by Robert Boren
“BMG .50 cal,” the man said. “I’m Max. Let’s go get those punks.”
“Now you’re talking,” Brendan said, reloading the SMAW.
“Oh, that’s what that was,” Max said. “Haven’t seen one of those since the service.”
“We’re DPS,” Richardson said.
They went to the roof and watched several more rockets fly, hitting more buildings to their right.
“This isn’t strategic,” Max said. “What the hell are they doing?” He had the tripod set up, and pulled the caps off the scope, then aimed. He pulled the trigger, the sound of the gun ear-splitting. “Scratch one.”
“They’ll return fire in a minute,” Brendan said, aiming the SMAW. He pulled the trigger, the grenade flying, hitting a man about to fire another RPG, the explosion expanding when it went off.
“You just got their ammo,” Max said, laughing. He got a bead on another person, on a roof half a block down, and fired, dropping the man.
“Nice amount of range,” Richardson said, aiming his M-16 at closer buildings and firing away, trying to draw somebody out. Then a rocket headed towards them.
“Look out!” Juan Carlos said, diving behind the wall. Brendan and Richardson got there a split second before the rocket blew up, knocking Max backwards, his face and chest blown to bits.
“Dammit!” Richardson shouted. “Son of a bitch.”
“Get on that .50 cal,” Juan Carlos said.
“Yeah,” Brendan said as he reloaded the SMAW.
The wall they were hiding behind got peppered with machine gun fire. Richardson got on the .50 cal, aiming and firing, bullets going right through the sheet metal the Islamists were hiding behind, killing them.
“Yeah, dude,” Juan Carlos said, firing his M-16 at the two men who survived, dropping one of them. Then another round from the SMAW flew into the midst of the Islamists and blew up. After that there was silence.
“Let’s get downstairs and find the girls,” Brendan said.
“Yeah, and we’re taking this,” Richardson said, folding the tripod back up under the barrel. “Max won’t be needing it anymore.” He put the gun back in the case and latched it.
“He should’ve gotten down,” Brendan said. “Dammit.”
“Let’s go,” Juan Carlos said. They rushed back to the stairs, flying down to their floor and rushing to the far side. The women were huddled with some other civilians, trembling with fear.
“Is it over?” Lita asked.
“We think so,” Richardson said.
“We need to leave now,” Madison said.
Juan Carlos gave her a hand up. “You read my mind. We need to be someplace off the beaten path.”
“Why are they doing this?” Hannah asked. “What good is it doing them?”
“They’re trying to terrorize the population,” Brendan said. “Wonder if they have something big planned?”
“Where’d you get that thing?” Lita asked, looking at the BMG case.
“Some guy named Max, who joined us on the roof,” Richardson said.
“Where is he?”
“He died up there,” Richardson said. “Hit by a rocket.”
“Shit,” Madison said. “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” Richardson said. “Wonder if the elevator is working?”
“Good question,” Juan Carlos said. He rushed to it and punched the button. The doors opened. “Yeah, it’s working. Let’s go straight down to the car.”
“What about our stuff?”
“Our rooms are blown up,” Brendan said.
“Yeah, we don’t want to go back there,” Juan Carlos said. “I’m sorry, sweetie.”
“We’re all alive,” Lita said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
They rode the elevator down to the parking structure and rushed to the car, stashing the weapons into the back.
“At least the car next to us is gone now,” Madison said, opening the door. She got in. “Same as last time, right?”
“Yeah, Brendan next to the door with the SMAW,” Richardson said, getting behind the wheel. The rest got in and he backed out. There was a line at the exit gate. The car in the front was fumbling, looking for a ticket. Then he got pissed and drove forward, snapping the gate off. The rest of the cars followed.
“Thank God,” Lita said.
“Stay sharp and keep your eyes open,” Richardson said. “We’re still in the middle of the tourist area. They might be anywhere.”
“Yeah,” Juan Carlos said, hand on his M-16, looking out the back window.
“Where are we going?” Madison asked.
