Bug Out! Part 4: Mortars and Motorhomes (7 page)

“I haven’t checked since first thing this morning,” Jerry said. He pulled out his phone and looked at it. “Crap, still down.”

They got to the barn. The Sheriff and his deputy where there, talking to Major Hobbs.

“Good morning,” Frank said.

“Good morning, men,” Major Hobbs said. The Sheriff and Deputy smiled and nodded.

“Anything on the search last night?” asked Jerry.

“Yes, actually. The Apaches took some small arms fire. There was a pretty large force up to the north, but they were further away than we expected. The Apaches let them have it with everything they had, and then we brought in a gunship.”

“AC-130?” Jerry asked.

“Yup.”

“That must have ruined their whole day,” Frank said.

“Well, we got all of their trucks, from what we can tell. Some escaped on foot. We are sending a platoon up there to engage the folks that are left.”

“Were these the Islamists from the north?” Frank asked.

“Yes, definitely, but that brings me back to what we were just talking about before you guys walked up. We have bodies of Islamists and militia men from the battle last night. We think that they were working with Islamists from the north.”

“How about that cell tower?” Jerry asked. “Maybe we should put a 24 hour guard on that.”

“I did,” the Sheriff said. “We found his head in one place and his body someplace else.”

“Oh, no,” Frank said. “One of your Deputies?”

“No, this was a person from town. Too bad. Good man.”

“So what’s next?” Frank asked.

“Well, my men are doing clean up and body disposal this morning,” the Major said. “If I were you guys I’d finish setting up that security system.”

“How long are you guys going to stick around?” Jerry asked.

“Don’t know. What they did last night with that gunship might have made things quite a bit safer for you. The big force in the north can’t get here easily on foot, and we know we’ve taken out their vehicles. We have air patrols flying now, and they are noting traffic. If any trucks show up in the area, they had better have a good reason for being there.”

“What about the Islamists and militia men from the south?” asked Frank.

“They’re still a problem, but that’s a much small force, and they are cut off from their supply lines now. They might decide to move south to rejoin a larger force.”

“You have somebody hunting them down, I hope.”

“Of course, but the militia folks are smarter than the Islamists, and they know this area. They know where to hide.”

“I don’t get why these idiots think they need to take out the cell tower every time they’re going to hit us,” Jerry said. “That’s tipped us off twice now.”

“If they would have known we were here, they might not have tried the attack,” Major Hobbs said. “We think the northern Islamists did that both times. They aren’t too bright. They probably think you could’ve called in the Calvary with the cell phones.”

“We should find out how many people in camp have walkie talkies,” Frank said. “They’re a good backup that the enemy can’t shut down. We have a set. We bought them to help with backing up the motor home.”

“Not a bad idea, but remember that the bad guys can listen in pretty easily,” Major Hobbs said.

“I know, but if we at least have one in the blind and one up on the roof of the store, we could communicate in a pinch.”

“True,” Major Hobbs said. “There is a radio in the tank, but you won’t be able to get to it with your commercial walkie talkies. Maybe I can get the CO to give you a radio.”

“That would be good,” the Sheriff said. “I might be able to pick up the tank radio with the radio in my squad car. We’ll have to check that out.”

“Actually, you probably can,” Major Hobbs said. “I’ll get our radio expert to chat with you after we get done here.”

“Hey, we still have Officer Simmons’s squad car. That might have a working radio in it too,” Jerry said.

“Good point,” the Sheriff said. “We’ll check that out.”

“Speaking of Officer Simmons, any word on that missing chopper?” asked Frank.

“No,” the Major said. “And that worries me more than anything else at the moment. I’m beginning to think that it didn’t crash. I think it landed.”

Lieutenant James came running out of the barn.

“Major Hobbs, urgent message coming in,” he shouted.

All of the men ran into the barn. Major Hobbs got into his Humvee. He got a grim look on his face, and climbed out slowly. He had tears in his eyes.

“Shit, what happened?” Frank asked.

“Chicago just got hit with several nuclear devices. It came from Lake Michigan.”

“Son of a bitch,” Jerry said.

“Major Hobbs, isn’t that where your family is?” asked the Lieutenant.

