Without Law 14, page 5
“Nothing,” Anna whispered back.
“Get ready to clear,” I said as I stepped up onto the small porch and grabbed the knob.
I turned the handle and found it locked, too.
The girls all looked at me with wide eyes, so I took a step back and raised my foot.
The door burst open when I made contact with it, and the girls and I went in hot. We cleared the whole house quickly, and I ended up in the bedroom that we’d seen through the window.
“Clear!” I shouted.
“Here, too,” Anna yelled.
“This makes no sense,” Paige said as she came into the room with me. “If somebody was here, then they’d have to be inside to lock the doors.”
“Right,” I agreed. “Unless it was someone who already had a key.”
“Maybe they found a key,” Anna suggested as she came into the room.
“That’s possible,” I agreed.
“But it doesn’t look like anybody has been here in the past few weeks at least,” Bailey said as she entered the room with Kimmy on her heels.
“Why would somebody just passing through lock the place anyways?” Kimmy asked.
“They could have been planning on coming back,” Paige suggested.
“Hey, guys,” Tara called, and I realized that she wasn’t in the room.
“Tara?” I hollered, worried that something had happened.
“You might want to come in here,” her voice called out, and I followed it out into the hallway.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“The hall closet,” she answered.
“She’s in the hall closet?” Anna asked with an amused expression.
There was a small closet just down the hallway and the door to it was open, but when I pulled it back and looked in I didn’t see Tara. Instead of the platinum blonde, there was a board that had been pulled up and sat to the side. Where the board had been was now a small staircase that led below the house.
It was dark, but there was a small light that moved around, and I assumed that was Tara’s flashlight. I grabbed my own out of my pocket and clicked it on.
“What the fuck,” Anna breathed.
“Come on!” Tara called. “You guys gotta see this.”
I started down the small staircase, and the further down I got the more pungent the smell of cigarettes became. I recognized the scent immediately. It was the brand that Brody used to smoke, and as I watched where my feet hit on the steps I could clearly see butts that had been littered about.
“Holy shit,” I said as I stepped off of the last step and looked around the large underground bunker.
“Right,” Tara laughed, and she looked around proudly. “I told you we’d find some cool shit.”
Chapter 4
The bunker had to have been there for a long time, but it was clear that Brody had visited it regularly, most likely after we’d taken his father out. As I looked around the room, I was stunned with the amount of supplies and machinery that was stockpiled.
Brody’s father had been a drug lord long enough that I was sure a lot of the things in the room had been there for years. There was a nice layer of dust on some of the canned goods and booze that were stacked on the shelves. Other things, though, like the weapons that were stood up against the wall or piled on the floor, those definitely hadn’t been there long. Brody had to have brought them back to his father’s house after he knew his dad was gone.
That would make sense as to why the doors were both locked. Brody did have a key, and he did plan on coming back. He’d obviously hidden this stuff as a secondary stockpile since he didn’t trust any of his men at the fort.
“Jesus,” Anna breathed as she pushed past me.
“I know, right?” Tara chuckled. “This is crazy.”
“How did you find this place?” Paige asked.
“The door wasn’t put back on right,” Tara said. “The board was like half open already so I just peeled it back.”
“Good call,” I told the platinum blonde. This was one hell of a discovery.
“What even are these?” Bailey asked as she walked over to the weapon pile and pointed at a couple of M30 Mortars.
“Those are M30 Mortars,” I explained, and I looked around until I found two boxes full of HE rounds for them. “They have a range of almost seven thousand yards.”
“Soooo, they’re basically exactly what we need?” Paige asked.
“They’re definitely a good find,” I said with a grin.
“Is that a fucking grenade launcher?” Anna asked as she grabbed one that was leaned against the wall.
“It is,” I agreed.
There were ten M203 grenade launchers in total, two M30 Mortars, twelve M16 assault rifles, sixteen M9 handguns, and ammunition for them all. There was also another barrett among the weaponry that I claimed for myself. We even found two military grade drones, though they didn’t seem to work.
“I bet I can fix these,” Kimmy said as she looked over the drones.
“I can’t believe Brody had all this stuff,” Bailey said as she looked around at all the weapons at her feet. “He just kept it to himself.”
“Of course, he did,” I said with a nod. “Brody was a selfish asshole. He had no reason to share with anybody.”
“More for us,” Tara said with a shrug and a grin.
Everybody was in a good mood now that we’d found Brody’s stash of weapons. The Mortars and the grenade launchers would be our best bet against the North Koreans, but we also had two Barretts now as well, and those would definitely come in handy. Between Bailey and I, we could take out whatever plane or vehicle we saw short of a heavy tank.
Not only had we found a stash of weapons, though, we’d also found more canned goods, booze, and non perishables that Brody’s father had kept for himself. It was a nice stockpile, but far too much to fit into our jeep along with the weapons.
“We need a trailer of some kind,” I said with a frown.
“This guy had a boat, I’m sure,” Tara said with a shrug. “And we’re right by the water, there’s bound to be a trailer somewhere nearby.”
