Rebellion, page 14
part #3 of Bug Out! California Series
“The library,” Jules said.
“Wait until dark, and come to the theater,” Jordan said. “There’s a bunch of places to hide here. Catwalks, for instance. Hell, you could probably even position yourselves and your equipment in this tunnel system.”
“I like,” Jules said. “We go into library for now, before somebody notice us here.”
“The woman in the box office will be gone in an hour,” Ted said.
“Anybody else in theater?” Jules asked.
“No,” Jordan said. “Last of them left a few minutes before your team got here.”
“Should we take care of box office lady?” Jules asked.
“No, man,” Ted said. “She hates the UN. Let it slip. She’s a Torrance city employee. She bought our story. I won’t kill her.”
“Yeah, I agree on that,” Sparky said.
“Me too,” Tex said.
“So we’re gonna let the women go through another day of rape and torture in there?” Robbie asked.
“Yes,” Jules said. “Sorry. If we can kill high level globalist thugs, it will help with greater war effort. This good for our women too. We must. It Ivan’s call, though. I’ll get with him before we get out of car. Understand?”
“Yes,” Robbie sighed. “Sorry, you’re right. I don’t have to like it.”
“No, you don’t,” Jules said. “Talk to you later.”
The radio went silent.
“So we wait an hour and then head for the tunnel system?” Robbie asked.
“Yeah, kid,” Sparky said.
“Where’s the tunnel opening?” Jordan asked.
“It’s in the shop,” Tex said.
“Ah, behind the stage,” Jordan said. “Never noticed a trap door back there.”
“You’ve been around this theater, I take it?” Robbie asked.
Jordan laughed. “Yeah, I’ve been in musicals here before. Been a few years. I helped with set building, did audio work, and was part of the chorus on stage. You?”
“Orchestra,” Robbie said. “Spent many an hour down in the pit.”
The radio blipped.
“Sparky?”
“Yeah, Jules, we’re listening.”
“Ivan agrees. We hold off. I go get food, come back later. We have plan changes to discuss.”
“We’re still gonna rescue the women, right?” Robbie asked.
“Yeah, kid, no worry. We get them out. Trust me.”
“Okay, talk to you soon,” Sparky said.
***
Trevor woke up, spooned against Kaylee, who was snoring quietly. He looked at her shiny black hair, spilled over the pillow, her naked shoulder inches from his face. His pulse quickened. Control yourself. He was losing the battle.
Kaylee stirred and stretched, pushing against him harder, turning her face towards him. “You’re both up.”
“Sorry,” Trevor said. “I’m trying.”
“You didn’t do anything,” she said, turning on her back. Trevor froze, moving away. She giggled. “Where are you going? Get back here. I’m cold.”
He moaned and moved against her again, beside himself as he looked into her eyes.
“You already love me,” she whispered. “How long has that been going on?”
“Months,” Trevor said, looking ashamed.
“Hey, you did the right thing,” she said. “You were honorable. I didn’t know.”
“You said you could tell I was attracted to you,” Trevor said.
She giggled again. “This is gonna sound bad. Most guys are attracted to me. I’ve seen Seth and Angel check me out too, you know.”
Trevor smiled. “Yeah, I know. You’re hot.”
“Stop it,” she said. “What time is it?”
He reached for his phone. “It’s only six. What time are we supposed to get up?”
“When the others get up, I guess,” she said. “I don’t hear them, other than my uncle snoring.”
“That’s who it is?”
“Yeah, it drove my auntie nuts,” she said, reaching up to stroke his hair. “What made you fall in love with me?”
“I’m not sure we should talk about it right now,” Trevor said. “I’m having enough trouble as it is.”
“I can tell. You poor man.”
“You’re enjoying this,” he whispered.
“Maybe just a little.” She snuggled up closer, and pulled his leg over her waist. “There, that’s better.”
“Kaylee,” he whispered.
“It’s okay,” she said.
“Easy for you to say,” Trevor said. “What do you think about me?”
