“What you need is to stay here and let me be the one to go. But we both know that isn’t going to happen so the least you can do is shut up and let me make you comfortable.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You bring your medicine?”
“Yep, all of which expired twelve years ago.”
“You really should stay here. I promise I won’t kill Dupree.”
“I’m more worried about him killing you and everyone on our team.”
“Your confidence in my abilities is touching. Thank you.”
Max winked. “You’re welcome.”
Elizabeth finished the makeshift bed and stepped back. “Your first-class accommodations await. Care to try it out?”
“Not till we leave. Once I get comfortable in there good luck getting me out.”
“Good point. You are very lazy.”
Max rolled his eyes. “You’re funny.
“I’ve got everything under control so you might as well get in.”
“Fuel?”
“Enough for the round trip and a little to spare. Using seventy-five percent of our supply.”
“Weapons and ammo?”
“Twelve rifles, twelve pistols, twelve shotguns. The M-60 is mounted along with all the ammo we have for it.”
“Food and water?”
“Max.”
“Just answer the question, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth indulged her husband’s incessant need for checklists. She huffed and answered in a dull monotone. “Four cases of MREs and thirty gallons of water.”
“Thank you, dear. Was that so hard?”
“Will you please get in the car?”
“Yes ma’am.” Max kissed his wife and climbed in the passenger seat and rolled down the window.
“Are you kidding me? I made that comfy bed and you’re gonna sit up here?”
“Don’t worry; I’ll get back there when I need it. Let’s get the team up here for a briefing.”
Elizabeth waved over the other ten members of the team. They all gathered around Max’s window.
“Okay people, listen up. Some introductions are in order. We are lucky to have Isaac Lynwood and three of his people with us. Isaac was responsible for bringing Theo back to us. One of the last things Theo told me was to trust Isaac and that we could count on him. I don’t know about any of you, but if Theo vouched for him, he’s one of us.”
“Thank you, Max, I appreciate that. Whatever you need, brother. We’re ready.”
Max continued, “This will be just like a recon mission or supply run but a hell of a lot longer. Four vehicles with teams of three in each. Open road with high visibility you spread out, tighter roads with low visibility you get closer. A lot of desperate people out there will do anything to get their hands on this much fuel so watch out for Good Samaritan traps. That means no stopping for anyone. You will radio in your fuel status on every quarter mark. The only bathroom break you’re getting is when we stop to refuel so you better bring a piss jug. Since we don’t travel further than fifty miles out, we’ll be setting up camp before the sun goes down. We will not be driving in the dark. Since Isaac and his people are joining us, let’s go over the rules of engagement. Someone on foot starts firing, just keep on driving and return fire only it’s needed to get away, otherwise, save your ammo. If we’re attacked by another vehicle or group of vehicles, you are clear to engage but be mindful of friendly fire and do not stop unless you have no other choice. I’ll be in the lead so if we come up on any roadblocks, it will be my call. If a vehicle is disabled, we all stop and form a perimeter around it. Questions?”
Several members of the team looked at each other waiting for someone to ask the question on all of their minds. Finally, someone spoke up. “What’s in St. Louis, boss? Why are we going?”
“I won’t be answering that until we stop to refuel. Until then, don’t dwell on it and stay focused. Any more questions? If not, we’re burning daylight.”
Max caught a break and had heard from Benjamin Black early that morning confirming that he had Dupree in custody and was en route to St. Louis. Max was not expecting to hear from Ben until noon and had planned on leaving at sunrise the next day. With plenty of daylight in front of them, they left shortly after breakfast. Close to nine hundred miles of hostile road stood between Max and Richard. Prior to the collapse, the trip could be made in roughly fourteen hours. Eleven years of decay meant long stretches of barely passable roads. Four years of war with the Chinese meant bombed out cities and bridges long since destroyed. Desperation meant packs of violent thugs happy to relieve you of your possessions and leave you for dead. Max would be happy to make two hundred miles a day which meant four days to St. Louis. Max had told Ben that if he didn’t make contact by sunrise in seven days to execute Dupree. Max needed the assurance that if he couldn’t make it to St. Louis alive that Dupree would get what he had coming to him.
The first day of the journey was surprisingly uneventful. After they left the compound, they didn’t see another human being the entire day. The main issue they had to contend with was maintaining a steady speed on the road. Abandoned cars littered the road so it just wasn’t safe to drive fifty miles an hour since you never knew what was over the next hill or around the bend. They also had to contend with potholes that could chew a tire to shreds. Thirty miles an hour was about as fast as Max was willing to risk when the road allowed, which wasn’t often. In three different sections the road was completely blocked with abandoned cars so they had to cross the median to the westbound lanes to get around it. Twice they came upon collapsed bridges and had to backtrack to find suitable terrain that would allow them to navigate around and get back to the road. The most difficult task of the day was spent dealing with a cell phone tower that had fallen across all four lanes of traffic. They made just shy of two hundred miles before nightfall and made camp.
The second day proved to be more eventful. Two hundred seventy five miles east of Denver on Interstate 70, the eastbound lanes were backed up as far as the eye could see. To make matters worse, the westbound lanes were also backed up with vehicles heading east. Isaac was driving the lead vehicle and Max was next to him in the passenger seat.
