|
Post by texican on Mar 31, 2022 13:38:33 GMT -6
Using female intrigue (sex) to get the answers. Been this way since the beginning of time.
Texican....
|
|
ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
|
Post by ydderf2 on Mar 31, 2022 13:47:50 GMT -6
I figure she works for a private recruitment agency. That's how she knows most everyone has gone to ground.
|
|
|
Post by solo on Apr 4, 2022 8:51:06 GMT -6
Chapter 20
The blinds opened and room was filled with light. Wes was instantly awake but kept still. He was on his stomach on the bed farthest from the window but he was facing said window. He felt Sam next to him, or rather mostly on him, her arm and leg thrown over him.
“Well, Well, Well.” Everything in Wes’ being sank. It was Veronica. “So when I do it, I am a whore, but when you do it, what is it? Saintly?”
“Oh, God!” Wes moaned. “I never called you that and I definitely never claimed to be a saint. Because I didn’t want to be second fiddle to a worm doesn’t mean I looked at you one way or the other. Now, why are you in my room.”
“Sheriff found a body out in your woods.” She was all business now.
Wes pulled himself from Sams warmth and smiled as she groaned. He threw back the sheet and grabbed his tunic from where it fell between the beds. He stood up and pulled it on. When he stood up, Veronica definitely had a view of everything and because the blinds were open, so did whomever was in the parking lot. Veronica blushed a little, but truthfully could not tell if it was from what she saw or from envy for Sam. That worried him.
“Yeah? And what is that to me?” He asked.
Sam sat up and simply let the covers fall. “Whose body?”
“Brody’s. You know, your partner’s?”
Both she and Sam just nodded their heads.
“Looks like he succumbed to the elements. Fife thinks the Coyotes had him for breakfast and probably lunch too.” She said.
“You talked to Fife and he survived?” Wes smirked.
Veronica tilted her head a bit, unaware that Wes had heard how she left things with Fife last time. “I didn’t talk to him. Or the Sheriff. I got it off the snanner.”
Wes then realized that sun was streaming into his room and his room faced west so it was sometime in the afternoon. They had slept most of the day.
Veronica read his face. “Yeah, long sleep, yes?” And she smiled.
“Could use a few more hours actually. Best sleep I’ve had in ages.” Wes smirked.
“I guess so with all your exercise. Sam, I am happy you are proud of your body, Hun, but could you please put some clothes on?”
“Sis, that won’t be necessary. I figure you have to leave sooner or later.” She smiled.
“You are intolerable, you know that?” Veronica snapped.
“Look, why are you here?” Wes asked.
“To let her know about her partner. I can tell she’s all shook up about it.” Veronica snarked.
“Okay, enough of this.” Wes snapped. He walked over to the basin area. Turned on the water and splashed his face and beard. He then pulled a tooth brush out of a shaving kit that was in the drawer and brushed his teeth.
Pausing before he rinsed, he just said, “You can put it away. I am no danger to you.” He then finished.
Veronica stood there a moment before she returned the Glock 19 to its holster in the small of her back.
Wes turned back to the room and started to talk when he was interrupted by a loud knock on his door that was followed by a loud, “Room Service.”
He crossed to the door, paused next to Veronica and said, “Let me have it.”
She looked at him with a firm face, then finally gave it to him, “I don’t know why you can’t just use your own.” She muttered. He popped the magazine and checked it, then reinserted it. He pulled the slide back slightly to check that the chamber was loaded and ready to go.
He put the Glock against the door, right below the peephole and putting his foot right behind the door about six inches, he cracked the door open.
There was a very young and pleasant looking woman in a house keeping uniform holding out a stack of neatly folded and clean clothes. He took them, reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten and handed it to her.
She smile and said, “Thank you.”
He gave Sam’s clothes to her and she went in and took another warm shower to begin getting ready.
“You know, she’s half your age.” Veronica said.
“You keep popping up. Why?” Wes did not take her bait.
Veronica sat on the bed closest to the window and looked out. “Fredrick is missing. We don’t know why really.”
“Well, could it be his wife caught wind of your little excursion?” Wes asked.
Veronica looked at him, “Yeah, Probably.”
“Why me?” Wes asked. “I am asking this for like the thousandth time.”
“Fredrick was married to a Russian citizen name Ogla. Her father is one the most well connect Oligarchs there. We do not know where either of them are. And we are trying to find them before daddy shows up. It will start making the news if it does.”
“So you couldn’t have asked me that in the beginning? You just figured I was involved somehow? How do you know she didn’t find out about you two sooner?”
“That was business. I didn’t know her connections until after the fact.” Veronica said. “It was all pretty much underwhelming.”
“You did not end up camping where you did by chance.” Wes said.
“Not by chance. I was looking for you then, in connection with the other agents who disappeared.” The bathroom door opened and Sam stepped out.
She was dressed smartly in the pseudo outdoor gear she was wearing the day before. She stopped by the basin and quickly put her hair up into a pony tail and finished tugging and pushing at her clothing while looking into the mirror. It was then that she noticed that she had an audience. Both Veronica and Wes were just watching her. She smiled through the mirror then went to sit down.
