by Warren Ray
Everyone stayed in the woods as Scar and Bassett reached the back door, which was covered with chipped white paint. Scar turned the handle and was surprised to find it open. A shiver shot through him as the door creaked when he pushed it.
It was an older home with worn out hardwood floors. The place had a moldy odor to it as if water had seeped through a leaky roof and into the walls.
Bassett unsheathed his tactical tomahawk and ten-inch blackened steel knife before he came through the entrance. The door led to a laundry room and then the kitchen. Scar came in behind Bassett with his M4 shouldered. They were halfway through the kitchen when the sound of a flushing toilet came from an interior bathroom.
A cold chill swept across Scar. They weren’t in a good position to take him out in silence. If any of them fired a weapon, it would expose their operation and make it much more difficult.
A door opened, and heavy boots clomped on the wooden floor. Bassett moved over to a red Formica counter. Scar joined him just as the cop turned to go back outside.
Scar exhaled a deep breath.
Bassett checked the bedrooms before coming back into the living room where Scar was looking through the picture window.
“We’re clear,” said Bassett.
“Got one right out front and three to the left.”
Bassett moved to the window. “Yeah. It looks like they got two cops per car. Nice to see they have their backs to us. This shouldn’t be a problem. Burns and I can take the furthest ones, but we’ll need help holding the line once we get it cleared.”
Scar nodded. Ambushing the cops was the simple part, controlling the area afterward was going to be troublesome. The cops had the manpower not only to be able to flank their position but also surround them. This is why Scar wanted Taylor to join them with the SAW. After they took control of this area, Taylor would send a team away from the action to keep an eye on the cops in case they figured out what they should be doing. It wasn’t guaranteed they were smart enough to do this, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
“As soon as we take ours out, we’ll run to your position.”
Scar grabbed his radio and called out to Meeks. “We’re clear here.”
They had some time before they would initiate the ambush. The people at the college still needed time to get ready. He looked at his watch. It had been thirty minutes since he sent some men up there to get them moving.
He leaned on the dusty kitchen table, worried about the men at the hospital and how they were doing. The last he heard, they were able to clear out a path for an exit after some of the Jijis left in a hurry.
Scar grinned knowing Nordell had something to do with this as he heard what had happened downtown. He had a lot of confidence in the retired Marine’s ability to handle the situation, and now that he was in possession of three RPGs, the odds increased exponentially.
Amber came through the back door, followed by Meeks and Burns. She slipped off the heavy backpack and put it on the kitchen table. It was loaded with spare magazines and had to weigh close to thirty pounds with all they had taken off Eddie’s porch.
Scar looked at everyone. “Is everyone fully loaded?”
Bassett and Burns patted their vest.
“I could use some,” said Burns.
“Me too,” said Bassett.
Scar motioned to Amber’s bag. Each took four mags and stuffed them inside their vest. Amber then passed some power bars around. They stood in silence as they eagerly ate. The waiting was the hard part because everyone had the same things on their minds. No one dared say it, but everyone thought it. Not if, but how many Shadow Patriots have they lost? And why haven’t they heard from Elliott, Nate or Reese? Were they dead?
Finally, Scar got the call he’d been waiting for on the radio. There was a convoy of vehicles coming down from the college loaded with citizens. They could begin their ambush.
Scar radioed Taylor. “You get that Badger.”
“10-4. Let me know when.”
Scar looked at Bassett and Burns.
“Give us ten,” said Bassett.
They scooted out the back door and disappeared back into the woods. Scar motioned Meeks and Amber to the picture window.
“Meeks you take out that one. Amber and I will take the one on the left. As soon as we take ‘em down, we need to get over to Bassett’s position to help hold the line.”
Meeks gave a firm nod and slipped out the back door swinging to the left. Scar followed Amber out as she headed west. They hustled the sixty yards through the woods toward their target. They had a more demanding task because they had about thirty yards of open ground to cover. Once he gave the signal, they would break from the trees and fire while on the run.
Coming to the tree line, Amber squatted down behind a tree. Scar stood over her and could hear her breathing. She was as nervous as he was, which is the way it should be right before a battle. Fear is good. Fear makes you cautious. It helps prevent you from doing something stupid. The secret is to act completely normal. Calm and in control, as if you’re a person who knows no fear. Quickly conquering fear allows you to become more focused on the task-at-hand.
Both Amber and Reese had that talent in spades, more so than some of the guys who came through their ranks. While Reese had an insatiable appetite for killing the cops who raped her, Amber had an inner strength which had blossomed over the last couple of weeks making her formidable. She was also intelligent but didn’t over think things and only offered sound ideas to the group.
Scar crouched down next to her. “Look at ‘em. They’re not paying much attention, are they?”
“No, they’re not.”
“We’ll be alright. Stay right by my side. I want you on full auto. Empty that mag fast and swap it out. I’ll zero in on them with controlled fire.”
Amber nodded.
After what seemed like an eternity, Bassett and Burns were in position.
