Tread Fearless: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 4) (17 page)

“Are you a cop?” she replied with a snapped question. She was clearly angry and ready for a fight.

“Yes. In a way I am. Now answer my question,” replied Pete, but much more calmly than the girl.

“I don’t have to say anything to you,” she replied sternly.

“Jessy, just tell him what he wants to know so we can get out of here,” pleaded the young man sitting next to her on the bed.

“Yeah, Jessy . . . so we can go,” added the other woman in the party.

“Shut up, Becky!” snapped one of the young men.

“You shut up, Owen!” replied Becky, with a snarl.

Pete watched the exchange patiently as he waited for Jessy to reply. She looked at her friends and said, “We didn’t do anything wrong. And this guy, this fake cop . . . he has no business here messing with us.”

Pete realized that group questioning was getting him nowhere, so he moved all but the vocal Becky into the other bedroom, and asked Paul to guard them while he questioned her. He hoped Becky would be more cooperative than Jessy, and he was just getting ready to begin when John got his attention at the open bedroom door.

“I found them locked in the barn, in a storage room,” he whispered into Pete’s ear. “They’re an old couple . . . in their seventies I’d say, and
they’re almost dead,” added John, as he pulled away from Pete and looked over his shoulder at Becky. “Any luck with questioning that one?” he asked, in a normal tone of voice.

“What’s the point now?” asked Pete.

John nodded and said, “I need to bring them in . . . the old couple. Can you clear out these two bedrooms?”

“I’ll do it right now,” replied Pete, and he pointed at Becky and said, “Get up! Let’s go.” He then hollered, “Paul, can you bring your prisoners out into the living room?”

Paul answered with, “Moving now,” and began issuing his instructions. “Can I tape the mouth of this one . . . the smart-mouthed woman?” he asked from within the bedroom. “She’s really beginning to annoy me.”

“Keep your mouth shut, Jessy, or I’ll tape it closed!” shouted Pete from across the hall. She apparently got the hint, for she went quiet and began following Paul’s orders without complaint.

The men escorted the partiers into the living room, and John was glad to see that Abby took the little ones out back to play. Not as much because he didn’t want them to see the partiers, but he definitely didn’t want them to see the filthy and emaciated old couple when they were carried into the house.

With the prisoners under Paul’s control in the living room, John and Pete went to retrieve the old couple. The old man was unconscious, and the old woman was too weak to walk, and too dehydrated to utter more than a weak croak of gratitude as John carried her out of the dark and dusty barn.

Marcus was visibly upset by how the old couple looked, and Pete ordered him to go fetch fresh water and take it to the house. Pete knew, from experience, that the best way to deal with raw emotions was to stay busy. He realized he would have to keep all the boys busy until the matter of the partiers was completely resolved.

John and Pete carried the old couple into the back bedroom, and turned the care and healing of them over to the women of the company.
Everyone in the company was angry with how they had been treated, but Bonnie was absolutely livid. When she learned that Jessy was the couple’s youngest daughter, she walked up to the girl and slapped her hard across the face.

Pete moved to grab Bonnie, but Jenna held up a hand and gently led her into the kitchen. From that moment on, everyone in the company was ready to hold court, and anxious to pass judgment on the five evil people who cruelly locked up the old couple so they could party. Even Marissa, who was usually the most rational and compassionate of the company, voiced some very harsh opinions about how best to deal with such irresponsible and cruel behavior.

John reminded everyone, that before they could hold court, they had two sick people to care for. He sympathized with the emotional response, but he suspected the near daily violence and fighting had a lot to do with it. Still, he doubted anyone in the company was ready to execute the prisoners. All of them had had more than their share of bloodshed. He wasn’t sure what would come of the partiers, but for the moment, he proposed that they be taken out to the barn and held under guard.

With a rational pause established in the company, Jenna and Bonnie began the task of nursing the old couple back to health. Marissa made soup for them, which was the only food they could eat, but by the time it was ready, the old man died. He simply fell asleep and quit breathing.

Paul was most impacted by the old man’s passing. When Paul laid the old man on the bed, he awoke briefly from his unconsciousness, said “Frank?” and held tightly to Paul’s hand. Paul didn’t know who Frank was, but he figured it was someone close to the old man, so he stayed by his side until the man passed.

Instantly angry with the circumstances, Paul grabbed his shotgun and stormed from the bedroom. As it had been with his own families’ hostage taker only a few days previous, Paul was once again determined to take the law into his own hands. He charged from the house and headed straight to the barn.

John recognized Paul’s look and intercepted him at the open barn door, but it took several minutes to talk him down. When Paul finally settled down enough to think clearly, John asked him to return to the house and provide internal security for the company. Paul agreed, thanked John for his patience and understanding, and returned to the house without another word.

Given the slap, and the near miss with the angry, shotgun-toting man, the five partiers were very nervous about their fate. And now that their drug and alcohol high had completely departed them, they began to be more fully aware of the danger that they were in. They felt and heard the hard anger directed toward them and began to cry, or plead for mercy.

For that reason, and for Paul’s vengeful anger, John decided that he and Pete would be the only ones guarding the prisoners. The boys were excused out of concern for their safety. John knew how desperation could be dangerous for a guard, so they decided not to risk exposing the boys to any attempt by the prisoners to free themselves. Guarding the five would make for a long night for John and Pete, but they saw no other rational option for the moment.

Not having to pull guard duty didn’t mean the boys could loaf. Pete had them pulling a single, two-man, random roving patrol around the property. But that was more to keep them busy than anything. Neither Pete nor John wanted the boys caught up in the anger associated with the old couple’s treatment and the old man’s passing.

