by Harley Tate
“I told you this was a terrible idea.” Brianna stopped a few feet away from the men, hands on her hips. “Ben’s lucky you made it when you did. I was ten minutes away from telling him to shove it and loading up the Jeep.”
“We still could.”
Walter shook his head. “The hard part is over. All we need now is to load up the U-Haul and follow Ben to the farm.”
Brianna rolled her eyes. “Have you forgotten how much medicine is back there?”
“The girl has a point.” Larkin rolled his shoulders. “I vote for Craig to take the first shift.”
“All by himself?”
“Sure beats me doing it.” He leaned back against the truck’s sidewall, blocking a picture of a Doppler radar forecast. Walter leaned over to read it. “Oklahoma Center for Weather Research, Forecasting & Education.” He shook his head. “Not a lot of jobs for weathermen now.”
Colt licked his finger and stuck it in the air. “Forecast for the next two months: cold enough to freeze the balls off a pool table.” He jerked his head toward the hospital. “Let’s get on with it.”
Walter ducked his head and smiled. Even if they disagreed on the best method to secure the medicine, he’d grown to love every member of his new family and was thankful to know them. He followed the men inside where Craig and Ben Jacobson were positioned at the entrance to the pharmacy.
“Our apologies on the delay. Roads were a little slippery.”
“Understood.” Ben turned toward the fire doors. They were bent off their hinges.
Walter frowned. “Did you break them down to get in?”
“Someone beat us to it.” Craig frowned. “When Brianna and I got here, the doors were wide open, but that wasn’t the worst of it.”
“What was?”
Craig’s mouth turned down in a grimace. “Some jerk boobytrapped the pharmacy with a smoke grenade. I about shot my own foot off reaching for my gun.”
“Anyone inside?”
“Nope. But whoever it was messed the place up pretty good and cleared most of a shelf.”
“What did they take?”
“A little bit of everything. No rhyme or reason to it that we could see.”
Walter nodded. “Amateurs. Not someone familiar with medicine.”
Larkin chimed in. “Could have been the guy we fought off. He didn’t look like a medical professional if you know what I mean.”
Ben agreed. “That’s what we figure. He got in, grabbed what he could and left behind a parting gift.”
“That could mean he’s gone for good.”
Larkin shook his head. “Or that he’s shown his boss the haul and they’re planning to take the rest any minute. That guy wouldn’t have gone through all the work to get in just to take an armful and leave. He’ll be back.”
“Then we need to hurry.” Walter strode into the pharmacy. His daughter stood in the back, pulling an armful of medicine off a shelf. He hurried over and waited until she dumped the medicine in the box before giving her a hug. “Are you all right?”
Madison nodded. “I’m fine.” She pointed to a row of boxes closest to the door. “You can start with those.”
Walter smiled. Madison was all business and Walter appreciated it. He stepped over to the first box and picked it up. It was labeled Acarbose to Dibucaine. “What’s in here?”
“All the drugs that would fit in the box from the first shelf.” Madison waved at the rest of the pharmacy. “Everything’s alphabetical by generic name.”
Walter nodded in understanding before carrying the box past Larkin and Colt, who lined up to take a load. Without a medical professional like Heather Jacobson or at least a drug index, he wouldn’t know what ninety-nine percent of the drugs in the pharmacy even were. He’d be liable to kill someone with the wrong drug before he helped.
It was another reason they needed to keep the alliance with the Jacobsons on good terms. Heather was one of the most useful people around for miles. Maybe even in the entire state.
Craig caught up with him, carrying two boxes stacked on top of each other. “Thanks for driving down here. Larkin said it wasn’t easy.”
Walter smiled. “You’re welcome. Thanks for protecting the pharmacy.” He set the box on the truck bed and Brianna picked it up and carried it into the back. Craig did the same and they walked side-by-side back toward the pharmacy. “How’s Daniel?”
“Stable. Heather says he’s lucky they found him when they did. If Tracy hadn’t kept pressure on his wound, he’d have bled out for sure.”
