That didn’t sound good.
The man holding on to Derrick—Muscles—gripped Derrick’s upper arm while a tall man took hold of Jeff before marching them out of the building and toward a panel van. When they reached the rear of the van, Derrick shifted his eyes to Jeff, who lifted his eyebrows as if to ask We gonna do this? Derrick tilted his head: Wait.
Derrick didn’t resist as the men loaded him and Jeff into the back of the van, climbing in willingly and easily like they were going to cooperate. He and Jeff sat across from each other on benches that lined the sides. The doors closed and locked behind them.
“Let’s see where they take us,” Derrick murmured. “See if we can gather some intel.”
“Right,” Jeff muttered.
Moments later Muscles and Tall Man climbed into the driver’s and passenger’s seats. Metal mesh separated the rear of the van from the front. The van backed out of the parking space and pulled onto the road. There was no traffic.
They’d been driving for about fifteen minutes when the van came to a stop. Derrick looked at Jeff, who looked back at him. The two men got out of the front of the van and a moment later the rear doors swung open.
From where Derrick sat, all he could see were trees. It looked like an orchard. “What’s going on?” he asked.
Muscles sneered. “Get out.”
Chapter 3
Derrick
Derrick shifted his eyes to Jeff, who stared back. They both knew what was going on. These men had obviously been instructed to drive Derrick and Jeff to the middle of nowhere and kill them. Why, though? Was this the government’s solution? If anyone gave a hint of trouble they were to be dispatched without trial? Justice had gone off the rails. That didn’t surprise Derrick though. Not in this crazy world where law and order no longer existed.
With his hands still bound behind his back with zip ties, Derrick stood, although with the low ceiling, he had to crouch. Jeff did the same. They slowly made their way to the open door.
“Hurry up,” Tall Man said, his face showing how annoyed he was that he had to deal with them. Derrick was annoyed too. He hadn’t planned on being taken captive and assassinated.
Derrick reached the doorway and hopped onto the pavement. Jeff joined him a moment later. Looking around and seeing nothing but trees and no other people, Derrick asked, “Why did we stop?” He knew the answer, but he was trying to buy time. He kept his tone conversational. No reason to tip these guys off to what he really had in mind.
Muscles smirked. “Thought we’d go for a walk.”
Okay, so Muscles relished killing. Good to know.
Derrick lifted his arms behind his back. “Can you take these off?”
Both men laughed, their faces scrunching up with amusement, then they shook their heads like they couldn’t believe Derrick had asked such a ridiculous question. Tall Man sobered and motioned toward the orchard with his handgun. “Start walking.”
This was starting to go too far. If he and Jeff headed into the orchard where no one could possibly see what was going on, it would be over for them. “No can do,” Derrick said, his voice firm.
Muscles eyebrows yanked together. “What?”
“We have no reason to walk into that orchard.”
Muscles pointed his gun at Derrick. “Here’s a reason.”
The sound of voices filtered into the air, including a crying baby. All four men turned to see where it was coming from. A quarter mile down the road, a group of people—looked like at least a dozen—was approaching. Derrick saw a stroller as well as two shopping carts filled with who-knew-what. Didn’t matter. This was his chance to turn the tables.
“Get moving,” Muscles growled.
Derrick couldn’t hold back the smile that lifted one side of his lips. “No.”
Using two hands, Muscles leveled his gun at Derrick.
“You really going to shoot us in front of all of those people?” Derrick chin-pointed at the men’s clothing. “Uniforms say you’re from the government. That the impression you want people to have about their government? That they’ll take their guns and then shoot ‘em?” Derrick’s eyebrows rose. “Not gonna get a lot of people so willing to turn over their weapons then, huh?”
This seemed to give Muscles pause. Maybe Mr. Friendly had told them to be subtle when they murdered innocent citizens. Muscles looked at Tall Man, who frowned deeply.
