Dark Toll

by Warren Ray

  Winters got out of the truck and they headed inside city hall. They reached Simpson’s office and knocked on the door. Simpson looked up and waved them in. Winters then asked him the same question he asked Nordell.

  Simpson rubbed his hands together thinking about it. “That was probably seven or eight years ago. I only remember because he was from the area, not from Jackson, but somewhere close by.”

  Winters became excited and frustrated at the same time because he knew they were getting close, but it was still out of his grasp. He tried to settle down thinking someone in town would remember and that they’d have him by the end of the day.

  “Did you do anything about the radio idea?” asked Winters.

  “That was next on my agenda.” Simpson turned to Nordell. “Nick, take Captain Winters over to see, Virgil. If anyone knows who has a HAM radio, it’ll be him.”

  They left Simpson’s office and headed back to the parking lot. Winters offered to drive and they hopped in the truck.

  “Who is this Virgil?” asked Winters.

  “Virgil. He’s a good ole boy and knows everything about computers and electronics. He’s self-taught and can fix about anything. He’s a bit out there, but like I said, he’s a good ole boy.”

  Nordell directed Winters down Stonewall Drive and had him pull up to a two-story red house. The place looked abandoned because the lawn like all the others in town was overgrown.

  “Stay here, till I get him out. He’s a bit squeamish about strangers, hell anyone really.”

  Winters shook his head wondering what kind of a man he was about to meet.

  Nordell got out of the truck but stayed by it while calling out to the old man.

  “Virgil, you in there? Virgil.” He waited a moment before yelling out again. “Virgil, it's Nick, Nick Nordell. Got something I need to ask ya.”

  Nordell came back to the truck. “He knows we’re here, just got to give him a minute is all.”

  Winters tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while he stared at the entrance. He stopped when the door opened. Winters saw a hunched over man, who looked to be in his eighties, walk out onto the porch. His crumbled blue plaid shirt was halfway tucked into his tan pants. His whiskers were the same length as his hair, which he seemed to shave all at once.

  “Whatcha want, Nicky?”

  Winters laughed to himself as the old man called the grisly old Marine by his boyhood name.

  “Sir, I need to ask you a question or two.”

  “Which is it?”

  “That all depends on the answer to the first one.”

  Virgil put his hand up to his eyes to block the sun. “Who you got in that truck?”

  “He’s a friend.”

  Virgil didn’t flinch. “Well, why’s he still sitting in the truck then?”

  Nordell turned to Winters and smiled.

  Winters hopped out and they approached the old man.

  “This is Cole Winters, he’s been…”

  Virgil cut him off. “I know who he is. You’ve been quite the pain haven’t cha?”

  Winters didn’t know what he meant by that and wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

  “Anybody the government considers to be a pain in the ass is my kind of people. C’mon inside, this sun is killing me.”

  Winters instantly liked this guy. He loved quirky no non-sense kinds of people who were gruff and had little patience for stupidity. He reminded him of the old man they met months ago at a closed down gas station. Besides giving his men fuel and food, the old guy had given him some helpful advice.

  They walked inside to the living room, which had all types of electronics sitting on shelves. There wasn’t a flat space that didn’t have either a radio or computer sitting on it. He took them into the kitchen where Winters observed car battery after car battery lined up on shelves. Wires went from one to the other. He figured the old man had a generator out back as he saw a yellow electrical cord running out the window.

  Even the chairs had batteries sitting on them, so they leaned against the cluttered counter tops. Virgil grabbed a decanter with a brown liquid Winters figured was whiskey. The old man grabbed three glasses, poured a shot in each, and handed out the glasses.

  “To another day of freedom.”

  Winters clinked the glass and threw it back in one swig. The brown liquid burned his throat as it went down. It didn’t taste like whiskey and he wondered if Virgil had made it himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a drink and knew it was even longer for hard liquor.

  Virgil stared at Winters for a couple of moments, then said, “Is it true you have a couple of young ladies fighting with ya?”

  Winters wasn’t as surprised with this question as he would have been earlier since Mayor Simpson informed him about the girl’s popularity. “I do, yes.”

  “Are they good fighters?”

  “They are indeed, sir.”

  “Hmph, I’ll be darned,” said Virgil, as he grabbed the decanter and poured another round. “Would ya trust ‘em with your life?”

  “I would, and have several times,” said Winters. He found it interesting that he was asking such questions. He was old school for sure and probably didn’t understand it.

  “I’d like to meet ‘em if I could.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Virgil raised his glass. “Here’s to your young ladies and to all of your fighters.”

  They again clinked glasses and emptied them.

  “Now, what’s that question you need answering, Nicky?”

  Nordell told him about the spy and how he thought the man communicated. He also told him they thought he was a disgraced cop.

  Virgil stood still as if he didn’t hear the question. After a few moments, he left the room. Nordell looked at Winters but didn’t acknowledge anything unusual. They heard something fall in the next room and Virgil cussing out loud. He then came back into the room with a shoebox, which he placed on top of a car battery. He opened it and started to go through what looked like handwritten receipts. He finally pulled one out and handed it to Nordell.

