The man mumbled.
“How many?” screamed Hanson, bringing his knee to the plump man’s midsection, dropping him face-first into the rocky river bank.
“Three,” he said groaning. “Almost three full rounds,” he clarified.
“Almost three, huh? That sounds more like two, so I’ll make you a deal,” said Hanson. “Before you consider, you should know it’s all or none, with no more negotiations. You sign on the dotted line, or I’ll shoot you where you stand. Is that understood?”
The man shook his head yes, without speaking.
“You gave that hard-working man and friendly neighbor of mine lying there two rounds of the game. You will get two, not two pulls of the trigger, but two rounds. Two trigger pulls, then a spin is one round. But not before answering every question we have without hesitation. Pass those two requirements, and you’re free to go. Well, what say you?”
“I guess I don’t have a choice,” he replied.
“You always have a choice,” said Hanson, “but only one gives you a chance at seeing another day.”
“Okay, what do you want to know?”
Thirty minutes passed, with mostly known information shared.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Fifteen
The Valley ~ Colorado
“Yesterday, I minded my own business,” said Hanson, “and my only concern was feeding my family. Today it looks pretty certain that I’ll be caught up in a war, one way or another.”
“Absolutely certain,” said his captive.
“No more words out of you!” he snapped. “Not one word unless I ask you a question. Am I clear?”
The man only nodded his head yes.
“Now I’ve got an idea that may help…don’t know,” said Hanson, pulling Mike and Sergio aside.
“I can dam this river on my property for maybe a week—not all of it, but I’ll get the flow down to a trickle. It leaves a thousand people without a water source, or I may get enough backed up to flood this end of the valley at a key point.”
“You know they will come upstream your way to see what the problem is, right?” asked Sergio.
“Yep, I know. It doesn’t matter much either way, though. If they win, they will take my ranch without a second thought.”
“And your wife and daughter,” pointed out Mike.
“Yes, them too, sounds like. So, as I see it, the only hope for me and the others upstream is to run or stay and fight with you. And I don’t run, never have.”
“I’m sure the groups in the next valley over won’t bother you—assuming we win, of course,” added Sergio.
“Oh, I’m not worried about that. I’ve known Samuel and John for quite a while now. They’re good men and we all help each other out from time to time. I’ll get a few of my neighbors together and get to work on the dam first thing in the morning.”
“Are you sure you want to let this one go?” asked Sergio, pointing to their captive.
“No, I am not,” said Hanson, “but a deal is a deal.”
The man took his two pulls of the pistol quickly with a click, click, and only a passing thought of pointing the pistol outward.
“One more round,” said Hanson, spinning the cylinder with two quick clicks soon to follow and a heavy sigh when it was done.
“I did it!” the man exclaimed. “Now you have to let me go,” he argued, as if he was still bargaining.
“A deal is a deal. If I see you back here or hear anything from my neighbors about you, there won’t be a warning shot,” said Hanson. “Now git!”
The man scrambled, nearly tripping over his feet once untied, and didn’t ask to bring anything with him.
“I’ll lock up the house and take care of the body. I owe him that much,” said Hanson. “Check back on us in a few days, if you will,” he told Mike and Sergio.
“We will,” replied Sergio. “And now that we know you’re one of the good guys, I’ll tell you John and Samuel already have a few scouts up on the Rimrock, with a view of the entire Valley. So, we’ll let you know if we see anything before then.”
“I do appreciate that,” said Hanson. “And so will the missus, I’m sure.”
* * * *
Mike and Sergio walked back the short way, straight across the field to the county road, and were followed in by Drake and his crew through their binoculars. Drake had called Mac on the radio after hearing the first gunshot and promised a follow-up, but didn’t after seeing their faces.
“They’re ours,” he announced into the radio and to his little group, wondering what the two men were up to.
Back at the Ranch, Mac had a schedule for everyone, starting after lunch. Mike and Sergio would fall into place early afternoon as a two-man fix-it team working on perimeter breach points for the next few days.
“That Hanson guy is going to be pissed if we burn the Valley,” said Sergio to Mike later in the afternoon.
“Hopefully, it’s only the Rimrock, then,” said Mike. “We can’t control everything, but we have to win, at all costs,” he added.
“That’s true, plus I think the Colonel will have Ronna’s guys box them in from behind,” said Sergio.
“Unless they win, of course, they will have no choice but to die or surrender, and we won’t be harming the women or children, so the closest FEMA camp is about to get busy. But know this, Mike. I will fight, and all the way to the end,” continued Sergio, adding, “I’m not learning Chinese!”
“I don’t even like eggrolls!” joked Mike, getting a laugh out of Sergio.
