Bug Out! Texas Book 7: Flood of Patriots Read online

  Bug Out! Texas

  Flood of Patriots

  Book 7

  Robert G Boren

  Contents

  Previously - in Bug Out! Texas Book 6

  Chapter 1 – Stingers

  Chapter 2 – Recycling

  Chapter 3 – Visitor

  Chapter 4 – Gas Attack

  Chapter 5 – Jay and Hector

  Chapter 6 – Budget Cuts

  Chapter 7 - Daisy

  Chapter 8 – Warm Bodies

  Chapter 9 – Fallout

  Chapter 10 – Morning Talk

  Chapter 11 – The Wind

  Chapter 12 – News Conference

  Chapter 13 – Yes Sir

  Chapter 14 – Midpoint 66

  Chapter 15 – Death on the Road

  Chapter 16 – Airforce and Navy

  Chapter 17 – New Orders

  Chapter 18 – Boxcars and Briefings

  Chapter 19 – Cold Sweat

  Chapter 20 – Grand Central Station

  Chapter 21 – Confession

  Chapter 22 – Parents

  Chapter 23 – Rental Truck

  Chapter 24 - Self Destruct

  Chapter 25 – Good News and Bad News

  Chapter 26 – Geronimo and Seguin

  Chapter 27 – Texico, New Mexico

  Cast of Characters

  Copyright - About the Author

  Previously – in Bug Out! Texas Book 6

  The San Antonio Riverwalk was attacked while the DPS Boat group was having dinner. They, along with armed citizens, repelled the enemy and the next day the couples went to the Courthouse to get married, after putting off the ceremony several times. Later their hotel was attacked along with other high rises along the Riverwalk. The group returned fire and eventually got to the street, again aided by armed citizens. They escaped into a drugstore and while there, Richardson got a call from Jefferson who ordered their group to stay for the fight, as satellite imagery showed 12,000 enemy troops converging on San Antonio.

  While in the drugstore, the group noticed water seeping up from the floor drains and water rising in the streets; explosions they heard earlier had blocked the river’s channel, and the area was flooding. Richardson called Jefferson to report the situation and Juan Carlos quipped that their patrol boats could navigate the flooded streets and blow up the enemy’s positions. Although Richardson thought it was a joke, Jefferson did not. After speaking to Wallis, it was agreed that three DPS patrol boats would be airlifted in for the battle, along with 15,000 National Guard troops.

  With the patrol boats, the men destroyed the enemy lines and blew up much of their ammunition and equipment, aided by armed citizenry and the National Guard. The next day they left San Antonio and headed towards Houston, towing the patrol boat. While on the road, Richardson heard that Galveston had been attacked, and he wasn’t able to raise Jefferson. He decided to flee to a camping spot at Purgatory Creek near the town of San Marcos. When they got there, a homeowner named Roberto greeted them with his shotgun. When he realized they were good guys, he agreed to let them stay on the property. Roberto’s house was later attacked which Richardson’s men repelled, cementing the friendship. The group thought they were now safe, but then a mortar attack started.

  The Fort Stockton group returned to the RV Park after a victorious battle with Islamists in the north. Eric checked several bodies for RFID chips and found them in each one he examined; he dug them out and returned with them. Meanwhile, Kip Hendrix suggested checking for chips in the Air and Army National Guard troops, and Wallis agreed to set up airport scanners at their main base in Fort Worth.

  Governor Nelson set up offices in the bunker under the state capitol, with airport scanners at the entrances of the capitol building to search for weapons, explosives, and RFID chips. Wallis reported that they’d found 47 traitors in the ranks of 200 pilots from the chips; they also found a chip in Landry’s body.

  Sadly, Kate had a miscarriage after the Fort Stockton’s battle in the north. After returning to Fort Stockton, the social media group was engaged to help bring citizens into the San Antonio battle, and the Texas leadership team agreed to send Army National Guard troops there, too. Wallis reported to Nelson that a third of the Army National Guard had chips in them.

