by Robert Boren
“It’s under Trevor Hall,” Seth said.
“That’s you?”
“No, sir, it’s me,” Trevor said, stepping up. He pulled out his driver’s license.
“Weapons?” the old man asked.
“Three .44 mag Winchesters and a .357 Marlin.”
The old man snickered. “Going in there with lever guns? Lot of that going around these days.”
“Assault weapons ban,” Trevor said.
The old man got a disgusted look on his face. “Yeah, it does narrow your choices a little, I guess. None of these are modified, right?”
“Modified how?”
“To fire by just cocking the lever,” he said.
Trevor and Seth looked at the man like he was nuts, but Angel cracked up.
“Mucus McCain.”
“I do believe that was Lucas McCain,” the old man said with a smirk.
Angel laughed. His friends weren’t getting it. “ The Rifleman, you idiots. Chuck Connors. My dad loved that show. My brother and I came up with Mucus to mess with him.”
“All right,” the old man said. “So none are modified, then?”
“Nope, but it sounds like a good idea,” Matt said. The old man rolled his eyes and shook his head, a slight grin showing.
“Hey, Gus, want to take these kids to the combat range?” the old man asked.
A man got up out of a chair behind the front desk and looked them over. He was about ten years older than them, wearing camo and sporting a crew cut. “Why do I always get the inbreeds?”
Angel laughed. Gus looked at him. “What’s so funny, smiley?”
“Nothing,” Angel said. He and the others followed Gus out the door and to the right, watching as he unlocked a gate about forty yards down. They took a path another hundred yards to a street with building facades.
“Okay, knuckleheads, whoever isn’t shooting stands behind here,” he said, pointing to a wall with a thick plate glass window. “That’s the observation wall. And when you’re shooting, don’t shoot this direction. You do that, even by accident, and you’ll be banned from the range. Got it?”
“Yeah, we got it,” Trevor said, an excited look on his face. “This is gonna be a blast.”
“No pun intended,” Angel quipped.
Gus shook his head. “Who’s first?” Gus asked.
“Let Trevor go first,” Seth said. “He’s the one who’s nutso about this idea.”
“I’m fine with that,” Trevor said.
“Okay, normally we go thirteen rounds,” Gus said. “For now, all you guys got to do is walk down the street and react. You’ll see a target pop out. If it’s a bad guy, shoot it. One shot only and move on.”
“So I need to top up my magazine?” Trevor said. “Since I only hold ten?”
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s what puts the lever guns at a disadvantage during a tournament. But for you guys, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to worry about cover and tactics now either. If you do well, I’ll give you some pointers on that, and talk to you about our classes.”
Trevor took his rifle out of its case and set it on the table behind the observation wall. He loaded it, then stuck three loose rounds in his shirt pocket and walked out onto the street between the building facades.
“Ready?” Gus asked.
“Yeah.” Trevor walked forward, rifle at the ready. There was a click. He turned and fired, hitting the target in a window dead center.
“Nice,” Seth said.
Trevor continued walking until another target popped up. He whirled around, leveling the gun. It was a woman carrying a grocery bag. He lowered his weapon and kept walking. There was another click, and he fired, dead center again. He continued on through the course, topping off his magazine in the middle, only missing one target. He left the bolt open and walked back.
“That was great!” he said, setting his gun down.
“Damn, you’re a natural,” Gus said. “I guess I shouldn’t have called you a knucklehead. Where are you from?”
“Torrance,” he said.
Gus got a grim look on his face. “You know what happened there last night, right?”
“No,” Trevor said. “We left pretty early this morning. Didn’t bother with the news.”
“Gang members went into North Torrance. Burned down several buildings, raped some girls, killed several people who resisted, and torched a bunch of cars.”
“North Torrance?” Seth asked. “I can’t believe we didn’t hear about that.”
“You live in North Torrance?” Gus asked.
“Nah,” Angel said, “We’re in the south-east part of town.”
“I’m almost in Lomita,” Matt said. “The line is just across the street from me. That’s quite a ways from North Torrance.”
“Well, you guys better watch yourselves around there,” Gus said. “I know that area. My sister lives down by the airport. It’s not that far from where the trouble was. Only four or five miles.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing we’re learning to shoot combat, then,” Matt said. “Who’s next?”
“You,” Seth said. “Go for it.”
Matt nodded and took his gun out of his case. The boys took turns cycling through the course. Gus gave them all pointers, although he was most interested in Trevor’s ability. They exchanged phone numbers with Gus at the end.
***
John woke up sweaty, intense morning light shining through the bedroom window of his rig. He felt for Sarah, but she wasn’t there. “Sarah?”
“I’m out here,” she said. “Want coffee?”
“Yeah,” he said, climbing out of bed. “What time is it?”
“Little after eight,” she called back.
“Why’d you let me sleep so late?”
“Eight isn’t late,” she said. “You’re retired. Try to enjoy it a little bit.”
He walked out, pulling on a sweatshirt. “Little chilly.”
“It’s not so bad,” Sarah said, putting her newspaper down on the dinette table.
“You already been to the clubhouse?” he asked, sitting across the table from her.
