West Border Mayhem Read online

  Bug Out! Texas

  West Border Mayhem

  Book 8

  Robert G Boren

  Contents

  Previously - in Bug Out! Texas Book 7

  Chapter 1 – Warning

  Chapter 2 – Flight

  Chapter 3 – Tracking the Enemy

  Chapter 4 – Call for Backup

  Chapter 5 – Capture

  Chapter 6 – Donuts

  Chapter 7 - Warrior's Truce

  Chapter 8 – House Call

  Chapter 9 – Recruits

  Chapter 10 – Ruidoso Club House

  Chapter 11 – Awake

  Chapter 12 – Belt Guides

  Chapter 13 – Hot Bunk

  Chapter 14 – The Ridge

  Chapter 15 – The Rotunda

  Chapter 16 – Communications Breakdown

  Chapter 17 – Fire from the Sky

  Chapter 18 – White Formations

  Chapter 19 – Warning

  Chapter 20 – Fatigue

  Chapter 21 – Black Banks

  Chapter 22 – Angus

  Chapter 23 – Bloody River

  Chapter 24 - Scott Springs

  Chapter 25 – Barricade

  Chapter 26 – Army of Sleepers

  Chapter 27 – Yachts

  Chapter 28 – Cemetery Road

  Chapter 29 - Maria's Memories

  Chapter 30 – Keep Them Alive

  Chapter 31 – Testing

  Chapter 32 – Pacing

  Chapter 33 – Out of Ammo

  Cast of Characters

  Copyright - About the Author

  Previously – in Bug Out! Texas Book 7

  The Fort Stockton group were on their way to New Mexico to bomb a supply depot in Santa Fe, but only made it as far as Amarillo when they were attacked by B-1 bombers, taking out an RV Park. With the help of Airforce F-22 Raptors and a lucky shot by a Stinger missile, they eliminated the bombers, but there were four other bombers stolen by rogue pilots. As things settled down, news came of nerve gas attack on citizens in Denver, which helped swell the number of volunteers joining their group.

  A huge force of Islamist fighters were traveling east from Glenrio along I-40, so the Fort Stockton Group stationed themselves on either side of the interstate and attacked. A smaller group also bombed a bridge over I-40 at Midway 66, to cut off escape routes for the enemy. By now, the Fort Stockton Group’s numbers were around 20,000 patriots. An air battle ensued when Islamists’ Su-30 fighters attacked the Texas National Guard fighters, which was quelled by Airforce Raptors. The patriots won the battle, taking several thousand prisoners. I-40 was ruined.

  Jason took Carrie to the doctor who told her that her unborn baby is under stress, which put them in a dilemma, as Jason was part of the Fort Stockton leadership team. Don and Sydney eloped, and Dirk and Cindy decided to become a couple.

  The DPS Patrol Boaters were in San Marcos, fending off enemy attacks at Kris and Roberto’s house near Purgatory Creek. Roberto’s friends brought them evidence of an enemy base in a nearby recycling center, and of women and girls who had been abducted. The Patrol Boaters attacked the base, capturing Islamist fighters, but found out that all the hostages had been butchered during the battle. At this information, Roberto went crazy and let his Rottweilers exact rough justice; Brendan posted pictures of both the victims and the enemy on the internet. Even though the UN and EU called for sanctions against Texas for these images, Governor Nelson held firm, holding a press conference supporting the posting and reminding the press of the Islamists’ penchant for using young girls as sex slaves and the hostages’ brutal murders.

  During that same press conference, the Governor said there were no plans to have Texas remain an independent republic, and that they would re-join the union once the citizens had taken back the Federal government from the enemy. He also said that they would have their regularly scheduled elections and that he would not be running for a third term.

  The Patrol Boaters were promoted and ordered to go to South Padre Island. They decided to store the patrol boat and take cars on the road there, renting a truck to transport the guns. Before they could leave, they were attacked again, and one of Roberto’s friends was killed. The rest of them took off, fighting their way down the road.

  The Texas leadership team got word from General Hogan that his technical genius now had a prototype of the RFID apps, but it wasn’t ready for wide release yet. The apps were now being used in the Southwest to great effect.