“Do you think the higher-ups are joking around, like we do, with all this serious stuff going on?” asked Mike.
“Higher-ups like the Colonel and Ronna?”
“No. Like the President, Vice, and the rest of them.”
“Well,” replied Sergio, “I actually know the answer to that very question. Regardless of their affiliation, the President and Vice-President have to have some feeling of invincibility to do their jobs. There’s always someone who would like to see them six feet under. It was the same in the old days of Kings and Queens, wondering if they can trust their inner circle and the chef who prepares the daily meals. I was in Secret Service for a short stint, not for this President but the last one.”
“Really! How did that go?” asked Mike.
“It was exciting for about a month, then routine, and quickly boring after that—like a glorified babysitter that could maybe get a round to the head, as Brady did. Anyway, the way things ran, they were afforded a certain amount of built-in protection, with City law enforcement helping out during campaign stops or trips of any kind.
“Now they are all huddled together like cattle, and the threat is not some random shooter but entire countries—and powerful ones, at that. Half the Military did the same thing with law enforcement, like you did. They went home to check on their families and never went back to work. I don’t mean that as a dig, just facts.”
“Yeah, I get it,” replied Mike. “Lonnie and I did that exact thing, and I’m sure we weren’t in the minority.”
“So, the short of it is,” continued Sergio, “no, they are not joking, as we are. They are mice in a snake’s cage, hoping for a miracle to reach in and pick them out. We are the miracle sent by God above.”
“Do you believe in God?” asked Mike, for the first time ever asking anyone.
“Absolutely!” replied Sergio. “He is the Big Guy and doesn’t make any two of us the same. He does, I believe, use us in different ways. The Bible is an awesome book, and I’ve read it cover-to-cover twice. It’s also a violent story at times, and just because you and I have to do some of the more unpleasant things to help keep things straight on Earth doesn’t necessarily mean He doesn’t care about us. I fully plan on meeting Him on my last day.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” replied Mike. “I hope you’re right.”
* * * *
A nervous tension filled the air in both the Saddle Ranch group and The West, with Samuel following Jo
hn’s lead and informing his people about what was headed their way. A few asked Samuel if he was planning to waive the no weapons or violence belief the group was based on for decades.
His answer was a resolute “No! We will defend this Valley doing our part in preparations beforehand, during, and after the threat has passed. We will, however, not take up weapons or spill any blood on our ground or theirs. We will pray to help those close to us who have different beliefs and offer our hospital and doctors as necessary to anyone needing medical attention on either side of the aisle. We still have much to offer our neighbors to ensure the prosperity of all who reside within the entirety of this Valley.”
“But what about the Colonel and his soldiers or the Ranch people taking up arms? Isn’t that wrong?” asked another.
“No,” replied Samuel, as if he had answered this question a hundred times before. “What’s wrong is judging them for having beliefs different from our own. The Colonel I mentored once, and maybe still do in some respect. He has always known my ways, and I his. Just because he travels with helicopters and guns doesn’t mean he’s any less close to God than me or any of you. We’re just on different paths. Only working together with him and John can we make it to the other side of this test.”
* * * * * * *
Chapter Sixteen
Baker’s Group Leaving Camp
“Get hold of the forward observer guys!” Baker screamed. “I want to know what’s going on every minute. They have my land and my granddaughter. I’ll settle for nothing less than their heads on fence posts.”
His closest guards tried calming him. All of their well-intentioned advice and forethought fell onto deaf ears as Baker stomped around like a third-grader who missed dessert at lunch. Even those close to him, who had respected him always and promised to follow him, were having second thoughts, and he knew it. Nothing short of a spectacular victory and presenting a rich valley with all the spoils could bring them back to where they had started only weeks ago. If he failed, it would be him at the end of the spear, wondering how quickly his hold on his subjects could unravel. He watched intently from the middle of the long line of travelers as his followers led the way, mostly on foot and carrying the items designated by his enforcers. Men carried 50 to 70 pounds of gear, or whatever could be fit into a makeshift pack, with women near forty pounds and children under age 15 at 20 pounds. Baker rode more like a king than a Colonel, or whatever he really was—carried by four men in a Palanquin covered by expensive cloth, when he could have ridden in the vehicle of his choice.
Sergio had one of the forward observer’s radios and kept it on, risking running out the batteries, just in case of communications. He recognized the radio at once. Not a garden variety 20-mile radius one that an outdoor person would consider sufficient, but a long-range Military model, not typically given out to citizens. He resisted the urge to call Baker straightaway and tell him they had disposed of most of his men, only leaving one to tell the story. The requests over the radio quickly turned into demands for a response from Baker’s pseudo soldiers. With Mike listening on, Sergio let the commands fall on a deaf radio, only responding with inaudible speak and various sounds they created with random objects.
