walked through the debris in the dark, trying to be quiet, their guns held in sweaty hands.
“You stop!” an Arabic sounding voice said from the shadows. “Drop guns.”
Seth, Ji-Ho, and Matt set down their rifles.
The man showed himself, wearing a security guard’s outfit. “I frisk. Hold still.”
The man approached Ji-Ho, keeping an eye on the other two. When he got close, Ji-Ho sprang into action, the flash of a knife showing for a split second, then blood spurting from the enemy’s throat.
“Whoa,” Matt whispered, watching Ji-Ho cover the man’s mouth as he lowered his dying form onto the ground. “You’ve done that before.”
“Now we know how they use this spot,” Ji-Ho said. “Inside job with security company. C’mon.”
They picked up their weapons and snuck forward, looking through the partially completed building.
“See?” Ji-Ho whispered. “Fuel tanks. Sheds. Right in atrium section of building. Man smoking, leaning up on catwalk.”
“That enough to set up mortar?” Matt whispered.
Ji-Ho nodded yes and they retreated to the car.
“Take RPG in case vehicle show up,” Ji-Ho said, handing it to Matt. “Remember what I show you?”
“Yeah,” Matt said, picking it up. He slid a rocket into the end and watched as Ji-Ho got out the two mortars. Seth covered them with his Winchester.
“There,” Ji-Ho said, looking down at the two mortars. “Piece of cake. Call them. It 8:59.”
Seth nodded and pulled his cellphone, hitting Trevor’s contact.
“Yeah, Seth,” Trevor whispered.
“We’re set.”
“Good,” Trevor said. “We’ll take these guys out and join you.”
Seth ended the call and nodded. Ji-Ho dropped a round into the first mortar. It popped and flew through the air, coming down behind the building walls, right into the atrium. The explosion rocked them hard, flames rising above the height of the building.
“How’d you get so close on the first one?” Seth asked as Ji-Ho dropped a round into the other mortar.
“Count steps. I teach you.”
The second round flew out of the tube, hitting the area again, causing secondary explosions as the ammo shed was hit.
“What’s that?” Matt cried in panic. A large armored vehicle was barreling out of the area.
“GAZ Tigr,” Ji-Ho shouted. “Fire at it.”
Matt aimed and pulled the trigger, hitting the vehicle as it was trying to escape down Gaffey, blowing the top end off it.
“Keep it up,” Seth said. “I saw somebody run over to the left. I’ll go get them.”
“Careful,” Ji-Ho said before he dropped another mortar round. “Don’t get hit.”
Seth nodded, rushing forward and getting down behind a small rock wall. He jerked as Ji-Ho fired off another mortar round. Several Islamists were loading something into a truck. Seth opened fire, killing two of the enemy soldiers, but the others found cover and fired back with automatic weapons. He fired as fast as he could, not hitting anybody. Several of them rushed towards him as he fumbled to load more bullets into the side gate of the Winchester.
“Dammit, they’re gonna get me,” Seth cried.
Suddenly gunfire started up from behind the enemy fighters, causing them to scream in Arabic. Several fell in their tracks.
“We’re here, man,” Trevor called, firing fast with his Winchester. Ji-Ho opened up with his AR-15, hitting more of them. Angel joined in, then Gus and the rest of his guys flooded into the area with guns blazing. The shooting went on for nearly a minute, and then there was silence, punctuated by explosions in the depot.
“We did our job,” Gus yelled. “Let’s get the hell out of here now.”
“I’m ready,” Matt replied.
Ji-Ho grabbed the mortars and stuffed them back in the 4Runner, Matt helping him with the crate of rounds as Seth covered them, eyes darting around.
“Done, we go,” Ji-Ho shouted. They got into the vehicle and headed for Gaffey, but then machine gun fire hit the back end, blowing the rear driver’s side tire. Seth popped into four-wheel drive and punched it, the other three tires dragging the shredded one as they headed for cover behind one of the baseball diamonds.
