Dark Toll

by Warren Ray

  “Deputy Director,” smiled Gibbs.

  “He’s one of us,” said Green.

  “Us?” asked Alison.

  “The good guys and now, so are you,” said Gibbs.

  Green said good-bye to Alison and promised he’d be seeing her soon. He pulled out of the rest area and headed to his storage unit. It was an out of the way place, and no one would be around when he pulled in and exchanged vehicles.

  Thirty minutes later, Green was back in his office and asked Grace for his messages. He sat down and found one from his friend, Sam.

  He picked up the phone and dialed his number. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “What are you doing this weekend?”

  Sam talked in code. Neither one of them knew if their office phones were bugged, but never took the chance. “Don’t really have any plans, why?”

  “I’m laying some brick in the backyard and need some help.”

  Green knew this had something to do with his work truck. “As long as you got beers, buddy, I’m there.” Beers were code for meeting at their favorite pub.

  “Cool. Any time after breakfast is good.”

  Green hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. Sam had something important to tell him and it had to do with the truck. His stress level rose as he started to think about the worst-case scenario, that someone had recognized him.

  Chapter 55

  Jackson Michigan

  The rain came down harder and lightening began affecting the power generators. The lights in the cafeteria flickered off and on. Winters looked up at the lights and took another sip of his coffee as he waited for Scar and Meeks to join them.

  He heard them chatting as they came through the door and then heard the distinctive sound of a crutch hitting the tile floor. He turned to see Reese and Nate coming in behind them.

  “Captain, I hear you’ve been hitting the sauce,” laughed Meeks.

  Winters rolled his eyes knowing Elliott told them.

  “You didn’t think to bring us any?” asked Meeks finishing up.

  “There wouldn’t have been enough with you around,” retorted Winters.

  “Ooooh, nice one,” said Scar.

  Meeks laughed as he grabbed a chair for Reese.

  Winters knew they were anxious to hear about where he’d been and who had given him the alcohol. “Yes, I had three shots of what, I don’t know, all I know was that it burned like fire down my throat.”

  “Sounds like moonshine,” said Meeks.

  “It was brown colored.”

  “Apple pie moonshine with brown sugar in it,” said Nate.

  A few head nods among the men.

  “Whatever it was, it knocked me on my butt. I passed out for a couple of hours in the parking lot.”

  Everyone burst out laughing and continued to rib him, which was what he wanted them to do. They all needed the relief after yesterday’s assault on the hospital. He noticed Reese wasn’t laughing and didn’t look happy.

  “Hey, Captain, I got some cough syrup and if ya feeling hard up,” said Meeks.

  “As long as it’s cherry, then alright,” said Winters to what he hoped was the final joke.

  Amber gave Meeks a smack on the arm telling him enough.

  “Okay, so on a serious note, I found out who our spy is.”

  This got everyone’s attention.

  “How did you find out?” asked Elliott.

  Winters told them about his visit with Mayor Simpson and then interrogating a cop, then back to Simpson with Nordell at his side. “It’s where we went after that is why I had the three shots. The old man we visited, and I do mean old, is a bit of a character and pulled out a decanter. Believe me, I wanted to stop after the first, but then he wanted to make a toast to you, two.” Winters pointed to Amber and Reese.

  “Us? Why?” asked Amber.

  “It seems that you two have become quite the talk of the town.”

  Amber looked at Reese and both broke out in a grin.

  “I actually learned it earlier from Mayor Simpson. Seems you two have caused quite a stir in town and have even encouraged some teen girls to want to be just like you.”

  Meeks returned the friendly smack to Amber’s arm. “You two is celebrities.”

  “Whatever,” said Amber.

  “Anyways, much to the chagrin of some of the mothers in town, just know that you guys have got fans.”

  Winters could see that as much as the two girls tried to play it down, they were enjoying their moment, as some of the guys gave them high-fives. After everyone settled down, Scar asked about the third shot.