Wes got dressed in the basin area. It didn’t take long to don his 511 tactical pants in olive drab, followed by a coyote brown long sleeve T-shirt and a matching 511 long sleeve olive drab shirt. He left the shirt unbuttoned for now. He opened the basin drawer out and quickly loaded his everyday carry items into his various pockets. He put a small tactical flashlight and a bic lighter into on small pocket on the front with a velcro flap. In another pocket, he slipped his tactical folder and a small stick sharpener and a made sure they were secure. His wallet and keys went into one full front pocket and he cell phone into the other. In pulled out a neat hank of 550 paracord with a bowline knot in one end and put it into a cargo pocket. And with a smile, he pulled out a Suunto MC2 compass and a large Altoids tin and slipped them into the other cargo pocket. Finally, he took out a very flimsy looking, but tightly folded, piece of plastic and slipped it into one of his rear pockets.
Veronica, watching all this. “Okay, I get most of that, but… What was that?”
“That was the first part of my cover system.”
She looked at him a little perplexed.
“You know… The Ten C’s of survival? Cover is one of them? That was an emergency tarp made of Dyeema. Very compactable and lightweight. And durable.” Wes cheerfully explained.
“What about Container, and the rest?” Sam asked with a big smile.
“In my backpack. Along with the rest of the shelter system and other items I don’t usually carry on my person.” He replied.
“What are you packing?” Sam asked.
Wes just smiled.
Sam was about to add to it where there was a loud and obnoxious knock at the door. It was followed by a whiney voice. “Veronica! I know you are in there! You need to open up! I need to talk to you!”
Wes got a dead pan look on his face. The blinds were still open, it was obvious that anyone could have looked in to see who all was in there.
“Your boy Barney’s looking for you.” Was all Wes said to her as he ducked the pillow that soon followed.
|
|
|
Post by texican on Apr 4, 2022 22:15:04 GMT -6
Now what is Wes going to do with Sam and Veronica?
Texican....
|
|
ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
|
Post by ydderf2 on Apr 7, 2022 9:19:53 GMT -6
Thanks for the update
|
|
|
Post by solo on Apr 7, 2022 9:49:52 GMT -6
Chapter 21
Wes strode to the door and pulled it open with a jerk. Deputy Fife almost fell into the room because he had his ear to the door. As it was he took a rather large step into the room to catch himself. His shoulder hit something that did not move and he looked up into the bearded face of an amused outdoorsman.
“Müller!” He yelped before he could catch himself.
Wes help him balance himself, “Barney?” He asked innocently. “What brings you by this fine morning… afternoon rather?”
Wes’ smile got bigger as the deputy seemed to be at a loss for words. “Well, son, it wasn’t my name you were calling out at the door. She’s right over there.” With a slight not, he stepped out of the room with his backpack and Sam followed. But it wasn’t long before he caught the daggers that Veronica’s eyes shot his way.
As Wes walked toward the café at the motel, he heard Veronica state emphatically, “Do NOT come any closer to me?”
Upon entering the café, Wes chose another booth, but still sat where he could watch both of his exits, the front door, and the door to the kitchen. He set his backpack next to him, but did remove his Glock 19 from the bag and sat it next to his right thigh, out of sight, but handy as the left side of his body faced the aisle.
Sam sat opposite him and took note of his actions. “Expecting trouble?”
“No, you are already here.” He smiled. “I just like keeping my options open.”
“I never took you for a plastic fan.” She said.
“Well, it was like that dog people get for their kids even though they aren’t dog people. And they end up taking care of the dog because it is easier than making their kids do it.” He took a sip of his doctored artificially sweet tea. “One day you realize that you are really attached to that dog and it has been the perfect companion to you. This Glock is like that. I have had it the longest of any weapon, have put thousands of rounds downrange and the darn thing has yet to jam. And I have been abusive to it at times. Wet, cold, mud, dirt, salt, you have it.” He just shrugged.
“What was that about back in the room?” Sam asked.
“Just one of those things. She puts it out there and then complains what it attracts.” Wes then put in his order. Chicken fried steak with gravy, Mushrooms and Asparagus on the side.
“You know that makes your pee smell funny.” As she ordered the Burger Bomb.
When the food arrived, he looked at her plate and his. “Mine may smell funny, but what are you doing to your bowels?”
“This is three patties, and cheese slices of love.” She laughed.
He looked at her. “Look. There is crap going on that I cannot and will not discuss here. I will say time is short.”
She looked at him and just nodded.
He leaned in as he was cutting a piece of the steak into a bite sized piece. “When we finish, excuse yourself to the bathroom and as you turn the corner, keep going through the kitchen and out the back door. You will be in a little alley. Turn left and go down three doors, you will see a trail leading off into the woods. With the snow, try to cover your tracks as much as possible. We will have more snow in a bit so that will help. Follow that trail through the first hollow and over the next lower hill. Just past the crest of that hill, you will see a large Magnolia tree with some prominent knees extending out. Get under that tree and get out of sight in the knees and wait for me.” He pause and laughed like he was telling a joke. Then again, “There are two men sitting next to the door that has taken an interest in one or both of us.”
She smiled big, and then in a low voice, “You’re taking me with you. You softy!”
“Maybe you are like my Glock here.” Wes smiled.
“Really, you just called me a dog?”
Wes genuinely chuckled.
“Will I get to see where all the magic happens?” She asked.
“You already got all the magic I have to give.” He said.
She pouted her lips a moment. It was all show for the men. “What about Veronica? You know sexual tension between you is palpable, don’t you?”
“Palpable? Such big words!”
“Don’t dodge the point!” She chided.
“Maybe so, but it’s one way.” He shrugged again. “She is dealing with Barney anyway. Do you have a way of contacting her.”
“No, we haven’t partnered.”
“Okay, don’t worry about that. We can worry about her later. She seems to be a good asset to have around, a pain in the butt, but a good asset.” Wes surmised.