“Look, here they come,” Seth said, nodding towards a group of men coming at them at a full run. Ji-Ho took aim, dropping several of them as Matt brought his gun to his shoulder and fired, Seth jointing them a few seconds later after he reloaded.
“Two of them ran away,” Seth said, trying to get a bead on them. He fired several times, missing. “Wish Trevor was here. He’s a lot better shot.”
“Call him and tell him our ride’s busted,” Matt said. “I’ll cover.”
“Me too,” Ji-Ho said.
Seth hit Trevor’s contact again.
“Hey, man, where are you guys?” Trevor asked.
“Rear tire of my cruiser got shot up,” he said. “We’re gonna need a ride.”
“Dammit,” Trevor said. “Hold it.”
Seth waited as Trevor talked to Gus and the others.
“Okay, man, we’re on our way,” Trevor said. “You got a spare?”
“Yeah,” Seth said.
“Get busy, then. We don’t want to leave that vehicle behind. They’ll find you right away.”
“On it,” Seth said. He put his phone in his pocket and raced to the back, hoping against hope that the spare wasn’t shot up. It wasn’t. He pulled it out from the rear compartment along with the jack.
“You’re changing the tire?” Matt asked. “Aren’t they coming?”
“Yeah, they’re coming, but we can’t leave this vehicle here. They can trace it to me.”
“Trevor right,” Ji-Ho said. “I cover. Matt, you help him, but both keep guns nearby just in case.”
Matt rushed over to help Seth.
“Thank God the spare didn’t get hit,” Matt said as they worked.
“Seriously,” Seth said. “They got pretty close to the gas tank, from what I can see.”
“Geez,” Matt said.
Gus’s truck rolled up, skidding to a stop next to them. He jumped out, gun in his hands. Angel and Trevor got out too.
“Hurry up, guys,” Gus said.
“We are,” Matt said.
Seth got the tire off and carried it to the back as Matt fitted the spare. He was fastening the lug nuts as Seth came back. “Ready?”
“Yeah, man,” Matt said, tightening the last of the bolts. “This needs some air.”
“It’ll be good enough,” Seth said. He lowered the jack and pulled it out, tossing it into the back with the shredded tire and the weapons. “Let’s get out of here.”
They got back into the 4Runner and took off, Gus’s truck following.
“Holy crap,” Seth said, laughing. “That was some crazy shit.”
“No kidding,” Ji-Ho said. “Take side roads as far as can.”
“Turn into that shopping center parking lot,” Matt said. “Where the Target store is. There’s a way to get into that residential area through the back.”
“Oh no, listen,” Ji-Ho said.
“Shit, is that a chopper?” Matt asked.
“Sounds like it,” Seth said. “Can’t see it yet.”
“I see,” Ji-Ho said. “It far away. Coming to hover over depot.”
“I see it now,” Seth said. “It’s got its spotlight on the scene.”
“Hope not military chopper,” Ji-Ho said.
Seth turned into the parking lot of the shopping center and headed to the back.
“It’s probably a news chopper,” Matt said. “Or a police chopper. I can see it now. Just drive. We’ll be okay.”
Seth’s sweaty hands gripped the wheel, his heart hammering in his chest as he entered the residential area. It was dark and quiet.
“Good,” Matt said. “There, Millmark Road. Take that, then follow it as it turns to the right. Make a left on Toscanini.”
“We’ll have to cross Western,” Seth said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Matt said. “Toscanini goes across into another residential area.”
“Toscanini dead ends,” Ji-Ho said. “Don’t go, we get stuck. Turn left on Western, right on Caddington. Just one block on Western.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Matt asked.
“Only way,” Ji-Ho said. “Trust me.”
“Here goes nothing,” Seth said, turning left onto Western. “Still a lot of traffic. Good.”
“There’s Caddington,” Ji-Ho shouted. “Don’t miss.”
“I see it,” Seth said, making the turn. “Now what?”
