The Shadow Patriots Box Set 2

by Warren Ray

  “You see anything, Eric?”

  “No, man,” said the cop, now standing right above Reese.

  She nodded remembering the name. She didn’t know all their names but remembered their faces.

  “Maybe we should shut the lights off,” said another cop.

  Eric looked down at the shoreline.

  Reese’s eyes grew wide when the cop noticed something didn’t look right. He stared right at her but was unable to figure out what it was. Reese tightened her grip on the Colt M4 when he went for a flashlight on his belt.

  The cop turned the light on. “What the hell?”

  Reese sprang up pointing the rifle at him and pulling the trigger. The M4 was in single shot mode, but the one round was all it took to bring him down. It hit him right in the gut and he cried out in pain. Reese took a quick look at him to see he wasn’t going anywhere. She flicked the switch to full auto just as Amber jumped up and started spraying the squad car to her left. Reese took the car to her right and found an exposed cop, but she was too late and he dropped to the grass and scooted out of the way.

  The cops began returning fire, and the girls slid back down into the water. Adrenaline raced through them allowing them to ignore the cold. Bullets whistled by, and a splash of water shot up in front of them. All the while the wounded cop continued to scream out in pain.

  Reese wanted a moment with him to let him know who was about to kill him. She shook her head realizing that was Mister Hyde talking, and she no longer wanted any part of him. She raised her weapon and finished him off with a three-shot burst.

  “How many did you get?” asked Amber.

  “Just that one, you?”

  “None. Bastards ducked out of the way.”

  “Where the hell’s our back up?”

  “Good question,” said Amber, as she pulled out the radio. “Eddie, where are you?”

  It took a few seconds before he returned. “Hold tight, we’re running as fast as we can?”

  Amber shook her head at Reese knowing they’d have to hold tight for at least another five minutes, which in a gun battle was an eternity. She rose up and fired a three round burst taking out the headlights. “Take those out.”

  Reese nodded and shot out both lights blinding the enemy and giving them a slight advantage with their night-vision optics. It wasn’t much, but they’d take what they could get. The cops still knew where they were.

  “I don’t wanna, but we need to get further out,” said Reese.

  “Yep.”

  The further they waded into the water the more the current tugged at them. They only dared to go waist deep, which put them about twenty feet away from the shore. They moved out far enough to see the cops had opened their doors and were now using them as cover. If they opened fire now, they’d give away their new positions. Muzzle flashes began to appear and rounds ripped into the shore where they had just been. The cops began using automatic weapons and took turns firing a wide swath. Rounds started splashing in front of them again.

  Reese shook her head at what they had to do. “Go, Amber, we’ve got to flank them.”

  Amber nodded and floated down the river.

  Chapter 63

  Burns pointed the eighteen-foot skiff toward the American shore and was fifty feet out when they noticed headlights shining across the water. Scar ordered Burns to come in a little south so they could sneak in to see who it was. No sooner had he altered course than muzzle flashes appeared. They assumed cops had snuck up on Hadley.

  “We’ve got two returning fire,” yelled Bassett.

  “Can’t be Hadley then,” said Nordell, “unless he’s got help.”

  Everyone stared at the shore when the return fire started lighting up the sky.

  “It’s more than one cop,” said Bassett.

  “They must be out looking for us,” said Nordell.

  Scar turned to Burns. “Can’t this thing go any faster?”

  “This is it.”

  Scar took a deep breath trying to calm down. This wasn’t an ideal situation as they didn’t have a lot of weaponry unless their stash was still in the garage. They weren’t even sure which ones were the bad guys. They would be there in a few more minutes and he needed to figure out what to do with Quinn. Should he just let him go now or make him wait until they had more intel? Despite the help he had been giving then, he still didn’t trust him.

  The shore was about seventy-feet away when a barrage of gunfire fired echoed across the river. Whoever it was, wasn’t taking any chances.

  Burns landed the boat at a pier about a thousand feet from the gun battle. Bassett hopped out first, followed by Nordell, who motioned at Quinn.

  “Tie the bastard up,” said Nordell, “we’ll come back for him.”

  Scar looked around and found a small tree to use. He ordered Quinn over to it and then used his own handcuffs on him.

  “But you said you’d let me go.”

  “I will, just as soon as we figure out what this is.”

  Bassett tapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back.”

  They started toward the gun battle to find it was cops firing from behind their cars. Scar led the way keeping low to the ground as they got closer. He looked out over the water but couldn’t see who the cops were shooting at. It had to be Hadley, but why were there two shooters?

  They were about five hundred feet away when something in the water caught Scar’s attention. He froze while throwing his hand up motioning to the water. He pointed the Sig Sauer he had confiscated from the cops. He squinted his eyes and watched a shadow come out of the water. It was too dark to make out who it was, but the person squatted down and started walking toward the gun battle.

  Bassett grabbed Scar’s arm. “That looks like Amber.”

  “You sure?”

  “I’d know that figure anywhere,” smiled Bassett.

  Scar cupped his hands to his mouth. “Amber.”

