The Shadow Patriots Box Set 2

by Warren Ray

  She continued to scan the streets before turning back to the river hoping to see a boat crossing the water with Scar and the boys in it. A flashing light to the south caught her attention. She moved the glasses over when she noticed two Canadian police cars cruising the street with their emergency lights flashing. Both were using spotlights to light up the side of the road. A chill ran through her. Were they looking for Scar?

  “Reese, over there,” Amber said pointing south across the water.

  “What is it?”

  “Couple of cop cars.”

  “Let me see those.”

  Amber pulled the strap off her neck and handed the binoculars to Reese. Without using the strap, she looked through them.

  “They’re looking for someone all right.”

  Amber flipped her goggles down while standing up and walking to the shoreline. She scanned the water for any sign of a boat. As she looked across the water, she noticed more flashing lights.

  “Is that another one?”

  “Yep.”

  Amber walked back to Reese, who still sat on the park bench. “I better call Meeks.”

  “Probably a good idea,” said Reese, as she continued staring through the glasses, “these guys are out of their cars now and looking at the water.”

  Amber keyed the radio and reported in.

  “Sounds like our boys might have escaped,” said Meeks.

  “Let's hope so,” said Amber as she sat back down next to Reese.

  “Keep me posted, over.”

  Amber put the radio away just as headlights lit up the darkness behind them on Griswold Street. She grabbed Reese by the arm and pulled her to the ground. “Someone’s coming.”

  Reese spun around on her stomach and pulled her crutch off the bench. She raised the binoculars, but couldn’t see past the bright headlights. Another car came up behind the first one. Both started coming down the street toward them.

  Amber grabbed the radio. “We’ve got company, I repeat, we’ve got company.”

  It took a long agonizing second before Meeks responded. “Who are they?”

  It took a few moments for Amber to figure out who they were. She clicked the button. “Cops and we’re out in the open, we’re busted here.”

  “Stay tight, we’ll get ya help.”

  Amber looked around the wide-open field realizing they had nowhere to go and nothing to use as cover. Running wasn’t an option because of Reese’s leg, but it was too late anyway as the cop cars had gotten to the end of the street and stopped with their headlights pointing their way.

  “We’ll only get one chance at this,” said Reese, pulling back the bolt on the Colt M4 carbine.

  “There’s always the river,” said Amber.

  “Oh God, that’s gotta be cold.”

  “Better cold than dead.”

  Reese turned to her. “I suppose.”

  “Be nice to know how many there are.”

  The two cars began moving again and as they headed toward the water, they began to put some separation between them.

  “C’mon, just spread out a little bit further, please,” said Reese.

  The headlights from the cars now lit up the field on either side of the girls, which left some breathing room. However, they were actually in a worse situation because they were caught in the middle. Consequently, they now had two fronts to control and nowhere to go.

  Chapter 60

  Sarnia Ontario

  Taking Quinn Johnson hostage proved to be a good move because he directed them to where they could pick up another boat. Had they not taken him hostage, they would have wasted precious time only to find their canoe was sunk and risked exposure as the cops would have expected them to go there.

  Bassett continued to drive down Confederation Street before Quinn told him to take a left on the next street.

  “I’ve got a buddy who has a boat.”

  Scar turned in his seat. “Will this buddy of yours let you borrow it?”

  “Yeah, I mean you got guns.”

  Scar let out a scoff. “Let’s get something straight, alright. I don’t want to point a gun at some poor innocent guy. We came over here to buy food for a town that is starving, with money we no longer have. We escaped back there because you forced our hand.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to him, I’m sure it’ll be alright.”

  “Will it hold five people?” asked Burns.

  “Five?” asked Quinn.

  “Yeah, you’re coming with us.”

  “But you said you’d let me go.”

  “Someone has to bring the boat back.”

  “Oh, yes, of course.”

  Bassett slowed down and took a left on Proctor Street. Quinn leaned forward and pointed to the house. “Back it in. There’s a hitch on this thing.”

  An eighteen-foot skiff sat in the driveway. It was nothing fancy and with five people it would be a tight fit. The problem now was finding a place to launch it.

  Scar opened the door and waited for Quinn to get out. “Don’t force my hand, okay?”

  “I won’t.”

  An outdoor floodlight came on and the side door opened up.

  “Quinn, is that you?”

  “Hey, Scottie. How’s it going?”

  “Good, man, how’s it going with you, eh?”

  “Need a big favor from ya.”

  Scottie approached them holding a beer. He looked like he had consumed several before this one and was in a jocular mood.

  “Scottie, these are some friends of mine and they need to get across the river.”

  “Hey,” said Scottie toasting them with his beer, “Americans, huh? You guys want a beer, eh?”

  Scar turned to him. “Wish we could join ya, but we’re kinda in a hurry.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad, but no problem…sure you can use my boot.”

  Scottie's drunken slur made Scar chuckle. “Sure would appreciate it.”

  Burns approached Scottie. “Hey, is there a launch site somewhere close?”

  Scottie took a swig and thought for a moment. “Not if you’re in a hurry.”