“Son of a bitch,” said Max.
“What do you wanna do, boss?” said Isaac.
“Elizabeth,” said Max as he looked up.
“Got it.” Elizabeth exited the vehicle and climbed up on the roof with a pair of binoculars. “It’s bad, I can’t see past it. A lot of old school buses back here near us but it’s mainly a military convoy.”
“Ours?”
“Not PSA, it’s Chinese.”
“Chinese? Heading east?” asked Isaac.
“Look like some epic battle happened here?” asked Max.
“Hard to say from back here. We could ask General Dupree, brilliant military leader and all.”
“I’m sure he’ll tell us all about it,” said Max. “Can we get around it?”
“Not looking that way.”
Max keyed up his radio. “Everyone rally on me.”
Less than a minute later the other nine members of the team were gathered around Max’s window. “Hanson, take your team up a few hundred yards and scout the area. We need a way around this disaster. Got your binoculars?”
Hanson nodded.
“Good, if you come up empty then double time it back here for plan B.”
Elizabeth asked, “What’s plan B?”
“I’m sure we’ll think of something before they get back.”
“Oh honey, Leadership 101, come on. Lie and say you have a plan.”
Max deadpanned. “I have a plan.”
Isaac bellowed out in laughter, which relaxed everyone enough to let out a few chuckles. Max smiled and winked to the rest of the team. “Seriously, I have a basic idea that’s going to depend on what intel they find. Everyone relax, I know what I’m doing.”
“We know you do, brother, we know you do,” said Isaac.
Max said, “Mr. Hanson, stay in
contact on the radio and tell us what you see. We need some good news.”
“I’ll do my best, boss.”
Hanson and his team returned to their vehicle and retrieved their gear. They made it past the lead vehicle and disappeared into the vehicle graveyard blocking their way. About five minutes later, Max heard the radio transmit. “Hanson to Max.”
“Go.”
“No signs of a firefight. No bullet holes, no shell casings. Haven’t seen a single corpse so far. Just empty vehicles.”
“Tell me what vehicles you see.”
“As you guys can see from back there, school buses, city buses. Then we’ve got five-ton trucks, tanks, APCs, Humvees, and some more shit. Got a hill a few minutes in front of us. Once we get to the top, we should know what we’re dealing with.”
“Copy that, we’ll be standing by.”
Isaac asked, “How’s that plan of yours looking?”
“We’ll know at the top of the hill.”
A few minutes passed and Hanson called in his report. “You’re not gonna believe this shit. A train derailed on to the fucking highway. A giant ass crater is sitting where the train tracks should be and the train just spilled out on to the road. Can’t see past the train wreckage but that doesn’t really matter.”
“Why?” asked Max.
“A serious battle took place here. Looks like the Chinese were trying to salvage what was on the train and the PSA bombed the shit out of them. Either side of the highway is nothing but bomb craters, dead bodies, and wrecked vehicles. You want my opinion?”
“Of course I do.”
“Chinese tried to retreat and didn’t make it. Total slaughter.”
“Sounds like it. You see a way for us to get around?”
“Certainly not looking good from where I’m standing.”
“How far up is the train wreck?”
“At least a mile.”
“Okay then, head on back.”
“Copy that.”
Elizabeth was standing at the driver’s side window with Isaac. She looked at her husband. “Max, what’s the plan?”
“We can’t get around this mess, so we have to find a way through it.”
Elizabeth was confused. “And just how do we do that?”
“You’re not gonna like it.”
“What?”
“First, I have to turn around and head back to Denver. No way in hell I’m making it over a mile in my condition. The rest of you head up on foot and acquire new transportation.”
“You’re staying with us,” said Elizabeth.
“You need to be reasonable. You know that’s not going to happen.”
“Can we carry him?” asked Isaac.
Max was losing patience. “No! You can’t carry me. I have a fucked up spine and I’ll end up in worse shape before we get there. It was stupid of me to come in the first place.”
“Honey, are you done?” Elizabeth was smiling at her husband. She held her smile and waited for him to calm down.
Max sighed and rolled his eyes. “You brought it didn’t you? I told you not to bring it and you brought it anyway.”
“Brought what?” asked Isaac.
“His wheelchair,” said Elizabeth.
The other members of the team exchanged puzzled looks. None of them had seen Max in a wheelchair and they looked to each other for confirmation. Wheelchair? Have you ever seen him in a wheelchair? Max looked around and could tell what was going on.
“No,” said Max.
“You’re really going to let your stubborn pride keep you from Dupree?” asked Elizabeth.
Max remained silent.
“That’s what I thought.” Elizabeth walked to the third SUV and opened the rear hatch. She moved some boxes around and found the wheelchair still hidden under a blanket right where she left it. She unfolded it and pushed it to the front of the convoy. Max opened his door and stood next to the wheelchair. He glared at it like he was in the death chamber about to be strapped into the electric chair. He finally sat down and became very sullen, not because he had admitted defeat and surrendered to the wheelchair, it was because he was contemplating his words.