CHAPTER 7

GREEN

A
n hour into Mark’s debriefing with Lauren, Ed stuck his head into the cubicle and said, “The boss will be ready to see him in ten minutes.”

Lauren looked up while typing and said, “We’re almost done here. I’ll deliver him as soon as I’m finished.”

“Suit yourself,” replied Ed, and to Mark he added, “I’ll go check your gear and be back in a minute.”

Mark turned and said, “Thanks, Ed. I appreciate it.”

Ed touched fingers to his forehead in a casual-type salute and turned to leave. “Do you have a lot of gear?” asked Lauren.

“What? No. Not really. I mean . . . I have my bike and trailer, with some camping supplies and such,” replied Mark.

“Is that the only weapon you have?” asked Lauren, nodding to Mark’s pistol.

“No. My rifle’s in the truck.” He wasn’t sure how open he should be with these people, but since he wasn’t really in a position to conceal anything, he added, “I have another, a twenty-two rifle in my pack on the trailer. Why, is that a problem?”

“With weapons? Of course not. In case you haven’t noticed, just about everyone’s armed these days. It’s like the Wild West around here, you either carry a weapon or you stand close to someone who does.”

“Is that why there are refugees here . . . for protection?” asked Mark.

“The people camped in the parking area?” asked Lauren. When Mark nodded she said, “Those aren’t refugees, they’re family members of the men working for Colonel Green.”

“So what is he, a sheriff or a colonel?” asked Mark, trying to figure out what best to call the man.

“Both . . . he answers to both,” she replied, and with a shrug added, “I call him colonel because of his military background, and because he likes it.”

“But he is the sheriff?”

“More sheriff than colonel, if you ask me. But it really doesn’t matter. He’s the last man standing. Anyone who could possibly rally the city is gone, even the mayor. There’s a few local politicians and judges and such, but they’re not stepping up, not with the mobs and all. Besides, most of them left town when the rioting started.” Lauren looked at the computer screen, sighed, and said, “My turn to ask you another question.”

“Shoot.”

“How many guys did you see guarding the electrical substation on Turnersville Road?”

“I thought you guys controlled the substation?” asked Mark in reply.

“We do, sort of. The Buda City Manager is on board with security details. He covers it, and a few other key infrastructure nodes.”

“Like the water towers,” added Mark, as he pointed to the red circles on the map hanging behind Lauren. “But why bother with the power sub-stations if the power won’t be running anytime soon?”

Lauren rubbed the bridge of her nose and said, “The plant is operational, and all but a few of the smaller sub stations are fine. The only real obstacle for returning power to the city . . . at least parts of it, is the cursed mob. Every time the power comes back on-line, some troublemakers find a way to knock it out again. You want crazy? We’ve got guys running around with chainsaws cutting down the utility poles. Oh, and let’s not forget the high-tension lines. Some lefties are trying to bring them down as well . . . while saying something about making Austin green, or some such nonsense. There are people in this city who really want this disaster to last.” Lauren yawned and asked, “Where was I? Oh yeah, how many guys did you see at the substation?”

“Five,” replied Mark.

“And they were the first people you saw after you were attacked?” asked Lauren.

“Yes,” replied Mark.

Lauren’s fingers flashed over the laptop keyboard, and with a final click of the mouse she stood and said, “I’ll be right back.” A couple of minutes later she returned with a copy of her report and asked, “Do you want to read over this for errors?” as she resumed her seat.

“No . . . not particularly,” answered Mark.

She slipped the report into a blue folder and then leaned back in her chair to stretch. The arch of her back was normal, but to Mark the move was seductive and enticing.
“Get a grip on yourself!
” he commanded himself mentally, and quickly looked away.

When he shook his head, Lauren asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mark yawned and said, “Nothing, just tired . . . trying to clear my head. How long have you been working for Sheriff-Colonel Green?” He was eager to change tracks. He didn’t know what it was about Lauren that affected him so strongly, but it wasn’t good for his survival instincts. He really needed to pay close attention, and stop acting like a dopey, love-struck teenager.

“I know Sheriff Green from when I worked APD vice,” replied Lauren. “As for Colonel Green, well, my uncle knows him.”

“You’re uncle?” asked Mark, when she didn’t volunteer additional information.

Lauren pursed her lips and exhaled. After releasing her long silent breath she said, “My uncle’s the commander of the Sustainment Brigade at Fort Hood. He’s a one-star, and just before all hell broke loose, he
ordered
me to link up with ‘Colonel Green.’” She finished with double-finger quotes and looked up at the ceiling with closed eyes.

“I thought Green was retired?”

“He is, for the most part, but Ron worked with him back in the day.”

“And you’re also in the reserves?” asked Mark.

“I guess you can say that. I was on the 2-staff for the 143
^rd
, but the unit’s all but gone now. We issued call-up orders after the eruption, but when only
a third of the people showed up, there wasn’t much we could do. The commander didn’t even show up, which surprised me. He was hard core, a real soldier. When he didn’t show, the XO took over, but things didn’t start rolling until Colonel Green showed up. He knows the city better than anyone, and the XO let him task the soldiers that did show up.”

Mark grunted. “That’s interesting. Where’s the XO now?” he asked, thinking it was the man he saw walking across the parking lot earlier. The one Ed pointed out.

“He was killed when a mob stormed Mabry,” said Lauren.

“Camp Mabry? A mob stormed Camp Mabry?” asked Mark.

Lauren stared at Mark for a moment and said, “I don’t know why that surprises you, given what you told me of your experience. There was close to a million people living in Austin when the eruption occurred. The food went first, and soon after that the electricity and water stopped. Things turned ugly really fast then. They’re still ugly in fact. Fortunately for us, Colonel Green saw the writing on the wall and moved us up here away from Camp Mabry before the mobs attacked.”