by Robert Boren
“Let’s go,” Connie said, relief in her voice.
They picked up their weapons and headed down.
“Oh my God,” Sarah said, watching one of the Indians take a scalp.
“Remind me not to piss these guys off.” John chuckled.
“This isn’t funny, John,” Sarah said.
“No, but it’s necessary,” Yvonne said.
“Damn straight,” Sid said.
“Don’t you join in,” Yvonne said.
“I won’t,” he said. “Let’s look for weapons.”
Yvonne nodded as the group fanned out. A gunshot jerked everybody’s head around.
“Get down!” Sam said, dropping to a crouch. He aimed and fired at a rock outcropping, dropping a man. Two others ran out, hit by fire from Sid and Clem. There was silence for several minutes, everybody scanning the area.
“So what now?” Clem asked, walking up to Sam.
“We go home,” Sam said.
“Yes, you go,” Jack said. “One Eye will take it from here.”
“Going back to your real name?” Yvonne said.
“My warrior name,” One Eye said. “Take care.”
“Thanks a million,” Sid said.
“Thank you, brother,” he said. “If you wouldn’t have showed up, our people would be fighting for our lives right now.”
“What are you going to do with the scalps?” Yvonne asked.
“Send a message,” One Eye said. “We’re warriors now. We’re in the fight whether we like it or not.”
“Well, good luck, and be careful,” Sam said. “Perhaps we’ll fight together again.”
“That would be a great day,” One Eye said.
“We can take the normal roads now, right?” Clem asked.
“Yeah, but we’d better watch ourselves,” Sid said. “Be ready to fight. Might run into somebody.”
“I say we leave the same way we came,” Sam said, “but with our lights on this time.”
“I agree,” John said. “Better idea. Let’s go.”
***
“Can we go to bed yet?” Morgan asked, sitting next to Robbie on the couch. The TV was on, the screen split into four parts, each showing a checkpoint on fire.
“Well at least the TV stations put this up,” Gil said. “The censorship didn’t last long.”
“Please, Robbie,” Morgan said. “I’m tired.”
“Okay, sweetie,” he said, getting up.
“Hey, wait, man,” Steve said. “Look. Something else is going on.”
Morgan sighed. “Okay, let’s sit for a few more minutes.”
“Thanks,” Robbie said. They sat back down.
“This just in. There have been coordinated attacks against clandestine supply depots all over California. They started at 9:00 PM. Details are sketchy, but what we do know is that the depots were stocked with fuel, weapons, and ammunition. Sacramento has declared a state of emergency in all of the areas where the supply depots were found, and are getting ready to impose martial law over the entire state.”
“Oh brother,” Gil said. “Wonder who the supply depots belonged too?”
Robbie’s fingers were flying over the keyboard on his laptop. “On it.”
“Something stinks,” Steve said. “Partisans take out enemy supply depots, and the state government wants to clamp down on everybody? No frigging way.”
“Yeah, seriously,” Gil said.
“Son of a bitch,” Robbie said.
“What?” Morgan asked.
“The buzz on the net is that those supply depots belonged to Islamist radicals,” Robbie said, “but get this. There were UN vehicles found at several of the sites.”
“I knew it,” Gil said. “Bastards. The state is trying to take us totalitarian. No other explanation for this.”
“Wow,” Robbie said, eyes wide.
“What?” Morgan asked. “Let me see.”
“I don’t think you want to look at this,” Robbie said, starting to close the lid to his laptop. Morgan put out her hand to stop him.
“I saw quite a few people killed tonight,” Morgan said. “I can take it. Let me see.”
“Okay,” Robbie said reluctantly. He turned the screen towards her.
“What are those things?” she asked, looking closer.
“Scalps,” Robbie said.
“Are you serious?” Gil asked, coming over. Robbie turned the laptop towards him. “Holy crap, look at that. Good.”