Scar stood up, as did Amber.
He keyed the radio. “Okay, here we go. On three, two, one.”
Gunfire broke the silence of the quiet road as everyone began firing at once. Scar flipped around the tree with his weapon at the ready. He aimed and pulled the trigger. He felt Amber’s presence before she opened fire.
They charged across the open field firing as they went. Amber emptied her magazine in short order. The rounds went wide at first, but then she got them under control and took one of them down. A couple of shots exploded his head painting the side of the cruiser with blood.
Scar aimed at the second cop and put a bullet in his leg, making him drop to the ground. The cop was in full panic mode and crawled on his hands and knees to the front of the car. He then rose up and fired his weapon in full auto. The shots were high and out of control. He emptied his magazine and disappeared behind the car to reload.
Amber grabbed a magazine from the small of her back and slammed it in while sweeping around the front of the car to flank him. She stopped firing but kept the rifle pressed against her shoulder as she moved with purposeful steps.
Scar closed in and squatted down to see where the cop was. He was behind the front tire and still on the ground. He looked over at Amber and motioned where he was.
She moved in a broader arc and Scar turned to see how Meeks was doing. He had already accomplished his objective and was now jogging in to help. Scar pointed out where the other one was.
Meeks swung over and saw the cop lying on the ground. He was too far away to get a clean shot but fired a couple of pot shots to distract him while Amber continued her sweeping arc.
The cop responded as expected and fired at Meeks.
Amber then picked up her speed to get into position. The cop was still firing at Meeks as she came around the corner. She fired on full auto. It was sloppy but did the trick. A few rounds went into the side of his face blowing out the other side making him unrecognizable. The others ripped through his chest. Air hissed out the tire as it also had taken some lead.
Meeks c
ame running in and stared at the bloody corpse. “Eewwe, Amber, don’t let me get on your bad side.”
“I know right, that’s disgusting.”
“Hell, you even took out the tire. We could have used this as a ride.”
“Couldn’t be helped, but you know, you’re more than welcome to change the tire.”
Meeks chuckled. “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.”
Scar spoke up. “Ah, if you two are done, we need to get up to Bassett.”
Chapter 61
The closer Scar got to Bassett’s position the lower he crouched as bullets whistled by them. Amber and Meeks were close on his tail as they scooted around the dead bodies Burns’ had left behind. They reached Bassett and Burns who were returning fire on the cops further up. A bunch of them had already congregated and repositioned a couple of their squad cars. They certainly didn’t want to be ambushed like their friends just were and fired wildly, slamming rounds into the car Bassett and Burns were using as cover.
“Looks like a Mexican Standoff,” said Scar and he reached them.
“Yeah, it didn’t take ‘em too long to get their act together,” said Bassett.
“Well, hopefully, they won’t get too brave,” said Scar.
He pulled the radio out and confirmed the exit was opened for business. He turned but wasn’t able to see the convoy of vehicles. There were too many trees bordering the road, and it had a slight incline, high enough to keep their activity a secret. This was ideal as it would buy them more precious time and give the fleeing citizens a better chance of escaping.
While the woods camouflaged their convoy movement, it also invited an ambush by the cops, which could prove devastating. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure it out, so Scar decided to give them more protection. Even though Badger had sent a team to monitor their flank, it was too much real estate to patrol adequately.
“Meeks, those cops you took out, was the car damaged?”
“No, that one is in perfect condition,” responded Meeks while smiling at Amber who had just flattened a tire.
She gave him the middle finger.
“You and Amber take that car down there and go get it. I want to set up a protective perimeter.”
“You got it, boss. “C’mon kiddo, you got shotgun.”
Meeks jumped in the driver’s seat and started the car. He threw it in drive and squealed the tires as he forced a U-turn. He had to stop up ahead as the convoy of vehicles was now starting its turn onto US 12.
“Damn, more than I thought there would be,” said Meeks.
“Thank God,” said Amber. “Let’s get out, so they don’t think we’re cops.”
“Good idea.”
They got out carrying their rifles and walked toward the vehicles that were having to drive around the immobile cruiser with the flat tire. Some of the passengers waved as they passed by.
An SUV stopped, and the passenger window came down. Amber recognized the women and approached it.
“Amber, thank you so much,” said Kelly as she held her arms out the window. She was a mother of two teenaged daughters who were in the back with their grandmother.
The daughters had looked up to her and Reese and wanted to join them. Reese had handled the situation by sharing some of her story. After listening to the horrific details, they stopped pestering their mother.
Amber leaned in and gave her a hug. “You guys get as far away as possible and stay safe.”
“We will,” said Kelly who began shedding tears.
From the back, the teen girls yelled, “We love you. We’ll never forget you.”
“I won’t forget you guys either. Now, go, get going.”
The grandfather stepped on the gas, and the convoy continued with more waves from passengers.
“Makes it all worth it, doesn’t it?” said Meeks.
“Yeah, it does.”
