Bug Out! Part 12: RV Alliance (4 page)

“The agents they’re sending to Columbus are searching for Agent Keith, not taking over the investigation, at least so far.”

“You still don’t want to tell them about the house?” Malcolm asked.

“Not really,” Ted said. “Why?”

“Because if they find it and we show up, they’ll nail us for withholding.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Ted said. “At least not yet. They’re not smart enough to figure out the address.”

“Maybe not, but things can change fast,” Malcolm said. “They might find out without doing the detailed analysis and investigation. Hell, some neighbor could have tipped off the local PD. The FBI might already be there, for all we know.”

“I’d have heard something if that’s the case,” Ted said.

“Okay, everybody had their fill of donuts?” Gabe asked.

The group all nodded.

“Good, then let’s get this road on the show!” he said, a goofy expression on his face.

“I’ll go walk Duchess,” Dobie said. “You want to unhook us?”

“Yeah,” Gabe said, “and then I’ll go chat with Sue for a few minutes.”

Dobie glanced at him, smiling. “Too bad we couldn’t stay a little longer.”

“Ah, she’s outta my league, but I like her,” Gabe said.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Dobie said as he went out the door with Duchess. He walked by Ted and Malcolm, who were getting their vehicles ready to go.

Gabe got the trailer un-hooked, and then trotted over to the office. Sue was at the counter.

“You guys taking off?” she asked, smiling.

“Yeah,” Gabe said. “Maybe we’ll be back here on the return trip. Thanks for giving us such a good spot.”

“Don’t mention it,” she said, twinkle in her eye. “When this is over, why don’t you give me a call? I’d love to hear all about it. Kansas isn’t that far, after all.”

“True, and I have a trailer,” he said, grinning. “Maybe I’ll pull it over here for a few days.”

“Good, I’ll look forward to it. You be careful, now.”

“Will do,” Gabe said, smiling as he left the office. The warm feeling washed over him as he made his way back to the rig.

“Ready to go?” Dobie asked.

“Yep,” Gabe said.

“How’d it go with Sue?”

“She wants me to call her when this trip over,” Gabe said, an embarrassed smile on his face. “I’m thinking I might drag my trailer here.”

“Good,” Dobie said, getting into the driver’s seat. Gabe got in the passenger seat, and they pulled away.

***

“You sure we have to dump this rig?” Cindy asked, watching Scott as he drove. “Seems like such a waste.”

“We could just swap the plates,” Scott said.

“So we find another Class C that looks like this one, and swap?”

“That’s the idea. We’ll have to swap the plates for the CRV too.”

“That should be easy,” Cindy said. “We ought to do that now. It’s still early in the morning. There’s a town coming up quick.”

“Okay,” he said. “I could use a cup of coffee anyway.”

“How long until we get to the Mississippi?” she asked.

“Several hours yet,” Scott said. “There’s the off-ramp.”

He drove off the highway into the small town. The streets were deserted, but it was only 5:30 am.

“Hey, look at that!” Cindy said, pointing ahead at a used RV dealership. “I’ll bet we could swap with one of those.”

“Excellent!” Scott said. He drove past the lot and made a right turn, parking far enough back to be out of sight.

“There’s tools in the back compartment,” Cindy said.

“Yeah, saw them,” Scott said as he headed for the door.

“Scotty, what’s going on?” Kerry asked, sleepy look on his face.

“I’ve got a job to do,” he said. “Do me a favor. Open your bunk window curtains and keep watch. If anybody comes near the coach, tell Cindy. Okay?”

“Sure, Scotty,” he said.

Scott went got a screwdriver and small crescent wrench from the tool box. He took the plates off of the motor home and the CRV, and scurried over to the RV Dealership. It wasn’t open yet, and there was no fence. Perfect. He looked around, finding a Class C from the same manufacturer, parked where he could swap plates without being seen. It was a year or two newer than his coach, but the style hadn’t changed much. He got to work, and was trotting away with his new plates in a matter of minutes. On his way back, he saw a small SUV. He swapped the plates on that, then hurried back to their rig.

“Got them,” Scott said to Cindy, who was standing next to the rig having a smoke. He changed the plates on both vehicles. “This won’t protect us against your ex’s friends if they followed us, but it will keep us from getting pulled over by the cops.”