He just looked at him dully and nodded yes.

“Were they close to the coast?” asked Jerry.

“They don’t live next to the coast, but some of them work fairly close. It’s 11:00 am there.”

“I’d better get into town and get that cell tower back up,” the Sheriff said. “Got any phone experts in your platoon?”

“Nope,” the Lieutenant said. “Radio yes, cell phone no.”

“I thought you already had somebody that knew how to fix it,” Jerry said.

“We did,” the Sheriff said. “He was the guy killed last night.”

“Shit, he was the guy guarding it, I suspect,” Jerry said. “Alright, let’s ask around in the park. Maybe there’s somebody.”

“Lieutenant, here’s the keys to Officer Simmons’s squad car,” the Sheriff said. “I’m going into town with my Deputy to look at that cell tower. Maybe you could see if your radio guy could talk to the tank?”

“Will do,” the Lieutenant said, taking the keys. “You be careful out there, Sheriff.”

He nodded and walked off with the Deputy.

Frank and Jerry started walking towards the Clubhouse.

“When is this going to end?” Frank said, looking down.

“When we kill them all,” Jerry said.

They got to the door. Jane and Jasmine rushed to meet them. The TV was on, showing the devastation.

“Oh, Frank, this one is horrible,” Jane said, sobbing against him. Frank held her tight.

Jasmine couldn’t say anything…..she just held onto Jerry.

Charlie and Earl and Jackson came walking into the door, chatting happily with each other. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the TV screen.

“Where?” asked Earl.

“Chicago in the US. Brussels in Europe. Singapore in Asia. Varanasi in India,” Jasmine said.

“Never heard of Varanasi,” Charlie said.

“It’s the holiest Hindu city in India,” Jasmine said.

“They really want to make this a religious war, don’t they,” Jackson said. “They can’t win.”

“No, they can’t win, but they will do a lot of damage as we destroy them,” Jerry said.

“Where the heck are all of the nukes coming from?” Frank asked. “North Korea is a smoking pile of ash now. Somebody else is making them.”

“You don’t think the bad guys just stockpiled them over time?” Earl asked.

“Maybe, but they’re not that easy to hide,” Frank said. “Too many people would have to be in the loop to pull it off, and somebody always spills the beans. No, I think they have a second source.”

“Major Hobbs has family in Chicago,” Jerry said. “He’s really shook up.”

“I could only imagine,” Jane said. “I’m worried about Sarah. I hope they get that cell tower up and running again soon.”

“The Sheriff and Deputy just left for town, but we may have a problem,” Frank said.

“What’s that?” asked Jackson.

“The guy who knows how to fix it was guarding it last night. He’s dead.”

“Oh, shit,” Charlie said.

“I know how to work on those,” Jackson said. “I can go into town and help.”

“Good, I was hoping somebody here knew about cellular,” Jerry said.

“Let’s wait until we hear from the Sheriff,” Frank said. “Might just be cut wires again, or something simple like that.”

“There might also be other experts in town, too,” Jasmine said.

“Look, the President is about to speak,” Jane said, pointing to the screen. The group gathered around in front of the TV and waited.

The President walked to the podium. He looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep for days.

“My fellow Americans,” he said. “By now you all know what happened in Chicago, in Brussels, in Singapore, and in Varanasi, India. Two things are obvious. First, our enemy wants to make this a war between civilization and their twisted view of Islam. Second, there is a second source of nuclear weapons available to them.”

He paused as somebody walked up and handed him a piece of paper. He looked at it, his face grim. Then he looked back up.

“We have been able to pinpoint the source of the nuclear weapons. It is Iran. Our intelligence had told us that they were not yet capable of producing weapons, but obviously that was incorrect. In the coming days, we will bottle up Iran, taking out every port, road, and airport. Nothing more will get in and out of that country. We don’t know how many more devices have already left that country. We expect more attacks, but will do everything in our power to prevent them.”