  “This is the man you want, Nicky.”

  Nordell took the paper. “Son-of-a-bitch. Nick Posey.”

  Winters grabbed the paper. “You know him?”

  “Oh, I know him alright. Bastards got the same name as me, but everyone calls him Posey.”

  Winters turned to Virgil. “Are you sure this is him?”

  “Yep. He came to me a couple months back looking for a radio. He’s from Parma, and when you told me he was a former cop, I knew it was him.”

  “Bastard was with me when you were being chased into the woods. That’s how they knew you were there. As soon as I find him, I’m going to kill him.”

  Winters felt the same desire but knew he now had an ace in the hole, and grabbed Nordell’s arm. “We’re going to wait on that. He’s not going to know it, but he’s going to assist us.”

  Nordell calmed down, but only after Winters promised he could have the traitor after he became useless. Virgil let out a gruff laugh as he grabbed the decanter and poured them a third round.

  Chapter 52

  Annapolis Maryland

  Seeing the submachine gun didn’t faze Green for a second, and he let off the brake while flooring the gas pedal. The work truck charged toward the man holding the gun, who didn’t quite understand what was about to happen to him. Green tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he slammed the man through the glass door. He flew inside the building as the exploding glass echoed out in the parking lot between the buildings. Green turned around, threw the gearshift in drive, and pulled the truck forward. He jumped out, grabbing his pistol, as Gibbs leaped inside the damaged entrance.

  Dust swirled around the entrance as Green followed Gibbs inside to the back door that opened into the garage. They slowly entered the garage and found the black sedan parked in front of the garage entrance.

  “That’s far enough,” yelled a man.

  It
came from the back of the garage and they turned to see a man march forward using Alison as a shield. She was crying and stood helplessly with her hands tied behind her back. The man was pulling down on the back of her hair and had a gun pointed at her head.

  “Drop your weapons,” he yelled.

  Gibbs kept his aim on the gunman and inched closer to him.

  “I said stop and drop your weapon!”

  “That’s not gonna happen.”

  “Then I’ll kill her.”

  “That’s what we’re here for,” said Gibbs.

  Green didn’t want her to die but wasn’t sure if Gibbs felt the same way. He might be thinking big picture wise and not worrying about collateral damage.

  The gunman seemed confused, and then realized the gravity of his situation. He moved his pistol away from Alison and pointed it at Gibbs.

  Gibbs fired one shot. The man’s head jerked backward as he collapsed to the ground. Gibbs moved forward finishing him off with another headshot. Alison screamed as she jumped away from him.

  Green ran to her. “It’s okay, Alison. We’re not going to hurt you.”

  “But he, he said,” she tried getting words out through her hysterics.”

  “He was just bluffing, okay.”

  Green untied her hands and escorted her out of the office to his truck. The damage to the backend of the truck didn’t prevent it from being driven, so he opened the passenger door and helped her in. He then ran back inside to see Gibbs going through the bloody corpse and grabbing his wallet.

  “I need to find out who these two clowns are.”

  “Where are we going to take her?”

  “Abby’s place,” said Gibbs, referring to former Senator Abby Seeley’s home in Manassas, Virginia.

  Green liked the idea as it was out in the middle of nowhere. He wasn’t sure if she would mind, but it was their safest place. She was still in hysterics and he wanted to calm her down, but right now, all he cared about was getting out of there before Reed showed up. If he spotted them, they would all be staying out in Manassas.

  Chapter 53

  Jackson Michigan

  Winters was slurring his words when he said goodbye to Virgil. He hadn’t had three shots of any kind of liquor in quite a while and had never been much of a drinker, to begin with. He couldn’t help it though; because it would have been rude not to accept the offer. The old man might have been the scruffy loner type, but he had manners and a way of doing things. The buzz had been worth it, as they now knew the name of the spy.

  Winters drove back into town as he thought about what they were going to do with the information, and how they could use it to their advantage. He needed the ruse to be big and worthwhile because they would only be able to use it one time. He would take his time deciding and get ideas from his men.

  A smile broke out while thinking about their find. He turned to Nordell, who looked to be in a good mood as well.

  “Virgil is quite a character,” said Winters.

  “Yes, he is. He was my industrial arts teacher in high school.”

  “Good teacher?”

  “The best. He’s the one who encouraged me to join the Corps.”

  “Was he a Marine?”

  “Korean War.”

  Winters suspected Virgil had played an important role in his life. He didn’t think Nordell would allow anyone to call him, Nicky, unless he’d earned it.

  Nordell turned to Winters as he parked the truck back at City Hall. “I’ll let you figure out the best way to use Posey, you seem to be good at big picture strategy, but afterward, I get his head.”

  Winters could see the resolve in Nordell’s eyes. Posey’s traitorous actions had severely hurt the town and Nordell was going to make sure the man paid for them with his life. Winters could certainly make an argument about who pulled the trigger after the way his men were murdered in their beds. Perhaps it was the alcohol in him, but he was in too good of a mood not to give in to Nordell. Besides, dead was dead.

  Winters nodded. “I just need a favor.”

