Kate’s group would hike to the fire station with their packs and wait for Ed to deliver the first load of bicycles. Alex and Charlie would guard the rest of the bikes and gear until Ed returned for the final load. Once everything was in place at the station, they could resume the original plan. He’d suggest that Kate’s group set out for the station before sunrise, with the hopes of keeping onlookers to a bare minimum. He stopped to let Charlie catch up.
“I think we’ll have to drive the bikes over to the station,” said Alex.
“That’ll mean two trips,” said Charlie, straining to talk.
“I’m pretty sure my marriage won’t last halfway to the fire station,” said Alex.
“Halfway?” Linda jeered. “I’ll file for divorce right now if this idiot doesn’t start agreeing with you.”
“Let’s go with two trips, my friend,” said Charlie.
“Better,” Linda said. “Now if you can convince him to drive everyone to the station, I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Tonight?” asked Charlie.
“Not tonight.”
“I’ve heard that before. I only take payment in advance these days,” said Charlie, laughing at his own joke.
“Mom? Dad?” said one of Charlie and Linda’s daughters from the darkness. “We’re, like, right here, in case you were wondering.”
“Your mom started it.”
“We might be able to move everyone in two trips,” said Alex. “Does Ed’s Jeep have running boards?”
“If it doesn’t, he’s a cheap bastard,” Charlie decided. “Why would you buy the four-door Jeep and not have running boards?”
“If he has running boards, we might be able to get six people out on each run. That would do it,” said Alex.
He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t thought of it earlier. The only problem would be jamming all of the packs and weapons into the Jeep’s tight interior space. They’d make it work, even if they had to tie stuff down on the hood.
Ten minutes later, Alex returned to the house to retrieve his own gear. He’d stashed his BOLT pack, tactical chest rig, and rifle in the garage. Unlike the watered-down version carried by Kate’s group, his BOLT pack contained most of the items on the original checklist, which translated into twice the weight. His final trip across the mud would be interesting. He stepped out of the garage and collided with someone. He cleared his pistol from the holster, stepping backward simultaneously.
“It’s me, Jamie. Christ, will you put that away?” she hissed.
Alex lowered the weapon, but didn’t holster it. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“Is it that bad out there? You don’t trust me enough to put away your gun, Alex?”
“I don’t trust anyone right now,” he said, glancing at the corner of the garage.
“Looks like you trust Ed and Charlie,” she remarked. “When are you heading out?”
Alex didn’t reply at first. He had really been hoping to slide out of the neighborhood without having to deal with this.
“We’re taking Ed’s Jeep down to Boston to get the kids. The rest of them are headed out on bicycles to my parents’ place. I don’t know what everyone will do after that. Hopefully this will all be resolved in a few weeks.”
“This won’t get better. We’re heading out tomorrow for Jeff’s family camp near Bridgton.”
Alex remained silent.
“I’m not asking for a ride. The minivan started. I just need to know when you’re heading out, so we can leave at the same time. We don’t want to drive out of here with the entire neighborhood on our heels,” she said.
“We were hoping to avoid the same thing. We’ll leave at first light,” said Alex.
“That’s what we were thinking,” said Jamie.
Something was off with this conversation. He couldn’t see more than the outline of her body against the side of the garage. He knew for a fact that she owned a compact 9mm Glock. He’d recommended the pistol to her when she’d come to him for self-defense advice after the pandemic. He closed the back door to the garage and walked slowly through the mud toward the Walkers’ house. Was he already this paranoid?
“Stay safe on the road, Jamie,” he advised. “Don’t stop for anything or anyone. Route 26 goes through some crowded areas.”
“We’ll be careful,” said Jamie.
Route 26 didn’t go anywhere near Bridgton. Jamie had either completely missed what he had said, or she was lying about the camp. He had to assume the latter and plan for the worst-case scenario. So much for a full night’s sleep.
Charlie immediately met him at the back door of the Walkers’ garage.
“Was that Jamie?”
“Yeah,” grumbled Alex.
“She’s out of her skull creeping around at night. What did she want?”
“Intel,” stated Alex.
Charlie looked at him pointedly. “Do we have a problem?”
“A big one. We all need to talk,” he said, stepping through the doorway.
