Enforcing Home (11 page)

“What’s this mean? We had to run from them before. Are we going to have to again?” Mel asked.

“I don’t want to go back to the river,” Little Bit cried.

“I’m not going!” Lee Ann stated.

“Ain’t nobody going anywhere. We’re going to finish this once and for all, right here,” Sarge said.

“I agree,” Danny added.

It wasn’t long before the guys arrived. They piled the weapons and gear from the two men on the front porch. Mike started to go through the packs as Ted filled the old man in on what went down.

“Find any radios on ‘em?” Sarge asked.

Ted shook his head, “No, I expected them to have comms, but we didn’t find any.”

“Hmm, that seems a little odd,” Sarge said, rubbing his chin. “You sure they are DHS?”

Ted tossed the patch to him, “They both had these on.”

Sarge looked at the patch. “Guess we’ll have to assume they are. If they are starting to do recon of the area, we need to get ready for them.”

“What are you thinking?” Danny asked.

“We need some defensive positions.”

“Bunkers?” Ted asked.

The old man sat down on the edge of the porch. “It wouldn’t hurt to have a couple. I also think we need to pull back from the road down there, and beef up the barricade so you can’t just drive through it. And we need to create a fallback position at the first intersection; put a bunker there.”

“How are we going to do that? We don’t have any sandbags,” Danny said.

Sarge looked up and smiled, “There’s other ways to build bunkers. Right, Teddy?”

“Oh yeah; I’ve got an idea or two.”

As we were talking, Fred and Aric walked up. “What’s going on?” Aric asked.

Sarge filled them in on what we knew, and that he wanted to build some bunkers. I could tell Fred had something on her mind. She was chewing on her fingernails; and I’d known her long enough now to know that was her signal that she wanted to say something.

“What’s on your mind, Fred?” I asked.

The question surprised her, and she looked around. “Oh, well; Jess and I were talking.”

“And?” Sarge prodded with a smile.

“And, well; we want rifles.” She said it in the way a teenager would first try to ask for a car.

“That’s a good idea; should have been done a long time ago,” Sarge replied.

His reply seemed even more of a shock to her. She looked around again and smiled, “Good.”

“We’re also going to run you gals through some training. Mike and Ted will handle that; teach you how to use those rifles effectively.”

Slightly annoyed, Fred looked at Sarge. “We know how to use guns.”

“That’s not what I meant. Knowing how to pull a trigger, and knowing how to employ a weapon in a firefight are two different things. We’re going to make sure you can do the latter. Turn you girls into a regular fighting force.”

“I want to learn too.”

Everyone looked up to see Taylor standing in the door of the house. She stepped outside and Lee Ann followed her, “Me too.”

“Now wait a minute, I don’t like the idea of you girls doing this sort of thing,” Mel countered.

Before I could reply, Sarge stood up and put his arm around Mel’s shoulder. “I know what you mean. They’re your little girls. But think about what happened the other day; they were lucky. We’re about to be up against some folks with a real chip on their shoulder; they’re going to be playing for keeps. I think it would do you good to carry a weapon as well.” Sarge looked at Bobbie, “you too.”

Mel let out a long breath, “Why does it always have to be this? Why is it always
something
else to have to deal with?”

“Shoot, for the most of the world this is how it’s always been. We see it on the news, Darfur, Iraq, Syria; it was always other places. Now it’s here; it’s just the way the world works. We were lucky in that we always had clean water, reliable power and advanced society. But it was a thin façade, as you now see. Soon as that screen dropped, the natural order began to take hold, survival of the fittest.” Sarge looked at the women assembled, “and we’re going to make sure you’re the fittest bunch of fightin’ females in these parts!”

“I don’t particularly want to be running around the woods with you guys,” Mel replied.

“Then don’t. But if someone comes in here and tries to stir up some shit, I want you to be able to settle it.”

“Hey, I’m in,” Fred said.

“So are we,” Lee Ann added.

Mel looked up at her daughters, “I guess I am too then.”

Sarge clapped his hands, “Good, that’s settled then.”

“When are we going to start on those bunkers?” Thad asked.

“We need to round up some sand wrenches and get that tractor,” Sarge said. Then he looked at me, “you guys have some chainsaws, right?”

I nodded. Before I could reply, Aric asked, “What’s a sand wrench?”

I laughed. “It’s the primary tool of the subterranean installation technician.” Aric stared at me, obviously even more confused.

“It’s a damn shovel, numbnuts!” Sarge barked.

Aric smiled, “Oh, I get it now.”

I shook my head, then asked Sarge what the plan was.

