by Robert Boren
“Yeah, Ji-Ho is right,” Gus said.
“How come you didn’t go with your guys?” Seth asked.
“Because I had to come back for you when you got the flat,” Gus said.
“Sorry,” Seth said.
“Don’t be,” Gus said. “Probably safer to come here anyway. Those guys had to go back to east Torrance and Lomita. There’s a lot more crap going on there, trust me.”
The doorbell rang.
“Oh no, is somebody inside the gates?” Kaylee asked from the kitchen.
“That bell next to gate.” Ji-Ho got up and rushed to a console in the entry way, the others following. He pushed a button and an image of the area in front of the gate came up. Jamie was standing there. He rang the bell again. Ji-Ho pushed the button to open the gate, and then rushed out the front door.
“Jamie!” Matt said as they all rushed over.
“Quick, shut that gate and get out of sight. Kill the light. Close that door.”
Ji-Ho reached into the house and hit the button for the gate, which closed quickly.
“Son of a bitch, you’re being followed?” Gus asked, eyes darting around.
“Yeah,” he said. “UN van. I lost them, but they’ll drive by any minute.”
“Quick, get back in house,” Ji-Ho said. Everybody rushed in and Ji-Ho shut the door.
“Where your car?” Ji-Ho asked.
“Parked it about two blocks away, in a dark spot,” Jamie said.
“They find,” Ji-Ho said. “They make you. Registration. Other things.”
“I know,” Jamie said. “I can’t go home.”
“Well, not now, anyway,” Gus said, eyeing him.
“What?” Jamie asked.
“Where the hell were you earlier?” Gus asked.
“Stop,” Seth said. “Let’s not start fighting with each other.”
“It’s okay,” Jamie said. “Ex-girlfriend. She was scared to death. Had a real hard time at one of the checkpoints. I picked her up and took her home.”
“What kind of hard time?” Gus asked.
“They did a strip search on her, right in front of everybody,” Jamie said, grim look on his face. “I’m done with her as a girlfriend, but that really pissed me off. I had to help her.”
“Why was the UN chasing you?” Gus asked.
“I have no idea,” Jamie said.
Gus pulled his pistol, eyes darting around.
“Put that away,” Seth said.
“Shut up and listen, dammit,” Gus whispered.
Everybody froze. There was a dog barking down the street. It got more frenzied by the second.
“What the hell?” Matt asked. “That dog usually do that?”
Ji-Ho had a scared expression on his face. “Girls, downstairs to vault now. Pull shut and lock. Rest of you come, get weapons out of cars in garage.”
Chapter 13 – Escape
Ji-Ho followed Emma and Kaylee downstairs to the vault, and punched in the code. The door popped open and they went in. The men were behind them watching.
“Punch in code here to get out,” Ji-Ho said, showing them. “Code is 3948294.”
“That’s grandma’s phone number,” Kaylee said.
“Yes,” Ji-Ho said. “Don’t open door unless one of us say.”
Emma and Kaylee nodded yes, eyes terrified.
Ji-Ho closed the vault door and locked it. “Garage door there,” he said, pointing to the back of the room. They rushed into the garage, grabbing the weapons in the backs of the vehicles.
“The dog barking stopped,” Seth said.
“Dog dead,” Ji-Ho said. “Come, let’s go to console and check video. Camera all over property.”
They ran up the stairs, rushed through the living room, and into the entry way. Ji-Ho turned on the console, then pushed some buttons under the screen. It lit up. He cycled through the cameras.
“Nothing,” Jamie said. “How good is the coverage?”
“Not great,” Ji-Ho said. “We can go on roof.”
“Not all of us,” Gus said. “Best shots only.”
“That be Trevor, you, and me,” Ji-Ho said. “Sniper rifle still upstairs. We take to roof.”
“Sniper rifle?” Gus asked.
“Barrett .50 cal,” Trevor said.
“Bitchen,” Gus said.
“Matt, you remember console?” Ji-Ho asked. “How to run?”
“Yes,” Matt said.
“Rest fan out around windows downstairs,” Ji-Ho said. “Seth, take back side of house. Angel take right side. Jamie take front.”