  After hearing about the DPS Patrol Boaters’ difficulties as they traveled to South Padre Island, Director Wallis spoke with Governor Nelson about having the apps delivered to them, or to divert some drones to protect them. Nelson called General Hogan, who reluctantly agreed to giving the apps to Richardson. The apps helped them right away.

  The Fort Stockton team left Amarillo and traveled to a small town called Bovina, avoiding the wrecked I-40. Once in New Mexico, they met with General Hogan’s son, Private Brown, who gave them the RFID apps. Although they weren’t supposed to use them for Texas, Jason was horrified to see tens of thousands of enemy fighters circling the capitol of Austin where Governor Nelson and his team were based.

  Chapter 1 – Warning

  Jason watched as Private Brown called his father, General Hogan.

  “Maybe we ought to high-tail it back to Austin,” Curt whispered. “Give those cretins a surprise they won’t forget.”

  Jason shook his head no, as Private Sanchez eyed them.

  “Jason, can we use your rig to have a conference call?” Brown asked. “The General is asking.”

  “Of course,” Jason said.

  “We want you and Curt involved too. Is there somebody named Don here?”

  Jason looked at Curt, who nodded yes. “I’ll send Don a text.”

  Jason did that as he led the privates towards the rig. Don showed up after a couple of minutes, Sydney joining Carrie and Amanda outside.

  “You want to come in?” Jason asked Carrie.

  “Nope,” she said.

  Jason nodded and closed the door, then leaned on the kitchen counter. Curt, Don, Brown, and Sanchez were on the couch and the dinette benches. Brown hit the contact, then put his phone on speaker and held it in front of him. “Go ahead, dad.”

  “Hello, gentleman,” General Hogan said. “Thanks for not going off half-cocked on this.”

  “We don’t want to let Nelson and his whole team get slaughtered,” Curt said. “What should we do?”

  “We could turn around,” Jason said. “We could be back there with all the forces we used along I-40 in pretty short order.”

  Curt shook his head, looking at his phone. “We’re eight hours away from Austin, man. Not realistic.”

  “Is Don there?” General Hogan asked.

  “Yes sir,” Don said.

  “Do you think another of your social media operations could pack the Austin capitol area with armed citizens.”

  “Yes, but how can we hide the fact that we’ve seen the enemy?”

  “That’s the real trick,” General Hogan said. “It’ll take some creative thinking.”

  “Why don’t we get the Governor and his team on the line?” Jason asked.

  “I was just gonna suggest that too,” Brown said.

  “We can do that,” General Hogan said. “I’ll patch him in from this end. Hold on for a sec.”

  The line went quiet.

  “This is a bad problem,” Curt said. “We can’t lose Nelson. I’m not the cheerleader type, but this guy is golden.”

  “Understand,” Jason said. “Maybe there’s another answer. Hell, maybe he even knows about the buildup.”

  “Doubt it,” Brown said. “Look at how they’re woven in. They’re hidin
g in plain sight.”

  “How many fighters we talking about?” Don asked.

  “At least ten thousand,” Sanchez said. “Probably double that before they’re done moving in.”

  “Can you see where they’re coming from?” Don asked.

  “Not really,” Sanchez said. “They may have everybody in place that they need now. Might have for a while.”

  “Which means they might be ready to attack,” Curt said. “Dammit.”

  The phone clicked. “You guys hear us?” asked General Hogan.

  “Yeah,” Brown said.

  “Hi, folks,” Governor Nelson said. “I’ve got Gallagher and Ramsey on the line. Wallis is on the way.”

  “Did the General tell you what’s going on?” Jason asked.

  “Yeah,” Ramsey said. “Not good.”

  “What are the options, keeping inside the lines of our agreement?” Nelson asked.

  “One is to use social media to flood the area with armed citizens,” Jason said.

  “How can we do that without tipping our hand on the RFID chips?” Gallagher asked.

  “That’s the real question,” General Hogan said. “We were hoping you might have some ideas.”

