Bug Out! Texas Book 5: Wave of Patriots Page 2

  “Shut up, pencil neck,” Curt said.

  “Okay, I think I know where this is going,” Kelly said. “You want him to share his gimbal designs for the 3-D printer. He’s already got good drawings for gimbals that will fit on pickup truck roll-bars. He’s working on one for Jeep roll bars, and he’s got one for the Barracuda off-roader. That what you’re talking about?”

  “Yes, exactly,” Nelson said. “We can provide the 3D printer hardware and supplies to the other groups. We’ll expand Curt’s capability here in Fort Stockton, too. Would it help to have several more printers, Curt?”

  “Hell yes,” Curt said. “I could have this whole group supplied with something they could mount, but I only have a few M-19s left.”

  “We’ll get you guys more of those too,” Nelson said. “Don’t you worry about that.”

  “Okay, what else?” Kelly asked.

  “You guys have figured out how to track the Islamists,” Nelson said. “Spreading that knowledge around would be useful too.”

  “That’s another Curt thing,” Eric said.

  “I had a feeling,” Nelson said.

  “The enemy is getting wise to the phone tracking,” Curt said. “We saw evidence of that in the last round of battles.”

  “Might not be the only way to track them,” Landry said. “Remember what General Hogan told us yesterday.”

  “We can’t talk about that yet,” Nelson said, “but eventually we’ll go there.”

  “I thought we were being open and honest,” Simon Orr said.

  “Drop it,” Nelson said. “I mean it. Probably won’t pan out anyway.”

  “What kind of indication did you get that the enemy was wise to your reverse phone tracking?” Gallagher asked.

  “They shut down a sneak attack on our Fredericksburg base,” Eric said. “After they tried to take out the away team.”

  “What away team?” Landry asked.

  “The team that blew up the depot in Mountain City,” Curt said. “I saw them following us after the attack using the phones, and we turned the tables. They know we can see them. They might not know how. The leadership of that outfit isn’t that bright.”

  “Don’t underestimate these guys,” Nelson said. “They’ve got a lot of good intelligence and a lot of good technical support.”

  “Dammit,” Gallagher said. “This is not a good development. We were counting on the tracking capability.”

  “No, it’s not good news at all,” Landry said.

  “Maybe we ought to get smarter about this,” Junior said.

  “Uh oh, what do you have in mind, you old reprobate?” Kelly asked. “I’ve seen that look on your face before. We usually regret it.”

  “Let him talk,” Rachel said.

  “Go ahead,” Nelson said.

  Junior thought about it for a minute. “Wait a minute. Won’t work. I forgot about something.”

  “Let’s hear it anyway,” Simon Orr asked.

  “No, it’s stupid,” Junior said. “I withdraw my comment.”

  Rachel looked at him, searching his eyes. He winked at her and smiled.

  “I need to end this call in a few minutes,” Nelson said. “We’ve found that the enemy can lock onto these meetings after a short period. We’re working on a way to prevent that, but we aren’t there yet. Do any of you object to working together?”

  “Folks?” Jason asked. Nobody spoke up.

  The men on the TV screen all nodded yes.

  “Okay, we’ll get a team in place for liaison. We don’t want you to appear together to the enemy, so remember that and be careful. You’ll hear from me soon.”

  Simon Orr started to talk, but Nelson nodded to Moe. He shut down the transmission.

  “What was that all about?” Kelly asked Junior.

  “Let’s talk to Nelson in private,” Junior said. “With Curt.”

  “You want to chat,” Nelson said, approaching them.

  “Yes sir,” Junior said.

  “Your idea wasn’t stupid, but you didn’t want to say anything in front of Simon Orr,” Nelson said.

  “He’s a smart one,” Junior said, glancing over at Kelly, Curt, Amanda, and Rachel.

  “Let’s go over there, in the far corner,” Nelson said. He motioned for Landry and Gallagher to join him. Jason and Kyle wandered over too, followed by Eric, Nate, Dirk, and Chance.

  “Okay, what’s on your mind?” Nelson asked.

  “Curt, your phone can tell if somebody’s trying to hack in, right?”

