by Robert Boren
“We think that would be really stupid of them,” Seth said. “They can spread out all over the place on the beaches. We won’t be able to stop them easily. If they try to take the Sweetwater River inland, they’ll be much easier to target.”
“They aren’t gonna try that,” Tex said. “Look at the satellite view. They’d have to enter San Diego Bay, and they’ll be seen right away. The Navy would take them out with shore batteries and small craft.”
“Then why are they heading there?” Allison asked.
“If they can start a big mess in National City, they hope to draw attention from their boats landing all over the coast.”
“Where would they land?” Allison asked.
“South of San Diego Bay,” Katie said. Look at Border Field State Park, and the sloughs just south of Imperial Beach. They might be able to disappear into that area.”
“Yep,” Seth said. “They might also hit Imperial Beach and disappear into the residential areas there.”
“Is the enemy on the road yet?” Ted asked. “We’re almost to the I-805 on-ramp.”
“Not yet, but proceed,” Seth said. “We’ll be watching.”
“This Jules. Put coaches with more than two people into the forward positions. Let’s not make same mistakes again.”
“We’ve only got two,” Ted said. “Our coach and Tex’s coach.”
“I think he’s right, partner,” Tex said. “We get into the spearhead positions.”
“Abandon battle wagons if attack too much,” Jules said. “Live to fight another day.”
“We’ll take that under advisement,” Sparky quipped.
Dana and several others laughed.
“Enemy on the move,” Seth said. “Hell, most of them are on foot.”
“Then we have plenty of time,” Justin said.
“No, look at the map,” Seth said. “Just calculated the distance. They’ll be at the southeast corner of National City pretty quick. It’s just over three miles.”
“Dammit,” Trevor said. “Can you give us an estimate of the numbers?”
“Negative,” Seth said. “They’re emerging slowly, and there’s too much tree cover to see the whole group. Hell, they might not send all of them at once, either. They might get a bunch of their folks walking, and sent a bunch more later in vans. They have a few hundred parked all over that country club.”
“This is gonna be hairy,” Sparky said.
{ 9 }
Beams and Semis
D oug was sitting in the commander’s seat of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, watching the horizon with the CIV FLIR unit. Jorge sat in the driver’s seat.
“Still can’t see them?” Jorge asked.
“Naw, they’re still way too far out. What’s Gonzales up to?”
“He’s out with Sessions and the other Marines, getting some air. You finished eating?”
Doug turned towards him. “Yeah. Was about ready to get a little shut-eye.”
“That’s what I was thinking. The long-range app shows the enemy stopping their march. They’re probably bedding down for the night.”
“Wish we had an alarm setting on the apps. They might get moving before morning.”
“Don’t worry, there’s people watching the satellite feeds and the detail apps too,” Jorge said. “We’ll get notified. Trust me.”
Doug nodded, climbing out of the commander’s seat and returning to his gunner’s seat. “Gonna be tough sleeping here.”
Jorge laughed. “Hell, I’m so tired now that I’ll fall asleep anywhere. Maybe I’ll open the hatch a crack, though. Smells too much like a gym locker in here.”
“True that.” Their phones dinged with a text.
“Uh oh,” Jorge said, putting his phone to his face. “Surprised we still have cell coverage.”
“The Marines put up some antennas,” Doug said. “Heard Simmons and Jenkins talking about it. They were all excited about talking to their women.”
“You call your wife?”
Jorge smiled. “She called me, when I was outside. All quiet in town. You?”
Doug shrugged. “My wife isn’t interested in talking to me. I’ll let it go. Who texted you?”
“Conrad. You got it too, right?”
“Yeah, but my phone is on the charger. Figured I should use it before the others come back in here for the night. We only have four outlets. What’s he saying?”
“I’m about to check,” Jorge said, tapping on the message. He cracked up. “Ivan the Butcher put out a new video. He sent us a link. Says it’s worth watching.”
“Oh, really now,” Doug said. “Something to look forward to, then.”
“I’m coming back there. I’ll run it for both of us.” He climbed out of the front hatch and came around to the rear door, which was open. “Ready?”
“Sure, why not,” Doug said, sitting up.
Jorge started the video and held it so Doug could watch too.
Ivan was sitting at a desk in front of a white backdrop, wearing his gangster suit. There was a large video screen next to him.
Good afternoon, fellow patriots. It’s your friend Ivan the Butcher, here to show you how UN Peacekeepers have been infiltrating our state.
The screen lit up with an aerial picture of Dana Point Harbor. It zoomed in closer and closer, focusing on a fishing trawler.
“Looks like drone video,” Doug said.
This is Dana Point Harbor. See that big boat there? The one listing in it’s slip, with the bodies on the deck and on the dock next to it? That boat was being used to bring in UN Peacekeepers along with weapons and ammo. This has been a daily occurrence for months. The UN Peacekeepers were taken in rental trucks from this location to the large base in El Cajon, where a battle is now raging. Here’s what we did to the UN traitors who came here to attack us.
The picture changed, showing UN Peacekeepers hanging from their ankles around the sinking trawler, then grisly pictures of dead men inside the boat and in front of a Whale Watching establishment.
