Twins of Prey II: Homecoming

by W. C. Hoffman

  And they had just left a clear message.

  8 Home

  Sitting in the upstairs apartment in downtown Pine Run having dinner around a table was becoming a common occurrence in the last few weeks for the Twins and Hawkins. Hawkins was impressed with the boys aptitude for learning how to adapt to modern day society. Of course he had yet to let them leave the dusty confines of the home in the daylight, but Hawkins knew that soon their desire to escape would be greater than their will to obey.

  “This bird kind of tastes funny,” Hawkins said.

  “What do you mean, funny?” Tomek said with a smirk while looking at his brother who shared the same facial expression.

  “Just weird, like you guys used to much pepper, where did you get it?” Hawkins asked.

  “From the woods of course, last night after we went out for a run. What, you don’t like my cooking?” Tomek asked.

  “Spare me the guilt trip son, I am just saying it is like you gave this gobbler a bath in a pepper mill.” Hawkins said.

  “Well, killing turkeys in the dark is sometimes more difficult than one might think.” Drake said which caused Tomek to giggle.

  Old Man Hawkins knowing there was more to the story lowered his voice and said, “Boys?” As he looked back and forth at them.

  It was one of those rare moments when they felt as if they were with Uncle again. Being Uncle’s twin meant many of the mannerisms and vocal inflections that Hawkins had, matched those of Uncle. Although it was clear that Hawkins was not Uncle every morning as he woke up and grumbled his way down the steps to open the Hawk’s Nest General store.

  As the owner of the store, Old Man Hawkins was a staple in the community. A civic leader who tried his best to keep Pine Run as he saw best fit. Old Man Hawkins was the anchor in this community. Running his store on tabs and letting people in need walk out with the essentials needed to survive. Payment would come later, sometimes it never came and that was okay with him as well. Being this type of charitable person is what he hoped to pass on to the twins. Uncle had taught them how to survive and kill in the wild. Hawkin’s goal was to assimilate them with the people of Pine Run and let them live their lives however they chose after that.

  If returning to their woodland way of life was their wishes, then Hawkins would not stand in their way. Yet no matter which choice the twins were to make, one thing had to happen first. Hawkins had to make sure the new sheriff was on board. Convincing Henderson that her brothers should be allowed to join society or leave it in peace would be difficult. He figured his position as the village council president would be a good place to start.

  As the president, Hawkins sat one step below the mayor. Being that Hawkins was not too fond of the politician, he lived by the creed of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Hawkins knew that if he ever wanted to be the mayor, all he would need to do is drop his name into the running. Hawkins knew the entire town would back him and the current mayor himself was oblivious to that fact. Although being the mayor would give Hawkins political power he preferred to work the back channels and, if anyone needed to fall on a sword, he would be sure that someone else would be first in line.

  Uncle could survive in the woods and teach the boys how to do so. Hawkins could survive in the world but had no idea if the twins would follow his path at this late stage in their teenage lives. Again no matter their choice he knew that dealing with Henderson was the only way to guarantee long-term safety for the boys. This left Hawkins with two options. The first being that he could simply kill her and the second being a promotion.

  It was Hawkins who pressured the village council and the mayor to place the gold badge onto the chest of Henderson. Hawkins thought that this tactic could and would work in two possible ways. He hoped that Henderson would be so thankful to him that she would heed his wishes in regards to the boys. Either taking them in as her brothers from down state or ignoring them completely. Either was fine with Hawkins.

  Or he knew, as the sheriff she would not want the residents of Pine Run to know that her brothers were responsible for the killing of their entire department. Not only that, but the town would also know the truth in regards to her killing the previous sheriff herself. If Pine Run knew that Henderson was hiding the fact that her brothers were the killers, she might as well have died in those woods amongst her fellow deputies. The disgrace would not only drive her out of Pine Run but end her career in law enforcement forever. Not to mention if Hawkins and the mayor pressed the issue, the district attorney would surely press charges against her for obstruction of justice at a minimum. Old Man Hawkins had Henderson right where he wanted her, in his pocket.