“At the least she can keep the local law busy. Please excuse me.” She stood up and went toward the bathroom.
Wesley continued to leisurely eat. The men did not move so he guessed they were interested in him.
Sam actually did go to the restroom as she was one to never pass up a luxury when it was unknown when she’d have one again. She came out and went through the kitchen and slipped out the back door. In roughly fifteen minutes she was kneeling in the wet cold between the knees of the Magnolia tree. The afternoon had faded into the backside of dusk and the snow had begun to fall.
Wes finished his meal and asked for a coffee refill and handed the waitress a card. It was one of those disposable/refillable Walmart gift cards, so it could not be tracked to him.
Soon the waitress returned with the card and the payslip and set it down. Wes signed the slip then wrote, “Call 911, Now!” on the slip. When the waitress came back by she took the slip and return to the register. Wes saw the slight flinch when she read the slip, she involuntarily looked over at Wes and they locked eyes. He turned his eyes toward the two men and nodded.
Then men knew something was up and began to stand up. Wes was on them before they could pull their weapons from where they kept them and quickly dispatched both by throwing two elbows and delivering a powerful knee strike to the one closest to him when he grabbed the guy’s head and pulled down forcefully as his knee rose in equal but opposite force. There was a gruesome crunch and that guy was down for the count.
The other man froze at the sight of the speed with which Wes worked as was knocked back into his seat with a well place front snap kick. Wes then took the dazed guy’s head into his left hand and slammed it into the table.
Quickly, Wes checked their pockets and didn’t find anything, he turned and told the waitress to tell the police everything she saw and to lock the front door. He then grabbed his bag and ran toward the back door.
He had guessed correctly, there were people watching the front and back of the building. After he left the man in the front tried to enter the restaurant but the door was closed. He looked closely inside and saw the condition of his team and then heard footsteps running up as three deputies, who were still at the motel ran up. The man simple said, “I think they are closed.” And drifted off.
The man that was watching the back of the store had left and followed Sam. Wes also clearly saw where he had been surveilling, out of the wind. He also saw clearly where he had followed Sam.
The man was just over the crest of the hill, scrunched behind a small chinaberry tree thicket. He was exposed to the wind and it drowned out everything around him. That was unfortunate for him because there wasn’t much left of him when Wes found him.
Wes then went over to Sam and took her hand. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a thick parka and handed it to her. He then took out a couple more layers and his lighter wind breaker to put on. It wasn’t optimal, but the layers should at least get him to his camp.
As he was finishing up, he heard footsteps coming up the hill. He turned and saw who he guessed was the man watching the front coming up with a small cannon in his hand. It looked to be a magnum revolver with some larger caliber. “I think you’ve done enough Mr. Randall.” The man sneered.
|
|
ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
|
Post by ydderf2 on Apr 7, 2022 10:09:53 GMT -6
Thanks
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Apr 7, 2022 11:21:57 GMT -6
I think NOT done yet
|
|
|
Post by texican on Apr 7, 2022 22:41:27 GMT -6
“I think you’ve done enough Mr. Randall.” The man sneered. Yep, Mr. Randall is not done yet. Texican....
|
|
|
Post by solo on Apr 8, 2022 9:51:47 GMT -6
Chapter 22
Wes turned slowly with his hands out to his sides. “Let me guess; You’re from the government and you are here to help.”
“Funny man. We’ve found almost everyone else and have eliminated the threats.” He spat. “You were the last one.”
“How were they threats? And to who?” Wes asked.
“And to whom?” Sam corrected.
In spite of himself, Wes smiled. He now knew that she was steel under pressure and more importantly, she had a plan!
“You know we couldn’t let the people know about the supply issues in those bassackward sesspools. Not until we all have our ducks in a row.
“You guys are causing that issue. And you do not understand what you are unleashing. The economic chaos is going to have a global ripple effect. It starts with a boulder at the top and as it rolls along, everything, intended and not, gets tossed and before long, you have an out of control avalanche. You are creating civil unrest and war needlessly on so many levels.” Wes complained.
“Yeah, but that is just the reset. We control the avalanche. We are getting all the deadbeats, infirm, prisor rehab failures, junkies, homeless, less thans out of the way. Then we can start over with a purer gene pool.” The man just laughed.
“What?” Sam blurted.
“You think you control the avalanche. Once the ball, or in this case, huge rock gets rolling, you don’t know what the full consequences will be.”
The man wasn’t paying attention. He was intent on Sam. “That’s right, Honey, all of you (*E)es will be taken care of. The underbelly of society is about to be eliminated.”
“You first!” With that Wes raised his hands over his head and two shots echoed in the woods. Two neat little holes appeared in the man’s forehead. He fell, never knowing what hit him.
Wes slowly put his hands down. “Head shots? You had an obstruction and you chose his head?” His Glock was in the right pocket of his parka and Sam knew was it was when she put it on. She was able to ease it out and sight up right under Wes’ right arm.
“What is he talking about?”
“Just what he said. This plan has already been set into motion. Our government has literally disrupted the world’s supply chain that begins or passes through various third world nations. The Corona Virus was small beans compared to what they did in those population centers. Except this time, they used a short acting bio attack that could not self-propagate.” Wes explained.
“So they poisoned them?”
“Essentially, yes. But it is hardly noticeable and will take months before folks to realize it isn’t spreading and come back out of hiding. By then the entire supply chain will be in shambles. Look, your grocery stores, even Walmart, use just in time ordering and can usually get a shipment from their warehouse or distribution center the next day. But with the lack of people to produce the goods and the lack of people to ship the goods, those centers will run out of product.
