Stryker: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale (18 page)

“You’re a good man,
Stryker, and I know that you’ll take care of Erin if you guys hook up,” Haley
said.

Stryker barked a
laugh. “I don’t hook up. I don’t have casual affairs and I don’t sleep with
women I don’t love. Call me old fashioned, but that whole culture eludes me.”
He thought about what he said and added, “I’m not trying to belittle your
generation; I’m just saying I come from a different place and time and I just
don’t share what I think are your values. The Marine Corps is not exactly a
bastion of progressive liberal thought.”

“I think the values
we don’t share probably don’t matter very much,” Elle said. “We want the same
things, we share the same fears, and we try to lead the best lives we can. The
rest is pretty trivial.”

“I was thinking
along those lines this morning,” Stryker replied, wondering if he should go
into it with them now. He decided to plow ahead. “Before Sarge and I found you
guys, we both lived meaningless lives. All we wanted to do was survive and not
much more. Since you all came into our lives, I think we both have a sense of
purpose again, and that’s important to us. At first, the purpose was simply to
protect you from harm; but this morning I realized that wasn’t enough anymore.”

“Was that when you
were playing Peeping Tom?” Elle said, giggling briefly.

“Ahh, no, it
wasn’t.” Stryker cracked a grin. “I think we have to try to lead more normal
lives. I don’t know if or when we can do it, but a big part of that is going to
be trying to find other people so you two can experience the things that I had.
You’ve got a lot of life ahead of you.”

“You’re only ten
years older than us,” Haley said.

“It’s an important
ten years. I found the woman of my dreams and married her. I had a daughter I
loved dearly. I rose to the top of my chosen profession and enjoyed the respect
of my peers. Those are all very important things in life.”

“Look, Stryker,”
Haley said, “I agree with you, but don’t worry about it. We’re fine for now,
and if things come up to make life better, believe me I will be all for it. But
for now, let’s just accept things for what they are. We’ll be fine. Maybe we
don’t have as much toughness as you do, but we did okay locked in a dorm for
two years. This is much better than that.”

“Yeah,” Elle chimed
in. “What she said.”

“Okay,” Stryker
said. “Preaching is over. Let’s go through this place and see if we can find
trade goods. Look for anything you would be willing to trade for and we can
head into town. Both of you need to strap on your pistols first thing in the
morning from now on. You must get used to wearing them because trouble doesn’t
wait around while you look for your weapons. First stop is going to be the
mall, so we can get clothes for Erin and you two.” Both women’s expressions lit
up.

“I can shop for
Erin,” Haley said. “I know what she likes and her sizes.”

“I just thought of
the upside of the apocalypse,” Elle said. “No more credit cards or student loan
debt.” Stryker just stared at her, wondering if she was serious. She shrugged
and added, “I’ll start upstairs.”

Stryker went to the
garage while Haley started in the kitchen. All he found that was tradeable was
a case of unopened boxes of assorted flashlight batteries. He took one last
look around, sighed, and went back into the house. Haley had placed all the
canned and dry food in the cupboards on the countertops.

“We can’t trade any
of that stuff,” Stryker said as he passed. He went over to the desk and
starting rummaging through the drawers. They mostly contained legal papers, but
he found a key in the top drawer and picked it up.

“What kind of stuff
are we looking for?”

“Anything made of
gold, flashlight batteries, and anything else that is rare,” he replied as he
continued to stare at the key. “Why don’t you check the bedrooms?”

“Okay.”

The key was small,
obviously not to a door or vehicle. Made of brass, it gleamed in his hand,
seeming to hold the promise of something valuable. “This has got to be a key to
a lockbox or safe,” he muttered to himself.

Stryker glanced around
the great room again, then walked into the master bedroom. After looking under
the bed and in the walk-in closet, he stood and thought for a moment. The judge
was a smart man. The placement of the house, the materials used, and the
off-the-grid systems were carefully planned.

Normally, lock
boxes and safes are found in master bedrooms or closets. People want to be
close at night to the things they value. It feels safer to most. This guy was
smarter than that. Stryker wondered: Where is the last place a burglar would
consider looking? What is the most unlikely hiding place for the stuff you
considered so valuable it has to be locked up?

His eyes swept the
room while he pondered the problem. Finally, he walked back through the great
room and opened the hall closet. After pushing aside several coats, he examined
the interior. A small throw rug covered the floor with a pair of work boots
sitting on top. He lifted the boots out and set them down, then pulled the rug
out.

“Bingo,” he said,
eyeing the small floor safe. He inserted the key, turned the lock, and opened
the door. He pulled out a soft, purple velvet pouch that had some weight to it.
He untied the drawstring and opened it wide. Pouring the contents into his
hand, the gold coins quickly overflowed and fell on the rug. He placed all the
coins back in the pouch. Walking into the kitchen, he waited for the women to
return. They came back empty-handed and stopped in front of him.

“Nothing,” Elle
said.

“Same.”

“No matter,”
Stryker replied. He opened the pouch and they moved closer to look into it.

“My God! How many
are there?” Elle asked.

“Twenty-two. These
are 1.2-ounce American Buffalo gold coins. They were minted four years ago. At
that time, they were worth around 1,200 dollars apiece. This is enough to get
everything we need for the next couple of years.”

“When are we
leaving for town?” Haley asked.

“Now. Let’s get the
place locked up and load the Jeep.”

A few minutes
later, they were heading south on Highway 67 on their way to the Sunset Mall.
Haley rode shotgun in front and Elle sat on the driver’s side in the rear. They
both had their windows down, gun barrels sticking out.

“What kind of
clothing stores does the mall have?” Elle asked.

“There’s a
Marshalls, a JC Penny, and Dillard’s.”

