“Would y’all come back in now? It’s way too late for breakfast, but I’m sure you’re famished. The kitchen staff is just about to ring the lunch bell.”
Sarah hugged Sami too, and apologized again.
“I don’t know what I would do if you had left. A part of my heart would have gone with you.”
“I know, girlfriend. I would have felt the same way. So let’s put it behind us and move on. And let’s go get something to eat. For the very first time in your life you’re right about something. I am famished.”
Chapter 32
The tension was heavy the next few days, but things eventually got back to normal. Even those who refused to forgive John for what he’d done accepted it. And no one could argue his point that he’d seen far more ugliness in the world than anyone else in the group. And perhaps he indeed had a unique perspective that no one else could muster.
Another thing that helped clear the tension was that it was a very busy time. For nine straight days following John’s reprieve, every adult in the group, except for the two school teachers and the security staff, was in the fields helping plant crops.
They’d been unsure whether their seven year old seeds would even come up. But Karen had planted test crops in her greenhouse before the assault and evacuation. And she reported that more than eighty percent of the seeds sprouted. It wasn’t the best case scenario, but it could have been much worse.
And considering that they didn’t expect to actually consume much of this crop, it was an acceptable figure. The bulk of this crop would be put aside, to provide more and newer seeds the following season. In the meantime, they still had plenty to eat to get them through another year. The plants in the greenhouses would get them by, when coupled with the fruit and nuts in the orchard, the dry stock they still had in their food stores, and the poultry and livestock in their barns. The animals had plenty of sacks of feed as well, and the fourth field would be allowed to go to hay for bailing in case the feed ran short.
And in a couple of weeks, their three main fields would be lush with the green seedlings of the corn, wheat and sorghum plants.
All was well.
Or so everyone thought.
But as is often the case, an idyllic situation is frequently shattered. After all, this bunch had never had it easy. The gods of fate apparently liked that arrangement.
John was helping Bryan hook up the two inch aluminum sprinkler pipe running from the well pump to the irrigator when a frantic call came over the radio.
“John, Mark, Bryan, Brad, come to security immediately. We have company.”
Marty Haskins had led a sometimes rough life. He’d been expelled from high school his senior year for fighting and never graduated. He eventually got his GED, but only after he’d developed an affinity for driving a truck. It was something he was good at, it paid fairly well, and he didn’t need a “stinkin’ college degree” to do it.
The life of an over the road trucker wasn’t an easy one, though. For years he wasn’t in a relationship that lasted for more than a few months. Women need more than a man can give them for two or three days out of ten.
When he was thirty, he finally fell in love with a woman he thought loved him back. And he almost gave up trucking for her. Almost, meaning he switched from over the road to local so he was home every night. The marriage resulted in a quick pregnancy and a bouncing baby boy came the following spring.
Everything seemed well, until the baby died of SIDS at six months old.
It was nobody’s fault, the doctors told them. It just happens sometimes. Erin, the wife, went into a deep funk that lasted for months. Marty himself lost all faith in God and parenthood. He decided that he missed the road more than he’d miss being married. So as soon as Erin was well enough to care for herself again, he bid her farewell.
She took it well, and was remarried within a year. Within five years she had a healthy brood of four children. Marty always said she was the most fertile woman on earth. Or maybe she was just trying to cover her hurt at the loss of her first.
Marty went back to satisfying his needs with an occasional one night stand with a bar room pickup. In his forties, he traded that for something akin to a sailor’s life: a girl in every town. He stayed on good terms with all of them. Lavished him with praise and gifts and treated them like queens. They were always happy to see him when he came.
But oddly enough, they were almost as happy to see him go.
Through it all, it would have been easy for Marty Haskins to become cynical and mad at the world. But he’d managed to keep his good nature and his sense of right and wrong.
And that’s what brought him on this day to the narrow private road which led from Highway 83 to the compound. It’s what led him to take that road, and to park his Kenworth tractor in front of the high black fence.
And it’s what made him approach the security camera on top of the fence and hold up a hand made sign that read:
I MEAN YOU NO HARM.
I JUST WANT TO TALK.
The signs placed on the fence every few yards warned that the facility belonged to the United States government.
It warned that entry would be dangerous, that there were deadly biological agents stored inside.
It was a ruse that Bryan and Mark had hatched right after the compound was built, to help scare away prowlers.
Bryan, at the control center watching on a monitor now, said, “Give him a minute to notice the signs. Then he’ll get the hell out of Dodge.”
John said, “No, he won’t. He had that sign made before he got here. He didn’t just stumble across the place. And he walked with a real sense of purpose. He knows the signs are bogus. The question is, how much more does he know and what does he want?”
He turned to Mark and Bryan, and said, “I’m going out there. He doesn’t appear to be armed. I’ll take him at his word for now. But you two get on the roof in case he’s got friends in the woods and something ugly happens.