“The formula now is for there to be enough food for 500 people for three days when fully stocked. When was the last time you saw even a Walmart fully stocked?”
Wes Continued, “When people get hungry or better yet, their kids get hungry, they get mean. That is just the start. Everything is going to get way more expensive. We will start having utilities failure because one of those places was the Middle East so fossil fuel export will cease, causing an energy crisis. As fossil fuels are mainly required to generate electricity, that will end too. Without electricity, people will die. The infirm, those on life sustaining equipment and/or medications, they will be among the first to go. Look what happened during the ‘Rona. Our medical capabilities were taxed. And we did not learn from that and improve them. Let’s go. This is a lot to digest, but we need to get out of these elements, and put some distance between us and this.”
“Wait.” Sam stood looking at him. Very little light remained. “What was that Randall business?”
“That was the name they knew me by.”
“How do you know so much about this?”
“Because I was the one who pushed the boulder off the cliff.”
|
|
|
Post by sniper69 on Apr 8, 2022 10:08:40 GMT -6
Wow!! Excellent chapter and can't wait until the next chapter.
|
|
|
Post by iamnobody on Apr 8, 2022 11:32:34 GMT -6
This was just like looking around me at real life.
|
|
|
Post by texican on Apr 8, 2022 14:28:12 GMT -6
“How do you know so much about this?”
“Because I was the one who pushed the boulder off the cliff.”
That explains a lot.
Now, where to solo?
Texican....
|
|
|
Post by solo on Apr 8, 2022 16:19:58 GMT -6
One more for the road... And for the weekend. I have to find someway over the fact that Diluvium ended.
Chapter 23
Veronica pulled the café door open with some effort. She walked in and found two men sitting in chairs looking like they had gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson, followed by a firm discussion from Mr. Chuck Norris. She goes to the first one and lifts his head non to gently by his hair. “Where did he go?”
“I don’t know. He’s not here.”
“No S&!%.” She said. “Why were you after him?”
“You know why. He is the last one.” The man spat out another thick wad of blood.
“Oooooh, that nose doesn’t look too good. Here let me.” With that Veronica pinched his broken nose between her thumb and forefinger and yanked hard.
The man screamed bloody murder. One of the deputies came over and pulled her back. “Ma’am, you can’t assault the prisoners.”
“Prisoners? No, these two are dead men. They know it. They knew it the moment they decided to come after Mr. Müller.”
She looked at the two of them for a moment then went back out of the café. She walked to the end of the parking lot and looked out both ways. There was zero traffic, it was now fully dark and the snow was falling harder now. With a sigh she went back to the hotel room. Walking in, she closed the door. It took some doing and a brawl to get Fife to leave her alone earlier.
She was getting very concerned now. The local police did not have a grasp of anything, no matter what she told them. Wes was in the wind again, and she almost got him killed, again. And all she really wanted to do was watch his back.
Fredrick’s father in law was a vengeful man, who enjoyed hurting other just for spite. And for some reason, he had a real fixation on Wes.
Veronica had set up Fredrick, and then gave his wife proof of his infidelities. She did not count on her almost taking Fredrick out with an iron skillet. Almost. Their two man listening team had heard the commotion and the first swing and decided to blow the surveillance and take both in to their custody. Olga was worrisome and had a lot of her father’s tendencies. Fredrick, though, once he figured out he was safe, well, as safe as he could ever be, from her and her dad, began to sing like a canary.
Olga’s father had found out about Wes and the other operatives work around the world. He took exception because most of this work hurt him and his finances directly. It had actually drained the old man’s capital and several of the world’s top 1%. Working the information back channels, he had enough information to know who would be getting the pay back. He didn’t know why it was done, just who he could hurt.
These four man killer squads were sent out over the world and while they were successful, there were three men and two women who managed to sanitize the hit teams that were sent after them and then they went and looked for the other operatives to help sanitize their own hit teams. Wes was not the last.
There was a knock at the door. Veronica checked before opening the door to the sheriff. “Ma’am sorry to bother you.”
She said, “Too late, I am already bothered.”
“Can you tell me what happened here today?” He asked.
“Well, yes. Your boy Barney can’t seem to stay away from me.” Veronica smiled.
“No, not that idiot. I know you can handle that. What happened at the café?”
“Well, Jerk-face number two decided to say something inappropriate to me. I took exception to it.” She said.
“You know you assaulted him.” At that, the sheriff was interrupted with a call. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”
He turned to leave, “Your boy sure knows how to leave a trail of wrecked bodies in his wake.” Turning he paused then turned back.
“What was that rude thing he said to you?”
Veronica looked at him. She sighed the said, “You’re Next.”
|
|
|
Post by texican on Apr 9, 2022 20:49:00 GMT -6
Veronica looked at him. She sighed the said, “You’re Next.”
Big mistake.
Texican....
|
|
ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
|
Post by ydderf2 on Apr 10, 2022 9:51:18 GMT -6
Thanks
|
|
|
Post by solo on Apr 26, 2022 14:24:48 GMT -6
Chapter 24
The dawn broke gradually. There was enough articulation in the hills and peaks around them to shorten their days, even in the midst of summer.
Several months had gone by and for Sam it was almost heaven. It didn’t start that way. When she and “Randal” had gone about half a mile, the adrenalin surge had dissipated and she realized that all was not alright in her world. He was losing blood. She found this out because she stopped to drain what she thought was water from melting snow out of her boot.
