Golden State Partisans Read online




  Bug Out! California

  Book 4

  Golden State Partisans

  Robert G Boren

  Contents

  Previously - in Bug Out! California Book 3

  Chapter 1 – The Fork

  Chapter 2 – Life Support

  Chapter 3 – The Tent

  Chapter 4 – Volvos

  Chapter 5 – Dark Vengeance

  Chapter 6 – Magic Mountain

  Chapter 7 - Coaches

  Chapter 8 – Sunshine Summit

  Chapter 9 – Tisha

  Chapter 10 – Passing Through Gorman

  Chapter 11 – Eighty Foot Ditch

  Chapter 12 – The Battle of Warner Springs

  Chapter 13 – Lily and Alexis

  Chapter 14 – Spotlight in the Dark

  Chapter 15 – Ammo Run

  Chapter 16 – Garrett's Posse

  Chapter 17 – Team Assessment

  Cast of Characters

  Copyright - About the Author

  Previously, in Bug Out! California Book 3

  As book 3 opened, Ivan the Butcher’s forces destroyed tanks at checkpoints, re-opened the internet, and destroyed the video surveillance system in LA and Orange Counties, then published the locations of all enemy bases in California. Ivan showed mug shots of Saladin and Daan Mertins on a forced TV broadcast, telling the public who they were and what they were doing. He showed a grainy photo of the President with Saladin, Daan Mertins, and Governor Sable on the tarmac in front of Air Force One, then gave proof that Governor Sable was dead, via live video from the morgue.

  Sam and the Dulzura Group attacked a checkpoint in Julian with the help of two local law enforcement officers, who’d been sidelined by the UN as part of martial law enforcement. After they destroyed the checkpoint and killed the UN Peacekeepers there, they found computer files showing detailed enemy data and spread it far and wide on the internet. Connie hacked into their system and deleted state gun registration files being used to indicate who’d had their guns confiscated so far. Afterwards they left Julian to meet friends of Sid’s in the wilderness of Anza Borrego, planning to help with an attack on an enemy supply depot.

  In North Redondo Beach, Steve and Colleen fled Robbie’s condo, going to Colleen’s family cabin in Mountain High. Later that morning, two UN Peacekeepers came. One Peacekeeper took Morgan away for questioning, leaving the other to kill Robbie. He turned the tables and killed the Peacekeeper. Another two Peacekeepers came to pick up their comrade, and Robbie killed them too. He found Morgan’s cellphone with Sparky’s phone number next to it in the kitchen, called Sparky, and told him what happened. They arranged a meeting at Robbie’s work, a restaurant run by Ted. After Robbie arrived, two UN Peacekeepers showed up looking for him. They got rough with Ted, causing Bryan to blast them with a shotgun. Sparky showed up in a stolen UN van. He took everybody to Ivan’s hideout in Marina Del Rey, and they planned the rescue of women being held at the Torrance police station, using a system of tunnels that linked the Torrance Civic Center buildings together.

  Ji-Ho watched as Saladin and UN Peacekeepers broke into his house in Palos Verdes. He detonated the drone in his vault, killing everybody in the house except Saladin, who knew it was a trap and jumped out a high window into the swimming pool below. Saladin rushed around the front of the house, and Ji-Ho detonated a claymore mine as he watched his front yard video feed, wounding the Islamist leader but not killing him. Half of Ji-Ho’s new team fled, believing Saladin would stop at nothing to find them. Gus, Matt, Jamie, and Emma were among those who left. The enemy captured them later that night. Ji-Ho held a video meeting with Ivan the Butcher, and revealed to the others that he was part of Ivan’s resistance force. They all agreed to join the fight. Ji-Ho showed them features of the battle wagon. Enemy fighters found them, thanks to Matt, Emma, and the others they’d captured. A fire fight ensued, with Ji-Ho using his battle wagon to defeat the attackers. The group fled, going to Ji-Ho’s warehouse in Murrieta to pick up Jeeps and off-roaders for the coming mission. They went to Anza Borrego, joining the main forces led by Sam and a Barona Tribe leader named One Eye.

