by Warren Ray
He parked his car in the oval driveway of the large home he had confiscated a few weeks ago and walked through the front door into the oversized marble floored foyer. A couple of statues of Greek women stood at the far end guarding the living room. The walls were painted an off white and gold curtains decorated the windows. It was extravagant and not necessarily his taste, but he didn’t really care knowing he wouldn’t be here long.
He unbuckled his gun belt and laid it on the dark marble table by the door. He didn’t worry about intruders because all the neighbors were cops. Many of them had migrated to the same neighborhood in an area that under normal circumstances would be way out of their price range, but they ruled the city, and it was nice to be king.
He opened the back door and started the generator to power up his home. He then walked into the kitchen to boil some water for spaghetti. He sat down, waiting for the water to boil, and thought about the aftermath of their attack. The rebels will be in shock knowing their defenses weren’t good enough to keep their people from dying. He wished he could have seen the looks on their faces when they found out what happened. He’d have to get on the Ham radio tomorrow and talk to Posey personally to see what their reactions were.
Vatter threw the pasta in the boiling water and stirred it around. His thoughts moved to his mother who he’d have to deal with tomorrow or the next when she would go to see Carol. He felt bad she’d have to be the one to find her bloody body lying on the kitchen floor but having her discover the body would keep the scent off him. He didn’t need her badgering and didn’t want to have to explain himself. It was going to be bad enough that he’d have to pretend to investigate the crime. He let out a scoff thinking about it.
After eating dinner, Vatter decided to go to sleep early. It had been a rough couple of days and his face still hurt from the slice Carol gave him. He put his head on the pillow and wondered how the twins were doing. He figured Mordulfah already took their virginity. He hoped they didn’t cry too much and would learn to like their new home. If they did, then he knew Mordulfah would treat them well as he wasn’t an ogre to his women.
Vatter woke up to a loud banging on the front door. He turned on a flashlight and looked at his watch; which read four in the morning. Throwing on a robe, he grabbed the flashlight, raced down the stairs, and opened the door to find Tannenbaum standing there.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Got some bad news, man.”
“At four in the morning?”
“Our station got attacked.”
Vatter shook his head in disbelief. “Who attacked our station?”
“The rebels.”
“What?”
“Yeah man, little over an hour ago?”
“What the hell happened?”
“They shot the place up and burned it to the ground.”
Vatter couldn’t believe it. How did they get past the posted guards and drive all the way into Detroit? “Anyone get killed?”
“All but Jimmy and Smitty, which is amazing, cuz believe me, man, once you see the place, you’ll wonder how they were even able to get out of there. They probably used an RPG cuz the whole front entrance is blown to hell, and I mean the whole damn place is hollowed out.”
Vatter told Tannenbaum he’d get down to the station immediately. He sat down on a chair and shook his head knowing he had underestimated the rebels and their capabilities. The only thing he did today was wake them up, and that caused him to lose his station. It wasn’t a problem to reopen one of the other precincts; the problem was this didn’t look good as a whole to the men. There were already rumors going around that Carter and his guys took off with the women they’d captured. He was going to look even more incompetent and weaker than yesterday. He still hadn’t opened the party house, which had been the first thing he promised the men he’d do. He leaned back in his chair wondering what he was going to do.
Chapter 44
Washington D.C.
Waking up early, Major Green showered and headed to a meeting with Jacob Gibbs in a parking garage at an indoor mall. The mall wouldn’t be open so no one would bother them. Arriving earlier than expected, he pulled into a drive-thru coffee shop and ordered a couple of Lattés. While waiting in line, he thought about his adventure last night getting the recording to Reed. With the exception of not expecting a guard outside, he felt good about the operation. He didn’t get caught and that counted for everything.
After getting the drinks, he pulled into the garage and saw Gibbs waiting. He climbed into Gibbs’ car and handed him his drink.
“Thanks,” said Gibbs, taking the lid off.
“Appreciate you meeting me at the last minute.”
“Not a problem.”
“I delivered the recording last night.”
Gibbs held his cup up. “Excellent.”
“Even delivered it to his house.”
“Nice touch.” Gibbs looked at his watch. “In about another hour or so the old man will be freaking out wondering who had this recording and who’s heard it.”
“Do you think he’ll be able to figure out where it came from?”
“Good question. Do you think your source is in danger?”
Green paused before taking a sip. “I hadn’t really thought about that, but now that you mention it, maybe we should get Alison O’Connor out of the city.”
Gibbs put his coffee down. “I think that’d be a good idea. If they scoop her up she might be able to tell them something.”
Green began to worry. He didn’t want to get to work late but wondered if Alison would listen to anyone else but him and expressed his concerned.
“I see your point. Give me her address and I’ll go by and see what happens.”
“Okay, good,” said Green feeling relieved. He then told Gibbs about Cara Winters and what Reed planned on doing with her.
Gibbs shook his head as he absorbed what Green told him. “He’s a master strategist, I’ll give him that.”
“Yes, he is.”
