The Complete Lee West Post-Apocalyptic Box Set, page 44
part #1 of The Complete Lee West Post-Apocalyptic Box Set Series
The Boss knew it was a matter of time before Whitey spotted them. He had hoped to get the guys on the road before that useless gangbanger and his men came out.
“Fuck you, Whitey. I’m instructing my men. Something you wouldn’t know anything about.”
“Really? Me and my boys were the only ones who got back in one piece last night. Yours didn’t do so well.”
Leer started to get out of the car to defend the Boss, but the Boss stopped him and whispered, “I’ve got this.”
“Yeah, your men are the only ones who came back, sort of makes me wonder why. If the cops ambushed you guys like you said, how did your guys come back?”
“I guess my guys are just better shots.”
“Or traitors.”
“What’s that now?” said Whitey, sticking out his chest.
His own men moved closer, staring down the Boss.
“You heard me, and you know exactly what I mean, but I’ll deal with you later. Right now, we’re busy planning our next big score,” said the Boss arrogantly.
“Big score, huh? Bigger than one of these babies?” said Whitey, patting his SWAT-issue rifle.
“Much.”
“You plan to share? We let you guys in our plan to hit the camp.”
“And thanks for that. It turned out really great,” said the Boss, to a round of laughter.
He could tell the jeer hit Whitney below the belt. The man stiffened, his face turning hard with anger.
“We’re hitting the hospital. And, unlike you idiots, we don’t plan on going in half-cocked in the middle of the night. We’re watching them to figure out exactly what we need to take the place—before launching our attack,” said the Boss triumphantly.
“Yeah, the Boss is like a military general, planning this thing with recon and shit,” said Leer.
“The hospital has to be loaded with food and awesome drugs,” said Rico.
The Boss knew he had Whitey right where he wanted him. Even with the extra power the weapons they’d seized from the Grant Police Department granted Whitey, the Boss knew the gangbangers needed food and recreation above all. The Boss could provide both with a hospital hit. He just needed to do things right.
“We want in. We’ve got the firepower; you’ve got the plan.”
“You willing to share some of that firepower?”
“Maybe. Depends on what we get.”
“If I’m right about the hospital, we’ll all get plenty.”
The Boss could sense a shift in Whitey’s men, as though they were starting to see him with renewed respect. It was only a matter of time before he had all of Whitey’s men and weapons under his control.
Chapter Sixteen
Officer Cleff drove the lead vehicle to the hospital, with Officer Rogers’s truck following closely behind. Even though the hospital was a short twenty-minute ride from Porter, the ride took considerably longer. The drivers used the back roads the entire way, hoping to stay out of sight of any New Order patrols. The last thing the group needed was to be attacked, with injured men in the vehicles. Things were dicey enough.
Doc Jarvis loaded Cleff’s SUV with the two critically wounded men. All of the seats were collapsed to allow the men to lie flat for the ride. However, Cleff knew they were very uncomfortable, because every time he hit even the slightest bump, one or both of them would moan painfully.
Finally, the hospital came into view through the thick trees. Cleff slowed the vehicle and came to a stop on the side of the road. The officers who rode on the exterior floorboards quickly jumped off the sides and ran forward. Almost simultaneously, the men and women fanned out and crouched down, watching the assigned sectors around the hospital.
After taking surveillance reports from the observing officers, Newburgh gave Cleff the thumbs-up, signaling that the approach to the hospital was safe. The men and women would stay in concealed locations, guarding the entrance to the hospital grounds, in case any New Order men showed up during the drop-off. Everyone involved knew they were most vulnerable when the injured were being moved.
“V2, this is V1, come in,” Cleff said.
“This is V2,” said Rogers.
Cleff knew Rogers could not see the group of officers who were guarding the road for them.
“Moving out slowly,” said Cleff.
The two vehicles crept up the long drive to the hospital’s emergency room bay. Like most rural hospitals, Memorial had just one emergency room bay with a single approach. Nonemergency vehicles were directed to another driveway on the opposite side of the building. The simplicity of the hospital grounds made finding the emergency room easy, but it also created a very dangerous and exposed drop-off location.
Cleff hoped the personnel in the hospital could see the red cross spray-painted on the hood of the truck and the white flags held high through the windows by the passengers. Feeling comfortable that their approach was safe, Cleff picked up speed, hoping to get the men out as fast as possible. As he approached the loading bay, the hospital doors swung open and a number of hospital staff swarmed the vehicle. A tall redheaded woman shouted orders to the nurses and physicians.
