by Warren Ray
Hadley came back and reported all their guys were dead. Two nurses and one doctor were also dead. Everyone else escaped by running away as soon as the shooting started.
It didn’t surprise Nate that their guys were dead. They were fish in a barrel and had Reese not come and got him, he would have died with them. He then realized Reese had saved his life twice. Now, he really owed her.
“We better tell the Captain,” said Taylor. “He’ll want to know right away. Hadley, take the truck and head east till you get in radio range.”
Hadley hustled over to the truck and tore out of the parking lot.
“C’mon Nate, you need to get your shoulder looked at,” said Taylor.
The last remaining doctor, Michael Lunsford, was surprisingly steady as he looked at Nate. He was a former Army surgeon and had served in the Middle East. He brought Nate into an operating room to re-stitch his shoulder.
A nurse noticed the blood on Reese’s face. She was a brunette in her upper forties and her name tag said, Sandy. She was divorced and had two sons fighting in the war. With no other family in town, she spent all her days at the hospital. Early on, she took a liking to Reese and admired her. She had been caring for her since she got there and insisted on cleaning her up.
Sandy helped Reese up onto a table and she let out a wince when the nurse touched her side.
“What happened here?” asked Sandy.
“The bastard I killed punched me.”
Sandy lifted her shirt and saw a sizeable bruise. “He must have gotten you good.”
“He did. Knocked the wind out of me.”
Sandy put a little pressure on her rib cage until she winced again. “I don’t think they’re cracked, just bruised.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Yeah, by a few weeks.”
Sandy took Reese’s hand and started wiping off the cop’s blood. Reese could see she was upset but was trying to avoid confronting it.
“It’s okay to cry,” said Reese.
Sandy stopped wiping her hand but kept holding it.
“Those were my friends they killed.” She paused as tears began running down her face. “I was so scared that I just froze. I didn’t know what to do.”
Reese squeezed her hand and waited for her to continue.
“Doctor Lunsford grabbed me and yelled at me to run. Had it not been for him, I don’t think I’d be here right now.”
She wiped away her tears and looked at Reese. “How do you do it?”
Reese gave her a quizzical look. “Do what?”
“How are you not scared of them?”
Reese jerked her head back. “I am scared of ‘em. I’m scared all the time.”
“But you fight them. How do you do that?”
“Cuz I hate the friggin bastards for what they did to me,” she responded in a harsh tone. “And when I kill ‘em, I get even, and for like a brief moment it makes me feel good, so good, that I want to do it again.”
Sandy stiffened.
Reese let out a scoff. “Yeah, I know. I’m fucked in the head.”
Sandy ran her hand through Reese’s hair then continued to wipe the blood off her patient. “Still, I wish I was as brave as you.”
Reese didn’t want to make it about herself. “You’re braver than you know. It takes a lot of guts to do what you do. You stayed here when everyone else left and you’ve taken care of me like nothing happened here this week, like I was your only patient.”
“But, all our patients are dead. There’s nothing for me to do now.”
“I still need you.”
Sandy gave her a slight smile.
“Nate needs you, too, and believe me, as soon as Cole sees what happened here we’re going to need you again cuz there’s going to be plenty more patients.”
Reese could tell she was feeling a little better. She knew what Sandy and the rest of the town was going through with all the losses they’d taken this week. Everyone knew someone who was killed in the church massacre this past Sunday. Reese knew it wasn’t an easy thing to understand, but you just had to accept it and move on. There wasn’t any time to grieve because you needed to get yourself ready for what was coming next. If you didn’t, then you’d likely get yourself killed.
She learned that while being tied up for ten days. Her first day, she acknowledged it was happening. The second day, she accepted it and realized there wasn’t anything she could do about it. However, by the third day, she was struck by an epiphany realizing she had two options. She could sink deep within herself or start fighting. She decided to start fighting by learning who these bastards were and what made them tick. She learned to read them and respond to them accordingly. She became an actress, a psychologist, and a fighter. Her first victory was getting Jaeger to stay away. It had been a painful win, but worth it. After that, she made a vow that if she ever got free she’d get even with all of them. She took this vow seriously and when Cole loosened her chains, she found her first opportunity when Nate left his gun on the table in the hallway. The three restrained guards didn’t stand a chance when she killed them. Her first act of revenge tasted sweet and she wanted more.
She looked at Sandy and hoped she’d have the same revelation and fight in whatever capacity she could. She would need it, too, because of what just happened. Reese knew their situation was going to get worse before it got better.
Chapter 39
Winters led one team to the left while Bassett took another team to the right. They moved slowly through the tall dry grass keeping low and out of sight. The crunching of the grass underfoot was loud enough to momentarily stop the cicadas’ chirping as they pushed past them.
Winters wondered if they were going to have a full on fight or were these guys just going to run away. He knew something was off because these guys didn’t have a problem attacking them the other night in the woods.
“Captain, you’re practically on top of them,” said Meeks, who decided to climb the tree and be a lookout instead of pushing an injured leg through the grass. “How far?” whispered Winters.
