Bug Out! Part 3: Motorhome Madness (2 page)

“Geez, it’s not going to be safe for a while, is it?” Jane asked. “Our military is going to be tied up there for years.”

Frank nodded.

“Meanwhile the US is coming under harsh criticism by the UN because they have completely locked down the northern border of Mexico. ICE is no longer letting people come in and surrender. They are shooting anybody who refuses to turn around. The US Department of Homeland Security is telling the UN that they will not let potential terrorists into the United States. There have been some demonstrations against this in the US, but American citizens are attending those and shouting the protesters down in massive numbers. Violence breaks out often, and the protesters are starting to slow down on their activities. The police have been getting in-between the pro-immigrant protesters and citizens, but continue to stay on the sidelines when pro-Islamist demonstrations are attempted.”

“Wow,” Frank exclaimed. “Why don’t people understand that we need to lock things down? Look around.”

“Let’s see if there is anything on the local channels,” Jane said. She surfed through the channels until she found some local news.

“Three more groups of Islamic Terrorists were caught at the Canadian border yesterday, and are in custody in Everett, Washington at this hour,” the announcer said. “Authorities warn that some groups have likely gotten through. Security around northern cities has been heightened, and Canada has begun to round up foreign nationals associated with the people who have been apprehended.”

“Oh, no. Sarah,” Jane gasped.

“So much for the north being safe. This is a huge problem, because we’ve never done much to secure the border with Canada. There are miles and miles of forest that they could just walk through up there.”

“In other news, there has been some success in Arizona,” the announcer said. “Phoenix is now back in the hands of the US Army, and the remnants of the Islamist army have fled to the northeast. Now that the battles for the major cities are over, the Army is putting all of its resources into the pursuit of the Islamists, who are trying to link up with the remaining fighters to the east of Flagstaff.”

“Good,” Frank said.

“There are two secessionist militias that are still causing problems in the western and northern parts of Arizona. State Police, local Sheriffs and other law enforcement have been trying to neutralize these groups while the Army is busy with the Islamists to the east. The larger of the two militias started in Yuma, and has been attempting to move northward along the Colorado River. The second militia, started in the Williams area, was forced to leave Williams and head north by the local authorities. They are now believed to be just south and east of the Grand Canyon. Authorities are keeping an eye on this situation carefully, because of the possibility that the southern militia is attempting to join the northern militia. If that were to happen, it would be a problem for the Army, as they would quickly overrun local authorities.”

“Crap,” Jane said. “We aren’t even close to out of this mess, are we?”

“Doesn’t sound like it to me.”

“What should we do?”

“I think we continue to wait and watch at this point,” Frank said. If the Army takes out the Islamists, maybe we should try to cross New Mexico and head into northern Texas.”

“Or maybe we should just try to get back to California,” Jane said.

“Yes, that’s another idea. Maybe the best idea, if we can figure out a way.”

“I wonder if we could go through Nevada and hit the middle of California from the east? Maybe up by Tahoe.”

“There’s some treacherous driving up there. Not sure I’m ready to drive this behemoth through Donner Pass.”

“We could go up into Idaho, over to Oregon, and down from the north.”

“Yeah, and maybe pick up Sarah on the way,” Frank said.

“I’d like that,” Jane said. “Look, the sheriff is coming out of Arthur’s coach.”

Frank looked out the window.

“Looks like he’s coming this way,” he said.

“And Hilda is making for Jerry’s rig.”

Lucy started to growl and bark as the Sheriff came to the door. Frank opened it.

“Good morning, Sheriff Brown,” Frank said, as Jane tried to quiet Lucy down.

“Good morning, folks. Could you come down to the clubhouse with me, please? We have some things to discuss.”

“Of course,” Frank said. “Jane, why don’t you turn on the AC so we can leave the critters in here?”

“Will do,” she said.

They came out of the door of the coach, and Frank locked it up. Hilda was walking towards the office with Jerry and Jasmine. Hilda stopped at Cynthia’s coach and asked her to join them.

They all arrived at the clubhouse at the same time. Hilda unlocked the door.

“Good morning, everybody,” she said. “I’ll get some coffee going.”

“Have a seat,” Sheriff Brown said. He motioned over to the first table. “Don’t be nervous, folks. None of you are in trouble.”

