Conflicted Home (The Survivalist Book 9)

table with Thad. He was working on a large pot of snap beans, stringing them. I reached into the pot and pulled out a handful and went to work. “This is quite the haul,” I said.
“This ain’t nothing,” he replied.
“This is really good to see, these beans.”
Thad smiled as he snapped a bean in several pieces. “The summer has its blessings as well as its tribulations.”
“Well, this heat is damn sure a test.”
“You come up with a way to cool the house off?”
Reaching for another handful, I replied, “I think I have.”
“Well, anything’ll help.”
“I need to go up to Save-a-Lot for some materials.”
Taking another handful, Thad replied, “I’ll go with you.”
“You seen the old man?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Not since this morning.”
“I guess he’s off stewing someplace.”
Thad reached for another handful and replied, “I think he is.”
We heard more voices and I leaned over to look into the back door. Mike, Ted and Sarge were coming into the house. He didn’t look like he was angry and the guys were carrying on in their usual manner. Everything looked normal.
“He looks alright to me,” I said.
“Time will tell,” Thad said with a smile.
The guys came out and took a seat. Mike was smiling in his usual smartass manner and I asked what he was grinning about. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“What’s the old man doing? In there sniffing around Miss Kay?” I asked.
Mike rolled his eyes. “Enough already. I don’t need the visual.”
Sarge came out the door, “Alright, the grownups are here, knock off the bullshit. Follow me. We need to talk.” He continued out the screen door and into the back yard. I looked at Mike and he shrugged.
“Ted, what’s this about?” I asked.
He got up from the table and slung his rifle. “Come on. You’ll hear it for yourself.”
We all got up and went outside. Danny was out there puttering around the well house and Sarge called him over too.
“What’s this about?” I asked.
Sarge rocked on his heels for a minute before speaking. “Since those chicken-shit bastards in Eustis don’t want to share communication with me, I went over their heads.”
I shook my head. “You just can’t get over it, can you?”
“Hell no, I can’t! Who the hell do those weekend warrior want-a-be shits think they’re fucking with?”
“Why don’t you three just get together and hate-fuck already? Just get it over with,” I replied. Naturally, this got Mike to howling. It even got to Thad a little.
He stifled a laugh. Shaking his head, he replied, “I swear, Morgan you is a mess!”
“Oh, my God!” Mike shouted. “Hate fuck! That’s it! That’s exactly what they need to do! Just rip each other’s clothes off, oil up and hate fuck!”
“You done?” Sarge asked.
Mike held up a finger, “One more time. Hate fuck!”
“You know the problem with you?” Sarge asked. Mike smiled with anticipation. “You’re still here. No one’s killed your dumb ass yet.”
“That’s cause I’m the baddest man alive! No one can kill me!”
Sarge looked at him seriously and in a quiet voice, said, “No, that’s not it. It’s that your mother didn’t have the fortitude to do the right thing and drown your stupid ass when you were a baby.”
“Or eat him when he was a baby. When his bones were still soft,” Ted added.
Mike held his hands up, “Haters gonna hate. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.”
“Would you just shut the fuck up for a minute so the grownups can talk?” Sarge spat.
“Whatever. Go ahead.”
Shaking his head, Sarge said, “We’re going to Eglin.”
“The Air Force base?” Thad asked.
Sarge nodded.
“And just how the hell do you plan on doing that? It’s got to be four hundred miles up there!” I asked.
Sarge looked at me like I was stupid. “We’re going to drive. Unless you’ve got a plane up your ass.” Mike started to make a comment, but the old man shot him a look and he let it pass.
“You know what kind of risk that is? How much shit can go wrong on a trip like that?”
Sarge shrugged, “We just have to be careful. We’re going to take two trucks and plenty of fuel and even extra tires.”
“How are you going to haul all that?” Danny asked.
“Sheffield has trailers up there. We’ll just get two of them. And the fuel from that bladder tank. We’re going to be bringing back a bunch of stuff as well, so we’ll need the trailers.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Ammo, rockets, mortar rounds. That kind of stuff. The general isn’t too happy with Sheffield’s lack of desire to go out and engage the enemy. We have foreign troops in the country. We need them gone.”
“What about a Geiger counter? Can they give us one of those?” I asked.
He nodded. “We’re going to get some NBC stuff too. They’re already sending the 20th CBRNE command towards Tampa to evaluate the situation. We’re getting equipment to monitor the situation as well.”
That made me feel a little better. “That’s good. When do you plan on making this kamikaze trip?”
“Soon as we can get the equipment together. We’ll be gone for a week or so.”
“We who?” I asked.
He pointed at me, “You’re part of we. I need you, and the General wants to see you. You’re the civilian head here, so you gotta go.”
“Like hell! I’m not going on what will surely turn into the Bataan death march. You can kiss my ass. I’ve already done that once and I ain’t doing it again.”
Sarge took a deep breath. “Look, we both know you’re going. I know you don’t want to, but I know you will. We’re also taking Dalton and Ian.”
“Who the hell is going to guard this place?” I asked.
“Just calm down. I’ll tell Sheffield we need a few people for a few days. His guys won’t mind getting out of town for a while and it’ll be less mouths for him to feed, so he won’t give a shit.”
“I couldn’t care less what he thinks!” I shot back. “You’re missing the fucking point here.