Creeping Tyranny Read online

  “Damn,” Matt said. “You call your dad yet?”

  “He called me, and told me to stay in Palos Verdes,” Kaylee said. “I have an uncle who lives up here, but dad said I can stay with you instead if I want to. As long as I stay up here and off the roads.”

  “You’re kidding,” Matt said. “Doesn’t sound like him. Cool.”

  “You’re all welcome to stay here,” Jamie said.

  “Yeah, I can’t get home either,” Emma said. “All the routes are blocked.”

  The newsreader continued. “In other news, police are investigating two suspected gang members they found at the bottom of the cliff at Point Fermin in San Pedro. They were badly beaten before they fell off the cliff.”

  Angel shot Matt a glance.

  Matt laughed. “Told you, man.”

  ***

  Sid sat on the ridge, watching the road in both directions. It was dark. He hadn’t seen any cars for a while. A flashlight beam approached.

  “Sid?”

  “Yvonne,” Sid said. “I thought you were staying down there.”

  She sat next to him, set down her rifle, and turned off the flashlight. “Couldn’t sleep. How’s it going up here?”

  “Boring as hell,” Sid said. “Nobody’s been on the road for a while.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Getting close to 3:00 am. Did you sleep at all?”

  “A little,” she said. “I’m scared.”

  “Yeah, small wonder,” Sid said.

  “You really think we’re going to get hit, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Unless the Army comes in here and blocks off this whole area.”

  “Should we leave?” she asked. “I know you offered to stay, but I don’t want to die for any of these people.”

  “I don’t think it’s going to be all that much safer anywhere else, frankly,” he said. “This place is fairly easy to defend, at least. If they just send in a truckload, we’ll probably win.”

  “Until they send a larger group later,” Yvonne said. “If we do get attacked and we’re losing, you have any plans?”

  “You know me too well,” he said. “Yeah, there’s fire roads back here that our Jeep could handle with no problem, and we could get to them from the back of the park.”

  “You tell anybody?”

  “No,” he said. “Realistically, if we’re in the middle of a gun battle, we might be too pinned down to drive out of here. And besides, most people here don’t have off-road vehicles. If they all knew about it, they’d clog it up for the few who do.”

  “Oh,” she said. “That’s not making me feel any better.”

  “Crap, look,” Sid said. “Convoy.” He pointed to the row of canvas-backed troop transport trucks, pulled his phone out, and hit Sam’s contact. It rang a couple of times.

  “Sid?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah, convoy coming down the road.”

  “Bad guys?”

  “Looks like it. I’ll call back if they stop at the gate. I can see it from where we are.”

  “Okay, I’ll call the CHP.”

  “Good, thanks,” Sid said. He ended the call.

  “I really don’t like this,” Yvonne said.

  “I know, sweetie. First three trucks past the gate without even slowing down.”

  “How many did you count?”

  “Twelve,” he said. “Four more past it.”

  “Please, please go past,” Yvonne whispered as she watched.

  “Good, that’s it. None of them stopped.”

  “Thank God,” Yvonne said.

  “Gotta call Sam,” Sid said. He hit his contact again.

  “Sid?”

  “Yeah, they went past. Dodged that one.”

  “Got CHP,” Sam said. “I didn’t like what they told me.”

  “Uh oh.”

  Yvonne looked at Sid, fear in her eyes.

  “He said they expect more to come through this way, because of the pressure directly south of San Diego.”

  “Dammit,” Sid said. “They planning to do anything about it?”

  “Stretched too thin to stop them at the source, so they’re counting on catching them in either Jamul or Otay Lake.”

  “That seems really stupid to me,” Sid said.

  “It’s all about San Diego,” Sam said. “If the bad guys continue north, it’s not their problem.”

  “It’s not the people in San Diego, I suspect,” Sid said. “It’s the military installations there.”

  “Yeah,” Sam said. “I’m going back to bed. You gonna stay there? You don’t have to.”

  “Might as well,” he said. “Until light. I’ll sleep then.”

