by Robert Boren
“Show me,” Richardson said. Lita moved over and held the screen in front of his face. “Yeah, that’s it. We’re good. It’ll be hard to notice us going that way.”
“Route 1101 looks pretty small,” Lita said. “We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled.”
“I’ll leave the GPS on and follow it,” she said. “Probably better plug in my phone, though.”
“You have your power cord?” Richardson asked.
“Forgot that I stuffed it in my pocket before we left the rooms at the Riverwalk,” Lita said, fishing it out. She plugged the cord into the USB port on the dash radio. “Glad this is a new vehicle.”
“Seriously,” Richardson said. “Wish it were four-wheel drive. Didn’t expect to be taking it in the dirt, but it’ll probably be okay.”
“See anybody else behind us?” Hannah asked.
“Nope, and the traffic’s thinned out,” Richardson said.
“Hey,” Lita said. “Take Franch Road instead of 1101. It’ll shave off a little time. Then turn left onto 1101 from there. Franch is a slight left. It’ll be easy to see. Only a couple miles away.”
“Okay, sweetie,” Richardson said. He watched the road ahead, still glancing nervously into his rear-view mirror every so often.
“There it is,” Lita said. Richardson took the slight left.
“Farmland as far as the eye can see,” Madison said, looking out her window.
Richardson’s phone rang. He checked it. “Jefferson! I’ll put it on speaker.”
“Richardson? Where are you?”
“On my way to a hiding place. Already got attacked on the road once. Where are you?”
“We escaped, barely,” Jefferson said. “I assume you know what happened in Galveston.”
“Some,” Richardson said.
“Listen. Unplug the radio beacon in the boat. It’s under the dash. Can’t miss it. It’s a gray plastic box on a connector. Just unplug it.”
“We’re being tracked, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, probably,” Jefferson said.
“Hey, Madison, text Juan Carlos and let him know, okay?”
“Already on it,” Madison said.
“I thought we got attacked because there were people taking pictures of us in Seguin and posting them on social media. That boat caused quite a stir in the parking lot.”
“What were you doing in a Walmart parking lot?”
“We were gonna buy camping gear and food,” Richardson said. “When we couldn’t raise you guys.”
“Where were you planning to camp out?”
“Purgatory Creek, where I used to camp as a teenager,” Richardson said.
“You do that,” Jefferson said. “I don’t know what the next plans are. Might as well lay low.”
“Somebody shot one of the outboards when we were attacked.”
“Don’t worry about that, Richardson,” Jefferson said. “Oh, and charge the camping gear to the DPS. I assume you’ve still got to get some.”
“Yeah, we’re going to park the boat in the boonies and take the truck into San Marcos.”
“Good,” Jefferson said. “Make sure you leave somebody with the boat while you’re gone.”
“Oh, we will,” Richardson said.
“Juan Carlos unplugged that beacon,” Madison said.
“Excellent,” Jefferson said.
“Who hit us in Galveston?” Richardson asked. “One of the news radio stations said it was the US Airforce.”
“It was,” Jefferson said.
“Why would they do that? I thought they were against the Feds.”
“We don’t know,” Jefferson said. “I’m sure the Governor is trying to figure that out right now. My guess is that they didn’t like the aircraft carriers. Both of them were sunk.”
“Shit,” Richardson said. He made the left turn on 1101. “How do we protect the gulf now?”
“From land,” Jefferson said. “All of our boats got destroyed. That’s the only reason they bombed Galveston. They screwed up and hit some civilian neighborhoods. Also took out the bridge. We don’t think they did that on purpose.”
“Dammit,” Richardson said. “You think the Feds are gonna invade Texas? Force us back into the union?”
“I don’t know,” Jefferson said. “I’m worried about it. So’s my leadership.”
“Geez,” Lita said.
“You guys lay low for now. Nothing you can do here. I gotta go. We’re moving out again.”