“I’ll go check it out,” I said, and I headed back up the stairs.
“I’ll help,” Anna said, and she followed me up.
We made our way to the front door and stepped into the yard, then we followed the path out toward the lake.
“I can’t believe we found so much stuff here,” the redhead said as we walked.
“I’m not surprised,” I said with a shake of my head. “Of course Brody would hide all of his weapons. And his father must have lived here for a long time. That bunker was well stocked.”
“The place reeks of cigarettes thanks to Brody,” Anna chuckled. “But it’s definitely well stocked.”
“I noticed a few bottles missing from the liquor shelf as well,” I laughed.
“I noticed that, too,” the redhead chuckled.
The day had grown sunny again, and it was about mid afternoon at that point. Once we reached the water, we scanned the area. Most people around here had their own docks, but of course no boats were attached anymore. Someone took those long ago.
“Over there,” Anna said, and she pointed to the right. “I see a big truck, I bet they have a trailer.”
“Let’s go,” I said, and I pulled my pistol from my hip.
The neighboring house was about a quarter mile away from us, so we made the walk over to it, careful to keep an eye out for anybody who might be staying there.
The vegetation was so overgrown that it came up to my chest once we got to the yard. I scanned the area but saw nobody, so I moved toward the truck and around to the back end. Anna had been right, there was a small trailer on the back of the thing that had two jet skis still strapped to it.
“Good call,” I told the redhead.
“I try my best,” she replied with a grin.
We cleared the house quickly, but found nobody to be home. I checked the area well to see if perhaps the neighbor had a bunker as well, but there was no such luck. I hadn’t truly expected there to be one, but I couldn’t be sure that this wasn’t an area where mobsters and drug lords lived or came to retire. If that was the case, then it was definitely possible.
After the house was clear, we headed back to the jeep, brought it over to the house, and attached the trailer to it. It took both of us to maneuver the jet skis off of the thing, but we managed, and soon we pulled up behind Brody’s father’s house, ready to load up the trailer.
“Nice,” Paige said as she came out of the house to see that it was us.
“I told you guys there’d be a trailer around,” Tara said as she poked her head out from behind the brunette.
“If I hear I told you so out of your mouth one more time today, I swear,” Anna said with an eye roll.
“I did,” the platinum blonde said, and she stuck her tongue out at the redhead.
“There were a couple of jet skis on it, but we managed to get them off,” I said.
“You left jet skis behind?” Tara asked, and her jaw dropped.
“They’re of no use to us,” I chuckled.
“I bet Kimmy could fix them,” the platinum blonde pouted.
“No, sorry,” Kimmy said as she came out to the door as well. “Jet skis might be fun, but I think we all know the time for fun and games is over for a while.”
“Well, shit,” Tara sighed.
“We did find some booze down there,” Paige reminded her.
“I guess that’s worth it,” Tara laughed.
“Let’s get this loaded,” I said. “It’s only mid afternoon or so, if we head out soon then we can be back on campus for dinner.”
“I have a better idea,” Tara said.
“What’s that?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Can we go swimming?” she asked with the softest, biggest puppy dog eyes she could manage.
“You did promise us a day of swimming,” Paige said with a smile.
“And it’s super hot out here,” Kimmy added.
A quick look around showed that all of the girls were coated with a sheen of sweat, and I knew that I was no better. It had been a hot day already, and though it was mid afternoon it didn’t appear to be getting any cooler. Not yet, at least.
“I suppose we can go for a quick dip before we leave,” I said.
“No way,” Tara said with a shake of her head. “If we’re going swimming then we’re going somewhere awesome.”
“This place isn’t good enough?” I chuckled.
“Not in the slightest,” the platinum blonde said with a smile.
“Where did you have in mind?” I asked.
“There’s this awesome place just outside of Burlington,” she told me. “It’s even on our way home.”
“Alright,” I chuckled. “But I guess that means you all have to skinny dip.”
“You wish,” Tara told me with a sexy grin. “I packed us all swimsuits.”
“You what?” I laughed.
“I didn’t even know I had a swimsuit,” Bailey said.
“I picked them out when we were shopping at Nordstrom,” Tara said proudly.
“And where did you find room to pack these swimsuits?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I made sure everything else was in my to-go bag, too,” she said with exasperation. “Don’t worry. I just squeezed everything down a bit.”
“You carried around extra weight just in the hope that we’d go swimming?” I asked, amused with her antics.
“Oh, I knew we were going swimming,” she told me.
“And how would you know that?” I asked.
“I always get my way,” Tara told me, and she kissed me on the cheek before she bounded back inside to start loading up the trailer.
I was left dumbfounded but also amused, and the other girls and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. The platinum blonde was cocky, but she wasn’t wrong. Nine times out of ten she did get her way, and this was one of those times.
It took us about an hour to pack everything from the bunker onto the trailer and into the back of the jeep. We made sure to fit what we could in the back of the jeep, as well as the ammunition we’d found. That was all we were able to fit it in there, though, so the rest of it went on the trailer we had hooked up.