They nodded and went to their positions. Ji-Ho led Trevor and Gus to the stairs. They raced up, heading for the spiral staircase to the roof. Ji-Ho picked up his sniper rifle on the way.
“Wish you had something better than that lever gun,” Gus said.
“Worked pretty well for me earlier,” Trevor said.
“Yeah, but it almost got Seth killed, remember?” Gus said. “Takes too long to load.”
“You were all for them at the range,” Trevor said as they climbed.
“Yeah, for places like California that have stupid laws against semi-autos, sure I like them. Now that we’re actually in a war, we need to start using AR-15s or AK-47s. We’ll capture some soon enough.”
“Quit talk,” Ji-Ho said. “Sound carries from roof.”
Trevor pushed the trap door open and quietly got out, then turned to help Ji-Ho with the sniper rifle. Gus followed Ji-Ho onto the roof, walking quickly to the edge in a crouch. Trevor went to the right, Ji-Ho to the back after setting down the sniper rifle.
“Look,” Gus said, pointing. Ji-Ho rushed over.
“What you see?”
“UN van down the street,” Gus whispered. “You can just barely see it.”
“Head poking above wall, see?” Ji-Ho asked, pointing to the wall twenty yards right of the gate.
“There’s two others,” Gus whispered. “They’re gonna leap the wall and rush the door any second. Trevor, get over here.”
Trevor was alongside them in a second, Winchester at the ready. Ji-Ho grabbed his .50 cal and set it up quietly.
“That’s gonna wake some people up.” Trevor grinned.
“Be careful where you aim that thing,” Gus whispered. “It’ll go through walls and kill innocents.”
“I know,” Ji-Ho said. “Don’t worry. At this angle, bullets go into ground.”
“Look, here they come,” Trevor said.
“Crap, there’s five of them,” Gus said. “Nail them.”
They all opened fire at once, hitting all the enemy fighters before they knew what was happening.
“Ji-Ho, shoot the van.” Gus said
“Yes,” Ji-Ho said, turning the gun in that direction and firing quickly. Somebody screamed inside, and the door slid open.
Trevor fired his Winchester, throwing the man several feet as the .44 mag bullet slammed into him. Then there was silence.
“Think we got all?” Trevor asked.
“Don’t know,” Gus whispered. “We’d better wait a few minutes and watch.”
“How did they find us?” Trevor asked.
“Remember that story about cellphone tracking?” Gus whispered.
“Yeah,” Trevor whispered. “We need to disable our phones?”
“Probably too late,” Gus said. “They told others where we are before they attacked. I can guarantee you that.”
“He right,” Ji-Ho whispered. “Look, man sneak back towards van.”
Gus fired his AR-15, dropping the man. “These guys aren’t too bright.”
“Should we go out?” Trevor asked.
“We’ll have to,” Gus said, “but give it a few more minutes.” His phone buzzed. He pulled it out and looked at it.
“Text message?” Trevor asked.
“Yeah,” Gus whispered. “The others got attacked at our hangout in Lomita.”
“They win?” Ji-Ho asked.
“Yes,” Gus said. “Killed them all. We need
to dump our cellphones. That has to be how they tracked us.”
“Yeah,” Trevor said. “I’m texting the others downstairs to turn their phones off and remove the batteries if they can. Then we should do the same.”
“Do that,” Gus said.
Trevor sent the text as Gus and Ji-Ho watched and listened.
“Car coming,” Ji-Ho whispered.
“I hear it,” Gus replied. “Get ready with that .50 cal.”
Trevor yanked the battery out of his phone. “Done. Somebody coming?”
“Yeah,” Gus whispered. “Get ready.”
“Why aren’t lights turning on around here after all the noise?” Trevor asked.
Gus shook his head. “Everybody’s scared to death. Would you turn on the lights?”
Trevor shrugged. “Yeah, you have a point. Stupid question.”
“Look, UN van coming up street,” Ji-Ho said, turning the .50 cal towards it.
“Let them have it,” Gus said.
Ji-Ho pulled the trigger, firing the big gun as quickly as he could, bullets slamming into the engine block and then through the front windshield. The others joined in, firing at the van as it rolled into the curb and stopped.
“Should have brought an RPG up here,” Trevor said as he fired.
