The Shadow Patriots Box Set 2

by Warren Ray

  The glassy eyes stared at her while she turned toward Scar and waved a hand in the air. He returned the wave so she scanned the area looking for Reese. She spotted her in a prone position when she gave her the okay sign. Relieved, Amber jumped into the car and floored the pedal to pull up next to Reese. This effectively blocked any fire directed toward Reese, but she had now become a target herself. She crawled over the center console as bullets began pelting the car.

  “Tell me again why I wanted to come?” asked Reese as she opened the passenger door to help Amber escape.

  “Damn good question, sweetie.”

  “Thank God you got here when you did. Their aim was definitely improving.”

  Amber stood in a squatted position and scanned the area to assess the situation. Burns was just getting to Bassett, but wouldn’t have a good line of sight to the remaining three cops.

  Amber turned to Reese. “It’s up to us.”

  Reese knew the score and nodded. They were only fifty feet away from the enemy and now had protection to hide behind while firing. Reese moved to the back of the car while Amber took the front. They had to wait for the enemy fire to subside before retaliating. When the rounds that were hitting the big car finally stopped, Reese yelled to Amber while rising up and applied pressure to the trigger. She swept the M4 back and forth while in full auto. Rounds exploded into windows and one of the cops fell dead. Reese emptied the mag and squatted back down. Amber then jumped up but was more methodical with short and measured bursts.

  Reese ejected her spent magazine and fished out another before Amber finished firing. She rose up again keeping her finger on the trigger guard while looking for another target. Not finding any, she counted the bodies. They were all dead.

  “Damn girl, you took out the last of them.”

  “Did I? I thought there was another one.”

  “Nope, I already got him.”

  Amber yelled to Bassett and Burns. “That’s it!”

  She moved over to Reese and wrapped her arms around her thankful she was not killed. They weren’t ready for this kind of battle and were lucky to have come out alive. Had Scar or Eddie not shown up when they did, they would have more than likely been killed. Reese began to shake from the cold as the adrenaline started to wear off. Amber began to shake in rhythm with her. That and the sudden tension release created a situation so silly they began to laugh hysterically.

  “Aren’t we a pair,” cracked Reese.

  “Yeah, the polar twins.”

  “More like wet puppy dogs.”

  Headlights broke over the horizon before vehicles came rushing down the street. Amber tensed up but soon realized it was Meeks and Taylor. She then got Reese to the passenger door of the car, helped her in, ran around the other side, started it up and turned on the heater.

  Chapter 66

  Winnipeg Manitoba

  The girls slept as Winters drove over one farmer’s field and into the next thereby entering Canada. He used the same route the Shadow Patriots had been using for the last few months. It was out in the middle of nowhere, and every time they had crossed over he had never seen a single person. The trip north had been uneventful and took just over twelve hours. They stopped a few times for bathroom breaks and to refill the tanks. Finley was still running a fever, and except for being wakened and forced to drink some water slept the whole way.

  A shot of excitement raced through him as he crossed the border because he only had another fifty miles to go before he was able to see Sadie. Her innocence and spirit would be able to flush out any remaining sadness he had for Cara. He hoped his surrogate daughter was getting along well since he’d been gone. General Standish promised to keep her busy and get her back in school. He would spend as much time with her as he could during his short visit.

  He looked down at Laney, who was leaning on Collette, who leaned against a pillow. They’d been sleeping since their last stop a few hours ago. Winters hadn’t discussed with them whether or not they wanted to stay in Canada. Life would be easier for them if they stayed, but if they wanted to go home he’d be more than happy to drop them off before heading back to Jackson.

  He looked in the mirror at the van behind him. The morning rays bounced off the windshield, but he could see Collette’s mom, Stacey, driving it. Despite her general negativity, she had been a big help in caring for Finley. Had it not been for her, Finley might not have made it. This gave him pause, as he feared losing another girl, especially this one. Finley would always hold a special place in his heart as the one who started his healing process. She broke through his melancholy and wrapped her positive spirit around him. You couldn’t help but want to listen to her non-stop chattering about nothing. Not only was it entertaining, but also distracting, which was what he needed, especially with what he was going through and what he was doing that night. She helped him forget about Mister Hyde and the problems associated with that inner demon. Killing all those people and having him come out to play would not have been a good thing. A shiver shot through him thinking about the affect it would have had. He would not have had the patience to wait on the guy holding Collette hostage. No doubt, he wouldn’t have taken a chance and would have shot them both just to be done with it. Had that happened, then the guys holding Laney and Finley would have killed them. He shook his head at the thought of their innocent blood on his hands. He would have given up any remains of his sanity to Mister Hyde and never look back.

  The base came into sight, and Winters poked Laney on the shoulder. She opened her eyes and sat up, which woke Collette. They both stared out the window while rubbing their faces.

  “How long were we sleeping?” asked Laney.

  “Hmm, a few of hours.”

  “Wow, I really needed that,” said Collette, running her hand through her short black hair.

  “Wait, are we here?” asked Laney.

