The guard dropped his rifle without hesitation.
“Hands in the air,” Jeff said.
The man’s hands shot up.
Jeff patted him down, taking a handgun from his holster. “Sit over there.”
The guard complied.
Jeff checked the other guard for a pulse. He looked at Matt, shook his head, then searched him, taking his handgun. Next, he cut the zip tie from Matt’s wrists. “You okay?”
Now that he was free and the guards were neutralized, he was great. Matt jumped to his feet with a grin. “Happy to see you.”
Jeff chuckled. “I’ll bet.” He used zip ties he found in the guard shack to bind the remaining guard’s hands and feet. “I have a few questions for you,” Jeff said to the guard as he squatted in front him.
Matt stood over the guard, curious to hear what Jeff was going to ask him and what the guard would say.
“Who are you working for?”
The guard leaned to the side, away from Jeff. “The state government.”
“Are you saying the government is up and running in California?”
“More or less.”
His vague answer rubbed Matt the wrong way. Especially after these guys had broken his nose. Matt knelt on the ground and grabbed the guard by the shirt. “What is it? More. Or less?”
The guard shrank back. “I don’t know. Some of it, I guess. I mean, the government was pretty decimated by the flu, but there are enough people to keep it going. At least on a state level.”
If the acting governor was taking away the rights of the people with no regard for the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, they had a real problem on their hands. Matt shook his head, then stood. “Let’s go.”
Jeff stood as well.
Jessica jumped out of the truck and rushed to Matt. “Are you okay?” She gently touched his face, avoiding his nose.
“I’ll live.” Which was the most important thing.
The kids, Cleo, and Emily joined them.
A few minutes later Chris and his family pulled up. Chris leapt from his SUV. “Looks like I missed all the fun.”
“That you did,” Jeff said, patting him on the shoulder.
Matt collected his two buckets of freeze-dried food, placing them inside the RV before pulling in the slide-outs and locking the door. He came back out in time to see Chris lifting the black box partially filled with confiscated guns.
“Look what I found,” Chris said with a grin.
Jeff’s eyebrows shot up. “Nice haul.”
Chris crammed it into the back of his SUV. “Derrick will be pleased.”
“Don’t forget these,” Matt said, gathering up the semi-automatic rifles and putting them in the back seat of Jeff’s truck.
Jeff chuckled. “Very nice.”
They made a last sweep of the area to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. Matt used some bottles of water from the guard shack to clean the blood from his face and hands, then he went back inside the RV to change into a clean shirt, tossing the bloodied one in the trash.
Soon, they were off with Matt in the lead.
A few miles further on, they found Derrick parked on the shoulder. He was sitting on the open gate of his truck drinking a bottle of water.
Matt parked behind him and got out.
Derrick hopped to the ground, his gaze sweeping over Matt, stopping on his swollen nose. “Oh crap.” Then he noticed that Jeff and Chris were right behind Matt. “Wait. That wasn’t the plan. You were all supposed to come separately.” Jeff and Chris bounded up with wide smiles.
Derrick tilted his head. “What happened?”
Everyone had joined them by then. They replayed the events that Derrick had missed.
Derrick chuckled and looked at Jeff. “And… he’s back.”
Which Matt was more than grateful for. He didn’t want to think about what might have happened if Jeff hadn’t shown up and taken out Dragon-man when he had.
Now that it was all over, he took a moment to savor the camaraderie of his friends—family, really.
Derrick stared at Matt a moment. “Not sure what we’re going to do about that nose.”
He wasn’t either, but he didn’t want to have a permanently crooked nose if he could help it.
“My aunt might be able to fix it,” Emily said. “She’s a nurse.”
Derrick smiled. “Nice.”
Matt was glad too. Otherwise he could picture Derrick or Jeff trying to straighten his nose. Not something he wanted to experience.
“By the way,” Derrick said with a laugh, “you guys didn’t follow my plan very well.”
Matt raised his hand. “My fault.” He dropped his hand to his side. “When that jerk demanded I hand over my gun, it was…” He shook his head as the memory washed over him. “It was too much.”
Derrick’s eyebrows rose. “Believe me. I know. I barely managed to hold myself together when he took my gun.” He laughed. “It wasn’t even a gun I wanted.”
“That reminds me,” Chris said with a twinkle in his eye. “I have a little present for you.” He trotted off, coming back a few moments later carrying the black box with the confiscated guns and setting it on the ground for Derrick to see.
Derrick laughed, long and hard. “That’s awesome. With all the guns we’ve gathered, we have enough for a small army.” Then he sobered. “With the way things are going, we may actually need them.”
That was Matt’s fear. There were too many desperate people willing to do terrible things just to survive. Not to mention a rogue government changing all the rules.
“We have less than two hundred miles to go,” Derrick added. “Let’s focus on getting there in one piece.”
“Amen to that,” Jeff said.
They loaded into their vehicles and pulled back onto the road.
Chapter 33
Derrick
Thickly wooded forests filled Derrick’s view on both sides of the Interstate. Despite the beauty of the area, he was eager to get past it and on to the farm.
