“But if you want to go get him so damn bad, then go. I won’t stop you.”
Tony suddenly grabbed the man by the shirt collar and pinned him up against the side of the ranch house. Every bit of Tony’s fury at the failed operation was now directed at this one man.
“But I’ll tell you what, you son of a bitch. If you ever question my decisions again you’ll join Lolo in hell. Do you understand?”
The man meekly nodded his head yes as best he could with Tony’s fist in his throat.
Tony released him, and as the man tried to catch his breath Tony added, “I hope like hell you understand. Because that’s the only warning you’re gonna get.”
He looked around to the others, gathered around in a tight circle in the moonlight.
“Anybody else got any comments to make?”
No one did.
“Okay, we’re backing off for now. We’ll go back and lick our wounds. We’ll find two more men, and when we come back we’ll have a better plan. And we’ll come back in the daylight, when we can see.”
In the compound, Linda was beside herself and Joyce was trying her best to comfort her.
Joyce sat next to her on the couch and held her in her arms, rocking back and forth. Jordan looked on at his mother’s state, wanting to help but not knowing how.
“I killed a human being. How could I have done that?”
Tom tried his best to take the blame from off her shoulders.
“No, honey. You just slowed him down. I took his life, as well as the other one. I’m the one who will answer for it to St. Peter someday. And my conscience is clear. Yours should be too. You did what you had to do to protect your family. You should feel proud, not guilty.”
“Tom, do you think they’ll come back?”
“I don’t know, Sugar. It depends on what kind of men they are. We sent them a very strong message. If they have any intelligence at all, they’ll get the message and go find an easier target.
“But if we have the only beef and pork left alive in the area, they may see us as their only option. If they want it bad enough, they may see a few more dead men as an acceptable price to pay.
“So, I just don’t know. The next move is up to them. We’ll pray they don’t take it. But we’ll be ready if they do.”
Joyce said, “Scott and John are due to call in this morning. We have to decide whether or not to tell them what’s happened.”
Hannah looked puzzled.
“Why would we keep it a secret?”
“I know Scott. His first impulse would be to run to help. John’s might be as well. And what will they do when they get here? Scott can’t even come into the compound without endangering the baby and maybe others too. They’d be stuck on the outside, and would be of limited help. John could come in, but what if he got caught out in the open field between their men here and their men at Tom’s?”
Hannah paused to think.
Tom said, “I think she’s right. And Scott and John have enough on their plate to deal with now, without having to worry about us. They’ve been here twice and gone away empty handed. I think there’s at least an even chance they won’t be back. If Scott finds out what happened, he’ll be up here, and the baby could pay a very heavy price. I say we don’t tell them. Not just yet.”
Hannah was unconvinced. She looked to Linda for her opinion, but Linda was in a daze.
“Okay. I know in my heart that John could help, but I’ll admit I don’t like the possibility of him getting caught out there in the open. I won’t tell him.”
Joyce looked at Tom and asked, “Now what?”
Tom keyed his microphone and said, “Sara, is there any activity out there yet?”
“No, none.”
Then he turned back to the others.
“At first light, I’ll go out to the field in the Bobcat. I want to see how they made the breach, and see if there’s anything I can do to patch the hole.
“I also want to check our trench, to see if there are any more dead or wounded in it.
“I’ll check those two men to make sure they’re dead. If they’re still alive and in pain, I’ll take away their pain. Then I’ll bring them back into the compound and bury them. Their souls may be in hell, but the Christian thing to do is to give their bodies a proper burial.”
“Do you think it’s safe to go out there?”
“That’s why I’m taking the Bobcat. Its body is made of half inch plate steel. If I need to I can take cover behind it. I also want two of you in the north windows when I go out. If I come under fire I want both of you to return fire, while I make my escape.”
“What if someone is in the trench, and they’re still alive? You wouldn’t shoot them in cold blood, would you?”
“If he’s armed and resists, I will shoot him dead. If he’s unarmed and helpless, I’ll try to deal with him. If he’ll let me get him out without putting up a fight, I’ll get him here and we’ll try to treat him the best we can. We can tie him to the bed in my hooch outside and treat him there.”
Jordan said, “I’m coming with you, Tom. That’s too much to handle.”
“No, you’re not, my young friend. For a couple of reasons. If I get shot, they’re going to need you here. And if we both get shot, they don’t have anybody strong enough to drag us to safety. You’re a good shot. You’ll do me more good at the window, providing cover fire for me.”
He looked at Joyce.
“If something happens to me out there, you’ve lost yourselves a good shot. I’ll try to avoid that as much as I can. But if it does happen, it changes things. Tell John to get up here with reinforcements, but to leave Scott behind. It’ll destroy him, but it’s safer for little Chris that way.”
-48-
Tom was able to retrieve the bodies without incident, and he buried them both in a single grave, one atop the other, in the cattle pasture at the back of the compound.
He even said a brief prayer over them, before commenting, “You weren’t much in life, but you can do something worthwhile in death. You can be good fertilizer, and make the grass grow for these cattle.”