“Yeah, I was there early,” she said. “Woke up at five thirty and couldn’t go back to sleep. I hate that.” She got up and went to the coffee pot, taking a cup out of the cupboard and filling it. She brought it to the dinette and slid it to John.
“I could’ve done that, you know,” he said, taking a sip. “But thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” she said. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“I have no particular plans,” he smiled. “I’m retired, remember?”
There was some commotion outside. Loud talking, and then the alarm bell sounded.
“Crap, there must be a fire in one of the rigs,” John said, standing up. He carried his coffee to the door and opened it, stepping out. Other people were coming out, looking around to see what the noise was about.
“Hey, John,” Clem said, going down the steps of his rig. “Know what’s happening? I don’t smell any smoke.”
“Nope, but the bell’s still ringing,” John said. “Let’s go to the clubhouse.”
Clem nodded and walked over.
“Wait for me,” Sarah said, rushing down the steps and shutting the door behind her.
“What’s going on?” Sid asked as he joined them with Yvonne by his side.
“Don’t know,” Sarah said.
Harry was already at the clubhouse with Nancy. Others were gathering around quickly as the bell continued to ring.
A middle aged man appeared, large and tan with a shaved head. He walked off the office porch with a bullhorn, looking out over the small crowd, and then stood on the planter wall in front of the clubhouse.
“You all hear me?” he asked.
“Yeah, Sam, we hear you,” Clem said.
“Connie, shut the bell off,” he said through the bullhorn. The bell stopped ringing.
“What’s going on?” Sid asked. “Somebody get hurt?”
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“There’s a large Mexican gang heading this way on Highway 94,” he said. “They just went through Barrett Junction. Killed the Sheriff and his deputy, took a couple of women hostage, and killed several other men in town.”
“You think they’re coming here?” Yvonne asked.
“We’re off the road far enough, so we’ll probably be okay,” Sam said. “But you never know. No fires today. Try to keep the noise and the smells down. Then maybe they’ll just pass us by.”
“What are they driving in?” Sid asked.
“Big transport trucks, at least twelve of them,” Sam said. “They look like military surplus.”
There was a worried murmur in the crowd.
“I think maybe I’ll find a good vantage point and keep watch,” Sid said. “With my rifle.”
“Don’t you go trying to take these folks on,” Sam said. “That might lure them here. They might kill all of us.”
“I won’t,” Sid said.
“Take somebody with you,” Yvonne said.
“No,” Sid said to her. “Nobody else here knows those hills like I do, and they’re treacherous. We don’t need somebody rolling rocks down at a bad time.”
Sam stared at him for a moment, then sighed. “All right, Sid, if you want to be our early warning system, be my guest, but don’t tip them off that somebody’s around. No pot-shots. Call us if you see them coming this way. Agreed?”
“Yeah, I agree,” he said. “Any of you folks who are armed, load your guns and be ready, just in case.”
“I was gonna suggest that,” Sam said, “but be careful. Gunshots can be heard for a considerable distance. Don’t be messing around.”
“We ain’t stupid, Sam,” Harry said.
“Sometimes you are,” Nancy said quietly.
“I heard that,” Harry said. “Don’t worry.”
“How long till they get here?” Sid asked.
“Twenty minutes, give or take,” Sam said. “If any of you is thinking of leaving, do it right now. Okay?”
A few people nodded in agreement, and then the crowd dissipated, most people looking really scared.
“Should we leave?” Sarah asked John as they were walking back to their rig.
“I couldn’t get ready to leave in under twenty minutes,” John said. “We’ve just gotta ride this out, sweetie.”
Chapter 3 – South Bay Mayhem
“Be careful by the windows,” Robbie said as they all got up the stairs. A couple of gunshots sounded.
“That’s not very far away,” Gil said. “Your dad have any guns around here?”
“He has a gun safe, but I don’t have the combination,” Robbie said. “If he bugged out in the motor home, he probably took most of his guns with him.”
“I’ll put the food and beer in the fridge,” Steve said.
“Cool,” Robbie said. “I’m gonna fire up my dad’s PC and see if I can access the video cameras.”
Justin sat on the couch in the living room and turned on the lamp next to him. Steve came in from the kitchen and sat on the other end of the couch, pulling out his phone.
“Is your sis someplace safe?” Justin asked.
Steve looked up from his phone. “She’s in Hermosa. Said the vibe there isn’t right. She’s going up to her friend’s house in Palos Verdes with a few other people.”
“Wish I was with her,” Justin said.
“You’ve got such a crush on Katie,” Steve said. He smiled at him. “You should ask her out. She’s made nice comments about you before.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really,” Steve said.
“Bingo!” Robbie yelled from the front downstairs bedroom.
Steve and Justin rushed down there and joined Gil, looking over Robbie’s shoulder at the PC display. The screen showed four video feeds. One in the garage, one pointing at the driveway, one pointing at the front door, and one pointing into the living room.
“My mom and dad can access this from wherever they are,” Robbie said. “It’ll link up to smart phones.”
“Nice,” Justin said. “They’ll see us here eventually.”
“Yeah, if they’re okay,” Robbie said.
“They’re okay, man,” Gil said.
