The Shadow Patriots Box Set 2

by Warren Ray

  “This really is harder for you than shooting a bad guy, isn’t it?”

  Winters nodded.

  She grabbed his arm. “Okay, just get it all out and don’t worry about hurting my feelings.”

  He shot her a distrustful look.

  “I swear I won’t get mad,” she said, raising two fingers in the air like a Boy Scout.

  “I don’t think I trust you.”

  She squeezed his arm. “That’s no way to begin a relationship.”

  Winters shook his head. “Okay, fine, here it is.”

  He took a breather from her needling to get his thoughts together. He dreaded this moment but knew he couldn’t avoid it forever. She had been forthright with him, and he didn’t have the courage to respond in kind.

  “The main reason I’m not sure about this is not so much because of your age; in fact, I think you’re mature well beyond your years. It’s just that I don’t feel right about it because I’m in a position of power, and it makes it look like I’m taking advantage of that power and you.”

  “That’s it?” she responded in a surprised tone. “That’s why you don’t want me?”

  “Well, when you say it like that, it doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “That’s because it’s not.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “No, I don’t. As a matter of fact, I thought it was going to be something entirely different.”

  “Like what?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe something like I’ve been with too many guys or that I’m kind of psycho now.”

  This admission shocked Winters and he took her hand. He needed to convince her that her captivity wasn’t something he would ever hold against her. “No, Reese, not at all, and don’t you ever think that’s a valid reason to shun you.”

  She looked at him intently and he knew she was trying to read him. She was good at it and he desperately wanted her to see his sincerity. She gave him a nod.

  “Besides, I’m kinda digging the whole psycho thing,” he said breaking out a half smile.

  She gave him another smack on the leg. “It takes one to know one.”

  “It really does.”

  He leaned back on the bench and she rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I have to think of my position with the men, Reese, and make sure I’m not going to jeopardize it. I just need time.”

  Neither spoke nor moved as they sat there staring across the empty parking lot. Winters started beating himself up for not getting back to her sooner. He had caused her imagination to run wild as to why he had been avoiding her. It had been unfair and unkind. He wouldn’t ever let that happen again.

  Without lifting her head, she said. “You might as well give in to me because if you don’t, I’m just going to keep tormenting you.”

  “You will?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Well…as long as it entertains ya.”

  She broke out a snicker. “Oh, it will.”

  Chapter 62

  Washington D.C.

  A limousine pulled out onto the tarmac and headed to Perozzi’s private jet. The stretch limo stopped and the chauffeur got out to open the door for Cara Winters and Charlie Chivers. They both got out holding flutes of Champagne. The two girls laughed at some joke before finishing their drinks and handing the empty glasses to the driver.

  The driver watched CC usher Cara toward the plane before turning around and trotting back to the car. She leaned in to talk to Perozzi for a minute before disappearing inside the jet.

  The driver got back in the car and headed to pick up Perozzi’s girlfriend before they went to his favorite restaurant for his weekly dinner date.

  The driver lowered the back glass. “CC still seems worried, sir?”

  “I don’t know how many times I’ve told her that Mordulfah won’t harm her. But after all of that, she still packs a knife for protection.”

  “Does she not trust you anymore, sir?”

  “I don’t know what her problem is, but I’ve got half a mind to tell Mordulfah to keep them both.”

  The driver pulled up to a posh condominium and got out to retrieve Perozzi’s girlfriend. He walked inside the building and had the doorman ring her. Five minutes later, a thirty-year-old blonde dressed to the nines emerges from the elevator. Her ample cleavage pleased his seventy-three-year-old boss. His latest squeeze treated the driver rudely, but he didn’t care because she’d be gone within the next week or so. He wouldn’t remember her and barely knew her name now. It surprised him that she was still around because she was a bit older than most of them. When you’re a horny billionaire who ran the country, you could afford the very best. “Perhaps Perozzi’s in an intellectual phase and she’s a good conversationalist,” he thought. Whatever the case, she’d be gone in a short time. He opened the door and she got in the limo without so much as of a thank you. The driver let out a chuckle. “Stupid bitch.”

  He drove to the restaurant and escorted them inside before returning to the limo to wait for them to finish. It usually took a couple of hours, as Perozzi liked to have a drink before and after dinner and usually smoked a cigar much to the lady’s displeasure.

  The driver had plenty of time to kill and usually indulged his own cigarette habit as a way to kill time. He parked on the street just up from the restaurant in a no parking zone, not that it mattered. Everyone knew to whom this limo belonged so no one would bother him. He wished there was room for other limos, but they all parked in the lot at the end of the block. This was his least favorite destination because he had no other drivers to hang out with, which made for a long night.

  An hour in, he got out and leaned on the car to smoke another cigarette when he noticed a tall man walking toward him. He was dressed in dark clothes and a fedora hat hid his face as he looked down at the sidewalk. He walked past the restaurant entrance and veered toward him. The driver got nervous, but relaxed when the man took out his own cigarette.

  “Hey, you got a light?” he asked the driver.

  He pulled out a lighter and flicked up a flame.