“All of those losers have jobs, and it’s Monday morning,” Cindy said. “I doubt they’re gonna get fired over this.”

“Hope you’re right,” Scott said. “We killed two cops and one ex-cop back there. We aren’t out of the woods yet.”

“The other rig look like this?”

“Yep, same make and model. A couple years newer, but they look a lot alike. We’re good.”

They got back into the rig, and Scott drove to the highway.

“Everything okay, Scotty?” Kerry asked.

“Perfect,” Scott said. “There’s food back there if you’re hungry.”

“Oh, yeah, I even put the pop-tarts in here, remember?”

“Yeah,” Scott said. He looked over at Cindy and smiled. She was staring at him. It took him aback for a second. There wasn’t fear on her face. There was reverence. Like Bailey.
What is it with these women?

“How far are we going today, honey?” Cindy asked.

“We should try to get across big muddy,” Scott said.

“There’s a place to camp right past that. Boondocking place. We can just pull in and sleep for free.”

“Good,” Scott said. “Rather not have to go into an RV Park if we can help it. They’re probably watching those.”

Kerry got off the bunk and went into the kitchen, taking the box of pop-tarts out of the cupboard. “You guys want some of these?”

“Sure, I’ll take a pack,” Scott said.

“Pop-tarts,” Cindy said laughing. “Haven’t had those in years.”

“A guilty pleasure,” Scott said, laughing.

“What the heck, I’ll have some too,” Cindy said. Kerry handed them out. “You want cokes?”

“Sure,” Scott said.

“Breakfast of Champions,” Cindy said, laughing.

They rode silently, eating their breakfast. Kerry sat at the dinette and watched the countryside go by out the window. Scott’s eyes darted from the road ahead to the mirrors, keeping a careful eye out.

“You’re expecting somebody to show up,” Cindy said.

“Well, not really,” Scott said. “But you never know.”

“Why don’t we turn on the radio? Maybe there’s news about what happened back there.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Scott said. “Go ahead.”

She turned on the radio. They weren’t to the top of the hour yet. Traffic, weather reports, special interest stories. Then they got to the headlines.

“A man and woman shot their way out of an Indianapolis suburb last night, killing two police officers, an ex-police officer, and two others. They escaped in a small motor home, towing a Honda CRV. Indiana License Plate T638F4. They are armed and dangerous. The identity of the man is unknown. The woman is Cindy Broderick, who resided in the town. It appears the altercation started when Ms. Broderick’s ex-husband broke his restraining order and attacked her and the man at the house she was renting on Center Street. The ex-husband was killed at the scene. Local law enforcement are calling this a murder, but the FBI investigated and found evidence that the man was killed inside his ex-wife’s house and then dragged outside. There was a small amount of the ex-wife’s blood on the floor, leading the FBI to believe that the killing was self-defense. The local police department is now under investigation for evidence tampering and attempted murder. This does not mean that the other killings are justified. There is an All Points Bulletin issued for the couple’s immediate arrest.”

Scotty laughed out loud, hitting the steering wheel several times with glee. Cindy looked at him and laughed too.

“This is rich,” she said. “Serves those jerks right.”

“Was your ex a wannabe cop or something?” Scott asked. “The local PD was treating him like one of their own.”

“Yeah, several of them grew up together,” Cindy said. “The department couldn’t hire him because of past assault convictions. Oh, and I found out he beat the crap out of his first wife several times without getting prosecuted. The jerks in the department still let him be a reserve officer. Idiots.”

“How did you get hooked up with this guy?” Scott asked.

“Met him in a bar,” she said. “He was charming at first.”

“We’re all charming at first,” Scott said, smiling. Cindy gave him a look.

“What are you saying? You’re going to get tough with me?”

“No, but I’m not exactly a nice guy,” Scott said. He had a wicked grin on his face that made Cindy nervous. He laughed when he saw her reaction. “Don’t worry, you ain’t on the target list.”

They rode silently for a while.

“You think this road is the best one to be on?” Cindy asked.

“For now, it’s fine,” Scott said. “If there’s no roadblocks at the bridge, we’ll be okay. I don’t think there’s much police activity going back and forth across the Mississippi right now.”

