by Warren Ray
Winters started to prepare for the night’s foray. He had arrived at his friend’s house to find someone had vandalized the place despite it being off the beaten path. Kitchen drawers were ripped out and cabinet doors left open. Whoever it was must have been in here looking for food. He laughed to himself knowing that before Paul left he made sure his wife and kids took all the food for their trip south. Other than the kitchen being ransacked the place looked just like he remembered it, although a bit dustier.
After settling in, Ashley gave him a rundown on everything that was going on. She spent thirty minutes going over everything from who they were and where they lived. Billy Gamble, a known drug dealer, led the group. He had three partners that controlled the whole group of guys who ranged in age from their early twenties to late forties and some of them were even married.
The way it worked was for a week’s worth of rations; you had to perform once a day to whomever you were assigned to on a schedule. She wasn’t sure how many girls were involved but thought it was around thirty or so of various ages. Her daughter wasn’t one of them but knew a couple of the girls who were just as young.
Gamble kept adding to the food supply by offering the girls as payment for any food that was brought to him. This encouraged some of the non-members to scavenge the countryside for more food.
It started a couple of months ago and grew bigger as more guys got in on it. There had been some protesting, but Gamble killed two of the protesters. Both were grandfathers of some of the girls. Afterward, Gamble managed to confiscate all the guns and whatever gasoline was left in town in order to keep everyone from leaving. Some of the girls did manage to run away with their families in the dead of the night.
Winters was familiar with a few of the names and unbeknownst to him, he had already killed one of their members today. It didn’t surprise him that Tim Sherman had been participating. He and his friends were worthless and some of them were not the kind of people you messed with. Winters shook his head thinking how Judith Sherman accused him of doing things that her own grandson was doing.
Winters sat on the bed and studied the list of names and addresses. He decided to visit one neighborhood where two of the members lived. Both of them were drug addicts and low hanging fruit.
Winters walked into the kitchen where Ashley was feeding her daughter with the food he had brought with him.
“I’ll be back by morning,” said Winters.
Ashley gave him a worried look.
“If for some reason I don’t come back by tomorrow night, take the food and head north into Canada.”
Ashley stood up and gave him a hug. “Thank you for doing this.”
Winters looked down at Kaitlyn and gave her a high-five before heading to his van to check his weapons. He then went into Paul’s garage, who was quite the handyman and found some zip ties. He wasn’t sure if he needed them, but he didn’t have all the names of those involved, so if he could, he’d try to interrogate a few of them.
Winters pulled out of the driveway and ten minutes later was within a mile of his first destination. Knowing the police van stuck out like a sore thumb, he drove it into a barren field and hid it in a small wooded area. Powering up his night-vision goggles, he set out to the first house. He took extra care as he moved through the quiet neighborhood. No one was outside, and he didn’t expect to run into anyone, but still took his time and kept alert. His pulse quickened the closer he came to his destination. He was operating alone and hadn’t done so since he had raided the train station. Of course, since then his skills and confidence had increased a hundred fold.
He entered the small neighborhood and looked at the dark houses, which all looked abandoned, but he couldn’t be sure. Since the town had no electricity, it was difficult to know who was still around. As he walked down the sidewalk, he heard the familiar sound of a generator. It was a small one, which wouldn’t put out a lot of power, but enough for some lights and a radio.
He followed the sound and wasn’t surprised when it led to his first target. Randy Stratton, a thirty-five-year-old, who was a known drug addict and low-life. At one time, the kid played high school basketball but was kicked off the team for fighting. The fighting was only a symptom of a larger problem that had started with drinking and eventually led to using Meth.
He moved in closer to the one-story house where a dim light shone through a window. Winters bolted across the lawn and tightened his grip on the Colt M4 rifle as he reached the side of the house. He flipped up his goggles to look in the window and let out a scoff. Inside, Randy Stratton hovered over a young girl who was completely naked. She was on her back and had her hands handcuffed to the bed.
Winters shook his head. So, he likes to tie them up as well.
Before turning away, he noticed a pistol on the nightstand and decided not to take any chances with him. Winters flipped his goggles back down and crept to the back porch where the small generator chugged along. He nodded his head knowing his next move.
Chapter 15
Not wanting to wait until he finished with her, Winters found the switch to the generator and flipped it off. The motor stopped and the lights went out. Winters pushed the switch back to the on position knowing that Randy would think it was out of gas. He then moved off to the side and crouched down behind a bush to wait for his target.
He didn’t have to wait long before Randy came out onto the porch in his birthday suit holding a flashlight. He moved the beam of light around before pointing it on the generator. He took off the gas cap and looked inside.
“Damn piece of junk,” said Randy, pulling on the cord.
The generator started back up and Winters jumped into action. Randy turned to open the screen door as Winters decided to do what had been done to him earlier in the day. He used the butt end of his rifle and smashed it into the small of Randy’s back.
The crack echoed in the air as Randy buckled to the floor and cried out in pain.