  “We are,” said Winters as he pulled up to the gated entrance of the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. It was an expanded base, housing both British and Canadian air and ground forces. He recognized the guard on duty and rolled down the window. “Morning Sergeant, Cole Winters with the Shadow Patriots to see General Standish. I also have a girl in the van behind me with a gunshot wound.”

  The sergeant hurried back inside the guardhouse and made a phone call.

  “Don’t they know you?” asked Laney.

  “Yes, but they still have to get permission. It’ll just take a second.”

  “Sir, the infirmary is waiting for you, and Colonel Brocket will meet you there.”

  “Thank you, Sergeant.”

  The sergeant saluted as Winters pulled through the gate. He knew where the hospital was having been there many times. Seeing the building reminded him that Murphy was still here recovering from the gunshot wound he’d received in the sandpit after they rescued Reese and the other girls from the party house.

  He pulled around the building and into a parking spot. He then hopped out and directed Stacey to pull the van to the emergency entrance. A couple of orderlies came out with a stretcher and opened the back door where they moved Finley to the stretcher and carried her inside. The rest of the van passengers followed the stretcher leaving Winters with the girls out in the parking lot.

  They approached Winters, who motioned them toward the entrance. They walked inside and found everyone standing in a waiting room talking to a doctor. The doctor finished reassuring Debbie that her daughter was going to be just fine.

  Debbie approached Winters. “Thank you for doing this.”

  “Thankfully, we had a place to go to.”

  She nodded and turned back to her youngest daughter just as Colonel Brocket came around the corner.

  “Captain Winters, it’s good to see you,” said Brocket with his British accent.

  “Colonel Brocket,” said Winters, as he grabbed the outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake.

  “I see you came here under duress.”

  “As always.”


  “Indeed, Captain.”

  Winters introduced Brocket to everyone and gave him a brief account. Brocket welcomed them and extended all the courtesies the base had to offer. He then had his assistant escort the moms with their kids to the hospital cafeteria to get something to eat.

  Brocket turned to Winters. “General Standish will be available later this afternoon if you’d like to rest up beforehand.”

  “I would, thank you and I have much to report.”

  “I look forward to hearing it, Captain. In the meantime, you know your way around here, why don’t you take these two young ladies to the big cafeteria. It sounds like they’ve earned a spot at the table.”

  “They have, sir. Believe me, they have.”

  Brocket turned to the girls and shook their hands before excusing himself.

  Laney grabbed Winters’ arm. “What’s the big cafeteria? What does he mean by earning a spot?”

  “He means you’ve fought in a battle and deserve to eat among warriors.”

  “Whoa, I love it,” said an astonished Laney.

  “Are you really a captain?” asked Collette.

  Winters got a kick out of their excitement. “C’mon let’s go.”

  “Yes sir, Captain,” giggled Collette.

  “Please, just call me, Cole.”

  “But he called you, Captain. Aren’t you a captain?” reasoned Laney.

  “Not officially, but the guys in the Shadow Patriots chose to give me that title.”

  “So, you really are a captain then,” protested Laney.

  “I suppose so.”

  Collette grabbed Winters’ other arm. “You need to stop being so humble. I like that you’re a captain.”

  Winters shook his head as he led the chatty girls down the hallway and over to the cafeteria. They stopped chattering when they saw how big the place was and the hundreds of service men and women milling about.

  Winters looked at the girls. “Pretty cool isn’t it.”

  “Wow, this is amazing,” gasped Collette.

  He led the girls inside and noticed some of the soldiers giving him nods as they walked by. Most of the personnel knew who he was and what he was doing in the states. They also knew that if he was escorting these two girls, that they, too, were somehow involved. They had a strict protocol on who was allowed to eat in there. Everyone else ate in one of the other cafeterias. Winters recognized a few of the men who trained him and his fellow Shadow Patriots. They greeted him and said hello to the girls as they walked by. The girls were out of their element and didn’t know how to act.

  “Do they all know you?” asked Laney.

  “Not everyone, but I think most do. Those men who just said hello, they’re the instructors who trained us.”

  Winters got them in line and grabbed a tray for each of them. He watched their eyes grow wide looking at all the food that was before them. They hadn’t seen this much food in a long time and they couldn’t help but take a helping of everything. He found them seats, and they sat down to begin devouring their food. They giggled in ecstasy tasting all the different morsels.

  Some of the service personnel smiled as they watched the girls relish their meals. It must have been an odd sight to see if you didn’t know the girls’ background. Winters knew it and knew how much this meant to them. They had earned a spot at the table and were taking full advantage.

  Chapter 67

  Washington D.C.

  Too anxious to get to work, Major Green skipped his morning jog and headed in early. He wanted to survey the damage to the garage and be there in case there were any phone calls from Lawrence Reed. He didn’t get much sleep last night thinking about everything that had happened and how they were able to pull off such an important mission. They had just turned the world Reed lived in upside down. No longer would he believe everyone feared him. Not only were people conspiring against him but even his biggest benefactor, Gerald Perozzi, was now an enemy. Word would get around the district that he was no longer a power broker, and this would drive the man crazy.