“Okay,” Richardson said. “Glad you’re not dead.”
Jefferson chuckled. “That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Remember that.”
The call ended. Richardson stuffed the phone back in his pocket and glanced at Lita, who looked terrified.
“Maybe we should just ditch this boat and disappear into the woodwork,” Lita said.
“This boat will protect us on the road,” Richardson said. “It’s worth keeping, at least for now.”
“This road is out in the middle of nowhere,” Hannah said. “Think we’ll get to camp before dark?”
“Yeah, we should,” Lita said. “It’s not that far. Even going out of the way, we ought to be at that residential area in few minutes.”
“Good,” Madison said. “I just want to hold onto Juan Carlos at this point.”
“I hear you there,” Hannah said.
“Some big sweeping curves on this road,” Richardson said. “Little bumpy too.”
“Maybe you should slow down a tad,” Lita said. “It’s probably bouncing the guys around quite a bit.”
“You’re right,” Richardson said as he slowed down. “We’ve got plenty of time.”
“How long will we be able to camp out here?” Madison asked. “Before people start to notice?”
“Probably quite a while,” Richardson said. “Assuming it hasn’t changed much since I was here last.”
“How long ago?” Lita asked.
“Fifteen or twenty years, I reckon,” Richardson said.
“We need a house with an RV garage,” Hannah said. “My uncle had one of those.”
“Where?” Lita asked.
“Up north,” Hannah said. “He’s getting up there in age. Had to stop using the RV. Really broke him up.”
“Where up north?” Madison asked.
“Wichita Falls,” Hannah said. “Long way from here, and it’s in the middle of the city. People would notice if we drove there.”
“Here comes our road, off to the right,” Lita said.
“See it,” Richardson said. He made the right turn. “I can see I-35 already.”
“Since they were tracking us, I’m glad we’re on these small roads. Glad we’re making a lot of twists and turns.”
“Seriously,” Madison said. “This still makes me really nervous.”
“Honey, Conrads Lane jogs after the freeway. You’ve got to turn right onto Goodwin and then left back onto Conrads.”
“Okay,” Richardson said. “Here’s where people will notice us if they’re going to.” They drove over the bridge at I-35, everyone looking out the windows.
They came back to street level, cruising along Conrads Lane.
“Big housing development to our left,” Hannah said.
“Yeah, we’ll go past quite a few of those,” Lita said. “I’m afraid 1102 isn’t as sparse as 1101, but it’s a lot better than going through town.”
“It’ll be fine,” Richardson said. “Here’s that jog you were talking about.” He made the right turn on Goodwin, then a left back onto Conrads after about a block.
“Nobody’s out on the street,” Madison said. “Wonder why?”
“They might be hunkered down,” Richardson said. “Remember what that DPS officer told us about San Marcos.”
“That means the enemy might see us,” Hannah said.
“Yep, we need to keep our eyes peeled,” Richardson said. “Glad we have the guys back there.”
“Slow down, honey, here comes 1102.”
“Hunter
’s road. See it.” Richardson turned right. “Look at that big storage yard.”
“I don’t think we want our guns somewhere that we can’t use them,” Madison said.
“Yeah,” Richardson said.
“Wish we had an RV,” Lita said. “It’s going to be a pain not having a bathroom.”
“We’ll get something for that,” Richardson said, “but you’re right, an RV would be nice.”
“Are the trees this dense where we’re going?” Hannah asked.
“Yes,” Richardson said. “We’ll have plenty of cover.”
“Good,” Hannah said. “How much longer?”
“A few minutes,” Lita said, watching her phone, cable still attached to the dash radio.
“Well, a few minutes to the end of the road,” Richardson said. “There’s a little bit of dirt road. Not too bad. Another ten minutes max, assuming we can find a good enough place.”
“How do we know this rig won’t get stuck out in the dirt?” Hannah asked.
