Dark Toll

by Warren Ray

  “I’m glad to hear this, Mayor.”

  “We’ll continue to get the elderly and the children out of town, but we got more mother’s giving in to their teenaged sons and daughters who want to stay and fight.”

  “Daughters?” asked Winters in a surprised tone.

  “Yes, they all know about your young ladies, Reese and the other one.”

  “Amber, she’s the older one.”

  “Well, they’ve become quite the heroes to them. The way they helped rescue the girls the other night, word has gotten around and they all want to be just like them.”

  Hearing Simpson say these things stunned Winters. It surprised him that Amber and Reese had such an affect on the youth in town, but the more he considered it, the more it made sense. Those two girls were true role models, not some superficial sports hero or singer type of role model. These girls were fighting for everyone’s freedom and willing to lay down their lives for it. What spoke larger than this? Nothing. Winters remembered a time when all of America thought this of their veterans. He hoped someday his men would be able to bask in that glory, but he wasn’t so sure because right now, they were all wanted fugitives.

  “I don’t know what to say, sir,” said Winters, not knowing if this upset the mothers. “I hope we’re not frustrating their moms.”

  “Some, of course, but believe me, after what happened yesterday, more and more are coming around to the idea that everyone needs to pitch in.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Now, about this spy, I want to find out who this bastard is right away,” Simpson stated firmly.

  Again, Simpson’s energy surprised Winters. “Yes, that is what I want as well.”

  “How can we find out who it is?”

  “He is someone who is close to you, or he’s close to someone else who is close to you.”

  “Yes, of course,” said Simpson rubbing his hand through his thin gray hair.

  “He’s going to be someone with a radio, more than likely a HAM radio.”

  Simpson's eyes lit up. “A HAM radio you say.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “That just might narrow things down.”

  Winters could see the wheels spinning in Simpson mind. He must know someone with a HAM radio, or maybe someone who knew people that did.

  “Captain, I might have an answer for you later in the day.”

  “Okay, then. Whatever you do, don’t confront this person, just let me know and we’ll handle it.”

  Winters shook the mayor’s frail hand and left City Hall in a much better mood than before. This attack, while unfortunate, had the reverse effect from the one the cops were probably wanting. Winters was certain the cops wanted to strike fear in the hearts of the citizens, but instead, they struck a nerve. They were now angry instead of scared. Rather than run away, more of them wanted to stay and fight. Nothing else explained why mothers were allowing their sons and daughters to stay and help in whatever way they could.

  Chapter 48

  Bethesda Maryland

  Time crawls when you are stuck in a meeting of little substance. All you can think about is what you could be doing or what needs to be done. It takes great strength to keep your cool and Major Green was just about to lose his when the bloviating finally stopped. He looked around the room and could see that everyone finally had their egos filled. He jumped out of his seat and gave everyone a quick handshake. He then hurried down the hallway back to his office to check for any messages from Gibbs before leaving for Bethesda to go see Alison O’Connor. Not seeing any messages, Green grabbed his jacket and headed to the garage.

  He decided to change cars in case he ran into trouble. He learned his lesson, to be extra careful, and now that Reed had the recording, there was no telling how he would react. So, he decided to drive a pickup truck he purchased, which had lawn care signs on both sides. It even had some equipment in the back to finish off the deception.

  It was noon as he pulled into the posh neighborhood where Alison O’Connor lived. He wondered if Gibbs had already arrived. He promised to meet him and hoped he wouldn’t be late. If she hesitated about going with them, he figured it might be easier to convince her with both of them present. Green turned onto her street and saw her long driveway up ahead. As he got closer, he noticed a black sedan parked in the driveway. Thinking Gibbs got there before him, he started to turn in, but then remembered Gibbs drove a dark blue car and didn’t have Maryland tags. Green slowly drove by and then parked at the edge of her property by the bushes that extended to the road. He pulled up just enough so he could still see her front door.

  He debated on what to do. It could be just a relative or a friend visiting, maybe even a male friend. He certainly didn’t want to make it awkward for her if that was the case. Green’s anxiety rose thinking these could very well be Reed’s henchmen there to kill her. If that were the case, then it would be too late, as they’d finish her off before he got inside. He then realized they’d want to question her first about the recording and if she had given it to someone. Thankfully, Green didn’t use his real name with her, although, a good description would eventually lead back to him.

  “To hell with this,” he yelled out.

  He pulled on the door handle just as her front door opened up and two men came out dragging Alison. She wore the same light blue satin robe she’d had on when she answered the door a few days ago. They threw her in the backseat and began to back out of the driveway.

  Green’s heart began to race. He needed to do something and decided to ram the car. He threw his truck in reverse and was about to floor the gas pedal, but realized it was too late. The car flew out of the driveway faster than he had anticipated. Green smacked the steering wheel frustrated. He had no choice but to follow them. He let off the brake and backed the truck into her driveway. He spun the steering wheel around and floored the pedal. The tires squealed as he fishtailed out of the driveway just as a car came right at him.