  “You’re a better man than I,” Sam said. “Thanks.”

  Sid ended the call.

  “What was the uh oh for?” Yvonne asked.

  “We can expect more enemy traffic. The authorities aren’t going to stop it at the border for now. They’ll concentrate on the two places that lead into San Diego.”

  “Oh no,” Yvonne said. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

  “We’ve got to think about this,” Sid said. “Decide if we stay and fortify or slip away.”

  “You really going to stay here until it’s light?”

  Sid laughed. “That’s only about an hour and a half, sweetie.”

  “Oh,” she said. “You’re right.”

  “Vehicles,” Sid said. “Dammit, those are military.”

  “Gonna call Sam?”

  “I know he’s not fast asleep. I’ll call him if they stop at the gate.”

  “Are those guns they have mounted on the backs?”

  “Yeah,” Sid said. “I can’t believe the CHP. Why would they want to leave the back door open down there?”

  “Maybe they want problems,” Yvonne said.

  “First one went by the gate,” Sid said. “Another two coming, though.”

  “You don’t think they want a few of them to slip north just so they can use it to declare martial law, do you?” Yvonne asked.

  Sid chuckled. “Now you’re thinking like me. I hope not.”

  “They go by?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Sid said. “Sorry.”

  “You think they might be doing something like that?” Yvonne asked.

  “Doesn’t make sense to me,” Sid said. “They’ve never had a problem coming up with a lie to justify whatever the hell they want to do. Why put people at risk when they could just lie?”

  Yvonne laughed. “Hell, you’re even more cynical than I am.”

  “More of those vehicles,” Sid said. “Dammit, what a frigging parade. Something’s going on.”

  Yvonne looked at him again, then at the road.

  “First two went by,” Sid said.

  “Good,” Yvonne said.

  “Dammit, the last one stopped by the gate,” Sid said, his heart pounding. He took out his phone and called Sam.

  “Military vehicle just stopped at the gate,” Sid said.

  “What is it?”

  “Vehicle similar to a Humvee, but not American. Get ready. They have a machine gun mounted to the back.”

  Chapter 9 – Crossbow

  Sam picked up his phone, frantically calling the able-bodied men in the park. Clem, John, Harry, and several others. Sid was already in play, on the side of the hill with his rifle. “He’ll take out the driver in a hurry, because he’ll see them first from his vantage point,” Sam said to himself. The fear of problems with PTSD crept into his mind, his memories of being a Navy Seal making his heart pound. Don’t be scared, and don’t forget your training.

  “Get them all?” Connie asked, checking her shotgun.

  “Yeah, they’re on the way up here,” Sam said. “Call the CHP guys, okay? The number is by the phone.”

  “Will do,” she said, watching him load his M4. “Be careful.”

  He ran out the door and took up a position just outside the main gate, behind some boulders. Clem, Jo
hn, and Harry ran over and took positions around him, all of them aiming their rifles down the road.

  Sid and Yvonne watched from the hillside.

  “See them yet?” Yvonne asked. She checked her rifle, and scanned down from their high place.

  “They have to break through the gate,” Sid said. “Can’t see it from here. It’s got a big lock on it. They might have a little trouble.”

  “They could shoot it off with that gun, right?”

  “They think they’re going to surprise us, so they’ll only do that as a last resort.”

  “What if they leave their vehicle and walk up?”

  Sid chuckled. “If they do that, they leave their big gun behind.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Duh.”

  Sid was quiet for a moment. “Actually, you got me thinking.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “If they know we’re here because of the last attack, they’ll break through the gate. If they don’t, they’ll come on foot. They’ll probably leave somebody at their vehicle. If we waste some of them on foot, we need to nail the survivors too. Blow their vehicle off the road.”

  “Oh,” Yvonne said, watching him take his phone out of his pocket.

  “Watch while I call Sam.”

  She nodded.

  Sid hit Sam’s contact and put the phone to his ear.

  “You see them?” Sam asked.