The people were drawing closer. They eyed Muscles, Tall Man, Derrick, and Jeff. Muscles and Tall Man stared right back. This was the opportunity Derrick had been waiting for. With their captors distracted, Derrick lifted his arms behind himself, then slammed his forearms against his hips. It hurt like a mother to have the zip ties cut into his wrists, but after three swift hits, the zip ties snapped apart.
Derrick looked to Jeff and saw he’d managed to break his as well. Derrick kept his arms behind his back as if they were still bound, and when Muscles glanced at him, Derrick avoided his gaze, focusing instead on the passing group, who were giving them a wide berth.
Derrick made eye contact with Jeff, then he dipped his chin in a tiny nod: Let’s do this. As one, Derrick and Jeff attacked their captors. Derrick plowed into Muscles, knocking him to the ground and sending his gun flying. Muscles fought back, but Derrick pummeled him. Muscles continued to struggle until Derrick wrapped his hands around Muscles’ throat, choking him until he passed out. He continued squeezing until he was sure Muscles was dead.
A gunshot rang out.
Startled, Derrick shifted his gaze to Jeff and Tall Man. Tall Man lay on the ground, blood pooling around his head as Jeff straightened.
Jeff grinned and held up the weapon. “Got his gun.”
“Nice.”
As Derrick got to his feet, he looked toward the group of people, who were now thirty yards beyond them. The group was staring at them, but the moment Derrick made eye contact, they turned and hurried away. No one wanted to get involved in someone else’s troubles.
Jeff stood beside Derrick. “Now what?”
He grinned. “Now we toss them in the orchard and take their van.”
Jeff nodded. “Works for me.”
After tucking Muscles’ gun into his own waistband, Derrick worked with Jeff to drag the men deep into the orchard, leaving their bodies to the elements.
When they got back to the van, Jeff offered to drive. Derrick agreed, riding shotgun and keeping an eye out for trouble as they drove to where they’d left his truck near the DMV. They exchanged the van for Derrick’s truck, keeping the keys to the van so that it couldn’t be easily used, then headed back to the Miller’s farm. When they arrived, Jeff’s girlfriend Emily unlocked and opened the gate while Chris backed the box truck out of the way to allow Derrick to drive onto the property. Once the gate was locked and the box truck parked back in its place, Emily and Chris trotted over to Jeff and Derrick.
Emily hugged Jeff, clearly relieved to see him safely home. Derrick found himself envying their relationship. He was all alone in the world—except for this group of friends he now considered family. Still, it wasn’t the same as having someone to love and build a life with.
An image of Paisley leapt into his mind. He was attracted to her, no question, but it was hard to imagine building any kind of new relationship in this world. Not with daily survival the top priority.
Shaking off his thoughts, he filled Chris and Emily in on what had happened.
As Derrick talked about their near-brush with getting killed, Emily laid her head on Jeff’s shoulder.
“We need to tell the others,” Chris said.
Derrick agreed. He led the way into the house.
Chapter 4
Matt
Matt was feeling a lot better. It had been nearly a week since he’d been shot in the leg, but with Sarah Miller’s nursing background, he’d been well taken care of. And with the antibiotics they’d acquired on their trip from Utah to California, infection was less of a concern.
Sitting in the living room, he heard Derrick’s t
ruck arrive. He was eager to hear what had happened on their little field trip. He hated that he hadn’t been in the right shape to go along, but he knew he was of better use to their group healthy, so he suppressed his impatience.
A short while later Derrick and Jeff walked into the living room.
“Hey, Matt,” Derrick said with a grin. “How’s the leg?”
Matt lifted his bandaged leg up and down. “Still working.” He laughed. “Just a little slower.”
Chuckling, Derrick clapped him on the back. “Nice.”
People started trickling into the room—everyone wanted to hear what had happened. Jessica came in and sat beside Matt. He took her hand in his, warmed by her very presence. They’d been through hell over the last month, yet they were closer than ever.
