“Probably waiting for Gatto in the kitchen?” Jonah hoped that was the case. It wouldn’t look good if the “ambushers” had gone back to bed once Gatto left that morning. Who went back to bed after botching up an assassination attempt?
The four slid the safeties off their rifles and got out of their vehicle. Leading the way, Jonah strode up the lodge steps and into the lobby, his M-15 at his shoulder. Pausing a moment to listen, he strode down the hall, where the sound of voices in the kitchen could be heard.
As he got closer, someone called out, “That you, Gat? Back already?”
A moment later, Lenny stepped around the corner and into the hallway. He stared at Jonah, then past him at Mason and his two men.
“Murph? What’s going on?”
Jonah shot him where he stood, then ran forward. Stepping over Lenny’s body, he ran around the corner and into the kitchen. There, Paul Webb and the remaining member of Gatto’s crew, a man called Roddy, were rising from the table. A gray cloud of cigarette smoke hung above their heads, and on the table were two coffee mugs.
Wild-eyed, Roddy reached over to where his rifle leaned against the wall. Jonah took aim and shot him in the chest. Arms flailing, Roddy fell backward over his chair and crashed to the floor.
Jonah turned to Webb, who stood transfixed, making no attempt to reach for the holster at his waist. “Murph…” he uttered slowly, as if in a dream. “What the…?”
Jonah aimed his rifle at Webb’s chest. His finger trembled on the trigger, unable to bring himself to shoot.
From behind him, a single shot rang out. Brain, bone fragment, and blood sprayed everywhere, and Webb collapsed to the floor.
Mason walked over and stared down at where blood was pooling quickly on the tiled floor. He put two more bullets in Webb’s head, then looked back at Jonah. “You killed the first two quick enough. Why not this one, too?”
Ashen-faced, Jonah lowered his rifle. “Pauly had nothing to do with this,” he said in almost a whisper. “He was a good geezer.”
Mason shrugged indifferently. “Should have told me sooner, then.” He clasped Jonah on the shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get back to camp.”
Wordlessly, Jonah followed him out of the room, sick to the stomach, his heart deader than a two-day-old corpse.
CHAPTER 32
At Camp Eastwood, Walter and Granger were conducting an after-action mission review with the hit team. Although they’d failed in their primary objective, the ambush had yielded a positive outcome nonetheless. Fifteen minutes ago, Jonah had put in a radio call to Kit Halpern on duty at Devil’s Point. As well as reassuring him that he was unhurt, he’d informed Halpern on how Mason had killed Don Gatto’s entire gang, suspecting them of planning the ambush. Along with Mason’s two crew members killed during the attack, it meant that the bandit’s numbers had been severely depleted.
“So, what now?” Cody asked, still disappointed he hadn’t managed to kill Mason. No blame had been attached to him, however. Only the bandit’s quick thinking and extraordinary driving skills had prevented him from being successful.
“The way I see it, we’ve got two options,” Granger replied. “Either we attack Mason, or dig in and wait for him to attack us. It’s only a matter of time before he finds this place.”
“I say we attack,” Cody said. “He’s down at least ten men today. That’s ten men less to defend the camp.”
“Agreed,” said Ralph. “We need to do it soon too, before he recruits more people. He’s good at that.”
“A head on attack will lead to a lot of casualties. Mason’s still got the best part of twenty men,” Walter said dubiously. He hesitated a moment. “I think I’ve got a better way of breaking into the camp, but it involves Jonah again.”
Olvan shook his head emphatically. “That’s not going to happen. Jonah told Kit to arrange for his pick up tonight. He wants out. Can’t say I blame him either. He got lucky with Gatto taking the rap today. There’s only so much luck a person can count on.”
Walter’s gaze hardened. “You’ve got to convince him otherwise, Bert. We’ve got a spy in the camp, and we need to continue to use that to our advantage. This is war. That’s what you do.”
CHAPTER 33
As soon as the meeting ended, Cody hurried back to his trailer, anxious to give Emma the news of his adventure. By now, he’d cheered up. In war, not everything went to plan, and he was excited by the latest strategy Walter had presented to the team. How Jonah Murphy might feel about it was another matter.
