The Siege (22 page)

     Hannah, watching them on the monitor, asked, “John, are you ready to come in?”

     “Yes, ma’am.”

     “Joe, this is Hannah. All clear. You can open the gate.”

     The last battle of the siege was over. There was some cleanup to do, of course. Bodies had to be buried, and the tunnel had to be finished. Sami would have to be pampered for a time because of the trauma she suffered by witnessing the deaths of four men. All four of the shooters would struggle off and on with their consciences in the weeks ahead.

     But in the end, every one of them would come to the conclusion that they did what they had to do.

Chapter 44

     Life in the compounded shifted into a lower gear for a short time after the assault. The men went ahead and finished the tunnel, hiding the opening beneath the floorboards of the old hunting shack.

     On the inside of the tunnel, where the new branch of the tunnel connected with the old one, they installed a security door. Just in case someone other than them ever
discovered the tunnel entrance and decided to see where it led. They could get the door open quickly enough if they ever had need to defend the front of the compound again. But any outsiders would need heavy axes or dynamite to breach the heavy door from the outside.

     Other than that, the place took on the feel of a family farm. The adults all pitched in to care for the crops and the livestock. They decided that the herds were
of sufficient size to allow the slaughter of two pigs and a bull, and they started having outdoor barbeques each Saturday afternoon.

     Bryan and Joe used a cutting torch and a portable welding rig to repair the damage Skully and his crew had caused when they cra
shed their own Hummer through the main gate. When they were finished it squeaked a little bit, but otherwise worked fine.

     Mark, ever the handyman, even made picnic tables from the wooden pallets they’d had left over from the tunnel project.

     He placed them in the orchard, underneath the apple trees they’d planted two years before the big freeze. They were growing well now, and starting to put out considerable shade. It was a good spot for the group to socialize and relax.

     It was at one of the barbeques that John came to Mark and asked him, “I’m going on a top secret mission tomorrow. I’ll be gone for a couple of hours. Would you like to come along?”

     Mark didn’t even hesitate.

     “Sure, John. Where are we going?”

     “What part of ‘top secret mission’ don’t you understand, son?”

     “You want me to go, but you won’t even tell
me
where we’re going?”

     “Let’s just say I have a debt to pay.”

     The following morning John and Mark drove one of their Hummers to the poultry barn. They carried four dog carriers they removed from one of the Walmart trailers, and placed three hens and one rooster into the carriers.

     The
n they opened the hatch on the back of the vehicle and threw in ten sacks of chicken feed.

     They left the Hummer idling inside the gate and ran inside for a minute.

     Sarah was manning the security console.

     “Hello, beautiful. Would you see if you can scare up a body to let us out of the compound?”

     “John, I’ll do anything you want as long as you call me beautiful. Where are you going?”

     “Anything?”

     “Sure. As long as you don’t tell my husband.”

     She winked at him.

     “I can’t tell you where we’re going. It’s a secret mission.”

     “Oh, really? Not even a hint?”

     “No, sorry. Not even a hint.”

     She got on the radio.

     “Joe, this is Sarah. Do you have a minute?”

     “Sure thing, Sarah. What’s up?”

     “Can you go to the drive-through gate and let John and Mark out?”

     “Sure thing. I’ll be there in a minute.”

     Hannah heard the radio chatter and came running over to the console. She confronted her husband.

     “Where you going, bub?”

     Mark threw a thumb in John’s direction.

     “Beats me. Ask Mr. Secret Agent over there. He says it’s top secret.”

     “John, you’re not taking my husband out to hunt for cheap floozies, are you?”

     Sarah interrupted before John could answer.

     “Nah. He’s already married to a cheap floozie.”

     Hannah stuck out her tongue at Sarah. Sarah just smiled.

     “Seriously, now,” John said. “I’m not going to tell you where we’re going. We’ll be back in about two hours, and it’s nowhere dangerous. And that’s all you need to know.”

     Sarah and Hannah looked at each other in resignation.

     “Okay, have it your way.” Hannah said.

     As John and Mark turned to leave,
Sarah stopped them with a request.

     “Hey, John! Since I did you a favor, would you do one for me?”

     “Of course, beautiful. What do you want?”

     “Would you tell Mr. Haskins thanks from
Hannah and I as well?

     It turned out John was way too transparent to be keeping secrets.

Chapter 45

     Mark drove the Hummer to the Trucker’s Paradise truck stop in Junction, a few miles away from the compound.

     “Man, it looks like nothing’s changed since before the big freeze.”

     They looked around and were impressed. A couple of cars and a big rig were at the fuel pumps, topping off their tanks. A family of four stepped out of the truck stop and headed for their car, the youngest child smiling from ear to ear because of the candy she carried.

     It did, indeed, remind them of a
normal world that they hadn’t seen in many years.

     They parked the vehicle and walked inside.

