Bug Out! Part 9: RV Ambush (19 page)

“Good idea,” he said, heading for the cupboard. He saw a robe hanging in the bathroom, and reached for it, tossing it over to Amanda. He pulled out a glass and filled it, then handed it to Amanda as she was putting the robe on. She drank the water down quickly, and then took a deep breath.

“Now what were you trying to say, girlie?” Howard asked.

“I said that bitch wasn’t my friend,” Amanda said. “She was stupid. We drew straws on who was going to keep track of her downtown, and I lost. That damn sorority sucks.”

Both men started cracking up.

“You actually enjoyed that back there, didn’t you?” Scotty asked, looking at her.

“Not at first,” she said. “It got better, but that doesn’t make you less of a pig.”

“Well, what do you know,” Howard said.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” she said. “I hate both of you creeps. You’re the worst form of scum.”

“That’s true, girlie,” Scotty said. “Hey, Howie, that’s the barn up ahead. Pull right in through the door.”

“I see it,” Howard said. He turned off the road, hitting the gravel driveway that led into the gaping doors. He pulled in towards the rear, and did a K-turn to get pointed outwards. Then he shut off the engine.

“We’re home,” Scotty said, grinning. “Let’s get this meat sack out of here.”

“What about Amanda?”

“You aren’t going to give us any trouble, are you, honey?” Scott asked, pulling the revolver out of the back of his pants. “Mr. Smith wouldn’t like that.”

“I’ll stay here,” she said, looking at both of them. Then she leaned back on the couch and watched as the two men wrestled the dead girl out the door and carried her to the far side of the barn.

“Well, how was she?” Howard asked as he and Scott walked back to the coach.

“She didn’t fight as much as I like,” Scott said, “but she’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah, I got eyes, numb nuts,” Howard said. “Nice body, that’s for sure. How long we keeping her?”

“Well, we have a little added flexibility, since we’ve already got one body to dump here. Shoot, we gotta go put on the markers.”

“I’ll do it,” Howard said. “You go tend to the girl - and don’t kill her yet.”

“Alrighty,” he said. He walked slowly towards the coach, and Howard hurried over to the body and made his marks. He was done before Scott got to the coach. Howard watched him climb the steps, and then there was a blood curdling scream.

“Scotty!” Howard cried, running towards the coach. Amanda was sitting on top of Scotty, holding a knife in his abdomen and twisting it, a wicked grin on her face. He reached under Scott and pulled the revolver out, then pointed it at her. “Stop. Now.”

Amanda backed up. Howard moved forward and pulled the knife out. Scott wasn’t conscious. He looked like he was going into shock, but he was still breathing.

“He’s not dead yet,” Amanda said, still holding the evil grin. “Let me stab him a few more times.”

“Shut the hell up,” Howard said, pointing the gun at her face. “Help me move him, and I might let you live.”

That snapped Amanda out of her crazed state. “Where, in here?”

“Hell, no,” Howard said. “I was trying to figure out how to get rid of this maniac. You just helped. Pick up his legs. I’ll take his arms.”

“You aren’t going to kill me?”

“I might kill you, if you don’t shut up and follow instructions,” Howard said sternly.

“Okay, okay,” she said, standing and picking up his feet. Howard grabbed his arms, and they dragged him roughly down the steps and onto the dirt, a few feet away from the coach.

“What now?” Amanda asked.

“Now I drop you off somewhere, and we forget we ever met,” Howard said. “If that’s alright with you.”

Amanda shook her head yes, silently, tears starting to flow now. Scott started to move. She saw that, and got a terrified look on her face.

“Howard,” Scott said weakly. “Get me to a hospital. Quick, or I’ll bleed out.”

“Get in the coach,” Howard said to Amanda. She hurried up the steps. Howard followed her.

“Hey,” Scott said. “Stop. Help me.”

Howard didn’t turn around. He got into the motorhome and got behind the driver’s seat, starting the engine. “Get in the front seat,” he said roughly to Amanda. She sat down, and they took off down the road.

“You’re crying,” she said, looking at him.

“He used to be my best friend,” Howard said. “I wanted it to end, but not this way.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going home. I’ll drop you off near where we picked you up. Can I trust you to behave until then?”

