by Robert Boren
“I thought it was the girls,” Amanda said.
“He’s got to be a father first, to both of those girls. We don’t want them to take relationships lightly, or jump in fast when the times are so crazy. Lots of WW II weddings didn’t last, you know.”
Amanda snickered. “Yeah, I could only imagine how those teenage hormones are raging right now. They’re probably already active. Both have boyfriends, you know.”
“I know,” Sydney said. “We hope they’re not active.”
“They probably think you two are doing the deed already,” Amanda said, “so all of this might not matter as much as you think it does.”
“You think so?”
“Tell me you haven’t thought about that,” Amanda said. “There’s something else you aren’t telling me.”
“No there’s not.”
“Okay, have it your own way,” Amanda said. “You’re using we when you’re talking about taking care of those girls. You know what that means, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re thinking of those girls as a parent,” Amanda said. “With Don. You two might as well be married if you’re going there. You’re already acting out on a commitment. Why not just go with it? Be happy. Enjoy each other.”
Sydney was silent for a moment.
“Struck a nerve, did I?”
“I gotta go,” she said. “We about done here?”
“Yeah, we’re done,” Amanda said.
Sydney left the toy hauler, and broke into a run back to their trailer. Don wasn’t there. She looked around the area frantically.
“What’s the matter, Sydney?” Chloe asked when she saw her. “You look pretty worked up.”
“Do you know where Don is, sweetie?”
“Yeah, he’s helping Brushy with Pat’s motor home, behind the Clubhouse. Alyssa and I were just back there.”
“Thanks,” Sydney said. She ran to the back, catching Don as he was walking away from the big coach with Brushy.
“Hi, Sydney,” Brushy said.
“Hi,” she said, barely looking at him. “Don, can we talk?”
“Sure,” Don said, looking concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I hope,” she said. “Let’s go back to the trailer.”
“Okay, honey,” Don said. “See you later, Brushy.”
“Thanks for the help,” Brushy said. “I’m gonna go help Curt and Pat with the propane stuff.”
Don nodded. Sydney took his hand and dragged him to the trailer.
“Wow, you’re really riled up,” Don said as she pulled him inside. She turned towards him, hugging him, kissing him passionately.
“I don’t know what’s up with you, but I like it,” Don said.
“Were you serious the other day?” she asked.
“About what?”
“You know,” she said. “When we were talking in the morning before the big meeting.”
He smiled at her. “You’re talking about marriage.”
She shook her head yes, fear creeping into her eyes. He came in for another kiss, and found her trembling. He pulled back.
“You want to go get married right now, don’t you?” he asked.
She shook her head yes.
“I didn’t hear you.”
“Yes,” she said, tears forming around her eyes. “Yes, I want to marry you. Right now.”
“Then let’s go,” he said. “Get on your phone and look for a justice of the peace. Every town has one.”
“Oh, God, we’re really doing this,” she said.
“Yes we are,” Don said. “I need to clean up a little. I’ve been crawling around under Pat’s motor home.”
“Okay, honey,” she said, looking at her phone. He watched her for a moment, becoming overcome with emotion, and grabbed her again, kissing her hard and deep.
“I love you so much,” he said.
“I love you too,” she said. “More than anything. Now let me find somewhere. We don’t have much time.”
He nodded and left for the bathroom.
Chapter 23 – Rental Truck
Roberto walked out into the yard, where Juan Carlos and Brendan were working on the last of the guns, lifting it over the side. They set it down on the grassy area next to the front porch, alongside the other two guns.
“We could mount these side guns up on just about anything with a good sturdy hole, you know,” Juan Carlos said.
“Still can’t raise Gerald, Hector, or Jay, dammit,” Roberto said.
Juan Carlos and Brendan shot each other a nervous glance.
“Shit, dude, you don’t think they got hit, do you?” Juan Carlos asked.
“Probably not,” Roberto said, “but I’d feel better if I could raise them. Heard from Richardson and Lita?”
