Bug Out! Part 8: RV Park Terror (15 page)

“We’ve got some nasty grades to climb. That gasser’s going to be noisy,” Malcolm said.

“Hell, how old is your coach?” George asked.

“Seven years,” Malcolm said, “but diesels last a lot longer.”

“That’s what my dad always used to say,” Heidi said. “We have to go over the Rockies, don’t we? How bad is that going to be?”

“Eastern Idaho and a good chunk of Wyoming’s going to be real fun for you guys,” Malcolm said, chuckling. “Don’t worry, it won’t be that bad. You’ll just have to stop talking some of the time.”

“What are you bringing?” asked George.

“Ah, the usual. Rifles, pistols, sawed off, and my bow. You?”

“I thought the OICW might come in handy, in case I need to shoot around any corners.”

“You still got rounds for that thing?”

“Yeah. Enough,” George said. “I’m bringing the M107, too. We are going into a war zone, after all.”

“Whoa, really? You think you’ll be needing a .50 cal sniper rifle? What if it gets confiscated?”

“What’s the use of having it if I don’t use it, Malcolm?” George asked, chuckling.

“Well, alright, if we run into a situation where we can set it up, I guess we’ll be glad we have it.”

“I hope this isn’t going to be another bloodbath,” Heidi said. “I mean,
really
. How many times do you guys think you’re going to get away with that crap?”

“Oh, if they were going to lock us up, it would have happened by now,” Malcolm said. “We
are
doing a service to society, you know. Certain people get it.”

Heidi sighed. She walked back around the front of the rig.

“Why does she stay with you?” Malcolm asked. “Haven’t been able to figure that out since the Sadie Evans thing. That got her real upset.”

“She keeps thinking I’ll quit this for good,” George said, softly. “I wish I could. I do love her, you know. More and more as time goes on. I wish she wasn’t coming along on this one, though.”

“Why?”

“We’re going into a war zone. I might get a little crazy. You know there’s a good chance I’ll run into some folks who I need to settle a score with.”

“From your special forces days?” Malcolm asked.

“Yeah, and the CIA days.”

“Well, then I’d say that you and Uncle Sam might be on the same side, regardless of our methods. Actually, I’m intrigued now. I’d be willing to make a few detours from the Nighthawk trail, to cause a little mayhem for God and Country.”

“I don’t know, Malcolm,” George said, a worried look on his face. “You know I’ve got a lot of baggage because of these guys. All of that PTSD stuff I had to work through. I might put us in danger. I don’t know how I’ll react if I run into certain folks.”

Malcolm laughed. “Are you serious? You don’t think you had baggage on the Sadie Evans case? Geez, you were married to her for all those years.”

George shrugged his shoulders and got a sheepish look on his face. “Remember that you almost died on that one. Twice.”

“But I didn’t die,” Malcolm said. “If you start worrying about that happening, it’s more likely that it will.
Careful gets you killed in our line of work.
”

“I know, I know,” George said. “Let’s go get ‘em.”

George went back to his coach and pulled up out of the way. Malcolm backed out and drove behind them, parking long enough to get his Jeep connected. Then they were off.

Back in Kansas, Terry and Trish were walking slowly back to their trailer, running the gauntlet of people wanting to congratulate them. Jake, Gabe and Dobie were sitting together under Dobie’s awning, on some chairs that he found hidden in his 5
^th
Wheel’s storage compartment. They were having a beer. Jake looked happy but tired. He still had his minister’s robe on, making the beer in his hand look a little out of place.

“Hey, guys, let’s go find something to do elsewhere, and give the newlyweds some privacy,” Jake said. The other two nodded, and they got up and started towards the clubhouse. They smiled at Terry and Trish as they walked past them.

“They’re giving us some privacy,” Terry whispered.

“I know,” Trish said, holding onto Terry’s arm. “It’s a little embarrassing.”

“You’ll get over it,” Terry said, smiling at her. They climbed into the trailer and shut the door behind them.

“We need to turn on the air conditioner,” Trish said. Terry nodded and turned it on while she shut the windows.

“Well, do you feel married, Mrs. Brown?” Terry asked, coming behind her and putting his arms around her waist. She turned to him and smiled. Then they kissed, growing more and more passionate.

“Wasn’t last night enough for a while?” she asked, smiling, looking into his eyes. “You want me again already?”

