Bug Out! Texas Book 6: Citizen Vengeance

by Robert Boren

  “Seguin,” she said. “Okay.”

  “Juan Carlos needs a restroom break before too long,” Madison said.

  “We’re about twenty minutes away from Seguin now,” Lita said.

  “Hear that?” Richardson asked.

  “Texting him now,” Madison said.

  “You young people and you’re texting,” Lita said. “Why not just call him?”

  “I called Brendan shortly after we took off,” Hannah said. “Too much wind noise in that boat.”

  “Oh, yeah, that’d be a problem,” Richardson said. “And it’s worse now that we’re moving full speed.”

  “He says he can hold it that long,” Madison said, “but not much longer.”

  “There’s a Walmart Super Center in the middle of town,” Madison said. “Get off on Route 90. It’s a few miles on surface streets. Then we can take Route 123 back to I-10.”

  “Okay,” Richardson said. “I’m gonna call Jefferson before we get there. If I can raise him, we’ll pick up some camping gear and some food. Agreed?”

  “Where are we gonna camp?” Madison asked.

  “I know some places,” Richardson said. He hit Jefferson’s contact and put the phone to his ear, listening to it ring, his face grim.

  “He’s not picking up, is he?” Lita asked.

  Richardson put his phone away. “No, he’s not.”

  “You aren’t leaving him a message?” Lita asked.

  “If he’s been captured or killed, I don’t want to let the enemy know about us,” Richardson said.

  “You don’t think that happened, do you?” Hannah asked.

  “Probably not. Maybe he’s just on a conference call or something.”

  “Then you should’ve gotten a busy signal,” Lita said.

  “We’re going to be in trouble again, aren’t we?” Madison asked, eyes welling with tears.

  “Don’t get too scared yet,” Lita said. “We’ll be okay.”

  “Hope so,” Hannah said.

  “Maybe we should turn on the news,” Madison said.

  “We can do that,” Richardson said.

  “I’ll find a news station,” Lita said, reaching over to the radio. She switched it on and found a news station after a few minutes. “There.”

  “There’s the sign for Route 90,” Richardson said.

  The weather report went on in the background as they all looked out the windows.

  “Pretty around here,” Hannah said.

  “Yeah,” Lita said. “We’re getting into the Hill Country. It’s just a little north of us.”

  “We are still trying to get information on the attack in Galveston. The city was bombed just two hours ago. We have eyewitness accounts of the attack, which say it was carried out by US Airforce jets flying at low altitude. We do not have confirmation on those reports at this hour. There has been large loss of life in the southwestern section of Galveston, and the bridge to Virginia Point has been destroyed, cutting off the easiest route into the area. We are monitoring the situation and will provide additional reports as soon as possible.”

  “Oh, shit,” Richardson said.

  “No,” Lita said.

  “Well, that explains it, I guess,” Madison said. “I’ll text Juan Carlos.”

  “Yeah, do that,” Richardson said. “Here’s the off-ramp for Route 90. Guess we are gonna need that camping gear. We aren’t going to Galveston tonight.”

  “We’re going to be chased around until this is over,” Hannah said, a note of resignation in her voice.

  “We’re lucky it happened before we got there,” Lita said.

  “Yep,” Richardson said. “Why the hell would the US Airforce attack us?”

  “I hope Jefferson didn’t get killed,” Lita said.

  “You and me both, honey,” Richardson said.

  They drove down the long ramp which turned into road 464.

  “This isn’t route 90,” Hannah said, looking at the signs.

  “It’ll join up with route 90 at that Y up there,” Lita said. She looked at Richardson. “See it, honey?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “We’re going down the middle of a big city street. We’re gonna attract a lot of attention.”

  “I know,” Hannah said, “and it makes me nervous.”

  “How did the guys take the news?” Richardson asked.

  “They’re worried,” Madison said. “How much further to the spot you know about. They’re getting pretty fatigued back there.”

  “It’s a little north of San Marcos,” Richardson said. “I hope we can get there before dark. It’s pretty rough.”

