Bug Out! Texas Book 6: Citizen Vengeance Read online

  Bug Out! Texas

  Citizen Vengeance

  Book 6

  Robert G Boren

  Contents

  Previously - in Bug Out! Texas Book 5

  Chapter 1 – San Antonio Terror

  Chapter 2 – Imagery

  Chapter 3 – X-Rays

  Chapter 4 – Aftermath

  Chapter 5 – Casualty

  Chapter 6 – Justice of the Peace

  Chapter 7 - Picnic Table

  Chapter 8 – Social Media Warriors

  Chapter 9 – Screening

  Chapter 10 – Overflow

  Chapter 11 – Only Two Thirds

  Chapter 12 – Mixing the Mash

  Chapter 13 – Migration?

  Chapter 14 – Water World

  Chapter 15 – Live Goes On

  Chapter 16 – Pleasant Dreams

  Chapter 17 – Mock Venice

  Chapter 18 – Cleared for the Journey

  Chapter 19 – Old Friends

  Chapter 20 – Waiting Rooms

  Chapter 21 – The Line-Up

  Chapter 22 – Scanner

  Chapter 23 – Trailering

  Chapter 24 - Open Road

  Chapter 25 – Three Leagues

  Chapter 26 – Re-Routed Again

  Chapter 27 – Lend-Lease

  Chapter 28 – The Rodeo

  Chapter 29 - Action in Purgatory

  Chapter 30 – Accommodations

  Chapter 31 – B-1 Bombers

  Chapter 32 – Amarillo

  Cast of Characters

  Copyright - About the Author

  Previously – in Bug Out! Texas Book 5

  Governor Nelson traveled to Fort Stockton and held a meeting with several resistance groups, including the one led by Simon Orr, which led to controversy. The groups formed a loose plan to integrate themselves. During his visit, the Governor’s Mansion in Austin was bombed, and an attempt was made on the Capitol Building.

  Nelson moved his office to the bunker below Kip Hendrix’s house, and ordered other officials to take refuge in bunkers too. A wave of attacks began on bunker locations, and Kip’s house was destroyed, leaving the bunker intact. Maria learned from her mother that her sister Celia had escaped from the mental institution. The Governor’s team suspected Major General Landry of being a spy for the enemy and took steps to expose him. Nelson developed a new strategy to get out of reactive mode: Stop concentrating on protecting the cities. Move their resources to protect the Gulf Coast port and refinery infrastructure. Attack enemy supply lines through Southwest Texas and New Mexico.

  Curt had previously given Nelson a program he’d developed that allowed the Patriots the ability to track enemy cellphones. Because of this, Landry was exposed and relieved of his command of the Air National Guard. Simon Orr called Landry while he was in custody and said he was planning on attacking Fort Stockton. DPS Commissioner Wallis and Austin Police Chief Ramsey told the Patriots in Fort Stockton, who attempted to flush out Orr at his base. They walked right into a trap. It was a terrible loss of good men including Earl, Jackson, Nate and Gray. Simon Orr later tricked Landry into committing suicide with a cyanide capsule hidden in his shoe.

  Supplied with additional 3D printers and arms by Governor Nelson’s team, the Fort Stockton Patriots manufactured more vehicle armaments. Ramsey contacted them and told them to expect a major assault on Fort Stockton, and that the Islamists had formed an alliance with Militia groups, including Simon Orr’s. The Patriots made tremendous progress on weapons overnight and were told the next day about the strength of the enemy – over a thousand troops to their north and another large group to their south. The Governor’s team suggested they flee, but Junior suggested instead that they enlist the citizens through social media. Don and Sydney began a campaign, resulting in many thousands of ordinary citizens committing to the battle.

  As night fell, the Fort Stockton group engaged the enemy north of I-20, doing tremendous damage, but there were too many enemy fighters, so the Patriots retreated south. As they did so, thousands of citizens showed up to join the fight. The Patriots defeated the enemy, taking no prisoners.

