Bug Out! Part 9: RV Ambush (3 page)

“There,” Frank said.

“Son of a bitch,” Jerry said. “Look at all those hits.”

“You know what this tells me?” Frank asked.

“What?”

“Two things,” he said. “One, this infiltration has been going on for years. And two, the President may have been the least of our problems. Wonder if he had a chip?”

“There’s a good question,’ Jerry said. “Wonder where he’s being held?”

“Might be worth looking into,” Frank said. “Let’s check the White House.” He navigated over there.

“Not as many as congress or the Pentagon, at least,” Jerry said.

“I count eight,” Frank said. “Mixture of 3s and 10s.”

“This is far from over, isn’t it?” Jerry asked. “Even with your apps.”

“I wish I wouldn’t have been so hasty with the publish date,” Frank said.

“You can’t stop it, can you?”

“Nope,” Frank said. “I allowed for the chance that we get taken prisoner before the apps get released. I didn’t want the cretins to be able to force me to stop it.”

“Oh,” Jerry said. “Actually, I think that’s still the good play.”

“I know, I agree, but I didn’t have any idea how many bad guys were hiding in D.C.”

“You think they’re going to de-chip themselves as soon as this hits?”

“Yeah, Frank said, “but all isn’t lost. We just make sure that everybody who’s still alright checks for bandages and incisions. I wish I could get into that damn enemy system. It sure would be nice to know the names of the traitors. Then the timing of the apps won’t matter nearly as much.”

“Maybe you should continue to work on that, then,” Jerry said.

“Oh, I will,” Frank said. “Hand me that flash drive.”

Jerry gave it to Frank, and he plugged it into his USB port. Then he copied the files over.

“Here you go,” Frank said, pulling the flash drive out and handing it to Jerry. “There’s a self-extracting file, so go for it.”

“Alright, Frank. Good luck with hacking.”

“Thanks,” Frank said. “I did get an idea last night about Daan’s security, when I was lying in bed. I’ll try it.” He watched as Jerry walked out the door, and then closed all of his programs, and brought up his development screen.

In Sidney, Nebraska, Malcolm drove into the truck stop, followed by George and Heidi. They pulled into the pump lanes, and started to top off their tanks. Heidi went to the store again, as Malcolm walked up to George.

“Well, I got a reply from Jane,” Malcolm said.

“Any news?” George asked.

“Naw, it was just an acknowledgement,” he said.

“Anything from Ted?”

“Not a word,” Malcolm said.

“We going to stay here tonight?”

“I don’t know,” Malcolm said. “I don’t mind hanging out in these joints for a quick overnight, but it’s only about 2:00 pm. “Maybe we should see if there’s any boondocking areas on the east side of town, or a good RV Park.”

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Heidi asked as she walked up. “We really going to stay here? This place kinda sucks.”

George was looking at his phone. “There’s a huge RV Park on the southeast side of town,” he said. “Maybe we ought to go there. It’s got Wi-Fi.”

“I’m good with that,” Malcolm said. He looked over at Heidi, and she nodded.

“Alright, then, it’s settled,” George said. “It’s right where I-80 meets Route 17. You can’t miss it. Look for the big water tower.”

They got finished fueling up, and drove through Sidney, seeing the RV Park on the way out of town. They pulled into the staging area, signed in, and got their space assignments. Malcolm led the way. Their spaces were nice big pull through sites. No need to unhook their toad vehicles.

“Wow, this is nice,” Heidi said as she came down the steps, looking around. George put out the awning, watching it unroll itself, and then followed her outside.

“I’m getting the chairs set up out here,” he said. “Maybe it’s time for a beer or two.”

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Heidi said, grinning. “You’ve been a good boy.”

Malcolm walked over, an open beer already in his hand. He helped George get the chairs out of his storage compartment. They carried them under the awning.

“Already started, I see,” George said, laughing.

“I’d offer you one, but I know you’re still hung up on that IPA stuff. I wanted something a little lighter.”

“Yeah,” George said. “Be right back.” He went into his coach, and came out with a bottle of Sculpin IPA.

“Wow, expensive tastes, I see,” Malcolm said.

“This stuff is primo,” George said, taking a deep swig out of the bottle.

“Where’s Heidi?”

