Rebellion, page 5
part #3 of Bug Out! California Series
“Where do you work?” Stephan asked.
“We already know,” Hans said. “He works at a restaurant on the coast. Nights. He’s not scheduled to arrive at work until six tonight.”
“And the Fraulein?”
“She works at the big card club in Gardena,” Hans said.
“Very interesting,” Stephan said, eyeing her. “That establishment is run by a wanted man.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Morgan said. “I’m just a cocktail waitress.”
“You did not go past the checkpoint last night,” Hans said to her.
“What about the gun database?” Stephan asked.
“It’s not available at the moment,” Hans said. “Looks like a systems glitch.”
“We don’t have time to search the unit,” Stephan said. “We’re behind already.”
“Yes, I understand,” Hans said. “Back to Morgan. Why didn’t you go to work last night?”
“My boss told me to stay away. There was trouble there. He said he’d call me when they were ready to open again.”
“That club will not be opening any time soon,” Hans said. “We’ll find you alternate employment inside of this zone. I’m afraid you’ll have to come with us for questioning.”
“No,” Robbie said.
“Shut up,” Stephan said, stepping forward.
“It’s okay, Robbie,” Morgan said.
Robbie’s phone rang. Hans picked it off the side table next to Robbie and looked at it.
“Somebody named Justin. Is that a man or a woman?”
“A man,” Robbie said. “A friend.”
“You’ll have to call him back later, I’m afraid,” Hans said, glancing up at Stephan. “What is your phone pin?”
Robbie glared at Hans.
“Watch the attitude or you’ll be arrested,” Stephan said. “You don’t want to be arrested.”
“Robbie,” Morgan said softly.
“Fine,” Robbie said. “5821.”
Hans input it into his phone. “It’s on his data tab, Stephan.”
“Good,” Stephan said. “Very good.”
“Okay, young lady, we’re leaving now,” Hans said.
Morgan nodded her head yes. “I’ll get my purse.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Stephan said.
“You’ll stay here and finish up with Mr. Johnson, Stephan.”
“Yes sir,” he said, eyeing Robbie with glee.
Hans grabbed Morgan’s upper arm and led her to the stairs.
“Where are you taking her?” Robbie asked.
“We’ll let you know,” Stephan said.
They both listened as Hans and Morgan walked down the stairs and went out the door, closing it behind them.
Stephan got a wicked grin on his face. “Stupid American. Can’t wait to screw your girlfriend. She’s out of your league, my friend.” He set his pistol down on the coffee table and pulled a long knife out from behind his back. “Sorry, we can’t have noise disturbing people in the neighborhood. This is going to make a mess on your daddy’s couch.” He approached slowly, fingering the blade with glee.
Robbie reached for his gun, brought it out, and pointed it at Stephan, who moved back, eyes wide.
“Time to take out the Eurotrash,” Robbie spat as he shot him three times in the chest and once in the face, brains and blood splattering all over the TV set behind him. Stephan crumpled to the floor in a bloody heap. Robbie ran down the stairs, pistol in his hand, and rushed out the door. The driveway was empty.
“Dammit,” he muttered, running to the street, looking both ways.
“They left,” a voice said from across the street.
“Cody?” Robbie asked.
“Yeah,” he said, walking over, eyes darting up and down the street. “You just shoot somebody?”
“Yeah, UN Peacekeeper,” Robbie said. “He was going to kill me with a knife. I had this concealed.”
“Hmmm, Colt 45, eh,” Cody said. “I heard four shots. That guy must be a mess.”
“Yeah, he is,” Robbie said.
“You know you can’t stay here now, right?” Cody asked.
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “You know where the UN is taking prisoners for questioning?”
“Yeah,” Cody said. “Torrance Police Station. You know where that is, right?”
“Yeah, I grew up around here,” Robbie said.
“I wouldn’t go there,” Cody said. “It’s well protected. Very well protected. I know, I was a reserve officer, mainly out of Redondo Beach, but I worked with the Torrance PD too. The place is like a fortress.”