“Yes,” she said quietly, trying to keep her eyes on the road instead of on him. “He’s not dead yet, you know. He might live through that.”

Howard gripped the wheel tighter as he drove. Chet’s voice kept playing in his head over and over again…
don’t kill my boy
.

Back in Kansas, dinner was about over, and people were slowly starting to leave the clubhouse. Frank motioned Jerry over. George and Malcolm were sitting nearby, with Heidi, Jane, and Jasmine. They all gathered around.

“What’s up?” Jerry asked.

“I think we should try to get ahold of General Hogan’s son again,” Frank said. “What do you think?”

“I think we should do that,” George said. “I also think we should put a copy of that names file in my drop box for Sam.”

“I was going to suggest the names file, too,” Jerry said. “Maybe they can quietly start rounding people up.”

“Well, they can at least plan it out,” George said. “My advice would be to wait until exactly the right time, and nail as many of them at once as possible.”

“Yeah,” Jane said. “Otherwise some of them are going to disappear.”

“Exactly,” George said.

Frank pulled out his cellphone and hit the contact for General Hogan. It rang for several minutes. Frank stopped the call. “Let’s give it a minute. Worked last time.”

“I hope the kids didn’t get snatched,” Jerry said.

“You and me both,” Frank said. “I’ll try it again.” He hit the button again. It rang twice, and then there was a click.

“Frank?”

“Is this the General’s son?”

There was silence on the line for a moment.

“Yes.”

“He’s still being held at the base?”

“We don’t know. Are your going to help?”

“Is the entire base under enemy control?”

“No. We were there today. He might not be there anymore. We looked around, and didn’t see anything.”

“Do you know how to use the app on this phone?”

“Yes, my dad showed me. There are bad guys showing up around the base still.”

“Good. We can see the bad guys. They’re in one building…according to the map of the base, it’s building 395.”

“I remember it, Frank. It’s a warehouse building. There wasn’t anybody around there. It looked like it was sealed up.”

“Yes, that’s what we figured. We need to alert the commander of that base, but we need to make sure he’s careful in how he handles things. Your dad’s life depends on it. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

George got Frank’s attention.

“Hold the line for a second.”

“Okay, Frank.”

“What, George?” Frank asked.

“See if you can find out the name of the commanding officer or any of the other high ranking people there. I can put it in the drop box and have Sam get in touch with them.”

“Great idea,” Frank said. He put the phone back to his ear.

“Hello?”

“I’m still here, Frank.”

“Good. Do you know the name of the commander at that base, or any other high ranking officers?”

“Yes, General Kincaid is the commander. Major Healy is over security.”

“Good, then sit tight. We’re going to see if we can alert them through DC.”

“Okay. Do you want me to do anything?”

“You aren’t on the base, are you?”

“No, I’m hiding in the city nearby, with the rest of my guys.”

“Why?”

“Dad told us to lay low until we got contacted. It’s been too long. That’s why we went to the base today, but we came back here afterward.”

“How’d you get on?”

“We went to the PX. We have IDs.”

“Okay, I’ll get back with you. Keep out of trouble.”

“Thanks, Frank.”

Frank put his phone back in his pocket.

“You guys know that was pretty risky, right?” Malcolm said.

“Yes, I know they might be monitoring that phone,” Frank said. “We’re running out of time. George, how quickly can you get ahold of Sam?”

“I think I’d better just call him,” George said. “Malcolm is right, this is risky, but the clock is running on the app release. We’ll need to work quickly, and come up with some back story on how we found General Hogan to fool the enemy.” George pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed.

“Sam?”

“George. How are you?”

“We need help, and we can’t wait for the drop box. This line isn’t very secure.”

“It is what it is. What do you need?”

“We know where General Hogan is being held, right down to the building. He’s at the base we discussed.”

“Shit, so he’s right under our noses. Building number?”

“It’s 395. Just a sec.”

“Frank, what was the commander’s name again?”

“General Kincaid,” Frank said.

“Sam, the commander is General Kincaid.”

“Yeah, I know him.”

“Can you trust him?”

“I think so, George. I’ll get him on the horn, on a secure line this time.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t mention it. You wouldn’t have done it this way if you didn’t have too. Hopefully the bad guys aren’t listening in. I’ll leave a follow-up in the drop box.”