“She wanted to check this place out,” George said. “It looks pretty nice. Maybe we should hit it again on our way home, and stay a day or two.”

Malcolm looked around. “Yeah, it does look kinda nice. It’s owned by that big sporting goods chain, you know.”

“Thought I recognized the name,” George said.

Heidi came back to the space, grinning. “They have really nice showers. Think I’ll go use them,” she said. “I feel a little grimy.” She disappeared into the coach.

“That’s not a terrible idea,” Malcolm said. “I could use it. Later, though. I want a few beers first.”

“Likewise,” George said, taking another swig.

“I’ll see you guys later,” Heidi said, coming out of the coach in her white terrycloth robe, with two towels in her arms, and a bag of toiletries. She walked away.

“How’s she doing?” Malcolm asked.

“We’ve had some time to talk. We’re okay.”

“Good,” Malcolm said. “We’ll have to be careful around the folks at the RV Park.”

“We aren’t going to hurt them,” George said.

“I know, but we’ll also have to get their trust. That won’t be too difficult in your case, but a lot of people know of my exploits.”

“Never going to live down the Red Dagger thing, are you?” George asked, chuckling.

“Probably not,” Malcolm grinned, “but it has been good for the game. I had no idea how many friends that creep had.”

“Well, maybe not friends, but admirers.”

“Earl was a partner, and Jason was a friend,” Malcolm said.

“True, but do you really think there are still people in that clan out there? The Red Dagger thing was fifteen years ago.”

“Yeah, George, I think the person we’re targeting now is close, and I suspect that there’s more than one generation involved. Look at how long the killings have gone on. Early 60s into the 2000s. No way is that one guy. That’s 40 years.”

George took a big swig of his beer, and thought for a minute. “Alright, you have a point. You’re thinking father-son?”

“Yeah, or uncle-nephew,” Malcolm said. “I think the second generation is still active. I think they moved east. There are some unsolved events in New Jersey, also around Philly, and Baltimore. The most recent have been in Ohio.”

“Somebody moved to Ohio on purpose?” George said, laughing.

“Be nice. Ohio isn’t that bad,” Malcolm said, taking a swig of beer.

“You were saying we should help the resistance. We going focus on that, or the game?”

“Both,” Malcolm said. “I guess it depends on if something presents itself that we can help the folks with. They might just be laying low now, you know. They barely escaped Utah and Colorado.”

“And Arizona, from what my sources tell me.”

“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “If there’s nothing to do, so be it, but that hasn’t been the pattern with these folks.”

“You think they’re looking for action?”

“No, George, I think they’ve become targets for the enemy. They’re probably safe right now, because they’re in Kansas, and it’s pretty locked down. The way things have been going in Denver, I wouldn’t relax just yet, if I were them.”

“If they found something by that RV Park, and our current target can hack even half as well as Jason Beckler could, they might be in danger from him.”

“Yes, George, that’s been in the back of my mind too.”

Heidi walked back over after a little while, her hair tied up in one of the towels. “That was heavenly,” she said, smiling. “You should go get your shower done before you crack another one of those Sculpins, Georgie.”

“Yeah, Georgie,” Malcolm said, chuckling. “You go ahead. I’m going to go check out the Wi-Fi for a few minutes.”

George downed the last of his beer, and followed Heidi into the coach. He emerged wearing swimming trunks, carrying a towel in one hand, soap and shampoo in the other, in a drawstring bag. He walked over to the men’s shower building, input the code, and went in. Heidi was right, it was a nice facility. He picked one of the large shower stalls and got started. He was enjoying the warmth of the water, feeling it relieve the tension in his shoulders. He finished and shut off the water, reaching for his towel. As he was drying himself off, he heard somebody come in. He was talking on his cellphone quietly, just above a whisper.
Is that Arabic?
George froze, trying to be silent. He heard the man end the call, and then heard the stall door open, a few stalls down from him. The man got back on the phone. This time he spoke English.

“Phillip, I’m in Nebraska now. The others are in that motorhome we stole, waiting for me. We’re going to go out and scout in the van. We’ll find a place where we can hide a few hundred men, and stay there. You know how to find us.”

George’s heart started to beat faster.

