Embers of Empire Read online

  “How did your dinner conversation go?”

  Ava sighed. “James and Charity are in; which surprised me. Sam and Betty seem a little freaked out by the whole thing; which didn’t surprise me.”

  “Do you have any ideas on where to go if the Hodges don’t want to get involved?”

  “No.” She reeled in her line with a slow, mechanical motion, betraying her thoughts which were miles away from the river and the fish therein. “I’ll ask Foley tomorrow. He must have some guys he used to shoot with. Maybe one of them will have some land where we can camp out in the trailer.”

  Ulysses sent his lure flinging end over end toward the other side of the Pedernales River. “We can link up with some other like-minded people if need be. But that will likely mean that we’ll be under someone else’s command, who may or may not be qualified to lead.” His headlamp flashed in her direction, then back to the red-and-white bobber in the water. “We currently have five people. We can launch a fairly effective insurgency campaign with that many. Small is good. Small is harder to detect, easy to move around, and has a limited verbal footprint.”

  “Limited verbal footprint?”

  “Yeah, the fewer people you have on a team, the lower the odds are that somebody will say something to someone they shouldn’t.”

  “Oh. Loose lips sink ships.”

  “Exactly.”

  Ava and her father spent two more hours at the bank of the river. Ava caught two more fish. Ulysses caught one. The catch would be sufficient for everyone to have a taste the next day for lunch.

  Early Friday morning, Ava sat on the stairs of the front porch with Foley and Buckley. Buckley put his head in her lap. She scratched his ears. “You’ve been doing a great job out here by yourself, Buck. I know it seems like a thankless job, but we all appreciate it. You hear stuff we can’t.”

  Ava took another biscuit from the pocket of her hoodie and fed it to her pet. His mouth smacked like a pair of galoshes mucking through puddles of mud.

  Foley looked up from his phone to see why the dog was making such a racket. “Are you smuggling him bacon in those biscuits?”

  “He’s the hardest working member of this team. He deserves it.” Ava held her hand out for Buckley to lick.

  Foley turned his attention back to his phone. “I can’t think of anywhere that would be safe to go. Everyone I know lives in town. Most of them have left, gone somewhere else to stay with friends or family.”

  “Could we all stay at your old place if my dad kept his trailer in your drive? Your neighborhood isn’t as densely populated as most areas around Austin.”

  “Lost Creek isn’t that far from downtown.” Foley shook his head. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable there.”

  “What about the National Forest north of Houston?”

  “We’d have nowhere to keep supplies, and all five of us would be in that little travel trailer. It would be really tight. If we have to leave, I think you should consider taking your dad up on his offer to go out to his place.”

  “No way!” Ava dried off the dog slobber from her hands onto her jeans.

  Foley held up a hand. “Hear me out. I’m not suggesting that we avoid the fight, but we could use his place as a forward operating base. We could amass supplies, plan raids into enemy territory, all under the protection of Oklahoma, which has declared themselves to be a sovereign state.”

  “His place is in the north-east corner of Oklahoma. It’s not exactly a short hike across the border to get back in the fight. Dallas is the closest major Texas city and that’s probably 300 miles from his place, from what he’s told me.”

  “We’ve got the trailer. We can use it for a fallback position when we go on missions.”

  “Oklahoma and Texas are both going to be guarding the border.”

  “That’s a lot of border to hold down. The Red River border is every bit of 300 miles long; maybe 350.”

  “Like you said, it’s a river.” Ava scratched Buckley’s belly. “We’re not going to drive a travel trailer across it without a bridge, and I guarantee both sides will have people on the bridges.”

  “You might not drive a travel trailer across it, but you can take a four-wheeler with a snorkel over it. Unless it’s been raining, Red River is seldom more than three feet deep.”

  Ava let her head sink into her hand as she considered the predicament. “Dad said he’d find another team for us to link up with if need be.”

  Foley huffed. “I know. But neither your father nor I like that idea. It’s a big gamble to join up with some random group of hotheads who may or may not know what they’re doing.”

  Sam came out the front door. “Ava, can you and Foley come into the kitchen? Betty and I want to talk to you.”

  “Sure. We’ll be right there.” She raised her eyebrows at Foley. “This is the big moment. If they say we have to go, we’ve got ‘til this time tomorrow to figure it out.”

  CHAPTER 9

  Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

  Ava took a seat at the counter. Foley stood behind her stool. Ava asked, “What did you decide?”

  Sam looked at his wife. “We didn’t sleep last night. Betty and I were up discussing what you said. A large part of our conversation focused on the hope that the worst won’t happen but watching the news this morning, I’m afraid that’s just wishful thinking.

  “Wyoming, Nebraska, and Kansas have announced that they’re joining Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, and Utah in seceding from the Union. The Dakotas are both expected to make an official statement before the day’s end, but the pundits seem to think the decision has already been made.

  “Texas is the obvious missing link which keeps the Alliance of Independent States from forming a continuous border from Canada to Mexico. It will certainly be a battleground state.