“Sorry about John.”
Craig nodded and the pair lapsed into silence, carting box after box out to the truck for Brianna to pack away.
The sun hung high in the sky by the time the last box made it into the truck. Walter leaned against the side and chugged a bottle of water. “I’m glad that’s over with.”
Larkin looked up at the countless stacks of boxes. “Now comes the hard part.” He grimaced. “We have to drive it uphill.”
Chapter Twelve
WALTER
Access Road
Truckee Mountain Hospital
Truckee, CA
3:00 p.m.
“The F-150 is doing the job.” Walter watched the truck in front of them scrape the road free of slush and ice. After some trial and error, Ben and Craig managed to lower the snowplow attached to the front end low enough to scrape most of the ice off the road. It wasn’t fast work, but it beat sliding off the road and into a ditch.
Larkin didn’t share Walter’s enthusiasm. “I’ll believe it when we get there in one piece.”
Walter exhaled and dipped his head low enough to catch sight of Brianna’s canary-yellow Jeep behind them. They were driving like a convoy. Ben and Craig in the lead, U-Haul with Larkin and Walter in the cab in the middle, and Brianna and Madison taking up the rear in the Jeep. Colt sat in the back of the U-Haul, sandwiched between boxes of medicine as a last line of defense.
“Even if we make it to Ben’s place, that doesn’t mean the medicine is safe.” Larkin glanced over at Walter. “We were attacked at the Cliftons’ and it’s more secluded than the Jacobsons’ farm.”
“You think we should store it somewhere else?”
Larkin shrugged. “I don’t know. But keeping it all in one place doesn’t sit well with me. I’d prefer to split it up.”
Walter saw the point and the two began brainstorming options for storage. While they talked, Ben’s F-150 cleared the road out of the commercial district, and onto Northwoods Boulevard. The U-Haul’s engine groaned as they began the ascent up the mountain.
Larkin pressed on the gas and ground his teeth together. “The rear tires are slipping.”
“Can you keep it on the road?”
“I sure as hell hope so.” He sat straighter in the seat. “Last thing I want to do is unload a bunch of medicine in the middle of a snowbank with this wind.”
Walter reached for the armrest and held on as Larkin eased the truck into a curve. As they came out of it, the F-150’s brake lights flashed three times as it came to a stop.
“What the—?” Larkin leaned closer to the windshield. “Please tell me that’s not what it looks like.”
Past Ben’s pickup, a collection of short, dark colored vehicles covered the road. Walter squinted. “Looks like snowmobiles.”
Larkin cursed. “We’re too late.”
“What do you mean?”
“The guy who killed John and shot Daniel; he drove a snowmobile.”
Walter’s heart picked up speed. “There’s a lot more than one.”
“No shit.” Larkin eased his foot off the gas. “What do we do?”
“Hit the brakes a few times to alert Brianna.” Walter leaned down to catch sight of his daughter and Brianna in the Jeep. As Larkin tapped the brakes, the Jeep slowed.
Walter turned to look out the windows. Pine trees lined the road as far as Walter could see to his left and right. Past the snowmobiles, he could make out the sign for a small ski ho
tel that used to serve tourists in the winter. It was too far away to reach. He clenched his fists. “Any way around them?”
Larkin shook his head. “Maybe in the Jeep. But they’re blocking the whole road. Even if I punched the gas and somehow made it onto the side, I wouldn’t get very far. The trees are too dense and the snow is too thick.”
Walter bent down and picked up the rifle off the floorboard. He checked to confirm it was loaded and ready to fire before handing it over to Larkin. “If you back up, can you get enough traction to get up to highway speed?”
“With the road curving like it does back there?” Larkin twisted around to confirm. “I’ll be lucky if I make it up to thirty before I tip the whole rig on its side.”
“Then we can’t ram them.” Walter picked up his own rifle and readied it. “We’ll have to shoot our way out.” He reached for the window crank when Larkin held up a hand.
“Hold on.”