Then he realized he was being disrespectful of the dead and looked skyward.
“Sorry, Lord.”
Jordan and Joyce stood ready to lay down cover fire for Tom had he come under attack. But nothing happened that morning. Tony and his band of hoodlums were back in Junction, somehow blaming the people in the compound for their ills. And vowing revenge.
But the revenge wouldn’t come on this day. They had to replace their lost members, and possibly beef up their crew a little. Tony was opposed to this in principle. Additional fighters would mean the booty would have to be split more ways. And he wanted the compound to be his and his alone. He didn’t want any other alpha males to challenge his right to it.
Tony also had to do some damage control. They’d lost two of their men, and hadn’t taken out any of the occupants of the compound. That didn’t enhance Tony’s reputation as a leader of men, and the men were starting to doubt the abilities of their captain.
Mere words would do little to win their confidence back. He understood that he’d have to make bold moves in the future to keep the men from organizing a mutiny and leaving him out in the cold.
Part of his efforts to win back their confidence was to show them he wasn’t shaken. That he wasn’t afraid to go back and try again. And that this time he was willing to make some bold adjustments.
“Okay, since they never made it back, we don’t know what happened. Maybe they walked up on a couple of sentries. Maybe they cut the lock on a gate and then disobeyed my orders not to go in. Maybe there were snipers on the rooftop or in the trees.
“Whatever it was, we’re changing tactics. We’ll give them two or three days to get complacent. They’ll think they scared us off, and then we’ll hit them hard.
“We’ll go back in the daytime this time. If they think we’re nighttime raiders, we’ll catch them off guard.
“And finally, I�
�m no longer gonna trust a couple of chumps like Lolo and Kevin to go on a mission without screwing it up. We’re gonna let ‘em get lazy. Then we’re gonna hit ‘em hard, and fast, and I’ll be leading the charge. All you guys have to do is follow my lead.”
His men nodded their heads in enthused agreement. Tony wasn’t sure, though, whether he’d regained their confidence. Maybe they just liked the idea of him being in front to take the first bullet.
In any event, they had their plan. Now all they needed was some more men.
Inside the house, the children were warned ahead of time not to mention what happened the previous night to John or Scott. They didn’t quite understand why. From their point of view in the basement, it was a great adventure and a story worth telling. Hannah’s girls didn’t know anyone had died. If they had, they wouldn’t have been so enthused.
Despite their being frazzled, Jordan, Zachary and Hannah kept their composure and their tongues. They had a pleasant conversation with the men back in San Antonio, and their secret remained unstated. Scott and John signed off not having a clue that their loved ones had come very close to being murdered, or worse.
The rest of the day was tense. Linda stayed in bed most of the day. Joyce and Hannah were in and out to see her a couple of times, as were her boys.
None of them could find the words to comfort her. They finally decided that Tom was the only one who could keep her from sinking into depression.
And he was trying his best. After he finished burying Lolo and Kevin, he locked himself in the room and held her as she cried for almost an hour.
“What I did violated everything I’ve always stood for. The Bible. The law. The example I’ve always tried to set for my children. I’ve told them, in essence, that it’s okay to kill others if you think they might do harm to you.
“I didn’t even see any weapons on them, Tom. Bolt cutters. That’s it. What if they meant us no harm? What if they were just homeless and hungry and looking for food?
“Hungry people don’t ignore signs that threaten them with death if they trespass. Hungry people don’t go through so much trouble breaking into a place when there are hundreds of other homes in the area. And they were armed. I took side arms and ammo off of both of them. They’re downstairs, and you can see them when you go down.
“The fact is, these men were scouting the area for an assault. I can see it clearly even if you can’t. Yes, we could have let them go. And then when the assault came they would have been two men stronger.
“Like it or not, we are in an undeclared war. You’re still a mother and a compassionate woman. But you’re also a combatant now. It is your responsibility now to protect your loved ones from harm. And sometimes you may have to do ugly things.
“What we did was a preemptive strike. We reduced the size of their force so they’ll be weaker when the attack comes. It was a common sense move, and one you’ll do again if the same opportunity presents itself. Because in the end, you love your sons more than you feel sympathy for strangers. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s something to be proud of.”
“But…”
He put a finger on her lips to shush her.
“Besides, and this is important… it wasn’t you that killed him. You’re a great shot. I know that. That’s why I wanted you in the other north side window. But your conscience caused you to twitch just a hair. I saw the body, sweetheart. Your bullet missed his heart. It went through his lung. It was painful, yes, and serious, yes. But if his gang wanted to save him they could have.
“Hell, we could have saved him. I could have loaded him into my old Ford, or on a Gator, and hauled ass with him down to San Antonio.
“I made the decision not to do that. Not you. I did. I had that option, but I chose to put a second bullet in his heart instead. So you did not kill him. I know it, you know it, and God knows it. And I’m going to tell everyone when I walk out of here so they know it too.
