Deluge (The Best Thrillers Book 2) James Best (best e book reader .TXT) 📖

guards bull bars. They use them on ranches to nudge cattle out of the way. Australians call them roo bars and Canadians, moose bumpers. They cost a lot, so let’s see if they’re worth the price.”

Smith leaned on the horn and eased the SUV forward, pushing against the heavy animals. They were in no mood to be pushed around and shoved back. The ones in front had the wrong angle and scooted aside, but the ones coming onto the highway butted the side of the car and rocked the Land Cruiser until it seemed likely they would break a window. Smith continued to add pressure to the gas pedal, and the animals slowly surrendered the right-of-way. They made it through the pack to find clear road on the other side.

Completely clear. No semi. Just water. Lots of water.

They were engaged in a nerve-racking race against the elements … and the elements were winning.

Chapter 25

“What the hell happened?” Evarts asked.

“Gang shooting,” Standish said. “The Northwest and West Park street gangs came down from Santa Maria to loot in the aftermath of the flood. The first shootings were between gangs, because they both targeted the same store. Sheriff Lopez tried to barter a temporary truce, and someone shot him … six times. The impression I got is that the situation has become awfully heated. I heard one officer on the radio urging extreme caution. He said the gangs had gone barbarian.”

Damn!” Evarts shook his head and paced. “Tom Lopez was my friend. Damn it! Those …” He slammed the wall with an open palm and paced some more. “Okay, for the time being, we need to put aside our personal feelings. Those gangs are ruthless in the best of times, and these are not even mediocre times.”

He paced some more and then turned to face Standish. “They’re coming. They’re coming here. They’re going to loot the flood path. After they finish with Solvang, they’ll hit Buellton, and then here. We’ve lost the sheriff and the Lompoc police leadership. The remaining forces are spread thin, and they’re tired as hell. Lompoc normally runs six officers on graveyard shift, but everyone on the force automatically reported to duty. They’re all dealing with grief while performing as first responders in a stressful situation. I’m sorry, Captain, this is one hell an assignment for your first posting as a chief.”

“I can handle it, chief,” Standish said.

“I know,” he said distracted. “Damn, I wish I hadn’t thrown those MPs off roadblock service.”

Standish smiled.

“What’s amusing?” Evarts asked.

“You made friends on the force when you did that. The cops at the checkpoint couldn’t wait to tell me about it.”

“Well, I’m glad you can see humor in this situation, Standish.” He sounded more irritated at her than he felt, and he knew his mood had been soured because of the Lopez news. Standish barely knew the sheriff, so he shouldn’t expect the same emotions from her that he felt. He rapidly paced back and forth to calm himself.

After a deep breath, he said, “Call Captain Harper, who runs the military police on the base, and kiss his ass. You’re about to discover that brownnosing’s in your new job description.”

“Been there, done that,” she said. “How do you think I got this trial run?”

“Touché.”

“I’ll get Captain Harper to reallocate MPs to the roadblock. Thankfully, these storm clouds have a silver lining; we have only one access road to Lompoc.”

“Two,” Evarts corrected. “Highway 1 is the only access from the south or east, but from the north, you can still get in using 13th Street after skirting the base. Santa Maria sits just north of the base. The gangs know that route, and if I screw up and fail to stop them, you’ll want that accessway closed. Get Captain Harper to secure the northern approach and beef up your officers at Highway 1 to the south.” Evarts hesitated. “Sorry, that’s what I would do, but it’s your command now.”

“I want your advice.” She slowly smiled. “But I’ll decide whether to take it or not.”

Evarts explained everything that he had done since arrival and then requested a squad car, which she allocated to him. He intended to run flashing lights all the way back to Solvang. Santa Maria harbored over fourteen hundred gang members, and the city had seen a huge increase in homicides and heroin overdoses in the past year. These were bad people, and they needed to be arrested, or at least chased back to Santa Maria.

He was no longer a first responder. He had police work to do.

Chapter 26

They didn’t make it. For a period, Baldwin had had high hopes, but they vanished when the engine shuttered and died. Smith turned the ignition off and flipped on the hazard and interior lights.

“That’s it then,” Baldwin said as she checked the floorboard to see if it was still dry.

“The engine’s hot,” Smith said. “It may evaporate the dampness on the electrical system.”

“If the water doesn’t rise,” Wilson said.

“Or the battery does not die,” Ashley added.

“More optimism from the backseat, please,” Smith said.

“Oh, darn!” Ashley exclaimed.

The whole interior filled with light from high-mounted headlights that bore down on them like a freight train engine pulling a hundred heavily laden coal cars. When the engine died, they’d remained in the right lane because to pull onto the shoulder would have mired the vehicle in mud. Smith turned the key to accessory, turned on his running lights, and started flashing them manually. The huge vehicle continued toward them like an apparition.

“Seat belts!” Smith yelled.

Baldwin had kept her belt on, but she heard a metallic click from the backseat. Just then the semi veered into the fast lane, passed them on the left, and then pulled back into the right lane. When Baldwin exhaled, she realized she had been holding her breath. That was close.

The truck slowed to a stop about fifty yards in front of them and put on hazard lights. Nobody moved. No man emerged from the truck, nor