A few moments later Kayla and Brooke, both sixteen, came in. Matt smiled at them—his biological daughter and his daughter by circumstance. He loved them both tremendously. And then Dylan, his fourteen-year-old son, walked in and sat on the floor. He’d become a man in the last month. Matt’s chest burned with pride and love for his family. When he thought back to their harrowing trip across Nevada to reach California, particularly their confrontation with the Emperors, a sense of relief surged through him. They’d survived so far, and with their amazing group, he was as confident as anyone in the apocalypse could be that they would continue to not only survive, but thrive.
“How did it go?” Frank Miller asked. He was Emily’s uncle and this farm was his, and although he’d at first made it clear that he was reticent about having their large group move onto his property, he’d since expressed his appreciation for all the help that they’d given him. Matt continued to be grateful for his hospitality.
“Not good,” Derrick said with a sideways glance at Jeff. “Nearly got killed.”
Killed? Matt sat up straighter. “By who?”
Derrick turned to him with a grim smile. “By our own government. Or maybe they were hired thugs.”
“What happened?” Jessica asked, her hand squeezing Matt’s like it was he who had faced possible death. In her defense, she had seen him get shot so it wasn’t like her fear was misplaced.
Derrick and Jeff took turns telling their tale. Jeff ended with, “They underestimated us.” He smiled grimly. “Which is why they’re dead.”
“What are we going to do now?” Paisley asked.
Derrick turned to her. Matt didn’t know if it was his imagination, but Derrick’s eyes seemed to light up when he looked at Paisley. Interesting. He smiled to himself. Derrick could use a little light in his life.
“Right now,” Derrick said, “I suggest we do nothing.” When no one spoke, he went on. “We’re talking about the government of the State of California. We have no idea how many people are involved. Likely, an army.” He looked at each one of them. “Even with Walter and his small group, we don’t have nearly enough people to do anything about this.” He shook his head. “It’s not like we can get on social media and rally support. It’s all by word of mouth or face to face now.”
Matt listened silently. Things were going from bad to worse. First they’d had to deal with the Emperors. Now the state government?
Derrick’s gaze swept over the assembled group. “Does anyone disagree that we should let things lie? At least for now?”
Heads shook all around.
Good. Matt knew he wasn’t in any shape to go up against the government. Besides, Governor Moffit and his cronies surely had better things to do than come after Matt and the rest of his group. At least he hoped so.
“Okay,” Derrick said with a smile, “we’re in agreement.” Then he grimaced. “When we’re out scavenging we need to be on high alert. If we want to stay under the government’s radar, we need to stay far away from anyone working for them.”
Matt felt Jessica shift in her seat beside him. He looked at her. She was looking at Derrick.
“What about those guys that came by?” she asked. “The ones who said they were taking a census?”
Derrick frowned. “Yeah. That’s been on my mind too.”
Matt remembered that day, not too long ago, when he and Derrick and Dylan had come back from a scavenging run to find a pair of vehicles parked at the farm. He and Derrick and Dylan had surveilled the house and had seen four unknown men. When the men had left, Matt, Derrick, and Dylan had come inside, and Jessica and Jeff had filled them in. The men had claimed they were taking a census for the government, but apparently they’d held a gun to Sarah’s head to force everyone to disarm. Then they’d poked around the farm like they had free rein. It was extremely worrisome.
“We need to review our defensive positions,” Jeff said, his tone low and sure. “In case they come back.” He frowned. “If they do, we take them out. No questions asked.”
Heads nodded all around, including Matt’s. Those men had no right to be there and make themselves at home. If they came back, they would have to force their way onto the property because there was no way Matt and the others would allow them to approach willingly.
Chapter 5
Derrick
“We can create a sniper’s nest up there,” Jeff said the next morning as he pointed to a window in the barn that overlooked the driveway.
Derrick nodded. “Good idea.” He was thrilled he had Jeff to give input. The man had proven to be worth his weight in gold. Everyone in the group was doing their part. “We’ll increase the number of people on patrol to three as well as up our training.”
Jeff nodded. “What about booby traps?”
