Bug Out! Part 4: Mortars and Motorhomes (9 page)

The men all squeezed into the squad car. Major Hobbs came running over.

“Jeb is on the roof of the library now. He has a commanding view of the other buildings. He took out both sentries that were manning that building. I don’t think Simmons has any idea.”

“That’s Jeb,” Charlie said, chuckling. “They aren’t going to know what hit them.”

“Let’s go,” Frank said. He got into the back next to Jerry, and Charlie got into the driver’s seat. They drove out of the park.

Jane and Jasmine looked at each other, and then at Hilda. All of them were on the verge of tears.

“We can do this,” Jasmine said.

“I’m not afraid,” Jane said. “I’m pissed. This asshole isn’t going to win.”

Chester walked out.

“You gals ready to load up?” he asked.

“Yes, let’s go,” Jane said. The three of them walked back to the barn, and got into the militia SUV. Chester fired it up and backed it out of the barn. As he was about to drive off, the Lieutenant came running up. He had a box in both hands.

“Chester, do you remember how to use these?” He passed the box into the window. It was heavy.

“Hand grenades,” he said, cracking up. “Yeah, threw more than one of these in Korea. These might come in handy.”

“Good,” the Lieutenant said. “Good luck to all of you.”

Chester nodded and drove off towards the gate. Hilda watched them. She stayed in the driveway, looking past the gate, for long after they were out of sight.

Charlie drove down the main road
into town. As they got closer, the sparse buildings thickened, mostly rundown buildings from the mid-50s and early 60s. Then there was downtown. It was dense, and had a 1930s look to it. The streets were deserted.

“The Sheriff’s station is right around the corner,” Charlie said. “I’ll park in front, and we can walk across the street.”

“Why there?” Jerry said.

“Well, for one thing, it will be harder for the snipers on the roof to hit it without showing themselves,” Charlie said. He laughed, but it was a nervous laugh.

They rounded the corner, and could see the edge of the park. Charlie slowed down, looking in all directions.

“Is that the Sheriff?” asked Jerry, pointing.

The Sheriff, his shirt torn and bloodied, was chained onto the swing set at the park, and his arms were stretched out like wings. His head hung down.

“Is he alive?” asked Earl.

“He’d better be,” Charlie said. He pulled the car in front of the Sheriff’s station. It was shaded by the buildings. The men got out cautiously and picked up their weapons, cocking them, and taking off the safeties. They walked slowly across the street, looking in all directions. Nobody was around yet. They approached the Sheriff. The men could see him breathing.

“Sheriff,” Frank said in a loud whisper. His head jerked up, and he saw them.

“It’s a trap,” he croaked. Frank rushed over to him, pulling a water bottle out of his pocket. He lifted the Sheriff’s head and poured water into his mouth, as the other men covered him, looking up at the buildings and towards the back end of the park.

“Gentleman,” a loud voice said, coming from behind them. They saw Officer Simmons walking out of the Sheriff’s station.

“Where’s the Deputy?” asked Charlie.

“Sorry, he didn’t make it,” Officer Simmons said, with a fake look of sorrow on his face. “I’d appreciate it if you would put those guns down.”

“Yeah, I’ll just bet you would, asshole,” Jackson said. He pointed his rifle right at Officer Simmons’s head.

“We’ve got you guys covered from all sides,” Officer Simmons said mildly. “Put them down.”

“Stuff it,” Earl said.

Frank glanced up on the Library. Jeb was up there. He did a quick salute, and then got back out of sight. Frank repressed the urge to grin.

“Here, I’ll take off my sidearm,” Officer Simmons said. He unbuckled his gun belt and dropped it at his feet, and continued on across the street.

Frank looked at his friends. He nodded at them, and moved his eyes up to the library. He cracked a slight grin, and then set down his Winchester at his feet. The other men set their guns down at their feet as well, and turned to watch Officer Simmons as he approached.

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Simmons asked.

“What kind of deal do you want?” Jerry asked.

“I just want to talk to Earl and Jackson, like I said. You let me do that, and I’ll let all of you fine people walk right out of here.”

“Alright, talk,” Frank said.

“Not
here
,” Officer Simmons said. “In the jail.”

“No, we aren’t letting Earl and Jackson out of our sight, traitor,” Jerry said. “Talk to them right here.”