Sarge jutted a thumb at Ted, “He’ll fill you in; just go round up your equipment.”

“We have to get that disc for Cecil loaded onto a trailer and take it to town.”

“I’ll help you load it; then I can get with Ted and start on what he needs,” Thad said.

“Good, let’s get to it. Come on Teddy, I’ll show you what I was thinking,” Sarge said as he started to walk away.

“Fred, you and Jess come over when you’re ready and we’ll get you fitted out with a rifle,” Danny said.

She smiled and nodded; then she and Aric headed out.

I headed back towards the house to get the truck and trailer. Danny had found the disc in one of the barns in the neighborhood; it was like new and should serve Cecil well. Mel walked with me.

“I think it’s a good idea for you and the girls to get some training,” I said.

“I don’t want to, but he’s right. If someone comes in here, I want to be able to deal with it; and it would make the girls safer.” Mel looked at me, “anything that does that, I’m all for.”

I put my arm around her shoulders, “That’s what it’s all about, keeping all of us safer.”

She reached up and grabbed my hand, “Are you going to town?”

“Yeah, I have to drop off the disc. Why, you want to come?”

She shrugged, “Maybe next time. Let me spend some time with those guys so I’ll have some idea what I’m doing.”

“You’re welcome to come along any time babe,” I replied and kissed her head.

Chapter 6

O
nce the disc was chained to the trailer, Thad headed towards Danny’s place with the tractor. Danny would ride with me into town, I wanted someone else to go as well. We were heading towards the barricade when I saw Aric and Fred, and I called Aric over.

“Hey man, feel like a ride into town?”

He looked at Fred, “Sure I guess.”

“We just need an extra set of eyes. It won’t take long; we’re just dropping this off and coming right back.”

“You don’t mind do you?” Aric asked Fred.

She smiled and shook her head, “No, go.”

“We won’t keep him long,” I added with a smile.

Aric jumped in and we headed for the barricade. Jeff and Perez were manning it; I waved as we passed them. I was surprised to see both of them smoking.

“Where the hell did they find cigarettes?” I asked.

Danny was looking back, “No idea; wish they would find some Cope.”

I laughed, “Yeah, me too.”

“What’s this thing for?” Aric asked, stabbing a thumb over his shoulder.

“They’re trying to get some ground ready to plant in town and needed a bigger disc. We’re just going to drop it and head back.”

Aric leaned back, “Fine by me; it’s nice to get out.”

In Altoona I pulled into the Kangaroo and parked near Mario, who was there trading honey and related products.

“Hey Mario, Shelly; how you guys today?” I asked as I got out.

“Good, how about you?” Mario replied.

“We’re good. How’s business?” Danny asked.

“Getting better,” Shelly replied.

I looked around the parking lot and noticed there were more people out looking to trade. There were more tables set up, and one guy was even building a small booth out of scrap plywood.

“See those tax collectors lately?” I asked.

Mario laughed, “Nope, not since our last encounter.”

“That’s good; looks like it’s having an effect on the people here,” Danny said.

“It sure is. Once word got out, more people started coming. Plus, they’re trading things they wouldn’t before because they were worried that those guys would take it,” Shelly said.

“I’m going to go look around,” Aric said.

“I’ll go with you,” Danny said as the two walked off.

As I watched them walk away, I said, “It’s good those troublemakers aren’t around; but it makes me nervous, you know. I’d rather know where they are.”

Mario leaned back against his table, “I know what you mean. I’ve been keeping an eye out for trouble.”

“Do that,” I replied, then looked around. “Also keep an eye out for anyone you don’t recognize; we had a run-in with a couple of guys that we’re pretty certain were DHS.”

Mario looked surprised, “Really? I thought those guys were gone; thought the Army ran them off.”

I filled him and Shelly in on what I knew about the ambush, and that no one knew where they were. We talked about the possibility that they could return looking for some revenge, and what that would mean to folks around here.

“We’ll keep an eye out for them. If we see anything, we’ll let you know,” Shelly said.

“You guys have working radios?” I asked.

Mario smiled, “You know it; got my repeater up and running right before everything went to shit.”

That piece of news surprised me, “Really, no kidding?” I took a pad and pen from my pocket; handing them to Mario, I asked him to write the settings down. “I’ll program my handheld with it so we can stay in touch. If you don’t mind, I’ll give it to the Guard as well so we can all communicate.”

Mario wrote all the settings down and handed the pad back. “Fine by me; that’s why I set it up.”

“How’s the solar system holding up?” I asked. Mario had invested heavily in solar back in the day. His entire bee operation was powered by independent systems at each building.

