Bug Out! Part 11: Motorhomes on the Dark Road (19 page)

“My immediate staff and you guys,” the general said.

“You’re withholding this? I thought you were talking to the Joint Chiefs about it?” Frank asked.

“I talked to them about Carlsbad Caverns. There are still too many people who can’t be trusted. I decided to keep this close to the vest for now.”

“Why?” Jane asked.

“Those guys knew about the theft of lead going on for the last few weeks, and they chose to withhold that information from me. I found out another way.”

“You sure they know?” George asked.

“Yes,” General Hogan said.

“Son of a bitch,” George said. “I thought this was about over.”

“I told you guys,” General Hogan said. “It’ll take time and effort to root the evil out of our government.”

“What’s our next step?” Jane asked.

“Can we get names for all these folks?” Frank asked.

“I’ve been trying,” General Hogan said. “Some of them are easy, of course. Got to be careful who I ask about the others.”

“I know some of them,” George said.

“There’s another way we can do it,” Jane said.

“How?” General Hogan asked.

“Frank had access to the FBI facial recognition system. You still have that, honey?”

“Yeah,” Frank said, looking at her with a wicked grin. “Thanks for reminding me about that. Some of these folks might not be on it though.”

“What are you going to do with the names?” George asked.

“Hack,” Frank said. “Find their communications. Find out who they’re associated with, and where they’re going.”

George smiled. “Good.”

“You really going to Columbus tomorrow?” General Hogan asked.

“I was,” he said. “This is more important, but let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings. Ted is waiting on some info that may alter our plans, or even erase them.”

“The incident on the jogging path?” Jane asked.

“You got it,” George said. “We’re supposed to get autopsy and ballistics info tomorrow morning.”

“You think Malcolm would be okay with you working this instead of going to Columbus?” the General asked.

“Yeah, especially since Ted’s here,” George said. “Besides, we made an agreement.”

“What agreement?” General Hogan asked.

“The country comes first.”

***

“What are we gonna do, Scotty?” Kerry asked. They were in the basement, waiting for the cops to arrive. So far nothing. It’d been over an hour.

“Maybe nobody heard the gunshots,” Scott said. “They
did
happen in the basement, but the door wasn’t shut tight.”

“I don’t like it down here with the bodies,” Kerry said. “Can we leave?”

Scott ran the situation through in his mind. Agent Keith was a rogue FBI agent. That was pretty obvious. If he knew enough to trap them, there are probably others out there, and they might not be operating under official sanctions either. Panic filled his mind.

“Kerry, we need to go on a road trip,” Scott said. “Is that okay?”

“Can we take the motor home?” he asked, smiling through his tears.

“No, we’ll have to take the station wagon. The police know about the motor home.”

“What about the bodies?”

“See that big white chest over there?” Scott asked, pointing. “Can you help me put them in there?”

“I guess. What is that?”

“It’s a freezer,” Scott said, walking towards it. “Let’s see if it works.”

Scott plugged it in. A low vibration started. He felt the side. “It’s running.”

Kerry watched him silently as he opened the top door. “Phew, that stinks, Scotty!” he said.

“Yes it does,” Scott said. “Sorry.” He looked inside. Blood stains in the bottom, dried. He felt the walls. They were getting cool.

“Is it working, Scotty?”

“Yes,” he said. “C’mon, help me carry them over here.”

“Okay,” Kerry said, an apprehensive look on his face.

They struggled to get Howard carried over. He fit in the freezer, but Scott could see that Agent Keith and Sy were going to be a problem. The chest was too short for the men to lay prone. Then the thought came to him. Cut the Agent and Sy in half. He eyed the workbench next to the freezer. Perfect, but it was covered with junk. He quickly moved things from the bench to the floor.

“What are you doing, Scotty?”

“Help me, will you?” Scott said. “We need to get this cleared off, and then we can set the other men up here.”

Kerry’s mind was trying to understand the reason as he helped Scott. They had it cleared in a few minutes.

“Okay, let’s put them up here,” Scott said. The two wrestled the bodies up on the work bench.

“What now, Scotty?”

“You go upstairs and have something to eat. Close the door behind you, and don’t turn lights on up there. If it’s too scary, go back to your room. Okay? We’ll leave when I’m done in here.”