Winters pointed the M4 to his face and said in a calm manner, “do something stupid and I’ll pull the trigger.”
Randy’s eyes grew big and he nodded.
Winters took out a zip-tie and cuffed his hands behind his back.
“Now get up,” said Winters, as he pulled him up off the floor.
“What the hell,” he protested.
“Get inside.”
“Hey man, you can’t do this to me, alright.”
“I can and I am.”
Winters pushed him down the hallway to the bedroom. The girl’s eyes grew wild when they entered the room. She began kicking and pulling her arms against the handcuffs.
“I’m not gonna hurt you, okay?” said Winters.
It took a few moments before she settled down but she finally nodded hesitantly.
Winters looked at Randy. “Keys?”
“So, like what, you want a turn with her?”
Winters balled up his fist and belted him in the stomach. Randy fell to the ground, and Winters bent down to pick him up. As he grabbed him under his arm, Randy spit at him. Winters backed way and wiped the slime from his cheek before swinging at him again landing a blow across his face.
Randy toppled over and let out a laugh.
“He’s as high as a kite, Mister,” said the girl. “He ain’t feeling anything.”
“Certainly explains the bravado. Do you know where the key is?”
“On the dresser.”
“What's your name?”
“Finley,” she answered.
“That's a cool name. How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
She had shoulder length brown hair, which was tousled and had strands covering her dark thick eyebrows. Her eyes were bright brown like a garnet gemstone. She had color in her cheeks giving her a good complexion despite being underweight and flat chested. She stood five-foot-five and like Ashley, looked like she barely broke a hundred pounds. On her right leg were five small butterfly tattoos running up her thigh.
She didn't bother trying to use her
legs to cover herself, which meant she was either not shy or had been passed around so much that being naked in front of a stranger no longer bothered her.
That reminded Winters of when he first freed Reese. She too hadn't bother to cover herself even after being freed. She had nonchalantly shuffled into the bathroom to retrieve her clothes.
The memory caused Winters to grit his teeth because he had vowed to never let anyone be held as a sex slave and here he was, fulfilling that vow.
This young girl like the others in town did it for food.
Food!
In some ways, this was even more devious as you weren’t being forced into the exchange, you joined by your own choice. It wasn’t a great choice, but still, one you made.
Winters needed to let off a little steam so he moved back over to Randy and kicked him in the face. Blood splattered out of his nose as he let out a loud yell. Winters fumbled around on the cluttered dresser looking for the handcuff key.
“Got it.”
He moved back over to Finley and took the cuffs off. “Does your mother know?”
She nodded while rubbing her wrist.
“Why don’t you put your clothes on.”
“I can’t go home.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t.”
Winters waited for her to finish.
“I have to go to see Jarvis later.”
Winters was confused because Ashley told him it was one person a day and asked her about it.
“Sometimes I do double duty to get more rations so my little sister doesn’t have to work.”
“How old is your sister?”
“Kayley is twelve.”
Mister Hyde started crawling around inside Winters’ gut. He moved his hand over to the hilt of his knife and squeezed hard. He needed to let off more steam and turned toward Randy.
“Do you know all the guys involved and where they live?”
Finley nodded.
Her answer gave Winters a perverse pleasure knowing he no longer needed to interrogate Randy for more of the names.
“Honey, why don’t you go and put your clothes on and meet me in the living room. We’ll figure out how best I can help you and your sister.”
She got up and reached for the pile of clothes on the floor before scooting down the hall and into the bathroom.
Winters waited for her to leave before moving over to Randy who appeared to be zoning out. He grabbed him by the hair as he pulled out his knife.
“It’s your lucky day, Randy.”
He looked at Winters with blank eyes.
“I’m not gonna interrogate you,” Winters said putting his hand over Randy’s mouth before sinking the blade deep into his throat. Air gurgled out as Randy’s eyes grew frantic while his body twitched on the carpet.
Winters let out a deep, gratifying sigh and casually cleaned the bloody blade on the bed covers before shoving it back into the sheath. He grabbed the Glock 17 off the nightstand and tucked it in his waistband. He looked at his watch and saw that it was ten o’clock. The night was young, and he had much to do before it was over.
He shut the bedroom door and tramped down the hallway to the living room. The bathroom door opened just as he was passing by. Finley came out wearing jeans and a yellow Iowa football t-shirt with the number sixteen on it. She noticed the door was shut and asked him about Randy.
“He won’t be bothering you again,” said Winters.
She gave him a knowing nod and asked who he was.
“I’m Cole Winters.”
“Oh, wow, so it’s true. They said you were in town and that you killed Tim Sherman.”
“News gets around fast.”
“They say you rape little girls.”
“They do say that now, don’t they?”
“Well, I’m little and you didn’t rape me and hell, I was buck ass naked and tied up, so ya could've easily had your way with me, but you didn't, so I’d say that’s all just a pack of lies.”
