“OK, here’s what’s going on,” Grant said to everyone. “Now before I tell you about this, I need all of you to swear not to talk about this. You understand? Talking about this will get people killed. Who here wants to get people killed?”
No one said a word.
“That’s what I thought,” Grant said. “OK, see that trailer? Looks like the one we rescued, right?” Grant said this loudly so everyone could hear.
Most nodded.
“Well,” Grant said holding the paperwork up, “I have documentation that this trailer is empty. You see, it was an empty load last week from Tacoma. Anyone want to see?”
Everyone looked puzzled.
“Go ahead and look in the back. It’s empty,” Grant said with obvious pride. “Yep, it looks like that black guy had an empty load. He brought it in here, parked it, and started to walk down the road toward Frederickson. Right? Right, guys? Some mystery man abandoned his empty rig here and left.”
Gideon waved at them and started laughing. “I ain’t here. I’m a ghost,” he said.
“So there’s nothing for the government or the gangs to come and get,” Grant said. “Just an empty truck. Hell, they can have it. Then they need to go back to Frederickson and start looking for a black man. You guys see what I’m sayin’?” Grant had a huge grin on this face. The only thing better than capturing a semi load of food was making the government look stupid in the process.
Everyone started to get it. Many were laughing and high fiving. Someone asked, “Where’s the real trailer?”
“At the Grange under guard,” Grant said. “Where it will stay. Just so everyone knows, I have hidden the keys to the trailer padlocks in a safe place.” Actually, Grant had the keys on him, but with an AR and a pistol, his pocket was a “safe place.” Later he planned to tell Rich that he had the keys. The guy in charge needed to know everything.
“I left instructions at the Grange for how we’re going to handle the food,” Grant said. “We’ll have a vote to approve this plan, but the plan is the plan for right now. You gotta act quick to take advantage of these things,” Grant said with a smile.
It had only been an hour and half since Grant saw Gideon walking across the bridge. They had done a lot in that hour and half. They had secured a semi load of food and set out a distribution plan. All this quick action was possible because, when Grant saw Gideon, the outside thought told him to help a complete stranger. The ideas about the meal card came from reading a book, years earlier. The idea about the empty trailer came from…who knows where, but there it was. Operation Head Fake was off and running. Now it just had to work.
Chapter 120
Preparing for Attack
(May 12)
It was late afternoon and Grant knew the day was just beginning. He would be up all night again. He was glad he got all those caffeine pills a few years ago when he was storing away supplies. They had a shelf life of several years and were cheap, back then. Good luck finding them now. When he was preparing for all of this, he had a feeling he’d be pulling long nights on guard duty, and tonight was one of them. Well, not guard duty. Probably actual fighting.
Operation Head Fake, phase one, was complete.
Dan’s dogs were well behaved, which wasn’t a surprise. Dan had them tied up in a shaded area of the fire station. Despite all the activity and noise, they just sat quietly. Every once in a while Dan would come and pet them.
Cars and trucks started heading down the road from the Grange to the gate. The Grange ladies—Grant needed to learn their names, but he was always so busy when he saw them—were bringing enough food to choke a horse. They were loving this, getting to cook for all these people. It was like having all the grandkids over, except people were about to try to kill all the “grandkids” they were feeding.
“Eat up,” Dan yelled. “It’s going to be a long night.” He said it like he’d said it many times before in the Air Force.
Next, a car came to the gate with the medical team. There was Lisa. Some of the guards hadn’t seen her yet and they were gawking. A couple made comments about the hot chick. It didn’t bother Grant. In fact, he found having twenty-something guys think his forty-something wife was hot was quite an honor.
Ryan looked at Grant and said, “Dr. Foxy is here.” That nickname spread among the guards. It was all good fun, Grant thought. Besides, these guys were about to be in the first gunfight of their lives, so they deserved a light moment. Reflecting on the gunfight he was in with the looters back in Olympia, he knew how much they would change after this.
Lisa found Grant and came up to him. She was a little bewildered. She’d seen Grant and the Team walking around in kit and with guns, but she’d never seen anything like the gate. There were about two dozen armed men, some looking very military. There was a seriousness in the air. There was a gate over a bridge that she used to drive across on leisurely trips out to a cabin. Now it looked like a war zone. There was a bustle and hubbub of military preparations that was unmistakable. Lisa had never experienced it, and never expected to experience it. She was a nice girl who became a doctor and expected to live an easy suburban life. Now she was at a soon-to-be battlefield preparing to treat gunshot wounds. Lots of them. She was concerned about the teenage kids with hunting rifles who didn’t seem to know what they were doing.
She also worried about Grant. She was terrified that she would watch him get shot and would have the image burned in her memory forever. It was hard enough to be a suburban mother turned battlefield doctor, but worrying about having to watch her husband get killed or maimed was too much.
For a second, Lisa thought that this was all Grant’s fault. There probably wasn’t a battle like this back in Olympia. The stores were probably open and the police were keeping order there. It was stupid to be out here in Hillbillyville.
Then she remembered how things were when they left Olympia, and she knew that it had only gotten worse since then. No, she was actually glad Grant had this cabin out here and stored up all that food and even had those horrible guns. She knew she was lucky to be out there with everyone, but she resented it at the same time. Why couldn’t things just be normal again?
She was busy making sure the nurses and EMT had what they needed. They were really short on medical supplies. Tim, the EMT, had two really good full trauma kits and a few medium-sized first aid kits. Other people, including the Team, had small first aid kits. It would do for this one battle, but they’d be out of medical supplies for the next one.
Oh, God, Lisa thought: a battle. This was horrible. There would be a next battle. Is this how life would be from now on? War and battles and shootings and amputations?
Tim, the EMT, was talking to Dan when Dan motioned for Lisa to come over. Dan and Lisa had met at the Grange a few days earlier. “Doctor,” Dan said, “Tim and I were trying to make sure as many guards as possible have first aid kits. Tim will find out which ones have first aid training and get kits to them, but we need a field hospital. Do you have a preference on which building to use?”
“My ER back in Olympia,” Lisa said. She realized that wasn’t a constructive comment, so she pointed to the volunteer fire station and said, “Well, I guess that will do.” It was made of cinder blocks and was partially shielded by a dirt berm. It would be “bullet resistant,” but not bullet proof.
“That’s what I thought you’d say,” said Dan, who had already decided that’s where the field hospital would go. The fire station was crowded. That’s where people were eating and storing gear. Dan motioned for Ryan, who was nearby.