They’d already passed through Truckee where not a soul had been seen, and with each mile they chewed up, he could feel their destination within reach. They’d travelled so far, surely these last miles—less than a hundred and fifty—wouldn’t stop them.
They passed Donner Summit where there was still plenty of snow. Glad they would soon be in a lower elevation where it wasn’t so cold, Derrick pressed on, eventually passing through Auburn.
He picked up the walkie. “Everyone doing okay? Over.” He didn’t want to stop until they’d arrived at the farm, but he also recognized that they had small children in their group.
“We’re fine. Over.” That was Matt.
“We’re good. Over.” Jeff.
“So far so good. Over.” And Chris.
Nodding in satisfaction, Derrick scanned the road ahead. A car going their direction up ahead, but it was alone. Didn’t appear to be a threat.
Before long they reached Sacramento, and when the time came, they took the Capital City Freeway, which would lead them to Highway 99 and their final destination.
As they drove south on Highway 99, drawing ever closer to the farm, Derrick felt himself relax, just a little. They had less than twenty miles to go. They were going to make it!
They passed an off-ramp. Derrick noticed two vehicles parked on the right shoulder—a beat-up blue truck and a newer Honda. He thought he saw someone in the truck, but as he passed the vehicles, it didn’t look like anyone was inside after all. Still, he had an uneasy feeling.
He approached the on-ramp, but before he passed it, two police cars with lights flashing and sirens screaming came barreling down it and pulled in front of him. One of them crisscrossed the lanes in front of him, which had always meant that there was danger ahead and to slow down. But now? Now, he wasn’t sure. The other police car was right in front of Derrick, moving slowly, which forced Derrick to slow.
Were the police up and running here? Had word somehow gotten to them t
hat Derrick and his group had killed those men at the inspection station? If so, this was very, very bad. On the other hand, if these were not the actual police, that was probably worse.
The walkie squawked and Chris’s voice came over the line. “We have a problem. That truck that was on the shoulder is right on my tail. And the car is on my left. Like, right next to me.” A brief pause. “The guy does not look friendly. Over.”
Derrick went from concerned to alarmed in zero seconds. If those other cars were joining in, it seemed much less likely that these police cars held actual police officers. He picked up the walkie. “There are two police cars in front of me that won’t let me pass, but I don’t think it’s the legit police.” He released the talk button as a million scenarios flashed through his mind, none of them good. He pressed Talk again. “The next exit is ours. We’ll take it and see what happens. Over.”
As they approached their exit, a third police car, which had been parked on the left shoulder, joined the other two, coming up close to Derrick’s left side.
A car to his left, two cars in front, and two in the back.
They were being herded.
That’s when he saw a blockade of cars and trucks stretched out across the highway up ahead. They had no choice but to take the off-ramp they’d planned on taking anyway.
Frantically trying to figure out how to get away, he briefly considered opening fire. But a firefight would end with casualties, including many from their group. If he’d been on his own it would have been a different story, but he cared about his people. More deeply than he ever thought he would. Plus, they had women and children with them. No. He couldn’t risk a gunfight. Not when they were surrounded by five cars full of bad guys.
With nowhere to go but where the police cars were leading them, Derrick felt a sense of helplessness that he hadn’t experienced since leaving home.
Another car joined the parade, coming up on Derrick’s right. Then another. They were boxed in.
He took the exit. The rest of their group followed. They were funneled into the parking lot of a large post office where all seven cars surrounded them. Armed men—at least two per car--and even a couple of women, got out of the cars, their weapons pointed at Derrick and their group.
A man who had been driving one of the police cars—not wearing a uniform, Derrick noted—leaned inside the police car, and when he stood, he spoke into the car’s public address system, his voice loud and clear. “Everyone out of their vehicles. Keep your hands where I can see them.”
Exhaling audibly, Derrick picked up the walkie. “Do what he says. Over.”
“Or we can take them out,” Jeff said. “Over.”
“No,” Chris said. “I have children in my car. Not worth the risk. Over.”
Derrick pressed the talk button. “I agree. Over.”
“Now!” Pretend-cop said.
Reminding himself to relax his jaw, Derrick slid his Glock under his seat and stepped out with his hands in the air. He looked down the line at the others in his group. They were doing the same. Brooke had hold of Cleo’s leash.
Men swarmed them, patting them down, taking any weapons they found and emptying their pockets.
Someone hit the backs of Derrick’s legs, making him fall to his knees.
“Hands on your head!”
Seething with anger, he complied.
He looked at the others in their group. Nearly everyone was on their knees with their hands on their heads in a long row. The only exceptions were Amy and Paisley. They were comforting their children who were crying hysterically.
Pretend-cop walked over to them, his eyes sharp and his hands clasped behind his back. He walked the length of them, then turned around and started walking back, pausing in front of Kayla, Brooke, Jessica, and Emily, his gaze sliding over each of them slowly. With a grin, he moved on, stopping in front of Matt. “What happened to you?”
Derrick glanced Matt’s way. His nose was obviously broken.
Matt stared straight ahead, his jaw clenched.