“No, but they ought to be back with that rental truck any second,” Brendan said.
“You guys are making me nervous,” Juan Carlos said. “Wish we’d left these guns on the boat longer.”
“Listen,” Brendan whispered. “Hear that? Vehicle coming down the road.”
“Hope it’s Richardson,” Juan Carlos said. “Let’s grab the SMAW and the M60s and get outta sight, just in case.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Roberto said.
“What’s going on out here?” Kris called out the front door.
“Stay in the house with Madison and Hannah,” Roberto said in a loud whisper. “Have the guns nearby. Somebody’s coming, and we can’t see them yet.”
“Dammit,” she said, rushing back inside.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be scaring them,” Brendan said. “It’s probably just Richardson.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Roberto said, picking up the Mini-14. “Get your guns.”
Brendan nodded and picked up the SMAW, checking to make sure there was a round in it. He took several grenades out of the crate in the back of the boat and stuffed them into his pockets. Juan Carlos picked up one of the M60s, and they got into the bushes. They could hear tires on gravel, and then a rental truck pulled into view.
“Hold your fire, that’s the boss,” Juan Carlos shouted.
Richardson did a sweeping turn and backed the truck up towards the veranda. Brendan and Juan Carlos came out of the bushes. Richardson grinned at them as he got out, then noticed their worried expressions. Lita got out, eyes darting around when she saw the weapons.
“Uh oh, something happen?” Richardson asked.
“We got a little spooked,” Juan Carlos said.
“Roberto can’t raise Gerald, Hector, or Jay,” Brendan said.
“Crap, really?” Richardson asked.
Roberto nodded yes. “Probably nothing. Sorry.”
“I’m nervous as hell now,” Brendan said. “Almost sorry we took the guns off.”
Roberto’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and took a look. “Good, it’s Gerald,” he said. His brow furrowed as he read the text message.
Kris came out on the veranda. “Good, false alarm.” She froze when she saw the look on Roberto’s face. “Oh, crap, what happened?”
“What’s going on?” Madison asked, rushing out beside her, Hannah on her heels.
“Jay,” Roberto said, tears welling in his eyes. “He just got ambushed. Hector and Gerald saw who did it. They’re following them right now.”
“Where are they going?” Richardson asked.
“Here,” Roberto said.
“Shit,” he replied. “How many?”
“Six guys in a pickup truck – two in the cab, four in the back.”
Richardson looked at Brendan and Juan Carlos. “Set up with the SMAW and the M60s.”
Madison and Hannah rushed down, Madison grabbing her M-16.
“Don’t hurt your foot out here,” Juan Carlos said.
“It’s fine,” Madison said. “C’mon, let’s set up in the bushes by the driveway.”
“Give me the SMAW,” Hannah said. “You take an M60,”
�
��I’ll get the dogs ready,” Roberto said, handing the Mini-14 to Kris. “Don’t get shot.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, checking the magazine as Roberto rushed behind the house to bring the dogs up.
“C’mon, honey,” Richardson said, picking up an M60. “Grab that other M-16.”
“Got it,” Lita said. They hid in the bushes across from where Madison and Juan Carlos were.
Roberto rushed back into the yard with his dogs, tying them up to the veranda. “Kris, stay on the porch, and unleash the dogs when the shooting slows down.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Get ready,” Roberto cried out. “Gerald just said they’re right down the street. They’ll hit them from the back.”
Richardson and the others nodded, tensing up for battle. They could hear the truck approaching, slowing down before it got to the dirt road. Then they heard footsteps in the gravel, and whispers. One of the dogs let out a low growl.
“Here they come,” Juan Carlos whispered. “Now!” He aimed the M60 and fired, hitting three of the bad guys before they realized what happened. The other three screamed in Arabic, firing wildly while trying to get back to their truck. They were met with fire from Gerald and Hector, killing all three of them. Then there was silence.
“Hold your fire,” shouted Gerald. “We got them all.”