“Okay, Scotty,” Kerry said. He looked relieved to be leaving the basement. After the door closed, Scott raced over and locked the dead bolt, then returned to the workbench.

There were saws hanging on the pegboard on the center table. He looked around on the floor. There was a drain in the middle of the room. It looked like the blood would flow down there from the work bench the bodies were on. He saw a broom over against the stairs, and grabbed it, sweeping a clear path for the fluids to run. His heart was beating quicker now. He was anxious to get to work. He dug into it with vigor, trying to avoid getting blood on himself. That didn’t work, but after about 45 minutes, he had both men in several pieces, and was fitting them easily into the big freezer. It was already getting cold inside.

“Scotty, are you almost done?” he heard Kerry say through the door.

“Almost,” he said. He filled a pail with water from the laundry sink and washed as much blood down the drain as he could. It was still going to stink down here when he got back. “There, that ought to do it.”

“Scotty! I’m scared.”

“I’m coming,” he said, removing his bloody pants and shirt and climbing the steps. He unlocked the door and opened it. Kerry’s eyes got wide.

“Where’s your clothes?”

“They’re dirty, so I left them down there. I’ll take a quick shower and get dressed, and then we can leave. Okay?”

“Okay, Scotty.”

“Shit,” Scott said.

“What’s the matter?” Kerry asked.

“I forgot about the movies,” he said, rushing back down. He found an old wooden crate and loaded the film cans. “Kerry, come down here and help me.”

“Okay, Scotty,” he said, rushing down. They each took an end of the heavy crate and carried it up the steps. Then Scott locked up the basement door.

“I’ll be done with my shower in a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, Scotty,” he said.

Scott showered and dressed quickly. He came down the stairs and checked the doors and windows in the front half of the house. It would be light soon. He had to hurry.

“Kerry, do you know where the motor home keys are?”

“They’re on the kitchen counter,” Kerry said. “Howard put them there.”

“Good,” he said. “Let’s see if Howard has an ice chest in his storage compartment. C’mon.”

They walked out into the darkness and unlocked the big storage compartment in the Class C.

“There it is,” Kerry said. “See, Scotty?”

“Yeah. Help me.”

“There’s still some food in Howard’s freezer,” Kerry said as they got it out.

“Good,” Scott said. He unlocked the coach door and went inside, coming out in a few minutes with a bag full of frozen food. He put it in the ice chest.

“Can I get the pop tarts?” Kerry asked.

“Yes and grab other stuff too. Take it to the back of the station wagon over there.”

“Where did that come from?” Kerry asked, looking at the car, dew dripping off it.

“It was in the garage,” Scott said.

Kerry moved food as Scott rushed into the house with the ice chest, filling it with the contents of his fridge. Kerry came into the house.

“All done, Scotty,” he said, looking proud of himself.

“Good, help me with this ice chest.” The two carried it out to the station wagon.

“Are we ready to go?” Kerry asked.

“One more thing,” Scott said. “The movies.” They went back into the house and got those, loading them as the sun was coming up.

“Get in the car while I go lock the door, Kerry.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’m tired.”

“Lay down in the back seat.”

“Can I get my pillow and blanket?”

“I’ll go get some for both of us.” Scott said.

“Okay.”

Scott bounded through the back door, raced up the stairs, and grabbed two pillows and two blankets. He rushed back out and locked the door, then trotted over to the car.

“Here you go,” Scott said, passing them back to Kerry.

“Thanks, Scotty,” he said.

Scott drove the station wagon into the alley, and then got out and closed the back gate, taking one more look at the place as he locked the padlock. “Dammit.”

He got behind the wheel and drove away.

It was a cloudy morning.
Humidity was high, and it smelled like rain. Trish woke up sweaty, tight against Terry. She reached up to his head and petted his cheek. He stirred.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Terry said, turning towards her.

“Muggy,” she said. “My nightgown is stuck to me.”

“Well, you should have left it off,” Terry said, grinning.

“Yeah, you’d like that, mister,” she said. “What’s up today?”

“I don’t know,” Terry said. “Got guard duty on the roof, but not until late this afternoon. I thought maybe I’d get back to working on the park.”

“Doing what?” she asked.

