Bug Out! Part 7

Mile High Motorhomes

Robert G Boren

Contents

Previously - From Bugout! Part 6

Chapter 1 – Enemy Files

Chapter 2 – The Big Ear

Chapter 3 – Simon and Peabody

Chapter 4 – Mile High Battle

Chapter 5 – Bobcats and Barricades

Chapter 6 – Dirt Road Ambush

Chapter 7 - Watch That Ridge

Chapter 8 – Enemy Rescue

Chapter 9 – Out of Range

Chapter 10 – Nervous Dobermans

Chapter 11 – Smartphone Apps

Chapter 12 – Icons Galore

Chapter 13 – Bridge to Nowhere

Chapter 14 – There’s No Place Like Home

Chapter 15 – Barreling Down the Back Road

Chapter 16 – Aspen Morning

Chapter 17 – Flight From Denver

Copyright - About the Author

Previously - in Bug Out! Part 6

Frank and Jane made it safely to Colorado, with all of their group intact. They set up in a remote, rustic RV Park owned by Gabe. This park was more easily fortified than other places they’ve been, so they take steps to make it as safe as possible, knowing in the back of their minds that it is also a good place to get trapped. They get attacked there, but turn the tables and capture a high ranking enemy leader named Simon Orr. They also meet General Hogan, and learn that all of the enemy fighters have a new kind of RFID chip implanted in them. That’s been how the enemy is able to coordinate attacks and infiltrate the army. Frank starts work on cracking the chips, while the group is attacked again and again. Frank sees that there are pictures of all of their group being fed to Jihadi web sites. They know they’re being hunted. Frank hacks into camera systems in the Utah National Parks and finds that the enemy has a large base inside the Capitol Reef National Park. How do they stay alive and take out the enemy leadership? Can they stay in Colorado, or will they have to flee further east?

Chapter 01 – Enemy Files

“Dobermans, eh?” Frank said. “How are we going to keep them from attacking the residents?”

“And the other pets?” Jasmine asked.

“I’ll be powerful mad if one of these dogs messes with Miss Lucy,” Jeb said.

“Don’t worry, they’re well trained,” Gabe said. “Dobie’s going to introduce everybody to the dogs. They’ll think you’re family. Trust me. I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

“How many is he bringing?” Jane asked, still holding Lucy.

“Four,” Gabe said. “That’s all he has right now. I’m going to put him up in one of the park model trailers back there. He wants to move here anyway…says he doesn’t like what’s been going on around town.”

Jane looked over at Frank. He looked back at her with his ‘we’ll talk later’ look.

“I say we get cleaned up, and then have a venison feed tonight,” Jeb said.

“I’m game for cooking up some venison,” Hilda said. “I’ll bet Rosie will help too. Maybe we can teach each other a thing or two.”

“Great!” Gabe said. “I’ll break some side dishes out of the deep freeze.”

“Gonna pull back the bridge?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah, for now,” Gabe said.

“Good. We need to talk about a better way to open and close that thing. If something happens to that backhoe, we’re in trouble.”

“I know, Jerry, been thinking on that,” Gabe said. “Maybe we can share some ideas after dinner.”

“I’m game,” Jerry said. He looked over at Jasmine. “Shall we collect Rosie and kick back in the coach for a while?”

“Let’s check with her,” Jasmine said. “She might just want to hang out there.”

“Okay,” Jerry said. They went off towards the clubhouse.

“Let’s go back to the coach,” Jane said to Frank. He nodded in agreement, and they started walking, Lucy bounding along behind them.

“You’re worried about the dogs,” Frank said.

“Of course,” she said. “This place is starting to remind me more of a prison than an RV Park.”

Frank laughed. “Didn’t expect to hear you say that.”

“I know, I must sound downright nuts,” she said. “I’ll get over it.”

They got to the coach, and Frank unlocked the door. He pulled it open. Mr. Wonderful tried to slip out, but Frank caught him.

“He needs some attention,” Jane said. “We’re only in here to sleep, it seems like.”

“I know,” Frank said. “We have a couple of hours before dinner. Let’s just relax for a while.”

“Maybe we should leave Lucy in the coach tonight, so we don’t have any confrontations,” Jane said.

“Maybe. We can think about it.”

Frank sat down on the couch, and clicked on the TV with the remote. Mr. Wonderful jumped up on his lap, and started marching and purring.

“Mind if I nap for a little while?” Jane asked.

“Sure, go ahead. I’ll just watch a little TV.”

He turned on a news channel to see what was going on. There was a panel discussion going on - about martial law, replacement of the president, and gun control.

“This ought to be good,” Frank muttered to himself. The panel had an establishment Republican, a social conservative Republican, a moderate Democrat, a libertarian, and a progressive Democrat. It was a lively discussion.

“You can’t judge the whole party by the crimes of a rogue president,” the progressive said. “He was just using our ideology as a smoke screen.”

“We aren’t,” said the establishment Republican said, “but we’ll have a big problem with a continuation of his policies. Martial law in the big cities? No, that isn’t justified, and it doesn’t make sense at all. The people won’t stand for it, either, in case you didn’t notice.”

“I’m not saying that we should go back to that everywhere,” the progressive said. “We need to protect minorities, though. Especially moderate Muslims.”

“We have existing laws,” the moderate Democrat said. “I think we need to work together to enforce them, maybe to bolster them in some areas. That will protect people of color. Going overboard with this again isn’t going to help, though. It’ll shut down our party for a generation. ”

“There are way too many guns in the hands of citizens in these big cities,” the progressive Democrat said.

“Haven’t you been paying attention?” the libertarian said. “What do you think saved our bacon in a lot of these areas? It wasn’t the army. Why do you guys always want to water down the Bill of Rights? When will you admit that the people are smart enough to manage themselves?”

“Lack of strong gun control laws led to the formation of the militias,” the progressive said. “Forgetting that?”

“Over-reach of the government is what spawned the militias, not lack of gun control,” the libertarian said. “Some bad people used that to their advantage. Don’t try to paint all gun owners as potential militia members. Normal armed citizens have been fighting those folks.”

“We need to lead the country,” the establishment Republican said. “We need to get commerce going again, and help the world to rebuild. Fighting with each other over policies that have been debated and debated and debated won’t help.”

“I don’t like what you Wall Street folks want to do,” the progressive said. “You’ll just give the bankers and corporations a free hand. The result will be a larger disparity between rich and poor than we’ve ever had before. That’ll start a revolution.”

“No it won’t,” the social conservative said. “Breakdown of the family and our sick society is the problem. We have no moral center anymore. This whole thing was predictable.”

“Will you guys listen to yourselves?” the libertarian said. “Seriously. You social conservatives want to censor everything and tell people who they can marry, what they can read, what they can do with their bodies. Breakdown of our society didn’t cause this mess. We were invaded from outside, largely by people who follow another fundamentalist ideology. And then there’s the opposite side…progressives. You folks want an even bigger amount of control over the individual, from pre-school to old age. You push your own brand of fundamentalism…worship of the collective and its leaders. You moderate Democrats and establishment Republicans just want the status quo. I think the American people are done with all of you.”

The establishment Republican laughed. “You libertarians wanted a free for all, and it looks to me like your anarchist wing got exactly what they wanted. Meanwhile, who’s going to get production going again? Where’s the food going to come from? How will we move it from place to place? Who’s going to keep medicine going? Who’s going to take care of the old, the infirm?”

“I’m agreeing with that,” the moderate Democrat said. “Big problem.”

“Your uncontrolled society will make scapegoats of anybody they don’t like,” the progressive said. “You think everybody working in their own ‘rational self-interest’ will behave themselves. They won’t. We’re all in this together. We have to help each other. We need a tighter society, not a society of selfish disconnected individuals. We need social and economic justice. We need to move the focus away from the individual, and towards the greater society as a whole.”

“That all sounds very good to the weak minded,” the libertarian said, “until people see how you guys go about getting to this utopia you have in mind for all of us. Control over the individual by other individuals always leads to conflict. You guys aren’t any smarter than the people you feel the right or the obligation to herd like sheep. Maybe you ought to just let people live their own lives.”

Jane came back out into the salon just as Frank was clicking the TV off in anger.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Our society has a long way to go.”

“You were watching something that riled you up?”

“Panel discussion. All of the popular points of view have a kernel of truth in them, but all of them ignore an equally important piece of the puzzle, which really ruins the mix. I wouldn’t want any of them to get absolute control, I’ll tell you that. Not even the ones I tend to agree with more.”

“Our government structure is still intact, though, right?”

“For the moment,” Frank said. “Assuming it survives the attempted coup and impeachment, that is.”

“Then we go on as we always have, Frank. We go to the polls and vote for who we agree with most. We hold people in government accountable.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“Government isn’t easy, and our founders knew it. That’s why they put all of the checks and balances into our system. We’ll get ourselves into bad times every so often, but we almost always come out of it without bloodshed, and our system continues to stand. I wouldn’t lose hope for our country. We’ll get past this, just like we got past the Civil War. We’ll eventually be a stronger nation because of it.”

“I hope you’re right. Thought you were going to nap.”

“I couldn’t get to sleep. Too keyed up.”

“Oh. Want me to turn the TV back on?”

“Not on my account.” She came over and sat next to Frank, who still had Mr. Wonderful on his lap. She petted him, causing him to purr loudly. Lucy decided she wanted to join them, so she jumped up on Jane’s lap. They sat their silently for a while, and then dozed off.

They were awakened by a knock on the door. Frank got up, causing Mr. Wonderful to jump to the ground and run into the bedroom. Lucy growled. Frank opened the door. It was Jerry.

“Hey, Jerry, what’s up?”

“I just had a crazy thought. Couldn’t wait to run it by you.”

“What?”

“Did you try to use an LTE signal to excite those chips?”

“We’ve had them around cell phones,” Frank said. “Let’s sit down.” They walked out under the awning and sat in the chairs. It was late afternoon now, but the temperature was still comfortable.

“What’re you thinking?” Frank asked.

“Remember when you were trying to get readings, and told everybody to turn off their cellphones?”

“Yes,” Frank said.

“Did you ever get a reading on the chips outside of the lead box, when the cellphones were on?”

“No, as a matter of fact,” Frank said. “I had everybody turn off their cellphones before I took the chips out of the box and tried to find a signal.”

“That’s what I thought,” Jerry said. “We need to try that again.”

“Okay. What made this pop into your head?”

“I just couldn’t think of a way that the enemy could activate these chips. They don’t have access to a satellite…I’m pretty sure of that. They need to use something that freely exists, available to anybody who knows how to use it. I’m thinking that these guys excite the chips with LTE, and the chips send a message out, back over the same system and onto the internet. It would get easily lost in the traffic if nobody knew what to look for.”

“Makes a lot of sense, Jerry. When are you going back to the clubhouse?”

“As soon as Rosie and Jasmine are ready. Rosie wants to look her best for Jeb.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet she does,” Frank said with a grin. “Seen the dog guy show up yet?”

“Nope, but I haven’t been looking. He might have slipped in without me noticing it.”

“Okay, I’ll see you over there in a little while.”

Frank went back into the coach.

“Jerry?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, he had a thought about the chips. We’re going to do a short experiment when we get over there.”

“Good,” Jane said, getting off the couch. “When do you want to go over?”

“Oh, anytime, I guess,” Frank said.

“Okay, I’ll freshen up a little, then,” she said. “Want to feed the kids?”

“Sure,” Frank said. He went to the kitchen and got food put into the pet bowls, then put them on the floor and stood back as Lucy and Mr. Wonderful attacked.

“Think we should take Lucy over there?” Jane asked.

“No, let’s leave her here, at least to start with,” Frank said. “If we need to make introductions with the big dogs, we can always come over and get her.”

“Okay, sounds good. I’m ready.”

“I’ll just run a comb through my hair and we can go,” Frank said.

They left their coach and headed to the clubhouse. There was a truck parked by Gabe’s house, in front of the clubhouse area. It looked like an animal control truck…the bed had four kennels built in. The side of the truck said “Dobie’s Guard Dogs” on it.

“That’s his truck,” Frank said, pointing.

“Wonder if the dogs are in there?”

“Probably.”

“Does this make you nervous?” Jane asked.

“No, I actually kind of like the idea. Those dogs will be both early warning and protection.”

“They won’t just get shot?”

“Easy to shoot one. Not quite so easy to shoot four. Not that it’s impossible, of course.”

They climbed up the steps to the veranda and went in the door. Charlie, Gabe, Hilda, and Kurt were standing up by the front of the room, talking. Mary was sitting down on a nearby table, looking at her iPhone. Jeb came out of the kitchen and walked up to Hilda. They chatted for a moment, and then the two of them went into the kitchen. Earl and Jackson walked in the door with the Sheriff and Terry.

“Hi, Frank. Hi Jane,” Gabe said, smiling as they walked up.

“Hi, Gabe. Your cousin here yet?”

“Yeah, he’s over by the barn getting a kennel ready. We had the bare bones of one from my dad’s days, but I’ve been using it for other things.”

“We saw his truck out front.”

“Yeah, he’s been here for about an hour,” Gabe said. “He’ll bring the dogs in and introduce them to everybody later.”

“Here come’s Jerry and his clan,” Kurt said, looking towards the door.

“Where my Jeb?” Rosie asked.

Jeb stuck his head out of the kitchen door. “I’m in here, Rosie. Want to take a look at this venison?”

“Yes, be there in minute,” she said.

Jerry and Jasmine walked over.

“Hi, everybody,” Jasmine said, smiling.

“Hello yourself,” Gabe said, smiling.

“Frank, you want to try that experiment?” asked Jerry.

“Sure, if we can bother Gabe to get the chips out of the safe.”

“No problem, guys,” Gabe said. “Let’s go.”

The three men went into the office, and came out a few minutes later. Frank had the lead box in his hands.

“They aren’t wasting any time, are they?” Jasmine asked, getting next to Jane.

“Nope,” she replied. “I don’t mind, though.”

“Me neither, I guess,” Jasmine said.

Frank and Jerry sat down on the back table, by the PC. Jerry was getting the signal detector ready. Frank stopped what he was doing, and sat there, thinking. He had a concerned look on his face.

“We can’t do this here,” Frank said. “At least not with a normal cellphone that has access to the internet.”

“Ah, crap,” Jerry said, sheepishly. “You’re right. The chip will pass a stub file, and it’s probably addressed to go right to the enemy. It’ll lead them right here if it gets on the internet.”

“Yes, there is that risk, although the chips were exposed to all of our cellphones before we stashed them in the lead box.”

“What should we do? Risk it because they probably already know we’re here anyway?”

“I’m gonna say no,” Frank said. “Let’s not press our luck.”

“Okay, maybe you’re right.”

“Here’s what I think we should do. Let’s take our stuff into town, and do the test there, just for a second or two. Only long enough to see if it’s LTE we need to generate. Then let’s get a signal generator capable of LTE at the electronics store.

“We’ll need to make another lead box, with antennas for the LTE transmit and receive inside, so when the chip starts to transmit, it’ll only send the message to our closed loop system.”

“Yeah,” Frank said. “This is going to be complicated.”

“There is an alternative to messing around with a lead box, and risking that a stray file gets out, you know.”

“What’s that?” Frank asked.

“We take one of the motorhomes way out in the boonies, where there’s no cell reception at all. Then we can excite these things to our heart’s content and pick up the chip’s transmissions, without the worry of the message getting to the enemy.”

“You’re right, Jerry. Great idea. We just cruise out until we get no service. It would be perfect. We’ve got the generator in the RV for power, too.”

“Let’s put these things back in the safe,” Jerry said.

The two men walked over to Gabe and talked to him for a few minutes. Then they went into the office with the lead box. They came out a minute or two later. Jerry and Frank walked over to Jasmine and Jane.

“That was fast,” Jane said, putting her arm around Frank’s waist as he got next to her.

“We decided we’d better not excite one of those chips here…because it might dump its payload back through our phones and onto the internet. It might be addressed right to the bad guys.”

“Hey, Dobie,” Gabe said, as his cousin walked in the door. Dobie was short and chubby, middle aged, with a mustache and kind of a goofy smile. He had hair turning gray and receding, and looked a little bit shy.

“Hey, Gabe,” he said. Gabe walked over and started introducing him to people around the room.

“I expected a big mountain man type,” Jerry said, laughing.

“What’s that I smell?” Jane asked. “It’s making me hungry.”

“Venison, probably,” Jerry said. “Somebody knows how to cook it. It doesn’t smell gamey.”

“Rosie and Hilda,” Jasmine said. “They’ve been in there for quite a while with Jeb and Mary.

Gabe walked over with Dobie.

“Folks, this is my cousin Dobie. Dobie, this is Frank, Jane, Jerry, and Jasmine.”

“Great to meet you, Dobie,” Frank said, shaking hands. Dobie had a damp palm. He was nervous, but smiled warmly. He shook hands with Jane and Jasmine, and then Jerry.

“Gabe’s told me a lot about you and your group,” Dobie said. “I’m very impressed.”

“Thanks,” Frank said. “We’re impressed with Gabe. He’s been real good to us, and he’s just full of ideas, too.”

Dobie cracked up. “Yeah, Gabe’s always been the most resourceful member of the family, that’s for sure. I think he’s hit a new level with the moat and drawbridge.”

“You been doing dog training for long, Dobie?” asked Jerry.

“Quite a while, actually, but I’ve only been in my own business for a little while. Of course I had to start right before things went nuts.”

“Where’d you work with dogs before that?” Frank asked.

“Salt Lake City PD, mostly,” he said. “I trained all of their K-9 units, both the officers and the dogs. I would have stayed there, if it wasn’t for mom’s passing. It was a good job.”

“Dobie and I are about all that’s left of our family,” Gabe said. “All of my immediate family are gone now. So are his, after Gwen’s passing.”

“Sorry for your loss,” Jane said. Dobie nodded and smiled.

“I inherited my mom’s house in town, along with some commercial space next to it. Was hoping to build up the business there.”

“Someday you will, when this mess is over,” Gabe said. “You’re welcome to be here as long as you want though, of course.”

“Yeah, I’d rather stay here for the time being,’ he said. “I don’t think it’s safe in town.”

“Why?” Frank asked.

“Now that the military base is gone, we’ve had some bad road people coming through, pushing people around, shoplifting, doing robbery and burglary.”

“I was afraid of that,” Gabe said.

“People are disappearing at night, too,” Dobie continued. “Especially women. Some folks are starting to leave town because of it.”

“Seeing any militia folks, or Islamists?” Jerry asked.

“That’s the other thing,” Dobie said.

Chapter 02 – The Big Ear

“You’re seeing militia and Islamist folks in town?” Frank asked.

“Not exactly. I’ve seen them going by the town, heading east,” Dobie said.

“How?” asked Jerry.

“I’d been taking some patrol jobs with my dogs,” Dobie said. “It was all I could get for my business after everything went to hell in a hand basket. One of my clients had a place right next to I-70. I’ve seen trucks going by in the middle of the night. Some have had people in Islamist garb sitting in the back.”

“Was this before or after the military base got destroyed?” Jane asked.

“After,” Dobie said.

“Wait a minute, you’re a security guard?” Jerry asked. “You carry a gun when you do that?”

“Don’t let Dobie’s looks and gentle demeanor fool you, Jerry,” Gabe said. “He’s a champion combat pistol shooter.”

“Really,” Jerry replied. “Impressive.”

“I’m a little rusty these days,” Dobie said.

“You don’t lose that ability,” Jerry said. “It’s like riding a bicycle. You bring any hardware with you?”

“Yeah, I brought all of my pistols. Don’t have any rifles.”

“What’s your gun of choice?”

“Glock 17,” he said.

“You still use 9mm?” Jerry asked. “Not much stopping power. Why not something that fires .40 S&W or .45 ACP?”

“Why deal with the recoil?” Dobie said. His eyes were lighting up. “The .45 is a great round, but none of the guns have a big magazine.”

“You can get a big magazine for .40 S&W,” Jerry said.

“True, but I like the feel of the 9mm better,” Dobie said. “As for killing power…I’ll put anybody down with a 9mm just as well as a larger round. It’s all about the placement.”

“Sounds like you should have been an officer instead of a dog trainer,” Frank said.

“Too short and too fat,” he said, chuckling. “Besides, the dogs are more interesting to me. I like pistols a lot, but I love my dogs.”

“Getting back to the problems in town,” Frank said. “How many times did you see these enemy forces heading east?”

“For the last week, almost every night,” Dobie replied. “Something bad is going to happen in Denver or beyond. I thought getting off of the radar would be a good idea. This whole area is liable to get hot.”

“You didn’t see any of these folks get off in town?” Frank asked.

“No, but I was just past the last off ramp to the east. If they made any stops, it was before I saw them.”

“What’s left in town in terms of people and supplies?” Jerry asked.

“Well, like I said, some folks are starting to take off. The big chain stores are still open, but they’re under-staffed. A lot of the mom and pop places are boarded up now - including my place.”

“How about the electronics store?” Frank asked.

Dobie laughed. “Old Jake isn’t going anywhere. I just talked to him before I left. He’s sleeping on a cot in the back of his store.”

“He’s still open?” Jerry asked.

“He was as of this morning,” Dobie said. “Why do you ask? Need something from there?”

“Yeah,” Frank said.

“Well, when you want to go, let me know and I’ll go along. He’ll be less nervous.”

“That’d be great, Dobie,” Frank said.

“Well, let’s go finish the introductions,” Gabe said. “Talk to you guys later.”

“Nice meeting you,” Dobie said, as they walked away.

“Well, what do you think?” Frank asked.

“I like him,” Jerry said.

“He’s a damaged guy,” Jane said. “You can see it in his eyes.”

“I picked up on that too, but I’m not getting a bad feeling about him,” Frank said. “I think he has some personal demons that he’s fighting.”

Jeb walked over.

“Hi, folks,” he said. “What’s cookin? I see you met our new person.”

“Yeah, we did,” Jerry said. “You?”

“He came into the kitchen and met us,” Jeb said. “Nice guy.”

“Smells good,” Jasmine said.

“Rosie and Hilda make a good team,” Jeb said, cracking a smile. “They know what they’re doing. Same with Mary.”

“Good, I’m really hungry,” Jasmine said.

“I had a thought,” Jeb said. “I’ve got an extra big screen TV in my rig. I took it out to put in a cabinet in the bedroom. How about if I bring it in here? We could put it over by the surveillance system.”

“That’s a great idea,” Frank said. “How big is it?”

“It’s a 40 inch. They overkilled with TVs in my pusher.”

“How old?” Jerry asked.

“Last year,” Jeb said. “Came new with the rig. One of you want to give me a hand? We can go get it now.”

“Sure, I’ll go,” Jerry said.

“I’ll go too,” Frank said.

The men walked out the door.

“There they go again,” Jasmine said. “Off to get another toy.”

“Tell me about it,” Jane said.

“I’m hoping that Jeb takes Rosie to his coach tonight,” Jasmine whispered. She giggled.

“Uh oh, what’s up? You going to be naughty?”

“Jerry got it into his head that having a baby is a good idea. I’m ovulating.”

“Oh, really,” Jane said, grinning. “You going to pass a hint to her?”

“No, I couldn’t do that,” Jasmine said.

“You probably won’t have to. I saw the way those two were looking at each other. It amazes me that your mom is able to…you know.”

“Her knees are screwed up, but other than that, she’s a lot stronger than she appears,” Jasmine said. “If I could get her to use a walker, she’d be all over this place. She’s too vain. Doesn’t want to look like an old lady.”

Both women cracked up. Hilda walked over, smiling.

“What’s going on here?” she asked.

“Oh, just talking about my mom and Jeb,” Jasmine said.

“I haven’t seen Jeb interested in a woman for years,” Hilda said. “Kudos to Rosie. I was watching them together in the kitchen. They can’t leave each other alone.”

“Good,” Jasmine said, giggling.

“Oh, you want some alone time, don’t you?” Hilda asked, grinning.

“Jerry and I are trying to make a baby,” she replied. “It’s a good time.”

“Ah, I get it,” Hilda said. “You sure you want to do that, with the way things are?”

“I know, seems stupid, right?” Jasmine said.

“I think there’s something in us that ramps up that instinct during times like this,” Jane said. “I’ve even had thoughts about it myself. Thank God I’m not able anymore.”

“Well, now that you mention it, those kind of thoughts have crept into my mind too,” Hilda said. “I just chalked it up to being a newlywed, but maybe it’s more than that.”

“Here they come,” Jane said. “Mum’s the word.” The three of them were giggling as the men carried in the TV.

“Uh oh, what are you three up to?” Frank asked, looking at them.

“Oh, nothing to concern yourself about,” Jane said.

“How about that short table over there?” Jerry said, pointing to a table down the wall that held a vase. “Hey, Gabe!”

Gabe walked over with Dobie.

“What’d you need, Jerry?” he asked.

“Mind if we slide that table down here so we can put the monitor on it?”

“No problem,” Gabe said, looking at the TV. “You guys going to hook the surveillance system up to that?”

“Yeah, Jeb had it in his rig, in storage,” Frank said. “It’ll make it easy to keep an eye on things.”

“So it will,” Gabe said. “Thanks, Jeb.”

“No problem,” Jeb said, smiling. “It was just taking up room in my storage compartment. I took it out of the bedroom. I never watch TV in there, and needed the space for a cabinet.”

Frank got the cable routed to the back of the camera system’s DVR module. He plugged the other end into the TV, while Jerry plugged the power cord in. Jeb fished the remote out of his pocket and turned on it on.

“There we go,” Frank said, as the TV showed the multi-camera view. “I can set it to show eight cameras instead of six. I think this monitor is big enough.”

“I’d leave it like this,” Jerry said. “It cycles pretty quickly, and we can see this clearly from across the room.”

“Okay, I’ll leave it alone,” Frank said. He shut the cabinet doors. Jeb put the remote up on top of the cabinet.

“Ain’t that purty,” Gabe said, laughing.

“I thought this system broke down,” Dobie said.

“It did. Frank fixed it for me,” he replied.

“Nice,” Dobie said. “What was wrong with it?”

“Squirrels,” Frank said, “they chewed through the wires coming out the wall. Easy fix.”

“Excellent,” Dobie said. “I’ve got some acoustic gear in my truck. Maybe we ought to add that too.”

“Really?” Frank asked. “What do you have that for?”

“Jake talked me into it, to listen for the dogs, and general noises while out on patrol jobs. He thinks it’s even better to have than cameras.”

“Well, he’s got a point, for nighttime especially,” Jerry said.

“Dinner ready!” shouted Rosie from the kitchen area.

“I’d better go help,” Hilda said. She walked over to the kitchen, joining Rosie and Mary.

“Me too,” Jeb said. He walked quickly over to join the women.

Charlie, Kurt, the Sheriff, and the Deputy walked over and admired the TV screen. Earl and Jackson noticed the TV screen and followed them over.

“Looks pretty damn good,” Charlie said. “I’m surprised how well it picks up. Not much light out there now.”

“I think we did a good job cleaning those lenses out by the creek,” Earl said. “Look at that. Great picture.”

“With the dogs, and the moat, and this system, we shouldn’t have to sit up on that cold roof all the time,” Kurt said, smiling.

“We should get rigged up so we can get to the roofs in a hurry, though,” Jerry said. “From a protected angle, if possible.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to be caught with our pants down,” the Sheriff added.

“I’m hungry, Frank. Let’s go get into the food line.” Jane tugged at his sleeve.

“Okay, I’m hungry too,” Frank said. “Lead on.”

The rest of the folks followed them over, except for Gabe, who stood there watching the camera system cycle through, with a wide grin on his face. Maybe we’ll be alright, he thought to himself.

The line at the food table was already long by the time Frank and Jane got there. Rosie and Hilda were leaned against the wall next to the kitchen door, watching the crowd with amusement.

“I think they will like,” Rosie said.

“Hope so,” Hilda said. Charlie walked up to her and kissed her forehead.

“Looks like you girls did a nice job,” he said. “Hopefully Jeb didn’t get in the way too much.”

All of them laughed.

“Jeb get brownie points,” Rosie said. “I let him cash later.”

Jeb got an embarrassed look on his face as Rosie snuggled up against him.

Frank and Jane finally filled their plates, and walked over towards the back of the room, in sight of the new TV. Jerry and Jasmine joined them. The others trickled over.

“Hey, Gabe, going to get some food, or are you going to watch that TV all night?” Jerry asked, laughing.

“Oh, I guess I’ll eat. How is it?”

“Best venison I’ve ever had,” Jane said. “Top notch.”

“Sure is,” Frank said. He was almost finished with his meat. “Good side dishes too.”

“I’ve got all kinds of that stuff in the deep freeze.”

“Love the scalloped potatoes,” Jasmine said.

Gabe went over to get himself a plate.

“It feels so much more relaxed this afternoon,” Jane said. “Is it just me?”

“We’re getting pretty well set up here,” Jerry said. “Hopefully we aren’t just fooling ourselves.”

“Time will tell,” Frank said. “Shall I tell the girls our idea for working with the chips?”

“Sure,” Jerry said. “Why not.”

“Uh oh, what are you guys cooking up?” Jane asked.

“We were going to experiment earlier with exciting the chips using LTE from our cellphones,” Jerry said. “Then Frank realized that if we use our cell phones, we might bring on a transmission of the stub file through our phones and onto the internet. The enemy is probably set up to watch for that.”

“What’s a stub file?” Jane asked.

“It’s a file with an address that contains a very small amount of data…in this case it would be whatever information the enemy put on these chips, encrypted. If one of these gets out onto the internet, it will probably find its way out to the enemy.”

“That wouldn’t be good,” Jasmine said. “It would get them to the nearest cell tower. So what’s the idea?”

“Well, first we need to make sure that LTE is really the key to getting a transmission,” Frank said. “At this point, it’s just a very good educated guess that Jerry made this afternoon.”

“If LTE is the right frequency, then we need to be able to capture the transmission from the chip without it going out onto the net,” Jerry added.

Frank took a deep breath.

“You don’t want to tell us this part,” Jane said.

“It’s not that bad, really,” Frank said. “We want to take one of the motorhomes out, far enough into the boonies that we don’t have cell coverage. Then we can try our experiments without worrying that the file is going to slip out and give away our position.”

“You want to take one of our rigs out, un-protected, to an area where you don’t have cell coverage?” Jane asked. “I don’t like that idea one bit.”

“We wouldn’t be completely cut off,” Frank said. “We’d have the radios.”

“Do those have enough range?” Jasmine asked.

“They should, if we don’t end up with a bunch of hills between the park and here.”

“How long would you have to be out there?” Jane asked.

“Not that long,” Frank said. “Long enough to be able to capture the file output from all of the chips. Once I have those, I can start working on cracking their encryption. It may be enough to simply crack their addressing system. In any event, that’s where most of the work will be. Getting the output to trigger shouldn’t be too difficult. Making sense of the output is the hard part.”

“When do you two propose doing this?” Jane asked.

“Probably not for a few days,” Jerry said. “We need a signal generator.”

“Yes, a multi-function one, just in case it’s not really LTE that gets the transmission started.”

“That’s something you can get at that electronics store in town, correct?” Jasmine said.

“Yes,” Frank said, “if we’re lucky.”

“Which coach would you take?”

“Probably ours,” Jerry said, looking sideways at Jasmine. “We’ve got it set up to run the electronics already, and it’s got a powerful diesel generator.”

“We’ll be going too, you know,” Jane said. Jasmine shook her head in agreement.

“That’s OK with me,” Frank said. “In fact, I think we might want to bring a sharpshooter or two along, and at least one of the toads. For one thing, we’ll want somebody in a car to check out the terrain where we pull off. We don’t need to drive a motorhome into an area we can’t get out of.”

“True that,” Jerry said.

“Hey, look!” Frank said, pointing to the door. Dobie was walking in with several parabolic antennas and a bunch of wire. Gabe went over to meet him. Frank and Jerry got up and went over to check it out.

“There go our boys again,” Jane said, shaking her head.

“Yeah,” Jasmine said. “Sometimes being married to a geek gets a little old.”

The two giggled.

Wow, Dobie, these are cool,” Jerry said as they walked up.

“Yeah, I’ve had fun with these things. Probably don’t need all of them. I was thinking that for tonight, we just rig one up on the roof and run the wire down on the ground. We can put up something more permanent later.”

“Sounds good to me,” Gabe said. “How can I help?”

“I’ll stash these extras over there by the monitor,” Dobie said. “Then maybe you can show me how to get on the roof.”

“No problem,” Gabe said.

“Those have the amplifiers built in?” Frank asked.

“Yep,” Dobie said as they put the extra parabolic antennas over against the wall. “The cable isn’t much more than speaker wire, really.”

Gabe took Dobie out the door. Frank and Jerry rejoined their wives.

“Those are going to pick up noise from outside?” Jane asked.

“Yeah,” Frank said. “Cool stuff.”

“What kind of range do they have?” Jasmine asked.

“Depends on how powerful the amplifier is,” Jerry said. “Could be as far as several blocks. Those have a pretty wide spread. I don’t see why we’d need more than one for the front of the park, unless we want to put them way forward. One of them ought to cover just about everything if we put it up on the sniper roof.”

“Want more food, honey?” Jane asked, looking at Frank.

“No, I had plenty,” he said. “I’ll get rid of the paper plates.” He picked all of them up and carried them over to the trash can by the kitchen door. He saw Dobie and Gabe come back in the front door.

“Frank, do you think this wire would go through the access hole over there, where the camera wires run through?” asked Dobie.

“Sure, should fit, but if we’re going to leave this up very long, we’d better tack them down. Squirrels are still around.”

“Understood,” he said. “I’m going back there now.”

“I’ll go with you,” Frank said. They went out the door, with Gabe following close behind, chewing on a big piece of venison that he picked up off the tray.

Dobie picked up the coil of wire that was on the ground, next to the ladder for the roof. He followed Frank to the far corner of the clubhouse, unwinding it as he went.

“This corner still gives me the creeps,” Frank said when they got there. “Especially in the dark.”

“Why?” Dobie asked.

“This is where the pajama boys got the drop on us,” he replied.

“I don’t like to think about that night,” Gabe said.

“There’s the hole,” Frank said, pointing. The ladder was still there. Frank climbed up and pulled out the plastic conduit piece that went through the wall, blocking the hole from the elements. “Hand it up.”

Dobie handed the wire to Frank, and he fed it through the hole, then put the conduit piece back on, and pushed it in place.

“Alright, that’ll do it,” Frank said. They all walked back into the clubhouse, and over to the area where the TV and Camera equipment was. The wire was hanging down about two feet. Frank pulled more of it through, enough to reach all the way to the TV.

“What are we going to hook it into?” Gabe asked. Frank looked over at Jerry.

“You got any audio connectors over there, Jerry?”

“As a matter of fact, yeah, in that little multi-drawer box on the table with my other stuff,” he said. He got up and walked over there, opened a drawer, and pulled one out. “Going to need the soldering iron…I’ll get it warming up.”

Jerry got to work, and had the connector on the wire in no time. He picked it up and carried it to the TV, plugging it into the back. Suddenly there was a loud hissing noise.

“We’d better turn that down,” Frank said. He reached up for the TV remote on top of the cabinet, and turned the volume down to where you could just hear the hissing. They all sat down, watching and listening.