  “That was in celebration of the old man giving us the name of our spy. That third shot was well worth the price of admission.”

  They all nodded in agreement.

  “Oh, and by the second shot the alcohol was already kicking in and I kinda promised the old man that he could meet you guys.”

  “Will he have any shots for us?” asked Reese.

  “Oh, I’m sure he has plenty.”

  “I’d be down for that then.”

  Winters looked around the room at them all waiting for the moment to bring seriousness back to the conversation. Now that everyone had released their pent-up anxiety or anger, he needed their undivided attention.

  “Now, as you can imagine, when Nordell found out who the spy was, he was pretty pissed off. He knows the guy and wanted his head right then.”

  “Who is it?” asked Bassett.

  “I’ll let y’all know when the time is right, okay?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Anyway, I got Nordell to not go after this guy until after we use him one time to send out false information.

  Winters watched them nod at each other. “So, the question is, what false information do we want him to pass on?”

  “We can send them on a wild goose chase while we get the rest of the citizens out,” suggested Bassett.

  “Yeah, get them out all at once.”

  “Tell them we’ve got all these pretty girls leaving together, that’ll bring in all the cops.”

  “Set up an ambush and kill em all,” said Nate.

  Meeks patted Nate on the shoulder. “Yeah, I’m with Nate on that one.”

  Winters could see they had many options but didn’t want to rush into it. He’d take a day or two and put something together. He might be able to incorporate all of their suggestions into one big plan. Maybe by then, they’d have heard back from their own spy as to Mordulfah’s next move.

  Winters could see they were excited that they finally had the upper hand. While taking out the police station had been gratifying, it wasn’t enough, and they all wanted them to pay dearly for the attack on the hospital.

  “Oh, and one more thing guys,” said Winters, waiting to get their attention as the meeting was breaking up. “This does not leave this room. We can’t afford to let this slip out accidentally.”

  They all nodded their heads and got up out of their chairs. Bassett came over to Winters wanting to talk to him privately. Winters looked over Bassett’s shoulder and could see Reese wanted to talk to him as well. She waited for a few moments, but got frustrated and left when Amber invited her to leave together.

  Winters felt bad, but not bad enough to go chase after her. He still didn’t know what to do about the situation. He was half listening to Bassett while he watched her go through the door and didn’t realize Bassett had finished his sentence. Winters apologized and asked him to repeat it.

  “Captain, I’ll tell what, it can wait til tomorrow.”

  “No, please, go on. You said you were working on the perimeter.”

  “Yes, I’ve tightened up our defenses by making our area smaller and rotating the volunteers more often.”

  “That sounds great, Corporal. Can you draw out our new boundaries on a map and pass it around.”

  “I’m working on that now.”

  “Excellent work, Corporal. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  Winters walked out
of the cafeteria and headed upstairs. He decided to go talk to Reese. He still didn’t know what he was going to say, but she at least deserved a private conversation. He reached the top of the stairs and headed toward her room when he spotted her and Amber talking to some teenaged girls in the lobby. He stopped and watched as they interacted with them. The young girls were enthralled talking to them, so Winters decided not to interrupt.

  The thunderstorm still raged on and looked to be getting worse. They were not going anywhere in this kind of weather, and he still needed sleep. He headed for his room and passed out as soon as he hit the bed.

  Chapter 56

  Washington D.C.

  Green pulled into the parking lot the same time Sam did, and they entered their favorite bar together. The place was busier than the last time when no one was there but the owners. They found a table by the dart boards and the same short blonde haired waitress approached their table for a drink order.

  “Let me guess, a bucket of beers,” she said smiling.

  “You remember us?” asked Green.

  “Of course, I remember you guys, how could I not?”

  “What’s your name?” asked Sam.

  “Kristen.”

  “Well, Kristen, I’m Sam and this young stud is John.”

  Green laughed at Sam’s feeble attempt to flirt with her.

  “Now if you can remember our names, I’ll give you a big tip.”

