The Shadow Patriots Box Set 2

by Warren Ray

  “Get me home,” ordered Reed.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’ll find the keys to my car on one of them,” said Reed pointing to his two dead guards by the glass doors.

  For show, Green continued to hold his gun out as he escorted Reed to his car. He then got in and asked for directions to his house. Of course, he already knew where Reed lived but needed to continue the ruse. He took note on Reed’s demeanor as the man called his security team leader and in a calm matter, told him what had just happened. He never once mentioned whom he suspected to have made the attempt. After hanging up on him, he stayed silent all the way home.

  Green pulled into Reed’s driveway and four of his bodyguards rushed to the car to protect Reed.

  “Major, I cannot thank you enough for your bravery.”

  “Sir, I only wish I could have been there sooner to help your security team.”

  “You’ve served honorably tonight, Major, and I shall not forget it,” said Reed, as he opened the car. “You can take my car home and bring it to the office in the morning.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Green watched the security team hustle him inside and then let out a deep sigh of relief. He didn’t dare say anything in the car since he didn’t know whether or not it was bugged. However, he couldn’t help but pump his fist in the air at the success of their mission. Without a doubt, Reed recognized the two supposed assassins. Reed’s world changed in an instant and Green planned to be involved in that new world.

  Chapter 51

  Sabine Iowa

  Winters gobbled down the food Ashley had prepared and was on his way to regaining his strength from last night’s mission. Now that there were no more bad guys to control the town, they discussed getting everyone back home. Ashley offered to stay until they could move Finley.

  Winters left to go into town as he wanted to check on the status of the stores of food sitting in the bank vault. He got into his van and made the short trip. In front of the bank, mothers and children, along with a few elderly people, had formed a line that extended out into the parking lot. Almost everyone had a smile on their face and they chatted amiably with each other. They all turned their heads when Winters pulled into the lot.

  A wave of excitement swept through the line and everyone started clapping as he exited the van. His body stiffened as he didn’t like accolades and would never get used to having them bestowed upon him. He always tried to shy away from notoriety if he could, but it was too late as a few of the mothers left the line and rushed over to him. He recognized the first as a friend of his late wife, Ellie. She had a couple of sons and a daughter who had been a friend of Cara’s.

  “Cole, Cole, thank you,” said Gail, as she came in to give him a hug. “Cole, you’re a life saver.”

  “Gail, please, there’s no need.”

  “Nonsense. You’re our hero.”

  More came over and began shaking his hand and cheering his presence.

  “You saved my little girl,” said a mother who Cole thought looked familiar. “Those filthy bastards are all dead now thanks to you.”

  Not wanting to be rude, Winters spent a few minutes greeting everyone and accepting their gratitude. After about five minutes with everyone outside, he entered the bank where more handshakes and hugs greeted him. Winters’ heart began to melt as mothers broke down in tears while expressing their gratitude. He hadn’t taken the time to consider the affect it had on them, but he now understood. There had been a darkness in Sabine and it weighed down everyone involved, but now a new found joy was released and it overwhelmed them.

  “Okay, everyone, let the man breathe,” said a male voice from the back.

  Michael Grant was at least in his seventies and had a portly build. He had been the mayor here in Sabine some years ago, and he reminded Winters of Mayor Simpson back in Jackson. His wisps of white hair flew about as he greeted Winters.

  “Cole, is it really you?”

  “Yes, Mike, it’s really me,” said Winters, shaking his hand.

  “I always knew those media reports about you were bogus. How the hell are ya? Oh, that’s a stupid question, hell, look what you’ve done for us. We can’t thank you enough.”

  “Well, you’re welcome, Mike. So, how’s it going here? Tell me about the food situation.”

  “C’mon, I’ll show ya,” said Grant, who led him to the back.

  Winters' eyes grew wide looking at the bounty before him. The vault wasn’t big but it was stuffed with all kinds of food, from freeze-dried packages to canned goods. Bags of wheat stood off to one side next to boxes of rice.

  “Whoa,” said Winters.

  “Yes, it’s literally all the food in the area and plenty for everyone.”

  “And then some,” said Winters.

  “Yes. Listen, Cole, I don’t want you to think too badly of us, but we…”

  Winters interrupted him. “Mike, you don’t need to go there, I understand.”

  The man frowned and shook his head in a sad manner. “It’s just that we tried to stand up to them, but they killed those of us who did. And our poor girls, it’s just sickening what they had to go through.”

  Winters put a hand on his shoulder. “Mike, everyone did what they had to do to survive. Believe me, I’ve seen much worse over the past few months.”

  Grant gave him a blank stare and Winters decided the man needed a boost to his morale.

  “Mike, I’ve seen whole towns executed because of a lack of food. Girls put into chains and forced to perform day and night. In some ways, everyone here is very lucky.” The fog started to lift from the man’s eyes. “And from what I’ve seen, your daughters and granddaughters are the bravest girls I’ve ever encountered. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t have done what I did last night without their help.”

  “You mean that?”

  “Absolutely, which reminds me, one of those brave girls is sorely in need of medical attention.”

  “Finley? I heard. How’s she doing?”