“I was the vice president of the Pacific States of America right up to the day she fell and I was never told about this. If I didn’t know anything about it that means Marshall Beck didn’t either.”
The members of the team, Elizabeth included, rarely heard Max speak the name of Howard Beck’s son, who was also the second president of the PSA.
No one moved a muscle, they hung on Max’s every word. “I want to know what happened here. I want to know what was on that train and I want to know why Richard never told us about it.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I gotta tell ya, Richard, you’ve seen better days. Known you a lot of years and I never seen you with a beard and your hair ain’t never been more than an inch long. Nice look you got going.”
“Thank you, Ben. You wanna braid it? Talk about boys?”
“Fuck you, Richard.”
Richard smiled at the playful banter. He paused for a minute and said, “I’m glad it was you.”
“What?”
“I’m glad you were the one that caught me.”
“Why is that?”
“I’m still alive.”
“I have a feeling that will change, Richard.”
“I’m sure it will. Max would’ve killed me by now.”
“Why is that? You two were like brothers.”
“Is the face guard and straight jacket really necessary, Ben? I mean, sure, I get that I’m a dangerous lunatic and all, but the whole Silence of the Lambs thing is a bit much.”
“You make Hannibal Lecter look like a simpleton, so cut the shit, it’s not coming off.”
“Loved the book, you read it?”
“Stop it, Richard. Don’t change the subject. What the hell happened with you two?”
“Long story.”
“St. Louis is at least another hour away. Plenty of time to take a trip down memory lane.”
“When Max sees me, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“Richard, my old friend, I have a front row seat and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Richard wasn’t sure how many vehicles were in Ben’s convoy. The blindfold came off and all he could see one SUV in front. The face guard was fastened to the straightjacket so he couldn’t turn his head. Ben had a goon armed with a taser sitting on either side of Richard while Ben road shotgun. Richard was very impressed; Ben came prepared.
“Ben, can I ask you a question?”
“You can ask, don’t mean I’ll answer.”
“How is Max? Is he okay?”
“Like you give a shit.”
“Ben, please. Just because he wants me dead doesn’t mean I feel the same. How is he?”
“Have you ever known him to be in good health? I haven’t.”
“He’s had his ups and down.”
“Well, it’s been nothing but down since you left. The drinking’s been really bad. I know it’s about the best thing to escape this shitty world and we all do it more than we should, but Max gives new meaning to the term ‘functioning alcoholic.’ You ask me, it’s a really slow way to commit suicide. To make things even worse, he can barely walk.”
“What? He got than fancy surgery from Hal…”
“Don’t say his name! Say his name one more fucking time and…”
“Okay, sorry. I won’t.”
“Yes, he had the surgery but it wasn’t enough. Permanent nerve damage, he’s in constant pain. Only gets worse when he’s active. Thanks to your stupid ass, medical intervention isn’t really an option.”
Richard had had enough. Ben spoke the hurtful truth and Richard didn’t want to hear another word of it. Ben looked at him in the rear view mirror and saw the look of defeat in Richard’s eyes. Satisfied with his victory, Ben changed the subject.
“What the hell have you been doing all this time? I mean, other than running?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
“Wait, you need to know something.”
“Huh?”
“Whatever’s about to happen, I had nothing to do with it.”
Ben swung around in his seat and looked directly at Richard. “The fuck you talking about?” Before Ben could turn around and face forward, the lead vehicle veered off the road and flipped over in the ditch. Ben grabbed the rifle between his legs. “Drive! Drive! Drive!”
The driver slammed the accelerator to the floor and the SUV lurched forward.
Richard was eerily calm. “I’d pull over if I were you.”
Ben didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Dammit, Dupree! What the hell did…”
The driver’s head erupted and covered Ben’s face in brain matter. The bullet then exited the driver’s head and came to a stop in the throat of the man sitting next to Richard.
Richard screamed, “Ben! Take the wheel!”
Ben wiped the blood from his eyes and grabbed the wheel, desperately trying to keep the SUV on the pavement. Thankfully, the driver had slumped forward and his foot slid off the accelerator. When the vehicle had slowed enough, Ben carefully steered it down a gentle slope and into some bushes. The front bumper nudged into a tree and they stopped.
Richard’s tactical assessment completely changed in less than thirty seconds. He had previously hoped that Ben’s convoy was small and only one vehicle was behind them. When Ben opened the rear door and pulled him out, Richard wanted nothing more than to see an army of vehicles engaging whatever force had attacked them.
The road was empty. They were alone.
Ben flung Richard to the ground and stepped on his neck. The man that was sitting to Richard’s right foolishly ran from cover and was gunned down. “God damn you, Richard! No way your buddies are getting you out of here! I’ll kill you first!”
“This ain’t me. Why would I warn you ahead of time?”
A canister hit the roof of the SUV and bounced a few feet away from Ben and Richard. A deafening boom and a shower of sparks disoriented Ben. He dropped his rifle and instinctively brought his hands to his ears. Before he could react, Ben was punched in the face and brought to the ground by three men. Bound by a straightjacket, all Richard could do was watch. He looked up to see an old man walking towards him. Once he was close enough, Richard could see that the man was smiling.
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