THE ALEX FLETCHER BOXSET: Books 1-5

by Steven Konkoly

  “Like sit outside in a snowstorm waiting to shoot someone? I love you too. Out.”

  He turned the volume on the handset to the highest setting and checked the night vision scope again.

  Nothing.

  At 4:45 the walkie crackled to life, and Alex grabbed the rifle.

  “Alex, it’s Charlie, just checking in. No movement over there. I can see some light in the house, but I can’t tell anything by it.”

  He relaxed his grip on the rifle. “Thanks, Charlie. Let’s hope they’re just as impatient as we are to get this going. I really don’t know how long I can stay out here. The snow is piling up right on top of me,” he said, shaking snow off his body.

  “I don’t think we’ll have to wait long.”

  “I don’t know. The Hayes’ were killed in their kitchen, and the Coopers were shot in their bedroom. Could have been any time for the Hayes’, but last night’s shots happened around eight thirty. We could be doing this for hours,” Alex said.

  “I don’t think so. They know you saw their handiwork. I bet we’ll see them within a half-hour.”

  “I hope you’re right. We’ll chat later. Oh hey, Charlie, make sure you get your family down in the basement when this starts. You guys are too close to the action.”

  “Roger, first sign of the Manson crew, and they’re heading down below. Talk to you in fifteen. Out.”

  Alex stuck his right hand into the backpack and dug around for the large green ceramic thermos, locating it at the bottom. He removed the lid and watched the steam escape, thankful to Kate for insisting he bring it.

  ***

  Alex shivered while examining the green image in the night vision scope. He had changed the batteries a few minutes earlier, after noticing a dimmer picture. The storm had intensified over the past hour, reducing visibility even further; however, he could still see as far as he needed to see into the Hayes’ yard. He sipped the last of the tea and considered his options.

  At this point, the cold had penetrated every layer of his outfit, and he didn’t expect the weather to improve. If anything, the storm would strengthen, and the temperature would continue to plummet. Thirty minutes earlier, he’d stood up to shake off the snow and stretch his aching limbs. When he knelt back down, he pulled half of the wool blanket over his body, feeling no difference in the temperature.

  Remaining outside was not a permanent option tonight. In another hour or two, he’d be forced to seek shelter, drawing the fight closer to home. He could use the house as a warming hut, moving quickly to a secondary ambush site when Charlie sounded the alarm.

  Relocating presented a few major challenges. The biggest being that Charlie might not be able to help. The current shooting gallery between the Coopers’ and Hayes’ was ranged perfectly for Charlie’s rifle—lined up with his front windows. Without Charlie’s rifle, the fight would rest on Alex’s shoulders. Not a problem, but less than ideal given the advantage Charlie’s rifle could provide.

  His radio activated.

  “Alex, they crossed over to the Hayes’! I only saw the last one! Do you see anything?” Charlie asked in a panicked voice.

  A sudden wave of adrenaline washed through his body; the cold a distant memory. He ripped off his outer gloves and grabbed the night vision scope, focusing on the back of the Hayes’ house.

  Son of a bitch, here they come!

  He picked up the walkie.

  “Got ’em, Charlie. Looks like three of them, moving slowly along the back of the Hayes’ house. Reposition now. I say again, reposition now, and get ready. Let me know when they cross into the space between the houses. You fire first, then I pin them down. Remember to take the safety off your gun!” Alex whispered forcefully into the walkie.

  “I’m on my way!” said Charlie.

  Alex clipped the radio onto his jacket and gripped the rifle, laying the upper handguard on the wooden log to steady the weapon. He scooted into the snow fort, jamming the rifle in his shoulder. Everything felt good. He opened the lens covers and peered through the sight, flipping the selector switch to “fire.” Pressing the night vision scope against the rifle, he estimated the three targets to be at the closest edge of the Hayes’ house.

  This is moving too fast.