“Get them out of the first vehicle as quickly as possible! Move it, people. I want the doors secured in less than three minutes! Move that vehicle into this slot!” she shouted to Rogers.
Rogers quickly pulled up and allowed the staff to open the doors and pull the three injured people from the vehicle with precision and efficiency.
“Move! Move!”
Cleff watched as Rogers’s vehicle was quickly unloaded. He pulled up just past in order to get out of the way. Two nurses were in Cleff’s vehicle, trying to gently move Stevens out of the truck. By the sounds of Stevens’s moans, Cleff could tell things weren’t going well.
“Grab a board! We need to secure his neck!” shouted one of the nurses.
Another person ran out of the bay with a board and brace. Without warning, gunfire erupted at the entrance to the hospital grounds.
“Grab him! We need to secure the doors! We’re under attack!”
Under her urgent orders, hospital workers hastily pulled Stevens out of the truck, ignoring his agonized cries while they strapped him to one of the gurneys. The team ran him into the hospital just as the doors were closing behind them. Then the doors stopped and the redhead emerged again.
“Get in here! You’re not safe out there!”
Rogers was already running for the bay when Cleff jumped out of his truck. The glass bay door was pulled shut and tightly secured behind them. When the doors closed together, a group of nonmedical-looking people started pushing large metal filing cabinets in front of the door.
“We shouldn’t be in here. We need to be out fighting with our team,” said Cleff to Rogers.
“Then you need to be upstairs! Follow me,” said the woman.
They ran up a dark staircase to the second floor. The entire waiting area had been converted to a bunker. In front of the massive windows, beds were placed on their sides with a short filing cabinet standing in front of each, anchoring the beds. Men sat in chairs, with military-style rifles aimed out the windows. A few held hunting rifles, which he assumed were the hospital’s version of a sniper team. He’d bring that idea back to the chief. They had no shortage of hunting rifles in Porter or any of the surrounding towns, and the New Order mostly ignored them, looking for the tacti-cool-looking stuff.
They waited tensely for another minute, but nothing emerged from the forest. Gunfire continued to crackle nearby, and Clef knew the other officers were finishing off whatever New Order attack had materialized from the town.
“Whatever was happening seems to have stopped. Looks like your guys were able to hold them off. I’m Jackson, by the way,” waved one of the men who held a scope-fitted, high-powered rifle.
“Appreciate the heads-up, Jackson,” said Clef, nodding at him. “That rifle seen a lot of business?”
“Any New Order head that pops up more than once within five hundred yards,” said Jackson.
“Business was booming. Pun intended,” said the man in the window next to Jackson. “They’re a little more careful these days.”
Cleff started to laugh, before his radio cracked to life.
“V1, this is support, come in.”
“This is V1. You guys okay?” said Cleff.
“Fine for now. Ready to roll?”
“Ready. Be there in a few,” said Cleff. “Let’s get out of here! I can’t tell if things will stay secure!” he shouted to Rogers.
“We’ll open the bay for you!” said the redhead, scrambling to assist them.
The men ran to their vehicles, quickly strapping in and pulling away from the loading bay. They tore down the drive back to the pickup location at a dangerously high speed. Once there, Cleff slowed as several officers emerged from the forest and jumped on the running boards. Cleff counted the officers and knew all were accounted for. No new casualties.
He heard a loud thump on the roof and Jones yelling, “Go! Go!”
The teams drove quickly and silently back to Porter. The New Order was once again at their heels, reminding them of how dangerous the world had become.
Chapter Seventeen
Jane and Sam sat with the team of officers in Doris’s dining room. The chief had assembled them to adjust their strategy in light of recent events. Jane could tell by the strain on the chief’s face that things were worse than she suspected. Officer Rolz’s team had arrived early, with nothing new to report from Porter. The officers were quickly added to the perimeter security schedule, leaving Jane to conclude that something must have spooked everyone during the hospital run.
“All right, everyone, let’s get started,” said the chief.
The assembled officers and civilian “deputies” quieted, waiting for the chief to start.
