Bug Out! Texas Book 3: Republic in Peril Read online

  Bug Out! Texas

  A Republic in Peril

  Book 3

  Robert G Boren

  Contents

  Previously - in Bug Out! Texas Book 2

  Chapter 1 – Tanks

  Chapter 2 – Government Cove

  Chapter 3 – Bunker

  Chapter 4 – Plans for Life

  Chapter 5 – The Bookmark

  Chapter 6 – Rescue

  Chapter 7 - Submarine Warfare

  Chapter 8 – Pasture

  Chapter 9 – Hospital

  Chapter 10 – Gun Mount

  Chapter 11 – The Gulf

  Chapter 12 – Lunch Date

  Chapter 13 – Ranch Road Detour

  Chapter 14 – Juarez

  Chapter 15 – Genetics

  Chapter 16 – Cruising the Bay

  Chapter 17 – Martinis and Eggplant

  Chapter 18 – The Homestead

  Chapter 19 – Secure Locations

  Chapter 20 – Resistance

  Chapter 21 – Biology

  Chapter 22 – Waiting

  Chapter 23 – State of the Republic

  Copyright - About the Author

  Previously - in Bug Out! Texas Book 2:

  As book 2 opened, the enemy attacked Carrie and Kate at their camp after Jason and Kyle engaged them at the nearby hog blind. The two women put up a valiant fight, but were on the verge of losing when Curt showed up with his Barracuda off-roader, modified with an M-19 Automatic Grenade launcher on the roll cage. After the enemy was defeated, the two couples plus Curt head west.

  DPS leadership recognized Juan Carlos and Brendan's potential and used them as testers for new weaponry, including the hand-held SMAW rocket launcher, and an automatic grenade launcher mounted to the boat and operated by the pilot.

  Kelly, Brenda, and Junior made their way west with the enemy hot on their trail. They stopped at a Johnson City RV Dealership for maintenance on Kelly’s trailer, and Junior bought a used motor home. They rescued Rachel on the way. She and her brother were the victims of a road attack.

  Governor Nelson hatched a plan to take Texas out of the union. The Feds caught wind of the plan and tried to enlist Hendrix as a spy for the Federal Government. Hendrix recognized that this might lead to his arrest, so he made an overture to Governor Nelson. They rekindled their friendship and decided to work together for Texas, with Hendrix acting as a double agent.

  Eric and Kim snuck into Texas via dirt roads from Louisiana. While they were camped in the woods near Deadwood, they troop transport trucks full of Islamic fighters streaming in. They followed them in the Bronco to see what they were up to. Gunfire erupted, and they watched from a bluff as the Islamists lined citizens up, asking for information and shooting those who wouldn’t comply. Eric and Kim opened fire, killing several Islamists. The others took defensive positions and returned fire until local hunters Dirk, Chance, Don, and Kenny joined the fray. They defeated the enemy fighters there, but then the small town of Deadwood came under attack, so the group rushed there to help. They defeated the enemy. Eric and Kim spent the night in Carthage after the battle.

  Jason, Carrie, Kyle, Kim, and Curt stopped in Sonora, at an RV Park owned by Brushy. They met Gray, his wife Cindy, and his group of bikers there. Gray’s group had infected cellphones, and the enemy followed them to Brushy’s Park. Curt figured this out just in time to head off disaster. The group killed the Islamists as they attempted a surprise attack on the park. Gray joined Jason’s group and headed to Fort Stockton with them. They made it to Fort Stockton. Nate and Jasper joined them there. Kelly, Brenda, Junior, and Rachel arrived later in the day.

  Eric and Kim, still in Carthage, were awakened by artillery fire in the early morning and fled to the west. Deadwood was overrun and most of its residents killed by Islamists. Carthage was shelled. Dirk and his group survived and met Eric and Kim on the road. They joined forces and made it as far as Hearne.

  Governor Nelson officially declared the Republic of Texas, causing joy for some Texans and worry for others.

  News arrived about the nuclear attacks in New York Harbor and Puget Sound. Kip Hendrix and the others at the State Capital building were herded into the huge underground bunker, where Hendrix, Holly, Ramsey, and Nelson gathered with other officials in the situation room to watch events unfold. News of further attacks came, both in the United States and abroad.