  On the Gulf Coast, the DPS boats repelled a massive attack. Richardson, Brendan and Juan Carlos participated and when it was over, returned to their trailer park to find their homes destroyed and their women missing. They found them at the local emergency room; Madison had cut her foot badly and needed stitches. The men received word that they were being moved to Houston and would be protecting Galveston. DPS command suspected a mole in their organization as their residences had been hit. The group was cautioned not to reveal their movements to the DPS office. Richardson moved the group to Loyola Beach to rest and recuperate. They fled from their hiding place when Islamists attacked the area, escaping to San Antonio. There, they hoped they were safe, even venturing out to dinner at the Riverwalk, only to be forced into another battle with terrorists, this time with hundreds of armed citizen Patriots on their side.

  Chapter 1 – San Antonio Terror

  Richardson froze as the gunfight intensified on the Riverwalk below.

  “You saw some Islamists enter the restaurant?” he asked.

  “Yeah, dude,” Juan Carlos said. “We’d better go get them. The girls are safe up here if they stay down.”

  “I’m on it,” Brendan said, slipping into the restaurant, rushing past shocked patrons hiding under their tables.

  “Stay here, Juan Carlos,” Richardson said. “Guard the women.” He raced into the restaurant after Brendan.

  “They’re down there, by the door,” Brendan whispered as Richardson caught up to him by the stairs.

  “They aren’t coming up, they’re hiding,” Richardson whispered back. “See them by the window? They don’t have guns on any of the patrons. Probably afraid of that old coot with the hog leg.”

  “Yeah, that guy was the bomb,” Brendan whispered, flashing a grin. “Let’s waste those creeps.”

  “They’ve got AKs,” Richardson said.

  Suddenly there were several quick blasts downstairs.

  “Shotgun!” Brendan said.

  Richardson peeked his head down. “Probably the owner. Those Islamists are toast. Bad cleanup job down there.”

  “What now?” Brendan asked.

  “Back to the balcony,” Richardson said.

  They rushed out, getting down and crawling to the edge of the balcony. Citizen gunfire continued, the Islamists fleeing.

  “The people have this, dude,” Juan Carlos said, sitting under a table with the women, gun at the ready. “Don’t mess with Texas.”

  “Yeah, the Islamists are running away,” Brendan said, moving back from the edge. Hannah shot him a terrified glance. He moved over to her, pulling her into his arms.

  “What about the men downstairs?” Lita whispered to Richardson.

  “Somebody used a shotgun on them,” he said. “It’s a mess.”

  “They weren’t in there to attack the patrons,” Brendan said. “They were hiding from the citizens.”

  “The Islamists had the citizens out-gunned,” Juan Carlos said.

  “There’s at least a hundred armed citizens down there,” Richardson said. “I saw maybe twenty-five Islamists. Better weapons can’t fix that kind of ratio.”

  “Can we go?” Madison asked, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Wait till the gunfire stops,” Richardson said.

  “So much for our nice quiet dinner,” Lita said.

  “Why do we keep running into this stuff?” Hannah asked, clinging to Brendan.

  “I don’t know, sweetie,” Brendan said softly.

  “Look, there’s a group of Islamists
running away,” Juan Carlos said, rushing to the edge. He opened fire, killing three of them, Richardson joining him and dropping two. The others got away, out of view of the balcony.

  “We’d better save the rest of our ammo,” Juan Carlos said. “We still have to get back to the hotel.”

  “I have another magazine,” Brendan said.

  “Not me,” Juan Carlos said. “I’ve only got four rounds left.”

  The gunfire finally stopped.

  “Is it over?” Madison asked.

  “Sounds like it,” Juan Carlos said, coming back over to her.

  “You don’t think they came here looking for us, do you?” she asked.

  Juan Carlos petted her cheek, brushing the blonde hair out of her eyes. “No, sweetie, this was a random attack.”

  “Yeah, if they knew we were here, they would’ve come after us quietly,” Richardson said. “They wouldn’t have rushed right down the middle of the Riverwalk.”