“That’s really not nice, Jerry,” Officer Simmons said. “You shouldn’t treat me like that. I just might take that out on your pretty wife.”

Jerry lurched for his gun, and a shot came from the roof to the right of the library, hitting the ground about six inches from the AK-47. Jerry froze. Frank glanced up just in time to see Jeb stand up and let an arrow go. He looked down at Frank and gave a thumbs up, then sank out of sight again.

“Why, Jerry, are you upset with me?” asked Officer Simmons. “I was only kidding. You know, like Frank was when he shot me with that .44 mag relic.”

Frank glared at him.

“Alright, tell us what you really want, Simmons,” Frank said. “I’m getting tired of this crap. I’ve got things to do.”

“Yes, and people to see, too, I suspect,” Officer Simmons said, chuckling. “You guys aren’t going anywhere.”

“On whose authority are you going to hold us?” asked Jackson.

“Mine.”

Jackson laughed out loud.

“You? You’re just a garden variety nutcase, Simmons. You try to hold on to me and I’ll take you apart.”

“You’ll regret that comment, hillbilly.” Officer Simmons raised his hand. A man stood up on the roof to the left of the library. He fired his rifle, and a bullet tore into the Sheriff’s left upper arm, causing him to cry out in pain.

“You piece of shit,” Jerry said. He looked up at Simmons, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Jeb stand up and let an arrow go. The man on the roof with the rifle fell over. The rifle fell out of his hand, falling to the sidewalk and making a loud crash. Officer Simmons whirled around, trying to see what happened. Jerry cracked up.

“Something wrong, nutcase?” he asked.

Officer Simmons turned back around, then went for something behind his back. He pulled out a small pistol and pointed it at Jerry. Earl saw that, and lurched forward, tackling Officer Simmons. The gun flew out of his hand. Charlie dived for it, covering it with his body. Another shot came from the roof, hitting Earl in the calf. He rolled off of Officer Simmons, holding his leg. Simmons grabbed the pistol from Charlie and turned to Jerry, who was almost to his rifle. He aimed, and then a woman’s voice yelled out.

“Freeze!”

It was Jasmine. She was standing next to the battered SUV, her M-16 pointed at Officer Simmons. He stopped, but then put his hand in the air again. Nothing happened. He shook his hand impatiently. Still nothing.

“Uh, something wrong, scumbag?” asked Frank.

Simmons slowly turned towards the buildings. Jeb was standing there, bow in hand. He had a big grin on his face.

Officer Simmons screamed with rage, then turned around and shot Jerry square in the chest. Jerry clutched his chest and rolled on the ground.

Jasmine screamed “Nooooooooo!” and fired, hitting Officer Simmons in the side and in the shoulder. He fell, but then got back up and pointed his gun towards Frank. He fired, hitting Frank in the chest. Then his head exploded. The men looked back and saw Jane, gun still aimed at where Officer’s Simmons head was, as he slumped to the ground.

Jasmine and Jane ran over and dived down next to their men. Jerry turned over to Jasmine and smiled.

“Jerry, how badly are you hurt?” she cried. There was no blood. She clawed at his shirt, pulling it out of the way. There was a bullet stuck in the body armor.

“I’m going to have a big bruise,” Jerry said. He pulled Jasmine to him and kissed her. “Glad we let you girls show up.”

Frank got up and Jane was next to him, pulling his shirt out of the way.

“Damn, these things work really well against a small pistol,” he said.

Jane threw herself at him, hugging him and kissing him.

Chester hobbled across the street towards the group.

“Get down!” Jeb shouted from the roof. Everybody hit the dirt, and Jeb fired the hunting rifle three times. They all turned and saw one man on the ground and two more staggering forward in agony. Jeb fired again, sending one of the men flying backwards. The other man shuddered and fell.

Then there was silence. Everybody looked around nervously, waiting for another attack.

“I think that’s it,” Jeb shouted from the roof. “Don’t see any other movement.”

“I’ll get the Doc out here,” Charlie said. “Earl, you with us?”

“I’ll be alright, Charlie. It’s a flesh wound. Missed the bone, thank God. I’m more worried about the Sheriff.”

“Sheriff, can you hear me?” cried Charlie. He lifted his head slowly. He was in pain, but he smiled. Then his smile turned, and he started to cry.

“That bastard shot my nephew,” he croaked between sobs.

“Where is he?” asked Charlie.

“In the jail,” the Sheriff said.