“Best money I ever spent, my friend.”

Our conversation moved on to livestock. Mario had a nice flock of chickens, and kept some hogs as well. We agreed to trade some hens and sows with one another, to introduce new blood into the lines. It was always a good idea to do so, though contrary to popular belief, inbreeding in meat production isn’t a bad thing. But there comes a point where it’s necessary to bring in new stock. After chatting a little longer, I went off to find Danny and Aric.

I caught up with the guys as they were looking at jewelry laid out on a plastic folding table. The woman behind the table was clean, something that really stood out today. Not only her clothes, but her hair was done. It wasn’t up to the old standards; but by today’s yardstick, it looked really good. Aric was examining a ring.

“It’s a real diamond,” the woman said as I walked up.

Looking at the stone, I let out a low whistle, “What’s that, two carats?”

The woman smiled, “Two and a half.”

“It’s really nice,” Aric said as he set it back on the table.

I picked it up and looked at it, “I bet Fred would really like it.”

Aric was still looking at it, “Yeah she would.”

A small blue bag on the table caught my eye. I knew the color; it was Tiffany’s blue. I picked it up and shook out a sterling silver cuff with the Tiffany and Company logo on it. Mel loved Tiffany’s back in the day, and her collection of their jewelry grew accordingly with my gun collection. I observed Aric still looking at the ring.

“How much for the ring?” I asked the woman.

“What are you trading?”

“I don’t have anything to trade,” Aric replied.

Reaching into a pocket on my vest, I took out several Morgan silver dollars, “How about silver?”

The woman studied the coins for a moment, then looked at me, “You the Sheriff?”

I glanced down at the badge, “I guess so.”

She looked at Aric, “You a deputy?” Aric nodded in reply. “You the ones that ran off those ruffians that was taking from everyone?”

I nodded, “We helped anyway.”

She studied me for a minute then said, “Twenty dollars.”

I winced; it was a high price, “Ten.”

The old gal’s eyes narrowed. I could tell she loved the bartering, “Fifteen and not a cent less.”

“Morgan, I don’t have any way to pay for it,” Aric said.

I held up the cuff, “Fifteen if you throw in the cuff, and not a penny more.”

The woman stared at me for a long moment, her eyes barely visible as she squinted. “You drive a hard bargain, Sheriff.” She held her hand out, “deal.”

I shook her hand and put the cuff back in the bag and dropped it into my pocket. Counting out fifteen Morgan’s, I handed them over. She smiled as the heavy coins clinked into the palm of her hand. I picked the ring up and admired it.

“This sure will make Fred happy,” I said as I held it out to Aric.

With uncertainty, he took the ring. “I don’t know what to say; I can’t ever repay you.”

I slapped him on the back, “You don’t owe me anything. You’re part of the family here man. As far as I’m concerned, you bought that ring. And if you tell Fred I did, I’ll deny it and call you a liar,” I said with a smile.

Aric finally smiled, “Thanks Morgan; thanks a lot.”

We made one more stop by the booth that was under construction. A skinny little man was hammering an old wood sign to the side of the booth that had come from a Baptist church. The rest of his building materials were in a wagon hitched to a mule. The wagon, much like the booth, was an amalgamation of different materials. The axle was from some sort of car; and the bed planks were of various dimensions. The mule was harnessed using webbed straps that were probably ratchet straps in their previous life. The old fella was ingenious, if nothing else.

“You setting up church?” Danny asked.

The man looked at the sign, “Naw; it was just a nice big piece of wood. I’m in the tool business, sharpening, fixing, trading.”

It was then I saw the large sharpening wheel. It was mounted to a stand and was probably motor-powered when it was new. But the motor and parts of the frame were removed to allow room for the treadle that now powered it.

“How’s that thing work,” Danny asked.

The man smiled, “Like a dream.” He stepped behind the wheel and gripped the top of the stone wheel. Rocking it a couple of times, he gave a mighty shove and the wheel began to turn. He put his foot on the pedal and pumped it, keeping the stone going. “I can sharpen anything on this.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Danny said, nodding his head.

“Yeah, I think we’ll be giving you a little business,” I added.

“I trade for about anything, I should be up and running tomorrow.”

“Good to know. We’ll be seeing you,” Danny replied.

We left the old fella to his task and headed back to the truck. As we drove towards Eustis, we talked about the wheel and the ingenuity it took to make something like that. Work was coming back.

“A couple of years ago no one would have ever thought about taking an electric motor off of something like that, let alone butchering it up the way he did to make that pedal work,” Danny said.

