Mal turned and ripped David’s pistol out of his hands, kicking him to the ground.
“You can’t take him to your prison,” Mal said, “I will take him.”
“Yeah, that’s a great idea,” Tim said sarcastically, “let’s not take him to the secure facility. Let’s take him to the farmhouse and put him in what? A barn?”
“I would like to point out, the only reason I was kidnapped here is because your operation had a spy, if he can get one person in: I am sure he has two.”
Mal grabbed a zip tie from his back pocket and handcuffs David’s hands behind his back.
“How many people know you guys came here?” Mal asked.
“Just us,” Tim retorted, “I didn’t want to involve anyone else in case it was an accident.”
Mal picked up David and put him in the car, attaching his seatbelt.
“I would do something with him,” Tim said pointing at the man on the ground.
Mal and Jace fired shots into the man’s brain at the same time.
“Going to be just up the road Mal,” Jace said, “Hollar if you have any problems.”
Mal walked back up to the car and turned from the direction where Jace was located and gave her a thumbs up. He sat down in the drivers seat of the car, turning the car around and crossing the highway in the correct direction of his house.
“Was it your plan to turn left or did he just fuck up?”
David chuckled.
“He fucked up.”
“Yeah, that seemed pretty amateur,” Mal said, “lucky I wasn’t paying any attention, I was too busy looking at the….four hundred bodies you piled up in Henderson?”
The silence at the end of that comment was so deafening that Mal could hear the pistons firing in the engine.
“Sacrifices worth making,” David said.
“It’s really easy to say that when you aren’t the one being exterminated but I don’t think you realized what you did.”
“How’s that?”
“What do you think will happen to you in that cloud?”
David was silent.
“You will die,” Mal said, “your mother, she had more melanin in her skin than a couple of the bodies I saw in that dump. I wonder what Lisa would think of that? Hey mom, I have always wanted to commit genocide, thoughts?”
Mal made the turn onto Harmony Springfield road while David sat there in the quiet. The silence was the closest thing to music in the car. Mal looked out the window and saw a set of deer running off through the field and into the forest in the distance. As they popped over the hill near Mal’s house, a large buck was in the middle of the road with three Fawns in toe with one doe. Mal pulled the car to complete stop,
“You know, I failed you,” Mal said, “I was supposed to be that buck, protecting you from the world, even after you were a man. After that bridge, I became less of a protector and more of a problem.”
“Yeah? So?”
“I recognize that,” Mal said, “My dad once told me something about our family line that I doubt you know. Would you like to know?”
David was always very interested in the history of their family and knew quite heavily about his mother’s side of the family at the Battle of Vincennes, when his forefathers fought shoulder-to-shoulder with George Rogers Clark, eventually defeating the British. Only to be turned on years later and forced to march, Liz’s family stayed in Indiana somehow but the other half went to Oklahoma and had their land squeezed ever since.
“Well, yes,” He responded.
“Good but, you have to play nice,” Mal said, “I have a set of civilians staying at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, be nice and if you make a move: I will break every bone in your body. Then send you to California and I think you would know how unlikely it is for you to escape from there.”
“You have my word,” David said.
Mal looked over and cut open David’s zip ties off.
“Don’t try me, David,” Mal said.
Mal started driving to Kyle’s families house, just up the hill from his own. As he pulled into the house’s driveway, Kyle ran out from the garage.
“MR. DANIELS!” He screamed at Mal through the open window.
“Hey Kyle, is your mom home?”
“She ran to town,” Kyle said, “is something you needed?”
“I just need to look at some of the stuff in the basement if you don’t mind.”
“No problem,” Kyle said, “who is your friend?”
Mal looked over at David.
“He’s my son,” Mal said to Kyle as he stepped out of the Car.
Kyle looked up and down the two rather tall, lean men with muscles that clearly showed their lineage.
“Okay buddy, we will be in and out before you know it,” Mal said as he stood still waiting for David to pass.
“The basement you said?” David asked.
Mal nodded as David opened the door to the house’s sun room.
“Wow, place is still gorgeous, surprised you just gave it away,” David said, “I thought for sure you would choose this one if you were going to give one away it would be the Burm house.”
A burmed house is a house built into a hill, Mal could have the Two story house with multiple sight lines or the house with one entrance and one exit.
“That’s part of the lesson here,” Mal said, “but not the entire lesson.”
Mal entered the basement behind David and walked over into a separate room, where a court of arms are displayed with Real swords and two older looking pistols underneath it. The inscription on the court of arms reads as follows:
Mori Pedibus, Defendit Infirmos.
Mal pulled the shortsword from the wall, it was obviously very old but it had been recently polished. The blade had obviously had it’s thirst for blood quenched.
“This short sword belonged to your ancestor, Prince Edward of Wales,” Mal said, “He was known as “The Black Knight” In the hundred Year war he actually fought his own troops when they attempted to Pillage and rape a defenseless village full of civilians. He died from the wounds of that very battle but he got his point across.”
“What does the inscription say?”