“I thought you didn’t want to talk about it like this,” she said, flashing a coy smile. She moved closer to him, taking his hand and putting it on her belly. “You can touch me, you know.”
“I think I’m touching you more than enough,” he said.
“I’m not ready to make love,” Kaylee whispered, “but you can touch me. I want you to.”
Trevor moaned, his hand roaming over her, avoiding the parts he wanted most. She stared into his eyes, her hands roaming on him, slowly and tenderly. “This is strange.”
“Sorry,” Trevor said, moving his hand away.
She rolled her eyes and pulled his hand back to where it was. “You don’t know what I think is strange, so why get all worried about it?”
He moaned as his hand roamed again, trembling with love and lust.
“You don’t want to know?” she asked. “You’re going to take patience.”
“Sorry,” he said.
“Quit saying that,” she whispered. “I’m already in love with you. It’s never happened to me this fast. That’s all.”
“Oh, God,” he said, moving in to kiss her. She returned it with abandon.
“Can I trust you not to do it?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
She pulled him over on top of her, feeling his weight envelop her. “Oh yeah, that’s better.” They settled into another kiss, going on for several minutes.
Somebody moved out in the salon. Trevor moved off her quickly. “They’re getting up.”
She got on her side and looked at him, a calm happiness on her face. “Did you like that?”
“What a question,” Trevor said.
“We’d better settle down. You’ve got the flush. Bad.”
Trevor chuckled. “Yeah, I do that when… you know.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Everybody does, but my skin hides it more than yours. Let’s talk for a while.”
“Okay,” he said. “What do you want to talk about?”
“What do you want your life to be like? Do you want kids, or do you want to travel, or start a business, or what?”
He chuckled. “Got all day? That’s a big question.”
“Okay, just the first one. Do you want a family? Do you like kids?”
“Yes,” Trevor said. “I’m not mature enough for that yet, but I want it eventually. You?”
“Same, basically,” she said. “Check one.”
Trevor laughed. “I’m being tested, aren’t I?”
“Maybe a little bit,” she said.
“You two up?” Ji-Ho asked through the door.
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Good, I call Sam and One Eye. Better get dressed. We need to unhitch off roaders. I ask them to bring drivers.”
“Okay,” Kaylee said.
“Do I look okay now?” Trevor asked. “Flush gone?”
“Yes,” she said. “I want to kiss you again, but we’d better wait, or it’ll come back.”
She got out of bed, standing before him naked. He moaned when he saw her.
“What?” she asked, spinning around for him.
Trevor smiled and got out of bed, and they dressed.
“Okay, now it’s safe,” she said, getting into his arms. They kissed one more time, and then she slid the door open. “Good morning.”
“They come,” Ji-Ho said. “They bring enough drivers. Let’s load weapons in Jeeps.”
“I’m ready,” Trevor said. “That coffee I smell?”
“Yes, but take out with you,” Ji-Ho said. “They be here half hour.”
Chapter 12 – Meat Market
The Jeeps were loaded with the weapons when One Eye and Sam rolled up in a four-wheel-drive truck. There were four young men in the bed.
“You guys ready to go?” One Eye asked, getting out of the passenger seat.
“Yes, we ready,” Ji-Ho said.
Sam got out and rushed to Ji-Ho, giving him a hug. “Good to see you, old friend.”
“Same,” Ji-Ho said, patting his back as they left the embrace. “How Connie?”
“Scared and tired,” Sam said, “but well.”
The four young men got out of the truck bed.
“This is Sandy Creek, Crossbow, Touchdown, and Quiet Fox,” One Eye said. “Drivers. Great warriors.”
They nodded silently.
“Good to meet. This my daughter,” Ji-Ho said, motioning to Kaylee. She came over.
“What, Uncle?” she asked, eyeing Sam.
“This old dear friends Sam and One Eye,” Ji-Ho said. “Men, this Kaylee.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sam said. One Eye nodded in agreement, smiling.
“Good to meet you,” Kaylee said.
