Bug Out! Part 12: RV Alliance (3 page)

“Why?” Scott asked her. “Did the police get there yet?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Several of my ex’s buddies showed up. I ran out the back door and watched. They dragged his body outside, and were cleaning blood off the floor. I snuck into the garage in back, got my car, and drove over here. I’m parked on the street down there.”

“They’ll never fool the police with that,” Scott said, laughing. “You can’t just mop up blood. They’ll bring the black lights and luminol in and see the drag marks.”

“Yeah, if they’re honest,” she said. “Can I follow you guys?”

“What kind of car do you have?”

“Old CRV,” she said. “It was rigged to tow behind this. The tow bar is still in the back.”

Scott thought about it for a moment. “Okay, follow me. We need to get away from here in a hurry. It’ll be the next place they show up.”

“Okay,” she said. She ran back down the street and was getting into her car when a pickup truck raced over, trying to block her.

“Shit,” Scott said He parked the motor home on the curb and jumped out with his rifle. The men in the pickup saw him right away, and pointed their hand guns at him, but he fired first, killing both of them. Cindy screamed. He ran over and checked the men. One was still alive. “Nice try, jerk weed.” He pointed the rifle at his head and pulled the trigger. Then he jumped into the truck and backed it away from the CRV.

“See, I can’t stay here,” Cindy said from behind the wheel.

“Yeah, you’re right. Follow me.” Scott trotted back to the motor home and drove until he saw a dark stretch of curb long enough to do the hookup. It was down several blocks, on a street to the right. He parked and jumped out of the motor home.

“Kerry, if anybody comes towards us from the front, honk the horn.”

“Okay, Scotty,” Kerry said.

Cindy was getting the CRV in place. “This is how I used to pull it up to connect. I popped the rear door. The tow bar and the wire harness are back there.”

“Great, thanks,” he said, trotting back there.

“It’s easy,” she said, watching him work.

It took about three minutes to get it hooked up.

“Okay, let’s get the hell out of here before they put up roadblocks,” Scott said. They both got into the motor home, and Scott drove off.

“Kerry, why don’t you get up in the bunk and watch for bad guys ahead,” Scott said.

“Sure, Scotty,” he said, climbing up and moving the curtains away from the front window. Cindy got into the passenger seat.

“Thanks for taking me,” she said, still breathing hard from running around.

“No problem,” Scott said. “Glad you got away. Guess this jerk
was
a beloved character.”

“He’s got more friends,” she said. “Worse ones.”

“We’ll be out of town in a few minutes,” Scott said. “If we’re lucky, the police won’t get a roadblock set up before we slip by.”

“Who’s that station wagon registered to?”

“A dead old lady,” Scott said. “They’ll eventually find my house in Columbus with it, but I’m not going back there anyway.”

“You’re on the lam?” she asked, fear in her eyes.

“Yeah, you might have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire,” Scott said.

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you when it’s time. We need to concentrate on getting out of town. I suspect all of those guys know what this rig looks like.”

“Of course,” she said.

“Any of your ex’s friends in law enforcement?”

“Several. One of the guys you shot was too, but he got kicked off the force,” she said. “Good riddance.”

“He was in the truck?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Real jerk.”

“Why’d he get bounced from the force?”

“Planting evidence, taking bribes, and sexually harassing a rape victim.”

“Geez, what is it with that?” Scott said.

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind,” he said. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Scotty, look up there,” Kerry shouted. There was a road block ahead, just close enough to make out.

“There another way to the highway?”

“Turn right at the next street,” Cindy said. “We’ll go the old way. It’ll take us out of the way quite a few miles.”

“No problem,” Scott said. He took the right turn, hoping that the officers manning the roadblock didn’t see their headlights.

“It’s nice and dark back here,” Cindy said. “Farmland, mostly.”

They drove along for a few minutes. Then Scott saw headlights in the rear view mirror.

“Shit, cops,” he said, pulling his .44 mag pistol out of the side pocket of the door as the red light came on.

“You know how to shoot a pistol?” he asked.

Cindy’s eyes got wide. “Yeah.”

“There’s one in the side pocket. It’s a .357 revolver, loaded. Careful, the safety isn’t on. Be ready in case we get an officer on both sides.”

