The Siege by Darrell Maloney Read Free Book Online Page A

Smitty and some of the other fellas just up and disappeared. We’re thinking they went without us. And we ain’t none too happy about it.”
         “Well, I’m sorry to hear that, fellas. But people around these parts come and go all the time. Most of ‘em ain’t from around here. Maybe Smitty and the others just got homesick and went back to wherever they called home.”
         “Not likely. Not this bunch.”
         “Sorry. Don’t know what to tell you.”
         “Are you sure you don’t know where this compound’s located?”
         Marty wasn’t intimidated, and held his ground.
         “Positive. Feel free to look around. We don’t have any fresh meat or produce. Everything we have comes off those trailers out there. But if you find that compound, we sure would like to have some fresh meat. We’ll barter you some of this other stuff for it.”
         “I thought you said this stuff was all free.”
         “Not if you have fresh beef to trade.”
         The man found this funny and laughed a lot harder than he needed to.
         “Oh, we’ll find it. And we’ll be back. And we may just have Smitty’s head on a stick when we do. But we’ll see you again.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 11
     
         Marty and Lenny watched as the four men left without taking anything from the shelves.
         It was obvious from their demeanor that they were used to controlling others through fear. But Marty wasn’t intimidated or afraid. Marty was an old school trucker. He’d seen and dealt with badder men than these before.
         Lenny, though, was glad to get rid of them.
         And he was also curious.
         “Marty, back in the days just before the freeze, you and Joe went scouting the area for a safe place to stay when the meteorite hit, remember?”
         “I remember. Why?”
         “You told me a year before, you delivered a load of steel to a construction site deep in the woods off of Highway 83. You said they wouldn’t tell you what they were building there, but I remember you mentioned greenhouses and said they were building a high wall around it.”
         “How come your memory isn’t this good when it comes to remembering to do your chores around here?”
         Lenny just looked at him.
         “Yes. I remember. I said it might be a good place to ride out the cold, until we set up our own camp here instead.”
         “Well, do you think it’s the same place?”
         “Probably. I don’t reckon there’s too many places with greenhouses hidden in the woods around here.”
         “Well, do you want to go check it out?”
         “And do what? Risk getting shot? Usually people put up high fences to protect what’s theirs. And sometimes when they protect what’s theirs, gunfire comes into play. Yes, I’d like to have a fresh steak, and we could probably barter some of this stuff to get some. But chances are equally good that we’d get shot trying. So as far as I’m concerned, if they happen to have fresh produce or livestock in there, then good for them. If they want to barter it, they can come over here. I won’t shoot them on sight like they may do me.
         “Besides, that was seven years ago now. I’m not even sure I could find the place again if I tried.”
         That night, as he lay in bed, Marty struggled mightily with his memory and his conscience.
         He remembered delivering that load. He’d driven past the turnoff twice and had trouble reaching the buyer because cell phone service was spotty in the area. He finally got through, and was told the turn-off was an unnamed gravel road, marked by a lonely piece of orange surveyor’s tape tied to a tree.
         He’d gone back for a third pass, and was finally able to spot the tape and deliver the load.
         He tried to