Cyber Apocalypse (Book 3): As Our World Burns

by Hunt, Jack

  Garcia had caught his name on the tag of his uniform before he strolled away. That night he dropped his name to his mother. That was when he came to learn that it was her brother. Garcia had never met his mother’s side of the family, the few times she mentioned them his father would lash out at her. He never understood why until that moment. His uncle wasn’t a gangbanger, he was a well-educated man who had done two tours in the army and had come out and opted to become a police officer in one of the most dangerous places in America.

  He wanted to reach his own.

  Unfortunately his career lasted only nine years before he was killed trying to save a young mother from an abusive ex. Still, that one interaction had stuck with Garcia. It had taught him that people did get out, not everyone had to become a gang statistic, a cliché, a criminal. Sure, his uncle had died on a sidewalk but not because of a drive-by, but because he was willing to risk his own life for a stranger.

  Marco never understood that.

  To him it was a weakness.

  Maybe that’s why Marco couldn’t comprehend Garcia’s decision to return after the warning.

  Garcia was shoved forward into the same room he’d been in before, except now there were far fewer people inside, less activity, and zero music playing. It felt cold, uninviting, and dangerous. Marco looked unhealthy, thinner, malnourished. His arms showed signs of using which was never a good sign. He’d always avoided the hard stuff.

  “Are you hard of hearing, Garcia? Because I know I made myself clear.”

  “I need your help.”

  Marco snorted, standing by the window. There was something different to him. The confidence was gone. His friend looked over. “I gave you help. My debt to you is cleared so why are you here?”

  Garcia looked around. “What’s happened?”

  “What do you think? The police. Gangs. That’s what happened.” He returned to a small table and snorted a line of coke before downing a glass of whiskey. “Our numbers have dwindled. Many have died. So if it’s help you are looking for, you are a little too late.”

  “How many remain?” Garcia asked.

  “Eighty, give or take. There are others but you could say they are home but the lights aren’t on.” He was referring to their mental state. Many in the gangs suffered and after the attack on America, there would have been an upswing in depression and drug usage. Marco picked up a revolver and tossed it from hand to hand. “I see you have shed the pigskin.” He was referring to the uniform. “And yet I still see a pig.”

  “Marco.”

  “No!” he bellowed, rising from the couch and stumbling over to him. “You don’t get to talk anymore. I warned you, Garcia. You remember?”

  “I’m here to make a deal.”

  Marco laughed. “What could you offer, huh? Pig!”

  He pushed the barrel of the revolver against Garcia’s gut. “Money is useless now, hell, even drugs are. People want them but they don’t have shit to pay for them. So what could you possibly give me?”

  “Me.”

  Marco’s brow wrinkled; he took a step back. “What?”

  “You know numbers are not the issue, leadership is. They drilled that into us from an early age.”

  “Are you blaming me for this?”

  “Is there anyone else in charge?”

  Marco sneered as he shoved the gun up against his throat and pressed it hard causing Garcia’s head to pitch to one side. “News flash, pig, I already have you.”

  “Andre’s dead.”

  “Cry me a river. So are my friends. You think I give a shit?”

  “At one time we were friends. Nothing came between us.”

  “You’re right. That was before you turned and took up that badge, homie.”

  He pushed him away and walked back to the table and scooped up his glass to take another swig. “Aren’t you tired of this?” Garcia asked. “The endless fighting for territory, power, and control?”

  “Does it look like it?”

  He leaned down and snorted another line.

  Garcia continued. “A biker gang is sweeping up and down the coastline taking whatever they want. It won’t be long before they arrive here. Now you can wait and hope they don’t show but you and I know the odds are high. Help me and I will help you.”

  He laughed leaning back in his sofa. “Oh Garcia. Always the hero. That’s why you chose to run, turn your back on us, and become a pig. Help us? Please! How do you intend to do that?”

  “How did my father do it?”

  Marco looked at him. He knew what he was saying. Garcia’s father wasn’t just one of the gang, a face in the crowd, no, he had been the head of the Norteños. Except he didn’t start that way. He worked his way up, showed through his actions his ability to lead. When he finally made it to the top, there wasn’t a Norteño alive that wouldn’t have followed him.

  “You think your name has weight. Huh?” He got up. “Your father. I respect him. But you… no one will respect you. Not now. Not ever.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “I’m done playing your mind games, Garcia. I warned you. I gave you fair warning! I told you not to come back here.”

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Oh you know I do.”

  Marco lifted the gun at him.

  “Then see you on the other side, brother.” Garcia closed his eyes.

  A second later, the gun went off.

  19

  Willits

  All her fears were relieved when her father answered the radio. “Hey darling, we got the message,” Alex said. She leaned back in her seat, holding the mic up to her lips, and smiled while casting a glance at Leo who was standing in the doorway.

  “So you’ll be leaving shortly?”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that.”

  “What?” Elisha leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table in front of her. “But the raid is set to happen at dawn.”

  “We don’t know that for sure. It could just be a scare tactic to push Jodi and her group out. They’ve been under mounting pressure for a while now. And yes, I know what Liam said, but…” he trailed off.