Winters chuckled to himself at the length of her statement.
“Are you gonna stop what’s going on here?”
Winters glared into her bright brown eyes and nodded.
Her eyes lit up and a smile grew on her face.
Winters needed more information from her and asked about her family. She told him that her two older brothers and father were fighting in the war. That her mom begged her not to participate in the food exchange, but she had no choice when they ran out of their own secret stash. Her mom tried to take her place, but the men laughed at her because she was old and overweight. It was Finley’s idea to do the double duty to protect her sister.
She told him that her next stop was a few blocks over and she needed to be there by midnight.
“There’s another one just up the street. Do you know who it is?”
“Oh yeah, that’s Jimmy Boyd.”
“Would there be a girl there now?”
“No. He’s at home with his wife right now.”
“Does his wife know?”
Finley let out a nervous laugh. “Of course she does. I mean she’s in on it. Like the whole town knows.”
“I see,” said Winters, noticing a slight change in her. She began blinking her eyes rapidly and fidgeting. “You alright?”
“Well, you know, I don’t want you to think, like, I’m a slut. I mean, I don't like doing this but I do it to, like, help my mom and sister.”
Winters put a hand on her shoulder. “Finley, I don’t think that at all. You’re doing what you have to do to feed your family and that’s all. If anything, I think you’re pretty damn brave.”
“Really?” she asked in a sincere tone.
“Oh, gosh yes.”
“Alright, cool.”
Winters let out a short breath seeing her happy with his response. It was interesting to hear how she didn’t want him to judge her even though they had just met. He put the thought out of his mind for now and focused on the situation at hand. He bobbed his head from side-to-side while considering his next step. He had a list of people he needed to eliminate tonight. It was crucial to take out as many of these bastards as possible. By tomorrow it was going to be much more difficult. The problem was he now had a passenger who lived several miles from here and he didn’t want to leave her alone now since he had killed her John. There was no sense in taking the chance of getting her in trouble with the rest of the gang. Besides, it was becoming clear he’d be picking up more passengers before the night was over.
A loud bang came from the front door sent a shiver up Winters’ spine. He spun around just as Finley jumped into action.
Chapter 16
Washington D.C.
Stormy’s eyes sparkled as she plastered a big smile on her face while approaching Gerald Perozzi’s table. Because of the importance of what she was doing, she had to practice this several times in the ladies room. It helped to psych herself up and it was not unlike prepping for a match in the ring. Only here, she’d be receiving sexual advances instead of blows from an opponent.
“Well, hello there, Stormy,” greeted an overexcited Perozzi.
“Gerald, how are you, sir?”
“Now that you’re here, I’m doing exceptionally well.”
Stormy chuckled to herself. “Are you flirting with me, sir?”
Perozzi nodded. “How am I doing?”
“Better than most, I would say. At least you’re honest about it.”
“I do my best.”
“At flirting or being honest?”
“Flirting, of course, there’s no fun in being honest.”
“But isn’t that an admission of honesty?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
Perozzi let out a laugh. “You are one quick witted girl.”
“Yes, and as I told you before, it gets me into trouble all the time.”
“Which means you’re not the boring type.”
“I don’t know about that. So, what can I get you?”
“My usual.”
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“Is your friend joining you?” asked Stormy.
“Oh, no, he won’t be joining us for quite some time.”
“Hmm, too bad,” she responded with a smirk.
Stormy returned to the bar and put in his order. Her breathing relaxed a little bit now that she was back into the swing of things with Perozzi. She laughed to herself, wondering why she had been nervous, to begin with. The old man was putty in her hands and couldn’t keep his eyes off her breasts. He wanted her and would do anything to get her, which was how she wanted it in case anything came up.
She placed his drink on the tray and headed back to his table when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that two cops in suits were approaching. She could spot undercover cops anywhere. She took a deep breath and hurried to Perozzi’s table trying to remain calm.
“Here you go, Gerald.”
“Thank you, Stormy. It’s too bad you couldn’t join me.”
The cops were almost to her, so she took advantage of his offer. “Well, I get off at ten.”
Perozzi’s eyes widened at her response.
The two cops stopped at her side.
“Stormy Robinson,” said Lieutenant Wagner.
She turned toward them. “Yes, that’s me.”
“I need you to come with me.”
“Excuse me?”
“You are to come with me for questioning?”
“About what? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
Perozzi slammed his drink down. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Excuse me, but this doesn’t concern you,” said Wagner.
Stormy backed away from the table, and the other cop grabbed her arm. She fought off her first instinct, which was to twist his hand around and punch him in the face. She didn’t want Perozzi to know what she was capable of, so instead, she let the cop manhandle her to the next table. He threw his weight on her back while twisting her arm up behind her. Her right cheek hit the table as she waited for him to throw on the cuffs.
“You let go of her,” yelled Perozzi as he stood up.
“Back away, sir,” said Wagner.
“Do you know who I am?” asked Perozzi.