  “Can we tow this boat back there?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Richardson said. “We should grab a flatbed at Walmart. We’re gonna need quite a bit of stuff. We need to plan on being camped out a few days. We’ll need a big ice chest, food, a Coleman stove, a lantern or two, sleeping bags, chairs, and pup tents.”

  “This is so scary,” Madison said.

  “Where’s the Walmart?” Richardson asked.

  “Turn right on South King Street,” Lita said, looking at her phone. “It’ll be on your left, a few blocks down.”

  “Got it,” Richardson said. “You tracking it with your GPS?”

  “Yeah, we’re about a third of the way there.”

  “Good, give me plenty of warning before we get there.”

  “I will,” Lita said.

  Madison chuckled.

  “What?” Hannah asked.

  “Juan Carlos wants some of that pizza they sell,” she said.

  “That sounds pretty damn good to me too,” Richardson said. “I feel like a drink, but that would be a bad idea.”

  “How secluded is this place?” Lita asked.

  “Secluded enough to hunt in,” Richardson said. “We should be fine. At least two people could sleep in the boat. Maybe we ought to buy a tarp.”

  “I need a change of clothes,” Hannah said.

  “We all need that,” Madison said. “Getting a little ripe in here.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Richardson said.

  “How we gonna do this?” Lita asked.

  “In shifts,” Richardson said. “Can’t leave the boat alone. We’ll have to move quickly too.”

  “We’re just a couple blocks away, honey,” Lita said.

  “Good,” Richardson said. “Not much traffic.”

  “Wonder if that’s good or bad?” Madison asked.

  “Mid-afternoon,” Richardson said. “It’s before people get off work. Probably has a lot to do with it. There’s our street.”

  He made the right turn, going down the access road. “That’s a huge Walmart.”

  “A superstore,” Lita said. “That’s good.”

  “There’s the driveway already,” Richardson said. He made the left turn.

  “Lots of people here,” Hannah said. “We’ll be parking a ways out.”

  “No problem,” Richardson said. “There’s a good spot, and it’s not that far away.” He turned into the spot, pulling over the dividing line to take both spaces. He shut down the engine and took a deep breath.

  “You okay, honey?” Lita asked.

  “I’m worried about my boss,” Richardson said.

  Juan Carlos and Brendan appeared next to the cab, opening the doors for their women.

  “Wow, look at your hair,” Madison said, smiling at Juan Carlos as she got on her crutches.

  “Yeah, it’s a little windy out there,” he said. “You guys mind if I high-tail it to the men’s room?”

  “Go for it,” Richardson said. “Both of you. Bring back some pizza if you want.”

  “Can we go with them?” Madison asked.

  “Sure, Lita and I will hang out here,” Richardson said. “We need to make a shopping list.”

  “Already been working that on my phone,” Lita said.

  “I figured, saw you typing.”

  They watched as the two younger couples headed for the doors of the store.
r />   “How’s this?” Lita asked, showing Richardson his phone. He read the list and nodded yes.

  “We might be camping for a while.”

  “Hope not,” Lita said. “Wish we knew somebody with a big garage or something.”

  “I know, me too,” Richardson said. “I’ll ask the others when they get back. We could rent a closed space in a storage yard, I suppose. My uncle had one of those for his motor home. It was completely enclosed, like a big garage.”

  “Did it cost very much?”

  “Don’t remember, honey,” Richardson said. “Geez, I’m so worried about Jefferson.”

  “I know, me too.”

  A middle aged couple walked up, looking at the boat.

  “DPS?” the man asked.

  “Yep,” Richardson said.

  “Were you guys at San Antonio?”

  “Yep,” Richardson said.

  “Can I shake your hand?” the man asked.

  “Sure,” Richardson said, walking over to him. They shook.

  “That was great what you guys did. Really got the enemy on the run.”

  “Unfortunately we got hit in Galveston, though.”

  “Yes, I heard about that on the way over here. You were probably headed in that direction, weren’t you?”

