Home Invasion Page 17

  Dalton leaned back against the turret and folded his hands on his chest. In a calm and even voice, he replied, “And here I thought we were friends. That was just uncalled for.”

  Perez distracted the old man when he asked, “Well, what’s the word about the plant?”

  Sarge turned to look at him. “Oh, it’s crawling with Commies.”

  “There’s less now though,” Dalton added.

  Sarge looked up at him and asked, “What?”

  Dalton shrugged. “That rifle was heavy. I left all the brass on the coal pile and gave the bullets to the Russians.”

  Sarge’s brow narrowed as he pondered the statement. After a moment, he asked, “How many?”

  “Seven dead for sure. Several others wishing they were.”

  Sarge nodded and replied, “Alright. I take back what I said.”

  “Did you see the Army Corps guys?” Perez asked.

  Sarge nodded. “We did. But there wasn’t anything we could do about it. There was way too many of them to try and get them out.”

  “But they’re being cared for,” Doc said. He’d walked up, unnoticed. “I saw their medics treating the wounded. No way to know if any of them were killed or not.”

  Sarge leaned into the open door of the Hummer and shouted, “Harris!” Kevin was sitting behind the wheel and had dozed off. The shout startled him and he jumped.

  Trying to get his bearing, he asked, “What, what?”

  “Why don’t you guys go with Teddy and Mike and rack out at our place tonight. It’s too late to go back to the armory and I know you guys are tired.”

  Kevin rubbed his face. He was definitely tired. “Alright. Sounds good to me.”

  Doc climbed into the passenger seat, “I’ll show you how to get there.”

  The two trucks turned around in the road and headed for house. Sarge stayed at the bunker. Looking at Danny, he asked, “Miss Kay still up?”

  Danny shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. Morgan came back earlier and fell asleep at his place. He came over late for supper.”

  Sarge snorted. “Figures. Lazy ass.”

  Perez took a drag and blew the smoke out through his nose as he said, “He’s had a hell of a day. Lot of shit went down today. Jess and Lee Ann are at the clinic sitting with some poor girl they found being raped. Morgan found someone to be a judge, then got into some shit with Porky, whoever the hell that is, in town.”

  Sarge’s ears perked up. “No shit? Who’d he find for a judge?”

  Perez shrugged. “Hell if I know. Ask him.”

  “I’ll do jus that,” Sarge said as he pushed his carbine around to his back and started towards Danny’s house.

  Perez held his hand up, “Bye.” And he shook his head before turning back to the bunker. Looking at Danny, he said, “That guy has no people skills.”

  Danny laughed. “Yeah, he’s special alright.”

  When my eyes opened, it took a moment for my brain to register what I was seeing. Little Bit’s face was inches from mine. Her chin was resting on the sofa and she was smiling. “You’re awake!” Sitting up, I rubbed my face. She climbed up onto the sofa and squished herself up against me. She looked up and smiled, saying, “I’ve been watching you sleep.”

  I rubbed my eyes and looked around. “Guess I slept on the couch, huh?”

  “Yeah. Mommy said you were tired and to leave you alone. But it’s morning now and you’re awake!”

  I wrapped my arm around her and hugged her tight. “And seeing you first thing in the morning is a perfect way to wake up, too.”

  A subtle smell filtered through the house and I asked, “What’s that smell?”

  Little Bit jumped up shouting, “Mommy is cooking breakfast!” She headed for the kitchen.

  I got up and stumbled towards the kitchen. Mel was standing at the island behind the Butterfly stove with a sizzling skillet sitting on top. Looking up from the skillet, she smiled, “Morning, babe.”

  I stepped up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, slipping one hand into her robe while kissing her cheek. “Morning, beautiful. What’s this?” I asked.

  Smacking my hand, she pulled it out of her robe and replied, “I just felt like making breakfast here this morning. Burritos sounded good.”

  Then I noticed the tortilla press sitting on the counter as well. “Oh, that sounds awesome. Just wish we had some cheese.”

