by Warren Ray
Chapter 15
Not wanting to wait until he finished with her, Winters found the switch to the generator and flipped it off. The motor stopped and the lights went out. Winters pushed the switch back to the on position knowing that Randy would think it was out of gas. He then moved off to the side and crouched down behind a bush to wait for his target.
He didn’t have to wait long before Randy came out onto the porch in his birthday suit holding a flashlight. He moved the beam of light around before pointing it on the generator. He took off the gas cap and looked inside.
“Damn piece of junk,” said Randy, pulling on the cord.
The generator started back up and Winters jumped into action. Randy turned to open the screen door as Winters decided to do what had been done to him earlier in the day. He used the butt end of his rifle and smashed it into the small of Randy’s back.
The crack echoed in the air as Randy buckled to the floor and cried out in pain.
Winters pointed the M-4 to his face and said in a calm manner, “do something stupid and I’ll pull the trigger.”
Randy’s eyes grew big and he nodded.
Winters took out a zip-tie and cuffed his hands behind his back.
“Now get up,” said Winters, as he pulled him up off the floor.
“What the hell,” he protested.
“Get inside.”
“Hey man, you can’t do this to me, alright.”
“I can and I am.”
Winters pushed him down the hallway to the bedroom. The girl’s eyes grew wild when they entered the room, and she flailed her arms against the handcuffs.
“I’m not gonna hurt you, okay?” said Winters.
The girl nodded hesitantly.
Winters looked at Randy. “Keys?”
“So, like what, you want a turn with her?”
Winters balled up his fist and belted him in the stomach. Randy fell to the ground, and Winters bent down to pick him up. As he grabbed him under his arm, Randy spit at him. Winters backed way and wiped the slime from his cheek before swinging at him again landing a blow across his face.
Randy toppled over and let out a laugh.
“He’s as high as a kite, Mister,” said the girl. “He ain’t feeling anything.”
“Certainly explains the bravado. Do you know where the key is?”
“On the dresser, I think.”
Winters picked up a blanket up off the floor and draped it over her. Her shoulder length brown hair was tousled and strands came down over her dark thick eyebrows. She had a few small butterfly tattoos on her thigh. “What’s your name?”
“Finley.”
“Finley, I like that, how old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
Winters gritted his teeth remembering the party house when he rescued Reese and the other girls. He remembered how angry he was then and the vow he made to never let anyone hold a girl for a sex slave. This young girl like the others in town did it for food. Food! In some ways, this was even more devious as you weren’t being forced into the exchange, you joined by your own choice. It wasn’t a great choice, but still, one you made.
Winters needed to let off a little steam so he moved back over to Randy and kicked him in the face. Blood splattered out of his nose as he let out a loud yell. Winters fumbled around on the cluttered dresser looking for the handcuff key.
“Got it.”
He moved back over to Finley and took the cuffs off. “Does your mother know?”
She nodded while rubbing her wrist.
“Why don’t you put your clothes on.”
“I can’t go home.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t.”
Winters waited for her to finish.
“I have to go to see Jarvis later.”
Winters was confused because Ashley told him it was one person a day and asked her about it.
“Sometimes I do double duty to get more rations for my sister so she doesn’t have to work.”
Mister Hyde started crawling around inside Winters’ gut. He struggled to maintain control and asked how old her sister was.
“Kayley is twelve.”
Winters moved his hand over to the hilt of his knife and squeezed hard. He needed to let off more steam and turned toward Randy before turning back to Finley.
“Do you know all the guys involved and where they live?”
Finley nodded.
Her answer gave Winters a perverse pleasure knowing he no longer needed to interrogate Randy for more of the names. “Honey, why don’t you go and put your clothes on and meet me in the living room. We’ll figure out how best I can help you and your sister.”
She got up and reached for the pile of clothes on the floor before scooting down the hall and into the bathroom.
Winters waited for her to leave before moving over to Randy who appeared to be zoning out. He grabbed him by the hair as he pulled out his knife.
“It’s your lucky day, Randy.”
He looked at him with blank eyes.
“I’m not gonna interrogate you,” Winters said putting his hand over Randy’s mouth before sinking the blade deep into his throat. Air gurgled out as Randy’s eyes grew frantic while his body twitched on the carpet.
Winters let out a deep, gratifying sigh and casually cleaned the bloody blade on the bed covers before shoving it back into the sheath. He grabbed the Glock 17 off the nightstand and tucked it in his waistband. He looked at his watch and saw that it was ten o’clock. The night was young, and he had much to do before it was over.
He shut the bedroom door and tramped down the hallway to the living room. The bathroom door opened just as he was passing by. Finley came out wearing jeans and a yellow Iowa football t-shirt with the number sixteen on it. She noticed the door was shut and asked him about Randy.
“He won’t be bothering you again,” said Winters.
She gave him a knowing nod and asked who he was.
“I’m Cole Winters.”