  “Can’t talk about that, but I do have friends there. Can’t raise them now. I’m pretty worried.”

  “I’ll bet,” the man said. “We’ll leave you alone now. Good luck to you, sir.”

  “Thank you,” Richardson said.

  “Interesting,” Lita said.

  “I had a feeling we’d get some of that reaction.”

  “Gonna try Jefferson again?” Lita asked.

  “In a little while,” he said, scanning the parking lot.

  “See something that worries you?”

  He glanced at her, then went back to scanning. “No, but I’m nervous. Something isn’t quite right. Can’t put my finger on it.”

  “You’re scaring me.”

  “Sorry,” Richardson said. “Let’s climb into the boat.”

  She nodded, and they climbed in using the trailer wheel fenders.

  “You think it’s safer in here?” she asked.

  “The boat has armor,” Richardson said. “It’s also higher, so I can see further.”

  “People are noticing,” Lita said. “I’ve seen two people taking pictures with their phones.”

  “I just saw one in this direction too,” Richardson said. “They’re probably posting it to social media as we speak. We need to get out of here.”

  “What about the shopping?”

  “I’ve got an idea,” Richardson said. “Let’s go on to San Marcos. The camping spot is northwest of there, in a place called Purgatory Creek. We find a place, unhitch the boat, and then some of us go into a store there.”

  “San Marcos, huh,” Lita said, looking at her phone. “There’s another Walmart Supercenter there. Why don’t you text the guys and have them buy enough pizza and drinks for all of us? We can eat on the way.”

  “You got it,” Richardson said, pulling his phone out, keeping one eye on the parking lot while he typed.

  “Purgatory Creek is only about half an hour from here,” Lita said.

  “Good. Brendan just texted me back. They’ll be back in about five minutes.”

  “You tell them why we’re leaving?” Lita asked.

  “Yeah. It’s gonna be a late night.”

  “I’d rather be tired than dead,” Lita said.

  Richardson laughed, still scanning the parking lot. “At least I’m not seeing bad guys. Looks like just plain folks. I’d probably take pictures too.”

  “If they just post pictures to their own Facebook wall, is it really dangerous for us?”

  “Can be,” Richardson said. “Hackers know how to find stuff in Facebook feeds. That’s why you have to be careful posting about vacations.”

  “People go to their house and rip them off?”

  “It’s happened before. Here they come. That was fast.”

  “It was,” Lita said. “Should we get out?”

  “Not yet. Sit tight.”

  “Madison’s getting around really well now,” Lita said. “She’s not having trouble keeping up.”

  “Good,” Richardson said.

  “Hey, boss,” Brendan said. “You want to eat on the road?”

  “I’ll eat a piece while everybody gets settled,” Richardson said. “Sorry about this.”

  “I’m glad you noticed it,” Juan Carlos said. He had drinks in his hands.

  They got situated again with food and drink, Brendan and Juan Carlos back in the boat, the others in the truck, Richardson back at the wheel. They drove out of the parking lot.

  “Just take route 123,” Lita said. “Turn left at Rattler Road. That will take you right out there.”

  “Perfect, I know about Rattler Road. Once we’re there, I’ll know how to get to the camping spot.”

  They made it out of Seguin in less than ten minutes, and then were cruising north on 123.

  “Not much out here,” Madison said, looking out onto the flat farmland.

  “Deadsville,” Hannah said.

  “We’re gonna hit the massive town of Geronimo in a few minutes,” Lita said. “Something wrong?”

  “Somebody’s on our tail,” Richardson said, glancing at the driver’s side mirror.

  “Oh no,” Hannah said.

  “Don’t worry, if it’s bad guys we’ll smoke them,” Richardson said. “Could be more hero-worshipers.”

  “Hero-worshipers?” Madison asked.

  “I’ll tell you about that later,” Lita said. “I see them in this side mirror too. They’re getting closer.”

  Suddenly there was crack of gunfire.

  “Dammit,” Richardson said, speeding up.

  “What if they hit one of the guys?” Madison cried.

