Bug Out! Part 11: Motorhomes on the Dark Road (18 page)

“Son of a bitch,” Howard yelled.

Scott laughed. “Damn, Agent Keith, you’re as bad as we are.”

“Scotty?” asked Kerry from the kitchen, his voice muffled. “Are you there?”

“Run, Kerry!” shouted Scott as loud as he could. “Go out the front door and run down the street. Hide.”

They heard scampering of feet as Kerry ran to the door. Agent Keith started after him, getting into the kitchen just as Kerry got through the front door. He ran out into the yard after him.

“Howard, pull that brick out right there,” Scott said, pointing. Howard pulled it. It slid out, revealing a box. “Hurry, dammit, we only have a second.”

Howard pulled the key out of the box and opened the cell. The gun that Agent Keith used on Sy was laying on the floor. He picked it up, and got back into the cell, pulling it closed and locking it again. He threw the key back in the box and slid the brick back into place, just as Agent Keith headed back down the stairs.

“Where’s Kerry?” Scott asked.

“Little bastard got away, but I’ll get him soon enough,” he said, huffing and puffing. Then he noticed that the gun wasn’t on the floor. He turned back to them and saw Howard pointing it at him. Howard pulled the trigger, hitting Agent Keith in the gut. He slumped to the ground, firing a shot at Howard as he fell, hitting him in the side. Howard flew back, gripping himself, and fired several more shots into Agent Keith.

“Howie, you okay?” Scott cried.

“No,” Howard said, gasping. “I’m hit bad.”

“Get the key back out and unlock the door before you pass out,” Scott said. “We’ll get you to the hospital.”

“We?” Howard asked as he stumbled to the brick and pulled it out.

“Yeah, Kerry’s around. As soon as I get these cuffs off I’ll go get him.”

Howard had the key back in his hand, and crawled to the door, reaching around, getting the door unlocked. He pushed it open. Scott rushed out and backed up against Agent Keith’s body, using his hands to feel for keys. He found a keyring in his right front pocket and worked them out.

“Find them?” Howard asked, his breath laboring.

“Yeah,” Scott said.

He came into the cell and backed up to Howard, key ring in his hands. Howard struggled to get up high enough to reach. Scott lowered himself to a sitting position. That was enough. Howard got the cuffs unlocked.

“Thanks, Howie,” Scott said.

“Go get Kerry,” Howard wheezed. “I’m done. Take him and get the hell out of here.”

“No way,” Scott said. “I’ll be right back.” He bounded up the stairs and bolted out the front door, calling Kerry’s name.

“Scotty!” shouted Kerry. He climbed out of the bushes about three doors down and ran over. “Is that bad man gone?”

“Yes, Kerry, he’s gone,” Scott said. “C’mon, let’s go back inside and turn off all the lights. The cops will be coming soon. We don’t want them in the house.”

They ran back into the house, shutting the door, turning off lights as they went. Scott checked the back door and locked it, then went into the basement with Kerry, pulling the door shut and locking it.

“Is Howie dead?” Kerry asked, tears in his eyes.

Scott checked him, tears in his eyes. “Yes, sorry, Kerry. Howie is dead.”

“Where’s Bailey?” Kerry asked.

“She’s dead too, Kerry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

Kerry sobbed, tears running down his cheeks, rushing to hug Scott. “Who did it?”

“That FBI Agent right there,” Scott said, pointing to him. “The FBI is not your friend.”

“Either are the cops,” Kerry said, eyes narrowing. “They killed Blake.”

The two Jeeps and a rented Ford
pulled up to the clubhouse, and everybody got out.

“C’mon, I’ll show you the dungeon,” Malcolm said to Ted. “You ain’t gonna believe it.”

The two of them went into the lounge with George and Heidi.

The Sheriff, Charlie, and Jackson went into the clubhouse. Jerry, Frank, Jasmine, and Jane were at the computer table. Mary walked out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee, Kurt following her. They joined Hilda at a table near the kitchen door. Hilda got up when Charlie walked in and rushed over to him.

“Thank God you’re back,” Hilda said, hugging him. “You guys stop her?”

“Yeah, we got her and her clan,” Charlie said. “She had quite a few people with her. Turned into a shootout.”

“I was afraid of that,” Hilda said.

“I don’t think the local cops thought much of that,” the Sheriff said.

“Yeah, I’ll say,” Jackson said. “He eyeballed us pretty good. Especially Malcolm.”