Pretend-cop grinned and strolled on down the line in Derrick’s direction. He wore jeans and a t-shirt, and on his head he wore a ball cap turned backwards. Tattoos snaked up both arms. He looked like a gang-banger, as did all the people in his crew. Most likely that’s exactly what they were, which made Derrick wonder if they should have stayed in their own neighborhood despite it being taken over by a gang.
Had they driven hundreds of miles just to be faced with another gang?
He shook his head.
Pretend-cop noticed. He stomped over to Derrick, stopping in front of him. “Got a problem?”
Defiance slammed through Derrick. He stared at the man. “Who are you and what do you want?”
Pretend-cop smiled, then stood straighter and puffed out his chest. “We’re the Emperors. As in Emperors of the New World.” His leaned over slightly and stared right at Derrick. “You can call me Emperor Randy.”
Biting back a response that he knew would get him beat, if not outright shot, Derrick stared back.
Randy straightened.
“Don’t tell me,” Derrick said, not able to hold back the sarcasm, “you want us to pay a tax.”
Randy smiled. “A tax. Yes, let’s call it that.” He turned to his crew. “Hear that? You’re tax collectors now.”
Chuckles all around.
Derrick wanted to get this over with and get to the farm. They were so close now. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes he’d made with Tyson. “How much is your tax?”
Randy tapped his chin like he was thinking it over, then he grinned. “I’m just teasing. I know exactly how much my tax is.” He paused dramatically. “Fifty percent.”
He wanted half of their food? That was outrageous.
Maybe he could be reasoned with. Or maybe fifty percent was the start of his negotiation.
Using all of his self-control to keep the disgust out of his voice, Derrick said, “We can’t spare that much. As you see, we have a large group.”
Randy’s lips tilted up in a wide smile. “What makes you think I care about that?” His smile vanished. “I don’t. All I care about is taking care of my people. And you are not my people.”
This guy was an idiot. Derrick suppressed a laugh. “Wait. I thought you were the Emperor. Doesn’t that make everyone your people? Including us?”
One of Randy’s men snickered. Randy glared at the man. The snicker shut off like someone had hit a switch. Randy turned back to Derrick. “Are you trying to be funny?” At the look of embarrassed fury on Randy’s face, Derrick couldn’t stop his lips from twitching, which seemed to enrage Randy all the more. “You need to learn to show some respect.” Randy’s gaze flicked to one of his men. Derrick barely had a chance to brace himself before the butt of a rifle slammed into his back right between his shoulder blades. He jerked forward, but managed to throw his hands out just in time to keep from smashing his face into the pavement.
Gasps came from his group. Straightening, he put his hands back on his head and looked at Randy as rage tore through him like a living thing.
Randy grinned at Derrick, then his gaze swept over the trucks Derrick and the others had been driving. His eyes went to each member of their group. “You will all pay a tax of fifty percent. Only then will I allow you to leave.”
Fuming with resentment at the audacity of Randy and his crew, Derrick felt his entire body go rigid. Trying to calm himself, he focused on the men and women who were with Randy. Fourteen in all and not one showed a hint of discipline. Some slouched, others closed their eyes as they rolled their shoulders, still others were quietly chatting instead of being on alert.
Amateurs. Every last one of them.
Even so, they outnumbered Derrick’s group and all of them were armed.
Chapter 34
Matt
Matt was about to tell Emperor Randy where he could put his tax when the throbbing in his nose reminded him that he didn’t want to get beat down if he could avoid it. I
nstead, he consoled himself with the fact that they were almost to the farm. They could regroup there.
Randy looked them all over. “No objections? Good.” He motioned for one of his men to join him. The man did, holding out his hands, which held the keys they’d taken from the pockets of Matt and the other drivers. He picked up one set and held them up. “Whose are these?”
“Mine,” Chris said.
“You’re the SUV?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah.”
Randy handed the keys to his aid, who set them on the ground in front of Chris.
Randy held up another set. “And these?”
Matt recognized his keys. He would be glad to get them back. “Those are mine.”
“Ah. You’re the RV.”
“Yeah.”
Randy examined Matt’s keys, then walked over to stand in front of Matt. “Are the keys to the RV on here?”
The guy wanted to get in the RV and take some food. Fine. Matt wouldn’t fight over that. He just wanted to get his family safely away. “No.”
Randy smiled at him. “Where are the keys to the RV?”
“In my truck.”
Still smiling, Randy said, “Get them.”
Matt dropped his hands to his sides and stood, aware that one of Randy’s men was right behind him with his gun pointed at Matt. He opened the door to his truck and reached into the little compartment where he kept the RV keys and took them out, then walked over to Randy, who had his hand out. Feeling that familiar fury building inside him, the one that stemmed from people taking what was his when they had no right, he gritted his teeth as he set the keys in Randy’s open palm.
Randy pocketed the truck keys as well as the RV keys. “Thank you.” His smile vanished. “Back on your knees.”
Nostrils flaring, Matt complied.
Randy held up another set.
“Mine,” Jeff said, his voice filled with irritation.
“You’re the truck with the trailer.”
“Yep.”
After walking over to Jeff, Randy stood in front of him as he examined the ring of keys before holding one up. “This is for the trailer?”
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