by Warren Ray
Because weapons weren’t allowed in Canada, they had to leave their M4’s and most of their gear back in the Suburban, however, they decided to carry pistols just in case trouble found them once again.
They reached the other side in good time, and Burns jumped out to tie off the canoe. Scar looked around and noticed they had landed in a sand and gravel quarry. He didn’t know if it was still in business but figured it wouldn’t be a busy place either way.
They headed north into the business district figuring they would run into a hotel. Keeping to the riverfront and ducking whenever a car came into the vicinity; Scar had to remind himself they weren’t in a war zone. It was a difficult thing to overcome, but as soon as they came upon an open grill and pub, all reservations disappeared.
“A cold one sure would hit the spot,” said Bassett.
“Yes, it would,” agreed Nordell.
“Bet they got big juicy hamburgers,” said Burns.
It had been a long time since any of them had a cold beer or any beer for that matter. The idea was appealing, and perhaps they could make a sympathetic friend to direct them around the city.
Scar smiled and said, “I’m buying.”
Chapter 26
Sabine Iowa
Winters kept listening to the non-stop talking of the three girls who were now helping him put a stop to the madness in his hometown of Sabine. Listening to the loud chatter of two of them had been tough, but now with a third one added to the mix, it was a challenge. He hadn’t been around teen aged girls in some time and forgot how chatty they could be. He remembered when Cara would have a sleepover and how they had gabbed half the night before going to sleep. Because they lived in a small three-bedroom, their high-pitched had voices carried throughout the house preventing him from falling asleep.
Finley drove them to a parking lot in back of a school, which was located away from any housing. This would ensure no one would find them there. Before he continued with the mission, he needed to regroup and find where the rest of the scum he sought lived.
Finley put the car in park and asked, “What’s next?”
“Where’s that list?”
“Right here,” said Laney.
“Can you update it with our latest kills.”
“Kills, I love it,” said Laney.
The comment made Winters twitch. What had he created, or at the very least, unleashed? The way she had attacked Owen with the vodka bottle, indicated there was a lot of pent-up rage for sure.
“Okay, those first four were mine,” she said, as she ran down the list crossing out the names.”
“Mine too,” said Collette.
“Not anymore,” laughed Laney giving Collette a high-five. She then looked up at Winters. “Cole, you’ve killed ten so far.”
Collette’s mouth dropped open, “Wow.”
“No, it’s eleven,” said Finley. “He killed Jimmy Boyd’s wife.”
“Really?” asked Laney.
“That bitch was coming at me, and besides, she liked to do threesomes.”
“Oh, that’s just nasty,” said Collette. “She’s as white trash as they come.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” said Finley. “I swear they never brushed their teeth. I mean, c’mon, even if you, like, don’t have any more toothpaste, at least use some baking soda. I mean everyone’s got baking soda.”
“It’s what I use,” said Laney.
“Me too,” said Collette.
Winters shook his head wanting to get the girls refocused. “So, where do the rest of these guys live?”
The girls looked over the list and after some debating came up with the street names. Winters decided to take out the furthest one first. He figured he could just go in and shoot him. He glanced at the girls debating on whether he should bring them back to his hideout now. They’d been through a lot, even been taken as hostages. He looked at their excited expressions and figured they would refuse. It wasn’t worth the headache they’d give him, besides they may be young, but they were quick learners and quite brave.
“Okay, let’s go over to Grayson’s place,” said Winters.
“Oh, that ole boy,” said Laney.
“You mean, old man,” interrupted Collette. “He’s, like, forty-five.”
Winters rolled his eyes at the comment.
“Thank goodness he’s not on my list,” said Collette.
“Oh, me too,” said Laney. “I mean it’d be creepy just being naked around someone that old.”
Finley started laughing. “Excuse me, but you were just naked in front of Cole.”
“Oh my God, that's right,” laughed Laney choking on her words.
“Wait, you guys too?” quizzed Collette.
“Heck yeah,” blurted Finley. “I was spread-eagle handcuffed to the bed when Cole showed up at Randy's.”
All three girls lost control as Winters' face burned red listening to them.
Laney grabbed Collette's arm to get her attention. “I was on Jarvis's couch and Owen was on top of me going at it when Cole showed up.”
Collette burst out laughing again.
“But...but, then Finley whacked him with that big wooden candlestick and I jumped on his back hitting him with a vodka bottle.”
“We took his naked ass down,” declared Finley.
“I bet...,” sputtered Collette trying to get the words out. “I bet...he wasn't erect after that.”
The uncontrolled laughing continued for nearly a minute and Winters was starting to lose patience but knew he couldn't stop them. Though he had to admit to himself, it was pretty funny.
The laughing started to die down when Finley shouted above the high-pitched laughter. “Cole Winters, you’ve been getting a show tonight.”
“I can assure you I didn’t enjoy it.”
“Wha…whatever,” Laney said, choking on her laughter.