  Mel walked over to the fridge and pulled it open, taking out a small plastic container. “We have the farmers cheese from the market. Kay took it and pressed it so it’s kind of like fresco.”

  Looking into the pan, I said, “Oh, and there’s sausage too.”

  “Sure is. Get yourself a glass of tea and sit down. I’ll bring you a burrito in a minute.”

  “I want one too!” Little Bit shouted.

  Mel bent over slightly and said, “Then go get your sister and tell her breakfast is ready.” Little Bit took off through the house yelling, breakfast is ready! “Speaking of sisters,” Mel said, “Is Lee Ann coming home today?”

  She walked over and set a plate down in front of me. I smiled and replied, “Yeah, I think so. Jess just wanted to stay with that girl and I asked Lee Ann to stay with her.”

  Mel fixed two more plates and set them out on the table as well before sitting down with her own. She adjusted her robe and said. “Good. But what they were they doing out there?”

  Taking a bite of my burrito, I said, “I don’t know. I think they’re getting restless and just wanted to get out. But they can handle themselves pretty good from what it looks like.”

  To my surprised, she agreed. “I believe so. They’ve been taught by some of the best. I think they’ll be ok.”

  Little Bit came running out to the table and slammed into her chair, bouncing the table. She smiled and said, “Oops,” as she climbed up into it. Her sister came out right behind her and we sat and had breakfast together, as a family. We were missing Lee Ann, but I wasn’t worried about her. I knew she was safe.

  Working on my burrito, I said, “I think we found us a judge.”

  Mel was trying to refold hers, with little result, and replied, “Really, who?”

  “His name’s Mitch Williams. He’s a good guy. He and his wife have that underground house over on forty-four.”

  “I remember that house.” Taylor said. “I wanted to live there so bad. We would have had the whole upstairs all to ourselves.”

  “You girls were always quick to try and claim your space in any house we looked at,” Mel replied.

  “Anyway,” I said. “I think he’ll do a good job.”

  Mel wiped her mouth with a towel and smiled. “You’re just glad someone else has the job now.”

  Looking at the last bite of my burrito, I said, “There’s always that.” Then I popped it into my mouth and chewed it while grinning ear to ear. With my breakfast done, I rose from the table and said, “Guess I’ll go over and see if they made it back last night.”

  Little Bit was working through her burrito, and with a mouthful, said, “Mister Sarge is back.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at her as she picked up a glass of water in front of her and took a big swig, in the manner of small kids. She swallowed hard to get the liquid and the burrito down. Wiping the wet mustache from her face with the back of her hand, she said, “Can I come?”

  Nodding, I replied, “Sure. Go get dressed.”

  She jumped from her chair and ran towards her room. I helped Mel collect the plates and carried them to the sink. Setting them down, she asked, “What are you doing today?”

  “Got to go back to town to meet with Mitch and introduce him to everyone. We’ll have to sort out some place for a courtroom.”

  “The city building in Eustis used to be the courthouse. Bet there’s a meeting room or something like that in there that could be used.”

  Kissing her cheek, I said, “Good idea. We’ll check it out.”

  She turned from the sink and asked, “When are you going to spend
some time around here?”

  Stepping over, I wrapped my arms around her waist. “It’s not that I don’t want to. There’s just so much to do.”

  She leaned out and gave me a quick kiss before pushing past and walking towards the bedroom. “I know. I’d just like to see you more.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  Little Bit came running out dressed and announced, “I’m ready!”

  Looking towards the bedroom as I walked towards the door with Little Bit in tow, I said, “I’ll be back in a bit.” I stopped at the door and looked at the vest and carbine leaning in the corner. Only pausing a second before I said screw it and left them behind for the short walk to Danny’s.

  The dogs were taking most of the front porch, and we had to step over the lazy beasts. Little Sister was the only one to even look up. Taking Little Bit’s hand, we headed across the yard to Danny’s. As we rounded the shed we could hear the kids playing out back. Little Bit quickly ran around the porch to join in on whatever sort of fun was being had back there. I saw the old man sitting on the porch, coffee cup in hand. When he saw me, he looked at his watch and shook his head.