  “We admire your conviction, Ava.”

  “But,” she said.

  Sam shook his head. “No but. If Texas can’t be wrestled from the clutches of Markovich and his communist designs, we’ve already lost our home.

  “We’re further along in years than the rest of you and wouldn’t be much assistance in combat roles, but we’ll do what we can to help out. Our home is your home. We trust you’ll keep your word; that you’ll take precautions to avoid bringing unnecessary attention to our little farm, but we understand the risks.”

  Ava stood up from the stool and walked around the counter. She embraced Sam and held him tight for several seconds. When she finally let go, she hugged Betty as well. “Thank you. Thank you, both.”

  “No, Ava.” Betty patted her on the back. “Thank you for helping us to see what needs doing. We’d have never forgiven ourselves if we’d stuck our heads in the sand and pretended none of this was happening.”

  Sam smiled. “That would have been a short-lived strategy anyway, I’m sure.”

  “I’ll let James and Charity know,” Foley smiled and walked away.

  Ava gripped Sam’s hand. “Thanks again. I need to go tell my dad.”

  Saturday after breakfast, Ava worked with Charity to relocate soil from the compost bins to the raised bed garden. Buckley tagged along. Betty maintained three separate bins for various stages of decomposition. All three were simple constructions of salvaged wooden pallets.

  Charity pushed the wheelbarrow up to the first bin. “Look. Something has been in the compost. It knocked over the pallet.” Charity playfully patted Buckley on the side. “Buck, you’re supposed to be on watch 24/7. How did you let this happen?”

  “Maybe he’s on strike. We haven’t exactly been compensating him for overtime.” Ava jabbe
d her shovel in the compost of the open bin. “Feral hogs. Those fish guts we put in there probably attracted them.” Once her probe was finished, Ava replaced the front and top pallets, which had been knocked away.

  Charity removed the dingy wooden pallet acting as a gate for the bin of the most decomposed material. “If a hog can move that pallet, you don’t think one can get through the fence around the garden area?”

  Using the shovel, Ava began filling the wheelbarrow with rich, dark compost. “A pig could probably root under, but I think Betty has her fence buried a couple inches below the surface. It would take a very determined hog to breach that.”

  Seemingly resigned to the fact that his professional guard-dog services were not required for the task of hauling dirt from one location to the other, Buckley sauntered over to the tree where he had a good view of Ava, the rabbit hutch, the chickens, and the house. He lay down in the grass, putting his head on one paw and slapping his tail sporadically against the ground.

  Once the wheelbarrow was filled, Charity lifted the handles and pushed the dirt toward the garden bed where it was needed. “Betty was talking about expanding her operation so we’d have excess food to store or barter. If she does, she’ll need more fence.”

  Ava followed her through the gate, then transferred the soil from the wheelbarrow to the raised bed garden. “Fencing material shouldn’t be too hard to find. Staple foods, on the other hand, will be in short supply if supply chains become further disrupted because of the conflict.”

  “Sam stocked up a lot of staples. Plus, we all brought what we had.” Charity backed the wheelbarrow out of the gate.

  Ava trailed behind for another load. “Sam stocked up for two people. The rest of us probably brought less than an extra three months’ worth of food, all total.”

  “Plus, the rabbits, chickens, and garden. That will go a long way. We don’t even know that there will be a fight. Maybe the two sides will just let each other be. But even if we do have a war, I can’t imagine it will last more than a few months.”

  Ava sighed as she chucked the tip of the shovel into the black compost. “That’s what they thought at the beginning of the last civil war. This one could last just as long as the last one; even longer.”

  “I hope you’re wrong about that.” Charity moved the haul to the garden.

  “Me, too. But I’m going to talk to the guys about making a run out to Marble Falls. I think we should pick up some more rice, coffee, flour, salt; that kind of stuff.”

  “We’ve got tactical training after lunch,” Charity said.

  “I know. Maybe tomorrow morning then.” Ava paused to look at her friend. “How do you feel about that?”

  “About what?”

  “Tactical training.”

  Charity shook her head. “I know where you’re going with this. I’ve already had this conversation with James. He signed off, so I’m good. But I appreciate your concern.”

  “Okay.” Ava continued her task of spreading the compost evenly around the raised bed. The two girls continued working together quietly for several more minutes.

  Charity dropped the handles of the wheelbarrow and put her hands on her hips. “Go ahead. Get it out of your system.”

  Ava huffed. “What? I didn’t say anything.”

  “No, but you’re thinking it. And that’s worse. I’ve known you for a long time, Ava. I know when you’ve got something on your mind.”

  Ava didn’t speak.

  Charity stood adamantly. “It’s the bridge. You’re worried that I’m going to freak out and freeze up like I did on the bridge. You think I shouldn’t be part of the fire team.”

  Ava spun the shovel nervously in her hands. “What do you think?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. I told James that I would be fine and that I could handle myself, but I don’t know.” Charity walked the wheelbarrow toward the storage shed.