“Good question,” Richardson said. “Suburbs. Get on that, okay honey?”
Lita nodded, looking at her phone. “Shit, my phone charger is in the room.”
“And my purse, with the marriage certificate and my driver’s license,” Hannah said. “Dammit.”
Brendan laughed.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“We just can’t win,” he said, shaking his head.
“Yes we can,” Lita said forcefully. “We’re still alive.”
They were silent for a few minutes, eyes out the windows, watching for more danger.
“College Street dead ends into Losoya Street,” Lita said. “Turn left, get on East Houston. That’ll take us to I-37.”
“Shit, dude, that will take us right by the Alamo,” Juan Carlos said. “Nice place for a fire fight.”
“Well, we need to get out of this area,” Richardson said. “Look, the street is blocked up ahead.”
“There’s no other way out of here, with these damn one-way streets,” Lita cried.
Machine gun fire erupted from above, hitting a car three spots in front of them.
“Out of the car,” Richardson yelled. He rushed to the back, getting out his M-16, shooting at the rooftop where the fire was coming from.
“Juan Carlos, help Madison get to the sidewalk. Brendan, help me with the guns. Lita and Hannah, go with Juan Carlos and Madison.”
“Look out!” Brendan shouted, pointing at the roof on the other side of the street. He aimed the SMAW and fired, hitting the façade of the old building, the man with a machine gun tumbling down to the sidewalk with a blood-curdling scream.
Lita and Hannah got to the sidewalk next to Madison as Juan Carlos raced to get his M-16 from Richardson. He saw somebody coming out of the corner of his eye.
“Fighters on the ground!” he cried, turning and spraying fire in that direction. Then there was a shotgun blast, and several more rifle shots. Juan Carlos turned to see a group of citizens running in his direction.
“Yes!” Juan Carlos shouted, aiming at the approaching Islamists. He opened fire, cutting down several as more fire came from the roof. Brendon aimed the SMAW again, firing, a grenade blowing out the machine gun nest. Suddenly a hail of gunfire hit the side of the building, right by the edge, taking out more of the Islamists.
“The citizens have had enough!” Brendon shouted as he struggled to reload the SMAW.
“Look out, Brendan,” Juan Carlos said, aiming his M-16 at another roof. He fired, forcing the Islamists to duck behind the façade. Brendan aimed the SMAW and fired, blowing up that part of the roof.
“Yes!” a citizen yelled as debris and bodies fell down the front of the building.
“Nice shot, dude!” Juan Carlos said, covering him as he reloaded.
“I’d better check on the women,” Richardson yelled, running towards the sidewalk. They were down on the ground, Lita seeing him as he ran up.
“Give us some guns, dammit,” Lita said.
Richardson nodded, handing her his M-16.
“Now you don’t have a gun,” she said.
“Wanna bet?” he asked, opening the case he carried. He pulled out the BMG .50 cal and turned back to the street. There were more Islamists gathering on one of the roofs, getting ready to pour fire down on the citizens, who had all but slaughtered the Islamists on the ground. Richardson dropped the tripod on the .50 cal, rip
ped off the lens caps on the scope, and took aim, firing as fast as he could pull the trigger, the bullets smashing right through the cheap façade the enemy fighters were hiding behind.
Brendan and Juan Carlos focused on another roof, watching for movement.
“Look, there,” Juan Carlos said, pointing. “They’re setting up.”
“On it,” Brendan said, firing the SMAW, the top of the building crumbling as it exploded. The dust settled, Juan Carlos aiming his M-16 at the area when he saw a face pop up. He fired, hitting the man between the eyes, just as Brendan shot another round from the SMAW. The whole top of the building exploded in flames.
“Torched something up there,” Juan Carlos said.
“I’ve only got a few more rounds,” Brendan said.
“Yeah, I’m running out of ammo too,” Juan Carlos said.
More citizens were coming into the area, aiming guns of all types up at the rooftops, waiting for more fighters. Nobody came.
“We knocked them out!” yelled a citizen holding a bolt-action hunting rifle. “I nailed eight of them!”