She was wrong. She had been injured somehow, probably a puncture from a hidden limb from her struggles. But there was a nasty gash in her calf and it was leaking quite a bit.
When Wes found out, he took out his cotton shemag and tied it around the wound and leg. As time was of an essence, they got moving again.
As time passed, it became more difficult for Sam to walk, so Wes did what he had too. He lofted her over his shoulder in a fireman carry, back pack and all. This was only a temporary solution as he got her out of the immediate vicinity of the motel area.
He had then stashed her before looking for and finding some saplings that would work. He chose Poplar, because it was pretty strong on its own. Taking his folding handsaw he quickly took down the two straightest ones and cut them to length. He then broke them down to the length he wanted with enough left over for cross supports. Taking his tarred bank line, he lashed together a travois, complete with a makeshift “yoke” so he could pull it. Soon he had Sam laying on it and then spent the majority night trekking to his base camp. Once there, he treated the wound and got some ibuprofen from his stores and soon she was resting comfortably.
That was a few months ago. Spring was now starting to melt into summer. Sam was up with the dawn as was her’s and Wes’ habit. The birds and small animals around their area were plentiful and active. She went out on one of the ledges and was sitting and letting the warmth from the sun warm her.
Wes came out and joined her, handing her a cup of coffee at the time. “It is shaping up to be a warm one.” He said.
She just intoned, “Um huh.”
“So. I have left you alone about this but what you built up here around the rocks is cozy, defensible and such. But what about supplies.” She asked.
“That isn’t a worry.” He said.
“Well it is to me.”
“I will show you later.” He paused. “I am happy to see you up. Keep walking around and exploring. Maybe we can go fishing later this morning.”
“The world is probably ending and you want to go fishing?” She asked.
“Hey, A guy’s got to eat.” Wes smiled. “Eggs okay?”
“Oh gosh, not that powdered shit again.” Sam said.
“Umm, we haven’t broken in to that yet. They have been fresh since you got here.” Wes chuckled.
“What do you mean? I saw the bags.”
“That was just me moving around some of our stock.” Wes replied.
“Okay, then where does the eggs come from?”
“Okay, I guess we are doing this before breakfast. Come on.”
Wes helped her up. She still had a slight limp and while she had been out before, she didn’t go out much further than the front entrance.
Indeed, she was somewhat pleasantly surprised when they had arrived. She had known it was a hard uphill pull for Wes, but they had made it. He lifted her gently and took her in to a platform that was lined with boughs and covered with cured deer hide. She had asked how much they had cost and he said that they were priceless. He had made them himself. She didn’t believe him, but he reminded her that he had to have something to occupy his time in between events with Veronica.
She didn’t like to be immobile, but despite their best efforts, infection set in and though she was not in her right mind, she did remember thinking, ‘Antibiotics? Saline? Where did he get these supplies.’
During this time, through changing her clothes and keeping her clean, he came to realize that there was a tracking device in one of her shoes.
After helping her up, he helped her walk out the front and around to the side. The hill slightly sloped away into a bowl-ish feature before rising sharply to the next hill. Down in that bowl was a low profile chicken coop. There were a two or three hens, scratching around in the area. They were not caged in so they roamed where they will.
After show her this, he took her further down this trail. It began to rise and loop around the rocks that made up his home. Soon the circled a few times and she could look down on the rocks that made up his home and see the foot print.
A few more steps and they were at the top. She looked out and her breath caught. It was totally not what she was expecting! Taking it all in, she turned and looked at Wes. His face was set, and it was firm. “What?” She uttered.
He held up the tracker. “Who knows we are up here?”
|
|
|
Post by 9idrr on Apr 26, 2022 17:50:21 GMT -6
Now, if'n they had a carrier pigeon to take that device for a ride...
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Apr 26, 2022 18:27:04 GMT -6
The best "elimination" of a tracker I've read about was dropping it in the bed of a pickup that was headed the other way. Doesn't really matter where the pickup is headed. Those doing the tracking will have lost you for long enough to potentially make relocating you difficult.
If you have the time, duct tape the tracker to the roof of the truck's cab or its bed cover so the tracker is perhaps less visible...
|
|
|
Post by solo on May 2, 2022 9:55:57 GMT -6
Chapter 25
The look on her face in that instant told him everything he needed to know. He took the device, he’d already smashed it, and tossed it off the mountain. He reached for her and grabbed her. Roughly, he pulled her toward him and kissed her.
When the initial wave passed, she pulled back a little and said, “I really don’t know, but you do realize that I was at another one of those places like you and Veronica as well. She and I crossed paths, but that was it. I wouldn’t put that device past her, but if it were so, she would have been up here already. You should have kept it and put it on a car or something.”
She then looked out from the highest point they were on and saw nothing but rocks, trees, bushes. It was a little ecosystem off to itself. Completely surrounded by a lake. Water on every side. They were on a very hilly island!
“This?” She paused. “This is genius.” She smiled.
It was a great defensive set up. “When I realized what we were doing, I dropped everything, and bee-lined it here. Even though I stopped with my missions halfway through, I knew what we did and what it would do to our world’s economy. And then they came to tie up loose ends.”
“I took the last few months to stock up with everything and finding this island, I was stoked. There is no beach or low lying area. There is one spot where someone can get onto or off the island and I have it set up that no one can do it without my knowing it.” He said.
“The perfect place to hide.” She said.
“At least long enough to where all the craziness will hopefully pass us by.”
