Innocent Shadows

by Warren Ray

  Captain Vatter, the station commander in Detroit, had briefed Major Green earlier in the day. It had taken him until the afternoon to report on the disaster that befell Grosse Point. Instead of giving up, Winters had stormed the mansion and rescued his daughter. While on the phone with Vatter, Green had to fight to control his joy on hearing the news. Either Captain Winters was the luckiest man alive or had become a most skilled operator to execute such an audacious plan. But then again, Mordulfah wasn’t the most skilled tactician. After all, he had allowed his mansion to be successfully attacked twice and had lost over half his men in a week’s time. These are the consequences of having rabble instead of trained soldiers. Still, how do you not keep the upper hand to retain such a valuable hostage, especially one that was willing to help you?

  Winters must know by now his daughter had been conspiring against him. This begged the question; had he known beforehand, would he still have risked his life to save her? Not having any kids himself, Green could only speculate on that.

  Regardless, Mordulfah had miscalculated and suffered severe humiliation, which, for a man like him, was always personal. Green had no doubt he would seek retribution in the harshest way he could conjure up.

  Green pulled into the long driveway of Senator Abby Seeley’s house. It was situated in a secluded area with woods surrounding the property and didn’t have any nearby neighbors to bother, or spy on, them.

  “Is this Stormy girl going to be here, John?” asked Sarah Green.

  “I believe so.”

  “She sounds like an interesting girl, I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Green’s mother wanted to find out if she was her son’s type. After all, he was thirty-five years old and she wanted grandchildren. He didn’t blame her as she was a widow and could use someone new in her life to spoil.

  He rounded the curve in the driveway and came upon three parked cars. There was one he didn’t recognize but figured it belonged to Kyle Gibbs. Sam’s car wasn’t there as he had another commitment, which couldn’t be rescheduled.

  They reached the door just as Abby Seeley came out to greet them.

  “Sarah, you’re looking as pretty as ever,” said Abby, the retired senator whose outgoing personality had always been her biggest asset, especially on the campaign trail. The heavyset sixty-year old had been divorced for the last ten years and had dated sporadically since then, but nothing serious. She liked her freedom and didn’t want to further complicate her busy life.

  “As do you,” replied Sarah.

  “John, you’re looking especially handsome tonight, any particular reason?”

  Green rolled his eyes as she and his mother laughed conspiratorially.

  “Is she here?” asked Sarah.

  “Yes, she is,” said Abby in almost a singing tone.

  “Oh goody,” smiled Sarah.

  Abby ushered them inside her five thousand square foot home and down the hallway to the living room at the back of the house. The place was decorated with an obvious women’s touch. Frilly curtains hung against dark yellow walls where paintings of flowers finished the look. They reached the oversized living room, and everyone stood up as they entered. Abby walked over to Stormy and introduced her to Sarah Green.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Stormy as she extended her hand.

  Sarah took hold of her hand. “The pleasure is all mine, Stormy. My, but you are a beautiful girl.”

  “Well, thank you, and you must be so proud of your son.”

  “Yes, he’s been very brave and we’re fortunate to have his leadership,” said Sarah finally letting go of her hand.

  Green let out a sigh knowing what his mother was up to. She was trying to impress Stormy and be coy about it. Green stepped forward and greeted her before it got awkward. He then greeted everyone else, which included Kyle Gibbs and his father Jacob, the former FBI man. The state department diplomat, John Osborne, stood next to Alison O’Connor. Green approached and gave her a big hug, as did his mother. He noticed Alison’s complexion was much improved and she no longer looked like the depressed alcoholic he’d first met when she had opened the door with a cigarette in her hand. Ever since they had rescued her from Reed’s men and brought her out to Manassas, she had been steadily improving.

  Before Green could start in on the update, Stormy got everyone’s attention by telling them what happened to her a few hours ago.

  Green was slack jawed listening to the details. “It was Wagner who came for you?

  Stormy nodded.