“You think it’s over?” Brendan asked.
“It’s not,” Richardson said, aiming further down the street with the .50 cal resting on the top of a car. “I can see them in my scope. They’re setting up down there.”
“I’ll go get in range,” Brendan said.
“No, save your ammo,” Richardson said. “I’ve got this.” He fired several times, men screaming. Then the citizens saw where he was aiming and rushed up, sending a hail of lead at the position.
Richardson rushed over to Brendan and Juan Carlos. “Let’s go check on the girls. They aren’t safe where they are.”
“Yeah,” Juan Carlos said. They ran over to the sidewalk. The women were gone.
“Dammit, where’d they go?” Brendan asked.
“They helped a wounded woman into the drug store,” an old man said, his eyes on the roof tops, hands on his Winchester.
“Thanks,” Richardson said. He rushed in the door, Brendan and Juan Carlos following.
“Oh, thank God,” Lita said when she saw them coming.
“Is it over?” Madison asked.
“I don’t know,” Juan Carlos said. “It’s over on this section of the street.”
“This has awakened the citizens,” Richardson said. “There’s nearly a hundred armed civilians out there.”
“Are we bringing this stuff with us?” Hannah asked, face grim. “San Antonio was quiet for a while before we arrived.”
“Coincidence,” Richardson said. “They don’t know we’re here.”
“What now?” Lita asked.
“How’s the person you helped in here?” Richardson asked.
“She’s gonna be okay,” Lita said. “Flesh wound. Her husband came and got her.”
“We’re stuck in the city, aren’t we?” Madison asked.
“We might be,” Richardson said. “And we’re getting low on ammo.”
More automatic gunfire erupted, but it was further down the street, followed by the thunder of hundreds of rifles.
“Hear that?” Brendan asked, grin on his face.
“You think that was the citizens fighting back?” Hannah asked.
“Yeah,” Brendan said.
“Did the car get hit?” Lita asked.
“I don’t know, honey,” Richardson said. “Even if it’s not, we’re locked in for a while.”
“Stay in here as long as you want,” and old woman behind the counter said. “There’s a gun shop two doors down. They got plenty of ammo.”
Richardson looked over at her. “Thanks.”
“Go around the back, through the alley,” she said. “I’ll call them and say you’re coming to the back door. You guys are military, right?”
“DPS,” Juan Carlos said.
“No uniforms?”
“Long story, miss,” Brendan said.
“Carol,” she said as she picked up the phone. She had a hushed conversation, then hung up. “Knock on the back door. Two doors to the left.”
Richardson smiled. “Thanks, Carol, you’re a life-saver.”
She smiled as Brendan and Richardson rushed towards the back.
“Juan Carlos, stay here and guard the women,” Richardson said as they left.
“You got it, dude,” Juan Carlos said. He got up and went to the windows, rifle in hand.
“They’re gone, aren’t they?” Madison asked, hobbling over to him.
“Looks like it,” he said. “We should get back from the windows.”
“I’ll go back if you will,” she said.
He smiled and helped her back.
“They’re trying to lock everything down in this city,” Lita said. “I hope they aren’t going to try another invasion.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Carol said. “It won’t go any better than last time. The citizens are ready now. Chuck’s been selling ammo by the bucketful.”
“Chuck?” Lita asked.
“He runs the gun shop that your men are at,” she said. “He’s also my boyfriend.” She smiled with pride, her eyes tearing up as she pushed the gray hair out of her eyes.
The back door opened, Richardson and Brendan rushing in with a shopping cart.
“What’d you do, buy the whole store?” Lita asked.
“He has an account with the DPS,” Richardson said. “They’re charging the department. I got Jefferson on the phone and he gave Chuck the codes.”
“Wish he had ammo for the SMAW,” Brendan said, setting it down on the floor next to the cart.
“What is that, a little bazooka?” Carol asked.
“Yeah, basically,” Brendan said. “Wasted a lot of cretins with this thing.”