There was a strange look on Emma’s face when he came into the living room to greet her. “What’s up?” he asked. “Something happen when I was away?”
“No,” Emma replied sullenly, sitting down at the sofa. “Other than I had to hear from somebody secondhand how you went off on a dangerous mission without warning me first.”
Cody stared at her blankly. “What are you talking about? You knew all about our plans to hit Mason today.”
“Yes, but there’s one thing being part of Walter’s team, and another trying to execute Mason from the back of a motorcycle. You’re lucky you’re still alive, you know.”
“I’m sorry. We had a last-minute change of plan. I didn’t have time to tell you.”
“That’s not true!” Emma’s eyes flashed angrily. “How do you think I know about this? Maya told me. Ralph informed her what he was about to do before he left.”
“Oh,” Cody said feebly. He leaned forward and put his hand on her shoulder.
Emma brushed it away. “At least her boyfriend had the courtesy to tell her that he was about to do something dangerous. Something that might get him killed.”
“I said I’m sorry.” Cody felt his anger rising too. While he probably should have informed Emma about the change in plan and the increased level of danger he’d be under, he had done it for everyone at the camp. He expected to be treated better than this.
“Really? You don’t sound it. You think if I had volunteered to do the hit, you wouldn’t be angry if I hadn’t told you first?”
“You would have never been allowed to,” Cody said curtly. “You don’t have the skills.”
“Oh, you’re telling me I’m not good enough to climb on the back of a motorbike and shoot someone through a car window, is that it?” Emma said fiercely.
“There’s way more to it than that. You need—”
“Don’t tell me what you need, because whatever it is, you don’t have it. You failed, and Mason got away. So don’t act like you’re some sort of hero.”
Cody stood rigid like a statue, stunned by Emma’s words.
“Next time Camp Eastwood needs a volunteer to do something dangerous,” she continued, “guess what? It’s going to be me. Ever since vPox took away everyone I loved, I live one day at a time. You’re not the only risk taker around here.”
Rising from the couch, she brushed past him and stormed out of the cabin, leaving an open-mouthed Cody in her wake. He shook his head and sighed. It was one of these days where absolutely nothing had gone according to plan.
CHAPTER 34
Emma and Greta sat on folding stools outside what the camp now called the “med center”. It was late afternoon and the two, dressed in t-shirts and shorts, were sunning themselves, their legs stretched out in front of them.
Greta had just informed Emma how a strike force comprised of the entire Eastwood and Benton groups would attack Mason the following morning at dawn. Both Walter and Granger felt that, given the limited fighting experience of many in the two groups, it would be easier to plan than a night assault.
Outside of the war council, Greta had been the first to learn of the plan. That didn’t surprise Emma, given her relationship with Walter.
“Anyway, I only learned about it a few minutes ago,” Greta finished up by saying. “Expect an announcement on it soon.”
Emma frowned. “How come neither you nor me were involved in the planning?” she asked, still smarting over Cody’s attitude toward her tha
t morning. “Don’t you think the women should have had a say in the decision too? I mean, we’re all in this together.”
Greta shook her head. “Emma, it’s not like that. The war council was assembled based on people’s previous military or weapons experience. It doesn’t exclude women at all. In fact, Mary Sadowski is on it. I gather from Walter that her views are taken very seriously, too.”
“Oh…I didn’t know that.” Emma felt a little foolish. Cody hadn’t never mentioned that to her. “Do you know who’s going to be involved in the attack?”
“No idea. Presumably everyone who’s fit and able. Don’t worry, we’ll all be assigned our roles soon enough.”
A determined look came over Emma’s face. “Well, I’m fit and able. And I’ve become a damned good shot lately too.” What she said was true. Under Cody’s tutelage, her firearm skills now excelled many of the men at the camp.