“Is there any way you can get word to Winters?”
“No, there’s not, which is why I asked Reed to include my man, Corporal Bassett, in his demands.”
“Oh, why?”
“I have a lot of faith in him and I think he’ll be able to help Winters.”
“Is he still alive?”
“He was as of last week, but with the upheaval in Jackson, I don’t know. If he is, then he’ll be an asset.”
They finished their drinks and Green headed to the office, arriving on time. For the next hour, he kept his hands busy waiting for Gibbs to call. He had a stack of papers to go through and tried to focus on them but found it difficult with the reality of Alison O’Connor’s situation. He felt guilty for not thinking about her safety when they decided to use the recording. It should have been something foremost in his mind, especially knowing the type of man Lawrence Reed was. If anything happened to her, then it would be on his hands.
Green got up from his desk, grabbed a folder, and walked out of his office. He needed the walk and wanted to go by Reed’s office. He took the stairs up the one floor two at a time and ambled down the hallway. The old man had not shown up yet, so he turned around and headed back to his office. He had a meeting to prepare for with his witless colleagues. It wasn’t something he looked forward to but knew if he didn’t show up it would look odd, which was not what he needed, especially today.
He passed by his secretary, Grace, just as the phone rang. He walked into his office, picked it up and heard Gibbs’ voice. The news wasn’t good or bad because Alison never answered the door. He wondered if she wasn’t hung over and still in bed. The day he’d seen her, she wasn’t in the greatest of shape. Green pleaded for Gibbs to go back and try again, but he turned him down because of another appointment. He did promise to meet out there at noon.
Green leaned back in his chair and considered skipping his meeting, but knew he needed to be there. He’d just hoped there wasn’t going to be too muc
h bloviating so he could get out of there and head to Bethesda.
Chapter 45
Jackson Michigan
A fly buzzed inside the old Chevy pickup truck waking Winters. He swatted at it and missed. He ran his hand through his hair and then grabbed onto the steering wheel to stretch his legs. He wished he hadn’t fallen asleep out in the parking lot. He let out a deep breath trying to work the kinks out of his body. A slight breeze blew through the open windows and he leaned his head out to feel the gently moving air. He glanced in the mirror and ran his hand across his scruffy beard trying to remember the last time he shaved.
He got out of the truck and headed inside the hospital. Seeing the bullet holes in the walls would be a constant and painful reminder of the devastating assault. A few of the men killed had been with him in the woods on Robinson Road. They survived that night only to be executed in their beds.
He got to his room and found a razor in the bathroom. He turned on the water and began the process of taking off the growth by using a bar of soap to work it into a makeshift lather. Taking the beard off, he started to see a different face from last night staring back at him. That man lost control and almost allowed the dark to shine bright. Thankfully, Elliot showed up and helped him through that black period.
He splashed water on his face and through his hair. He needed a shower but didn’t feel like taking one with cold water. He pulled his shirt off and saw the wound Johnny-Boy had given him at the train station. It looked hideous and was still tender to the touch, but other than that was healing well. The doctor in Canada said it’d take about a year before it was completely tender free. He worked the cold washcloth around the wound and washed the rest of his upper body. He felt refreshed which gave him a better attitude.
He headed down to the cafeteria and gave a nod to Corporal Bassett, who sat there eating breakfast.
“Morning, Captain.”
“Corporal,” said Winters as he grabbed a coffee and a couple of muffins.
“Hell of a night last night,” said Bassett.
“Yes, it was,” replied Winters. He didn’t want to talk about the hospital attack. They rarely talked about past battles, but this one was different and personal.
Bassett took a sip of coffee. “We’ll get ‘em again, sir.”
Winters appreciated Bassett’s subtly. He obviously knew about what went on with him. They must have all been worried and Elliott had to have said something to calm them down.
Winters broke apart the blueberry muffin and started to eat it.
“I’ll work on our perimeter security today,” said Bassett.
He was thankful not to have to tell him what to do about this matter. He didn’t blame anyone for yesterday’s assault because the fault lay with him for taking so many men with them on their attack. Their forces were just too few to be one hundred percent effective.
“Do whatever it takes, you’ve got free reign with it,” said Winters.
“Might just be a matter of making our area of operations smaller.”
Winters continued eating the muffin and could see Bassett wanted to ask what his plans were today, but knew he wouldn’t ask out of respect, so he decided to put his curiosity to rest. “I’m going to get with Mayor Simpson and see if we can’t get a handle on this spy.”
Bassett nodded. “Have we not heard from ours yet?”
“Not yet, but then it’s only been a day so that’s a work in progress.”
“Whoever it is, has to have a radio, probably a HAM radio, they go great distances. With the speed these guys came after we left, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Winters hadn’t really given it much thought about how the spy operated. He wondered if that might be a useful piece of knowledge and decided to bring it up with the mayor.