“This is the peeper’s delight, I’ll bet,” Gabe said, with a dirty snicker.

“Damn straight,” Dobie said. “Old Jake told me some stories he heard from his customers.”

Suddenly there was some noise. Cracking twigs.

“Hey, something’s coming,” Gabe said.

“Look, there’s a bunch of deer!” Jerry said, pointing at the camera image. The noise got louder…cracking and breaking twigs. Footsteps.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Gabe said, laughing. “Hey, we just ate one of your friends. You’re next!”

Everybody cracked up. The camera cycled to the next bank of cameras, and then was back to the front set. The deer bolted, startled by something.

“Whoa, something spooked them,” Jerry said.

Frank suddenly felt nervous, and looked over at his Winchester, leaning against the back wall.

“What’s that?” Gabe asked.

There were several dark shapes in the camera, growing larger, breaking twigs. A larger shadow followed.

Chapter 03 – Simon and Peabody

“Are those what I think they are?” Jane asked, looking at the screen.

“Yeah, those are grizzly cubs,” Gabe said “and here comes mama. We’d better get out there and scare them away from that moat!”

Jeb was out the door first, running towards the moat with his rifle.

“Don’t shoot them, Jeb!” Gabe yelled, running after him.

“I won’t,” he replied. “I’m just going to fire a shot into the air to scare them away.”

Frank and Jane ran out with Jerry and Jasmine.

Charlie and the Sheriff followed. Dobie ran out after them. The crack of the shot rang out, and the cubs ran to their mother. She took off with them across the road and into the brush beyond.

“This is a problem,” Jeb said, as he walked over to the group.

“I should have thought about it,” Gabe said. “I don’t want to kill no grizzly cubs…or mom either, for that matter.”

“Can they get into the park any other way?” Jerry asked.

“Not anymore,” Gabe said. “At least not easily. I blocked up the creek with that razor wire.”

“We need to do something,” Jeb said. “I’m not against hunting bears, but I don’t want to have them falling down onto those spikes.”

“We’re going to the electronics store tomorrow, right?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah, if nothing crazy happens,” Gabe said.

“Think loud sound will keep them away?”

“Maybe,” Gabe replied. “Why?”

“We could pick up an electronic eye system there, and rig it to some loudspeakers. They break the beam, and it goes off.”

“Actually, that would be a good idea for other intruders as well,” the Sheriff said.

“Wait a minute, guys,” Dobie said. “You’re forgetting about my dogs. They’ll bark if anything or anyone approaches the borders of the park. They sound vicious enough…I think that would probably scare the bears away.”

“What if the dogs fall into the moat?” Jane asked.

“They won’t,” Dobie said. “I’ll train them what the boundaries are. Works for electrified fences. It’ll work here too.”

“Those cubs were cute,” Jasmine said.

“Yeah, well don’t try to get a selfie,” Jerry said, laughing. “More than one Darwin Award has been handed out for that one.”

The group laughed, and started to walk back towards the clubhouse, except for Jeb, who stood his ground, looking out into the inky blackness beyond the moat, rifle in his hand. Frank noticed and walked back over to him.

“Still see something?” he asked.

“No, just thinking,” Jeb said.

“About what?”

“The enemy knows where we are. You know that, right?”

“I suspect that’s true, yes,” Frank said.

“You think the others know?”

“Most do, but everybody’s avoiding the issue.”

“You heard what Dobie was saying about the cretins using I-70 as a conduit to the east?”

“Yeah, I heard him, Jeb.”

“Sooner or later they’re going to send a good sized force over here. If they’ve got mortars or worse, we’ll take a pretty bad beating, and we can’t escape out the back here.”

“Yeah, Jeb, that thought’s crossed my mind. This could be a very tidy little death trap.”

“Why do you want to stay here?”

“I want to have a crack at figuring out those chips,” Frank said.

“What do you think that’s going to buy us?”

“Precise location of the enemy,” Frank said. “Including the leadership, because we should be able to tell who’s who from the label data.”

“We going to go take the leaders out when you find them?”

“I’d much rather leave that to the armed forces, but I don’t think we’re going to be able to trust them. Once I crack these things, I’m only going to tell a few people in camp. Just the inner circle.”

“Good,” Jeb said. “Once the enemy figures out that we’re onto their system, how quickly could they change it?”

“Well, that’s the beauty of this. I don’t think they can get themselves out of danger without removing the chips.”

“You don’t think they can re-program them remotely?”

“I’ll be able to tell that when I get into them. Even if they can re-program them, they’ll still have to access them the same way they do now, and I think I’ll be able to see it and react accordingly.”

“Is this a pipe dream, Frank, or can you really do this?” Jeb asked. “Be honest.”

“Oh, yeah, I can do it, but I’ll need some un-interrupted time…hence the desire to stay here for now.”

“Why not just leave, and get to these chips when you can?”

“This is urgent, for my kids, and my country. It won’t be easy to get set up this well somewhere else. Staying here is worth the risk.”

“Noble,” Jeb said. “I don’t have any kids. I don’t have much invested in this society anymore. Just friends like you and Jerry and Charlie.”

“How serious are you about Rosie?”

“More serious than I’d like to be now.” He coughed, not wanting Frank to see his emotion.

“You’re in love with her.”

Jeb just looked at him. “I know, stupid, right?”

“No, not even a little bit. Do you see yourself getting hitched?”

“She wants that. I do too, but not until we get past this crap. If we get past this crap.”

“Well, something to consider,” Frank said, looking Jeb in the eye. “You may have grandkids in your future.”

“Jerry and Jasmine?”

“Don’t say anything.”

“They aren’t pregnant yet, are they?”

“No, but they’re trying.”

“Rosie said something about that, but I thought she was just kidding around.”

“She wasn’t. She’s encouraging it.”

“Why?” Jeb asked.

“She loves this country, and wants to see the people continue to build the society.”

“Well, that’s the truth. She wants us to fight.” He looked over at Frank, and then out into the dark again. “She’s right.”

“I think so. If we don’t retake the country, there won’t be anywhere we can hide. Not these days. The world is too small. Everything is exposed, even if it doesn’t feel like it.”

“Yeah. If you need any help from me on these chips, you just let me know.”

“We’ll need your help in a couple of days. Jerry and I are going to take his rig out in the boonies, out of range of the cell towers, so we can experiment with the chips without giving ourselves away. We’ll need some sharp shooters to go along in a toad.”

“I thought you knew these guys were aware of our location? Why worry about doing it here?”

“I don’t want the enemy to figure out that I’m working on cracking them,” Frank said.

“Oh. I get it.”

“I’d better get back in to Jane. You going back in?”

“In a few minutes. I need some quiet time to think.”

“Okay, Jeb, see you later.”

Frank walked back inside and found Jane over by the kitchen door, talking to Mary.

“You and Jeb have a nice chat?” Jane asked.

“Yeah.”

“Everything okay?” Mary asked.

“Yes, everything’s good. What’s going on in here?”

“Nothing much,” Jane said. “We actually went through all of the venison they cooked up. It was a hit.”

“Yeah, it was great. I’m not a huge fan of game, but this was cooked so well.”

“Thanks,” Mary said. “We had fun doing it. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find Kurt. I want to get to bed early tonight. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Jane said as she walked away.

“Well?” Jane asked.

“Nothing you don’t know about, sweetie,” Frank said. “Jeb just needed a little quiet time. He’s still out there.”

“No he’s not. He just came in the door and joined Rosie.”

Frank looked over and saw them. Jeb made eye contact and nodded, then put his arm around Rosie and pulled her close.

“Let’s go tell people goodnight. I want to go home and hit the sack,” Frank said. “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

Jane nodded. They walked around, saying their goodbyes, and then walked out into the cool night air.

“Okay, now that we’re out of there, what did you and Jeb really talk about?”

“I think he was having a hard time running through our situation in his mind, and seeing a good end to it.”

“I have the same problem.”

“I understand. It’ll be alright.”

“You’re not worried, Frank?”

“If I thought we were just going to hang out in this RV Park and hope for the best, I’d be worried.”

“You don’t think we’re going to stay here long term?”

“Remains to be seen, sweetie…but moats and dogs and razor wire aren’t going to be enough to keep us safe if a few of those trucks full of Islamists decide to make a detour here.”

“You still think they know where we are?”

“No way to tell for sure, but given the facts as we know them, I don’t see how they couldn’t know. I’m hoping that we aren’t high enough on their priority list to bother with, until after I’ve got those chips figured out.”

“There’s something I wanted to quiz you on,” Jane said as they approached the coach. Frank unlocked the door and opened it, and Lucy ran down the steps, got up on Jane’s shins. “Let’s take her for a quick walk before we settle in.”

“You read my mind, sweetie,” Frank said, reaching in for her leash. He got her hooked up, and they kept walking. “What do you want to quiz me about?”

“You aren’t going to trust the army to go get the enemy leadership. You can’t.”

“True.”

“So what are you planning on doing?”

“I have a two-step plan, after the chips are cracked.”

They walked along silently for a moment.

“Frank, do I have to coax every bit of this out of you?”

“No, but there are still a lot of people around here that we don’t know very well. I’ll tell you everything, but you have to promise not to tell anybody else. Not Jasmine. Not Hilda. Nobody.”

“Have you told Jerry?”

“Only part of it. Same with Jeb, and those are the two people here that I trust the most.”

“You really think these people are going to blab?”

“To each other, yes, and once it gets beyond the person I tell, I’m out of the loop and can’t control where it goes. You know, Jerry tells Jasmine, and she tells Rosie, and she tells Mary…you get it.”

“You’re thinking several steps ahead, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You already know how to crack these things, don’t you?”

“I have a pretty good idea, yes. They probably used concepts I developed to pull it off.”

“You’ve been making it sound like it’s going to be more difficult that it is.”

“Yes.”

“You’re buying time for a later step.”

“This is why I adore you,” Frank said, smiling. “You’re smart as a whip.”

“What are the two steps?”

“Step one is to locate the enemy leadership and take them out. Step two is to flood the internet with Android and iPhone applications that will let anybody and everybody know where the bad guys are, be they in the next state, the next town, or two feet away. These two steps will be launched almost simultaneously. Step one will be started just hours before step two, and step two will be on auto-pilot, just in case something happens to us.”

“You’re going around the government completely.”

“Oh, the army will use this, but everybody else will know about it too. That will completely neutralize the enemy’s strategy, and no bad guys in our military or our government are going to be able to do anything to stop it.”

“How’re you going to take out the two leaders?”

“There’s three. Philip, Saladin, and that IT Security guru I was talking about a couple days ago.”

“What was his name?”

“Daan Mertens.”

“What kind of name is that?”

“Belgian,” Frank said.

“Interesting. He’s an American, though?”

“He was born here, but his parent’s weren’t. He’s related to several EU ruling class types.”

“Interesting. If he’s just their technical guy, why do you want to hit him?”

“I believe he’s more than just the technical guy.”

“Lucy’s done, let’s go inside,” Jane said. Frank nodded, and they headed back to the coach.

“Look, Jeb’s taking Rosie to his place,” Frank said, as they walked up the steps into their coach.

“Saw that coming,” Jane said, smiling. “He’s in love with her, you know.”

“I know. That’s part of what we talked about.”

“You want to watch some TV?” Jane asked.

“In the bedroom, maybe,” he said. “I’m beat.”

“Okay,” she said.

They both went into the bedroom and settled down for the night. Frank fell asleep right away. Jane didn’t. Her mind was busy working things out, thinking about all of the things that could go wrong. She didn’t fall asleep for another couple of hours.

The next morning was sunny and bright. Frank woke up first, and looked at his phone. It was a little before 8:00am. Jane was sound asleep. He snuck out of bed, threw on some clothes, and went quietly out into the salon, closing the door behind him. Lucy and Mr. Wonderful were all over him. He hooked the leash on Lucy and took her outside. The morning air was crisp and, and there were several clouds in the air. It felt like the weather was going to change. Maybe they had rain coming in. Suddenly Lucy growled. Frank saw where she was looking. It was Dobie, with one of his Dobermans. He saw Frank and started towards him. He was wearing his pistol in a combat holster.

“Morning, Frank,” he said. “This is Princess.”

The dog slowly walked towards Frank, with Dobie holding her leash tightly. She sniffed Frank’s hand, looked up at him, and then licked his hand. Lucy sat down next to Frank’s leg, and growled softly.

“Lucy, it’s okay,” Frank said. She looked up at him, then approached Princess. They got nose to nose, and then both their tails wagged as they checked each other out. Then Princess laid down and rolled on her back, and Lucy nuzzled her.

“Princess is a really sweet dog,” Dobie said. “Unless she gets next to somebody who has bad intentions.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. She always this friendly with other dogs?”

“Usually.”

“The others like this too?”

“They’re more like work dogs. I’ve had Princess longer than the others, and I got her really young, so she’s imprinted to me. Much more affectionate. Princess’s the lead dog. She manages the other three.”

“Impressive,” Frank said. They both chuckled as Lucy tried to climb on top of Princess. “You’re going to have to go through this with the other three, aren’t you?”

“Yep, with every person here,” Dobie said.

“They’ll remember everybody?”

“Yes, as long as I’m with them during the introduction. They won’t take commands from the people I introduce them to, but they won’t hurt them, either. They’ll protect them.”

“Wow,” Frank said.

“Why don’t you two come with me to the kennel? I’ll get both of you introduced to the others.”

“Sounds great,” Frank said. They started over towards the barn.

“I love this place,” Dobie said. “So many good memories over the years.”

“You came here growing up?”

“Of course. Gabe was older…I was probably an annoyance to him back then. My dad and Gabe’s dad were close.”

“Wearing your sidearm, I see,” Frank said.

“I thought what the hell,” he said. “I asked Gabe, and he thought it was a good idea.”

“You don’t feel that safe here either, do you?”

“I’m afraid this whole area is going to get flooded with enemy fighters before it’s over. One of the reasons I came out here was to get Gabe away before that happens. He’d stick it out without a push. I can’t lose him…he’s the only family I’ve got left.”

“Oh, I thought it was the dogs that brought you out here,” Frank said.

“That was a very good excuse, and if things go south in town, this will be safer, at least temporarily.”

“Well, that all depends,” Frank said. “The enemy is kinda mad at some of us.”

“So I’ve heard,” Dobie said, laughing. “Nice job, by the way.”

Frank nodded. They were at the back of the barn now, and the other dogs started to bark. Lucy held back for a minute, straining against the leash.

“It’s okay, girl,” Frank said in a soft voice, “they’re friends, just like Princess.”

Dobie hooked Princess’s leach on the fence post, and got out two of the dogs.

“This is Simon and Peabody,” Dobie said, grinning. The dogs approached Frank and sniffed him, then licked his hand and looked up at him. Lucy approached them and nuzzled them. They sniffed each other. These Dobermans didn’t roll on their backs. They sat down, and Lucy sat down facing them. They were very calm.

“Well, this is going well,” Frank said. “I see what you mean about them not being as affectionate, though.”

“It’s the working dog thing. See them sitting there? They’re showing respect, not affection.”

“Interesting,” Frank said.

Dobie put these dogs back into the kennel, and got the last one out. It was a little bit smaller. “This is the baby,” he said. “C’mon, Duchess.” She approached much like Simon and Peabody did, sniffing and licking Frank, and doing the same with Lucy. Then Dobie put her back.

“So, the females are Duchess and Princess, and you name the males after goofy cartoon characters?” Frank said, laughing.

“Yeah, got to keep my sense of humor,” he said.

Lucy walked back over to Princess and sat down next to her.

“Wow, they’re buddies,” Frank said.

“You don’t need to worry about these dogs now,” Dobie said. “They are your protectors.”

“This is really cool. Someday when we can settle down, I’d love to learn more about this kind of training.”

“Not much I like talking about more than my dogs,” Dobie said, grinning. “Well, I’d better continue the rounds with Princess.” He pulled her leash off of the fence post and they started back out towards the center of the park.

“You already show them the boundaries?”

“Yes, I was up at six, and that’s the first thing I did. They’re set. As soon as they meet everybody, they’ll pretty much have the run of the place, although I try to get them to sleep a little during midday. That way they’re keen and sharp at night.”

“Dobie! Frank! Come over!” Gabe shouted from the veranda at the clubhouse.

“What’s wrong?” Frank shouted.

“Denver is under attack!”

Chapter 04 – Mile High Battle

Dobie and Frank ran over to Gabe, who was on the veranda of the clubhouse. Lucy and Princess were right there with them, both looking around warily.

“It’s on the news now, guys,” Gabe said, as he turned to go back into the door. They followed.

The big TV screen showed fighting by I-70, on the outskirts of Denver. There were a lot of police vehicles blocking the highway, but only a few army vehicles. You could see more army vehicles on their way, in the distance. Suddenly there were explosions in front of the line of police vehicles.

“Mortars getting sighted in,” Frank said.

The announcer came on.

“The attack started about an hour ago, near the suburb of Lakewood, just west of Denver. This is the hottest spot, but there are enemy flooding in from either side as well. This is a significant enemy force, and they appear to have taken the army by surprise.”

Charlie and the Sheriff trotted into the door. Hilda followed, a somber look on her face.

The announcer continued.

“The Army spokesman downplayed the danger, and said that attack helicopters would be in the air soon, but that was half an hour ago, and the air remains clear of any helicopters or planes. Private citizens in Denver are well armed, and taking up positions on rooftops along the western border of Lakewood.”

“Somebody at the base has got those choppers bottled up,” Charlie said. “Anything we should do around here?”

“Keep our eyes open,” Frank said.

“I’m going to kick the introductions of the dogs into high gear, and then let them patrol,” Dobie said.

“Everybody should have their guns with them,” Gabe said.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” the Sheriff said. “I’m going to go get mine. See you back here in a few.”

“I’ll get the coffee pot going,” Gabe said. “It’s going to be a long day.”

“I’ll go get armed too, and be back in a little while,” Frank said. He followed the Sheriff out the door, and rushed to the coach. Jane was just coming out of the bedroom as he entered, with Lucy hot on his trail.

“Already out for the walk, eh,” she said, stretching and rubbing her eyes. She saw his concerned look. “What?”

“Denver is under attack,” Frank said. “I was just watching it on the TV in the clubhouse. Gabe ran out and told us.”

“Who’s us?”

“Dobie and me. By the way, I’ve met all of the dogs, and so has Lucy. Amazing animals.”

“I’ll turn on the TV and get dressed,” Jane said, picking up the remote.

“I’ll feed the children,” Frank said, going to the fridge to get out the pet food. He put food in the two bowls and put them on the floor. The TV announcer got his attention.

“There have been explosions at the military base, around the airstrip and the hangars. Meanwhile enemy fighters continue to flood into the area from the west, but are facing tough resistance from local police and townspeople. Mortar fire has started to hit the outskirts of the city. The army is bringing tanks up, but they’re having a hard time making it down the congested roads, as people are attempting to flee.”

“Why the hell aren’t aircraft coming in from outside of Denver?” Jane asked, as she walked out of the bedroom with her shoes in her hand.

“Good question,” Frank said. “If the cretins were able to stop the army choppers from taking off, they must have had a pretty good sized infiltration.”

“Seriously,” Jane said, as she got her shoes on. Frank went into the bedroom and put on his pistol belt. He carried the Winchester and the M-16 out with him.

“We’re going to be armed today?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, this would be a good time for the enemy to hit us, if we’re still high on the priority list. How much ammo do you have left for the M-16?”

“Most of it,” she said. “Jasmine and I were given two hundred rounds each, and we didn’t use any of that for the training fire. I’ve still got at least 180 rounds.”

“Good,” Frank said, leaning both rifles up near the front door.

There was a knock. Frank opened the door. It was Dobie, with Princess.

“Jane decent?” he asked. “Time for the introduction.”

“I’m ready,” Jane said. She went down the steps.

The TV Announcer came back on.

“There is a fire fight going on at the military base, over the remaining aircraft hangars by the airstrip. Three of the attack helicopters took off a few minutes ago, with some of the enemy infiltrators trying to shoot them down. It appears that the army is winning the battle. There are between forty and fifty attack helicopters in the hangars they are fighting over.”

“Yes!” Frank said. Jane and Dobie came in the door.

“What happened?” Jane asked.

“The army is taking care of the infiltrators. We should see a bunch of attack helicopters in the air shortly. Three just took off. You could see some of the phony soldiers turn and fire at them. Amazing video.”

“Jane was the last of the intros for Princess,” Dobie said. “I’m going to let her loose and get the others introduced. See you in a little while.” He walked towards the front of the park, took the leash off of Princess, gave her a command, and then walked away. She started walking back and forth along the front of the park, keeping an eye over towards the road.

“Impressive dog,” Jane said. “Glad she’s on our side.”

“You should’ve seen her and Lucy together,” Frank said. “She laid on her back and let Lucy climb on top of her. They like each other.”

“Yeah, that’s what Dobie was saying.”

“Want to eat something before we go over?” Frank asked.

“How about a couple of bars, with some coffee?”

“Gabe’s cranking up the big coffee pot in the clubhouse,” Frank said, “but bars would be good.” He walked over to the pantry and took two out, tossing one to Jane. They sat down for a moment and started eating them as the TV announcer came back on.

“The enemy fighters have just used mortars to take out the police line on the I-70 entry point, and are clearing debris and moving their vehicles deeper into the city. They’re concentrating fire on the rooftops where the citizen snipers are set up, but are taking heavy losses at the hands of the sharpshooters.”

“Where are those damn choppers?” Frank asked. “C’mon, guys.”

“You ready to go, Frank?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he said. He put Lucy’s leash on her, picked up his Winchester, and headed out the door. Jane picked up her M-16 and followed him, stuffing an extra box of shells into her vest pocket as she went.

Jeb was helping Rosie up the steps of the veranda as they got there.

“Good morning, you two,” Jane said.

“Morning to you,” Rosie said.

“Seen the news yet, Jeb?” Frank asked.

“No, but I saw a stream of people heading here, so I figured something was up.”

“Denver is under attack.”

“Dammit,” he said. “Didn’t think it would happen this fast.”

Earl and Jackson were already in the clubhouse with cups of coffee, watching the screen next to Gabe and Charlie and the Sheriff. The Deputy walked in, followed by Kurt and Mary.

“Didn’t we just leave this party?” Kurt asked, looking at the video on the screen.

“How are these jerks hiding their numbers?” Earl asked. “Look at all those guys.”

“Looks like mostly Islamists,” Jackson said, “but their sharpshooters are militia folks. Look.” He pointed to the screen, just as one of the militias men’s heads exploded.

“Yes!” Jerry shouted, walking up behind Frank and Jane, “Nice shot.”

“I’d give my eye teeth to be up there with those guys,” Jeb said.

“You get your chance,” Rosie said, patting him on the shoulder.

Jane looked over at Jasmine. She flashed back an embarrassed smile.

“Well, Jasmine?”

“If there’s nothing wrong with him, that probably did it last night,” she whispered, still looking embarrassed.

“Good,” Jane replied.

“Want coffee, honey?” Frank asked.

“Love some,” she replied. Frank walked off towards the kitchen, seeing Dobie walk in with Simon and Peabody.

“More introductions?”

“Yeah, Simon and Peabody met everybody outside,” he said. He started around the room, making introductions.

Frank got two cups of coffee and walked back over to Jane. They drank as they watched the screen.

“Look, choppers!” Jackson shouted.

“About friggin time,” Frank said.

The choppers used their mini guns to take out the row of sharpshooters that were laying down on I-70 firing at the rooftops. The fighters who didn’t get hit scrambled for cover.

“That’ll keep their heads down,” Earl said, “but there’s a lot of concrete cover around that freeway overpass.”

Jerry came over to Frank and leaned in. “We’d better keep our focus. This might move out timetable up a little. Let’s go talk to Gabe about going into town.” Frank nodded, and they both went over to him.

“Gabe, up for that trip into town?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah, but we need to wait until Dobie finishes his rounds with the dogs before we discuss it.”

“Understood,” Frank said. “He’s finishing up with the two males now. Then he’s got Duchess.”

“Yeah,” Gabe said. “I’ll get with him after that. Maybe we can take Terry along. He’s the only other one of you guys who wasn’t on that video, correct?”

“Yes,” Frank said.

“Good,” Gabe said.

“Whoa!” Jeb shouted. “They just dropped a sea of napalm along I-70. Not a good place to be.”

Frank, Jerry, and Gabe looked at the curtain of fire raining down, in awe.

“Nasty but smart,” Kurt said. “That napalm won’t ruin the road, but it will kill anybody around it.”

“That’s horrible,” Mary said.

“Better them than us,” Earl said. “Time to take the gloves off.”

“Crap, something just took out that chopper!” Jeb shouted. The TV screen showed the fireball rising, and debris from the chopper coming down, fluttering in the wind. Then the second chopper fired a missile and the there was a large explosion on the ground, followed by a secondary explosion.

“How come there’s only a few choppers in the air?” Jackson asked.

“These are probably the ones that escaped while the battle was going at the base,” Frank said.

The announcer came back on.

“As you can see, the battle has intensified along I-70, by Lakewood, on the outskirts of the Denver area. Only three attack helicopters were able to escape the base. The fighting at the base continues. We’ve been asked not to show the video feed of the fighting there at this time.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Jeb said.

“Me neither,” Jerry said.

“Here comes Dobie with the last of the dogs,” Jane said. He made the rounds through the room with Duchess, and then took her outside. He was back in the clubhouse in a few minutes.

“Dogs are on patrol, Gabe,” he said. “How about some coffee?”

“In the kitchen…help yourself. Then we need to talk.”

“About Denver?”

“No, Dobie. About Eagle and the electronics store.”

“Oh, gotcha,” he said, as he walked to the kitchen. He was back in a moment with his cup of coffee.

“Frank! Jerry!” Gabe shouted. “Let’s go in the office. Bring Terry and the Sheriff.”

The men all went into the office.

“What’s up?” Terry asked.

“We need to make a trip into town,” Frank said.

“Where?” asked the Sheriff.

“The electronics store. We need a signal generator,” Jerry said. “It’s for Frank’s work with those chips.”

“You want to take Terry?” he asked.

“If you guys are good with it,” Frank said.

“Why me?” asked Terry.

“You are the only member of the core group that didn’t make it onto that video display that was up on the system in Hilda’s park.”

“Oh, I get it,” he said. “I won’t be recognized.”

“Right, and either will Gabe or Dobie. Dobie and Gabe are friends with the guy who owns the store, too, which ought to be helpful.”

“You alright with going?” the Sheriff asked Terry.

“Sure, why not,” he said. “I’ve seen quite a bit of action, and I don’t freeze up any more like I did that first time.”

“Good,” the Sheriff said. “I’m fine with you going, as long as you feel comfortable.”

“I’d love to help, uncle,” he said.

“You think this is going to be dangerous?” the Sheriff asked.

“Shouldn’t be,” Gabe said, “but having Dobie with us will provide pretty good security just in case.”

“Why?” Terry asked. “Taking one of the dogs along?”

“Not a bad idea, I guess, but no, that wasn’t what I was talking about,” Gabe said. “Dobie here is a combat pistol shooter. A champion, as a matter of fact.”

“Gabe!” Dobie said. “Don’t make me sound like superman to these folks.”

“Really? Combat pistol?” Terry asked. “I spent a lot of time on IDPA myself, before the crap hit the fan. Still learning, but my instructors told me that I showed a lot of promise.”

“What’s IDPA?” asked Frank.

“International Defensive Pistol Association,” Dobie said. “Good organization. How long were you involved?”

“About eight months,” Terry said. “I miss it.”

“Have you been in a handgun battle yet?”

“No, Dobie, not really, but I’ve had to fight with rifles and shotguns with this group. I choked the first time, but after that I’ve been fine.”

“Killed anybody, Terry?”

He looked down.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Back by the blinds, during one of the firefights. Two.”

“Hard to stomach, I know,” Dobie said. “I’ll work with you if you want to practice.”

“That would be great…got to watch the ammo, through,” the Sheriff said.

“I brought my reloading stuff,” Dobie said,” so don’t toss any of your brass.”

“Well, enough of this,” Frank said. “It’ll be Terry, Dobie, and Gabe. You got that shopping list ready, Jerry?”

“Sure do,” he said. He pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Gabe. “Most desirable brands on top, but any of them would do. What about money? This stuff can be a little pricey.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Dobie said. “Jake’s my buddy. Hell, if I thought I could talk him into it, I’d have him load up a bobtail truck with his best stuff and come live with us.”

“I’d like that,” Gabe said. “We go way back. Had a lot of fun over the years.”

“Ask him,” Frank said. “You never know. See if he wants to get into the fight…but don’t tell him much about the chips. We don’t want that info to get into the wrong hands. We don’t want the enemy to know we’re trying to crack them.”

“Okay,” Gabe said. Dobie nodded in agreement.

“When should we leave?” Gabe asked.

“The sooner the better,” Jerry said. “If those cretins start losing in Denver, they’re liable to start flooding back down I-70 in this direction. It’d be better to be safely back here before that happens.”

“Alright, then lets’ go,” Dobie said. “Got your combat pistol on you, Terry?”

“No, but I’ll go get it,” he said. He left the office.

“You take care of that kid,” the Sheriff said. “He’s the only kin I’ve got left.”

“I understand,” Gabe said. “Dobie’s the only kin I have left.”

The men left the office, and Gabe locked it behind them.

“Well?” Jane asked as Frank walked up with Jerry.

“They’re going now,” Frank said. He looked over at Jackson.

“What, Frank?” Jackson asked.

“Gabe’s going to need you to man the backhoe in a few minutes. They’ll need the bridge put over the moat.”

“Alright, I’ll get on it,” he said, getting up to leave.

“I’ll help,” Earl said, standing up and following him out the door.

“Did we miss anything on the news?” Jerry asked.

“No, not much,” Jasmine said. “After the napalm and missile attacks, the enemy stopped their advance, and are laying low.”

“The other choppers show up?” Frank asked.

“They haven’t said anything about them yet,” Jane said. “I still hear sporadic gunfire, but it’s not in the foreground of the video they’re taking.”

“The announcer hasn’t said anything lately?”

“No, and that’s kind of weird,” Jasmine said.

“Speak of the devil!” Jane said. “Look.”

The screen moved to a room, where a bunch of men in suits were lined up along a wall. The announcer was in the middle, looking at the camera with a terrified expression.

Gabe walked back over, looking at the screen, worried. “I know that place,” he said. “That’s the pressroom at City Hall.”

“Saladin,” Jeb said. “Son of a bitch.”

Saladin stepped up to the podium.

“We have the mayor captive, along with many other city and state officials,” he said with a clipped, vaguely British accent.

“That guy lived in the west for a long time,” Jerry said. “Listen to that accent. I’m thinking England.”

“Shsssss,” Jasmine said.

“The infidel will surrender the city of Denver, or we will start executions. We start with the news readers.”

“Turn that off, unless you want to see heads coming off,” Frank said.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Gabe said. He grabbed the TV remote and switched it off. “I’ll turn on the radio for you folks. I think we’d better get going on our shopping run. You know the army isn’t going to pull out of Denver, even if the mayor and those other folks get a trim. It’s going to get hot around there, and we’re liable to have some things to deal with here.”

He left the room in a hurry.

“He forgot the radio,” Jerry said.

“Who cares,” Frank said. “I think we ought to man the sniper posts while they’re gone. If the enemy has enough people here to have a realistic chance of taking Denver, then you know they’ve got people all over this end of Colorado.”

“How far away is Denver?” Jasmine asked.

“I’d guestimate about two hundred miles,” Kurt said.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Mary said. “I think it’s closer to one hundred miles from here.”

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Jane said, looking at her iPhone. “Crap. It’s only a hundred and twenty six miles away. A little over two hours via I-70. That’s too close.”

“Sheriff. Kurt. Let’s get back on the roofs with our rifles,” Jeb said.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Kurt said. He reached over and kissed Mary, then picked up his rifle and headed to the door, following the Sheriff and Jeb.

Frank and Jerry walked out onto the veranda, just in time to see Jackson push the bridge into place over the moat. Gabe’s SUV drove over the bridge slowly. They could see one of the dogs in the back as they drove out on the highway.

“Which one did he take, Frank?” Jerry asked.

“Looked like Duchess.”

“Wonder why he didn’t take Princess?”

“She keeps the other dogs in line,” Frank said. “He probably had to leave her behind with Simon and Peabody.”

Jackson pulled the bridge away from the moat, and then drove the backhoe to the barn. Earl followed him on foot.

Chapter 05 – Bobcats and Barricades

Gabe was at the wheel of the Suburban. Dobie sat in the passenger seat, and Terry was in back.

“Keep your long guns out of sight when we get close to town,” Dobie said. “Somebody might mistake us for militia folks.”

“This dog is beautiful,” Terry said, petting her on the head.

“Yeah, Duchess is a charmer. She’s not as affectionate as Princess, but a lot more than Simon and Peabody.”

Gabe laughed. “Those names.” Dobie cracked up too.

“What’s so funny?” Terry asked.

“You don’t know who Simon and Peabody are?” Gabe asked.

“He’s probably too young. How old are you, Terry?”

“Twenty four,” he said.

“You don’t remember Rocky and Bullwinkle? The moose and the flying squirrel?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve seen clips of them, and pictures. What does Simon and Peabody have to do with them?”

“They were a part of the old TV show,” Dobie said. “They were my favorite part growing up, actually.”

“You’re pretty young to be hanging around all of these geezers,” Gabe said. “Aren’t you going stir crazy with no young women around?”

“Yeah, that is a little tough,” he admitted.

“Have a girlfriend, Terry?” asked Gabe.

“I did. Her family moved away when things started getting a little dicey in town. They went up to be with her uncle in Wisconsin.”

“Was she serious?” Dobie asked.

“No, not really,” Terry said. “She was only eighteen, too. High maintenance, and pretty helpless. She’d have it tough in this world.”

“You never know about that,” Gabe said. “I’ve known Hilda from way back. She used to be a princess. I would have figured she’d just be looking for a place to hide. Nope. Now she’s strong and practical.”

“Well, in any case, this war won’t last forever,” Dobie said. “Things’ll get back to normal eventually. All we have to do is stay alive.”

“This road is really dead,” Gabe said. “I’ve only seen one car. Usually there’s quite a bit of traffic.”

“The city was pretty sparse too, before I left,” Dobie said. “Hope Jake is still running his store.”

“You gonna ask him to come back with us?” Gabe asked.

“Yeah. I’m going to press on it pretty hard with him,” Dobie replied. “By the way, he has a daughter. In her early twenties. He might want to get her out to your place. We might be able to use her to convince him.”

Terry’s eyes lit up. “Twenties, huh. She cute?”

“I think she is,” Dobie said. “She’s a little on the heavy side.”

“How heavy?”

“She’s just a little round,” Gabe said. “I remember her. Trish. Nice girl. Good hunter, too. Kind of a tomboy, but she cleans up well. So sad about her mom.”

“Kate. She’s been gone several years already,” Dobie said. “Damn cancer.”

“I know. Shame. I liked her a lot,” Gabe said.

