Free Bishop's Song by Joe Nobody

sibling being hungry and suffering badly. She confessed to feeling guilt with every bite of food she puts in her mouth. The sister would be 68 years old, if she’s still alive. Given what we’ve heard about Denver, the trip alone might kill her – even if we had unlimited resources.” 
    Deke replied, “I hadn’t thought about it that way. Are you saying it’s a bad idea to ask?”
    “No, not at all. Your team is a little different than most folks. You guys have the skills to do it on your own. Most of the people who are missing a family member would need someone else to go out and bring them in, and there’s not enough manpower to do that. Unless I’m missing something, all you need is material things, not manpower that we can’t spare right now.”
    “No, we wouldn’t need any people … just gas, food, maybe some ammo.”
    Bishop took a moment, trying to visualize Terri’s reaction to Deke’s request. Ammunition was a huge problem. Every guy with reloading equipment was being pressed into service, but there wasn’t enough of the required powder and primers to last long. Some of the engineers were working on the problem, but so far no solution had been proposed.
    Food wasn’t an issue, at least not yet. Gasoline fell into the same category, the mini-refinery in Midland Station working 24 hours a day. Automobiles were in plentiful supply given that half the population was dead.
    “How many miles is Tennessee?” Bishop asked.
    “Almost 2,000 as the crow flies. In one of Grim’s calmer moments, we pulled out a map and plotted a route. If you go around the larger cities, it ends up about 2,200 or so… round trip.”
    Bishop did the math in his head. The experience of his bug -out from Houston had taught him a lot of lessons, the most important of which was that gas mileage was terrible with the type of travel involved.
    “ Let’s just say 2,500 miles round trip, given some margin of error. If you take a pickup, you’re talking about 10 miles per gallon, so 250 gallons of fuel. That’s five drums. No normal pickup can carry that much weight, even if you didn’t take any food, gear or people.”
    Deke seemed to be checking Bishop’s math, finally asking, “I was calculating about 15 miles per gallon. You think it would on ly be 10?”
    Nodding, Bishop replied, “When Terri and I bugged out from Houston, that’s about what we averaged, and I wasn’t carrying that much weight. You start, stop, idle, reverse course and do all sorts of things that differ from normal driving. I wouldn’t count on much more mileage than that. I also wouldn’t count on being able to scavenge any fuel while on the trip.”
    The contractor’s expression showed dismay. “I should probably double the amount of clock-time as well. That means twice the food and water.”
    “Carrying gasoline around in the bed of a truck when people might be shooting at you isn’t a prime idea anyway. Let me think about the problem for a bit. In the meantime, you are on your own with Terri. Good luck, my man.”

Chapter 4
    Alpha, Texas
    July 1, 2016           
     
    The chest was a little tight, but other than that, the suit Deke borrowed from Alpha’s football coach fit. Not only was the lead operator dressed to the 9s, his entire team stood before the council, looking like a platoon of Secret Service agents out for a Saturday night on the town.
    “ Who is getting married?” whispered Nick to Bishop, both men sitting in the audience section of the council chambers.
    “I think Deke and Grim have decided to tie the knot . Since the council legalized same sex marriages, you never know.”
    “I would have picked Moses. I hear he can cook.”
    Both men snickered, which drew a harsh glance from Diana. She flashed Nick a look that clearly read, “Don’t make me come out there.”
    Deke finished his presentation, “In summary, my team wishes to thank this esteemed body for welcoming us into the community. We bring a unique set of