Bug Out! Texas Book 7: Flood of Patriots

by Robert Boren

  “Slow internet here. Just about done. I’ll have to reboot the phone.”

  “Anxious to hear about this,” Lita said.

  “Seen anybody in the rear-view mirrors?” Richardson asked.

  “Nope, there’s nobody in sight, and I can see quite a ways back. Maybe we nipped this in the bud.”

  “Doubt it,” Richardson said. “Rebooting now.” He watched his phone silently as it restarted. “There. I’ve got to read the instructions.”

  “Okay.” She glanced at him every few seconds as he read, his eyebrows going up.

  “Holy shit,” Richardson said. “This is insane.”

  “What is it?”

  “Two apps. They read the enemy’s RFID chips. One app is short-range, and works even if we don’t have cell coverage. It’s peer to peer. An alarm goes off if there’s an enemy nearby. It records hits on a log, and then you can click on the event and see where the RFID chip is on a map.”

  “Wow,” Lita said. “What’s the range? Anybody nearby?”

  “Still reading the instructions. Says the range is about half a mile. The second app is long range, and it requires LTE connection. Uses GPS. It’s like the normal map application, but it shows RFID chips. You can zoom in or out, or go by city or state or zip code.”

  “My God,” Lita said. “That’s the whole ballgame. Why haven’t they released this to everybody?”

  “According to the notes General Hogan sent, this isn’t complete. There’s more capability which is almost finished, and it’s crucial that the enemy doesn’t find out about it before they’re ready.”

  “What is it?”

  “Just getting to that part,” he said. He read silently for a moment. “Wow.”

  “What is it?”

  “Name, rank, and country of origin,” Richardson said. “Now I get it. They want to develop that, then take out the enemy leadership first. They think the Federal Government and many of the State Governments are riddled with bad guys. If we’re gonna win the war, we need to clean them out.”

  “Oh,” Lita said. “What genius came up with this?”

  “They aren’t saying, and I’m glad. We’ve got some strict rules, and they’ll block us if we don’t follow them.”

  “What are they?”

  “We’re to use this only to get ourselves safely to Brownsville,” he said. “Even if we see gobs of bad guys converging on a city or something like that, we can’t use the information, because it might tip off the enemy that we’ve hacked their system.”

  “Oh,” Lita said. “You’re going to follow that to the letter, aren’t you?”

  “Damn straight,” Richardson said. “I was beginning to think this war might go on for years. This will end it if we’re smart, and I want that more than anything, so you bet I’ll follow their instructions to the letter.”

  “Always towing the line,” she said. “I almost lost interest in you because of that at first. Now I kinda like it.”

  “Why?”

  “It shows strength,” she said. “We’re just getting into Geronimo. Seguin isn’t far beyond that.”

  They rode along for a moment, Lita watching the streets as they entered the small town, Richardson looking at his phone, and then jerking as if startled.

  “Shit,” he said. “Just got buzzed. Bad guys within half a mile.”

  “Where?” Lita asked, on the verge of panic.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “They’re just barely in range. They’re to the east. Hey, this has satellite image capability. I can see where they are. They’ve taken over a farm or something. It’s ringed with trees. Off State Road 2623.”

  “Shoot, what if they have somebody watching the road?”

  Richardson laughed. “Then we’d see them. That’s the beauty of this technology. They can’t hide.”

  “Unless they take the chips out.”

  “They probably won’t do that,” Richardson said. “It was in the notes they sent me. The enemy is using this for command and control. That’s why they’ve left our cell towers alone. They need the LTE. They buried the chips deep, too. Not a safe way to take them out, unless you’re in a hospital.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I’ve wondered why we always seem to have cell coverage. This is probably why.”

  “Looks like that was it for the town,” Richardson said. “Not much there. Good place for those cretins to hide. Wonder if the folks who attacked us came from there?”

  “We’ll probably never know. They might be scattered all over the damn place. Can you check Roberto’s house?”

