Quaranteam: Off the Grid Ch. 14-16

[Many thanks to CorruptingPower, Ronan, OtterlyMindblowing, BreakTheBar, The Licentious Laureate, Julius Drake, Agathon, 32Inch, Masakari, and Discert for not only permission to write in this shared world but also for the help and support to write all of this. Check out their work!

CONTENT WARNING

There is a graphic scene depicting a violent death in here. Seriously. This is your warning. This submission will also continue to deal with scenes of questionable or non consent for Colin, so the genre will stay here for now. Sci Fi/ Fantasy will return next time.

"Yet who would have thought the old man had that much blood in him?"

-Lady MacBeth

-Bronan The Librarian]

Chapter Fourteen

August 18th, 2020

-o0o-

The heat of the day was starting to build through the mid morning as Deputy Nestor Garcia brought down the windows of his patrol car. The green and white Crown Victoria was one of the oldest from the entire fleet of cars that the county used but he still preferred it over the newer Explorer SUVs that the others would check out each day. There wasn't anything specific about the older car that set it apart. He just liked the damn thing.

The department had started leaning hard towards new women who were being hired in and given provisional training. It wasn't ideal, but the volume of calls had decreased to the point that it wasn't as dangerous as it could have been with a horde of rookie cops on the beat. His musings were interrupted by the chirp of the radio. "Dispatch to Adam 1-3."

"Go for Adam 1-3."

The voice of his dispatcher was familiar and comforting. Edith had been working the radio for two decades and entire generations of cops had spent their working lives listening to her keep things running smoothly. "Respond Code 2 to Mount St Michael's convent. Adam 1-9 reported a disturbance and isn't checking in."

Nestor frowned. He hadn't been up to the old set of buildings for a couple of months. There had been some kind of construction at the beginning of summer but that should have been wrapped up or be waiting for the lockdowns to end. "Copy. Adam 1-3 is Code 2. Send any other available units. Do we have details?"

"Negative, Adam 1-3. Report was white male running in the road trying to stop cars but nothing further after 1-9 reported on site."

Adam 1-9 was one of the rookie cars. Two women had been paired up and were being routed to low priority calls like noise complaints or as back up to more seasoned cops. But not reporting at all after dispatch asked for them was worrying. Code 2 gave Nestor permission to drive fast and hit his lights to move traffic as needed. Code 3 would be going in loud and hot. Today there was no need to do more than keep his eyes open for the occasional car as he pushed the old Crown Vic up over 80 mph on the back roads leading into the property.

No one was especially comfortable sending all the new girls out on their own but the death toll on the city and county ranks had been catastrophic. They had been forced early on to even abandon full funerals for the number of dead cops and firefighters. There were simply too many to take boots off the pavement from the pool of survivors. The lucky replacements got partnered with an experienced survivor. The rest got the ultimate in on the job training with more experienced cops and deputies racing from scene to scene as "supervisors" whenever someone went full Karen and demanded a manager.

Even with the extra help the early days of the pandemics had seen hundreds of empty homes ransacked and looted as the population realized how thin the cops were stretched.

Getting closer he saw that there was a lot more construction work than he had thought. The other patrol SUV was parked at a gate on the driveway up. He slowed down and looked over the strip of land he could see from the road. It looked... shit it looked like the ridge line above the road had been dug up and turned into a World War Two movie set. He could see trenches with figures moving through them behind a layer of barbed wire. The buildings were out of sight over the crest of the rise. His hackles were raised as he saw dozens of people running around... but no pair of his rookies. He stopped well short of the other car, maybe 100 yards shy of the roadblock. "Adam 1-3 to Dispatch, I'm on scene but I don't know what the hell I'm looking at? 1-9's vehicle is here but no sign of either deputy."

Edith began to reply but the radio suddenly blared with music. He looked down in confusion as a voice came out over the speaker after some kind of church-y sounding ten second interlude. "This is Major Hayes of the Spokane Free Women's Commune. We have your deputies and no outside law enforcement is welcome here. We will police ourselves and your officers will stay with us to ensure that you do not interfere with our affairs. This is your only warning."

