Bug Out! Part 4: Mortars and Motorhomes (8 page)

“Why?” Jerry asked. “What are you going to do?”

“I can shoot as well as you can,” she said. “Try and stop me.”

“I’m going too,” Jane said.

“No you aren’t,” Frank said.

“Hold it a second, guys,” Charlie said. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s have them show up, but about fifteen minutes after we get there. They can take one of those militia vehicles. Jeb can go with them.”

“I don’t like it,” Frank said.

“I can shoot, you know,” Jane said. “If something happens to you, I don’t want to be here anyway.”

“Okay, if we are going to do this, let’s think it through,” Jerry said. “We have all of those AK-47s. Those are fairly easy to shoot. I’ll get you both checked out on them. It will only take about 10 minutes.”

“Rosie, are you alright with this?” asked Frank.

“Jasmine and Jane should go,” Rosie said. “Time to fight for family. It right thing.”

Jasmine hugged her mom.

“If I younger, I would go too,” Rosie said. “You go protect man. Then you come back and make babies.”

“C’mon ladies, let’s go get your guns,” Jerry said.

“I’ll go too, and let the Major know what’s going on,” Frank said.

“I’ll go talk to Jeb,” said Charlie. Earl and Jackson nodded and followed him out the door.

The two couples got to the barn in a couple of minutes.

“Major Hobbs?” Frank said.

“I’m here, Frank. What’s up?” he asked, coming over to the door.

“I just talked to Officer Simmons.”

“Oh, really,” the Major said. “Where is he?”

“He’s in town, and he’s taken the Sheriff hostage. He wants to meet with Jerry, Earl, Jackson, Charlie, and me.”

“You’re going to go, aren’t you?” the Major said. “You’ll probably be walking into a trap.”

“I don’t think we have a choice, Major Hobbs.”

“How soon?” the Major asked.

“Two hours, in front of the Sheriff’s station.”

“Good, that’s enough time, at least. I’ll order up a drone from the CO. We’ll take a look at what they have.”

“Won’t they hear it?” asked Jerry.

“No, these fly high and quiet. They won’t see or hear it,” the Major said.

“We want to take that militia SUV, and I’m going to get Jane and Jasmine checked out on the AK-47s.”

“You’re taking your women along?” the Major asked, looking at them. “Not advisable.”

“We already had that argument, Major,” Jane said defiantly. “If our men are going in there, so are we.”

“Alright,” the Major said. “I’ll go order up that drone. It’ll be circling over the town for the next several hours.”

“How long will it take to get there?” asked Frank.

“Probably about forty minutes.”

“Good, then we’ll get an idea of what we’re up against before we leave.”

“Jerry, why do you want to check the women out on AK-47s? That’s a hard rifle to control, and accuracy on those things suck beyond about 75 yards,” the Major said.

“It’s what we have,” Jerry said. “Better than Frank’s Winchester,” he said, laughing.

“We have extra M-16s. Let’s get them checked out on those instead. They weigh a lot less, don’t kick, are more reliable, and much more accurate.”

“I’m good with that,” Jerry said.

“Lieutenant, give the ladies a couple of M-16s and a hundred rounds of ammo each.”

“Yes sir,” Lieutenant James said. He walked to the back of the barn.

“I’ll go call this into the CO,” the Major said. He rushed over to his Humvee and got on the radio.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Frank said. Jerry nodded. The major trotted back.

“Done. The CO is on board, and the drone will be in the air shortly. What’s the plan?”

“Here’s what we’re thinking,” Frank said. “Jerry, Charlie, Earl, Jackson, and I go into town in Officer Simmons’s squad car. Our secondary team takes the militia SUV about 15 minutes later, and quietly gets to the scene, just in case we need backup. They sneak up to where the meeting is going on.”

“Do you want us there as well?” asked the Major.

“No, I think it would be better if you guys stayed here, just in case this is a diversion to get us away from the park.”

“Good point,” the Major said. “A couple of things. We got the radio in that squad car set up to talk with the tank radio and the radio in my Humvee. That squad car has a loud speaker. When you get out of the car, turn it on. I’ll be monitoring what the drone is seeing, and if they make a move to take you, I’ll say something.”

“Ladies, let’s go do a little shooting,” the Lieutenant said as he walked up. He was carrying the two M-16s and a box of Ammo. Jane and Jasmine followed him out.