“Getting the other power masts working,” he said. “We’ve got to clean up that mess on the front lawn, too, but that’s going to take more than just me.”

“The general’s helicopter,” Trish said. “Maybe we ought to leave that there, and put a little fence around it.”

“Tourist attraction?”

“Yeah, if there’s any chance we’ll stay here and open the place.”

“Would you like to do that?” Terry asked.

“Maybe,” she said. “The war is winding down.”

“So it would appear,” Terry said. “This place might still be a magnet for bad folks.”

“I know,” she said, stretching, the covers coming off of her. Terry eyed her, his hands moving onto her torso. He moved closer and kissed her.

“You feel nice,” he said.

“Getting frisky? We need to get into town. We’re just about out of protection.”

“Maybe it’s time to stop using it,” Terry said, his breath quickening.

She sighed and rested against him. “You think so?”

“It’s a nice thought,” he sighed. “I suppose I need to think with my head instead of my heart. I don’t know how we’ll make a living when things get back to normal.”

“Well, I did say we were
almost
out.” She pulled her damp nightgown off, smiling.

***

Malcolm hardly slept at all. He finally got up and snuck by Ted, leaving the coach. He headed for the clubhouse. As he approached he could smell the coffee. Kurt and Mary were sitting at a table chatting.

“Have some coffee, Malcolm,” Mary said.

“Thanks,” he said. “Smells heavenly.”

He went into the kitchen. Gabe, Jake, and Dobie were all there, leaning against the counters, sipping coffee. Malcolm got a cup and leaned against the counter. “Good morning, guys.”

“Heard you got into quite a battle last night,” Dobie said. “Should have let me know.”

“It came up kinda quick,” Malcolm said. “I’m sure having your pistol there would have been good, but we managed.”

“Heard the local authorities weren’t too pleased,” Gabe said, chuckling.

“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “Although the one who was most upset did admit he was glad we got them. They’ve had missing children.”

“This thing in Columbus is gonna change your plans, I’ll bet,” Jake said.

“Maybe,” Malcolm said. “We’re still going out there.”

Ted walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Malcolm. Should have woken me up.”

“No rush,” Malcolm said. “This is Dobie, Gabe, and Jake. Gentlemen, this is Ted Crowley.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dobie said. The others nodded in agreement.

“Hear from the bureau?” Malcolm asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Want to go talk about it?” Malcolm asked.

“I need coffee first,” he said, drawing himself a cup from the big pot.

“We’ll leave you guys alone,” Gabe said.

“You can stick around if you’d like,” Ted said. “I don’t see any reason to keep this secret.”

“Good,” Jake said. “This is interesting.”

“Well?” Malcolm asked as Ted took his first sip.

“Good coffee,” he said. “Thanks.”

“C’mon, man,” Malcolm said.

“Okay, okay,” Ted said, chuckling. “The coed was shot in the face with her own pepper spray, and then somebody elbowed her in the face so hard that it broke her nose. She was shot in the back when she was lying face down in the dirt.”

“What weapon?” Malcolm asked.

“It was a 9mm Browning, found at the scene,” Ted said. “Nice old gun. Registered to a dead person in Michigan. They’re still trying to follow up on possible relationships to Scott or Howard.”

“Anything interesting about her?” Malcolm asked.

“Yeah, she’d had sex about an hour before the incident,” Ted said. “Looks like it was forced. They’re still working the DNA on that.”

“Wonderful,” Malcolm said. “I’ll bet it wasn’t a frat member.”

“Scott and Howard’s girl is even more interesting,” Ted said.

“How so?” Malcolm asked. The other men stood by silently, mesmerized.

“She was shot in the back as she was running away,” Ted said. “Ballistics say the gun belonged to Agent Keith. He tried to stage this mess. The gun that killed the coed was in this girl’s hand. It had been wiped, but not well. Agent Keith left a print on the barrel.”

“Idiot,” Malcolm said, chuckling. “Who was the girl?”

“That’s the most interesting part of all,” Ted said. “Her name was Bailey Simpson. She disappeared several days ago, after being accused of participation in a rape at her sorority.”

“Sounds like a wonderful girl,” Malcolm said. “What was she doing with a couple old serial killers like Scott and Howard?”