  “Dad, what is it?”

  “Just know that we’re safe right now. I’ll be talking with Jodi later. Are you okay?”

  She exhaled and shuffled in her seat. “Yeah. Garcia has taken off to Santa Rosa to get help.”

  “What? From who?”

  “Who do you think? The Norteños.”

  “And who are they?”

  She chuckled. “You really have been out of the picture. A gang. Anyway, mom’s not back yet and…”

  “She went with him?”

  “No. Didn’t Liam tell you?”

  “Elisha, where is she?”

  “The military came for her; it was about Ryan.”

  “Oh great, look, are you there alone?”

  “No. Leo is here,” she said looking at him.

  “Okay, I’ll keep this line open with the volume up. I need to go speak with Jodi and see if we can’t get her to see reason. Maybe she can close up and return in a day or two when we can be sure it’s safe.”

  “Right.”

  “In the meantime, let me know as soon as Sophie gets back.”

  “Will do.”

  “And Elisha.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Love you, kid.”

  He signed off and Elisha set the mic down and brought a hand up to her lips.

  Leo shifted his weight from one foot to the next while thumbing toward the door. “Hey, I’m gonna start a fire, cook up some food. You hungry?”

  “Not really.”

  “All right but it might take your mind off things. We could have a beer. I promise I won’t tell your old man.”

  She snorted. “Sure.” Elisha got up and went into the main living area to collect the beer while Leo headed for the exit.

  “You know, Elisha. It’s going to be okay.”

  “How do you know that?”
<
br />   “Ah, call it a gut feeling.”

  He opened the door and stepped out into the night while she went to a cooler and pulled out two frosted beer cans. They were running a small portable fridge off a Bluetti EB2400WH solar generator that hooked up to multiple solar panels on top of the roof. Fortunately before the demise of Harry, he’d been kind enough to provide them with plenty of off-the-grid solutions and gear to keep things running. Accommodation was their biggest challenge. With their group growing, the needs increased.

  Elisha peered into the bedroom where the teenage girl, named Karla, and the two younger girls were resting. “Girls, you want something to eat?” They didn’t respond. They were asleep. It was getting late. They’d suffered greatly and since arriving at the cabin hadn’t communicated beyond a nod. Garcia had said that it would probably take a few months but they’d eventually come around.

  Carrying the beer out, she could smell wood burning and hear branches popping in the fire around the back of the cabin. As she came around, she noticed the dark silhouette of who she believed to be Leo crouched in front of the fire.

  “I got you a dark ale, I hope that’s okay.”

  She squinted as the flames illuminated a different jacket.

  “Where did you get that…”

  Before she finished, the stranger turned and she dropped the cans and turned to run back to the cabin, only to slam into a broad-chested guy who wrapped his arms around her and lifted her in a chokehold.

  “All right. All right. Vern. Put her down.”

  He lowered her feet until they were flat.

  “That’s certainly no way to treat a female. You must be Elisha. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Jethro Nash.” He extended a hand and laughed when she didn’t shake it.

  The sound of screams tore into the night, followed by three gunshots that came from the cabin.

  The girls.

  Elisha wriggled in Vern’s grasp as another man appeared with a shotgun propped on his shoulder. “All taken care of, Jethro.”

  “Good. Good. Well, let’s get down to business, shall we.” He gestured for them to go in. Vern had a hold of her hair and collar as he forced her back into the cabin. As she came around, she noticed a dark mound in the underbrush. “Leo?”

  “Oh, yeah, I wouldn’t waste your breath. He won’t be responding any time soon.”

  He chuckled as they glanced at his lifeless body before they pushed her into the cabin and closed the door.

  Jethro was on a winning streak. All that bad luck and now the tide was finally turning his way. First Joe, then the resort, now Elisha. It didn’t get much better than this. At this rate, if the evening went as planned he wouldn’t need to fire one bullet. Those assholes would run out of that resort and never look back. After their stint in the forest, they figured they would follow up on what Joe had said about Liam residing in a cabin near Lake Ada Rose. His directions weren’t that bad. In some way he kind of felt bad feeding him to his dogs, but people had to learn, and sometimes the only way they understood was with violence.

  Rolling up to the cabin, they’d staked it out and were about to burst through the door when that Latino walked out, it couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. Jethro stuck him with a knife twice before he dropped. From there it was just a matter of waiting for her to walk out.

  Inside, Vern pushed the girl down on the ground.

  “You think I can have some fun with her?”

  “No, not yet,” Jethro said. “First things first,” he said walking around the cabin looking at what supplies they had in the cupboards and storage room. “Um, looks as if that old-timer was kind to you.” As he passed by the room with the ham radio, he noticed the power light was on. “Who’ve you been speaking to?” he asked Elisha.

  She scowled and stayed quiet.

  Jethro walked over to her, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her into the storage room kicking and screaming. He released his grip as he tossed her into a chair. “You’re testing my patience, girl. Who were you speaking with?”

  When she didn’t answer a second time, he withdrew his knife.

  “Do you know what it feels like to have a knife slice through your skin?” He paused, studying her. “Now tell me?”

  “My father.”