“Yes, I know that, Phillip. We know which bridge to blow. After the men have arrived, we’ll move the motorhome over there, and get the job done. Then we’ll head into the east side of Denver and open a new front.”

George smiled.
Want to bet?

The man ended the call, and turned on the shower. While it was running, George quietly slipped his trunks back on, and gathered up his stuff. He snuck out the door silently, and waited in the bushes, of to one side. There was a bench there, so he sat. It seemed to take forever for the man to finish, but he finally emerged from the shower building. He looked Arabic to George, but he’d been over there. The man was trying to look Hispanic, and it probably fooled most people. George waited until he got down the path a ways, and then followed him. He got into a big diesel pusher, towards the back of the park. There was a van sitting next to the rig, with the side door open. George was careful not to look too closely. He hurried back to his space, and went to Malcolm’s rig.

“Hey, George, that took a while,” Malcolm said. “Ready for another beer?”

“No,” he said, looking out the passenger side window. “See that coach?”

Malcolm looked out the window. “You mean that big pusher with the van parked next to it?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Enemy. I overheard the guy talking in the shower room. They’re going to take off in that van in a little while, and go scope out a place they can hide a few hundred men.”

“Oh, crap,” Malcolm said. He walked over to the sink and poured out his beer. “Let’s get one of the jeeps unhooked.”

“How about yours?” George asked. “I’ll go get dressed while you’re working on that.”

“Roger that,” Malcolm said. They both left the coach, Malcolm walking to his jeep, and George going into his coach.

“Feel better?” Heidi asked as he walked in, not looking up from her iPad. He didn’t answer right away, so she looked up. “Uh oh, what?”

“Enemy fighters,” George said.

“What?” Heidi asked, looking concerned.

“I overheard a conversation while I was in the shower room. They’re about to go scout a place for several hundred men to hide. Malcolm and I are going to follow them, and ruin their fun.”

“I’m going too,” she said.

“No, I need you to stay here and watch their rig. If it leaves, we need to know about it right away. It’s over there,” George said, pointing out the window. Heidi looked.

“The big diesel pusher next to the van?” she asked.

“That’s it,” George said, going into the bedroom. He got dressed in a flash, and came back out, carrying a pistol and a rifle. He stuck his head out the door and looked around. Nobody there, so he hurried out the door with the guns, stashing them in Malcolm’s jeep.

“What you got?”

“Magnum pistol and the .270,” George said.

“I’ve got the M-16, a shot gun, and my .45 auto,” Malcolm said.

“Good, let’s sit down where we can see the van,” George said.

“Yeah.” They went over to their chairs and sat, watching as several men loaded supplies into the van. “Look, George, they’re planning on camping out there for a while. Wonder how many folks are going to be left at the coach?”

“Don’t know. I told Heidi to call us if that thing moves while we’re gone. It’s probably loaded with explosives. The guy was talking about blowing a bridge.”

“They’re in for a surprise, aren’t they?” Malcolm said, laughing. “This is gonna be fun.”

“They’re leaving,” George said, getting up. He got into the passenger side of the jeep, and Malcolm got behind the wheel. They watched as the van got onto the road going out of the park.

“That ought to be enough lead,” Malcolm said. He drove slowly out onto the road, watching as the van made a left turn. They followed them, several hundred yards behind.

Dobie watched as the
fifth wheel install was getting finished.

“That wasn’t as difficult as I expected,” he said.

“Yeah,” the tech said. “After you get the holes drilled, it’s not bad at all.”

Gabe walked over. “Almost done?” he asked

“Pretty close,” Dobie said. “The wire harness is installed and tested, and they just buttoned down the hitch.”

“Good,” he replied.

“How’d it go at Walmart?”

“Good. We got quite a bit of food, and some other staples. The place was almost deserted. I think people are getting the willies because of what’s going on in Denver.”

“What’s going on in Denver?” Dobie asked.

“You haven’t been listening to the radio?”

“Nope,” Dobie said.

“The enemy is advancing, taking over several neighborhoods to the west. The army is retreating.”

“Dammit,” Dobie whispered. “Looked at the app lately?”

“It’s been a while,” Gabe said. He pulled his phone out. “Crap, I see some hits northeast of Denver. In Nebraska, along I-80.”