  “This was like those attacks in Europe,” Brendan said. “Pure terror on soft targets. No strategic value other than the terror itself. Most of them probably assumed they’d die in this.”

  “Most of them did die,” Juan Carlos said.

  The manager rushed onto the balcony, shotgun still in his hand, dropping to his knees next to the dead waitress.

  “Oh, no,” he cried, sobbing.

  “That poor man,” Madison whispered.

  “That was probably his daughter,” Juan Carlos said. “They look alike.”

  “Oh God,” Lita said, breaking down. “Can we go?”

  “Yes, let’s go to the hotel,” Richardson said. “We’ll just order room service.”

  “They might not be doing room service after this mess,” Brendan said.

  “I don’t care, let’s go,” Hannah said.

  “Okay,” Richardson said, “but keep your eyes open and your guns at the ready. Stay near cover.”

  Richardson put some bills on their table under a pitcher, and they left, Juan Carlos protecting Madison as she hobbled along on her crutches.

  “My God, look at all the dead Islamists,” Hannah said, eyes darting around.

  “Lots of dead citizens too,” Brendan said. “This was a bad attack.”

  “Crap, the back gate is closed,” Lita said.

  “There’s a card reader next to it,” Richardson said. “Let’s try a room key.” He stuck his into the slot and the gate clicked.

  “Thank God,” Lita said as Richardson pushed the heavy gate open. He held it until everybody was through, then closed it again.

  “So much for the city being safer,” Madison said.

  “It is safer,” Juan Carlos said. “We were in a big gathering point. Perfect target for terror attacks like this.”

  “Sorry,” Richardson said. “That was my idea.”

  “You had no way of knowing,” Lita said.

  “Yeah,” Madison said. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  They went through the lobby to the elevator. Richardson pushed the button for their floor. Nothing happened.

  “You think they’re down?” Hannah asked.

  Madison’s brow furrowed. “Oh, God, I can’t go up the stairs with these damn crutches.”

  “Use your room key,” Lita said. “They might have turned up the security.”

  Richardson inserted it and then hit the button again. The elevator doors opened.

  “Thank you,” Madison whispered.

  “I’m glad they did that,” Richardson said.

  “Yeah, me too,” Lita said.

  They arrived on their floor and walked to their rooms.

  “Want to eat together?” Lita asked.

  Juan Carlos looked at Madison. She shook her head yes.

  “Okay,” Juan Carlos said.

  Hannah shook her head yes too. “I’d rather be with the group now.”

  “Sure, honey,” Brendan said.

  They went into Richardson and Lita’s room.

  “You notice that the police never showed up?” Brendan asked.

  “Yeah, I noticed,” Richardson said. “The citizens did a good job on their own.” He picked up the TV remote and clicked it on. There was video of the battle running.

  “Well, it made the news,” Lita said, setting down the room service menu.

  “Look at the banner on the bottom of the screen,” Juan Carlos said. “San Antonio Police stations hit by terror attacks.”

  “That explains it,” Brendan said. “Geez, between those two stations, we lost almost fifty cops.”

  “No,” Hannah said.

  “Could you imagine if this happened somewhere like Chicago, where people can’t carry guns?” Juan Carlos said. “It would’ve been a blood bath.”

  “Seriously,” Brendan said. “It’d probably still be going on now.”

  “Ready to order something?” Lita asked. She moved to the others, holding the menu open.

  “I’m so hungry now that I’d eat almost anything,” Juan Carlos said.

  Richardson walked over to the window, deep in thought, staring out into the city. The heavy traffic they drove through to the hotel was gone now. People scurried nervously around below.

  “Honey, come away from the window,” Lita said.

  He nodded and walked to her, his face grim.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “The city is terrorized,” Richardson said. “The enemy got what they wanted.”

  Chapter 2 – Imagery

  Don and Sydney watched as their team hammered on keyboards, still keeping up the pace, focusing more on the enemy fighters south of the RV Park, down around Big Bend National Park. Sydney’s phone rang.

  “Amanda,” Sydney said. “I’ll put it on speaker.” She set it on the stage and punched the speaker button.