  The taller man kept his head down as he leaned in and sparked up his smoke.

  “Thanks, man.”

  “No problem.”

  The man in the hat then stuck his hand out. “See that your boss gets this.”

  The driver, without thinking, grabbed the thumb-drive. “Hey, what is this?”

  “Trust me, he’ll want to see it,” said the man as he quickly walked away.

  The driver wasn’t sure if he shouldn’t go after him, but the stranger towered over him and he thought better of it. He looked at the thumb-drive, wondering what it contained and whether or not he should interrupt Perozzi, or just wait until he was done. Thinking there was no sense in ruining their dinner, he decided to wait.

  Chapter 63

  Jackson Michigan

  Winters had to admit it felt good having Reese rest her head on his shoulder. He could hear her breathing and felt the slight rhythmic movement as they sat there looking across the parking lot. He still hadn’t committed to a relationship knowing it would complicate things. He had so much on his mind that any distraction might jeopardize his decision-making, thereby endangering everyone.

  Reese lifted her head and looked at him. “I was really worried about you the other night.”

  Winters knew what she meant. “I was in a pretty dark place.”

  “When you guys came back from Detroit and you walked by me and Nate, at first I thought it was cuz you were like avoiding me, but when I heard what you wanted to do, I knew what was going on.”

  “I just wanted more.”

  Reese grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. “Mister Hyde had his hooks in ya real deep, didn’t he?”

  “Had Elliott not found me, I don’t know what I would have done.”

  “I cried knowing I couldn’t be there for ya. Me and my stupid proclamation of love.”

  “Just bad timing is all.”

  “Yeah, tell
me about it.”

  “I got through it, or so I thought.”

  “Why, what happened?”

  Winters told her about the cops down on US 12. “I just couldn’t do it.”

  “Cole, you did the right thing. You always tell me to fight for the right reasons or Mister Hyde will sneak in and take over and you’re right. When I killed that cop yesterday, I didn’t think about any of that.”

  “Oh,” said Winters knowing vague details about what she and Nate went through during the hospital massacre.

  “I was too scared for revenge to even enter my mind. As banged up as I am, I’m not even sure how I was able to fight him. I just knew that I had to protect, Nate. I don’t really remember thinking about anything else except trying to save him. But, like after I killed him, I didn’t feel anything but relief.”

  “Well, you did it for the right reasons.”

  “Yeah, there’s such a difference.”

  Winters was glad they were both getting this off their chests. Regardless if they became a couple, they had this one thing in common. They both understood each other completely.

  They continued to sit there again in silence enjoying each other’s company, but Winters began to get antsy because he needed to prepare for tonight.

  “You getting hungry?” he asked.

  “Are you talking about a dinner date?” she asked with a sly grin.

  “Sure, what the hell.”

  “Haha, see, I’m starting with little commitments.”

  “Oh, is that what you’re doing?”

  “Gotta get my hooks in ya somehow.”

  “Make sure you’re using the right bait.”

  “Ah, excuse me, but you said something earlier about incredibly beautiful.”

  “Hmph, don’t quite remember that,” he said with a mock confused expression.

  “Eh, it’s cuz you’re old.”

  “Hey, now.”

  “I know, I’m a bitch, ya better get used it.”

  “Not what I was gonna say.”

  “Hmm, smart too.”

  “Shall we go?” he asked as he stood up and held out his arm.

  Reese got up and grabbed her crutch before interlocking her arm around his. They headed inside and down the stairs to the cafeteria. He patiently waited for her to hop down each step. He pushed the door open hoping there weren’t too many people around and was relieved to see only Elliott and Amber.

  Amber turned her head, then got up and moved to the other side of the table next to Elliott. Winters knew then that Reese had told Amber. This was going to be awkward, at least for him.

  “Hey, guys,” said Elliott.

  “Elliott, Amber,” said Winters.

  “Sooo, how’s it going?” asked Amber giving Elliott a slight nudge.

  Winters stared at both of them trying to control their grins. “What are we in Junior High now?”

  “Oh c’mon, Captain, this is too much fun,” said Elliott.

  Amber looked at Reese and asked in a thirteen-year-old voice. “So, does he like you, like you.

  Reese turned to Winters and then back to Amber. “Well, so far, he says he just likes me. He’s not ready to admit that he likes me, likes me.”

  Winters looked down at the table shaking his head. “There’s going to be no living with you three.”

  They burst out laughing and kept pretending to be in Junior High with childish jokes and mannerisms. Winters kept up the façade that he was above it all and not enjoying their bantering, but deep down he relished it. He needed the good humor and the laughter as it lifted his spirits. With all the life and death situations this group faced this week, they were in need of levity, and if it was your turn to be the butt of the jokes, then so be it, because what goes around comes around.

  Chapter 64

  It took all the restraint Nordell could muster when he stood beside Nick Posey in a meeting Mayor Simpson was holding. Posey’s beer belly stood in contrast to most of the participants in the meeting. Apparently, he had been eating well and didn’t appear to be in want of food. He wore a dark green ball cap with a matching dark green American flag patch on the front of it. Nordell wanted to rip the hat off him and shove it down his throat. He also wanted to strip his camouflage shirt and pants and put him in a bright orange jumpsuit. Nordell glared at him in his periphery vision and fantasized how he would kill him and whether it should be a public hanging or a firing squad. Each had its appeal, but he leaned more toward a public hanging. He then thought about the type of hanging and decided a slow drawn out death would suit this traitor the best.