  During a conference call between the Texas leadership team and the leaders of the Fort Stockton group, it was revealed that General Walker had been killed when his group was overrun at an RV Park in Utah, and the civilian team including the RFID chip expert had barely escaped with their lives. Nelson also told the Fort Stockton group that a coup was taking place in Washington, DC and President Simpson and much of his administration had been arrested. Simon Orr had also been killed in Colorado by General Hogan and his body had a chip in it. The idea of trying to break the chips was brought up by the Fort Stockton group, but they were asked to stand down for now, which they reluctantly agreed to. Lastly, Nelson told the group that the enemy depot had been moved to Santa Fe, many miles north of the original location, and it was agreed that the Fort Stockton group would relocate to Amarillo to stage for an attack there.

  Jerry Sutton called Kip Hendrix to tell him that he and Commissioner Holly had been taken prisoner, but that the enemy had fled, leaving them behind near a San Antonio airport. Not said, though, was that they’d been forced to work as spies and had chips implanted. Nelson agreed to pick them up and have them scanned. They were arrested when the chips were located.

  As they were monitoring the coup in Washington, the Texas leadership team realized that the infiltrators were still in charge even after Simpson’s arrest. The Feds had pressured Israel to stop a deal for drones that Nelson arranged, and was warning Nelson not to put military vessels in the Gulf to protect Texas. The US Airforce leadership decided to clamp down after the attack on Galveston, but six rogue pilots commandeered B-1 bombers, headed for Texas. Two hit the Army National Guard camp near San Antonio, destroying half the force.

  The Fort Stockton group got on the road to Amarillo and soon it was discovered that they were being followed by a large convoy of vehicles. During the trip, Texas leadership called with the news that a huge number of enemy troops were converging at Glenrio, just across the New Mexico border and only an hour from Amarillo.

  The Fort Stockton group and the convoy following them met outside of Lamesa on grounds used for a yearly rodeo. The followers were Texas patriots from earlier battles and many more wanting to join up. The Fort Stockton group found out that there was an even larger patriot group headed in their direction from Dallas. The combined group made plans to draw the enemy into battle near Amarillo, with a portion of the forces slipping into New Mexico to destroy the Santa Fe depot. They decided to continue on to Amarillo, the core Fort Stockton group going first with the convoy group following. Once they arrived, the Fort Stockton group was reunited with Brushy, who’d left them earlier to help his ailing sister run her park in Amarillo. As they were having a meeting in the clubhouse, the sound of B-1 bombers was heard, and an attack on a nearby RV Park commenced. Brushy yelled that they needed to run out into the field behind the RV Park as the bomber approached.

  Chapter 1 - Stingers

  “Run!” Jason yelled, spurring people on as they fled the clubhouse, the roar of the B-1 bombers approaching. Curt was running next to Amanda, but then he stopped and raced towards her bobtail.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Amanda yelled.

  “We have stinger missiles in the back of your bobtail, remember?”

  “Oh yeah,” she shouted, following him.

  “Where are you going, man?” Kelly shouted when he saw Curt.

  “Stinger missiles,”
Curt shouted as he got to the truck. Kelly grinned and followed him, getting there as Amanda had the lock open. Curt opened the back and rushed in, grabbing the stingers and shoving them to the end of the truck. Eric noticed and rushed over, taking one of the missiles. Kelly took another, Curt taking the third. There were two more on the tailgate. Dirk and Chance saw them and rushed over, picking them up.

  “Everybody know how to work these?” Amanda yelled, running after Curt.

  “Yeah,” Eric yelled.

  “Me too,” Dirk said. Curt had already stopped and was taking aim as one of the B-1s was heading towards them. He fired, the missile flashing into the air, missing the bomber.

  “Dammit,” Curt yelled. “These might be too fast for stingers.”

  The second B-1 unloaded bombs on the RV park next to theirs, as Eric took aim with the stinger again, the first bomber almost over them now. The missile flew, this time hitting its target, the B-1 spinning out of control as one of its wings blew apart.

  “Look out!” shouted Brushy from the field, as pieces of the bomber flew in all directions. It crash landed about half a mile away.

  “Nice shooting, pencil neck,” Curt yelled.