  “Yeah, in a minute. Need a better connection. All we got is 3G here.”

  “We’ll be in Seguin in about five minutes,” Lita said. “I’m sure they’ll have decent LTE.”

  “Why?”

  “Texas Lutheran University is in that town,” she said. “You know college students. They must have their LTE. Hookups depend on it now.”

  Richardson snickered. “Be nice. That’s a conservative institution.”

  Lita looked over at him and laughed. “Those are usually where most of the naughty stuff goes on.”

  Richardson shook his head. “Good, we got LTE. I’ll zoom in on Roberto’s place.” He looked at his phone, moving his fingers around, grim look washing over his face.

  “What?”

  “There’s about ten bad guys there,” he said. “Might not be bad guys, though. We left bodies there, remember? The chips still work, even if the person is dead.”

  “That means they’ve been able to find the bodies of all of our victims,” Lita said. “They’ve probably been using that to track us.”

  “I don’t know, that’d be pretty difficult. Remember San Antonio. I think we’ve just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Check Seguin. We’re entering the city now.”

  “Okay,” he said, moving his fingers on the screen. “Son of a bitch. They’re all over the place.”

  “How close are they to the gas station?” Lita asked.

  “Which one?” Richardson asked.

  “The one just past I-10. Phillips 66 station.”

  “Crap, don’t stop at that station. There’s a whole nest of them right there.” His phone buzzed. “Yep, just got buzzed. Hope they don’t follow us.”

  “If they do, they’ll have a surprise coming.”

  “I’m texting the others,” Richardson said. “Then I’ll look for a gas station a little further away from them.”

  They rode silently for a moment as Richardson studied his phone.

  “Quick Pick Food Mart has four pumps,” he said. “Past East Baxter street. Nobody showing up around there.”

  “Text it,” she said.

  “Just did,” Richardson said.

  “You gonna text them how you’re seeing this?”

  “Nope, I’m gonna tell them in person while we’re pumping gas,” Richardson said. “Just in case somebody can see my texts.”

  “You’re probably safe, since they sent you the instructions in text.”

  “The instructions are encrypted. The app reads them and presents me with the text.”

  “Oh,” Lita said. “This guy of Hogan’s is wicked smart.”

  “Yep,” he said.

  “The bad guys following us?”

  “Nope, not yet,” Richardson said. “All of us are several blocks past where they were.”

  “Good. This looks like Tobacco Road.”

  “And you’re telling me to be nice?” Richardson asked. Lita snickered.

  “Should be coming up,” Lita said.

  “There it is.”

  “I thought you said it had four pumps,” Lita said. “I only see two.”

  “Two sides on each pump. Four of us can fuel up, if we can fit. Might be a little tight.”

  “We should pick up snacks in the store,” Lita said as she drove to the pumps, pulling as far forward as she could. “Wish the fill was in the back. It’s towards the front.”

  “We only hav
e to top off,” Richardson said.

  “No problem, the kids are backing up in that dually,” Lita said. “Gerald and Hector got in behind them.”

  “I’m gonna get this done so Roberto can take this side,” he said. “Go to the store if you want to. I’ll sound the alarm if we have company.”

  “Alright, honey,” Lita said, leaving the cab. She met with the other women, and rushed into the store.

  Richardson finished topping up in a few minutes, and pulled forward enough for Roberto to drive up.

  “What’d you see at that first gas station?” Roberto asked as he got out of the camper and started pumping gas.

  “Yeah, I didn’t see anybody either,” Gerald said.

  “Me neither, boss,” Juan Carlos said, Brendan standing next to him.

  “We’ve got a new capability,” Richardson said. “Gather around. This is top secret, and we can’t share it around. Get it?”

  He showed them the apps on his phone, and explained the parameters set out by General Hogan.

  “Son of a bitch,” Roberto said. “This is gonna end the war when they finish it.”

  “Damn straight,” Brendan said. “I’d like to shake the hands of the guy who came up with this.”