“The coffee will be ready in about ten minutes, for anybody that wants it,” Hilda said as she walked over. She sat down with the group.

“Thanks for coming over,” Sheriff Brown said. “As you probably guessed, we have questions about Arthur. His death was not of natural causes. As Jerry pointed out to me last night, he was smothered with a pillow. We were able to prove that at the coroner’s lab.”

“Horrible,” Jane said. “I was hoping it wasn’t going to be this kind of thing.”

“Yes, we all were, Jane,” said Hilda.

“Where’s Charlie?” asked Jerry.

“He wasn’t there last night until Hilda told him about it, so we didn’t want to bring him in. Jerry, did you get a chance to look at the radio yet?”

“Yes, Sheriff Brown. I can tell you without a doubt that it was disabled on purpose.”

“How can you be sure?” he asked.

“Somebody took the radio apart and removed two diodes. They knew exactly what they were doing.”

The sheriff got a concerned look on his face.

“Alright, then we know that somebody killed Arthur to take away access to the radio. Is it fixable?”

“Already fixed,” Jerry said. “I had parts in my tool box that worked.”

“Good. Don’t tell anybody outside of this room. Does anybody else know yet?”

“Just my mom,” Jasmine said. “We told her this morning.”

“She’s back at your rig?”

“Yes. She’s old and frail, and doesn’t get around very well. I didn’t see a reason to bring her.”

“That’s fine,” the Sheriff said. “So I’ll get to the point. We know that the Williams Militia is sending scouts up this way. We’ve caught two of them in the last 24 hours.”

“No,” Hilda said.

“It gets worse. Have any of you heard of the Yuma Militia?”

“Jane and I just watched a story on them before you came to our coach,” Frank said. “They’re working their way north along the Colorado River, according to the reports. They said it would be bad if the Yuma Militia and the Williams Militia linked up.”

“The Yuma Militia and the Williams Militia are one in the same,” Sheriff Brown said. “They’re split up right now, but are attempting to link back up. We are trying to trap them in the same place if possible. We want them to link up. The media is saying that the Army is completely tied up fighting Islamists in Eastern Arizona. That is only partially true. The militia is more dangerous than the remaining Islamists. The Army is close by, and they plan to set a trap.”

“They aren’t going to use us for bait, I hope,” Jane said.

“No, that isn’t their plan. But they don’t want any of you to leave here just yet. They don’t want to spook the militia.”

“How much danger are we in?” asked Frank.

“I won’t lie to you. There is some danger. For some reason the militia was interested enough in this group to put a mole among you. That’s who we think killed Arthur.”

“Any idea who that is?” Jerry asked.

“I’m hoping you folks can help us with that, Jerry.”

The crack of a gunshot punctuated the air from the back of the park. First one, then another. Then two more.

“Everybody stay here!” Sheriff Brown yelled. He slipped out the door.

There were two more shots
after Sheriff Brown ran out the door of the clubhouse. Jerry jumped off of his seat and ran to the window.

“Jerry, don’t go by the window,” shouted Jasmine. He got down and peered over the window sill. Frank started to get up. Jane shook her head no. Cynthia and Hilda were both sitting, looking at the open door, afraid to move a muscle.

After a few minutes, the Sheriff came trotting back in, breathing hard.

“Hilda, did you guys post somebody in one of Jer’s old deer blinds?”

“We were going to start doing that. Even have a schedule in the works, but we didn’t start it last night,” she said.

“Jeb,” Jane said. “Remember, he wanted to hang out up there and have a couple of drinks?”

The Sheriff gave her a quizzical look, and then got a smile on his face.

“Wait a minute, is Jer’s stuff still up in that main blind?”

Frank laughed. Then Charlie came running in.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. Then he saw the Sheriff and the rest of the group. “Hilda, are you having a meeting without me?” He had a hurt look on his face.

“No, sweetie,” she said. “Sheriff Brown asked to talk to the people who were at Arthur’s coach last night. You weren’t there until after I told you about it.”

Charlie nodded, but he still looked a little hurt, and a little suspicious.

Jasmine’s phone started to ring, and she answered it. She listened, and then took the phone away from her ears.

“It’s mom,” she said. “Jeb is calling for help. She didn’t think we would hear it up here.”