“This the town?” Terry asked. There was a grid of streets coming up. Houses on each side, and they could see storefronts down the road a ways.

“Yes, quite a metropolis,” Dobie said, chuckling. “It was nice to get back here from Salt Lake City, though. Wish I could have made a go of it here with my K-9 Security business.”

“You may be able to yet,” Gabe said. “After we get past this mess.”

“Where is everybody?” Terry asked.

“Oh, they’re around,” Dobie said. “I’ll bet most of them are watching TV, like we were back at the park.”

“Are those barricades I see over there?” Gabe asked.

“They have the I-70 off-ramps bottled up,” Dobie said. “Good. I don’t blame them.”

Gabe drove over closer and slowed down.

“What are you doing, Gabe?” Dobie asked.

“That’s a friend of mine over there. Bob Smith. I just wanted to say hi.”

“Better stick your head out the window. They might not know it’s you,” Terry said. “He might think this is a militia vehicle.”

“Good point,” Gabe said. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out. “Hey, Bob!”

The man standing behind the barricade got a big grin on his face, and set down his rifle. Gabe rolled slowly over to him, and got out of the car.

“Gabe, how the hell are ya?” Bob asked, walking up and shaking his hand. He was in his mid-40s, with a shaved head and sunglasses. He was wearing a police reserve uniform.

“I’m great, Bob. How are you?”

“Alright, considering,” he said. “The Sheriff called up reserves. I was glad. Everybody’s hiding out here now, if they can. I was getting cabin fever.”

“You know what’s going on in Denver right now?”

“Yeah,” he said. “My wife’s beside herself. Her sister and brother still live in Denver.”

“Oh, no. Tanya and Jamie? Heard from them?”

“Yeah, this morning. They’re in a suburb on the east side of town. They can flee the area if they need to, so I’m not so worried about them. I’m more worried about us.”

“Just what we’re thinking,” Gabe said.

Dobie came out of the car.

“Dobie, you hanging out with this old coot?” Bob asked.

“Well, he is my uncle, you know,” Dobie said, walking up and shaking hands.

“We’d better get a move on, Gabe,” Dobie said. “We’ve got things to do.”

“What are you guys doing?” Bob asked.

“Supply run,” Dobie said. “We wanted to get that done before things got any worse out here. When the cretins start taking heavy losses in Denver, they’re liable to escape this way.”

“Yeah, that’s why we put up the barricades. If it looks like that’s going to happen, we’ll have twenty men on each of the off-ramps.”

“Prudent,” Gabe said. “Alright, Bob, we probably better get going. Take care of yourself and your family.”

“Will do, you too,” he said. Gabe and Dobie got back in the SUV and drove off.

“How far is the electronics store?” Terry asked.

“Way on the far side of town,” Dobie said. He laughed. “About 800 feet straight ahead.”

Gabe cracked up. “Now, don’t make fun of small towns,” he said. “This is a nice place when things aren’t going crazy. I had a lot of fun here over the years.”

“There it is,” Dobie said, pointing. It was an old brick two-story building, with a yard behind it fenced in by chain link. There were a few commercial vehicles in the yard - a bobtail truck, a forklift, and a delivery truck. Gabe parked on the street in front, and they all got out.

“Side arms alright?” Terry asked.

“Yeah, we have open carry here, so you’re good. Leave the long guns in the car, though.”

Dobie came around the back and opened the tail gate. Duchess jumped out, and he put her leash on. They walked into the front door of the store. A buzzer went off. The store was packed with merchandize…row after row of shelves stuffed with electronic equipment. They made their way to the back half of the store, which had a long glass counter and a stock room behind it. A man in his early fifties came walking out from the back. He had long grey hair, pulled back in a pony-tail, and a beard. He was average height, and in good shape for his age, wearing a tie-died t-shirt and faded jeans.

“Dobie,” he said. “How you doing?” Then his smile got wider. “Gabe! Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes.”

“Great to see you, Jake,” Gabe said. “How you holding up?”

“It’s getting bad around here,” he said. “Trish and I moved into the store about a week ago.”

“What’s been going on?” Dobie asked. Duchess sat down next to him. Terry walked up alongside of him. “Oh, I forgot. This is our friend Terry. Terry, this is Jake.”

“Nice to meet you, Terry,” he said.

“Nice to meet you too,” Terry said.

“You aren’t from around here, are you?”

“No, I’m from Utah. I came here with my uncle.”

“Terry here was a deputy sheriff from his town. His uncle was the Sheriff.”

“Oh, really,” he said. “Left your town behind?”

“It got overrun by the enemy,” he said.

“I heard some bad things went down in Utah. Around Bryce and Capitol Reef.”

“That’s where we were,” Terry said.

“Well, glad you got out alright,” he said. Then he looked back at Dobie. “I’d kind of like to get the hell out of here, actually. I think the shit is about to hit the fan. What’re you doing here, anyway?”

“Well, two things,” Dobie said.

“Go on,” he said.

“First of all, we need a signal generator. I’ve got some options on this list.” He handed the slip of paper to Jake, and he looked it over.

“What are you guys trying to do? This is expert stuff.”

“We’re trying to give the enemy a hard time,” Dobie replied.

Jake’s face lit up. “Oh, really? Tell me more.”

“We can’t tell you more right now,” Gabe said. “At least not here.”

“Sounds mysterious,” he said. “What’s the other thing?”

“We were hoping to talk you into coming back with us,” Gabe said. “You know it’s not safe here.”

“To the RV Park, eh?” he said, his hand messing with his beard. “What makes you think that’s safer than here?”

“We’ve installed some fortifications, and we’ve got some good people there. Good at fighting,” Dobie said. “You might want to get Trish out of here. At least for now, it’s safer there.”

“There aren’t a lot of young men there, are there?” Jake asked.

“Just Terry here. Everybody else is at least in their early forties.”

“What about my stuff? I’ve got a lot of merchandise here. Some of it’s worth a boatload of money.”

“Why don’t you load up your bobtail out there with everything valuable? Bring it with us.”

Suddenly there was gunfire. Everybody jerked around towards the front of the store.

“Shit,” Jake said. He ran to the front door and locked it.

“Wait, let us get our long guns out of the car,” Gabe shouted. Jake nodded and let the men run through. They got their guns and ran back inside. Jake locked it and then they all ran back to the counter.

“Daddy, what’s happening,” shouted a young female voice.

“Don’t know, sweetie,” he shouted back. “Let’s get on the roof. Follow me, guys.”

“I’ll leave Duchess down here,” Dobie said. “Anybody coming in here is gonna have a bad day.”

“Good,” Jake said. The men followed him behind the counter, to a rough wood staircase.

“Who’s here, daddy?” asked the girl’s voice.

“Gabe and Dobie and a friend of theirs,” he said. “C’mon, let’s get upstairs.”

The men ran up the stairs quickly, to the second story, and then to the back, where there was another set of stairs.

“Trish, come on!” Jake yelled.

“I’m coming,” she cried. “I wasn’t dressed.”

“You guys go on up those back stairs,” he said. “Be up in a minute.”

There was the sound of another person coming up the stairs. A young woman appeared, wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. Her light brown hair was tied up on top of her head, held there by a white plastic clamp.

“C’mon, honey,” Jake said. He put his hand on her back and moved her to the back staircase. They got out on the roof. The three men were standing at the façade, looking towards I-70. Terry turned and locked eyes with Trish. He smiled at her, and she smiled back at him, looking very shy. Terry turned back to I-70.

“Look, they’re holding a gun on Bob,” Gabe said. “Crap. Wish Jeb or Kurt or the Sheriff were here. I can’t make that shot.”

“That Weatherby sighted in?” Terry asked, looking at the bolt action rifle with scope, leaning up against the façade.

“Yeah,” Jake said. “My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, though. No way can I make that shot.”

“Mind if I try?” Terry asked.

“Help yourself,” he said.

Terry picked it up, worked the bolt to chamber a round, and took aim, looking through the scope. There were three men down by the barricade. One militia guy and two Islamists.

“I think I can get two of them, but they might be able to shoot your friend before I get the third,” he said, still peering through the scope.

“I probably can’t hit any of them at this distance,” Dobie said, “but I can lay down some fire with this thing while you’re shooting. He had his bolt action Remington .270 with a scope pointed at them. “Take the shot.”

Terry squeezed the trigger. The militia man fell to the ground, and Terry worked the bolt and fired again. He missed the second shot, then loaded a third round as Dobie fired several rounds as quickly as he could. Terry’s third round hit one of the Islamists square in the back. Bob dived for cover, but came back up with his pistol in hand and blasted the third man. Then he got back under cover.

“Damn, I didn’t know you could shoot like that, Terry,” Gabe said.

“How could I not? I hang around with my uncle most of the time, for God’s sake.” He laughed, and looked over at Trish. She was staring at him, and looked away quickly.

“Here comes the cavalry,” Jake said, pointing. Half a dozen squad cars rolled up to the barricade. Then Jake’s cellphone went off. He answered it.

“Jake, who the hell was shooting from up there?”

“A friend of Gabe and Dobie’s,” he said.

“I had a feeling. Tell them thanks. You guys saved my butt.”

“Will do. You be careful down there, Bob.”

“You too. This is the second incident like this today.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, same thing happened just west of here. That’s why we have somebody manning each of the barricades.”

“You sticking around here, Bob?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Don’t know where else to go. You?”

“I might fly the coop for a little while. I’m worried about Trish.”

“Don’t blame you there. Gotta go, thanks again.”

“Bye,” Jake said. He put his phone back in his pocket. “Bob asked me to thank you guys. Especially you, Terry.”

Terry shot back an embarrassed smile, and then turned back towards Trish. She was staring at him again, and turned away when they made eye contact. Then she looked back at him and smiled.

“Well, what do you think, Jake? You two want to go with us?”

“I don’t know. Trish, come over here.”

She nodded and walked over.

“What, dad?”

“We’ve been invited to join our friends here back at Gabe’s RV Park. What do you think?”

“I think we ought to go, dad,” she said, shooting a sideways glance at Terry.

“Alright, then let’s do it. You guys want to help me load up that bobtail?”

“Of course,” Gabe said. “Let’s get busy.”

They all went back down the stairs, taking their rifles with them.

“I’ll back the bobtail up to the loading dock,” Jake said. “You might want to bring your SUV around here, that way I can block up the front of the store.”

“Gotcha,” Gabe said. He trotted back through the store, unlocked the front door, and got to his SUV. He drove it around the block and down into the alley behind the store, pulling through the sliding gate and over next to the bobtail.

Everybody got to work, moving all of the most valuable stuff from the store into the bobtail. It took a couple of hours.

“Here’s that signal generator you were asking about,” Jake said, walking over with it. “Put it in your SUV, just in case somebody stops the truck. I’ve got the feeling that it’s more important than any of the rest of this stuff.”

“You think somebody might try to mess with the truck?” Gabe asked.

“I’ve heard stories,” he said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll caravan, and we have weapons,” Gabe said.

“I know, but I’d feel better anyway,” he said.

“Okay,” Dobie said. He took the box and carried it over to the back of the SUV, shoving it all the way back against the seat. Duchess followed him over, looking up in the SUV. “Not yet, girl. We’ve got to finish loading, then we’ll take off.”

“Go get your stuff, Trish,” Jake said to her.

“How much of it?”

“Everything you can carry,” he said. “Maybe Terry could help. Hey Terry!”

“Dad!” she whispered.

“Oh, get acquainted. You know you want to.” He looked at her with a sly grin.

“What do you need, Jake?” Terry said, walking over.

“Could you help Trish carry her stuff out here?”

“Of course,” he said, smiling.

“C’mon,” she said, and turned quickly. Terry followed her silently into a room in the back, where there was a cot and a lot of girl stuff.

“You’ve been living here?” Terry asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, dad thought it was safer than the house. It’s so boring here.”

Terry watched her as she puttered around, pulling things off of the shelves. He liked what he saw. She was cute. She wasn’t skinny…she was sturdy, but graceful too, with an hourglass figure covered by the long, loose fitting sweat shirt. She turned around quickly and caught him watching her.

“Hey, buster, you checking out my butt?” She looked sternly at him, and then cracked up.

Terry had an embarrassed look on his face. “Maybe just a little,” he admitted. “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad, silly,” she said.

“You’re not as shy as you look,” Terry said.

She smiled at him. “C’mon, help me with this stuff. There’s some boxes right outside the door.

He brought them in, and they put her clothes and other possessions in the boxes. They were done in a few minutes, and carried them out to the truck. The men were just finishing up.

“Ready to go?” Gabe said, looking at his watch.

“Yeah, let’s move it out,” Jake said. “I’ll lock her up.”

He disappeared into the store, locking and blocking up the front, and then locking the heavy steel rear door on the way out.

“Terry, why don’t you ride in the cab of the truck with Jake and Trish,” Dobie said, “and have that gun ready.”

“Fine with me,” he said, smiling at Trish. She smiled back and then looked down, embarrassed.

“Look at the sparks flying there,” whispered Gabe to Jake.

“I know, huh?” Jake whispered back, and snickered. “He’s going to have a tiger by the tail with her. She runs me ragged.”

Both men laughed as they walked to their vehicles.

“Hey, you know how to get there, right, in case we get separated?” Gabe shouted.

“Yeah. Why don’t I follow you guys?”

“Okay. I’m taking the back roads.”

“Sounds good.”

Gabe got into the SUV and fired it up. He drove through the gate. The bobtail followed, lumbering as it went onto the alley. Jake jumped out of the truck and ran over to the gate, sliding it shut and locking it. Then he got back in the truck and followed the SUV.

They left the alley and got back on the main drag, heading quickly out of town. Then they were on the small road that bounded I-70, heading for the even smaller road that led into the back country.

“I sense a new couple,” Dobie said, looking over at Gabe and grinning. “Did you catch how those two looked at each other?”

“Yeah, Jake and I were joking around about it before we left.”

“He doesn’t mind?”

“No, Dobie, I think he’s relieved. It can’t have been good for those two to be cooped up together like that. I’ll bet most of her friends are long gone.”

“Oh, crap, look over there,” Dobie said, pointing out the passenger side window. Duchess growled. There were about eight Islamists climbing off of the raised roadbed of I-70. One of them saw the bobtail and pointed it out to the rest of the men.

“Step on it!” Dobie said.

Gabe sped up, and watched the rear view mirror. Jake saw what was going on and sped up too. Terry rolled down the window of the truck and stuck his rifle out, pointing it at the group who were now running towards the road.

Chapter 06 – Dirt Road Ambush

“Can you get a bead on them from here with your handgun, Dobie?” asked Gabe as they were racing down the road.

“Maybe,” he said. He stuck his torso out the window of the Suburban as far as he could and started to fire at the Islamists. He hit one of them, and the others looked towards their car and got ready to fire. Then they got hit with rifle fire from inside the truck, and they weren’t sure which way to shoot.

“Here comes the first curve. We’ll be out of sight of those creeps in a minute!” Gabe shouted.

“Slow down so the truck gets a little closer,” Dobie shouted. “Let’s tighten it up before we get there.”

“Won’t Jake slow down?”

“I’ll motion him forward,” Dobie said. He stuck his torso out and gestured to Jake to get closer. Jake got the message, and kept the truck at the same speed as the Suburban slowed down to make the turn.

“Here we go,” Gabe said. They went around the turn. It was the first in a small set of switchbacks leading away from I-70.

“They aren’t following us down here,” Dobie said, looking at the cliff going down from the right hand side of the road.

“Good, Jake just made the turn,” Gabe said, looking in his rear view mirror for a second.

“Son of a bitch,” Dobie said. “I didn’t think it would be that hot getting out of there.”

“Wrong place at the wrong time. I hope Bob’s alright. Here, call him. Last in my call history,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket and sliding it over. Dobie picked it up and found the last incoming call. He pushed the call button.

“Gabe?” a voice answered.

“He’s driving. This is Dobie. We just had to shoot our way out of town. There’s a group of Islamists that just climbed down from I-70 on foot and tried to take Jake’s bobtail. Watch out, they’re probably coming your way.”

“Got it, thanks. I’ll warn the others down here. Be careful out there.”

“Will do,” Dobie said. He hung up the phone and passed it back to Gabe.

“Should be smooth sailing the rest of the way,” Gabe said as he took the phone. This road gets away from I-70 in a hurry. Lot of rough country in between.”

“Look, choppers!” Dobie said, looking up. “Heading for town.”

“Hope they’re on our side.”

Dobie’s phone started ringing. He answered it. It was Jake.

“You guys make it out of that without a scratch, I hope?”

“Yeah, we did. You guys?”

“They put a bunch of lead into the back end of the truck. None of it got to the cab. I suspect there’s holes in some of my stuff.”

“Good thing it was back there. Otherwise they might have hit you.”

“Seriously. I hope they don’t do too much damage in town.”

“I called Bob and tipped him off. They’ll be ready.”

“Good. Oh well, at least this is turning out to be a good day.”

“Getting shot up?”

“No, my daughter is finally going to have a boyfriend that I approve of.”

“Dad!” shouted Trish. Dobie held the phone away from his ear. Then he cracked up.

“Now be nice, Jake.”

“I actually wasn’t just joking around. Terry saved our butts back there. Several of them were aiming at our tires before he started shooting at them. I’m in his debt.”

“Alright, Jake, just don’t mess with Trish too much about it. That tends to put a wet blanket on romance. Talk to you later.”

Dobie stuck his phone back in his pocket, and looked over at Gabe, grinning.

“What was that all about?” Gabe asked.

“Sounds like the back end of Jake’s truck got shot up pretty good. Glad we put the signal generator up here.”

“What was so funny?”

“Jake told me that Terry is the first of Trish’s boyfriends that he approves of.”

“He said that in front of the two of them? Geez.”

“Yeah, and she yelled at him,” Dobie said, laughing. “Jake said some nice things about Terry, though. Sounds like he saved them back there.”

“He’s a good kid,” Gabe said. “We’re just about to the straight part of the road. We can speed up then. Be back to the park in no time.”

“Just make sure you can see the truck before you speed up,” Dobie said.

“I know. Don’t worry. I’ve had one eye in the rear view mirror most of the time.”

The road straightened out, going into a long wide valley. Dobie felt relieved when he could see the truck emerge from the switchbacks. They drove along silently, watching the lush scenery of the valley unfold in front of them.

“Pretty back here,” Dobie said.

“Yeah, but it’s rough in the winter,” Gabe said. “We’re getting close now. See the road climbing up ahead? There’s a few switchbacks, and then we pick up the highway again. We’ll be on a stretch of dirt, but it isn’t a long one.”

“I’ve never gone to your park this way. Been in this valley before, though. With my dad.”

“Your great granddad owned about half of this valley, way back when. Wanted to build a lodge up here. Never could make it come together.”

“Really? Wonder why my dad never told me about that.”

“There were a lot of hard feelings over it,” Gabe said. “Big feud between your great granddad and two other people who owned property in the valley. They wanted to free graze sheep here. They had a big farm on the west end of the valley. Didn’t mix so well with what your great granddad wanted to do. They almost got into a shooting war over it.”

“What happened?”

“Not sure, exactly. Your great granddad ended up selling his land to those folks, and he and your great grandma left town. They never came back.”

“My grandpa came back, though,” Dobie said.

“Yeah, he and my grandpa had a store in town for a while. Then he retired, and my grandpa and dad built the RV Park. I think your grandpa was kind of a silent partner originally. When he moved back into this area, he brought a fair amount of money with him.”

“Interesting. I’ll have to look into this someday.”

“I’ll never leave this place. Too much family history here.”

Dobie looked over at him and nodded, but was thinking how difficult it was going to be to get Gabe out of harm’s way if the worst happened.

The road narrowed and started to climb back into the hills. There was another series of switchbacks, causing Gabe to slow way down. He continued to keep an eye on the bobtail in his mirror as it lumbered along behind them. Then the road turned to dirt and went alongside a creek.

“This your creek?” Dobie asked.

“Sure is. This route isn’t usable in either the winter or early spring.”

“You own this land, don’t you?”

“Yep, but it’s not good for much,” Dobie said, laughing. “I’ve got a gate coming up that I’ll have to unlock. Keeps folks from driving down here from the highway.”

They went down the straight part of the road for a few more miles, only making about twenty miles per hour. Then there were a few more switchbacks, on dirt road too thin for more than one car to pass at a time.

“Hope this isn’t too scary for Jake,” Dobie said.

“He’s good at driving that bobtail. Don’t worry about it…we’re almost through it anyway. Look, there’s my gate up ahead.”

The gate was made of tube steel, painted yellow. Gabe pulled right up to it and got out of the Suburban. He unlocked the padlock, and then pushed the gate open on its hinge. Then he got back into the Suburban and drove down far enough that the truck could get past the gate too. He and Dobie got out and walked towards the truck.

“Damn, Gabe, never been through this section,” Jake said, through the open window. “I was getting a little nervous on those dirt switchbacks.”

“I knew you could make it.”

“This your land?”

“Yep, been in the family since my granddad’s time.”

“Pretty back here, that’s for sure.”

“I’m going to close the gate after us. We’re almost home.”

“Good,” Jake said. “That was a hard drive. I’ll be glad to park this damn thing.”

Gabe and Dobie walked behind the truck and saw the bullet holes. They were low on the passenger side.

“Son of a bitch,” Dobie said. “Another few inches and they would have hit the rear tires on that side.”

“Yes, I’d say luck was with us today,” Gabe said. He started to push the gate back into place across the road. Then he stopped and listened. “You hear that?”

Dobie walked over next to him, cupped his ears with his hands and faced back down the road. He heard some kind of vehicle coming slowly up the road, but he couldn’t see it.

“Shoot,” Dobie said. “We got followed.” The two men ran up to the cab of the truck.

“We got followed,” Gabe said. “I’ll lead the way to the park. Terry, stay here with Dobie, and wait for those folks. I’ll send Jeb and Charlie and Kurt and the Sheriff here with their rifles…they should be back here in about ten minutes.”

Terry jumped out and checked his rifle and his handgun. Dobie ran back to the Suburban and grabbed his rifle. He let Duchess out of the car, as Gabe jumped behind the wheel.

“You’d better not get hurt,” Trish said to Terry. She looked scared. Terry smiled at her and nodded.

“Go!” Dobie said. Gabe took off, and the bobtail followed, going as fast as they could on the dirt road. Terry walked up to Dobie.

“We need a good position to fire from,” Terry said.

“Yeah, look over there,” Dobie said, pointing to a clump of trees close to the creek on the right side of the road.

“C’mon,” Terry said. “That’ll work.” They quickly slid down the side of the road and next to the creek bed, then climbed up into the trees far enough to see the road. Duchess stayed on the ground next to the tree, looking around, her ears perked up.

“Think they’re still coming?” Terry asked.

“Yeah,” Dobie whispered, scanning the road. “They’re back in the worst part of those switchbacks. I’m surprised we didn’t see them.”

“They must have stopped,” Terry said.

“I hope they didn’t get out on foot.”

They watched silently. No movement. No vehicle noise.

“There isn’t a way they can get around us, is there?” Terry asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Listen. Rocks sliding,” Terry whispered.

“I hear it.”

Suddenly Dobie’s phone rang. He struggled to get into his pocket to shut it off. Then a shot rang out, hitting the dirt about 30 yards in front of them.

“Shit, forgot to turn that off. Better check yours,” Dobie whispered. “You see where that shot came from?”

“Yeah, it came from that ridge. Looks like they decided to climb over the top of the switchback area.”

“Can you see anybody?”

“No, they’ve got their heads down again, or else I would have shot at them.”

“Hold your fire for now. I’m going to call Gabe back.” He pulled out his phone and pushed the callback button. “Gabe,” he whispered.

“Yeah, sorry about the ring. Thought of that right after I hit the call button.”

“It’s alright, it got them to fire a shot at us. We know where they are. They came up over the ridge from where the switchbacks were.”

“The guys are coming in Jeb’s jeep. I sent some dynamite with them. We’ve also got Jackson and Earl going up on the big ridge next to the park. They’ll be able to see everything from there. After you guys kill these creeps, we’ll blow the thin part of the road where the switchbacks are.”

“Sure you want to do that? Might be a good escape route in a pinch.”

“It’s a death trap, Dobie. I wouldn’t have led us back that way if I knew we were being followed. Perfect place to get ambushed. Talk to you later. Be careful.”

Dobie put his phone back in his pocket.

“Listen,” Terry said. “Vehicle creeping up behind us.”

“Should be your uncle and the other sharp shooters,” Dobie said.

Jeb’s jeep pulled to a stop about fifty yards behind the clump of trees. The men quietly got out. Duchess growled softly.

“Duchess, its friends,” Dobie whispered at her.

“One of them has his head up. I think I can get him. Should I take the shot?”

“Yeah, Terry, take it.”

He fired, and the Islamist’s head exploded. There was some shouting in Arabic, and some shots came from the ridge again. Another one got up far enough to see what he was shooting at, and then a rifle went off from behind and to the right. It hit the Islamist in the neck, and he fell down the front of the ridge. Dobie looked back in time to see the Sheriff work the bolt on his rifle to chamber another round. He looked at Dobie and Terry and nodded.

“That’s two,” Terry said. “How many more, I wonder?”

Duchess growled again, but then stopped. Jeb was making his way down the creek, carrying his rifle, with his bow on his back. Kurt followed him, about twenty yards behind. The Sheriff climbed up in the trees next to them.

“You ever see their vehicle?” he asked.

“No,” Dobie whispered. “They stopped in those switchbacks and got up on the ridge.”

“Bad choice for them. Jackson and Earl are climbing up the mountain behind us. That’s the one that borders the park on the other side of the meadow. It’s a good vantage point.”

“What are Jeb and Kurt going to do?” Terry asked.

“They’re gonna try to get behind their vehicle and blow the road,” he replied. “By the way, I heard what you did back there. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, uncle,” Terry said, looking a little embarrassed.

“Nice girl, too,” he said, grinning. “She’s beside herself with worry. I think you made a good impression.”

“You guys need to quit teasing her. You’ll ruin my chances,” he whispered.

“Oh, so you do like her, eh?” he said, chuckling.

Suddenly there was another shot in their direction. A bullet ripped through branches about twenty yards to their left, sending splinters flying. Then there were two shots coming from the high ridge. One Islamist was hit square in the face, and another one dived down, but didn’t get under cover. A third shot hit him in the back, and he rolled down the mountainside.

“Jackson and Earl,” the Sheriff whispered. “How many is that?”

“Four,” Dobie said. “I’m thinking maybe I ought to get out of this tree and sneak behind Jeb and Kurt, with Duchess.” He climbed down as quietly as he could. “Cover me.”

“What about your rifle?” the Sheriff asked, seeing Dobie set it down next to the tree.

“I’m better with the handgun,” he whispered. “C’mon, girl.” Duchess followed him.

“I’m not hearing anything anymore, uncle. Maybe that was all of them.”

“Could have been,” he said. “Jeb and Kurt should be just about in position by now. They’ll find out.”

Kurt was still following Jeb down the creek bed. They were out of sight of the others now, around the bend. Jeb turned around and put his finger to his lips. Then he pointed up to the road. There was a pickup truck sitting up on the road. A young-looking Islamist was guarding it, looking around, AK-47 in hand. Jeb snuck up the bank. He quietly put down his rifle and pulled his bow off of his shoulder. He crawled along the ground with it, seeing some bushes about twenty yards away. He looked back at Kurt, and then pointed at the bushes. Kurt nodded. Then Jeb got up and ran quickly in a crouching position. A shot rang out, startling the young Islamist guarding the truck. Jeb turned and saw Kurt holding his stomach. He turned and fired an arrow, hitting the Islamist guard in the chest. He gurgled, clutching himself there, and fell, his AK flying over the edge of the cliff. Then another shot rang out. Jeb dived behind the bushes, and then heard the snarl of a dog. He peeked out from the bushes to see Duchess charging an Islamist, who was in a panic trying to get a bead on the dog with his AK. Dobie ran over and let loose several shots from his handgun, hitting the Islamist in the chest and head, sending him to the ground. There was silence. Jeb got up and trotted over to Dobie.

“Kurt’s been gut shot. We’ve got to get him back to camp pronto! I’m gonna go get the jeep over here.”

Dobie nodded, looking around, trying to watch for other folks.

The Sheriff and Terry ran over, seeing Kurt lying next to the creek, holding himself. They dived down next to him.

“Stay calm, Kurt,” the Sheriff said. “Jeb’s bringing his jeep over here. We’ll get you back to Mary in a few minutes.”

Dobie ran up the side of the cliff and checked the guard. He was dead. He searched the truck. The keys were in it. He pulled them out of the ignition and put them in his pocket, and then searched the rest of the vehicle, finding a Ziploc bag with registration and other documents. He stuffed it into his back pocket and kept searching. Jeb had the jeep down next to Kurt when Dobie turned back around. He saw Terry and the Sheriff lift Kurt into the back. Then Jeb looked at him and shouted.

“Lay low here and watch until I get back. We need to check for tracks behind that truck, to make sure nobody else was with them.”

“Okay,” Dobie shouted back.

Jeb drove the jeep back out of the area and disappeared. Dobie tried to stay out of sight as best he could. Duchess trotted over to him and sat down against his legs, looking around, listening. There was an eerie quiet in the area now, and it made him nervous. He heard some rocks fall, and looked in that direction. It was Jackson and Earl, standing on the high ridge, looking around the area with binoculars. Dobie waved at them. They gave him the thumbs up sign. Must not be anybody else in the area, he thought to himself. He made a mental note of where the bodies fell. Two behind the small ridge above him. He looked up at it. Not too bad of a climb. Two more fell forward on the ridge, and down the side of the mountain a ways. That’s four. Then there was the kid here, and the guy below him that shot Kurt. Six total. That’s about right, he thought, looking back at the truck. Four in back, two in the cab.

The jeep came back down the road, Jeb driving it down to where they had picked up Kurt. Jerry, the Sheriff, and Terry were with him. He looked up and saw Jackson and Earl still sitting up on the ridge, keeping watch. He trotted down to the jeep as the men were getting out.

“Kurt?” he asked.

“Mary thinks he’s going to survive, but it’ll be a tough recovery. These guys are still using surplus hardball ammo. No expansion. He was lucky. A hunting round would have torn his guts apart.”

“Good,” Dobie said. “I made a mental inventory of where all the enemy fighters fell.”

“Yeah, we need to cut the chips out of those guys pronto,” Jerry said. “Might already be too late.”

“Got another lead box, eh,” Dobie said looking at Jerry holding it.

“Yeah, Gabe made one the other day. Good thinking,” he said.

“Jerry, let’s go see if anybody else came with our friends,” Jeb said. He nodded and they started up the hill to the road. Jerry had a backpack on. You could see the detonator plunger handle sticking out of one side.

“Want to help me operate?” Terry asked. “Mary showed us how.”

“Sure,” Dobie said. They went to each of the bodies, cutting out the chips and putting them into the box. The two on the far side of the ridge were difficult…Dobie couldn’t make it up there, so Terry took care of those. Duchess followed them around, her eyes and ears perked up the entire time.

“Fire in the hole!” shouted Jeb. Then there was an explosion, sending a dirt cloud flying into the air. Jeb and Jerry came walking around the curve. When they got to the truck, Jeb pulled out his bowie knife and cut all four tires. Then they joined Terry and Dobie at the jeep.

“Any other tracks?” Dobie asked.

“Nope,” Jeb said.

“Good.”

“How did you guys get followed?” Jerry asked.

“Good question. We had a hard time getting out of town. Did you see the bullet holes in the back of that bobtail?”

“No, didn’t have time,” Jerry said. “The signal generator wasn’t hit, I hope.”

“That was in the SUV with us,” Dobie said.

“What happened?” Jeb asked.

“We were on that street that borders I-70 when we saw a bunch of Islamists climbing down the side of the road bed. They saw the truck and tried to stop it. They probably wanted it for transport.”

“You didn’t see what vehicle they came in? Was it that truck?”

“Couldn’t see. They were on foot when we saw them…hey, just a sec. I’ve got the registration from the truck.” He pulled the plastic bag out of his back pocket and took out the registration card. “Crap, this belongs to Chet Robertson. I know him. I’ll bet those cretins car-jacked him after we got away. Hope they didn’t kill him.”

Chapter 07 – Watch That Ridge

Dobie was still back by the creek with Terry, Jeb, and Jerry.

“What should we do with the bodies?” Terry asked.

“Maybe we should bring them down on the sand here and burn them,” Jerry said.

“That’ll make a lot of smoke. Maybe we should bring the backhoe here,” Jeb said.

“I wouldn’t do that until we get an alternate way to work the drawbridge set up,” Jerry said.

“Oh, yeah, good point,” Jeb said. “We could load them into the back of the jeep, I suppose.”

“Maybe we should have taken that truck instead of knifing the tires,” Terry said.

“Yeah, maybe,” Jerry said.

“That reminds me, I’d better call Bob and let him know about Chet Robertson,” Dobie said. He pulled out his phone and dialed.

“Bob?”

“Yeah, Dobie. You guys made it out of town okay, I take it?”

“Yep, but we were followed by six cretins. We just killed all of them.”

“No, really?”

“Yeah,” Dobie said. “They were in Jack Robertson’s pickup.”

There was silence on the line for a moment.

“You there?” Dobie asked.

“Yeah, sorry. We found Jack by the side of the road, with his throat cut ear to ear.”

“Oh, no, I was afraid of that. Did the others show up in town yet?”

“Nope, Dobie. We’ve been looking for them.”

“Not good.”

“I know,” Bob said. “Gotta go, here comes the chief.”

“Okay, take care of yourself, Bob.”

“You do the same.”

Dobie put his phone back in his pocket.

“Who’s Bob?” Jeb asked.

“Old friend,” Dobie said. “He was working as a reserve police officer when we hit town. We saw him manning a barricade on an I-70 off-ramp.”

“Ah, so they’re having the same thoughts we are about this area,” Jeb said. “Good.”

“Back to the bodies,” Jerry said. “Doesn’t Gabe have an old beater truck back at camp?” Maybe we ought to go get it. No sense having these creeps bleed all over Jeb’s jeep.”

“Good idea,” Jeb said. “I’ll take the jeep back and bring the truck over here.”

“Okay, and we’ll drag all the bodies into a pile while we’re waiting for you,” Dobie said

Jeb nodded, walked over to his jeep, and drove away. The men started to round up the bodies. They got them all moved in about ten minutes. Jeb and Gabe rolled up in the truck and parked it by the pile. They got out and walked over.

“Looks like Jackson and Earl are still up there on the ridge,” Jerry said, nodding up at the ridge. “Think they see something?”

“If they saw somebody, he’d be dead by now,” Jeb said.

“I’m glad they’re still up there,” Terry said. “We’re only guessing that we got them all, you know. There could have been more than six people in that pickup truck. I counted eight men coming down the side of I-70.”

Dobie stopped in his tracks. “Bob said they didn’t find any more cretins back in town.”

Jerry and Jeb looked at each other.

“I reckon maybe we should go up by that truck and follow the tracks a little more carefully. We only checked for another vehicle.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Jerry said. “Let’s go.”

“Want me to follow along with Duchess?” Dobie asked.

“Yeah, but hang back a little bit,” Jeb said.

