TEOTWAWKI: Beacon's Story (6 page)

Noise discipline was practiced too. There was no slamming of vehicle doors and people talked in low tones if at all.

Individual MultiCam clad people came over offering MRE's from their own personal stocks to Trudy's clan of seven and the two girls. Reminding himself there is no such thing as a free lunch; Beacon declined the proffered MRE and dined alone on his canned goods.

Beacon slept alone in his camper and was just lacing up his boots at dawn when a sentry raised the alarm.

Again the LLC reacted more like a military organization than a bunch of civilians playing with guns and off road vehicles. All sentries remained at their posts and, more importantly, continued to watch their areas of responsibility. There was no confusion as each vehicle's occupants took up firing positions beside, under (and in Barbie's case in the turret atop) their vehicles; the area of responsibility and field of fire of each vehicle's occupants clearly being the area beyond the vehicle.

Beacon's analogy of sleeping among porcupines came to mind as, in his mind, the circular corral of vehicles with rifle barrels sticking out in every direction resembled a porcupine. If whatever had caused the sentry to raise the alarm was a feint designed to draw the defenders away from the real intended point of attack the attackers would be badly surprised when the made their move.

Doc and the board of directors met at the Sergeant of the Guard's post and received his report. Not having MultiCams Trudy's sons were instructed to shadow their mentors "like a Siamese twin". With no duties assigned Beacon was free to roam, but chose not to because anyone inside the perimeter not wearing MultiCam might be mistaken for an enemy and he didn't want to cause confusion or get shot. Instead he climbed up on top of his camper and took a look at the cause for all the commotion through his rifle scope.

Romeos and Juliets

It was a military HMMWV up-armored like Doc’s, but painted desert tan and sporting what looked like machine gun in the turret.

The vehicle slowly glided to a halt about a hundred yards away and two young men got out. One of them was wearing a pistol on his belt. He kicked the vehicle’s tire. Beacon volunteered to go out and talk to them.

Leaving his rifle with Trudy, Beacon picked up an unopened MRE and, tucking it inside the wolves' fur of his coat, walked out to the stalled Humvee carefully keeping his hands at his sides palms facing the young men.

“Problems?”

“Yeah, y’all wouldn’t have some gas to spare would you?”

“What are you boys doing out here?” Beacon avoided answering one question by asking another.

“Looking for Tina and Becky, some outlaw bikers burned down half the town and took our girls while we were over in Lewisville gettin’ this truck and we’re going to get’m back.”

“Somebody gave you this?” Beacon asked incredulously.

“Not exactly” said the blonde boy looking away, “we sort’a borrowed it while Mayor White and Captain Calhoun and their boys were fighting over Lewisville's National Guard armory. There was a whole lot of shootin’ and we just sort’a drove off while they were busy fightin' each other.”

“What have you got to trade for the gas?” Beacon was careful to use their word for fuel since the boys seemed unaware that military Humvees used diesel.

“You can have some of the bullets in the truck,” volunteered the brown haired boy, “we won't need all of them, just enough to scare them bikers into letting our girls go.”

“Mind if I take a look?” Beacon asked as he thrust his head in the open door without waiting for an answer. A Ruger 10/22 and some clothes were in the front of the vehicle.

The gun in the turret was indeed an M60 machine gun which fired the 7.62×51mm NATO round which meant it fired virtually the same cartridge as his .308 Winchester M1A rifles and the floor of the Humvee was covered two deep with wooden cases containing ammo cans full of linked ammo for the gun. Somebody had been arming a war wagon before the boys "borrowed" the vehicle.

“Either of you know what kind of gun that is?”

“No sir, maybe it’s written on the side?” the blonde boy answered.

“My name’s Beacon and you guys are?”

“Josh Billingsly” said the blonde boy.

“Jim Rutledge” offered the brown haired boy wiping his hair from his eyes.

“OK, I’m going to go see what I can do about getting you some gas, but while I’m gone … ya see that other Humvee over there, the one with a turret just like yours?”

The boys nodded.

“It’s got a .50 caliber machine gun mounted in it and if either of you boys climbs up into that turret of yours he’ll shoot you and this vehicle to pieces, understood?”

The boys nodded again.

Beacon tossed them the MRE. “You’re probably hungry so here’s something to munch on while I’m gone.”

The MRE had been an insurance policy and now it served as a distraction to keep the hungry boys from following him back to the laager or asking more questions about the girls while he walked back to camp. He didn’t want to lie to them and he knew the boys would insist on coming back with him if they even suspected the girls were in camp.

"OK, so I lied." He mumbled to himself as he walked back towards the corral. If the boys didn't know what an M60 machine gun was they wouldn't know what a Barrett fifty caliber rifle was. But everybody has some idea of what a fifty caliber machine gun is so telling them it was a Ma Deuce saved a lot of explaining and achieved the same results.

Beacon waved to Barbie in the turret behind Doc’s Barrett as he walked back into camp. Doc and the LLC board of directors were waiting behind the Humvee.

Before he could utter a word Elaine stated flatly: “We are not taking in any more strays!”

"No, no you're not. And I didn’t think you were. I offered them nothing; besides they’re undisciplined teenagers without an authority figure to keep them in line, but we may be able to work out a deal with them that could be to your advantage and theirs. Would you have someone fetch Mrs. Peace please?

“She has no vote here!” Elaine interjected loudly.

“You’re right, she has no vote with the Board of Directors, but she has information you’ll need to make an informed decision and she owns something that may become part of the deal I’m about to propose after I’ve laid out the facts for you and I’d rather not have to explain everything twice.”

Elaine began to bluster and Beacon interjected “Do you know the names of those two girls we rescued?” That silenced her.