“Oh, yeah, I do,” Terry said softly, brushing her hair away from her pretty face. “I’m the happiest man alive right now.”

“I’m glad they went somewhere else,” she whispered. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bedroom.

Jane was still in the barn, working on the laptop. Jasmine moved another stool over to the work bench, sat down, and watched as Jane searched. She put in Earl Wilson’s name. “Holy crap,” she said, as a full page of links came up.

“This guy was major, wasn’t he?” Jasmine asked.

“Remember Red Dagger?” Jane asked.

“Yes, I do. He was a pretty frightening guy.”

“Earl Wilson was his cousin. They worked together, until Red Dagger got killed.”

“Wasn’t Red Dagger the one that got killed in that phony police shootout?” Jasmine asked.

“
Allegedly
phony police shootout,” Jane said, snickering. She looked over at Jasmine with a grin on her face. “I know, that was a frigging ambush. Malcolm Davis. Did you ever see the interviews with that guy?”

“Yeah, he was a trip,” Jasmine said.

“Why do you say
was
?” Jane asked. “He’s still very much alive.”

“Oh,” Jasmine said. “You’re right.”

Jane’s eyes got wider as she clicked on the next link.

“What?” asked Jasmine.

Jane was still reading, and put her hand up to stop the question. It took her a minute to get through it.

“You need to read this, but here’s the gist. Earl Wilson is dead. He was killed about five years ago, in the same gun battle that took out Jason Beckler.”

“Jason Beckler. That’s why Earl Wilson’s name rang a bell. I had nightmares about him.”

“Here’s the good part. Malcolm Davis took them out too, in a shootout that also took out Sadie Evans.”

“Whoa,” Jasmine said. “Sadie Evans. Another psychopath. She killed all those kids, and several cops, remember? Did Malcolm do them all by himself?”

“That’s what
he
says,” Jane said, “but the rumor on this forum has it that he was with some ex-Special Forces guy, who he just happens to have partnered with afterwards. They have a consulting business together, not far from where I live in Southern California.”

“Don’t tell me, let me guess. George Franklin.”

“Yeah, that’s what it says. How’d you know?”

“My friends and I considered Malcolm to be kind of a rock star back in the day,” Jasmine said. “He didn’t do much to shut down that kind of image, either, as I remember. George was starting to get attention as his partner in crime…and then the stories just dried up.”

“I know, I remember all of that. Jason Beckler was a big deal.”

“Didn’t Malcolm get indicted for that?” Jasmine asked. “I don’t remember how that turned out.”

“Yeah, he got indicted, but he beat the rap,” Jane said. “He basically said he was acting as a bounty hunter, and there was still money out on Earl Wilson’s head. Same with Sadie Evans. You don’t kill a bunch of cops without getting a bounty put on you.”

“Not Beckler? He was the worst of the bunch.”

“No, most law enforcement folks thought Jason Beckler was dead after the last job he did with Sadie, about twelve years ago,” Jane said. “In fact, the folks on this forum think that Beckler and Wilson got themselves into that last mess because they were trying to settle the score with Sadie. She kinda set them up, and then disappeared. You don’t do something like that to Jason Beckler.”

“This is ringing all kinds of bells,” Jasmine said. “There’s a good book out on it, but the author got discredited. Some people are thinking that Sadie Evans was actually married to George Franklin at one point. And don’t forget that Malcolm Davis killed Red Dagger, somebody very close to Earl Wilson. There’s connections all over this thing.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jane said.

“So what’s the tie between Chet and Earl Wilson?”

“I don’t know,” Jane said. “This is going to take more digging, and since Chet never got caught, we can’t really go from that direction. I’ll bet there’s nothing out there on him.”

“I wouldn’t start with Chet,” Jasmine said. “I’d start looking at the son.”

“His name wasn’t on the registration for the truck,” Jane said. “Why should we be looking at him?”

“He padlocked this place and walked away for a reason,” Jasmine said. “Wonder if there’s been similar activity in New Jersey over the past five years or so?”

“Okay, you’ve got a point,” Jane said. “What was his name again?”

“Scott Williams.”

Jake, Dobie, and Gabe were in the clubhouse talking.

“Well, Jake, this is a big day for you,” Gabe said.

“Yes, it is,” Jake said. “It’s not every day that you give up your daughter.”

“She’s getting a good man,” Dobie said.

“I know,” Jake said. “I figured that out on the ride out to Gabe’s place.”