The last vehicle to go by was a pickup truck pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with the elderly and mothers holding their children. All with anxious faces but relieved to be getting away from Jackson.
“That was a lot but not enough,” said Meeks.
“I know. That was what, maybe a couple of hundred.”
“If that.”
“Still leaves, what, about seven hundred or so.”
“Right around there. C’mon, let’s go,” said Meeks heading back to the squad car.
Meeks dropped Amber off at the cruiser they had come to retrieve, and she followed him back up the road.
Scar kept his head down as the cops continued firing on their position. They were wasting their ammo as none of the shots were doing anything. They were amateurs at best and certainly not trained as real cops. They only paraded around, using the uniform to take advantage of their position.
He saw Meeks and Amber break over the horizon and once they were parked on either side of them, it suddenly released some pent-up stress he hadn’t realized was there. Amazing what a fortified position can do to bolster your confidence.
“Sorry it took so long,” said Amber getting out first and ducking down. “We had to wait for the convoy to pass through.”
“No problem. How did it look? How many?”
“Close to two hundred, maybe.”
Scar nodded. “It’s a start.”
Meeks joined them. “How many cops you figure are up there?”
“Can’t say for sure but the longer it goes on, the more there will be joining them.”
“Why don’t we waste one of those grenades on them?”
Scar considered this for a moment. “Might not be a bad idea. Whaddya think, Corporal?”
“I’m always up for some boom-boom. Besides, it’ll scare the hell out of them. How many you got left?”
Scar agreed with him. “Got five.”
“Mind if I have the honor?” asked Bassett.
Scar handed him the launcher and Bassett rose up to take aim. The grenade took off in an arc and sailed through the air before hitting the squad car on the hood. A big fireball began consuming the car. Smoke poured out and wafted through the gentle breeze.
“Damn that thing really is awesome,” yelled Meeks. “Look at that damn car burn.”
Scar laughed to himself. He remembered training with grenades in boot camp. The first few times he’d had the same reaction as Meeks did. It was something of a big-boy-toy to a civilian.
The gunfire from the cops ceased, and they could see why as the smoke blew away. Every one of them was dead. Scar was starting to re-think his strategy. They would probably be able to leave fewer people down here to handle the cops. Undoubtedly, more would come this way, but how many would dare get close to them after seeing how one of their cruisers had been blown up. This would let him get back into town and start killing Jijis again.
He pulled his radio out and called down to Taylor. “How’s it looking down there, Badger?”
“We got things under control here. What was that I just heard?”
“Launched a grenade to clear them out.”
“Well, perhaps you could send one down my way, make my job a bit easier.”
Scar looked at Bassett and Burns. “Think you boys could hold down the fort?”
Bassett replied for the both of them. “We can do that.”
“I’m thinking if we cleared out Badger’s position, we could send a couple of his men up this way while we go back into town.”
Bassett nodded.
Scar turned to Meeks and Amber. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 62
Washington D.C.
Green drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove to work. The traffic was heavy and was making him late, but he was in too good a mood to let it bother him. A smile broke across this face as he thought about kissing Stormy. It was a thrilling surprise and one he’d never forget. He thought she liked him but could never be sure because of their crazy situation. It threw off all the signals you’d normally use to pick up on to know if a girl was interested. He hadn’t been bold e
nough to just come right out with it because he didn’t want to make things awkward for the group if she’d had no interest in him.
The other reason he was in a good mood was their meeting with the artist last night. The young man’s ideas, talent, and enthusiasm had been another unexpected surprise. He had no doubt that they were going to make an impact on the city.
His mind drifted to Lawrence Reed, who he still had not heard from since the assassination attempt. He hadn’t shown up in the office, and no one had seen or heard from him. He had to be plotting his revenge and Green hoped it involved an attempt on Perozzi’s life.
Green pulled onto 18th Street NW and patiently waited in the traffic. He again found himself tapping on the steering wheel when he saw a small crowd of people on the corner of G Street. He slowed down as he came to the intersection and passed by the World Bank where a large poster was pasted on the corner of the building. It was one of the collection Vasquez had shown them.
His mouth dropped when he saw people taking pictures of Perozzi being held up by two bikini-clad beauties. It was the one with the colostomy bag, and it looked absolutely brilliant.
Green had arrived at work and couldn’t park his car fast enough at work so he could trot down and observe everyone’s reaction. He wondered how many of the posters they had plastered around town and how long would they last. Vasquez had told him that wheat pasting made them quite difficult to remove. You needed a pressure washer to get them off cement walls. You couldn’t just peel them.
After parking, he hurried back down the three blocks and couldn’t believe the number of people who stopped to stare and laugh. Some people even dared to have their picture taken standing beside it. This was a bold thing to do in the current political climate, as you never knew who was watching you. He stood off to the side and watched building maintenance come outside trying to decide what to do. One of them tried to peel a corner of it off but was only able to get a small piece. The people’s reactions were priceless and ranged from glee to fear. Some had a healthy dose of caution knowing what could happen to the artist and even those celebrating it.