The music played again and Nestor swore. Edith came back on briefly. "All units swap to Emergency Channel 4 and stand by." Whoever was up this road had access to the police radios. Emergency 4 would put the city and county deputies and police onto a different, encrypted frequency. As Nestor clicked the radio into the appropriate setting an overlapping chorus of confused voices could be heard. Edith was in the background of the mess trying to instill some radio discipline to the panicked mass of rookies.

Nestor took a moment to let the chaos sort itself out while he tried to gather a bit more information. He was obviously at ground zero for something but he wanted as much data as he could get. Pulling a pair of binoculars from the glove box, he stepped out of the car and began to scan the bulwarks in front of him. He could see several women standing in trenches and watching him. A few had binoculars of their own or spotting scopes like he had seen when he went with his family out hunting. There was the sound of a distant crowd whispering across the grass as well.

He turned and checked the woods, freezing in place as a boxy shape caught his eye. A chill went down his spine. That was a bunker. It was back in the trees to the right of the road but there was definitely someone in there. He was trying to see what when a series of flashes came from inside the log structure. The repeated bark of an automatic weapon was joined by the snapping of near misses and hammering clangs of hits on the car. Nestor kept the engine block between himself and the incoming bullets, climbing into the driver's seat without poking his head up. Shattered safety glass was blown into him, leaving his face stinging from dozens of tiny cuts. He got the car into reverse and slammed the gas. He felt a tug on his sleeve and then the burn on his calf that he knew meant that he was hit. There was a T-intersection behind him as the old police car flew back. The gun fire stopped and he sat up, spinning the car in a J turn and pushing out onto the two lane road that was screened by the curve of the hill.

The battered car had lost both of the passenger tires and Nestor lost control. The car slammed into the ditch hard, Nestor's chest hitting the steering wheel with a crunching sensation. Even as gasped for air he keyed back into the chaos of Emergency 4. "Adam.... Adam 1-3, shots fired, shots fired! Officer down!"

Edith's calming voice finally became the only one on the channel, those words cutting off the others even with their limited training. Nestor watched the road with his gun drawn. He could hear the sirens in the distance and took shallow breaths through what he thought was a set of cracked ribs. The adrenaline was starting to fade. Welp. That had gone to shit faster than most days.

-o0o-

The last few days were an incredibly awkward time for Colin. Hayes had apparently been asleep for almost 24 hours after imprinting before waking up instead of the 12 or 13 that Grace had slept. She was... different. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she definitely looked like she had more energy. And her demeanor had transitioned from a bit withdrawn into supremely confident. She didn't say much to Colin about it but... she looked at him the same way Raina's grandmother had looked at the picture of the Pope that had been above the stove. That got unnerving very, very fast.

Several of the guards were now willing to talk with him after the incident with Isabella and almost all of the women were now neutral instead of hostile. The militia women were all buzzing because Hayes was claiming that she had been healed of several chronic complaints. When she appeared in his room after dinner the night Flannery had been dragged away he had actually cringed away from the look on her face.

He had never actually seen someone having a religious experience, let alone over him.

She had sat next to him on the bed with eyes wide. Colin studied her back, trying to decide what was different. Fewer wrinkles at the corners of her eyes? He hadn't really wanted to look at her the last time they had been in the same place so whatever changes were there would probably remain a mystery. They had talked about the imprinting and she had gripped his wrist while making the world's most uncomfortably intense eye contact.

"When you blessed me with this gift, Colin. It.... it filled me. It opened my eyes to a whole new level of understanding. Those moments before I went to sleep. That beautiful, amazing eternity. I could feel the colors all over my body, I could taste the sounds that filled the room! I could understand the true nature of where the world will go!" Hayes' eyes lost focus for a moment, staring rapturously at whatever memory was replaying for her. "You showed me the truth. That the wicked and the corrupt men will be burned away. That we are on the cusp of a whole new era for humanity!"