“We just got word from Porter. The hospital transport team was hit by the New Order as the casualties were being unloaded. They reported that the team guarding the entrance to the hospital was able to fend off the attack, with no casualties, but hospital personnel report an uptick in recent New Order activity in the area. They’re concerned that the New Order might be planning a major attack on their facility. They previously reported that they weren’t in need of additional police support, but given the brazen attack, they’ve changed their mind. We’ll need to embed a team in the hospital to assist with security. Jane, I’d like you to head the team. You will travel with Rolz to Porter, assemble seven to ten officers, and proceed to Memorial.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll leave before dawn,” said Jane, glancing at Joyce Rolz.
Rolz gave Jane a slight nod of the head, concurring with the plan.
“On a positive front, Porter is investigating a blacksmith who may be able to forge bullets for us. We can then use the spent casings and gunpowder from a local shooting range in Porter to create more ammunition. I’d like an up-to-date inventory of our ammunition situation so we know how much to request from Porter if the blacksmith thing pans out.”
The officers nodded in agreement. Jane sincerely hoped the blacksmith idea worked. Her personal ammunition supply had dwindled to the point where she’d be lucky to hold her own in a pitched battle lasting more than a few minutes. The rest faced the same problem. Without an infusion of additional ammunition, particularly rifle bullets, they would never be able to regain their towns from the New Order—or defend the one they retook.
“Any questions?” asked the chief.
Sam tentatively raised his hand.
“Sam?”
“I’d like to join the team at the hospital. We have another nurse and a doctor here at Doris’s house, so I don’t think I’d be missed. Besides, I might be able to collect medical supplies for us or help the hospital if needed.”
“Sounds like an excellent plan. I know we could use a refresh of medical supplies here. Please accompany Jane’s team.”
Jane was furious with Sam. She knew the only reason he asked the chief to go to the hospital was because the chief would agree to send him. If Sam had waited until after the meeting to discuss the idea with Jane, she would have said no. He needed to stay with Lea. The officers and deputies left the room while Jane stayed seated, waiting for the room to clear. Sam stayed with her, glancing at her with concern.
“Why did you do that? You need to stay here with Lea,” said Jane, trying to control her anger.
“I did it to be with you. Lea is safe here. After the two previous attacks on Doris’s house, we have not seen any New Order presence in the area. I think with Porter under police control, they’ve been pushed out of the area. She’ll be fine. It’s you I worry about.”
“And so you’re going to protect me?”
“That’s not what I meant. We both know you don’t need my protection, Officer Archer. What I meant was that I want to be with you in case you need me. I can’t stand the thought of you out there in danger while I just sit here picking lettuce. Besides, we do need more medical supplies. If there’s another attack, we’d be hard-pressed to assist the wounded.”
“I guess you’re right about that. We should be prepared in case anything happens. Just don’t get in the way.”
“Excuse me? A Navy corpsman, battle-tested in the Iraq War, getting in the way. I beg your pardon,” said Sam playfully.
“Okay, you got me. I get it, you’ll be fine,” said Jane, snuggling close to him.
“We’ll be fine.”
Jane enjoyed a moment in Sam’s warm embrace. The large number of people at Doris’s house did not afford much privacy for them. She missed their alone time more than ever. Holding him for just this moment made her think longingly of the simplicity and safety of their hiking trip, two things she was unsure they’d ever experience again.
Chapter Eighteen
The Boss paced in front of Rico and Leer. His anger rose to dangerous levels, almost to the point of losing control, but in order to earn the trust of Whitey’s men, he needed a success, not another failure.
“What do you mean they were ready for you?” he shouted at Leer.
“I don’t know, Boss. We were about to turn on the road that leads to the hospital for our daily drive-by, when all of a sudden bullets started raining down on us. We couldn’t even figure out where they were hiding with all the trees.”
“That’s when Leer went all CIA on us. He threw the car in reverse and gunned it backward! It was fucking amazing!” Rico shouted with excitement.
“Too bad you still have no idea what’s at the hospital or how many people are guarding it! You idiots just turned around and fled like a bunch of scared kids!” said Whitey, appearing out of nowhere.
“If you got a better plan that ain’t gonna get us all killed, then let’s hear it. Otherwise, shut your stupid piehole,” said the Boss.
Shit. He needed to calm down, or risk an attack by Whitey and his men.
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do have a plan. We go in with full guns blazing. They were ready for us, so we need to be ready for them. I say we hit them with everything we have. Take over their little fortress and enjoy the spoils! Who could they possibly have guarding the place? A few old security guards and a bunch of doctors and nurses? How hard could this be?”
