Rock Fall
Copyright© 2015 by Gina Marie Wylie
Chapter 12: The Invasion
The calendar turned to February and the weather remained cold, but dry. The loggers had split hundreds of cords of wood and everyone with a fireplace or wood stove had at least two cords stacked and covered. The pellet stoves were all equipped with mechanical augers and everyone had at least six bags of pellets.
Chris was amazed at the community spirit, and one afternoon in mid-February he was talking to Bishop Flake and Keith over coffee and mentioned it. Bishop Flake was the one who got to the meat of it.
“Cities became too big and impersonal; the automobile split the nuclear family to atoms. Then came pop culture, tied in with the rise of the progressives. Families, communities and even our nation were falling apart. Here, they’ve been welded back together again by shared tribulations and sacrifice. Even in Pine Valley they are coming together closer than the people have been for a hundred years,” the bishop stated.
“He’s right, Chris. But Bishop Flake left out an important element. The glue that binds us together. Faith. Faith in you, faith in each other, faith in the church. We had to go it by ourselves for a time and that struggle made us who we are. We are a lot tougher than we were before Rock Fall,” Keith said.
As he said that the lights died, the first time in two weeks.
Chris pulled out his cell phone and dialed Mike. At first he didn’t realize what the problem was, but when he tried again he realized there was no dial tone. “The cell tower is down in town,” Chris said.
“Well, several of us have CB rigs, we can usually get to town,” Keith said.
They three men walked to Keith’s mobile and Keith sat down and turned on his radio. “Anyone on channel 19?” he asked.
There were a few faint voices, but one came in loud and clear. “That you, Keith?”
It was Mike Vanna. “The cell tower is busted.”
“Yeah, we heard the explosion all over town,” the sheriff said.
“Explosion?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, someone dynamited it about ten minutes ago, just before the power went out. I...” he stopped speaking for a second.
“Chris, we’ve got a problem. A convoy of small armored vehicles just tore through here at high speed.” He laughed. “Small and fast for armored vehicles. Joanna’s parent’s guesthouse overlooks the wash and I saw them clearly. They are what we call MRAPs in the Mog, a wheeled armored car, doing about 45 miles an hour. There were four of them and they seemed to be headed your way.”
Chris contemplated that. If they were headed up the mountain, in twenty minutes they were going to stop. “How are they off-road, Mike?” Chris asked.
“Terrible. They are top heavy, they have a high clearance but it is pretty useless because anything more than a five-degree slope is problematic. Wait one, Mayor DeWitt is at the door.”
“Keith, Bishop Flake, the emergency plan. Everyone into the mine,” Chris ordered.
“Yes, Brother Chris,” the bishop was out of his seat and out the door with a spryness that belied his age.
Mike came back. “Get this Chris, the mayor said they all had small Mexican flag pennons. What do you suggest we do?”
“There is no way you all can hide. I think you and mayor should tell everyone to cooperate, and then the two of you go up to one of empty summer cabins around the valley. Don’t tell more than one or two people where you are and not civic leaders.”
Principal Dewitt spoke up, “A good idea, Chris. We will be okay, don’t worry about us. Take care of yourselves and my special person.”
“We will, sir.”
“Amy knows how to contact me, Chris. I’ll stay handy,” the principal said.
“The emergency plan up here is going into effect,” Chris said. “You all be careful.”
Chris left Keith at the radio and he went up to the big house. There were already people heading for the mine. Sydney and Amy were there, while Brenda and Lisa were supervising the evacuation. “Bishop Flake said that we are going to be attacked,” Amy said, her voice even and calm.
“Yeah, the Mexican army has invaded us. They blew up the cell tower outside town and did something to the power.” Chris saw a familiar face and called out, “Dwayne!”
The UMW rep came over. Chris told him, “It’s time to initiate Plan B. Load the holes, but don’t set the detonators. Don’t forget to mark that adit and block it.
“Yes, boss.” the man hefted a sigh. “I’m glad that you trust me.”
“Keith trusts you and that’s good enough for me,” Chris said, a little roughly.
“I swear, I haven’t touched liquor since the Rock was announced.”
“Dwayne, we have a platoon of Mexican soldiers on the way up here. We need that back door.”
“You can count on me, boss!”
Amy tugged on Chris’ sleeve. “I have to stay outside. I know that’s not the plan, but this wasn’t the weather we were expecting to cause an emergency.”
“Why?” Chris asked simply.
