Forgotten Forbidden America: Rise of Tyranny (22 page)

Dropping his spoon, Nelson covered his chest with both hands. “Hey, no need for that. You can send them to college for all I care, but don’t be pulling out the chest hairs one at a time. I can guarantee I’ll scream like a little girl.”

“I’d eat a bullet first,” Matt mumbled.

The others around the table smirked at the two. “Thank you,” Nellie smiled. “We bought some clothes, and Bernard bought both of them John Deere outfits.”

“That’s nice,” Nelson said, picking up his spoon, but kept an eye on Nellie. If she came at him, Nelson was going to make a run for it.

“Thank you, Nellie, Bernard,” Michelle said, trying not to laugh at Nelson. Ashley walked over and hugged both, thanking them.

As they finished eating, the adults just leaned back in their chairs. The two girls went to the living room and played as Gavin sat beside Nancy, talking to her. As Michelle took Devin out of the high chair, she asked, “What’s on the agenda for today, baby?”

“Rest,” Nelson said, almost making her legs give out in shock. “The stuff is covered up, and it doesn’t smell like rain.”

“I need to write this down,” Michelle said, putting Devin on her shoulder. “You’re not going to work until you drop.”

“No point. Lots of work needs to be done, but it can wait a day or two for us to put the stuff up,” Nelson replied.

“You gonna have enough room for all that?” Matt asked with doubt.

“One of the containers is completely empty, and another is half empty along with the basement,” Nelson replied, and Matt still had a look of doubt. Behind each cabin, they had buried forty-foot cargo containers, turning them into underground storage. Matt had two behind his house because that’s all he and Ashley could afford. Nelson had four. No one knew how many Gerald had because he was always adding more.

“Hey, Nelson, we may want to put most of the arms away from the house,” Gerald offered.

Closing his eyes, Nelson said, “I’m not making several hundred caches.”

“I had four more containers delivered. We just have to empty them and take one out and bury it,” Gerald told him. “You have made caches?”

“Of course we have, but I’m not making that many because I would forget where they were,” Nelson shot back. “What’s in the containers?”

“The last of some odds and ends. I thought we would need razor wire, half-inch sheet steel, few claymore mines, paneling, and stuff like that,” Gerald told him nonchalantly.

Not even surprised or stunned, Nelson said with a straight face, “That’s cool.”

“When do you want to start on the area around the house, Gerald?” Bernard asked.

Gerald thought about it. “Well, we need to start in the next few days so the grass can start to cover up the dirt. We don’t want attention from nosy drones, and freshly turned dirt shows up real well,” he answered.

“Have you changed anything?” Matt asked, rubbing his full but flat belly.

“Just some minor ones,” Gerald told him. “I say let’s take the rest of today off and unload tomorrow. Nelson, let’s just put the extra stuff in your basement, and if it won’t fit, we can use mine. Then, the day after, we can start on the fortifications.”

“Hey, big brother, don’t forget we have to wire up the cameras we put out and put out the rest,” Nancy interrupted.

“Sis, something to ward off attackers needs to get done, and it needs to be done so we can start the grass growing on it,” he told her.

“If we don’t have a warning, the defenses won’t mean sh—” Nancy caught herself, looking around the table at the kids. “They can just come right up to the front door.”

“I’m not arguing with you about this again. I’m telling you we need this first,” Gerald told her, closing his eyes. He knew this wasn’t over.

“Okay, how about this,” Nancy said, leaning on the table. “How about Gavin and I put them in while you and the others put in your covered ditch and dirt wall?”

Startled, Gerald just stared at her. “Gavin?” he finally asked.

She nodded. “Yes, he’s smart and understands electronics better than you do. He’s small like I am and can climb trees, helping me set the others up.”

Gerald looked over at Nelson. “Hey, I’m for it, but both my dogs go with them,” Nelson said.

“Can I take a gun, Dad?” Gavin asked hopefully.

“Let me think on that,” Nelson offered.

“Dad, come on. I’ll be nine in a few weeks,” Gavin whined.