  “Wallis just walked in,” Nelson said. “I’ll let him know what’s going on. You guys go ahead and brainstorm a little.”

  “How secure is the bunker there?” Sanchez asked.

  “Very secure,” Gallagher said, “from bomb or even gas attacks. If a bunch of troops stormed us, they’d eventually get in.”

  “We’re back,” Nelson said. “Wallis is up to speed.”

  “Thanks, gentlemen,” Wallis said.

  “Any ideas?” General Hogan asked.

  “I don’t suppose you have any idea how long they’ve been here,” Wallis asked.

  “Nope,” General Hogan said. “We didn’t know about them until Private Brown called.”

  “You aren’t looking around much with those apps, then?” Gallagher asked.

  General Hogan chuckled. “We’re being hounded every minute. I don’t have time to look outside of our immediate area.”

  “Of course,” Nelson said, “and we appreciate your help so far. Really.”

  “Hey, are there other bunkers that are out of harm’s way?” Curt asked.

  “Now there’s a good question,” Gallagher said. “Wonder how things are around Hendrix’s bunker. Maybe we could sneak out of here.”

  “Sounds dangerous,” Jason said.

  “Where’s Hendrix’s place?” Brown asked.

  “I’ll text the address to Jason,” Ramsey said.

  Jason’s phone dinged, and he showed it to Brown, who adjusted the map on his phone.

  “Looks pretty clear,” Brown said. “The enemy must not be interested.”

  “The enemy will be watching the whole capitol area,” Curt said. “How you guys gonna sneak out?”

  “That’s the problem,” Wallis said. “We need to make the enemy think we’re still here. We can’t just hi-tail it in armored vehicles. They’ll see it. Then they’ll move to wherever we move.”

  “How secure is this other bunker?” General Hogan asked.

  “It’s actually stronger than what we have under the capitol,” Gallagher said.

  “So maybe it doesn’t matter if you get seen,” Jason said.

  “It would still be better if the enemy didn’t know,” Wallis said. “Both for the sake of keeping the apps secret, and for our own safety.”

  “I agree,” General Hogan said.

  “Since we thought it was safer around here, we’ve allowed folks back into their capitol offices,” Gallagher said. “There’s lots of civilian traffic around.”

  “Maybe you ought to use disguises,” Don said. “Go out in civilian vehicles.”

  “If they get caught, they’ll be captured or killed,” Brown said. “That would take this problem to a whole new level.”

  “I know, thinking the same thing,” Ramsey said.

  “We need a diversion,” Wallis said. “Pre-tape a speech from the bunker and broadcast it as live when we’re slipping away, for example.”

  “Yeah, with disguises, like I said,” Don said.

  “Well, I like the direction this conversation is going,” General Hogan said. “I’ve got to get back to another problem. I’m going to drop off. I trust you folks will come up with a worthy plan. Good luck.”

  “Thanks, General,” Nelson said.

  “Talk to you later, dad,” Brown said.

  “Don’t be too long,” General Hogan said. “I need you and Sanchez back here as soon as possible.”

  “Understand,” Brown said.

  General Hogan dropped off the call.

  “We’d better drop everything and work this,” Nelson said. “We’ll let you guys go. Thanks for letting us know. It’ll give us a fighting chance.”

  “Godspeed,” Jason said, brow furrowed.

  “You two,” Ramsey said. “Be safe. Good luck.”

  The call ended. Curt, Jason, and Don looked at each other.

  “This scares the crap out of me,” Jason said.

  “Seriously,” Curt said. “They’re smart. We need to worry about our task, and trust that they’ll be okay.”

  “Nothing else we can do,” Don said.

  “We need to pack up and leave,” Brown said. “You guys have everything that you need. Give ‘em hell.”

  “Yeah, good luck,” Sanchez said.

  The men shook hands, and the two privates left the coach. Carrie, Amanda, and Sydney climbed in.

  “Is it going to be okay?” Amanda asked Curt.

  “I hope so,” Curt said. “We did what we could. Hope I get to shake General Hogan’s hand someday.”

  “Yeah,” Jason said.