     John recognized the man behind the counter as Marty Haskins instantly.

     Marty looked at John with a slight sense of
recognition, although it took him a bit longer to remember. Then the light came on, he smiled, and walked around the counter.

     John extended his hand and said, “Hello, Marty. Remember me?”

     Marty said, “Yes. But it took me a minute. I see a hundred new faces each and every day, so it took me a moment to remember where I’d seen you before. How are you?”

     “We’re doing real well now. That’s why we’re here. Do you have a minute?”

     John glanced around furtively, looking for people who might overhear their conversation.

     Marty recognized the sign, and suggested, “Why don’t we step into the back office. We can talk in private there.”

     He turned and yelled across the store.

     “Hey Lenny, can you watch the counter?”

     A reply came back immediately.

     “Sure thing.”

     Marty led them into the office and seated them in front of his desk.

     “Can I offer you guys a cigarette? They’re stale, but better than nothing if you’ve got the habit. Or I can pour you a drink. Jack Daniels never goes bad.”

     “No thanks on both, Marty. So, how’s your operation running? Are you still giving away everything for free?”

     “Yes. It doesn’t belong to us, so we wouldn’t feel right about selling it. I suppose it’s a very fine
distinction, but giving it away to help others somehow seems to make it all right.”

     “What other services do you offer?”

     “Well, we keep the pumps running and the underground tanks filled. Also free of charge. I understand we’re the only operating service station within five hundred miles. Our customers are happy to see it. Those who are going long distances have been having to siphon gas from abandoned cars.

     “We also have two mechanics who are volunteering their time and services because they have nothing better to do. They even have a tow truck to use in case someone breaks down out there and has to hitch in.”

     “We give out directions to people who are lost because they no longer have a GPS to use and can’t download directions on-line any more. You’d be amazed at how many people don’t know which states border Texas.

     “Most of what we give out, though, is hope. Hope that the world will eventually get back to normal. I hear that at least ten times a day from people passing through. And I can cou
nt on at least one or two women kissing me on the cheek or hugging me, each and every day.

     He winked.

     “It’s the simple things in life that make it worth living.”

     “Marty, we came here to repay a debt to you.”

     “Me? What did I do? I just told you that some bad dudes were looking for you. I didn’t even offer to help you with them.”

     “If we hadn’t known they were coming they’d have caught us off guard. Since you warned us, we made some changes to our security procedures. And we watched out for them. And when they came, we were ready.”

     “Are all your people okay?”

     “Yes.”

     “Should I assume I won’t be seeing Grizzly Adams around here anymore?”

     “Not here, or anywhere else either.”

     “Well, honestly, that doesn’t break my heart. He didn’t strike me as a pillar of the community. But you owe me no debt. Heck, I don’t need anything but your friendship. I’ll accept that. But this place gives me everything I need. A roof over my head, food to eat. A sense of purpose. Even, like I said, kisses and hugs from a couple of ladies every day. What more could I possibly want?”

     “How about being able to open your diner again?”

Chapter 4
6

     “Well, I’ll be damned.”

     Marty never thought he’d see live chickens again in his lifetime.

     John and Mark had led Marty and Lenny to the back of the Hummer and opened it. The chickens in the dog carriers immediately started clucking.

     “You’ll have to let the
flock grow, of course, or you’ll only have enough eggs for a couple of meals. Do you have access to some farm land, or know somebody who can raise some crops for you?”

     “Yes. As a matter of fact, there’s an old farmer and his family who live behind the truck stop. They were nice enough to let us camp on his land during the freeze. But he’s not doing a lot of farming these days.
Most of his old seeds aren’t growing well, and all his livestock froze to death. These days he’s just getting by like the rest of us.”

     John pulled a shoebox from the back seat of the Hummer.

     “This is a gift from a good friend of ours. Her name is Karen, and she’s not only the sweetest woman in the world, she’s also got the greenest thumb I’ve ever seen.”

     He took the lid off the shoe box to reveal its contents.

It was full of zip lock bags full of seeds. Each bag was marked with its contents and growing information.

     Marty took one out and read it aloud.

     “
ROMA TOMATOES
:
Plant in loose, well drained soil. They like lots of sun. Plant time to harvest is around sixty days.
”

     His mouth instantly watered and he looked at the others.

     “Do you know how many years it’s been since I had a fresh tomato?”

     He looked through the box. John said, “There are forty two different seed packets in there. Everything from squash to
corn, to cucumbers and strawberries. The only thing Karen asked is that when your crops start to grow well, that you share some of the seeds with others. And ask them to do the same thing.”

     Mark spoke up.

     “You might want to be careful who you tell about this. It’ll be at least a year before you have enough chickens, beef and pork to sustain a diner. Same with the vegetables. As soon as the word gets out, you’ll have a lot of customers who will come to see you, and you may have to limit the number of meals you serve each day. At least initially.”