“Hit towards the back with that .50 cal,” Gus said. “Try for the gas tank.”
“Yes,” Ji-Ho said, concentrating the fire on the back third of the hulk. There was an explosion, engulfing the van in flames.
“Bullseye,” Trevor said. “That’ll attract some attention.”
“We can’t stay here now,” Gus said.
“I know,” Ji-Ho said. “We load guns and leave. I have place we can go.”
“Where?” Trevor asked.
“Motor home,” he said.
“Hell, they’ve probably already swarmed over it,” Gus said. “They know who you are by now.”
“Not in my name,” Ji-Ho said. “Problem will be getting there. Stored in Harbor City lot.”
“We’d probably better leave now,” Gus said. “While the checkpoints are still down.”
“How big is this rig?” Trevor asked.
Ji-Ho smiled. “Overkill. Forty-four foot Prevost with tag axle. Sleep plenty. We go.”
“My parents have a motor home,” Trevor said. “I got the keys. They split. It’s not a Prevost, but it’s a thirty-five-footer.”
“Where?” Ji-Ho asked.
“Storage lot in Lomita. I’ll get it. Where should we meet?”
“I have casita,” Ji-Ho said. “Own. In Aguanga, off Highway 79, east of Temecula. Room for both.”
“Okay, I’ll take Trevor and a couple of the others and we’ll do a sweep outside,” Gus said. “You guys round up the girls and load up weapons and food.”
“Good plan,” Ji-Ho said. “Let’s go. I leave .50 cal up here until last minute.”
“Let’s go,” Trevor said. They ran down the stairs.
“What’s going on?” Seth asked as Trevor and Gus ran into the entry way.
“What’s that smell?” Gus asked.
“Pizza,” Angel said. “I’ll go yank it out of the oven. Probably burned.”
“Seth and Matt, want to help us check the outside?” Gus asked.
“Yeah,” Seth said. Matt nodded in agreement.
“Good, let’s go,” Gus said.
“What do we do after that?” Matt asked.
“We’ll tell you when we get back inside,” Gus said. “We’re leaving tonight, obviously. We have a plan.”
“Good,” Seth said. “No way we can stick around here now. This place is gonna get hot.”
“Stay sharp,” Gus said as he cracked the door open, peering outside. “C’mon.”
The four men slipped out the door and fanned out, looking in every nook and cranny around the yard.
“Clear,” Seth said.
“Yeah, nobody around,” Matt said. “Nobody alive, anyway.”
“Let’s go check out the UN van that didn’t burn,” Gus said. “And pick up the enemy’s AKs and any ammo you see laying around. We can use them.”
“Good idea,” Trevor said. He pushed the button to open the gate, and they rushed outside, eyes darting around, guns pointed in front of them.
“Damn, that .50 cal makes a big hole,” Matt said, looking at one of the bodies outside the wall.
“No chatter,” Gus said. “Grab their weapons. Chop chop.”
“Okay,” Matt said, watching Trevor and Seth rush over to the UN van. Gus continued around the perimeter of the yard, looking for enemy fighters.
“Whoa,” Trevor said, looking at several AK-47s and two RPGs on the floor of the van, a bloody body lying over them. “Help me move this cretin.”
“This isn’t a UN guy,” Seth said as they pulled the body out the side door. “He’s an Islamist.”
“Surprise surprise,” Trevor said. “C’mon, let’s grab the stuff and get the hell out of here.”
“Got it,” Seth said. They loaded up with everything and rushed back to the gate, tossing it all on the lawn next to the driveway, just inside the yard.
“See anybody?” Seth asked Gus as he rushed over.
“No,” Gus said. Matt joined them. “I stripped the bodies. Got three more AKs and quite a bit of ammo.”
“Add it to the pile there,” Seth said. “We’ll load it up on the way out the gate.”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Trevor said. “We need to be out of here in five minutes.”
They closed the front gate and sprinted back into the house. The girls were in the kitchen cutting the semi-burned pizza, both looking shell shocked.
“Where’s Ji-Ho and Angel?” Seth asked.
“Loading the vehicles in the garage. They said you should help them when you get in here.”
“That pizza edible?” Gus asked.
