Part 16 (1/2)
If you do have transportation, please calmly evacuate the city. First responders on the ground will direct you onto the evacuation route that is designated for your area. Your cooperation is required and appreciated. Thank you.”
He paused to listen again and heard the varying instructions from the other distant megaphones, depending on the area of the city. Those nearest to the METRORail would be directed to board it, but other areas would be collected by school bus or public transit. A select few closest to the airports would be shuttled there and flown to DFW, and the remaining evacuees would be collected by freight trains, semis and flatbed trucks. Those that were deemed able would be forced to walk out on foot. They would continue this cycle until everyone was evacuated, the city fell into complete anarchy or the nuclear device was detonated. Reese s.h.i.+vered at the thought.
Before the start of the Greatest Depression, Houston was the fourth largest city in the country with over two million people. It also had the fifth largest metropolitan area with over six million people. No one knew how many people were left in the Houston area, but Reese reasoned at least four million, still far too many people to expect to follow the instructions without incident.
He watched as the first of the panicked citizenry flooded out onto the streets, without any of the items that they were instructed to bring. Reese knew the frenzy would spread chaos and terror among the others that would otherwise try to remain calm and act as instructed. He prayed that they did not start to- He cursed as he watched the first storefront window shatter. It was a small convenience store. A mob of looters rushed in to grab anything they could. Within mere moments, they began to fight each other over the spa.r.s.e items remaining on the shelves. It was a horrible start to their plan, and it was just the beginning.
Reese radioed for reinforcements along Main Street as the anarchy intensified. He shouted into the Humvee and was handed a pump shotgun chambered with less than lethal ammo. He fired several quick volleys of rubber shot into the raucous crowds to disperse them. The rounds were not deadly at the distance they were fired from, but they were still excruciatingly painful. The crowd begrudgingly dispersed, for the time being. He knew the sound of gunfire would be unnerving to those that were properly preparing for the evacuation as instructed, but the sight of chaos in the streets would have been even worse.
Within several minutes, reinforcements arrived in Humvees and police cruisers to further disperse and control the crowds, just as they began to flare up again. Reese breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the mixed group of soldiers and officers. He climbed out of the vehicle and handed the megaphone to a young guardsman that was to take over his post.
Families were beginning to filter out of the surrounding apartments and make their way to the METRORrail stations. The presence of the armed officers and soldiers was both unnerving and comforting to them at the same time. Reese flashed a nervous smile and a nod to some soldiers standing nearby as he walked to the back of a pickup truck with Harris County Sheriff's Department emblazoned on the side. Several officers were unloading the three motorcycles that he had requested off of a trailer. He thanked them as he climbed on the first bike and sped away to the near east side of the city. Two Texas Rangers followed closely behind him on the remaining bikes.
The city's light rail system, METRORail, was just beginning to collect the first of its pa.s.sengers as Reese left on the bike. The route started at the University of Houston-Downtown on Buffalo Bayou. It led south eight miles through the vibrant downtown district along Main Street, past Herman Park, through the sprawling Texas Medical Center and ended at the aptly named Reliant Park. From there, a portion of the city's more than twelve hundred buses were staged to evacuate south along Highway 288, on several reserved lanes. Once out of the city, the buses were routed to the coastal communities from Galveston to Corpus Christi.
The coordination and execution by METRORail was valiant, but the system was utterly overwhelmed as riders were squeezed onto standing room only trains, pus.h.i.+ng the transport capacity of eight thousand people per hour to nearly twelve. Despite the increased capacity, hysterical people were left waiting as the trains quickly filled up and moved on down the line. The unfortunate evacuees that were left behind were infuriated and were beginning to clash with each other and police.
As Reese sped across the city on the bike, he was able to clearly view several of the major highways leading out of Houston. The evacuation routes were a nightmare on the grandest of scales. Some had already abandoned their vehicles on the side of the road and had taken to walking out of the city. The abandoned vehicles only added to the chaos. Some were not even fully out of the travel lanes. Frustration mounted as the remaining panicked motorists watched as entire families pa.s.sed them on foot.
Most gas stations had been long ago depleted because of the collapsing economy, but somehow the roads leading out of Houston were still gridlocked with traffic. Reese imagined that most of the vehicles on the road had less than five gallons of gas in their tanks. He reasoned that tempers would soon flare, and fights would erupt between motorists as affability was exchanged for anarchy.
As he crossed over North Delano Street on Ca.n.a.l Street, the city presented a stark contrast. The homes were old and battered, the streets were in horrible condition and trash blew like tumbleweeds through the neighborhood. Security bars were on practically every door, and window-mounted air-conditioning units were caged in the Second Ward. He noticed that the area was lacking of any vegetation. Trees, bushes, and even gra.s.s was scarce in the bleak neighborhood.
Reese and the two rangers avoided any side roads since they were alone and highly exposed on the bikes. A scoped M4 carbine was slung across Reese's back while his MP5 hung in front of him from a single point sling. He leaned in close to the bike and slalomed between abandoned vehicles and errant trash cans. The rangers, also equipped with M4s, followed closely behind his lead.
Less than a mile ahead, Reese could see several Humvees and cruisers in the road. Beyond them, he noticed several soldiers and officers sprinting for cover behind the vehicles. As he eased off of the throttle, he began to hear the gunshots.
He stopped several blocks back from the melee and shouldered his rifle to get a better view of the scene ahead. The two rangers stopped their bikes on either side of him. Reese saw an angry crowd of armed locals streaming towards the small group of emergency workers that were huddled behind the vehicles.