“It’s like those radio shows that have us guess the sound,” said Mike. “You spend all day trying to figure it out, and it turns out to be a comb brushing a ball of tin foil covered in tomato sauce,” he said, laughing.
“Yeah, exactly!” said Sergio, and they always give it away to someone who was closest, maybe only guessing the comb part.”
* * * *
Twenty minutes later, a post-agitated and now always furious Baker came over the line, demanding to speak with his men or whoever was in charge.
“Go for Sergio!” he said, looking at Mike and sounding like a frat-house answering machine.
“This is Colonel Baker,” he spat, “and you are a traitor, Sergio! Your punishment will be death by firing squad!” he yelled.
“We will see about that,” Sergio replied. “Baker, listen good,” he continued, getting serious. “You’re not a Colonel, and everyone knows it. I took your brand because I was that serious about infiltrating your group. And now you will be the one to pay. You, Baker, are the traitor to your fellow citizens and your country. The last thing you see will be my blade across your cowardly throat.”
With that, he threw the radio, smashing it against a nearby rock.
“I don’t think they will be communicating on this channel anytime soon,” he said to Mike.
“You’re right, Sergio. We are a lot alike,” pointed out Mike. “Let’s get ready for the big show!”
* * * *
They found Mac at the machine shop, and Mike opted to stay outside. He knew it was where Sheila had been killed and didn’t want to talk about it with anyone. Sergio informed Mac that Baker was on his way, moving at foot speed for most, but more than likely the new advanced team would be here in a day or two by vehicle, reminding Mac it was only 32 miles away.
“Well, that’s not good,” replied Mac. “I was hoping we had more time. I’ll get with John and Bill right away… How do you know all this?”
“Mike and I had a little talk with a few guys already there, and I talked directly to Baker on the radio. He’s crazy as they come, but he believes everything he says, so I believe he is on his way as we speak.”
Mac ran out of the shop, right past Mike, with a “Thank you!” over his shoulder. He found both John and Bill at John’s house, talking on the back porch. Taking a minute to catch his breath before speaking, he finally said, “I used to be able to run for hours at a time; now I’m lucky to make it a mile.”
The look on Mac’s face was enough to make John sigh. “How long do we have?” he asked.
“Two days at the soonest and a week tops for the whole lot,” he replied. “The vehicles and first teams could be here as soon as tomorrow morning. They will need some time to get settled probably, or they could come straight over without stopping; we just don’t know for sure. Sergio spoke with Baker today, who said they were already on the road.”
“Do you trust him?” asked John. “Sergio, I mean?”
“Well, I guess so, since he works roundabout for the real Colonel. He has been Military for years and was in Baker’s camp as a spy.”
“I wonder if they sent one here?” asked John, rubbing his chin.
“I don’t know,” replied Mac. “But even if they did, we are keeping our plans to only a few people outside of you, Bill, Samuel and the Council. Besides, I think Baker is so confident that he never even thought of needing one. His group just bulldozes its way across the country and destroys anything in its path.”
“That makes sense,” added Bill. “What are your plans for Bert?”
“I’ll get with Lance on it, but I think we could put him at the top of the Rimrock with a view of the Valley. Maybe it will let them know we won’t go without a fight. If we need to burn it, we can try to get him back down first.”
“Are the fire lines across the Rimrock dug out?” asked Bill.
“Yes, sir—100 feet across, all the way to the reservoir. Our guys were able to put the cleared brush piled up across the very top of the ridge, so if it needs to burn, it should be hot at the very top. They still have full wheat fields on the other side and only the two-lane road separating them from the Rimrock. I hate to say it, but it could take out the whole Valley on their side if it goes up in flames.”
“Okay,” said Bill. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
* * * *
With a few helpers, Vlad drove Bert up the rocky red road to the very top of the Rimrock. The entire process took two hours, finding just the right vantage point and keeping the large tank as level as possible.
“He looks good,” said Drake. “Better than good! We will be sure to keep an eye on him for you.”
* * * *
John called an emergency meeting with all the usual players but included Rico, Patty, and a few from
our team. I showed up with Mike, Vlad, Jake, Nancy, Joy and Lonnie, all invited for varying reasons. Rico and Patty were immediately charged with setting up the underground bunker on the Ranch and a similar one at The West, with food and water to last the groups at least one week, and nothing needing a traditional oven or frying to prepare. The rest of us were given our posts, with clear instructions to fight on this side of the ridge.
Families First: A Post-Apocalyptic Next-World Series Volume 6 Battle Grounds Page 12