  Chapter 2 - Flight

  Governor Nelson eyed Director Wallis, Police Chief Ramsey, and Major-General Gallagher from behind his office desk. “Brian, get Kip Hendrix on the line for me please.”

  “Yes sir,” Brian said from his desk just outside the door.

  “It’s gonna be tricky getting out of here without being seen,” Gallagher said.

  Brian stuck his head in the door. “He’s here, sir. Maria said he went to his office to pick up some documents.”

  “Good, run him down for me, okay?”

  “Will do, Governor,” Brian said.

  “Shit, they could pick him up at any time,” Gallagher said.

  “Well, we all thought it was safe here now, remember?” Wallis asked. “That’s why we came back.”

  “Wish we didn’t have to keep the apps secret,” Ramsey said. “I’d love to flood this area with good guys.”

  “A lot of them might get killed,” Nelson said. “The enemy might use nerve gas again.”

  “They haven’t done that anywhere but Colorado, and it backfired on them big-time,” Gallagher said. “They might not try it again.”

  “I doubt they’d hold back if they thought it would work for them,” Wallis said. “These folks don’t have the moral compass that normal people do.”

  “Hey, guys,” Hendrix said, walking into the office. “Oh, shit, what’s wrong?” He took a seat next to Wallis.

  “The Fort Stockton Group got the RFID apps after they went over the New Mexico Border,” Ramsey said. “One of them took a look at Austin. We’ve got between ten and twenty thousand enemy fighters surrounding the Capitol area.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Hendrix said, sweat breaking out on his forehead. “What do we do?”

  “We’re thinking about sneaking over to your bunker,” Nelson said. “There aren’t any enemy fighters showing up near there.”

  “Oh,” Hendrix said. “We’re fully stocked and ready to go, but how do we get there? If we load up a convoy of armored vehicles they’ll see it.”

  “How’d you get here?” Gallagher asked. “You didn’t call me for a vehicle today.”

  “Drove myself. I figured it was safe now, given all the civilian traffic,” Hendrix sai
d.

  “Hell, we all thought it was safe now,” Nelson said. “Having a lot of civilian traffic will help us.”

  “It might,” Wallis said. “I think Don’s idea might have merit.”

  “What was that?” Hendrix asked.

  “We wear disguises,” Wallis said. “Go out in civilian vehicles.”

  “Well, I suppose that might work,” Hendrix said. “Wonder why they didn’t nab me? They have to know who I am.”

  “Maybe you aren’t the target,” Ramsey said.

  “Everybody knows you’re part of the inner circle, so you’re definitely a target,” Wallis said.

  “They aren’t ready,” Gallagher said, smiling as he looked at Wallis.

  “That’s what I’m thinking,” Wallis said. “We should get out of here right now, with a disguise.”

  “It’s close to quitting time,” Ramsey said. “People will be leaving the area. Lots of traffic. Good time to sneak away.”

  “You’re right,” Hendrix said. “I’ve got an SUV out there. Some of us can take that.”

  “My car is in the parking lot,” Ramsey said. “It might not start. It’s been sitting there quite a while.”

  “I suggest we don’t take our own cars,” Nelson said. “Talk to your staff. Arrange a borrow. We’ll compensate. We should take as many different cars as we can, and we should disguise ourselves as best we can too.”

  Brian stuck his head in the door and got Nelson’s attention. He tossed keys to him. “Black four-wheel drive Dodge pickup truck, with a roll-bar behind the cab, lights mounted on top. Be my guest. I’ll hang around in the bunker.”

  “I don’t want you staying here,” Nelson said. “They’ll storm the place.”

  “Okay, I’ll have my sister pick me up,” Brian said. “Good enough?”

  “Good enough,” Nelson said. “Where is it?”

  “In the parking structure next door,” he said. “Pretty well out of sight. Second floor, about halfway down the row left of the elevators.”

  “Okay,” Nelson said. “We’ve got forty-five minutes to get the hell out of here. I’ve got some old clothes. I’m gonna shave my beard and get the hell out of here.”

  “Shave your beard?” Hendrix asked. “Haven’t seen you without a beard for a lot of years.”