“Have fun, sweetie,” Frank said. Jane smiled back at him.

“What’s the second thing?” Jerry asked.

“I suspect that chopper is going to show up, so I’m going to have some birds in the air. If they see it, it’s not going to be around for long.”

“Sounds good,” Franks said.

The men turned their heads as they heard the pop pop pop coming from the M-16s. Then Charlie came walking up with Jackson, Earl, and Jeb.

“Good, we get to go kill us some traitors and heathens,” Jeb said.

“What the heck are you going to do with that?” asked the Major, looking at the bow that Jeb had hanging on his shoulder.

“I know the town, and I know all the best places to hide out in that square by the Sheriff’s office. I’m going to go hunting. And I won’t be going in the car with the ladies. I’m sneaking over there now.”

“You taking the hunting rifle too?”

“I was going to put it in the back of the SUV, just in case. And I’ll have my .45 on me, of course.”

“Earl, Jackson, you alright with all of this?” asked Frank.

“Yup,” Earl said. “As long as we all agree that Simmons isn’t going to live through this.”

“Ditto,” Jackson said.

“Yes,” Major Hobbs said.

More pop pop pop sounds came from the pasture. There was a pause, and then more.

“Sounds like they are getting the hang of it,” Jerry said.

“If they have any experience shooting at all, they’ll get those down fast,” the Major said. “I hope they don’t have to fire a shot, though. How come you guys are going along with this? I can tell that you don’t want to.”

“It scares the hell out of me,” Jerry said. “I think Jasmine’s mother convinced me more than anything, though. We aren’t living in the same world anymore. If we are going to survive, we’ll need to do the tough jobs together.”

“I’m not happy,” Frank said. “But I know Jane. I can tell when she won’t budge. Best to just accept it, and do it in a way that will give her the best chance to survive.”

“You guys mind if I take off now?” Jeb asked. “I want to scope out some good vantage points.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Charlie said. “And don’t go getting yourself killed, you old reprobate.”

Jeb just smiled, and walked out of the barn.

“It makes me feel better that he’s going to be in position,” Charlie said.

“What’s he going to do with that bow and arrow?” asked Major Hobbs.

“He’ll take out anybody he sees that is getting ready for an ambush, and nobody will hear it.”

“He’s that good?” asked the Major?”

“Oh, yeah, he is,” Charlie said.

“Are we taking guns?” asked Earl.

“Simmons didn’t say we shouldn’t, so I’ll be packing my Winchester and my sidearm,” Frank said.

“Sure you don’t want to move over to an M-16 or an AK?” the Major said. “That relic is going to get you into trouble.”

“No, I’ll stick with this for now,” Frank said.

I have another suggestion for you guys,” the Major said. “Body armor. We have some. Might keep you alive.”

“Now that I’m okay with,” Frank said. “Since we will be totally exposed down there.”

“Alright, follow me,” the Major said. They went to the back of the barn.

Jane and Jasmine walked back into the barn, carrying their M-16s. Lieutenant James followed them.

“Where is everybody?” Jane asked.

“We’re back here, Jane,” the Major said. “Be out in a minute.”

“Wonder what they’re up to?” asked Jasmine.

“Don’t know,” Jane said. “I’m liking this M-16. It’s a joy to shoot.”

Jasmine nodded, as the men came back out towards the door of the barn.

“What were you guys doing?” asked Jane.

“We just got fitted with body armor,” Frank said. “Feels a little stiff.”

“You’ll get used to it,” the Major said.

“I’m glad,” Jasmine said. “You guys are going to be out there with no cover at all.”

“Yes, that’s why they talked us into it,” Jerry said. “Maybe you girls ought to be wearing it too?”

“We won’t be out in the open,” Jane said. “I’d rather be able to move around better.”

“I agree with Jane on that,” the Major said. “As long as you know not to do anything stupid like run out into the open.”

“I just saw Jeb taking off in his jeep,” Jasmine said. “He’s not going with us?”

“He’s going to get there earlier, with his bow and arrow,” Charlie said.

“Oh. To take out snipers without making any noise, right?” asked Jane.

“Yup,” Charlie said.

Hey, you guys,” came a voice from behind them. It was Hilda, on crutches. Chester was walking beside her.

“Hilda, should you be out here?” asked Charlie.