“Finally, I have a message for Muslims. I know that most of you are good people who don’t condone this war. What I’m about to say is painful to me, and will be a shock to many of you. The civilized world will not allow itself to be dragged back to 600 AD. That will never happen. Muslim countries worldwide are now on notice. You are with us or against us. Countries that do not actively, concretely take steps to destroy the radical element in their countries will be attacked by the armed forces of the civilized world. The attacks won’t be pinpoint tactical attacks. They will be the kind of attacks visited on the Nazis during world war two, the last time that civilization was in danger of being destroyed. Do not make the mistake of thinking that we will go softly at this because we need your energy resources. We have discovered more of these resources in North America than exist in any other region of the world. We do not need you. We will not rebuild your countries, unless it is clear to us that radical views in your country are no longer prevalent. If you ignore us, we will destroy your country and your society, and walk away. The choice is yours. This has already gone too far. That is all for tonight. Sorry, I won’t take any questions.”

Everybody in the room was silent for a few minutes, just staring at the TV.

“This isn’t going to be over in our lifetime, is it?” Jane asked.

“Probably not,” Jerry said. “There are radicals all over the globe, just hiding out. We are going to have to root them out and kill them, and it’s going to be a long, bloody job.”

“Hey, the cell tower is working again,” Jasmine said, holding her phone above her head.

“Good, I’m calling Sarah,” Jane said. She pulled out her phone and dialed. Then she put it down.

“All circuits busy,” she said. “I’ll try Robbie.”

Frank put his hand on hers. She looked over at him, worried.

“What?” she asked.

“Before you talk to him, I’ve got something I need to tell you,” Frank said.

“He joined the army, didn’t he?” she asked.

“Yes. He was about to tell you when the phones went dead last night.”

“I had a feeling that was the case, when you said you were proud of him,” Jane said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before. I wanted him to tell you, but I have a feeling the network is going to be bad for the next few days.”

Jane hugged Frank.

“You alright?” Frank asked her.

“Yes, I’m the same as you. Proud but worried.”

Frank’s cellphone started to ring.

“Maybe this is Robbie or Sarah,” Frank said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “It’s the Sheriff.” He answered.

“Sheriff, thanks for getting it fixed,” Frank said.

“Sorry, the Sheriff is a little tied up right now, literally,” the voice said.

“Who is this?”

“Your old friend Officer Simmons. You want the Sheriff and his Deputy back?”

“What are you asking for, traitor?”
asked Frank. That comment got the attention of Jane and Jerry. They looked at him, and he mouthed ‘Officer Simmons’.

“Now Frank, that’s not very nice,” Officer Simmons said. “Why would you want to make a comment like that when I have your friend tied up?”

“Who’s side are you on today, traitor?” Frank asked.

“The same side I’m always on. The right side.”

“Yeah, I’ll just bet.”

“It’s unfortunate that you misunderstood my actions at the RV Park, Frank. I wasn’t going to lock Earl and Jackson up for long. I just needed to question them about the Williams Militia, but you guys have to go and stop me from doing my job.”

Frank covered the phone receiver.

“This guy is out of his mind,” Frank whispered. “But he’s got the Sheriff.”

“You still there, Frank?”

“Yes, I’m here. What are your terms?”

“I just want a meeting. With you, Jerry, and Charlie. And I want to interview Earl and Jackson. You just bring them into town and we’ll talk.”

“Sounds like a good setup for an ambush to me,” Frank said.

“I mean you guys no harm. And I’m sorry for telling you I was going to get you. I was angry. I didn’t really mean it.”

“Whatever. Where do you want this meeting to happen?”

“At the park in front of the Sheriff’s station. In two hours.”

“Alright, we’ll be there.”

Officer Simmons hung up the phone.

“What does he want?” asked Charlie.

“He wants you, me, Jerry, Earl, and Jackson to go meet with him, in a park in front of the Sheriff’s station. Is that a good place for an ambush?”

“Yes and no. The park has no cover to speak of, but there are buildings around it. They might have some folks on the roofs.”

“You aren’t thinking of going in there, are you?” Jane asked. “You know he’s going to try to kill or capture you guys. He might have other militia fighters there.”

“We can’t just let him have the Sheriff,” Frank said.

“I’m with you,” Jerry said. Jasmine looked at him and started to tear up.

“If you’re going, I’m going too,” Jasmine said.