Surviving (15 page)

• • •

              It was dark when they left the hanger. John’s phone rang. It was his literary agent. His agent told him to blow off the press because he had sold their story to a book publisher and that he had FOX news paying to have the first interview.

              Gus said, “John, can we share in your heroic story?”

              John slapped him on the back and said that they would all share any profit equally. The agent also told them to go home, kiss their loved ones and get ready for their adoring fans and lots of news interviews and parades.

• • •

              Gus went home to his wife, Robin who was happy to see him and welcomed him warmly.

              After a short stop at the hospital to get his wound attended to, Jim went to his girlfriend’s apartment, spent the night making love to her and asked her to marry him.

              Scott hugged his Dad and went to his girlfriend’s house only to find his mom already there. They spent the rest of the evening catching up on the event. Ann finally went home. Scott and Joan went to the bedroom and Scott fell asleep with her in his arms. She looked at him and wondered when he would ask her to marry him. She loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

              Steve went to his favorite bar, entertained all of his friends and played the big guy to all of the women. He started to take one home and bang her all night, but thought of Janet and went home.

              John went home after checking on things at the shop. All was well, but he found that JoAnne had taken a two week vacation and had not been seen since they had left on the trip. John got to his house after dark and went in and checked all of the rooms, then tried to fall asleep on the couch. He could only think of Beth and had to hold her. He smiled as he thought just how many teachers named Beth Fox could live in a small town like Smyrna, TN. He knew he could not wait for her phone call. He fell asleep with a big grin on his face.

• • •

              Robert dropped JoAnne off at her front door, kissed her and left. JoAnne was walking on cloud nine; she had finally found Mr. Right and just needed him not to find out about her past. The only thing that nagged her was that Robert had continuously asked questions about Gus and John. He explained that he was a bit jealous and they seemed to be a big part of her life.

              JoAnne opened the door and sat her bags down in the hallway. Just as she reached for the light switch, she felt a hand cover her mouth and another drag her down to the floor.

              She heard a voice say, “Bitch, keep your mouth closed or you die.” The hand left her mouth and the lights came on.

              A latino looking guy stood there with a big gun aimed at her chest. He reached up and cupped a hand on her right breast and she slapped him. He hit her on the side of her head with the gun and she fell like a sack of doorknobs.

              He pulled out his iPhone, started filming and said beg for your life and maybe I will spare you. JoAnne started crying and begged for her life

              She asked him why this was happening and he replied, “John fucked with the wrong hombres.”

✼

Chapter 18

May Fred Rest in Pieces?

Tennessee

May 20, 2020

              They dropped the rest of Fred’s body off in Buck Snort about 100 yards off Highway 40 around 2:00 a.m. They then drove about 10 more miles toward Nashville and ran the van through the fence on the side of the road. They had made sure no one was on the road and then begun to shoot up the van and a couple of trees. Bill took the pistol about a quarter mile down the road and threw it in the trees. Beth, Alice and Janet took turns tearing their clothes, slapping each other and rolling around on the ground. When Bill got back, they assaulted him to make his story look good. He already had the bullet wound so their story should be credible.

              Bill tried to flag down a car, but after many attempts no one pulled over. Finally, a police car drove up with lights flashing. Soon, there were ambulances and a dozen cop cars all around. They took down their stories and took them to the Jackson Hospital. They all played their roles to a tee. Bill was in shock and the women were alternating between crying and screaming about poor Fred.

              Once they calmed down in the hospital, a Homicide Investigator took their stories one more time. He thanked them and asked if he could get them a ride home. Beth told him they had a ride, but were thankful that he was going to get Fred away from those assholes. They only had bruises and scrapes and were released to go home.

              Beth had the police call her uncle when they arrived. He got there about an hour after they were released.

              Her Uncle Tom arrived with her cousin, Sam, in tow. Tom was 6’3” and looked like a boxer, complete with the mangled ear and scars on his chin. He turned the corner, saw Beth, ran up and picked her up in the air. He bellowed out that he would personally kill the SOB that hurt his little girl. They all quickly introduced themselves and settled in for the two-hour ride back to Smyrna. Beth acted as if she was asleep so she wouldn’t have to answer Uncle Tom’s questions. Her aunt and uncle had practically raised her and were the closest things to grandparents that her kids had. Her parents had died in a car crash when she was in the 6th grade and they were always there for her. Her cousin, Sam, was four years older and was the best big brother a girl could have.