“I heard he started out kinda rough,” Dobie said. “He froze up in a gun battle early on, but he caught on quick.”

“Yeah, Jeb said he’d count on him now,” Gabe said. “That’s enough for me.”

“I wish Trish’s mom was here to see this,” Jake said. “They were so much alike. Terry will be better with Trish than I was with Kate, I think. He’s got a little stronger hand.”

Dobie laughed. “Trish has that boy tied around her little finger. It took her about ten minutes.”

All three of the men snickered.

“Okay, you’re right,” Jake said.

“Any of you guys looked at the app lately?” Gabe asked.

“Yeah, I checked it out when I was walking back to my trailer, after the wedding,” Dobie said. “No change at the base. The icons are still just sitting there. The big news is Denver. The enemy is completely bogged down. I think a lot of them are dead, too. But that’s not the best thing.”

“What’s the best thing?” Jake asked.

“The icons that are still on I-70 aren’t moving anymore.”

“Good,” Gabe said. “About time.”

“Wonder how much General Hogan had to do with that?” Gabe asked.

“I want to know how much Frank’s apps had to do with that,” Dobie said. “He’s still working away over there. Look at him. Amazing guy.”

“Seriously,” Gabe said. “I want a drink. Something stronger than this beer. Let’s go down to the lounge.”

“You really want to hang out down there?” Dobie asked. “After what they found?”

“Sure, why not?” Gabe asked. “You don’t believe in ghosts, do you?”

“I do,” Jake said, “but I’m okay with going down there. Should only be good spirits there. Chet and his son aren’t there.”

Dobie and Gabe looked at each other and cracked up.

“Open your minds, fellas,” Jake said, a silly grin on his face. Then he started laughing too. “I know, I get a little ridiculous sometimes, I’ll admit it. C’mon, let’s go. That whiskey is calling me…we can toast the newlyweds, too.”

The three men got up quietly and walked into the barn. Jane and Jasmine watched as they opened the trap door.

“Going to go have some whiskey,” Jake said to them, grinning.

“Ewww, you guys are gonna go drink down
there
?” Jasmine asked.

“Sure, why not?” Jake said.

The Sheriff, Charlie, Jerry, and Kurt saw them open the trap door from where they were talking, over by the burned out trailer. They walked over as the three men started down the steps.

“I padlocked the dungeon, if that’s what you want to see,” the Sheriff said. “I’ll take you in if you’re curious.”

“Naw, that’d be a buzz kill on my daughter’s wedding day,” Jake said. “We wanted something to wet our whistle…maybe drink a toast or two.”

“Mind if we join you?” Jerry asked.

“I’d love it,” Jake said. “C’mon down.”

The rest of the men went down the ladder too, and they all sat at the bar, except Jake, who got behind it.

“You guys like Jameson?”

“Hell yeah,” Charlie said, smiling. “There’s probably ice in the fridge over there now. We turned it on yesterday.”

“Excellent,” Jake said. “I’d rather have it on the rocks than out of a shot glass. Savor the flavor.”

“Hand me that ice bucket under there,” Charlie said. Jake looked under the bar and found it. He handed it to Charlie.

“May have to dust it off a bit,” Jake said. Charlie nodded and took it over to the sink.

“So, how does it feel to have a son-in-law?” Jerry asked, smiling.

“I’m right proud of her choice, I’ll say that,” Jake said.

“Yes, I’d be proud to have Terry as a son-in-law too,” Kurt said, smiling. “He’s good people.”

“Thanks for that,” the Sheriff said. “I wish his folks were alive to see this.”

“What happened to them?” Jerry asked.

“They got killed in a helicopter crash, while they were on vacation,” he replied, looking a little choked up. “I took Terry in after that. We don’t have any other family left.”

“That’s tough,” Charlie said, walking up with the bucket full of ice.

Jake lined up the glasses, put ice in them, and then poured the whiskey. He raised his glass. “To Trish and Terry…may they have many happy years together.”

“With lots of babies!” Jerry said. The men all had a sip.

“Oh, man, does that taste good,” Kurt said.

“Hey, Dobie!” Jasmine called down from the door.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he replied.

“Princess is looking for you, I think. She’s right here.”

“Princess!” he called. She poked her head into the trap door, turning her head to the side, looking at the men. “C’mon, girl.”

She slowly came down the steps, tail wagging, and then trotted over to Dobie, nuzzling him.