Chapter 46
Detroit Michigan
Vatter waited until the sun came up before driving to the station. There was no point in rushing as the damage had already been done. Moreover, he wanted to see it in the daylight. When he arrived and saw how the rebels destroyed his station, he wanted to spit nails. Tannenbaum had been right; the rebels blew out the front entrance, which made him wonder again, where they got an RPG. He parked across the street and as soon as he got out of the car, the pungent smell stung his nostrils. A few flames still danced inside as smoke chased after the wind. Some of the men walked around and chatted in groups. Vatter walked to the back parking lot where the destroyed cruisers sat, still smoldering.
Vatter knew they’d lost some weaponry as well and it would have to be replaced right away, which meant he’d have to go see Mordulfah to do that. He was the only one who had more than enough weapons. It wasn’t something he wanted to do but knew Mordulfah would find out what happened anyway and would want a full report.
For the next couple of hours, Vatter and his men salvaged what they could and moved to a station down the road. They had closed that location down only six months ago and had the necessary jail cells that Vatter hoped to fill with rebels.
He then drove to Grosse Pointe hoping Mordulfah was in a good mood. He should be now that he had his cousins to play with. How often do you get yourself twin girls and cute ones at that? The more he thought about it the more he felt confident about his position.
The guards swept the squad car before allowing him onto the grounds. Wali informed him that he would join Mordulfah for breakfast. Vatter laughed to himself. A late breakfast meant he had been up late enjoying himself.
Wali escorted him inside to a large table full of breakfast foods. “He’ll be down directly.”
Vatter hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and wanted to dig in, but knew it would be rude, so he waited. He didn’t have wait too long as Mordulfah entered the room in his flowing white robes.
“Captain Vatter, good morning to you.”
Vatter stood up. “And, to you, sir.”
“Sit, sit. No need to be formal here, it’s only breakfast. Please, help yourself.”
Vatter was relieved when he saw how giddy Mordulfah looked. He didn’t want to spoil it and decided to put off the bad news.
“I must say, those girls you brought me, couldn’t be any more precious.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“They are your cousins, no?”
Vatter didn’t want to answer. “They are.”
“You surprise me, Captain.”
“Oh?”
“I didn’t think you had it in you, but yet you delivered right when it was most needed.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“I’ll not forget your loyalty.”
Vatter perked up hearing those words.
“A man who is willing to give up such sweet prizes is a man I value.”
Vatter decided this wasn’t such a bad day after all. He reached for some fresh fruit and dished himself a big helping of scrambled eggs.
After breakfast, Mordulfah invited Vatter out onto the patio to talk business.
“I know you didn’t come all the way out here to have breakfast with me. Before you begin, I already know about your problems from last night.”
Vatter wasn’t surprised. He figured someone on his force told one of the M and M’s and it made its way here quickly.
Mordulfah looked at Vatter. “Don’t worry about any of this. I have the answer to our problems.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do, and I’m going to need your help.”
Vatter waited for him to continue.
“I just got off the phone with Mister Reed. It seems he has something that will force Mister Winters to willingly give himself up.”
“And what is that?”
“His daughter.”
Vatter’s jaw about dropped. “She’s his prisoner?”
“Not at all. She’s more than willing to help in any way she can. Apparently, there’s no love loss there.”
“This is fantastic.”
“She is flying out here Saturday night. I need for you to go
pick her up and bring her to me.”
“Absolutely. What are you going to do with her?”
“Use her as bait. He’ll have no choice but to come to us.”
Vatter smiled hearing his plans.
Chapter 47
Jackson Michigan
Winters left the cafeteria before Bassett finished his breakfast, as he wanted to get out of the hospital. He wasn’t in the mood to see anyone else at the moment. While he’d gotten through his Hyde episode from last night, he was still working through some lingering anger issues. It was such a personal attack that it bothered him more than he knew. Time heals all wounds, he thought, but he didn’t know how much time it would take or how much he had.
He found Mayor Simpson in the hallway going to his office.
“Captain, I’m so glad you’re here. Dreadful thing what happened at the hospital. I don’t know how much more death this town can handle.”
“I know. It’s been a difficult week for everyone here, I’m sorry this happened yesterday.”
“Please, Captain, you have nothing to apologize for. If it wasn’t for you and your men, we’d all be dead by now.”
Winters didn’t respond.
They walked into his office and Simpson offered him coffee. “It’s not the best brewed, but it’ll get the job done.”
Winters didn’t care and graciously accepted a cup.
“I understand that young lady helped again.”
“Yes, Reese and Nate. Fortunately, they survived and were able to kill four of them.”
“I’ll go over there later and personally thank them.”
“They’ll appreciate it.”
“This attack has made everyone even angrier than before,” said Simpson in a raised tone. “If those bastards thought it would scare us off, then they’re wrong. If anything, more want to stay and fight than before. Those folks at the hospital were special to our little community. We will not dishonor them by running away.” Simpson finished by shaking his finger in the air.
Simpson’s attitude surprised Winters. The frail man looked re-energized and Winters wondered if he got an earful from everyone in town. If so, then the citizens of Jackson were showing some true resolve. It impressed Winters and made him feel better about the situation.