M. Banner - Stone Age

In spite of the many previous warnings, and what Max had shown him, or his wife losing it earlier, the enormity of what was happening to all of them hit Bill at that moment.

“Max,” his eyes tear-filled pleaded with his friend, “what about Darla and Danny? How can you be sure they’re not flying right now, or that they’re safe?”

“In reality, I don’t, Bill. I’m sorry, I know this is a gigantic worry for you, Lisa, and Sally. But, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it right now. We do know this, if they aren’t on a plane, they’re smart kids. They’ll be safe. However, Bill, at this moment, I need you to concentrate, okay?” Max stopped and waited until Bill was shaking his head in the affirmative.

“We will deal together with surviving this new world, but you must listen to me now.” He paused, collected his thoughts and then continued, “There are anywhere from five to twenty men who are headed this way to kill us. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

“What? Who? What the hell are you talking about?” Bill asked.

“The local Mexican cartel knows about my supplies and unfortunately that I helped broker an arms deal with another cartel in Northern Mexico near my ranch. Before you say anything, I did what I had to do to get this place stocked up so that we can protect ourselves. But, unfortunately, the son of the local cartel kingpin wants me dead, and your family too, and they’re coming now to try to kill us.”

“Well then, let’s get into our truck and leave,” Bill interrupted. “You said our cars will run, so let’s leave. Why in God’s name do you want to play war with people who enjoy killing?”

“Bill, you don’t understand. Where would we go? Sally’s house in Tucson? How much food does she have? How much water? When that’s gone, then what? The world, as you know it, is over. Welcome to the Stone Age, my friend. I have two years’ worth of food, water, and other supplies, for all of us. Plus, we have a defensible position here. We need to sit tight and not run away from this.

Additionally, I need you to take a position up here, and if they show, I need to shoot them. You probably do not need to shoot more than just the leader. The rest of the group will run away when their leader is dead. They hate and fear him, which is why they will run.”

“What? Are you fucking crazy? No way. I am not shooting someone,” Bill now very angry as Max expected.

“I’m sorry, Bill, but your life and the life of your wife and daughter depend on this.”

“Why the hell don’t you stay up here and shoot these people yourself? They’re after you anyway.”

“I need to go secure your wife and daughter in my safe room. I promise I won’t be too long and if they don’t show before I return, it’s probably not a problem. If they do, you really need to do this. I know you can shoot. We’ve hunted together, and you’re a better shot than me, by far. If they do show up, just remember, they are coming here to kill all of us .”

Feeling somewhat deflated, Bill asked, “How the hell do you know all of this? How do you know they’re even coming?” He felt flushed, with perspiration now soaking his shirt, and the inevitability of the grotesque task Max was laying out for him. He gave up his resistance, knowing Max well enough that he would not ask unless it was absolutely necessary.

“I got a text, before the power went out. A longtime friend of mine is part of this cartel. He told me about twenty minutes ago that they were headed here. If there wasn’t this little problem with the world ending, they would already be here. I hope that they won’t come, but, the little prick leading them will probably walk on foot to get here, which means he could be another ten minutes to two hours.

Max seemed to hesitate, looking past Bill for just a moment, before continuing, speaking with surety. “I need to go and make sure your wife and daughter are safe. I will be back in maybe fifteen to twenty minutes, which I figure is what it will take to secure them in my secret office and tell them what they need to know. You know they’ll be safe there. We can all talk in detail then.

One more thing, I see you have your key. It also works on this place as well. If anything happens to me, or if you don’t hear from me in say one hour, come down, lock up and go to the safe room. Make sure no one sees you.” Max was already halfway down the staircase.

“Max, please take care of my family,” Bill begged, finally accepting what would be the most difficult job he had ever undertaken.

“With my life, I promise.” Max gave a reassuring glance and was gone.

After securing the front door, Max crossed the street, carefully checking to see if there were any threats, his hand resting on the gun underneath his shirt. No one was on the street. He continued through his beach house front gate, walking carefully and precisely, around the front and down the side yard that separated his and the King’s property. He quietly drew his .45 and held it toward the ground, at the ready. Just before he gave Bill a bitch-slap to reality, he watched two armed men come from the beach side, and ascend the stairs of both his and the King’s house and then to the patio doors. At first, he didn’t think that they were Rodrigo’s men, because Rodrigo preferred a more garish display of force, with guns blazing. Rodrigo’s perversion was the theatre of killing, with AK-47s acting as protagonists. However, if they were Rodrigo’s men, he reasoned that they would want to capture Max, Bill, and his family alive, so that Rodrigo could start the show when he and his men arrived. Max was sure Rodrigo hadn’t arrived yet, because they would have made their presence known, using fear to their advantage. Therefore, the two were either most likely waiting to ambush Max from the outside or they would have taken Lisa and Sally hostage and were waiting for him on the inside of the Kings.

Making sure that no one saw, he hopped the property wall and dropped down below their dining room window, keeping tight to the wall.

He rose slowly, lifting his head slightly above the windowsill so that he could see into the King’s home. There, on the sofa, were a very scared looking Lisa and Sally with some young thug standing behind them.

A barely perceptible crunch sound came from Max’s left shoulder. A man’s footfall from a boot sounded on the rocks, probably the other one of the two he saw. Max immediately spun around, dropped to the ground, pointing his gun, finger on the trigger. He had a perfect sight picture, training his sight on the perp’s forehead. He wanted this done with one shot.

The man did not hear nor see him as his AK 47 was slung loosely, hanging on his side away from Max. He was probably investigating another part of the house or looking for Max.

An explosion from behind Max sounded from another house a few doors down. The man looked up surprised, and then with a puzzled realization as he caught a glimpse of Max. Clumsily, and in slow motion, the man tried to grab and raise his weapon before Max squeezed his trigger.

Bill was sweating more than he could remember ever doing before. The sun beat down on him unmercifully, the canopy offering no protection to the back part of the terrace, adding to the labor of what he had to do. He counted fourteen men walking their way. They showed up moments after Max left. They marched in a V formation like a flock of seagulls, with their leader at the point of the V. That was whom he was supposed to shoot. He had the gun sight trained on him.

He felt as if he was on the precipice staring down into hell’s fire. He was sure if he squeezed the sniper rifle’s trigger, his soul would follow.