“What about the lake? A lot of want-to-be survivalist will want to set up places around the lake and they will fish it out, take out all the game as well. There will be some that will see this island the same way you do.”
“Yes. That is true. I had vetted a couple more people, there is room for separate places like I have up here. I didn’t feel right leaving you up here by yourself while you were recovering.” He said.
“Well, we could go back down now. I am healthy enough.” She said.
“I would rather you be up here, defending what we have.” He said.
“Here?”
“Yes, come one.” Before he turned, he noticed some smoke across on the southern shore. It looked to be about the size of a camp fire. He filed it away for now.
He took her back down to the shelter and took her to the back. He stepped around the last boulder to the right before he reached the back wall and then stepped into a dark opening.
She stopped short and blurted out, “A cave?”
He smiled and reached for her hand pulling her gently in. It wasn’t too large, but along the back wall of this cave, were stacks and stacks of supplies. They were in organized groupings set on pallets.
“How did you get all these up here? That is a lot of schlepping.” She exclaimed.
He just smiled. While he was becoming attached to Sam, there were some things he was willing to share, but some things he kept to himself. He had a buddy who was good flying an H-60 with coupled controls, so he could fly single seated. It was off the books, but he had flown in pallet after pallet of materials, usually in marginal weather so his comings and goings would have less chance of being noticed. There was a relatively flat spot right outside his abode, but it was still a lot of work to break down each pallet and truck it in by hand.
Just as quickly his smiled fade as he remembered hearing the news a month or two later that his friend had died in a freak Helo accident on a training mission. He knew it was because the powers that be had found out.
“Okay, I am going to go down and ease across after the sun sets. Please, stay up here, because some of the booby traps I have at the waterline are not pleasant.” He advised.
“That is fine. But what can I do while you are gone?”
He handed her a legal pad. “I hate to ask, but would you do inventory and see how long we could stay up here for 2 – 4 people eating full, half and third rations. If we have time, I will plan another excursion where we can fill our needs.”
A few hours later, it was full dark. Wes hoisted the backpack up and eased down the path to his earth toned kayak. He eased the boat into the water and let the light breeze pull him out toward the middle of the lake.
There was no moon. But he could still see more than one camp fire around on the shore. He did not really know what to do about this as he wasn’t sure if this wasn’t just normal summertime camping patterns or if this was a migration of sorts.
Quickly, but quietly he paddled to shore, careful to use a different place than last time. He took his light back pack and hid the kayak carefully. He approached what he knew was a campground made up of many primitive sites and stopped short. There was a lot of raucous carrying on, but for all he knew, this was probably normal.
He soon left and picked his way the fifteen or so miles to town. He was slow and methodical and it was just after three AM that he reached the motel. Going to the door two doors down, he took out the key and opened the door. He stepped inside and gently closed the door.
This motel was a regular motel, but he had a hand full of rooms set up and paid for for several months. He never used the same one twice and he could come and go as needed.
Pulling the heavy curtains closed, he flicked the light switch on. There was nothing. He notice the clock face was still illuminated so he figured it was just the bulb. His senses started to tingle though.
It was that feeling that discernment was just outside the limits he could sense. He eased over to the bed and pulled out his tac-light. He had the red lens in, but when he click it on, he saw a person laying in the bed. Quickly, he took in the face, it was somewhat familiar, but the eyes bore into him. Hard. It was like they were trying to tell him something.
But before they could, he suddenly saw stars explode before he saw nothing. He did not feel himself hit the floor, totally unconscious.
|
|
|
Post by sniper69 on May 2, 2022 10:04:15 GMT -6
Thanks for the new chapter - but this is a cliff....
....definitely hoping to read more soon.
|
|
|
Post by 9idrr on May 2, 2022 19:06:57 GMT -6
Okay, Mike, are ya happy now that my arms five feet long, havin' been stretched by all these years of hangin' on your cliffs? It's torture, I tell, sheer torture.
|
|
|
Post by solo on May 3, 2022 9:54:40 GMT -6
Okay... A little disclaimer up front. This chapter is a bit dark. A lot dark. But, when things go bad, thing get dark. Admins, if this is not acceptable, I can remove. Just let me know.
Chapter 26
The room came back into his consciousness. He kept his eyes closed. The room was brighter so he knew the sun had risen. There was a stale smell of Marijuana in the air as well as cigarettes. It was an unfiltered brand. Probably Lucky Strike or Camels. There was nothing else he could pick out.
Reaching out his senses, he quickly realized that he didn’t have any clothes on and the chair he was sitting in was that disgusting motel cloth. With any way of moving, he shuddered inwardly. No telling how much biohazard material was on that chair considering most of the rooms were pay by the hour. His legs were bound to the legs of the chair and his arms were bound behind him. His legs told him it was duct tape.
This mad him mad. Duct Tape was horrendous for hairy legs. Still, he wondered why they only used duct tape, knowing who he was. He looked over at the bed, and saw a slender lady tied to the bed, naked and spread eagle. He shook his head and soon locked eyes with her. It was the waitress from the restaurant/café.
There was no one else in the room, so he thought to make his move, but then decided to wait. He wanted to see who was stupid enough to hit him over the head and then let him live. It hit him then that it was sometime mid-morning and there was zero road noise. That did not bode well. Did something happen?
About that time the hotel door opened. And a figure walked in. It was almost comical. He wore ill-fitting surplus store camouflage, complete with a ranger flop hat and a black bandana covering his face.
“Ah, Sleeping beauty awakes.” That voice. It was familiar.
