Regan loved the idea of having a real house on dry land with no alligators in sight. The offer seemed too good to be true, actually, which told her it probably was.
“We already have a destination in mine,” Wolf said. “We have no interest in staying in your town.”
Regan wanted to poke him, but didn’t. Wasn’t this something they should all get the chance to decide upon for themselves? She certainly didn’t appreciate him deciding for her. When the choice came down to the swamp or a nice little self-sufficient town, she was definitely more inclined to choose the latter. Heather seemed to be on the same page, scowling at Wolf.
“Think it over. I assume you’ll be here tomorrow?” Daniel asked.
Wolf nodded his head. “We’ll be here until we get our people back.”
“Good, so think it over. Talk about it, and we’ll come back tomorrow to get your answer. Just so you know, we have a few guns, but Mac and his guys took any guns they could find. Not all of us were willing to give up our only means of protection, and we managed to hide a few, but we can’t bring them out unless we know he’s going to be gone. There are a handful of people who are loyal to Mac, but he’s an outsider. He came into our town after things went dark and somehow made himself our leader. We’ve all spent most of our lives here,” Daniel explained.
RC stepped forward. “You’d be willing to work with Indians?” he asked, emphasizing the last word as if it were a dirty word.
Daniel looked confused. “Indians?”
Wolf nodded his head. “As we understand it, your town has not been welcoming to our people.”
Daniel looked embarrassed, turning to look at Ann and Maggie. It was Maggie who stepped forward, her soft features curving into an apologetic frown.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. There are some people in our town who tend to feel that way. I can assure you that most of those people fled in the weeks following the incident. One of the worst was the man who ran the small hardware store in town. He’s dead. You don’t have to worry about him. It wasn’t just the Native Americans he was unpleasant toward. He was a horrible man in general. If he’d had it his way, women would be barefoot in their kitchens and never heard from,” Maggie said, open disgust flitting across her face.
Regan looked at Wolf and RC. She understood their reluctance, and wouldn’t try to persuade them to do something they didn’t feel comfortable with, but these people sounded like they were being sincere. RC looked at Wolf, exchanging silent words before Wolf turned back to the visitors. “We’ll think about it,” he announced.
Maggie smiled and reached her hand out to grab his. “Thank you. I so hope you will help us. We look forward to being friends.”
Wolf nodded his head, pulling his hand back. They all stood in silence as they watched the trio walk away. Fred held his position in the trees until they could no longer see the group.
“Wow,” Regan muttered once she was confident they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I don’t want to do it,” Wolf stated right away.
“Why not?” Geno asked. “They seemed like good people. We get that Mac guy out of there and we can get Tabitha and the kids back.”
Heather stepped forward. “I think they’re trying to tell us that Mac guy isn’t going to let them leave, Geno. They don’t let anyone leave. They’re telling us this may be our best option for getting them back safely.”
Regan nodded her head. “I agree with Heather. With Tabitha’s skills, she’s valuable. Lily and Travis are young, and will be able to share a lot of the workload they have to have in that place.”
Wolf was shaking his head. “We can’t go to war! Especially not with our people stuck in there. They could get hurt.”
“They might get hurt anyway,” RC said quietly.
Fred had been standing outside the small circle they had formed, quietly listening. “An alliance with a stronghold like that one would be a good thing.”
“We could live in the town,” Regan reminded them all, in case they’d forgotten that little tidbit of information.
Wolf shook his head. “No way.”
“Oh, Wolf, really! Why not?”
“Look at what’s happening inside those walls right now!” he pointed out. “They’re already fighting and planning a coup. I have a feeling it won’t be the first one. There are always going to be people fighting for power. I don’t want to be stuck in the middle when the next uprising happens. And I don’t like the walls. They are living in a prison and don’t even realize it,” Wolf argued.
Regan went silent for a few minutes while she processed what he’d said. He did have a point. She certainly wouldn’t appreciate tall walls keeping her inside. She liked freedom. And they didn’t know the people well enough to know who was worthy of wearing the crown.
“Fine. You’re right,” she muttered, disappointed that his logic held.
“I think we could come up with a plan to save our people, get Daniel what he wants, and walk away and leave them to their own lives,” Fred said. “And have allies in the bargain.”
“How?” Wolf asked.
Fred shrugged, his eyes distant as he thought about it. “I think that will depend a great deal on what they have to say. If we can get inside the walls, we’re in a better position to do something. Attacking from the outside with men with guns over our heads isn’t wise, but maybe it’s not the only option. We need to do whatever we’re going to do quietly, taking out the resisters one at a time without raising an alarm.”
Regan took a deep breath. “That doesn’t sound so easy. We have no idea how many people are on this Mac guy’s side. We don’t even know how many people are in the town and how many are going to be willing to fight alongside us. A single gun going off is going to sound the alarm.”
Fred was nodding his head. “Which is why we need to talk with those three.”
“What if it’s a set-up?” Geno asked.
Wolf shrugged. “It could be. But, as I think some of you are seeing, I’m not sure how many options we have that are more attractive. So, we get the information from them and have a back-up plan in case they are trying to lure us inside to be caught. We need to be prepared for anything.”