  Green shook his head realizing this event would help to poison Perozzi’s mind and further deteriorate his relationship with Reed. A flash of adrenaline rushed through his body as he realized the significance. “I think congrats are in order for, Stormy.”

  She blushed as everyone gave her a round of applause.

  After it settled down, Green continued the meeting by giving them an update on what he thought had happened last night at Grosse Pointe. In reality, though, his briefing was lacking, as he was unaware of the death of Cara Winters. He then told them he wanted to move as fast as possible against Reed. He turned to Kyle and asked if he’d had a chance to look over the notes he’d been taking on Perozzi.

  “Yeah, dad and I went over them together. We didn’t find much of anything that would indicate what Perozzi might do to make an attempt on Reed’s life.”

  “With that in mind,” said the elder Gibbs, “we know that Reed is a drinker and I was thinking we could poison him.”

  “Wouldn’t really tie Perozzi to the attempt though,” said Green.

  “We could blow up his car,” finished Gibbs. “Can’t be too many people that know about the bombs.”

  Green’s eyes lit up. It would be pure irony and one that not many people could pull off. “I like that idea, but do we know anyone who has EOD experience?” Green’s use of the anonym EOD was referring to a military term for Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

  Gibbs tilted his head side to side. “Yes, but it would mean bringing someone else into our group, which brings its own risk.”

  “Is there anyone that you trust completely?” asked Green.

  “Let me think about it.”

  “But won’t Reed think it was someone connected to me?” asked Alison.

  Green hunched forward in his chair and looked at her.

  “I mean it was my husband who did the bombings, so won’t he think that?”

  She was right. The last thing Green wanted was for Reed to think it was anyone else but Perozzi. He turned back to Gibbs.

  “Why don’t you do a hit and run on him?” suggested Kyle.

  “That’s how Alison’s husband was killed,” said Green.

  “Oh,” said Kyle as he looked at Alison, “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright,” said Alison waving him off.

  “What if you had one of Perozzi’s men in the car,” said Stormy.

  Green considered this. “Be no question as to who it was then, but how would we orchestrate it?”

  “A shoot out would be easier to stage than an accident,” said Gibbs. “We could kill one or two of Perozzi’s guys and throw them in the car.”

  Green’s spirit started to lift hearing the seeds of a good plan. Something like this could work and be quite convincing. He just needed to figure out which of Perozzi’s men would be ideal. “These guys would have to be people Reed knows.”

  “Actually, I know just the guys,” said Kyle. “I’ve noticed Perozzi has a few that Reed would know right off the bat.”

  “Are they shooters?” asked Green.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Okay, now all we have to do is kidnap them,” said Green.

  “I can help with that,” said Stormy.

  Everyone turned their heads toward her.

  “I’ll make them an offer they can’t refuse,” smiled Stormy.

  “It could be dangerous,” said Green.

  “I can handle myself,” she responded.

  Green had no
doubt she could. Gibbs had informed him of her martial arts background, but he didn’t think she’d need it. She only needed to bat an eyelash at a guy before he fell at her feet. He gave it some more consideration and decided she would be quite useful in leading a couple Perozzi’s men to them. Everyone in the room was onboard with the plan.

  “Question is, where do we do it?” asked Osborne, who had not said anything yet. “If you want it done quickly, you don’t have a lot of time to research Reed’s schedule.”

  Green looked over at the older man. He’d been in the State Department for many years traveling the world to represent the United States and with his foreign contacts would be instrumental in ending the war. He brought up a good point because they didn’t know Reed’s schedule. Green rubbed his forehead for a second and then stopped when he came up with an idea. It was perfect.

  Chapter 23

  Sabine Iowa

  After killing three sleeping bad guys in the same neighborhood, Winters had entered the fourth house while Finley and Laney waited in the car. He could hear voices as he reached the top of the stairs. They grew louder as he crept to the bedroom door and peeked inside. A girl was on top of his next target and there were several candles lit, which would make it more difficult to come in unnoticed. Winters scrunched his face knowing this task would be difficult to accomplish without risking her safety because the target would probably have a weapon nearby, and she might get in the way. He was in too big a hurry to wait for them to finish.