Whitey’s men started cheering at the picture he painted of a dramatic gun battle, followed by looting. The Boss could sense his own men starting to gravitate toward the plan.
“I’m hoping my spoils include a couple of those cute nurses! I’m sure the ladies have been waiting for a little of this,” said one of Whitey’s men, grabbing his crotch.
“Looks like you got one problem,” said the Boss.
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“You only have one car left with any gas in it, so unless most of your guys plan to walk into the O.K. Corral, you need a ride.”
Whitey appraised the Boss, knowing that the Boss had just outmaneuvered him again. “You offering?”
The Boss glanced back at his own guys, giving them a sly smile. “We’ll trade wheels for guns.”
The stunned look on Whitey’s face gave Boss the satisfaction of besting the man. Without a ride, Whitey and his guys could never successfully take the hospital, and without Whitey’s superior firepower, neither would the Boss.
“We might be able to spare a few pieces so long as you provide us with another decent ride and plenty of fuel.”
“We can do that,” said the Boss.
“Deal.”
The Boss knew once his men had access to better weapons, they would be able to take the hospital and kill Whitey. They just needed to use Whitey’s people until success at the hospital was guaranteed—then they could dispose of those gangbangers once and for all.
Chapter Nineteen
Mark and Bill made excellent progress on their jog south to the blacksmith’s house. Mark was surprised by how well Bill was able to keep up with him. Despite the veteran’s age, Bill was in excellent physical shape, a habit instilled in him during his time on active duty.
“Hold up. We need to check the map. Given our pace and the amount of time that has passed, we should be getting close,” said Mark.
“You don’t have to pretend to look at the map just to get a break, Mark. If you need one, just ask,” said Bill, with comfortable humor.
“Funny guy.”
Mark crouched down and spread the map out on the ground between them. Pointing with his finger, he said, “I know we passed this point and this one. That means we should be roughly here. It’s hard to tell with no real landmarks.”
“If you’re correct, then the house should be down a little ways on the right.”
“Yes. That’s what I think too. Let’s conceal our weapons and walk from here. I don’t want to unnecessarily scare anyone.”
The men proceeded down the road a little farther until they spotted a small dirt road with a simple sign reading “White Raven Blacksmithing.”
“Right where he said it’d be. Let’s hope our reception is just as smooth,” said Mark.
“Fuck you, Whitey. I’m instructing my men. Something you wouldn’t know anything about.”
“Really? Me and my boys were the only ones who got back in one piece last night. Yours didn’t do so well.”
Leer started to get out of the car to defend the Boss, but the Boss stopped him and whispered, “I’ve got this.”
“Yeah, your men are the only ones who came back, sort of makes me wonder why. If the cops ambushed you guys like you said, how did your guys come back?”
“I guess my guys are just better shots.”
“Or traitors.”
“What’s that now?” said Whitey, sticking out his chest.
His own men moved closer, staring down the Boss.
“You heard me, and you know exactly what I mean, but I’ll deal with you later. Right now, we’re busy planning our next big score,” said the Boss arrogantly.
“Big score, huh? Bigger than one of these babies?” said Whitey, patting his SWAT-issue rifle.
“Much.”
“You plan to share? We let you guys in our plan to hit the camp.”
“And thanks for that. It turned out really great,” said the Boss, to a round of laughter.
He could tell the jeer hit Whitney below the belt. The man stiffened, his face turning hard with anger.
“We’re hitting the hospital. And, unlike you idiots, we don’t plan on going in half-cocked in the middle of the night. We’re watching them to figure out exactly what we need to take the place—before launching our attack,” said the Boss triumphantly.
“Yeah, the Boss is like a military general, planning this thing with recon and shit,” said Leer.
“The hospital has to be loaded with food and awesome drugs,” said Rico.
The Boss knew he had Whitey right where he wanted him. Even with the extra power the weapons they’d seized from the Grant Police Department granted Whitey, the Boss knew the gangbangers needed food and recreation above all. The Boss could provide both with a hospital hit. He just needed to do things right.
“We want in. We’ve got the firepower; you’ve got the plan.”
“You willing to share some of that firepower?”
“Maybe. Depends on what we get.”
“If I’m right about the hospital, we’ll all get plenty.”
The Boss could sense a shift in Whitey’s men, as though they were starting to see him with renewed respect. It was only a matter of time before he had all of Whitey’s men and weapons under his control.