  “Me too,” Hector said.

  “Hey, what about my place?” Roberto asked. “They ever show up?”

  “I checked with the long-range app. There were ten hits. I’m pretty sure those were the guys we killed.”

  “Check again,” Juan Carlos said.

  Richardson nodded and looked, his jaw dropping open.

  “Knew it,” Juan Carlos said. “How many hits?”

  “More than thirty,” Richardson said. “Look.” He showed the phone to them.

  “Good Lord,” Roberto said.

  Richardson got buzzed. “Crap. Somebody just got within a half mile of us.”

  “I’ll go get the girls,” Brendan said, taking off in a run towards the store.

  “How close are you to being full?” Richardson asked Roberto.

  “Real close,” he said. “Hell, close enough.” He pulled the gas nozzle out and put it back on the pump. “Where are they coming from?”

  “South,” Richardson said as he refreshed the view. They’re going to go by in about two minutes. Don’t stare at them. They might not know about us.”

  “Hope they don’t,” Gerald said.

  The women rushed over with Brendan.

  “Stay out of sight of the road for a couple minutes,” Richardson said. “They might just drive by. We don’t need them seeing you.”

  “Okay,” Lita said.

  “There they are,” Richardson said under his breath, looking out of the corner of his eye, trying to act casual. His heart was hammering in his chest.

  “They went by, dude,” Juan Carlos said, “They’re probably going to that base by the first gas station.”

  “That was a truck-stop,” Roberto said. “They probably use that spot to monitor big movements of folks.”

  “Probably,” Brendan said. “Can we get the hell out of here?”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Richardson said.

  They got back in their vehicles and took off.

  Chapter 27 – Texico, New Mexico

  The Fort Stockton convoy was sitting on a huge open piece of land, just southwest of Bovina. Curt, Jason, Kyle, and Eric watched as the fuel trucks finished filling the tanks and the flatbed trucks.

  Kelly and Junior walked over with Rachel and Brenda.

  “Hey, guys,” Junior said. “Looks like they brought more fuel tankers than we needed.”

  “We’re taking two of them with us,” Curt said.

  “Excellent,” Kelly said. “We’re really close to the New Mexico border. We got the meeting set up yet?”

  “Yep,” Jason said. “Hogan’s got somebody waiting for us already.”

  “Where?” Brenda asked.

  “Little burg called Texico,” Kyle said. “Just over the New Mexico border.”

  “Why are we stopping there again?”

  “We’ll receive some intelligence, and some new tool that they won’t talk about on the phone,” Eric said. “Probably has to do with the RFID chips.”

  “You and those RFID chips,” Kyle said, shaking his head.

  “Look, they must be done,” Junior said. “The empty tankers are getting back on Route 60, heading east.”

  “That’s our queue,” Jason said. “Everybody saddle up.”

  The people got back into their vehicles, the sound of starting engines floating over the big flat piece of ground. They drove onto westbound Highway 60.

  Jason looked over at Carrie. “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “It was good to be with the girls while we were stopped.”

  “I’m glad,” he said. “How far to Texico?”

  “Thirteen minutes, according to the map application. Why didn’t they just fuel and re-arm the tanks there?”

  “Ramsey said we couldn’t take official Texas vehicles into New Mexico,” Jason said. “Seems kinda dumb to me, but there’s a lot going on that we aren’t privy to.”

  “You hear about Don and Sydney?”

  “What about them?” Jason asked.

  “They eloped before we left Amarillo,” she said.

  “Really?” Jason asked. “Good for them. I’ll bet Curt is fit to be tied.”

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean, why? Don’t you think Sydney’s sister will be applying pressure now?”

  Carrie giggled. “Oh, that’s already starting. He’ll go for it, though.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  Carrie shot him a glance. “Oh, please. Amanda’s already landed him. She’s just got to take the hook out and throw him in the cooler.”

  “Is that how you women think?” Jason asked. “Really?”