“Skip the first two
and go directly to Dillard’s,” she replied.

“I hope you’re
buying if we’re going there,” Haley said.

“Of course my
dear,” Elle replied. “Anything for you.” They both giggled and Stryker rolled
his eyes.

They pulled into
the Dillard’s parking lot and parked in an area where several other cars had
apparently been abandoned. They walked to a smaller entrance and Stryker tried
the door, but it wouldn’t budge. He sighed and walked back to the Jeep, got his
wrecking bar, and returned. “Stand back,” he said, and then swung the bar with
all the force he had.

The glass
shattered, he reached through and turned the deadbolt, and then held the door
open. Haley and Elle walked by him, guns up, and he followed. They moved
through the store until they reached the women’s apparel section. Stryker said,
“You guys stay together and I’ll stand guard. Let’s make this as quickly as
possible.”

“Sure,” Elle
replied, and they moved between the racks, plucking items off the racks and shelves.
When both were fully laden, they started trying items on and asking each
other’s opinions on their selections. Stryker’s eyes methodically checked in
every direction, never really stopping. After twenty minutes, they filled six
large shopping bags and walked over to Stryker.

“Done?” he asked.

“We have everything
we need, including the stuff for Erin.”

“Okay, let’s go to
the trading post and then head home.”

“What are we buying
there?” Haley asked.

“Fresh fruit,
veggies, and meat.”

“Do they ever have
fish?” Elle asked.

“Sometimes.”

“Well, this is my
day, so I’m feeling lucky. I just got 2,000 dollars’ worth of clothes for
free.”

“Now that you’ve
done your victory lap, let’s head to the market.”

“Can you help us
with the bags?”

“One of us has to
have hands free.” Haley shrugged, and both women looped their fingers though
the bags handles, and with some effort, carried them to the car. They loaded
the bags into the passenger side back seat and drove to the university parking
lot. Stryker had two coins in one pocket and one in the other. He left the rest
under the seat in the locked Jeep.

The number of
people at the site was almost double the last time he visited the place, and
there were a lot more vendors. As Stryker looked around to see if any threats were
visible, he saw Tom, the organizer of the event, approach with a look of
concern on his face.

“What’s wrong?”
Stryker asked.

“Two soldiers
showed up this morning and said they were going to provide security for the
event. They’ve been taking things and not paying for them.”

“Are you sure
they’re soldiers?”

“They’re wearing
cammo with nametags on the blouses, and carrying M-16s,” he replied. “They’re
also making lewd comments to the women.” Tom looked panicked.

“First, calm down,”
Stryker said. “Every person here is armed. Why doesn’t someone tell them to
stop?”

“Some of the guys
talked about it, but decided it wasn’t worth a gunfight with soldiers who have
fully automatic weapons. Who knows who might get shot?”

“Why don’t you
introduce me to them,” Stryker said quietly. He turned to Haley and Elle and
added, “you two stay here and don’t move until I get back. Both of you need to
be aware of who’s around you. Anybody gets within twenty feet of you, guns up.
If they don’t stop, shoot them. You got that?” They both nodded solemnly.

“Let’s go,” Stryker
said. “Once you introduce me, go away.”

“Okay.” The two men
walked through the market until they saw two men dressed in BDUs. Tom and
Stryker stopped about five feet from the men and Stryker glanced at their weapons.

“This is Stryker.
He wants to talk to you,” Tom said nervously before he turned and left.
Stryker’s M-4 was pointed toward the ground, as were the men’s M-16s. Neither
wore a pistol, but both had three spare mags attached to their vests. Nobody
spoke for close to a minute, with the men staring at each other. Stryker noted
their nametags both said “Ericson” and they resembled each other.

Assess and
evaluate.

They both looked
like beefy, corn-fed farm boys, probably heavily muscled, but not the brightest
bulbs in the pack. They were big men, but not as big as Stryker. The man on the
left was obviously the alpha dog because the one on the right glanced at him as
though expecting an order. Stryker decided he didn’t want to kill the men. They
were bullies, but probably kids who joined the army to get away from slopping
hogs.

“You two need to
leave now,” Stryker said quietly. He exuded confidence and his expression was
neutral.

“We’re not going
anywhere,” the alpha dog said.

“Yes, you are. Only
question is whether you walk out or get carried out.”

“Don’t think so.“

“This is the last
chance you’re going to get.”

“There are two of
us and only one of you.”

“Wouldn’t matter if
there were six of you. That wouldn’t change the outcome. It would just take
slightly longer.”

“That’s big talk.”

“Okay,” Stryker
said to the left guy. “I’m going to shoot you first. Since both of you desk
jockeys have your weapons on safe, this will be over fast.” When both men
looked down, Stryker took one long stride toward the left guy and delivered a
vicious butt stroke to his face. Spinning on his right foot, he carried the
momentum to the man on the right to deliver an elbow strike; but the man reacted
by ducking and raising an arm and deflecting Stryker’s elbow. It did little
good as the rifle butt was following right behind the elbow and the man went
down instantly.

Stryker turned back
to the left guy, who was trying to bring his rifle up as he stood, and grabbed
the barrel, pointing it away. He raised his M-4 with his right hand and placed
the muzzle against his forehead. “Let go of the weapon or die.”

“Okay,” he mumbled
through shattered teeth. His nose was also clearly broken and blood streamed down
his chin. He released the rifle. Stryker backed away, glancing at the one that
was still down. He lowered his carbine, placed the M-16 on the ground behind
him, set the other M-16 next to the first, and walked back to the man still
standing, who cowered at his approach.

“Give me the spare
mags.” The man yanked them free and handed them to Stryker, who placed them on
the ground next to the M-16s.