Regan’s stomach twisted in knots at the thought of being held captive again. She couldn’t be locked up in a box again. No way.
“I’ll do it,” Geno said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get my wife back.”
“Me, too,” Heather said.
“Well, I guess we’re going to war,” Wolf said.
Regan nodded her head, as terrified as she was anxious to see their friends again. She simply had to trust Wolf and the rest of her group to come up with a solid plan that would allow them to do that.
19
Wolf didn’t sleep at all. They had all gone to bed early with the intention of rising before the sun to move forward with their attack, as the goal was to attack with surprise on their side. The folks inside the walls were not trained military and had no real idea how to defend a holding. With Wolf’s military training, he felt confident they could get the upper hand as long as they had the element of surprise. Without it, they’d fail miserably.
They’d met with Daniel and Maggie again yesterday, along with the ever-silent Ann, always the listener. Maggie had assured him Lily was awake and doing much better. The doctor had her on an IV antibiotic that seemed to have turned things around. Maggie had even managed to get in to talk with Tabitha for a few minutes, alerting her to the coming attack. And, most importantly, Daniel had given Wolf all the information he’d been able to in regards to where the guards were stationed. They were lax on the graveyard shift. Daniel had explained that they’d all been lulled into a sense of safety, and that the guards never actually expected an attack to happen, let alone in the middle of the night.
“Are we ready?” Wolf asked, looking around at the faces huddled close to him.
It was a dark night, which would work in their favor. He had hoped for rain or even a storm to hide th
eir movements a little more, but the cloudy night would have to be enough.
“I’m ready,” Geno said, his white teeth a beacon in the dark night.
“Heather, you know what to do?”
She nodded. “I’ll make some noise, drawing the guards away from the wall.”
“Good. Daniel said one of the guards is on our side. He’ll take care of the ones who support Mac—we’re assuming there will be three of them, each on their own corner. He needs those guys to be as far from the wall as possible to avoid anyone noticing what he has to do. You’re sure you want to do this?” Wolf asked her again.
She nodded. “I’m small and I can run fast. I’ll run around the wall, grabbing their attention. I’ll draw them as far away as I can. And if I have to shoot them, I’ll do it,” she said, holding up the small 380 she would be carrying.
“Good. Fred, you’re going to go through the front gate and meet Daniel,” Wolf said. “He’ll arm you at that point.”
Fred nodded. “He’ll take me to the clinic and I’ll carry Lily to the west side where Regan and RC will be waiting with the rifle. Once the danger has passed, I’ll take her back into the clinic. If something goes wrong, I’ll bring her back here.”
“Right. Geno, you’re with me. Are you prepared to use that Beretta? Shooting a man point-blank isn’t easy. You cannot hesitate.”
Geno nodded. “I can do it. I can do anything to save Tabitha.”
Wolf nodded. “We’ll move in behind Fred and head for Mac’s house. I’ll take care of him while you stand guard. Daniel said there are weapons stored in the house. Grab as many as you can and be ready in case an alert is made. If we can get our hands on some of those semi-automatic rifles, we’ll be in a much better position to fight.”
Geno nodded. “If Maggie’s right, Tabitha is being held in that same house.”
“Exactly. As soon as I take care of Mac, get her out of there.”
“And Travis?” Heather asked.
“We’ll find him. They were going to do their best to find out where he was being held today, remember. Hopefully, he’s out of harm’s way in case things go bad,” Wolf assured her.
“We meet back here if something goes wrong,” RC stated. “If not, we meet at the clinic.”
“Yes.” Wolf looked around, meeting everyone’s eyes in turn. “You all know how dangerous this is. They have significantly more weapons than we do,” Wolf reminded them. When everyone met his gaze with determined stares and nods, he turned back to Fred. “Fred, you keep her safe,” he said quietly.
“I will give up my very life to keep her safe,” the lanky man said, nodding his head.
Wolf didn’t question his statement. He knew he would. In fact, he was sure all of them would, which was why they were on this impossible mission to save his daughter. He would forever be in their debt.
For better or for worse, this was their best shot at getting Lily and the others out of the town, and nobody was going to back out now. They couldn’t, as this plan required all of them, and they had three of their own counting on them within those walls. But at least the element of surprise was on their side. It was all they really had going for them.
“Let’s go,” Regan said.
Wolf met her eyes with a hard smile, hoping it wasn’t the last time he’d see her. He knew what they were doing was akin to a suicide mission. It could even be a trap, though he didn’t think that was the case. If he was wrong, they could be shot before they ever got close to the wall. The guns they were carrying were no match for the semi-automatics the men on the wall had, and he was sure there were more armed men inside. The first gunshot that rang out would set off a chain reaction. Bullets would be flying—of that, he had no doubt. He only prayed they didn’t hurt his loved ones.
“Let’s move,” he agreed, standing tall as they crossed the road in the darkness, heading into the trees.