  “Running a fever and needs proper care. Is there anyone around to help her?”

  “Everyone left town long ago.”

  “Okay, well, I’m going to need to take her somewhere and I’m going to need fuel.”

  “Oh, that won’t be a problem. Billy had stores of gasoline stashed away as well, right across the street at the old quickie mart. He put the gas down in the underground tanks and covered the access with a bulldozer.”

  Winters walked out into the lobby and looked through the big glass window at the bulldozer. “Not a bad way to guard against theft.”

  “You probably have the keys,” said Grant.

  “I do?”

  “You killed him and took his truck, right?”

  Winters nodded.

  “They’re probably on that key ring.”

  Winters wasn’t sure where the keys were but figured Collette knew since she was the last one to drive it. He said his goodbyes to everyone after getting assurances they were going to divide the food with everyone. He got back in his van and gave one more wave to everyone as he pulled out of the parking lot.

  He drove back to the hideout and found Billy Gamble’s truck sitting in the driveway. He walked inside the house and began looking around for the keys. Not finding them, he went back to the bedroom to find the air much cooler than before. He looked around and found Collette’s jeans crumpled on the floor. He picked them up and felt the keys in the back pocket. They jingled as he pulled them out, which made the girls stir.

  “Hey,” said Laney, as she opened her eyes.

  “Hey,” Winters answered quietly.

  “I’m awake too,” said Collette.

  “Sorry about that,” said Winters.

  “No, I’ve been awake for a bit,” said Collette.

  “Me too,” said Laney.

  Collette sat up and ran her hand through her short black hair. The disheveled hair began to stand back up the more she fussed with it. She stretched her back as Laney sat up as well. Her
light brown hair was also in dire need of a brush as she flung it away from her face.

  “How’s our baby sister,” asked Collette.

  “In need of a doctor, I’m afraid.”

  “What are we gonna do?” asked Laney in a concerned tone.

  “Take her to Winnipeg.”

  “Oh? When are we gonna leave?” ask Laney.

  “We?” asked Winters.

  “Of course, silly,” said Collette, putting her arm around Laney. “You’re not gonna take our baby sister to Canada without us.”

  Laney threw out her chest. “Not gonna happen, Mister Winters. You’re not done with us yet.”

  Winters sat down on the bed and cocked his head. “Thought for sure, I was.”

  Collette turned her head to Laney. “Isn’t he just a silly-boy?”

  “The silliest.”

  Winters laughed to himself at their attitudes. They were acting like the teen girls that they really were and not the jaded adults they had been forced to be. The relief of not having to prostitute themselves lifted a heavy burden from their shoulders. So much so that they didn’t seem to be at all bothered by what they had done last night, and in light of all the killings, that was powerful.

  He watched them embrace each other and give him pouty looks. Winters, of course, was going to let them come to Canada with him. It would help Finley to have her friends with her.

  “I suppose you could come along.”

  “Yes,” they both replied while shaking their shoulders around in a dance.

  “We’ll leave tonight. It’s an eleven-hour trip, so think about what you’ll need and tell your families.”

  “Do we take the guns?” asked Laney.

  Winters got up and gave them a serious look. “We go everywhere armed.”

  “Yes, I love it,” exclaimed Laney, throwing out a fist.

  Chapter 52

  Sarnia Ontario

  The guards brought food and a deck of cards to the warehouse hours ago but hadn’t given Scar any answers to his questions. He didn’t want them to think he was alarmed, but the hours had dragged by and nothing was happening. The more time that flew by, the more obvious it became as to why they were there. He was grateful the cops didn’t handcuff them whenever they took a trip to the bathroom. So far, none of them had seen a clear opportunity to overpower the guards whenever they made the trip. Even Bassett commented the two guards left themselves more space than before. They would have to get creative if they were going to have any kind of a chance to escape.

  Scar got up and stretched his legs trying to work out the kinks. Staying in this small room didn’t bode well for him, and he ached to get outside for some fresh air. He had hoped to see Sergeant Wilson to try to reason with him, but so far, he hadn’t shown up. He figured Wilson had made some phone calls on the sly and was probably waiting to hear back or was trying to negotiate a time and place. Scar didn’t know who would be in charge of something like this but figured it had to be someone in Washington D.C., which meant it would take a while. This would work in their favor as they had already decided they should try to escape here, figuring they had a better chance than if they were handed over to the National Police. It was going to be dark soon, and it seemed they were staying the night here. These were not the greatest facilities to be holding prisoners, which cemented the fact Wilson was doing this under his superior’s noses. There was no other explanation for the relocation and never being booked. The garage door started to open and soon they could hear a truck pulling into the warehouse.

  “Hmm, wonder if that’s for us?” asked Burns.

  “Oh, it’s for us alright,” sneered Nordell, “Question is, are we going out dead or alive?”

  Scar shot him a glance. “So, much for optimism.”

  Nordell shrugged his shoulders. “Lost that hours ago.”

  A loud thud hit the cement floor, which echoed throughout the empty warehouse and gave the men pause as they tried to figure out what it was.

  Nordell let out a scoff. “I know what that is.”