“Alright,” Dobie said. “I’ll help with the bodies and be along in a few minutes.” He helped Gabe and Terry load the bodies in the back of the pickup truck.

“Should we go back now?” Gabe asked.

“Why don’t you two get out of sight and watch,” Dobie said. “If there’s more enemy around here, we can throw them on the pile too.”

“I’m going to get back into the trees with my rifle,” Terry said. “Good vantage point, especially if you guys flush the bad guys back down through here.”

“I’ll join you,” Gabe said. They wandered off towards the stand of trees as Dobie walked along the creek bed with Duchess.

Jeb and Jerry were up by the pickup truck, looking at footprints.

“Crap, Dobie did a lot of stomping around here,” Jeb said. “Tracks are all mashed around the truck.”

“Let’s go towards the ridge,” Jerry said. “That’s probably where they all went. It’s the only direction that gives them any cover.”

The two men walked carefully along the small trail that led up towards the ridge.

“This is a well-worn trail,” Jerry whispered.

“Mountain goats, probably,” Jeb said, his eyes starting at the dirt in front of him. “Looks like quite a few tracks to me. More than four, and that’s how many Dobie counted that were on the ridge.”

The hackles on the back of Jerry’s neck went up as they rounded a small curve.

“Hold it right there,” said a voice off to the right. Jeb and Jerry froze and looked over. There were two Islamist fighters holding AK-47s on them, crouching in the rocks. The one speaking didn’t look like an Islamist. He looked and sounded like militia.

“Doesn’t look like that set of pajamas fits you very well, traitor,” Jeb said.

“Put those rifles down real slow,” he replied.

Jerry and Jeb looked at each other, and then set their rifles down in front of them. The militia man nodded to the Islamic fighter, who stood up to walk over.

“Keep your head down, you idiot,” the Militia man said. Then there was a rifle blast from up on the ridge, hitting the Islamist in the back of the head, splattering the militia man. Jeb and Jerry dived for their weapons as the militia man tried running down the mountain. Then there was growl.

“Duchess,” Jeb said, grinning. The militia man took off running towards the creek, with duchess right behind him, snarling and snapping.

“Dobie has his pistol out,” Jerry said. He and Jeb were trying to make it down the side of the hill after him.

“Hard shot for a pistol at that range,” Jeb said. The militia man hit the valley floor and sprinted towards the creek, when another rifle shot went off, hitting him square in the chest. He fell to the ground.

“Great shot, Terry,” shouted Gabe.

Jeb looked up on the high ridge. Jackson and Earl were standing up, jumping up and down, and clapping. “Those two guys saved our bacon again,” he said. They got to the valley floor and met Dobie.

“That’s a good dog you got there,” Jeb said. Duchess was sitting back down in front of Dobie, leaning against his shins.

“Yeah, but she’s not as sharp as Princess,” Dobie said, patting her on the top of the head. “Princess would have figured out those two were here on her own.”

“How come you didn’t bring her?” Jerry asked.

“She keeps Simon and Peabody focused,” Dobie said. “Lead dog.”

“Oh,” Jerry said.

“You see any tracks up there that would lead us to believe there’s more enemy fighters around?” asked Dobie.

“No,” Jeb said, “but I’d have Jackson and Earl hang around up there for a while longer just in case.”

Terry walked up.

“Nice shooting,” Jeb said.

“Thanks. I’ll go get the chip out of that cretin up there and drag him down.”

“Good,” Jerry said. “We’ll take care of the one down here.

The men met back on the valley floor, and loaded the last two bodies onto the pickup truck. Then Jeb and Gabe got into the cab.

“I’ll bring the jeep back in a minute,” Jeb said. The truck pulled away.

“Damn, Terry, I guess you aren’t locking up in a fight anymore,” Jerry said.

“He was a big help when we were trying to get out of town,” Gabe said. “We’ll have to make sure his lady friend hears all about this one too.”

“Now guys, don’t keep at her,” Terry said, a sheepish look on her face.

“Don’t worry,” Dobie said. “We’ll knock it off. I must admit it gives me some hope to see a young couple amongst us.”

“Yeah, it really does,” Jerry said.

“We aren’t a couple,” Terry said. “At least not yet. She does have a say in this, you know.”

“So do you, but I think I know what you want,” Gabe said, chuckling. Terry rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Jeb’s jeep rolled up to them, and they all got in. They drove forward past the gate, and Jeb stopped.

“What’s up?” Terry asked.

“Gabe asked me to lock up the gate on the way out.”

Jeb pulled the gate back across the road and locked it, then got back in and drove off towards the highway. They hit the pavement and accelerated, going around a few switchbacks, until they saw the three-lined creek along the left hand side of the road. You could see the razor wire shine as the sun hit it.

“This place is starting to look like an armed camp,” Dobie said. Jerry looked at him and snickered.

The jeep got to the driveway and drove in. The moat was about twenty yards in from the pavement. They slowly rode across the drawbridge. When they were across, Gabe rode up in the backhoe. He jumped out and hooked the heavy chain onto the back, and then got back in and pulled the drawbridge back. Then he unhooked, drove the backhoe over to the meadow where the other graves were, and started digging a new hole.

Jeb drove his jeep over next to his rig, and parked. Everybody got out, just in time to see the Sheriff driving the pickup truck over next to the hole that Gabe was digging.

“We should go help out,” Jerry said. The men walked over. It took them about twenty minutes to get the bodies buried. Then the Sheriff drove the pickup truck back over by the barn, and Gabe followed with his backhoe. They all met on the veranda of the clubhouse, and went in.

Jeb saw Mary talking with Rosie and Hilda. He hurried over. “How’s Kurt doing?” he asked.

“He’ll be alright,” Mary said. “He’s extremely lucky. That could have killed him.”

Jerry walked over to Frank, who was sitting in front of the PC. He had a programming screen up.

“What’s cooking, Frank?”

“I’m doing a little setup work, that’s all,” Frank said. “An application that will read the chips, provided we figure out how to pick up their signal and translate their payload.”

“Java, eh,” he said, looking at the screen. “You making phone apps?”

“Yeah, I’m planning on doing an iPhone app and an Android app, eventually.”

“Good idea,” Jerry said. “Got the signal generator?”

“Yeah, it’s right over there,” Frank said, pointing.

“Great,” he said, looking at it. “That’s a good one. I heard that the back of Jake’s truck got shot up a little.”

“Sure did, but he didn’t lose much, luckily. He was pretty shook up when he saw how close the bullets got to the rear tires.”

“Maybe I’ll go out and help him,” Jerry said. “Unless you need me here.”

“I’m good, go ahead,” Frank said.

Jerry walked out the door and headed for the cinder-block rental units that Gabe had in the middle of the park. Terry was walking in that direction already, and met up with him. Dobie was already there, helping Jake dig through things.

“Hey, Jake,” Jerry said. “Gonna unload everything?”

Jake smiled as he saw him walking up. “Naw, most of it is going to stay right here, in case we have to beat a hasty retreat.”

“Good idea,” he said. “How much got damaged?”

“Very little equipment,” he said. “Our clothes took a beating, though, and some of Trish’s books.”

“Where is Trish?” Terry asked.

“She went over by the pool to sit on a lounge chair for a while. She’s pretty worked up…not in a very good mood, either.”

“You need to introduce the dogs to Trish and Jake, Dobie?” Jerry asked.

“They already know each other,” Dobie said. “Princess loves Trish. She was all over her when they got here, apparently.”

“Sure was,” Jake said. “I think we need to lay off of her.”

“Trish?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah. We need to let her settle down a little…and we need to quit pushing these two kids together.” He looked at Terry and smiled. “Not that it’s your fault, Terry.”

“I want to go talk to her,” he said.

“Do so at your own risk,” Jake said, chuckling. “Like I said, she’s not in a great mood.”

“I’ll chance it,” he said, and turned to walk towards the pool. She was sitting on a lounger, back towards him, her hair shining gold and reddish in the sun.

“Hey,’ he said.

She jerked, as if startled, and turned towards him.

“Hey. The oldsters send you over here?”

“No, they warned me that you were in a bad mood,” he said, walking over and sitting down on the lounger next to her.

“They’re right,” she said, looking down. “I suppose you want to hear me compliment you on your brave actions today.” She looked him in the eye, squinting because of the sun, her nose and brow furrowed.

“No,” Terry said. “C’mon. They mean well. Don’t take it too seriously.”

“My stuff got shot up,” she said. She was trembling.

“You’re pretty shook up,” Terry said to her. She got up and paced back and forth next to the swimming pool.

“They could have killed all of us,” she said. Her eyes were getting glassy. She looked at Terry like a scared child. He got up and pulled her into his arms. She pushed back.

“I’m not yours,” she said.

“I know. It’s okay,” Terry said softly, and pulled her back to him, hugging her tightly. She broke down and sobbed in his arms, laying her head against his chest, hugging him back. They stayed in their embrace for several minutes.

“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling away from him. She sat back down, looking calmer. He sat down next to her.

“Your dad didn’t know how upset you were, did he?”

“No,” she said, looking down. “I hid it. That’s why I came over here.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want him to feel bad,” she said. “He’s a good dad. He’s just overwhelmed, and he never was that good with the emotional stuff.”

“What about your mom?”

“She’s gone,” Trish said, still looking down.

“They don’t get along? Divorced?”

“No, I mean she’s dead. She died several years ago. Cancer”

“Oh,” Terry said. “I’m sorry.”

“Dad’s been pretty good considering,” she said. “Now that I’m older, I see how much help he needs…how lost he is. I worry about him a lot.”

“Did you leave friends behind in town?”

“You mean boyfriends?” she asked, looking him in the eye.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Terry said. “You don’t need to be that way. I’m not thinking that you’re my automatic girlfriend just because we happen to be thrown together. Really.”

“Sorry,” she said. “I know I can be a real bitch sometimes.”

“Look at the world we’re living in now. We’re both lucky we haven’t gone off the deep end. I almost did, in the beginning. I almost got us in a lot of trouble once. I came out of it.”

“What happened?”

“I was supposed to be guarding the back of an RV Park we were at in southern Utah. I got scared when the enemy showed up. I kinda shut down. I almost got a few people killed.”

“Well, you’re obviously past that now.”

“My uncle,” Terry said, tears forming around his eyes. “After it happened, we talked and talked and talked. Some people think he’s not too bright. They’re wrong. He brought me back from the edge.”

“Which one is he?” she asked.

“The one dressed in the Sheriff’s uniform.”

“Oh. He’s nice.”

“Yes, he is. This is a nice group of people overall. We’ve been through some crazy stuff together, and it just keeps driving us closer together.”

“Is it safe here?” she asked, looking intensely at him.

“I don’t know for sure. We’ve done a lot to this place.”

“The enemy was right around the corner, though.”

“They followed us here,” Terry said. “They high jacked some poor guy’s pickup truck and followed us after we got away from them in town.”

“Oh,”

“Trish! You still back there?” shouted Jake. He was looking towards them.

“Yeah, Dad, I’m fine,” she yelled back. “I’ll be back over there in a little while.”

“Okay, honey, no rush,” he shouted.

“You want me to go?” Terry said.

“Could you stay with me for a while?” she asked.

“If it doesn’t bother you, I’d like that.”

“Sorry I was tough on you,” she said.

Terry looked at her pretty face and smiled. His heart was starting to beat faster. He put his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned over against him. They sat silently together for a while.

Back at the clubhouse, Frank continued to work on his program. Jane walked over and sat down next to him.

“You can already work on this part?” she asked. “I thought it was the final piece.”

“It is,” Frank said. “I’ll have to make some adjustments later, but I can get the basic structure up and running. It’ll save a lot of time on the back end.”

“When’re you guys taking the motorhome out to run your tests?”

“Soon, now that we have the equipment.”

“I’m glad,” she said.

“Really? I thought you were scared of that idea.”

“I don’t feel safe here anymore.”

“Because of what happened today?”

“Yeah,” Jane said. “Our friends were in exactly the right place at exactly the right time to run into those Islamist fighters. Seems way too tidy to me.”

“Tidy?”

“Yeah. Think about it. They just happened to be on that road and saw these guys, during a one-off trip into town.”

“You’re thinking that the enemy was watching for us, and knew we were sending somebody into town?”

“No. If they knew that much, they’d have already gotten here, I suspect. I think that there are a whole lot of those folks arriving in this area. I think they’re massing here to get staged for the attack on Denver, but since there’s so many of them around, it’s only a matter of time before they pay us a visit.”

“Oh. I hope you’re wrong.”

“Me too.”

Suddenly there was a rifle shot. Then another. It sounded a little ways away. Frank and Jane jumped out of their chairs, and joined the others in the room at the windows, guns in hand. Jerry ran in the door.

“Just got a call from Earl,” he shouted. “They just shot a small drone out of the air.”

“Crap,” Jeb said. “We’d better get ready again.”

Chapter 08 – Enemy Rescue

Jeb, the Sheriff, and Charlie ran outside with their rifles. Frank followed, with Jane and Lucy right behind him.

Terry ran over from the pool area, with Trish beside him. “What happened?” he shouted.

“Earl and Jackson just took out a small drone,” Jerry shouted. “Whoever is flying that sucker is close by. Does Trish know how to shoot?”

Terry looked at her, and she nodded yes back at him, as Gabe, Dobie, and Jake ran over, guns in hand.

“I’ll get you an AK,” Terry said, running over to the Sheriff’s rig. He pulled one out, checked it, and showed it to her. “Ever fired one of these?”

“No, just hunting rifles,” she said, panting from the run.

“It’s easy,” he said, showing her how to load and fire. “Try it…hit that tree over there.”

Trish pointed the weapon at the tree and pulled the trigger. Several shots went off, and the gun jumped around in her hand. She missed the tree completely. She gave Terry a scared look.

“Try it again. Hold on tight, and squeeze the trigger. Don’t just hold it down…try to let only a couple of bullets go.”

She took a deep breath and tried again, sending wood splinters flying. She smiled at Terry.

“Perfect,” he said. “You’re a natural. Let’s find a good spot.”

Jerry ran to his coach, and got his drone and controller. Then he climbed up the side of the mountain as quickly as he could, joining Earl and Jackson.

“You guys see anybody?” he asked, panting from the climb.

“No, not yet,” Jackson said. “How close would you have to be to fly that?” He pointed down at the wreckage.

“That’s a really crappy drone,” Jerry said. “It has lousy range. Whoever flew that sucker is really close by. This drone is quite a bit better. I’ll fly it over the ridge.”

“Won’t they shoot it down?” Earl asked.

“Well, if they do, we’ll know where they are,” Jerry replied. “Why don’t you get on the horn and ask the Sheriff to get out one of the mortars?”

“Good idea,” Earl said. He pulled out his phone.

“Sheriff?”

“Yeah, Earl, what’s up?”

“Jerry was thinking we should get out one of the mortars.”

“Ahh, so if he can find the cretins with his drone, we can give them a surprise. Good idea. I’ll go get one, and Terry and I’ll get it set up.”

“Good, thanks,” Earl said. He put his phone back in his pocket and nodded to Jerry as he released the drone. It flew down into the valley and over to the next ridge, which was shorter than the ridge they were standing on.

“See anything?” Jackson asked, trying to look over Jerry’s shoulder.

“No, not yet,” Jerry said. “I don’t think they’re behind this ridge.”

“Go over behind where you guys blew the road,” Earl said. “You can’t see it from here. That’s why we didn’t shoot the pajama boys by their truck earlier.”

Jerry nodded and flew the drone over there. There was a pickup truck on the far side of the blown part of the road. “There they are. Looks like another six assholes. They see the drone now. I’m backing it up.”

“Think we can hit it with the mortar?”

“Yeah,” Jerry said. “Even if we don’t directly hit them, if we can hit that mountainside, it will bring down that stretch of road their truck is sitting on. We couldn’t believe how unstable it is there. I’m surprised we got the bobtail through.”

Earl got back on his phone to the Sheriff.

“You got the mortar set up, Sheriff?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I’m going to guess they’re about six hundred yards back. We saw them sitting on the road, on the other side of the blown up part. If you can hit them or the side of the hill above them, they’re definitely gonna have a bad day.”

“Got it, 600 yards it is.”

The noise of the mortar round leaving the barrel sounded. A couple seconds later, there was a big explosion. Dust and rocks flew into the air.

“Bring that drone back over,” Earl said.

Jerry nodded and flew back over. “The truck’s still there, but we just took out their escape route. Have him bring it in about 50 yards.”

“Sheriff, bring it in about 50 yards,” Earl said.

“Got it,” the Sheriff replied. He adjusted the distance, and let another round drop into the barrel. It flew out with a pop, and the blast came a couple of seconds later.

“Wow, that probably got them,” Jackson shouted.

“I’ll get the drone back over there,” Jerry said. He flew it back in. “The truck’s gone.”

“Did they get away?” Earl asked.

Jerry laughed. “No, the part of the road they were sitting on is gone too. I’ll go down closer and look for survivors.”

Suddenly there was a rifle shot. Jerry caught a glimpse of three men, hiding behind what was left of the truck. He moved the drone away again.

“Bring the mortar in about twenty yards, and move it slightly to the left,” Jerry said. Then he paused. “Hey, we got any Willie Pete left?”

Earl brought the phone up to his ear. “A little to the left, and in another twenty yards. We got any Willie Pete left?”

“Yeah,” the Sheriff said, after making the adjustments. “You sure?”

“You sure?” Earl asked Jerry.

“You want to go in and fight them close up?” he asked. Earl shook his head no.

“Yeah, give them the Willie Pete,” Earl said. “Otherwise we’ve got to go in there and fight them.”

“How many left?” the Sheriff asked.

“Three that we can see.”

“Crap. Okay. Give me a minute. It’s in the back storage compartment of my rig.”

“He’s getting it,” Earl said.

Jerry moved the drone back over them, and somebody fired at it again. He moved it back. Then they heard the mortar tube spit out the round. A second later there was a bright flash.

“Wow,” Jackson said. “That stuff is crazy.”

“I’ll go check for survivors,” Jerry said. “Then I’ll have to bring this thing in, or I’ll run out of battery.”

“Pew, what’s that smell?” Jackson asked.

“Burning flesh,” Jerry said. “What a mess. I see the three men. All dead. I don’t see any other bodies, but two are probably in the cab of that truck, and it’s fully engulfed, so they’re history. Oh, wait, there’s the fourth man…I can just make out a hand sticking out of that pile of rubble against the hill. He got buried.”

“Good,” Earl said.

“We’re still going to have to go back there, you know,” Jackson said. “Just to be sure, and to get the chips.”

“I’m bringing the drone back,” Jerry said. He flew it back up to the ridge that they were on, and landed it.

“Earl?” the Sheriff said over the phone. Earl put it to his ear.

“Sorry, forgot you were on. Looks like we can account for four bodies. We saw six there, but two were in the cab of the truck. If they’re still in there, they’re dead. The truck is on fire. We’ll need to send a few people in there to be sure, though.”

“Roger that,” the Sheriff said. “I’m going to leave this mortar set up.”

“Good idea,” Earl said. “I think Jackson and I will hang out here for a while.”

“You got water?”

“Yeah, we’re good,” Earl said. “Thanks, nice job.”

“Welcome,” the Sheriff said, as he put his phone back in his pocket and walked over to Jeb and Charlie.

“I’m going to go back down and get the drone on the charger,” Jerry said. “Then maybe Jeb and I and a couple others will go on back there and see what’s up.”

“We’ll cover you,” Jackson said.

Jerry climbed back down and took his drone into his coach. Then he walked back to where the Sheriff, Jeb, and Charlie were talking. Frank walked up with Jane and Jasmine, and Terry and Trish walked over.

“We think we killed them all,” Jerry said, “but we need to go back there and make sure. We also need to pull the chips”

“I’ll go,” Terry said.

“Yeah, me too,” Jeb said.

“And me,” the Sheriff said.

“I can go,” Frank said.

“No,” Jane said. “You’re too valuable. You stay here. If they need more people, I’ll go.”

“I’m going if Jerry’s going,” Jasmine said.

“I’ll tell you what,” Jeb said. “Jerry, Frank, and Jasmine are part of our long term strategy, and that’s what’ll get us out of this. Between me, Charlie, the Sheriff, and Terry, we can handle this job. You guys stay here.”

“Alright, then Frank and I can plan our road trip to test the chips,” Jerry said.

“Now you’re talking,” the Sheriff said.

“Okay, boys, let’s saddle up,” Jeb said. The men grabbed their guns and walked over towards Gabe, Dobie, and Jake. “Gabe, could you push the bridge into place? We need to go do some cleanup.”

“Sure,” Gabe said.

“Maybe I ought to tag along with one of the dogs,” Dobie said.

“Not a bad idea,” Jeb said. “C’mon.”

The five men and Duchess piled into Jeb’s jeep, as Gabe put the bridge into place.

“You come back here in one piece, Terry,” Trish yelled as they drove towards the moat. Hilda and Rosie looked on with concerned faces.

The jeep drove over the bridge, down through the couple of switchbacks and onto the dirt road leading back to the valley.

“You got the key to the gate?” Dobie asked.

“Yeah, I still have it,” Jeb said. They pulled up, and he got out and unlocked it. He pushed it to the side, and got back into the Jeep. They drove down the road, but stopped when the jeep was still out of sight from the creek bed and ridge over the road.

“Alright, let’s go, boys,” Charlie said.

“Pew, that stinks. What did you guys use on them?” Dobie asked.

“Willie Pete,” Jeb said. “Know that smell anywhere.”

“What’s that?”

“White Phosphorus,” Jeb replied. “Nasty stuff.”

The men got down into the creek bed and walked in a crouch, trying to stay out of sight as best they could. They were up to the burned spot on the sand in a moment or two. Jeb stuck his head up and looked. No movement. He could see what was left of three bodies…looked like they had still been trying to hide behind the truck.

“These folks are all dead,” Jeb said.

“Be careful anyway,” Charlie whispered.

Jeb nodded and crawled up towards the bodies and the truck. He lifted himself up high enough to see into the cab. There were two burned up bodies inside. The truck was still smoking.

“Five dead,” Jeb whispered back to the group. Charlie and Terry crawled up next to him, and Dobie let the dog loose. She walked up and started sniffing around. Dobie followed, and got his pistol out of its holster as soon as he was standing up.

“Jerry said there was one body under the rubble where the road came down,” Jeb said. He walked over, and saw the hand sticking out. He touched the hand. It was still warm. He pulled the man out, and then noticed he was holding a pistol. “Look out!” he cried as he dived off to the side. Dobie hit the man with three bullets in the chest, and he staggered and fell.

“Whoa, that was close,” Charlie said. “How did that guy survive?”

“Good question,” Terry said, walking over and looking down at him. He pulled the body over by the others. “Think the fire was hot enough to kill those chips?”

“Yeah,” Jeb said. “We’ve already got smoke…let’s light this last one up, then we can just leave them here. That truck didn’t blow yet…the gas tank is still intact.” He walked over, stuck a knife in the gas tank, and let it flow onto the ground. “Drag that body over here.”

Terry pulled the body over so it was laying in the gasoline that was leaking onto the ground. The other men attempted to drag the other three bodies closer, but they were burned enough that their limbs wouldn’t hold.

There was a couple of canteens sitting next to the truck. Terry spotted them and filled them with some of the gasoline streaming from the hole in the tank. He poured it on the three men, and then ran a trail to the gas tank.

“Who’s got a match?” Terry asked, walking away as he tossed the canteens aside.

“I do,” Jeb said. “Get back.”

The men all backed away, and Jeb lit a match and tossed it on the leaking gas. The flames spread to all of the bodies as the men backed further away, and then it turned into an inferno.

“Maybe we should go check for tracks on the other side of where that truck was,” Charlie said.

“Was thinking the same thing,” Jeb said. They made a wide path around the fire and walked along the creek bed, past where the road was broken. There was a place not too far down where they could climb up. Terry and Dobie followed, with Duchess out in front of them.

“Well, here’s the tracks from the last truck,” Jeb said. “Single. Don’t see another vehicle.”

“Let’s follow it back and see if anybody got out before they parked up there,” Charlie said. Jeb nodded, and they walked backward up the road.

“Look, there’s the radio controller for their drone,” Terry said, pointing down the road.

“Interesting,” Jeb said. “They were flying forward before they drove up there. We were lucky that Earl and Jackson saw it.”

“Yes, we were,” Charlie said. “Guess they didn’t want to go around that single-wide curve there. Don’t blame them. I can’t believe Jake drove that bobtail through here.”

Terry laughed. “He wasn’t a happy camper. Felt like we were going over a time or two.”

“Well, I don’t see anything here. Let’s go back to the park,” Jeb said.

The men turned and walked back to the jeep. They were back to the park in a few minutes. After they drove over the bridge, Gabe pulled the bridge back again.

“Well?” Jake asked, walking up with Trish.

“All dead. No evidence of anybody else being with them,” Charlie said.

Gabe drove by them in the backhoe, on the way to the barn.

“What to help me unload the rest of my stuff?” Trish asked, looking at Terry.

“Sure,” he said. They walked off together. When they got on the other side of the truck, out of sight, Trish put her arms around Terry and hugged him tight, crying softly.

“Don’t worry, we’re okay,” he said.

“I was so scared, especially when those gunshots went off,” she said. “You must think I’m an idiot.”

“No, I don’t,” Terry said, pulling back from her and looking her in the face. She smiled at him.

“I do like you,” she said. “I’ll admit it. Just don’t rush me, okay?”

“Okay,” Terry said. They started picking through her boxes and carrying stuff inside the rental unit.

Jeb and Charlie walked into the clubhouse, over to the area where Jerry and Frank were sitting.

“Got some plans together?” Jeb asked.

“Yeah,” Frank said. “We’d like to be up early tomorrow, ready to take off.”

“Whose rig?” Charlie asked.

“Mine,” Jerry said. “It’s set up for some of the equipment already.”

“How about escort?” Jeb asked.

“Well, we think we need a few sharp shooters in a toad,” Frank said. “For two reasons…to protect us, and to check out any dirt roads that we might want to go down. We don’t need to drive a 42 foot diesel pusher into a place we can’t get out of.”

“Sounds like a job for my jeep,” Jeb said. “Who all is going?”

“Frank, Jane, Jasmine, and me to work in the coach. Perhaps you, Jeb, and the Sheriff, and Terry to ride shotgun?”

“I like it,” Jeb said. “That still leaves us Charlie, Earl, and Jackson here to take on anybody that might come along. And Dobie with his dogs, of course.”

“Too bad Kurt’s laid up,” Charlie said.

“Yeah,” Jeb said. “How’s he doing, anyway?”

“Sounds like he’s going to recover pretty fast,” Hilda said. “I was just in there with Mary and Rosie.

“Good, glad to hear that,” Jeb said.

“What about the rest of today?”

“Frank and I are going to pack up all the equipment we need. That won’t take long.”

“Maybe we ought to turn on the TV and see what’s going on in Denver,” Gabe said, walking up. “Remember, we had that hostage situation going on.”

“Oh, yeah,” Charlie said. “Forgot all about that.”

“I’ll turn it on,” Gabe said, walking over to the big screen.

Jake and Dobie walked into the clubhouse, chatting.

The TV screen showed the inside of the Denver city hall press room. There were bullet holes in the walls, and everything was a mess.

“Looks like something happened,” Jeb said.

The announcer came on.

“The Police Department is still trying to figure out how the Islamic leader known as Saladin was able to escape the building. When the rescue team got to this room, most of the hostages were already dead. Only low level people from the Islamic force were left behind, and they were taken out by the swat team quickly.”

“Shit,” Charlie said. “The head cretin got away clean, from the sound of it.

“I’m okay with that,” Jeb said. “I want to take him.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes. Jerry grinned back at her. “Good to keep that fighting spirit going, Jasmine.”

“Most of the bodies have been identified. There are two notable people missing…the Mayor and the Police Chief. It appears that they have been taken by the enemy when they fled.”

“Oh, great,” Jane said. “Is this incompetence, or plants helping them out?”

“Well, that’s the real question, I suppose,” Gabe said. “Hey Jake, got a question for you.”

“What?” Jake asked.

“You have any surveillance camera stuff in your truck, by any chance?”

“Sure do, why?”

“I’m thinking we ought to be putting some cameras up on that ridge where Jackson and Earl are.”

“Nobody can climb over that, can they?” Jane asked.

“Not easily, but they can do what we did today.”

“What’s that?” Jane asked.

“Lob mortar rounds over,” he replied.

“Shit, that’s a good point, Gabe,” Charlie said. “We ought to start working on that. Now.”

“No problem,” Jake said. “I know exactly where that stuff is. Let’s go.”

Charlie followed Jake out the door. The TV announcer came back on.

“In other news, there have been problems in some of the towns along I-70, west of Denver. Just today there were several attacks and vehicle hijackings in Eagle, former site of the army supply depot. There have also been problems further east, in Avon and Vail.”

“Really. Tell us something we don’t know,” Dobie said, laughing nervously.

“It bothers me that we had the second group hit us back in the valley,” Jeb said. “Do they know who we are? Or were they just trying to recover their lost soldiers from the first attack?”

“That’s a real good question,” Jerry said. “I’ve been thinking about that too. These were really low level people, from what I could tell. I think they were just looking for their missing comrades, and probably Jake’s bobtail.”

“True, we have no reason to believe that the cretins knew there was a connection between the group that went into town and the core group that was in Utah,” Frank said

“Unless they can tie Gabe to Kurt and Hilda, but that’d be a stretch,” Jeb said.

“This just in,” the announcer said. “Fighting has started up in Eagle, near the site of the former army depot along I-70. It appears that a large group of Islamist fighters was attempting to move towards Denver when local authorities caught them. This force is larger than the local authorities can handle, and help has been requested.”

“Oh, no, not again,” Jane said.

Suddenly there was the loud noise of jets overhead. Everybody ran out to the veranda to look. There were several F-22s and two B-1 Bombers flying towards town.

Chapter 09 – Out of Range

More jets flew over, heading for Eagle, their ear-shattering roar seeming to shake the ground. They were flying fast and low. Frank and Jane stood with the others on the veranda, watching.

“Is this good or bad for us?” Jane asked.

“Depends,” Frank said. “It might keep the cretins too busy to bother with us, or it could cause them to flee in this direction.”

“We’re ready for ‘em,” Gabe said.

“Before you get too comfortable, you should watch the DVR video we have of Hilda’s park when it got overrun,” Jerry said.

“Bad?” Gabe asked.

“Picture several hundred of these creeps running towards the front of the park.”

“They can’t get across the moat,” he said.

“True,” Jeb said, “but they can set up out there behind vehicles and slam us with mortars, RPGs, and small arms fire, and we can’t escape out the back.”

Terry and Trish ran over. “What’s happening?” Trish cried.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Jake said, walking over and hugging her. “Action back home. Those jets are the good guys.”

“Maybe we should go get to work on those chips now, when it’s likely we can disappear without being noticed,” Frank said.

“I’m game,” Jerry said.

“Say the word,” Jeb said.

Frank looked down at Jane. She shook her head yes.

“What direction?” Jerry asked. “We want to avoid the town, right?”

“You want to get on Brush Creek Road and then get onto Hardscrabble Mountain Road, going southwest,” Gabe said. “You’ll be in the middle of nowhere back there, and you don’t have to go by any dangerous places to get there. I know a back way to get to Brush Creek…I’d better go with you guys.”

“Let’s saddle up, then,” Jeb said. “Who wants to ride shotgun with me? Need a couple more snipers.”

“I’ll go,” the Terry said.

“That’s probably good enough,” Jeb said. “We need to leave plenty of folks here to keep the home fires burning.”

“Who’s going in the motorhome?” Charlie asked.

“Frank, Jane, Jasmine, and I, all armed, of course,” Jerry said.

“We should take Lucy,” Frank said.

“Agreed,” Jerry said. “I’ll bring my rig over.”

“How about mom?” Jasmine asked.

“I stay in clubhouse,” Rosie said. “Don’t worry. I be fine. You go do good work.”

Jerry and Jasmine trotted over to their rig, while Frank went into the clubhouse to get the equipment together. Gabe ran into the office and got the larger lead box out of the safe. He put it on the table next to the equipment and nodded to Frank.

“Thanks, Gabe,” he said.

“I’d better call Jackson down here,” he said. “Need him to man the drawbridge.” He pulled out his phone as he walked back into his office.

“Should I grab some extra ammo?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, good idea,” Frank said.

“Alright, I’ll go get that along with some dog food, and I’ll get Mr. Wonderful set up for a stay by himself.”

“I think we’ll be home later tonight, or early tomorrow morning,” Frank said. “All we really have to do is excite the chips…I can capture the data I need from them with the laptop and then finish the rest of the work back here.”

“Will you have to go back out to test?”

“Probably not,” Frank said.

“Good. This is scary.”

“It should be okay, if the area Gabe is talking about is really safe.”

Jane nodded, and went out to the coach with Lucy in tow.

Jerry parked his rig in front of the clubhouse, pointed at the gate. Jackson walked over.

“Ah, down here to man the drawbridge,” Jerry said.

“Yeah, Gabe just called me.”

“You see anything going on in town from that ridge?”

“Smoke,” he said. “Those planes dropped quite a bit of ordinance, from what I could see. It’s a ways off, though, and there are a lot of hills between here and there. Not a great vantage point.”

Frank came out the door, carrying a box of equipment. He set it down by the door of the rig and went back in.

Gabe walked over to his SUV and got her ready to go.

“You aren’t just riding with me?” Jeb asked, as he pulled up in his jeep.

“No, I want to come back here after you’re settled,” he said. “Besides, I think it’s a good idea that somebody here knows where you guys are, just in case.”

“Didn’t think about that…good point,” Jeb said.

Jerry went into the clubhouse and helped Frank carry out the remaining equipment. Jane came back from the coach with Lucy, and got the laptop put into the backpack. She slipped the iPad in as well.

“Why’re you bringing that?” Jasmine asked.

“It’s an LTE model. Might be worth bringing.”

“Oh, alright,” she said.

“Nervous?” Jane asked.

“No, scared to death, actually.”

“We’ll be alright,” Jane said.

“You’re not nervous?”

“I’m nervous all the time, Jasmine. In this case, we might actually be safer where we’re going than we would be here.”

“That doesn’t help me…mom’s going to be here.”

“I know, sorry.” Jasmine nodded back to her. They picked up the remaining supplies and went out to the coach.

“That everything?” Jerry asked.

“I think so,” Frank said.

“Hey, you guys need any other equipment?” Jake asked, walking over. Trish and Terry were behind him.

“I think we’re good,” Jerry said. “The last thing we needed was that signal generator.”

“Okay,” Jake said. “You guys take care of yourselves.”

“Will do,” Jerry said.

“I’d better go get with Jeb,” Terry said. He looked at Trish. She was on the verge of tears. “I’ll be back, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I’m going to worry,” she said. “The whole time.” She put her arms around him and pulled him close.

“In front of everybody?” he whispered.

“I don’t care,” she said. She kissed him on the mouth, sending a lightning bolt through Terry. He looked at her when they broke the kiss.

“Wow,” he said. His heart hammered in his chest.

“Just come back to me, okay?” she said. “Better get going.”

