Dark Toll

by Warren Ray

  Winters let go of the rifle.

  “Wind must have taken it,” said Bassett.

  “It’s all yours,” said Winters taking a step backward.

  Winters stood back as Bassett and Eddie took some pot shots at the squad car. He second-guessed himself, because at the very moment before he pulled his shot, he felt like a murderer. He then started worrying if he could no longer kill his enemy. He went through what just happened and realized he was still angry from the hospital assault. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that if he had taken out that cop, he’d be fighting Hyde all day, which he didn’t think he could manage, two days in a row.

  “They don’t seem to want to come at us either, Captain,” said Bassett.

  “Hell, let’s move in a little closer,” said Eddie.

  As Eddie finished, a couple of rounds hit the truck.

  “Oh, never mind,” said Eddie.

  Bassett pulled the trigger a couple more times. “Let’s see if we can get you guys moving.”

  For the next five minutes, they exchanged gunfire with them. Winters kept an eye on their flanks and didn’t see any movement from the squad cars on either side of them. He knew then that even though these guys returned fire, they obviously had the same orders not to attack.

  Before leaving, they each emptied a magazine in order to cover their exit. Winters waved at Eddie as he proceeded back to Lansing Road and they headed to the hospital. They went back to the cafeteria where Scar, Meeks, and Burns were getting breakfast.

  “Captain, you’re up early,” said Meeks.

  “This surprises you?” asked Winters.

  “Well, I thought maybe you were still hung over,” said Meeks with a big grin on his face.

  Winters grabbed some coffee and sat down across from him. “I was, but then I took a shower.”

  “Oh, yeah, the cold water in this place will cure just about anything.”

  Winters raised his cup to him. He then caught them up on their early morning activities. Everyone tried to come up with reasons why, but none made much sense.

  “You got anymore Sun Tzu, Burns?” asked Meeks.

  Burns took a moment to think of a fitting Sun Tzu quote and then said, “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”

  “Well, he’s definitely waiting for the right moment,” said Scar.

  “He needs to because he knows it’ll be a bloody mess if he comes in here again,” said Meeks.

  “I’m sure he and Vatter are well aware by now, that the attack on the hospital has only shored up the resolve of everyone still here,” said Scar.

  “The mere fact that his men are not responding to any more attacks tells me that Mordulfah has some kind of ace up his sleeve,” said Burns.

  “Which makes me think we should wait to see what it is before we use our ace,” said Winters referring to the discovery of Nick Posey.

  “That’s probably a good idea, Captain,” said Burns. “There’s no sense in burning that one if he’s got something big coming at us.”

  Winters leaned back in his chair thinking about Mordulfah’s next move in this chess game he liked to play. The man that held him captive didn’t have this kind of patience without some kind of a plan. Winters thought about Posey and hoped this ace in the hole would be enough to combat whatever Mordulfah was going to throw at them.

  Chapter 59

  Manassas, Virginia

  Sweat beaded down Green’s face as he reached his driveway. He’d gone for a fast-paced five-mile run and felt good about his time. He needed to stay in shape in order to keep his mind sharp. For him, the two went hand in hand, and he had a lot to think about in regards to their upcoming plans.

  Yesterday was not a great start for those plans, and he had been lucky to save the life of Alison O’Connor. He didn’t have any experience in espionage but was getting a crash course over the past few weeks with Gibbs helping him. The former FBI man knew a lot, but even he didn’t have the kind of skills a CIA man would possess. It would help with their next move because getting the recorded conversation of Perozzi’s secret meeting sent to him would take some finesse.

  Because it had been a secret meeting, only a few people would have known about it. One of those, of course, would have been Reed, who was always gathering information with which to blackmail people. Green figured Perozzi would immediately suspect Reed. He hoped this would be enough to drive a wedge between them. Divide and conquer was the best strategy they could come up with. After that, they would start sending these recordings out to key players in Washington and then to the public at large. Hopefully, it would cause a ground swell too big for them to contain, big enough to hit the media. As things stood presently, he knew that was impossible since the government controlled the media.

  Green took a quick shower and met his mother downstairs for breakfast. They were going out to Manassas to meet with the secret group to discuss their next move. He looked forward to seeing how Alison was doing.

  It started to rain as they drove out to Senator Abby Seeley’s home, which made Green wonder if this storm came through Michigan. He wondered how Winters and Bassett were doing. He wished he could get word to them about Reed’s plans to send Cara Winters there. It was a good move on Reed’s part and only hoped Bassett would be able to help him. Green knew about the spy in Jackson and felt certain Bassett was still alive, otherwise, he would have heard differently by now.

  He pulled into the long driveway, and slowly made his way through the downpour. He looked over at his mom who held onto an umbrella. After hearing about what happened to Alison, she changed her plans so she could meet and personally thank her for what she did. “That woman deserves our gratitude,” she told him.