Alex met Kate and Linda in the mudroom. They had just finished stacking the two families’ BOLT bags along one of the walls.
“Where are all of the kids?” asked Alex.
“We sent them upstairs,” Linda replied.
He dropped his own pack on the tile floor. “Let’s keep them up there.”
“We’ve got a place for the rifles in the family room,” said Linda.
“I think I’ll hold onto mine for now.”
“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.
Alex glanced at Linda. “Can you grab Ed and Samantha really quick?”
She stepped out and returned moments later with Ed and Samantha in the kitchen doorway.
“What’s up?” asked Ed.
“I just ran into Jamie,” said Alex.
“Great. Please tell me you didn’t invite them to your parents’ place,” Kate said snidely. “Her new husband is a little off.”
“You thought I was a little off before you got to know me,” said Charlie.
Linda didn’t hesitate. “I’ve known you for twenty-four years, and I think you’re way off.”
“She said something that didn’t make sense,” Alex said, trying to keep them focused. “Claims that their minivan started and that they’re headed out to Jeff’s family camp in Bridgton.”
“Why would they wait this long?” asked Linda.
“Maybe for the same reason as us,” said Samantha.
“They don’t know that the police are grabbing cars,” Ed said. “They haven’t left the neighborhood, and I think we would have heard them start the car. Charlie heard mine from down the street.”
“What if their garage doors were closed?” asked Samantha.
“Here’s the other thing,” Alex said. “I told her to be careful on Route 26. She said they will. Route 26 doesn’t go anywhere near Bridgton. I think she was fishing for information.”
“Maybe she was nervous?” Samantha suggested. “You look like some kind of mercenary.
I’m
nervous right now looking at those guns.”
“I know the two of you used to be close…” began Alex.
“She’s been through a lot, Alex,” Samantha interrupted. “Now that asshole husband’s knocking her around.”
Linda grimaced. “When did that start?”
“Apparently all along,” said Samantha. “He’s a piece of sh—crap.”
“Maybe he put her up to it,” said Alex.
“Up to what?” Samantha asked.
“Trying to find out our plan to get out of here. Why else would she ask when we were leaving?”
“What did you tell her?” asked Ed.
“Sunrise.”
“We’ll be long gone by then.”
“They’ll make a move on the Jeep long before that,” said Kate knowingly.
Samantha blanched. “What do you mean?” she demanded.
“The Michaud family camp in Bridgton was sold at auction in 2016. The Michaud’s were clients of my firm for decades. Jeff pissed away all of the money after his parents died in the pandemic. Apparently, a latent gambling gene surfaced,” said Kate.
“Followed by a wife-beating gene,” said Samantha.
Kate shook her head. “I’m sure that one has been around forever. How bad is the abuse?”
“I don’t know,” Samantha answered. “He’s got her under tight control.” She turned to Alex. “I know Jamie. She wouldn’t do this if she had a choice. She hasn’t forgotten what we did for her girls.”
“We still have to plan for the worst. I can set up outside and watch the back of the house. He’ll probably try to break in and steal the Jeep. That’s what I’d do.”
“Then what?” asked Linda.
“If he shows up, I’ll shoot him,” said Alex nonchalantly.
“You can’t just shoot him, Alex,” said Ed.
“I’ve been down that road, and it got a lot of people killed—”
“That wasn’t your fault!” said Kate.
“I don’t see it that way anymore. If either of them approaches the house with a firearm, I’m taking them out.”
“What about the police?” asked Ed.
“What police?”
“You have to plan for the possibility that someone will hear the shots and contact the police. You said it yourself that they’re probably monitoring handheld radio frequencies,” said Ed.
“I have that covered.”
“The police?” countered Ed.
“No. The sound,” said Alex, to skeptical looks.
“What if they’re unarmed?” Kate asked.
“Unlikely.”
“You have to plan for the possibility,” said Kate.
“What’s wrong with all of you?” Alex said in frustration. “She
lied
to me out there. They’re either coming tonight, or they’ll try to hijack the car tomorrow.”
“Then maybe you should storm their house right now and kill everyone!” said Samantha, shaking her head in disgust.
“I’m not suggesting a preemptive strike!” Alex said. “We just need to take a more proactive stance here.”