“Guys, gather round,” Ji-Ho said.
Trevor, Seth, and Angel rushed over.
“This Trevor, Seth, and Angel. Good fighters.”
“We need all the help we can get,” One Eye said. He eyed the young men and chuckled.
“What funny?” Ji-Ho asked.
“Two of our young women are anxious to meet these guys,” One Eye quipped. “They’re handsome. They’ll be in trouble.”
“This one’s taken,” Kaylee said, putting her arm around Trevor’s waist.
Angel snickered. “What? Already?”
“Why hide it?” Kaylee glanced at Trevor. His face was red.
“I think it’s good,” Seth said. “How long is the drive?”
“About forty-five minutes while it’s light,” One Eye said. “Nearly twice that in the dark.”
“What do you want us to drive?” Crossbow asked.
“Off-roaders,” Ji-Ho said. “Okay?”
“I’ll show you,” Trevor said. The four followed him to the vehicles.
“Whoa, these things are bitchen,” Sandy Creek said.
“Yeah,” Crossbow said. Touchdown and Quiet Fox looked, wide-eyed. Seth and Angel walked over. “Hey, my name is James, and Sandy Creek there is Zac. Touchdown is Ryan, and Quiet Fox is Tyler. One Eye has this thing about the traditional names. We only use them around him and a few of the other elders.”
Seth chuckled. “Yeah, I figured. You really good with a crossbow?”
“I’m okay,” James said.
Zac snickered. “Okay? He can shoot out a charging boar’s eye at forty yards.”
“That was a lucky shot,” James said.
“No it wasn’t,” Tyler said. “You’ve done a lot of nice shots. Don’t sell yourself short.”
Seriously,” Ryan said.
“Anything we need to know about these things?” Zac asked.
“I’ve driven all of them,” Kaylee said as she walked up. “They’re pretty straight forward, but you have to shift them. Do you guys know how to drive a stick shift?”
They all nodded yes.
“Good, then you won’t have any problem,” she said. “I’m going to go pack up what’s left of the food. Want to help me, Trevor?”
“Sure,” he said, following her back to the motor home.
“Wow, she’s gorgeous,” James said. “She really spoken for?”
“Yeah,” Seth said. “There really women in your camp who aren’t taken?”
The four men looked at each other and chuckled. “Yeah, there’s two who don’t have men. Both of them are pretty strong. Most of us thought they weren’t worth the trouble. Too much like white girls.”
Seth laughed. “Oh, really now? You guys got women already?”
“Hell, we’re all married,” Zac said.
“What do these two women look like?” Angel asked quietly.
“I’ll let you be the judge of that,” James said. The four men looked at each other and cracked up.
“You have to be nice,” Ryan said. “One of them is my sister. Kaitlyn.”
James laughed. “These guys have more to fear from Kaitlyn than she does from them.
“C’mon, man,” Ryan said, grinning. “Don’t scare them away. I want to watch this develop.”
“You’re bad, man,” Tyler said.
“You guys about ready?” One Eye asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” James said.
“Good, then let’s saddle up.”
“Kaylee and Trevor, we go,” Ji-Ho said.
“Coming, Uncle,” Kaylee said. She came down the steps, followed by Trevor with a box of food in his hands.
“Some of this stuff will need to go on ice,” Trevor said.
“We have some,” One Eye said. “Let’s go.”
Ji-Ho locked up his coach, then got into one of the Jeeps. Angel, Kaylee, and Trevor got into the other three Jeeps. Seth, Sam, and the four warriors got into the Off-Roaders. They took off, around the bend and onto a heavily rutted dirt road, which wound through some small hills and settled into a long flat stretch on the floor of a valley. After nearly half an hour, they were back into the hills, climbing, then down again, rolling along a road next to a dry wash, a hill rising on the left side, up to about forty feet at one point. A ridge on the right started, rising to a fairly high hill several hundred yards away. They passed that and turned right, following the road as another ridge rose along the left side. They came around a bend and a large group of tents came into view, across the road from an abandoned house. The vehicles drove past the camp and pulled into the flat ground there.
