299 Days: The Collapse (19 page)

Wow, Lisa thought. Grant had thought of everything and done all this behind her back. At first she was mad that he done all this secretly. Then she realized how lucky she was to have a husband who did all this. And how lucky she was to have a guy on the phone who was willing to risk his life and his friends’ to take her and her family to safety. This was all too incredible to believe. But so was having Nancy Ringman hurting Cole. And all those sirens she had been hearing for days that were now quiet. And the men with guns at the neighborhood entrance. And now getting picked up by some armed strangers Grant had been “training” with.

But this was real, Lisa thought. Yes, this was happening. They needed to get out of here. Nancy Ringman’s attack on them had made that obvious. OK, Lisa thought, it’s time to get practical and get to safety.

“I’ll be driving my Tahoe,” Lisa said. “That will work, right?”

“Sure,” Pow said. “You’ll need something to take your things in. My guys have all their stuff in their rigs so we don’t have much extra room. Besides, you’ll want to have your car when things get better in a few days and you can drive back home,” Pow said, knowing that things wouldn’t get better that quickly, but wanting to make her think otherwise. “We will put your car in the middle of the convoy. You’ll have some firepower in front of you and behind you. You’ll be very safe.”

“My parents will be in their car,” Lisa said. “That will be OK?”

“Sure,” Pow said. “Same thing. They’ll be in the middle of the convoy.”

“OK. I’ll get them ready,” Lisa said. “Come at 5:30. Thanks again… I’m sorry. What was your name?” Lisa asked.

“Pow,” he said. “You can call me Pow.”

“OK, Pow,” she said. “See you at 5:30.” Lisa hung up. She had to call her parents now. She didn’t know if they would understand. She called them. The cell lines were busy. She tried the landline. It was working. Her dad answered.

“Dad,” Lisa said, “I need you to listen to me. The kids and me, and hopefully you and Mom, are going out to the cabin. Grant is out there. He’s safe. It’s safe there. He has food out there and guns. He has been preparing for all of this for a long time. He didn’t tell me. He just did it.”

Lisa’s dad thought to himself, “Good for you Grant. That’s how you have to do it.” He kept listening.

“Things are getting bad,” Lisa said. “Really bad. Someone attacked us and hurt Cole.”

“What! Are you alright?” he asked. He was furious that someone hurt his girl and his grandson.

“We’re fine,” Lisa said. “But we need to go. Now. I’m going to come by your house with some people to take us out to the cabin. You need to be ready to go by 6:00. I mean ready to go. Everything you’ll need for a week or so out at the cabin.”

“OK. I’ll tell your mom,” Lisa’s dad said. She was glad her dad answered the phone. It seemed like it would be easier for him to understand the need to go. “Who are these people coming with you?” he asked.

“It’s a long story,” Lisa said. “But Grant goes shooting with some guys. They’re very well armed. He had a plan for them to get us out to the cabin if he couldn’t take us himself.”

“OK,” Lisa’s dad said. “We’ll be ready by 6:00.” He paused. “I am kind of looking forward to being with all of you at the cabin.”

“See you then,” Lisa said, wanting to get packing. “Bye, Dad.”

Now Lisa had to tell the kids. Manda had overheard all of this. When Lisa got off the phone, Manda came running downstairs and jumped up and down. “Yeah! We’re going out to the cabin with Dad!” At first Lisa was mad. She was reminded that Grant had left them. But then she was glad, too. “Yes, we’ll all be together out there. Now get your stuff together.”

“Way ahead of you Mom,” Manda said with obvious pride. “I’m pretty much packed. I can help with getting Cole packed.”

Cole was glad to see that they were going to the cabin. “No more mean lady? She won’t be there?”

Lisa started crying, but they were happy tears this time. “No, honey, no more mean lady. Daddy is out at the cabin and we’ll be safe there.”

Cole smiled. He wanted to go there so badly. He wanted to throw rocks in the water with his dad. He wanted all the crying and being scared of people to stop. “Dad can tuck me in.”

Lisa cried some more. “Yes, Dad can tuck you in.”

They spent the next hours feverishly packing. Deciding what to bring and leave behind. That Tahoe held a lot of stuff.

Pow rounded up the guys. Scotty was out on a milk run, so they had to wait for him to get back. “OK, gentlemen,” Pow said when Scotty returned, “we’re bugging out to Grant’s cabin. We’re taking his family and his in-laws. They’re both in town here. I have all the details.”

