Then he turned to look at them solemnly. “We need to get into town as fast as possible. Chauncey heard some news while looking for bike trailers for you guys, and it’s a good thing he did… with our town’s current defenses we wouldn’t have had warning before it was too late. It still might be.”
“For what?” Mr. Larson demanded. “What’s going on, Son?”
Matt took a deep breath, gripping his AR-15 over his shoulder as if to remind himself it was there. “Helper just got attacked, and by the sounds of it they’re headed our way next.”
Chapter Seventeen
Highway Robbery
Chauncey had more information for them by the time they reached town hall, where dozens of men and women had already gathered, most of them armed. He was talking it over with the Mayor, Ben, and a few others when they arrived, and the group looked almost relieved when Matt joined them, inviting Trev and Lewis to come with him.
“I’ve been talking to Donald up in Helper all winter,” the retired teacher finished saying to Tam as they approached. “If he says the entire town just got raided by 50 or so well armed men I’m inclined to believe him.”
“Maybe you should tell the newcomers what’s going on,” Catherine prompted.
Matt nodded, glancing at his friends. “If you would. I told them what you told me over the radio, but that’s all we know.”
“Then you know most of it,” Chauncey said, reaching back as if to reassure himself that his shotgun was still hanging from his shoulder. “A half a dozen trucks rolled into Helper looking like a FETF relief convoy. Only when the town welcomed them with open arms and let them drive right into the center of the place over 50 men poured out the backs. The townspeople were caught with their pants down and most of the people who could’ve defended against the attack were disarmed at gunpoint. After that the group of bandits stripped Helper of anything valuable, although thankfully they just kept their villainy to theft.”
Something in Chauncey’s expression hinted at more, something personal, and Matt felt a sinking in his gut. “I’ve got the feeling you’re going to tell me we know the person leading this group.”
“You’d be right.” Chauncey glared north towards the nearby town. “It was Ferris, and Turner’s with him. Looks like they’re not on the side of justice and order anymore.”
Even though he wasn’t exactly surprised the news still hit Matt like a punch in the gut. He had as much reason as anyone to hate the administrator who’d stripped Aspen Hill bare and then left them to rot, but he still wasn’t quite sure a man could take such a drastic turn over the course of a few months. Even through a winter like the one they’d just had.
Trev shook his head. “I suppose we should’ve seen those two headed down a dark road after what they did in Aspen Hill. From what I hear, not to mention my own personal experience, Ferris’s management was only a step above highway robbery at the best of times. And Turner went along with everything he did just about right from the start.”
Chauncey shrugged, patting his shotgun again. “Well however they ended up criminals that’s where they are, and soon they’ll be bringing what they’ve become back to our town. Donald said the convoy’s getting ready to roll out, and since they came from the north that means they’re heading our way. But at the very least Ferris won’t know about the radio so he’ll probably try the same trick of pretending to be a relief convoy to get past our defenses. That might give us a chance to catch him by surprise instead.”
“What about Carbonville and Price?” Lewis asked. “Have they been warned in case Ferris decides we don’t have anything to steal and just passes us by?”
The retired teacher nodded. “Price and Helper were talking when I butted into the conversation. They’re going to send warning up to Carbonville, along with whatever help they can spare.”
“But no help for us,” Catherine said with a sigh. “We outnumber Ferris’s men, but can we fight them off?”
Chauncey hesitated, then shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. According to my friend they’ve got real military vehicles and equipment, including a nasty looking .50 cal mounted on one of the trucks. Ferris and his men were already well armed with military issue weapons and crowd control measures last fall, and who knows what they’ve picked up since then. They’ve probably got grenades, and maybe even missile launchers or rocket-propelled grenades of some sort.”
Matt felt a sinking in his gut. This was Razor and his men all over again, but even worse. Razor had caught them by surprise, but he’d been poorly equipped and most of the weapons had been in the storehouse when the people of Aspen Hill reclaimed it. Now the shoe would be on the other foot, and they might be lucky to get the same kind of ratio when it came to deaths that Razor’s people had suffered.
“We might not be able to win,” he said, “but the more important question is, do we try?”
Uncomfortable looks were exchanged around the group. “Let’s meet him at Roadblock 1,” Catherine finally suggested. “Maybe we can scare him away with a show of force. I’ll gather up as many people as possible while you prepare our defenses.”
Matt nodded as the Mayor hurried off with her husband. “Chauncey, organize men with radios to set up observation posts way out along the roads leading to Roadblocks 2 and 3, just in case Ferris doesn’t take the direct route.” The older man nodded and hurried off, gathering a few men. Matt turned to the others. “I want everyone from our hunting parties and the patrols organized. The Mayor will get her show of force at the roadblock, but I also want snipers at every single concealed position within 100 yards.”
“I like the sound of that,” Tam said, her husband nodding his agreement as well. “But what if Ferris punches right through the roadblock? That would leave most of our best people scattered and struggling to catch up while he tears through town blowing holes in things. It would be Razor and the storehouse all over again.”
Matt grit his teeth. “We need to make sure any townspeople not involved in the fighting have been taken to a safe location and are well guarded. Tam, Carl, Ben, can you take care of that?”
The three exchanged looks. “Easier said than done,” Ben finally replied. “Where did you have in mind?”
That was a good question. Matt hadn’t really considered what to do if they needed to evacuate the town. “Keep a radio and be ready to take them up Aspen Hill Canyon if things start looking bad,” he finally said. “See if you can find a way to block the road to keep any vehicles from following. And take some people with you who are good shots.”
As the three set off to undertake the daunting task of securing Aspen Hill block by block to make sure each house had been evacuated, Matt turned to look at everyone who remained. “Lewis, can you take care of positioning the snipers? And Jane’s still out on patrol, right?” Lewis nodded. “Good, have her and anyone still out there with her find good vantage points to watch the back roads into town. We need early warning of any sneak attack.”
With Lewis’s help Matt quickly assigned him most of the people in the crowd, then motioned for those who remained to come with him to Roadblock 1. As he hurried up the street Trev fell into step beside him. “Guess I’m on roadblock duty again,” he said wryly.
The situation was too tense for Matt to appreciate the attempt at humor. “Yeah, I need your strong back. Ready to do some heavy lifting?”
Over the next half hour more and more people trickled to the roadblock, sent there by Catherine as promised. She must’ve emptied the storehouse of weapons because just about everyone there was armed.