299 Days: The Collapse by Glen Tate Read Free Book Online

him. Chip looked around. He saw Grant, the rest of the Team, and Ted. All trusted guys. He came over to them. He had a pistol on his belt, too; a 1911.
    “Thanks for the help, guys,” Chip said. “I need three or four of you to secure the parking lot. I will be bringing in my truck and Ted’s. We each have U-Haul trailers on them. We have a little inventory to move out tonight. Like, all of it. The rest of you can help us move some heavy things into the trucks. Be discreet. Those in the parking lot can have rifles handy, but not slung over your shoulders.”
    Chip grabbed his gun inventory logs that ATF required him to maintain. He looked at them and laughed. “I guess I better have these in case things calm down and the law is enforced again.” Chip shook his head, indicating that he doubted things would return to normal and those laws would ever be enforced again.
    He looked at the guys. They were risking their lives to help him. “Thanks, gentlemen. Let’s get to work.”
    Pow asked, “Who has an AR with them?” Grant, Scotty, and Bobby raised their hands. “OK, you guys make sure no one gets within a hundred yards of here. Be on the lookout for anyone who seems to be watching us. They might be casing the place. Tell customers we’re closed. Cops can come here, but I’d rather they didn’t. I’m not going to ask you to shoot a cop.” Nice. This was for real.
    Grant, Scotty, and Bobby went out to their vehicles to get their ARs and mag pouches.
    Grant kept the safety on. He was pretty amped up, but he didn’t want to hurt anyone by mistake. He went around to Scotty and Bobby. “Safeties on, guys?” They both nodded.
    Grant used his car as cover. It was on the street and he had a good view of anyone coming the main way down the street and into the store. He could keep his AR on the car seat and remain discreet.
    Bobby had his truck across the street from Grant and was doing the same. Scotty moved his truck to the other side of the store entrance, which faced a back street, so he could get anyone coming from the other direction into the store. Grant and Bobby had a perfect crossfire set up. That was interesting because neither one of them talked about where to position themselves; they just naturally set up in a crossfire. And they both had a good angle on Scotty’s position to help him out.
    Once they were set up, Grant was just watching. Everything. So were Bobby and Scotty.
    Chip and Ted went out to their trucks with the U-Hauls, which were parked on the street a block away. They wheeled them into the parking lot which was finally empty. As soon as they pulled in, the door of the store came open and there were Wes and Pow with big plastic tubs. They looked like the tubs of parts Chip kept in the storage room. Grant focused on his job of watching the street to make sure no one came by.
    After a few minutes, a car came down the back street toward Scotty. Grant figured that it could be a harmless guy or, because he was coming from the back street, it could be a decoy for an attack on the main entrance. Grant and Bobby grabbed their ARs out of their vehicles and got them ready. Scotty flagged down the car. He talked to the driver for a minute and then he turned around and left. Scotty flashed Grant and Bobby the thumbs up to show that everything was OK.
    Wes, Pow, Ted, and Chip were loading Chip’s U-Haul like mad men. Then Chip moved his truck a little and Ted moved his into the front of the store. They repeated the loading. They now had fewer plastic tubs and more rectangular cardboard boxes which held a rifle. Finally, lots of small rectangular boxes which held pistols. Then cases and cases of ammo. They looked pretty heavy.
    An SUV came down Grant and Bobby’s street. It was coming down Grant’s side of the street, so Grant signaled that he would talk to the driver. He also signaled for Bobby to hide in his truck for surprise backup, if necessary.
    The driver of the SUV could sense that things were a