  The shadow stopped walking before turning around and recognizing her friends through the goggles. “I’ll be damned.” Amber ran to them. “Hell, am I glad to see you guys.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Amber gave them a quick rundown. “Reese is flanking the other side. She’s got two to deal with.”

  Scar looked at the soaking wet Amber and figured her energy was drained. No telling how tired Reese was and if she’d be able to hold up. Scar asked for her radio and called out to Meeks. He didn’t pick up, which meant he was being held up.

  “Bassett, take the goggles, I want you to go around and catch up to Reese. We’ll take out this one.”

  “You got it.

  Amber took off the goggles and handed them to Bassett, who fastened them around his head in quick fashion before disappearing in the darkness.

  The radio came alive and it was Eddie Perlee. “We’re coming in behind you, so don’t shoot us.”

  “Copy that,” said Scar, putting the radio down. “Might as well wait for him before we take this one out.”

  They all turned to wait as Eddie and Harris came running toward them on their last breath.

  Eddie shook Scar’s hand, “Glad to see you’re back.” He looked at Amber, “Sorry we couldn’t get here faster.”

  Amber nodded.

  “Eddie give me those weapons,” said Nordell. “Burns and I will handle this.”

  Nordell grabbed the M4’s and handed one to Burns. “C’mon, let’s take this idiot out.”

  They ran toward the cop who was now using a flashlight to search the river. Nordell raised his weapon before Burns did and pulled the trigger. He continued to fire until he got within a few yards of the cop. Bullets slammed into the cruiser killing the cop who fell backward.

  The cops from the other squad car began to fire at them just as Nordell and Burns reached the car for safety. Burns leaped up and fired a quick three round burst before ducking back down. Nordell followed him and did the same, suppressing the enemy fire.

  “This is fun,” smirked
Nordell.

  “Never a dull moment around you, Gunny,” said Burns rising back up to fire again. As he came back around, he noticed lights coming toward them in the distance. “Looks like they’ve got back up.”

  Nordell took a quick look. “Oh good, more idiots to kill.”

  Burns let out a chuckle. “It’s one way of looking at it, let’s just hope it’s not all of them.”

  “The more the merrier.”

  Four more squad cars came in fast, and they formed a formidable line facing them. Car doors opened up and they immediately started shooting at them.

  “We’re gonna need a lot more ammo,” said Nordell.

  “You suppose Eddie or Amber have any?”

  “If they don’t, we’re screwed.”

  A barrage of gunfire pelted the squad cars flattening the tires and breaking the glass into spider web designs. The night erupted into strobes of light as deafening gunfire echoed throughout the area.

  Chapter 64

  Instead of putting weight on her bad leg and walking through the water, Reese began to swim. It would be faster and she wouldn’t have to rely on the leg. She should never have come on this operation. She had become a liability and she would disappoint Amber. She shook the negative thought out of her head. “You can do this.” The current was working against her, but she was a good swimmer. She’d done hundreds of laps in a cold high school pool. She pushed forward concentrating on her breathing and strokes. She just needed to go a little bit further.

  She had two targets to take out and wanted to be in a perfect position before opening fire. She’d only have one chance, and if she failed she’d be exposed, out in the open with nothing to hide behind. The cold water drained her energy as she began wading toward the shore. The numbness in her injured leg actually made it feel better. She began to walk but noticed her movements were slower. She drew in a few deep breaths and dug down deep to push forward. She remembered her track coach always yelling at her. His voice became crystal clear in her mind, “Reese Saxby, don’t you give up on me, don’t you give up on yourself. You finish what you started, you hear me, Saxby?” “Yes, coach, I hear ya.” “Good, you’re almost there, now dig deep and keep pushing.”

  She reached the dry ground and shuffled forward before getting on her stomach. She stared at her targets while they exchanged fire from the other cop car. She figured Eddie finally made it to them. “Thank God. But, you still have a job to do.”

  She took a few moments to line up her shots. The two remaining cops were exposed and had their back to her. One turned around and she recognized him. He’d been with her on a couple of occasions and always had alcohol on his breath. Gin was his choice of drink, and it always made her sick to her stomach. The memory of it would forever turn her away from Gin. She was just about to pull the trigger when car engines came screaming down the street on her six. Her muscles tightened at the sight of more cop cars. She had no choice but to roll back to the river. She rolled over on her back. The M4 cradled protectively in both hands and then kept rolling to until she hit the water. Again, the icy water hit her senses all at once as she rolled face first into the water. She stroked further away from shore and let out a big gasp as four squad cars blew past her.

  The squad cars slid into position. Each held two cops, which meant she now had ten cops to deal with. She wasn’t a bad shot, it’s just that she wouldn’t have enough time to take them all out before being spotted and her mobility wouldn’t allow her to bounce around.

  She continued to watch them while trying to come up with a solution when she noticed a figure out on the street waving at her. “Was that Eddie?” Whoever it was, he was looking right at her. She raised her arm out of the water and returned the signal. He motioned her to go up the river.

  A new rush of excitement exploded through her and she found the energy to keep swimming. She kept her eyes toward the shore to watch the figure moving with her. She was finally far enough away from the cops to come out of the water. It dripped from her clothing as she reached the shore and Bassett came walking toward her.

