Chapter 17

An ally. We actually had an ally group. I had to admit I liked the idea. However, I also thought it was a good idea to be cautious. So far we had been I would say rather generous and trusting, we had left them with weapons and ammunition after all. I hate to think it but to me it was a point in their favor that the group had such a big mix. Like us they were two women and two men, even if one female was still a little girl. I’ll admit it had me curious how they ended up together, since I doubted any of them were family. Those were thoughts that were more for later though.

Doing our introduction with Mike and his crew earlier in the day gave us some time to work with still. We took a break with lunch to talk about a few things we should do next. Gonzo was the first to speak up. “I think we need to secure more food and ammunition as well. While I know it feels like we’ve got a lot, things may change. Especially if we have someone else smart move into the area and start competing for things. I also think we can branch out more and figure out more satellite phones. I was thinking about it and I think if we check some of the other big wigs on post and also the G6 offices we can probably find a few more that are unlocked and ready to go. If not them, maybe some of the units that were gearing up for deployments or checking through Division level headquarters. 1st Cav and 1st Army come to mind as options, maybe even a few brigade headquarters. Redundancy is going to be a good idea. Especially as we start trying to get more people involved.”

I nodded my head, taking a moment to consider his ideas. “We’ve still got some time that we could use for a run on base. MRAPs and more sat phones I think should be more of a priority for us than some more ammo and explosives. Though I do think we should do those sooner rather than later. I think we should also get more in the way of water at a minimum. But it would be a nice luxury to have other drinks as well. The distribution center still had a lot of stable drinks that would last. We can get a water truck or trailer as well.”

Lindsey spoke up now. “We should consider water purification methods. Sure, right now it’s not an issue. But down the road we might have to be sourcing water we plan on drinking from a lake or stream, if not rainfall. We’ll also want to separate drinkable water versus bathing or garden water. Granted that’s a low priority with what we can get and having well water for bathing and dishes/laundry and the like.”

Brandi finished off her deer steak before she chimed in. “All good points. Though I think for any additional items we get the next batch should be stuff we would store at our bugout location at BLORA. That way we have our location picked out and at least a few things there ahead of time if we do need to flee from here. Ammo, food, water, weapons, first aid kits, things like that we want to know are already there. We may need them immediately. Especially if we get chased from here, we should plan on having to treat injuries as soon as we get there.”

With what we needed and the time we had left we decided that we would take a risk and make a run on the base for a couple MRAPs. In order to bring two back we debated on how we should best do that. We agreed that all four of us would go on this run. That would leave two people in the pickup still should something go down. We agreed that the chances were highest once we got away from the compound and into heavier populated areas or on post.

So it was that we loaded up and went on post. The first stops would be for sat phones and going in descending order of where we thought was most likely. We would come away from III Corps headquarters with a total of six. Four we had gotten between the general staff and the garrison command offices and another two from the G6 offices. I had to chuckle to myself thinking I would hate to be the person having to put in work orders to repair doors and locks that we trashed in getting them. 1st Cav and 1st Army would yield another four total sat phones. That put us at a grand total of thirteen. We agreed that for any groups deciding to ally with us they would be able to get one for a group, but any more than that would need to be acquired on their own or at the least assisting.

Acquiring the MRAPs had us focusing on the 1st Cav side of base, driving a circle around different motor pools to see where they were first. We saw a line of them within one of the brigade motor pools, making a note of which and that they had many. While the gate had been secured, an angle grinder made quick work of the lock securing the chain and then we drove in - it was highly unlikely anyone would point out we were driving past a sign that said “No POVs” (privately owned vehicles).