  “Boys?” Hawkins asked again. Neither of them answered but he continued on anyway. “I just have one question, if there is nothing wrong with the turkey then why won’t Sypris eat it?” Hawkins said tossing a leg bone down onto the floor to make his point.

  Immediately Sypris ran over picking up the meaty treasure and began devouring it on the spot as if the spoiled pup had not eaten in weeks.

  “You were saying?” Drake asked as all three of them burst into a chorus of laughter. Again another thing that didn’t happen often in their previous life with Uncle.

  “That wolf eats the hair off of every buck’s ass she tracks for us. You really think a pepper sprayed turkey is something she is going to pass up?” Tomek said still referring to the small family dog the same way he did Ravizza’s K9 unit, Aurora. To him, a dog was a wolf and a wolf was a dog. That is until it was time for bed anyway. It was almost as if Sypris knew Tomek was the one she had to impress the most and it was his bed she curled up in every night. And once the lights were out, her snuggles and wet kisses were a welcome show of affection to Tomek. For the first time in his life, Tomek felt love.

  “What was that about pepper spray?” Hawkins asked.

  “Trust me you don’t want to know,” Drake said trying to cover up his brother’s mistake.

  “Boys this is my house and I demand to know what you have been up to. We don’t need no extra attention brought upon you two.” Hawkins said attempting to be firm.

  “If you ask again, I swear to God I will tell you,” Drake replied in a way that was threatening Hawkins with the truth. Something that he may not want to be saddled with anyway.

  “Ah, what the hell, just keep your asses away from the cops and don’t kill anything that we won’t eat,” Hawkins said quickly trusting Drake’s judgment not to involve him in the obtaining of their turkey dinner. Giving up quickly on the truth was something that the twins quickly learned Hawkins would do. It seemed that old man Hawkins longed to keep them happy and when it came to topics that were confrontational, Hawkins usually bowed down and let the boys have their way.

  The Hawkins home was one of love and trust, not survival or death. As much as the boys enjoyed the hours they spent in their woodland gardens, both of them found it nice to run downstairs and into the store if they needed to grab an onion or anything they might be in need of. Hawkins life was a lazy life, but it was a happy life and if they stayed hidden in the upstairs loft, it was a safe life.

  A safe life was what everyone had always wanted for the twins, yet for some reason the twins never felt that a safe life was a real life. The only way to have a real life was to live it as they chose. Free from the rules and dogma of society. Tomek and Drake agreed that when changing lives was out of the question, taking them was the answer.

  9 Council

  “What do you mean they were both found dead?” The mayor asked Father Niko in the early morning emergency meeting being held in Niko’s office at his Lucky Trail parsonage.

  “That is what Henderson told me, just last night. That whore sheriff of yours said that Tower shot Jacoby during a traffic stop and then ran into the woods where they found him hanging from his shoelaces,” Niko said rolling his eyes while he leaned back in his posh leather chair from behind his large wooden desk.

  “They found him? Who is they?” The mayor asked.


  “Some MSP Trooper named Common,” Father Niko said.

  “God dammit, not only is this dumb bitch of a sheriff getting in our way and now the Troopers are in on it as well.” The mayor replied slamming his hand down on the desk top while standing up to pace the room.

  “Hey, hey, hey. First of all, you will not slam your hand on my desk, this is my sanctuary and you will be wise to not forget who got you elected in the first place. Secondly, this is the house of God and we do God’s work here so you will never again take his name in vain in this house and you shall repent for the sin in your next confession!” Niko was now preaching to the mayor who wanted nothing to do with it.

  “Really? You are going to sit there and preach to me about fucking sins the day after the two goons you sent on a drug run end up dead.” The mayor said reminding Father Niko that he too was acting illegally.