“Where is that?” Steve asked, getting up. Colleen followed him over, peeking around his back to see the laptop screen.
“Ewww, gross,” she said. “Who would do that?”
“Patriots,” Gil said.
“This was in Fernbrook,” Robbie said. “Sounds like this depot was supporting the attack that happened in Poway.”
“There are several large Indian reservations in North San Diego County,” Gil said. “Barona is the closest to this.”
“I hope those folks protect themselves,” Steve said. “This is gonna start a shit storm.”
“I still can’t believe that the state thinks locking these areas down is gonna help,” Morgan said. “Look at what just happened here tonight.”
The TV screen went black again.
“Oh, crap, what now?” Colleen asked. Everybody took notice and watched.
“Look, it’s that Ivan guy again,” Steve said.
“Quiet,” Robbie said.
Ivan was back, on the same set, still wearing his suit and fedora, a nasty grin on his face.
“By now all of you know that our attacks on checkpoints were real, and they were followed by attacks on enemy supply depots. We have just heard that our state government plans to double down on martial law. You ask how Governor Sable could be so stupid. Let’s take you to Governor Sable for a comment.”
The screen changed, to a dark shot in a circular room. Governor Sable’s lifeless body was laying on the floor, hands clutching a rifle, blood running down his neck and around the floor by his chest. His dead eyes stared at the camera.
“Oh my God,” Morgan said, hands going to her eyes.
“Now you know who to target. All of those in the state government who said Governor Sable is alive and well. Who controls the state government of California now? These two men.”
The screen changed to a grainy picture of Airforce One, with the President, Governor Sable, and a third man in Islamic garb talking to each other near the steps to the plane. A dark X had been photoshopped over Sable.
“Governor Sable realized his error and died getting locations of the enemy supply depots out to the patriots of California. Here is the man who is most responsible for the violence in this state over the last two months. His name is Saladin. He’s a member of the Caliphate, trying to open a new front against the infidel in the United States.”
A close-up of Saladin’s face filled the screen.
“This is the face of evil. The UN and the Administration do his bidding. This is the war we are in. You know what to do.”
The screen went black again, then came back up to the newsroom, the reporters and staff not realizing they were on the air again. All of them looked terrified.
“Wow,” Gil said, snapping everybody out of it.
“I’ll bet that Saladin idiot is behind the nuclear attacks,” Steve said.
“That’s the buzz,” Robbie said, fingers flying over his keyboard again. “With North Korea, but we already knew that.”
“The president is dirty too?” Morgan asked.
“So it would appear,” Robbie said.
“We aren’t gonna win, are we?” Colleen asked.
“Like hell,” Gil said. “We have their numbers now. We see the face of the enemy.”
“Oh, we’re back on the air,” the news anchor said. “As you’ve seen, this has been a very active news night.”
Gil laughed hard. “Well, that’s one way to put it.”
“There has been a depot attack in Harbor City,” the news anchor said
.
There was video from a chopper above a partially completed building, fully engulfed in flames.
“Hey, I know where that is,” Gil said. “It’s on Gaffey, right by the Harbor Slough.”
“You’re right,” Steve said. “Geez, I’m surprised we didn’t hear it.”
“Too far,” Robbie said. “Nice job by somebody.”
“Seriously,” Morgan said, watching the flames. “How did they hide a depot like that in the middle of this area?”
“They were hiding in plain sight,” Gil said. “That building was supposed to be a big medical building, but it got stopped because of that financial snafu with the national healthcare system.”
“But still, wouldn’t somebody have seen suspicious activity around there?” Morgan asked.
“You’d think so,” Robbie said. “Not much on the net about this attack.”
“I can’t take much more of this,” Morgan said, watching the chopper camera zoom in on broken, charred bodies.
“You want to go to bed, honey?” Robbie asked.
Morgan shook her head no. “I couldn’t get to sleep anyway.”
“So what do we do now?” Steve asked. “Wonder if they’ll still enforce the checkpoints and work requirements?”