“Sure nobody followed you?” Richardson asked.
“Pretty sure,” Gerald said.
“Nobody followed us,” Hector said.
“Let’s get out of here,” Lita said. “Cover the boats, throw those guns in the truck, and split.”
“We can’t leave the boat in Roberto’s front yard,” Richardson said.
“Yes you can,” Kris said. “Cover it up and leave it. We’re going with you guys.”
“Kris, you sure?” Roberto asked.
“Bring the camper around and get the dogs loaded up. I’ll throw a few things in a bag. I’m not staying here, and neither are you.”
“Okay, okay,” Roberto said. He took off towards the back of the house again.
“Smart move,” Gerald said. “Where you guys going?”
“Southwest,” Richardson said. “Come with us.”
“Yeah, I could use a vacation,” Hector said. “I think we’d better haul ass. There’s more around. Probably teams at my place and Gerald’s already.”
Kris ran out of the house with a laundry basket full of clothes. Madison, Lita, and Hannah ran to the veranda, Madison turning back to the others. “We’ll get the clothes and other stuff. Get that truck loaded.”
“Yes sir,” Juan Carlos said, laughing. He and Brendan lifted the first of the boat guns as Richardson rolled open the back door of the truck. They got all three guns stashed in minutes, then worked together to put the tarp on the patrol boat. They were finishing as Roberto drove a cab-over camper around front.
“Didn’t know you had that,” Richardson said.
“It was parked behind the side of the house,” Roberto said. He helped Kris throw the clothes inside.
“I’ll go back and get some food,” she said. “That thing got gas in it?”
“Not enough,” Roberto said. “We’ll have to stop on the way.”
“Okay,” she said. “Stash the guns in the cab and get the dogs inside. I want out of here in about two minutes. I’ll lock the house doors and windows.”
Roberto nodded and got to work.
The group was ready to pull away in a few minutes.
“Let’s go,” Lita said, rushing to the passenger door of the rental truck, M-16 in hand.
Richardson nodded, then shouted to the others. “Know where we’re going, right?”
“Yeah, boss,” Juan Carlos said, getting behind the wheel of the crew-cab dually. The others got in with their weapons. They followed Richardson down the dirt road, hitting the highway. Roberto and Kris followed in their camper, Gerald and Hector falling in behind them in their pickup truck.
“Hope they don’t have a good bead on our dually,” Richardson said as he drove out onto the main highway.
“There’s a lot of those around here,” Lita said. “Guess the enemy made us a priority after what we did to their depot.”
“So it would appear,” Richardson said. “We’re lucky that Gerald and Hector figured out what was going on.”
“You think Jay lived?”
“No,” Richardson said.
“Dammit,” Lita said. “Get ready. Highway 123 is right up ahead.”
Lita’s phone dinged. She looked at it. “Text message from Kris.”
“Uh oh,” Richardson said.
“No problem. They need to gas up. Roberto thinks he can make it to Seguin, though, at least.”
“Good, we’ll need to gas up the dually by that time too,” he said. “Send a text to one of the kids about that, okay?”
“Just as soon as I reply to Kris,” Lita said, tapping on her phone. “This isn’t over yet, is it?”
“No,” Richardson said. “We’ll be lucky if we don’t get hit on the road. Hope Brendan is keeping his eyes open with that SMAW.”
“Yeah,” Lita said as she finished the text message to Kris. She sent a quick text to Hannah. “I told them about the gas stop, and I told them to keep their eyes open for attackers on the road.”
“We should set up a place to meet if we get separated.”
Lita looked at her map app for a moment. “Kenedy. We’ll have a choice to make there – keep on Highway 181 or head over to I-37 instead.”
“That close enough to half-way that we could overnight there?” Richardson asked.
“We should try to get closer to Corpus Christi,” Lita said. “But lets play it by ear. Kenedy is only an hour and a half away, give or take.”