It was still extremely hot out by the time we were done, and we were all coated with a new layer of sweat from the effort we’d exerted. It had to be at least a ninety degree day, and I could see that I was already developing a darker tan from the heat.
Tara may have managed to get what she wanted as far as swimming, but right then I didn’t mind the idea.
“Alright,” I said once everything was packed up. “Where are we going?”
“Just head back to Burlington,” Tara said. “I’ll direct you from there.”
The platinum blonde hopped into the passenger’s seat, and Anna stared at her aghast. Anna always rode shotgun.
“Um, what do you think you’re doing?” the redhead asked.
“I’m riding shotgun, duh,” Tara answered with a grin. “I’ve got to give directions after all.”
“You’re so lucky that we’re going swimming right now,” Anna told her with a glare. “Otherwise I’d pull you out of that seat.”
“I’d like to see you try,” the platinum blonde said, and she stuck her tongue out at Anna.
The redhead reached out and grabbed onto Tara’s tongue, though, and they started to laugh and smack each other away.
“Everybody in,” I said. “Let’s go.”
I was ready to get into some water, especially after the day we’d had. The last time I’d felt cool was when I had let the rain pour over me, but that was hours ago and the sun had dried me completely soon after that.
It wasn’t exactly ideal to make a stop for fun when we had so much going on, but the girls deserved a little break. Besides, we’d found a major score today, so I thought that a bit of time spent on ourselves would be a nice reward. I’d even kept one of the bottles of booze out so the girls could enjoy some. I’d managed to sneak it into the glove compartment when nobody was looking, and that was no mean feat with so many sets of eyes around the whole time.
I knew they’d appreciate the gesture, especially after what had happened at Rolly and Betty’s wedding. I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been able to enjoy themselves after the MiG had flown over. The girls had been on edge all night as well. I’d even seen Tara quit drinking early in the evening, which surprised me. Usually she was the kind who would never pass up a party, but I figured their protective instincts had kicked in and they felt the need to be sharp in case anything went wrong.
I had felt that myself, and I hadn’t really been able to relax since then. Now that we were on our way to the water, though, I felt better. I slipped my aviators on to block out the afternoon sun and hit the gas as we turned out onto the highway toward Burlington. I was in a better mood than I had been in what felt like weeks, though I knew it had truly only been a few days.
Still, as I looked to Tara in the passenger’s seat, and all the girls squished together in the back, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly lucky. My women were around me, and each of them was incredibly beautiful and fierce. We’d managed to find a decent amount of weapons today, and several that would definitely aid in the fights to come.
At that particular moment, I had nothing to complain about.
“Turn right here,” Tara said as we came up to Burlington.
“Are you sure?” Paige asked. “I thought you said it was outside of Burlington. We haven’t entered the city yet.”
“It is,” Tara answered. “This is the scenic route.”
“Scenic route?” Paige chuckled. “Since when do you know about maps anyways?”
“I’m not a complete idiot,” the platinum blonde said. “Though it did take me like half an hour to map out the trip.”
“As long as you know where we’re going,” Paige said with a shrug.
“Definitely,” Tara said with a grin. “You guys are gonna love it.”
“Something about that smile tells me that we won’t,” Kimmy said with a raised eyebrow. “What’s the secret here?”
“Kimmy,” Tara said with mock shock. “I’m hurt that you would think I’d keep something from you.”
“No, Kimmy’s right,” Anna said, and she narrowed her eyes on Tara. “What are you hiding?”
“Oh, alright,” the platinum blonde said. “You guys are no fun. It was supposed to be a surprise.”
“What kind of a surprise?” I asked, curious as to what I’d gotten myself into.
“We’re going to this place called Red Rocks,” Tara said excitedly. “They have these huge cliffs you can jump off of.”
“Oh hell yeah,” Anna said.
“What?” Paige screeched at the same time.
“Don’t worry, Paige,” Tara said. “People do it all the time.”
“I’m sure nobody’s done it recently,” the brunette retorted.
“Probably not,” Kimmy chuckled.
“You never know,” Tara replied with a shrug. “Some people are thrill seekers.”
“Count me in,” Anna said with a grin.
“Worth giving up the front seat, huh?” Tara chuckled.
“Definitely,” the redhead agreed.
“Are the cliffs the only way to get into the water?” Bailey asked, and she bit her lip.
“No,” Tara said with an eye roll. “If that were the case then how would you get out?”
“I guess that’s true,” Bailey said.
“You weenies can get in down below if you want,” the platinum blonde said, and she looked pointedly at Bailey and Paige. “But the rest of us are going diving.”
“Um, how did I get counted in on this?” Kimmy laughed.
“I assumed you weren’t a weenie,” Tara said with a shrug.
“Nobody has to jump if they don’t want to,” I said. “Tara, don’t make people feel bad for not wanting to do something.”
“Miss Peer Pressure over here,” Paige said with a point at the platinum blonde.
“Fine, don’t jump,” Tara said. “It’s your choice. But you’ll be missing out on a lot of fun.”
“How do you know?” Kimmy asked. “Have you been here before?”