Walter glanced up. The door to the F-150 stood open and Craig Jacobson was walking toward the roadblock. A man swung over the closest snowmobile’s seat and stood up before pulling off a black helmet. A rush of graying hair sprung up on his head and a thick beard covered his neck.
They were too far away to see much more, but the way he carried himself spoke of a hard life with tough choices. This wasn’t the man’s first standoff.
“How many are there?”
Walter attempted to count. “Hard to tell since the snowmobiles are all the same color. I’d say at least seven or eight. Maybe more.”
“I can’t see any weapons, can you?”
“Not clearly. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t loaded for war. Looks like they’re all outfitted in the same gear. Black snowmobile suits and helmets. Could have guns stashed in every pocket.”
“Or grenades.” Larkin shuddered. “This is bad. Real bad.”
Walter watched as Craig closed the distance between the F-150 and the lead snowmobile. He stopped ten feet in front of the only man from the roadblock to leave his rig. Walter cranked down the U-Haul window to try and hear their conversation. He couldn’t make out much.
“…get through.”
“…missing shipment… check it…”
“What are they talking about?” Larkin cranked his own window and a current of cold wind pushed through the cab.
“I can’t tell for sure. Something about a delivery.”
“That’s bull and everyone knows it. They want what’s in the back.”
“They aren’t going to get it.” Walter looked in the rearview. Brianna and Madison still sat in the Jeep, fifty feet or so behind the U-Haul. Steam billowed around the rear of the vehicle and Walter exhaled. If they needed to, the girls could get away.
Craig’s voice rose above the idling engine. “No way! Move!”
“Not good.” Larkin held the rifle in his lap and reached for a Glock he carried in an appendix holster.
Walter stuck his hand out the window and stuck his thumb down for a moment before bringing it back inside. He hoped Madison and Brianna caught it. They needed to know this was going south and that trouble could break out at any time.
Craig pointed at the road before throwing his arms up in the air. Larkin shifted the U-Haul into reverse.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting ready.” He glanced in the rearview. “If shooting breaks out, we need some distance between us and them.”
A horn honked and the heads of the men Walter could see on the snowmobiles turned toward the pickup. Ben Jacobson had slid over to the driver’s seat and shut the door. He honked the horn again.
Craig gestured again and shook his head before turning around. A single gunshot pierced the silence. Craig stumbled, one, two steps, before sliding to his knees. He clutched his chest and looked up, eyes pleading with his uncle and God and whoever else was out there to help him.
As the pickup truck’s door opened, Craig fell, face-first, onto the road.
“No!” Ben screamed as he rose up out of his seat.
Larkin turned to Walter. “It’s now or never.”
“Now.” Walter braced himself as Larkin punched the gas. The rear tires squealed and the back end shimmied. He hoped Colt had a safe place to hunker down back there.
Larkin steered with one hand as he craned his neck out the window to see behind the trailer. “Cover me!”
Walter propped the rifle on the open window and took aim. The U-Haul skittered back and forth. “Don’t hit the Jeep!”
“Don’t let me get shot!” Larkin turned the wheel as the U-Haul neared the Jeep.
A volley of shots rang out. Bullets slammed into the F-150 one after the other. Walter took aim. The U-Haul bounced all over the road, swerving left and right as Larkin struggled to maintain control.
“I can’t take a shot with you driving like that!”
“You try backing up a fourteen-foot truck down an icy hill for God’s sake!”
Walter checked on Brianna’s location. “Stop when I say. Five, four, three, two, now!”
Larkin braked and the U-Haul slid to a stop alongside the Jeep. Walter glanced up at the snowmobiles. A hundred and fifty feet was still in range for most anything. They didn’t have much time.
Brianna rolled down her window. “What’s happening?”
“Craig’s been shot. Ben’s taking fire.”
“What do we do?”
“We’re going to keep backing up and see if we can make it all the way to the on-ramp for I-80.”
“And then what?”
“Hope it’s clear enough to outrun them. Snowmobiles can’t drive on a dry road.”
Engines revved and Walter jerked his head. “They’re coming!”