  “Drug run, no. Medication delivery for the ill, yes,” Farther Niko replied as if he was claiming that the narcotics his goons were running only fell into the hands of the less fortunate who needed them the most. An outlook that he surely did not believe, but it was a reasonable justification in his mind.

  “Running these scripts from Canada down to Flint, is that what you call God’s work?” The mayor fired back while pushing the glasses on the brim of his nose back up to the bridge as he made his point.

  “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Niko said with a devilish grin while rubbing his hands together like a master villain from some sort of a super hero move.

  “That he does, that he does,” said the mayor. “So what now?” he asked.

  Father Niko got up from his chair and strolled around the room looking at the different pictures of each saint that adorned his office walls. Saint Vincent, Saint Patrick, Saint Valentine, Saint Michael. Stopping at Saint Michael, Father Niko stared at the painting for a moment. That moment was long enough for an uncomfortable silence to fall upon the room.

  “Do you know who this is?” Father Niko pointed at the picture.

  “The Pope?” The mayor replied jokingly as he had no clue.

  Ignoring the ignorance of the man he shared the room with, Father Niko continued on, “Saint Michael, the patron saint of law enforcement. You see Michael is one of the few who remains the same across most religious beliefs. Why in Judaism, Michael is the protector of Israel. A great prince who arises to protect his people. The Quran speaks of him as an archangel who visits and protects Abraham. And of course we Christians know the truth.”

  “The truth is made by whoever wins the war, so please spare me your thoughts on what is real and what is a fairytale,” The mayor interrupted.

  “Funny you should mention war, Mr. Mayor.” Father Niko had now taken the picture of Saint Michael down and handed it directly to the mayor as he continued his impromptu sermon.

  “Saint Michael is most known for his fight in the book of Revelations with none other than Satan himself. It was known as the war of Heaven. Defeating the dark angel and banishing him to earth as a serpent. He then later again defeats Satan and the fallen angels where they descend into Hell. Michael is quite the man, well angel.”

  Niko continued on, “Furthermore, in Thessalonians the scripture tells us that, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God."

  “You see God only commands his angels to fight and when his Angels do fight it is Michael that they follow. Michael is the one who does God’s dirty work.”

  “What is the point of all this Father?” The mayor asked growing impatient.

  “You see, much like God we have some dirty work that needs to be done in order to save the greater good of our, my congregation.” Niko replied.

  “Will you get to the fucking point,” The mayor said.

  “And much like God, we have our own Michael. Michael has completed many a task for me over the years and when I send him to war, we win,” Niko replied finally vaguely referencing his plan.

  “This sheriff you placed in power must be eliminated from the equation. You either have to bring her into the fold like the last one or she needs to end up dead, like the last one,” Father Niko said referring to the drug running arrangement he had with the previous man to hold the position of Sheriff.

  “If you want to bring her in and include her so our mutual business does not have any more failures, we must make sure she will play ball,” Niko said.

  “What about Old Man Hawkins?” The mayor asked.

  “Yes, I have been thinking about him, I will work something out. I will make it worth his while to not fight us on this.” Niko’s answer did not please the mayor, but he did trust the priest enough to handle the old man politically.

  “If the old man cannot be trusted or you do not think Henderson will go for it, then we send our Michael into war. Simple as that, your thoughts?” Father Niko asked the mayor not really wanting his input but in a fake showing of mutual respect.

  “Send Michael, I never wanted to pin a badge on that bitch to begin with, but Hawkins talked me into it. I am not going to lose another forty grand cause she is out doing traffic stops. This ends now!” The mayor said passionately as he slammed the picture of Saint Michael down upon the Father Niko’s desk with such force that the resulting wind blew and array of the Father’s paperwork airborne.

  Niko looked at the papers and shook his head, “Very well, Mr. Mayor. I will prepare my angels for war. Michael and his crew will be sent there Friday night while the rest of Pine Run is at the homecoming football game. They will be at Henderson’s house waiting for her shift to end.”