“That’s possible, so we’ll have to be careful,” Richardson said. “We got a truck with a dually rear end pulling a two-axle trailer, though. We can probably make it, if the terrain hasn’t gotten a lot worse than it was.”
“I’m not seeing people watching us, at least,” Madison said.
“I know, me neither,” Hannah said.
They rode silently for a few more minutes, through the sleepy residential streets. There were occasional cars, but nobody paid them any mind.
“Starting to see more people,” Lita said. “We’re getting close to 233 though. Street name is McCarty.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s the name I remember,” Richardson said. “Looks different around here. More homes. And look up ahead. Is that a car dealership?”
“I see two of them. That’s our street. Get ready to turn left.”
Richardson nodded, making the turn on McCarty.
“You sure this is gonna be secluded enough?” Madison asked, looking at the houses as they drove by.
“Yeah, trust me,” Richardson said. They watched out the window as they rolled down the thin street, oak trees getting more and more dense.
“I think this is the street coming up,” Lita said. “Paso Del Robles.”
“Yep,” Richardson said. “I recognize it.” He turned right onto the small street.
“The Oaks are so dense that you can’t see the houses,” Hannah said.
“That’s good,” Madison said.
“There’s one more turn, to the right,” Richardson said.
“You’re talking about Arroyo Doble,” Lita said. “It curves around then straightens out and runs to a dead end cul-de-sac.”
“That’s right,” he said. “Hopefully the dirt road hasn’t been taken out by a new house or something.”
“There it is,” Lita said. Richardson made the right turn, driving several blocks then following the curve of the road to the right.
“This is the last part,” he said. “This road looks the same as it did last time I was here.”
“It so pretty,” Madison said. “I’d love to have a house somewhere like this.”
“Your own little love nest,” Hannah quipped.
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” Madison said. “Wouldn’t you like it?”
“Rather be closer to the city,” she said. “I’m not a country girl.”
“What’s that left?” Madison asked as they passed another street.
“That’s the road we were just on,” Lita said. “It curves around.”
“Didn’t before,” Richardson said. “There’s probably been more development over there.”
“Not much this direction,” Lita said. “The end of the road is only another five hundred yards.”
“Yep,” Richardson said. “There’s the end up ahead.” He slowed down.
“It look the same?” Hannah asked.
“There’s a mailbox near the road back,” Richardson said nervously. “Must be a house back there now.” He stopped at the end of the pavement, a rounded cul-de-sac with mailboxes at noon, three o’clock, and nine o’clock. A dirt road was just to the left of the noon position. “Shit, I wonder if that’s still a road or just a driveway?”
“No clue,” Lita said.
“Only one way to find out,” Richardson said, slowly driving forward.
The road was uneven, with trees along either side, some of the branches a little too close to the highest parts of the boat.
“Well, if we can get back here, we’ll be hard to see,” Richardson said. They passed a driveway to the left, the rustic house barely visible about a hundred yards in.
“Good, that’s the driveway,” Richardson said. “Must be a lot of fun in the rain.”
“Tell me about it,” Lita said.
Suddenly there was frenzied barking by two large dogs.
“Dammit,” Richardson said, slamming on the brakes. There was a large middle-aged Mexican man holding a shotgun, a small white woman with gray hair next to him.
“Who are you?” he yelled. “Dogs, shut up!” They whimpered and stopped barking.
“Hold your fire,” Richardson yelled out the door. Then he got out and yelled to the back. “Don’t shoot, guys. That’s an order.”
Chapter 27 – Lend-Lease
The armored personnel carrier drove to the new gate of Kip Hendrix’s residence and beeped the horn. Two soldiers rushed out and opened the gate, eyes darting around.
The house’s studs were rising, some sections of the second floor already up.
“Can’t believe how much progress they’ve made on the house,” Maria said, checking out the window as the vehicle drove through the gate.
“Seriously,” Hendrix said. “I’m surprised we didn’t get called back.”