“I heard what you guys are going to do,” Hilda said. “I called a couple of people I trust in town. They are seeing some folks there that don’t belong.”

“Knew it,” Charlie said. “They’ll be set up for us. Good thing Jeb is going.”

“Ah, Jeb is taking his bow over there, isn’t he,” Hilda said. “Good. They won’t know what hit them.”

“I’m going to drive you ladies into town,” Chester said. You get in the back where they can’t see you easily. Then you can jump out quickly if the need arises.”

“Good idea,” Frank said.

Static came from the radio in the Major’s Humvee. He ran over and got in.

The Major came back over.

“The drone is overhead. There’s no large group of troops there, but there have been people on and off of the roofs surrounding the park.”

“How much time do we have?” asked Jerry.

“About an hour,” Frank said, looking at his watch.

“Alright, do we have a map of town?” Jerry asked.

“Use Google Earth,” Frank said. “The tablet’s in the clubhouse.”

“Right,” Jerry said. “Let’s go back over there.”

Meanwhile, Jeb was approaching the town in his jeep. The streets were almost completely free of traffic, but that wasn’t unusual for this little town. He parked about a block away from the park, and got out. He walked carefully along the sidewalk, trying to stay under the trees and out of sight. He could see the block right in front of the square. The library building was the tallest building, but it was only two story.
‘If I could get up there I could command the area,’
he thought to himself. The surrounding buildings were one story, and they were close enough together for him to be able to take people out with the bow and arrow or the pistol.

He snuck closer to the last street before the park, looking at the back of the library building. Then he heard something. A click. The double doors on the back wall opened, and two men walked out. They both lit cigarettes. They talked to each other in hushed tones, and then one of them walked to the end of the wall and turned right, heading up to the next street that led to the park. The other man stood there finishing his cigarette. He looked up and saw Jeb just as he had the arrow pulled back. Jeb let it go, hitting the man in the heart, bringing him down silently. Jeb smiled, then ran over and pulled the man into the back door. He closed the door behind him, and locked it. Then he pulled the arrow out of the man’s chest, and rubbed the blood off on the man’s shirt. He snuck over to the stairs, and headed up to the roof. He slowly cracked the roof door open, and peered through the crack. He could see two chairs and a table by the side of the roof overlooking the park, behind the façade. There were two rifles with scopes leaned up there, along with some bottles of water and a walkie talkie. He snuck out on the roof and looked around. Empty. There was a breeze. It hit the sweat on the back of his neck and made him shiver. He crouched and walked up to the front of the building. Then he heard a scratchy voice coming over the radio.

“OK, everybody check in,” the voice said. “Sheriff’s station.”

“Check,” said another scratchy voice.

“Clancy’s bar,”

“Check.”

“Library.”

Jeb pushed the button.

“Check,” he said, his heart pounding.

“Drug Store.”

“Check.”

Jeb settled down, and looked at his watch. A half hour to go before his friends got there. He watched and waited. The sun was beating down on him. He picked up an unopened bottle of water and took a drink. Then he heard somebody pound on the back door. He leapt from his chair, grabbed his bow and went to the back of the roof. He peered over.

“Hey, Stan, dammit, open the door,” said the man below, backing up so he could see the edge of the roof.

Jeb got an arrow ready, and stood up. The man looked up and saw Jeb just as the arrow hit him square in the chest. His hands came up to grip the arrow and he staggered backwards, falling over a hedge and into the front yard of the house behind the library. A woman’s face appeared at the window, looking at the dead man on the lawn. She looked up and saw Jeb standing there with the bow and arrow, and gave him a thumbs up sign. Then she closed her curtain. Jeb went back up to the front of the roof and waited.

Back at the RV Park, the men were loading up Officer Simmons’s squad car, and testing the radio loud speaker. It worked.

“Alright, guys, it’s about 15 minutes before the hour,” Frank said. “Time to take off.”

Jane and Jasmine ran over to their men and hugged them tightly.

“Don’t you dare get yourself killed,” Jane said to Frank.

“You either,” Frank said. “Sure I can’t talk you out of this?”

“No,” she said. “But you already knew that.”

“Be careful, Jerry,” Jasmine said. “I love you.”

“Don’t worry honey,” he said. “I love you too.”

Hilda hobbled out of the Clubhouse with Charlie. She gave him a kiss, looking frustrated because the crutches kept her from throwing her arms around him.”