by Warren Ray
Grace knocked on the door and to say goodnight. Green hadn’t realized it was time to head home and prepare for his meeting tonight in Manassas. He was excited to tell everyone about his idea for some street art around the district. Dwelling on it during the afternoon, he had become even more convinced this would be a great way to show the people that not everyone was afraid of Perozzi or Reed. No doubt, it would become the talk of the town.
Green grabbed his jacket and headed down to the garage. He contained his glee when he smelled the fresh paint while passing through the area where the shootout had occurred. He hadn’t heard from Reed today, but the car Green had driven back was gone.
He pulled into his driveway later than usual because of a traffic jam. He walked inside just as the phone rang.
He picked it up at the same time his mother was reaching for it. “Hello.”
“Major?”
“Yes, it is.”
“It’s Cole. How are you doing?”
Sarah motioned him to put it on speaker so she could listen.
“I’m good, Sir. How about you?”
The question was the opening for their conversation. It started with the Shadow Patriots entering Jackson and ending with him burying his daughter back home. After hearing about her death, Green decided not to tell him everything she had done while in Washington. There was no sense in it, and it wasn’t necessary. Regardless of what she had done, he still lost his daughter. The conversation took nearly thirty minutes for each of them to give the other an update on what they had been doing.
Green said goodbye and stared at his mother.
“That poor man,” said Sarah.
“I can’t imagine going through that.”
“And then to come home and find out what was going on there,” said Sarah shaking her head in disgust.
“It’s almost unbelievable.”
Sarah directed her son to the kitchen for dinner. “Tell me what happened with Reed this morning?”
“Like it never happened,” said Green.
She gave him a confused look, so Green filled her in on how Reed had the garage cleaned up and painted.
Sarah tilted her head to the side and nodded. “Or that it did happen but was a complete failure.”
Green gave that some thought and nodded in agreement.
“What do you suppose he’s going to do?”
Green shook his head. “Can’t say for sure, but I’m sure he’s shoring up his options.”
“What about Perozzi? What can we do to get him more riled up beside him not seeing Stormy again?”
Green told his mom about his idea for some street art aimed at Perozzi around the district.
A small smile grew bigger the more she considered the impact it could have. “He’d start blaming Reed for not getting it under control.”
“Exactly.”
“All we have to do is find an artist.”
“Yeah, easier said than done.”
“We should go,” said Sarah as she got up and cleared the dishes off the table.
The drive was uneventful, and they arrived just as Sam was getting out of his car.
“Sam cannot wait to meet Stormy,” said Green as he parked the car.
“I’ll bet. If you wait too long, he’ll put the moves on her,” grinned Sarah.
“Mom.”
“I know you like her and I’m sure it’s mutual.”
“Well, I’m not so sure.”
“I’ll watch her and let you know.”
“Now, you’re starting to sound like Sam. He made the same offer.”
“Glad to see he’s got your back,” smiled Sarah.
Green shook his head and stepped out of the car. They greeted Sam before heading inside where the rest of their group anxiously awaited for them.
Sam’s eyes lit up when he saw Stormy getting up off the couch. “You must be Stormy,” he beamed as he approached her with an outstretched hand. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Stormy shook his hand. “Hello, and you’re Sam?”
“I am. I was told how beautiful you are, but the description was sorely lacking.”
“Well, thank you.”
“And I also heard you’re a bit of a badass too.”
A flush swept across her face. “I don’t know about that.”
“No need to be modest,” said Sam. “What you did was awesome.”
Green rolled his eyes and approached them to rescue Stormy from his friend’s flirtatious ways.
Sam backed away while grinning at his friend knowing what he was doing. He then observed the way Stormy leaned in and kissed Green on the cheek. To him, this was evidence the girl had the hots for the naïve major.
Chapter 21
Winnipeg Manitoba
Winters sat alone in Standish’s office having just gotten off the phone with Major Green. He was pleasantly surprised to hear how much progress Green had made in taking down Perozzi and Reed. It was comforting to know he wasn’t alone in this fight and perhaps there was an end in sight.
Winters couldn’t wait to tell the Shadow Patriots what was happening in Washington. The news would help morale knowing others were involved in the war and the participants were important people who could make a big difference. The people Green had enlisted was an impressive group. Some State Department people, a former Assistant Director of the FBI, even a former Senator. These people will have the right contacts to help put an end to Perozzi’s diabolical plan to take over the country.
Winters leaned back in the chair thinking about Green’s fake assassination attempt on Lawrence Reed. That was a gutsy move and had surely put the fear of God into him. And sending those recordings to Perozzi and Reed was a stroke of genius. This had to have them freaking out, which would help force them into making mistakes.
Winters had struggled to report about the death of his daughter but could hear it in Green’s voice that he knew who she was. He had no doubt his daughter was involved with something nefarious in Washington before coming to Michigan. He didn’t press him on it mostly because he didn’t want to know. It no longer mattered anyway. She had paid for her sins, and that was the end of it.
