The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken (9 page)

“And since you
asked, the chopper was officially scrapped a few years back along with the
machine guns.  The box of cash officially doesn’t exist.”

“More cash?”

“Relax Jim; it
won’t be good for anything but starting fires next month.  Give me some time
and I’ll tell you everything I can.  Right now there are just too many moving
parts that need my focus.  Did you get the chopper fuel I asked you to?” 

“Julie and
Helen came up with 2,800 gallons of Jet A and the same amount in aviation fuel,”
Jim answered.

“Good!  It’s a
start.  We’re going to need all we can get before all is said and done.”

DECEMBER 13
^th
,

Jim woke to a
Robert knocking on the door of his fifth wheel at just after four in the
morning.  Jim dressed quickly and staggered out to a cup of coffee that Denise
handed to him. 

Rob slapped him
on the shoulder.  “The guys are coming up on Seligman.  We need to go meet them
in Williams.  We’ll take your truck and we need to go now.  Denise will have
everyone up by the time we get back.”

A half hour
later they were sitting in the parking lot of a big truck stop waiting for
Rob’s crew to arrive.  Rob's second in command, Will Brown, called a few
minutes later. “Where are you?”

Rob answered, “Tan
Ford truck in the semi parking lot.  Lights on now.”

“Okay.  Got
it.”

Will pulled up
in a large coach motor home with a trailer behind.  Two more motor homes, a Hummer
pulling a toy hauler, and two big rigs pulled in next to him.  Will jumped out
of the cab and rushed over to Robert, hugged him and lifted him off the ground
before setting him back down.   

Will laughed. 
“It sure is good to see you, man!”

The rest of the
drivers walked over.  Robert had told Jim that he knew all of them from various
work assignments.  Will from Afghanistan, Ann from the Iraq jobs, Julio and
Stew from the Iran trip, and Frank and Dave from his last assignment in San
Diego.  All of them had families with them except for Ann and Dave.  It would
be a lot of mouths to feed, but they had a full team here. 

Rob looked the
group over after the hugs and introductions were done.  “We’re about a half
hour from the ranch.  As you know, the shit is about to hit the fan, and we
have no more than the next few days to wrap up any unfulfilled needs.  Everyone
needs full tanks. You’ll follow me to the ranch and we’ll take it from there.”

Rob looked
around again. “Where’s Manny and Justin?”

Will hesitated
and then answered, “Justin didn’t make it, Rob. Someone hit him.”

"That's
going to require a response," growled Rob. 

“From your
mouth to God's ears," said Ann, with steel in her voice.

Will continued,
"Manny was having some engine problems around 29 Palms.  He said he’d
catch up, but we haven’t heard from him in the last few hours.” 

“Well, fuel up
and let’s get a move on.  I’ll call him.” 

By the time
everyone had fueled, Rob had talked to Manny on the satellite phone.  He
gathered the group together passed out maps, and said, “You’ve all met my
brother in law, Jim.  He’s going to ride with Reaper and guide you back to the
ranch.  Manny is about three hours back with engine problems.  I’m going to go
get him and his load and I’ll be at the ranch directly afterward.  Questions?  Okay,
let’s go.”

Five minutes
later they were pulling out of the lot toward Jim’s place with Jim in the
passenger seat of Will’s coach. It didn’t take long for Jim to figure out that Will
was impossible not to like with his constant and infectious smile. 
I’m glad
this guy’s not selling cars,
thought Jim. 
And with the size of him,
it's a good thing he's happy go lucky.

Jim asked him,
“You belong to Ricky and Evan?” 

Will smiled and
said, “Yeah, the fruit of my groins.  They been good for you?”

“Yeah.  Good
kids all round.  Shit taste in music, though.” 

Will laughed
from the gut and said, “Tell me about it!” 

Jim said,
"I've got to ask.  Why do they call you 'Reaper?'" 

"Came from
my college football days and has followed me ever since." 

Will
entertained him with stories of the kids for the rest of the drive.   Soon they
were back at the ranch with Denise, and Julie directing the RV’s into RV ports
and the semis off to open area to the side. 

