Liberty or Tyranny (10 page)

Brian agreed. “Yep, every time we let an asshole live, someone else suffers for it. I think I had the right idea last night. I don’t know as we would feel any worse than we do right now, if we had killed him.”

Atticus looked around the base. Soldiers scurried here and there performing their duties, paying them no attention. Many stood guard, weapons in hand, ready to repel attackers. “Folks, I think it’s time to pack our shit and get out of Dodge while we can. Sometime soon, all these soldiers around us are going to be issued new orders, and we’ll no longer be welcome here.”

Tyrone’s chest deflated. “Atticus is right. There are a few things I would like to pack. Let’s all meet at the lumber yard on the south side of town in an hour.”

“We’re already packed,” Nate said. “There’s not much point in taking any more than you can carry in a backpack. We’re going to be on foot soon anyway. When the fuel we have in our tank runs out, that’s it.”

“We might as well go with them, instead of rendezvousing at the lumber yard,” Deni suggested.

“Okay, let’s get out of here.” Nate slid behind the wheel of the truck.

~~~

When they stopped in Tyrone’s driveway, a home he hadn’t been back to in many days, Nate once again implored them to take only what they could carry in a backpack and a little extra food they could throw in the truck and live on for a few days. By that time, they would be out of gas and on foot. For that reason, it didn’t take Tyrone long to grab a few things and emerge from his home, ready to go.

They rushed to Atticus’s home, which was in the direction they needed to go. While they were inside, Nate siphoned gas from the cruiser into a five-gallon can, then transferred it to the truck’s tank. He managed to get an extra eight gallons.

Atticus and Tyrone emerged five minutes later. After throwing what would soon be all they had on this earth into the truck, they turned and looked at the house. For Atticus, it was the home he and his late wife raised a son in. For Tyrone, it was the home he grew up in.

Nate noticed their faces. “Sorry, guys. I wish I had never gotten you involved in this mess.”

Atticus waved him off. “Not your fault. None of us had any idea where the investigation would lead to.”

The father and adopted son climbed into the back of Nate’s truck, leaving the cruiser in the driveway. Thirty minutes later, they left the little town of Glenwood behind, heading for Mrs. MacKay’s horse farm.

The pickup rattled along at 15 mph down the pothole-pocked dirt road. They were about five miles from Mrs. MacKay’s horse farm. Deni looked over from behind the wheel and noticed it appeared something was on Nate’s mind. “What?” she asked.

“It’s possible trouble could be waiting for us at the farm. I think we should abandon the truck and hide it in the woods back from the road a ways. We’ll travel by foot from now on. I’ll leave you guys in a safe place and go take a careful look at the farm to make sure everything’s okay there before coming back to get you.”

Deni had no arguments against his idea. “Yell when you want me to pull over.”

Six minutes later, Nate said, “Pull over here on the right side. There’s enough of an opening in the woods between the trees we can get back a ways and hide the truck.”

Deni did as he directed. The drainage ditch on the side of the road wasn’t that deep there, and the ground was fairly firm. She had no trouble with the tires spinning and left little in the way of tire marks in the soil, but the crushed weeds she ran over would not be difficult for anyone passing by to see. There was really nothing that could be done about that. Chances were they would never come back for the truck anyway. They were about to be hunted, wanted by the federal government, their only crime discovering a government conspiracy.

Tyrone got up from where he sat behind the cab and jumped down. “I guess we’re going to walk from now on.”

“Yep,” Nate answered. “We’re asking for trouble, if we go any farther by truck.” He let the tailgate down, so Atticus could get out of the truck easier.

Atticus walked to the back, and Tyrone and Nate helped him down.

“Thanks,” Atticus said. “I can walk just fine, but I ain’t fast. You guys remember I’m an old man. Don’t run off and leave me.”

“If we didn’t think you would be an asset, we would’ve left you in town,” Nate said.

Brian reached into the truck and handed Deni her backpack. After handing everyone their packs, he slipped his on and grabbed his rifle off the seat. He rolled the window up and closed the door as silently as he could. “It’s those at the farm I’m worried about. Everyone in town knows we’re their friends. Anyone who comes after us is certain to visit the farm, and there’s no telling how rough they’ll get when they do.”

Atticus adjusted his pack’s shoulder straps, while Tyrone held his shotgun for him. “We really stepped into it when we decided to investigate those damn semis. The trouble we have caused is spreading all over this county.”

Nate pulled a compass from under his shirt, where it hung from a string around his neck. “It can’t be undone. We’ll have to live or die with it now. And, yes, it’s a damn shame others are going to pay for our actions.” He took three steps and stopped. “Brian, behind me. Deni, watch our six. Everybody, 10 foot spacing. Try to walk as quietly as possible and no talking. Keep your eyes and ears open and your mind concentrating on staying alive.”