  “Worked with you,” she said. “Worked with Eric and Kyle too, from what I’m seeing.”

  “Oh, so all of us were tricked into being with you girls, huh?” Jason said. “Remember that neither Eric nor Kyle are married yet.”

  “Only due to circumstances,” she said.

  “What do you mean? If Sydney and Don could do it, so could they.”

  “They’re all as good as married,” she said. “I’ve heard that Sydney and Don had a special reason to make it official.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The girls,” Carrie said.

  Jason looked blankly at her for a moment, then smiled. “Oh, you mean Alyssa and Chloe.”

  “Word has it they wanted to make sure they gave a good example to them.”

  “Okay,” Jason said. “Still seems a little thin.”

  She looked at him again, sly grin on her face. “Rumor has it that Sydney gets pregnant at the drop of a hat. They wanted it to happen after they’re married instead of before. They were probably having a tough time keeping their hands off each other.”

  “Geez, what is this, a rolling Peyton Place? There’s more gossip here than there was in Dripping Springs.”

  Carrie laughed, Jason joining her, shaking his head.

  “You’re better when you can talk to your friends,” Jason said. “We’ll have to make sure you use that, to keep your stress level down.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “It does help.”

  “So what about the bet?”

  “I was just kidding,” Carrie said. “I don’t want to take your money.”

  “Chicken. Curt’s no pushover. He’ll keep her at bay until he’s good and ready.”

  “Oh, brother,” she said. “Curt worships the ground Amanda walks on and you know it.”

  “Twenty bucks says they don’t get married until the war’s over,” Jason said. “After that, all bets are off. I do agree with you that he wants her.”

  “Deal,” Carrie said.

  They drove along silently for a little while, the deserted road visible far ahead of them.

  “There’s the border,” Jason said. “See it?”
<
br />   “Surprised there’s no roadblock.”

  “We’re in the middle of nowhere,” Jason said. His phone dinged. He pulled it out. “Text message. We drive past the town and pull into the New Mexico Port of Entry. It’s where they have truck scales and stuff.”

  Carrie looked at it with her phone. “Yeah, that’s huge. We’ll all fit.”

  “Good,” Jason said. “Hope we don’t run into any trouble…shoot.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve got to quit wearing my heart on my sleeve around you,” Jason said. “You’ve got to cope with enough stress without that.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I’m okay with that, but don’t withhold things from me.”

  “I know.”

  “Promise me,” Carrie said. “I mean it.”

  “Okay, I promise,” Jason said. “This town isn’t much bigger than Bovina.”

  “Looks deserted,” Carrie said. “I’ve only seen a couple people since we got across the border.”

  “I expected this after talking to Ramsey earlier. How much further to this place?”

  Carrie looked back down at her phone. “Hang a right on Wheeler. It’s coming right up.”

  “Yeah, there it is,” Jason said, making the turn.

  “Okay, it’s right after the third large street. It’s called Curry Road C. It’s on our side of the highway.”

  “Perfect,” Jason said.

  “Who are we meeting?”

  “Private Ken Brown and Private Jose Sanchez,” Jason said. “They’re direct reports to General Hogan.”

  “Surprised their rank isn’t a little higher for that,” Carrie said.

  “Me too,” Jason said. “We just crossed over Garwood street.”

  “That’s the first of the three. The next is Curry Road B.”

  “Geez, this place is deader than a doornail,” Jason said. “There’s Curry B.”

  “One more street,” Carrie said.

  “Nervous?”

  “We’re out of Texas, so yeah, I’m a little nervous,” she said.

  “Try not to get worked up.”

  “Don’t you think I know that, Jason?”

  “I know, but still,” he said. “There’s Curry C.”

  “I see the area. There’s a couple of semi-trucks sitting there, see? By the scales.”

  “Yeah, I see,” Jason said. He drove past Curry C and got off the road, onto a wide driveway, rutted from too many semi-trucks.