  While at the tribe’s camp, Seth and Angel met Kaitlyn and Megan, and sparks flew right away. The team got into their Jeeps and off-roaders, heading for the enemy depot outside of La Quinta. The battle started, both sides going at each other in heavy action, but the patriots won. Afterwards they went into the enemy base to gather weapons and other supplies. One Eye opened a storage container which was booby trapped. The blast killed him and wounded both Sam and his wife Connie. John and Sarah rushed them to a La Quinta hospital, Sid and Yvonne following them. The rest of the force started back towards the tribe’s camp. John saw enemy vehicles racing towards the battle scene from the waiting room at the hospital, and contacted Ji-Ho, letting him know they’d be followed back to camp.

  The Torrance Civic Center operation started, with attacks happening at City Hall and at the Armstrong Theater, where a high-level meeting was happening. Robbie and the rescue team rushed into the Torrance police station from the tunnels, killing all the UN Peacekeepers and freeing the women. The rescue team took off with the women in UN vans, heading for a safe house in Culver City.

  Chapter 1 – The Fork

  Tex drove the UN van down Washington Boulevard in Culver City. “Hey, Jules, which way?”

  “Go under freeway and turn left into auto dealership. Drive into service bay area in back.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Isn’t Tito’s Tacos right by there?”

  Jules chuckled. “Yes, is. Maybe get some tonight. I call.”

  Sparky watched out the front window, looking for people on the street, hoping they wouldn’t notice the UN Van.

  “Nervous, partner?” Tex asked.

  “Hell yeah,” he said. “This area is dense as hell. What happened to the checkpoints?”

  “Like Jules said, we just cut the head off the snake. The enemy is running around, not knowing what the hell to do.”

  “That won’t last long,” Sparky said under his breath.

  “Maybe that coup in Washington will take the wind out of their sails,” Tex said.

  “Or maybe they’ll get more desperate,” Sparky said softly. “How long are we staying here?”

  “Don’t know,” Tex said. “Jules might know.”

  “Know what?” Jules asked, slipping his phone back in his pocket.

  “How long we’re staying here,” Tex said.

  “Not long, we move up north soon,” Jules said. “Notice no check point. Enemy hunker down. We have on run.”

  “Is this a good time to split?” Tex asked. “Shouldn’t we stick around and finish the job?”

  “Plenty here to take care of,” Jules said. “West LA and Valley crew both grow large. People themselves coming out more and more. Look at South Bay. Last night people come and attack checkpoints while we battle in Torrance.”

  “There’s the freeway,” Sparky said.

  “I see it, partner,” Tex said, driving under it, then turning into the car dealership’s driveway.

  “Pull into open bay,” Jules said. “Ted’s van there next to it.”

  Tex nodded, pulling up far enough for the door to clear. He saw Ted walk over to a button and push it. The door rolled down behind them. Tex shut down the engine.

  “Thank God,” Morgan said. “I was afraid we’d get nailed on the way.”

  “Me too,” Katie said.

  Sparky got out and opened the big sliding door on the side of the van. “Welcome, ladies.”

  Everybody got out of the van.

  “Follow me,” Jules said, getting out of the driver’s seat. He led the group through a door into the office section of the dealership. “
Stay away from front windows.”

  “Yeah, seriously,” Tex said. They could hear women’s voices as they walked.

  “This place is bigger than I expected,” Robbie said, looking around, holding Morgan’s hand. “Who owns this?”

  “I do, kid,” Jules said. “I don’t run day to day, but I own.”

  “Nice,” Tex said. “How’d you get into this business?”

  “Used cars to smuggle dope,” he said, grinning. “Now no need. Just sell cars to yuppies in West LA. Make plenty money. Retirement plan.”

  “I should’ve guessed,” Sparky said, shaking his head.

  Ted peeked out of a room, motioning them over. “Hey, guys, any problems?”

  “Nope,” Tex said. “Easy trip down here.”

  “Did you get the new recruit?” Cody asked.

  “Yep,” Robbie said. “Justin.” He nodded towards him.

  “Nice to meet you,” Ted said. “I’m Ted. I’ve seen you at the restaurant before.”