  Juan Carlos and Brendan were watching the reports of nuclear attacks as well as the US attack on Venezuela when they were warned to flee their base by DPS leadership. Venezuelans forced north by the US Army from Mexico were flooding towards them in boats and aircraft. The remaining DPS patrol boats fled towards the dam with the enemy in hot pursuit.

  The people at the Fort Stockton RV Park were watching coverage of the nuclear attacks when they heard explosions on the road. Clancy, a resident of the RV Park, climbed onto the roof and saw that a convoy of flatbed trucks carrying M-1 Tanks was being hijacked on I-10 by Islamists. Curt hitched the Barracuda to Jason’s Jeep and they raced out to take them on with Kelly, Junior, Kyle, and Gray’s men. The women readied their RVs for escape, just in case.

  Chapter 1 – Tanks

  Curt made it to his Barracuda, pulling the tarp off and undoing the chains that held it to the back of his toy hauler. He was loading a new belt of grenades when Kyle and Jason ran over.

  “Hey, can you tow me behind your Jeep?” Curt yelled.

  “Sure, but why?” Jason asked.

  “Speed,” Curt yelled back. “This only goes about forty-five on the highway. Also I can concentrate on shooting instead of driving.”

  “Standard hitch?” Jason asked.

  “Yeah,” Curt said. “I’ll pull up behind you.”

  “I’ll get the BARs loaded,” Kyle yelled, running to the motor home storage compartment.

  Nate, Kelly, Junior, and Fritz arrived, getting their guns out and loading the back of Kelly’s pickup truck. Nate got out his BAR.

  “Hey, got one too, eh?” Kyle asked when he saw it. “We’ve got three.”

  “Hey, Kyle, give the third one to one of those guys,” Jason said as he helped Curt hitch up the Barracuda.

  “Holy shit, will you look at that thing?” Fritz said, slapping his knee as he stared at the Barracuda.

  “We gotta go now,” Curt said. “Saddle up.”

  Jason and Kyle jumped into the Jeep, Curt riding behind in the Barracuda. They drove down the access road to the front gate, waving at their women. Kelly followed, in the cab, with Nate, Junior, and Fritz manning two BARs and other long guns from the bed.

  Gray’s group came from the other end of the park in a pickup truck, followed by two Harleys. Brushy was riding shotgun with Gray in the cab, the rest of the men in the truck bed.

  Jason drove onto I-10 East and punched it. Curt pulled out his phone and called Kyle.

  “Curt, what’s up?” Kyle asked

  “Drive by them and I’ll let as many grenades go as I can. I’m going for their vehicles. Then park down the road, and we’ll get this baby unhitched. You can let them have it out the passenger side window with that BAR when we go by too.”

  “Got it, man. Be careful.”

  “No need to slow down. This gun fires fast. Real fast.”

  “Okay,” Kyle said. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and looked at Jason.

  “He said don’t slow down as you go by. Pull over and stop a ways past and we’ll unhitch. He’ll disable their trucks.”

  “Good, then they won’t be able to escape,” Jason said.

  Kyle got the BAR pointed out the window. “It’s gonna get real noisy in here.”

  “I don’t ca
re. Blast the hell out of those bastards We’re almost on ‘em.”

  The Islamists were gathering by the first Tank, trying to figure out how to move it away. One of them saw Jason’s Jeep with the BAR pointing out the window and yelled. Kyle opened fire, spraying the group with automatic 30-06 fire, and then Curt opened up, firing grenades at their transport trucks as fast as he could aim and pull the trigger, explosions going off every couple of seconds as they went by. Then more automatic fire from the two BARs in the back of Kelly’s pickup truck.

  “Pull over there,” Kyle said, pointing. “There’s a little bluff between us there and the bad guys.”

  “Okay,” Jason said, swerving over and getting behind it. Both of them jumped out of the Jeep and helped Curt get the Barracuda unhitched, as Kelly’s truck pulled up behind them.

  “Let’s drive the Jeep around the other side of this ridge,” Jason said. “They’ll hide behind the tanks. We’ll need a crossfire. We can nail them from back there.”

  “Good thinking,” Curt said as he strapped into the Barracuda. “See you guys afterwards.”

  “Good hunting,” Kyle said.

  Curt nodded and took off, rocks and gravel flying out of the big tires.