Charlie piped in, “Why don’t we just capture whoever comes over?”
“Is anyone here trained to take down a potentially armed hostile?” Alex asked. “Just saying…” he added.
“I don’t think it’s out of the question,” said Ed.
“It’s out of the question. Trust me. It’ll take all three of us if he resists. What if he has help?”
“You really want to shoot him, don’t you?” said Samantha.
“Don’t you?”
Samantha shot him a nasty look, and the mudroom fell silent.
“I’ll issue a warning,” Alex said. “If a firearm is visible, they have to drop it. No exceptions. I’m not sending them back with the tools to try again. That’s all the leeway I’m willing to give.”
Ed let out a deep breath, “I can live with that.”
Samantha nodded. “All right.”
“We’ll need a lookout with a radio on the second floor,” said Charlie, “and someone on the ground level in case they try to get into the main house.”
“I’ll watch from Daniel’s room. Charlie’s probably a better choice to have guarding the doors,” said Ed.
“We’ll switch off, so you can get sleep, or at least try,” said Samantha.
“It’s gonna be a long night, but we’ll get through this. By noon tomorrow, you’ll be safe at the compound. We’ll join you with Chloe and Ryan the day after that,” said Alex.
“Easy as that?” said Ed, finally smiling.
“Easy as that,” repeated Alex.
Chapter 20
EVENT +21:37 Hours
Scarborough, Maine
Alex swatted lethargically at the mosquitos. What was the point? The swarm above his head was unusually aggressive, relentlessly attacking his sweaty face. Their buzz competed with a distant generator. Annoying, but blameless, the mosquitos could be forgiven. Unlike humans, they lacked the capacity to govern their response to deeply ingrained survival instincts. Alex lay in the backyard as a hedge against their collective bet that Jamie and her husband had given in to their instincts.
Samantha had given him a thick comforter to lay over the mud, which he had placed over an old, supposedly waterproof poncho. The system had kept him dry for roughly seven minutes before the brackish water seeped over and around the poncho, quickly soaking the comforter. At least he wasn’t lying in a puddle of shit water. The hastily assembled ground cover had prevented him from sinking far enough into the mud for that.
He’d set up along the edge of the drainage easement behind the Walkers’ house, on the downward side of the slope, exposing little more than his rifle and his head to the house. His feet sat less than a foot from the water trapped in the ditch. The easement ran the entire length of the backyards, giving him an unobstructed view in both directions. The dual-tube night vision goggles had turned night into day, ensuring that nobody stood a chance of approaching undetected.
His earpiece crackled. “Alex,” Charlie reported, “I have a male with some type of rifle crossing the street between Jamie’s house and the house to the left. Looks like he’s headed to the Andersons’ next door. I need to go to the other side of the house. I’m about to lose him.”
“Stay where you are, and keep a close eye on Jamie’s house. Make sure we don’t have any more surprises. I have it from here. Charlie, did you copy?”
“Copy. Standing by,” said Charlie.
Alex pointed his HK416 semiautomatic rifle at the left corner of the house. He figured that Jeff would appear there first and slide along the house.
A darkened shape appeared beyond the corner for a moment. He focused his attention on the white trim, which appeared pale green in his goggles, and waited. Jeff Michaud’s head slowly emerged, followed by the shotgun. He pressed the transmit button on his shoulder-mounted handheld radio.
“He’s at the corner of Ed’s house. Pump action shotgun,” he whispered, mentally blocking out the nervous replies.
Several seconds later, Jamie’s husband stepped into the open and walked slowly along the back of the house, the mud sucking at his feet.
Alex moved his left hand along the hand guard to the vertical fore grip and double tapped the remote switch attached to the rail. A green light spanned the backyard, striking the house behind Michaud. Invisible to the naked eye, the infrared (IR) beam emitted by the Dual Beam Aiming Laser (DBAL) attached to the top rail of his rifle could only be seen using night vision technology. Alex shifted the laser onto Michaud’s head and waited for him to pause at the edge of the Walkers’ mangled deck.
“That’s far enough!” he warned.
Michaud raised the shotgun to his shoulder and aimed into the darkness beyond Alex, craning his head frantically. The green laser remained centered on his forehead. He took another step forward.