The concertina wire was unrolled. They placed it around the entryways and windows of all the buildings. The firing positions had been cleared out and prepped as well. Ammo loads were placed in each one. Each position had a person assigned to it and a chart for firing and, more importantly, a final protective fire. If everyone fired at their designated final protective line, in theory the area could not be breached.
It was possible that they could actually get everyone inside and fight from inside if it came down to that. It was not optimal to do that at first and was only considered a last resort. That was why the concertina was placed around the window areas and entryways. Keep people in the line of sight and within firing reach.
Kayla came down from the crow’s nest. “How did it go Dad?”
“As well as it could have gone. I just hope they come through on their end if it comes down to that.”
“You mean ‘when’ Dad, when.”
“Ya, ‘when.’ Kayla, we need to get four ‘five’ gallon buckets of water in the crow’s nest. We can dump them on the roof in case of fire. I also want small buckets of water spread out in the house as well as the fire extinguishers.”
Everyone turned toward the road. Kayla raised her rifle up. Kevin came running with his as well. Randy already had his shotgun ready. Haliday dropped to one knee, raised his rifle up and watched through the scope. The dust pile was growing closer. “Take cover, everyone take cover.” Haliday watched as everyone scrambled. He peered through the scope and then stood up. “Open the gates, open the front gate.”
Diana and Dawn ran over and opened up the gate. This beat up old green Datsun pickup truck turned into the drive. “Go get grandma and grandpa quick.” Kayla ran inside to get them. Roger walked over to the truck. Bev and Rich came out and headed toward the old truck. David came over as well. Bev hugged Alan and the family. They had made it here.
“Damn brother, I never thought I’d see you guys again,” said Alan.
Roger answered, “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too. How is everything?” Alan asked.
“Well, ugly ass truck or not, we need the extra trigger men. We have a world of hurt coming down on us any time. That’s what we’re getting ready for. Come on, get inside and rest, let’s catch up, I’ll explain it all,” Roger told him. “Randy, have everyone empty this truck out and get the gear inside. Put the truck in the pole barn.”
Roger asked Alan, “Where did you find that green turd?”
Alan told him the story. “Nancy traded her wedding ring for it. We went over to the auction yard. The owner was there with his son selling all kinds of parts from old cars. This was sitting there along with a few other older cars. I asked him how much he wanted for it. I offered him my Breitling watch, but he said no, He said he’d take Nancy’s ring in trade. She took it off and said ‘If it starts, it’s yours.’ Little starting fluid and it started right up.”
“We went back to the house and grabbed what we could. I opened the safe and grabbed what was in there and then dug out my shotgun and .308. They didn’t find that.”
“Who didn’t find it?” Roger asked.
Alan continued, “The house was broken into and trashed. They even took the Harleys. They didn’t find the safe or guns though, only thing we had hidden the right way. I traded for some gas cans and gas and we drove straight here.”
“How bad is it down there Alan?”
“The place is out of control. People have realized the power isn’t coming on any time soon and the government isn’t coming to help any time soon either. There’s gangs trying to form, but people aren’t putting up with that and shooting them cold as they go around trying to loot and stuff. On the other hand I heard some areas are gang controlled, like the existing city of Detroit gangs.”
Roger had to take the shot at the city; “Oh the city council is in session?” Alan laughed.
“You’re here. You’re safe,. That’s what counts. We have a gang of our own we are dealing with. They call themselves a militia, but that’s not the case. They intend to run the area.” Haliday asked Sarah to get some coffee and snacks ready. She and Karen took care of this. Roger filled them in on what has been happening. “We have eyes on their compound, we have about an hour after we’re told they are moving out before they get here.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Tonight I’m holding a weapons handling crash course. Tomorrow it’s range time and we finish prepping the house and property. The kids will stay in the house ready to dump water on fires or run for ammo. If it gets too bad, they’ll be able to hit the basement with Mom, Dad, Karen and Elizabeth. Everyone else will have to fight. You’ll be in the crow’s nest with your rifle. You hunt a lot, so you’ll be hunting from up there.”
Throughout the evening they ate dinner and made some more preparations throughout the property. Roger went over the firearms with everyone. He made sure they all knew how they functioned and how to use the stripper clips and everything else. He walked outside to take a breather. He looked over at the neighbors. There she was. He waved. She flipped him off.
He responded, “I guess I’m not on your Christmas list this year huh?”
She yelled over at him. “You’re a bastard, you know that.”
“Well, you got to meet my father earlier. How can you say that?”
“You’re a son of a bitch.”
“You met my mom, too?”
“Oh, you’re a real funny man aren’t you? You think I don’t know what you’re doing over there?”
“I don’t care lady. I really don’t. You’re a sellout. You are a sellout to your family, to this community and to this country. You’re pathetic.”
She yelled again. “Well, just you wait smart-ass. In a couple of days, you’ll get yours.” Haliday walked away and went back inside.
Chapter 27
Roger said, “I expect we’ll get hit tomorrow night or the night after. They’ll be stupid if they launch an offensive during the day. The bitch across the street said I’ll get mine in a couple days. So I figure tomorrow night or the night after. Everything is pretty much ready to go. Three people on security watch. One outside on patrol, one in the crow’s nest and one in the house listening to the ham.”
He walked over and called Rob. “Anything new going on over there?”
“Yes sir, they are loading up a deuce and getting some vehicles lined up. They keep checking everything and loading up some equipment and what looks like ammo cans. They have a guard on the convoy now, but doesn’t look like they are moving any time soon, not enough activity, maybe tomorrow.”
Roger said, “Ok, you guys ready?”
“We lost four guys who backed out, but everyone else is ready.”
“Ok, thanks again, Rob.”
Haliday looked around at everyone. Even though they had been through a hell of a lot the past week and a half, they were still very nervous. Even the kids knew something was coming. He could try and give them a pep talk, but decided to just let them be for now. No sense in reminding them of what is coming and what could happen.
He flipped the frequency over and called Mike.
“Hey, it’s Bill here.”
“Hi Bill, let me talk to Mike. I have a few things to tell him.”
“Ok, let me get him.”
“Roger, it’s Mike. What’s going on?”
Roger answered, “Listen, tomorrow night we expect a fight here at my place. If it comes down to it and these guys need to run, I’m sending them your way. I don’t really have a choice.”
“We have a couple of caches around and enough food to get everyone by for quite a while. I’ll have a contingency plan in place and then buy them time to get out if it gets to be that bad. I’ll have Kayla and the older folks grab the kids and get. Take care of them for me if it comes to that, ok?”