  “Yeah,” Curt said. “It takes their info and then denies access. After that I can see them.”

  “So you take control of their system, basically?” Nelson asked.

  “Yep,” Curt said. “I turn the tables.”

  “Can they still see you?” Landry asked.

  “Nope,” Curt said. “My phone drops off their radar. They aren’t connected to me long enough to see my position.”

  “How do you know that?” Gallagher asked.

  “I’ve got one of their phones, thanks to Eric. Used it for testing. I know how their system works. It’s not brain surgery.”

  “How much effort on your part does it take to do this?” Landry asked.

  “The software does most of it,” Curt said. “I’ve got my phone set up to buzz when a connection attempt is made. It grabs their data and locks them out.”

  “In order to track them, you do something, right?” Jason asked.

  “Yeah, but it’s easy,” Curt said. “I could teach anybody to do it.” He paused, then chuckled. “Damn you, Junior, thanks for making me look stupid.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Junior said, silly grin on his face.

  “I’m not getting it,” Gallagher said.

  “We set up all our phones like Curt’s and do a little bit of training,” Landry said. “Brilliant idea.”

  “Yeah, not bad, pencil neck,” Curt said.

  “Aw shucks,” Junior said, “but seriously, we need to be careful with Simon Orr. Our guys told us he wanted to take our weapons and sell them to some Islamists in Utah. I believe them.”

  “Why?” Landry asked.

  “Came out in the interrogation of two of our guys,” Kelly said. “They were with Simon Orr.”

  “You guys used to be cops?” Gallagher asked, eyeing Junior and Kelly. Kyle cracked up.

  “What’s so funny?” Nelson asked.

  “They knew a lot about interrogation because of all the times they’ve been arrested, sir,” Jason said.

  Gallagher laughed out loud. Landry shook his head.

  “Really?” Nelson asked with a sly grin. “That makes sense.”

  “Knowledge of this would be more important to the Islamists than all of our weapons,” Jason said.

  “You’re right about that,” Landry said. “So what now?”

  “We still should put this out there, at least to the other three groups,” Curt said.

  “Why, honey?” Amanda asked.

  “The bad guys know that this group has the capability to turn the tables on their system,” Curt said, “so it’s not helping us much anymore. It might still help the other groups, at least a time or two. The enemy isn’t expecting them to have our capability. We could do a lot of damage with that.”

  “Why aren’t you in military high command by now?” Landry asked.

  Curt laughed.

  “He has a problem with authority,” Jason said.

  “Yeah, I work better as a freelancer,” Curt said.

  “Well, whatever works,” Gallagher said. “I suggest that we get your entire group set up, and then we pull in the others one at a time.”

  “We gonna be able to hide it from Simon Orr?” Junior asked.

  “Might have been a mistake to bring him in,” Nelson said.

  “He’s got a big force,” Landry said.

  “I think you ought to keep him in and watch him like a hawk,” Junior said. “We’re pretty sure he has enemy connections. We might be able to use that.” />
  Gallagher smiled. “You know, you’re a lot smarter than you look, Junior.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Kelly said.

  “All right, gentleman, we need to get out of here,” Nelson said.

  “Where are we going?” Gallagher asked. “Sounds like your place needs a whole lot of screen doors.”

  “Funny,” Nelson said. “There are several secure locations around the city. I’ve got one in mind.”

  “Where?” Landry asked.

  “Kip Hendrix’s place,” Nelson said.

  Landry and Gallagher looked at Nelson like he was nuts. Nelson chuckled.

  “Trust me on this,” he said. “Somebody better call Ramsey and let him know we aren’t dead.”

  “I’ll do that,” Jason said.

  “Thanks, son,” Nelson said. “You guys keep up the good work. Texas will remember.”

  Chapter 2 – Inside Job

  “You hear that?” Brendon asked as the SUV raced down the dark street to the base.

  “Yeah,” Juan Carlos said. “Sounds like choppers. I hope they’re ours.”

  They pulled into the parking lot, flying down the road towards the massive boathouse. Suddenly there was a rumble, and an area to their left exploded in flames.