“Dammit,” Robbie said. “The guy I killed said he was going to screw her.”
“They round up nice looking women and rape them all the time,” Cody said.
“How come I haven’t seen you around? Last time I saw you was the second day we were here.”
“I’m just back here to gather up some personal stuff. I’m with a militia that’s forming.”
“Where?”
“Inland to the south,” he said. “We’re considering coming back up here, but we need a safe house. It’s too locked down around here. These guys are running the South Bay the same way the damn Germans ran things with the Gestapo. They’re even getting neighbors to rat on each other.”
“They’re moving way too fast with this nonsense,” Robbie said. “It’s gonna backfire.”
“It already is. They still don’t have all the checkpoints back up and running, and Ivan wasted their video surveillance system. Wonder what he’s going to do next?”
“I’d better go get my stuff and start planning,” Robbie said.
“Planning for what?”
“Rescue of my girlfriend,” he said. “I’m not leaving her to die.”
“How close were you to her?” Cody asked.
“What kind of a question is that?”
“You stand about a ninety-nine percent chance of getting killed if you show up at their headquarters. Better be sure she’s worth it to you.”
“She is,” Robbie said, turning to leave.
“If you change your mind, you could go with me,” Cody said. “We could use you.”
“Maybe I’ll take you up on that, after I get her back,” Robbie said.
“She might be dead already, you know,” Cody said as Robbie walked away.
“I can’t believe that right now,” Robbie said. He rushed back into the house and up the stairs, grabbing his phone. He pushed Justin’s contact.
“Justin?”
“Robbie. Thank God. They took her. Katie. Where’s Steve?”
“Dammit,” Robbie said. “They took Morgan too. I just killed a UN guy.”
“Son of a bitch,” Justin said, his voice trembling. “What are we gonna do?”
“Why’d they take her?” Robbie asked.
“They said they wanted to talk to her about why she wasn’t living where she was supposed to be living,” Justin said. “They were undressing her with their eyes the whole time they were here, and they made sure I noticed.”
“Crap,” Robbie said. “The guy I shot came right out and said he couldn’t wait to screw Morgan.”
“How’d you kill him?”
“He was left behind to kill me after the other creep took Morgan away. He thought it’d be less noisy to kill me with a knife. He didn’t know I had my .45 on me.”
“Good, glad you wasted the son of a bitch. Where’s Steve? I’ve been trying to call him.”
“He and Colleen took off this morning for a cabin in Wrightwood,” Robbie said. “They were only gone about five minutes when the UN showed up.”
“Geez,” Justin said. “This is bad.”
“Don’t stay there,” Robbie said. “And don’t come here. I’ve got to go someplace else.”
“Where are you going?”
“Probably to work,” he said. “My buddy is running the place for the lunch crowd. He’ll let me hang out.”
A phone rang from the kitchen. “I gotta go. That’s Morgan’s phone.” Robbie ended the call and rushed into the kitchen. It stopped ringing as he got there. “Crap.”
He picked up the phone and then noticed a post-it note next to the coffee maker, six inches from the phone. It said Sparky, with a four-digit number under it. Morgan’s pin.
Robbie picked up the phone and input the pin. It opened, and he went to the recent calls and hit Sparky’s contact. It rang twice.
“Morgan?” Sparky asked.
“No, it’s Robbie, her boyfriend.”
“Uh oh, what happened?” Sparky asked.
“The UN took her a few minutes ago,” Robbie said. “She left her pin and your name next to her phone while she was making coffee for one of the creeps.”
“Son of a bitch. You have any idea where she’s being held?”
“My neighbor said they’ve been taking prisoners to the Torrance police station.”
“Dammit, that place is like a fortress,” Sparky said. “Where are you now?”
“A condo in North Redondo, but I need to leave. I killed a UN Peacekeeper after the other one took her away.”
“Why?”
“He was going to kill me with a knife. I had my .45 on me.”
“Nice job,” Sparky said. “You’d better leave now. Take Morgan’s phone with you. I’ll text an address.”