Denise called
everyone together once they were parked.  “Rob says he’ll be here with Manny in
a few hours.  He left lists here of items we still need.  Everyone look over
the lists.  Anyone with expertise in a particular area, grab that list. The
back pages are things you should pick up if doing so doesn’t screw your primary
tasks. 

“The envelopes
have ten grand each.  Take what you need, because it will be useless after next
week.  Personal purchases are fine. Hiking boots and cold weather gear are
going to be important.  And I may be an accountant, but if you bring me receipts
I’ll kick your teeth in."  There were several laughs at this.

Denise
continued, “We’ll have a few hours before most of the stores open, so grab some
sleep if you need it.  Breakfast is ready over at the cabin for anyone who can
eat.  Welcome to hell week.”

With the
tractor trailers, Dave and Frank followed Helen’s example and bought large semi
trailers, had them loaded at warehouse stores, and dropped off the loads at the
ranch.  By the end of the day they had enough lumber, hardware, roofing and
other building supplies for a couple of houses, and a 40 foot flatbed loaded
with bags of cement protected with thick tarps.  The ranch was starting to look
like a distribution center more than a ranch. 

They added a
used bulldozer, a cement mixer, and two more water trucks to the heavy
equipment.  There were now more above ground water tanks, thousands of gallons
of fuel for the helicopter, and several more metal building kits, including a
hangar.  There were ATV’s and dirt bikes, and Dave even brought back a trailer
full of Harleys, prompting Jim to ask, “What, no BMW’s?” Dave answered,
“Pussy,” and Jim decided he liked the guy already.

The animal pens
were overflowing with the addition of sheep, cows, and several horses.  Next to
the pens were piles of fencing materials and two massive loads of hay.  Three
more 9 foot high, 40 foot long shipping containers had been placed next to each
other as a makeshift barn.  Dave quickly cut out the nonessential walls between
them with a plasma cutter and had placed a Franklin stove in the back to heat
the structure.  A raised roof could be added later if it seemed necessary.

To the sides
were placed two more storage containers to make up part of the walls of the new
pen and to eventually provide more shelter for the animals.   For now they were
packed with animal feed.    

Rob found Manny
that morning near Needles, California.  They had abandoned Manny’s truck and
brought his cargo trailer in with Jim’s truck.  When Rob and Manny showed Jim
the contents that afternoon, he almost fell over. The load was almost entirely
firearms, ammo, and military uniforms and equipment.   It seemed way over the top. 
Jim wondered yet again what he had gotten himself into.

Rob took Jim
aside and said, "Manny grew up in the Philippines and joined the US Navy
before Subic Bay was closed.  I snatched him up when he retired a couple of
years ago.  He's quirky, but the guy is a genius.  You'll get a kick out of
him, just don't get him started on Elvis, ok?"

"I'll keep
that in mind.  It'll be good to have another grownup around, anyway."

DECEMBER 14
^th

The next
morning everyone cycled through the pub grill to eat a fantastic breakfast.  It
was like feeding a small army.  They met around the fire pit afterward. 

Jim looked the
group over.  Rob’s people were tough, but they were here with their families. 
They were all scared stiff of what was around the corner.  It showed in their
faces and in their movement.

Jim spoke to the
group.  “I wanted to take a moment to welcome everyone.  As you know, Rob
talked us out of the decadent Vegas lifestyle we love to come freeze our butts
off and play pioneer with you folks. We’re going to be insanely busy over the
next few days, but I want you to know that we are delighted to have you here to
help shovel snow and cow crap.  Susan and I are looking forward to getting to
know all of you and as far as we’re concerned, you’re all family.”

A booming voice
in the back said, “Oh, shit!” and everyone laughed.

Jim answered,
“Especially you, Reaper.  Whatever comes, we’ll deal with it together.  Let us
know what you need and of any issues early on so we can fix them before they
fester.  This is your home, too, for however long you need it.”

Rob stepped up
and said, ”Let’s hear it for out hosts and that amazing breakfast!”  There were
cheers all around.  “Now to work.  From here on out, every day that we can
gather more supplies is a gift.  I don’t know how many more we’ll have.  And
don't you worry, Helen and Julie already have the pub and hot tub angles
covered."  There were more cheers at this.