  “Dammit, that was where our aircraft were,” Richardson shouted. “We’d better get the boats away from here.”

  Captain Jefferson sprinted to them. “We got incoming,” he said. “Take out your boat, but don’t leave the area yet.”

  “What about Corpus Christi?” Richardson asked.

  “We’ve got boats coming down from Rockport, and coast guard ships approaching from Galveston.”

  “Good,” Brendan said.

  “Let’s get to the boats,” Juan Carlos shouted.

  “What about air cover?” asked Richardson. “Those choppers will nail us on the water.”

  “The grenade launchers on the side guns are high enough velocity to fire at the choppers. Use them. You’ve also got the .50 cals. Don’t waste ammo shooting the big grenade launcher at them, though, unless they’re on the ground. Save that for enemy boats.”

  “Here come the other crews,” Brendan said.

  “Good,” Jefferson said. “Get going. I’ll get on the horn about air power. We’ll try to get some jet fighters here.”

  “They’re gonna use them for Corpus Christi,” Richardson said. “Ten to one.”

  “I’m still gonna try. These boats are important. This base is important.”

  “More choppers coming this way,” Brendan said. “Let’s split.”

  “Yeah,” Richardson said. They sprinted into the boathouse as other crews arrived.

  “Get her untied,” Juan Carlos said. He leapt into the pilot’s seat and fired up the engine.

  “Port line off,” Brendan shouted.

  “Starboard too,” Richardson said. Both men jumped onto the boat. “Get us out of here.”

  Juan Carlos exited the boathouse as the other crews ran in.

  “Look, chopper heading this way,” Juan Carlos shouted.

  “On it,” Brendan said, aiming the port side gun. He fired, missing the target. The grenade blew up past the chopper. He fired again, hitting the chopper broadside. It exploded in flames.

  “Yes!” Richardson shouted. The other boats were out now, racing away from the boathouse as more choppers approached.

  “Get ready, boys,” Juan Carlos shouted. “They’re coming in hot.”

  Richardson aimed his gun and fired, missing with the first shot. He fired a volley of machinegun fire at the chopper, hitting it near the tail, but it kept coming.

  “Try again,” Juan Carlos shouted. Brendan whipped his gun around and fired, his grenade slamming into the side of the chopper, nearly splitting it into two. Flaming pieces rained down on the bay.

  “More coming, guys,” Juan Carlos shouted.

  The other boats engaged, focusing grenades and machine gun fire at the choppers.

  “Look, some of them are splitting off, going inland,” Brendan shouted. “Shit, they’re going towards town. Dammit.”

  “Oh no,” Juan Carlos shouted. Then they saw a fireball rise up in that direction. “Shit, is that our park?”

  “Can’t tell from here,” Richardson said. “Stay sharp. We’ve got a job to do.”

  “Damn these assholes,” Brendon shouted, firing at another approaching chopper. He missed twice.

  “Don’t waste ammo,” Richardson shouted. “They need to be closer.”

  “Sorry,” Brendan said. “Now they’re close enough.” He fired, hitting the front of the chopper. It blew apart in a massive fireball.

  “Damn, dude,” Juan Carlos shouted. “Nice.”

  “Another fireball inland,” Brendan shouted. “Hope the girls are okay.”

  “Don’t think about that,” Richardson said. “Won’t help them, and won’t help us.”

  “Somebody blew up a chopper inland,” Juan Carlos shouted. “Saw the debris flying into the air.”

  “Look, enemy boat coming in,” Richardson said. “Let’s go get it.”

  “Roger that,” Juan Carlos said, turning the boat towards it, eye to the big gun sight. He fired, hitting the boat on the bridge area, then fired a second time, splitting the hull in two. It sank right away, Brendan and Richardson strafing the water as survivors tried to swim away.

  “Another chopper going inland,” Brendan shouted. “Get closer to shore, maybe I can hit it.”

  “It’ll be out of range before we get there,” Richardson said.

  There was a low rumble. Everybody snapped their heads around.

  “Son of a bitch, I’ll bet we just lost Corpus Christi,” Richardson said.

  “No fire,” Brendan said.