  Green got out and ran around to get his mother’s door. He pulled it open and out came her umbrella. They both hustled up on the oversized porch where Sam was waiting.

  “Sam, what time did you get here?”

  “Just pulled in. Mrs. Green, how are you?”

  “I’m good, Sam. How about you?”

  “Worried about your son,”

  “Yes, I know the feeling,” she said giving her son a glare. “We’re all going to have to be a lot smarter.”

  “Yes, we are,” said Sam giving Green a friendly smile.

  Green rolled his eyes.

  Abby opened the door and let everyone in.

  Green smiled at Alison, who wore gray slacks and a fitted white shirt. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She looked refreshed and in good spirits, which surprised him.

  “Mrs. O’Connor, you look great. How are you?” asked Green.

  She gave him a hug. “A whole lot better than yesterday. Abby has been a wonderful host.”

  Green introduced his mom, who gave Alison a long hug and complimented her bravery. He watched her skillfully work the room, greeting everyone and giving each person a praising comment. She had a talent for making everyone feel welcome and important. After making the rounds, she stayed close to Alison, giving her extra attention.

  John Osborne, the former State Department diplomat, approached Green. “Major, I understand you want to go ahead and move up the plans for the Perozzi recording.”

  Green nodded and then went on to explain how Reed was sending Cara Winters out to Detroit to entrap the Shadow Patriots’ leader. “If he succeeds, the resistance in the Midwest will more than likely come to an end.”

  “Two fronts are certainly better than one,” agreed Osborne.

  “We need to act before that can happen,” said Green.

  “Okay, then we need to decide how we can do this,” said Osborne. “Any suggestions Jacob?”

  “Been giving this some thought,” said Gibbs. “He usually eats a late dinner on Saturday nights.”

  “Oh!” said Green.

  “I’ve had a man following him for a couple of weeks now.”

  This surprised Green, which made him wonder what else he’d been keeping from the group. “You trust this man?”
r />   “I should. He’s my son.”

  A sense of relief swept over Green. Now he understood why he hadn’t said anything.

  “Believe me, Kyle’s smart and an experienced operator.”

  “Reed has a driver, does Perozzi?” asked Green.

  “He does,” said Gibbs.

  “Do you think your son could give it to him?”

  Gibbs thought that over and said. “That might work. It’ll be dark out and it’d be quick.”

  Everyone looked at each other in agreement.

  “I also found out who those guys were that we took down,” said Gibbs. “They’re former ATF. Been low-level thugs for Reed for a while now, mostly used for strong-arming and intimidation.”

  “Sounds like he’s running out of men,” said Green.

  “I’m sure he’s got a lot more on the payroll. These two were probably conveniently in the area, which is why he used them. I’m sure they weren’t expecting trouble.”

  Green knew Gibbs was right about more men. He had access to all of the National Police and their assets. With the right lies, he could get these men to do just about anything. They’d do it blindly, and most would do it happily, as the caliber of men had gone way down over the last few years. There were still some good men left and Green hoped to count on them when it mattered most. If they could expose Reed and Perozzi, it would be required of the remaining honest men to stand tall and bring down the government.

  Chapter 60

  Annapolis Maryland

  Reed sat in his home office and listened to the recording again. Hearing his unmistakable voice discussing the bombings with O’Connor made his blood boil. O’Connor obviously hadn’t trusted him and made these recordings in case something happened to him. Reed had made the right decision ordering his death, but now wished he had done the same thing to the man’s wife. That alcoholic bitch must have been approached by someone and happened to make mention of this recording. She was lucky to be alive now. Had he not needed information from her, she’d be dead.

  Reed slammed his fist on the desk thinking about how they dropped off the recording at his home. He’d have to strengthen the security, otherwise the next time they may just shoot him instead of leaving a package.

  Whoever possessed this recording knew the devastation this would bring if it ever made the light of day. He wasn’t too worried about that since he controlled the media. Everyone knew he’d kill anyone who spoke about this. What he worried about was, who were these people, and what did they want. Certainly, an enemy or least someone who wanted his power and was determined to chip away at it. Probably, someone, he’s currently blackmailing. If he couldn’t find out who sent it then perhaps it was time to start killing more people. That would send a message but would it be the wrong message? He already knew some people were thinking he wasn’t quite so invincible with the death of his man, Pruitt. Whoever killed him had to be the same person who sent the recording. The timing was too close together for it to be anything else. There had to be more than one person involved because it had all the makings of a fairly larger operation.

  He leaned back in his chair and wondered if he should tell Perozzi about this. Knowing someone put one over on him would not look good. Would Perozzi think he was losing control and start to muscle him out or maybe even kill him? Reed let out a laugh knowing that Perozzi was smart enough to know that drastic course would cost him dearly. He had plenty of dirt ready to go public if anything ever happened to him.