Greta smiled, looking amused by Emma’s obtuse behavior. “Hey, you’ll be with me, girl.” She jerked her thumb back at the trailer. “We’ll be setting up the med center at Devil’s Point, ready to treat any casualties. Remember what I told you about the ‘golden hour’? It’s vital we’re at hand somewhere close by.”
Greta was referring to the time period in emergency medicine where, during the first sixty minutes, a patient stood the highest likelihood of survival following any traumatic injury. After that, it tended to fall off dramatically.
Emma shook her head. “I should be involved in the attack. We need everyone who can shoot straight to fight Mason. I’m sure you can cope on your own.”
“No, Emma,” Greta said sharply. “I need you with me to treat the wounded tomorrow. It’s the reason I trained you in the first place. What the hell’s gotten into you?”
Over the past week, Greta had been familiarizing Emma with what to expect in a triage situation involving multiple casualties. She clearly expected Emma to be by her side during the battle.
Emma sighed, irritated by how her pride had stupidly placed her on the wrong side of this argument. However, she had no intention of backing down. “Greta, I really should be with the strike force. If Cody thinks he’s the only one who can go taking all the risks while…” She broke off, realizing how stupid she was sounding. “Oh, never mind.”
Greta stared at her curiously. “Tell me, what’s eating you?” she asked, her tone softening a little.
Emma hesitated a moment, then went on to tell Greta about her argument with Cody earlier that day and how annoyed she’d been by his attitude.
Greta listened carefully to what she had to say. When Emma finished, she shrugged. “I wouldn’t be too hard on Cody. He’s young and headstrong, just like you. He’s also a natural soldier, and a great marksman too, from what I’ve been told. When it comes to things like war, men and women are different, you know.”
Puzzled by Greta’s remark, Emma was about to question her further when she caught sight of Colleen walking through the farmhouse’s front garden and into the field where the med center was parked. The Irishwoman had a dry sense of humor that Emma appreciated, and the two had become increasingly more friendly since she’d arrived at the camp.
After greeting her, she indicated for Colleen to grab one of the spare foldout stools leaning against the trailer and join them. “You look worried,” she said, observing Colleen carefully after she sat down. “What gives? Is it something to do with Jonah?”
Colleen nodded. “Bert promised me that after the ambush this morning, he’d be coming straight back here, that it would be too dangerous for him to stay with Mason afterward. Now he’s telling me Jonah needs to stay one more day, that he’s got something important to do tomorrow. I’m not stupid, I know exactly what that means. They want him to do something dangerous again.” She sighed. “I feel so guilty doing nothing but defensive drills around here while he’s over there taking all the risks.”
Emma and Greta exchanged glances. “Colleen, there’s a plan underway to attack Mason tomorrow, an all-out assault,” Emma told her. “I’m guessing that’s the reason he needs to remain one more night.”
Colleen’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Bert never said anything to me about that.”
“It’s not official yet,” Greta told her. “I only heard about it a few minutes ago.”
A determined glint came into Colleen’s eye. “Well I won’t stand by twiddling my thumbs tomorrow, that’s for sure. I’ll go see Mary later and make sure I’m assigned to her QRF squad.”
“Attagirl,” Greta said approvingly.
Emma stared at her indignantly. “If Colleen is going to be involved in the attack, I don’t see why I—”
“Emma!” Greta snapped. “What did I tell you about me needing you tomorrow?”
There was a determined glint in Emma’s eye now too. “I got an idea about that. I think I know just the person to help you. Someone far more experienced than me.”
CHAPTER 35
The rest of the day had gone by in a blur as Jonah struggled to come to terms with the morning’s carnage.
After leaving the bloody scene at the lodge, Mason returned to camp, where he set about arranging a second convoy. He was hell-bent on finding the remnants of the Benton group that day, and thirty minutes later, they were back on the road again.
The butchery of Gatto and his crew appeared to have little effect on the bandit. If anything, it had only served to increase his appetite for violence. For Jonah, it had the opposite effect. It sickened him to his very core, particularly the death of Paul Webb. All day long, the gruesome image of Webb’s brains dripping down the side of his head flashed in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to stop it.