“That’s more than ammo,” Madison said.
“Yeah,” Juan Carlos said. “More rifles and pistols, plus three shotguns.”
“Why?” Hannah asked.
“Because you women need weapons too,” Richardson said. “We’re on the ground in hostile territory, and Jefferson said they’ve seen massive troop movements coming this way.”
“Oh, crap,” Madison said. “What are we gonna do?”
“Chuck’s putting us in touch with the civilian forces,” Richardson said. “We’re gonna fight with them. We need every gun we can get here.”
“What about Houston?” Madison asked.
“We’ll get there,” Richardson said. “After this is over. Jefferson said to stay and help. We have to protect the city.”
Brendan chuckled. “Let’s be honest. The city is surrounded. We aren’t getting out of here either way.”
The back door opened again, a huge middle-aged man with black and gray hair rushing over to Carol.
“You okay, honey?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said. “What are you doing here? Who’s minding the store?”
“Terry,” Chuck said. “Hey, Richardson, I got a line on more SMAW ammo. Interested?”
“Hell yeah,” Richardson said.
“We need a new part,” Brendan said. “The extractor is busted. Takes three or four times longer to reload.”
“Let’s see that,” Chuck said. Brendan handed the SMAW to him.
“It’s this thing,” Brendan said, pointing to the broken piece of spring steel.
“I can improvise a fix for this,” Chuck said. “I think I can adapt a Mauser piece to fit. Probably take me half an hour. Come with me to my shop. I’ve got a good gunsmith setup over there.”
“Okay, boss?” Brendan asked.
Richardson nodded his head yes.
“I’m going too,” Hannah said. “I’ll take a weapon.”
“Remember how to load these?” Brendan asked, pulling an AR-15 out of the shopping cart.
“Yes,” she said, pulling the magazine off. She loaded it and put it back on.
“Safety, remember?” Brendan asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“Be careful,” Madison said.
Brendan and Hannah took off with Chuck through the back door.
Juan Carlos sat down on the floor next to Madison. “How’s your foot?”
“Fine,” she said. “It’s getting better fast. Of course dealing with this now sucks.”
“I know, honey,” Juan Carlos said.
“When are we meeting the citizen forces?” she asked.
“Yeah, we need to be involved too,” Lita said.
“Don’t know yet,” Richardson said.
“They have a meeting tonight,” Carol said. “We’re going. It’s just down the street. You can go with us if you want to.”
“That’d be great,” Richardson said. “Hey, Juan Carlos, let’s get all the weapons loaded.”
“You got it, dude,” he said. They worked on an aisle between the cold medicine and the dental supplies. Suddenly there was a low rumble. The building creaked.
“Oh, crap, what was that?” Madison asked.
Carol rushed to the window and looked outside. “Don’t see anything.”
More gunfire erupted outside, down the street a few blocks. Automatic weapons fire, answered by hundreds of shots from hunting rifles.
“Whoa, dude,” Juan Carlos said. “That’s a lot of rifles.”
Richardson ran outside, looking down the street. “My God!”
Carol rushed over. “What do you see?”
“Several hundred citizens with guns,” Richardson said. They watched as more citizens were running down the street past the drug store, with weapons of every imaginable type.
“Holy shit,” Lita said, joining them, looking down the street in awe.
“What’s going on?” Madison shouted.
“Hundreds and hundreds of armed civilians joining the fight,” Lita said as she came back over. “Need some help?”
“Sure, you can load these extra mags with the .223 ammo,” Juan Carlos said.
Richardson came back over. “This is some crazy shit.” His phone rang. “It’s Jefferson.”
He put it on speaker and set it on the floor next to the ammo boxes.
“Richardson?” Jefferson asked.
“Yeah, boss. Got you on speaker. Need my hands free to reload.”
“We just got satellite imagery of the San Antonio area.”
“Uh oh,” Richardson said. Carol moved closer.
“There’s about twelve thousand fighters coming in from the north and south. We’re pounding them with air support, but they’re using buildings and people in the suburbs for cover.”