  What would be his first move? Would he be reactionary or more patient and put things into place first? Would he attempt to pull off a similar attack on Perozzi? He’d sanctioned many murders in the past, but this would be different because Perozzi maintained a formidable security team. Stormy reported how quickly and professionally they had moved in when Wagoner tried to arrest her. It wouldn’t be easy to get to Perozzi, which is why he was glad it would be Reed. Besides being involved in the bombings of cities, the man ordered the killing of a United States Senator and made it look like an accident.

  Green turned onto the street where his parking garage was located and entered it. The first thing he noticed was that nothing was out of place. There was no crime scene cordoned off and his bullet-ridden van was gone. Green parked his car and headed down the ramp to the office building entrance. Everything looked normal. Green kneeled down looking for any traces of blood from the bodyguard’s wounds and found nothing. He looked at the walls where rounds had hit. All the bullet holes were gone. Someone spread new concrete over the holes and then repainted the whole wall the dark gray that matched all the other walls. It was as if nothing happened. Green pulled open the door and let out a guff realizing that Reed was a calculating man. He was going to pretend as if everything was okay and act like the shooting never happened. This would give him an advantage he already possessed but just didn’t know it. He was doing this to make Perozzi think nothing happened when in reality, Perozzi didn’t know that anything had happened. Green forced himself to control his facial expressions realizing this was even better than he could imagine. The only thing Perozzi would be thinking about was Reed was how he had tried to have Stormy arrested for some petty revenge play. Perozzi had to be happy about that because his interference made him look like a big hero. The only thing he had on his mind was getting her into bed. Unbeknownst to him, she was no longer going to work there, which would further increase his anger with Reed.

  Green entered his office and hung up his jacket. He sat down and smiled at the blinking light on his phone. He reached over and dialed up his voicemail to hear the message.

  “Major, this is Lawrence Reed. I want you to do me a favor and not mention to anyone what happened last night. It’s a matter of utmost importance that you do this. I know I can count on you, and we’ll talk in the near future.”

  Green leaned back in his chair curious as to what Reed was planning. He could only imagine the things he was putting in place at this very moment. He was going to make a play all right but it wasn’t going to be anytime soon. Green decided that Reed was more calculating than reckless and wouldn’t just fly off the handle. He couldn’t wait to get out to Manassas and report to everyone. They had decided for the sake of operational security that no one would contact any of the others in case their phones were tapped or they were being followed. Besides wanting to report in, he also wanted to see Stormy and check on how she was doing. He realized he had become more attracted to her when he saw her taking down Perozzi’s hired man. The way she jumped up and brought him to the ground was astonishing. Then watching the excitement flow out of her afterward and how thrilled she was had turned him on. Not only could she handle herself, but she also relished the fight. You didn’t meet this kind of girl every day or ever.

  Green got up and made a pot of coffee hoping his attraction wouldn’t get in the way as they pursued a victory against Perozzi and Reed. He sat down in the chair and watched the water drip into the glass decanter. He’d have to keep his emotions in check so he could keep his head clear. Now was not the time to allow any kind of distractions to get in the way of their pursuit of taking down this phony government. Nothing was more important than re-establishing a government by the people and for the people.

  He poured the coffee and sat back down before taking a sip. The coffee was strong and it reminded him of the coffee he shared yesterday morning with Stormy. Try as he may, he couldn’t help thinking about her again. He
smiled thinking how her place was a mess and reflected the way she was now living. Hectic and exciting. It made him realize it was the same for him. On the edge and taking chances. He took another sip of coffee and from the window he looked across Lafayette Park. Joggers were beating the path racing toward some imaginary finish line. His finish line was clear, but the path was full of obstacles still unseen. They had just hurdled over the biggest obstacle. Now they would have to wait and see what happens next.

  Chapter 68

  Winnipeg Manitoba

  After finishing the food on their trays, Collette and Laney patted their stomachs a few times comparing who had the biggest. Neither of them had even seen this much food in a long time and couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces.

  Winters laughed at their silliness. Then he heard a high-pitched voice coming from the entrance of the cafeteria. His eyes grew knowing whom it belonged to. He twisted around to see one of the instructors pointing his way.

  “Cole,” Sadie yelled as she came running over.

  Winters’ face lit up and he pushed away from the table to stand up.

  Sadie charged in and jumped into his waiting arms. “You’re here.”

  He squeezed her tight for a few moments soaking in all her excitement before letting her go.

  “Why are you here? Where is everybody? How long you have been here?”

  “I just got here and needed to get these girls fed before I came to see you.”

  Sadie looked over at the girls and as always took the initiative to introduce herself.

  She held out her hand first to Laney. “Hi, I’m Sadie.”

  Laney looked at Collette before standing up. “Oh my God, she is so cute.” Instead of grabbing her hand, she gave her a big hug. “I’m Laney and I’ve heard all about you and couldn’t wait to meet ya.”

  Collette came around the table and did the same. “You are just too adorable, I’m Collette.”