“Wow,” Seth said, getting out and walking to Angel’s vehicle. Zac, James, Ryan, and Tyler met them.
“Well, it’s not much, but it’s home,” Tyler said, twinkle in his eye.
“Why’s that guy up on the ridge?” Seth asked.
“Long story,” Zac said. “Sam filled us in. Remember the gun battle that killed Jason Beckler and Sadie Evans?”
Seth’s eyes got wide. “You mean that thing with Malcolm Davis?”
“Yeah,” Zac said. “That’s the house. Wait until you see the bullet holes.”
“Later,” Sam said, walking up. “Let’s get your camp set up and the weapons distributed. Then we need to plan our attack.”
“We have more tents and sleeping bags,” Ryan said. “I’ll show you where they are.”
“Okay, let’s get busy,” Seth said.
***
Morgan sat in the holding cell, leaned against the wall, trying to forget what happened less than an hour before. The door creaked open, two guards bringing several women into the room. The UN Peacekeeper with them unlocked the door. The guards pushed the women into the cell, and the UN Peacekeeper slammed the cell door shut and locked it.
“Katie,” Morgan said, watching her approach. She sat down next to Morgan, then buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
“Bad?” Morgan asked, touching her shoulder.
“Worst so far,” she said. “I had to take on five of them. Why don’t they just kill us already?”
“Don’t say that,” Morgan whispered. “Don’t give up. We have to survive.”
“They don’t even pretend to ask questions anymore,” Katie said, looking at her. “I’m bruised all over. They’re hitting me more.”
“I know, same with me,” Morgan said.
“I saw different people in the meeting room that we pass on the way,” Katie said. “Some Arab guy on crutches and a little weasel-looking character in a euro-trash suit.”
“Really?” Morgan asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “There was a guy there that looked really familiar, too. I think I’ve seen him on TV before. He was in an expensive suit. He checked me out as I walked by.”
Morgan froze, brow furrowed.
“What’s the matter?” Katie asked.
“Probably nothing,” Morgan said.
“Come on,” Katie whispered.
“If it’s somebody high in the government and any of us have seen them, we might never get out of here alive.”
Katie’s eyes got wide. “Shit, they might kill us so we don’t talk.”
“I’ve known since the first day that we’ll only get out of here if somebody rescues us.”
“You really think Robbie can do something?” Katie asked.
“I hope so,” Morgan said. “I don’t know.”
“When do you have to go in again?” Katie asked.
“Tomorrow morning, unless they get a wild hair up their ass again.”
“I don’t see how they can stand to get close to us,” Katie said. “None of us have had a shower for days. We stink to high heaven.”
Morgan nodded. “I know. They might be trying to break us. I’ve read about that before.”
“Break us?” Katie asked.
“Yeah, break our spirit like a damn colt. Then use us to entertain their leadership.”
Katie shot her a sidelong glance. “Like Mr. Eurotrash and Mr. TV.”
Morgan nodded. “If they offer us showers and nice clothes, I’ll bet that’s what they’re planning.”
“I’m not broken,” Katie whispered. “Are you?”
“No way,” Morgan said. “Might not hurt to let them think I am, though.”
“Why?”
“If Robbie and Sparky can’t get us out, I might take the opportunity to kill a leadership creep that they give me to,” Morgan said.
“Oh,” Katie whispered. “That’s not a terrible idea, if we’re gonna die anyway.”
“We’ll be doing our part, at least,” she said.
“Exactly,” Katie said. “This is weird. I’m not even scared about it. I hope I get the chance.”
“Well, I’d much rather be rescued,” Morgan said. “I miss Robbie so much.”
“You really love him, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Morgan said. “How do you feel about Justin?”
“Same,” she said, tears coming again. “I’m afraid I’ll be too damaged to have a relationship after this.”
“That thought has crossed my mind,” Morgan said. “I’ll try to will myself out of that. Might need help.”
