“Anyway, I assume it’s you they are looking for.” Haliday was trying to figure this out.
“Kayla, what exactly did you hear?”
“Ok, it was hard to decipher at first because the transmissions were kind of choppy and I came across it halfway into the conversation. But here’s the short story.
“Some group called the Bad Axe Minute Men had some patrols out. One of those patrols came across a guy on a motorcycle. They said they tried to stop the guy, but he ran. They are calling him a fugitive. They mentioned chasing him until he flattened two of their tires with spikes. I figured it was you.
“Now they put out an ‘APB’ to their other patrols and headquarters. Pretty much said to just shoot on sight. They said OD green motorcycle, one man, large build, khaki cargo pants, black jacket and full faced helmet. Sounds like you Dad. You really pissed someone off. I’m trying to listen in and gather some more intel. I’ll tell you what I hear.”
“Ok kiddo, thanks for the good news.”
Haliday slowed down and looked at Dawn, Diane and Karen and shrugged his shoulders. Nothing he could do now. They had heard the news too. He looked down at the map on top of the tank. Here we go again, time to change the route. He would head back south a bit. If they were indeed out of Bad Axe, then they were a good 30 miles out from the center of their operations. They were only about 15 miles from his own group’s destination.
Thirty miles is a long way out for a patrol, he thought. They were either very large or very dumb. He’d have to figure this out quickly. He was getting pelted with rain now. He signaled another stop and pulled over. He programmed his radio with the frequency Kayla had given him.
Dawn and Diana watered the horses real quickly and they put a cover on the ranger to help keep rain out. It was coming straight down, but the small top would provide a little relief. He refused to let them put the whole top on. There was no visibility with it on.
He checked the map once more. “Ok, here it is,” he told them. “This is the route, we are about eight miles away now and we have to push it. We can’t risk stopping around here for the night. They going to make it?” he nodded toward the horses.
“Ya, they’ll make it.”
“Ok good, let’s go.”
Diana asked him what would happen if one of those patrols found them.
“People would die. Who, I don’t know, but people would die.”
He grabbed some hundred mile an hour tape and covered all of the lights on the bike and ranger. He didn’t want anyone spotting the lights, it was late afternoon, the sky dark, rain coming down and they would easily see the lights. They got moving again.
He flipped the radio over to the frequency Kayla had given him and he listened for a while. He started taking mental notes on what he heard. There was actually quite a bit of chatter. He was glad Kayla was taking notes. This was going to be a big problem he had not expected.
He thought of contacting them to sort it out, but that was a stupid idea as well. They would know he definitely had their frequency and they would most likely change it. He needed as much intel on these guys as he could get. Five days and militias were out hunting already. Probably more like staking out their kingdoms.
After a couple more hours of slow moving, he called Kayla and told them they were coming in. They got themselves situated and went into the small tent to warm up. Bev gave them some coffee, hot cocoa and offered them some soup as well, which they gladly accepted. Kayla came in, “Ok Dad, here’s what we have.”
Kayla had taken meticulous notes on everything she heard. She started with manpower. “They have four patrols out in designated areas with an additional patrol that seems to be a quick response unit that can back up any of the other patrols. It sounds like that unit stays at or close to their headquarters. I would say two people per patrol.” That was 10 right there.
“They pulled a shift change at 1800hrs. When they did this though, they only had two patrols out and one for response for the night. They mentioned seeing each other in the morning, so it looks like 12 hours shifts. So that gives them another six people. I assume one at HQ to coordinate or answer the radio. We have a definite 18 people on security patrols.
“Now, they said something about camp watch and I couldn’t quite make that out, but it sounded like static posts to watch their HQ or their compound. Maybe a watchtower or who knows what. I didn’t catch this during the day, so not sure. But it’s safe to say they have at least 22 to 24 people and most likely more.
“I didn’t catch anything about where the HQ or compound was though, I didn’t expect to. I didn’t catch how many people were currently not on patrol or watch duty. No way to really calculate their total numbers because there was no telling if wives, girlfriends or kids were involved. I did hear some people in the background once in a while. Someone was giving out chores to be completed. If I had to guess Dad, you have 40 to 50 people total and that’s minimum.
“Now here’s where it gets interesting. They call in checks once in a while, but not sure what they are checking or who they are checking. They use code numbers for that. A21 checked and secured. B13 checked and secured, like that. Could be other family, could be caches, could be a lot of things.
“One more important detail is they act like it’s martial law. They are acting like they are the combination military and police for the area. They mentioned catching some looters and taking them somewhere, but I don’t know exactly where. I missed what they said. It might have been the police department. Either way, they think they control the whole area and it sounds like they just might be doing that.”
“How do you know they are the Bad Axe Minute Men?”
“I heard them call to another group in Bay City. Well, the other group didn’t answer. I think they forgot to change frequencies when transmitting. I heard them say Bad Axe Minute Men calling Bay City Minute Men, then it went dead. They must have changed frequencies then.”
“Good job sweetie. That helps tremendously. The unfortunate thing is we are on the edge of their patrol areas and then we’ll be within a good 10 to 15 miles away from their HQ when we move to the house. I don’t know exactly what they are trying to do, but if it’s run the Thumb Area we have problems. If they’ll leave us alone then that’s much better.”
“What about trying to strike a deal with them Dad.”
“I thought about that. I’m thinking we might make the next leg of the trip tomorrow and then go from there. I wish I knew more about these guys, but they kept a low profile and I had no idea they were out here. Not like I can do any research now.”
“Wait a minute Dad, call Mike. Mr. Bill might know something; he’s more of a local here.”
Haliday was impressed. He hadn’t thought of that. “Ok kiddo, go for it. Tell him to change frequencies though. If they are scanning frequencies I don’t want them to hear anything about us.”
Kayla got a hold of Mike and asked him how things were. Mike told her Bill and Linda’s son and daughter in-law made it in. That was good news. She asked if Mr. Bill was around and if she could talk to him. “He’s napping right now is it important?” Kayla said to go wake him; it was about the militia with a wanted poster out for Dad.
A few minutes later Bill came on the radio. Kayla asked him if he knew anything about the BAMM. There was a pause before Bill answered. “I actually know one of the guys who is a member. I assume that’s the group he belongs to. He tried to recruit me a while back. He mentioned Bad Axe but not the name BAMM specifically. He did not say much at all really. Just that he belonged to a group that would run the community if something major ever happened.”