Speaking of daughters, he needed to visit with Sadie, that is if he could pull her away from her new friend. Now that she had someone her own age, he didn’t think she’d be so easy to compete with. Which was perfectly fine with him, it couldn’t be easy, being around a bunch of grownups all the time.
Winters left Standish’s office to find Sadie. After getting no answer at her door, he found her a few doors down in Debbie’s room with her daughter Kayley.
“Come on in,” said Debbie who answered the door.
“Cole!” said Sadie getting up from the floor to hug him.
“Hey, whatcha guys doing?”
“I’m making my Get Well cards for everyone.”
Winters debated on whether or not he should pull her away. She was having fun with her new friend, but he hadn’t had the chance to tell her about Cara yet and didn’t want her to hear it from anyone else.
“Is something wrong?” said Sadie.
“No. I just needed to chat with ya.”
“Why don’t you guys go for a walk,” suggested Debbie.
Sadie grabbed Winters’ hand. “Okay.”
Winters turned to Debbie and mouthed, “Thank you.”
They walked into the hallway and headed outside to an area, which had a couple of picnic tables and benches.
“I’m so happy I’ve got a new friend.”
“I can see that.”
“But I will still miss you when you leave again,” said Sadie as she sat down on the bench.
“I’ll miss you too,” said Winters. He paused for a moment trying to get his thoughts together. He didn’t want her to walk away sad and would try and candy coat it as best he could. “How much do you know about what happened to the girls?”
“Kayley told me that every day they had to be with a different boy. That if they wanted food
, then they had to do it with them.”
Winters looked at her unsure if she knew exactly what “it” was.
Sadie tilted her head. “I know about sex. I know what Reese had to go through and remember, I was almost married off to Mordulfah.”
Winters let out a sigh. “You know Sadie, sometimes I forget how old you really are. You’re still a little girl, but you’ve been forced to grow up.”
“I’m almost twelve.”
“Yeah, twelve going on thirty.”
“But, I still like to sleep with a stuffed animal.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. Listen, I need to tell you the reason why I was able to help the girls. Why I was back home.”
Winters took a deep breath in an attempt to conceal his emotions when he told her. That effort hadn’t worked so well earlier when he told Standish and Brocket. He had choked on the words and could feel the same lump forming in his throat again.
“Are you alright, Cole?” asked Sadie who took a hold of his hand.
Winters bit his lip.
She scooted closer to him.
“Honey, I was back home to bury my daughter, Cara.” Winters blurted the words out as fast as he could and then fought back the tears.
Sadie looked confused for a second. “Wait, you found her?”
Winters nodded.
“And she died?” asked Sadie as tears started running down her cheeks. “Cole, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, really.”
“But how? What happened?”
Winters told her a sanitized version of events but left in the important parts, especially since it concerned Mordulfah, the man who tried to marry her.
Sadie wiped her tears and looked up at Winters. “So, it was like she led you back home, so you could help all those poor girls.”
Winters patted her shoulders. “It’s exactly why I’m okay with it, really. And I don’t want you to be sad about it. Okay? Everything happens for a reason.”
Sadie nodded. “I know. It’s kinda like why I have you in my life. You know, because my mom and dad are dead, so, like, now you’re my new daddy.”
Winters’ heart began to melt as she spoke those words. Although he knew it to be true, hearing her say it meant so much more. He leaned in and squeezed her hard.
“I couldn’t be prouder, being your daddy.”
“And I love that you’re my daddy.”
They embraced for a few more moments then Sadie backed away. “I’m glad you told me the truth.”
“With everything you’ve been through, you deserve the truth.”
“Will this ever end?”
Winters nodded. “At some point, it will. It can’t go on forever.”
“When it’s over, we can all go back to your hometown to live. I’ll have my new friends there. You can marry Reese, and she can be, like, my new mom.”
“That sounds like a great plan,” praised Winters.
Winters escorted Sadie back to her friend with a lightness in his step. The smile he wore didn’t wear off even as he laid down on his bed. She had once again helped to fill a void he didn’t think would be possible to fill a few days ago. It had been devastating to lose his daughter but life goes on, and he had other people counting on him. He needed to get back to his men and get back to work. The people in Jackson were counting on him, and he would deliver the desperately needed supplies.
Chapter 22
Chelsea Michigan
Nightfall finally came, and Scar was ready to rescue Bassett and Meeks. He packed two extra pairs of night-vision goggles and plenty of spare magazines. Scar led the way as they hiked back to Sylvan Road. Like before, Taylor and Amber were accompanying him. He liked having Amber there because, being younger, she had better hearing than him or Taylor.
They reached the road and hid behind bushes to get ready to race across. There were still about fifty Jijis scattered up and down the street in a few groups. However, it was doable without the need of a diversion from Eddie’s team, so he called him and told him to hold off.
The Jijis were enjoying their time away from guarding the interstate for the past week. A few Jijis were walking by their position chatting loud enough that Scar could understand what they were saying.