Mark and Bryan grabbed rifles from the rack behind the console and headed for the stairs leading to the roof.
Brad, you come with me to the walk-through gate and lock it behind me. Don’t let me back in until Helen tells you I’m alone and not under duress.
Helen, sitting behind the console, asked, “Do you want me to step aside and let someone more experienced take the desk?”
“Oh, no, dear. You’re a fine controller. Just keep your eyes open and report anything you see that’s suspicious.”
Hannah also came to see what the commotion was all about.
“I’ll stay here and assist you if you need it, Helen.”
Chapter 33
“Here,” John said to Brad as he handed him the gun from his belt. “If he really is a friendly, I don’t want to spook him.”
John exited the walk through gate and walked down the fence line toward the stranger with the sign.
As he drew closer, he called out, “Hello, stranger. How can I help you?”
“Actually, I’m here to help you. My name is Marty.”
Marty extended his hand. John saw no reason not to take it.
“John. I’m the chief of security here. Help us in what way?”
“My partner and I run a truck stop a few miles away in Junction. The Trucker’s Paradise truck stop.”
“I remember it well from before the freeze. I ate at the diner many times.”
“Well, these days the diner is closed. Not much to cook. We keep the shelves stocked with pastas and other edibles from the abandoned trucks at the truck stop and along the highways. We consider it corporate America’s contribution to getting the country back on its feet.”
Marty was obviously a friendly sort, and as such sometimes took the long way to get to his point. John was patient and didn’t interrupt.
“Anyway, most of the folks who stop in to see us are friendly and appreciative of what we’re doing. But occasionally we get a glimpse of the ugly side also. Occasionally bad men come in. Men who wou
ld just as soon kill you as look at you.
“And that’s why I’m here… to warn you that some such men are looking around these parts, trying to find you.”
“I don’t understand. Why?”
“There were four of them. Led by a big fella. Brown beard and pony tail. Looked a lot like Grizzly Adams, except his arms were both covered in tattoos.
“They came into the truck stop not long ago. Said they were told of a place with a high black fence around it. Said this place had livestock and greenhouses for growing produce.”
“So what made you think that might be us?”
“Several years ago, when this place was under construction, I drove a load of steel out here. I might be wrong. It was a long time ago, and my mind plays tricks on me sometime. But I could have sworn the invoice said the steel was for a greenhouse.
“Now, like I say, it was a long time ago. And I might be totally wrong. But these men, they were pretty upset. They said the people who told them about the place were going to leave them out in the cold. And they said they were determined to find the place and raid it, and take whatever was in it.
“I thought you might want to know that.”
Marty turned and started to leave.
“Hold on a minute. You could have walked into an ambush if their friends already raided us. Why would you risk your life to warn us? You don’t even know us.”
Marty turned and walked back.
“Oh, I don’t know. I wasn’t going to. I mean, my fighting days are long over. Mostly these days I just try to keep a low profile and avoid trouble.
“But over the last few days it’s been hard for me to sleep at night. My conscience has been arguing with my common sense. My common sense says to stay out of it and mind my own business. And my conscience says there’s been way too much killing already. And if I can do something to help save some innocent people I should do it.”
John sensed the sincerity in Marty’s voice. He held his hand out again and said, “Thank you, friend. If what you say is true, you may well have saved the lives of twenty women and children.”
“Well, my conscience will be happy to hear that. And you know what? I’m glad my conscience won the argument.”
“Me too. In any event, I feel I owe you a debt of gratitude. I’ll come and see you after the dust settles and return the favor.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I was just doing the right thing, that’s all. I haven’t always done that in my life. I’m glad that this time I was able to help. It’s a good feeling.”
And with that he climbed back in his Kenworth tractor and drove away, leaving John watching the black diesel exhaust rolling from his chrome smokestacks.
Chapter 34
John’s plan was to go back to the security console and call in all the key players to assemble there. But they beat him to the punch. Everyone was already gathered around the console, anxious to find out what the visitor wanted.
Helen observed, “Well, whoever he was he looked like a friendly enough sort. You shook hands twice and seemed to have a friendly conversation.”
“Oh, he was amiable enough, but he brought bad news.”
“Uh oh. How so?”
“He said there’s a second group of men who know about us and are out there looking for us.”
Hannah covered her mouth. Sarah gasped. Sami said, “Oh my. What do we do?”
John spoke as though he had considered the possibility and had already formed a game plan.
Or maybe because of his background, he just thought faster than the others.
“I want to be more proactive this time. No more just sitting here like fish in a barrel waiting for someone to attack. We’re gonna fix some holes in our security system.”
“Okay. Like what, John?”
“Mark, you told me once before that you’ve got some night vision cameras in a storage room somewhere, right?”
“Yes. Both traditional light expansion and heat sensitive. Why?”