Chapter Sixteen
Officer Cleff drove the lead vehicle to the hospital, with Officer Rogers’s truck following closely behind. Even though the hospital was a short twenty-minute ride from Porter, the ride took considerably longer. The drivers used the back roads the entire way, hoping to stay out of sight of any New Order patrols. The last thing the group needed was to be attacked, with injured men in the vehicles. Things were dicey enough.
Doc Jarvis loaded Cleff’s SUV with the two critically wounded men. All of the seats were collapsed to allow the men to lie flat for the ride. However, Cleff knew they were very uncomfortable, because every time he hit even the slightest bump, one or both of them would moan painfully.
Finally, the hospital came into view through the thick trees. Cleff slowed the vehicle and came to a stop on the side of the road. The officers who rode on the exterior floorboards quickly jumped off the sides and ran forward. Almost simultaneously, the men and women fanned out and crouched down, watching the assigned sectors around the hospital.
After taking surveillance reports from the observing officers, Newburgh gave Cleff the thumbs-up, signaling that the approach to the hospital was safe. The men and women would stay in concealed locations, guarding the entrance to the hospital grounds, in case any New Order men showed up during the drop-off. Everyone involved knew they were most vulnerable when the injured were being moved.
“V2, this is V1, come in,” Cleff said.
“This is V2,” said Rogers.
Cleff knew Rogers could not see the group of officers who were guarding the road for them.
“Moving out slowly,” said Cleff.
The two vehicles crept up the long drive to the hospital’s emergency room bay. Like most rural hospitals, Memorial had just one emergency room bay with a single approach. Nonemergency vehicles were directed to another driveway on the opposite side of the building. The simplicity of the hospital grounds made finding the emergency room easy, but it also created a very dangerous and exposed drop-off location.
Cleff hoped the personnel in the hospital could see the red cross spray-painted on the hood of the truck and the white flags held high through the windows by the passengers. Feeling comfortable that their approach was safe, Cleff picked up speed, hoping to get the men out as fast as possible. As he approached the loading bay, the hospital doors swung open and a number of hospital staff swarmed the vehicle. A tall redheaded woman shouted orders to the nurses and physicians.
“Get them out of the first vehicle as quickly as possible! Move it, people. I want the doors secured in less than three minutes! Move that vehicle into this slot!” she shouted to Rogers.
Rogers quickly pulled up and allowed the staff to open the doors and pull the three injured people from the vehicle with precision and efficiency.
“Move! Move!”
Cleff watched as Rogers’s vehicle was quickly unloaded. He pulled up just past in order to get out of the way. Two nurses were in Cleff’s vehicle, trying to gently move Stevens out of the truck. By the sounds of Stevens’s moans, Cleff could tell things weren’t going well.
“Grab a board! We need to secure his neck!” shouted one of the nurses.
Another person ran out of the bay with a board and brace. Without warning, gunfire erupted at the entrance to the hospital grounds.
“Grab him! We need to secure the doors! We’re under attack!”
Under her urgent orders, hospital workers hastily pulled Stevens out of the truck, ignoring his agonized cries while they strapped him to one of the gurneys. The team ran him into the hospital just as the doors were closing behind them. Then the doors stopped and the redhead emerged again.
“Get in here! You’re not safe out there!”
Rogers was already running for the bay when Cleff jumped out of his truck. The glass bay door was pulled shut and tightly secured behind them. When the doors closed together, a group of nonmedical-looking people started pushing large metal filing cabinets in front of the door.
“We shouldn’t be in here. We need to be out fighting with our team,” said Cleff to Rogers.
“Then you need to be upstairs! Follow me,” said the woman.
They ran up a dark staircase to the second floor. The entire waiting area had been converted to a bunker. In front of the massive windows, beds were placed on their sides with a short filing cabinet standing in front of each, anchoring the beds. Men sat in chairs, with military-style rifles aimed out the windows. A few held hunting rifles, which he assumed were the hospital’s version of a sniper team. He’d bring that idea back to the chief. They had no shortage of hunting rifles in Porter or any of the surrounding towns, and the New Order mostly ignored them, looking for the tacti-cool-looking stuff.
They waited tensely for another minute, but nothing emerged from the forest. Gunfire continued to crackle nearby, and Clef knew the other officers were finishing off whatever New Order attack had materialized from the town.
