Reclamation (Best Laid Plans Book 4) (6 page)

Finally, even though there were plenty of other things worth buying and they all glanced wistfully at what they'd have to leave behind, the family filed out of the store to finish loading the truck while Lucas tallied up their purchases and paid up.

They still had to consider the remaining containers of diesel they'd left behind that they needed to go back for, which would take up some space. And while they could stand being packed to the gills if they had to, having a bit of room to stretch their legs wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Fred continued to pitch in as they finished the loading, then stood back and whistled while Trev and his dad made a few final adjustments and shifted some things around. “Looks like you got her just about full up.”

“Pretty much, once we've got ourselves in there,” Trev agreed, hopping down to stand beside him looking at their handiwork.

The sheriff squinted up at the truck bed, then sauntered over to the cab to peer inside at the stuff they'd packed into the foot space. “I'd say you did a good job of gathering up the necessities. Just the sort of stuff I'd pack along if I was going to head to greener pastures.” He paused. “In fact, it looks like we won't have to add much to what you've loaded.”

The comment was so offhand, spoken in the same friendly tone, that Trev didn't get it at first. Then he stiffened. “What?”

Fred rapped the truck's hood with his knuckles. “I want to buy this. By which I mean I'm going to buy this. I'd like to give you one last chance to say yes of your own free will.”

That knock seemed to have been some sort of signal, because a dozen of his deputies, all heavily armed, abruptly converged on the truck. They weren't quite waving their weapons around, but they definitely had their eye on Trev's family and the crowd of townspeople.

Most of the men went to the locked boxes in front of the store, where customers could safely stow their belongings while they shopped, and began pulling out fully loaded duffels to toss into the vehicle. Others climbed into the back of the truck and began tossing out a few of the sacks of wheat to make room for their things, also dumping the clothes his family had purchased that they didn't seem to need. Everything else in the truck they kept.

The men who'd been keeping the peace in front of the store had disappeared inside, and before too long one emerged herding Lucas, Deb, Clara, Max, and the other employees who'd helped load the trunk in front of him at gunpoint. Inside the store the rest were hastily stuffing more duffels with anything of value.

That seemed like pretty solid confirmation that it wasn't just Trev's family Fred Vernon had betrayed. When the crowd of onlooking townspeople realized it they broke into murmurs of confusion and growing anger, and a few shouted out accusing questions.

Vernon ignored them, eyes still on Trev. He looked back miserably, unable to find any anger or outrage within the overwhelming numbness that had enveloped him. The man's honesty in returning his silver at the end of the last visit, his hospitality in taking them into his house, his generosity feeding them and helping them get the things they need and load them into the truck, all ultimately served to make this theft seem almost inevitable. Like this was the way the world was, now.

“I can't believe you decided to rob us after all,” he said, trying to hide his bitterness. “We were your guests.”

The sheriff's eyes narrowed. “Not robbery. I'm making a purchase, and I'll give you a fair price for it. I'm just not giving you a choice in the matter.” He casually drew his 9mm, not quite pointing it directly at Trev as he jerked his head towards where Lucas and the employees waited near the front of the store. “If you and your family will head on over there, please?”

Trev reluctantly complied, giving Vernon's men space to continue their work. “Why the pretense of letting us buy everything and load the truck?” he demanded. “Too lazy to do it yourself?” It probably wasn't a good idea to antagonize the man, but he couldn't help himself.

It was Clara who answered, spitting off to one side as she did. “That playacting was for us, wasn't it Fred? So you could get the truck mostly loaded without tipping off the town that you meant to rob and abandon us, same as you're doing to these poor travelers. Where's all your other deputies, the ones who aren't complete cronies? Got 'em locked away somewhere while you skedaddle?”

So not all of Newtown's defenders were in on the sheriff's plot. That would explain why the town's defenses had been unmanned. Trev silently cursed himself for not paying more attention to that when he'd noticed it. They'd probably been at Vernon's mercy from the moment they entered the town, but with a little forewarning they might have found some way out of this.