  Chapter 49

  Jackson Michigan

  Winters left city hall and went to visit Bill Taylor at their makeshift prison. He had thought about going there last night and pay the six cops they held prisoner a little visit. He almost gave into the urge but knew if he did, he’d cross the line between killing and murdering. He shuddered at the thought of it. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself had he done so. He regretted and felt bad because of the many mistakes he made over the last few months, but they only involved his inexperience, not his failings in moral character.

  Winters parked the old pickup around back and hopped up on the dock. He opened the door and heard Taylor yelling in the back. He found Badger as he was leaving the room that held the Jijis. He rolled his eyes at Winters as he slammed the door.

  “These dumb sons-of-a-bitches, they still think we’re their servants. All they do is bitch about this and that. I swear to God, if they whine anymore I’m going to teach them a lesson.”

  Winters chuckled at him. “Did you not get enough sleep last night, Badger?”

  “Sleep? Hell, after burning down that cop station, I was too jacked up to sleep. Thanks again for including me.”

  “You deserve it for what you’re doing here.”

  “It ain’t easy listening to these pansies. Now, those cops are just as bad, but a couple of ‘em have really bad attitudes. I had to separate them into three different groups. Two of them are total douche bags, arrogant little weasels. I got another two that are real momma’s boys, constantly crying. While the other two, well they’re the ones Reese beat the hell out of. We patched them up, but I don’t pay much attention to those two bullies. I told them because they like to beat on little girls, that it was karma paying them back.”

  “Glad to see you’ve got it handled. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Ha. I’m starting to think I need to get some of them teddy bears.”

  Winters wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not.

  “So, what brings you her
e?”

  Winters didn’t want to tell him he was just trying to avoid the hospital. “Thought I might talk to the cops, see if they had any more info we could use.”

  “I’ll have you talk to the whiny ones. They’re easy enough, but you might want to bring some tissues with ya.”

  Again, he wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not.

  “I’ll bring the weakest one into that room over there,” said Taylor pointing down the hall.

  Winters waited and watched as they escorted a blindfolded cop to the room and sat him down.

  Taylor came up to Winters. “His name is Andy Deeble, a bit of a cry baby.”

  Winters watched the man’s eyes dart around the room when they took off his blindfold. Winters had killed many cops and with the exception of when Cox held him prisoner in Detroit, he had never talked with any of them. This one was a scared and nervous kid. He couldn’t be much older than twenty-one. Scared or not, he was still a rapist and a murderer and he didn’t feel sorry for him. He should have known there would be consequences if he were captured. Of course, he probably thought nobody would catch him. They ruled Detroit with impunity and did it without a care in the world.

  Winters walked into the room and sat down. “Do you know who I am?”

  Deeble nodded his head.

  “Andy, I have a few questions I want you to answer.”

  “Can I say first that I’m sorry, I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done. I know better and shouldn’t have done these things.”

  “Does that include raping girls?”

  Deeble looked at the table. “I, I, uhm, feel especially bad about that, I’m really sorry about that, I didn’t want to, but they were making fun of me cuz I was still a virgin.”

  Tears came down his cheeks and dropped on the table. Now he understood Taylor’s remark on having tissues handy. “Listen Andy, I’m not here for your confessions. You’re going to have to take that up with the man upstairs someday. Right now, I just want you to answer my questions, okay?”

  Deeble nodded.

  “Do you know who is spying on us in Jackson?”

  He shook his head.

  “Do you know anything about him?”

  Deeble hesitated for a moment.

  “I swear if you’re holding out on me, I’m going to bring Reese back here. You remember her, don’t cha?”

  He nodded.

  “Believe me, she’d like nothing better than to come here and beat the hell out of each of ya. Now tell me, what do you know?”

  “I know he used to be a cop back in the day.”

  “Used to be?”

  “Yeah, I heard some talk that he was kicked off the force for something, I don’t know what though.”

  Winters thought this was quite interesting.

  “Do you know how he’s communicating?”

  “He has a radio because we get info in real time.”

  This confirmed Bassett’s earlier assumption.

  Winters asked him a few more questions, but couldn’t get his mind off the fact that the spy used to be a cop. A disgraced cop meant it happened before the force became corrupt. If he got lucky, someone in Jackson would remember hearing about it in the news and perhaps even know the person.

  Chapter 50

  Bethesda Maryland

  Green swung the pickup out of Alison’s driveway and fought for control as the vehicle fishtailed, barely missing a car coming right at him. The approaching car’s tires screeched to a stop. Green looked inside to see Gibbs lowering the window.

  “They just took her,” yelled Green. “Black four door, Maryland tags.”

  “Go, go, we’ll tail them.”

  Gibbs spun his car around like a stunt car driver and blew past Green as if he stood still. Green floored the pedal to catch up with the faster Gibbs. He thought his luck had run out until he showed up. He touched his side and gave his pistol a reassuring pat. They caught up to the black car and Gibbs eased off allowing it to go on its way, which meant they were going to wait for it to stop before they did anything. He wondered if Gibbs would take them down out in the open or wait until they got to their destination.