A terrible guilt hung over him. Although he hadn’t pulled the trigger himself, he’d done nothing to prevent Webb’s death. Deep in his heart, he knew he could have done more to save the man. The one thing that consoled him was the knowledge that in saving Webb, he would have put his own life at risk. For Colleen’s sake, he couldn’t allow that. He had to do everything in his power to come out of this situation alive.
The convoy spent several hours scouring Lake Ocoee’s southern shoreline, following the forest service road all the way to its eastern tip, where it connected with Highway 64. Whether deliberate or not, Olvan hadn’t disclosed the whereabouts of Camp Eastwood to Jonah, and it proved to be a nerve-racking trip. At every survivor camp they stumbled across, he held his breath, his right hand down at his waist. If they encountered the Bentons, Jonah planned to kill Mason first, then take Doney and Mike out. With Lou and Johnny’s replacements sitting behind him in the truck bed, however, he doubted he would survive much longer beyond that.
To his relief, there was no sign of the Bentons at any of the lakeside camps they visited, nor along the myriad forest trails that crisscrossed the lake’s hinterland. By late afternoon, they returned to camp where he finally got a chance to get away from Mason.
He went back to Chickasaw, pleased to see that the cabin was still unoccupied. Being so far from the square, it appeared no one wanted to take it. He rested a few minutes, then headed around the back of the cabin and into the woods. Other than for a rushed twenty second call to Kit while Mason had been reorganizing the convoy earlier, this would be his first chance to talk properly since the ambush. There was only one subject on his mind. He wanted out. He had done his duty. Now he needed to get back to Colleen.
He’d already planned the first thing he would tell her when they met, something he’d been thinking about all day. This feud between Mason and the Bentons wasn’t going to end anytime soon. Tomorrow, the two of them would leave the Cohutta and head for the coast like they’d originally planned. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it was the right thing to do. This wasn’t their fight. He couldn't put Colleen in any more danger.
Reaching the birch tree where he’d made his call the previous afternoon, he powered up his radio. “Bert? Kit?” he whispered. “Who’s there, over?”
At Devil’s Point, Bert
Olvan was on duty and answered his call right away. Dispensing with any formalities, Jonah got straight to business. “Right Bert, like I told Kit this morning, I’m out of here. Where and when are yis going to pick me up? Over.”
There was a brief hesitation before Olvan responded. “We’re not ready to pull you out yet, Jonah. There’s one more thing we need you to do. I know it’s a big ask, but we’re really depending on you. Over.”
Jonah was unable to believe what he was hearing. He jabbed his finger down on the Talk button. Barely containing his anger, he said, “Bert, the deal was that once I set up your ambush, you’d get me out of here. I kept me side of the bargain, time for you to keep yours, over.” Releasing the button, he pressed the radio set up close to his ear.
Across the airwaves, Olvan’s tone became more urgent. “Listen to me, Jonah. We have a plan drawn up to take back the camp tomorrow. It’s a full-scale attack involving Walter and his people. We need you to help ensure its success. It’s a little risky, I can’t deny that, but it’s going to help save many lives, over.”
“A little risky?” Jonah almost yelped. “Bert, have yeh any idea what I went through today? Me nerves are shot to hell!”
“You did great today, truly,” Olvan said soothingly. “Tomorrow you’ll see Colleen, I promise you. But you’re there on the inside, and we need—”
“Enough, Bert!” There was a hard edge to Jonah’s voice now. “I’m done here. Tell me where yer picking me up. If I don’t get back to Colleen today, she’ll go through me for a shortcut.”
Olvan had an apologetic tone when he spoke. “Thing is…Colleen will be involved in tomorrow’s operation. She insists on doing her part. See, by helping us, you’ll be helping her too. Can’t you see that? Over.”
Jonah’s entire body stiffened. The Bentons had deliberately involved Colleen in this to ensure his cooperation, he was sure of it. Bert knew the type of person she was: that if asked, she would agree to join in the attack on the camp.
On The Edge: Book Three in The No Direction Home Series Page 13