“Okay,” Robbie said. “I’m leaving now.”
“You should have a little time before the checkpoints are back up.”
“You were in on that, weren’t you?” Robbie asked.
“No,” he said. “We’ll talk soon.”
“I’m going,” Robbie said.
He ended the call, and rushed into the bedroom, gathering up the remaining weapons and ammo. He rushed down the stairs with the first batch, noticing Gil’s open bedroom door. Call him. He stashed the first batch of weapons in the trunk of his car.
He went up for the rest of the weapons, rushing them down into the trunk, and then pulled his phone out and hit Gil’s contact. It went to voicemail.
“Gil, this is Robbie. Don’t come to the condo. The UN showed up. One of the cretins took Morgan. I killed the other one after they left. I’m out of here. They’ll probably show up any second.”
He slipped his phone back in his pocket, and then heard somebody bang on the front door.
“Stephan! You in there?”
“Crap,” Robbie whispered. He took off his shoes and ran up the stairs as quietly as he could, slipping out onto the balcony. There was a UN Peacekeeper at the door below, gun drawn. Robbie pulled out his gun and fired, hitting the man in the shoulder. He turned, trying to take aim. Robbie shot him again, this time in the upper chest. The man collapsed in front of the door. “Take that, ass wipe.”
Robbie topped up the magazine in the .45 and rushed back to the garage, starting his engine as the door opened behind him, backing out fast, catching a UN Peacekeeper running up the driveway. He floored it, hitting the man, running over him with both sets of wheels, then got onto the street and took off. He saw Cody rushing to the UN van with his gun drawn as he went down the street.
***
Sparky rushed over to Jules and Tex, who were sitting at the bar in the plush Marina Del Rey headquarters. “We got trouble.”
“What?” Tex asked.
“Morgan got picked up by the UN,” he said.
“That cute little lady from the card club?” Tex asked.
“Yeah,” Sparky said. “Her boyfriend just called. He iced one of the UN thugs after the other one took Morgan.”
“You know what they do with pretty girls,” Jules said. “Know where they take?”
“Yeah, Torrance police station,” Sparky said.
Jules rubbed his chin for a moment. “On target list. Maybe I get boss to move up attack.”
“We can’t blow the whole thing up,” Sparky said. “We need to rescue her first.”
“I’d love to kill me a few UN turds today,” Tex said. “Talk to Ivan.”
“Yeah,” Jules said. “I do. What about boyfriend?”
“I told him I’d text a safe place for him,” Sparky said.
“Drop point?” Jules asked. “You sure you trust?”
“No more than we’re sure of anything in this damn crazy world,” Sparky said.
Tex laughed. “You said a mouthful there, partner.”
Sparky’s phone rang. He looked at it. “It’s him again. I’ll put it on speaker.” He answered the phone, hit the speaker button, and put it on the bar.
“Hello,” Jules said. “I’m Jules, here with Sparky and Tex. Who this is?”
“Robbie, Morgan’s boyfriend,” he said.
“What’s going on?” Sparky asked.
“I just shot another UN Peacekeeper, in front of my door, and then ran over a third in the driveway.”
“Both dead?” Jules asked.
“Yeah,” Robbie said. “Where do you want me to go?”
“We still work on that,” Jules said. “You kill three UN pansies. Want job?”
Robbie was silent for a moment. “I want Morgan back.”
“I understand, partner,” Tex said. “She’s a sweetheart.”
“You have relatives?” Jules asked.
“Parents and a sister,” Robbie said.
“Where they?” Jules asked.
“My sister lives in Oregon. My parents are east, probably Arizona. Maybe Utah by now. They’re in a motor home.”
“You must make story,” Jules said. “With parents and sister. Requirement of all team member.”
“What skills do you have, other than shooting UN cretins?” Tex asked.
Sparky looked at him. “What is this, a job interview? We need to figure out how to save Morgan. You know what they’re doing to her, probably as we speak.”
“They think they screw,” Jules said. “We screw better.”