“Oh, wow, so it’s true. They said you were in town and that you killed Tim Sherman.”
“News gets around fast.”
“They say you rape little girls.”
“They do say that now, don’t they?”
“Well, I’m little and you didn’t rape me, so I’d say that’s all just a pack of lies.”
“Then you would be correct.”
“Are you gonna stop what’s going on here?”
Winters glared into her brown eyes and nodded.
The revelation seemed to put her in a good mood, as Winters noticed she was in better spirits than before. He needed more information from her and asked about her family. She told him that her two older brothers and father were fighting in the war. That her mom begged her not to participate in the food exchange, but she had no choice when they ran out of their own secret stash. Her mom tried to take her place, but the men laughed at her because she was old and overweight. It was Finley’s idea to do the double duty to protect her sister.
She told him that her next stop was a few blocks over and she needed to be there by midnight.
“There’s another one just up the street. Do you know who it is?”
“Oh yeah, that’s Jimmy Boyd.”
“Would there be a girl there now?”
“No. He’s at home with his wife right now.”
“Does his wife know?”
Finley let out a nervous laugh. “Of course she does. I mean she’s in on it. Like the whole town knows.”
“I see,” said Winters, noticing a slight change in her. She began blinking her eyes rapidly and fidgeting. “You alright?”
“Well, you know, I don’t want you to think, like, I’m a slut. I mean, I do this to, like, help my mom and sister.”
Winters put a hand on her shoulder. “Finley, I don’t think that at all. You’re doing what you have to do to feed your family and that’s all. If anything, I think you’re pretty damn brave.”
“Really?” she asked i
n a sincere tone.
“Oh, gosh yes.”
“Alright, cool.”
Winters let out a short breath seeing her happy with his response. It was interesting to hear how she didn’t want him to judge her even though they had just met. He put the thought out of his mind for now and focused on the situation at hand. He bobbed his head from side to side while considering his next step. He had a list of people he needed to eliminate tonight. It was crucial to take out as many of these bastards as possible. By tomorrow it was going to be much more difficult. The problem he now had was a passenger who lived several miles from here and he didn’t want to leave her alone now since he had killed her John. There was no sense in taking the chance of getting her in trouble with the rest of the gang. Besides, it was becoming clear he’d be picking up more passengers before the night was over.
A loud bang came from the front door sent a shiver up Winters’ spine. He spun around just as Finley jumped into action.
Chapter 16
Washington D.C.
Stormy’s eyes sparkled as she plastered a big smile on her face while approaching Gerald Perozzi’s table. Because of the importance of what she was doing, she had to practice this several times in the ladies room. It helped to psych herself up and it was not unlike prepping for a match in the ring. Only here, she’d be receiving sexual advances instead of blows from an opponent.
“Well, hello there, Stormy,” greeted an overexcited Perozzi.
“Gerald, how are you, sir?”
“Now that you’re here, I’m doing exceptionally well.”
Stormy chuckled to herself. “Are you flirting with me, sir?”
Perozzi nodded. “How am I doing?”
“Better than most, I would say. At least you’re honest about it.”
“I do my best.”
“At flirting or being honest?”
“Flirting, of course, there’s no fun in being honest.”
“But isn’t that an admission of honesty?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
Perozzi let out a laugh. “You are one quick witted girl.”
“Yes, and as I told you before, it gets me into trouble all the time.”
“Which means you’re not the boring type.”
“I don’t know about that. So, what can I get you?”
“My usual.”
“Is your friend joining you?” asked Stormy.
“Oh, no, he won’t be joining us for quite some time.”
“Hmm, too bad,” she responded with a smirk.
Stormy returned to the bar and put in his order. Her breathing relaxed a little bit now that she was back into the swing of things with Perozzi. She laughed to herself, wondering why she had been nervous, to begin with. The old man was putty in her hands and couldn’t keep his eyes off her breasts. He wanted her and would do anything to get her, which was how she wanted it in case anything came up.
She placed his drink on the tray and headed back to his table when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that two cops in suits were approaching. She could spot undercover cops anywhere. She took a deep breath and hurried to Perozzi’s table trying to remain calm.
“Here you go, Gerald.”
“Thank you, Stormy. It’s too bad you couldn’t join me.”
The cops were almost to her, so she took advantage of his offer. “Well, I get off at ten.”
Perozzi’s eyes widened at her response.
The two cops stopped at her side.
“Stormy Robinson,” said Lieutenant Wagner.
She turned toward them. “Yes, that’s me.”
“I need you to come with me.”
“Excuse me?”
“You are to come with me for questioning?”
“About what? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
Perozzi slammed his drink down. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Excuse me, but this doesn’t concern you,” said Wagner.
Stormy backed away from the table, and the other cop grabbed her arm. She fought off her first instinct, which was to twist his hand around and punch him in the face. She didn’t want Perozzi to know what she was capable of, so instead, she let the cop manhandle her to the next table. He threw his weight on her back while twisting her arm up behind her. Her right cheek hit the table as she waited for him to throw on the cuffs.