Sitting up, Nelson smiled at Gavin. “Well, nine,” Nelson said in mock amazement. “Guess we will have to get you a job so you can bring home some money. When you hit double digits in age, it’s all downhill then.”

“Dad,” Gavin grumbled.

“Son, it’s not that I don’t trust you with a gun. I just don’t know if you understand what that implies,” Nelson told him in a serious voice.

Gavin nodded. “If someone comes after us to hurt us, shoot them.”

Hearing those words from his son, Nelson’s heart dropped to his gut. “Yes, son, but when you aim at someone, doubt enters your mind, and that could get you hurt. I would rather you point and tell Zeus and Hera, ‘Kill.’”

Reaching up, Michelle wiped a tear out of her eyes. “Gavin, let your dad think about it,” she said, sitting back down. Bernard watched her sit down, and not able to take it anymore, he reached over, taking Devin.

“I’ll talk to you tonight, and if I feel okay about it, I’ll talk to Momma,” Nelson offered.

“Nancy will have her rifle and pistol,” Gerald stated as fact.

Nelson looked around the table. “I think we should all carry our rifles and pistols from now on,” he said.

“That’s a good idea,” Matt agreed.

“Nancy,” Nelson said, looking at her. “Will it take both of you to put the cameras up?”

“Yes,” she answered. “Not to mention putting down a fu… A bunch of wire.”

Nelson leaned back in his chair. “That’s what I don’t like. Neither of you could keep an eye out. I don’t really expect anything this fast out here, but if we don’t act like it will, something could happen,” he said, pinching his lower lip. “How about Michelle set up away from you two and keep an eye out?”

“Momma has to babysit me,” Gavin moaned, dejected.

Nelson laughed. “Son, it’s not babysitting; it’s called overwatch, and you will be doing the same before long. It’s like guard duty. I learned a long time ago if you’re in hostile territory, don’t work and try to guard at the same time.”

Michelle looked over at him. “I told your stupid ass not to help clear the road,” she reminded him.

“I know, baby, and you were right. I’ve told you that the day it happened and the sixteen years since,” Nelson said. He closed his eyes, knowing Michelle was just getting started.

“You’re damn lucky that guy shot you square in the chest, hitting your ceramic plate,” she told him, and Nelson mouthed the words as she said them.

He nodded. “Yes, I was,” he said and continued to mouth along with Michelle.

“You weren’t an engineer, and our job was to keep our eyes open,” she said, reaching for her glass of tea.

“I know, baby, like I tell you at least once a year,” Nelson said.

After taking a drink, Michelle sat the glass down. “You had no right to get that mad about it,” she said as Nelson mouthed along. “Throwing a grenade and just running in that building.”

“I was the one with a bruise on their chest,” Nelson reminded her. “I got him, and I wasn’t gone very long.”

“You went into a building without backup,” she said. “I told you, and look what happened. You got shot, blew up a building, and got in a shootout with three insurgents in the building, leaving the rest of us outside in a hostile town as the engineers recovered the blown MRAP.”

Everyone was grinning not at the story but at Nelson mouthing the words perfectly as Michelle said them. “You two have this argument much?” Gerald asked, chuckling.

“Every three or four months,” Nelson answered, sighing and closing his eyes.

“Michelle outranked you, didn’t she?” Gerald asked.

“Yep,” Nelson answered.

“But did that matter?” Michelle asked, and Nelson mouthed the words. The only difference was Michelle was looking at Nelson when he did it. “I don’t say the same thing every time.”

“Nope,” Nelson agreed. “When the kids aren’t around, you use many carnal verbs. Nothing like the day it happened. I’m not sure you can combine words like that.”

“How long were you in country before it happened?” Gerald asked, trying really hard not to laugh as Michelle stared daggers at Nelson.

Ignoring the look from Michelle, Nelson replied, “I had been in country nine months, and Michelle had been there ten months.”

“How long had you two been together?” Ashley asked with a giggle.