  “Meeting Robbie,” Justin said. “What happens now?”

  “I think we do enough for one day,” Jules said. “Relax. I call for tacos.”

  “Tito’s isn’t open this late,” Sparky said.

  “They open for us tonight,” Jules said. “I just talk to manager. He knows, he keep people over. Need few guys to carry.”

  “No problem,” Tex said. “Love me some tacos.”

  “Hell yes,” Bryan said.

  “I’ll go too,” Sparky said.

  “Okay, you go. Money already taken care of. Get plenty chips and salsa.”

  “Got it, Boss,” Tex said. He went down the hallway towards the door with Bryan and Sparky.

  “What are you going to do with us?” one of the women asked.

  “Let’s talk about that,” Jules said, sitting down in the big room, on a chair facing them. Robbie and Justin leaned against the wall next to their women, with Jordan and Ted against the wall next to them. Ted shot Robbie a nod.

  “We have bad guys on run,” Jules said. “We not done, but tide turned.”

  “Thank God for that,” one of the women said.

  “Here problem,” Jules said. “It not over, and they lash out as we defeat. They know who you are. They’ll go to your residence. Your families are in danger.”

  “We know that,” Dana said. “So what do we do?”

  “I think it’s gonna depend,” Ted said.

  “Depend on what?” Dana asked.

  “Well, first of all, it depends on your age,” Ted said. “If you’re under eighteen, raise your hands.”

  Four hands went up.

  “How old?” Jules asked.

  “We’re fifteen,” one of them said, nodding towards the girl next to her.

  “Sixteen,” said another.

  “Seventeen,” said the last of them.

  “We need to get you back with your parents,” Ted said. “Your families will need to disappear into the woodwork until this mess is over.”

  “Yes, we talk after meeting,” Jules said. “Try make contact with families.”

  “What about the rest of us?” Dana asked.

  “We give choice,” Jules said. “We let go, or you join us.”

  The girls murmured amongst themselves. One of them, a tall redhead with a model’s look, raised her hand.

  “Yes?” Jules asked.

  “I’m Karen,” she said. “Thanks so much for what you did. I don’t know if anybody has said that yet.”

  “You welcome,” Jules said. “Much credit go to Robbie and Morgan.”

  “We know,” Dana said. “Thank you both.”

  “We didn’t do anything special,” Morgan said. “I was just trying to survive.”

  “No, you do lot,” Jules said, “but back to subject.”

  “I’ve already decided to join you guys, if you’ll have me,” Dana said.

  “You don’t want to know what it will be like?” Jordan asked. “It’s going to get rough.”

  “Don’t care,” Dana said. “I’d either be dead or a sex slave if not for you guys. You have my respect and my loyalty.”

  “What would we be doing?” Karen asked.

  “We join Ivan in Bay Area,” Jules said. “Get groundswell started like we did here. Attack checkpoints. Kill UN thugs and Islamists. Blow up headquarters. Spy.”

  “You all need to understand how dangerous this will be,” Ted said. “Chances are good that some of you will be killed. Maybe a lot of you.”

  “The alternative is releasing us into an area that is still at least partially controlled by the enemy,” Dana said, “and we’re probably being hunted already, because of what we know. I’m not so sure going that route is any safer than joining you.”

  “You might be right about that,” Jordan said.

  “I’ll stay with you guys until I personally kill twenty-three UN thugs,” Dana said.

  “Twenty-three?” Jordan asked.

  Dana teared up, but her expression was one of determination and strength. “One for every time I was raped.” Karen touched her shoulder, and then hugged her.

  “I’ll join too,” she said. “Didn’t keep count, but it was a similar number. I’ll have a hard time getting over that. If I don’t get some of my own back, it’ll be worse.”

  There were murmurs of agreement, but some of the women sat silently, looking shell-shocked.

  “What if we want to join?” asked one of the fifteen-year-olds.

  “Must talk with parents. Maybe recruit them too,” Jules said. “Not our decision, not minor’s decision.”

  “My parents won’t have much choice, I’ll bet,” the seventeen-year-old said.