  “A wall of water doesn’t start fires, dude,” Juan Carlos said. “Dammit.”

  “Choppers are leaving,” Richardson said. “They were just here to stop us from getting to Corpus Christi in time.”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty obvious,” Brendan said. “See if we can come in. I’m worried about the girls.”

  “Yeah, dude,” Juan Carlos said. “Look at the fires burning. That might be our park.”

  “It’s too far inland to tell from here,” Richardson said. “That trailer park isn’t exactly strategic.” He picked up the radio microphone.

  “Captain Jefferson, come in please. Over.”

  “I’m here, Richardson. Over.”

  “Request permission to come in and check on our women. Over.”

  “Request granted. The trailer park got hit. You guys better get back there. Over.”

  “Thank you. Over and out.” Richardson put the mic back on its holder. “Well, you heard that. Get us back home, Juan Carlos.”

  The boat made a sweeping turn and poured on the speed, racing towards the boathouse.

  “If they got hurt, I’ll never forgive myself,” Brendan said, eyes tearing up.

  “We need them further away from the base,” Richardson said.

  Juan Carlos was shaking with worry. He didn’t slow down much as they got close to the boathouse, pulling in too fast.

  “Careful,” Richardson said. “Slow down, man.”

  “Sorry,” he said, cutting the engine way back. “Get ready with the lines.”

  They pulled into the slip, tied up, and rushed from the boat to their SUV. Richardson drove them out of the base at breakneck speed, getting a dirty look from the man in the guard shack.

  “Please let them be okay,” Brendan said.

  They tore down the dark deserted street at about eighty miles per hour, running stoplights on the way.

  “Shit, it was the trailer park,” Juan Carlos said. “Dammit.”

  “My trailer is toast,” Richardson said. He pulled into the driveway.

  “Look, they hit my place too,” Juan Carlos said.

  “Can’t see mine yet,” Brendan said.

  “Park by the pool,” Juan Carlos said.

  “Yeah,” Rich
ardson said. They got out in a run.

  “No!” Brendan shouted. “They got my place too.”

  “They knew where we were,” Richardson said. “This was an inside job.”

  “Madison!” shouted Juan Carlos, running towards Richardson’s ruined coach. “Madison!”

  Brendan sprinted there too, looking around it in a panic. Richardson was right behind him.

  “They’re not here,” Juan Carlos said, poking around in the wreckage. “No bodies.”

  “Thank God,” Brendan said. “Hannah! Hannah!”

  “Lita!” Richardson shouted.

  “They’re hiding someplace,” Juan Carlos said. “They have to be.”

  “Hey, that what I think it is over there?” Brendan shouted, pointing to a cylindrical item about forty yards away.

  “Shit, that’s the SMAW,” Richardson said. They sprinted to it. Brendan picked it up.

  “Look, it’s jammed,” Brendan said. “They couldn’t get the spent shell out.”

  “Enemy fighters,” Juan Carlos said, pointing to bodies by the wreckage of a chopper in the center field of the park.

  “They landed soldiers,” Richardson said, horrified look on his face. “Lita!”

  “Madison!” Juan Carlos shouted.

  “They’re hiding someplace, or the enemy took them,” Brendan said.

  “Oh God,” Richardson said. They searched the area, hurt and panic showing on their faces.

  Chapter 3 – Bunker Meeting

  Kip and Maria Hendrix were on the Capitol lawn, across the street from the ruined Governor’s Mansion, helping the wounded lying on the grass.

  “My God,” Maria said, looking at a lifeless body being carried past her on a stretcher. “Who could have done something like this?”

  Hendrix looked at her with a grim expression. “We’re at war,” he said. “We need to remember that.”

  “I know,” she said. “We need more paramedics. There’s too many victims.”

  “We’re lucky,” Hendrix said. “We were seconds away from a bigger bomb going off in the Capitol, and it would’ve killed lots more people, including both of us. I just chatted with the security chief. We owe our lives to his team.”

  “Hear anything about Governor Nelson yet?”

  “Nope,” Hendrix said, “and I’m worried sick. At least we know he wasn’t inside the mansion when the bomb went off.”