~~~

An hour later, Nate raised his hand and stopped. When the others caught up, he whispered, “I’ll go the rest of the way by myself. Should be back just about dark.” He looked at the faces around him. “Deni knows more than the rest of you about woods fighting. Your best chance is to listen to her. Consider her in charge while I’m gone.” He studied the reaction of Tyrone and Atticus. “I don’t mean to be bossy. But Deni can keep you alive. Even Brian knows more about woods fighting than you two city guys. He’s had a lot of experience lately. You’re not lawmen anymore; you’re guerrilla fighters and your cause is survival.”

Atticus snorted. “Glenwood ain’t exactly New York City. But I get your point. We don’t mind taking orders from you or from Deni.”

Tyrone added, “Especially if she can keep us alive.”

Nate took one last look at Brian and Deni, then turned and walked away.

After paralleling the road for miles and staying back from it several hundred yards, he turned left and made a beeline straight for it. He wanted to cross before he got near the farm, in case anyone was watching. He planned to come in on the north side of the farm and observe with binoculars before moving on in and searching out one of the more distant guards near the front gate. He didn’t want to be misidentified as a threat and get shot.

Approaching the clay road, Nate readied his binoculars. He wanted to scan every inch of the road in both directions for any sign of danger and needed to find a dip in the road or at least a hill that would limit how far he could be seen in one direction. One direction was about all he could hope for. The sound of motors roaring and vehicles rattling from the north caught his attention. He turned his binoculars on the road where it crested over a hill. He froze for a second.
I’m too late.
He stayed hid in the woods and watched a convoy of military vehicles – mostly Humvees with .50-caliber Browning machine guns mounted on top – race by. It was obvious they were looking for a fight.

His mind raced.
How in the hell did they react so fast? The high brass in Washington must’ve already known about our association with MacKay and others at the farm.
He started his return to Deni, Brian, and friends, deep in thought
. Maybe they’re not looking for us. It could be a coincidence, a normal patrol.
He shook his head.
No. The Army has never been out this far before. Why would they come out here now?
He worried about those at the farm.

Atticus almost jumped when he saw Nate appear, materialize from the wall of green, without any indication that he was anywhere near until he was standing only 10 feet away.

Brian stepped out of thick brush, where he too was standing watch. He motioned with his head to Deni. “He’s back,” he whispered.

Deni jumped to her feet in surprise. “Already?” She saw the worry on Nate’s face. “What?”

Tyrone and Atticus stepped closer to the other three, so they could speak in low tones and not make much noise.

Nate swallowed. His face grim, he explained, “I never got across the road. A convoy of soldiers went by, heading for the farm. That would be my guess anyway. What the hell else is out here? And the bridge is out, so they’re not going long distance to another part of the county. No, they’re going to raid the farm. Looking for us.”

Deni’s jaw dropped. “Already? How? What the hell’s going on?”

Nate just shook his head.

“We have to help them,” Brian said. “This is our fault.”

“There’s nothing we can do.” Nate gave him a stern look. “Don’t argue with me about it or give me any trouble. I don’t like this any more than you. But the fact is all we can do is pray the soldiers were not given orders to get rough with him. Hopefully, they’ll just search the farm, and once they see we’re not there they’ll leave without harming anyone.”

“Damn it!” Brian kicked a pine tree. “The whole world went to hell all at once. No. It had already done that. Now it’s gone insane.”

Atticus coughed. “You got that right.”

“What now?” Tyrone asked.

“Well,” Nate scratched the back of his neck. “I’m worried it might not be safe to go to Mel’s bunker. They may already know about it. Certainly, a few in the Guard do. We can’t go back to my place, either. I think we should wait until tomorrow, and then I’ll recon MacKay’s farm and try to learn what’s going on. I’m hoping the soldiers will be gone by then, moved on in their hunt for us.”

“Nice,” Brian said. “Real damn nice.” He sat down on a three-foot-wide limestone rock. “The kids; Caroline; René and her father; all the others. All we can do is wait and hope the soldiers have a little humanity and don’t kill them.”