              They got to the Smyrna area, dropped the others off and took Beth to her uncle’s house. Her kids had stayed there while she was away and her Aunt Sally just had to take care of her baby girl. They had agreed to tell the kids that mom had been in a car wreck, but was just fine. Beth looked in on the kids and found them still asleep since they had been up for several hours after Tom got the call. Kristie was 11 and Randy was nine and were very good kids. While their father was too busy with his new wife, Beth, Aunt Sally and Uncle Tom gave them a lot of love and education. They were very lucky kids.

Beth was exhausted. She lay down and passed out.

• • •

              Aunt Sally woke the kids up at 10:00a.m., fed them and asked them to play quietly while their mom slept. They begged her to let them see her and she let them peek in on her. This helped and they were soon on their iPads and Game Boys.

              Tom got his wife and Sam off to the side and said, “Something is rotten here, I would normally believe anything our girl says, but this sound like a TV show.”

              Sally said, “Now Tom wait until you have all the facts and give her the benefit of the doubt. We both know that if she is keeping something to herself it is for a good reason. Remember she was raised right and is a great woman. I trust her with my life.”

              Tom and Sam agreed.

              Sam added, “Dad, we will kill who ever hurt her.”

              Tom said, “You got that shit right. Maybe we need to clean our guns.”

• • •

              “Good morning LA! I love the U…S…A……! How are all of my Prepper Buddies doing this fine day in Lower Alabama?” He then added, “The President can kiss my redneck ass. You won’t believe the story that I’m about to tell you,” John exclaimed. “Also we are simultaneously broadcasting live on FOX news. Jim O’Reilly is here in the studio and will interview us heroes. You won’t hear our story on any of those Socialist Lapdog stations. This story may even be better than my last book and that’s why it is going to be my next book and possibly a movie!” John exclaimed.

              O’Reilly started the interview with Gus telling the audience about the background concerning their annual trip. Then he proceeded to have each one give a thumbnail sketch about their selves and their backgrounds with emphasis on what gave them the ability to survive and then prevail over these very dangerous terrorists.

              John couldn’t wait for the show to be over, even though it meant that being well known, as a hero would increase his book sales. He just wanted to hightail it to Smyrna to see Beth.

              John had woken up that morning on a mission from the minute his eyes opened. He called the rest of the team and checked on them. All were fine and he told them that he was okay, but would do his morning show and then be out of town for a couple of days on a trip to Nashville concerning a new shop he planned to open in that area.

              He left the studio, got his Bug Out Bag and some artillery, loaded them into his old Jeep and took off towards Nashville. His Jeep was a ’68 that had been modified and made better than new. Steve’s shop performed all of the running gear work and the engine swap. Since John was a Prepper, he kept the motor free of all modern electronics. The Jeep didn’t have any electronics, because every Prepper knew that a solar flare or EMP would fry all electronics.

              Along the way, he burned up his iPhone asking Siri to look up addresses for Beth Fox and Elizabeth Fox in Smyrna. He got four addresses. He also called the Commercial Realtor that had been working the Nashville area for him. John said, “Miss Woods, what have you got to show me today? I will be in the Nashville area by noon and want to look at the businesses or property. I will be there for two to three days. By the way do you have anything in the Smyrna area?"

              Miss Woods replied, “I have several in Nashville, but will have to check the Smyrna area.”

• • •

              John got off Highway 65 at the 840 exit and headed over towards Smyrna. It was only 15 minutes and he got on Highway 24 and headed west towards Smyrna. He got to exit 70, got off and headed east into Smyrna. This was Nissan Blvd and frankly, there wasn’t much on it for the first several miles. Then he saw Smyrna High School on the left. This is where she taught! Too bad, it was summer break or she could be found quickly. He then went several miles and saw the large Nissan plant on the right and a Wal-Mart on the left. He continued and noticed the road had changed names to Sam Ridley. He went a mile or so and saw a golf course on the right and a large airfield just behind it. He kept driving around the area for a while then drove to the first house on his list of Foxes.

              He sat outside of the house and saw a family of six with a multi-racial mix. Check, not the right one.

              He drove to another neighborhood in an older section of the town and was sure that the house might have had some drug dealers so another no check.