  He tossed the night vision scope aside, searching frantically through the Aimpoint sight. Beyond the faint red dot, he located the corner of the Hayes’ house. The image was dark and washed out by snow, but he quickly picked out his three targets contrasted from the surroundings. He shifted the red dot to what he perceived as the last in the line of targets.

  They have to be moving across the gap.

  He heard an excited voice from his radio.

  “Alex, they’re almost halfway across. Moving slow. I have the lead guy in my sights.”

  Fire, Charlie, fire! We could get two right right now. Come on, Charlie. Kate must be out of her mind listening to this.

  Alex watched the dark masses move struggle through the deep snow. For the first time, he noticed that all three of them were armed with some type of long guns.

  Damn it, Charlie!

  He added pressure to the trigger.

  Can’t wait. Here we go.

  His target stopped and turned, as the sharp echo of Charlie’s first shot reached his ears. Alex sighted in again and pressed the trigger twice, keeping the red dot on the target for each shot. The rifle kicked and settled in his shoulder. He acquired the same dark shadow, firing six rounds in rapid, but controlled succession.

  I have no idea if I’m hitting anything.

  He saw a few flashes through the scope and heard a bullet strike the play set. He targeted the corner of the Coopers’ house, where he saw another shadow, and fired another six rounds salvo. He heard gunshots and saw more flashes from the area between the two houses, but had no overall perspective on the entire scene.

  He picked up the night vision scope and panned across the scene, seeing two men clearly in the fight. A man stood exposed to Alex at the corner of the Coopers’ house, aiming a shotgun in the direction of Charlie’s house. The second was on his knees, struggling to reload his weapon while staying propped up against the corner of the Haye’s house.

  I’ll take care of this one.

  Before Alex dropped the night vision scope, the man’s head snapped against the side of the house. The figure slumped lifelessly to the ground, revealing a dark stain on the siding.

  Two down.

  Alex switched back to the rifle sight and tried to find the last target near the corner of the Coopers’ house. The man disappeared between the houses before he could press the trigger. He changed rifle magazines, keeping the sight of the scope on the corner of the house.

  The radio in his jacket buzzed.

  “Alex, last one coming at my…”

  He heard a sharp crack followed by several lower-pitched explosions, all in rapid succession.

  Shotgun.

  He grabbed the night vision scope and his rifle, skimming the bottom of the play set tower with his head as he sprinted toward the street. A sharp crack penetrated the howling wind, followed by rapid, small caliber gunfire. He stuffed the night vision scope in his cargo pocket while running, snatching the radio from his jacket.

  “Charlie, Charlie, I’m moving between the Coopers’ and McCarthys’. What is your status?”

  He heard another shot from Charlie’s rifle.

  “I can’t hit him. He’s at my front door. Where are you?” Charlie shouted in a panicked voice.

  “Almost around the corner. Hang on, Charlie,” he said, stuffing the walkie back in his pocket.

  He reached the corner and slowed down, raising the AR-15 to his shoulder. He looked over the scope, not wanting to limit his field of vision, and spotted a figure standing on Charlie’s covered porch with a shotgun. The shotgun erupted three times, followed by screaming through the radio.

  Alex placed the red dot on the figure, who had backed up to shoulder-ram the front door, and fired two shots. The man stumbled
backwards, falling down the porch steps. Alex pushed through the snow toward Charlie’s house, keeping the red dot on the fallen target. He crossed the street, still sighted in on the heap at the bottom of the porch.

  No movement.

  When he reached the low snow bank on the opposite side of the road, the front door to the Murrays’ house swung open, silhouetting a figure against a dim light inside. Alex threw himself against the snow bank and fired several hasty shots at the new threat, not bothering to use the scope.

  He low crawled along the snow bank and popped up, searching through the scope for a target. The figure was no longer visible through the open front door. A dark shape stepped out onto the porch, and he added pressure to the trigger, centering the red dot on the dark mass. A smaller figure appeared, and Alex eased off the trigger. Both figures hopped off the right side of the porch, disappearing into the bushes. He reached into his cargo pocket for the night vision scope.

  Where’s the scope?