He gave her one last squeeze, kissed her forehead, and walked over towards Jeb’s jeep.

“You guys ready?” shouted Gabe.

“Wait a minute,” Dobie shouted, trotting over to the SUV. He opened the back door and let Duchess in. Then he climbed into the passenger seat.

“You going too, eh,” Gabe said, smiling. “Good, I was hoping.”

“Wouldn’t miss it. Let’s blow this joint.”

Gabe chuckled as they watched Jackson push the bridge into place. Then Gabe put the SUV into gear and they drove across, turning left on the highway this time instead of right. Jeb followed in the jeep. Then the big diesel pusher drove up behind and got ready to cross the bridge.

“You sure this bridge is going to be strong enough?” Jasmine asked, sitting in the passenger seat, gripping the arm rests hard.

“We’ll find out in a minute.” He drove slowly over it. There was creaking, but it held.

“Damn, glad we’re over that,” Frank said, from the couch along the driver’s side wall. Jane was sitting next to Frank, with Lucy on her lap.

The big coach picked up speed as it followed the SUV and jeep down the highway. They drove about five miles. Then Gabe turned onto a very small road on the right. Jeb followed him.

“I wouldn’t have even seen that road,” Jerry said. He made a wide swing onto it. There was a canopy of trees over the road. It was asphalt, but not in good repair. Nature was reclaiming it.

“I hope there aren’t any low branches,” Jasmine said.

“Well, keep your eyes open. I have the chainsaw in the storage compartment.”

“You carry a chain saw with you?” Jane asked, laughing. “Weapon of last resort?”

Jerry cracked up, and Jasmine with him. Frank sat silently, deep in thought.

Back at the RV Park, Jackson got the bridge pulled back from the moat, and then drove the back hoe to the barn. He stopped by the clubhouse.

“You going back up on the ridge?” Charlie asked. “I could relieve you, if you’d like.”

“You don’t want to climb up there,” Jackson said. “It’s a little hairy. I’m going to grab us a couple bottles of water. We’ll be fine until it gets close to nightfall. We’ll come down then.”

Hilda walked in through the back door with Mary.

“How’s Kurt?” Jackson asked.

“He wishes he was out there with Jeb,” Mary said, laughing. “He’s doing pretty well, though. I’m amazed, to be honest.”

“Well, I’d better get back up there,” Jackson said. He left the clubhouse, walked over to the hill, and started up to the ridge. It was a tough climb, but Jackson felt safer up there, having that commanding view. He could sit and talk all day with Earl, too.

“Everything alright down there?” Earl asked.

“Yeah. Sounds like Kurt’s going to recover. He’s not happy that he doesn’t get to go on the road trip.”

“This has been a hell of a day,” Earl said, taking a swig out of the water bottle that Jackson handed him.

“Charlie said he’d relieve us,” Jackson said.

“We don’t want him climbing up here. I think he could make it, but why risk it?”

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I told him. We’ll go down when it gets dark.”

“I actually like it up here,” Earl said. “It’s so pretty, for one thing. All these mountains around us. Hell of a vista.”

Jackson nodded in agreement. “You think Frank is as smart as everybody’s saying?”

“Yeah, I do. Did you play around with the camera system he rigged up for Hilda’s park?”

“No, never got the chance while we were there, and then I just didn’t want to look at the carnage,” Jackson said.

“It was unreal. I saw it work on iPads and laptops, and it worked really well on my android tablet too. He did that programming in less than a day.”

“There are toolkits that do a lot of the heaving lifting for that,” Jackson said. “I’ve done a little programming myself. Just Visual Basic, but it’s not as scary as most people think, once you get into it.”

“He got onto that FBI facial recognition system too,” Earl said. “In about ten minutes.”

“Alright, you’ve got a point.”

“You worried? You don’t trust him?” Earl asked.

“No, it’s not that at all. He was one of the people who recognized that we weren’t bad guys after we fessed up about the spying thing. After all we’ve been through, I’d fight for that man anyplace, anytime.”

“Then what is it?”

“This place,” Jackson said, looking far out into the vista. “It’s a death trap. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know, and so do Frank and Jerry. I’m glad that they decided to go do their thing this afternoon. We’ve got no future trying to hold this place. The only hope we have is to take it to the enemy, and I think what Frank is doing will allow us to do that. It’s going to come down to a race against time.”

“Do you think we’ll survive here until they get back?”

“Yeah, we’ll be alright, thanks to all the craziness going on in Eagle at the moment,” Earl said.

“You don’t think it’ll force a retreat that will put them right in our laps?”

“Don’t get flighty on me, Jackson,” Earl said, laughing. “If the pajama boys are running for their lives, you really think they are going to stop here? This place is more of a death trap for them that it is for us. Think about it. It’s like a bowl down there. Imagine what it would be like if one of those B-1s dropped a bunch of napalm? It’d act just like a kiln.”

They both cracked up.

“I’m glad we’re up here,” Jackson said. “It may not be safer than down there, but it feels safer.”

“Yeah,” Earl said.

They sat silently for a while.

Down below, Jake and Trish were getting their rooms set up.

“You’re pretty worried, aren’t you, honey?” he asked, leaning on her bedroom door, watching her put stuff away.

“I’ll be alright, dad,” she said, turning to him.

“So will he…trust me on that. I’m sorry I teased you about him.”

“It’s okay. Things have felt so out of control, ever since all my friends left town, and we moved into the store. At first Terry seemed like one more thing I was being pushed towards without having any choice.”

“I know, and I didn’t help. I’ll be more careful.”

“He listens,” she said, starting to tear up. “You know how hard that is to find?”

“Don’t fall for him too fast,” Jake said. “He probably feels the same way as you do about the world now. Out of control. Spend time with him, and go slow. Learn what he’s like.”

“I know, that’s what I was doing for most of the afternoon.”

“Good,” Jake said.

“Thanks for moving us out here, daddy,” she said, walking over to him and hugging him. “You got us out just in time.”

“It wasn’t me…it was Dobie and Gabe. Thank God they needed something from me.”

“I know that, but you could have dug in your heels and stayed at the store. I know how much you love that place.”

“You’re way more important to me than that store, and it wasn’t safe for you there. Young girls have a big target on their backs. That’s the real reason we left the house, you know.”

“I know, daddy.”

“You need anything else from the truck?”

“No, I got everything I need out of it,” she said.

“Alright, I’m going to drive it back by the barn, so it’s not visible from the front of the park.”

She nodded, and Jake started to walk out.

“Daddy,” she said.

“What, honey?”

“You’re a good dad.”

“Not really, but I try my best,” he said, as he walked to the truck, climbing into the cab.

Trish smiled and shook her head. “The best ones don’t know how rare they are,” she said to herself.

Back on the road…

“Is that dirt road I see up ahead?” Jasmine asked.

“Sure looks like it,” Jerry said. “I hope this old fart isn’t going to take us on a road like we blew up back in the canyon. I don’t know how that bobtail made it through there, and it’s lighter and smaller than this motorhome is.”

“It was pretty bad, huh?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, I think he dug that damn road out himself with his backhoe. It was barely wide enough for one vehicle, and there were no retaining walls or anything. It was easy to blow up.”

“You don’t think he’d lead us through something like that, do you?” Jasmine asked.

“Hope not,” Jerry said. “I don’t see any switchbacks ahead, so we probably won’t run into anything like that. Creeks are all small now, too, so we don’t stand that much of a chance of getting stuck crossing one.”

“Low branch up there, Jerry,” Jasmine said. “Better let me out when we get to it so I can watch.”

He nodded. “Look, Gabe and Jeb are stopping. They see the branch too, I’ll bet.”

Jerry pulled to a stop right before they got to it. The low branch was about three inches thick. He and Jasmine got out of the coach and walked over to talk to Gabe and Jeb.

“Sorry, didn’t remember this branch being so damn low,” Gabe said.

“This is bad,” Jeb said. No good place to turn around.”

“Wait a minute,” Jerry said. He walked back to the storage compartment of his rig, and came back with the chain saw.

“Holy crap, what are you doing with one of those?” Jeb said, cracking up.

“Jerry took everything with us that wasn’t nailed down,” Jasmine said, laughing and shaking her head. “There’s probably a kitchen sink back there somewhere.”

“Well, in this case it saved our butts,” Gabe said.

“Need to go get my folding ladder,” Jerry said. He set down the chainsaw and trotted back to his rig to fetch it.

Frank and Jane left the coach and walked over, followed by Lucy.

“How much further on this road?” Jasmine asked.

“Another couple of miles, then we hit Brush Creek Road.”

“Any bad stuff coming?” asked Jasmine. “Creeks? Narrow dirt switchbacks?”

Gabe laughed. “Oh, you heard about the canyon road, huh?” he said. “There is one creek bed, but it should be dry, and it’s small.”

Jane pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and looked at it. “Hey, I have no service here. Why do we need to go any further?”

“Crap, really?” Frank asked. He pulled out his cellphone and looked at it. “Yep, no service.”

“We’d still better cut that branch, unless you want to back up out of here,” Jeb said.

Jerry walked up with the folding ladder. “What?” he asked, seeing everybody standing around talking.

“There’s no cell service,” Frank said. “We could work here.”

“Oh, so I don’t need to cut the branch?”

“Cut the branch,” Gabe said. “No good places to turn around until we get to the road, a couple miles ahead.”

“Okay. Frank, go ahead and get set up in there. I’ll only be a minute,” Jerry said. He set up the ladder and pulled the starting rope on the chainsaw. It roared to life.

Frank, Jane, and Jasmine went into the coach, and Frank started lining up the equipment they needed on the dinette table. Jasmine plugged in a power strip and handed it over to Jane, as Frank set up the laptop next to the equipment. Jane pulled out the iPad and started it up. She made sure there was no LTE service for that either, since it pulled a little better than the phones. Nothing. Deader than a doornail.

The motor of the chainsaw labored as it cut through the branch. Jerry got almost all the way through, and stopped.

“Stand back, folks,” he shouted over the noise. Then he cut the rest of the way through, and the large branch crashed to the ground. He got down and cut the branch into smaller pieces, and then the other men pulled the pieces over to the side of the road.

“Why don’t you pull your rig under the trees?” Jeb said. “Better cover. We can put our vehicles next to it, and it’ll be hard to see us from the air.”

“Great idea,” Jerry said. He folded up the ladder and carried it and the chainsaw back to the storage compartment. Then he went into the coach, got behind the wheel, and fired it up. “Hold on, I’m going to move under the tree.”

“Why?” Jasmine asked.

“Cover.”

“Oh, good thinking,” she replied.

The coach crept forward. Jeb was outside with the others, watching and guiding. He finally put both hands up. Jerry stopped, and shut the engine down. He went back outside and looked.

“Perfect,” he said.

“Yeah, I think we can hang out here for a while,” Jeb said.

“Dobie, want to go back to the park with me?” Gabe asked.

“Yeah, sounds good. See you guys later.”

Jerry nodded, and then looked at Jeb and Terry.

“The back storage compartment has some chairs,” he said. “Feel free, guys.” Then he went back inside the coach.

“All set?” Frank asked.

“Yep, and Gabe’s going back to the park with Dobie,” he replied. “How are you doing?”

“I’m ready to take a chip out of the box,” Frank said. He reached for the box, removed the top, and brought a chip out, taking it from its plastic bag and putting it on the table in front of him. He switched on the signal detector. Then his hand reached over to the signal generator. “Keep your fingers crossed.”

Chapter 10 – Nervous Dobermans

Gabe drove the Suburban down the dirt road, away from Jerry’s rig. Dobie was riding shotgun, and Duchess was in the back, scanning the territory.

“We didn’t have to go nearly as far as I expected,” Gabe said.

“Hope Frank is able to do what he needs to do,” Dobie said.

“Me too. I’ll feel better when we get back to the park. I’ve got a bad feeling.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” Gabe said. “Can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“Well, then let’s haul ass. The main road’s coming up fast.”

Gabe got onto the highway and cranked the big SUV up to about seventy.

“You know it’s possible we’ll have to leave your park, right?” Dobie asked.

“I don’t want to think about that.”

“I know you don’t, but if we have to get out, it’s going to be in a hurry, and we need to be able to hit it on a moment’s notice. You might want to put some of your valuables in the car, just in case.”

“You don’t think the place will hold?” Gabe asked.

“Against a really small force, maybe, if they don’t get the drop on us,” Dobie said. “The dogs should help with that.”

“You think we should be expecting a larger force, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, Gabe, I do,” Dobie said. “I can’t believe we’re only drawing random attention. I suspect somebody in the enemy ranks knows we’re a threat.”

“Frank?”

“Yeah.”

“Think we should make him leave, Dobie?”

“Hell no, I think we ought to be doing everything we can to protect him and help him. We might have to move again, though, and if it gets to that point, I want to make sure you come with us.”

“Why?” Gabe asked, looking over at Dobie for a moment.

“You’re the only family I’ve got left, that’s why,” Dobie said, choking up.

“Oh. I know, you’re right. I guess we should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”

“We should have a plan.”

“Plan?”

“Yeah, just in case. Where would be the best place for us to run too if it gets too hot around here?”

“I’d head for Kansas,” Gabe said. “Take the back roads to route 24, through the copper mountains, then east. Link up with route 94, then route 287, through Kit Carson, and onto route 40. Should be safe to get back on I-70 eventually. Get as close to Missouri as we can.”

“Good plan. We should punch that into our phone GPS, and spread it around to the others, just in case.”

“Okay, Dobie, I’ll go along with that, but let’s not jump the gun.”

“Agreed.”

“Maybe I should call the park and make sure everything’s okay before we get there,” Dobie said.

“Sure, go ahead. We’re probably back in range of the cell towers by now.”

Dobie pulled his phone out of his pocket and punched in Jake’s number.

“Hi, Jake.”

“Dobie, glad you called.”

“Everything okay?”

“Basically, yes, but your dogs have been walking around growling. It’s got people scared around here. Some of them are afraid to leave their coaches.”

Dobie got a scared look on his face. “Go talk to Charlie and the Sheriff right now. Those dogs won’t growl for no reason. There’s somebody around. Watch yourself.”

“Alright, I’ll call you back.”

“Oh, shit, what’s the matter?” Gabe asked.

“Something’s wrong. The dogs are growling. They won’t do that for no reason.”

“Uh oh. What should we do?”

“Keep rolling, and keep your eyes open. You got any long guns back there?”

“Yeah, but I’m not a great shot like Jeb or Kurt.”

Dobie’s phone rang. He answered it.

“Dobie? This is Charlie. How far out are you guys?”

“Maybe ten minutes out.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll ask Jackson to get ready with the backhoe. The Sheriff’s already on the roof, and the mortar is still in place if we need it.”

“Good. I’ll call you just before we go around the last bend.”

“Great, thanks. Take care of yourselves.”

Gabe gripped the wheel tighter, and gritted his teeth, and Dobie saw the fear in his eyes. They drove along quickly. The road was completely deserted. It was late afternoon now, and the shadows were getting long.

“Maybe they’re waiting until dark,” Dobie said.

“Maybe. I hope we can get through that gate before they attack.”

“Yeah, me too. Maybe we should drive past a little ways to see if there’s any sign of trouble. Is there a safe place to turn around up there?”

“Well, if worse comes to worse, we could turn around on the road back to the canyon area. I doubt anybody’s back there, with Earl and Jackson watching, and the back road destroyed.”

They rode along silently for a while, both of their minds going a mile a minute.

“There’s the last curve,” Gabe said.

Dobie nodded and dialed his phone.

“We’re almost to the last curve, Charlie.”

“Good. We’re all in place.”

“Think we ought to drive past the park a little ways and see if anything’s going on?”

“You sure you want to risk that?”

“No, but I think we need to find out. We can barrel down that road to the back canyon if we get into trouble.”

“Well, if you see somebody, we can aim the mortar their way and let ‘em have it.”

“Yeah, Charlie, that’s what I was thinking.”

“I’ll get Jackson ready to go.”

“Don’t have that backhoe out in the open any longer than absolutely necessary.”

“Got it, Dobie. See you in a couple minutes.”

Dobie stuck his phone in his pocket.

“Stop the car for a moment. I want that rifle up here.”

“Okay,” Gabe said. He brought the SUV to a stop along the side of the road. Dobie jumped out and went in through the back passenger side door, grabbing the rifle.

“Don’t worry, girl,” he said to Duchess. She looked at him and whined.

“Go for it,” Dobie said as he got back into the front seat. “I wouldn’t go too slowly.”

Gabe stuck his foot on the gas pedal and got them back up to about sixty. They rounded the curve, passing the front of the park and going around the next bend. There were two cars and a pickup truck parked along the far side of the road, but nobody was in sight.

“Oh, crap,” Gabe said as they flew by.

“Pull into the canyon road.”

“Did you see anybody, Dobie?”

“No, sure didn’t. We might have snuck past them.”

Gabe drove onto the canyon road, and did a K-turn right in front of the gate, pointing back towards the highway, so they’d be ready to leave in a hurry.

“Dobie, there’s a place up there where we could see those vehicles. Maybe we ought to sneak up there and get a good look. I don’t want to fire mortar rounds at somebody who’s just down there fishing. There’s another creek and some springs down from that part of the road.”

“Good, lead the way,” Dobie said. He let Duchess out of the back of the SUV. “Duchess, guard the car.”

Dobie followed Gabe up the side of the hill, along a trail that led through the trees to a small flat plateau. They could see the vehicles, and there was enough cover to stay put.

“Turn your phone ringer off,” Dobie whispered.

“Right,” Gabe said, fishing his phone out of his pocket, while Dobie called Charlie back.

“Charlie,” he whispered. “We’re on the road into the canyon. We saw two cars and a pickup truck parked on the far side of the road. We’re hiding on the side of the hill, watching to see if it’s bad guys or just some fishermen.”

“Where should we point the mortar?”

“Move it towards the left about thirty degrees from where it was pointed yesterday. Distance is probably already close.”

“Will do. Just say the word when you want us to fire.”

“I’ll call you back, Charlie. Thanks.”

He put his phone back in his pocket.

“Duchess will really stay by the car and guard it?” Gabe whispered.

“Yeah. At least we’ll know if somebody tries to sneak up on us.”

“Look, a pajama boy,” Gabe said, pointing. “What’s that he’s carrying?”

“Crap, that’s a mortar,” Dobie said. “It still has to be assembled.” He pulled his phone back out and dialed Charlie.

“Let ‘em have it. We’ll spot, so stay on the phone. It’s Islamists. They’re carrying a mortar down below.”

“Got it,” Charlie said. Then there was the pop, and an explosion as the mortar round hit the road, next to the vehicles, sending the pickup truck and one of the cars flying down the road. There was screaming in Arabic from below.

“Take it out about ten yards and hit them again,” Dobie said.

Another pop, and then another explosion. Two militia men scrambled up the hill and tried to make the last car. Dobie pointed the rifle at the front of the engine and fired. Steam came gushing out of the grill.

“Nice one,” Gabe said.

“Here, take the rifle and shoot into the engine again,” Dobie said.

“Charlie, hit them again. Got any Willie Pete left?”

“Yeah, you guys far enough away?”

“I think so,” he said.

Then there was a pop, and a rushing sound with an explosion. Gabe and Dobie felt intense heat blow by them. Duchess barked. Dobie looked down at the car…there was a man running towards it. He pulled his pistol and fired, hitting the man in the torso. He fired again, hitting the man in the head. Gabe wailed away at the car with the rifle, putting two more bullets in the engine and one through the driver’s window.

“Where’s the other guy?” Dobie asked.

“I think he’s hiding behind the car.”

“Charlie, back up ten yards and hit them again with Willie Pete.”

“Got it,” Charlie said. There was the pop, and the rushing sound, and the intense heat washed over them again. The car exploded into flames, and the man behind it tried to run, but he was covered with fire. He fell down on the road, dying.

“That got ‘em,” Gabe said.

“I wish we could see down the side of that hill,” Dobie said. “Charlie, put the mortar out about twenty yards and hit them with a conventional round. Then take out another ten and do it again, then bring it in forty from there and hit them one more time. Then we’ll need to get a party down there to look.”

“Got it.” The mortar fired in fairly rapid succession. The third one caused a secondary explosion.

“Good, got their shells,” Dobie said. “Hear that, Charlie?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m going to get off the phone now and take the dog down there to look. Hold your fire.”

“Alright, Dobie. The Sheriff and I are going to go down there on foot too.”

“Good.”

“What do you want me to do?” Gabe asked.

“Drive the SUV back to the front of the park,” he said.

“Okay.”

The men climbed down. Duchess ran over to Dobie, tail wagging.

“You know how to fire one of these?” Dobie asked, picking up the dead man’s AK-47.

“Yeah,” Gabe said. “Don’t you want it for down there?”

“Naw, I’m better with the pistols.”

“Okay,” Gabe said, taking the weapon and getting into the car. “Be careful.”

“You too. Let me take a look down the road before you get out there.” He trotted up to the intersection and looked down. Fire smoldered, but there was no movement. “Okay, Gabe, go ahead, but drive by there fast, just in case.”

“Righto,” Gabe said. He fired up the SUV and drove out. He made it in front of the park in no time, and drove across the bridge just as Charlie and the Sheriff were getting ready to walk across. He parked beside his residence, out of sight.

Dobie was already at the shoulder of the road, and he looked down. There was a small fire going below, but it didn’t look hot enough to turn into a forest fire. There were bodies all over the place, and broken equipment, too. Mortars, ammo cases, other stuff. He was about to climb down when he saw the Sheriff and Charlie coming. He went over to join them.

“Anybody still kicking?” the Sheriff asked.

“Not that I can see, but who knows how many might have fled further down that mountain.”

Well, we can guestimate how many there were. Two sedans. Maybe five in each. Pickup truck…probably six. So we’re talking about sixteen men. How many bodies?”

“Didn’t get a good count yet. There’s one guy back on the road into the canyon. I wasted him with my pistol when he tried to run away from the mortar rounds. There was one guy trying to escape from this car here. He got hit with the Willie Pete and burned up. Not a pretty sight.”

“Anybody in those first two cars?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“I guess we get to go down there, then,” the Sheriff said. “I’ll be able to see tracks if some of them skedaddled.”

“This makes me nervous,” Charlie said. “Some of them might be hiding in the trees, waiting to take some shots at us.”

“We should get some warning from Duchess.”

“Maybe you should go get the other three,” Charlie said.

“That’s a good idea,” Dobie said. He trotted down the road until he could see the front of the park, and then called Princess. She came running over. “Simon and Peabody,” he shouted. They came running over too. The three dogs greeted Duchess, and then they followed Dobie back over to the shoulder next to the burned sedan. The Sheriff and Charlie were already down the hill.

“Look at this,” the Sheriff said. “Four of these idiots got hit when the pickup and the other car rolled down the side of the hill.”

“Dead?” Dobie asked.

“One was still barely alive, but I put him out of his misery,” the Sheriff said.

“I didn’t hear a shot.”

“Used my knife. Why waste ammo? He was pinned under the wreckage.”

“We can account for thirteen,” Charlie said. I count eleven dead down here, plus the one on the road and the one you shot.”

“That’s not enough bodies,” Dobie said.

“Probably not,” the Sheriff said. “Unless the cars weren’t full. Let’s go down the hill a ways and look for tracks. Keep those dogs close. Stay out of the open as much as possible.”

The men picked their way down, looking warily in all directions, as the dogs searched, noses to the ground, looking up every few seconds and sniffing the air.

“Look, tracks right there,” Charlie whispered, pointing. “Two men.”

Suddenly a bullet whizzed by, striking a tree behind them, sending splinters flying. The dogs took off running towards the direction of the bullets, barking like crazy. The Sheriff and Charlie had their rifles aimed from behind trees, scanning with their scopes, in the direction the dogs were running.

“There’s one,” the Sheriff said. He fired, and a man fell from the tree. Over to the right, another man jumped out of the tree, threw his gun away, and started running. Charlie shot him in the back. He fell to the ground. Dobie looked over at Charlie, surprised.

“What, Dobie, you think we take prisoners?” he said. “Not a chance.”

“Okay, I get it,” Dobie said.

“I’ll go see if there are any more tracks,” the Sheriff said. Dobie followed him, watching the dogs as they looked around. They scoured the area for about twenty minutes. Charlie had gone back up and was removing the chips from the bodies.

“I don’t think there were any more,” the Sheriff said. “No tracks anywhere, and your dogs would have noticed something. Let’s go back up.”

Dobie nodded. The Sheriff stopped at the bodies down by the tree and cut the chips out of them.

“There’s another body back on the canyon road. We’d better get the chip out of that one too,” Dobie said. “What about the bodies?”

“They’re far enough away for the smell not to bother us,” the Sheriff said. “I say we take their guns and ammo and anything else of value, and leave them here for the bears and the boar.”

It took another ten minutes or so to gather everything up. It was too much to carry. Dobie called Gabe and asked him to bring the pickup truck out. Then he and Jeb walked up the canyon road and took care of the last body. After they got the chip out they each took a foot, dragged him over the side of the shoulder, and rolled him down by the other bodies.

“Well, what’s the haul?” Gabe asked after he parked.

“Not bad,” Charlie said. “Thirteen more AK-47s in usable condition, some ammo, and a few hand guns. We blew up all the mortar rounds, I’m afraid, and the mortars they brought are toast.”

The men tossed everything into the back of the pickup and drove back over the bridge. Jackson pulled it away from the moat, and then drove the backhoe to the barn.

“It’s Miller Time,” the Sheriff said, walking into the clubhouse. Rosie looked over at him and laughed. Charlie rushed over to Hilda and gave her a hug.

Jake walked up with Trish. “Man, is it like this all the time?” he asked. “Feels like we’ve gone out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

“The heat’s on, that’s for sure,” the Sheriff said. Gabe and Dobie walked into the clubhouse.

“Thank God for those dogs of yours, Dobie,” Mary said.

“We were pretty damn lucky again,” Charlie said. “Too lucky. If it wasn’t for you guys coming down the road when you did, the cretins would’ve gotten those mortars set up.”

“If the dogs act like that, there’s going to be something up,” Dobie said. “Trust me. We won’t just be able to sit back here and let them come, though. We’re going to have to check things out. It’s too easy for them to lob shells in here at us.”

“I think we ought to be putting more cameras around,” Jake said. “I’ve got the stuff in my truck, like I was saying before. We ought to be putting them down the road apiece in each direction.”

“Yeah, I agree,” the Sheriff said. “Those guys knew where we were, and they were getting ready to make an assault. No way was this random.”

“Shoot, that reminds me,” Gabe said. “The chips. Hand ‘em over, guys.”

“Wait a minute,” Jake said. “Can’t we drop them somewhere advantageous to us?”

“Yeah, a kill zone,” the Sheriff said. “How about back there in the canyon. We ought to be able to trap a few of these folks if we’re smart about it.”

“You know, that’s a hell of an idea,” Dobie said. “But we should place them well. Scatter them all around that canyon area. ”

“Right,” Charlie said. “Let’s go do it now, before it’s all the way dark.”

“Yeah, I’ll fire up the SUV. Jackson, could you let us out again?”

“Sure,” he said.

Dobie went out and got Duchess again. Then he met Gabe, Charlie, and the Sheriff back at the SUV. They got in and watched as Jackson pushed the bridge back over the moat. Then they drove off towards the canyon.

Back in the Clubhouse, Hilda walked up to Mary. They both looked terrified.

“We aren’t going to survive here, are we?” Mary asked.

“No way,” Hilda said. “I’m going to make sure that our coach is ready to go.”

“Yeah, me too,” Mary said.

Trish was listening to them from a few tables over. She looked over at her dad, who was talking to Gabe. She wished that Terry and the others were back. She was trembling.

Chapter 11 – Smartphone Apps

The generator on the coach purred along. Jeb and Terry paced outside, looking around warily.

Inside, Frank had his hand on the signal generator, looking at Jerry.

“Go for it,” Jerry said.

“Yeah, honey, go ahead,” Jane said.

Frank turned on the signal generator, and then switched on the signal receiver.

“That doing it?” Jasmine asked.

“Looks like it…I’m getting more than one hit here. I’ve got to plug the signal generator into the laptop.” He connected the two devices with a USB cable, and brought up a program.

“What’s that?” Jane asked.

“A little program I cooked up to capture RF message payloads.”

“That mean there’s output?” Jerry asked, pointing to an indicator on the screen.

“Yep, sure does,” Frank said. He clicked on a button that said “Cap” on it, then selected a folder to store the file.

“Hey, Frank and Jerry!” Jeb shouted.

“Uh oh,” Jane said.

Frank opened the file using his notepad application. The file was 64 bits long, but was all gibberish.

“What’s that mean?” Jane asked.

“It’s encrypted, as I expected. This’ll be the hardest part to figure out.”

“Guys!”

“Let’s go see what they want,” Jerry said. Everybody left the coach.

“What’s going on?” Frank asked.

“Listen…mortar and small arms fire,” Jeb said.

It was silent for a moment, and then there were several muffled explosions.

“Oh no, that coming from the park?” Jasmine asked.

“It’s coming from that direction,” Terry said, “but it’s hard to tell if it’s a few miles or forty miles. A lot of hills around here.”

“I think it’s coming from the park,” Jeb said.

“Should we go back?” Jerry asked.

“Not yet,” Frank said. “We’ve got work to do. If our guys are going to lose, we’ll just get killed going back.”

“He’s right,” Jeb said. “You guys keep working.”

Terry looked sick with worry, but he had resignation on his face. “Yeah, keep working. Maybe we can sneak in at night.”

“It’ll be really late,” Frank said, “but we’ll see. I’ve got two steps to do. If I can get the first one done, that’s good enough for this trip.”

“What’re the steps?” Jerry asked.

“First, I need to be able to recognize that these are enemy messages, regardless of what they say under the encryption,” Frank said. “That’ll make the bad guys visible.”

“At what range?” Jeb asked.

“As long as we can get out on a cellular network attached to the internet, we can see where the chips are anywhere in the world.”

“That’ll help us to see anybody coming at us,” Terry said, grinning.

“Exactly. That’s why I want to get that part done before we leave here.”

“And the other part?” Jasmine asked.

“Crack the encryption. That should tell us who’s who.”

“Ah, so we really could use the message to find that asshole Saladin,” Jeb said.

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Frank said.

“Let’s get back to work,” Jerry said.

“Yeah, no sense telling us luddites about this now,” Jeb said, laughing. “Go work your magic. Terry and I’ll make sure we don’t get any un-invited guests.”

Frank nodded, and went back into the coach, followed by Jerry.

“You guys need something to drink?” Jasmine asked. “I’ve got lots of soda in the fridge.”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Terry said. “Diet cola would be good.”

Jeb nodded yes. Jasmine went into the coach, followed by Jane. She came back out with two sodas, handed them off, and then went back inside.

“What next?” Jerry asked.

“We pull out each of the chips, one at a time, and capture the payload. Then we figure out what we can use to ID them. You have any sharpies in here?”

“Yeah, just a sec,” Jerry said. He went into one of the cabinets above the couch and opened it, pulling out a shoe-box shaped plastic bin. He pulled the top off and grabbed a sharpie. “Here you go. Gonna mark the bags to match with the files?”

“Exactly,” Frank said. He marked the bag for the first chip with the name he gave to the payload file, and put that chip back into the lead box. He grabbed another, and closed the box. He set it on the table in front of him, saw the return on the signal receiver, and clicked the capture button.

“You don’t even have to take it out of the plastic bag?” Jane asked.

“Nope, no need,” he said, as he pulled up the file. “Look, same structure. This part’s going to be easy.”

“These will only get us as close as the nearest cell tower,” Jasmine said.

“That’s true,” Jerry said. “There’s got to be one really close to Gabe’s park, though, because we have killer LTE coverage there.”

Frank gave them a sly smile, as he continued to work.

“I think maybe I should make up a couple of mobile cell towers,” she said.

“You know how to do that?” Jerry asked.

“In theory, yes,” she said. “The hardest part would be getting the internet connection.”

“How about pairing it with satellite?” Jerry asked.

“That might work,” she said.

“How is Gabe getting his internet?” Jane asked. “I remember Frank talking about it being a fairly low bandwidth satellite connection.”

“He’s got cable TV,” Jerry said. “That means that there’s cable run all the way out there.”

“It’s probably run along with the electricity and phone lines, on the poles along the highway,” Jasmine said.

Frank listened as he worked, putting the second chip back and grabbing the third.

“Wonder why he doesn’t have good Wi-Fi there, then?” Jane asked.

“Probably too expensive,” Jerry said, chuckling. “That guy’s Mr. do-it-yourself. I’ll bet it’s hard to squeeze a penny out of that old codger.”

Frank cracked up. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Maybe we ought to take up a collection. I wouldn’t want him to dump the satellite internet, though. Cables are easy to cut, and all we need in order to see the cretins on his PC is that satellite internet connection he has. Speed won’t make any difference…and as long as we have LTE at the park, the mobile devices will work.”

Frank put the third one back and picked up the fourth, then the fifth. Soon he was finished with all of the chips in the plastic bags.

“They all holding to the same file parameters?” Jasmine asked.

“Yes. Step one will be a lot easier than I thought,” he said.

“Does Simon Orr’s chip look any different than the others?” Jane asked.

“Impossible to tell until I break the encryption,” Frank said. “Hey, Jerry, got any pens with a finer tip? I’m down to the loose chips.”

“I’m not sure, let’s have a look,” he said, picking up the plastic bin again.

“Doesn’t have to be permanent.”

“Here’s one…might be a little dry, though,” Jerry said. He handed it to Frank.

“This’ll do,” he said, marking on the first of the loose chips. He worked his way through the rest of the chips.

“How are you going to break the encryption?” Jane asked.

“I’ve got a program that I can use,” Frank said. “It’s going to take quite a few days to run, though, and I’ll need to fine tune it. I might need to contact Rami again, to get the FBI’s latest dataset.”

“Wouldn’t that be a tip off to bad guys in the government?” Jerry asked.

“Maybe,” Frank said. “Hopefully we won’t have to go that far. I have one other idea in mind if breaking the encryption won’t work.”

It was starting to get dark outside. Jerry turned the lights on inside the coach.

“How does your genny do on fuel?” Frank asked.

“She’ll run all night and then some,” Jerry said. “It’ll stop at a quarter of a tank, though.”

“Just like ours,” Jane said. “That way you won’t strand yourself.”

“I’m going to finish the programming for step one, and then I’ll side load applications on all of our phones. I’ll kick off the encryption solver program after that.”

“Okay, no problem.”

“I’ll need some quiet for a while,” Frank said.

“Then I suggest we go outside and chat,” Jerry said. Jasmine and Jane both nodded. Jane kissed Frank’s forehead, and they all left the coach.

“How’s it going in there?” Terry asked as they came out.

“Good,” Jerry said.

“He’s programming now, and needed quiet, so we decided to come out here,” Jane said.

“Yeah, that helps with programming,” Terry said.

“You know how to program, Terry?” asked Jasmine.

“Only a little. I was taking classes before all hell broke loose.”

“Being a Deputy Sheriff wasn’t for you, eh?” Jane asked.