“Good question,” Robbie said. “All kinds of discussion on that, but nobody really knows anything.”
“Can we go downstairs?” Colleen asked. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
Steve looked her in the eyes. “I’ll take you down there. You don’t have to do anything.”
They got up and embraced, Colleen trembling in his arms. They left the room quickly, Colleen avoiding eye contact with the others.
“She’s really scared,” Morgan said.
“Steve’s a good man,” Robbie said. “She doesn’t need to do that with him. Trust me.”
“I know,” Morgan said. “We might as well go to bed.”
“Yeah, me too,” Gil said. “If the rules are still in effect, I’ll have to go to work tomorrow.”
“All right,” Robbie said as he shut down his laptop. “Enough of this for now.”
Gil trotted down the stairs. “See you in the morning.”
“Good night,” Morgan said.
“Yeah, later,” Robbie said. He set his laptop on the coffee table. “Let’s go.”
They went into the bedroom. As soon as Robbie shut the door Morgan grabbed him, hugging him hard.
“All this death,” she sobbed. “I’ve never seen people killed before.”
“I know,” Robbie said.
“Maybe we should split while the checkpoints are down,” Morgan said.
“And go where?” Robbie asked. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it into the hamper.
“I don’t know,” Morgan said as she undressed. “Anywhere but here?”
“This is probably safer than the hinterlands.”
“You wearing PJs?” she asked.
“Not unless you want me to,” Robbie said, watching her.
“Good, I’m not then,” she said. “I need you.”
They got into bed. “Are you serious about leaving?” he asked.
She sighed, moving closer to him, their bodies touching. “Oh, I guess not. You’re probably right. It’s safer here.”
“If I could join my parents, I would,” he said. “With you, of course.”
“You think your mom would tolerate that?”
“She’d love you,” Robbie said, pulling her in for a kiss.
***
Seth rounded the corner and pulled up in front of the gate. Ji-Ho pushed the button on his remote and it rolled open. Seth drove in, followed by Gus. Emma and Kaylee burst out of the door, running towards them.
“Oh, thank God!” Kaylee yelled, leaping into Matt’s arms as he walked towards her. Emma met Seth, hugging him tight.
“Anything happen here while we were gone?” Angel asked.
“Nothing,” Kaylee said.
“That good,” Ji-Ho said. “Pull vehicles in garage, around back. Then we can leave guns there, take off fast if bad guys show.”
“I’ll lead you there,” Kaylee said to Seth. She walked forward on the driveway with Matt as it curved around to the back of the house. Seth and Emma got into the 4Runner and followed her slowly.
“I was so worried,” Emma said. “Did you actually kill anybody?”
She saw him tremble, tears running down his cheek.
“What’s wrong, Seth?” she asked softly.
“Nothing,” he said.
“Don’t clam up,” she said, “you did kill somebody.”
He looked over at her as he waited for the garage door to open, and nodded yes.
“I’m sorry,” she said, reaching over to touch his shoulder.
“There we go,” he said, driving forward into the four-car garage. Gus pulled in next to him and got out of his truck. Seth reached for the door handle.
“Wait a minute,” she said. “Stay here.”
“Why?”
“We need to talk about this. You’re having a hard time.”
“It’s not what you think,” he said. “I’m fine.”
“So tell me what it is, then,” she said.
“A gun battle isn’t like a baseball game,” Seth said. “You get pretty worked up. Coming down can be tough.”
“You’re gonna have to talk to somebody,” she said.
“What, like a shrink?”
“Maybe,” she said.
“No, it’s not that, really.”
“Is it about the people you shot?” she asked.
“You don’t really want to know,” Seth said.
“Why not?” she asked.
“It’ll just scare you.”
She looked at him softly, touching his shoulder again. “Try me.”
“Okay,” he said. “I was shooting at a group of them. Killed several, but there were a lot. They rushed me when I had to reload the Winchester. I’d be dead right now if Gus and Angel wouldn’t have gotten there in the nick of time.”