  “Not a problem, guys,” she replied, as she paraded away.

  “A little young for you isn’t she?” asked Green.

  “She’s at least twenty-one. That’s old enough for me.”

  Green rolled his eyes and grabbed the darts. He needed to let off the stress of the day. He threw the first dart, hitting the nine. He then hit a twelve and completely missed the next throw.

  Sam took a turn and proceeded to start running the board as he was the better player. Kristen came back with their bucket.

  “Here you go boys.”

  “Ahem,” said Sam as he grabbed a beer.

  “Hmm, I don’t remember yours, but you’re John,” she said, then winked at Green and walked away.

  “Oh, damn, I think she wants you, John.”

  “Whatever.”

  “C’mon, you’re going to need to loosen up, especially after I tell you why I wanted to meet with ya.”

  This got Green’s attention.

  “Were you in Annapolis today?”

  Green gave him a curious look. “How did you know?”

  “My friend, who I got the bogus paperwork from, told me they were running a check on that truck of yours.”

  Green’s stress level rose. He grabbed a beer and took a big gulp. “They’re not going to be able to trace it back to me are they?”

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about with that. So, what were you doing?”

  Green told him the whole story, which made Sam chug a whole beer and reach for another one.

  “Damn, John. That’s a helluva a day you had there.”

  “No kidding. Thank God, Gibbs showed up when he did otherwise I don’t think I could have gotten her back.”

  “How’s she doing?”

  “Beaten. She’s just beaten down, Sam. It’s really sad how her life has turned out.”

  “Yeah, this sure as hell doesn’t help. I feel bad because she didn’t know what would happen when she gave us that stuff.”

  “I know and that’s not the worst part. We should have expected Reed to know where that recording came from.”

  Green paused before taking his turn. “But, he still won’t know who she gave it to.”

  Sam watched Green hit another nine and a bulls-eye. “One thing is for sure, Reed is worried, worried enough to go after Alison in broad daylight.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “He’s got to be freaking out.”

  “Wait till we send Perozzi the Chinese recording,” said Green referring to the recorded conversation of Perozzi talking with the Chinese about their California real estate deal. Gibbs had found that recording on Pruitt’s laptop and Perozzi would know who recorded it.

  Sam held up his bottle and clinked Green’s bottle. “That should cause a little friction.”

  Green wondered how they were going to deliver it to him. With the lock down of the Internet, it would be impossible to send it to him without them knowing where it came from. The UN controlled it and there was no longer any free flow of information on what was left of the Internet. He’d have to see about a courier or maybe the postal service, either way, he felt the need to move up their plans.

  Chapter 57

  Jackson Michigan

  Winters opened his eyes, rolled over, and immediately felt the effects of the hangover. With a splitting headache and cotton mouth, he reached over for the bottle of water sitting on the nightstand. He put it to his mouth but found it empty. “Three shots did this?” he thought as he struggled to get out of bed. It was still dark out and he used a flashlight to get to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and cupped his hands to drink the water before hopping into the shower. The cold water had an instantaneous effect and helped drive the headache away.

  Feeling better, he headed to the cafeteria and found a few guys, including Bassett, coming in from the night shift. He grabbed a couple of muffins and a coffee before sitting down.

  “Captain, you’re looking better,” said Bassett with a sly smile.

  “Took a cold shower.”

  “Cold showers work every time.”

  “Three shots of I don’t know what is all it took.”

  “Don’t feel bad, I’d probably feel the same way.”

  “How’d it go last night?”

  “Actually, it was quite interesting.”

  “Oh?”

  “After the storm passed, which was just after midnight, I did some probing past our lines.”

  Winters sipped his coffee and waited for him to continue.

  “Something just isn’t right with these guys. They’re either waiting for something or have no plans of invading again.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Captain, after the rain stopped, Eddie and I took a small group and shot at the guys on the interstate and they barely responded. They wouldn’t even come after us when we practically walked up to them. Something just seems off.”

  This got Winters attention.