  “And if we are in a hurry?”

  “Well heck, just take it down to Chemical Valley and throw it in.”

  Burns turned to Quinn for clarification.

  “It’s down at the end of the street. We can go through the gate and it’ll take us right to the water.”

  “There’s five of ya,” said Scottie swerving his head, “you guys can easily pick her up but be gentle with her.”

  “She got gas in her?” asked Burns.

  “Plenty.”

  “Well, let’s go, boys, times a wasting,” said an impatient Nordell.

  Scar agreed and everyone approached the boat and hooked it up to the trailer hitch. It only took a minute before the boat was secure and they all thanked Scottie, who made a final offer of a beer.

  Bassett eased off the brake to pull out of the driveway and back on Confederation Street. It was only another six blocks before they came to the end of the road and Quinn told Bassett to take a right turn on Christina Street. As soon as he made the turn, they could see a cop car in the distance with its flashing lights on.

  Quinn leaned forward. “That’s one of Wilson’s.”

  “How do you know?” asked Scar.

  “He’s got his lights on, but we haven’t heard anything on the radio, which means he’s still keeping this quiet.”

  Quinn pointed to the left, and Bassett made the turn into a sandpit.

  “Isn’t this where we landed?” asked Burns.

  “Yes.”

  “This is a dumb place for us to be,” said Nordell.

  “No, it’ll be alright,” said Quinn. “Go left here.”

  “Explain,” ordered Nordell.”

  “We’ll be on the other side, it’s more than three hundred yards away from where you landed.”

  The big sand mounds reminded Scar and Burns of their two battles in sandpits. The first one resulted in a couple of hund
red deaths by execution. The sight of gunmen shooting innocent women, children, and the elderly in the back was not an easy thing to handle for any of the Shadow Patriots. They had gotten there too late to prevent it but ended up killing the executioners. It was only a small victory considering all the people who had been murdered in cold blood. It was at that moment when they learned what the National Police were really up to when they came in to clear out a town of its citizens. It was also that day when they saved six girls, including Amber. The other battle was after they rescued the girls from the party house. Both battles resulted in the murder of many innocent lives and forever seared the atrocities of this war in their memories.

  Bassett came to the water’s edge and pulled the car around before backing it up. As soon as he stopped, Scar got out and looked around through the darkness. The white sand grabbed whatever light it could and reflected it off the ground. This was where night vision goggles came in the handiest. With the top of the line optics they had, they could see everything, and it always gave them an advantage over their enemy. General Standish had been gracious in supplying them with the best their military had to offer.

  Burns unhooked the boat and the five of them manhandled it to the water. Burns jumped in the boat and after two tries had it started.

  “Get in, Quinn,” ordered Scar.

  Scar waited for Bassett and Nordell before squeezing into the small skiff. He sat in the back with Burns, who piloted the small craft into the dark waters. The light chop rocked the small boat from side to side.

  Scar leaned toward Burns. “You remember where we were?”

  “Yeah, just up this way,” he said pointing a little north.

  They weren’t but fifty feet away from shore when Bassett shouted out. “We got headlights over there.”

  Scar looked ahead. “Damn it.”

  “More than likely from Detroit,” said Nordell.

  “What about Don?” asked Bassett.

  Scar considered his options. Whether they had Hadley or not, they still needed a vehicle to get back to Jackson. They were going to have to engage with whomever was over there. They didn’t have much in the way of weapons and would have to come in stealth. He turned to Burns. “Come in a little to the south.”

  Burns nodded and steered the boat to the left. Everyone kept their eyes on the headlights, which grew bigger the closer they got. Scar continued to stare across the water when blood rushed to his face as muzzle flashes lit up the night sky followed by the cracking of gunfire.

  Chapter 61

  Port Huron Michigan

  Hearing that cops had shown up where the girls were made Meeks realize they had more to contend with than he initially thought. The ones that drove by earlier hadn’t come back yet. He was sure because he had a pair of spotters watching the bridge, and they reported that no one had crossed back over yet. This meant more cops were in the Port Huron area perhaps because they knew Scar and company had escaped. If that were the case, they’d try to get back across the river by whatever means available, even if it meant swimming. He radioed Eddie, who was a mile from Amber and Reese, to hurry to them. He decided to gather his force and go there himself when his spotter called back.

  “Detroit is crossing, I say again, Detroit is crossing.”

  Meeks grabbed the radio. “How many?”

  “All four.”

  Time slowed down as Meeks realized he wouldn’t be able to help the girls. He threw his hands up at Taylor. “What the hell, Badger.”

  “We can’t chance it,” said Taylor.

  “Damn it.”

  “I know, I know, damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”

  Meeks’ chest tightened as he grabbed the radio. “Alright, everyone, get ready.”

  Taylor wore a scowl on his face. “We’re too far away to help the girls anyway.”

  Meeks nodded trying to convince himself of the same thing.

  They jogged out of the woods and across the interstate to the big snowplows where the rest of the guys were already in place. He chambered a round in his M4 and leaned against the front of the truck. Up ahead he had four guys lying in wait amongst the tall grass with another group behind him. He had assigned each group a sequential target.