  “Perfect, you have to deliver the pregame prayer to the team anyway and I will be in the press box with Hawkins. No one will suspect us. Anything you need me to do?” The mayor asked.

  Niko sat back down in his chair, leaning back with his hands relaxed, his long black skinny fingers interlaced. It was as if he was playing poker with people’s lives and had just been dealt a royal flush.

  Eventually Father Niko answered the mayor’s question saying, “No, nothing for you to do. Michael and his angels are good at what they do. Just get a sad speech ready for another funeral. The press is going to wonder why you cannot keep cops alive in this town.”

  10 Company

  After a long night and an even longer day, Sheriff Annette Henderson finally arrived home. So tired at this point from the activities of last night as well as the substantial amount of reporting that had to be done, the fact that she had not eaten in almost twenty-four hours had yet to dawn on her. Trudging into the industrial-sized kitchen that fed scores of working men in years past, she opened up the fridge. Luckily she still had half a lunch from the small greasy spoon diner in town that the locals referred to as Shirley’s. Henderson knew it would not be a great meal, but at this point all she wanted to do was eat and sleep.

  The sheriff lived alone in a home built to house over thirty. The large three-story brick and mortar estate had served as a dormitory for the loggers and railroaders who worked in the nearby forests of decades gone by. While the second and third floor rooms remained empty and had seen better days as time passed by the main floor was sound and it was there she had made her home. Henderson’s grandparents on her father’s side had owned the house from the day it was built, but Annette was fairly certain that they had never stepped inside. Henderson House may have adorned their name, but it was not the kind of place her family would have likely spent any time.

  The Henderson family, and more so their company, simply named The Henderson Company was well known in northern Michigan. They had been a part of every one of the state’s large construction programs since the turn of the century. Everything from the building of I-75 to the Mackinac Bridge had The Henderson Company name on it. With The Henderson Company so involved in multiple deforestation projects it was no wonder Uncle fought so hard against their clear cutting near Pine Run. Thanks to Uncle and his sabotage attacks business be
came too difficult in Pine Run and The Henderson Company moved out. Thus leaving Henderson House abandoned and bare, much like the woodland areas they clear cut without regard to sound environmental practices.

  Annette took up residence in the former house director’s apartment on the main floor. Opposite of her door was the large dining room that still held the massive banquet tables that sat and fed the army of lumberjacks and railroaders that called Henderson House home. Off of the dining room was the kitchen, adorned in stainless steel appliances that ran from the buildings natural gas lines. Lines that were, of course, installed over all of northern Michigan thanks to The Henderson Company.

  A sitting room and a lounge area, complete with modern couches that mixed with the antique elegant furniture and a black baby grand piano made up the rest of the main floor that Annette used regularly. Storage rooms, shower areas and an old dust-covered library filled the basement areas. She did not spend much time down there, the musty smell alone was enough to drive someone with allergies into a sneezing fit.

  While the house was over one hundred and thirty years old it still had its charm. She had acquired it from her family with little resistance and having no mortgage allowed her to finance the never-ending restoration projects that were needed. While she was not a professional carpenter, Annette learned as she went and in the few short months the main floor living quarters had been returned to its former lumber and railroad days of yesteryear.

  Henderson House was a place to live but due to the size and emptiness is was never “Home.” Yes, for now, Annette knew that she was in a good situation and although it lacked modern touch ups, summer and early fall nights spent on the large screened porch made it all worth it.

  It truly was the most beautiful spot in Pine Run. The porch’s view casted out over the large hill and grass fields which had not been mowed in years and since returned to their natural river grassland state. At the bottom of the hill was the river, the same river that the twins called home, that flowed right through the heart of Henderson’s property. If not for the dam and waterfall in town she could have taken the canoe straight to this point without portage but due to the changes in the natural waterways made by The Henderson Company to install a mill and pond in town decades ago, the midnight portage she completed was the only way around the town while on the river.