“Not really,” he replied. “I’m a little too easy going for that kind of job. I think I’d do better with the confrontational parts of it after our experiences, though.”

“You’ve proven yourself in a fight, that’s for sure,” Jeb said. “My hat’s off to you.”

Terry smiled sheepishly. “What’s he programming?” he asked.

“He’s going to create Android and iPhone apps that we can use to see enemy chips,” Jerry said. “He’ll get all of our devices loaded up, and then work on step two.”

“Is he going to do a wide release of the apps?” Jasmine asked. “I mean, to other people outside of our group?”

“Eventually,” Jane said. “First we need to get step two done. We don’t want to tip off the enemy leadership that they’re in trouble before we take them out.”

“Good thinking,” Terry said. “After that, he should flood the internet with the apps. That’ll be the end of the enemy.”

“That’s the idea,” Jane said. “Keep this to yourselves, though. We don’t know everybody at the park that well.”

“Damn straight,” Jeb said. “It’s really hard to tell who we can trust. We’re getting hit too often. We’ve either got a plant or a bug or something.”

“We never checked all of our vehicles for bugs, did we?” Jerry said. “We should do that. Anybody could have stuck something on us. Remember all the bad guys who were living with us at Hilda’s park?”

“Crap, you’re right,” Jeb said. “Why didn’t we think of that before?”

“You’ve got your bug detectors in the rig,” Jasmine said. “Maybe we should check these vehicles right now.”

“Frank would’ve seen anything attached to our rig when he was working this afternoon,” Jerry said. “In fact, that big unit he’s been running in there would have picked up anything on Jeb’s jeep, too. I think we’re safe, but we need to check everybody else when we get back to camp.”

“I hope they’re okay back there,” Terry said. “I’m worried about my uncle.”

“They’re okay,” Jeb said. “If they weren’t, we’d hear the executions. More gunfire.”

“Think the enemy would know enough to notice that we’re gone?” Terry asked.

“That’s a really good question,” Jerry said. “Frank says he knew that Belgian guy from work…and they’ve obviously been able to capture photos of us. That guy might recognize Frank.”

“Simon Orr admitted that they’ve been on Frank’s tail since almost the beginning, remember?” Jane asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Jerry said.

“You know, we need to get smarter,” Jeb said. “Every time we win a skirmish, we think that the enemy leadership has lost track of us. They’ve been following us all along, and eventually they’ll get us, if we don’t take care of them first.”

“Yeah,” Jerry said. “If it wasn’t for those U.S. Army drones, our heads would be on spikes back at Hilda’s place.

Jane shuddered.

Jasmine sighed. “This thing that Frank is working on is our only chance,” she said.

“Yes, it is,” Jerry agreed.

“Even if we find out where Saladin and the other leaders are with the chips, they’re going to be very well protected,” Jane said. “What makes you guys think we can take them out?”

“They’ve got a handful of smart guys surrounded by a bunch of idiots,” Jeb said. “We’ll get them, but it won’t be easy.”

“I wish I had your confidence,” Jane said.

“Me too,” Jasmine said. “We’ve had so many lucky breaks. Maybe we aren’t that much smarter than the enemy.”

“They would have nailed us by now, if they were as smart as we are,” Jeb said. “Sure, we’ve been lucky a few times. We’ve also been smarter than them a few times, and we’ve just outright beat them a few times too.”

“We do have a good team,” Terry said. “It’s classic, really. We have the genius. We have several hunter/sniper/survivalists types, like Jeb here. We have the handy man who can cook up almost anything with his un-educated, un-predictable ingenuity. We have the technologists. The animal trainer. The organizer. The military strategist. The tech supply person. We even have a medical team.”

“Good assessment,” Jerry said. “The enemy is focused on the genius, because they’ve got somebody on their team smart enough to know he can sink them. What they don’t understand is the strength of the people he’s surrounded by.”

“That’s why they put close to a thousand men into the assault on Hilda’s park,” Jeb said. “That piece of real estate wasn’t worth a hundred men, let alone a thousand. I was thinking they went in there to take out General Walker, and I’m sure that was part of it, but I think the real prize was us.”

The coach door opened. It was Frank.

“Hey, all, I need all of your cellphones and tablets,” he said. “With the USB cables, if you’ve got them.”

“You’re done already?” Jerry asked.

“Well, to be honest, I had most of the programming work done ahead of time. I just had to fine tune it for the parameters of the output. It was easy.”

Everybody handed their phones up to Frank. Jerry went into the coach and fetched his tablet, putting it on the table next to the pile of phones. Frank got to work, as Jerry went back outside.

Terry was leaning against the coach, looking up at the hills, silent as the others chattered. Jane noticed. She walked over to him.

“Worried about your uncle?” she asked.

“Uncle can take care of himself. I’m more worried about Trish. She’s really having a hard time with this stuff.”

“You’ll be back to her soon enough,” Jane said, “but I wouldn’t expect things to be much easier for a while. There’s some scary stuff coming.”

“I know,” Terry said.

“You like her a lot, don’t you?”

“I’m in love with her already,” he said sheepishly. “I have to be careful not to scare her off, though.”

“You men crack me up. You never can tell, can you?”

“What?”

“She’s head over heels for you. Can’t you tell by the way she looks at you?”

“I know she likes me,” he said.

“Call it what you want,” Jane said. “She’s your woman, if you want her. Trust me.”

“I’ve only known her for a day.”

“I know. It’s the situation. The times. The human survival instinct.”

“How do you mean?” he asked.

“Charlie marries Hilda. Look at Jeb and Rosie now. Jerry and Jasmine are trying to get pregnant.”

“Really?” he whispered. “Wouldn’t this be a bad time to have a baby?”

“Our drives are geared towards survival of the species, not convenience. I’ve even had the urge to have more children. Thank God I’m too old now.” She laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Jasmine asked, walking towards them.

“Oh, nothing,” she said. “Just talking to Terry about life and love during wartime.”

“Trish is going to be on you like crazy when you get back,” Jasmine said, grinning. “Just wait and see. That was a nice kiss she gave you when we were leaving. Seen that kind of intensity before.”

“When?” Terry asked.

“At the army base, when wives are saying goodbye to their men.”

“You too?” Terry said. “Jane was trying to tell me the same thing.”

“He has no idea, does he?” Jasmine asked, looking at Jane with a sly smile. Then she looked back at Terry. “Oh, honey, I hope you want her as much as she wants you.”

“Done,” Frank said, sticking his head out the door of the coach. “Everybody get your phones. Then I’ll expose the chips. You’re phones should vibrate…one long pulse followed by two short ones, and show you a readout for each one.”

The group filed into the coach one at a time, picking up their phones. Jane came into the coach and grabbed the iPad. Jerry grabbed his Android tablet too. They all went outside, except for Jerry.

“OK, hold onto your phones,” Frank said. Then he opened the box. Immediately everybody jolted as they’re phones started buzzing. All of the displays opened a new app that listed out a serial number, distance in feet, and the time for each of the chips in the box.

“Where are you getting the serial numbers?” Jerry asked.

“Each of the payloads has a wrapper which includes an unencrypted serial number,” Frank said. “Only the content inside the package is encrypted.”

“Hey, the LTE signal generator is off,” Jerry said. “How is this working?”

“For close range, it’s peer to peer,” Frank said, smiling. “The range is probably about half a mile, judging by the signal strength.”

“Holy crap,” Jerry said, watching Frank put the top back on the lead box.

“Now hit refresh, everybody. You shouldn’t get any new hits.”

The group did that, and as Frank said, no more hits were shown, but if they scrolled backwards on their screens, they could still see the previous hits.

“Alright, everybody, see the other new application? It’s called Long Range.”

The people outside scrolled through their apps until they found it, and then nodded.

“OK, go ahead and tap that one. It should try to bring up a GPS map.”

“It can’t find the GPS map,” Jeb said.

“That’s because there’s no cell coverage out here. Keep watching your screen.”

Frank opened the lead box again. Jerry was next to him, watching his tablet. A group of small icons showed up in the middle of the screen.

“You guys all have icons on your screen?” Frank asked.

The group answered yes.

“Good. When we’re in cell range, GPS will kick in, and we’ll get a map. Icons will show up where the chips are. The initial screen will show the location of the closest chips on the map, but you can also punch in a location, and it will go to that location and show you all of the chips that are there, by serial number.”

“Wow,” Jerry said.

“When you crack the encryption, it’ll show us where the leadership is, won’t it?” Jeb asked.

“Yes, assuming that the information is in the payload of the file, in a way we can understand,” Frank said. “Even if it isn’t, though, we still have another possibility. I might be able to hack into the enemy computer system and match serial numbers with people.”

“This is really impressive,” Terry said. “Think we can go home tonight?”

“Good question,” Jeb said. “Hey Frank, should we saddle up and go back home?”

“I don’t see why not,” Frank said.

“We’ll have to follow this road all the way down to the highway in order to turn the coach around, so this’ll be a little bit longer drive than you’re all thinking,” Jerry said.

“I’ll be in front of you in the jeep,” Jeb said. “I’ll turn on my big hunting lights. We’ll make it.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Jerry said. “Pile in, folks.”

Chapter 12 – Icons Galore

Jerry fired up his big diesel pusher as Frank, Jane, and Jasmine stowed all of the equipment. Jeb fired up his jeep. He turned on the hunting lights…they were connected to the roll bar. They made the road in front of them almost as bright as daylight.

“Wow, look at that,” Frank said. “We’ll be able to see just fine.”

“He’s pulling away,” Jerry said. “You guys all ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Jasmine said. She got into the passenger seat. “I’ll watch for low branches and what not.”

“Good, you’ve got the best eyes here,” Jerry said.

They moved along slowly. Each time there was a big dip, they knew ahead of time, because the lights of Jeb’s jeep would bounce all over the place. Most of the road was covered with worn out asphalt, but there were a few stretches that were dirt.

“Here comes the creek,” Jasmine said, pointing.

“Good, no water in there,” Jerry said.

The jeep rolled slowly through, pulled up a little ways, and turned around to shine the lights on it.

“Good idea,” Jerry muttered. He felt the front tires go down into the rocky rut. He held his breath and pushed down on the accelerator. The behemoth pushed through until the rear tires settled into the rut. Then he gave it more power again, and the rear tires moved through the rocks, making the coach creak. They got back on level ground, and then the jeep did a K-turn and started moving again. The rest of the small road was flatter, with less tree cover. They were at the highway in about ten minutes.

“Time to turn around,” Jasmine said.

Jerry looked both ways on the highway. No headlights in sight, coming from either direction. He made a left turn onto the road, then backed up, and turned back onto the road, following Jeb. They made better time going this direction, since they knew where the problems were. They slowed down again at the creek, but got through okay. The cover got thicker along the side of the road, and Jasmine strained her eyes to catch any branches that might be too low.

“Thank God, there’s the highway,” Jasmine said when she saw Jeb pull onto it. He stopped and waited for the coach to join him on the blacktop, and then he sped up. Soon they were cruising along at about sixty.

“As soon as we get into cell range, I’m going to call Gabe,” Frank said.

“We should use the long range app on the iPad, too,” Jane said.

“Good idea.”

They drove along for about twenty minutes. Frank checked his phone.

“I’ve got bars!” He dialed Gabe’s number.

“Frank! Everything alright?” Gabe asked.

“Yeah, we’re on our way back now. We’re probably about half an hour out.”

“Good, I’ll be so glad to see you guys.”

“Did you have action earlier? We heard some mortar fire and some small arms fire too.”

“Sure did. Some cretins decided to try to attack us from the other side of the road, down towards the turnoff into that back canyon area. We whacked ‘em good.”

“How did you see them in time?”

“Dobie’s dogs. They were walking around growling.”

“Anybody get hurt?”

“Yeah, the bad guys.” He chuckled.

“Frank!” Jane cried. She held the iPad up in front of his face. It had the long range display, and there were icons for enemy chips just the other side of the park.

“Gabe, you’re about to get hit. We see enemy chips just past your park, in that back canyon area.”

Gabe started to crack up. “How many?”

Frank looked at the iPad screen more closely. “Thirteen.”

“Yeah, those are the chips from the cretins. We figured it might be a good idea to spread them around in that canyon, and use it as a kill zone.”

“What?” Jane asked.

“It’s okay, honey. Those are chips from the battle earlier. They spread them around in the canyon area as a trap.”

“Sure that’s a good idea?” Jane asked.

“Actually, it’s not a bad idea, if you want to pick off some enemy scouts,” Frank said. He put the phone back to his ear.

“Gabe?”

“Yeah, I’m still here. How did you see those chips, anyway?”

“I’ll show you when we get back.”

“Alright, call me when you are about five minutes out, and I’ll get the backhoe ready to go.”

“Great, thanks, Gabe. Talk to you soon.”

Frank put his phone in his pocket.

“Everybody okay back home, I take it?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah, but they did have action today. They won. Didn’t get anybody hurt, either.”

“Excellent. Wait ‘til they see what we’re going to give them.”

“Seriously.”

“Let’s see that iPad,” Frank said.

“LTE is a little slow here, I’m afraid,” Jane said. She handed it to him as he slid onto the dinette bench next to her.

“Let’s expand this map and see where the cretins are,” Frank said. He used his fingers to wipe the map, zooming out to see more territory. The screen changed slowly, taking a while to re-draw itself. “I see what you mean about the speed. It’ll be better at camp.”

“Good,” Jane said. “Can we run this on the PC in the clubhouse?”

“Long range, yeah. Close range peer to peer…no.”

“There it is. Look at Eagle!” she said, looking at all of the icons. There was so many that they just looked like a blob on the screen.

“Crap, there’s several thousand enemy fighters there,” Frank said. He zoomed out again. “Let’s see what the situation on the road to Denver is like.” They waited for the screen to redraw again.

“Wow, look at that,” Jane said. “Big presence in every town along I-70, and look at that blob in west Denver!”

“This is worse than I expected,” Frank said. He moved the map down further south, and over towards the border with Kansas.

“Why are you looking there?” he asked.

“I want to see if we have a good escape route,” Frank said. “With that many enemy fighters around our area, and I-70 in the state it’s in, we need to look for the best way out of dodge.”

“You don’t think we’ll be able to stay in Gabe’s place, do you?” Jane asked.

“The enemy knows who we are, and they know where we are. Those folks that showed up today were assigned to come there. No way was that random. They’ll be back, probably with more troops.”

Jane got a sick look on her face. “This is going to be a bumpy ride, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so,” Frank said. “Look, there’s a good clean getaway path all the way to Kansas here, and I’m not seeing cretins anywhere around that area,”

“How long is it going to take to break that encryption?”

“A while,” Frank said. “I might be able to do better by hacking their system, though. If I can get in, matching the serial number to the name might be a lot faster.”

“Assuming they have that data available.”

“Yeah,” Frank said. “If I was them I wouldn’t, but they’re operating on an assumption that nobody’s going to be able to figure the chips out. They’re way too confident about that. It’s really pretty stupid on their part, when you think about it.”

“Why did they go down this road, anyway?”

“They’ve got apps just like this, I’m sure, and they’re using it for command and control, as well as infiltration. It allows just a few commanders to run the whole show, right down to details like taking out supply depots and small bases. They might even have something similar to our peer to peer app, so their soldiers can figure out who’s on their side, on the ground in battle. Think about how powerful that is.”

“True. It’s really powerful…unless the other side can use it against them.”

“Yep,” Frank said. “I’ve put a time limit on how long I muck around with step two. I wrote a program to mass-distribute the apps in two weeks, so even if something happens to us, the cat will be very much out of the bag. It’s running on a company server right now. We have enough armed citizens to win this war if they have that kind of info.”

“Won’t the enemy just remove the chips?”

“Given enough time, they might, but if they do, it takes their advantage away. There’s something I’ve done that will keep them from disappearing too fast, though. They’ll still be in trouble for while if they try it.”

“What?”

“I’ve got an app running right now which is taking a snapshot of the continental US with all of the chip hits. It’s running every fifteen minutes, on the work servers, saving to jpg files. It’s copying them to several other places, too.”

“Oh, so if they remove the chips, we’ll still know where they were, and how they were moving around. You’ve had all of this stuff in your mind for a while, haven’t you?”

“Yep. This is going to be the enemy’s undoing. They have no idea. They’re in trouble even if they kill all of us.”

“We’re about five minutes out,” Frank,” Jerry said.

“Good,” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He dialed and put the phone to his ear. “Gabe, we’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll get ready. Thanks, Frank.”

Frank put his phone back in his pocket. He looked over at Jane. She was staring at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re always full of surprises,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

He gave her an embarrassed grin. “Let’s keep an eye on that iPad display, just in case.” He zoomed back in to their immediate area.

“Any other hits?” Jane asked.

“Nope, just the thirteen.”

“Jeb’s pulling up to the bridge,” Jerry said. “We’re almost there, folks.”

In the jeep, Jeb and Terry looked around warily as Gabe pushed the bridge back into place with the backhoe. Terry was looking at his iPhone, a terrified look on his face.

“We’re going to have to go back into that canyon and fight,” he said. “I see thirteen hits back there on Frank’s app.”

“Shit,” Jeb said. They drove across the bridge and pulled off to the side as Jerry’s rig went slowly across the bridge. Gabe moved the bridge back again, and pulled the backhoe next to the jeep.

“I’m so glad to see you guys,” Gabe said. He jumped out and shook hands with both of them.

“We’re in trouble,” Terry said. “I’m picking up enemy back there in the canyon.”

Gabe started laughing. “Frank didn’t get you guys on the phone, I take it?”

“No, why?” Jeb asked.

“How many hits you showing?” Gabe asked.

“Thirteen,” Terry said.

“Those are the chips from the battle this afternoon. We spread them back in the canyon to use as a trap.”

Terry got a relieved look on his face. Jeb started cracking up. He saw Frank and Jane walking up with Lucy, both with equipment in their hands. “Hey, thanks a lot for not telling us the thirteen chips back there didn’t have live enemy attached to them.”

“Oh, shoot, sorry, I forgot that you guys would see that,” Frank said.

Jeb drove his jeep back over next to his rig, and came back into the clubhouse as Terry brought another armload of equipment from Jerry’s rig. The Sheriff walked over to Terry and gave him a hug.

“I’m so glad to see you, Terry!” he said.

“Me too, uncle,” he said, patting his back.

“We could have used you earlier.”

“Yeah, we heard the mortar fire and some small arms fire too. What happened?”

“Fourteen cretins were setting up across the road, down by the turnoff to the canyon area. They were going to start shelling us with mortars.”

“Fourteen?” How come we only see thirteen chips?”

“One of them burned up after we hit him with Willie Pete,” the Sheriff said. “It killed some of the others, too, but they weren’t burned bad enough to ruin the chips.”

“How’d Trish take this?”

“She looked scared out of her wits last time I saw her,” he said. “She’s back at her place. You might want to go see her.”

“Yeah,” Terry said. He put down his stuff and started walking back towards the rental unit. It was dark back there. Then he saw her come around the corner, about forty yards away. She started running toward him, and he started running too. They slammed into an embrace, both of them breathing hard. She sobbed against his chest.

“Don’t ever leave me again,” she said. “I thought I was going to be dead before you got back.” Then she looked up and kissed him passionately. After that they held each other for several minutes, just enjoying the closeness.

Back at the clubhouse, most of the group was gathered around Frank as he set up his laptop.

“Everybody, bring over your phones and tablets with their USB cables,” he said. “I’ll load the two applications on for you.”

“Two applications?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah. One is a short range, peer to peer program that will alert us when a chip is within about a half a mile or closer. The other app is for long range. It’s a GPS app that will put a map on the display, with icons for any enemy chips that are present.”

People started putting their phones and tablets next to Frank. He started working through them, loading each device, and explaining how the apps worked to everybody in detail.

Jane and Jasmine walked over to Mary, Hilda, and Rosie, who were all sitting by the entrance to the kitchen.

“How’s Kurt?” Jane asked.

“He’s getting better pretty quickly,” Mary said.

“How are you girls holding up?” Jasmine asked. “Must have been pretty scary here during the attack.”

“We got our rigs set up so we can leave quickly,” Hilda said. “I suggest you guys do the same. That was no random attack today. They knew where we were, and how to attack us, too. If it wasn’t for Dobie’s dogs, we’d have been lost.”

“What’s Frank doing over there?” Rosie asked. “He solve problem?”

“Yes, he did,” Jane said. She showed her iPad to the others. She brought up the long range program. It displayed a map of the area, with the icons just to the north of the park. “See those?”

“Those are the chips, aren’t they?” Mary asked. “The ones that Gabe, the Sheriff, and Charlie spread around back in the canyon.”

“Yes, that’s what they are,” Jane said. “Now watch this.” She zoomed out on the display, making it large enough to show Eagle. A big mass of icons appeared all around the town.

“Oh no, that’s a whole bunch of enemy fighters in Eagle,” Hilda said. “They’re too close to us.”

“Yes, they are,” Jasmine said.

“If they start moving this way, how will we know?”

“You guys need to have Frank load the applications on your cellphones,” Jane said. “When chips get within the range of the Peer to Peer app, your phone will vibrate, and it will display the time of the hit, the serial number of the chip, and the distance. You can refresh and it will pick them up again, so you can see how fast they’re coming. Everybody in the park that has a cellphone will have this application. They won’t be able to sneak up on us.”

“Very impressive,” Mary said.

“Yes, it is,” Hilda said, “but it doesn’t make us all that safe. If we see several hundred of those icons heading towards us, we’re going to have to get the heck out of here. You know that, right?”

“Of course,” Jasmine said. “I told Jerry not to put the slides back out on our coach.”

“I’d better go check out our rig, too,” Jane said. “If they load up a bunch of trucks and start heading this way, we won’t have much time to get away, and even then we’ll have to fight them on the road.”

“I know, that thought scares the crap out of me,” Mary said. “Part of me is saying to get out of here before they decide to head this way. We’ll need a good head start.”

“Why don’t you guys go get in line for the apps,” Jane said. “Then we need to have a chat with our men. I think you’re right. We can’t stay here. Frank and I already did some checking around for possible escape routes. Kansas is going to be the best direction, probably. We can’t go near I-70. There’s enemy fighters all along there.”

“I figured,” Hilda said. She got up and got her cellphone. Mary did the same.

Frank got all of the devices loaded within the hour, and got everybody trained on how to use them. Jane pulled him over to the side after that.

“We need to get everybody together and talk about our situation,” Jane said. “Maybe we should get the GPS application set up to display on that big screen TV.”

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “It’s been grinding at me ever since we were looking at the iPad in Jerry’s rig. We need to get out of dodge before the cretins decide to send a few hundred our way.”

“Exactly. I’ve been talking to Hilda, Mary, and Rosie. They all get it. Why don’t you get the display set up, and I’ll go get with Charlie and Gabe and the others. We’ll get everybody rounded up.”

Jane left Frank to get set up. She walked over to where Jerry, the Sheriff, Charlie, Gabe, Dobie, Earl, Jackson, and Jake were talking. “Guys, we need to round everybody up pronto. We need a meeting,” she said.

“I think we know what the topic is gonna be,” Jerry said. “Been looking at my tablet with the guys here. We need to make some decisions in a hurry.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve got a loudspeaker back at my truck,” Jake said. “I’ll go get on it.” He rushed out the door. He ran right into Trish and Terry, who were walking towards the clubhouse, holding hands. “So nice to see you, Terry. You two go into the clubhouse. We’re going to have a quick meeting. I’m going to get on the loudspeaker I brought and get everybody else over here.” Terry nodded and walked in the door with Trish.

Jake’s voice floated through the park, telling people to show up for the meeting. Lights turned on in coaches around the park, and people started walking towards the clubhouse. Jake hurried back there. Frank was ready to go…a map of the area displayed on the big screen, showing Eagle and I-70 along the top, Denver at the upper right-hand corner, and Gabe’s park in the lower left hand corner.

“Everybody, please be seated,” Charlie said, standing up in the front next to Frank.

“Hi, all,” Frank said. A hush came over the room as everybody looked at him and the screen behind him. “Most of you have the new applications on your phones, right? Please raise your hands if you don’t.”

About ten people raised their hands.

“Okay, for those of you who don’t, meet me up here after the meeting and I’ll get you set up.”

“What’s up?” asked one of the people in the audience.

“Take a look at the map on the screen here,” Frank said. “Here’s us. Up there is Eagle, and along the top of the screen is I-70, with Denver over here on the far upper right-hand corner. Now watch.” He reached down and punched a key on his laptop. Icons appeared on the screen. “These icons are enemy RF chips. We’ve broken the code on how to see them.”

“Wow,” somebody said in the audience.

“These here are the chips that came from the people that attacked the park earlier today,” Frank said, pointing to the small cluster just north of the RV Park. “Now look up at Eagle.”

There was a gasp in the crowd.

“As you can see,” Frank continued, “we have more than a thousand enemy fighters in the Eagle area, and many more along I-70, all the way to Denver, where there appears to be many thousands.”

“We need to get the hell out of here,” somebody said.

“That’s why we’re having this meeting,” Frank said. “We’ll be able to see a force on its way here, but do we want to wait for it?” We’re only about twenty minutes from Eagle. If we do manage to get everybody out before they arrive, we’ll be in a situation where we’re fighting them on the road. We’ve got RVs, not tanks. We won’t survive.”

Gabe stood up. “Folks, I’m the last person who wants to leave this place behind, believe me…but the facts are the facts. The attack today wasn’t random. They’re coming again. I have no doubt about that. We need to get away. Soon. Maybe even tonight.”

Jeb walked up close to the screen, looking at it. “Hey, Frank, see this?” He pointed to a group of six icons slowly moving out of Eagle.

“Oh, crap, that’s a scouting party, ten to one,” Jerry said. “Coming right this way.”

“We need to take them out,” Jeb said, getting up. “How long until they get here?”

“They aren’t moving very fast, are they?” Charlie asked.

“Maybe it’s a tank,” the Sheriff said.

Gabe jumped out of his seat. “Alright, everybody get their rigs ready to go. Load up,” he said. “Jeb, Jackson, Dobie, come with me. Let’s go dynamite the bridge…it’s about a quarter mile on the other side of where the back canyon road is. That’ll stop them for a while.”

“Damn good idea,” Jeb said. “Let’s hit it!”

Chapter 13 – Bridge to Nowhere

“Maybe I’d better go with you guys,” Jerry said. “I know demolition, remember?”

Gabe nodded as they rushed out the door into the dark night. Gabe and Jerry ran over to the barn and picked up what they needed, their flashlights looking ghostly as the beams hit the rough wooden walls. Jeb pulled up in his jeep and tooted his horn.

“Figured my hunting lights might help,” he said.

“Good,” Gabe said. He jumped in with Jerry, Jackson, and Dobie. Duchess got into the back, looking at Dobie with loving eyes.

“Shoot, the draw bridge!” Jackson shouted. Jeb stopped the jeep, and he jumped out and ran to the barn. They heard the diesel engine of the backhoe fire up.

“I wish there was some way we could take that with us,” Gabe said as he watched Jackson drive past them.

Jackson had the bridge in place quickly, and then he pulled the backhoe over to the side. He got into the jeep as it was at the bridge. They drove over it, and onto the highway. There was already a lineup of coaches coming towards the bridge…but none of the core group yet.

“How long is this gonna take?” Jackson asked.

“Just a few minutes,” said Jerry, as he was getting the dynamite ready. “I remember this bridge. It’s an old steel bridge. They’re pretty weak.”

“Maybe we ought to blow it when the enemy is on it,” Jeb said.

“No, we should blow it as quickly as we can, just in case there’s some problems with the dynamite or the caps,” Jerry said.

“If we get it blown, those guys will have a real hard time getting to us,” Gabe said. “Even on foot. The ravine is deep. They’d have to go way out of the way to get on this side of it. Couple hundred miles.”

“It’s not safe enough to allow us to stay, though, is it?” Jackson asked.

Jerry shook his head no. “Imagine a tank firing round after round at the park from the other side of that ravine. It’s well within range, even if all they have is an old M-60.”

“They’re going to control this area,” Jeb said. “They’ll go the back way when they realize they can’t get to us this way. They can read maps, ya know.”

“There it is,” Gabe said, pointing ahead. Jeb drove the jeep over to the side, and everybody except him got out. Jerry and Gabe ran over to the bridge with their explosives as Jeb jockeyed the jeep to get his hunting lights focused. He let the jeep idle and got his rifle ready to go. Jackson had his rifle ready and took up a position next to the bridge, where he could see down the road on the other side.

Meanwhile, back at the park, Jane and Frank were stowing the electronic equipment in Jerry’s rig, with the help of Jasmine. Then they rushed over to their rig and got it ready to go. Charlie came running up.

“Frank, some of the folks are getting on the road now,” Charlie said.

“Any of our core group?”

“No, a few of the fringe folks. They’re asking which way they should go.”

“Jane and I did some looking on the way back here. Go left onto the highway. Head for route 24, which will take you south, and then east. Then get on route 94, then route 287. After we’re in Kanas a ways we should be able to get back onto I-70.”

“Okay, I’ll spread the word,” Charlie said, running back to the lineup of coaches by the gate.

Terry helped the Sheriff get his rig ready to go. He kept glancing over at Jake’s truck, where Trish was helping her father load up.

“You’ve got me close enough, Terry. Go help your girl. You can ride out with them if you want. They’ll need some protection on the road.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, just keep in contact with me. I’ll be watching out for you.”

“I’ll be watching out for you too, uncle,” he said, giving him a hug. He ran over to the bobtail truck.”

“You aren’t helping your uncle?” Trish asked.

“I did. He’s pretty close to ready now,” Terry said. “He said come help you, and ride with you if it’s okay.”

“Hell yes it’s okay,” Jake said, coming out of the door with an armload of stuff. “Love to have you ride shotgun.”

“Great,” Terry said. He helped them get the rest of their stuff loaded.

Frank and Jane had their toad hooked up, and pulled forward, parking close to the clubhouse. They both got out, with Lucy following them. Frank grabbed the computer, the chips, and other things there that he needed to continue his work. Jane went over to Hilda and Mary, who were rolling Kurt out on a gurney.

“You going to be able to drive the rig, Mary?” Jane asked.

“Oh, yeah, no problem there,” she said. “I insisted on learning how. I think I drive it better than Kurt does.”

“What?” he said, looking up, smirking.

Rosie cracked up.

“You heard me,” Mary said, a sly grin on her face.

Earl came in with the Sheriff.

“We’ve got Jackson’s rig ready to go,” Earl said. “Rosie, do you know where Jeb keeps his keys? We were gonna get his rig ready to go for him.”

“Yes, I show you,” she said. “Let’s go.” Earl and the Sheriff helped her out to Jeb’s rig and they went inside.

Hilda went out on the veranda just in time to see Charlie walk up. “Ready to go, honey?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’re set, sweetie,” he said. “Gonna miss this place.”

“I know, me too. I hope we all get our places back.”

He nodded. “Me too, but as long as I have you, everything will be fine.” He hugged her. “Hope the boys are having good luck with the bridge out there. We ought to hear something any second now.”

Back at the bridge, Jerry was climbing back out from underneath the structure. He handed a spool of wire to Gabe. “Go slow, I had a hard time getting it fastened.”

“Gotcha,” Gabe said, slowly walking backwards, letting the wire roll off the spool.

“You got enough explosive down there?” he asked.

“Hell yeah,” Jerry said. “That thing is probably going to leap into the air when we blow it. It’s going to take the foundation out on this side, too. Shame, really. It’s going to be expensive to fix.”

“No worries there, the City Council of Eagle’s already been talking about that bridge. They knew it had to be replaced within the next couple of years.”

“How old is it?” Jerry asked, as he walked up, dusting off his jeans.

“Real old. 1932,” Gabe said. “Some on the City Council wanted to just give up this part of the road, but there were enough of us around here to stop that.”

“Ready?” asked Jeb.

“Yeah,” Jerry said.

“I thought the Sheriff was joking with the tank comment,” Jeb said. “But it’s still coming…and only about fifteen miles per hour. There are a bunch of hits behind it, too. I think we have several truckloads of goons on their way here, behind the tank. You sure there isn’t another way through?”

“Nope,” Gabe said. “They’re going to have a hard time getting soldiers on foot through the ravine, too. You have to rappel up this side.” He laughed.

“Blow it,” Jerry said. Gabe put the wires onto the poles of the detonator.

“Fire in the hole,” he said. He pushed down on the plunger. Nothing.

“Son of a bitch,” Jerry said. He ran back over to the bridge went under it.

“I hope it’s just a loose wire,” Jackson said.

“Seriously,” Jeb said.

“Here he comes,” Gabe said, pointing at Jerry. He was running towards them.

“Loose wire,” he said, out of breath. “Try it again.”

Gabe pushed down the plunger again, and there was a huge explosion. The metal from the bridge went flying in all directions, and you could hear rocks sliding down the cliff into the ravine. Duchess looked in that direction, startled, and Dobie petted her head to settle her down.

“Yeehawww!” Gabe shouted, laughing. “Let’s go check the damage.”

The men all ran over to the edge and looked down. There were metal pieces of the bridge littering the bottom of the ravine, and a big hole where the foundation used to be, jagged rebar hanging out of what’s left.

“Well, Gabe, there goes your business,” Jeb said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

“That’s okay, I think I’d rather be alive,” Gabe said, turning to him and smiling.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jackson said.

They piled into the jeep and headed back to the park.

“People are already splitting,” Jackson said, as they pulled up. They had to wait to get across the bridge.

Jeb pulled up in front of the clubhouse and let everybody out. Then he pulled the jeep behind his rig and got it hooked up. He noticed that somebody had already brought in the slides and pulled up the levelers. Rosie, Earl, and the Sheriff came out of the door.

“Ah, thanks so much, folks,” Jeb said, walking around. “You saved me a lot of time.”

“How’d it go at the bridge?” Earl asked. “We heard the explosion.”

“We made a real big mess,” Jeb said, smiling. “We still need to get out of here, though. Looked at your app lately? They got a tank and a bunch of troop transport trucks on their way here, from the look of it.”

“I ride with you, honey?” Rosie asked.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Jeb said.

“Good,” she said. “You tell Jasmine, Sheriff?”

“Sure,” the Sheriff said.

Gabe walked over by Dobie. He was getting the dogs into his kennels on the back of the pickup truck.

“Ready to go, Dobie?” he asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “You driving the Suburban?”

“Well, I’d rather keep that than the old pickup. Wish I could take the backhoe.”

“You’ve got a trailer for it, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” he said. “The Suburban doesn’t have the guts to pull it, though.”

“Go talk to Earl and Jackson,” Dobie said. “They’ve got those rental rigs that belong to Kurt, and they don’t have toads. I’ll bet one of them could tow it.”

“Good idea,” he said. “I’ll go talk to them. I saw them going into the clubhouse a few minutes ago.” He trotted over to there. Earl and Jackson were filling their travel mugs.

“Hey, guys, you got tow bars for those rigs?”

“The one I’m in does,” Earl said. “Why?”

“Would you mind towing the backhoe? I’ve got a trailer for it.”

“Sure, no problem. The trailer’s in the barn, I take it?”

“I know where it is,” Jackson said. “It’s going to take the three of us to walk it out, though. Let’s go.”