“The lone ranger rides.” Wes gushed back. He was glad it was a man. When it comes to torture, men, unless they were sadistic or jealous, usually started with finger and toe nails, pinchers, punctures and the like. They usually didn’t mess with the family jewels. However, the fact that he was naked and everything easily accessible gave him pause.
The man walked over to him and punched him dead in the face. Wes just took it and smiled. Looking around, he noticed the visqueen on the floor around him as he had been placed in the wash basin area of the room, where the cheap tile had been laid. He did not say anything and just looked at the man. What the man did next gave him cause for concern.
The man opened a drawer under the tv and took out some jumper cables. We looked at them and thought to himself, “Jeez, just the clamping of them will be unbearable.”
The man took one end and connected it to something further in the draw that he could not see. He walked over to Wes, and muttered. He took the ground and pinching a good bit of flesh, attached it to Wes’ left nipple. Wes sighed. It hurt like a mug, but he figured that he could handle it and the shock that was coming, expecting the hot side to be connected to his right nipple.
To his horror, the other end was attached to the bottom of his scrotum. That was the most uncomfortable he had been in some time, but luckily, his gonads were spared for now.
“Really?” Wes uttered. The man picked up a hand held device and turned the knob. The surge that hit his privates felt like the kick from a mule. It literally took his breath away and it was several seconds before the man turned the shock off.
This left Wes panting and gasping. “You didn’t even ask me a question.”
The man lowered the bandana and it was at that moment that Wes realized that the man was not there to ask questions. It was Deputy Fife.
There was a muffled chuckle from the Fife. He pulled out a small cattle prod, held it up and turned toward the bed. The waitress started to shake her head and utter, “No.” repeatedly, louder the closer he got.
“Stop!” Wes bellowed, but it was too late. The man put the prod to the woman on the top of her legs and with a hum, turned it on. The shock coursed through her body causing her to become rigid, her stomach rising off the bed, contorting her body within the constraints of the leather ties.
The man pulled the prod back. Wes sneered at him. “I am going to take that prod and shove it so far up your skinny backside that it will stop your heart with one press of that button.”
“You think you are all that? I owned you from the first day I met you. You are nothing but a knuckle dragging thug!” He paused, his face relaxing. “But with the properly applied encouragement you will comply. Now, I actually do have one question. Where are all your supplies. Crap has gotten real here and I have to bug out. Just tell me where. I bet that delectable Veronica is there with you!” Fife took his remote and gave it another twist. Another jolt hit Wes.
“You will tell me. Not because of what I do to you, but what I do to her.”
“Hey numb nuts.” Wes started. “You smell that?”
“I am cooking yours and you call me that? How stupid.” Fife protested, though it sounded like a whine.
With a quick motion, Wes stood up and shoved with all his might, slamming the chair into the floor and cabinet behind him. He had already freed his hands and when the chair connected it shattered. As he reached for the red positive clip, a jolt twice as strong hit him. He went rigid and it felt like every cell in his body would erupt. Barney had hit him with the cattle prod.
Wes sunk to his knees and was spitting up something when the event stopped. He hung his head for a second and guessed where Fife was. He had to be close enough to use the prod.
Wes exploded out of his kneeling stance and planted a shoulder in the solar plexus region, right under Fife’s sternum. As he was aiming or Fife’s backbone, the impact was catastrophic as he drove through him. They both landed on the floor in a heap. Wes was stunned. Still feeling the very recent effects of the shocks, he also realized that he tore both leads of the jumper cables from his body. On top of that, he was over 50.
Slowly he gather himself and stood up. Fife was on the floor, his breathing was labored, blood leaking out of his mouth. He picked Fife up and hog tied him on the other bed. Turning he picked up a blanket and covered the unconscious waitress. She had ugly welts between her legs and other parts of her body looked pinched and bruised. This ogre had been working her over for a while.
“Hngsnngg” Wes heard the Waitress try to speak.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay. I still have a bit of business with our friend here.” Wes said. He undid her restraints.
Turning he picked up Fife and tossed him across the room. None to gently, Wes took the jumper cables and attached them to Fife’s earlobe. Fife yelped and came to life.
“That smarts, I bet. Don’t worry, Hoss, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” With that, he yanked down the man’s pants and took the positive cable and attached it to the man’s private parts. Fife did not take this quietly.
“How about you tell me what’s going on here? Why are you torturing her?”
“Screw You.”
Wes went to his back pack that amazingly had not been touched and took out his water bottle. He poured the entire contents on Fife. The realization hit Fife like a bolt. Water conducts electricity especially well.
Wes picked up the remote and hit send. Fife instantly went rigid. The electricity flowed through him.
“Yeah, just so you know, duct tape and shocking do not go well together. Some folks who are wise in the bush crafty sense even carry some around as fire starter. You kind of cooked your bindings on me. Just enough for me to get loose. Now, what is going on out there?”
“Everything!” Fife yelled.
“Explain.”
“It is total chaos out there. Electricity has stopped running. People are killing people. I know you hoarded shit.” He screamed. “I will get you for this! I get what I want.”
“You certainly will!” The waitress screamed! She had the cattle prod. She hit him across the face and he fell over. Taking the prod, she jammed it into him from his bottom. She stood up and with all the might she could muster, which wasn’t much, she kicked it. Wes smiled. Uwe Von Schamann would have been proud.
Fife howled in pain, but it was nothing compared to when the waitress turned that prod on. She then held out her hand and Wes just gave her the remote. She turned it on also and dialed it to max. It was an agonizing 45 seconds or so before Fife stopped moving and making noise. Not to mention the smell. The mess all this made was unfathomable.