  Nordell waited for him to continue.

  “Don’t say a word to anyone, not even Mayor Simpson.”

  Nordell understood and gave him a firm nod. He opened the door and got out.

  Winters pulled out and headed back to the hospital. He decided to park in the far corner of the lot under some trees. He felt the alcohol over powering him and he needed a power nap to sleep it off. He left the windows down and the air blew through the truck as he leaned his head back. He immediately dozed off and started to dream about his wife, Ellie, and their daughter, Cara. He dreamt about their trip to Orlando and how much fun it had been. Even though Cara was being obstinate, she still enjoyed visiting all the theme parks in the area. She had let her guard down on more than one occasion and had temporarily allowed him back in. That was the kind of magic those parks produced. No matter how bad things were, you could leave it all at the gate and allow yourself to have fun.

  Winters put his arm around Ellie as they flew down the log flume ride, with water splashing on them. He suddenly jerked his head up as he felt rain drops coming through the open window. It had started to pour, and he cranked the window up. He then slid across the seat and closed the one on the passenger side.

  He sat there watching the rain trying to remember his dream, but it faded as he realized he’d been sleeping for a couple of hours. He reached for the bottle of water on the dash and emptied its contents. He needed to get back and tell the men about the spy. They could then figure out what to do.

  Driving back across the parking lot in the heavy downpour was slow going as he tried to wake up. Never again would he drink three shots of anything. He laughed to himself when he remembered the promise he made to the old man, about bringing the girls by. He didn’t think that would happen anytime soon if ever, as they all had too much on their plates for social calls. He shook his head and thought about the things that you say when you’re under the influence.

  Winters parked as close as he could get and dashed inside. The rain was coming down so hard it had soaked his jacket by the time he got inside the hospital. He walked down the hallway and ran into Elliott and Amber as they headed to the cafeteria.

  “Where the heck have you been?” asked Elliott.

  “Everywhere I think.”

  “Is that alcohol I smell?” asked Amber.

  “It is.”

  “You’ve been drinking?” asked Elliott.

  Winters didn’t expect this. “Sort of.”

  “Sort of nothing, I can smell it on your breath,” laughed Amber.

  “I didn’t know you were a drinker,” said Elliott.

  “I’m not, but it was unavoidable. Look, I’ll explain everything, but first I need to get everyone together.”

  “Well, Bassett and Burns are getting something to eat right now,” said Elliott.

  “Where’s Scar and Meeks?”

  “Upstairs with Nate and Reese.”

  “Can you go get them, Elliott?”

  Elliott turned around and headed back upstairs while Winters and Amber continued to the cafeteria.

  “Reese and I have been worried about you,” said Amber.

  Winters hadn’t realized his absence would do that.

  “You didn’t come by and visit like you normally do, so we thought maybe you were out doing something crazy.”

  Winters didn’t want to tell her he was avoiding everyone and apologized by saying he had a lot on his plate today.

  Amber gently grabbed his arm. “Okay, but please just let us know next time.”

  Winters could see the sincerity in her eyes, which made him feel guilty. He wasn’t thinking about anyone else this morning but himself, and it had caused her to be anxious, and probably more so with Reese.

  He put his hand on her shoulder. “I will, I promise.”

  They walked into the cafeteria and greeted Bassett and Burns. Winters drank a large glass of water and then poured a coffee. He needed to get his
head together before everyone arrived.

  Chapter 54

  Annapolis Maryland

  Green peeled out of the parking lot and headed back up Industrial Road. Gibbs kept right behind him. He looked over at Alison who had stopped crying but appeared to be in shock. He’d seen it a few times after a battle.

  “Are you doing okay?” he asked her.

  It took a few moments before she nodded. “Who were those men?”

  “Reed’s.”

  She turned to him. “You sent him the recording?”

  “I did.”

  “So, they came right to me.”

  “It’s my fault. He got it this morning and I didn’t think it through until after. I’m sorry.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “A safe place, I promise. You can never go back to your house.”

  “There’s nothing there I want.”

  Green knew that Reed gave the house to her as payment for keeping her mouth shut for things her husband did. She called it making a deal with the devil. Green glanced at her and observed a broken woman with nothing left in life. Her husband was murdered, and now she was going to a strange place wearing nothing but nightwear. He felt bad for her and would do whatever he could to make her life better.

  They safely made it to the other side of D.C. and across the Potomac when Gibbs flashed his lights to pull over at the rest stop up ahead. Green made the turn and pulled to the far end of the rest area where there were no other vehicles around.

  Gibbs got out and approached them. “I think it would be better if we didn’t take the truck out there.”

  “Do you think we were spotted?”

  “I can’t say for sure, but this thing is a lot more noticeable than mine.”

  Green gave it some thought. “It might be better if I got back to the office anyway. Do you think you can take her the rest of the way?”

  “That would be the better move. Do you want a ride?”

  “No, actually I’ve got another car stashed just a few miles from here. It’s a storage unit, so this thing will be out of sight.”

  Green turned to Alison. “Alison, this is Jacob Gibbs.”

  “I know who he is. Former FBI director.”