“What about your neighborhood here?” Wes asked.

“Clay has it under control,” Pow said, which was true. Clay and all the vets had this place doing very well; better than most neighborhoods. They wouldn’t be leaving the place to the bad guys. Pow thought about Mrs. Nguyen and those like her. She would be in good hands. The neighborhood didn’t need the Team. This made leaving much easier.

Pow wasn’t worried about his house getting trashed if they left. He rented and so did all the other guys on the Team.

Back in the Cedars, Lisa was done packing. When they had everything, she made sure the stove and faucets were off and the doors locked. It was 5:25. She heard some trucks pulling up. She looked out the front door window and couldn’t believe what she saw.

A white civilian Hummer and three pickups. The drivers got out to stand around their vehicles, seeming to be guarding them, and looked like soldiers. Actually, they looked like private military contractors that she’d seen on the news in Iraq and Afghanistan. She felt safe, for the first time in a week.

“OK, get in my car,” Lisa said to the kids. She looked around at her house. “Goodbye house,” she said. “We’ll be back soon.” She got in the SUV and hit the garage door opener. “Here we go, kids,” she said just like when they were going on a vacation.

Pow came walking up to her in the garage. He didn’t have a rifle, but had a pistol on his belt. He had that badge out, too.

“Since you know where you’re going,” Pow said to Lisa, “you take the lead. We’ll follow. We’re not in any rush, so don’t run any yellow lights with us trying to follow.”

Lisa nodded. She was nervous, but trying not to show it. Pow looked in the back seat of the Tahoe, smiled, and waved at Manda and Cole. He pointed to his badge and gave the kids a thumbs up to reassure them everything was OK. Manda and Cole felt safe for the first time in days.

“OK,” Pow said, “back out and we’ll follow. You all set?”

Lisa nodded again and smiled. She was so thankful for Pow and these other guys. She looked at the clock in the Tahoe. “5:31.” She wanted to get out of there. Now.

They slowly left the neighborhood. Len was at the entrance with a gun. Lisa rolled down her window and said, “See you later.” Len wondered why she was leaving with the cops in the Hummer and pickups; he had seen their badges.

They headed out on the short drive to Lisa’s parents. At an intersection they saw some graffiti in yellow spray paint that said, “There is no gov’t.” That seemed odd.

Pow remembered that he hadn’t told Grant the good news. He tried the voice line; it was down. He typed a text: “Lisa n kids r coming out!! Me and Team 2!! C u round 8 to 9.” He hit send. Pow was so proud of himself. He was reuniting a family. And getting the Team out to a safe and well-stocked country location.

Chapter 67

Ten Bucks a Gallon

(May 7)

The guys were following Lisa well. The last trucks would run red lights to stay with the convoy, but no one was exactly handing out tickets. There wasn’t a lot of traffic. Lisa was surprised to see most neighborhoods along the way to her parents’ had checkpoints, some with armed men. She hadn’t been out of the house in several days. Everything had changed. It looked like something out of a movie. She was so glad they were getting out of here.

Her parents’ neighborhood didn’t have any checkpoint or guard. They drove right in. Are you kidding me? Lisa thought. No guards? Her attitude about armed men guarding neighborhoods had changed 180 degrees during that short ride. She was so glad her parents could come out to a safe place and be with her.

Her dad, Drew, was waiting in their Toyota, with the engine running. It was 5:40. They were early. He got out of the car and yelled for Eileen to hurry up. He looked at the convoy and couldn’t believe it. Who were these guys? Did Grant hire some Iraq or Afghanistan vets as mercenaries? Drew felt safe.

Pow got out and introduced himself to Lisa’s dad. “Sir, I’m Bill Kung. Everyone calls me ‘Pow.’”

“I’m Drew,” Lisa’s dad said to the unusually tall Korean young man. “Thanks for doing this.”

“No problem, sir,” Pow said. He pointed to each truck and said, “That’s Scotty, Bobby, and Wes, but you can meet them when we get there. I will take the lead.” Pow handed Drew a walkie talkie. “This is a handheld CB radio. We all have one, and some spares. Lisa will get one, too.”

The CBs were Scotty’s idea; he was the “comms guy.” They plugged into a magnetic car antenna for great reception, but that wasn’t necessary for the short ranges they would be at during the convoy. The CBs were simple to use. Everyone on the Team was very glad Scotty got them. They had given him crap about spending his money on radios when he could have gotten more ammo, but now it was clear he’d made a good decision.