Doc nodded and waived Trudy over to the conclave.

“Trudy what are the names of those two girls?” Beacon used her first name in an attempt to establish her as a person in the eyes of the leaders.

“Tina Breckenridge and Becky Tyrone” she seemed nervous in the presence of the Board of Directors.

“OK, that’s what I thought. Here are the facts I’ve been able to gather so far. The boys out there are looking for Tina and Becky. They have an out of fuel Humvee with an M60 machine gun and thousands of rounds of belted ammo for it. The feed tray cover is down and I could see no ammo belt hanging out. They don’t seem to know how to operate or maintain either the gun or the vehicle.”

“If either of them aims that machinegun at us you let’em have it.” Doc yelled up to Barbie.

“Well, Duh!” floated down from the turret.

Beacon continued. “I’m assuming the girls are free to go with the boys whether we work out a deal or not?”

Everyone nodded, Elaine most emphatically.

“OK, here’s what I’m proposing. We give them one of Trudy’s cars with a full tank of gas, some ammo and a couple of trade rifles they can operate in exchange for the Humvee, M60 and its ammo.”

Trudy looked distressed “I’m not sure we can get the seven of us and all our gear into just one car and the gas truck besides aren’t we going to abandon the gas truck when it runs out of gas?”

Beacon hurried on, “Hear me out, Trudy’s son Rick was a mechanic in the Army, he knows how to operate and maintain both the Humvee and the M60 so he, Trudy and some of the rest of her brood can man the Humvee.”

“We’ll get an up-armored Humvee and M60 with ammo; the girls and their boyfriends get a car with a full tank of gas, some ammo and guns they can operate. It’s a win-win situation.” He didn't add that it was really a triple win situation because the new ride upgraded Trudy's status in the group.

Beacon was counting on the LLC's respect for private property. They had the muscle to just take one of Trudy's cars if they'd chosen to. Hell, they could take Trudy's cars and the boys Humvee and leave them all sitting in the field if they wanted to.

But the LLC were the 'good guys' in this real life drama who wouldn't dream of doing such a thing. It didn't hurt that Trudy and her clan had been accepted as members, albeit junior members, of the LLC group.

Trudy was troubled. “Is that a fair trade? Isn’t all that worth a whole lot more than a used car and a couple of rifles?”

“A week ago you’d have been right; a call on their cell phones to Triple A and they’d have fuel. But this week that option doesn’t exist anymore. Without fuel that Humvee is an immobile pile of metal and we are under no obligation to give them any of our irreplaceable supplies,” Beacon looked her in the eyes, “Trudy this isn’t like giving spare change to a beggar; we’ve nothing to spare.”

“It will probably be decades before anyone gets an oil refinery producing again. Same goes for ammo and gun factories. Even if they had the materials they need to produce product the people who operate the equipment are scattered or dead. We can’t just give resources away because someone needs them.”

“The LLC prepared beforehand and have what’s needed now. If they can hang on to it they'll be calling the shots for the next generation. If they squander their resources trying to be fair and share with everyone in need they’ll soon be down there with the needy. Just because someone has a need doesn't mean we have an obligation." He saw Elaine nodding agreement.

When Trudy started to object Beacon added, "When the need is bigger than what you have you simply have to curtail charity to survive.”

“The M60 weighs over 20 pounds and would not be anyone’s first choice for a hunting weapon. They don’t even know what kind of gun it is so its use to them as a defensive arm is problematical.”

“No matter what happens the girls can go with the boys if they want to but we can’t let that weapons system fall into the hands of a group like the ones we fought yesterday," Both Doc and Elaine nodded emphatically to that, "This deal gives the boys their best chance of getting home with their girlfriends to rebuild their hometown. Are you willing to trade rides with them?”

“I’ll tell the girls their boyfriends are here.”

The girls were willing. Trudy helped them ‘spruce up’ a bit while Beacon walked back out to seal the deal with the boys.

“Tina and Becky are washing up; they’ll be out here in a minute. We can’t spare any of the fuel this thing needs,” he said nodding towards the Humvee, “but we can give you a car with a full tank of gasoline and some rifles if you want to trade.”

“You’ve got them! Josh shouted.

“We rescued them yesterday from those bodies you passed on the way down the hill. The girls will fill you in on the details, now, about that trade. We’ll also throw in a hundred rounds for each of the rifles. What’da ya say?”

“What kind of car?” Josh asked suspiciously.

“Who cares if it runs!” said Jim impatiently.

The debate ended as Trudy’s best car came towards them. Beacon saw that the ammo consisted of five fully loaded 20 round magazines for each of the two AK-47 style rifles and then waited until the crying and hugging died down a bit before showing them all how to safely operate the two semi-automatic rifles, "Remember, never let the muzzle point at anything you don't want to kill." and a 20 gauge double-barreled shotgun Doc had selected from the trade goods.

Beacon concluded his conversation with Trudy had had a 20 gauge with box of birdshot effect on the good doctor's conscience as he pulled the boy's Ruger 10/22, a canteen and two jackets from the Humvee. He tossed them into the trunk of the car as the kids climbed in the front.

As the car full of happy kids drove back up the hill Trudy, Rick and his wife pulled up beside the Humvee in the fuel truck.

Beacon didn't begrudge the Rich Guys Survival Club their status in the new order of things. They'd worked hard and invested heavily to prepare for a future they'd hoped would never come. Now that their worst fears had been realized they found themselves in a position of strength. They could fritter their strength away giving their resources to the thousands of unprepared needy or husband those resources dispensing them in ways that would maintain or add to their strength while the country, indeed the entire world, rebuilt itself. Civilization would be rebuilt by groups like the DDL&BSG LLC.