  He quickly checked the other pocket.

  Gone. Goddamn it.

  He stayed low and called Charlie on the radio.

  “Charlie, come in.”

  “Still here, did you get him? I assume you got him. That was you shooting, right?” he asked, less panicky.

  “I hit the guy at your door. He’s down. I haven’t checked him yet. Someone popped out of the Murrays’ house while I was crossing the road. I need you to scope out the front of the Murrays’ house. Two people jumped off to the right of the porch into the bushes. I can’t tell what’s going on. Watch yourself up there.”

  “Gotcha. I’m moving.”

  Alex looked over at the body near the bottom of the Thorntons’ porch. He brought the rifle up over the snow bank and centered the red dot on the figure. An arm clawed at the snow.

  “Alex, Alex,” Charlie said through the walkie.

  He pressed the talk button and realized that his hands were freezing.

  Adrenaline is wearing off. I’ll get the shakes soon.

  “Go ahead, Charlie,” he said, beginning to shiver.

  “I don’t see any threat there anymore. I think we’re fine.”

  He shifted his glance out of the scope and looked over at the Murrays’. He could see three figures standing on or around the porch. The one standing in the doorway looked like a child. Their screens punctuating the night.

  I need a better SITREP than that.

  “What exactly is happening over there? What are they doing in the bushes?” Alex demanded.

  “Alex, I don’t, uh…what about the guy down here? Is he dead?”

  Through the scope, a dark mass edged toward the street. Alex pulled the trigger three times, centering the dot on the shadow, which instantly stopped moving altogether. He heard screaming from the Murray’s house.

  “He’s done,” Alex said. “What is going on at the house?”

  “Alex, they’re fine. I don’t see any weapons. Trust me, we don’t have to worry about them,” Charlie said, and Alex sensed once again that he was keeping something from him.

  “Just tell me what you see. I’m not moving until you convince me it’s safe.”

  No response.

  “Charlie, I’m cold, and I’d like to go home. If you don’t tell me what’s going on over there, I’ll blast the entire front of the house away,” he said irritably.

  “Well, it looks like you shot one of the kids…I’m sorry, I don’t…they’re picking the body up now. They’re not armed as far as I can tell,” Charlie said.

  “I saw an adult pop through that door. It wasn’t a kid.”

  It could have been a dog for all I know.

  He aimed the rifle at the front door, staring through the scope at the group. The image was grainy, but he could see three figures carrying a body up the stairs of the porch. The smaller figure in the doorway reached up to grab the body. People in the house shrieked, as the front door slammed shut.

  “Let’s grab all of their weapons and check the bodies. We don’t want any surprises. Meet me on the street. Out,” said Alex jamming the walkie in his jacket pocket.

  He looked around at all of the houses, which appeared as black shapes rising from an endless, flat, dark-gray sea. Blankets of gray snow washed over the scene, providing the only movement he could detect. He reached the snow bank on the other side and retraced his steps back toward the corner of the house, finding the night vision scope buried under half an inch of snow. Ten more minutes and he might not have recovered it. A faint flickering light filled the Murray’s windows. All else appeared calm.

  He turned off the night vision and dropped the scope into his left cargo pocket, zipping it shut. Charlie opened the front door and joined him in the street. They shook gloved hands as the wind whipped around them. In the darkness, Alex noticed something whipping around Charlie’s head.

  No way. A fur hat?

  “That thing’s dead, right?” said Alex.

  “Very funny. It’s a Daniel Boone cap. My dad gave it to me in the sixth grade, and it’s the warmest hat I’ve ever owned. It also happens to be a good luck charm. I’ve never missed a shot with this on my head.”

  “Well, I think your record is still intact. Nice job,” Alex said.

  “I had the easy part. Warm house. Target rich environment.”

  “Nothing easy about killing someone, even these guys. Trust me. Let’s get this done, and get back inside.”

  “I’ll grab the two guns between the houses. You’ve done more than your share tonight,” Charlie offered.