“We can chat when we stop for gas,” Richardson said, eyes glancing to the rear-view mirrors at an increasing rate.
“Son of a bitch, you see something,” Lita said.
“Probably nothing,” Richardson said. “Thought I saw a pickup with people in the bed. Now I can’t see them. My eyes might be playing tricks on me.”
“I doubt it,” Lita said, pulling the M-16 off the floor. She placed it across her lap and sent a text to Hannah. “They already see them, and they’re getting closer to Hector and Gerald’s truck.”
Two shotgun blasts went off, hitting the enemy truck in the windshield. The truck careened off the road and rolled several times, some of the Islamists flying out of the truck bed. Richardson slammed on the brakes and pulled over.
“Why are you stopping?” Lita asked.
“We need to make sure the survivors don’t live to tell anybody who to look for,” Richardson said, grabbing an M60 and bounding out the door. Brendan and Juan Carlos were already out of their truck, in a flat-out run towards the spot where the truck went off the road.
“Hold it,” Roberto shouted, rushing to the back of the camper. He opened the doors, and the two big dogs bounded out. “Kill ‘em, dogs!” The huge black and brown dogs rushed down the road, leaping off. Then there were screams in Arabic and snarling of the dogs. Gerald and Hector trotted over and looked down, then looked away.
“Let’s get their guns,” Brendan shouted, rushing towards the spot.
“No, leave them,” Richardson shouted. “We’ve got plenty. Make sure all of them are dead.”
“Glad you got that rear opening window in the pickup,” Hector said as they walked over to Richardson and Roberto.
“Seriously,” Gerald said. “Maybe we ought to get a little distance between ourselves and this place.”
“Hope they didn’t call us in,” Juan Carlos said.
“Should we split up?” Roberto asked.
“No!” Kris said, walking over. “No way. Let’s stick together.”
“Yeah, she’s right,” Richardson said.
“Dogs!” Roberto yelled. They rushed over to him, and he opened the camper door, following them inside. “I’m gonna give them some water and a treat.”
&nb
sp; Kris nodded. “I’m getting back in the cab. We need to be gone, so don’t take much time back there.”
“Yep,” Juan Carlos said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Richardson nodded and went back to the rental truck.
“They know which way we’re going,” Lita said softly. “We might want to change direction now.”
“I know,” Richardson said. “Thinking the same thing. Start looking on your phone. We’ll decide what to do in Seguin.”
She nodded as they got back into the cab. The caravan took off again.
Chapter 24 – Self-Destruct
Commissioner Wallis walked into Governor Nelson’s office.
“Hey, Wallis, weren’t expecting you for a while.”
“My team just got forced out of San Marcos,” he said, flopping down on a chair in front of the desk.
“They were leaving anyway, weren’t they?”
“I’m not just talking about the boat crew and their women,” Wallis said. “The locals took off with them, after one of their own was ambushed. They had to shoot their way out, too, and then they got attacked on the road.”
“We lose any of them?” Nelson asked.
“No, thank God,” Wallis said. “We’re so riddled with moles, though, that I’m surprised we’re still alive.”
“We as in the leadership team?”
“Yeah,” Wallis said. “We need to talk to General Hogan.”
“He won’t give us the capability early,” Nelson said.
“Tell him what just happened. We need to find the major pockets. Tell him we won’t take full advantage, but I want to protect the DPS guys and the Fort Stockton group.”
“The Fort Stockton Group will have the capability as soon as they cross the border.”
“If they survive that long,” Wallis said. “What if they’re being tracked as we speak?”
“They’ll have a high profile,” Nelson said. “It’s likely that they’ll attract attention.”
“You expect them to be followed and attacked?”
“Yes, but their numbers are large enough, and we’ll see any attack coming,” Nelson said. “The drones, remember?”
“So how about this. We use a drone to follow the DPS guys. You do that, and I’ll back off.”
Nelson thought about it for a moment. “Where should we pull one from? We’ve got those drones spread thin as it is. This is a big state.”