***

Frank and Jane walked into the clubhouse. It was early and they were the first there. Frank had had a rough night. He couldn’t get himself to sleep, and stewed about Daan Mertins for most of the time.
Who did he bring with him?
The possibility that he’d brought operatives like George to hunt them down kept slipping into his mind. Jane knew something was bothering him, and asked what was wrong. He said it was nothing, but she wasn’t tolerating that. She knew better.

“I’ll get the coffee pot going, and then we’re gonna talk,” Jane said.

Frank sighed. “Okay. I’ll get my PC started while you’re busy with that.”

Jane returned in a few minutes. “Okay, spill it. What kept you up last night?”

He looked down for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “Daan Mertins.”

“I figured he might have something to do with it,” she said. “What about him?”

“I kept thinking that he might have a hit team with him. People like George, who could hunt us down. I feel like our butts are flapping in the breeze. They know where this place is.”

“Oh,” Jane said. “Do we need to leave?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Why don’t you discuss it with General Hogan and George?” Jane asked.

“I’m going to,” he said. “This morning. I think they know that’s a danger already.”

Jane’s eyes got wider. “You think they might use us for bait?”

“I hope not, but it’s possible,” he said.

“Can they can protect us?”

“George is pretty capable, but he’s also been out of the game for a while. Daan’s people are still in the thick of things.”

“You’re scaring me,” Jane said.

“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. You know there’s another possibility.”

“What’s that?” Jane asked.

“Daan might have his hands completely full trying to protect the WTO folks. Or trying to set them up. We don’t really know which side he’s on.”

Jane was silent for a moment, thinking it through. “Why all the sneaking around by Carlsbad Caverns?” she asked. “Are they setting a trap for us or for the WTO folks?”

“Could be either. Hard to tell. Check your laptop. They still showing?”

She clicked open the app. “No hits since yesterday at about 9:00 pm,” she said.

“And the WTO guys got to San Diego late yesterday, too,” Frank said.

“Do you want to leave? Head east? Or go home?”

“You mean leave the group?” Frank asked.

“Or even take the group,” Jane said. “I’ll bet most of them would go.”

“I wish it was that easy,” Frank said. “If Daan brought hunters with him, they’ll find us even if we leave.”

Jane sat on the chair in front of her laptop, looking into space. “If the General’s right about our government, there are people here that want us dead too.”

“I know,” Frank said. “That’s been chewing at me for a while. We’re really screwed.”

Jerry and Jasmine walked in together.

“Good morning,” Jerry said. His smiling face turned to concern when he saw the expression on their faces. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing,” Frank said.

“Don’t tell them that,” Jane said. “He’s worried that Daan Mertins might have brought assassins with him to target us. He stewed about it all night.”

Jasmine expression showed fear. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“His hands may be too full to worry about us,” Frank said. “You guys looked like you were about to tell us something. What’s up?”

“We got a call from mom,” Jasmine said. “They’re letting Jeb out in three days. We’re leaving tonight to pick them up.”

“That’s great,” Jane said.

“Good news,” Frank said. “You taking the motor home?”

“Yeah,” Jerry said.

“Taking anybody along?” Jane asked.

“You mean a caravan?” Jasmine said. “We’d love that, but aren’t we already short too many people here?”

Jane looked at Frank. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Road trip,” he said. “Not a bad idea to be mobile for a while. What do you guys think? Two and a half days driving, a day or two there, and a two and a half days back.”

“I’d love that,” Jerry said.

“Me too, but would that leave enough people here?” Jasmine asked.

“Well, let’s think about it,” Jerry said, ticking off names on his fingers. “We’ve still got Earl, Jackson, Charlie, Hilda, Terry, Trish, Kurt, Mary, Jake, George, Heidi, the General, and the three privates. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

“Seems like it to me,” Frank said. “What time are you leaving?”

“Couple of hours,” he said. “Can you guys get ready that fast?”

“Sure,” Frank said. “What do you think, honey?”

“Let’s do it,” she said. “I probably would have said no yesterday, but after your worries this morning, I'd feel safer on the road.”

“Who should we tell?” Jasmine asked.

“Charlie. He’ll handle the rest,” Jerry said.

“What if we run into trouble out there?” Jasmine asked.