When they were back on the road, Derrick looked for a good place to pull over. One where they were less likely to be observed. He passed the off-ramp for a casino at Exit 2. Two miles from the California border.
He picked up the walkie. “Pulling over up ahead. Over.”
The others acknowledged him, and when Exit 1 appeared, he pulled off, driving to a parking area near an abandoned building. Once everyone was stopped, he asked Chris to help him clear the building while Matt and Jeff kept watch.
It didn’t take long to verify that no one was around, and once he and Chris had completed that task, they met up with Matt and Jeff. The rest of their group joined them.
“What’s the plan?” Emily asked. “Jeff told me they’re confiscating guns at the border.” Her forehead furrowed. “We’re not going to give up our weapons, are we?” A laugh erupted from her lips as she glanced at Jeff. “Never mind. I know the answer to that.”
Derrick looked at Jeff, who wore a deep scowl.
“Of course not,” Derrick said in reply.
“Then what are we going to do?” Jessica asked.
He looked at all of their faces. They were looking to him to lead them, to get them through this. Just like they’d been looking to him to lead them since they’d left home.
Fine. He would do it.
A grim smile tugged up the corners of his lips. “I have an idea.”
Chapter 30
Derrick
After splitting up the guns between the four vehicles, hiding them as best they could, Derrick got back on the road while the rest of them stayed behind. Fourteen miles after crossing the California border he reached the California Inspection Station. Derrick scowled at the scene in front of him.
Before the crap had hit the fan, this station had been used to keep out invasive species of insects that could wreak havoc on the California agriculture industry. Drivers would be asked if they were bringing in any fruit or other items that could be carrying those species. But now that seemed less important. Even so, the inspections station was up and running.
There were seven lanes, each one leading into a covered checkpoint where inspectors could ask questions and inspect vehicles if they so chose. Derrick had been through here before. Each time at least three lanes had been opened with most of the closed lanes having an orange cone in the middle of the lane, keeping cars from entering. The remaining lanes had been blocked by enormous doors that worked like massive garage doors, making it impossible to pass.
Now though, six of the seven lanes had their doors down, completely barricading those lanes and forcing all vehicles to funnel through the one open lane. There was a lane for semi-trucks off to the right, but that had been blocked by several semis. Clearly, these people were determined to control the flow of traffic into California.
He didn’t bother picking up the walkie. The range wasn’t good enough to travel the miles necessary to reach the rest of his group. Especially with the mountainous terrain.
Instead, he slowly approached the open lane, his gaze skimming the men standing guard. There were three of them, all armed.
He drove forward with the ridiculous hope that they would wave him through like they had when he’d driven this way in the past.
The surly looks on their faces told him that was a distant wish.
One of the men pointed his gun—a semi-automatic rifle—directly at Derrick. Derrick drew to a stop. Forcing his body to relax, he powered down his window and smiled at the man who approached his window, his rifle slung over his shoulder. “Afternoon.”
The man didn’t reply, instead scanning the inside of Derrick’s truck with a sharp-eyed look before resting his gaze on Derrick. “Where are you headed?”
“Sacramento.” That wasn’t precisely true, but what business was it of his?
“Are you transporting any weapons?”
There it was. Confirmation that Everett had been spot-on with his warning.
Derrick widened his eyes in a look of disbelief. “Well, of course. I mean, you gotta nowadays. Am I right?”
The man ignored the question, his eyes never leaving Derrick’s face.
Chin-pointing at the man’s rifle, Derrick smiled. “I see you’re prepared.”
The man gave Derrick a dirty look, like it had been a grave offense to point out that the ones taking the guns had guns of their own. “Hand over your weapon.”
Not wanting to make this too easy, Derrick frowned. “You work for the government?”
The man narrowed his eyes. “Yes.”
Derrick tilted his head. “Could I see some ID?”
Nostrils flaring, the man pulled out a badge and held it where Derrick could see.
Looked legit.
“Thank you.”
The man glared at Derrick and held out his hand. “Your weapon.”
He made a show of digging the gun out of his glove box—not his Glock, which was hidden. Instead, this was one of the guns they’d taken off of Tyson’s men. Derrick handed it over. “You’re giving that back, right?”
Now the man laughed as he shook his head. “No.”
Derrick’s mouth fell open as his head jerked back. “What? Why not?”
The man dropped the magazine, ejected the round in the chamber, then tossed the gun into a black box behind him. “No weapons are allowed to cross the border.”
“Hold on. It’s…it’s all I’ve got. I mean, how am I supposed to protect myself?” He was getting into this role.
The man smirked. “That’s not my problem.”
“I want it back!”
The man’s eyebrows shot up. “Are we going to have an issue?” He glanced at his buddy, the one who held the semi-automatic rifle. That man stepped forward, moving into position so that his rifle was only a few feet from Derrick’s head.
Derrick threw his hands up like he was surrendering. “No no. I’m sorry. I just…I’m sorry.” His voice broadcast fear.
Scowling, the man glanced behind Derrick. Looking in his rearview mirror, Derrick saw Matt approaching the checkpoint. Perfect timing.