They did their best to tread quietly, although there was no stopping the occasional crunch of leaves or the snap of a twig here and there. When they got close to the wall, they split up. Heather headed off to make her distraction while Regan, Fred, and RC took a wide berth around the front gates to hide on the other side of the walled compound.
Wolf hoped Daniel didn’t let them down. In the back of his mind, he worried it was a set-up. But what choice did they have? He had to trust Daniel wasn’t drawing them in to be captured.
It was Heather’s shout that broke the night’s silence, followed by the men that had been slumbering on the wall yelling at one another. Heather shouted again.
“On the east side!” one of them shouted.
“I got it!” came another voice.
Heather shouted again, banging the two pots she had carried with her together to create a loud distraction. Wolf’s eyes were fixed on the wall from his position nearly flat against the ground to avoid detection. He saw a shadow move, and then a man burst through the slim side entrance next to the gate, running in Heather’s direction. Two more men followed that one.
“That’s three,” Geno whispered from his left. “Where’s the fourth?”
Wolf shook his head. They had a slim window, and they had no way of knowing which of the guards was on their side. Had their plan been uncovered? A few seconds later, a fourth man raced out from behind the wall, following the other three.
“Now,” Wolf whispered.
Fred jumped to his feet, racing for the point where the four men had exited the wall. Wolf and Geno followed along behind him, standing on the outside of the wall in case one of the guards came back. Wolf would take him out before he could alert the others.
“Here,” Daniel’s voice emerged from the dark shadows. “We’ve got to move fast,” he said, bringing Wolf and Geno into the town’s limits.
“Which house?” Wolf asked.
Daniel put his hand on Wolf’s arm and pointed to a house not far away. “In there. The doctor is in there, as well.”
“My wife?” Geno clarified.
“Yes. The boy is being held at the clinic in a separate room with a guard on duty,” Daniel explained.
“That wasn’t part of the plan!” Wolf hissed.
“It’ll be okay,” Daniel assured him.
“Let’s go,” Wolf said, sticking to the shadows as he and Geno made their way to the red house with the covered porch.
The first hints of sunrise were creeping up, giving him enough light to see, but not so much as to make their presence obvious. He stepped onto the porch and froze when the board creaked under his weight.
“Shh,” Geno hissed.
Wolf turned to look at him, scowling in the darkness. Daniel had assured him the door would be unlocked. Maggie was in charge of bringing the man his water in the late evening, to be used in the morning. When she’d left, she would have made sure the door looked locked from the inside, but a piece of tape over the jam would have kept it from truly being shut. At least, that had been the plan.
Wolf carefully pushed the door open, relieved to find that it opened easily and without making a sound. He and Geno crept inside the house, moving an inch at a time to avoid knocking anything over in the darkness.
When he cleared the living room furniture, he found himself staring at a large archway with a door to the left and a door to the right. According to Maggie, Tabitha was being held in the bedroom to the right, with Mac sleeping in the other room.
Wolf hated what he was about to do, but it had to be done.
He pointed to the door where Tabitha would be waiting for her rescue. Geno nodded, knowing he had to wait until Mac was subdued before he made an attempt to free her.
Wolf walked closer to the door, slowly turned the handle, and pushed inside to find himself face to face with the man he assumed had to be Mac. He looked to have just stood up from a desk in the corner, and there was a semi-automatic handgun already in his hand, half raised.
“You certainly took your time coming after your friends,” the man said with a grin, before casually raising his
semi-automatic handgun.
Wolf didn’t think as he pulled his arm up, gun in hand, and aimed and fired before Mac had a chance to pull his own trigger. The sound echoed throughout the room, leaving his ears ringing and the acrid smell of gunpowder burning his nostrils.
Mac dropped to the floor with a loud thump. Geno was behind him a second later.
“Are you okay?” he asked, slightly out of breath.
Wolf took a deep breath. “I am. Let’s get her and get out of here,” he said, moving toward Mac, his gun still aimed on the man in case the shot hadn’t killed him. He kicked him with the toe of his boot before checking for a pulse and declaring him dead. Then he picked up Mac’s gun tucking it into his waistband, taking one last look at the man he had killed. There was a hint of guilt in his chest, but this was what had had to be done. He had a feeling he was going to be telling himself that same thing quite often in the coming days and weeks.
Geno dashed out of the room and straight across the hall. “Tabitha?” he called out in a low voice, wrestling with the door handle and getting nowhere.
“I’m here,” she replied.
“Where’s the key?” Geno demanded, spinning around to look at Wolf, who had picked up Mac’s gun and was holding both weapons pointed at the front door, ready to take out anyone who tried to stop them from freeing Tabitha.
Wolf used his head to gesture to a nail in the wall with a keyring hanging from it. Geno grabbed it, fumbling with a few keys before finding the right one. He pulled it open and threw open the door, embracing his wife as she flew into his chest.
“We need to get out of here,” Wolf said, sorry to interrupt their reunion.
“Not so fast,” a deep male voice growled.
All three turned and looked at three men who’d come up on the porch and were approaching the front door, one of them holding a bat, another an old revolver, and the last one a standard hunting knife.
Survivalist Reality Show: The Complete Series Page 73