After they walked by Scar looked both ways and saw the coast was clear. Without having to give an order, Amber and Taylor fell in behind him as he flew across the road and jumped over the chain-link fence that bordered the Proving Grounds.
Safely hidden in the woods, they began moving toward the first of two roads they needed to cross. Scar slowed the pace when they approached the first road where he spotted headlights through the trees. The area was cluttered with large groups of Jijis standing around.
Amber tapped Scar on the shoulder and pointed north.
He nodded.
She then took the lead, followed by Scar and Taylor bringing up the rear. The three of them darted their heads around looking for anything out of place. There was just enough light from the moon for the goggles to enhance their view as they stalked through the woods. After about five hundred feet, Amber started stopping every few yards. She turned her head to listen before taking a few more steps, then froze. Someone was close by.
She moved her head to the right to peek around a tree and finally saw what she had been hearing. Up ahead were two Jijis talking in low tones. She turned to Scar and pointed at them.
Scar let out a shallow breath when he saw them. He still couldn’t hear them but was glad Amber was leading them. Any noise they might have made would have alerted the Jijis. They still wouldn’t be able to see his team in the dark, but if there was enough noise, then they might have started firing their guns blindly.
Nobody moved for a couple of minutes as they waited to see if the Jijis would leave. Taylor gritted his teeth as he was losing his patience. He handed his rifle to Amber and pulled his knife out. She took it and looped the sling around her neck while Scar withdrew his knife as well. They weren’t nearly as fast as Bassett and would have to take these two down at the same time.
They padded toward them like cheetahs stalking prey. Slow and silent. Scar could hear them talking now, but their chatter wouldn’t be loud enough to hide the snapping of a twig.
Just a couple more feet, thought Scar as he angled the blade of his knife. As if they done it a thousand times before, Scar and Taylor pounced in unison. They grabbed the Jijis around their heads while covering their mouths and stabbing their throats. They let go of the bodies and then nodded at each other. Amber came in and handed Taylor his rifle before they continued north.
They traveled a thousand feet north along the road to find it wasn’t as congested up this way. A few cars had headlights on, which forced them to move a little further north to avoid them. It was a hundred and fifty feet across the open road, and it would take Taylor, being the slowest, at least seven seconds.
Amber whispered to Scar that she would guard their six. He tapped Taylor’s shoulder and told him to go when he was ready. They were between two groups, and it took a few minutes before Taylor got up and bolted across the road. Amber followed Scar as they made it to the safety of the trees.
Taylor was breathing rapidly and grabbed Amber’s jacket to stop her.
“Give an old man a second,” he whispered.
“You did alright,” she replied.
“Yeah, right.”
“Badger, I’m serious.”
Scar took advantage of the break and radioed Bassett to tell them they were across the first road.
“Copy. We’ll wait for your signal.”
Scar gave Taylor another minute before he motioned for them to continue. Once again, Amber led the way, and she expertly led them around another group of Jijis who were using flashlights to facilitate their search.
The road Bassett and Meeks were waiting beside was only five hundred yards away, but it took nearly thirty minutes to get there. They finally made it to the next road, and they could see why Bassett decided to stay
put. Jijis were roaming around, and a couple of cars were racing up and down the road.
“You’d think they were celebrating something,” snorted Taylor.
“They don’t get out much,” said Amber.
Scar keyed the radio. “Bassett we’re here. We’re just north of the two dragsters.”
“Roger that. Not too far south.”
“You want me to go get them?” suggested Amber.
Scar thought it was a good idea and gave her the okay. He handed her the bag containing the extra ammo and night-vision goggles.
Amber kept looking both ways while waiting for the right moment. An excited charge shot up her spine at the prospect of operating on her own. Rarely did it happen as she always had at least one partner.
A couple of Jijis peeled away from a larger group and were approaching their position. As she waited for them to pass by, she judged the distance across figuring it was about the same as running to first base. She’d been a speedster back in college when she played softball. She could run to first base in two and a half seconds, but she wasn’t as fast as she used to be.
The two Jijis strolled by carrying weapons on their backs. A bearded one was laughing at something his friend said. He then split off to head to another group on the other side of the road.
Scar turned back the other way just to make sure that side was clear before giving her the all clear. He tapped her on the arm and whispered to go. She got up and started pushing her arms back and forth and pumping her legs as fast as she could. She reached other side of the road in full stride and couldn’t stop when she saw the bearded Jiji in her way.
Chapter 23
Manassas Virginia
Having just rescued Stormy from the clutches of his flirtatious friend, Green sat down next to her on the couch. He then began to give everyone an update on what happened with Reed.
“That sly old fox,” said Gibbs. “He’s playing the long game for sure.”
“But he believed the assassination attempt?” asked Kyle, the younger Gibbs.
Green nodded. “Yeah, I mean it was convincing. You guys did it perfectly. I almost believed it myself after it was all done with. The placement of the bodies was spot on, and you had the right amount of shots fired.”