The men set down their coffees and followed Gabe to the barn. They got the trailer pulled out and onto the access road.

“Okay, this ought to be good enough,” Earl said. “One of you guys is going to have to drive the backhoe up on the trailer after we get it hooked up, though. I don’t know how to run one of those.”

“Let’s get it out on the road, then I’ll drive the backhoe over the bridge. I’m going to push the bridge down into the moat when we’re all out. Why make it easy for those jerks?”

Earl and Jackson nodded, and went back to the clubhouse to retrieve their coffee.

Everybody was ready to leave in another ten minutes. Frank and Jane got into their rig and sat down, Frank in the driver’s seat this time.

“Who’s leading?” Jane asked.

“Gabe, in the Suburban. He knows these roads the best.”

“Good,” she said. “You going to stow the laptop?”

“Nope, I’m going to leave it running,” he said. “Might as well have it working on the encryption while we’re driving.”

“How much battery do we have?”

“At least three hours,” Frank said. “And after that, we could fire up the generator and re-charge it.”

“Looks like Rosie is riding with Jeb,” Jane said, smiling.

“Yeah, and I saw Terry get into the bobtail with Jake and Trish.”

“No shock there,” Jane said. “I saw Gabe, Terry, and Jake put a whole mess of food in the back of that bobtail.”

“Good, we’re going to need it,” Frank said. “Ready to go?”

“Onward,” she said. They drove to the access road and got in line. They were behind the Sheriff. Jake’s bobtail was behind them, then Jeb’s rig.

They got their turn to go across the bridge, and made the left turn, speeding up to about 45 miles per hour.

Jackson got across the bridge, pulled up the road a ways, and stopped, going to out to get the backhoe.

Earl was the last rig across the bridge. He pulled out onto the highway and stopped behind Jackson’s rig. Earl watched as he drove the backhoe up. Then we walked over to the bridge and undid the hinge pin that was on it. He left the bridge chain on the backhoe and drove over slowly, trying to keep the bridge from coming loose while he was on it. Then he continued to drive with the chain connected. The bridge fell sideways into the moat.

“Nice,” Earl said out the window of the coach. Jackson nodded, and unhooked the chain. Then he drove the backhoe onto the trailer, climbed off, put up the ramps, and fastened down the chains. He waved to Earl, and got into his rig. They were off, catching up with the rest of the group within a few minutes.

Frank took a sip of his coffee as he drove down the road. Jane was looking at her iPad.

“I think our friends made it to the place where the bridge used to be,” she said. “The front group of icons has stopped, and the others behind them. They’re fanning out in both directions, looking for a way to get past the ravine.

They heard a loud explosion.

“They’ve got the tank’s cannon going, I’ll bet,” Frank said. “Glad we’re out of there.”

“You and me both.”

There was another cannon shot, in the distance, and then a third, but the group was rolling along at a good clip now…almost 60 MPH. They wouldn’t hear it pretty soon.

“How much charge do you have on the iPad?”

“I charged it and my phone up as soon as I knew we were leaving,” Jane said. “We do have the car charger too, you know, so we’ll be fine.”

“Alright. If we get within half a mile of any bad guys, your phone will buzz, so put it somewhere where you won’t miss it.”

Jane nodded, and put it into her shirt pocket. “We’re going to be driving all night, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Frank said. “That’s why I put the coffee maker in the sink.”

“Radio?” she asked.

“Give it a try,” Frank said. “Once we get into this back country a ways, we’ll probably lose it.”

Jane turned the radio on. The local station they’d been listening to was still within reach, but there was more static.

The news was on.

“The Eagle police chief is waiting for reinforcements, but said it may be too little, too late. The enemy has several tanks, and has cut the town off on either end. The U.S. Army is busy defending Denver and the stretch of I-70 further to the east, so nobody in Eagle expects help to come anytime soon. Townspeople are continuing to take out enemy fighters, but the tanks are being used to destroy their cover.”

“Not good,” Frank said. “We got out of that park just in time.”

“Yeah,” Jane said. “Hey, the icons by the bridge are turning around, heading back towards Eagle.”

“Good,” Frank said. “We’ll need to watch for them finding an alternate route to this highway.”

“They’ll never catch us with that tank,” Jane said.

“I know, but they might with those transport trucks.”

“In other news, there was a large explosion south-east of town, and somebody called the station with an anonymous tip that the old Holcomb Wash bridge has been blown up. We’re trying to verify this report. It’s possible that residents on the far side of that bridge blew it up. If this is true, the only way to get into that area now would be from the east, and it’s almost two hundred miles out of the way.”

“That’s good news,” Jane said.

Frank was deep in thought as he watched the road ahead of them.

“What’re you thinking, Frank?”

“We need to keep a good eye out for cretins coming down from I-70. If they come after us, that’s how they’ll do it.”

“Do you think they know that we’ve left?”

“Good question,” Frank said. “Shit, we forgot to check the other rigs for bugs…remember?”

“Crap,” Jane said, a sick look on her face.

Frank thought some more.

“You know, we shouldn’t worry too much about that,” Frank said. “We’ll see them coming now. It’s really a whole new ball game…and anybody with a brain that can read a map is going to know what direction we’re going, anyway.”

“True, but they might have thought we were going to stay at Gabe’s place. If they have a bug in one of our vehicles, they know we didn’t stick around.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that,” Frank said. “They may have some command and control problems, though. They fired several cannon rounds at the park. Doubtful they would waste those if they thought we flew the coop. It’s not like they can go down to the corner store and buy some more of those.”

“Finally, news from California. What was left of the state government has been taken into custody, and the last of the martial law areas have been freed. There were major celebrations throughout the state, especially in the bigger cities that were among the last to win their freedom back. We now see similar actions happening in the remaining areas of the east coast still under martial law.”

“Why were they doing this martial law crap?” Jane asked. “Do they have no self-awareness at all? Do they think the people would put up with it forever?”

“Good question, but personally I’m glad that this element of our government has shown their stripes.”

“I suppose,” she said, pulling the iPad up to her face again.

“Anything?”

“Not in the direction we’re going, no. Most of the folks that were stopped at the bridge are already back in Eagle…except for the tank. It’s still several miles from town.”

Frank’s phone rang. He pulled it out. It wasn’t a number he recognized.

“Hello?” he said.

“Frank? This is General Hogan.”

Chapter 14 – There’s No Place Like Home

“General Hogan! Great to hear from you. So glad you were able to get away.”

“It was close, that’s for sure,” he replied. “Don’t tell me where you are, or what you’ve been doing. Not on this line, anyway.”

“Understood.”

“The bridge.”

“Yes, the bridge.”

“Don’t know if it was you guys or not, but that saved your lives and ours. There was a large force on the way. You just stay put. Like I did.”

“Good advice.”

“I’ll come for a visit soon, and we’ll talk.”

“Great.”

“There’s no place like home.”

“True. Can’t wait to get there.”

“Me neither. Talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

Frank put his phone back in his pocket.

“That was General Hogan?”

“Yes, that’s what he said. Sounded like him. He’s in the woodwork around here somewhere.”

“Why’d he call?”

“He called to tell us where to go.”

“He didn’t say it over a cell phone call, I hope.”

“He took somewhat of a risk. Islamists won’t get it, but militia guys might.”

“What?”

“There’s no place like home.”

Jane laughed. “He must be a mind reader.”

“There’s really no other choice,” Frank said. You remember what we saw on the Long Range app. Can’t go west. Can’t go south. Can’t go north. What does that leave? If the enemy was after us specifically, they know where we would have to go. It’s possible that they were ultimately after General Hogan, though, instead of us. In fact, it’s possible that they know less about us than we think. They might have thought that he was still holed up with us.”

“Really?”

“Think about it. Gabe’s park was the last time they knew where the General was. Remember? Maybe we’re wrong to assume we’re that important to the enemy.”

“We ought to be,” she said.

“You know that, and I know it, but they might not,” Frank said, chuckling. “If we’re lucky, they have no clue.”

Lucy got up next to Jane’s seat and whined at her. “Okay, girl, c’mon.” She jumped up, trying to see out into the darkness that was flying by outside.

“We need to be careful saying where we’re going, in any event,” Frank said. “If General Hogan is worried about that, then so am I.”

“Should we pass the word?”

“Yeah, why don’t you call a few and get the ball rolling.”

“Okay,” Jane said, pulling her iPhone out of her shirt pocket. Then she cracked up. “No need to worry now. No bars.”

“Already?”

“We’ve been driving at a good clip back here for quite a while,” Jane said. “We’re way out in the boonies now.”

“Remember what I said about the peer to peer phone app. Keep the phone in your pocket or in your hand, so you can feel it go off if there are cretins about.”

“You said it had about half a mile range, right?”

“Yes, but that can vary a little bit, especially in the mountains.”

“Which, of course, is right where we are,” Jane said, snickering.

“What was the next town again?”

“The next big one is Aspen,” Jane said. “Hope it isn’t big enough to have any cretins.”

“I think it’ll be okay. I zeroed in on that area with the Long Range app…nothing. It’s too far off the beaten path, and has no strategic value.”

“Maybe we should spend the night there.”

“Maybe. If it takes more than a couple of hours to get there, we might have to,” Frank said.

The engine started making more noise, downshifting.

“Here it starts,” Jane said. “The grade. How we doing on gas?”

“We’re in good shape,” Frank said. “Why don’t you snooze for a while if you can? I might be pretty tired in a couple of hours.”

“I’ll try,” she said.

“Kind of nice to be alone for a while, Jerry,” Jasmine said, watching the dark road from the passenger seat of their rig.

“We’ve got a grade starting,” Jerry said. “Glad we aren’t in a front-engine coach.”

“You and me both, honey,” she said.

“What do you think’s going to happen between Rosie and Jeb?”

“I don’t know,” Jasmine said. She sighed. “My mom can be a little fickle.”

“She hasn’t had a boyfriend since I’ve known her.”

“It wasn’t fun growing up with her, especially when she couldn’t get nursing work in the states. That’s when she was tending bar. She used to bring men home. I walked in on them more than once when I was in my mid-teens.”

“Really?”

“Really. She was quite a looker when she was younger.”

“Not as pretty as you, though.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Jasmine said, “but thanks.”

“Well, I hope she’s careful with Jeb, and doesn’t hurt his feelings. I love that old guy.”

“I know, me too,” Jasmine said. “I must say that mom has much stronger feelings for him that she had for the last few guys she was with. That much I can tell.”

“How do you think our thing is going?”

“Our thing?”

“Getting pregnant.”

“Oh,” Jasmine said, smiling. “When we get to a decent sized town, I want to buy a few pregnancy test kits.”

“Might we be getting good news?”

“I feel pregnant, but don’t get your hopes up just yet.”

“What do you mean, ‘you feel pregnant’,” Jerry asked.

“I’ve been pregnant before, you know.”

“I didn’t know that. You never told me before.”

“It was with my first husband. I miscarried, fairly early on,” she said. Her eyes started to get glassy. Jerry could see it even in the low lights of the coach.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” he said. “You didn’t try again?”

“No, that marriage was heading for the rocks. The pregnancy was an accident. Once I was pregnant, though, I wanted the baby.”

“Would it have kept your first marriage together?”

“No way,” she said. “In fact, I think he was getting ready to disappear when I got pregnant. He was definitely the deadbeat dad type.”

“So I take it your body feels similar to that time?”

“Yes, it does. If I were a betting woman, I’d say I’ve got a bun in the oven right now. I should, after we’ve been trying so hard.”

Jerry laughed. “Yeah, it’s been rough on me. A real sacrifice.”

“Shut up,” she said, laughing.

Jerry flashed her a smile. “I love you so much, honey,” he said.

“I know. I love you too. I think all of this has brought us closer together.”

“You don’t think we were having problems before, do you?”

“No, not really,” she said, “but we weren’t thinking about having kids. That takes our relationship to a deeper level.”

“I wasn’t interested, I’ll admit,” Jerry said. “I can’t explain why I changed my mind.”

“I think my mom’s right. It’s instinct. Protection of the species when under stress.”

“Does that mean that Jake is going to have to keep an eye on Trish?” Jerry said, laughing.

“All kidding aside, I’d say yes, if he doesn’t want them together. I don’t get the impression that he’d be against them being a couple, though.”

“They aren’t married,” Jerry said. “Maybe we’ll have another wedding.”

“Hell, that guy’s an old hippy,” Jasmine said, laughing. “He probably doesn’t care about that. In fact, he’s probably an ordained minister of some crackpot church himself.”

Jerry cracked up. “You know, you might be right.”

“Trust me. If he sees that they get along well together, and that Terry’s kind to her, he’s going to be thrilled.”

“Probably,” Jerry said. “How do you really feel about your mom and Jeb?”

“I’m hopeful, but I say let’s just enjoy the break while we can, and not worry about it.”

“The grade is getting pretty outrageous now,” Jerry said. “I’ll bet Frank and Jane can’t even talk.”

Jasmine nodded. “Here come the switchbacks.” She gripped her armrests tighter.

“You ever drove one of these bobtails, Terry?” Jake asked.

Terry looked over at him. Trish was sleeping, leaned up against him. It was the most comfortable feeling.

“Yeah, a couple of times, when I helped people move. It’s an automatic, right?”

“Yeah. My eyes aren’t gonna last too much longer. Maybe when we get to the next town you could take over for a while.”

“I’d be glad too,” Terry said. “You’ll have to man the shotgun, though.”

Jake laughed. “Yeah, that’s the only kind of gun that I can hit the broad side of a barn with.”

“I can teach you to shoot, if you want. I was taking lessons…it’s not that hard.”

“I just might take you up on that,” Jake said. “Where you from, anyway?”

“Utah,” he said. “A really small town, just south of Panguitch. Smithville.”

“Mormon?”

Terry laughed. “No, not Mormon. A lot of my friends are, though.”

“I could imagine. Your uncle was the town Sheriff?”

“Yes, he was. I was his Deputy, but I wasn’t cut out for it.”

“Yeah, you’re not ‘the man’ type,” Jake said. “You’ve got an old soul. Gentle. I feel that vibe.”

Terry just smiled and nodded.

“It’s okay,” Jake said. “Don’t pay me no mind. I still got the hippie thing going, I guess. She asleep?”

“Yeah, she’s snoring.”

“Good,” Jake said. “I’m glad. She was so upset when that last battle happened.”

“I know, she told me.”

“How do you feel about her?” Jake asked, in a hushed tone.

Terry’s heart started pounding, and he thought about it silently for a moment.

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to,” Jake said quietly.

“I’m in love with her,” Terry said, watching for the reaction. “I won’t take advantage, though. Believe me.”

“I know you won’t,” Jake said, still being quiet. “I can tell that about you. You tell her yet?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to scare her off. I don’t want her to feel pressured.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Jake said. “I’ve seen her with different boyfriends over the years, of course. She can be hell on wheels, believe you me. You’ll be taking on a strong, independent young woman.”

“I know. You trying to scare me away?” Terry asked.

“No, no,” he said. “Actually more the opposite. Give her a chance. I don’t know what she’s told you, but she doesn’t have her guard up when she’s alone with me. She’s in love with you already. Trust me. I wouldn’t hold back on being honest about it with her. Life’s too cheap now.”

“Too cheap?”

“You know what I mean. We could get killed an hour from now. You want to go to the great beyond without having told her?”

“Oh,” Terry said, starting to choke up. “Alright, I get your point.”

“She hasn’t exactly been resistant since the first few hours anyway, from what I’ve seen,” he said, laughing.

“She’s stirring,” Terry said. She adjusted, getting even tighter against Terry. Then she sighed, and started to snore softly again.

“My baby,” Jake said. “She looks so sweet when she’s sleeping.” He felt choked up, and smiled at Terry. The rode along quietly for a while.

Hilda watched Charlie, as he drove silently.

“How much trouble are we in?” she asked him. “Really?”

“I think we cheated death once again,” Charlie said. “You heard that cannon fire. I know that sound. That was a tank. There’s probably not much left of Gabe’s park.”

“You think we’ll be safer in Kansas?”

“Yeah, if we can get there,” Charlie said. “That’ll be the trick. We need to keep the group motivated and focused on that goal.”

“You should step it up a little more, then.”

“No need to,” he said. “We’ve got their trust now. I’m not going to muck it up by being overbearing. Besides, I’d trust any of these folks with our lives, and that’s the truth.”

“You don’t think we should be more organized?”

“No, I think we ought to be like any real democracy. Messy, and adaptive, and creative, and unpredictable. It’s the greatest strength of our country, and the greatest strength of our little group as well.”

“Sometimes it feels really out of control,” Hilda said. “It makes me so nervous.”

“You and I are a lot alike, my love,” he said, looking at her and smiling. “Two type A personalities in a sea of chaos. Don’t worry. We’ll be fine, or we’ll go down doing the right thing for our friends and our country. At my age, I’d be happy with either.”

“Do you think we’ll survive if the world settles down?”

“What do you mean?”

“Us.”

“Oh,” Charlie said, looking over at her. “What, you think I’m going to get tired of you?”

“You might, when I settle down and start to nag you about stupid little things. Remember, we tried before, when we were young. It didn’t work.”

He laughed. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“What?”

“My first wife wasn’t the love of my life. I got her on the rebound from you. I was in love with her…enough to be married for all those years. We did okay together because she was pretty passive and put up with my nonsense, but I spent a lot of time thinking about you. You’re the love of my life, and I can’t believe I’m so lucky to have you now.”

Hilda looked at Charlie, tears streaming down her face.

“It wasn’t the same for me,” she said. “I really loved Jer, except when he was drinking too much. He was fun and exciting and protective. All the things that make a long term marriage work. I wasn’t pining for you back then.”

“Don’t forget that I loved Jer too,” Charlie said. “He was my best friend, remember?”

“I know. He loved you as well. He felt guilty about being with me, on and off.”

“Why?”

“Because he could tell that you still had feelings for me,” she said. “He was very perceptive. Your wife knew too, by the way. It made her nervous. I told her she had nothing to worry about, more than once.”

“You didn’t have thoughts about me?”

“Of course,” she said, “but I was so much in love with Jer that I never would have left him for you.”

“And I couldn’t have taken you from Jer,” Charlie said, laughing. “We’ve got a circular conversation going here.”

Hilda laughed. “Yeah, we were so close for so many years with our spouses that it felt like family. When I first realized that I wanted to be with you again, it almost felt a little incestuous.”

Charlie laughed again. “Yeah, there was a little bit of that. Thought it was just me. This isn’t unusual for people like us, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Widows and widowers getting hooked up with people that were part of their circle of friends when they were married. Happens all the time.”

“Oh. You know, you’re right about that, but it doesn’t always work. My sister had to beat her brother-in-law off with a stick after her husband died.”

“I know somebody who had a similar situation,” Charlie said, laughing.

“Do you think we would’ve gotten back together if the world hadn’t gone crazy?”

“No, but not for the reason you’re thinking,” Charlie said.

“Why, then?”

“The apple of my eye was my RV Park. The apple of your eye was your RV Park. We weren’t going to be together enough for the sparks to start to fly again…and by the way, I’m glad it went this way. I’m so in love with you.”

“You’ve got me crying again, you old fool,” Hilda said, wiping her eyes. “I wouldn’t trade you for my park, either. I love you as much as I loved Jer. It’s different, and I hope I don’t screw it up this time.”

“You didn’t screw it up last time. We just weren’t ready for it. Life is that way, sometimes.”

“You are a better lover than Jer was, by the way,” she said.

Charlie laughed. “Kind of a naughty statement from a proper lady, wasn’t that?”

She smiled back at him.

“I’ve got phone service again!” Jane said.

“Good, bring up the Long Range app,” Frank said.

“Doing that now.”

“We’re coming up to another grade,” Frank said.

“Crap. Well, I got a view of the surrounding area,” she said, speaking louder as the engine started to rev higher.

“Anything?”

“Nope, no bad guys around, and I’ve got the map out to cover Aspen and beyond a ways.”

“How about Eagle?” Frank shouted. The engine got louder, and shifted again.

“Wow, there’s a whole lot more icons by where the bridge was blown up,” she said. “Has to be about three hundred people there now.”

“Any of them past that point?”

“Nope. You think they might be trying to put up a temporary bridge?”

Frank froze, silently, mind racing. “Call Jerry.”

She dialed her phone.

“Jerry?”

“Yeah. This Jane?”

“Yes. Sorry about the noise. These damn grades.”

“You guys need a pusher,” he said.

“Maybe someday. Frank wants to talk to you.” She passed the phone to Frank.

“Jerry, we’ve got about three hundred hits by the bridge you guys blew. Any chance they’re going to be able to repair it?”

“It’s going to be really tough,” Jerry said. “That was a pretty long bridge, over a really steep, deep ravine. We don’t have any military bridge sets that you could get across a span like that…unless you had a couple of dual rotor choppers to help.”

“You mean like the one that the enemy flew into our park?”

“Shit,” Jerry said. “Yeah. Those don’t do that well flying low in terrain like this, though. There’d be a big risk that the air force would take those out while they were trying to fly there.”

“I hope you’re right about that,” Frank said. “Talk to you later.”

He handed the phone back to Jane. The grade started to back down, and the engine noise started to reduce.

“Figures…now it gets quiet,” Jane said. “What’d he say?”

“The only way they could fix the bridge would be with a couple of those big dual rotor choppers.”

“The air force would probably pick those off, right?”

“He thinks so. Me? I’m worried. They can’t afford to have three hundred men sitting around there, twiddling their thumbs. Something’s going on there.”

“Any chance they’ll try to just climb it?”

“Maybe, but it would be slow going, and then they’d need vehicles if they have any hope of catching us,” Frank said.

“What was left at Gabe’s park?”

“That old pickup truck of his is the only vehicle I know of.”

“One pickup truck could cause a lot of problem for a group of RVs,” Jane said.

“I know, but they’d have to solve the problem with the moat, and we took the backhoe with us. Jackson was going to screw up that draw bridge on the way out, so we’re probably okay. They’ll probably have to walk quite a few miles to find another vehicle, and they’ll risk being seen every inch of the way. Keep an eye on that GPS. If you see some of them start going past the bridge, let me know.”

“Alright.”

“How far are we from Aspen?”

“Not too far,” Jane said. “I’d say less than an hour.”

“Good. We should fuel up and get back on the road. I think we need to race to Kansas.”

“I think you’re right,” Jane said. She kept looking from the road ahead to her phone over and over, nervously.

Chapter 15 – Barreling Down the Back Road

The road was getting harder to drive, especially in the dark. Tight switchbacks, thin sections, and steep grades, both uphill and downhill.

“What the hell road is this, anyway?” Frank asked.

“I don’t know,” Jane said, looking at her phone. “It’s not maintained very well. It was a smart way to go, though. Got to hand it to Gabe…he knew which way to lead us, even if this road isn’t fun to drive in the dark. It’ll get us onto route 82 going east. We can take that to route 24 going south. We’ll be way south of Leadville that way, and then route 24 cuts off straight to the east.”

“We almost to Aspen?”

“Yeah, it should be right over that next grade. I think I can see the glow already…look.”

“I see it,” Frank said. “No cretins showing up on the Long Range app?”

“Not a one, and they haven’t made it across the ravine where the bridge was, either.”

“Hopefully route 82 will be easier. I’d like to stop and gas up.”

“You want me to drive after that?”

“How do you feel about switchbacks in the dark?” Frank asked.

“Scared, but I’ll try it if you want.”

“Maybe we should wait until we get on the downslope towards Kansas. I can keep going, if I have some coffee. I slept good last night, and it’s not that late yet.”

“Okay, Frank, but if you change your mind, tell me before you go nodding off.”

“No worries there,” he said.

The engine started to make more noise as they climbed the last grade. It got too noisy to talk again, and they sat silently as the coach climbed. Then they were on the down side. Frank had to hit the tow-haul button to keep the coach from racing down the hill.

“What a beautiful little city,” Jane said, as they approached. “I’ll bet this is insane during the ski season. There’s good hills all around the town.”

“Yeah, I think you have to book a ways in advance for this place,” Frank said. “Check out the truck stop situation.”

Jane looked at her iPhone.

“There’s a good one right at the beginning of town,” Jane said. “I’ll call Gabe.” She dialed her phone.

“Hi, Gabe.”

“Jane, how you holding up?”

“Good. We need to stop for gas. I see a big truck stop on the edge of town.”

“Yeah, I know the place. I need to gas up there too. There’s a pretty big parking lot in the back…we could even overnight there if we needed to.”

“Maybe…we might want to keep going, though. There were a lot of enemy hits showing up where you guys blew that bridge.”

“They aren’t going to be able to fix it. Not without a couple of big cranes, or some big choppers. Even then, it’d take days if not weeks.”

“We’ll talk about it when we get there,” Jane said. “Thanks.” She put her phone back in her shirt pocket.

“He wants to spend the night here?”

“Yeah, I think so,” she said. “I’ll take a look at the Long Range app and see if there’s any change back at the bridge.”

She looked at her phone. Frank saw the line of coaches slow in front of him as they got onto the city streets. Then he saw the big sign for the truck stop ahead. “There it is!” He saw Gabe pull in, and the coaches behind him started to slowly pull in, most of them getting in one of the lines for a pump.

“No movement on the bridge,” Jane said. “In fact, I think they might be giving up. There are less of them around, and I don’t see any on the other side.”

“The thirteen decoys still show up?”

“Yes, I can still see those.”

“Good,” Frank said. “Maybe we should stick around for the night.”

Frank drove onto the truck stop’s lot, and over to the gasoline pump. He was the first gas coach there. Jackson and Earl’s coaches pulled up behind him. All of the diesel spots were filled, with coaches in line behind them.

“I’m going to take Lucy out,” Jane said. “She’s got to need it by now.”

“Good,” Frank said. “If you see the others out there, tell them that we want to pull into the back and chat a little bit before we take off again.”

“Will do,” she said as she took Lucy out the door.

Frank got out and started the gas flowing into his rig. Jackson walked up.

“Figures, we all have the gas fill on the same side,” he said, laughing.

“You could drive around and head the other direction,” Frank said. Then he saw Earl doing exactly that, getting into position quickly. He came out of his door and started his fueling, then walked over.

“Hairy drive back there, especially towing this backhoe,” Earl said. “I didn’t even know that back way existed into Aspen.”

“Me neither,” Jackson said. “I was wondering how we were going to get east without getting close to Leadville.”

“We aren’t seeing any bad guys around there anyway,” Frank said. “If there are any around, they don’t have chips in them.”

“Or they aren’t close enough to a cell tower to get picked up,” Earl said.

“Yeah,” Frank said. He looked at his pump. It was getting close to finished.

“What now?” Jackson asked. “We gonna keep driving tonight?”

“You guys haven’t been looking at the Long Range app?”

“No, we’re both alone,” Earl said, “and that was a two handed drive.”

“Good point,” Frank said. “There were about three hundred bad guys showing up at the blown bridge.”

“Uh oh,” Jackson said. “Any chance they can fix it?”

“Jerry says no, without a couple of dual rotor choppers. Jane was looking right before we pulled in here. She said the number of folks there has gone down quite a bit, and there aren’t any hits on the other side of that ravine. Looks like they’re giving up.”

“I take it you still don’t want to stop yet, though,” Earl said.

“I’m a little apprehensive about it,” Frank said. “I’d rather get a lot closer to the Kansas border.”

“I’m with you,” Earl said. “Besides, the road gets a lot better from here. We’ll still have grades and switchbacks here and there for a while, but then it’ll settle out, and we’ll have some full speed stretches.”

“That’s what I was hoping,” Frank said. “I’d like to at least get to Colorado Springs.”

“You seeing any movement on the south side of Denver?” Jackson asked. “It’s not a hard drive from Denver down to Colorado Springs. They could be on us in a hurry.”

“Shit, good question,” Frank said. He pulled out his phone and looked at the Long Range app. “They’re still mostly to the west of Denver…and to the north side heavier than the south side.”

“How many?” Earl asked.

“Quite a few thousand,” Frank said.

Jackson got a grim look on his face. “Why isn’t the army stopping them?”

“Another good question,” Frank said. The gas pump shut itself off. “Good, I’m done. I’ll see you guys around the back, on that big parking lot back there.”

“Alright, see you in a few,” Earl said.

Frank got back into his coach and fired it up. He saw Jane walking over with Lucy. He shut off the engine for second, so the steps would come down when she opened the door. She got in and shut the door, letting the dog loose. Then she sat back down in the passenger seat. Frank started the engine again, and drove to the back area. Charlie and Hilda were already back there, talking to Gabe and Dobie. They drove up just as Jake’s bobtail was pulling up. There were lots of spaces around, with only a few big rigs parked here and there. Frank and Jane got out of their coach and were walking over to the others when Jerry and Jasmine’s coach drove over and parked.

“How you guys doing?” Frank asked.

“Good to stretch our legs a little bit,” Gabe said.

“I’ll bet,” he replied. “Quite the road you took us on.”

“Yeah, it gets a little hairy at times. Sorry about that. I didn’t want to take us too close to Leadville. They haven’t fixed that bridge back there, for one thing.”

“Gotcha,” Frank said. Jerry walked up with his portable bug detector.

“Ah, I was thinking about that,” Gabe said. “Didn’t have time before we flew the coop.”

“I thought I’d better check everybody out. Some of the coaches that left early aren’t here, though.”

“Noticed,” Frank said. “Need any help?”

“Naw, this is easy. It’ll take about two minutes per vehicle.” He walked off, checking each of them.

Soon all of the vehicles were finished fueling up, and they assembled next to Gabe’s Suburban. Jerry walked over.

“All the vehicles clean?” Charlie asked.

“Yep, all clean,” Jerry said. “There are some folks missing, though.”

“Not in the inner circle,” Jane said.

“No, all of the inner circle are still here,” Jerry said. He looked over and saw Jasmine coming from the store with a brown paper bag in her hands. He grinned at her. She nodded, then opened the door of their rig, tossed in the bag, and came over.

“Looks like we’re all here,” Charlie said. “Let’s chat.”

“We need to figure out how far we go tonight,” Frank said.

“Maybe we should spend the night here,” Gabe said.

“I think we could all use the rest,” Jeb said, “but is it safe enough?”

“I’m not seeing anybody on the app that Frank gave us,” the Sheriff said. “One thing to consider, though. We’ve got to go through Colorado Springs. You guys should look at the map and see where that is relative to Denver.”

“We’re not on the big roads, here, folks,” Jake said. “We’re on highway 82 for a while, and then 24, and then 285, and then back on 24. You know how long that drive is?”

“No, how long?” Jane asked.

“Over six hours…probably worse in the dark,” he said.

“Oh,” Hilda said. “That’s not a good idea. Not tonight.”

“What are the downsides if we stay here?” the Mary asked.

“The way I see it, there are two risks,” Frank said. “First, we have the concern that the Sheriff brought up. It’s a straight shot from Denver to Colorado Springs. Some enemy fighters could barrel down I-25 and be waiting for us.”

“They’re on the northwest side of Denver,” Jerry said. “I know Denver. No way could a decent sized group of these guys make it through the suburbs and down that road without being caught.”

“They might be able to sneak a truck or two down there,” Jeb said.

“Maybe, but they’ve got their hands full in Denver,” Jerry said. “I just don’t see them taking the chance.”

“What’s the other risk?” the Sheriff asked.

“The Long Range app showed about three hundred cretins massing by the ravine where the bridge used to be. If they can fix that bridge, they could come after us.”

Gabe shook his head. “No way, and even if they did, they probably don’t know the back way into Aspen. There are stretches of that road we were just on that aren’t even on the map.”

“Yeah, like the stretch where I almost went over the side,” Mary said. “I love our big pusher, but a 44 foot rig isn’t a great choice on that road.”

“Realistically, what are the chances that they could get past that ravine?” Charlie asked.

“The only way they can get that bridge repaired is with a couple of dual rotor choppers, or a couple of cranes. Big cranes,” Jerry said, “and even then, we aren’t talking hours, even with a military bridge set. We’re talking days, maybe even weeks. I had a good look at that ravine, and I have some experience with temporary military bridges. They don’t work that well in a spot like that. I think we’re safe.”

“What if they climb across on foot?” Jasmine asked.

“They’re going to be walking for a while,” Jackson said. “I knocked the draw bridge down into that moat right before we left.”

“Hell, there’s only one vehicle there anyway,” Gabe said. “That old pickup truck, and it’s got a bad radiator. They wouldn’t get five miles in that sucker before it overheated.”

“You got neighbors nearby with vehicles to hijack?” the Sheriff asked.

“The nearest is about forty miles,” Gabe said,” and I called the guy. I told him to look out for people coming around looking for us. He’s an ex-Army Ranger. I kinda hope they do try something with him.” He started laughing.

“Okay, so it’s sounding like we could probably stay here the night,” Charlie said. “I suggest we get some shut-eye, and get moving early in the morning…six am or earlier.”

“Anybody object?” Frank asked. Nobody said anything.

“We’ve got extra space for those of you who aren’t in an RV,” Hilda said.

“Us too,” Frank said.

“Me too,” the Sheriff said.

“Well, thanks, but I think I’m going to check into that place right there,” Gabe said, pointing to the small motel across the street. “I need a shower big time.”

“I’m with you, Gabe,” Jake said.

“Alright, then,” Charlie said. “Let’s all get some shut-eye, and be ready to move out early tomorrow.”

Everybody nodded. Gabe and Dobie walked over to their vehicles and drove across the street to the motel. There was a good sheltered place to park Dobie’s truck. He tended to his dogs when Gabe was in the office getting rooms for them. Jake walked over from across the street.

“You leaving your truck over there?” Dobie asked as he approached.

“Yeah, it’ll stick out like a sore thumb over here.”

“Trish staying with you?”

“I’ll leave that up to her. Terry’s going to stay with the Sheriff. I told her she can stay there too, if she wants.”

“Well, I guess he’s as good of a chaperone as anybody,” Dobie said, laughing.

“I don’t care about that,” Jake said. “Marriage ain’t important to me.”

“Yeah, I figured,” he replied. “Wish I had an RV.”

“When we get past Colorado Springs I’ll probably try to buy one. At least a cheap one.”

“Me too. See you in the morning, my friend.”

“Alright. Pleasant dreams, Dobie.”

Jerry and Jasmine made their way back to the rig. They climbed up.

“Rosie with Jeb tonight?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “I think they’re really enjoying each other.”

“Good. What’s in the bag? Is it what I think it is?”

“I told you what I was going to buy.”

“I was hoping. You gonna use one tonight?”

“No, not tonight,” she said. “I’m kinda tired. I don’t feel like reading instructions.”

“Okay,” Jerry said. “Let’s hit the sack.”

Trish and Terry walked over to the Sheriff’s rig.

“Wait here, so I can make sure, okay?” Terry asked.

“Okay.” She watched as Terry went up the steps.

“Hey, uncle, you mind if Trish and I sleep here tonight?”

“No problem here,” he said. “Jake alright with that?”

“He suggested it.”

“Oh. Then sure, no problem. You know where the bedding is. The dinette bed is pretty comfortable. I’m beat…talk to you in the morning.” He went into his bedroom and started to slide the door shut.