“Hell, he’s even know why they call me, Wannabe.”
Winters buried his head while they busted out laughing again and continued to razz him. He wasn’t enjoying the needling, but in a way was glad they were in good spirits. The girls he had rescued from the party house were the exact opposite of these three. Even stranger was their response to watching and helping kill people. It must be such a relief that the killing didn’t have the same effect on them as it would others.
They finally got the giggles out of their system and Winters ordered her to drive to Grayson's place.
He lived in a farmhouse his family had passed on to him. The family was no longer in the area. The parents died years ago and both his sisters had moved to St. Louis. Stephen Grayson had gone through a couple of wives while drinking himself into poverty. He’d sold off all the land but managed to hang onto the house.
“Stop here,” said Winters.
“You need help?” asked Laney.
“No. You girls stay here and stay alert. I won’t be but a minute.”
Winters exited the car carrying his M4 and dashed across the street. He didn’t want to take a lot of time with this one and decided to just shoot him. There were no neighbors anywhere near who might hear the gunfire.
He crept up on the porch and found the door unlocked. He stared through the goggles to find the place with little to no furniture. He took a moment to listen for any movement before heading upstairs to the master bedroom. The door was open, and he heard the snoring before reaching the doorway. He walked in and found Grayson sleeping alone. He looked around the room before taking aim and squeezing the trigger. A three shot burst found its mark and the snoring ceased.
Winters got back to the car and found the girls quiet, which was odd for them. Perhaps they were having reservations about what they were doing so he asked them.
“No, not at all,” said Finley.
“Me neither,” said Collette, who looked at Laney who shook her head.
“Okay, just wanted to make sure. I haven’t seen you guys this quiet before.”
“We don’t want to do anything wrong is all,” said
Finley. “We know we talk a lot, I mean, we’re all friends and we love each other, but we know this is, like, serious stuff so, you know, you can count on us.”
“Yeah, like when Jasper grabbed me,” said Laney, “I saw how it can go wrong, like, really fast.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear this, cuz tomorrow things are going to heat up, which is why I want to take out as many as I can tonight.”
“Then let’s go,” Finley said while starting the car.
Winters leaned back satisfied they were still in good spirits. His leg started to bounce when he realized he’d have to get these girls and their families to the hideout before the night was over. He looked at his watch and saw he had only a few hours until sunrise.
Chapter 27
Finley slowed the Impala and pulled it into the driveway of a house she knew was empty. She told Winters most of the people from this neighborhood had left the area. She had driven to this particular neighborhood because there were three targets living next to each other. Killing these three would enable them to cross off most of the names on the list, which would be a hell of a night.
He still needed to get these girls’ families rounded up and taken to safety. It wouldn’t take too long for the remaining men on the list to figure out who had been helping him tonight. All they had to do was to see who had been killed and which girl he had seen last. A little arm-twisting would be all that was needed before one of them coughed up the other names and then they’d kill them all. He couldn’t risk even one of these girls getting killed like that. It was already bad enough that they were here helping him, but at least with him, they stood a better chance than if they were alone.
“Do you need help?” asked Finley.
Winters gave it some thought. “Why don’t you guys help me recon the area.”
“Recon, uh, I love it,” said Laney.
“Just keep quiet and stay with me. Okay?”
They all nodded their heads and then exited the car. The girls gathered behind Winters who led them across an overgrown lawn to the next one. Winters slowly moved his head from side-to-side. He wasn’t too familiar with the neighborhood, having been through but a few times in the past. He didn’t know anyone who had lived there and wasn’t familiar with the next three targets.
They trekked through the wet overgrown grass for another block before Laney grabbed him by the arm and pointed up the street.
“That one, and the one next to it,” she whispered.
“What about the third?” asked Winters.
Laney shrugged her shoulders and looked at her friends.
“It’s right behind those two,” said Collette.
Winters liked that the targets were grouped together. He decided to do the two up ahead first then sneak through the back for the third. Not wanting to leave the girls at the car again, he decided to have them wait across the road for him.
“Let’s go,” Winters whispered to the girls.
As they continued to get closer, a pair of headlights lit up the street. A car was coming. “Get down, get down.”
They fell to the ground as a car approached. Its headlights lit up the pitch-black neighborhood as the car slowed to pull into the driveway of Winters’ next target.
He motioned the girls into some overgrown bushes. They crawled on their hands and knees while breathing in quick breaths and hunching close to him. Their eyes were as big as saucers as they peered across the street at the car. Suddenly the car’s horn blasted through the stillness of the night and made them jump.
Two men holding shotguns got out of the car yelling. Something was up because these two were fidgeting around the driveway. The front door opened up and out walked a man wearing nothing but boxer shorts. Winters couldn’t quite make out what they were saying but figured it had something to do with him. He scanned the area deciding what he wanted to do. It was no longer feasible to sneak in on them because his targets now knew he was somewhere about and intent on killing them. The other front door opened and out stepped another man. He was taller than the others were but just as young, maybe mid-twenties. He didn’t look happy about being dragged out of bed.