Tilting his head, Derrick smiled. “Definitely.” He thought about the kids in their group. “We’ll have to keep a closer eye on the little ones.”
“Chris and Amy keep their kids pretty close to the house. And Paisley’s little girl is usually right with those boys.”
At the mention of Paisley, Derrick felt his face heat. To cover it, he coughed and turned away to look at the fence line.
“You think those government guys will come back?” Jeff asked, drawing Derrick’s attention.
Though Derrick dearly hoped they wouldn’t, he knew hopes got you nowhere. Not in the world they were living in. He shrugged. “Don’t know, but we have to assume they will.”
Jeff’s lips curled with loathing. “I’ll be first in line to take them down.”
Derrick’s eyebrows rose, then he smirked. “I know you will.”
Over the next few days, the group stayed close to home, focusing on implementing their new security measures, including building a number of booby traps. Derrick made sure everyone knew exactly where the traps were located—they didn’t need anyone getting hurt or killed by their own traps. They also set up the sniper’s nest and took turns manning that.
“Using the solar in Matt and Jessica’s RV to charge the walkies has been huge,” Chris said over breakfast one morning, “but it would be prudent to have additional power sources. For backup.”
Jeff, Emily, and Dylan were on security detail, but the others were all listening intently. They all had a stake in keeping the farm secure.
Derrick nodded. They relied on the walkies to communicate. If they had no way to charge them, it could mean the difference between life and death.
“What about taking panels from houses?” Jessica asked as she poured water from a pitcher into her glass. “I’m sure tons of people have panels on their roofs. We can take some and use them here.”
Derrick grinned. “Excellent idea.” He looked at Matt, whose leg seemed to be improving. “What else would we need to create electricity? What does your RV use?”
“Batteries and an inverter.”
“Okay,” Derrick said with a nod. “I’m going on a supply run today. Let’s make those items a priority.”
“I’d like to go on the run,” Jessica said.
Derrick turned to her in surprise. She’d never expressed a desire to go on a run before. Had barely left the farm, in fact. Still, the more people who could help, the better. Guess sh
e was gaining confidence. That was a good thing. He smiled. “Absolutely.” Then it occurred to him that Matt may not be as thrilled. Derrick looked at Matt, who was frowning deeply in Jessica’s direction, although she seemed to be studiously ignoring him. Holding back a chuckle, Derrick scooped up a forkful of eggs. This was something Jessica and Matt would have to work out. Everyone had to pull their own weight, and everyone, even the women and teenagers, had to take risks. It was the only way they would all survive.
“Does anyone want more eggs?” Sarah asked, evidently trying to ease the sudden tension.
“I’ll take some, my dear,” Frank said with a warm smile at his wife.
Derrick amended the thought that everyone had to take risks. They needed Sarah safe and sound on the farm. Not only for her nursing skills, but she made a mean scrambled egg as well. He grinned at the thought.
“Do you think the chickens can keep up with how many eggs we eat?” Brooke asked.
Sarah smiled at her. “I hope so, because people are hungry.” She winked at her husband, who smiled back.
“Is it possible,” Paisley began, then she stopped and cleared her throat. Derrick knew what that meant. There was something she wanted but she didn’t like asking for things. She seemed to prefer to get what she needed on her own. He liked that. But he also knew there were times she would have to ask for what she needed. And the things she asked for were typically things that she truly needed.
He smiled at her, but she wasn’t looking at him. “Paisley.” She shifted her eyes to his, sending an unexpected jolt to his heart. Ignoring his growing attraction, he said, “What were you going to ask?”
She kept her gaze steady on his—something he appreciated. Though she was clearly uncomfortable asking for anything, once called out, she faced it head-on.
“I was wondering if, you know, if you do get some solar panels, would it be possible to get extra so I can hook them up to the batteries in my RV? I’d like to be able to use the lights in there instead of candles. I worry that I might accidentally start a fire.”
Pandemic (Book 4): Insurrection Page 2