“I think that would be a safe bet.” Nate slipped out of his pack. “They appeared to be regular soldiers, not some kind of special unit of goons. Even the Special Ops guy we took prisoner couldn’t be described as some kind of crazed killer or Nazi. It’s worrisome, but I doubt we’re going to find the aftermath of a massacre tomorrow morning. All we can do is stay here and wait. Until then, get some rest.”

~~~

Ramiro, Mrs. MacKay’s foreman, rushed to a large red brick building that contained the horse stalls. Alarm on his face, he swung the three-foot-wide side door with its barred windows open and stuck his head in. “We just received a radio message from Colonel Donovan: evacuate immediately.” He stepped back outside and slammed the door shut, then ran to the front of the building and entered through double doors that allowed the horses to enter and exit the building. “Radio message: evacuate immediately.”

Mrs. MacKay was busy showing Caroline how to properly saddle a horse. On hearing Ramiro’s voice, she stiffened and her eyes widened. “Get the horses out into the pasture.” She worked feverishly to get the saddle off.

Ramiro ran inside, to be met by Caroline, who was leading two horses out of the building. “Did you hear me?” he demanded.

“Yes. We’re releasing the horses into the pasture. Help the others. We’ll be there in a minute or two.” Caroline pushed past him.

Mrs. MacKay led the still-bridled horse to Ramiro. “Make sure you take the bridle off before releasing it in the pasture.” She moved as fast as her advanced age would allow and yelled over her shoulder, “I’m going to the house to remind everyone to stick to the plan. We don’t know how long we have, so we’d better get out of here as soon as possible.”

Ramiro nodded, but said nothing. He led the horse out of the building.

The big two-story house was alive with activity, as were the smaller outbuildings where most of the men slept. Children were loaded into trucks, both standard pickup trucks and larger flatbeds. On other trucks, boxes and bags of supplies were loaded as quickly as possible. In less than ten minutes, over four dozen adults and children were loaded up and ready to go. Mrs. MacKay and Ramiro rushed through the house to be sure no one was left inside. Others checked their assigned buildings, in an all-out effort to be sure not to leave anyone behind.

Twenty minutes after Ramiro received the warning over HAM radio, a convoy of trucks and other assorted vehicles headed out the gate, stopping only long enough to pick up the guards, who ran and climbed on the back of vehicles. Those with children or other family searched the vehicles for their loved ones and climbed in beside them. Two men jumped from the vehicle they were on and climbed onto another one to make room for those who wanted to be next to their children. The convoy picked up speed, rattling down the rough clay road, heading south, the direction of Nate’s farm.

But long before they got to Nate’s farm, they pulled off onto a Jeep trail, traveling over four miles before parking the vehicles under trees and rushing on foot into the woods to a pre-designated hiding place, dragging or carrying their supplies along with them. No one had any idea how long they would be there or if they would ever be able to come back to the farm. Seeing the worry on their parents’ faces, many of the smaller children cried. Adults kept rifle and shotgun barrels pointing outward. All they knew was danger was coming and they had to be prepared for it. Their first plan was to flee and hide, but if forced they would fight. While most of the group hid in the woods, a few men stayed with the vehicles and cut brush to camouflage them with.

~~~

Less than ten minutes after the farm was evacuated, a military convoy turned into the drive and rushed through the open gate. The captain in charge wondered if the open gate might be an invitation to an ambush. Had they been warned somehow? Captain Cleef had no intention of being a part of any massacre, but feared the potential for such a disaster was there. So many civilians in one place, and all armed, was a boiling kettle of shit about to be kicked over. He hated assignments like this. His orders were to arrest five people, including one teenage boy. Intel was they might be hiding on this farm. The red light for him was the fact the farm was full of civilians who were not wanted for anything. There was no information at all as to what the five were suspected of. His orders were to find and arrest them at all costs.
Bullshit. All costs? What the hell does that mean? The lives of all his men? The lives of dozens of civilians? Or both? So many bullshit orders recently. I’ve had enough of it.

~~~

Ramiro supervised the hiding of the trucks under trees, making sure they were spread out over many acres. Camouflage nets were spread over the vehicles in an attempt to hide them from aircraft, but he knew, as did most of the other adults there, the heat of the engines would give them away. It would take only one helicopter to fly over with heat detection equipment, and they would be discovered. They could only hope no aircraft came along until after the engines cooled, but the metal of the vehicles would hold heat and still might be detected by infrared devices.

Three miles from the trucks, tents were erected under trees and the children made as comfortable as possible. They carried some of the supplies they had taken with him but not all, leaving the rest near the trucks, hidden in the woods.

Ramiro approached Mrs. MacKay. “Do you think we should dig up some of the pre-placed supplies now?”

Mrs. MacKay did not hesitate. “No. We brought enough with us for a few days. As soon as we get the radio set up, we should hear more from Glenwood. When we do, we’ll have a better idea of how long we’ll be staying here.”

Ramiro looked around at the busy people, already setting up a defense perimeter. Selected men and women were just then heading out to man observation posts that would afford them an early warning if attacked. Each team carried a two-way radio, so they could communicate with the base camp. The radios had been scrounged up by Colonel Donovan. Proud of their people’s efficiency, he said, “We have come a long way since the last time this happened.”