  “Actually, we should go together. Just in case. I don’t mind a few more minutes out in this wonderful weather.”

  Snow and wind pounded them as they approached the bodies. Alex slung the rifle over his shoulder and put his hand up to protect his eyes, wishing he had the goggles in his backpack. He took solace from the fact that the wind would be at his back for the trip home. The radio squawked. Kate.

  “Hello. Hello!”

  “Alex?” Kate said, though he could barely hear her while walking into the storm.

  “It’s over, honey. We got ’em. All of them. I’ll see you in a few minutes. I love you!” he yelled into the walkie.

  “I love you too!” she said back.

  They leaned into the storm and pushed forward until the first body appeared, slumped on the ground against the Hayes’ house. A massive dark patch stained the siding a few feet off the ground. The shotgun lay a few feet in front of the body, partially buried in a drift; quickly on its way to disappearing under fresh snowfall. Charlie pulled it out of the drift by the shoulder stock and unloaded the weapon, dropping the shotgun shells into the snow.

  They searched for the last body, but couldn’t immediately locate it in the storm. Alex pulled out a flashlight and searched the area between the two houses.

  “Where’d you drop the first guy?” asked Alex.

  “Got him maybe a third of the way across. He turned his body, like he was thinking of coming my way, and I hit him square in the upper chest. Went down like a bag of rocks.”

  Alex jogged toward the Hayes’ house, spotting a bolt action hunting rifle. He brought his rifle around to a ready position and thumbed off the safety. Charlie drew his pistol and stepped forward, even with Alex.

  “Looks like he crawled a little. Definitely some major blood loss,” Alex remarked.

  They found Manson face down about twenty feet from the rifle. Alex centered the light beam on the prone, motionless figure. A dark red pool of blood spread in the snow around Manson’s upper body.

  “Sure he’s dead?” Charlie asked.

  Alex took a few more seconds to examine the body with his light. No signs of respiration. Even if Manson was faintly alive, the weather and blood loss would finish him off quickly.

  Let him suffer.

  “He’s done and I’m done. Let’s grab the rifle and get out of here. I still have to grab all of my things behind the McCarthys’ house,” Alex said, turning away from the relentless wind.
/>
  “Think we should take a closer look?”

  “If he isn’t dead, he will be dead within the hour. Dead and buried under a foot of snow.”

  Chapter 42

  A muted bark settled into a low growl, which lasted a few seconds before it stopped. Through foggy eyes Alex saw that it was well past nine in the morning, which didn’t surprise him. The night before, he emerged from the blizzard still wired and jittery from adrenaline. Thirty minutes later, he descended into a delirious exhaustion that even a strong cup of coffee couldn’t shake. Less than an hour after that, he had fallen into a deep, coma-like sleep, holding Emily on the bedroom couch. He vaguely remembered watching TV on the couch with her, but had no recollection of moving from the couch to their bed.

  THUNK.

  Max barked once and popped his head up over the top of the couch. He barked weakly, following it with a low growl that tapered off. Alex shifted in bed.

  THUNK.

  Alex heard a voice originating from the backyard, then the sound of something clearly hitting their house right behind their bed.

  “Something is hitting the house!”

  He jumped out of bed, throwing the comforter on top of Kate.

  “What is it, what’s wrong?” she whispered forcefully.

  “Hold on.”

  He moved quickly to the rear window of their bedroom, peeking out of the side of the window blind. They both heard another cracking sound against the side of the bedroom, and he pulled his head back. Max growled from his curled up position on the couch with Ryan, but made no move to get up. Alex walked toward the bedroom door.

  “Honey, keep the kids away from the back windows, I don’t want them seeing this.” He paused, rethinking his choice of words.

  “And I don’t want them to get hurt standing near the windows. Todd is standing in our backyard in jeans and a T-shirt, throwing rocks at the house.”

  “What? Why would he…”

  “I don’t know. I thought I was done, but now Captain Caveman is having a mental breakdown in our backyard,” he yelled back into the bedroom.