“So you’re saying I screwed up?”
“No. I’m saying that it was a very tough choice for you to make, and a difficult shot. And that I know you were struggling with it. I know the next time the same circumstance presents itself you’ll struggle again. But again, you’ll do what has to be done.”
“Even if it means killing another human being?”
He kissed her on the forehead and rocked her gently back and forth, like a babe in his arms.
“Did you know that despite their bad reputation, grizzly bears very rarely attack humans?”
She couldn’t help but chuckle.
“How in heck did we get on grizzly bears?”
He ignored the question and went on.
“Male grizzly bears almost never attack man. Almost all grizzly attacks are from females. And they almost never attack unless their cubs are in danger. Or the mama grizzly perceives them to be in danger. Did you know that?”
“So now you’re calling me an old bear.”
Now it was his turn to smile.
“If the shoe fits.”
She feigned a look of shock.
“What I’m saying is that a mama grizzly is relatively docile and afraid of humans until someone threatens her loved ones. In a way, you’re the same. I know in my heart and my soul that you will do whatever you need to do to keep anyone from harming your sons. That doesn’t mean you won’t struggle with it. It just means you’ll do what you have to do and then struggle with it afterwards.”
“Thank you, Tom. I so love you.”
He smiled.
“I so love you too. Are you ready to come out of hibernation now, mama grizzly?”
“Give me a little longer. But tell everybody out there I’m okay.”
“Okay, sure thing.”
He turned to leave, but she stopped him.
“Tom?”
“Yes, dear.”
“You’re not a doctor, or a medical examiner. How do you know it wasn’t my shot that went through his heart instead of yours?”
“Because the clothing around the lung shot was very bloody. The heart was still pumping after the lung shot. The shot through the heart was just a hole. It tore the heart up so it couldn’t pump anymore.
“Also, remember that you saw him moving after the first shot. The shot through the heart was the kill shot. He died instantly. From my shot, not yours.”
-49-
The second day after the shooting was a little easier on Linda. She seemed to accept her new role as a protector of the compound. Tom opened his mouth to the others about the “Mama Grizzly” analogy, and she suddenly acquired a new nickname.
And Joyce couldn’t swear to it, and would certainly never mention it, but it seemed to her that the incident hardened Linda just a bit.
Everyone in the compound was on edge. The fortifications went on. Jordan and Zachary emptied out the extra storage shed and dismantled it. They carried the sheets of plywood into the house to help strengthen the walls, and gave the two by four studs to Hannah and Rachel for more booby traps.
No one talked much, but Tom got the sense they were all praying that the assault was over. That the men who came in the night had suddenly decided it wasn’t worth their effort and had gone elsewhere to conduct their evil deeds.
Or that they’d suddenly found Jesus after the loss of their friends, and decided to change their ways.
And indeed, that’s what everyone was hoping for.
But only the naivety of the youngest in the group really believed it to be.
Everyone else assumed that nightfall would bring with it another attack.
So they did what they could to prepare.
Joyce told the boys to save her one sheet of plywood, and to put it in the workshop. She emerged an hour later with several pieces of wood, thirty inches long and ten inches wide. She carried them upstairs, to the shooting windows, and used screws to fasten each one at the bottom of the windows.
No one could figure out what they were for, but no one wanted to ask
the question.
Finally, Sara’s curiosity got the best of her.
“I had a bad dream last night,” Joyce explained. “I dreamed that the men outside grew so desperate that they threw Molotov cocktails through the windows to burn us out. I dreamed that the house was on fire and we had no way to put it out so we all had to run outside. And they shot us all down as we came out the doors.”
“And you think this will prevent that?”
“I think so. If they throw one, the four sheets of plywood will keep it from coming into the house, but it might get stuck on the window sill and set the plywood ablaze. I’ve attached these at an angle just inside the window to prevent that. After they come through the window and bounce against the plywood, they should hit this and roll out the window again. They’ll still burn at the base of the house, but they won’t catch the brick on fire.”
“Wow, that’s pretty ingenious.”
“Thank you. I can get creative when I’m pissed off. I still have to do the downstairs. Would you like to help?”
“Sure. Chris will be laying down for a nap in a little while. I’ll help you until he wakes back up again.”
Tom parked vehicles against all of the compound’s gates, to prevent the raiders from trying to force their way through with battering rams. And from that moment on, every night all four of the labs would roam freely around the property. Two on the inside of the fence and two on the outside.
Even old Blue, Tom’s old hunting dog, would be let outside during the daytime when the weather was warm enough. Blue was up in years, although Tom couldn’t remember exactly how old he was.
“He loves to be outside, and he can bark better than any of them. And if he could speak I think he’d offer to help. So we’ll keep the labs in the house during the day so they can pull night duty. Old Blue can let us know if there’s trouble during the day.”
The whole group slept fitfully that night. Everyone was sure an attack was coming.
Rise From The Ashes: The Rebirth of San Antonio (Countdown to Armageddon Book 3) Page 18