Vernon scowled at Clara's question, although beneath the fierce expression it almost looked like his conscience was acting up. “The Gold Bloc is about to swarm all over this country, madder than a swarm from a kicked beehive after the nukes destroyed their homes. Anyone with half a brain will be making for Mexico as quick as they can. Nothing personal, but I wanted to get out ahead of that and this truck's the perfect opportunity.”

“What about your reputation as an honest, law-abiding sheriff?” Lucas asked. He was obviously angry, but he managed to keep his tone somewhat even.

The sheriff, or Trev supposed former sheriff, shrugged. “Doesn't mean much to have a reputation as sheriff of a ghost town. Which is what this place will be if you take my advice and get while the getting's good.”

As Vernon continued he reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy clinking sack. “But I do pride myself on fairness and honesty, so here: twenty 1oz. gold coins as payment. No idea how much a truck like this is actually worth, but I'd say that's a generous price for it. Especially since by your nephew's own admission it's stolen.” His eyes narrowed. “Now, considering that I could've just taken it and booted you all out of town with nothing I'd say I'm being pretty fair. So don't make this any more difficult than it has to be.”

Lucas accepted the money, looking resigned. “I guess we should've expected that a working vehicle would be too big a temptation for even an honest person to pass up. Although you won't get more than a hundred miles with the fuel in it.” Trev couldn't help but admire his uncle for making one last effort to dissuade the man from robbing them.

“Don't push my buttons, Halsson,” the former sheriff snapped. “You think I'm stupid? You all show up in a stolen truck with no weapons and barely enough diesel to get out of spitting distance of this town, looking to buy enough supplies to set yourself up wherever you're going. Don't think I didn't notice you in there buying enough ammunition, spare mags, and other stuff for three more AK-47s.”

Trev felt his heart sink. That number was suspiciously specific.

Sure enough Vernon continued and confirmed his fears. “Last night I had my boys head down the way you came up, scouring every square foot within a hundred yards of the road. Took most of the night, but we found the extra fuel you'd hidden, along with the weapons, body armor, and riot gear.”

So that was it. Their last precaution in case of just this situation hadn't been enough. If Vernon had the diesel he had every reason to steal the truck and take it as far south as he could. He might even be able to reach Mexico with the remaining fuel.

Vernon turned away to oversee the last of the loading. Once he was gone Lucas slumped down to lean against the front of the General Store, opening the sack to check the coins inside but showing little real interest in them. “They look real,” he mumbled.

“It's a joke, paying us for something he's stealing from us.” Trev kicked at the shed's corrugated steel wall, making it ring with a dull
poing
. “This is my fault. I'm the one who guaranteed this town was safe.”

“It was, when it was just you.” His uncle shook his head. “It's easier to find trustworthy people when you have nothing major to steal. We knew this was a risk when we came here.”

Trev's dad sighed and slumped down beside his brother-in-law. “Best to accept it's all lost and figure out what to do next. We've still got 700 miles to go, on foot it's looking like. We need the supplies to make it that distance and some way to carry them.”

Eva started to cry, and Clara came over to put an arm around her. The store employee looked like she was on the verge of tears herself. “I'm sorry this happened,” she mumbled. “I just can't believe he would do this.”

Trev looked at her, and at Deb and the other employees in their own little huddle nearby, then to the crowd of townspeople that had doubled in size and was still growing. Vernon's sudden turn had been bad for Trev's group, but for the people of Newtown it had to really be pulling the rug out from under them.

The man they'd trusted to defend them was taking all their most valuable possessions and leaving them to fend for themselves. Trev tried to imagine if Matt and some of the Aspen Hill defenders had done this, and just couldn't. He couldn't believe his friends and neighbors were capable of it.

These people had probably thought the same up until fifteen minutes ago.

A few braver or more foolish townspeople in the crowd called out curses and threats as Vernon and his men finished loading the truck and began piling inside. The former sheriff did his best to ignore the resentment directed his way as he made his way over to Trev. “I'm glad to see you didn't try anything.”

