Bug Out! Part 5: RV Flight from Terror (2 page)

“Nope, doesn’t ring a bell, but we weren’t high enough in the organization to be in meetings with other militias.”

“Remember somebody named Hank?” asked Jane. “He looked kinda like Santa Claus.”

“Oh, yeah, we knew Hank,” Earl said. “What a dope. He was their recruiter and propaganda guy. A real windbag.”

“We saw him get shot when we were leaving that place by the airstrip,” Jackson said. “Good riddance. He was one of the creeps that was pushing us to spy on you guys.”

“Wonder what happened to his wife,” Jane said.

“Oh, yeah, Linda,” Earl said. “She was actually a nice person. She didn’t like the militia stuff one bit, but she didn’t want to leave Hank. I hope she got away from those idiots.”

“Anything else on the news?” asked Frank.

“Naw, not really,” Charlie said. “They are just repeating the same stuff that you heard before you walked off with the General.”

There was a loud giggle from over by the cocktail cart. Everybody turned around.

“Rosie has a good buzz on,” Jerry said, cracking up. “I’m glad, she needed some relief. She sure is flirting with the Sheriff tonight.”

“Yeah, and he seems to be enjoying it, too,” Jane smiled.

“Rosie wanted me to drink another one of those Weng Weng things,” Earl said. “They hit you fast. I’m too nervous to get that plastered, though. I just have the feeling that there’s going to be more action coming.”

“I know, me too,” Jerry said. “I feel really uneasy. Wish we had those cameras up.”

“We’ll get them up tomorrow,” Frank said, “but we’ve got privates patrolling the park. We should be alright tonight.”

“Hopefully,” Jeb said.

“By the way, Lieutenant James needs your RV requests by mid-morning tomorrow. He’s over at the barn now with a spreadsheet. If you know what you want, you can go over and chat with him tonight.”

“You guys already put in your order, I suspect,” Charlie said.

“Yes, it was easy for us,” Jane said. “We just asked for a straight across trade….another Georgetown 328.”

“You like those short coaches, eh,” Jeb said. “It is a nice rig, though.”

“I know what I need to order,” Charlie said. “Hilda and I were looking at options earlier.” He walked over to where Hilda was chatting with Rosie and Jasmine, and got her attention. They walked off to the barn.

“Guess I could go do it now too,” Jeb said.

“Me too,” Jackson said. Earl nodded, and the three followed Charlie and Hilda out the door.

“How about you, Jerry,” Frank asked.

“Don’t know. I think I’d better go grab Jasmine and get on the web. They didn’t mention Tiffin, so we’ll have to choose something else.”

“Yeah, Tiffin makes good coaches. You’ll probably have to go with one of the higher end Winnebago’s to get close.”

“Maybe,” Jerry replied. “Tiffin’s coaches are a cut above. Maybe a Fleetwood Discovery would be close enough. Not sure I want a Winnebago…but we’ll see. I’ll let Jasmine have the final choice – the floor plan needs to serve the three of us.”

“Good luck,” Frank said. Jerry nodded and walked over to Jasmine.

Frank and Jane walked back over by the TV and watched for a few minutes.

“I was just thinking, Frank. What was the Joint Session about, anyway?”

“Good question,” Frank said. “War related, probably.”

Frank pulled out his phone and searched for it on the web.

“It was a closed session,” Frank said. “Interesting.”

“Any speculation?” asked Jane.

“Yes,” Frank said. He sat down, his eyes glued to the phone’s screen.

“Some sources are saying it was about Mexico…..you know, should we merge our two countries into one, or carry on the way it was before.”

“I could see that,” Jane said.

“But there are others speculating that it was about martial law,” Frank said. He frowned.

“Why don’t we go back to the coach and get on the laptop,” Jane said. “We should do some poking around, since we’re about to embark on a big move.”

“Sounds good,” Frank said. “Let’s go.”

They left the clubhouse with Lucy and headed back to their rig. Charlie and Hilda saw them, and walked over.

“You guys calling it a night?” asked Charlie.

“Yeah, we’re tired,” Jane said.

“And we’ve got to get up early in the morning to get that security system installed,” Frank added.

“True,” Charlie said. “I’d probably better do the same.”

“Goodnight,” Hilda said.

“Goodnight,” Jane replied. The two couples went their separate ways.