  “It’s like they’re guarding us like we’re prisoners, which is ironic because there’s a prison on the other side of the interstate.”

  “Maybe cuz it was nighttime and they don’t like the dark?”

  “Doesn’t feel like it but there’s one way to find out.” Bassett looked at his watch. “It’ll be light out in about thirty minutes, why don’t we go test that theory.”

  Winters and Bassett finished their breakfast and drove up to the interstate to where Eddie Perlee stood guard. They parked on Lansing Road and walked up to the overpass where Eddie waited for them.

  “How’s it going, Eddie?” asked Winters shaking his hand.

  “I guess Bassett told ya about last night.”

  “That’s why we’re here.”

  “We’re no longer hiding our presence, they know we’re up here and they don’t seem to care. C’mon, I’ll show ya.”

  Eddie led them to the overpass, only this time he didn’t bother hiding. He walked right up out in the open, pointed his weapon, and took a shot. The bullet smashed out a headlight of a car they had been using as target practice. The whole front end was riddled bullet holes.

  Winters took his binoculars and looked over the bridge down below. It took a few moments before he could even find a Jiji. They kept their heads down from the bullets Eddie and his guys had been raining down on them. All the cars around the area had bullet holes in them.

  “Been having a little fun, Eddie?”

  “We’ve been a little bored up here.”

  “I can see that. Do these guys ever return fire?”

  “They did at f
irst, but since yesterday, they haven’t.”

  Winters looked at Bassett. “This is strange. What do you make of it, Corporal?”

  “These guys are following orders not to engage. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “Oh, they’re planning something, Captain,” said Eddie. “Maybe we should go get a couple of ‘em and interrogate them.”

  “No, they won’t have any idea. It’s like Bassett said, they’re just following orders.”

  “They’re probably just as bored up here as you are, Eddie,” said Bassett.

  “Maybe I should invite them over for tea,”

  Winters’ mind raced around trying to figure out Mordulfah’s plan. He wasn’t the kind of man to wait around and starve us out. He demanded action and expected immediate results. He had something planned and was obviously confident in those plans if he allowed his men to be sitting ducks in a shooting gallery. He wondered how long it would take before they would find out what those plans were.

  “Corporal, let’s go check out the southern perimeter. Let’s see how the cops react.”

  “Mind if I tag along?” asked Eddie. “I could use a change of scenery.”

  “Not at all,” said Winters.

  “I’ll follow you in my car,” said Eddie.

  Winters nodded and walked toward his old Chevy pickup.

  Chapter 58

  Bassett directed Winters over to Cement City, down on Wheaton Road, where they had a good field of vision of US 12. It also offered them a good escape in case the cops didn’t have the same orders as the Jijis did. The cops parked squad cars about every half mile and on every intersection.

  Winters got off the dirt road and headed into a barren field with Eddie behind him. They stopped and Bassett grabbed Taylor’s Savage rifle. He placed it on the hood and waited for Eddie and Winters to come around the other side.

  Winters got out and raised his binoculars to look across the field. Two squad cars sat on the highway with a couple of cops leaning on them unaware of their presence. He eyed the scoped rifle and looked at Bassett. “Mind if I take the first shot?”

  “Please do, Captain.”

  Winters came around the front of the truck and grabbed the rifle. He looked through the scope and stared at the cops while they chatted with each other. One lit a cigarette. Winters started to breathe faster as a tinge of Hyde bubbled to the surface and turned into excitement. The cops talked to each other as if they did not have a care in the world. Winters eyed them wondering which one to kill. They both deserved it for what happened at the hospital. His heartbeat quickened as he placed his index finger on the trigger. Satisfaction was seconds away as he lined up the crosshairs on the one holding the cigarette. The thought of quenching Hyde’s thirst again caused him to flick the rifle over a centimeter before squeezing the trigger. The shot hit the blue light next to the cop’s head. He let out a deep breath as the cops jerked their heads around before hitting the deck.