  Burns looked doubtful. “Do ya?”

  “Cots. We’re spending the night in comfort boys.”

  They let out a collective laugh since they all had experience sleeping on cots.

  A key was inserted into the door and unlocked it before a cop pulled it open. A cop brandishing a shotgun ordered them up against the wall. The four prisoners moved toward the wall and watched another officer carry four cots into the room.

  Burns gestured at Nordell.

  “I know my cots,” grinned Nordell.

  “Excuse me, but how long are we gonna be here?” asked an impatient Scar.

  “One night only,” said the shotgun-toting cop.

  “And then?” asked Scar.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be out of here in the morning.”

  Scar didn’t like the sound of that but didn’t think he’d get anymore answers from this guy, so instead, he asked for something else to eat.

  “How’s a pizza sound?” asked the cop.

  Everyone’s eyes lit up and began arguing over the ingredients.

  “Despite all of this,” said Bassett, “pizza sounds pretty damn awesome.”

  “I’m with ya,” said Burns. “I can’t remember the last time I had pizza.”

  Bassett’s easy expression hardened. “Besides, we’re gonna need to keep our strength up when we escape tonight.”

  All eyes shifted to Bassett waiting for him to continue.

  “These cots have nice metal square bars that we can use to scrape through the drywall.”

  Scar considered this for a moment. “Nothing on the other side of this wall is there?”

  “Just more dead space between it and the outer wall,” said Bassett moving to the corner of the room. “Last time I hit the head, I noticed the guard’s table was not positioned where they could see the other side of this wall completely. So, if we burrow right about here, we can squeeze between the studs easily enough.”

  Nordell patted Bassett’s back. “Corporal, you’d have made a great Marine.”

  Bassett accepted the compliment.

  “We’ll do a recon later tonight and decide on our approach,” said Scar.

  It took about an hour before the pizza showed up but was well worth the wait. It was a deep dish Chicago style pizza, and they praised the chef. They devoured it in a matter of minutes and couldn’t compliment it enough. The cops had been gracious enough to get them brownies and cold sodas as well. Bassett had been right, the pizza was awesome and put everyone in a better mood.

  They let their stomachs settle while resting on the cots before they did another recon. After everyone used the bathroom, the one thing they all noticed was the two cops were now busy playing video games on a laptop. The faint sound of explosions and gunfire from the video game traveled through the empty building. The guys stood still and tried to hear it in their makeshift cell, but only Basset was able to.

  “Oh, to have such young ears again,” said Nordell.

  “They do come in handy,” said Bassett. “Don’t worry, once we bust through this wall, you’ll be able to hear ‘em.”

  Nordell rolled his eyes.

  “If they keep playing the game then I think we could rush them,” said Burns.

  “The element of surprise will give us at least two extra seconds if not more,” said Nordell. “Bassett, you and Burns should take the lead, you’re faster than me or Scar.”

  Bassett looked at Burns and gave him a fist-bump.

  “These metal posts should come in handy as well,” said Nordell, picking up a folded cot.

  Scar sat back listening to them. He now understood why Winters allowed the men to hash things out before making a final decision. It allowed you to consider everything before locking yourself into a position. He was glad he didn’t have to worry too much about these guys planning an operation. Everyone here knew what they were doing especially Nordell, who had the most experience.

  After they fin
ished, they all looked at Scar for approval.

  Scar nodded. “Let’s get to it.”

  Nordell and Burns began to tear apart one of the cots and then started to scrape through the drywall. It didn’t take too long before they tore through the first layer exposing the studs, which were spaced twenty-four inches apart. They had just started on the outer wall when they heard the garage door open and a vehicle drive in. The men froze realizing there was drywall laying all about.

  Chapter 53

  Port Huron Michigan

  The streets of Port Huron looked as eerie as all the other empty streets Meeks traveled through over the past few months. He could never get used to the stark emptiness with overgrown lawns encroaching into every area that wasn’t paved. Trash always blew about or was stuck in trees and there was always burned down houses. This town was no different, although he could sense people still lived in the area. It would be easy to cross into Canada via the St. Clair River and bring supplies back home. Of course, if it was so easy, then why was Scar in trouble?

  The five-vehicle convoy pulled through the streets and headed to the garage Hadley had used with Scar’s team.

  “Right here,” said Hadley.

  Reese hit the brakes on the big Suburban. The rest of the convoy pulled in behind them.

  “Alright, let’s check it out,” said Meeks.

  Hadley was the first one to reach the garage and pulled open the door. He walked toward the back and found the weapons. After removing them, Meeks pulled out a map of the city and spread it on the hood of the squad car. During the drive, he had decided who he wanted on which teams. Despite the fact it would take only Reese to watch the garage, he wasn’t going to have anyone not partnered with someone else, so he would have Amber stay with her. He gave out the other assignments based on experience and who had typically worked together. Badger would stay with him, while Hadley and Hollis would scout out a sharpshooter position. He dropped Eddie Perlee and Taylor’s old friend Harris down the river about a mile to watch the shoreline and a couple more to keep watch up on the interstate. He wanted a heads up on anyone moving in or out of the city.