  The bridge was just a mile away, which meant the cops would be here in seconds. Meeks took a deep breath when lights broke over the horizon. One of the men shouted they were coming. Meeks patted himself on the back for putting the snowplows on the road. It gave them the perfect hiding spot while forcing the convoy to slow their speed.

  The lead squad car was not Meeks’ assigned target, his was the second car and he fought against all his instincts to not shoot. It flew by and Meeks turned the corner of the truck with his rifle to his shoulder for the second car. He pulled the trigger and muzzle flashes lit up the night as shell casings flew into the air. The magazine emptied and Taylor came around, stepping into the lane shouting as he fired point-blank into the car. The car veered to the right as it slowed down.

  Gunfire continued as all the groups engaged their targets filling the squad cars with lead and killing anyone inside. Meeks slammed a fresh magazine in and came back around because the third car was still coming at them. He grabbed Taylor’s jacket collar and yanked him backward. The third car then crashed into the side of the plow before bouncing away.

  “Damn you, you son of a bitch,” Taylor yelled pulling out an empty mag and throwing in a full one.

  Tires squealed and Meeks turned around, as the paddy wagon drove over the grassy median and onto the opposite lane zooming past them. He raised his rifle up but backed off when he realized he could hit the backend where his friends would be sitting if they were in there. He yelled out when a shot rang out from the top of the roof across the road. Hollis found his target with a single shot into the driver’s window. The van sped up but started to swerve heading back into the median. The driver had lost control and the van flipped over on its side.

  Meeks’ jaw dropped and he ran toward it with his rifle to his shoulder. The way the van flipped, at the speed it was traveling, was going to cause some serious injuries. His friends would have broken bones and concussions. This was the last thing they needed since they were hours away from their doctor in Jackson.

  He approached the van in a cautious manner and looked in the windshield. The dead driver had blood running down his face. A bullet hole in his shoulder bled down his arm. The passenger waved his hand to surrender when Meeks came around holding a gun on him. He then rushed to the back and pulled open the door. Relief swept over him when he found it empty.

  Taylor came running up. “I guess they did get away.”

  “Yeah, I guess they did. I got a live one up front.”

  They circled back around only to find the passenger had died.

  “That’s that,” said Taylor. “We need to get to the girls.”

  Meeks looked at the men as they gathered around. Their job was finished, and they were ready to move out. They ran back to the vehicles, and Meeks hopped into the squad car. He then heard the cops on their radios asking for backup down by the river. Meeks’ face went flush as he realized the girls didn’t have much time.

  Chapter 62

  While watching the water for any sign of Scar crossing in a boat, Amber and Reese had spotted a few Sarnia cops taking an interest in the shoreline. Neither one of them noticed that Detroit cops were approaching from behind. Two squad cars came down Griswold Street and passed by the garage where they stashed their supplies. As soon as the cars reached the end of the street, they started coming across the tall grassy field toward the girls. They had nowhere to go as the cops split up and approached them on either side of their position.

  “Let’s back up,” whispered Amber, as she turned the volume down on the radio before throwing the binoculars back inside the waterproof case and snapping it shut.

  Reese nodded and they began crawling backward into the tall grass while dragging their stuff down a slight decline. The closer they got to th
e river, the sound of splashing water grew louder. It only took a few seconds before the water seeped into her boots, stealing what warmth remained before climbing up her legs. She gritted her teeth as the water started to soak the front of her shirt exploding goose bumps on her skin. It reminded her of when she and Meeks had been on the run and fell into a pond before the rain started. The cold water would make her shake and sap her energy like it did that night. How she and Meeks ever made it out of there was a miracle. She wanted to jump up and empty a magazine into the cars, but she’d be out in the open between the cars and didn’t know how many cops there were. If there was one thing she had learned over the past couple of months, it was to be patient and not to panic. Take a few moments to assess the situation, find out their numbers, and remember you still had the element of surprise.

  Car doors opened and slammed shut while Reese looked at Amber mouthing four cops. She raised her head and looked through the night vision goggles. The car headlights beamed across the water, which kept them in the shadows.

  Reese froze when one cop started walking toward them. She didn’t dare look away for fear of making a sound or moving the tall grass. Reese stared at the approaching cop and recognized him. He had been at the party house and had been with her on one occasion. She remembered he had been quick and didn’t linger too long. It had been early in the evening and he had just gotten started. He was one of the ones who liked to visit as many girls as he could in one night rather than stay with just one or two girls all night. At least he didn’t beat on her like some of them did. She remembered every single one of them and experienced the pleasure of killing several of them. This would be another notch on her belt. She wouldn’t be satisfied until they were all dead. She felt Mister Hyde wanting to come out and play, but she tightened her muscles to contain him while fighting off the shivers that were cascading through her body.

  The cop came closer and was now a mere ten feet away.

  Reese could hear Amber’s rapid breathing. She was fighting off the cold as well, but this would disappear as soon as they opened fire and the adrenaline took over.