  “Okay, we’re getting somewhere.” He stared at her and smiled. “He’s at the resort, isn’t he?”

  Again she didn’t say anything so he picked up the mic and handed it to her. “Get him on the line.”

  “Fuck you.”

  He lashed out slapping her so hard around the face that she fell off the chair. Jethro crouched beside her and pushed her long hair back to reveal her flaring cheek. “You know I’m not one for taking advantage of women but those guys out there. Trust me, they would love nothing more than to go to town on you. Now you can help me or they can help themselves. The question is, which is it gonna be?”

  He took her by the arm and lifted her back into the chair, used his fingers to clear the hair out of her face, and then held her chin. “How old are you, darlin’?”

  “Nineteen.”

  He sucked air between his teeth. “And as sweet as a button.” Jethro tapped the end of her nose with his finger while giving a wry grin. “Go on now. Get him on the line.”

  Jethro perched on the edge of the table. He took out a cigarette and lit it, blowing smoke out the corner of his mouth. With a hint of nervousness in her voice she made the call. A few breathless minutes and sure enough her father came on the other end.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  With two fingers Jethro motioned for her to give him the mic. He took it and with a smile on his face brought it up to his lips. “Well hello, dad. What a beautiful daughter you have.”

  “Who is this?”

  “Jethro Nash. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?”

  “You better not have hurt her.”

  He chuckled. “You better shut the fuck up and listen. You see, your daughter has been awfully naughty, Mr. Reid.” He looked at Elisha with a smirk on his face as he continued. “Do you know she helped burn down my meth labs? Can you believe that? I put so much effort into getting that enterprise running and now, well, here we are having a heart-to-heart talk about its demise. But I’m getting ahead of myself. What’s your name?”

  “Alex.”

  “Well Alex, did you get our message?”

  “We did.”

  “Good. How’s Shaun? He was a real trouper taking one for the team.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Put Liam on.”

  No answer.

  Jethro slammed his hand on the table, losing his patience. “C’mon, daddy dearest, don’t be holding back on me.”

  When he didn’t answer fast enough, Jethro grabbed a clump of Elisha’s hair and as she screamed, he put the mic up to her lips. “Hear that, dad? What beautiful vocal cords she has. It would be a pity to cut them out.” He stopped toying and let his anger get the better of him. “Now stop jerking me around. Is Liam there?”

  “He is. Please. Just don’t hurt her.”

  Jethro released his grip. Vern stood in the doorway eyeing her. Oh, he knew what was on his mind. “Listen to me, Alex. You’ll send Liam back here. Just him. Not you. Then the rest of you are going to leave the resort. Don’t take a single thing. Just leave.”

  “And my daughter?”

  “She’s safe. Here with me. That is if you follow my instructions. If you don’t, you will see her again, I promise you that — except it will be in parts all over this county! Do I make myself clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  He sucked on his cigarette, the end glowing bright and hot.

  “Now put Liam on the line and make it quick, my boys here are just biting at the bit to get acquainted with the lovely Elisha.”

  “Don’t you dare lay a hand on her.”

  “Or what? Huh? What are you gonna do?”

  There was a pause and while they waited, Jethro offered Elisha his cigarette. She tu
rned her face away. He laughed, then blew smoke in her face before telling Vern to go find him a beer.

  “This is Liam.” A voice came over the line.

  Jethro pressed the button on the mic, a look of glee filled his eyes. “Liam, Liam, Liam. Oh, how I have been waiting to speak to you. Do you know Joe pleaded for his life before I fed him to my dogs? That’s right. You should have seen it. He gave you up so easy. Now, I know you are under the microscope. Feeling the pressure. On one hand you have the resort owner pissed at you, and on the other, a father who would probably love nothing more than to beat the living shit out of you for putting them in this situation. Because, that’s the truth here, Liam. You put all of them in the crosshair. There is no one else to blame except you.”

  “Why did you kill Travis?”

  “Why?” He asked, sounding confused that Liam would even ask. “Because he stopped being useful. And he was a pussy but that’s another thing entirely. Do you know what he said before we strung him up in that garage? You’re never going to believe this. He said that you would end me. Can you believe that? You. End me?” He laughed. “The person who screwed up. The one who got Joe killed, the one who is going to get his group slaughtered by morning. But here’s the thing, Liam. You can prevent it. That’s right. With this streak of luck I’ve been having lately, I kind of feel like a poker player who’s contemplating whether to put all his chips in or cash out now. But I’ve always loved to play big, and right now I’m holding all the cards. So here’s what I’m gonna do.” He took another hit on his cigarette, feeling relaxed, confident, maybe even a little cocky. “You will leave now and come back here. I have someone ready to meet you. Someone to apologize to. If you do that and those at the resort leave, I will let them live.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “Well, this is not fucking rocket science, Liam. Everybody dies, of course, starting with this beautiful young girl. And you know what, I’ll even leave the mic on so you can hear every fucking single thing that my guys do. How’s that sound?”

  “You sick puppy.”

  Vern came back into the room and handed him a beer. He cracked it open and drank some of it. Jethro wiped his lips with the back of his sleeve.