  “They’ve got to be really close,” Eric shouted. “Look out, here comes the other one.”

  The bomber was banking, coming in for another run. Dirk aimed his stinger and fired, but missed.

  “Too far out!” Eric shouted. “We only have two missiles left.”

  Chance was aiming his as the bomber dived towards them, firing but missing.

  “He’s going way too fast,” Curt yelled.

  There was a roar from behind them, and the B-1 turned, trying to flee. Two F-22 Raptors appeared, firing missiles at the fleeing bomber, exploding it mid-air. The crowd in the field cheered. The Raptors flew over, rocking their wings, and then took off, climbing high into the air and making a huge circle.

  “They’re sticking around for a while,” Eric said, grinning. Kim rushed over to his side.

  “My God,” she said, looking at the fire from the first bomber shot down. “They almost got us, didn’t they?”

  “Yeah,” Eric said. “Glad the good guys showed up.”

  “Seriously,” Curt said, walking over. The rest of the group were coming in from the field.

  “Think it’s safe to come back?” Rachel asked, trying to keep up with Carrie and Brenda.

  “That’s a good question,” Brenda said.

  The group gathered near Amanda’s bobtail, as Curt put the last two stinger missiles back in the boxes.

  “Those weren’t made for B-1 bombers,” Jason said as he walked over.

  “Eric got one,” Dirk said.

  “Yeah, but I was lucky,” Eric said. “Too close for the pilot to avoid. Can’t believe he wasn’t already dropping bombs.”

  “I’d better call Ramsey,” Jason said.

  “Mommy, I didn’t like that,” Chelsea said, clutching Carrie’s neck, cradled in her arms.

  “Maybe you two should go back to the rig,” Jason said.

  “Only if you come with us,” Carrie said. “I’m scared too, dammit.”

  “Okay,” Jason said. “I’ll call Ramsey from there. You guys want to tag along?”

  “Yeah,” Dirk said. “Don should be involved too.”

  “Sure, no problem,” Jason said. “Round him up and anybody else you think we should include. We can talk under our awning.”

  “Somebody better keep an eye on the sky,” Rachel said.

  “We’ve got two eyes in the sky,” Junior said, pointing. “See those fighters? They’re hanging around.”

  “Good,” Rachel said. “I’m going with you.”

  “Me too,” Kim said, getting next to Eric. They headed to Jason’s rig.

  “You okay?” Jason asked Carrie.

  “I’m pretty far from okay,” she said. “That was too close. All those people in the other parks. My God.”

  “We planned to use those two parks,” Jason said. “We’d better get word to the other groups coming in.”

  “That’s why I wanted Don in the meeting,” Dirk said. They arrived at the rig, Carrie climbing the steps, Chelsea still in her arms.

  “Want something to eat, pumpkin?” Carrie asked.

  Chelsea nodded yes silently, her eyes wide and darting around.

  “I hope this doesn’t mess her up,” Kim whispered to Eric as they stood under the awning.

  “Seriously,” Eric said. “I’m gonna get chairs out of the storage compartment.”

  “Read my mind,” Jason said, unlocking the big rear compartment. They pulled out all the chairs and set them up, then pulled the park’s picnic table closer. Jason sat on that and hit Ramsey’s contact, then put his phone down on the table. Everybody gathered around. Carrie climbed out of the coach as the phone was ringing.

  “She okay?” Jason asked.

  “That one scared her to death,” Carrie whispered. “Me too. I thought we would lose everything.”

  “Me too,” Jason said. “Ramsey’s not picking up.”

  “Dammit,” Curt said. “I hope nothing went wrong in Austin.”

  “They’re in the bunker under the Capitol,” Jason said. “That thing should handle an atomic blast.”

  “You guys calling the leadership?” Brushy asked, walking up with Pat.

  “I need to call the folks at the other two parks,” Pat said, tears streaming down her face. “I hope the owners survived.”

  “They’re probably not too happy with us,” Dirk said, brow furrowed.

  “This wasn’t your fault,” Brushy said. “Not by a long shot.”

  “We brought them here,” Eric said. “No getting around that.”