  He wasn’t paying much attention to the meeting because he knew it was just a diversion to keep Posey occupied while his friend Hollis gathered enough passengers for another trip through the perimeter tonight. He devised the plan with Winters who felt with the presently lax security, they could move close to a hundred people tonight. It was a huge operation, but they felt confident they could it because the enemy didn’t appear eager to attack or even return fire, at least not the Jijis.

  Mayor Simpson talked slowly and deliberately answering questions in drawn out detail. Without telling him about Posey, Nordell had asked him to take his time. They needed at least an hour to move everyone to the other side of town.

  After the meeting, Nordell knew Posey would stick to him like glue. He thought about all the times the traitor had been close-by listening and watching everything he did.

  Nordell would slip out of his house later tonight to help with the operation. He would also be saying goodbye to his wife who would be one of the passengers. She didn’t want to go, but he insisted because he wasn’t sure when she’d have another chance. Nordell felt certain the enemy was planning something big, and not having to worry about her would be a relief. Whatever the enemy’s plan, because of his experience as a warrior, he’d be in the thick of it and he wanted to help the Shadow Patriots.

  After the battle on Robinson Road, he had changed his opinion about them. This ragtag group of men and women showed an amazing amount of fortitude and bravery that he could only compare to some of the best warriors he’d fought with in his thirty-years in the Marines.

  He’d even come to like Winters, whom he had misjudged to be a weakling. He heard the stories about the train station, the battles that followed at the Patriot Centers, the narrow escape into Canada, his capture by the cops, and the subsequent beatings. Winters made some mistakes, but his overall strategy was good and the men responded well to him, which counted for a lot. Nordell had seen many leaders in his thirty-years, most were good, but some were nothing but arrogant pricks.

  The meeting finally broke up and Nordell made it a point to go talk with Simpson about some inane topic. He wanted to have a little fun with Posey and watched how he waited off to the side while he took his time with the mayor before going home.

  He stepped inside his dark empty home and hustled upstairs to a window that overlooked the street. He spotted the silhouette figure of the overweight traitor just up the block. Nordell kept an eye on him for thirty minutes until the man finally left. He then slipped out the back and jogged to a car where Hollis was waiting for him.

  “Is Ruth all set?” asked Nordell.

  “She’s good to go.”

  Nordell took in a deep breath. He wouldn’t relax until she crossed into Ohio.

  Hollis drove them to the staging area across town to an empty warehouse where they kept all the police vehicles hidden away. They parked around back and Hollis threw the gearshift into park. Nordell followed his friend, who walked with a slight limp from a long ago car wreck.

  Chapter 65

  With several options of escape routes available, Winters decided upon McCain Road, which was at the southern end of the woods they had fought in the other night. It went over Michigan 60 and ran west connecting to back country roads. They could then pick up Interstate 69 and go down into Indiana, then over to Findlay, Ohio.

  He initially thought about going up to Lansing Road where
Eddie kept watch, but the Jijis had blocked the other end of the overpass with a couple of overturned cars. The cops still patrolled Hanover Road and he only wanted to deal only with the Jijis, as they seemed less inclined to put up a fight. The only problem tonight was the McCain overpass had four Jijis stationed as guards in the middle of it.

  Winters walked around the police vans and watched everyone loading up in the vehicles, which numbered ten in all. It was a large convoy, one he normally wouldn’t have chanced, but with the squad cars as escorts, he thought they could pull it off without any trouble.

  The passengers were mostly elderly with some young mothers and their children. Winters didn’t see any teenagers and wondered if they all decided to stay and fight or were there just none in this group. He thought about what it would take to allow an under age child to go off and fight. It didn’t take much to imagine it, as Reese was only a year older than his own daughter. A slight shiver shot through him thinking about it and knew it would be gut wrenching.

  Bassett approached Winters, interrupting his thoughts.

  “Captain, Nordell is here.”

  “Are we ready then?” asked Winters.

  “We’re all set, sir.”

  Winters followed Bassett outside where Scar, Elliott, and Burns were waiting to go hunting. Nordell soon joined them after speaking to his wife. The six of them got into a Ford Expedition and headed up to McCain Road.

  Wearing a pair of night-vision goggles allowed Elliott to weave through the dark streets without alerting any suspicion from prying eyes. He pulled over just before the bend in the road on McCain and parked. They all hustled up to the entrance of the overpass where beams from the headlights of the car in the middle of the bridge pointed their way.

  “We’ll approach them from the other side,” said Bassett.

  Winters nodded. He gave Bassett the lead on this operation and followed him down the embankment through thick bushes, which gave them additional concealment in the dark night. There were no Jijis under the overpass and they quickly ran across the four-lane highway and up the other side where a second car with its headlights on sat at the entrance with two men inside.