  Ava walked behind her and exchanged the shovel for a watering can when she arrived at the shed. “No one will think less of you if you aren’t on the fire team. In fact, I think they’d all rather know if you have doubts. You could end up getting everyone killed if they’re all depending on you and you can’t go through with something.”

  Charity picked up the bags of seeds and stared at them blankly. “Still, I think I should train. We might get in a situation where I don’t have a choice. I may have to fight.” She looked up at Ava. “Every one of you have had to take a life. You, Foley, your dad; even James. He shot that guy who was trying to rob us. How did you know? Did you always feel that you would be able to kill someone if it came down to your life or theirs?”

  “No. When I bought my pistol, when we took the concealed carry class, I had a pretty good idea that I could. But I didn’t know for sure until I had to do it.” Ava remembered the incident on the bridge. Her heart raced almost as if she were standing there now. She took a deep breath and held it to calm herself. “But the guy who was holding me in the house; I had no question. I knew if I got a chance, I was going to take it. It wasn’t any easier, but I knew I wouldn’t hesitate.”

  Ava’s eyebrows slanted up remorsefully and her chin lowered. “And about the bridge . . .”

  “It’s alright. You had no choice. You saved our lives.” Charity put her hand on Ava’s arm.

  “No, it’s not that. We promised to never talk about it to anyone. I told my dad. And I told Foley.”

  Charity hugged her. “They needed to know. James and I figured you’d told them.”

  “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Thanks for saving our lives.” Charity gave her one more squeeze before letting go and returning to the garden beds. “But if you don’t mind, let’s keep my insecurities between us for now. I want to train with you guys. If a mission comes up and I don’t think I can handle it, I’ll bow out, I promise.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” Ava walked beside her with the watering can. “Who knows, the training may give you the confidence you need.”

  After lunch, everyone made their way out to the shooting mound, including Sam and Betty. Foley and Ulysses had spent the morning constructing targets out of paper and wood salvaged off pallets. They’d arranged the targets in a sort of shooting obstacle course.

  Foley waved his hand and instructed everyone to come to where he was standing. “Target shooting is great, but it doesn’t accurately emulate an actual combat situation. Of course, nothing really feels like combat except combat. But, we can improve our odds of surviving a shootout by training to shoot and move at the same time. Because in an actual firefight, that’s your only hope.”

  Ulysses handed radios to Ava, James, and Charity. “You three are going to be up first. Put the radio’s earpiece in your ear, run the cord under your shirt and attach the radio to the back of your waist, so it’s not in the way. What we’ll be doing today is training to shoot, move, and communicate. Each of you will take your own lane of fire. I’m going to call out instructions to each of you individually. You’ll take the action I tell you, then go down to one knee until I give you your next command. This will get you guys used to listening to radio traffic and picking out the instructions from your team leader which are intended for you. You’ll get used to having someone else shooting beside you, and you’ll get familiar with shooting and moving at the same time.

  “When you move, keep your feet spread at least shoulder-width apart, never cross your feet when moving side to side, and keep your feet even farther apart when moving backward. The last thing you want to do in a firefight is trip, particularly over your own feet.”

  Ava nodded. “Ready.”

  Charity took the center lane. “Me, too!”

  “Let’s do it.” James held his rifle at low-ready position.

  Ulysses held the radio and began giving each of them a few simple instructions. “Ava, walk toward your first target and fire three shots.”

  Ava leveled her rifle, kept her feet wide as she moved for
ward. Pop, pop, pop.

  “Charity, take a shot, run up to Ava’s position, and fire three more.” Charity fired once, then hustled up to where Ava was, then took three more shots.

  “Remember, take a knee when you’ve completed your task,” Ulysses called.

  James followed his directives, then Ulysses called out another round of instructions. He gradually pushed the instructions closer together and made them more complicated. He reminded the shooters to keep their feet farther apart several times throughout the course.

  Once they’d finished, Sam and Betty took the radios.

  Ava took a seat by a tree next to Foley. “How did I do?”

  “You did great. I was thinking about that hog that got into the compost.”

  Ava looked at her rifle. “It would be nice to kill it, right?”

  “Yeah, but it would be even better to trap it.”

  “Let me guess. It would be even better to trap two.”

  He smiled. “Or three.”

  “Do you think they’ll breed in captivity?”

  “Feral hogs are just domestic hogs that got loose at some point. I doubt they’re very selective about how or where they breed.”

  Ava chuckled. “Reminds me of a girl Charity and I used to work with.”

  “Hogs would add variety to our diet. If this thing goes on too long, I doubt we’ll be able to count on the grocery stores.”

  “I agree. Did you talk to my dad about going out to Marble Falls tomorrow?”

  “I did.”

  Ava looked him in the eyes. “And he wants to go but he doesn’t want to take me.”

  Foley turned his attention toward Betty and Sam as they progressed through the shooting course. “That’s about the size of it.”

  “Well, I’m going. He’s just going to have to get used to it.” Ava stood up. “Come on, I want to run the course with you beside me.”