“Okay, thanks, uncle,” he said, stepping back outside. He reached his hand down to Trish and helped her up.

“Sure it’s okay?” Trish whispered.

“Yeah, he just wanted to make sure your dad was alright with it.”

“Okay,” she said, looking around. “Where?”

“He said the dinette bed was comfortable.”

“Only one space, huh,” she said, a sly smile on her face. “How convenient.”

“I could sleep on that couch,” he said, pointing at it.

“No way,” she said. “You can behave, can’t you?”

“Of course,” Terry said. He went to closet in the hall and pulled out the bedding. Then he set it down and starting working on the dinette. He pulled off the cushions, lowered the table, and then put the cushions back on.

“Wow, that was easy,” Trish said. She brought over the bedding and they put it on together.

“Sorry, all we have is throw pillows,” Terry said, picking them up off of the couch.

“No problem…we’ll be out in no time anyway.”

Terry nodded. “Shoot, you need your PJs.”

“I’ll just sleep in my underwear,” she said.

Terry swallowed heard, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden.

“You okay with that?” she said, giving him that sly smile of hers. “I think you are. Quit staring at me.”

“Sorry,” he said. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Get in and turn around,” she whispered. “I’m not going to put on a strip show for you.”

“Okay,” he said, sheepishly. He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his shirt, and then his jeans, climbing into bed in a hurry, and turning towards the wall. He heard the rustle of clothes as Trish got undressed. His heart was pounding. Then he felt her get under the covers and move next to him.

“Okay, you can turn around now,” she said. He turned, facing her, looking into her pretty face. She smiled at him, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Then she turned on her back and sighed.

“Your dad and I had a good talk when we were driving,” Terry said.

“Oh, really? When I was asleep?”

“Yes.”

“About me, I suppose,” she whispered. “Typical.”

“Oh, it wasn’t bad at all.”

She turned back towards him and smiled. “I wasn’t asleep.”

Terry was dumbfounded. She giggled at him.

“You weren’t? You were snoring.”

She started making the snoring noise, and then giggled again.

“So you heard everything?” he whispered.

“Yes,” she whispered, “and I love you too.” She moved closer to him and gave him a passionate kiss. Then she laid back down on her back. “Now, go to sleep.”

Frank and Jane were sitting in the dinette of their coach, having a bite to eat before bed.

“You’re going to wear the battery out on that thing,” she said, watching him working with the iPad. He was zooming in on one area after another, and checking back at the ravine every so often.

“I’ll put it on the charger when we go to bed,” he said.

“You’re really worried, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Anybody getting closer to us?”

“No, not that I can see, and there’s only about ten people at the ravine now.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“The constant stream of bad guys going east on I-70. They’re going in small groups. I wonder if the Army knows.”

“You want to turn on the radio and see what’s going on in Denver?”

Frank closed the iPad’s cover and set it down on the dinette table. “No. Let’s go to bed. We’re going to have a long day tomorrow.”

“Alright, Frank.” They got up and went into the bedroom.

Chapter 16 – Aspen Morning

Frank woke up, startled. He was in a cold sweat. It was a bad nightmare. The enemy had Jane, and they were about to start torturing her right in front of him. His heart was still pounding. He quietly got out of bed and looked at his cellphone. It was 4:45. He wasn’t tired, but then they were in bed before 10:00 last night. He got dressed as quietly as he could, and slipped out of the bedroom, as Jane snored softly. Lucy was on him as soon as he got through the door, her nails clicking on the floor, her tail wagging.

“It’s too early, girl,” he whispered. “Settle down.” He switched on one of the small LED lights, picked up the iPad, and turned it on. The LTE caught quickly, and he loaded his long range app. The only change from the previous night was at the bridge. Now there weren’t any enemy hits there at all. He followed the road back up to Eagle…no hits along the road there, either, but the town had many more hits than the last time he looked. Looked like over a thousand, and there was still a light stream of hits along I-70. Denver had more people on the western outskirts of town. No leakage to the south, in the direction of Colorado Springs. He felt relieved.

Lucy was still on Frank, trying to get his attention. He sighed and got up, putting on her leash. They went out the door as quietly as possible. He locked the door behind him, and they walked towards a grass median near the edge of the parking lot. There was no light coming from any of the coaches, but one of the big rigs on the far side was getting ready to go. It was cold out, but not nearly as bad as he expected. Lucy growled, looking behind him. Frank whirled around, thinking that he should have brought his gun.

“It’s okay,” a voice whispered. Frank tried to make out the face of the approaching man. It was General Hogan. He was alone.

“I was hoping to get to you early,” he said, extending his hand. “Can we talk?”

“You here alone?” Frank asked.

“I’ve got a few men in town. They’re sleeping.”

Frank pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and looked at it. He didn’t feel any buzz, but he wanted to look anyway.

“Going to make a call, Frank?” he asked.

“No, just double checking something.”

“What?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you inside. Let’s go into my coach.”

They walked over to the coach, and Frank unlocked the door. Lucy jumped up the steps, and Frank followed. General Hogan waited until they were all the way in, looked around cautiously outside, and then walked up the steps.

“Want some coffee?” Frank asked.

“Love some, but you don’t want to run your generator now,” he said, looking at the Keurig machine on the counter.

“I’ve got a French press,” he said, getting it down. He filled the tea kettle and put it on the stove, turning on the burner below it. Then he sat down at the dinette, and motioned to the General to sit. He nodded and slid into his seat.

“I’m glad you guys got out of that RV Park,” the General whispered. “We were worried.”

“We were lucky.”

“Whose idea was it to blow that bridge? That was brilliant.”

“Gabe, the park owner.”

“Ah, yes, I remember him. Odd fellow. I loved all of the do-it-yourself stuff he had there. He thinks outside the box. That’s valuable.”

Frank laughed. “You should have seen the moat.”

“Moat? You’re joking.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Well, Frank, you and I both knew that place was a death trap.”

“Gabe knew as well.”

“He came with you? Great. I was afraid that he’d stick around there.”

“His nephew was there…part of the reason was to make sure that Gabe didn’t decide to stick it out there.”

“Good,” the General said.

“What’s going on? What’re you guys doing…that you can tell me.”

“We’re helping to get citizens ready to defend themselves after the battle of Denver is over,” he said.

“We’re going to win that battle, I hope.”

“Oh, yeah, we’re going to win, but it’s not going to be easy, and a lot of people are going to get killed.”

“Ours?”

“Civilians,” the General said, a grim look on his face.

“You know, there’s a large, slow movement of men into west Denver,” Frank said.

“We know the strength they’re at now,” the General said. “We haven’t seen any large movement of troops lately, though.”

“Look at this,” Frank said. He picked up the iPad and showed him the map.

“What are those icons?”

“Enemy chips.”

The General got a big grin on his face. “You cracked them.”

“Partially,” Frank said. “Don’t tell anybody in your command.”

The General focused on the screen. His look became more and more concerned as he realized how many enemy fighters were on the way. “We don’t have enough troops in Denver,” he said.

Frank reached under the table and pulled his laptop out of the backpack that was down there. He set it on the table and got it started. “What kind of phone do you have, General?”

“I’ve got an Android phone. Why?”

“You got the charging cord?”

“No, it’s back at my hotel.”

“What brand?”

“Samsung,” he said.

“Good, that’s what I have. I’ll go get my cable.”

The tea kettle started to whistle. Frank got up and finished making the coffee, pouring a cup for each of them.

“Ah, thanks so much,” the General said as he took a sip.

Frank went into the bedroom and picked up his charging cable.

“Who’s out there, honey?” Jane asked, still half asleep.

“General Hogan,” Frank said. She sat up.

“I’ll get dressed.”

“Good, I just made some French press.”

He went back out and sat down in the dinette. The laptop was ready to go, so he logged on.

“What’re you going to do?” the General asked.

“I’ve got two apps that I’d like to load onto your phone.”

“Apps?”

“Yeah, I wrote them a few days ago. The first one is a short range, peer to peer app that will let you know when you’re close to somebody that has an enemy chip in them. The second app is the one we were just looking at on the iPad. It places the chip icons on a GPS underlay.”

“Holy crap,” the General said. “You said you were still working on cracking these. What’s left?”

“The payload is encrypted. I want to crack that, so we can find Saladin and the other leadership folks.”

“Oh,” he said. “What you already have is probably enough, you know.”

“Hand me your phone, General.”

He slid his phone across the table to Frank, and he connected it to the laptop via the cable. Then he did some typing and clicking with the mouse. After about a minute, he pulled the phone off of the cable and slid it over to the general. Then he got up and stood alongside him.

“If you are within about half a mile of a chip, your phone will make this buzz, and you’ll get this readout…one for each chip it finds, sorted by proximity,” he said, using test mode to demonstrate. “If you hit the refresh button, it’ll do another scan and show you the info again.”

“Does this rely on cell towers?”

“No, this is peer to peer. The FCC would have a fit.” he chuckled. “As if I care.”

“So with this I can see right away if my unit has been compromised.”

“Yes,” Frank said. Then he tapped the icon for the Long Range app. A GPS map opened. Frank used his fingers to zoom it out so it included Eagle. Icons spread over the screen, clumped around the town and I-70.

“Wow! What’s the range on this app?”

“Worldwide,” Frank said,” but it relies on cell towers and internet connections. I’ve been using it to watch Eagle, I-70, and Denver.”

“You don’t see any chips around here, do you?”

“No,” Frank said. “One thing to keep in mind with this one, though. If you’ve got enemy in an area with no cell coverage, you won’t see them on this long range app.”

“Will I see them on the short range app?”

“Yes, if you’re close enough…roughly half a mile, remember?”

“Okay. What’re you going to do with this?”

“It’s going to get published automatically…everybody will have access.”

“When?”

“I’ve set it to start releasing to all of the app stores and forums in about two weeks,” Frank said.

“Why the delay?”

“We want to get a shot at Saladin and the other leaders before they’re wise to us.”

“You want to find them and kill them,” the General said. “You know they’re going to be heavily guarded, right?”

“Yes,” Frank said. “I know that we might not be able to pull this off, and I know we might die trying. That’s why I set up the auto release of the apps. I can’t even stop that now. If we get killed, we’re still going to expose them to everybody…civilian and military alike.”

“If the leaders are in the midst of their people, in a relatively unpopulated area, let me know,” the General said. “I’ll send a tactical nuke into the area. Take down my number.”

“No need, I have everything from your phone downloaded on the laptop. I’ll side load it to my phone later.”

The General chuckled. “Yeah, of course you do. General Walker and Major Hobbs were right about you.”

Jane came out of the bedroom.

“Good morning, General,” she said as she walked to the counter to get a cup of coffee.

“Jane, how are you? Nice to see you again.”

“I’m fine. Scared to death, but fine,” she said, sliding onto the dinette bench. Frank slid in next to her.

“So what now?” Jane asked.

“I’m going to start the encryption app running again,” Frank said. He punched some keys on his laptop, and then lowered the screen part way.

“No, I mean are we still taking off again?”

“I would if I were you guys,” the General said. “Get to where we talked about. Don’t tell me details. Now we can be in touch. Should I make these apps available to my inner circle? I mean would you mind?”

“You’ll know if they’re bad right away,” Frank said. “In fact, if they’re in town, we already know they’re okay. We’d have seen them show up on the long range app. Just keep this close to your vest. I wouldn’t go telling anybody in Washington DC.”

The General nodded. “I’ve got a big job to do. I’ve got to convince the folks in DC to do something about the flood of enemy fighters along I-70…without telling them how I know about it, of course.”

“Are there still a lot of bad guys in the government?” Jane asked.

“I’d sure like to take a stroll through the Pentagon with this app running,” the General replied.

“Why wait?” Frank asked. He used the iPad app to zoom into Washington DC. Some icons spread over the map. He got a grim look on his face, and showed it to General Hogan.

“Oh, my God,” he said. “That coup didn’t take out all the bad guys – that’s for sure. Look at the Pentagon.”

“At least there’s not thousands,” Frank said. “I see about forty.”

“In these circles, forty is really bad news,” the General said. “I’ve got an idea about the I-70 problem, though.”

“What?” Frank asked.

“I’m going to take a squad up there and watch a truckload of enemy fighters with your app. We’ll make sure they get into an accident. That ought to help me with my story.”

“Good idea, as long as it looks like an accident,” Frank said. “We don’t want them to know how we’re finding them…yet.”

“What happens when they find out and start cutting chips out of themselves?” the General asked.

“I’ve got an app running that is taking a snapshot of the continental US maps every so often, and saving the jpg files to several servers. We’ll at least know where they were located when they removed the chips…but timing is important.”

“You think two weeks is long enough?” Jane asked. “Before we release the apps?”

“I’m going to say yes,” the General said. “I can’t stick around here, though. I’m going to get my men set up on the I-70 job. Then I’m going to Washington DC. I’m going to find some trustworthy people. We’ll need to be ready to kill all of the bastards there as soon as the cat’s out of the bag, before they can hide themselves.” He rose out of his seat. Frank got up too, and they shook hands. “Frank, I don’t have the words. I hope we see each other again.”

“You and me both, General. Godspeed.”

He left the coach and disappeared into the night. Frank sat back down.

“Did he come knock at the door?” Jane asked.

“No, I took Lucy out, and he approached me. Scared the crap out of me.”

“He knew to keep an eye out for a group of motorhomes, I guess.”

“He’s got access to both drones and satellites,” Frank said, “and you know what that means.”

“What?”

“It’s more than likely that the cretins in DC have access to those also. They might know where we are right now.”

Jane got a sick look on her face.

“I wouldn’t worry about it yet,” Frank said. “We do need to get back on the road, though.”

“Well, it’s about 5:30. I’m going to whip up some breakfast. Want to make more coffee?”

“Yeah,” Frank said.

Gabe and Dobie both came out of their motel rooms at about the same time. Dobie had all four of his dogs on leashes, and started to walk them around.

“Want me to handle a couple of them?” Gabe asked.

“Sure,” Dobie said, passing two of the leashes over. “Warmer than I expected.”

“Late summer can be pretty nice around here,” Gabe said. “You been watching the apps?”

“Yeah,” Dobie said as they walked along the side of the road. “All the cretins left the ravine where the bridge was last night. Looks like they gave up.”

“I’ll betcha they were there partly because of those chips we left in the canyon area,” Gabe said. “Maybe that was a mistake.”

“Maybe. In any event, they’re probably wise now, since their friends haven’t moved an inch in over a day. They probably figured out the men are dead.”

“Probably,” Gabe said. “Looks like some of our friends are waking up. I hear a generator going over there.”

“Yeah. Charlie said 6:00. That’s why I’m getting the dogs out.”

“How about breakfast?”

“There’s a donut shop down this road a little ways,” Dobie said. “Let’s hit that place, and then go across the street.”

The Sheriff got out of bed and dressed. He cautiously slid his bedroom door open and peeked out. He heard the kids snoring. ‘Good, they’re still asleep,’ he thought to himself. ‘I’ll go get some donuts for us.’ He left the coach, closing the door as quietly as he could. The sound woke Terry up. He felt Trish’s arm across his chest. She was still snoring, on her side facing him, laying against him. He realized she was naked against him. His heart started to pound. She stirred, stretching, her warm body rubbing against him. Her eyes opened. She smiled as she looked into his eyes. Then she saw the mixture of excitement and embarrassment.

“Sorry, that bra isn’t good to sleep in,” she whispered. “Not that you mind.”

“No, I don’t mind even a little bit.”

“Well watch your hands,” she whispered, petting his hair, looking into his eyes. “You’ll get me, but not here, not now. Turn around, so I can get dressed.”

He turned towards the wall, and she sat up and put her bra and shirt back on. Then she got out of bed and pulled her jeans back on.

“You decent yet?” Terry asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m going to the bathroom. You can get dressed when I’m in there.”

“Okay,” Terry said. He waited until he heard the bathroom door close, and then got out of bed and threw on his clothes. He pulled the bedding off and put it back in the closet. Trish was coming out of the bathroom just as he was finishing with the dinette.

“Your uncle was right, that is comfortable,” she said. “Should we wake him up?”

“No, he’s already up. He left the coach. That’s what woke me up. I saw a donut shop across the street…I suspect he’s over there picking up some breakfast.”

“Oh yeah, police food.” Trish giggled. There was a knock on the door.

“You guys decent?” the Sheriff asked.

“Yeah, uncle, come on in,” Terry said.

“Get the door,” he said. “my hands are full.”

Terry opened the door and held it, while the Sheriff walked in with a folded paper tray. There were three cups of coffee in their holes on the ends, and a white paper bag in the middle.

“Hope you two are hungry,” he said, setting the food down on the dinette table.

“Donuts…health food this morning,” Terry said, laughing.

“Well, we can eat them while we’re driving…why do you think cops like them so much?”

Trish cracked up. They attacked the food.

Charlie got out of his coach a little before 6:00. People were starting to get out of their rigs and walk over. Dobie and Gabe had their vehicles over next to the group again, and Jake was at his bobtail. He walked over when he saw people getting together.

“Everybody! Almost time to go!” Charlie said in a loud voice. The remaining people got out of their coaches and walked over, saying good morning to each other. “You all know where we’re going, right?”

“Yeah,” Jerry said. “Route 82 east, then route 24, heading for Buena Vista. Then making the curve towards the north and east, and on towards Colorado Springs.”

Jasmine walked out of the coach and got next to Jerry.

“That’s right,” Charlie said. “Anybody need to do anything before we blow this joint?”

Nobody said anything, so they all headed back for their vehicles.

“You guys going to ride with me again?” asked Jake, walking up to Trish and Terry.

“Love to,” Terry said. They walked towards the bobtail together.

Jerry led Jasmine back over to their rig, and they got in.

“Rosie still going to ride with Jeb?” he asked

“Yes,” Jasmine said. She was smiling at him, looking a little too happy. Then it dawned on him.

“We did it!” he said, grinning ear to ear.

“Yes, honey. Our baby is inside me.”

He kissed her, and they stayed in their embrace while coach engines were starting around them.

“Let’s go, honey,” she said. They got into their seats. Jerry started the big diesel, and they got into line behind Frank and Jane. Jeb and Rosie fell in behind them. They all snaked their way back to the highway, and were off.

Chapter 17 – Flight From Denver

“This road isn’t that much better than the one we were on last night,” Jane said, gripping her arm rests.

“Oh, I think it’s a lot better,” Frank said. “At least none of it’s dirt, and it’s not dark out either.”

“Well, I think I’ll wait until it gets flat and straight before I start driving,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” he said, laughing. “I could use some coffee, though.”

“That coffee pod stuff going to taste good enough after the French press this morning?”

“It’ll be good enough,” Frank said. “When you’re camping, any coffee tastes good.”

“Baloney,” she said, laughing. “Romantic nonsense.”

“Well, it sounds good, anyway.”

“Alright, I’ll get the coffee machine cranking pretty soon, sweetie. Let’s see if the road gets straighter, though. I’ll probably fall on my ass trying to walk back there on this stretch.”

Mr. Wonderful sauntered up to the front of the coach and looked around.

“Well well, look who’s here,” Jane said. “I think the General spooked him. He was hiding under the bed back there earlier.”

“We’re making good time. There’s the sign for Highway 91 already.”

“Good. Maybe the road will straighten out soon.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. Look at the way that road goes on the map. It’s going around something…probably a bunch of mountains. Take a look at the terrain after we get past Buena Vista.”

Jane took a look at the GPS on her phone. “This isn’t as bad as you’re thinking. It curves that way because highway 91 turns back into highway 285 there, and then back into Highway 24 after a short distance. Wonder who dreamed that up? The terrain looks better, though. Once we get on Highway 24, it looks quite a bit better.”

“Good, maybe you can drive then. I’ll need to go mess with the laptop by that time. The battery will be about done, so I’ll have to plug it in and fire up the generator for a while.”

“Can you tell if it’s making progress?”

“There’s an indicator showing percent done, but it’s kind of meaningless.”

“You haven’t tried to hack their systems yet, have you?”

“No, not yet. I’m hoping I can do that when we get settled again.”

“Are we really driving until we get all the way to Kansas?”

“Yeah,” Frank said. “Punch in Buena Vista to the first town over the Kansas border. Let’s see how many hours we’re looking at.”

“Okay,” she said, looking at her iPhone again for a few moments, using her finger to manipulate it. “Heck, this isn’t going to be that bad at all.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really,” Jane said. “Sharon Springs is the first town in Kansas that we’ll run into. It’s only a four and a half hour drive from Buena Vista. We can do that in a day, standing on our heads.”

“You do it that way. I’ll sit.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said, laughing.

They rode along silently for about ten minutes, and then the transition showed up ahead of them.

“This is confusing as hell,” Jane said. “I guess highway 91 and highway 24 are the same road for a while.”

“Yeah, they are. On the map app, it’s called highway 91 way up north, but it turns into highway 24 down south. On the road atlas I was looking at this morning, it was called highway 91 all the way down. Geez.”

“I’ll make coffee after we get onto 91 or 24 or whatever the hell it is,” Jane said. “That road looks like a straight shot down a valley. Should be easy.”

“Good,” Frank said. “Looked at the long range app lately?”

“No, I guess I’d better.”

“See if anybody’s coming south from Denver. Especially towards Colorado Springs.”

Jane loaded the app and used her fingers to move to the right area. “No, Frank, nobody is coming down that road, but there are more enemy fighters in the south west part of town than there were. They still look like they’re trying to find a way into Denver, though. Nobody is below the south west suburbs.”

“Good. We should be checking that every so often. How many hours are we from Colorado Springs, anyway?”

“Well, it’s not that far from Buena Vista. An hour and forty five minutes.”

“Good,” Frank said. “I’ll be glad when we get past that.”

“You and me both.”

Terry was driving Jake’s bobtail, with Trish in the middle of the seat, and Jake against the passenger side door.

“You guys have a nice night?” Jake asked. He chuckled.

“We just slept, Dad,” Trish said, an exasperated look on her face. “Most dads would be a little more protective.”

“I’m very protective,” he said. “Believe you me.”

“My dad’s a hippie,” Trish said, looking at Terry, shaking her head. “Free love and all that.”

Terry was getting embarrassed. Trish saw it, and put her hand on his arm. He grabbed her hand and intertwined fingers with her. Her hand was soft and warm and comforting. Jake wasn’t done teasing, yet.

“You tell her yet, Terry?” Jake asked.

“Dad!” Trish said.

“I didn’t have to,” Terry said.

“You didn’t have to? What do you mean?”

“She wasn’t really asleep yesterday,” he said, looking over at her and grinning. “She’s a sneaky one.”

“Wait a minute,” Jake said. “You didn’t tell her. You told me. That don’t count.”

“Dad!” Trish said. “You’re embarrassing me again.”

“Yeah, and I enjoy it…but it’s true. He told me, not you. He has to tell you.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to, dad,” she said. She looked up at Terry. She had a smug little smile on her face. Terry saw it and melted. She was so cute. His eyes started to tear up.

“Jake’s right,” Terry said, squeezing her hand tighter.

“Oh, he’s just pulling your chain,” Trish said. “Better get used to it. He’s never gonna change.”

“Still,” Terry said. He paused, looking at her as long as he could get away with while he was driving.

“Watch the road, silly,” she said softly.

“Trish…I’m in love with you,” Terry said.

“Now we’re talking,” Jake said, grinning.

“Dad!” Trish said. Terry looked over at her, and saw her eyes were tearing up.

“What are you looking at?” she said to him softly. “Look, you’re making me cry. Happy now?”

“Yes,” Terry said. “I have been ever since you told me last night.”

She leaned up against him, and they rode along silently for a while.

Jeb and Rosie were sitting silently, enjoying the view. It was really pretty.

“I like sitting co-pilot,” Rosie said. “I don’t get to do much with Jerry and Jasmine.”

Jeb looked over at her and smiled. “This is pretty country. I don’t get up here often enough.”

“Where you settle down when this is over?”

“Haven’t gave it much thought,” he said. “Probably wherever you want to settle down.”

“You want stay with me after this?” she asked. “You sure? I can be pain in butt.”

Jeb laughed.

“What funny?”

“You’re the first woman who wants to be around me in years,” he said. “You have the patience of Job. You think I’m letting you go?”

“I know good man when I see,” she said. “You good like Jerry. Jasmine lucky. She doesn’t know how lucky.”

“By the way, I saw Jasmine in the store. Guess what she was buying?”

“What?”

“Pregnancy tests,” he said.

“Good. I push. Maybe works.”

“You’re pushing your daughter to get pregnant during times like these?”

Rosie laughed. “Of course. We need people with the country. We need people to build country. Hell, if I not old, I’d have you knock me up too.”

Jeb laughed again. “I’m not sure I’d be such a good father.”

“Oh, no, you be good father. I know. Wish you and me together thirty years ago. I pop them out for you. Many. We raise good.”

“You’re just saying that,” Jeb said, smiling. “Thanks, though. It makes me feel good.”

“I love you, you know,” Rosie said. “Age not matter. You make me feel young.”

“Well, then we feel the same way about each other,” Jeb said. “I haven’t felt this happy in years, and that’s the truth.”

“Thank God for that,” Rosie said.

They rode along quietly for a while, happy, but Jeb was worried. He knew there were hard times to come…hard jobs to do. He knew he’d be right in the middle of the worst of it. He hoped against hope that he’d survive. This crazy old woman was his reward, and he was happy about it. He wanted that more than anything he’d ever wanted before. He never would have expected it.

Jane got up and turned on the coffee machine, as the generator purred outside. She made coffee for Frank and brought it up to him. Then she made a cup for herself. She got back into the passenger seat. Frank shut off the generator.

“Oh, this tastes good,” Frank said. “Thanks, sweetie.”

“No problem,” she said. Lucy came up to her seat and begged, but Jane wouldn’t let her up yet. “Sorry, girl, I want to finish my coffee and check my phone first.”

She set the coffee down in the cup holder and picked up her phone, loading the long range app. She got a concerned look on her face. Frank saw it.

“What?” he asked.

“We’ve got some movement south,” she said.

“Oh, shit. Where?”

“Southbound on route 285. That connects to route 87 just a little north of Castle Rock. It’s a straight shot from there to Colorado Springs.”

“No!” Frank said. “How long is the drive?”

“Looking at that now,” Jane said. “We’re just going to beat them. That drive should take about an hour and twenty minutes. We’re about an hour from Colorado Springs right now.”

“Are you sure they aren’t just trying to flank and head back up to Denver, a little further to the east?”

“Too early to tell, but I’d expect a larger number if they were doing that.”

“How many do you see?”

“About twenty, pretty close together. Maybe two or three truck loads.”

“So if things go well, we’ll be past there twenty minutes before they arrive. That’s gonna be close.”

“Wonder how many people are going to need to gas up in Colorado Springs?”

“We can’t be doing that,” Frank said. “We shouldn’t have anybody running out of gas after less than two hours of driving, anyway. We should be fine, but we might want to pass the word around.”

“Who should I call first?”

“Jerry, then Charlie, then the Sheriff.”

“Okay, I’ll get on that now.” She dialed up Jasmine’s phone.

“Hey, girl.”

“Jane, what’s up?”

“You guys been watching the long range app?”

“Not for a while. Why?”

“There are a few truckloads of bad guys that are a little south of Denver. We can’t tell yet if they’re going to circle back up into the city a little further to the east, or if they’re going to try to shoot down highway 87 towards Colorado Springs.”

“Oh, no. How long?”

“We’re probably going to beat them by about twenty minutes…but we wanted to make sure nobody gets the idea that we ought to stop in Colorado Springs for fuel or anything else.”

“Okay. You want me to help spread the word?”

“Yeah, please.”

“Okay, talk to you later, Jane.”

“Okay, there’s one,” Jane said to Frank. She went on to call the others.

Frank drove along, silent, listening to the phone conversations that Jane was having, and thinking. Jane finished in about ten minutes.

“Okay, everybody knows,” Jane said.

“They’re all scared, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” she said. “So am I.”

“Check the long range app again.”

Jane nodded and loaded it onto her phone.

“They’re still coming this way, but slowly. They aren’t even off of route 285 yet. Wonder why that is?”

“Good question. Maybe there’s traffic, or roadblocks.”

“I don’t think they’re coming down here, Frank. I’m looking at the roads. It’s going to be a loop…and one other thing. I’m seeing a group break out to the north as well. Looks to me like they’re heading up to route 87 on the north side of town. They’re trying to flank the city.”

“I hope the General is seeing this,” Frank said.

“Seriously. Maybe you should call him.”

“Yeah,” Frank said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit his contact. The phone rang.

“Frank?”

“General, how are you?”

“Busy. Make it quick.”

“Will do. We’re seeing enemy going to the north east and the south east of town. We got pretty concerned they were going to come down to Colorado Springs and intercept us. Now we‘re thinking they might be trying to flank the defenses on the west side of the city.”

“It’s okay, Frank, we’re chasing them that way, setting a trap…but keep in mind that some of them might flee to the south. Keep your eyes open. Don’t slow down until you get well past Colorado Springs, just in case.”

“Thanks. Talk to you later. Good luck.”

“Thanks, Frank. You too.”

Frank slipped his phone back in his pocket.

“Well?” Jane asked.

“They’re chasing the bad guys that way. It’s a trap.”

“You don’t look that relieved. What else?”

“He said that some of them might escape to the south, and that we shouldn’t slow down until well past Colorado Springs.”

“Oh,” she said, her brow furrowing. “Dammit.”

“We’ll probably be okay,” Frank said.

“Where was he?”

“He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask. He said he was busy.”

“Well, I’ll keep an eye on the app,” Jane said. They settled down and watched the scenery go by.

Charlie was driving his rig, with Hilda at his side, looking at her phone.

“You know anybody with a park in west Kansas, honey?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if it’s still open…or if the person I know is still running it. He was about Chester’s age.”

“Where?”

“In the right area. Southeast of Sharon Springs. It’s in the boonies a ways.”

“Probably flat land,” Charlie said.

“It is. Farm country.”

“What’s the person’s name?”

“Chet,” she said. “I can’t remember his last name. Jer used to hunt with him sometimes. He was another friend from the RV Park Association.”

“Remember the name of the park?”

“No, but I remember where it is. I’ll see if I can find it on the net.”

“Good.”

“You worried about getting through Colorado Springs?”

“Not really,” he said. “We’re going to beat them there. The last time I looked at the long range app, they were still creeping along. I’ll bet the roads are all screwed up. People are trying to get out of Denver.”

“I can check that,” Hilda said. She focused on her phone again. “Wow. That road is all red. Bumper to bumper…so is the road east from Denver.”

“Yep, people are splitting. We’re going to beat these guys past Colorado springs. We’re only about half an hour from there now. There’re some switchbacks coming, though, as we get to the drop down into town.”

“We’re going to have to drive right through the middle of town, aren’t we?” Hilda asked.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Do you think Kurt knows this person? Chet?”

“Probably, Hilda said. “I’ll call him in a few minutes.”

In Kurt and Mary’s rig, Mary was driving. She heard stirring from the bedroom, and saw Kurt walking up to the front, steadying himself on the kitchen counter and the couch as he came. He plopped down onto the passenger seat.

“How’s she running?” he asked, while getting on his seat belt.

“Purring like a kitten,” Mary said. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better,” he said. “I still have pain if I bend over, but sitting up and standing up is okay, and I can walk pretty well now.”

“Good. I need you back in the game.”

“I know, honey. Sorry. Where we at?”

“About twenty minutes out of Colorado Springs.”

“Wow, already?”

“Yeah, we’re making good time.”

“You look worried about something.”

“Jane called a little while ago. There are some bad guys heading south from Denver. We’re going to beat them through there, but what happens after that?”

“Once we get onto highway 94 we’re gonna fly,” he said. “If we have much of a lead, they’ll have a hard time catching us.”

Kurt’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered.

“Hi, Hilda.”

“Hi, Kurt, how are you feeling?”

“Well, I’m up and around. I just came up to the passenger seat. What’s up?”

“You remember that guy who had an RV Park not far from Sharon Springs?”

“Chet. Yeah, he was a great guy.”

“Was?”

“He passed about six years ago.”

“His park still there?”

“Oh, I get it, scoping out places to stop. I don’t know. His son took it over, but it’s not in that great of a location…it was mostly full timers there, and most of them were at least Chet’s age. The place might have died out. He’d probably have been okay if the place was on I-70.”

“He wasn’t on Route 66, was he?” Hilda asked.

“No, that was way south. Went through Oklahoma, not Kansas. Route 66 wasn’t the only old road killed by the interstates, though.”

“What was the kid’s name?”

“I’m trying to think,” Kurt said. “Scotty, maybe. He didn’t like the business. He might have closed her down in a hurry.”

“Think it’s worth checking out?”

“You can’t find anything about it on the net?”

“No, but I can’t remember the name, which doesn’t help.”

“I remember the name. Kansas Prairie RV Park.”

“Okay, I’ll punch that in.”

“Don’t worry if that doesn’t pan out…we’ll find something. We should stop in Sharon Springs…there’s a big truck stop there that we could overnight in if we need to. We might want to go further east after getting some shut-eye there.”

“Okay, Kurt. Thanks.”

Kurt put his phone back in his pocket. Mary looked over at him.

“Well?”

“Looking for RV Parks…Hilda remembered an old friend of ours named Chet who had a park southeast of Sharon Springs. I think it’s died out now. Might we worth taking a look, though.”

“Check that long range app again,” Mary said. “I’m nervous as hell about that.”

“Okay.” He pulled his phone back out and tapped the long range app. He got a grim look on his face.

“Uh oh, I know that look,” Mary said.

“They made it past route 285. They’re on 87 south, at about Castle Pines. They’re making better time now than they were.”

“Shit. We still going to beat them through?”

“Oh yeah, by over an hour, I suspect.”

“You think they’re looking for us?”

“No, I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“Because the Air Force Academy is right down the road from them, and I’ll bet we’ve been flying sorties out of there.”

Continued in Book 8. Available Now!

Copyright

Bugout! Part 7 copyright © 2015 by Robert G Boren. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any format without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Thanks to Laura Thomas for editing this book!

About the Author

Robert G Boren is a writer from the South Bay section of Southern California. He writes Short Stories, Novels, and Serialized Fiction. Most of his work is about people from the South Bay.

Other Books by Robert Boren

Never A Loose End - The Franklin and Davis Files Book One

Serial Killers. Maniac Ex-cops. CIA Assassins. White Slavers. Strippers

In "Never A Loose End", they all come together, racing towards their frightening destiny.

This is the story that started it all for George Franklin and Malcolm Davis. Some of you know them from the later episodes of the Bug Out! series, set seven years later. This is the story of how they met, and the battle that forged them into a formidable team.

George and Malcolm are both targets, marked for death, but why?

A clan of Serial Killers is active again, after hiding for years. What has brought them out?

Follow George and Malcolm as they dash through the Southwest in their Motorhomes.

Murder, gun battles, bombings, and general mayhem reign in "Never A Loose End"

Who will survive? Will the hunted be brought down, or will they become the hunters instead?

Find out in "Never A Loose End - The Franklin and Davis Files Book One"

Note: This full length novel carries a hard R rating, unlike the PG-13 Bug-Out! series. "Never A Loose End" contains graphic violence and sex. Discretion is advised.