  “What are you guys gonna do?” Kelly asked from the cab of his pickup truck.

  “We’re gonna get behind them,” Jason said. “The Jeep will handle the terrain back there, no problem.”

  “Okay, we’ll go up on foot with the BARs and the other long guns,” Kelly said. “Gray and his guys kept going.”

  “Probably gonna circle back and hit them from the westbound side of I-10,” Kyle said. “Watch yourselves. We don’t want to lose anybody from friendly fire.”

  “Yeah, seriously,” Kelly said. “You guys watch out too.”

  Jason drove the Jeep back onto the dirt, behind a small ridge as the explosions of grenades filled the air.

  Kyle pointed. “There, man. Let’s set the BARs up on the ridge and nail their asses.”

  “Yeah,” Jason said, parking the Jeep. They grabbed their weapons and trotted to the bluff, looking over carefully. Curt drove by again, firing the grenades. The Islamists were yelling in Arabic as they dashed for cover, getting behind the tanks.

  “Perfect,” Kyle said, dropping the bipod on his BAR. He aimed. Jason did the same.

  “Hit as many as you can as fast as you can,” Jason said. “When they try to escape they’ll run right into Gray and his guys.”

  Kyle gave a thumbs up and opened fire, Jason joining in, sweeping fire, cutting enemy fighters down as they screamed in panic. Several rushed between the tanks to the other side, and then there was gunfire from that side too, hunting rifles and shotgun blasts.

  “Look, they’re running east,” Jason said, turning his gun and firing at their heels.

  “Right into Kelly and Junior!” Kyle laughed as he continued to fire. They heard the other two BARs open up, along with more shotgun and rifle blasts. Then there was silence.

  “Think it’s over?” Jason asked.

  “Yeah,” Kyle said, “but keep your eyes open. Might be some of them under those flatbeds or in other nooks and crannies.”

  Jason nodded and they ran in a crouch, BARs pointed forward. A shot rang out, whizzing by Kyle’s head.

  “Crap, under the second flatbed,” Jason yelled, dropping and sweeping fire underneath it. More fire erupted from the other side of the road. Then silence again. There was the sound of big motors rushing towards the scene.

  “Harleys,” Kyle said as they got closer. Then yelling in Arabic and two more shotgun blasts.

  The Barracuda’s engine raced, and two more grenades exploded to the east.

  “This ain’t over yet,” Jason said, rushing to the end of the ruined convoy. There were two troop transports on westbound I-10, one in flames rolling towards the shoulder, the other still coming. Suddenly the cab exploded in flames as a grenade hit, and it rolled to a stop on the center shoulder of the road. Gray’s men opened fire on the fleeing Islamists coming out of the canvas-covered back end, Kelly, Junior, Nate, and Fritz joining in. Jason and Kyle sprinted over, dropping and taking aim, spraying 30-06 fire under the trucks, hitting the legs they could see there. The gunfire stopped.

  Curt rolled up next to Kyle and Jason. “I think we got ‘em all, but I’m going to find a good place to wait for more trucks while the rest of you guys check things out.”

  “Sounds good, Curt,” Jason said. “Nice shooting.”

  “I would have gone crazier, but I didn’t want to damage the tanks. Texas is gonna need those. Made mincemeat of the enemy trucks, though.”

  “Okay, see you in a few,” Kyle said. Curt drove up to the bluff overlooking where the Jeep was parked and turned facing the road.

  Jason and Kyle walked over to Kelly and his men.

  “Everybody okay?” Jason asked.

  “Nobody got a scratch,” Junior said

  Fritz laughed. “Stupid heathens. They had no idea what was gonna happen to them.”

  “Yeah,” Nate said. “Nice to have all these BARs.”

  “We got a couple of Thompsons, too, but we left them with the women,” Jason said.

  “Did you see those crazy guys on the Harleys with those lever-action shotguns?” Fritz asked. “That was some wild shit.”

  “Gray’s guys,” Jason said. “They got some AKs too. Captured them down in the Rio Grande Valley, also a few more in Sonora. Glad they’re with us.”

  “Damn straight,” Kelly said. “We got ourselves a formidable team.”

  “That’s true, but we’re vulnerable,” Kyle said. “There’s no cover in this damn RV park. They could sweep in from three sides and kill a whole lot of us.”