“Maybe they want us here,” Maria said. “To spread people out. You think the US Airforce really attacked Galveston?”
“I suspect we’ll find out in a few minutes.”
“Mr. Hendrix, stay put until we’ve gotten out and checked the elevator enclosure.”
“Will do,” Hendrix said. Maria shot a worried glance. “It’ll be okay, honey.”
The man left the vehicle and ducked into the black metal enclosure.
“I’ll never get used to living like this,” Maria said.
“It’ll pass,” Hendrix said. “Trust me. May take a while, but no war lasts forever.”
“All clear,” the man said. He opened the passenger door of the vehicle and helped the couple out, rushing them into the enclosure. Kip used his key to open the elevator.
“Take care,” the man said.
“You too,” Hendrix said. “Thanks for the ride.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” he said, leaving them as the elevator doors opened. They rode down to the basement, then went to the vault door. Hendrix put in the code and it opened before them.
“Home sweet home,” Hendrix said.
“Yeah,” Maria said. “Our little love nest.”
Hendrix chuckled as they went inside. Maria went to the console and closed the door. “Hey, honey, meeting notice. Want me to connect?”
“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll go fetch us some bottles of water.”
“Sounds good,” she said.
When Hendrix came back the meeting was already up. Brian was sitting at the conference table, a concerned expression on his face.
“Got home safe and sound, I see,” Brian said, trying to force a smile. “You hear what happened?”
“Yep,” Hendrix said. “Was it really the US Airforce?”
“I’ll let the governor address that,” Brian said. “Everybody will be on in a couple minutes. Good time for a short break if you just arrived home.”
“I think I’ll go powder my nose,” Maria said.
“Maybe I should hit the restroom, too,” Hendrix said, getting up. They were both back in front of the console monitor in a couple minutes.
“We’re back,” Hendrix said.
Gallagher walked
into the conference room, followed by Ramsey. A new window opened on the screen, and Wallis’s grim face appeared.
“Where’s the governor?” he asked.
“He’ll be here in a moment,” Brian said.
“Anything happen with the Fort Stockton group since we left the Capitol?” Hendrix asked.
“Nope,” Gallagher said. “Not that I’ve heard yet, anyway. Glad we ruled out an airstrike on the depot. We probably would’ve drawn a response.”
“Maybe we’ll draw another response with a ground assault on the depot in New Mexico,” Hendrix said. “They seem to want us staying inside Texas.”
“Something to worry about,” Gallagher said. “As if we didn’t have enough already.”
Governor Nelson came into the room.
“You look happy,” Ramsey said.
“The Israelis are convinced that the Federal Government is still dirty,” he said. “We’ll get our drones tomorrow.”
“They aren’t afraid of retaliation?”
“They are, but they think if Texas falls it will be a lot more dangerous for them, so they’re taking the risk.”
“How will we get them?” Ramsey asked. “Our port situation isn’t so hot.”
“They’re flying them in,” Nelson said. “From one of their ships, under the radar.”
“How many?” Gallagher asked.
“Twenty-five,” Nelson said.
“We can’t afford that,” Hendrix said.
“Let’s just say we’re getting a kind of lend-lease,” Nelson said with a twinkle in his eye.
“Hope this stays a secret for a while,” Wallis said. “You know the Air Force is gonna get wise eventually.”
“I heard a rumor that the Air Force leadership is horrified at what happened,” Gallagher said. “It’s not the brass doing this. They’ve got dirty people, just like we had in the Air National Guard.”
“And we can’t tell them about the chips,” Hendrix said. “Dammit.”
“Let’s get started,” Nelson said. “By now you all know about the attack. The US Airforce took out those two junker aircraft carriers, and the port at Galveston.”
“We lose all the choppers on those carriers?”
“No, thank God,” Wallis said. “Most of the aircraft were out on sorties when the boats were attacked.”
“Crew?” Hendrix asked.