“It’s latin so it’s obviously not a direct translation but: Die on your feet, protecting the weak.”
Mal saw David’s face curl up at that notion.
“You come from the blood of Guardians,” Mal said, “people who would rather die than let the strong trample the weak.”
David chuckled.
“That’s a nice story and from the looks of that court of arms, it’s true,” David said, “but that doesn’t make it applicable to the real world. The strong will always trample the weak, that’s what they do. How incredibly naive do you have to be believe that? What do you think your old job was?”
Mal smiled.
“Evening the odds,” Mal said, “People like us, can win a war with 1/4 of the fighters and resources as others. We were made to even the odds.”
“What about the Pistols?”
They were Juker long nose revolver pistols, the design was floral near the end. A light patina up and down the pistols, they still fired.
“Belonged to another ancestor of yours: Billy the Kid.”
“Ah, yes, the Criminal.”
“Actually, whether he was a criminal at the time in the lawless west was up to interpretation. He killed men who took people’s property by force, which put the Pinkerton Agency onto him as they were the ones taking said properties. Would you say killing someone who was going to kill someone else would be defined as self defense?”
“Okay, I get it but, why are we here?”
Mal sighed and began walking out of the basement and turning off the lights. Starting to walk up the stairs.
“You are at a point like I once was,” Mal said, “nothing you have done to this point can’t be undone, even the bodies in a hole. You are being manipulated by Quinn, you know it too.”
“That’s a good point,” David ret
orted, “ I am aware but, I don’t think there’s much difference between both sides. If BANS had this weapon, Tim would use it to wipe out every one of us.”
Tim, famous mass-murderer who doesn’t even return fire after most of his militia’s attacks.
“Kyle, we are leaving the Car here and walking down the hill,” Mal said.
Kyle waved and kept shooting basketball. Mal began walking past the tomato garden that Kyle’s mom ran.
“When did you change? What made you change? Because I heard about you killing that guy at IGA and fighting with anyone who would try and talk you out of being the complete asshole you were,” David asked, “But at some point, a gear shifted and I can’t put a finger on it. You seem closer to the dad I had before the bridge.”
“When you sent those guys to kill me, Kyle was there,” Mal said, “I had to kill in front of the kid but I also had to protect him.”
“To be fair, I didn’t send those guys,” David said, “I don’t know who did but it wasn’t me. I purposefully tried to keep you out of this, emotions need to say out of decision-making.”
David walked forward towards the house that was his birthright technically. Mal opened the door to the house and walked into the kitchen.
“Take a seat,” Mal said as he grabbed a bottle of scotch out of the drawer.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” David asked.
Mal poured a glass of scotch for each of them and passed it over to him.
“Look, part of you is me,” Mal said, “I am the type of person who that whole, nonsensical tough guy routine won’t work on.”
David swirled the glass in his hand.
“So what do you want from me?” David asked.
“Help me,” Mal said, “It isn’t too late to stop this whole thing.”
“Dad, let’s stop with the bleeding heart Bullshit,” David stated, “I think you will find that my will would be equal to yours.”
Mal slung back the whiskey.
“Well, it was a good try,” Mal said, “Plan b it is.”
Mal stood up and grabbed an ankle monitor, wrapping it around David’s leg.
“This ankle monitor can’t be reset except by me and unless you have the code,” Mal said, “I am going to clean my rifle, food is in the fridge. Also, there’s about 1/4 of a pound of Plastique in that thing. I wouldn’t get too interested in your future if you try and slip it off without the code.”
“You are going to draw Quinn here?” Dave asked.
“That’s the plan,” Mal said.
Mal took a seat in the living room and put his XM-24 rifle on the ground in front of him and started disassembling it.
“Well, I guess I am going to bed then,” Dave said, “is my room still operable?”
Mal waved him to go on and watched him walk down the hallway. Mal picked up his tablet and typed a note. Went on to cleaning his rifle.
The last time I saw Quinn, he seemed to be having a lead deficiency, I won’t wait to fix that next time.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Inception shit
Mal’s eyes were closed and outward breath showed that he was at least attempting sleep. Down the hallway in David’s bedroom he wasn’t sleeping. He was working. David tinkering with the wires to remove this ankle monitor so he doesn’t lead Quinn back to here. David pulled out a Phillips screwdriver and saw it was the right size for the job, David started unscrewing the cover of the ankle monitor. Carefully, David removed the cover of the ankle monitor bomb before searching his pockets for the ear piece he had from earlier.
“Karl,” David said into his earpiece,“It’s got purple and white braided cables and he wasn’t lying about the plastique.”
The militia didn’t have a ton of veterans, most veterans are dead now or don’t want to be involved in this shit. Carl wasn’t a veteran of any foreign war but he was part of Bomb Squad in Henderson years ago.
“You have a wire stripper?” Carl asked
“No,” David said, “I don’t have one of those instruments that is almost entirely used for disarming a bomb.”
Karl groaned.
“Then you can only use the keypad,” Karl said.
“ I haven’t even tried that yet,” David said.