“You almost got killed?” she asked, horrified. “I knew that was going to happen.”
“So what, you’re going to say that I shouldn’t have gone? I knew the risks. I’ll do it again.”
Emma started to cry. He pulled her over next to him. “Don’t,” he said gently. “It’ll be okay.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Hold me, okay?”
They sat in their embrace for a few minutes.
“You ready to go in?” Seth asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said. “Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” Seth said. “C’mon.”
They got out of the car and walked onto the driveway.
“There you are,” Kaylee said, rushing up. “Everything okay?”
“Is everything okay with you?” Emma asked.
Kaylee was silent for a moment. “No, it’s pretty far from okay,” she whispered. “Matt’s really messed up. Him too?”
“I’m fine,” Seth said.
“You should be worried about things like school and partying and getting laid,” Kaylee said. “Not war. It’s hard on you guys. Harder than it is on us.”
“We’re in this together,” Seth said. “Where’s Matt?”
“He went inside to have a drink with the others,” Kaylee said. “I told him not to get drunk.”
“Maybe we should back off,” Emma said. “At least for tonight.”
“No, Kaylee’s right,” Seth said, walking faster towards the front door. “We could get hit tonight. We might have to defend ourselves.”
“Oh, shit,” Emma said. “You think so?”
They went through the front door into the entry way. “If they show up here they’re gonna run into a lot more trouble than they expect,” Seth said.
“There they are,” Matt said, coming out with a shot glass in his hand. “Here, man, drink this.”
“One only,” Seth said. “And you’d better not drin
k much either. We might have company, you know.”
Seth took the shot and tossed it back, watching Matt’s eyes turn from party mode to fear.
“Dammit, you’re right,” Matt said.
“How they gonna find us?” Angel asked.
“Hell, for all we know one of the vehicles might have been followed,” Seth said.
Ji-Ho came into the entryway with Gus. “I hear conversation. One or two drinks. Nothing more. Stay sharp.”
“I’m done,” Matt said.
“How many you have?” Ji-Ho asked.
“Three,” he said.
“Just on the limit,” Gus said. “Anybody else have anything?”
“Trevor had one, but it made him shudder so much that he refused to have another,” Matt said.
Angel cracked up. “Figures.”
“Come, I turn on news,” Ji-Ho said. They went into the living room and he picked up the remote. “Kaylee, there frozen pizza in freezer. Can you cook?”
“Sure, Uncle,” she said.
“I’ll help,” Emma said.
“Whoa, look,” Matt said, eyes glued to the TV. “That’s where we were! We did that!”
Gus chuckled. “Yeah, we did, didn’t we?”
“Big fire,” Ji-Ho said with a look of glee.
“Wonder how the other attacks went?” asked Trevor, coming out of the back hallway.
“You find shirt,” Ji-Ho said. “Good.”
“What happened?” Seth asked.
“Blood and brains on shirt,” Ji-Ho said.
“Gonna have it bronzed?” Matt asked.
“Well, it sounds like you guys are back to normal,” Kaylee said. “What should I put on the pizza?”
“Anything’s fine with me, except the little fishies,” Angel said. The others laughed.
“Ha ha,” Kaylee said. “Okay, Emma and I will decide.”
“That good,” Ji-Ho said.
“What’s next?” Seth asked. “Are they going to double down on us? Hunt us down?”
“It not over,” Ji-Ho said. “They be back, but we hurt bad. Us and others around state.”
“What if somebody got video of our vehicles?” Matt asked.
“Then we’re screwed,” Gus said. “That’s why we didn’t want you leaving the 4Runner there.”
“Also why we put in garage,” Ji-Ho said. “Choppers probably searching now.”
“You really think so?” Angel asked.
“Of course, but like needle in haystack,” Ji-Ho said. “Sit tight for few days.”