  “Can’t see them,” Hannah said, looking out the back window.

  The sound of automatic fire started.

  “That’s them,” Richardson said. Then there was an explosion.

  “Whoa,” Lita said, looking at a big fireball in the passenger side mirror. “Blew them up.”

  “Hope they didn’t have friends,” Madison said.

  “Should we stop?” Hannah asked.

  “That would be a big negatory,” Richardson said. “One of you text back there.”

  “I just got a text from Juan Carlos. He said they smoked the bad guys, but we lost one of the outboard engines.”

  “That’s the least of my worries,” Richardson said. “They’re both okay, right?”

  “Yeah, they’re fine,” Hannah said. “Just got a text from Brendan.”

  “Tell them to get their eyes off their phones and onto the road,” Richardson said.

  “I will,” Madison said.

  They rolled along for a while, then Richardson’s eyes got big.

  “What’s the matter?” Lita asked.

  “Looks like we got a cop coming,” he said.

  “Is he gonna try to stop us?” Hannah asked.

  “Yep,” Richardson said. “Just turned their red light on.”

  “Shit,” Madison said. “How do we know they’re real cops?”

  “We have to assume,” Richardson said as he slowed down, moving to the shoulder. He stopped and looked into the mirror as the squad car pulled up behind the boat. “That’s DPS. We’ll be fine. I’ve got my credentials.”

  He pulled out his wallet and waited for the officer to walk up to his window, the partner standing by the boat.

  “Good afternoon,” the officer said. “You DPS?”

  “Yes sir,” Richardson said, handing his card out the window. The officer looked at it for a moment, then handed it back to him. “Saw what you guys did back there.”

  “They shot at us,” Richardson said.

  “I figured,” the officer said. “Where you headed?”

  “San Marcos,” Richardson said. “We were unde
r orders to go to Houston.”

  “You got re-routed due to that attack in Galveston, I reckon,” the officer said. “We won’t keep you. Watch yourselves around San Marcos. There’s been some trouble there lately.”

  “What kind of trouble?” Richardson asked.

  “Murders and abductions. You guys will have a big target on your backs if you hang out around there with this boat.”

  “We’re going to hide north of town,” Richardson said.

  “What’s that boat packing?” the officer asked.

  “She’s got .50 cal machine guns and grenade launchers,” Richardson said.

  “Okay, I’ll let you guys go. Good luck. Be careful, especially with the ladies. They’ve been targeted around here.”

  “Targeted?” Hannah asked.

  “Yeah, little lady. Abductions and rapes. Don’t go anywhere alone. Be armed if you can.”

  “Geez,” Lita said. “Thanks for letting us know, officer.”

  “No problem. Take care.”

  “Thanks,” Richardson said. He watched the officer join his partner and get back into their cruiser.

  “Let’s go,” Lita said.

  Richardson nodded and drove forward. “Find us a way to the western side of Purgatory Creek that doesn’t take us right through the main part of San Marcos.”

  Lita nodded and worked her phone.

  “I’ll try Jefferson again,” Richardson said, hitting the contact on his phone. He held it to his ear, then set it down, face still grim. “Nothing.”

  “What if somebody tries to hit us from the front instead of the back?” Madison asked.

  “The boys will shoot right over the top of this vehicle,” Richardson said. “The boat is a lot higher than the truck, and the guns will have a clean shot in any direction.”

  “I found a back-road route,” Lita said. “It’s not in the middle of nowhere, but it’s a lot more sparse. Take a left on 1101, then take a right on Kohlenberg Road. It’s a little out of the way.”

  “Then why go that way?” Hannah asked. “Won’t it just take longer?”

  “Crossing I-35 is the problem,” Lita said. “You can take Kohlenberg to Conrads Lane to cross, then get on 1102, which turns into Hunter’s Road.”

  “That’s perfect,” Richardson said. “I’ve gone in that way. Might be a little bit of a challenge because of the dirt road, but we’ll make it. I used to go through a small residential area to get there.”

  “The road is 233, right?” Lita asked.