“Geez, hope there aren’t a lot of kids watching this,” Jorge said.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe they need to see this,” Doug said. “Wonder if Ivan broke into all channels again? That’s his way.”
Ivan was back on the screen, now standing behind his desk, Ben Dover sitting off to the side with a serious expression.
We don’t show the results of all our operations. Why am I showing this one, you ask? There is an armada of small boats coming north from Mexico as we speak.
The screen showed aerial video of a multitude of small craft off the coast, spread out far and wide.
“Dammit, that’s a lot of boats,” Jorge said.
The UN thinks they will land on the beaches of San Diego and attack. We need to be ready for them. We need our citizens to gather their weapons and line the beaches and ports in the San Diego area. The UN Peacekeepers deserve the proper welcome. Let’s see that they get exactly that. This war is not yet over, but we can end it. You know what to do.
The screen went blank.
“Wow,” Doug said. “That won’t make the enemy happy. They’re gonna run into a buzz saw.”
“Why doesn’t the Navy just hit them?”
“They probably want to save their expensive munitions for bigger targets,” Doug said.
Gonzales came in through the back door. “You guys see that video? Radical.”
“Yeah, just watched it, dude,” Jorge said. “What about us? Hear anything more?”
“Central Command just sent out a message saying the enemy was down for the night. We’ll see. Plenty of us will be covering them with the apps throughout the night. You guys might want to bed down for now. I doubt we’ll get a whole night of sleep.”
“Exactly what we were planning to do before we got the text about Ivan’s broadcast,” Doug said. “We’re completely reloaded and ready to go.”
“Good, you guys do your best to sleep, then. I’ll probably sleep out here, but we’ll have at least one per
son up all the time, watching out for us. Charge up your phones if you haven’t already.”
“Will do,” Jorge said.
Gonzalez left.
“All right, I’ll try to sleep, but that video kinda woke me up,” Jorge said.
“Me too, but we’ll crash. Hell, I’ve been up for almost thirty-six hours.”
***
Sam and Erica joined Sid and Yvonne by the blue awnings on the end of the dock as the sun was inching towards the horizon.
“That was easier than I expected,” Yvonne said.
Sam nodded. “Yeah. Hope the video that Ivan’s putting out will get people watching for the armada.”
“Here comes Mr. White and Mr. Black,” Erica said.
“We done now,” Mr. Black said as they walked up. “We go back up north with commando team. Problem in Sacramento.”
“Uh oh, really?” Yvonne asked.
“Small problem, we handle,” Mr. White said. “Thanks for good job here. Better leave before authorities show up.”
“They’re already here,” Erica said. “Saw them park and rush to the harbor master’s office.”
Sam chuckled. “Maybe they don’t want to ask us questions they don’t want the answers too. We’re popular with law enforcement, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Mr. Black nodded, grinning. “We see you later.”
The two men sauntered away.
“Those two are something else,” Erica said. “Who are you texting, Sam?”
“Ivan. We need to know where to go next. Maybe he’ll want us to join the others down in Bonita.”
“I want to get back to Mia,” Erica said.
The return text dinged. Sam read it, and smiled at Erica. “Back to Dodge City.”
“Thank God. Let’s get going.”
“We’d better have our guns handy,” Sid said. “We know at least a few UN vans left the scene. They might be waiting for us someplace.”
“We’ll take the big roads,” Yvonne said. “C’mon. Oh, and let’s keep each other in sight, please?”
“Of course,” Sam said. The two couples went back to their cars.
“Glad that’s over,” Erica said. “You think it’ll prevent more boats coming in there?”
“They were probably close to done with that anyway. I’m worried about this armada. I was looking at the drone video a little while ago. There’s hundreds of boats on the way.”
“We’ll have to rely on the citizens,” Erica said. “They haven’t let us down yet.”
Sam started the engine and drove towards Dana Point Harbor Drive. “Yep, the people are saving themselves. They just needed somebody like Ivan to give them a push.”
***
Clem walked to the hotel. The air still smelled of black powder, but it was quiet now, the warriors back to working the mine opening, Garrett’s cavalry back on patrol, the off-roaders spread around in front and in back of Dodge City’s main street. Dusk was setting in.
“You done for a while?” Sarah asked Clem as he entered the hotel lobby.
“You’re here? Thought you were still in the mine, helping with the kids.”
“I got relieved. Feel like a little us-time?”
“You read my mind,” Clem said, “but I might need to rest a little. It’s been a busy day.”
“I’m good with that,” she said. They went up the stairs to Clem’s room.
“You aren’t going through your door?” he asked.
Sarah chuckled. “Why? Everybody knows anyway.”
Clem opened the door for her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Does it bother you?”
“No, I’m proud to be your… what am I anyway? Your girlfriend?”
Clem laughed. “Why don’t we say lady friend?”
She turned, pulling him into her arms. “That’s perfect, and you’re my gentleman friend.” They kissed, their passion rising fast.
“Maybe I’m not as tired as I thought.”