Meeks looked through the scope on the Savage Rifle. “Thirty yards. About the same for you, Bassett.”
Winters lined up his men and slowly stood up gripping the Colt M-4 rifle. Everyone followed suit and began to fire off a volley low and across the tops of the tall grass. Shell casings poured out of everyone’s rifles as they emptied their magazines. They all then dropped to the ground and heard return fire from the enemy. Bassett’s men then struck from the side, which surprised the Jijis. A few screamed out in pain as they took rounds on their position.
“Captain, they’re running away,” said Meeks as he squeezed his trigger knocking one over.
Winters stood up and could see them in the distance. He ordered another barrage and then they chased after the fleeing Jijis. They soon overran the enemy’s original position and took care to make sure the dead were actually dead.
“Looks like we got four of them,” said Elliott.
“They all dead?”
Elliott nodded.
“Grab their weapons and gear,” ordered Winters.
Bassett’s team came in.
“They didn’t wait around too long,” said Bassett.
“No, they didn’t,” said Winters.
Winters grabbed the radio. “Meeks, what’s it look like?”
“Some ran to the house. Most are hiding behind the barn.”
“Seems like they’re trying to bait us, Captain,” said Bassett.
“It does appear that way.”
“I think they’re stalling,” said Amber.
“Oh?”
“They’ve got us outnumbered and they’re just sitting out there waiting,” said Amber.
“That’s what’s been bothering me about this.”
Meeks came back over on the radio. “Captain, Hadley is coming in. He says the cops just attacked the hospital.”
Winters let out a gasp and closed his eyes knowing the enemy played them
.
“What happened?” asked Winters trying to remain calm.
“Hold on, Captain.”
Static came over the airways as Hadley was still out of range. All the men gathered around Winters trying to discern a word here or there from Hadley’s garbled transmission. It was excruciatingly difficult trying to figure it out while not allowing your imagination to go wild.
“Everyone is dead? Confirm that Hadley,” said Meeks.
A cold sweat washed over Winters. He glanced up to see a tear coming down Amber’s cheek.
“Hold on, Hadley. Captain, all of our guys are dead…except Nate and Reese.”
A small sense of relief touched Winters knowing Nate and Reese survived, but he had to fight back maddening anger at the thought of the cops executing injured men in their beds.
“How long ago?”
“Hadley, how long ago?”
The transmission became clearer as Hadley got in range. A few minutes later, Winters got all the information the young Texan had to offer and ordered everyone back into town.
They drove to the hospital in silence with everyone engrossed in their own thoughts.
Elliott was thankful his lifelong friend survived the onslaught. He made himself feel better imagining Nate taking on the enemy despite his own debilitating injury. No one could take down his friend, or so it seemed.
Amber stared out the window as tears flowed down her cheeks. She had grown close to the younger Reese and thought of her as a little sister. She looked up to the girl and admired her bravery. She wondered if she’d be able to go on if her sister was no longer around.
Meeks thought about the revenge that he was going to deliver tonight. He had no doubt he’d give himself a shot of painkillers and go on the hunt tonight regardless of what Winters said. The men killed were good men. He knew each one of them and they deserved better than to be executed in their beds.
A pang of guilt shot through Winters’ heart and wouldn’t let go. Once again, he had become overconfident and allowed the enemy to waltz right into their camp. How did they not have any guards posted around the hospital? Granted they were posted around the town, but obviously, they didn’t have enough. He shouldn’t have allowed so many men to go out today and should have known the spy reported all their movements. It was stupid to have a hundred men leave all at the same time. Instead of ambushing the enemy, they were the ones who were ambushed.
They arrived at the hospital and Elliott drove up to the emergency room entrance. Nate and Reese stood waiting together at the door. They looked terrible. Winters opened the truck door and walked over to them giving both a light hug.
“You look like hell,” said Elliott.
“Feel like it,” said Nate.
“Tell me what happened,” asked Winters.
Reese looked at Nate. “You tell ‘em.”
Winters and the others stood in rapt silence for the next few minutes as Nate gave them all the details of the attack.
Winters cringed hearing the life and death moments of the raid. His anger grew the more he heard. Besides losing his men, they lost a doctor, two nurses, and eleven civilians who had the bad luck of being sick today.
Winters looked at Nate and Reese hardly believing they survived the massacre. He knew he should reach out to Reese, but the anger boiling within him prevented him from doing so. The only thing he could manage was a knowing nod. She returned it with a small smile.
He turned to his men. “Until we find out who that spy is, from this moment forward, we keep everything we plan to do to ourselves. No one and I mean no one is going to know our movements. That includes Nordell.”
They all nodded their heads.
“We going out tonight, Captain?” asked Meeks.
Everyone stared at Winters.
“Oh, you’re damned right we’re going out tonight. And, we’re going to go kill ourselves some cops.”
“We hitting them on US 12?” asked Elliott.