  “It’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees,” Curt said.

  “As long as it’s your choice,” Dirk said. “We didn’t give them any choice, or any warning.”

  Jason stopped his phone. “C’mon, guys, let’s not argue about this. There’s a war on, and that wasn’t our choice. Everybody’s in it whether they like it or not.”

  “You’re right,” Brushy said. “Doesn’t mean we can’t feel bad, though.”

  “Exactly,” Pat said. “I’m gonna go back to the office and call them, okay? You can stay here. Let me know what happens.”

  “Okay, Pat,” Brushy said.

  “You guys raise them?” Don asked, walking over with Sydney, Francis, and Chance.

  “Nope,” Amanda said. “Just rang and rang.”

  “Hope everything is okay,” Sydney said. “Hope those planes stick around, too.”

  “You guys should send word to the others about this,” Jason said to Sydney and Don, “so they know what to expect when they arrive.”

  “I’ll send a text to Chloe and Alyssa,” Sydney said.

  “Yeah, do that,” Jason said, “but don’t make it sound so dire that they decide not to come. We’ve still got a massive set of operations coming.”

  Sydney nodded as she was typing the text.

  Jason’s phone rang. He looked at it. “Great, it’s Ramsey.” He put it on speaker.

  “Jason?” Ramsey asked. “Sorry, was in a closed-door meeting with the Governor. You guys make it to Amarillo?”

  “You don’t know what happened?” Jason asked.

  “Uh oh,” Ramsey said. “You get attacked again?”

  “Yeah, by two B1 Bombers,” Jason said.

  “Oh crap,” Ramsey said. “Everybody survive?”

  “Yeah, because they hit the two RV Parks next to us first,” Jason said.

  “Let me send a message to Nelson and Gallagher,” Ramsey said. “They’ll want to join. Be right back.”

  The line went silent.

  “So, if they didn’t know about the F-22s, who sent them?” Curt asked.

  “Wallis has been running the Air National Guard,” Don said.

  “Texas doesn’t have F-22s,” Curt said. “That’s US Airforce.”

  “You guys hear me?” Ramsey aske
d over the speaker.

  “Yeah,” Jason said. “You’re on speaker, but we’re outside and we’ve got a little wind. Let me know if you have problems hearing us.”

  “Okay,” Ramsey said. “I’ve got Gallagher and the Governor on.”

  “Hey, folks,” Nelson said. “Got hit, huh? How’d you survive it?”

  “We shot one down with a stinger missile,” Jason said.

  “Shit, you guys hit one of those with a stinger?” Gallagher asked.

  “Lucky shot,” Eric said. “It was nearly on top of us.”

  “The other one was nailed by an F-22,” Curt said.

  There was silence on the line for a moment.

  “What?” Jason asked.

  “This is a good development,” Nelson said. “We’ve been trying to raise Wallis. He’d know more about this than anybody. He’s still got connections inside the US Airforce.”

  “There were six B-1 bombers on the loose,” Gallagher said. “We know two attacked the remaining National Guard troops outside of San Antonio, and now we know two hit Amarillo. Where’s the other two?”

  “Good question,” Nelson said.

  “Shit, they might be on their way here,” Kim said.

  “We’ve got our little friends up there,” Eric said. “Don’t worry.”

  “Little friends?” Gallagher asked.

  “The Raptors stuck around. They’re making wide circles over the area right now.”

  “Oh,” Gallagher said. “Good. B1s are no match for Raptors.”

  “Well, those other bombers are someplace,” Nelson said. “We need to find out where.”

  “Maybe they aren’t over Texas,” Ramsey said.

  “Yeah, that’s very possible,” Gallagher said. “They might be working General Hogan’s groups in Colorado or Utah.”

  “Bottom line is that we can’t relax,” Curt said.

  “We’ve still got those two fighters,” Eric said.

  “Yeah, I know, but they can’t stay up there forever, and we have no control over them at all,” Curt said.

  “He’s right,” Gallagher said. “We don’t control the US Airforce.”

  “Then why’d the Raptors get involved?” Jason asked.