“Whatever was happening seems to have stopped. Looks like your guys were able to hold them off. I’m Jackson, by the way,” waved one of the men who held a scope-fitted, high-powered rifle.
“Appreciate the heads-up, Jackson,” said Clef, nodding at him. “That rifle seen a lot of business?”
“Any New Order head that pops up more than once within five hundred yards,” said Jackson.
“Business was booming. Pun intended,” said the man in the window next to Jackson. “They’re a little more careful these days.”
Cleff started to laugh, before his radio cracked to life.
“V1, this is support, come in.”
“This is V1. You guys okay?” said Cleff.
“Fine for now. Ready to roll?”
“Ready. Be there in a few,” said Cleff. “Let’s get out of here! I can’t tell if things will stay secure!” he shouted to Rogers.
“We’ll open the bay for you!” said the redhead, scrambling to assist them.
The men ran to their vehicles, quickly strapping in and pulling away from the loading bay. They tore down the drive back to the pickup location at a dangerously high speed. Once there, Cleff slowed as several officers emerged from the forest and jumped on the running boards. Cleff counted the officers and knew all were accounted for. No new casualties.
He heard a loud thump on the roof and Jones yelling, “Go! Go!”
The teams drove quickly and silently back to Porter. The New Order was once again at their heels, reminding them of how dangerous the world had become.
Chapter Seventeen
Jane and Sam sat with the team of officers in Doris’s dining room. The chief had assembled them to adjust their strategy in light of recent events. Jane could tell by the strain on the chief’s face that things were worse than she suspected. Officer Rolz’s team had arrived early, with nothing new to report from Porter. The officers were quickly added to the perimeter security schedule, leaving Jane to conclude that something must have spooked everyone during the hospital run.
“All right, everyone, let’s get started,” said the chief.
The assembled officers and civilian “deputies” quieted, waiting for the chief to start.
“We just got word from Porter. The hospital transport team was hit by the New Order as the casualties were being unloaded. They reported that the team guarding the entrance to the hospital was able to fend off the attack, with no casualties, but hospital personnel report an uptick in recent New Order activity in the area. They’re concerned that the New Order might be planning a major attack on their facility. They previously reported that they weren’t in need of additional police support, but given the brazen attack, they’ve changed their mind. We’ll need to embed a team in the hospital to assist with security. Jane, I’d like you to head the team. You will travel with Rolz to Porter, assemble seven to ten officers, and proceed to Memorial.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll leave before dawn,” said Jane, glancing at Joyce Rolz.
Rolz gave Jane a slight nod of the head, concurring with the plan.
“On a positive front, Porter is investigating a blacksmith who may be able to forge bullets for us. We can then use the spent casings and gunpowder from a local shooting range in Porter to create more ammunition. I’d like an up-to-date inventory of our ammunition situation so we know how much to request from Porter if the blacksmith thing pans out.”
The officers nodded in agreement. Jane sincerely hoped the blacksmith idea worked. Her personal ammunition supply had dwindled to the point where she’d be lucky to hold her own in a pitched battle lasting more than a few minutes. The rest faced the same problem. Without an infusion of additional ammunition, particularly rifle bullets, they would never be able to regain their towns from the New Order—or defend the one they retook.
“Any questions?” asked the chief.
Sam tentatively raised his hand.
“Sam?”
“I’d like to join the team at the hospital. We have another nurse and a doctor here at Doris’s house, so I don’t think I’d be missed. Besides, I might be able to collect medical supplies for us or help the hospital if needed.”
“Sounds like an excellent plan. I know we could use a refresh of medical supplies here. Please accompany Jane’s team.”
Jane was furious with Sam. She knew the only reason he asked the chief to go to the hospital was because the chief would agree to send him. If Sam had waited until after the meeting to discuss the idea with Jane, she would have said no. He needed to stay with Lea. The officers and deputies left the room while Jane stayed seated, waiting for the room to clear. Sam stayed with her, glancing at her with concern.
“Why did you do that? You need to stay here with Lea,” said Jane, trying to control her anger.
“I did it to be with you. Lea is safe here. After the two previous attacks on Doris’s house, we have not seen any New Order presence in the area. I think with Porter under police control, they’ve been pushed out of the area. She’ll be fine. It’s you I worry about.”
“And so you’re going to protect me?”
