Tom said to himself, “The cargo trailer’s walls and floors are made out of aluminum. Damn, the EMP waves couldn’t penetrate the metal.”
Tom stripped the garage and home of all tools, books, and clothing. He piled them up at the bottom of the cargo trailer. The house was large, and it appeared the owners had just walked away from it without taking anything with them. Tom guessed they must have been on vacation when the shit hit the fan.
Both tractors and the attachments were loaded. Bill had just secured the last tie-down when Tom saw vehicle lights in the distance when the vehicle crossed over Highway 5 on Highway 66 heading their way. Tom knew he only had a few seconds to decide if they were fleeing or staying for a potential fight. “Open the barn doors. Hide the trucks and grab your weapons. Rick, grab our crossbows! We’re not running.”
The truck was traveling at a slow speed as it stopped several times. The driver shined a searchlight onto the properties along Highway 66. This gave Tom plenty of time to have the trucks parked in the garage and position his men. He sent Jerry, Bill, and James to seek cover among the farm equipment on either side of the gravel road from Highway 66 past the farmhouse to the barn. Tom climbed to the top of the barn and sent Rick to the top of the farmhouse. This created a kill zone about one hundred feet long by twenty-five feet wide.
Tom watched the vehicle through the night vision scope. It stopped at the farm next to them, and he only saw the driver and two men in the back of the truck. Tom thought, That ’73 Dodge 4X4 would be a great addition to the ranch’s fleet. I have a chance to kill three of Carlos’s men and steal their truck.
“Ambush the bastards when they’re trapped between us! Rick and I’ll pick them off with the crossbows. James, pass this on to the others!” Tom yelled down to James.
James passed the orders to the others just as the truck stopped in front of the farmhouse. The searchlight swept the area for a few minutes, and the truck started to drive away. Tom wanted that truck. He pulled out his penlight and shined it at the truck, which continued driving away for several feet while one of the men beat on the top of the cab. When Tom knew the men had seen the flashlight, he threw it as far down the gravel road as he could. The driver aimed the searchlight squarely at the barn while the truck turned around. Tom could see both men in the back jump from the truck with rifles ready.
Tom waited until he thought Rick had a shot at the driver and let a bolt fly at the man furthest from him. The man stood still for a few seconds in disbelief that he was already dead. He fell to the ground just as the second bolt hit the closest man in the arm. The unlucky bastard raised his hand to swat an insect when the bolt pierced his hand and then the front of his skull. He fell dead without firing a shot.
Rick had to wait a second until he had a clean shot at the driver. He knew the bolt would probably pierce the sheet metal from close range but would be stopped before going on through to kill the driver. The truck lurched forward when the first man fell, and Rick took his shot. The bolt tore through the man’s jacket and ribs before lodging in his spine below his heart. He drowned in his own blood.
Bill ran to the truck, ready to finish off the driver but found him already dead. Bill opened the door and dragged the man from the vehicle. Soon, Tom and Rick joined the others. Tom ordered the others to load the dead men into the back of the pickup. “Rick, gather their weapons. They have some nice ARs and semi-auto pistols. We’ll dump the bodies on the way home.”
The weighted bodies sunk to the bottom of Emigrant Lake and weren’t found until a dog found a femur twenty years later. Carlos had an ongoing defection of volunteers who’d found gang life wasn’t cracked up to be what they’d romanticized. The men were never missed as much as a good four-wheel drive.
The Clark Ranch
Kate and Jackie were surprised when three trucks drove up the driveway, just as the light of the sun shone above the trees. The old Dodge had been painted olive drab with many leaves of all colors painted on top to deliver a kind of redneck camouflage. It was between the vehicles they expected to see and was driven by James.
Kate hugged Tom and pointed at the truck. “Did you find a stray truck along with the two tractors?”
“Yes! Three bad men donated it to us. They didn’t need it where we sent them.”
Kate snickered. “I guess the tires would have melted, anyway.”
Jackie shook her head. “Huh?”
“Hell! Sister! We sent them to Hell!”
Jackie planted a big kiss on Rick and nodded at the tractors. “Do they run?”
“Yes. We fired them up for a few seconds. Believe it or not, Jerry rebuilt