“That kind of problem solving is worth its weight in gold now. We lived in a disposable society; when something broke, you threw it away. There was never a thought given to fixing something.
Throw it away; we’ll buy another one
, was how people lived,” I replied.

I was just as guilty. We all were. I loved the modern world we’d created; it was so easy. Life was easy. Everyone was disconnected from where everything came from to such a degree that no one cared. Our food came from the corner store; and if you didn’t like that one you simply drove across the street to the competitor. Clothes and electronics came from one of a few big box stores. Or, even better, you could order it online and it would be delivered to your door with no more effort on you part than a tap of your finger. Was it any wonder there was an entitlement mentality with the generations that only knew that way of life?

My generation was the last one to grow up before the internet and cell phone. We played outside all day without a care in the world from our parents about our safety. We rode bikes without helmets, cars without seatbelts, and even rode in the bed of pick-ups. But as the world
advanced,
all that went away. It was suddenly unsafe to do any of these things, and crimes against children increased.

But now, kids play outside all day, and gone are the bike helmets for those kids fortunate enough to have a working bike with two good tires. Whereas it had become socially unacceptable to own firearms among a large portion of society, it is now understood that they are a must-have tool. Not only for self-defense but to provide food for the table. Once again we were intimately connected to where our food came from. Whether it was pulled from the ground or hunted and killed, feeding oneself and family was a very personal thing.

As I drove past the orange juice plant, I looked over at the top of the exhaust stack of the power plant, the only thing visible from the road. Cecil seemed to think we could get it up and running; but I simply couldn’t imagine the work that would be involved. The small plant wouldn’t be able to service a very large area based off how things used to be; but with so little surviving, it could provide power to a lot more now. But to do that we’d have to open a lot of switches to isolate the area we wanted to power. Not to mention we’d have to hope the transformers were good.

But before any of that could become an issue, there was the plant itself and its fuel, natural gas. Cecil said gas was still flowing in places; this was a huge surprise to me, as I thought it was all out. But then I didn’t have any gas at my place, so I wouldn’t really know if it were out or not. Cecil said he could show us; and I was certainly curious to see that.

At the barricade of cars, we rolled through without stopping, the old Suburban now recognized by all the troops. Eustis seemed to be hustling and bustling. Along the shore of the lake, Cecil had already begun the tilling, and several people were out in the broken soil with hand tools. I saw Cecil standing with Livingston and several Guardsmen. He had a large paper in his hand and was motioning to different points along the lakefront. I parked the truck on the road, and we walked over.

“Somebody order a disc?” I called out as we approached.

Cecil turned and smiled, “I sure did; you’re just in time.”

We made pleasantries for a few minutes, talking about the work on the lakefront and the state of things in general. When Cecil excused himself to go get the tractor, Livingston said he needed me at the HQ. Aric and Danny said they’d handle unloading the disc, and I followed Livingston towards the armory.

“What’s up?” I asked as we crossed Bay Street.

“Got some civilian law enforcement issues for you to deal with.”

I rolled my eyes. “What is it?” I asked, the irritation clear in my voice.

Livingston kind of laughed, “We’ve got a couple of guys that were caught stealing chickens.”

“You gotta be shittin’ me. Why is it always chickens? Everyone steals chickens.”

“The owner caught them in his coop and brought them to us. They fessed up; said they were hungry.”

“Yeah, no shit, who isn’t?”

“Well Sheriff, they’re your problem now,” Livingston said with a smile.

Inside the armory, I found the two men being guarded by a couple of soldiers. They looked like what you’d expect a chicken thief to look like, dirty threadbare clothes, long hair and unkempt beards. One of them was a character straight out of a Mark Twain book. Wearing overalls and no shirt, he sat barefoot on the floor. When I walked up, they looked up at me.

“You the Sheriff?” The one in overalls asked.

“Sadly, I am. Why’d you steal the chickens?”

“We didn’t steal anything,” the other replied.

The one in overalls looked sideways at his partner, “Cause we got caught before we could get gone.”

I laughed, “At least you’re honest.”

Sheffield walked up, “Well, what’s it going to be?”

“Yeah Sheriff, you sending us off to the big house?” The one in overalls asked.

Taking off my hat, I scratched my head. “Hell, I don’t know. They tried to steal and admitted it; but it was only chickens, so I don’t know what to do with them.”

“Well, according to other people around here, it isn’t their first time,” Sheffield replied.

“First time gettin’ caught,” the barefoot chicken thief added.

Here was a true conundrum, these two were guilty for certain; they admitted it. But what to do with them? It surely wasn’t a capital crime; but at the same time, some sort of punishment was merited. Then I had an idea.