Rob waited for
quiet and continued.  “For now the mission is to plant ourselves here and
survive.   We can do that with what we have right now, but not as well as I
would like.  Will has the work lists for today. 

“We have EMP
hardened storage, so you will want to make sure anything with a chip ends up
there until after that risk is over.  We expect about a 90% chance of an EMP to
take out the satellites, so take it seriously.

“Once your list
is done, start improvising and get your own supplies lined up.  After dark is
your own time, and I recommend that you pick up whatever you think you need. 
Remember not to draw attention to yourselves.  Again, be careful about flashing
cash around and avoid law enforcement contact.  No speeding, Matt.  Shop fast
and move on quickly.  If you can think of anything that we haven’t covered,
pipe up and let us know.  Now let’s get a move on.”

It was a
productive day.  Some of Rob’s crew surprised everyone by showing up with two
gas company trucks full of liquid propane, another truck full of helicopter
fuel, and a semi with two fuel trailers full of diesel.   Jim looked at Rob,
only to get the response, “Don’t worry, they paid for the trucks, or at least killed
the GPS tracking devices first if they didn’t.”  All three trucks were painted
in forest colors and hidden under trees within an hour of arriving.  Jim suspected
that they didn't.

By the end of
the day there were five more water trucks and twenty two 10,000 gallon water
tanks placed in two rows on a large leveled lot, though only half of them were
filled so far. 

A triple wide
mobile home was on property, but would have to wait for assembly until another
lot was cleared.  When asked what it was for, Rob said, “We need a headquarters
building.”  

Helen brought in
three single wide mobile home style office buildings.  She filled one of them
with rows of sofas with each row placed several inches higher than the row in
front.  There were six rows of seats, so the people in the top rows would have
to crouch when walking to their seats.  She didn’t expect a lot of complaints. 
When Denise asked her about it, she answered, “It’s a movie theater, of
course.  Didn’t you see the black window shades?”  The 70 inch digital screen
and the surround sound system were left in EMP hardened storage, but would be
spectacular once installed.

Several more
diesel vehicles had been added to their inventory, including three Humvees. 
All of the RV spaces were filled with newer fifth wheels or motor homes now,
and about half of them were fully enclosed in thin metal panels, with doorways
also covered in metal.  The rest would be part of the next day’s projects. 

The older
trailers had been moved off to the side where they would be available if needed
later.

Julia and
Helen’s RV was now bottled up in the garage where they would keep it until the
EMP issues passed.   

That night over
dinner Jim vented.  “I know we’re forgetting things, but I don’t know what they
are.  We have a three years’ supply of food stored for that size of group.  We
even have our own liquor store worth of booze.  MOP gear.  Enough guns to fight
a small war.  What else do we need?”

Rob sat back
and put his hands on the table. “At this point, survival needs are reasonably covered. 
You did an excellent job.  Now we’re dealing with comfort issues and life in
the aftermath.  

“For months
now, we’ve been filling computers with books, textbooks, movies, building
plans, and whatever else that might be of use.  I think you’ll be pleased with
the medical supplies we’ve put together, too.  I put Julio in charge of
security and he’ll be working on hidden structures to use as pill boxes and
look outs. We already have folks on guard duty.  We have enough solar panels to
run a small town once we’re sure it’s safe to set them up.  We’re in pretty
good shape, thanks to you.”

Susan asked, “So
when did the ranch concept turn into a fort?”

Rob sighed, “I'm
afraid we’ll be glad of it before we’re through.” 

DECEMBER 19
^TH

They fell into
a routine of assigning everyone needed for larger projects in the morning and
then sending them out for supplies in the afternoon.  So far they had
accomplished a small miracle.  The helicopter now had its own hangar, the shipping
container constructed barn was completed, and the mobile home sat on a cement
slab and was set with its own septic system, water tank, and space for a
generator.  There was even a small building with RV low flow flush toilets and
showers.  Later they would add a large water heater, washing machines, driers,
and a generator.  For now, showers would have to be in the RV’s.