The waitress and Wes stood looking at Fife’s body. “What did he mean by Chaos?”
“It is bad. Not as bad as in here, but it will be like this soon.”
“Is anyone still selling anything?” He asked.
“No. It is all gone.” She said, still staring. “He did things to me. We’ve been here a week waiting for you to show up. He took me as I was leaving the diner for the last time. The cattle prod was something new.”
“Yeah, that was something for me. I am very sorry.” Wes said. He started putting his clothes back on. “He knew I would not break. But he knew he could use you to get to me.”
“Yeah.” Was all she said.
“Look. Time is short. Do you have somewhere to go?”
“Go? There is no where I can go after this!” She yelled.
“Okay. Stop right there! You have value and worth. Because this SOB didn’t find it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. He was right. I have some things. You can come with me, but we need to leave shortly.”
She stood there in a daze. “All he kept saying was that I was just like Veronica. What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. She is a strange bird but I could use her extra firepower now. You good to walk yet?” Wes asked.
“Not yet. Give me time for a shower.”
“Good Idea. Water still running at least.” Wes said. “Do that and get dressed. I will be right back as soon as I can.” With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
|
|
|
Post by solo on May 4, 2022 19:54:36 GMT -6
Chapter 27
“Kin I halp you mista?” The interrogative lasted much longer than the breathe it took to send it.
The words, ‘Not a local’ shot through his mind. Wes had left the motel and quickly entered the head of hardwoods next to the motel and worked his way toward the opposite side of town. There was something brewing near down town but as he often said, it was ‘NMP’ Not my problem.
He came out on the back side of the storage unit complex. He quickly cut the chain linked fence and slipped through. His unit was on the backside here out of sight of most prying eyes and with the power being out the one lonely camera would not be of much use.
He took out his key and quickly turned the knob. In his amazement, everything was still there. He stepped in and closed the door. He turned to the locker in the back corner and opened it. He pulled from it a mint conditioned M1 Carbine. He set his backpack down on the table and reached behind the locker and grabbed a large 60L backpack in subdued coyote brown. It had been prepacked as a get home back. There wasn’t much room left. He took all the magazines and about 200 rounds for the carbine. He put the large backpack on, loaded a magazine into the carbine and chambered a round. The small pack, he situated to his front.
Satisfied that he had literally all he could carry he raised the door and stepped out. Closing the roll-down door behind him he took the lock and was just reclosing it when he was interrupted.
With a sigh, he turned toward the man. He was short, wiry, and dressed in earth toned colors. His eyes were piercing and showed a good bit of wisdom and intelligence behind them. They belied the southern drawl he started with.
With a slight smile, Wes said, “You ain’t from around here, are you?”
The man relaxed, “Reckon that I am. My daddy owned this business for thirty years before I took it over forty years ago.”
“I see. Well, this is my unit, I had the key for it. Forgive me for not shaking your hand, but my name is Wes.”
“Jimmy.” The man smiled. Wes guestimated he was in his thirties, and could handle himself. “Looks like you’ve loaded up.”
“Yeah, it appears that way.”
“Well, I won’t keep you. I will keep an eye on all your unit for you. It is getting crazy outside this fence.” He paused. “Wait, how did you get in here? I was watching the only entrance.”
“Well, to that, I do owe you an apology. I have been in the backcountry for the last few months and decided I needed supplies. Seems there isn’t any. Judging by the hubbub over near town center, I figured stealth was the way. I can time the links back together tightly.”
“Where’d you serve?” The man asked.
“I still can’t say.”
“I could use someone with your skills around here.” The man asked.
“I wish I could. I have someone waiting on me to get back.” Wes paused. “Look, Sir. Things aren’t going the get any better any time soon. What is your plan B?”
A sadness came across his face. My wife and I bought this nice travel trailer, we were going to travel the country. But I lost here.”
“I am sorry.”
“No not that. She is still alive. I guess. I caught her cheating on me with my best friend. We went through High School and boot camp together. Even jump school. But, I was sent TDY one day and came back early. Went into my house and found her draped across my kitchen island and him right there too. I mean we eat food at that island. Anyway, his face didn’t look quite right after I got finished and she decided that I was a monster for damaging her affair partner like that.” He looked off into the woods. “You know what? I actually miss him more than her. And I didn’t feel no better after I did that either. So I moved back here a decade ago and have been running the family business. But you know what? I am free now. Do you have room for what you have planned for one more?”
Wes was quiet. He could read men and he knew this man was solid, but he had limited supplies.
“If it is resource you are worried about. My RV is packed solid and I have room in my Tundra for all of your stuff there.”
“Okay. I would propose a non-binding agreement. Expediency outweighs any getting to know you periods. Go get your truck and let’s get it loaded.” Then they shook hands.
“I feel compelled to tell you first. I didn’t get an honorable discharge.”
“Was it because of the assault and battery?” Wes asked.
“Yeah, seems like military housing is a no fault site. Crimes of passion don’t count.” With that he left to get the truck.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on May 4, 2022 20:32:37 GMT -6
I see evidence of what looks like "auto spellcheck" - things such as "time" in place of "tie". That one is very hard to fat-finger as "t", "i" and "e" are all in the same row and two rows away from the "m".
Yeah, I know. I'm old fashioned and still use an ancient device with a big screen and a full keyboard and it only checks the spelling/grammar when I tell it to - but it doesn't substitute words ;-)
|
|