  “No, but I thought about something. If these guys don’t know about the prior attack, they’ll send a man or two in on foot.”

  “Crap, you’re right,” Sam said. “I’m gonna grab my crossbow. Take them that way if I can.”

  “You do that. If you end up shooting men on foot, we should chase that vehicle and take it out. We don’t need them to tell others about us.”

  “They might call it in anyway,” Sam said.

  “They might. If so, at least we’ve got a machine gun.”

  “Won’t they shoot us with it if we chase them?”

  “If they left more than one man at the car, then yeah,” Sid said. “Just be careful, and play it by ear. I know your history.”

  “That was a long time ago,” Sam said, his breath coming hard.

  “Something wrong?”

  “I just ran to the house and ran back here with the crossbow.”

  “Good. If they knew we were here, they would’ve broken through the gate and driven in by now. Stay sharp.”

  “You too,” Sid said. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and aimed the rifle, then looked over at Yvonne.

  “What?” she asked.

  “If we see men coming on foot instead of in the vehicle, don’t shoot them right away. Let’s give Sam a chance to get them with the crossbow.”

  “Okay,” she said. They watched for another five minutes.

  “They’re on foot,” Sid said. “Or they’re sawing that damn lock with a hack saw.”

  They watched another few minutes, then Yvonne touched Sid’s arm.

  “Look, two men, side by side, coming down the access road. See them?”

  “Yeah,” Sid said. “Another one coming against the other side of the road, below the shoulder. Good.”

  “Why good?”

  “Because that vehicle probably only holds four men. Somebody’s in it by themselves.”

  “Wow,” Yvonne said. “Sam just took the lone guy out, see that?”

  “Yeah, that was a nice shot. Wish we had more than one bow.”

  An arrow flew, hitting one of the two men on the other side of the road just as they got to the front gate. The other one looked at him in shock, and then an arrow hit him square in the chest.

  “How did he do that so fast?” Yvonne asked.

  “Good question,” Sid said. “He was a Navy Seal, but maybe one of the other guys has a bow too.”

  “Maybe,” she said. “Sam’s in his Jeep with Clem and Harry. John is in the back,” Yvonne said. “Won’t that other vehicle hear them coming?”

  “Possible,” Sid said. His phone rang. “It’s John.” He answered.

  “Sid, think you can hit that vehicle on the highway if it tries to escape?”

  “I can hit it, but I don’t know if I can stop it,” Sid said. “Why?”

  “Even if we stop a couple hundred yards from the gate and walk to it, there’s a good chance we’ll be heard. Quiet out here.”

  “Okay, I’ll get myself into position with Yvonne. She’s a damn good long shooter too.”

  “Thanks,” John said.

  “Somebody else have a crossbow?”

  John laughed. “Clem, and it wasn’t a crossbow, it was his hunting bow. I didn’t know he was so good with it.”

  “Okay, be careful,” Sid said. He ended the call and looked at Yvonne. “C’mon, let’s get into position to hit that vehicle on the road if it tries to run.”

  Yvonne nodded and followed him over, finding herself a good place to shoot prone. Sid got next to her.

  “If we see it, we’re gonna shoot until we stop it, okay?” Sid asked.

  “Won’t they shoot back with the machine gun?”

  “They’ll have a hard time seeing us, and we’ve got a lot of rocks to hide behind.”

  “Oh,” Yvonne said. “Right.”

  They watched silently for a few minutes.

  “Dammit,” Sid said. “There it goes.”

  Yvonne fired at the front windshield, working the bolt furiously as Sid shot through the side windows.

  “I nailed him,” Yvonne said. “Look.”

  “You sure?” Sid asked as the vehicle rolled to a stop.

  “Pretty sure,” Yvonne said. “Easy shot.”

  Sid chuckled. “For you, maybe.”

  Yvonne chuckled. “Look, Sam’s Jeep just pulled up behind.” They watched as the men jumped out, guns pointed at the vehicle.

  “Hope nobody else was in that thing,” Yvonne said. “Can’t see in the back.”