“Good, I’m putting a present in there for you, too. It’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Great. Stay out of trouble, old friend.”

“You too.”

George took his phone away from his ear. “The names file?”

“Already emailed it to you,” Frank said. “It’s not a huge file. It’s just text.”

“Okay, I see it. I’m sending it to the drop box now.

“How about the General?” Jerry asked.

“Sam’s going to contact the base now, and get General Hogan freed, given a little luck, of course.”

“Hopefully he’s still alive,” Jerry said.

“So what do we do now?” Jane asked.

“We wait,” George said.

Scott was in intense pain, crawling over to the wall of the barn. He pulled himself up along the wall, lifted his shirt, and looked at the wound. He was bleeding, but not as bad as he expected.
What about internal bleeding?
That knife wasn’t very sharp but it hurt like hell going in. He wasn’t dizzy enough to have really fast internal bleeding.
Can I walk?
He tried a couple of steps along the wall. He started to fall, but caught himself on the rough wood of the barn. He kept walking along the wall until he got to the door. He managed to keep going, letting go of the wall. He was outside now.
I might have a chance.

“Howard, you bastard,” he shouted at the top of his lungs as he tried to get over to the road. He saw a light come on in the house, down the road about a hundred yards.
Is that the old family farm house?
He continued to stumble forward, breathing hard, but he wasn’t feeling dizzy anymore. He was getting tired, though. He needed to sit, but if he didn’t get down the road, he’d die.
Yell!

“Help me!!!!!” he shouted. He walked a few more steps. “Help me!!!!! Please!!!!! I’m hurt!!!!”

The porch light turned on, and he could barely see the front door open.
Keep going.
“Help me!!!! I’m hurt!!!!” he shouted again at the top of his lungs.

He felt suddenly dizzy, and fell onto the gravel road. He could hear wheels approaching. He got up on his hands and knees, then fell, then got up again, and crawled. He could see the headlights now. “Help me!!!!”

The car was almost to him. He heard it stop, sliding in the gravel. Then he heard two car doors open and close, and the sound of footsteps on gravel, getting closer and closer. Suddenly there was a flashlight beam hitting him. He looked up as the two men approached.

“You okay, fella?” asked a voice. Scott could only see the flashlight beam.

“I’ve been stabbed,” he said. “Abdomen. Hurts like hell.”

“Who did that?” asked another voice.

“Some dumb bitch,” Scott said. He felt hands on both of his shoulders, pulling him up, dragging him to the car. They opened the back door and slid him onto the seat. They got back into the front, and started driving. Scott got dizzy again, and felt himself starting to pass out, but he fought it as hard as he could. No use. He drifted off. He woke up when he was being carried up onto the lighted porch, to the door of the house. The two men laid him on the couch and turned on more lights. He felt somebody lifting his shirt.

“This doesn’t look as bad as I expected,” the first man said.

“C’mon, Kerry, you ain’t a doctor,” the second man said.

“I know that, Blake. Don’t you think I know that? Geez.”

“Hey, he looks familiar,” Kerry said. “That’s Cousin Scotty!”

“Oh, hell, you’re right,” Blake said. “Scotty, can you hear me?”

Scott opened his eyes. It was his cousin’s boys. The twins. He started laughing. They weren’t too bright, and they looked even dumber than they were.

“Call Johnny,” Blake said.

“He’s only a paramedic,” Kerry said.

“He’ll know how bad it is,” Blake said. “Maybe he doesn’t need to go to the hospital.”

“Mom’s going to find out where we are if he does,” Kerry said.

“We can’t just let him die,” Blake said. “He’s blood.”

Daylight. Terry was startled awake
by the wind, rocking the trailer. He could hear it rushing through the trees.
Tornado season?
No, it’s a few months before that starts. He raised himself enough to reach the curtains and pull them back a little. Dust was blowing across the park. He saw Jake, Gabe, and Dobie walking, hunched over a little, holding their hats. They were heading for the clubhouse. Princess followed Dobie closely, looking around while she walked.

“A little breezy,” Trish said lazily, turning towards him, watching him look at her form under the sheets. “You like?”

He answered her with a kiss, which she broke quickly, laughing.