“Keep going,” Ji-Ho said. “I tell when you turn.”
“Never been in this neighborhood,” Matt said nervously. “That chopper’s getting louder.”
“It just circle,” Ji-Ho said. “I see. There. Turn left. Enrose Street.”
Seth made the turn.
“Good, now keep going until you see Sparta and turn left. Take small dirt road to Coral Ridge. That dump onto PV Drive East.”
“Dirt road?” Matt asked.
“Don’t worry, short,” Ji-Ho said.
“What’s that chopper doing?” Matt asked.
“Going in wider and wider circles,” Seth said. “Which way did Gus go?”
“They kept going on Western,” Matt said.
“I’ll bet they’re going all the way to 25th Street,” Seth said. “Hope they don’t get nailed.”
“They got several men in back of pickup,” Ji-Ho said. “They can blast if somebody follow.”
“You know it’s illegal to ride in the back of a pickup, right?” Matt said.
“Police not worry about that now,” Ji-Ho said. “Trust me.”
“I don’t think the police would bust anybody for that,” Matt said. “I just think it might strike them as suspicious.”
“Oh,” Ji-Ho said. “Yeah, okay, I see point. Hope they careful.”
“There’s the dirt,” Seth said. “Looks like private property.”
“Is,” Ji-Ho said. “Don’t worry about.”
“I’m not,” Seth said as he drove onto it, racing towards the next street to the sound of a large dog barking.
“Whoa,” Matt said. “Hope they don’t have guns.”
“Here’s Coral Ridge Road,” Seth said as he turned onto it.
“Oh, I know where we are,” Matt said. “There’s Miraleste Middle School. It’s right on PV Drive East.”
“Yes, yes,” Ji-Ho said, grinning ear to ear. “I told you.”
“Which way?” Seth asked.
“Going right will put us right back behind Green Hills again,” Matt said. “Maybe we ought to turn left instead.”
“Long
time to be on a big road,” Seth said.
“It be okay,” Ji-Ho said. “Many place to duck off road if need.”
“Maybe we’ll run into the others, if they really went to 25 th Street,” Matt said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Seth said as he made the turn.
“Don’t go too fast in the twisties, man,” Matt said. “Remember your spare tire. It’s low on air.”
“I’ll be careful,” Seth said.
They went several miles without incident, seeing few cars. The sound of the chopper was gone too, allowing them to settle down a little. Seth’s phone rang.
“Trevor, where are you?” Seth asked.
“Put it on speaker, dude,” Matt said. “This is a two-handed road.”
“Okay,” Seth said. He hit the speaker button and put the phone on the center console. “Hear us?”
“Yeah,” Trevor said. “We got followed.”
“Dammit,” Matt said. “You get away?”
“We smoked them, but they might have made our license plate number,” Trevor said. “We’re still coming.”
“PV Drive East?” Seth asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Just passed Marymount College.”
“You aren’t too far behind us, then,” Seth said. “We just passed the Trump Golf Club.”
“Good,” Trevor said. “Don’t stop for anything, and keep your eyes open.”
“You too. See you back at the ranch.”
“Later,” Trevor said. The call ended.
Ji-Ho snickered. “Ranch?”
“It’s just slang,” Seth said.
“Well, I always want to be cowboy,” Ji-Ho said.
Chapter 12 – Dead Eye Stare
“Should we get down there?” Yvonne asked, listening to the gunfire from the burning depot below.
“We’ll go,” one of the tribal warriors said. “Stay here and cover. Watch for vehicles leaving. Blast them.”
“Okay,” Sid said.
They took off around the ridge, five men in total. More gunfire floated up to them.
“That’s Sam’s gun,” Connie said, eyes showing panic.
“He’s still firing,” John said. “We know he’s still alive. Probably just mopping up.”
“Yeah, there’re places to hide against the side of that hill,” Sid said.
“There he is,” Sarah said, pointing. “He’s motioning us down there.”