Her eyes refocused on him, searching and obviously wanting him to join in her enthusiasm. "Even Weaver doesn't get it yet. Maybe when she is bonded like we are she will get it. And if she doesn't? Then.... Then I, can lead instead. I can bring all this to pass!"

Whatever skills this woman had, reading the room was not one of them. Colin had a terrible poker face but she wasn't catching on to his lack of agreement, interest, or comfort with her. He had let her blow him mainly to get her out of his room. While she had found an enthusiasm for getting him off she obviously hadn't had a great deal of experience. Even his average length was enough to trip her gag reflex so the process took longer than it might have with someone that he was actually interested in consummating with. By the time she quivered as he came in her mouth he was beyond creeped out.

Finally she was out of his room. Taking a hot shower he scrubbed himself and sighed. He missed Grace. He missed having someone to talk to who wasn't a prison guard or batshit insane. Isabella had barely come by since the show she put on which was a little worrying in and of itself. She might have been a bit terrifying but she was at least an ally.

He settled in to read one of the books that the guards had agreed to bring him. They were all old, smelling and feeling of long years sitting in some forgotten library or archive. But they were better than sitting and staring at the ceiling counting the minutes. It was early in the morning of the 18th when his reading was interrupted by the sounds of excited shouting down in the courtyard. He got up and went to the window. He was already sweating in the heat as he cracked the window. The dry, hot wind blew in hard and brought no relief from the sweltering air inside. It did bring in the sounds of arguments.

Colin flinched as he heard the unmistakable voice of Hayes shouting as two women were being dragged inside the pavement square. She was on again about the mission and the new way of life that they would build here.

His blood ran cold when he realized that both women were fucking cops.

It took only minutes before Weaver and her entourage were out there and the screaming escalated to a whole new level. There was no way that he could tell what the hell was being discussed, but the women were divided into three distinct groups. Hayes had her group, Weaver had hers... but the majority of the people milling around were the women and children who were spreading in a ring around the core of Weaver and Hayes. Colin could read the body language out there. It was bad.

Almost all of the women down there were anxious. Those with kids in tow were clinging to them tightly, watching a potential power struggle play out. He wasn't sure if it was the same before Hayes had imprinted herself onto him but now her little faction was twice the size of Weaver's. And while Hayes' group was laser focused on the yelling? Weaver's ladies were looking nervously out at the crowd. They could see the doubt in the eyes that were surrounding them.

One of the guards closest to Weaver leaned in to whisper something. Or yell softly with all the noise down there. Weaver said something that shut Hayes up before turning to the crowd and trying to lay some spin down onto the unfolding conflict. Hayes, on the other hand, looked like she was going to blow a gasket. Even from his position above the whole situation he could see that she was pissed. She turned on her heel and left with her entourage, leaving Weaver and the others watching her departing back.

Hayes went into one of the tents that was full of some kind of electronic gear as the leader of this place went to work the crowd, speaking with individuals as they pressed in with a murmur of concern. Colin frowned. Being stuck in here as Hayes' boytoy was bad enough. Having to watch as a bunch of terrified and armed women started to rip themselves apart was not something that he wanted to see from this close. Especially if they were to the point of kidnapping cops.

There was a knock at the door. Colin turned and found Isabella looking in curiously. She gave a thin smile and came in at his wave. Coming up to stand next to him she took in everything below with a glance. "Well shit. Looks like we are going to have someone looking for us here sooner than we thought."

She clapped him on the shoulder and he filled her in on the drama so far. The crowd was starting to disperse. As they spread out back to the tents and the more open areas Isabella's brows drew down. "Oh that doesn't look good."

Colin's attention followed to where she was pointing. A pair of the uniformed women had come running from the trenches dug in the field overlooking the road into the compound. One ran for the tech tent, the other to where Weaver's group was heading back into the main building. Even as Weaver moved towards the tent there was an electronic pop. Both Colin and Isabella turned at the sound of the building's ancient PA system clicking on with an old hymn playing for a few seconds. Hayes' voice crackled out, filling the halls and the courtyard. "This is Major Hayes of the Spokane Free Women's Commune. We have your deputies and no outside law enforcement is welcome here. We will police ourselves and your officers will stay with us to ensure that you do not interfere with our affairs. This is your only warning."