Winters looked at them and shook his head. “No. We’re taking those cops cars we got last night and we’re going into Detroit and we’re taking the RPG with us.”
Smiles spread across their faces.
Winters gave his orders and then walked toward the parking lot. He thought about why he needed to keep Nordell out of the loop. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the man; it was because he knew the spy was probably close to him. He needed him around tonight so they would raise no suspicions. He’d have the hospital locked down with no one going in or out of the place. This way the spy might believe the Shadow Patriots were not going anywhere.
Chapter 40
Alexandria Virginia
Major Green walked into his mother’s home and smelled spicy fried chicken. It was his favorite meal, but one she didn’t often make. He walked into the kitchen and found her standing in front of the stove wearing an apron over her tailored suit.
“Are you coming back or going out?” he asked her.
“Hi, dear. I’m doing both. Had a committee luncheon this afternoon and a fundraiser tonight. You want to come?”
“No, I’ve got plans for tonight.”
They no longer talked in hush tones as Jacob Gibbs, the former FBI man, had swept their home for listening devices. He didn’t find any but suggested they have it done weekly. This relieved some of the stress that had been building up over the past several weeks and made their lives much easier.
“Going for a jog?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
Sarah gave her son a curious look.
“I had an interesting visitor today.”
“John, are you going to talk in riddles during dinner too?”
He laughed and then proceeded to tell her about Reed dropping by and what he learned in regards to Cara Winters.
Sarah turned the stove off and sat down. “That was an interesting visit.”
“Oh, and Reed sends his warmest regards.”
“Yes, I’m sure he does, the two-faced bastard.”
Green was still getting used to this new side of his mother. She never swore before or at least never in front of him. Ever since Pruitt took her hostage, she had changed into a different person becoming jumpier and more distrustful of people than before. She insisted on being involved with their group and since she knew many people in the district, was quite useful. She was presently taking an active role in figuring out who was on which side of things.
“Something tells me that poor girl has no idea she’s being used,” said Sarah.
“I don’t know what’s going on with her or how those two even got together.”
“Does she not understand that Reed is going to kill her father?”
“I’m assuming she does, look what she almost did to me.”
Sarah shook her head in disgust. “Someone needs to smack that girl upside the head and knock some sense into her.”
“I’m with you on that. Anyways, tonight I’m delivering the recording.”
“I thought you were going to wait.”
“I did too, but after seeing him today and hearing what he’s going to do, I don’t want to wait any longer. He needs to be thrown off his game right away.”
“How are you going to deliver it?”
“I’m going to take it right to his front door.”
Sarah gave it some thought and liked the idea. “I like that. It’ll make it even more personal.”
“Exactly.”
“Grab the salad dressing,” said Sarah.
They sat down and said little as they ate dinner. Both were satisfied with the way things were starting to work out. It felt good to be on the offensive to have a plan in place. They were going to blow things up in the district and make lives uncomfortable for those who were on the wrong side of history.
After dinner, Green offered to do the dishes so his mother could be on time for her fundraiser. He still had time to kill before heading to Annapolis and needed to think about tonight’s tactics. Having already scoped out Smiths Island
where Reed lived, he decided to put on a tracksuit, thinking a jogger would blend in the neighborhood.
After doing the dishes, he grabbed the thumb-drive, placed it in a white envelope, and then drove into D.C. to exchange cars from a storage unit he rented. The money he took from Pruitt allowed for the purchase of several different cars, which he placed around the city. All the cars had fake tags and registrations that Sam supplied.
Arriving in Annapolis, Green threaded through the many streets before turning onto Cherry Tree Lane, which ended on Smiths Island. He pulled into the plush community clubhouse parking lot and took a couple of deep breaths before opening the door. Stepping out into the dark night, he was surprised at how calm he was and thought how breaking into Pruitt’s house had provided valuable experience and the nerve to operate under these types of circumstances. Of course, the fully loaded M9 pistol inside his running pants was always a confidence booster.
Within a minute, Reed’s house came up on the left. All the lights were still on and he was about to run up the lawn when a dark figure moved across the driveway. He kept running past the house and in his peripheral vision saw a man walking across the lawn. He cursed himself for not thinking about guards and stopped up ahead to double back to a set of trees, which bordered the street opposite Reed’s home. He took his time and carefully maneuvered through the dark mass of trees.
Dressed all in black kept Green hidden among the trees as he waited to see how many guards patrolled the grounds. He hadn’t expected it but wasn’t really surprised by it either. The man was paranoid and never went anywhere without an entourage. He didn’t know it extended to his home. He wondered if Pruitt’s death instigated the precaution. It must have made an impact on him. Perhaps the old man finally knew what it felt like to be vulnerable.
The guard paced up and down the driveway probably bored out of his mind. He lit up a cigarette and continued his pacing. Green had begun to wonder if he’d be able to complete his mission tonight when the guard broke his routine and walked around toward the back. Green timed how long it took to complete the round. Forty-five seconds later, the guard came back.