Trev couldn't hide his glare. Try anything . . . as opposed to what? They'd left their weapons behind, but even if they hadn't they would've had to check them in to get into town. And if somehow neither of those were the case there was no way they could fight so many people, especially when it would put the rest of the family in danger. Their only option had been to trust in Vernon's integrity.

When he didn't respond Vernon continued. “We'll be going now, but before we do I wanted to wish you luck with whatever you decide to do. I'm sorry things had to turn out like this.”

Seriously? Trev couldn't believe the guy could still stand there and pretend to be reasonable after what he'd done. He knew it was pointless, and possibly a bad idea since he might anger the sheriff turned thief, but he couldn't help himself. “You think apologizing matters when you do it anyway?”

Just about everyone in his family shot him warning looks at that, and Vernon's eyes narrowed. “It's not all bad, now,” he said. “Maybe after this you'll decide to stay in Newtown after all. You're welcome to have my house, I won't be needing it.” He tried for a hearty chuckle and failed miserably. “Heck, you can even take over as sheriff if you want. You've got all that machine gun dodging experience you told me about, right?”

Trev grit his teeth. “I thought you were one of the few people left with some integrity.”

The sheriff's eyes narrowed in a sudden flash of annoyance, although his voice remained amiable. “Guess you thought wrong. It wasn't an easy decision, mind you. I was up most of the night debating it, but in the end I couldn't pass up the opportunity of a truck and fuel. Not with the blockheads swarming south towards us. Don't you remember me telling you you got to do what you have to, way the world is now?” Trev had obviously pricked the older man's conscience, because he quickly looked away and turned to leave.

Deb abruptly bolted forward from where she'd been standing with the other employees. “What about us?” she demanded. “We trusted you!”

The former sheriff paused for a moment, giving the woman a look of equal parts guilt and annoyance. “The town still has plenty, and everything we're taking is what we've earned. You should be grateful we looked after you as long as we did, kept you alive through the winter. And if you have any brains you'll pack up and follow us south as quick as you can.”

He opened the driver's side door and hauled himself behind the wheel, slamming it behind him. The engine rumbled to life a moment later, and Vernon began carefully backing it around the piled sacks of wheat and other things his men had tossed out to make room for them and their stuff.

Before driving off, though, he paused for one final word to Trev's family. “I'm no thief!” he called, in defiance of all evidence to the contrary. “We'll be taking your fuel because we need it, but the AKs and other stuff we'll leave behind. You're free to hike out and grab it.”

The truck lurched into motion rumbling down the street towards the highway, leaving the town behind. Trev watched them go, still doing his best to keep all the helpless rage he felt at the situation bottled up.

They had 700 or so miles to go, with the invading Gold Bloc forces getting closer by the minute. The former sheriff hadn't just taken their vehicle, he might have sentenced them to their deaths.

And it was all Trev's fault for vouching for the man.

* * * * *

“He left us,” Clara said numbly, staring south as if she could still see the departed truck. “After swearing to protect us, he and his men took everything useful and ran off. How could he do that?”

The General Store employees had wandered over to join the rest of the townspeople, who for the most part were still shocked and disbelieving at what had just happened. They'd left Trev and his family to gather up the few things Vernon had dumped from the truck, along with what they'd been carrying on them, which the former sheriff had allowed them to keep. Those were all the possessions they had left.

Some members of Trev's family had shaken off their daze quicker than Newtown's residents. “He took our
truck
,” his mom said, finally releasing her pent up anger as she rummaged through the spare clothes they'd purchased. There were a few small things there, like the packets of seeds she'd put in a pocket for safekeeping, but not many.

Even though she didn't look his way Trev still hunched his shoulders slightly at her outburst. She may not have meant it as an accusation but it might as well have been one, since this had been his idea and he'd pushed for it.

Lucas had started piling up the few sacks of wheat, the motions calm and deliberate. But when he replied his voice also shook with anger. “We knew it was a risk. We did our best to minimize that risk but it wasn't enough. So now we forget about it and focus on what we're going to do now.”