Collette moved up to Winters’ ear. “Those two at the car are Mickey’s cousins.”
Winters nodded figuring they had gone to his house and discovered the dead bodies.
The loud voices continued to echo through the quiet neighborhood. They were agitated and appeared to be drunk.
He put his hand on Collette’s shoulder and whispered into her ear. “Are they drinkers?”
She gave him an affirming nod.
Winters watched and determined the cousins were drunk. The one wearing the boxer shorts disappeared behind the house, and Winters figured he was going after the third target, which gave him an idea.
“Girls, I need for you to trust me.”
“What are you gonna do?” asked Finley.
“You’ve heard of a drive-by?”
They all nodded.
“Well, I’m gonna do a walk-by.”
They all looked at each other trying to figure out what he meant.
“You’re gonna attack them?” asked Collette.
Winters nodded.
“That is so badass,” exclaimed Laney.
“What do you want us to do?” asked Finley wide-eyed.
“Stay here and don’t move. No matter what happens, stay out of sight until I come for you.”
“What if you don’t or can’t?” asked Finley putting her hand on his arm.
“Stay quiet and leave.”
“No, don’t go,” begged Finley.
“I’ll be alright. You girls just be ready to leave in a hurry, okay?”
Small hands tugged at his jacket as he got up and scurried away. He headed across another lawn to get directly across from the driveway. He studied the cousins who hadn’t settled down yet. The one with the shotgun had laid it down on the hood of his car while they waited for Boxer-boy to return.
Their attention was directed toward the backyard as Winters slipped out from his hiding place. The night-vision optics lit up his way as he glided across the street to a big oak tree. He peeked around the tree. Boxer-boy came back with another man who held a gun. Winters liked his chances as the five men began arguing on what to do. He heard the cousins telling the man with the gun what happened at Mickey’s house.
Winters flipped the safety off the M4 and switched it to fire a three shot burst. He peeked around the tree again deciding to first eliminate the one who had joined the party last. He seemed more alert and carried a pistol. The cousins would be next and then the other two.
Winters' heart began to race as he slipped away from the protection of the big oak tree. He raised his weapon to his shoulder and focused on his first target as he eased toward them. The car’s headlights blinded them and concealed his presence. He aimed at the first target and began to apply pressure to the trigger when suddenly another set of headlights projected a bright beam of light through the dark neighborhood.
Chapter 28
Sarnia Ontario
After crossing the Saint Clair River into Canada, Scar agreed to go into a grill and pub they just happened upon while walking toward the business district of Sarnia, Ontario. A cold beer and hamburger seemed like a delicious way to kill a couple of hours before finding a hotel. It had been ten days since they left the base in Winnipeg and they hadn’t had a hot meal since.
Bassett reached the door and opened it for the rest of the crew. Delicious aromas of charbroiled hamburgers and a faint suggestion of garlic hit their senses. Scar breathed it all in before approaching the smiling hostess.
“Welcome, a table for four?” asked a young hostess.
“Yes, please,” said Scar.
The place looked like any American style sports bar restaurant. A small bar off to the side had a couple of TV screens playing soccer games. The hostess led them to the dining area, which was one big room full of tables.
“Your waitress will be right with y
ou gentlemen.”
They had trouble containing their excitement as they sat down and looked around. No one gave them a second look, which relieved Scar’s anxiety. He needed to relax and this was just the place to do it. He didn’t need to pick up the menu to know exactly what he was going to order.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting a burger, fries, and a beer,” said Scar.
“Same here,” said Burns.
Nordell looked at the menu and then put it down. “Make it three.”
“Well, I hate to be different, but I’m making mine a cheeseburger,” said Bassett.
“Corporal Bassett,” said Scar, “cheese goes without saying.”
A waitress appeared out of nowhere and took their order.
“Notice she was smiling,” said Burns. “I haven’t seen a genuine smile on a girl in a long time.”
The waitress came back with their beers and all four took a moment to just stare at them. Frost began melting off the sides of the frozen glass mugs. They picked them up and clanked the glasses together.
“To the Shadow Patriots,” said Scar.
“And America,” said Nordell.
“And the Captain,” said Burns.
“Here, here,” finished off Bassett.
They each began with a small sip before taking another larger one. Smiles spread across their faces as they put the glasses down.
“Forgot how good this tasted,” said Burns.
“Can’t remember the last time I had a beer,” said Nordell.
“I do,” said Bassett. “When I came back from the Middle East, I went to visit with my parents back in Yoder, Indiana. They put together a welcome home barbecue with friends and neighbors. Best damn food I thought I’d ever tasted.”
“It’s always the best food when you come home from war,” said Nordell.
They all nodded their heads in agreement, as everyone at the table had fought in one conflict or another while serving in their youth. Now that they fought at each other’s sides, they would be bonded together forever.