“I met her on my second day and slowly wore her down over a month till she eventually agreed to go out with me,” Nelson told her.

Turning away from Nelson, Michelle looked over at Ashley. “Ashley, I was one of four female MPs in our company and got chased by every American troop over there,” she said, and then her face softened. “Nelson was the only one that didn’t look at me like a piece of meat, but I knew if I showed anyone I liked him, I was going to catch hell.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Nelson said. “A week after I met her, I watched her knock a guy’s tooth out.”

“He grabbed my butt,” Michelle snapped.

“I know, baby, I saw it,” Nelson reminded her, nodding. “You’re lucky you didn’t get into trouble, head butting him with your helmet.”

Not sure what he was feeling as he laughed, Matt finally caught his breath. “Nelson, you didn’t hit him?” he asked.

“Hell no. Michelle still acted like she hated me,” Nelson told him.

Turning to look at Nelson, Michelle narrowed her eyes. “You don’t tell a girl you just met you’re going to marry her.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well I was, and I did,” Nelson shot back.

“You’re getting off topic,” Michelle said. “Do the job you are assigned even if someone brings cool machines.”

Nelson mouthed the last part with her, making Michelle’s face turn red. “Never made that mistake again, did I?” Nelson asked.

“You shouldn’t have made the mistake the first time,” she snapped, and he mouthed along. “I don’t say that every time,” she said as he mouthed along perfectly.

“I’m sorry,” Nelson droned. Having apologized for the same thing several thousand times, it was wearing on him. “Baby, please. Yes you do, and you are about to raise your voice screaming at me, saying I shouldn’t have started yelling for any others to take a shot in Arabic as I danced around grabbing my crotch.”

Stunned because that’s what she was about to yell, Michelle relaxed, sitting back. “Then I shall make up new things to say about that situation. You scared the hell out of me. I found someone I like, and a guy shoots him. Then, I don’t even get to cap the punk.”

“Whoa,” Nelson said, looking at her. “Never said that before.”

Nellie stood up. “Michelle, I think he’s learned his lesson. Let it go please?”

Nelson looked down at Nellie. “Wait till she starts on the ambush.”

“I had the son of bitch!” Michelle shouted, hitting the table with her fist, scaring the shit out of everyone. “You don’t shoot someone in the head when one of your team members is beating his face!”

“We had others coming,” Nelson reminded her.

“Yeah, and this ‘girl’ mowed all of those in her sector down!”

“Never said you didn’t,” Nelson said, holding up his hands. “But you can’t be mad that I jumped in front of you.”

“I had taken one down in hand-to-hand,” Michelle shot back.

“You were bigger than that one. If you remember, the one that jumped down from the roof was bigger than me,” Nelson said, closing his eyes. “I can’t marry someone if they get killed. There are all kinds of laws against that.”

Not able to help it, Michelle chuckled. “Yeah, that would be kind of creepy.”

Matt looked at Ashley, feeling cheated. “Hell, the most we’ve experienced was a bar fight,” he said.

“Matt,” Nelson said, getting up. “I really don’t want to get in a firefight with Michelle now that we are married. Our second tour, I outranked her, and holy caca. If I even acted like I was protecting her, when we were alone, she really let me know about it.”

“You could’ve gotten in trouble,” Michelle growled.

Throwing up his hands, he snapped, “I wasn’t protecting you, Michelle. You rotated out in every spot just like everyone else.”

Nellie slapped the table. “That’s enough, you two,” she snapped, and they both shut up and looked at her. She had a smile on her face, but Nellie was tired of them arguing. “You two lived through it, and it’s in the past. Leave it there,” she commanded.

“Nellie—” Michelle started, but Nellie held up her hand.

“Michelle, you and Nelson love each other so much it almost makes me jealous,” Nellie said, and Bernard raised his eyebrows, looking at her as he held Devin. “Don’t start, Bernard. You know I love you more than anything as you do me.” She looked at Nelson and Michelle. “Now, this is the last I want to hear you two arguing about this.”