  “I suggest that all of you take time to think about this,” Morgan said. “Ivan is on our side at this point, but you’ll be entering a dark world.”

  “She’s right,” Ted said. “We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do, but I won’t candy coat this. You’ll be working with ex-members of the Russian mob and worse. You’ll have to watch yourselves, and you’ll no doubt be subject to the rules of that type of organization.”

  “Rules?” Katie asked.

  “He right, you need understand,” Jules said. “We no play games. You violate trust, you change sides, you talk to enemy, we kill you.”

  Dana chuckled. “Yeah, I get it. Don’t care. You guys have me.”

  “You okay with this?” Katie asked Morgan.

  “I’m with my man,” Morgan said. “He’s decided to join up, and I agree.”

  “Don’t decide tonight,” Justin said. “I’ll join, but if you don’t want to I’ll make sure you get taken to a safe place to ride this out.”

  “You’ve decided?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Justin said. “We have to take back our nation. We’ve seen what life under these thugs would be like. You worse than me, Katie. I’d rather be dead than let these monsters rule over us.”

  “You might get your wish,” Jordan said. “That being said, I agree with Justin. I just met these guys yesterday, and I’m going to pledge myself to them. This can’t stand. Our liberty means something. Our children’s and grandchildren’s liberty means something. If I must give up my life for this, it’s no different than all the men who gave their lives in past wars. The duty has fallen to our generation. How can we deny it?”

  “My God, man, you’re gonna make me cry with that stuff,” Ted said.

  Jules chuckled. “Maybe Ivan make you spokesperson. But okay, we talk again tomorrow. Eat. Relax. Feel safe. Think.”

  Morgan hugged Robbie. “Thanks for saving me.”

  “You’re my life,” Robbie said. “Do you think I could leave you in that place?”

  She just looked at him, then hugged him tighter. “I love you so.”

  “And I love you, honey,” Robbie said. “Always.”

  Sparky, Tex, and Bryan came in with several big bags, the smell of spicy beef and salsa filling the room.

  “Tacos!” Tex said. “Let’s put it on that big table
over there.”

  “Yes, do,” Jules said. “I call Ivan. Eat up. See you in while.” He went down the hall into another office.

  ***

  The caravan poked along on the dark dirt road, led by Trevor, coming home from the depot attack. Their friends at the La Quinta Hospital had tipped them off that enemy vehicles were coming to the area.

  Trevor stopped at the fork in the dirt road and got out of the car, Kaylee following. He studied the road to camp as the other vehicles stopped. Some people started to get out of their vehicles.

  “No!” Trevor shouted. “Don’t get out. We don’t need a lot of footprints around here. Let me look. We’ll need to drag the area at the beginning of the fork back to camp to get rid of the tracks. Then we need to make sure we leave good tracks in the other direction, and find an ambush spot. Got it?”

  “Yeah,” Ji-Ho shouted. “He right. Sit tight for minute.”

  Trevor and Kaylee grabbed their phones and turned on the flashlights, then took a careful look at the road.

  “It’s hard packed here,” Kaylee said.

  “Yeah, it is,” Trevor said. “There’s a little bit of track there, by the shoulder. I can fix that and walk back over on the hard pack.”

  “Some of the vehicles should hit the soft shoulder in the new direction,” Kaylee said. “They’ll see that.”

  “Get back in the Jeep and send a text about that while I brush these tracks,” Trevor said.

  She nodded and got behind the wheel of the Jeep. Trevor pulled out a bush and used it like a broom, brushing over the tracks that had strayed outside the hard-packed road, then jumped to the hard pack and got back into the Jeep’s passenger seat.

  “All set?” he asked.

  “Yeah, sent the text to my uncle, and he’s forwarded it to the rest of the group.”

  “Perfect,” Trevor said. “Let’s find a good place to nail these jerks.”

  Kaylee drove forward, the long caravan following.

  “Hope this road is good enough to tow on,” she said.

  “Just had the same thought. Maybe we ought to unhitch some of the off-roaders. The two-seaters at least. One person driving, the other with an M60. That could cause the enemy a lot of trouble.”