The coordination and execution by METRORail was valiant, but the system was utterly overwhelmed as riders were squeezed onto standing room only trains, pushing the transport capacity of eight thousand people per hour to nearly twelve. Despite the increased capacity, hysterical people were left waiting as the trains quickly filled up and moved on down the line. The unfortunate evacuees that were left behind were infuriated and were beginning to clash with each other and police.
As Reese sped across the city on the bike, he was able to clearly view several of the major highways leading out of Houston. The evacuation routes were a nightmare on the grandest of scales. Some had already abandoned their vehicles on the side of the road and had taken to walking out of the city. The abandoned vehicles only added to the chaos. Some were not even fully out of the travel lanes. Frustration mounted as the remaining panicked motorists watched as entire families passed them on foot.
Most gas stations had been long ago depleted because of the collapsing economy, but somehow the roads leading out of Houston were still gridlocked with traffic. Reese imagined that most of the vehicles on the road had less than five gallons of gas in their tanks. He reasoned that tempers would soon flare, and fights would erupt between motorists as affability was exchanged for anarchy.
As he crossed over North Delano Street on Canal Street, the city presented a stark contrast. The homes were old and battered, the streets were in horrible condition and trash blew like tumbleweeds through the neighborhood. Security bars were on practically every door, and window-mounted air-conditioning units were caged in the Second Ward. He noticed that the area was lacking of any vegetation. Trees, bushes, and even grass was scarce in the bleak neighborhood.
Reese and the two rangers avoided any side roads since they were alone and highly exposed on the bikes. A scoped M4 carbine was slung across Reese’s back while his MP5 hung in front of him from a single point sling. He leaned in close to the bike and slalomed between abandoned vehicles and errant trash cans. The rangers, also equipped with M4s, followed closely behind his lead.
Less than a mile ahead, Reese could see several Humvees and cruisers in the road. Beyond them, he noticed several soldiers and officers sprinting for cover behind the vehicles. As he eased off of the throttle, he began to hear the gunshots.
He stopped several blocks back from the melee and shouldered his rifle to get a better view of the scene ahead. The two rangers stopped their bikes on either side of him. Reese saw an angry crowd of armed locals streaming towards the small group of emergency workers that were huddled behind the vehicles.
The assailants were taking cover behind front porch columns, crouching behind bullet riddled cars and leaning from the upper windows of nearby houses as they fired at the evacuation team. The gunfire was intense. The soldiers and officers were unable to retreat. They were helplessly pinned behind their vehicles and quickly being surrounded.
Reese got into position on a front porch that afforded him a protected view of the gunfight. He searched the street with his scope until he found his first target, a twenty to thirty year old male with two pistols that was firing indiscriminately towards the evacuation team. He exhaled slowly and squeezed the trigger in the lull between breaths. He watched as the man stumbled and fell to the ground. He panned right and then left, connecting with several more assailants before the assault began to wane. The rangers also began to search and engage any armed residents that were a threat to the team ahead of them.
They continued to fire over the heads of their comrades at anyone beyond that was brave or foolish enough to step out from behind their cover. The suppressive fire afforded the pinned team the opportunity they desperately needed to retreat into their vehicles and escape from the scene. As the fleeing vehicles approached their position, Reese and the men ran back to their bikes and whipped back onto Canal Street. The merged in front of an approaching Humvee and used the silhouette of the larger vehicle to protect their backs as they fled the doomed Second Ward.
When they reached Highway 59, they turned south and rallied at the large parking lot east of the Astro’s stadium. The area was the site Reese had selected as the forward operating base for the evacuation. It was awash with communication vans, Humvees and a myriad of other support vehicles. Portable radio towers and generators were also visible. Reese motored over to a group of black communication vans, opened the back door of the largest one and stepped inside. The technicians looked to be under intense pressure.
“Update me, guys.”
A young guardsman, with thick eyeglasses, spun in his chair to face Reese and responded nervously, “Several of the evac teams are coming under fire from locals. The highways leading out of the city are close to gridlock and many residents are simply refusing to leave and become refugees.”
Reese let out a deep sigh and rested his hands on his head as he replied, “Do you have any good news?”
“Only that the METRORail and city buses seem to be functioning as hoped. They’ve evacuated close to thirty thousand people from downtown in a little over two hours. The crowds are getting anxious though; we’re getting reports from team members on the ground that they’re not sure how long before depots fall into complete disorder.”
“I don’t know if that’s good news, but I guess it’ll have to do. Tell the teams working the rail and buses to keep a tight leash on any troublemakers. If they need to make an example out of someone, do it. If chaos breaks out, then the evacuation breaks down and lots of people die. Understand?”
“Yes sir.”
“Tell all teams that’re broadcasting evacuation orders that if they come under fire, they are to fall back and move to the next area on their agenda. We don’t have the resources to perform a rescue of our own people.”
“Yes sir.”
“And have one of the choppers make a pass and see if they can locate any specific problem areas on the highways leading out of the city. If they see any disabled vehicles or other obstructions that are blocking traffic and causing gridlock, send some teams to remove them. We’ve got to keep traffic flowing. If we don’t, we’re going to have even more of a nightmare on our hands if this bomb actually goes off.”
“Yes sir.”
A second technician spun, thrust a phone towards Reese and said, “Agent Byers, it’s the governor.”
Reese grabbed the phone and said, “Hey, it’s me.”
“Reese, give me an update; how’s the city holding up?”
Reese paused for a moment before replying, “It’s not good. We need another day, maybe two to get everyone out, but I don’t think we’ve got that long. I just hope it’s not in the city already. Maybe we can intercept it.”
“All we can do is work as hard as we can with the time we’ve been given. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for what you’ve done already.”
“This is what I do; the impossible. This is where I should be.”
“Well, you’re a hero to all of Texas. Now, give me some updates on our objectives.”
“The bomb squads are sweeping areas considered likely targets. They haven’t found anything yet, but there is so much real estate to cover. We’re talking sixty and seventy story skyscrapers, huge government buildings, sports arenas – they’ve got a daunting task.
The interstates and highways are already close to gridlock. I never imagined there was enough fuel left in Houston to power this many cars. The lanes are already operating on contraflow and we’re trying to locate any congestion zones that we can relieve.