“I would have,” the Sheriff said. “They were nicer than I would’ve been, frankly. We’re lucky no civilians got hit in the crossfire.”

“Did that friend of Malcolm’s show up?” Frank asked.

“Ted Crowley,” Charlie said. “Yeah, he’s here. Malcolm couldn’t wait to show the dungeon to him.”

“What have you guys been doing?” the Sheriff asked. “I figured you’d all be in bed by now. Getting late.”

“The General showed me a picture of the WTO delegation,” Frank said. “Daan Mertins was in the picture.”

“No,” Charlie said.

“It gets better,” Jerry said. “They’re coming here. We’re trying for figure out where.”

“Think the WTO folks know who Daan Mertins is?” Charlie asked.

“That’s the 100,000 dollar question,” Frank said. “The General thinks some of the WTO folks might have helped with this mayhem.”

“Why would they do that?” Charlie asked.

“Globalists,” Jerry said. “They don’t like individuals having sway over them. They want happy, obedient, unarmed
customers
. Our Bill of Rights kinda screws that up.”

“Boo friggin hoo,” Jackson said. “I hate those jerks. We gonna do something?”

“Not enough info yet,” Frank said. “I doubt if Daan Mertins ever had a chip in him.”

“Yeah, probably too smart for that,” Charlie said. “General Hogan have any plans?”

“He said he wanted to talk to George about it,” Frank said. “Apparently he had experience with some of these folks.”

“Well, the general had better hurry,” Jackson said. “They’re heading for Columbus, Ohio in the morning.”

“Scotty and Howard?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, now that they know where the hideout is,” the Sheriff said.

“Think they’re going to want any company?” Jerry asked.

“They told me
I don’t want to get involved
,” Jackson said.

“Yeah, and they’re right,” the Sheriff said. “I don’t think we should engage in this one. The thing tonight was borderline.”

“Hey, guys!” Jane said.

“What, honey?” Frank asked.

“Shooting in Columbus tonight. That girl with the pepper spray got shot while jogging in the park. The girl who was with Howard and Scott got shot too. Eyewitnesses said that four men left the scene.”

“Whoa, really,” Jackson said. “Wonder if Malcolm knows yet?”

“It just happened,” Jane said. “Less than an hour ago. It’s only been on the news for a few minutes.”

***

Ted was aghast as Malcolm showed him the details of the dungeon. When he turned on the VHS tape, George and Heidi left.

“What are the plans for this place?” Ted asked. “The authorities don’t know about it yet, do they?”

“Other than you, no,” Malcolm said. “The park belongs to the group, via a deal they made with the local government to take over the tax liability.”

“This is evidence, obviously, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get this stuff back eventually.”

“You know how the government is,” Malcolm said. “Possession is nine tenths of the law. Once they get it, it’ll be like pulling teeth to get it back.”

“Do your friends even care?” Ted asked. “What are their plans now that the war is winding down? They could go back home now unless they’re from southern Arizona or New Mexico.”

“Some of these folks are full-time RV’ers,” Malcolm said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of them decide to stay on here. It’s cheap for them, provided they can handle the winters.”

“If they’re retired, they could use it for a home base, I guess,” Ted said. “Didn’t look like that two-bit town would provide much in the way of jobs.”

“True enough,” Malcolm said. “Three of our folks own RV Parks, but they were all damaged during the war, and one of them is still too hot to go back to.”

“Where’s that one?” Ted asked.

“Near the Grand Canyon. Charlie’s place.”

“Oh,” Ted said. “Well, that’s better than southern Arizona at least.”

“Probably,” Malcolm said. “Seen enough?”

“For now, yeah,” Ted said. “I’m tired. Long drive today.”

“You can bed down in my RV,” Malcolm said. “I’ve got plenty of room.”

They went up the steps and closed the dungeon trap door.

“How about a nightcap?” Malcolm asked, nodding to the bar.

“Sure, why not,” he said. They walked over. George and Heidi were already there, George behind the bar, Heidi on a stool in front of it.

“What can I get for you two?” George said.

“Got any Irish Whiskey?” Ted asked.

“Sure,” George said. “Compliments of Scotty, I’d imagine. He left the place well stocked, although we
have
made a dent.”

“What do you think of the dungeon?” Heidi asked.

“Grim place,” Ted said. “Probably enough for six months of good research down there.”

“I can only stay down there for so long,” Heidi said. “We forced ourselves to watch several hours of video tape earlier today. It was tough.”