  Pointing at me with his cup, he said, “You are the laziest Sheriff I’ve ever seen.”

  “It’s good to be king,” I replied.

  “Right!” He spat. “King of dumb folks island maybe.”

  “I think we’ve got us a judge,” I said.

  He leaned back in the chair and rocked it a couple of times. “Good. That’s good.”

  Walking up on the porch, I sat in one of the chairs. The old man refilled his cup and we told each other our news. He filled me in on what went down at the plant in Crystal River and I told him of the judge and run-in with Porky. When I told him about the plant, he almost smiled.

  “That’s going to be a hell of a lot of work,” he said.

  “Yeah. And it’s hotter’n two hells right now,” I replied.

  “Yeah, but getting power into town would be a really good thing.”

  Rocking back in my chair, I said, “I guess. I have to run to town in a bit and introduce the new judge to everyone.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Sarge replied as he lifted himself out of the chair and headed for the house. “Let me get some more coffee.”

  “We got time,” I replied.

  As he went inside, Perez and Thad came up onto the porch. Naturally, Perez was smoking a cigarette and Thad was trying to keep out of the smoke. “What’ve you been up to?” I asked Perez.

  Thad smiled and replied for him. Jabbing a thumb in Perez’s direction, he said, “Oh he’s been out bed shopping.”

  Perez stopped and stretched his back out. “I’ve spent the last two days checking every bed in this place. Trying to find one that wouldn’t kill me!”

  “Really? That’s what you’ve been doing for two days?” Sarge asked as he walked out onto the porch.

  Perez waved his cigarette at him. “I don’t want to hear no shit from you. My back is killing me.”

  Sarge laughed. “Gettin’ old ain’t for pussies.”

  Perez fell into one of the chairs. “Tell me about it.”

  I told Sarge I would meet him at the Hummer. I had to go home and grab my gear. Of course he gave me shit for that, that he had to wait on me. I laughed and told him to suck it up. Stepping in the door, I hefted the gear and shouted that I was headed to town. From somewhere back in the house, Mel called back that she’d see me later. As I was turning to go out the door, Taylor came running out of her room.

  “Dad, can I go?” She asked.

  “Sure. Just tell your mom.” I said. I was happy to see her wanting to go out. It’d been a while since she’d been anywhere.

  “I already did. She said it was up to you.”

  Holding the door open, I said, “Come on.”

  She smiled and ran past me. I slipped my vest over my head as we walked and secured it. Walking next door without it was one thing, but that wasn’t an option when heading out beyond our little neighborhood. I was muttering to myself about how much I hated the vest. It was heavy and hot. And right now, I didn’t need any more heat!

  She heard me and laughed, saying. “I wouldn’t want to wear that all day.”

  “Trust me, you don’t”

  Sarge was sitting in the running Hummer when we got there. In the passenger seat of course. Getting in the driver’s seat, I said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll drive.”

  The old man snorted, “No shit, you’ll drive!”

  Taylor opened the door and climbed in the back. He looked back at her and smiled, saying, “You going with us?” She smiled back, nodding her head. “Good!” Sarge shouted. “You need to get out of the house.”

  We pulled out and headed to town. Doc and Thad were at the bunker when we went by and we waved at them. I felt for them. It was only about 10:30 and already hot. Today was going to be brutal. We didn’t have any way of telling the weather, but there was certainly something going on. It felt like low pressure and it was sucking in moisture. The temp in the upper nineties was bad enough. But add in eighty or eighty-five percent humidity and it was disgusting.

  As we passed Gina and Dillon’s place, I told Sarge I wanted to stop by on the way back. He nodded but didn’t reply. Taylor scooted up between the seats and asked, “Are we going swimming? I heard we were going to the lake or something.”

  “If we get back in time,” I said over my shoulder.

  “We’ll get back in time, sweetie.” Sarge said. Looking at me, he said, “I’ll keep your daddy in line today.”

  “Whatever,” I replied with a grunt.