“You let go of her,” yelled Perozzi as he stood up.
“Back away, sir,” said Wagner.
“Do you know who I am?” asked Perozzi.
“No sir, I don’t, and it doesn’t matter because she’s coming with me.”
Perozzi puffed out his chest. “I don’t think so.”
Three large men came running toward them with guns drawn. Wagner reached for his own gun and pulled it out.
“You might want to rethink that one,” said Perozzi.
Perozzi’s bodyguards started yelling at Wagner to drop his weapon and he did as he was told. Another bodyguard grabbed the other cop’s gun and then pushed him to the wall.
Stormy breathed a sigh of relief and was glad she had decided to let Perozzi handle this.
“Now, exactly who are you?” demanded Perozzi.
“I’m Lieutenant Wagner, and I’ve been ordered to bring her in for questioning. And who may I ask are you?”
“Who gave you these orders?”
“I’m not at liberty to say and I suggest you unhand me and let me do my job.”
“Son, I’m Gerald Perozzi and you’ll answer my questions or you’ll find yourself at the bottom of a river.”
The color drained from Wagner’s face. “I…I didn’t know, sir. I’m sorry, sir.”
Perozzi stared at him with impatient eyes.
“Mister Reed ordered me.”
Perozzi shook his head. “I should have known it was him.”
“Lieutenant, you’ve been dealt a very bad hand tonight. Mister Reed is…let’s just say he has a personal vendetta against this girl. So, I would suggest you take those cuffs off and leave while you still can.”
Wagner gave him a humble nod and approached Stormy while pulling his key out. He took the cuffs off and asked if he could go.
Stormy started to rub her wrist and made a big act out of it while watching the two cops walk back down the hallway. She didn’t have much trouble acting nervous and started to shake a little bit. She hoped Perozzi would rescue her, but wasn’t really sure he would, so she had already developed a backup plan of escape once they were outside.
“There, there, you okay, Stormy?” asked a concerned Perozzi.
“I…I’m a little shaken is all.”
“Nothing to worry about,” said Perozzi as he put his hand on her back.
She cringed at his touch but needed to let him be the big protector.
“I just can’t believe Mister Reed would be this angry with me,” said Stormy.
“Yes, well, he’s gone too far, I can tell you that.”
“You won’t let him hurt me will you?” asked Stormy, playing it up.
“Don’t you worry about that.”
Stormy’s boss, Robert, came waltzing in asking if she needed anything.
“I think Stormy needs the rest of the night off,” said Perozzi.
“No, no, I’m okay. I just need to splash some water on my face.”
She turned and hurried to the ladies’ room. Pushing the door open, she let out a sigh of relief and then turned on the faucet, cupped her hands, and splashed water on her face. The cold water refreshed her senses. She looked in the mirror thinking about her next move. Perozzi would offer to take her home, which she didn’t want to have happen because he would insist on coming inside. She shivered at the thought of the old man touching her let alone hopping in the sack with him. Besides, having to go to Manassas tonight, she didn’t want him to know where she lived. However, she needed his protection from Reed, and if she offended him, he might not be so forthcoming. She kept staring in the mirror, and
then it dawned on her why Reed wanted to talk to her. He must have done a background check on her, and if that was the case he would know she was from Brainerd. “Not good, sweetie,” she whispered at the mirror.
An idea struck her and she started breathing in hard and fast working herself back into hysterics. She exited the bathroom and snuck into the kitchen to find her manager in his office.
“Robert, I’m…I’m really shaken up. I need to go.”
“Yes, of course, but what about Mister Perozzi? He’s going to want to see you.”
She sat down on a chair next to him and put her hand on his arm. “Could you do me a favor and tell him thank you, but I just needed to get out of here.”
Robert gave her a firm nod. “No problem, I’ll take care of it.”
She squeezed his arm and scooted out the back door of the restaurant hurrying to her white BMW. She looked all around making sure no one was watching. She started it up and took off satisfied with her exit strategy. Perozzi would just think she was too scared to stay, which would make him even angrier with Reed. She let out a laugh knowing Reed, with little effort, had helped prod Perozzi a little closer to their goal.
Chapter 17
Sabine Iowa
The banging on the front door startled Winters and he jerked his head back as Finley leaped into action. She put her finger to her lips and motioned Winters to move behind the door. He slipped into position as she pulled it open.
Finley locked the screen door as she called out, “Jimmy Boyd, why am I not surprised to see you here? And where’s your wife?”
“I’m right here, sweetie.”
“Wanting a threesome now do we?”
“You know we do,”
“Well, I’m sorry, but Randy is dead tired, so he can’t join ya.”
“Ha, ha. You know it’s you we want,” said Jimmy, as he pulled on the screen door. “Now, unlock the door.”
“It’s against the rules, Jimmy.”
“You never complained before and we got some food here for ya.”