“There’s liable to be some stuff at Sherry’s place,” Ted said.

“You didn’t want to take a look tonight, though, did you?” George asked.

“Nah, not when there’s a live one to go after,” Ted said. “You guys really think the Torso Murderer was involved with the guy who owned this place?”

“I’d bet money on it,” Malcolm said. “Timeframe overlaps enough, and there are other connections.”

“Not to give you the willies, but I’d guess that Earl Wilson and Jason Beckler have sat at this bar,” George said.

“You’re probably right about that,” Malcolm said. “Earl Wilson for sure. The tow truck in the barn is registered to him.”

“Really?” Ted asked. “You didn’t mention that.”

“Slipped my mind,” Malcolm said. “There’s so much.”

Ted’s phone rang.

“Excuse me a moment,” he said, getting off the bar and walking away.

“I’m tired,” Heidi said.

“I know, me too,” George said. “We’ll hit the sack pretty soon.”

“How early do you guys want to take off in the morning?” Malcolm asked.

“Nine?” Heidi asked. “It’s already past 11:00 now.”

“Works for me,” Malcolm said. “Uh oh.” He was watching Ted walk over with a grim expression.

“What happened?” George asked.

“The shit hit the fan in Columbus,” he said, sitting back down. He took a sip of his whiskey. “The pepper spray girl and the female companion of Scott and Howard are both dead.”

“No way,” Heidi said.

“How? Where?” Malcolm asked.

“The victim was jogging in the park across the street from her house. The other girl shot her, but then was shot herself by a third party,” Ted said. “Seems extremely fishy to me.”

“No sign of Howard or Scotty?”

“There were a couple eyewitness accounts, but none of them were much good. It was dark.”

“What’d they see?” Malcolm asked.

“Four men leaving the scene. Two were holding guns on the other two. Bad descriptions.”

“Set up,” George said.

“Yeah,” Malcolm said.

“The FBI promised me info before sunup tomorrow morning,” Ted said. “They’re doing autopsies tonight, and they’re trying to get ballistics done too.”

“That’s fast, especially for the bureau,” Malcolm said. “Why the rush?”

“They lost contact with their agent there,” Ted said. “Three guesses who.”

“Agent Keith,” Malcolm said. “Shit.”

“You got it,” Ted said. He took a gulp of his whiskey.

“What now?” Heidi asked.

“I say we still go to the house,” Malcolm said.

“Agreed,” Ted said.

“We’d better get some shut-eye,” George said. “We need to be fresh for this one.”

“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “Let’s go.”

Everybody finished their drinks and headed up to the barn.

“Let’s move our cars over to my rig,” Malcolm said. “You can follow me.”

Ted nodded and they walked over there, Heidi and George following. General Hogan appeared out of the darkness.

“George, could I have a quick word?” he asked.

“Sure,” he said. “Where?”

“Let’s go in the clubhouse,” the general said.

“Mind if I go to the coach?” Heidi asked.

“Sure, you can take the Jeep over there. I’ll walk over in a few minutes.”

“Okay, sweetie. Not too long.”

George nodded and followed the general into the clubhouse. Frank and Jane were still there. Everybody else had turned in.

“What’s up, General?” Frank asked.

“Let’s have a quick chat about that picture,” he said.

“What picture?” George asked.

“This one,” Frank said, pointing to his PC monitor.

George walked over and looked closely, eyes getting wide.

“Son of a bitch,” he said. “Daan Mertins is connected with the WTO?”

“Yep,” General Hogan said. “The WTO is coming over here for a big hush-hush meeting. We’re trying to figure out where it’s going to be.”

“Daan’s not the only problem person on that picture,” George said. “Three of them are wanted in the United States, you know.”

“Really?” Frank asked.

“Yeah,” George said, pointing at the screen. “These two guys are wanted for arms trafficking. And that guy is wanted for drug trafficking and white slavery.”

“No shit,” the general said, shaking his head. “How do they keep these jobs? They’re pretty high-level positions.”

“You’d be surprised,” George said. “It’s likely that some of these guys saw this war as being in their interest.”

“That’s what the general was intimating when he first talked to me about it,” Frank said.

“We need to find out where these guys are headed,” George said. “Any ideas?”

“New Mexico,” Frank said.

“Carlsbad Caverns?” George asked. “They that stupid?”

“How many people know about those lead-lined shelters they’ve built there?” Frank asked.