Twenty minutes later they were loaded up and on the road. The sun was beginning to set, which would give them the perfect cover for this operation. At least, that was what Doug hoped.

With his team assembled, Doug led them back towards the city limits. As they drove, he studied his surroundings carefully for signs of trouble. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before things went wrong.

They were driving along a narrow country lane lined with trees when Doug spotted something unusual. A few hundred yards ahead, a couple of pickup trucks were sitting abandoned in the middle of the roadway. Both vehicles were completely wrecked, having sustained severe damage during some kind of accident.

Doug slowed the SUV down to investigate further, glancing nervously at the surrounding area. To his relief, they weren't surrounded by any enemies, but rather just two broken pieces of junk that were probably left behind. He pulled up to the main one blocking the road and jumped out of the vehicle, making sure to keep his gun close to hand.

When he reached the rear bumper of the wreck, he crouched down and inspected the metal frame. There didn't appear to be any visible blood stains or evidence of foul play.

So far, so good.

Doug climbed back onto the hood of the SUV and waved to his companions. "We need to push this wreckage off the road if we want to drive by it. Everybody ready?"

Everyone nodded their assent. Then Doug raised his voice, calling out to his team. "Everybody form up! On my mark, we'll push this piece of scrap to the side and carry on. Ready…GO!"

It didn't take much effort to move the heavy vehicle, but they worked quickly nonetheless. Within five minutes, the pickup was pushed aside and out of the way. Doug signaled his followers to resume moving, then gestured towards the horizon. Everyone climbed back in their vehicles.

After ten more miles of bumpy roads, they finally reached their destination.

Their journey ended in a small clearing, about half a mile south of the main highway leading north into Chicago proper. This particular location was a park that contained picnic tables and benches. A tent city had taken up residence nearby, consisting of a small handful of tiny shelters erected by homeless individuals.

Doug scanned the area carefully, looking for threats. It was nightfall, and a campfire crackled somewhere within the encampment, giving off plenty of light. Still, Doug wanted to make sure nobody was lurking around before proceeding.

Finally satisfied that the coast was clear, Doug turned towards his team, signaling for them to stop. "Alright boys, we're here. The food stash is located inside the public restroom."

Two of the men dismounted and moved towards a cluster of tents near the edge of the clearing. Another man stayed with Doug and the rest of the party while the others checked the perimeter. When they returned, they reported that there were no guards hiding along the perimeter.

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Doug sighed softly in relief. That meant they wouldn't have to deal with any surprises while they pilfered the food stores.

One of the men approached him, "So what now boss?"

Doug looked at the other man, nodding slightly. "Follow me. Let's get started."

The group split up again. four of them headed towards the public restroom structure with Doug while two remained behind to watch over the vehicles. A pickup truck was parked against the back side of the building, but Doug already knew from his last visit that the truck was out of gas.

Doug pointed at the building. "That's the target right there."

"Got it." One of the men responded confidently. "Let's do this!"

They approached cautiously. Two members of the team positioned themselves at either end of the door, watching their backsides. While Doug crept forward, peering inside he found their prize: the room was stacked to the ceiling with cases full of canned goods.

There were dozens of different types of food available, including beans, soup, vegetables, fruits, and meats. They must have raided every home and grocery store in town. Doug estimated that they'd easily be able to feed hundreds of hungry mouths for months.

"Nice work guys!" Doug motioned to one of the men standing guard. "Get this stuff loaded up! Get it stashed in our vehicles!"

Suddenly there was a commotion outside. Someone shouted, "Hey! What's going on?!"

Doug ran to the door and saw three men walking towards the bathroom. Their faces were lit red by the firelight, revealing angry expressions. Apparently they had seen them breaking into the building.

Doug drew his handgun from its holster and aimed it towards the approaching figures. "Don't come any closer! You have one chance to leave peacefully, otherwise you're dead!"

One of the homeless men stepped forward aggressively. Doug recognized him immediately. It was Charlie, the one who had been accused the other night of leaving the pickup truck running that was parked behind the public restroom and caused it to stall.

Charlie snarled defiantly, "Whoa! Who are yer?"

Doug stepped outside with his gun trained on him.

"You!" Charlie immediately recognized him and sneered. "I thought I told yer to never show your ugly mug here again!"

Doug held his ground, pointing his weapon at him menacingly. "We're here to retrieve what you stole from the community. Don't make us hurt you."

Charlie laughed loudly, "Oh yeah? Well ain't ya gonna shoot me?"

Doug hesitated momentarily. Shooting someone was obviously not part of his plan tonight, but it might become unavoidable if he refused to listen to reason.

Fortunately, he didn't have to resort to violence quite yet. His instincts kicked in and he sensed danger coming from elsewhere. Turning slowly, he noticed movement from the corner of his eye.

Three more men stood waiting nearby, concealed by the shadows cast by the burning campfire. All of them wore dirty clothing stained by grime and sweat; their hair was matted and greasy, and they all smelled terrible.

Another one of them recognized him too, sort of...

"Larry!" the senile man he had met earlier named Jim exclaimed joyfully, "You came back! And you brought more friends!"

Jim ran forward and embraced Doug, nearly causing him to vomit from the smell.

Charlie roared, "Jim! How many times do I have to tell yer?! Larry is dead!"

Doug took advantage of the situation. "I'm not dead. I'm right here."

A look of pure disbelief crossed Charlie's face. "Don't listen to him Jim! He's a liar!"

But Jim was in his own world. He cried with joy, hugging Doug tightly. "I thought you were gone forever!"

Doug patted his 'friend' gently on the back, smiling sheepishly. "No worries. I survived. And I brought some friends to help us load this food up and bring it back to the community."

Jim sniffled happily. "Really? That's great! We've got so much to share!"

Charlie cringed at the idea of sharing, but kept silent with all of the guns trained on him.

With his arms full of cans, Doug walked past both of them towards the parking lot. "All right everyone, let's go!"

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