  We rolled through Altoona without stopping at the market. I Saw Mario and waved. He had a large umbrella set up by his tables and was sitting under it. He had a Yeti cooler sitting in the back of his UTV. I made a mental note of that, remembering he had a large commercial ice maker in the honey house. I’d have to drop by and fill up all the coolers we had. It would be nice to have a bunch of ice. We made some, but it went quickly during the day as hot as it is now.

  Passing the market in Umatilla, everything looked calm. That was probably the only good thing about the heat. It made people slow and lethargic. Like big lizards, they collected in shady places and moved as little as possible during the heat of the day. It was only the early morning and evening that they came to life for a while to tend to the necessities of life.

  Hot air rushed into the windows as we rolled down nineteen out of Umatilla. It was like being in front of a big oven with turkey or something in it. That hot moist air that hits you when you open the door. Only this was everywhere and you couldn’t just shut the door and make it go away.

  Passing the plant, I noticed Baker and crew were out in the switch yard. I had to laugh to myself because they looked just like typical municipal workers. There were standing in a circle looking up. Eric just happened to be scratching his head. It was like something out of a damn skit.

  Laughing, I looked at Sarge and asked, “You see that?”

  He nodded. “You mean them damn engineers over there with their thumbs up their asses?”

  Laughing again, I replied, “I guess you did.”

  “I see everything,” the old man replied.

  Rolling up to the armory, I waved at Mitch and Michelle. They were standing out in front of the armory on Bay Street. Rolling to a stop on the curb, we got out.

  “Morning, Mitch,” I said.

  He stuck his hand out, “Morning, Morgan. How’s it going?”

  Taking his hand, I replied, “Good, buddy. How about you two?”

  Michelle smiled. “We’re good. Little nervous.”

  Sarge walked up and asked, “This your judge, Morgan?”

  I nodded. “Indeed it is. Sarge, meet Mitch and Michelle.”

  Sarge shook their hands, nodding to Michelle. Shaking his hand, Mitch asked, “Sarge?”

  The old man straightened up and replied, “First Sargent Linus Mitchell, 101st airborne.”

  I smi
led and added, “Retired.”

  Sarge’s head slowly turned towards me. Shaking his head, he said, “Shut up. The grown-ups are talking.”

  Looking at Mitch, I nodded my head at the old man and said, “See what I’ve got to deal with?”

  Mitch laughed and Sarge growled, “What you’ve got to deal with? What the hell are you talking about?” He stopped and jabbed his finger at me, “You’re lucky to have me! You have no idea the amount of raw talent standing in front you! You ungrateful little shit!”

  He was still going on when I leaned over to Mitch and said, “He still thinks he’s in the Army.”

  Sarge stopped, finger in mid-air and glared at me. “You snot-nosed little runt,” he said in a low voice, “I’ll kick your ass up onto your shoulders!” His voice began to rise. “I’ll stomp a mudhole in your ass and stomp it dry! I will put my boot so far up your ass you’ll choke on my laces!”

  I couldn’t tell if he was really mad or not and started to laugh. “Make up your mind. You seem to have a real ass fetish today. You’re going to kick it, stomp it and put your boot up it.” I folded my arms and looked down my nose at him. “You having any trouble? I know you old guys like your prune juice. You got something you want to tell me?”

  And as they say, that’s when the fight started. Apparently, he was serious. He ripped his hat from his head and started to beat me while he shouted an unending, single-syllable string of curses. I turned to avoid the hat; the old shit was hitting me in the eyes with that ratty-ass hat, big mistake. He decided to act on his fetish. Grabbing me by the shoulder, the old bastard kicked me in the ass, hard. Not just once either. I had no idea the old man was still so spry.

  Breaking away from him, I ran towards the truck to get away, still laughing. Getting some distance between us, I turned and pointed at him, “Knock it off, damn it!”

  He stopped and started jabbing that finger at me again. “You son of a bitch! I’ll whip your ass!”

  I leaned against the truck and smiled. Looking at Michelle, I said, “This is no way to act in front of our judge.” Pausing for a moment, I added, “And his wife.”