The man waved Derrick through.
Acting sufficiently cowed, Derrick pulled through and drove on, not stopping until he’d gone three miles.
He just hoped the man wouldn’t give Matt and his family too hard a time.
Chapter 31
Matt
With no idea what had happened with Derrick except that he had made it through, Matt didn’t know what to expect. Plastering a smile onto his face despite his nervousness, he pulled to a stop right where they told him to. He powered his window down. “Howdy.”
A man approached his open window, his gaze less than friendly. Matt noticed a tattoo of a dragon on his right arm. Two other armed guards loitered nearby.
Dragon-man’s gaze swept over Matt and his family, briefly resting on the girls in the back seat. Knowing he was probably thinking how pretty they both were made Matt’s skin crawl. This was the first time he had truly been on his own—Derrick was miles ahead and Chris and Jeff were miles behind. If these men decided to do something to his family, there wouldn’t be a lot he could do. He would fight to the death for his family, of course, but he desperately hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Dragon-man never cracked a smile. “Got any weapons?”
Nervous about this whole operation, Matt said, “Just two. One for me and one for my boy.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Let me see them.”
“What’s going on, Dad?” Dylan asked, just like he was supposed to.
Matt glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “Don’t know.” He shifted his gaze to Dragon-man. “Why do you want to see my guns?”
Tilting his head, Dragon-man frowned deeply. “I don’t want to see them. I want to have them.”
The memory of the neighborhood cooperative forcing their way into his house and taking his food crashed over Matt. It had infuriated him then and this was beginning to infuriate him now. He felt himself tensing up, felt adr
enaline dumping into his veins. He’d known before arriving at this inspection station that this was what was going to happen, and he’d thought he was prepared. But it turned out that having someone confiscate his guns—even ones that he’d planned on giving up—rubbed him the wrong way. Mightily.
“You can’t have them,” he heard himself say.
Jessica put her hand on his arm. He was supposed to give them up willingly and move along. Not make waves.
Dragon-man’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“Matt,” Jessica murmured.
Ignoring her warning, Matt scowled. “I’m sure you’ve heard of a little thing called the Second Amendment. You know, the one in the Bill of Rights? The one that says the people…” he tapped himself on the chest, “that would be me—have the right to keep and bear arms.”
“Not anymore.”
Had things changed so drastically that all of their rights had been thrown at the window at the whims of some acting governor?
Matt narrowed his eyes. “Since when?”
Dragon-man stared Matt down. “I don’t have to explain anything to you. Now, hand over your weapons.”
The arrogance of the man blazed a trail of indignation right through Matt. With his teeth clenched, Matt muttered, “Go to hell.”
Dragon-man’s eyebrows shot up, then he used his head to motion another guard over. That man pointed his semi-automatic rifle at Matt. Dragon-man narrowed his eyes at Matt. “Get. Out.” He paused half a beat. “Now.”
Oh crap. He should have stayed with the plan. Now he’d screwed everything up.
Still, these guys infuriated him. What if he refused to cooperate? How likely was it that the guard would shoot him in the head?
He exhaled a sigh.
It wasn’t worth it to find out.
He started opening his door.
“Dad?” Kayla whispered, her voice frantic with fear.
He threw her what he hoped was a reassuring smile before stepping out of the truck. He was about the same height as Dragon-man, but not nearly as ripped. Dragon-man looked like he spent every spare moment working out. Not good. Not to mention that he and the other two guards were armed and ready, whereas Matt’s guns were tucked away so as to show that he and his family were just wanting to pass through without causing a problem. Too bad he’d blown it.
Dragon-man clamped the back of Matt’s neck with one hand and wrenched him away from the open door. With the other guard’s rifle trained on him, Matt wasn’t about to resist. The third guard stayed a short distance away, his rifle slung low and ready.
Dragon-man marched Matt around the open door to the hood of the truck, stopping beside it with Matt facing the hood. Dragon-man held Matt there for a full second, his hand still gripping Matt’s neck. Without warning, he slammed Matt face-first into the hood. Matt heard the crunch of his nose breaking at the same time that excruciating pain exploded through his head. He couldn’t stop a cry of pain from climbing his throat, which was quickly clogging with blood. He heard his family screaming. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He pressed his hands against the truck to gain leverage at the same time that Dragon-man yanked him upright. Blood gushed out of his nose and over his lips. He covered his face with his hands. They were immediately awash in his blood.
“Matt!” Jessica cried as she flung her door open and rushed toward him.
“Stop right there,” the closest guard shouted, shifting his aim to her.
She froze, her eyes wide with terror.
Everything had gone sideways at an alarming rate. He had to put a stop to it before it got any worse. “Leave her alone!”
“Shut up,” Dragon-man growled in his ear.
Forcing down his fear, Matt asked, “Do you want my guns or not?”
Dragon-man laughed. “We’re gonna get your guns. And anything else we want.”
Right about then would have been a great time for Jeff and Chris to show up, but the plan was for them to appear at varying intervals—they didn’t want to make it obvious that they were together. So, who knew when they would come?
Matt was on his own. And not doing so well.