  “Yeah,” Sid said. “Except where the machine gun is.”

  “Crap!” Yvonne said, firing as a man leapt to the machine gun. He got off a shot before he fell, hitting Harry.

  “No!” Sid said. “Dammit.”

  “What should we do?” Yvonne asked.

  “Stay put, in case somebody else joins the party,” Sid said.

  ***

  Robbie and Morgan sat on the couch nearest the TV, sipping beers. Gil, Steve, and Justin were on the other couch. Killer was curled up at Morgan’s feet. It was almost 10:00 PM.

  “You think they’re coming back tonight?” Morgan asked.

  “They might not, after what happened in Del Amo - Torrance took the brunt tonight,” Gil said. “At least we have more firepower now if they do show up.”

  “What difference is that going to make?” Justin asked.

  “Might save our lives,” Gil said. “That dog is just as important, though. If somebody tries to sneak on the property, there’s a good chance Killer will hear them.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Justin said. “Killer caught a burglar at my folks house once. Grabbed the guy, broke his ankle. Snapped it. They said the neighbors could hear his screams all the way down the street.”

  “My Killer did that?” Morgan asked, rubbing the dog’s massive head with her bare feet. He looked up at her, squinting his eyes in pleasure.

  “Any of those guys who try to hurt you probably won’t live through it,” Steve said. “That dog is in love.”

  Morgan giggled.

  “I want to know who those other men were,” Robbie said. “The ones who were shooting at the police after the gang bangers ran away.”

  “You and me both, man,” Gil said. “Been on and off the message boards for the last couple hours on my iPad. Rumor has it that those folks have been instigating the problems with the gangs.”

  “Lots of crazy garbage on the internet,” Justin said. “You know that.”

  “Sometimes they’re right,” Gil said.

  “Who are they saying these people are?” Morgan asked.

&
nbsp; “Mixture of Islamic fighters and the Venezuelan Army,” Gil said. “Well trained and equipped.”

  “Oh, horse shit,” Justin said.

  “I saw those stories too,” Steve said. “I believe it. They had AK-47s tonight. Saw that on TV, remember? Gang-bangers don’t have those.”

  “He’s right,” Robbie said. “Most of the gang bangers I’ve seen on TV have only had pistols and shotguns.”

  “Some of them didn’t even have that,” Gil said. “Remember when we left your apartment? It just took a shot over their heads to make them run away.”

  “What if the guys with AK-47s show up here?” Morgan asked, looking at Robbie, wide eyed with fear.

  “Don’t worry, it’s pretty unlikely,” Robbie said. “There’s not much here. They’ll only go after targets that will get them something.”

  “Yeah, Robbie’s right about that,” Gil said. “I’m gonna go get some shut-eye while things are calm.”

  “I set up an air mattress in there,” Justin said. “Be down pretty soon.”

  “I’ll take that back bedroom,” Steve said.

  “Take one of the guns down there with you,” Robbie said. “The shotgun. You’ve fired a double-barrel before, right?”

  “Yeah,” Steve said as he left, grabbing the shotgun. Justin stayed upstairs.

  “You don’t look so good,” Robbie said.

  “I’m afraid we’re going to bring something onto ourselves with all the guns,” he said.

  “We’ll be okay,” Robbie said. “Nobody knows we have them other than those guys that were at our apartment, and they don’t know where we are.”

  “Wrong,” Justin said. “The guys who we shot the other night, remember?”

  “I think all of them are dead,” Robbie said.

  “How do you know that?”

  Robbie sighed. “I don’t for certain, but with the dog and the guns, if they do show up we have a good chance of taking them out.”

  “What if they light the condo on fire?” Justin asked.

  Robbie looked over at him as Morgan put her hand on his thigh. “Will you knock it off?”

  “No,” Justin said. “What would happen?”

  “The fire alarm would go off, and if there’s flames in here the fire sprinklers will go off. Meanwhile we’ll go out there and blow them away. So relax. Go get some sleep.”