  “Yeah, been thinking the same thing,” Nate said.

  “We should have a meeting on that,” Kelly said. “As soon as we get back.”

  “I second the motion,” Kyle said.

  “What about the tanks?” Junior asked.

  “I’ll call Chief Ramsey,” Jason said. “He can pass word to the Texas National Guard.”

  “Good,” Kelly said. “We might want to post some guards by these suckers. Sure hate to have the enemy get ahold of them.”

  “Seriously,” Fritz said. “Curt watching for more truckloads?”

  “Yeah,” Kyle said. “Here comes Gray and his guys.”

  Gray’s truck and two Harleys pulled up next to them.

  “That was easier than I expected,” Gray said as he got out, joined by Brushy. “Anybody get hurt? We didn’t get a scratch.”

  “We’re all okay,” Kelly said. “Been lucky so far.”

  “You don’t want to be captured by these guys,” Gray said, grim look on his face. “They captured some of our people. Tortured and beheaded them.”

  “About what I’d expect,” Jason said. “Somebody said they’ve been taking women prisoners, too.”

  “Yeah,” Brushy said. “There were women at my park in Sonora before the attack. They took them away after killing the men. They weren’t all young women, either. They ranged in age from about sixteen to seventy.”

  “Geez,” Kelly said. “So they’ve got a base somewhere nearby.”

  “Or they used them and dumped them in a ditch somewhere,” Junior said. “Bastards.”

  Jason walked away, phone to his ear after hitting the Austin PD land line contact.

  “Austin Police Department,” the operator said.

  “Chief Ramsey, please,” Jason said. “This is Jason Finley.”

  “Hold the line, please.”

  Jason waited, looking down I-10 to the east, expecting more truckloads of enemy fighters to arrive. He was still trembling from the battle.

  “Officer Finley,” Chief Ramsey said. “How are you?”

  “I’m good, Chief,” he said. “We just got finished with a battle on I-10, just east of Fort Stockton.”

  “You okay? Lose anybody?”

  “We all survived, thank God,” Jason said. “The Islamist
s attacked a convoy. Several flatbed trucks with M-1 Tanks on them. They were trying to figure out how to get away with the tanks when we showed up.”

  “Geez,” Ramsey said.

  “Can you contact somebody in the National Guard? Somebody should pick these up before the Islamists come back and try to take them again.”

  “Can you move them off the road?” Ramsey asked.

  “Maybe,” Jason said. “Might have shot some of the trailer tires in the firefight. The enemy was using the trailers for cover. Curt was careful not to hit the tanks with his grenades.”

  “Curt? What does he have?”

  “Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher mounted on an off-roader,” Jason said. “Works pretty damn well.”

  Ramsey chuckled. “Oh, brother. I’ll make some calls. Don’t know if the Texas National Guard can use them. There’s a portion of the US Army here. They might be able to pick them up.”

  “Okay,” Jason said. “Thanks.”

  Jason walked back over to the rest of the group.

  “You call the department?” Kyle asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Chief Ramsey knows somebody he can call.”

  Kyle looked at the flatbed trailers. “Let’s go see how they look. Maybe we can drive those trucks out of here.”

  “Yeah, let’s do that,” Kelly said.

  “We swept 30-06 fire from the BARs under those flatbeds,” Jason said. “It’ll be a miracle if none of the tires are wasted.

  “Hey, man,” Tyler said, walking up with Logan. “I worked with M-1 Tanks in the service. So did Logan.”

  “How come you never brought that up before?” Gray asked.

  “Never came up in the conversation,” he said. “Let’s see if they have fuel in them. We could just drive them over to the RV Park.”

  Kelly and Junior laughed. “Those would make a worthy addition to our arsenal.”

  “Yeah, like the Army is gonna let us keep them,” Fritz said.

  “Let’s check them out,” Gray said. “At least we can move them somewhere safer than here until they get picked up.”

  “Yeah, I think that’s a great idea,” Kelly said.

  “Me too,” Jason said. “Go for it.”

  “Gonna need help with the ramps on the flatbeds,” Logan said, grinning, his dark brown ponytail swaying in the breeze as he walked. “I’ll look at that first one. You take the second, Tyler. Then we’ll do the third. I think the fourth one is too messed up. Look at the tracks on the right side.”