  The black car got on the beltway and headed east. The traffic was typical for the day, which made it easy for Gibbs to stay close without being spotted. Green stayed a couple of car lengths away from Gibbs and now wished he wasn’t driving such a conspicuous vehicle. Green became nervous when they exited onto US 50 and headed toward Annapolis. Were they going to Reed’s house? If this was the case, they needed to take them out before they got there. He thought about where they could do it. Looking out at the traffic, he knew it couldn’t be on such a busy road. There were plenty of places less busy as they got closer to Reed’s residence. He wished he could contact Gibbs but didn’t have a cell phone.

  A sense of relief washed over him as they passed the exit to Reed’s place, but then he grew concerned that Reed might meet them wherever they were taking Alison. The black car got in the right-hand lane and its signal came on. Green turned his head and then cut off a car as he jerked the truck over a lane without signaling. A horn blared at him as the driver then passed by, flipping him off.

  Up ahead, Gibbs followed the car onto West Street, where they headed north and then turned onto Bestgate Road. They passed the Annapolis Mall and Green figured they must be getting close to their destination. The heavier traffic blocked the left turn he needed to take to get on Industrial Drive. Gibbs disappeared behind the line of traffic coming out of the street. Sitting in the middle of the intersection, the light finally turned yellow but a car sped up to beat the red. Green floored the pedal, running the red light trying to catch up. The first block had retail stores to the right that soon turned into office spaces like the ones on the left. The further he went, the more industrial it became, and the road ended at a cement plant. Green saw a few cement trucks maneuvering through the yard, but he didn’t spot Gibbs.

  Green took a left onto a drive that snaked through office buildings. There were not many cars in the parking lots and it appeared many of the offices were empty. It became even more desolate the further he went into the complex. He drove around a building where he finally spotted Gibbs.

  Gibbs hurried over. “They pulled into that last garage door at the end.”

  “What’s our play?”

  “Not sure. It doesn’t look like anyone’s around.”

  “We’re pretty close to Reed’s house.”

  Gibbs gave him a concerned look. “How close?”

  “Maybe five miles.”

  “Then we need to move fast. They’re probably calling him right now.”

  Green watched him dart his head around surveying the area. He had faith in Gibbs coming up with a plan.

  “Are you armed?”

  Green nodded.

  “There’s an entrance right next to the garage and it’s more than likely locked, which means we need to bust in there. This eliminates any element of surprise.”

  “So, how are we supposed to get in there?” asked Green.

  Gibbs backed away from the truck. “Is this beast one of your decoys?”

  Green nodded.

  “Can it be traced back to you?”

  “No. All the paperwork is fake.”

  “Good. I want you to smash it into the door. Use the back end to do it.”

  The idea appealed to Green and a smile grew across his face.

  “Don’t aim for the garage door, cuz their car is probably sitting right on the other side of it.”

  “Got it.”

  “After you punch through, pull it back forward and I’ll charge in.”

  Green pulled the truck toward the last office. He looked in the mirror to see Gibbs running behind him holding a .45 pistol in his right hand. As Green got closer to the last door, he swerved into the parking space. He threw it in reverse and turned his head to line up his approach. Gibbs stood against the building ready to go. Green put his left foot on the brake and stepped on the gas. Th
e truck jerked against the brakes. Green was just about to let off the brake when the door opened and a man stepped out holding a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun.

  Chapter 51

  Jackson Michigan

  Winters drove back to City Hall to tell the mayor about the spy being a former cop. He’d have to come up with an excuse as to how he knew this because Simpson didn’t know about their prisoners.

  Winters pulled in the parking lot just as Nordell exited the building. He didn’t want to deal with the retired Marine right now and stayed in the truck pretending to be looking for something, but gave up when Nordell headed right to him.

  “Captain,” said Nordell as he approached the open window.

  “Hey Gunny, what’s going on?”

  “You tell me. I hear you went to Detroit last night.”

  Winters wondered how he knew. “We did. I hope you’re not mad I didn’t include you.”

  Nordell shook his head. “Not at all. I understand why you did it. We’ve got a big mole around here and he’s certainly got his eye on me.”

  Winters was pleasantly surprised at his candor. “Gunny, I was just visiting our prisoners and I think I might have learned something of value.”

  Nordell just stared at Winters, waiting for him to continue.

  Winters told him about the spy being a former cop and he more than likely has a HAM radio.

  Nordell’s steely eyes widened a little as he listened. “The HAM radio makes sense. They were too quick on us yesterday for anything else. The former cop makes me think back some time ago about a Detroit cop that got in trouble. I was still in the Corps, but was back home visiting when someone mentioned it to me.”

  “Who would have mentioned it to you?”

  “Not sure, but I wasn’t back very long and wouldn’t have visited with many people.”

  “You think Mayor Simpson might remember?”

  “Let’s go ask him.”