“What should we do?”
Walter hated what he was about to say with every fiber of his being, but they had to protect the medicine. He made eye contact with his daughter. “Try and give us cover. But as soon as we clear this curve, take off.”
Madison leaned over Brianna. “I love you, Dad!”
“Love you too, sweetheart. Stay safe. I’ll find you.”
Walter motioned to Larkin and he punched the gas. The U-Haul lurched into reverse as Madison propped a rifle on her door ledge. Walter sent up a prayer. If they couldn’t outrun the snowmobiles, none of them might make it out of this ambush alive.
Chapter Thirteen
MADISON
Northwoods Boulevard
Truckee, CA
4:00 p.m.
“We’re never going to be able to hold them!” Madison fired another shot at the nearest snowmobile. The driver was crouched behind the seat, gun of his own propped on the vinyl. “If we don’t get out of here, the Jeep’s going to be so shot full of holes, we won’t be able to drive it.”
Brianna fired a series of shots, taking aim at four men, one after the other. “We have to buy your dad and Larkin enough time to make it to the road.” She fired again and a man fell back into the snow. She whooped. “I got one!”
Madison gritted her teeth. Of all the crazy plans they’d thought up over the past year, this had to be one of the worst. The Jeep was a sitting duck out there with its bright yellow paint glinting in the winter sun. Even if they could navigate the snowy woods to their right, any one of the snowmobiles could follow.
“If we make it out of here alive, we’re giving this thing a makeover.”
“Are not! She’s gorgeous.”
“We’re a target.”
“Just means we need to eliminate the threat.” Brianna grabbed a full magazine off the seat and changed it out. “I’ve got two left. How about you?”
“Three.” Madison leaned over and took aim. As she fired off another shot, a smattering of bullets hit the Jeep in a wide arc. “What the hell are they firing?”
“A bunch of rifles is my guess.”
“They must have endless ammunition.”
A round pierced the windshield and lodged in the seat back where Brianna’s head would rest. It left an inch-wide ho
le and concentric splinters in the glass. It would never hold.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” Madison twisted around in time to catch a snowmobile on the edge of her peripheral vision taking off, gunning for the tree line to Brianna’s left side. “On your left!”
Brianna swiveled and fired. She missed.
More shots hit the Jeep and the girls ducked behind the doors. After the shots faded, Madison risked a glance. “It’s gaining.”
Brianna rose up and fired again. The snow machine kept coming.
“We have to move, Brianna.”
“No. I can take him out.”
Another snowmobile pulled out from ahead. “There’s another one!” There were too many men and not enough cover. They would never survive sitting out on the road. Her heart hammered against her ribs. “We need to go! Now!”
“Where’s your dad?”
Madison turned around. “They’ve cleared the curve.”
“What about Ben?”
Madison turned back toward the F-150. Ben was nowhere to be seen. “I can’t get a visual. He could already be dead.”
“Or he’s trapped up there, using all his ammo to keep us alive.”
A bullet hit the Jeep’s door six inches below Madison’s face. “If we stay here, we won’t be for much longer.” Madison aimed at the snowmobile coming her way in the snowbank. As it rose over a hill of powder, she fired. The driver jerked back, left hand flying off the handlebar.
Hope filled her for a moment, but he shook off the shot and leaned back over. The realization hit her like the bullets pocking the Jeep. “I think they’re wearing vests.”
“Are you serious?” Brianna cursed and dropped the rifle on the seat. She shoved the Jeep into drive. “Try and cover me.”
Madison stuck her rifle out the window and fired a series of shots at the snowmobile gaining the most ground. The driver slowed and ducked as Brianna sprayed an arc of wet snow across the road. The tires slipped on the wet asphalt, but Brianna kept the four-by-four on the road until they reached the shoulder.
“Here we go!” She hit the snow bank and clumps of wet snow and ice flew in all directions. They cleared the worst of the hill and Brianna punched the gas, slipping and sliding all over the place until the thick tires dug into the forest floor beneath the snow.