Chapter 30
While Patty held the motley group at gunpoint, the family held a quick meeting to decide what to do with the would be raiders. “Frank, why don't you see if you can raise the sheriff's office on the radio, while Janet and I see if we can stop some of the bleeding,” suggested John.
“Janet, how did this start,” asked Frank, “I know you would not have fired first, but I need a story for the sheriff.”
“I heard the buzzer at the gate and I went to the door to see who it was. As soon as I saw they were armed, I had Tommy take his little sister to the basement and I used the loudspeaker to tell them to leave. Their answer was to start shooting at the house. I got my rifle and fired back, but to be honest, I wasn't trying to hit them. I thought if I fired at them, they would just leave. I guess I was wrong,” said a sad but wiser Janet.
The power had been spotty since the East coast Tsunami, being off more than on, Frank used the modified base radio and turning to the public service bands, he called the sheriff's office.
“Sheriff's department,” came the response to Frank's call, “Who are you and why are you on this frequency?”
Frank explained the situation and requested a deputy and an ambulance as he had two people that needed medical attention. He explained that his house had come under fire and he and his family had acted in self defense. He advised the deputy that he would be pressing charges.
“I have an ambulance rolling to your address, and a deputy will be there about the same time. Please do not display any weapons when the deputy arrives,” said the dispatcher.
“These people tried to rob us and they fired on my house. I most certainly will display a weapon and I will be holding them at gunpoint until the deputy takes them into custody,” said Frank, losing his patience.
Frank could hear yelling from outside, so he advised the deputy he had to go and would be waiting. When he got outside, one of the neighbor's son's wife had arrived on the scene and was brandishing a rather large butcher knife. Frank told her to drop the knife or she would be shot. The woman started screaming and running toward Frank with the knife in her hand. Frank raised his rifle but before he could get a shot off, Patty connected the butt of her rifle with the back of the crazed woman's head, dropping her to the ground in a heap.
“Thanks,” said Frank, “I am not sure I could have gotten her in time.”
After a while, the ambulance arrived and stopped short of the house, waiting for the deputy to clear the scene of an active shooting before they would get out of the ambulance. John had done a passable job of bandaging the older woman's hand and done the best he could for the man that was gut shot. The deputy quickly surveyed the scene and called for another car to help transport the raiders to the hospital and then to jail.
“Looks like a justified shooting,” he told Frank, “There will be some questions to answer, but I don't see any problems for you, as long as you are being truthful with me.”
“It happened just like I said, they came over to steal our food, and when my wife asked them to leave, they fired on her,” said Frank, “She returned fire and called me on the radio. We were on our way home and we were able to come up behind them. I ordered them to drop their weapons and when they turned to fire on us, we defended ourselves.”
“Like I said, it seems like a good shoot, I will make a recommendation that all charges be dropped. You would not believe what is going on in some of the cities. Since the food trucks have stopped rolling, the shelves are empty. People are starting to move out toward the more rural areas like this to find food. You had better keep your eyes open, this is likely just the tip of the iceberg,” warned the deputy.
The ambulance took the two injured people and after securing them in the ambulance, the others were handcuffed together and placed in the deputy's back seat. “We have been denying bail for armed assault, and with three of these being form outside the area, they will stay in jail until their trial. Call us if you have any questions and we will will be back later to tie up any loose ends,” and with that, the deputy flipped on the lights and was gone, the ambulance following.
Frank went to Janet and calmed her and told her how proud he was of the way she handled the situation and assured here that from this point forward, she would not be left at home alone. There would always be at least two people there. Janet retrieved the kids from the shelter and passed the praise on to Tommy and told him what a big boy he was for taking care of his sister and protecting her.
John, told Frank he was going to go home and get Frank's Mother and bring her over. He backed the loaded truck and trailer into the barn and secured it and took Frank's truck to go get his wife.
Patty offered to help cook supper and she and Janet had the kitchen smelling good in short order. Frank took his water hose and washed the blood of the sidewalk in front of the house and then he and Tommy policed the area picking up all the spent brass they could find. The deputy had taken the guns and knife the raiders and Frank figured that was OK with him, they had more guns they they would ever need.