It was a dark moonless night, but the sky was clear and full of stars. There was a peacefulness in the way the light breeze flowed through the trees.

“It’s so beautiful here,” Frank said. He put his arm around Jane’s shoulder as they walked.

“Lucy sure knows which coach is home,” Jane said. She giggled as they watched her straining against the leash to get there. Frank unlocked the door and opened it, and Lucy bounded up the stairs. Frank and Jane followed her in. Mr. Wonderful was still sitting on the dash, looking out the windshield.

“Sorry, old boy, but I’ve got to bring down those blinds now,” Frank said. He got into the driver’s seat and pushed a button. The front shade came down slowly, and stopped when it rested on the dashboard. Then Frank pulled down the shade on the driver’s side window. He got up and did the same thing on the passenger side window. Mr. Wonderful gave him an annoyed look, and then jumped off the dash and sauntered into the back of the coach, looking for another open window.

Jane already had the laptop fired up, and was waiting for it to connect to the Wi-Fi.

“Want a beer?” asked Frank, as he opened the fridge.

“No thanks,” she said, staring at the screen. Frank pulled out an IPA and opened it. He sat down next to her, on the same side of the dinette, and stared at the screen as she started searching.

“Nothing more about the Joint Session that I can see,” Jane said, “but look at this article.”

Frank looked at the screen. The headline for the article read: “California’s Martial Law – is it coming to a state near you?”

As they started reading, both of their eyes grew wider.

“Robbie wanted to talk about this, but he was afraid to over his phone,” Frank said.

Frank and Jane were at the Dinette,
starting at the screen.

“Do you believe that?” Jane asked. “Sounds kind of nutcase-like to me.”

“Maybe it’s what Robbie was getting ready to tell us,” Frank said. “Let’s not worry about this until we can talk to him.”

“Agreed. We have enough to worry about. Let’s go to bed, Frank. I’m tired.”

Frank nodded. Jane logged off of the laptop and shut it down as Frank slid off of the Dinette bench and went into the bedroom. Jane followed him.

The next morning was bright and warm. Frank woke up, and saw that Jane was already up. He could smell coffee. He got dressed and walked out.

“Lucy need to go out?”

“No, honey, I took her out early,” Jane said. She was sitting at the dinette with a cup of coffee in front of her.

“Wow, I didn’t even hear you open the door,” Frank said. “I was out cold.”

“I woke up at 6:15 and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“Nervous?”

“Yes,” Jane said. “We’re getting back on the road again. It’s a little scary. I was feeling at home here, between battles at least.”

Frank chuckled.

“This is the world we’re living in. A few gun battles are just part of life.”

Jane looked at him and shook her head.

“I know, huh?”

“Well, I’d better wolf down some breakfast. It’s going to be a long day,” Frank said. He got out the cereal and milk and a bowl. “Want some?”

“Sure, leave it out,” Jane said.

“I’m going to need the laptop today,” Frank said. “I’ve got some software to write.”

“Understand,” Jane said. “I’ll use the iPad if I need to get on line.”

“What are you planning on doing today?”

“I thought I’d start organizing stuff we need to take with us to the new coach. This is going to be difficult.”

“I know,” Frank said. “Hopefully we can hit a Walmart or something right after we take delivery. We aren’t going to be able to carry very much.”

“Well, we know that the weapons and electronics are going to have to go. That’s going to take a lot of the room right there.”

“I know. You’re good at this stuff. Use your best judgment,” Frank said as he finished the last couple bites of his cereal. He got up from the table with his bowl, and rinsed it out in the sink.

“You are going to take a cup of coffee, I hope?” Jane asked.

“Yes, but I’m going to use one of those paper cups,” Frank said.

“Good idea. Want to take Lucy?”

“That actually might be a good idea,” Frank said. “I’m going to take my handgun too, because we’re going to be in and out of the park all morning.”

Frank got his cup of coffee brewing, and then went back into the bedroom and got his holster and gun. He put them on, and then came out.

“Alright, I’m taking off,” Frank said. “C’mon, girl.” He picked up the leash, and Lucy pranced over, tail wagging.”

“Ahhhhh, our daughter is going to the office with daddy,” Jane said, laughing. “Give me a kiss, partner.”

Frank walked over and kissed her, then looked at her face for a second.