“We’re going to shoot the police?” she asked.

“Like I said, out of the frying pan and into the fire. You with me?”

“Yes,” she said, looking terrified but excited. “I hate these creeps. My ex should have been in jail for what he’s done, and they’ve been helping him. Screw them.”

“Good,” Scott said. “Here they come. One on each side. Hey Kerry, keep quiet up there, okay?”

“Okay, Scotty,” he said, voice trembling.

“License and registration please,” the cop said Scott. He glanced in his right mirror, waiting for the other officer to get to the passenger window. When he got there, Scott shot the first officer in the face. Then he heard a bang on his right.

“Got the son of a bitch,” Cindy shouted.

“Where did you hit him?” Scott asked.

“Chest,” she said.

“Okay,” Scott said. “I’ll go finish him if he’s still alive.”

“How about yours?” she asked.

“His brains are all over the road.”

“I’ll take this one,” she said, pointing her .357 out the window and pulling the trigger. Scott raced around, seeing officer’s face caved in and bloody.

“Damn, baby, you can shoot,” Scott said.

“My daddy taught me.”

“You know either one of these guys?”

“Yeah, the one on your side was Murdoch,” she said. “He was one of the worse.”

“What did his voice sound like?” Scott asked. She looked over at him and grinned. “I know what you’re gonna do. He had the typical Midwest drawl. Higher pitched than you’d expect from a guy who looks like that. Girlfriend’s name is Gretchen.”

“Perfect,” Scott said. He trotted back to the police cruiser. There was a scratchy voice on the radio asking for status. Scott picked up the microphone. “Murdoch here. Suspects both dead. Send the meat wagon.”

“Where?” asked the scratchy voice.

Scott looked over and saw a sign. “Right by the driveway at Breckinridge Farm. Gretchen is going to kill me.”

“Why?” the scratchy voice asked.

“There’s brains on my pants.”

The scratchy voice erupted in laughter. “Hope it was that bitch Cindy.”

“Talk to you later. You can take down the roadblock.”

“Roger that.”

Scott dropped the microphone and shot the radio. Then he shot two of the tires, and ran back to the motor home.

“It work?” Cindy asked.

“Yeah,” Scott said, laughing. “The radio officer is hoping that the brains on my pants are yours.”

“Those bastards,” she said. “See what I mean?”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.” He drove off. “How quickly can I cut back to the highway?”

“You think they’ll take down the roadblock?” Cindy asked.

“I asked them nicely.”

“Well, there’s a road that climbs up the hill, about two miles away. It curves around and dumps you at the road where the on-ramp is. We’ll be able to see if the roadblock is gone from up there.”

“Perfect,” Scott said. He drove along for a while silently, Cindy watching him.

“There’s the road,” Cindy said. “Take a left.”

“Got it,” Scott said, turning the rig onto the road.

“It’s a little skinny in spots, so don’t go too fast.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Who are you, anyway?” Cindy asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Scott said.

“Why not?” she asked.

“You’ll get scared.”

“I’ve got a .357 in my hand,” she said, laughing. “And it’s not like you’re going to rape me or something. I’d let you have me now if we didn’t need to split. That action got me going. So spill.”

“You hear about that incident in Columbus last night?”

Her eyes got wide. “The two girls on the jogging path?”

“Yeah. One of those girls was my partner,” he said. “Bailey.”

“What about the other one?” Cindy asked, eyes wider.

“I shot her,” Scott said.

“You tried to kidnap her, didn’t you?”

“Yep,” he said. “Still want to go with me?”

She sat silently for a moment. “What are you gonna do?”

“Continue the game, and take back my home base in Kansas from some interlopers.”

“I’m in danger, aren’t I?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Scott said. “The police are after you now.”

“And you’ll probably murder me if I try to leave you,” she said.

“I got to protect myself,” Scott said, looking at her and grinning.

“What if I join you?” she asked.

“Well, I
am
down two people,” Scott said. “And you have the right attitude, plus other benefits.”

“Other benefits?” she asked. “Oh. Those benefits. Yeah, you do get those with me. Especially after the good time you showed me tonight.”

“I think we understand each other,” Scott said.

“Who was the other partner you lost?”

“An old dear friend named Howie,” Scott said.

“What happened to him?”