  “Sis, you okay?” she asked.

  “Hell yeah,” Amanda said. “This is a rout.”

  “Really?” Don asked.

  “Really,” Amanda said. “The citizens came in from the east and the west, right down I-20. Flooded the whole area. Must be more than ten thousand people. We’re chasing what’s left of the enemy now.”

  “Anybody get hurt?” Sydney asked.

  “Yeah. Lost one of the tanks. Lost several of Gray’s bikers. Lost somebody in one of the off-roaders. Not sure who it was.”

  “Not Curt,” Sydney asked.

  “No, he’s fine,” Amanda said. “He’s been back for more ammo twice now. I had to move up, finally. Before the citizens showed up we were getting ready to flee. They had us pushed back all the way to I-20.”

  “Geez,” Don said.

  “What’s going on down south?” Amanda asked.

  “Don’t know,” Don said. “In the last satellite picture, there were enemy troops showing up. We sent that out. Last check we had about ten thousand volunteers headed that way.”

  “That’s what they said, anyway,” Sydney said.

  “After what we saw here, I believe it,” Amanda said. “Here comes Curt again. I think this thing is almost over. Gotta go.”

  Sydney ended the call and grabbed her phone.

  “Well, sounds positive,” Sydney said. “Thank God. I was so worried.”

  “I’ll feel better when we get the next satellite picture,” Don said. “The last one was almost an hour ago. Ought to be any minute.”

  “Hey, Dad,” Alyssa said, rushing over.

  “What, sweetie?” Don asked.

  “Just heard from some people down south. The Air National Guard just attacked the enemy down there.”

  “Good. Hope they don’t hit any of our folks.”

  “Doesn’t sound like they got there yet,” Alyssa said. “They’re going in to mop up.”

  “Good,” Don said.

  “What’s going on with our guys? I saw you two on the phone.”

  “We’re winning,” Don said. “At least it sounds like we are. I want to see the next picture.”

  “Yeah, it’s about time, isn’t it? People are ask
ing for it.”

  Don’s phone rang. “Gallagher. I’ll put it on speaker.”

  “Don?” Gallagher asked.

  “Yeah. Got that new photo for us?”

  “Just sent it to your inbox,” Gallagher said. “My God.”

  “Is that a good My God or a bad My God?” Sydney asked.

  “Bad for the enemy,” Gallagher said. “Our analyst said we had more than twenty thousand citizens join the battle up north, and almost ten thousand heading towards the south. We just nailed the enemy down south with air power. They’re trying to get back across the river into Mexico as we speak.”

  “We gonna chase them?” Don asked.

  “The planes are. Tell the citizens not to, okay? We don’t want to lose a bunch of them.”

  “You heard that, Alyssa,” Don said. “Pass the word, okay?”

  “You got it, Dad,” she said, rushing back to her team.

  “Heard from your people?” Gallagher asked.

  “Yeah, my sister,” Sydney said. “About five minutes ago. She said it was a rout.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Gallagher said. “I’d better get off. Got to contact the Governor and tell him the good news.”

  “Thanks,” Don said. “Talk to you later.”

  “Take care,” Gallagher said. Don ended the call.

  “Let’s go check out that picture and get it uploaded,” Don said. He and Sydney rushed over to Don’s laptop and clicked on the file.

  “Good Lord,” Don said, looking at the picture. “This is insane.” He sent the file to the drop area, then stood up and turned towards the team. “The satellite picture is out there. Distribute it far and wide.”

  There were murmurs in the room.

  “Holy shit,” Chloe said, covering her mouth after the words came out. Alyssa laughed.

  “Language,” Don said. Half the room cracked up.

  “Okay, Dad,” Sydney said, sly smile on her face.

  He chuckled. “Maybe we should crank up some more coffee.”

  “I’ll help,” Sydney said. They walked to the kitchen together.

  Don took the top off the big coffee maker and sniffed.

  “Bad?” she asked.

  “A little burned,” Don said, “and almost gone. It’s time.” He got to work.