“I’m gonna set my phone up,” Robbie said.
“You guys want beer?” Justin asked.
“Think we’re safe enough to hang out and drink here?” Steve asked.
“I suggest you don’t get plastered,” Robbie said. “Just in case. My dad’s office downstairs has a big sliding glass door, and somebody could come into the back yard from next door on either side. Same with my mom’s office in the back.”
“There people in the other two units?” Steve asked.
“A couple lives in the front unit,” Robbie said. “Rick and Diane. Original owners like my folks. The middle unit is a rental. Looked pretty dark when we came in.”
There was another gunshot outside, startling all of them.
“Dammit, that was closer,” Gil said.
“Sounded like the Galleria to me,” Robbie said. “It’s less than a mile as the crow flies.” He pointed out the window towards the northeast.
“Should we go upstairs and watch the TV?” Steve asked. “Maybe the news has some chopper video. I keep hearing one out there every few minutes.”
“Yeah, me too, circling,” Robbie said. “I’ll be up in a minute. I want to see how much food we have. My mom usually has a lot of Costco stuff in the deep freeze, out there in the garage.”
“We don’t have clothes over here,” Steve said.
Gil laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Don’t worry, when it’s daylight we can go check things out,” Justin said. “We might want to find a better place.”
“See you guys up there,” Robbie said. He went to the garage as the others went back upstairs. The chest freezer was just outside the door. He opened the lid. There was food, but not as much as usual. They took a lot with them. He shut it and went upstairs, going to the walk-in pantry. Lots of canned goods. Soups and other stuff. Lots of cereal. A case of beer. A bag of potatoes and a bag of onions. Then he looked in the fridge. It was pretty well packed. Some of the veggies looked a little old. Why didn’t mom dump them in the trash? How much of a panic were they in to leave? Why didn’t they call me?
Justin found the TV remote and clicked on the large flat-screen in the living room, then went to one of the local channels. The screen showed helicopter video of the Galleria. “Holy crap, look at this,” he said.
Steve and Gil came in off the balcony. “Damn, that the Galleria?” Steve asked as he looked at the video on the screen.
“Yeah,” Justin said.
Robbie walked in with a beer and sat down on the couch. “There’s a lot of cops there.”
The news readers came on the screen, the scene from the helicopter showing in a smaller square in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
“There is mayhem in the South Bay at this hour,” the woman news reader said. “Police are trying to clear out the Galleria in Redondo Beach, which was under attack earlier by a large mob of gang members. The gangs left when the police arrived, but since many of the storekeepers had fled, the crowd took advantage and began carrying off merchandise.”
The male newsreader took over.
“This is the first night that the gangs have attacked west of Hawthorne Boulevard and south of El Segundo Boulevard. The police were ready but out-numbered. Several officers have been shot, along with several gang members.”
A map graphic came up of southern California, with flame icons at the trouble spots. The woman news reader stood in front of it like a weather person.
“As you can see, there are problems in many parts of the South Bay,” she said. “Carson, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Redondo Beach, Harbor City, and parts of Wilmington are under attack at this hour. Mass looting, assaults, rapes, and murders. Some of the areas are so bad that police have abandoned them, urging residents still t
here to evacuate.”
The male commentator continued.
“The reasons for the sharply increased violence aren’t clear. There have been bank failures and some unrest due to suspension of state entitlement payouts two weeks ago, but most of the late payments have been made as of yesterday. There are reports that agitators from outside of the United States are whipping up violence and leaving before the police arrive. We have no confirmation on that from official sources.”
The woman took over again.
“Sources in Sacramento have indicated that the Governor is considering martial law in the areas hardest hit by the unrest. These areas include San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, Ventura-Oxnard, Los Angeles and many of its suburbs, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, and San Diego. The California borders with Arizona and Nevada have been closed.”
“Geez,” Steve said. “What would martial law be like?”
“Not good, but probably better than this,” Robbie said.
“They’ll come in and disarm the citizens,” Gil said. “Wait and see.”
“Your gun isn’t going to protect you,” Justin said.
“I’m not so sure you should be saying that,” Steve said. “We might be dead right now if Gil didn’t fire a shot over those gang-banger’s heads. Remember?”
“Let’s not argue,” Robbie said.
There was a scream outside, and a couple of men laughing wickedly.
“Shit, that’s right out front,” Robbie said, rushing to the balcony.
“Wait for me,” Gil said, grabbing his rifle.
“Diane!” Robbie yelled, watching two gang-bangers assault the middle-aged woman in the front section of the driveway, ripping her blouse halfway off.
“Rick!” she screamed. Suddenly the garage door rolled open, a German Shepard rushing out, snarling. It grabbed one of the men attacking her. The other man backed off, watching the dog chewing on the man’s calf.
“Call it off, ese,” yelled another gang banger, who ran up pointing a gun at the dog.
Robbie heard Gil’s lever gun cock next to him. Gil aimed and fired at the man with the gun, hitting him square in the chest. He fell backwards, his head cracking on the pavement. Diane screamed, and Rick rushed out of the garage with a baseball bat, hitting the other gang-banger in the head, killing him instantly.