“How long would it take to replace all the cameras on the fence, and to add cameras in key places in the woods? So we can spot people trying to sneak up on us, even when it’s dark?”
“I don’t know. A couple or three days. I can also put a three hundred sixty degree array on the ham radio antenna on Salt Mountain. The heat cameras have a range of three hundred yards, so that’ll give us a good birds-eye view of the whole area.”
“Okay, good. Would you work on that? Have Bryan and Joe provide cover for you while you’re out there, and keep a ladder up against the fence so you can scramble over real quick if you have to.”
“Brad, those tractor trailers parked by the truck stop on Highway 83. Didn’t you say that some of the drivers left the keys in the ignitions when they abandoned them?”
“Yes, we saw a few of them like that. Why?”
“Do you think they’d start after all this time?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. We’d have to agitate the diesel fuel in the tanks to mix it. By now the gunk in the fuel has settled to the bottom and would clog the filter and kill the engine fairly quickly.”
“Any way around that?”
“Well, we can add some fuel stabilizer, poke a stick down in there and stir it up as best we could. Clean the fuel filter and drain some of the gunky fuel. Then add some fresh diesel. Ether the hell out of the engine to get it cranked. Should be able to get it going.”
“Think the batteries would still be good?”
“I seriously doubt it. They would at least be deader than doornails, and maybe completely shot.”
“How would we get around that?”
“We can take our own tractor out there and try to jump it.”
“You can jump start an eighteen wheeler?”
“Sure. You can jump start just about anything, unless the batteries are shot. Then we’ll have to switch out the batteries with good ones.”
“Okay. You sound like you know what you’re doing. If we can pull one of those trucks down here from the truck stop, can we park it across the end of our road, and make it look like the truck just broke down there?”
“Sure. We can put out some warning triangles, raise the hood like a trucker would do if he were disabled.
But why are we going to go through all that trouble?”
“If they’re coming, I want to deny them use of our road. I know they can just park their vehicles there and come in on foot. But making them do that will buy us some time. And it’ll prevent them from doing what they did last time and ramming our gate.”
“Okay, makes sense.”
“I’ll work with you on this project while the other guys are changing out the cameras. Once we’re done with both projects we’ll start digging again.”
Mark asked, “Digging? To where?”
“Remember that abandoned cabin just west of the camp? About fifty yards or so, in thick trees?”
“Yeah, I remember. An old hunting shack that hasn’t been used in decades. Pretty much falling apart, as I recall.”
“Yes. I want to build a second tunnel that exits underneath that cabin floor.”
“Why?”
“So if they set up camp or rendezvous in the woods around us, we can come and go quietly without being seen.”
“Okay, but why?”
“For search and destroy missions. We’re shifting from a purely defensive mode to one where we can play offense too.”
Chapter 35
The cameras only took two days to replace. They now had the capability to see anyone approaching, from any direction, day or night, for up to three hundred yards.
“Ain’t no way anyone’s getting in here without getting spotted.” Mark remarked.
John was a bit more skeptical.
“Don’t get too excited, my friend. Knowing they’re coming is a good thing. But we still have to repel them.”
Moving the eighteen wheeler from the highway in front of the truck stop to block the road to the compound was a bit more of an effort.
There was so much gunk settled in the bottom of the fuel tanks that it kept clogging the fuel filters.
Brad finally drilled holes in the bottoms of the tanks to drain them. Then he plugged them with chewing gum and added just enough clean fuel to get them the few miles they needed to go.
When he got to the road leading to the compound, he pulled over to the shoulder to block its access. Then he got out of the rig, raised the hood, and put orange warning triangles behind the truck.
“What can we do to make sure nobody does the same thing we did, and just hotwire it to move it out of the way?”
“Trust me,” Brad said. “When I’m done with this, they won’t even be able to drag it out of the way.
Brad crawled underneath the trailer and cut the air lines. Without compressed air the brakes would not release. The trailer was instantly turned into a forty ton paperweight.
But he wasn’t done yet. He cut the lines to the tractor as well. Then he drained the oil from the engine and removed the chewing gun from the fuel tanks to let what was left of the diesel pour onto the ground.
“I doubt the EPA will be coming around to fine us,” he told John. “If they even exist, I imagine they’ve got better things to worry about.”
They were just finishing up and getting ready to walk back to the compound when David’s warning came over the radio.
“Vehicle approaching on Highway 83, westbound. It’ll be at your location in about a minute or so.”
The pair took refuge in heavy shrubs, weapons at the ready, in case it was the attack they’d been waiting for.
But it was just an old man in a pickup truck full of boxes. Apparently food and supplies he’d looted from one of the trailers at the truck stop.
He passed them by without even slowing down, and from what John could see didn’t even give their disabled truck a second glance.
It occurred to John that there were still families out there struggling to find food to survive. Most of the wildlife population was still decimated, so there wasn’t much meat to hunt.
The Siege Page 11