There was a sound from the far side of the hill, coming from the woods to the north of the building. He knew that sound. He had heard that distinctive chattering on the highway the night he met Grace.

They were shooting at someone just over the grassy field.

Weaver heard it as well. She and her group froze, seemingly torn on what to do next. The leader of this place, who very obviously had not been a part of this escalation, ran inside. Isabella and Colin both let out a breath as the shooting stopped. The crowd, which had finally settled down after the first argument, was now filling the courtyard below. Screaming and chaos reigned.

"So," Colin started, "I think getting out unnoticed just became a problem."

-o0o-

Chapter Fifteen

August 20th, 2020

These last two days reminded Colin of going to Catholic school. Issa had raised a perfect eyebrow in confusion when Colin said that. He gave a bleak grin. "The constant threat of getting my ass beat and everyone is afraid to make a sound."

Her laugh was genuine but the fact was... he was only half joking.

The compound was now surrounded on all sides by police, black SUVs and sedans, and camo painted vehicles. Both he and Issa had spotted helicopters circling and drones floating over the area repeatedly, plus there had been two more incidents that ended in gunfire. Not that either of them had any idea what the fuck had caused those skirmishes. The second one had been at 4 that morning and lasted several minutes. Something had been burning off to the west, according to Issa, leaving a greasy black column of smoke over the treeline. Colin's only view was of the slice of the increasingly tense looking crowds from the tents and the edge of the field as it crested to the north and east.

Colin and Issa had been talking for hours each day, mainly out of boredom and Issa catching me up on the internal politics of the place in case it gave us an edge in escaping. They talked cars, argued baseball (which Issa held an almost encyclopedic knowledge of), books, movies, stupid adventures when they were younger, and Colin spilled his heart about Grace in what was probably the same tone he had used when he was in love for the first time back in high school. Hell, pretty much the only times that they were separated was at night and the pair of times where Hayes had shown up to scratch her own itch. Colin did his best to just get through that. Hayes had finally decided that she wanted to be in bed with him, much to his discomfort and consternation.

The sex was.... Well it was sex. Hayes seemed to be chasing the high of the paired priming and imprinting orgasms, doing her inexperienced best to make him pop as quickly as possible. But when her pillow talk consisted of continuing her slightly disjointed rants about the way that she would fix everything as soon as they stopped resisting out there? Colin did his best to just smile and nod until she would leave him and he could take a shower. He had learned the hard way that picturing Grace during his "encounters" with Hayes wasn't going to work. The older woman's body was in pretty good shape for her age.... But she was NOT ever going to be mistaken for the woman he was missing more urgently each day. Hayes had finally resorted to using the remote whenever he tried to talk her into letting him communicate with Grace during their infrequent encounters. She gave him the nebulous excuse that she was "in negotiations" with the forces arrayed against "her" compound and that it would show weakness to let him see his estranged partner.

Issa was illustrating part of the reason that Colin was getting worried. She had been avoiding Flannery for a couple of days before the militia here had grabbed her, so the effects of the serum withdrawal were becoming more and more obvious. He was happy to listen when she said that talking about it seemed to help a bit. She had her arms crossed over each other, fingers tapping on her forearms. "God it's like... it's like I can feel him over my shoulder. I know that I really don't want him but I have no choice. I can look up to the attic where they're keeping him and I know that just a few minutes would get me the relief I need. For a while. But then I'll have to go through all this shit again and fuck that. I'd rather pass out from jilling off trying to get him out of my head than go back and touch him even one more time."

She leaned against him with a sigh. They both needed comfort beyond any attraction. "How the hell did the Air Force let you stay stuck with that gremlin?" he asked with some bitterness, "I know that they don't have a lot of options to reassign people-"