  “What if Perozzi sent him the recording?” thought Reed as he sat up straight. Perhaps, whoever got their hands of this recording sent it to Perozzi, and was now testing him. Why would he do that though? Was he starting to consolidate his power? It didn’t make sense. He leaned back in his chair and decided to not act hastily.

  Chapter 61

  Jackson Michigan

  It was late in the afternoon when Winters got back to the hospital. He had gone out again to check on the perimeter and to visit with Mayor Simpson. He had told the mayor he wanted to take another convoy of citizens out tonight and that he should have them ready. If the Jijis weren’t going to attack, then they could take advantage and move as many people as possible.

  After parking his truck, he began walking across the parking lot when Reese came to mind. He didn’t want to run into her but was running out of things to do away from the hospital. He was glad when the teenaged girls in the hallway stopped her because he didn’t know what he would have said to her anyway. Despite Elliott’s approval, he still wasn’t sure how the rest of the men would respond. Would they even care? Elliott didn’t even seem surprised by it, which made him wonder if everyone else already knew. He was never good at this kind of thing. He knew his wife would approve and even be impressed. The thought made him smile.

  As he approached the entrance, Reese came walking out the door as if on a mission. She didn’t look like she was in a good mood as she wasn’t smiling and wore a serious look on her face.

  “Are you avoiding me?” asked Reese.

  “No, why would you think that?” he asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I professed my love for you and we haven’t talked since.”

  “We haven’t?” asked Winters knowing full well they hadn’t.

  She glared at him.

  “I’ve been busy is all.”

  “Cole Winters, believe me when I tell you, I’m better at making excuses than you are, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart, and I know bullshit when I see it and I’m calling bullshit.” She cocked her head while putting her hand on her hip as she leaned on the crutch.

  Winters laughed to himself knowing she was better at this. Girls usual were and besides, he’d been married for twenty-five years and was out of practice. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to lie, he decided to come clean.

  “Okay, yes, I’ve been avoiding you.”

  “This would be, why?”

  “Let’s sit down over here.”

  They walked to a bench off to the side of the entrance.

  “Well?” she asked as she sat down.

  Winters looked at her facial expression. He began to think she was enjoying herself. “I’m not sure why.”

  “C’mon Cole, you can do better than that.”

  Winters took in a deep breath. “I guess for a lot of reasons, most of which is that it just seems wrong.”

  “So, it’s not because you don’t think I’m not pretty.”

  “Wait, what? No, no,” he blurted out confused by her question.

  “So, I’m not pretty?”

  “What? No, no, gosh no,” he fumbled around as the words came out. “You’re incredibly beautiful. I mean look at ya,” he said still rambling and then realized she was pulling his leg. He stopped and glared at her.

  A sly smile spread across on her face.

  “I don’t think I like you,” he said in a frustrated tone.

  “Oh, lighten up,” she said smacking him on the leg. “You deserved that and you know it.”

  “Yeah, I suppose so. I’m sorry, I guess.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Are you done playing with me?”

  “I don’t know. I’m so enjoying this.”

  “Yeah, I can see that. Look, you’re obviously a very pretty girl.”

  “You said, incredibly beautiful a second ago.”

  “Can we be serious for a minute?”

  “I’ll try, but you’re making it so damned hard.”

  “I am?”

  “Yes, you are. You’re just not very good at this and it’s cracking me up.”

  “Great, I’m glad to see my discomfort makes you laugh.”

  “This really is harder for you than shooting a bad guy, isn’t it?”

  Winters nodded.

  She grabbed his arm. “Okay, just get it all out and don’t worry about hurting my feelings.”

  He shot her a distrustful look.

  “I swear I won’t get mad,” she said, raising two fi
ngers in the air like a Boy Scout.

  “I don’t think I trust you.”

  She squeezed his arm. “That’s no way to begin a relationship.”

  Winters shook his head. “Okay, fine, here it is.”

  He took a breather from her needling to get his thoughts together. He dreaded this moment but knew he couldn’t avoid it forever. She had been forthright with him, and he didn’t have the courage to respond in kind.

  “The main reason I’m not sure about this is not so much because of your age; in fact, I think you’re mature well beyond your years. It’s just that I don’t feel right about it because I’m in a position of power, and it makes it look like I’m taking advantage of that power and you.”

  “That’s it?” she responded in a surprised tone. “That’s why you don’t want me?”

  “Well, when you say it like that, it doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “That’s because it’s not.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “No, I don’t. As a matter of fact, I thought it was going to be something entirely different.”

  “Like what?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe something like I’ve been with too many guys or that I’m kind of psycho now.”

  This admission shocked Winters and he took her hand. He needed to convince her that her captivity wasn’t something he would ever hold against her. “No, Reese, not at all, and don’t you ever think that’s a valid reason to shun you.”