“He was shot by an FBI agent after the incident at the jogging path,” Scott said.

“Shoot, the FBI is after us?”

“Not that agent,” Scott said, laughing. “He’s in the freezer in my basement.”

“Why were they after you? The kidnapping?”

“Well, partly that, and partly the biker massacre.”

“Oh, my God, that was you too?”

“Yeah.”

They climbed the road up the hills, slowing as the switchbacks became tighter and thinner.

“You should be able to see the roadblock now,” Cindy said. She got up. “I’ll go look out the side window.”

“Good, thanks,” Scott said. “This road is two hands on the wheel, eyes ahead.” He chuckled.

“Told you,” she said, pulling the blinds open. “They’re gone. We’re clear.”

“We’re clear if we can get past it before the meat wagon shows up and sees our handiwork,” Scott said.

“Our handiwork,” she said, grinning as she climbed back into the seat. “I think I’m going to enjoy this.”

“Careful what you wish for,” Scott said. “The roads descending.”

“Yeah, it’s only about three more miles before we hit the freeway,” Cindy said. “I hope we can beat them there.”

“We need to beat them there and then some,” Scott said. “We’ll need to ditch this thing in a hurry, too. They’ll put out an APB. They know the make, model, and license because of your hubby.”

“I know,” she said. “What are we gonna do?”

“Thinking on it,” Scott said. “You bring that money I paid you for this?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Good, then we can trade this thing in on something else.”

Kerry climbed down from the bunk and watched out the front, looking scared.

“You okay, Kerry?” Scott asked.

“I’m scared,” he said. “I thought those police men were going to shoot us all. Like Blake.”

“Blake?” Cindy asked.

“Yeah, that was Kerry’s twin brother. He got shot by the cops after the biker massacre.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Kerry,” she said.

“Is she like Bailey?” Kerry asked Scott. “I liked Bailey.”

“Yes, she’s like Bailey,” Scott said, smiling as he shot a glance over to Cindy.

“I hope that’s a good thing,” she said.

“It is,” Scott said. “Look, there’s the on-ramp.”

“I’ll go look out the back window,” Cindy said. “Sit here if you want to, Kerry.”

“Thanks,” he said, scrambling into the seat. He looked at Scott. “She’s nice.”

Scott got on the ramp, picking up speed as he merged onto I-74.

“Nobody back there,” Cindy said. “But I’ll watch for a while.”

“Good, thanks,” Scott shouted. He looked out at the road in front of him and grinned.

Gabe woke up with a start.
It was light outside. He checked his phone. Almost six. He got up and took the coffee pot out of the cupboard under the sink, filling it with water and plugging it in. The coffee was brewing in a few minutes, and he opened the fridge to survey the contents. Not much there. He closed it and got dressed.

Malcolm woke up. “That coffee I smell?”

“Yeah,” Gabe said. “Should be ready in five or ten minutes. I thought I’d go down to the store and see what they have for breakfast.”

“Good idea,” Malcolm said. “Didn’t have time to stock up on food before we left.”

“No, we didn’t,” Gabe said, chuckling. He slipped out the door. It was overcast and chilly. A few people were up, quietly walking their dogs. The store was open. He walked in and looked around.

“Good morning, sir,” said the girl behind the counter. “We just got fresh donuts in.”

“Excellent,” Gabe said. “How about a dozen?”

“Sure. Assortment?”

“Yes,” Gabe said. “That’d be fine.”

The girl assembled the box and slid it to Gabe. He paid and carried it back to the rig. The rest of the group was up, watching the coffee pot sputtering.

“Donuts, everybody!” Gabe said. “Fresh this morning.”

“Oh, perfect,” Dobie said, smiling. Gabe put the box on the counter and opened it. The men attacked.

“Think we can make Columbus today?” Gabe asked.

Dobie was looking at the GPS on his phone. “I doubt it. That’d be nine hours of solid driving, at least. Remember I can’t go 75 pulling this sucker. More like 55.”

“Yeah, we’ll need one more stop,” Ted said. “But we’ll be there early in the morning, day after tomorrow.”

“You get any more info?” Malcolm asked.

“No,” Ted said. “Not a peep about Agent Keith, and nothing about Scott or Howard either.”

“They say who’s taking over the investigation?” Malcolm asked.