“Dammit,” Robbie said.
“Talents?” Jules asked. “Tex had good question.”
“I’m a hacker and internet research specialist,” Robbie said.
“Now we talking,” Jules said. “Sparky, direct him to drop point, then go get.”
“On it,” Sparky said. He picked up his phone and walked away, taking it off speaker. “Okay, it’s just you and me on the line now. Which restaurant do you work for?”
“Morgan told you I was a waiter?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Sparky said.
“Isadore’s, on Sepulveda in Manhattan Beach.”
“Go there. I know the owner from the Restaurant Association. I’ll come get you. You have weapons?”
“Yeah, I got a trunk full.”
“Don’t get caught. I’ll show up in a UN van, so don’t get spooked. There’s a picture of me on Morgan’s phone from a few weeks ago. Look for one with her, an old Asian woman, and a large man, standing in back of a poker table. I’m the large man. That way you’ll know I’m not a UN asshole.”
“Okay, I’ll do that,” Robbie said. “Thanks.”
Sparky ended the call, and went back to the bar. “Okay, it’s set. I’m taking off in a minute, in one of the UN vans.”
“Good, my friend,” Jules said. “See if he have friends that hate UN.”
“Why are you so quick to add people you don’t know?” Sparky asked.
“If we don’t build organization, we lose,” Jules said.
“You got that right,” Tex said.
“Okay,” Sparky said. “You really want him to make up a story for his family?”
“Yes, and any friend we don’t recruit,” Jules said. “A must with new people.”
“Like what?” Tex asked.
Jules thought for a moment. “I got. He join military in San Diego to escape martial law hoodlums.”
Sparky laughed. “Perfect. I’m out of here.”
He rushed out the door.
Tex looked at Jules. “You serious, partner?”
“Authorities closing in,” Jules said. “We relocate in next day or two. Ivan move to Bay Area and start resistance there. We build up team here, then join him up there. Very important.”
“Oh, so he’s not too worried if we get a bad apple or two,” Tex said.
“We kill bad apple,” Jules said. “And we manage group, but from north. Boss already gone.”
“You’re kidding,” Tex said. “When did he leave?”
“After meeting with us,” Jules said, grinning.
“Sneaky,” Tex said.
“You bet,” Jules said. “Let’s go to PC and study Torrance Police Station.”
Chapter 5 – Recruitment
“Trevor!” Ji-Ho shouted again from his rig.
Seth looked at Trevor. “We’re done. We should go over. Maybe he needs help. Lord knows he’s helped us enough.”
“Yeah,” he said, getting up. “We’re done.”
“What did you mean about Kaylee?” Seth asked as they headed over.
“He wants me to take her away from Matt,” Trevor whispered.
Seth laughed. “Yeah, I could see that.”
They went into Ji-Ho’s coach.
“Wow, this thing is great!” Trevor said as he rushed over to Ji-Ho. He was sitting at the dinette, watching his laptop.
“They in house,” he said.
“Oh, crap,” Trevor said, getting behind him to watch over his shoulder. “They don’t see the cameras?”
“Not yet,” Ji-Ho said, looking back at him, glee in his eyes.
“Who’s that guy?” Seth asked. “Looks like an Islamic Cleric.”
“I see face before,” Ji-Ho said. “He called Saladin.”
“No way,” Trevor said, watching him. “The guy in the picture with President Simpson and Governor Sable?”
“Look, they follow bread crumb downstairs,” Ji-Ho said. “They get surprise.”
“What’s going on?” Kaylee asked, coming up behind Trevor and Seth.
“We’re watching the enemy in Ji-Ho’s house,” Trevor whispered, moving over so she could get closer. She shot him an uneasy glance.
Ji-Ho switched the video to the lower level, just in time to see the UN Peacekeepers rushing down the stairs, Saladin following them cautiously.
“We won’t get him,” Ji-Ho whispered. “He smells rat. He too smart.”
“Where can he go?” Seth asked.
“He’ll go by the window,” Trevor said. “He can jump into the pool from there.”