              He was hungry and checked the time; it was 1:30 p.m. He went back to Sam Ridley, went to Cheddars and had a real good meal and a couple of beers. This filled him up and made him feel good. He was hunting his honey and might even find a location for his new shop. He thought I hope her kids aren’t a bunch of brats. He had thought he had just finished raising Scott and Jim and did not know if he was up to it again.

              John then went to the realtor’s office and spent the rest of the day looking at property. He spent the night at a hotel at the intersection of I-24 and Sam Ridley.

              John got up at 6:00 a.m. and was determined to find Beth; he really missed her. He didn’t know how he fell so quickly for her, but she had also fallen for him and that was the most important thing. He stopped for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel and then went down Sam Ridley and stopped to get gas. The old Jeep had a 351 Cleveland and mostly Ford running gear. Gas mileage was not a strong suit, but it could go anywhere.

              He got back on I-24, headed back to exit 70, headed west until he got to One Mile Lane, and turned left. He drove around until he saw the street he wanted and parked across the street a couple of houses down from the address.

              He waited for a while, a Ford 4x4 pulled into the drive and two guys got out and went into the house. One was a real big guy and the other was just a bit smaller. They looked like guys that you did not want to tangle with. They were in the house for about 15 minutes and came out carrying a bag and several women’s garments on hangers. They drove off and then John thought BINGO! Maybe Beth needed clothes and was staying at a relative’s house. He thought it was worth a try. He peeled out and followed the Ford.

              They only went a couple of blocks and pulled into the driveway of a nice house with a detached garage on a large lot. It was a real nice house. Two kids ran out to meet the guys and helped them carry the clothes into the house. Beth has two kids about that age and a boy and girl match what Beth had told him. Again, he parked across the street and tried to look like he was checking a map.

• • •

              Beth woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. She heard Uncle Tom and Sam come into the house and was eager to see them. She put on a housecoat, combed her hair and went out into the kitchen. Sally hugged her and gave her a cup of coffee. The guys came into the kitchen, hugged her and started asking her how she was.

              Tom looked through the kitchen window and said, “Sam, I forgot something in the truck, come with me. Sam, do you see that black Jeep across the street from the Patterson’s?”

              Sam replied, “Yes, and it looks just like the one parked across from Beth’s house. Do you think it is the guys who beat her up?”

              Tom replied, “I don’t know, but let’s find out.”

              They went out the back door and circled back towards the Jeep. They caught John totally by surprise and when he looked up, he had a Colt 1911 under his chin.

              He heard, “Partner, I don’t know who you are, but you are about to meet your maker if you make a wrong move.”

              John slowly raised his hands and told them that he was just a man lost in Smyrna trying to find Main Street.

              Sam asked, “Then asshole, why is that .45 in the seat beside you?”

              John replied, “Son, there are some bad guys out there and I know a young lady that needs some protection and I am trying to find her.”

              Just then, John’s phone rang. John asked if he could answer it. They both said yes.

              He answered and said, “Hello Darlin’, I hope all is well with you and I miss you so much. Beth, do you know two big guys that are a bit over protective of you? Yes, well talk to this guy.”

              He handed the phone to Tom. Tom said hello and instantly recognized the voice on the phone. Tom said, “Beth do you know this guy?”

              He then hung up and told John to get his ass out of the Jeep and follow them.

              Before they could cross the street, Beth came running out of the house and jumped into John’s arms. They kissed for a minute and Beth said, “I guess we have some explaining to do.”

              Uncle Tom said, “Girl, you got that right.”               When they got in the house, Aunt Sally took one look at John and said, “I saw you two kissing. Isn’t he a bit old for you Beth? He is handsome in a rugged sort of way. Well, I guess love is blind.”

              Aunt Sally stopped and thought a minute and said, “Where the hell did you meet him and how did this love happen so fast?”

Beth replied, “I’ll fill you in on my trip and my new love.”

              She squeezed John’s hand as she talked with Aunt Sally.

              John interrupted and said, “Beth, have y’all noticed that the police have about zero interest in solving Fred’s murder?”

              Uncle Tom said, “You know I expected them to be bothering Beth, what gives?”

              John waved off Tom and took Beth into the kitchen and asked, “Beth do you trust your Uncle with the whole story and before you answer the CIA, FBI and probably Home Land Security are involved. They are making my Team out to be heroes and your group just stays out of it. Y’all are home free no worries.”

              Beth said, “Yes I trust my Uncle Tom and he could come in handy, he is a lot like you and Gus. Can I tell my friends not to worry, they are scared shitless?”