“Take care, sweetie,” he said. “Once we get to the point that I can focus on software, I’ll probably be back in here.”

Jane nodded, and Frank went out the door with Lucy ahead of him.

Jerry was coming out of his coach as Frank walked by.

“Ready to get started?” Jerry asked.

“Yep,” Frank said. “Let’s go to the clubhouse.”

“Sounds good. Saw Earl and Jackson head over there about five minutes ago.”

They walked together, looking around the park.

“I’m going to miss this place,” Jerry said.

“Me too. Did you and Jasmine pick out a coach yet?”

“Yes, we’re going with a Discovery,” Jerry said. “Jasmine’s going over to the barn in a little while to put the order in. You know what time the memorial service and the wedding are going to be?”

“Late afternoon, I think,” Frank said. “How does Rosie feel this morning?”

Jerry laughed.

“Good question. She’s not up yet.”

“Glad I didn’t drink that much.”

“Me too. There’s Charlie,” Jerry said, pointing. Charlie saw them walking up and waved.

They got to the clubhouse. Earl and Jackson were watching the large coffee pot sputter, cups in hand.

“That smells good,” Jerry said.

Frank looked on the table. The box of cameras and the spools of cable were all laid out, along with two cordless drills and screws and a couple of utility belts.

“Wow, this is great,” Frank said. “Hilda?”

“Yep, Jer had a lot of this kind of stuff in the shed. She was up early this morning puttering around.”

“She’s probably excited,” Frank said. “After all, this is her wedding day.”

Charlie got an embarrassed smile on his face.

“The Reverend is going to be here at about 4:00,” Charlie said. “Think we can get all of these installed by then?”

“Easy,” Earl said. “Let’s hit it.”

The men gathered up the equipment, cameras, and cable. They went out the door. Charlie and Earl and Jackson went to the far side of the park. Frank and Jerry went to the near side. Jeb joined them on the way.

“Need a hand?” he asked.

“Sure,” Frank said.

They got to the first location. Jerry pointed to it, then took a camera and one of the cordless drills. He had the utility belt on. He climbed up next to the location and fastened the camera, then adjusted it so that it pointed in the desired direction.

“Why don’t you man the cable?” Frank said, looking at Jeb. He handed him the reel. Jeb nodded.

The process was easier than Frank expected. The three men walked along, chatting as they put each camera in place.

“So, did you guys read that article on martial law in California?” Frank asked.

“No,” Jeb said. “What’s it say?”

“It might just be nutcase stuff…..you know how things are now,” Frank said.

“Well?” Jeb asked. “You going to tell us?”

“Some of the stuff in the article makes the situation in California look kinda permanent,” Frank said.

“Like what?” Jerry asked.

“The State legislature has a couple of bills before it that’re causing a lot of concern. The first started out as a bill to tax mileage instead of gasoline. I remember hearing about that before the crap hit the fan. You know…..better mileage, less gallons bought, less tax revenue. They had to fix that. Anyway, it morphed into a limit on how many miles you can drive, not just a tax.”

“What?” Jeb asked. “Horse shit.”

“What’s the other bill?” Jerry asked.

“They want to force everybody to have a transponder in their car in order to enforce the new mileage law,” Frank said.

“You know that newer cars have already have that tracking hardware installed, right?” Jerry asked. “Nobody in the government wants to admit they’re using it for anything.”

“Is that really true?” Jeb asked. “Always seemed like another nutcase scare story to me.”

“Oh, it’s true, alright,” Frank said. “The government’s portraying it as being a public safety capability, not a way to spy on people.”

“So how are the people in California reacting?” Jerry asked.

“Well, that’s the scariest part,” Frank said. “California is still under martial law, and a lot of the residents are getting really tired of it, since things have calmed down so much there. Some people went to Sacramento to protest the marital law, the mileage limitations, and the transponder devices. The army shut down the protests and threw everybody in jail. They haven’t been released yet. It’s been several days now.”

“Shit,” Jeb said.

“Can we find those devices in our vehicles?” Jerry asked.

“I have some ideas about that…I think so,” Frank said.

“Good, then when we get our new rigs, perhaps we ought to find them and rip them out,” Jerry said. Frank and Jeb nodded in agreement.

“This reminds me of what Sean said,” Frank said. “Martial law put in place for enforcement of global warming measures.”