  “Out for a leisurely swim tonight?” he said as he extended his hand to help her out of the water.

  “Yeah, waiting for you losers. What the hell?”

  “Trust me, long story.”

  Reese let out a sigh of relief. “So, what do we do?”

  “We can’t have these guys chasing us all the way back to Jackson. Can you walk?”

  “My legs are so damn cold they’re numb. I can hardly feel ‘em, so yeah.”

  “Okay, let’s get closer. We’ll start on those guys on the far end and work our way down the line.”

  Not wanting to let Bassett down, Reese ignored the numbness as they charged across the field. If nothing else, she could at least cover him while he went hunting. It was something he was good at even if he didn’t have his tactical tomahawk. He had a knife, the element of surprise and night-vision optics.

  Reese stayed behind him as they circled wide to the furthest squad car. Those two cops had a good line of sight to Nordell and Burns and kept them pinned down. However, the angle of their car would allow Bassett to take them out without warning the others.

  “Stay here,” ordered Bassett.

  He streaked toward the cops with a knife in one hand and the confiscated Colt C8 carbine strapped across his back. Reese darted her eyes to the cops on the left making sure they didn’t spot Bassett. He came in on the far side without being seen and wrapped his arm around the first target before slashing his throat with a knife. The cop collapsed to the ground as Bassett twisted around and plunged the knife into the side of the other cop before he even knew he was there. The shocked expression on the face of the cop who she recognized made her form a small smile of victory.

  Bassett ran to the next cop car and repeated the same moves. Two more cops fell to the ground dead. Reese looked to the next squad car and saw that those cops spotted Bassett and were about to fire at him. She took aim and pulled the trigger bringing her target to the ground. This alerted his partner, who opened the car door to use as a shield. Bassett flashed a thumbs up, which Reese ignored realizing she just exposed her position.

  A few bullets zipped past her from one cop before the others joined in. A round kicked up dirt in front of her. She rose up on her left knee, snapped the M4 up to her shoulder, flipped the selector to fully automatic, and began raking the squad cars back and forth with suppression fire.

  She then fell into a roll and kept rolling, desperate to get away from her compromised position. Rounds whistled a greater distance off to the side as she frantically rolled away. Her ears were ringing from the gunfire and the rolling made her dizzy. She stopped but needed a moment before she could get her head back in the game. Bassett tried to distract the cops with his own volley of suppression fire. It worked for a few seconds before a car engine roared to life and Reese watched in horror as it turned toward her.

  Chapter 65

  The cops assaulted Nordell and Burns with a non-stop hail of gunfire that wouldn’t allow Scar and the rest to get close to them. Errant rounds flew by forcing them to stay down on the ground. Scar grabbed the binoculars from Amber and scooted low to the ground and away from the shore before getting up to survey the situation. He wasn’t focused on the cops but on finding Bassett and Reese. It took a few moments to find Bassett running toward the river to Reese. Scar nodded in satisfaction because the attention would soon be off Nordell and Burns.

  He watched Bassett move like a gazelle leaving Reese to cover him. Scar concentrated on the sound of staccato gunfire, waiting for the tune to change. It didn’t take long before Bassett found his first targets and then two more. Scar swept the glasses over to Reese who emptied a magazine and then rolled away.

  The tune of the gunfire suddenly changed as the cops focused on Bassett and Reese. It was time for his team to move forward. Scar jumped up and ran back ordering everyone to move forward.

  “Tell me you have ammo,” shouted Nordell at
Eddie.

  Eddie and Harris pulled out loaded magazines.

  “They’re concentrating on Bassett and Reese,” said Scar.

  Nordell scowled, “We need to flank their position immediately.”

  Scar gave him a firm nod and then jerked his head up when he heard an engine roar to life. A cop car tore across the grassy field headed toward Reese.

  Nordell rose up and emptied a full mag on the car forcing it to swerve to the right and away from her. It then kept going before spinning around to a stop. Two cops got out and used their new position to box in Reese and Bassett. The cops now had an advantage with their backs to the water.

  “Burns, sweep left,” ordered Scar.

  He grabbed three full magazines before disappearing into the darkness.

  “I’ll go right,” volunteered Amber knowing someone needed to go into the river.

  Scar shot her a concerned look.

  “I’m already wet,” she responded with a slight shrug.

  Scar conceded her point and watched her wade back into the water.

  Amber thought, because she was wet, the cold couldn’t be much worse. She soon discovered she was wrong. By the time she was in to her waist, the water was shooting needles back through her body. It was like having a porcupine quilt wrapped around her. She pushed it out of her mind by kicking her feet and swimming up the river. The current made it difficult and her legs grew heavy by the time she got into position. She was right behind the two cops who leaned on the hood of the squad car shooting at Reese and Bassett.

  The loud gunfire was perfect cover as she crept out of the river dripping water. She kept the rifle butted against her right shoulder as she moved in closer to her targets. The cops looked at each other and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Amber let out a scoff and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered out of the first cop’s head and flew onto the hood of the car. The second cop twisted around, confused as to why they were exposed, and then fell dead amid strobes of muzzle flash. Amber raced in keeping the rifle pressed against her shoulder pointing at her victims.