“Yeah, it’s just a little well done,” Emma said. “We’ll bag it up. They tell you what we’re doing?”
“We haven’t told them yet,” Trevor said. “You two okay with it?”
Kaylee looked at Emma and chuckled. “What choice do we have now?”
“Good,” Trevor said. “C’mon, guys, let’s go grab what we can carry from the vault and take it to the garage.”
He rushed for the stairs, the others following.
“What are we gonna do?” Seth asked.
“Ji-Ho has a huge motor home in a yard in Harbor City, and my folks have one in a yard in Lomita,” Trevor said. “We’re going to split in those while the checkpoints are still down.”
“Where will we go?” Matt asked.
“Ji-Ho has a casita outside of Temecula,” Trevor said.
Matt got a big grin on his face. “I know about that place. I’ve been there. It’s defendable.”
“Can we make it that far?” Seth asked.
“We have to,” Trevor said, grabbing a case of grenades. “Load up, guys, and let’s get down there.”
“Yeah,” Matt said.
They took a load downstairs, rushing into the garage. Ji-Ho, Angel, and Jamie were putting weapons and ammo into Seth’s 4Runner, Gus’s truck, and Ji-Ho’s large Mercedes SUV.
“Good, you here,” Ji-Ho said. “We ready to get another load. No more bad guy outside?”
“No,” Gus said.
“We got five more AKs and a bunch of ammo,” Matt said. “We left it on the lawn next to the gate.”
“Good,” Ji-Ho said. “I go to roof and get sniper rifle.”
“What about the drone?” Seth asked.
Ji-Ho looked at him, sly smile on his face. “Don’t worry, I use against enemy.”
“How?” Seth asked.
“I monitor security system. Use self-destruct on drone when enemy come. Whole house blow.”
Gus snickered. “Good idea.”
They finished loading up the vehicles in less than five minutes.
“We all set?” Ji-Ho asked.
Kaylee nodded. “I think so, Uncle.”
/> “Yeah, we’re ready,” Gus said.
“Yep, we’re ready,” Seth said.
“Good, let’s go,” Ji-Ho said. “You drive to gate. I follow and activate security system. Who ride with me?”
“Matt and I,” Kaylee said.
“I’ll ride with you if there’s room,” Jamie said.
“Of course,” Ji-Ho said.
“I’ll ride with Gus,” Trevor said.
“Cool,” Gus said. “Lomita is my stomping grounds. I know several ways to get to that RV Storage place.”
“So that leaves Emma and Angel to ride with me, then,” Seth said. “We set?”
“Let’s go, brother,” Trevor said.
“Hey, our phones are off,” Emma said. “How we gonna communicate?”
“I have walkie talkies inside,” Ji-Ho said. “I’ll put batteries and take one. One of you can take other.”
“Should we go with Gus and Trevor or Ji-Ho?” Seth asked.
“Why don’t you guys come to Harbor City with us,” Kaylee said.
“Yeah, go ahead,” Gus said. “Trevor and I can handle the Lomita area. One of my guys has an RV in the same yard, so there will be more of us there anyway.”
“Okay, then Trevor take other walkie-talkie,” Ji-Ho said.
“Sounds like a plan,” Matt said.
Seth backed out of the garage first and drove to the gate. When he stopped at the gate, he and Angel got out and began loading the AKs and ammo into the back of the 4Runner.
“Hey, I want one of those AKs,” Trevor said after Gus stopped behind them.
“Help yourself,” Seth said. They finished loading when Ji-Ho drove up behind. He got out and took the walkie-talkie to Trevor.
“Here it is. Use channel seven. Ready for gate?”
“Ready,” Seth said.
“Us too,” Gus said.
Ji-Ho punched the button on the remote and the gate swung open. They drove out into the dark streets of Palos Verdes, heading Southeast.
***
“Careful, there’s where the road ends,” Connie said.
“See it,” Sam replied. He slowed down. “It’s a lot easier with lights on.”
“That it is,” Clem said. “Sid and Yvonne doing okay?”
“Yeah, no problem,” Sam said. “I can see John’s truck back there too.”
“What’s going to happen to the tribe?” Connie asked. “The enemy is gonna know what they did.”