“Anybody else in there?” he asked.

“Some creep named Lewis, but he took off this morning, with about ten men. They headed south on the highway.”

Chester walked over to the Sheriff and put his hand on his uninjured shoulder.

“Glad you made it out of this alive, old friend,” Chester said.

“Wonder if they were going back to the RV Park?” asked Jackson. “They’ll get a big surprise if they do.”

“We would have heard the gunfire from here, I suspect,” Charlie said. “Doc is on the way, and the paramedics will be here in a few seconds. They‘re over at the firehouse…that’s only a block or two away.”

Just as he said that, the paramedic vehicle came into view. It drove right onto the park next to them. The two men leaped out.

“Who’s hurt?” asked one of them.

“Earl,” Charlie said, pointing. “And the Sheriff, of course. There’s somebody shot in the Sheriff’s station, too. Probably dead, but we aren’t sure.”

“Let’s see if Officer Simmons had the key to those padlocks in his pocket,” Jerry said, looking over at the chains that were holding the Sheriff up. He went over to his body and started going through his pockets. He brought out a key chain and a loose key.

“That looks like a padlock key to me,” Jackson said. “I’ll give you a hand.”

The two men walked over to the Sheriff, joined by the paramedics. Jerry tried the key. The first padlock opened, and the men steadied the sheriff. The key worked in the second padlock too. The men slowly lowered the Sheriff to the ground.

“Better get a tourniquet on the Sheriff’s arm,” Chester said. “Lot of blood coming out.”

“Who wants to go into the Sheriff’s station with me?” asked Jerry.

“Me,” Jasmine said. Jackson nodded too, and they walked across the street. Jerry pulled the door open slowly and peered in. There was blood on the floor. Somebody moaned.

“Sounds like somebody is alive in here,” Jerry said. They all rushed in.

The deputy was lying in a pool of blood. It appeared that he was shot in the stomach. He moaned again.

“I’ll tell the paramedics,” Jackson said. He ran out the door. The doctor was just pulling up, and he motioned him over. The doctor rushed into the jail. He looked the Deputy over. He had a grim look on his face.

“He’s bad,” said the Doctor. “We need to get him to the hospital now.”

The paramedics moved the ambulance in front of the Sheriff’s station and came running. They got the deputy on a gurney and loaded him quickly into the back of their ambulance. Then they took off, siren wailing.

“Who else is hurt?” asked the Doctor.

“The Sheriff is hurt pretty bad,” Jerry said. “He’s out on the playground across the street. Earl was shot too, in the thigh. Looks like a flesh wound, though.”

The doctor left the station house and trotted across the street. He saw Earl sitting up. His thigh had been bandaged, and he was smiling.

“Hi, Doc,” he said. “I’m okay, but the Sheriff’s in bad shape.”

The Doctor kneeled by the Sheriff.

“Sheriff, can you hear me?” he said in a loud voice. The Sheriff nodded, his eyes barely opened. There was a tourniquet on his upper arm and a bandage below.

“This wound probably isn’t going to kill him, but he’s been out in the sun too long without water.

“I gave him some water about ten minutes ago,” Frank said.

“He needs to get to the hospital too,” the Doctor said. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed.

After his call, he put his cellphone back in his pocket, and looked at Earl.

“I’m going to take you to the hospital as well,” the Doctor said. “We don’t want to risk an infection. I want to take a good look at your wound.”

“No problem, Doc,” Earl said.

Jerry and Jasmine came running back over. They got close to Frank and Jane and whispered.

“There are two other deputies in the station,” Jerry whispered. “Both dead. Somebody hanged them inside the jail cell.”

“Oh, no,” Jane said. “That animal.”

“Anybody else in the jail?” asked Frank.

“Not that we could see,” Jasmine said. “The place was ransacked, though. They were looking for something.”

“I know what they were looking for,” Jerry said. “There were gun registration papers all over the table. After they were done with us, they were going to go around and collect weapons, I suspect.”

“They might have tried,” Jeb said, walking over to them. “I know a lot of people here. No way would they be handing over their guns to a police officer from Arizona. They would have blown him away.”

“Nice shooting up there, Jeb,” Frank said. “You saved our butts again.”

Jeb nodded and smiled.

“You might want to radio the Major and let him know about Lewis,” Jerry said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Frank said. He trotted over to the squad car and got into the driver’s seat.