Page 24 of Justice for the SEAL
“That counts,”saidJax.
Stewart Cole’s property was just over nine acres between a fundamentalist church and a one-truck volunteer fire station. Piles of junk were strewn about the property. A pile of radiators, another of metal lawnchairs.
“Must be a scrapper,” said Cowboy as he started toward the house. The one-story dwelling was made of a patchwork of materials, from a metal and wooden roof to a cinder block porch that seemed to have been anafterthought.
“I’m guessing he’s collecting the steel,” said Noah. “My money’s onprepper.”
“There going to be a great demand for rusted radiators and mid-century lawn chairs at the end of days?”askedJax.
Noah grinned. “It’s the metal. Some of them use it to make their own weapons. Others think of it as currency. Owning steel means they’ll be able to produce their owngoods.”
“How do you know this shit?” askedCowboy.
Noah hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “It makes good sense to beprepared.”
“You telling me you’ve got a hundred radiators stashed someplace just in case you need to pound out your ownquarters?”
“I’m ready for the day when our supply system can no longer meet the needs of American citizens, if that’s whatyoumean.”
Cowboy narrowed his eyes. “I knew this other guy who was obsessed with the end of the world. Events he couldn’t control, that kind of shit. You want to talk about a prepper, this guy was off the hook. Had himself completely convinced weather patterns were all fucked up because of people’s influence on the earth, and the world was going to become covered in water from alltherain.”
Noah sighed heavily. “Let me guess, he built an ark,right?”
“You two know eachother?”
Noah shook his head. “Asshole.”
Cowboy grinned. “What are there, like meetings or something where you guys socialize? Because I’d like to get in onthatshit.”
“Shut up, Cowboy,”saidJax.
“I have some lawn chairs I could bring,” said Cowboy. “Extruded aluminum. I was thinking I could make my own tinfoil when all the Shop-Quiksclosedown.”
“Joke all you want,” said Noah. “But someday you’re going to come knocking on my door because you weren’t prepared for adisaster.”
“Maybe so.” The wind kicked up, blowing dust into Cowboys face. He stopped and squatted down, running his hand along the dirt in the driveway. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here in a while. No tire tracks in the driveway since the rain.” They’d had several inches before the heatwave, which had turned greater Atlanta into a swamp before it became the desert they were currentlystandingin.
“The dirt here is smooth,” said Cowboy. “It hasn’t been driven on since therainstorms.”
Jax’s voice was low. “Keep your weapons handy, just in case. This guy isn’t exactly our bestfriend.”
The last hundred yards of the walk to the house was in the wide open, making Cowboy grateful for his bulletproof vest and gun. Stewart was suing them for killing his brother. He was unpredictable,atbest.
“I’ll go in first,” said Jax. “Noah, you go around back in case he tries toleave.”
“I thought we just said he wasn’t home,”saidNoah.
Cowboy shook his head. “We said nobody’s come or gone in a vehicle. I didn’t say squat about him notbeinghome.”
They walked under the front porch eave and Cowboy exhaled loudly. If no one had taken a shot at them as they crossed to the door, he figured it was less likely they would dosonow.
Jax knocked. “Mr. Cole?” He knocked again, yelling louder this time, “We’d like to talktoyou.”
“You just trying to make sure he has enough time to grab his gun?” whisperedCowboy.
“Shut up.” Jax turned the knob on the door and opened it a crack. He eyed Cowboy. “Do you find it strange that a prepper would leave his doorwideopen?”
“Most of these guys have locks up one side and down the other,”saidNoah.