Pow continued with Drew. “If you can’t get us on the CB and see trouble or need some help, flash your headlights at me and I’ll radio the guys.” Drew nodded. Eileen was coming out of the house. She looked hurried and scared. She stared at the trucks and the men in the driveway, looking puzzled. Who were these people? Was all this necessary? They were just going to the cabin. Sure, things on TV looked bad but not in her neighborhood. This all seemed kind of dramatic. Overly dramatic. But she didn’t want to argue with Drew, or especially Lisa, in front of Manda and Cole. If Lisa said they needed to leave right now, that’s what they would do. Even if it was weird.

Pow came over to Lisa’s Tahoe. She rolled down the window. He handed her a CB handheld, and showed her how to use it. He told her about channel 38.

“Mom, I can be the radio person,” Manda said. “You need to drive.”

“Good idea,” Lisa said. Manda was really stepping up in the responsibility department. She had always been fairly responsible, but lately she was acting and sounding like a grown up.

Pow asked Lisa, “Do you have a gun?” Lisa shook her head.

“Yes, I have one,” Manda said. “Sorry Mom. Dad taught me how to use it, and I have it safely in my pocket with a holster.”

“Manda!” Lisa screamed. “What are you doing with a gun?”

“Mom, look around!” Manda yelled back, which she had never done before to her parents. “What are we doing here? We have a bunch of armed men protecting us because criminals are running around everywhere and there are no police.”

Manda paused and continued in a non-yelling voice, “So that’s what I’m doing with a gun. Dad said I needed to have one if he had to go.”

Lisa could not believe that her daughter had just yelled at her, but she also couldn’t argue with that. “OK, but don’t take it out of your pocket. And put it away in a locked case when we get to the cabin.” Manda nodded.

Pow got a signal from Drew that they were ready. “OK, let’s head out. We’ll do a radio check.” He got into his Hummer. Manda set the channel to 38 and turned up the volume. “Pow here, check?”

“Drew.”

“Scotty.” It was silent for a while.

“Manda,” she said, figuring it was her turn.

“Wes here, check?”

“Bobby.”

Pow came back on. “That’s the order we’ll go in. Me, Drew, Scotty, the Matsons, Wes, and Bobby in the rear. Let’s get out of here.”

Everyone got into their vehicles. They maneuvered so the vehicles were in the order Pow had given, and then rolled out of the Taylors’ neighborhood.

When they got out of the subdivision, Drew came on the CB and said, “Uh, sorry guys, but I need some gas.”

Crap. Who bugs out without a full tank of gas?

Pow asked, “How much do you have?”

“About a quarter tank,” Drew said. That wouldn’t get them there. It would in normal times, but they had to count on traffic jams and going on long detours.

Pow asked, “Is there a gas station on the way toward the freeway?”

“Yes,” Drew replied.

“OK, we’ll give it a try,” Pow said, trying not to let Drew know how pissed he was. “I hope they’re open and the line isn’t too long.” This was going to throw off the whole timetable. They might have to go part of the way in the dark, which meant a gunfight was entirely possible. Damn it.

After a while, they came up to the gas station. The line was pretty long, but moving. Pow came on the CB, “OK, Drew, gas up. Quickly. Anyone else need any?”

Everyone said no. Lisa told Manda how much gas they had. Manda felt like a grown up when she got on the CB and said, “We have three-quarters of a tank. Oh, Manda, that is. I mean the Matson car.” She was getting the hang of it.

It took about twenty minutes for Drew to get to the pump. A handwritten cardboard sign on the pump said, “No credit cards. Cash only. Pay inside.” Drew motioned to Pow that he was going inside. He had a revolver so he’d be OK, but Eileen was unarmed and in the car. Drew was glad the guys were watching him and Eileen. It was so nice to have these guys around. They were so polite too, saying “Sir” and “Ma’am” all the time. They must be veterans just back from the Middle East.

When Drew got into the gas station, the man behind the counter said, “Gas? Cash only. Ten bucks a gallon.”

Drew said, “What? Are you kidding? That’s not what the sign says.”

“Sign is wrong,” the immigrant man said. “Ten bucks a gallon or nothing at all. You want gas or not?” The cashier was being a dick. He seemed really nervous, probably because he had so much cash in the till and had been dealing with frustrated customers all day. He had a pistol on a holster that was plainly visible. There were several young men that seemed to be his family members standing around and watching every customer.