“That’s not what I meant. We both know you don’t need my protection, Officer Archer. What I meant was that I want to be with you in case you need me. I can’t stand the thought of you out there in danger while I just sit here picking lettuce. Besides, we do need more medical supplies. If there’s another attack, we’d be hard-pressed to assist the wounded.”
“I guess you’re right about that. We should be prepared in case anything happens. Just don’t get in the way.”
“Excuse me? A Navy corpsman, battle-tested in the Iraq War, getting in the way. I beg your pardon,” said Sam playfully.
“Okay, you got me. I get it, you’ll be fine,” said Jane, snuggling close to him.
“We’ll be fine.”
Jane enjoyed a moment in Sam’s warm embrace. The large number of people at Doris’s house did not afford much privacy for them. She missed their alone time more than ever. Holding him for just this moment made her think longingly of the simplicity and safety of their hiking trip, two things she was unsure they’d ever experience again.
Chapter Eighteen
The Boss paced in front of Rico and Leer. His anger rose to dangerous levels, almost to the point of losing control, but in order to earn the trust of Whitey’s men, he needed a success, not another failure.
“What do you mean they were ready for you?” he shouted at Leer.
“I don’t know, Boss. We were about to turn on the road that leads to the hospital for our daily drive-by, when all of a sudden bullets started raining down on us. We couldn’t even figure out where they were hiding with all the trees.”
“That’s when Leer went all CIA on us. He threw the car in reverse and gunned it backward! It was fucking amazing!” Rico shouted with excitement.
“Too bad you still have no idea what’s at the hospital or how many people are guarding it! You idiots just turned around and fled like a bunch of scared kids!” said Whitey, appearing out of nowhere.
“If you got a better plan that ain’t gonna get us all killed, then let’s hear it. Otherwise, shut your stupid piehole,” said the Boss.
Shit. He needed to calm down, or risk an attack by Whitey and his men.
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do have a plan. We go in with full guns blazing. They were ready for us, so we need to be ready for them. I say we hit them with everything we have. Take over their little fortress and enjoy the spoils! Who could they possibly have guarding the place? A few old security guards and a bunch of doctors and nurses? How hard could this be?”
Whitey’s men started cheering at the picture he painted of a dramatic gun battle, followed by looting. The Boss could sense his own men starting to gravitate toward the plan.
“I’m hoping my spoils include a couple of those cute nurses! I’m sure the ladies have been waiting for a little of this,” said one of Whitey’s men, grabbing his crotch.
“Looks like you got one problem,” said the Boss.
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“You only have one car left with any gas in it, so unless most of your guys plan to walk into the O.K. Corral, you need a ride.”
Whitey appraised the Boss, knowing that the Boss had just outmaneuvered him again. “You offering?”
The Boss glanced back at his own guys, giving them a sly smile. “We’ll trade wheels for guns.”
The stunned look on Whitey’s face gave Boss the satisfaction of besting the man. Without a ride, Whitey and his guys could never successfully take the hospital, and without Whitey’s superior firepower, neither would the Boss.
“We might be able to spare a few pieces so long as you provide us with another decent ride and plenty of fuel.”
“We can do that,” said the Boss.
“Deal.”
The Boss knew once his men had access to better weapons, they would be able to take the hospital and kill Whitey. They just needed to use Whitey’s people until success at the hospital was guaranteed—then they could dispose of those gangbangers once and for all.
Chapter Nineteen
Mark and Bill made excellent progress on their jog south to the blacksmith’s house. Mark was surprised by how well Bill was able to keep up with him. Despite the veteran’s age, Bill was in excellent physical shape, a habit instilled in him during his time on active duty.
“Hold up. We need to check the map. Given our pace and the amount of time that has passed, we should be getting close,” said Mark.
“You don’t have to pretend to look at the map just to get a break, Mark. If you need one, just ask,” said Bill, with comfortable humor.
“Funny guy.”
Mark crouched down and spread the map out on the ground between them. Pointing with his finger, he said, “I know we passed this point and this one. That means we should be roughly here. It’s hard to tell with no real landmarks.”
“If you’re correct, then the house should be down a little ways on the right.”
“Yes. That’s what I think too. Let’s conceal our weapons and walk from here. I don’t want to unnecessarily scare anyone.”
The men proceeded down the road a little farther until they spotted a small dirt road with a simple sign reading “White Raven Blacksmithing.”
“Right where he said it’d be. Let’s hope our reception is just as smooth,” said Mark.