The a.s.sailants were taking cover behind front porch columns, crouching behind bullet riddled cars and leaning from the upper windows of nearby houses as they fired at the evacuation team. The gunfire was intense. The soldiers and officers were unable to retreat. They were helplessly pinned behind their vehicles and quickly being surrounded.
Reese got into position on a front porch that afforded him a protected view of the gunfight. He searched the street with his scope until he found his first target, a twenty to thirty year old male with two pistols that was firing indiscriminately towards the evacuation team. He exhaled slowly and squeezed the trigger in the lull between breaths. He watched as the man stumbled and fell to the ground. He panned right and then left, connecting with several more a.s.sailants before the a.s.sault began to wane. The rangers also began to search and engage any armed residents that were a threat to the team ahead of them.
They continued to fire over the heads of their comrades at anyone beyond that was brave or foolish enough to step out from behind their cover. The suppressive fire afforded the pinned team the opportunity they desperately needed to retreat into their vehicles and escape from the scene. As the fleeing vehicles approached their position, Reese and the men ran back to their bikes and whipped back onto Ca.n.a.l Street. The merged in front of an approaching Humvee and used the silhouette of the larger vehicle to protect their backs as they fled the doomed Second Ward.
When they reached Highway 59, they turned south and rallied at the large parking lot east of the Astro's stadium. The area was the site Reese had selected as the forward operating base for the evacuation. It was awash with communication vans, Humvees and a myriad of other support vehicles. Portable radio towers and generators were also visible. Reese motored over to a group of black communication vans, opened the back door of the largest one and stepped inside. The technicians looked to be under intense pressure.
”Update me, guys.”
A young guardsman, with thick eyegla.s.ses, spun in his chair to face Reese and responded nervously, ”Several of the evac teams are coming under fire from locals. The highways leading out of the city are close to gridlock and many residents are simply refusing to leave and become refugees.”
Reese let out a deep sigh and rested his hands on his head as he replied, ”Do you have any good news?”
”Only that the METRORail and city buses seem to be functioning as hoped. They've evacuated close to thirty thousand people from downtown in a little over two hours. The crowds are getting anxious though; we're getting reports from team members on the ground that they're not sure how long before depots fall into complete disorder.”
”I don't know if that's good news, but I guess it'll have to do. Tell the teams working the rail and buses to keep a tight leash on any troublemakers. If they need to make an example out of someone, do it. If chaos breaks out, then the evacuation breaks down and lots of people die. Understand?”
”Yes sir.”
”Tell all teams that're broadcasting evacuation orders that if they come under fire, they are to fall back and move to the next area on their agenda. We don't have the resources to perform a rescue of our own people.”
”Yes sir.”
”And have one of the choppers make a pa.s.s and see if they can locate any specific problem areas on the highways leading out of the city. If they see any disabled vehicles or other obstructions that are blocking traffic and causing gridlock, send some teams to remove them. We've got to keep traffic flowing. If we don't, we're going to have even more of a nightmare on our hands if this bomb actually goes off.”
”Yes sir.”
A second technician spun, thrust a phone towards Reese and said, ”Agent Byers, it's the governor.”
Reese grabbed the phone and said, ”Hey, it's me.”
”Reese, give me an update; how's the city holding up?”
Reese paused for a moment before replying, ”It's not good. We need another day, maybe two to get everyone out, but I don't think we've got that long. I just hope it's not in the city already. Maybe we can intercept it.”
”All we can do is work as hard as we can with the time we've been given. I can't tell you how grateful I am for what you've done already.”
”This is what I do; the impossible. This is where I should be.”
”Well, you're a hero to all of Texas. Now, give me some updates on our objectives.”
”The bomb squads are sweeping areas considered likely targets. They haven't found anything yet, but there is so much real estate to cover. We're talking sixty and seventy story skysc.r.a.pers, huge government buildings, sports arenas they've got a daunting task.
The interstates and highways are already close to gridlock. I never imagined there was enough fuel left in Houston to power this many cars. The lanes are already operating on contraflow and we're trying to locate any congestion zones that we can relieve.
The METRORail and the buses are our bright spots, but they aren't moving people quickly enough. It's building up to a frenzy. In another couple of hours we may have riots at the depots. I told the teams working these locations to get heavy handed if they have to. We have to maintain order at the rail and bus stops.
Some of our evacuation teams are getting fired at by residents. They've been instructed to abandon an area if that happens. A lot of people are simply refusing to leave. Looters and vandals are taking to the streets also.”
”Dear G.o.d, don't these people know their lives are at stake?”
The first technician waved another phone at Reese and mouthed, ”Checkpoint Two.”
”Scott, I have to let you go; I'm getting a call from one of the checkpoints. I'll try to call you in an hour or so and update you again.”
Reese hung up the phone before Governor Baker could respond and transitioned to the second phone call, ”Agent Byers here; go ahead, Checkpoint Two.”
”Sir, we have a suspicious vehicle. Are you available?”
”I'll be there in a few minutes.”
Reese stepped back out of the black van and walked to his motorcycle. The rangers were still straddling their bikes with the engines idling loudly, waiting for their next instructions. Reese nodded and pointed two fingers at them, meaning Checkpoint Two, as he climbed back on the bike and started it again. The men nodded back and revved their engines in response. The three bikes rumbled loudly as they sped out of the parking lot and flew down South Freeway to the checkpoint at the Sam Houston Parkway junction.
Reese could see the box truck among the flas.h.i.+ng blue lights of the cruisers in the distance ahead. As he approached, Reese realized the truck was actually swarmed by cruisers nearly a mile south of the blockade. By the look of the truck's positioning, the driver had apparently tried to turn around upon seeing the checkpoint. Unfortunately for him, it was already too late.