“Let’s go,” Frank said. “I’m stopping by the coach to get my gun.” Jane nodded, looking worried.

“I’m with you, Frank,” Jerry said. They ran out the door, followed by the Sheriff.

“Slow down, guys!” Sheriff Brown yelled.

“Our friend is out there,” Jerry yelled back. He ducked into his rig and came out with his M-1 Carbine.

Frank got to the coach, and Lucy was going nuts. He opened the door and she ran out, looking warily around. Frank grabbed the pistol, put it in the holster in a hurry, and belted up, and then grabbed his Winchester. He slipped the leash on Lucy and brought her too, then got out and met up with Jerry and the Sheriff.

“You brought the dog?” asked Jerry.

“My eyes and ears,” Frank said, then he looked towards the blind and shouted. “Jeb, where are you?”

“Up in the blind, shot in the leg. I think I got all of them, but I’m not sure. Be careful. Bring a dog if you have one.”

Frank laughed nervously.

“Oh, I’ve got a hell of a police dog,” he shouted, and he bent down and took the leash off of Lucy, hooking it on the fence next to the gate. “Stay close, girl.”

“Why did you take the leash off?” Jerry asked.

“The Winchester takes two hands,” he replied.

The Sheriff crouched down. He had his service revolver in his hand.

“A little less chatter, you guys, there may be more of them out there.”

Frank nodded.

“Should have grabbed the shotgun,” Jerry whispered.

“You guys left too quick for that,” he said.

“Watch out,” Jeb yelled. Then there were several shots. One of them hit a tree next to Jerry. All three of the men hit the dirt. Lucy looked towards where the gunfire came from. It was like she was pointing. Frank saw where she was looking, and then got a bead on the spot with the Winchester. It was a bush next to a tree. He saw a slight movement.

“Got ya!” Frank said, and he pulled the trigger. A loud blast came from his Winchester. He saw a man fall. He worked the lever on the rifle to reload.

“Nice shooting,” Jeb shouted.

“You can thank my dog. She pointed him out,” Frank yelled.

“You’re fighting modern weapons with that relic? Geez.” the Sheriff said.

“Got the job done,” Frank said. “Holds ten rounds, too.”

“See any more?” shouted Jerry.

“No, but I’ll keep my eyes open,” Jeb said. “Come on forward.”

The three men and Lucy walked slowly forward, scanning the landscape. They were almost to the blind when Lucy growled and looked again. The three men dropped to the ground. Frank and Jerry both looked at where Lucy was pointing.

“Got him,” Jerry said, aiming the M-1 Carbine. He fired four times. The person got up and started running. “Damn .30 Carbine.”

“I got him,” Frank said, and then there was the blast of the .44 Mag Winchester. The running man flew about four feet and then hit the ground. Frank worked the lever to get another round into the chamber.

“What the hell are you shooting?” asked Jeb.

“Winchester Model 94 in .44 Mag,” Frank shouted.

“I got to get me one of those,” Jeb said.

They got to the tree that the blind was in.

“Can you climb down, Jeb?” asked the Sheriff.

“I’d rather stay up here. There’s still booze left.” He cracked up.

“Well, you guys are cool under fire, I’ll give you that,” the Sheriff said. “Seriously, do I need to get the fire department over here?”

“I got shot in the thigh, but got a tourniquet on. I haven’t lost much blood. I can probably hobble down with my arms and my good leg. I didn’t want to do it without somebody to cover for me, though.”

“You have a rifle up there?” asked the Sheriff?”

“Yeah, my .270 Remington. I’m out of rounds, though. Didn’t expect action this morning. I’ll leave it up here, and maybe one of you guys can go up and get if for me after I’m down.”

“OK, Jeb, why don’t you start down,” Frank said. “I’ll keep watch with my police dog here.”

“Hey, this is interesting,” Jerry said, standing over by the bush where the first dead person was. “We have three dead Islamist fighters, and three guys that look like militia folks to me.”

“What?” asked the Sheriff.

“Hey, get me down first, then you can investigate,” Jeb said. He was already about half way down the ladder.

“Don’t worry, we’re watching,” Frank said. “Keep on coming.”

“Finally,” Jeb said as he put his good foot on the ground. “I’ll need some crutches for a while, I suspect.”