“Let’s just get into bed and see how things go,” Sarah said. They both fell asleep shortly after they laid down. Clem woke up an hour later to the sound of hammering. He sat up in bed, looking towards the window, which woke Sarah.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’ll bet they’ve got the first of the mine timber sets in place. That’s good. Once they’ve got the first one in, things will speed up. It’d be nice not to climb down that damn hole every time we need to go inside.”
Sarah chuckled. “I always get my clothes dirty doing that, and laundry is more of a chore here.”
Clem laid back down, Sarah looking over at him. She smiled.
“What?” Clem asked.
“Think you can?”
“Thought you’d never ask. He rolled over her, kissing her gently, and soon they weren’t thinking about anything but each other. It wasn’t frantic like before. It was comfortable, but they were still breathing hard afterwards.
“That was nice,” Sarah whispered. Clem looked at her, reaching to stroke her cheek.
“I think I’m falling for you.”
Sarah studied his eyes. “I’ve been there for a while now.”
“You have?” Clem asked.
“Don’t look so surprised.”
He chuckled. “I was afraid to tell you, but I had to.”
“Now you know how I feel. Hungry?”
“I could eat, but I don’t want to stay up too late. It’s already nearly eight.”
“We could always bring some food up here,” she said, sitting up. “What do you say?”
“Let’s go.” The couple dressed and left the room.
***
Garrett was standing with Anna by his side, looking into the mine as Tyler and the other warriors were working via flood lights.
“That was a good breakthrough,” he said.
Ed walked out of the mine, smiling as he saw them. “We’re making progress. Hopefully the enemy won’t hit us here again.”
“It looks good,” Anna said. “We should be proud.”
“Damn straight,” Garrett added.
“No more enemy fighters showing up, I take it?” Ed asked.
“The action is all way west and way south of here now,” Garrett said. “Thank God. Not that it couldn’t change.”
“You always know how to put my mind at ease,” Anna quipped.
“I know, ain’t I something?”
Ed laughed while Anna rolled her eyes.
Willard came up behind them. “How late are you slave-drivers gonna make those guys work, anyway?”
“Hey, Willard, wondered where you were.”
“Just serving up a snort or two to the cavalry guys who came off duty at seven.”
“That sounds kinda good,” Garrett said.
“Oh no you don’t,” Anna said. “Let’s go home. It’s getting late, and we’re both behind on sleep now.”
“You heard the lady,” Garrett said.
Willard shrugged. “Shucks. Oh, what the hell. Take care. I’ll go drink by myself.”
“No you won’t,” Ed said, patting him on the shoulder. The two men walked off towards the saloon, chatting and laughing.
“They’re probably talking about us,” Anna said. “Let’s go get the wagon.”
Garrett pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her, which went on longer than either had planned.
“What was that for?” she asked, trying to catch her breath.
“For being mine,” Garrett said. “You mind?”
She stared into his eyes for a moment, then took his hand and pulled him towards the livery stable. Garrett got the horses hitched to the wagon, and they rolled off towards the ranch house.
“I was hoping this was about over,” Anna said. “Today didn’t instill confidence.”
“We won,” Garrett said.
“True, but we had to fight. How much longer will that go on?”
He looked over at her, reins in his hands as the horses plodded along. “I can’t tell you for sure, othe
r than to say that we’re getting close to the end. That won’t solve all our problems, though.”
“Meaning what?”
He sighed. “Our society is broken, and we haven’t killed off everybody who aided and abetted the crisis. Things won’t be like they were before the war. Not for a long time, I suspect.”
“So what do we do?”
Garrett glanced at her. “Don’t worry. If we live here and on your reservation, we’ll be somewhat insulated. Hell, that’s why I came out here in the first place. I was done with California society. Too much BS, too much rancor. Too many rules and regulations. Too much disrespect. Too many hands out for that which they didn’t earn.”
“Oh. I don’t know how much of a reservation we’ll have left. So many of our people are dead now. I don’t know if we even have enough left to re-open the casino operation, let alone re-staffing the school and the other civic institutions.”
“Then we’ll have our work cut out for us, I reckon.”
She laughed. “You know, that’s one of the things that I love about you. There’s always hope. You never throw in the towel.”
“Some of our new friends may choose to stay on at Dodge City. A few of them have already asked about it.”
“Oh, really? Who?”
“Mostly folks from Sam’s RV park. Sid and Yvonne, Clem, even Sam himself.”
“I expect if Clem stays, Sarah will too. They’re together, you know.”
“I figured as much. Good for them. Oh, and I include Erica and Mia with Sam.”
“What about school for Mia?” Anna asked.
“Dulzura is close enough. She can go there.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Do you mind if I stay with you here?”
Garrett stopped the wagon and looked at her. “I want you to. In fact, I want you to be my wife.”
“We’ve already talked about it. There’s no need to bother. You have me either way.”
“Would you agree to it, down the road?”
She stared into his eyes for a moment. “You’re afraid I won’t, aren’t you? You’re that much in love with me already? It hasn’t been that long.”
“I am. I want you to be family. Marriage promotes that.”
“Oh. Well, when you say it that way, I understand. Yes, I’ll marry you if that’s what you want. We should wait until this war is over, though.”