“As long as the Fifth Gen satellites are up and the link on the roof works, we are in contact with the outside world. The thing is, my tablet works fine outside, but doesn’t have anywhere the oomph to get through to the mine. As long as I have a link to the outside we will wield trumps. The interim president is upset at the Mexican government, but I really think the problems are the cartels taking over parts of the Mexican army. And, of course, you would lose your access to the weather forecasts.”
“And how do they help?” Chris asked.
“My friends in Washington state report that they have been hit hard by the Arctic Express, a polar weather system that combines high winds with heavy precipitation and very cold temperatures. It’s due in Arizona tomorrow morning and will get down here by tomorrow night. It is a very fast-moving storm.
“And, while I don’t have the Army and Air Force on speed dial, the president does. He is very, very peeved at the Mexicans. Tomorrow morning you’ll want to be careful going outside — if the Arctic Express doesn’t catch you, the Air Force might.”
“Amy, you be careful out there. The sauce is as bitter for the goose as well as the gander.”
“I have a spot already picked out, and furnished with some tunes, some crackers and a half dozen Hersey’s bars. I’ll be fine. I will keep an eye out on the weather; I should have plenty of warning; I have the Guv’s office in Phoenix as one of my bookmarks. You can bet he will go off the air long before the storm hits.”
“Dress warmly, my love. Dress very warmly,” Chris said.
Amy chuckled. “I’ll be wearing a set of long johns, jeans, a wool shirt, a fleece jacket liner, a fleece jacket and a trench coat. Trust me, dearest Chris, I’ll be back. We can explore a few more of my kinkier fantasies.”
Chris kissed her on the forehead. “I like the one where you pretend you are a nerdy high school virgin and we make love for the first time.”
She kissed him back on the lips. “One of my favorites!”
She turned serious in an eye blink. “Lisa and I got together with Donovan Flake and his sister before Rock Fall. There was one camera over the mine entrance, but it was not state of the art. We got four Go Pro cameras and installed them. One over the entrance, and the others hidden. One is under the eaves of the main house; one is in a fir tree, looking like a bird’s nest, and the other up near where I’ll be. They will probably knock out the one over the entrance; it’s pretty obvious it is a camera. Think of it as a sacrificial goat.
“You can access them as long as the main house is okay; it’s on a wireless network that doesn’t show up as a wireless network unless you have special equipment. Avoid letting them know that they are under observation, more so if they take out the camera over the entrance.”
Amy hugged her sister wives, then hurried off. Sydney stayed with Chris and they headed toward the mine.
Chris looked around as the head count was in progress. “We never figured we had to talk to someone on the other side of the door, Keith.”
“Your great grandfather thought of that when he built the door, even back in the forties. There’s a post about two hundred yards away; there’s a sign that I put up just now: ‘Speak, and you shall be heard!’”
“He was a far-sighted man,” Chris said in awe.
“You know about the cameras?” Keith asked.
“Yes, Amy told me just now.”
“Let’s pull back inside and close the door. Even Mexicans have been known to hit what they shoot at,” Keith said.
It took two hours before they heard anything from outside. “This is Commandante Henry Gonzales of the New Mexican Army. Surrender all the gold in your possession and you will be permitted to live.”
Chris was looking at him on the main camera feed. And chuckled. The man was a caricature of Mexican bandit, down to the Frito Bandito thick handlebar mustache.
“Nope!” Chris said, “Not going to happen. Two reasons for that, amigo. First of all, the last gold came out of this mine in 1943. You are a whole lot more than a dollar late and a week short. Plus you don’t have enough time. There is an Arctic Clipper coming down from Alaska that will drop the temperature to minus thirty degrees centigrade. You might be dressed for this weather, but not for that.”
“Our intelligence is that you have discovered more gold, gringo!”
“Sure, ten days before Rock Fall. We’ve had a few other things on our plate since then and have done no mining, much less ore smelting. You do know we smelt out ore in Bisbee? You know Bisbee, right there next door to Ft. Huachuca? You can wave at it as you go past.”
Chris had never heard anyone gnash his teeth before, but that’s what he assumed he was hearing.
“You lie, gringo! Be it on your own head, then!”
“You cut the power to Pine Valley, but it’s been on for days and days. All the emergency batteries are at full charge, and the sheriff called to alert us you were coming. Guess what you will face going back down Gutterman Mountain? By the way, I’m Chris Gutterman. Vaya con dios, commandante!”
Chris, inside the mountain, made a face. “I’m fresh out of Spanish words.”
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