“Fine,” he said, as if he had a choice. “Just leave my family alone.”
Dragon-man laughed. He released Matt’s neck, but immediately twisted Matt’s arms behind his back before securing them with a zip tie. Dragon-man shoved Matt toward the guard shack, forcing him to sit on the hard pavement. “You’re gonna sit there while we search your rig.”
The third guard, who’d stayed back, came over to Matt and pointed his rifle at him.
Ignoring the throbbing of his face, Matt tried to calm the fury that was coming to a boil inside him. It didn’t work. Now he had an idea how Derrick had felt when Tyson’s men had tied him up. Then again, they hadn’t broken his nose in the process. And those had been thugs, not the government. This was all kinds of wrong.
Dragon-man walked toward the guard who was aiming his gun at Jessica. He pushed the barrel down so that it pointed at the ground, then he sauntered over to her. “Have your family get out of the truck, then unlock your RV.” His voice was soft, like he was being reasonable, but Matt could see anger flashing in Jessica’s eyes.
When she didn’t move, he clamped a hand on her upper-arm. “Now!”
That jolted her. She looked at Matt. His family was the most important thing. Not their stuff. “Do what he says, Jess.”
Her jaw clenched, but she nodded before going to the truck and having the kids and Cleo get out. Cleo was growling deep in her throat. As much as Matt would have loved to see her rip out Dragon-man’s throat, he knew that scenario wouldn’t end well, so when Brooke kept control of Cleo with the leash, he was glad.
He watched helplessly as Dragon-man searched their truck, coming up with the two guns they’d planned on handing over anyway. No other guns were in the truck—that had been the plan.
Dragon-man handed the guns to the second guard, who dropped the magazines, emptied the chambers, and tossed the guns into a black box not far from where Matt was held captive.
Dragon-man turned to Jessica, his eyebrows raised.
She dug the keys to the RV out of her purse, then went to the RV door and unlocked it.
“All of you,” Dragon-man said, looking at her and the kids, “get back in your truck.”
They did as he asked. Good. Matt wanted them away from these men.
Dragon-man pulled the RV steps down, then opened the door and disappeared inside. A moment later the slide-outs rumbled open.
He was in there for a good ten minutes, and every one of those minutes had Matt’s rage pounding inside his skull. This guy was searching their RV without cause and without permission. A stranger poking through their things, planning to take whatever he wanted. On behalf of the government.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Dragon-man stepped out of the RV carrying two buckets of freeze-dried food while wearing a wide grin.
No guns though. They’d hidden those in places he hadn’t looked. Yet.
That little victory helped to settle Matt.
A horn honked behind the RV.
When Matt saw Jeff getting out of his truck with a confused look, like he was wondering what the hold-up was, relief blasted through him. Not that Jeff could do a whole lot against three men with rifles at the ready, but still, he didn’t feel so alone.
“This gonna take long?” Jeff asked, completely ignoring Matt, which was good. No reason to tip these guys off that they knew each other. “I got a long way to go still.”
Dragon-man set the buckets of food down and walked toward Jeff. “We’ll be done when we’re done. Get back in your truck and wait your turn.”
Jeff’s gaze flicked to Matt, who knew how he must look with the blood all over his face and shirt and his hands bound behind his back. Jeff faced Dragon-man. “There a problem here?”
Dragon-man’s back was to Matt, but Matt saw him tense up. “Nothing you need to worry about. Now, get ba
ck in your truck.”
Matt could see Jeff look at each of the three guards in turn and could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He wanted to tell him to leave it alone, that it wasn’t worth it, but he stayed quiet.
Chapter 32
Matt
Jeff stayed where he was. Dragon-man didn’t move either. He was obviously used to people following his orders the first time he gave them.
“Are you deaf, or just stupid?”
Jeff grinned, his body relaxed. “A little of both, I’m afraid.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” Jeff said, walking closer to Dragon-man, “drives my girlfriend crazy.”
Dragon-man lifted his rifle, but by then Jeff was too close. Jeff knocked the rifle to the side. That must have caught Dragon-man off guard, because his rifle clattered to the ground. In the split-second it took Dragon-man to react, Jeff pulled his handgun out of his holster and shot him dead.
Mentally cheering, Matt looked to his left to see what the other two guards were going to do. They seemed stunned by this sudden turn of events, but it didn’t take them long to recover. They both lifted their rifles and took aim, but Jeff had darted behind the back of the RV, out of their line of fire.
They marched forward in single file. The first one stepped past Matt, but when the second one moved to follow his buddy, Matt’s leg shot out, tripping him. The man face-planted onto the pavement with a grunt.
A gunshot rang out to Matt’s right. His head jerked in that direction. The second guard was down and not moving. Jeff had shot him from underneath the RV. Jeff popped out from under the RV and kicked the guard’s rifle away, all the while pointing his gun at the third guard, who was getting to his feet.
Worried that other guards were going to show up from someplace he hadn’t seen, Matt frantically looked around, but no one else appeared.
“Drop it,” Jeff demanded.
Forced Exodus (Pandemic Book Two) Page 12