“Didn’t you say you had a black light as a kid?” Karl asked.
“Yes, I don’t know how that matters though,” David said.
“Did you touch the pad?”
“Nope,” David said.
“Cool, turn on the black light, should be a six digit number,” Carl said.
David grabbed the black-light off the desk and shown it onto the ankle monitor.
Dad, you were always the person who tried to be more witty than you had to be.
“Well?” Karl asked.
“September 25th 2020,” David said as the Monitor beeped and opened, “It’s my birthday.”
“Now, check your clothes. When I went to the hideout in Evansville, asshole slipped a tracker under my clothes we found out later.”
“I will check but…he never touched me. My dad isn’t a handsy person.”
David opened the window and cut the screen, sliding out into the night air.
ONE HOUR LATER
Mal wakes up and spreads his arms out, standing to his feet. He slipped on his Tactical vest and attached his XM-8 to it’s back slot. Mal walked down the hallway and heard outside noise coming from David’s room. Mal grabbed the tablet and wrote a message:
“Where did he go?”
Mal stared for one minute before a response shot across the screen.
“Just got picked up, on his way back to town.”
Mal had assumed he would escape but he also knew if he played it like he knew he would escape, he wouldn’t run right to Quinn.
“I created a new comms station,” the notes section read, “8.10.2”
Mal tuned his radio to 8.10.2.
“Wallis, how are you following him?”
“We have a surveillance drone 200 feet above him and the isotope in his scotch is highlighting him pretty well.”
“I am very impressed you came up with that on your own,” Mal said, “I had to come up with a way to distract him long enough for Jace to get the Isotope into the scotch.”
Mal ran over to the tablet.
“So, Tim now that we know what he was doing with those captured officers,” Mal said, “What is their next attack?”
“They had a list of possible launch points but since they don’t have access to the Air Dispersal Device,” Wallis said, “But you said they wanted to create havoc.”
“I think it’s the hospital,” Tim said, “we need to be ready for the…”
The voices pas through Mal’s ear like they didn’t exist. Something about that assertion wasn’t right. Quinn said something that contradicted it and it had been bothering Mal.
We will take their future and all that will be left is chaos, corpses and rubble.
“IT’S THE SCHOOL!” Mal screamed.
Mal grabbed his motorcycle helmet and walked out to the garage.
“It was something that Quinn told me at the building. He talked about taking BANS future,” Mal said as he hopped on his Motorcycle and revved the engine as he sped out of the garage and it closed behind him.
Jace sped past on her very own Motorcycle. MP-5 strapped to her back. Mal followed behind her as they attempted to hit triple digits on their way.
“Schools are receiving students now but the biggest one in Mount Vernon just filled up for the day,” Tim said as he walked into his own garage of his house.
He unstrapped a box as his wife, Kimberly Carpenter, ran out into the garage.
“What are you doing Tim?” She asked.
Tim thought of his kids that were at the school, thought of every promise he made to her that he wouldn’t be a front-line fighter anymore.
“I am protecting my family, Kim,” Tim said as he opened the box revealing his XM-24 rifle.
“Where’s the fight?” She
asked with tears in her eyes.
“At school,” Tim said as he strapped on his body armor, “Mal’s on his way with Jace in tow, I am calling in the Quick Reaction Force but, Tye and I are going in. I don’t have a choice.”
Tim grabbed the XM-24, it’s designed grips comforting him like an old friend. Tim couldn’t sit back and wait anymore, he was in the fight now.
Mount Vernon Jr./Sr. High school
30 minutes later
“We need a perimeter,” Tim said, “Tye, enter the High school and search North to south. My team will enter the from the East side of the Junior High and sweep until our paths cross. Caruthers, you will let Mal come in with a fire-team.”
Tim turned and walked towards the doorway and pressed his Ear-piece for his radio.
“Where’s David?”
Wallis sighed.
“He entered the sewer a quarter mile away, unfortunately once he was underneath the school two minutes ago I couldn’t track him anymore,” Wallis said, “Mal is three minutes out.”
Tim shook his head.
“We can’t wait,” Tim said, “any Sons here are to be shot on sight.”
Tye and his fire-team walked up to the buildings door and entered, Tim was the point-man up front with his rifle pointed out front. A security guard came out of the office to greet the fire-team of trained killers, with his baggy uniform all over him.
“We have the children sheltered in place in their classrooms,” the security guard said, “We have a couple of classes in the gym but the doors are barricaded.”
“Where could they come in at?”
“There’s no sewer entrance here if that’s the question?”
“That’s never stopped them in the past,” Tim said.
“Good luck,” The Guard said as he turned around to re-enter the main office.
Tim turned around and level his rifle at the Guard’s back.
“Drop your gun,” Tim said, “Almost convincing except three things: Your uniform doesn’t fit, I told no one except those involved about the sewers and I really doubt you are named Carlos.”
The mysterious man groaned before reaching for his pistol.
“Slowly,” Tim said while circling the man with the three other warriors circling him like wolves who see a wounded deer.
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