  Winters shook his head knowing he didn’t have many options so he began to enter the bedroom. He had taken only a couple of strides before a car horn broke the silence. Winters stopped dead in his tracks. Sweat formed on his forehead knowing Finley and Laney were in trouble.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  A glint of nickel plating alerted Winters of a weapon and he dropped to his knees. A shot rang out. The flash lit up the room and Winters rolled to his left as he pulled up his pistol. “Damn it,” thought Winters. He had been correct in assuming a weapon was probably nearby. He crawled to the other side of the bed and heard movement.

  “Whoever you are, put your gun down,” yelled the man.

  Winters peeked up. The man had gotten out of the bed and dragged the girl along to shield him as they stood against a closet door. She let out a sob and began to cry. Winters cursed to himself. This was a worst-case scenario. He wouldn’t let this scumbag leave the room alive. The only question was; would this girl have to die?

  The man held a gun to her temple. Tears were streaming down the frightened girl’s face. Winters reached for the Ruger .22 Sadie gave him and palmed it in his right hand. He then grabbed the Colt .45 with his left and rose up pointing it at him.

  “I’ll friggin kill her if you don’t put that weapon down.”

  “Okay, okay. Just don’t hurt her, okay?” said Winters, lowering the Colt.

  “Are you her dad or something?”

  “No, I’m not,” said Winters, wanting him to point his weapon at him.

  “Then who are you?”

  Winters laid the weapon on the bed and said. “Does the name Cole Winters mean anything to you?”

  The man’s eyes grew as he realized who was standing in front of him. He then moved his pistol away from the girl’s temple and aimed it at Winters who had anticipated the move. The man was no more than four yards away and was a much bigger target than the girl he held onto. Not a tough shot, but he still needed to be careful. He swung the Ruger up and squeezed the trigger in one swift motion. The round hit his target in the forehead and Winters fired another one. The man fell backwards against a closet door as the girl jerked away from the dead body.

  Winters rushed around the bed to check on him before looking up at the girl. “You alright?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “Do you know Finley and Laney?”

  She stared at him with blank eyes.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not gonna to hurt ya, alright? But, I need to get out of here and help Finley and Laney. Do you know them?”

  She gave a slight nod.

  “They just honked that horn, and I need to go to them, so grab your clothes and let’s go.”

  Winters raced to the window and couldn’t make out who was at the car, but it was at least one man. He turned back to the girl, who was still too frightened to move.

  “Hey, what’s your name?” asked Winters, trying to calm his voice down.

  “Collette,” she finally answered.

  “Collette, well how do you like that, my name is Cole. Now, do you want to stay here while I go help Finley and Laney?”

  She didn’t answer and Winters decided to leave her. “I’ll be back.”

  He scooped the dead man’s pistol up off the carpet and turned to leave. He got out in the hallway and heard Collette call out to wait. She left the bedroom with her clothes bunched up in her arms. Winters didn’t have the time for this and started down the steps. He needed to get to Finley and Laney who he prayed weren’t in too much danger, but since the gunfire had gone off in the house, he didn’t hold out much hope.

  He pulled down the goggles as he rushed through the kitchen to leave out the back door. He didn’t have to look to know Collette was right behind him. He’d have to evaluate the situation before deciding what to do with her.

  He rounded the back of the house and looked across the lawn. A man who was a foot taller than Laney held a gun to her head. He had his arm wrapped around her and seemed to be waiting for help. Winters scanned the area looking for Finley and was frustrated when he couldn’t find her.

  Winters felt Collette move around him to look down the street. She stared for a few moments before moving back.

  “Do you know who that is?” asked Winters, knowing it was difficult to see through the darkness.

  Collette nodded. “It’s probably Jasper. Mickey said he wanted to come over.”

  “To see you?”

  She nodded.

  “Anyone else?

  “I don’t think so, but maybe.”

  “Are you really Cole Winters?”

  “I am.”

  “You killed that Sherman guy?”

  “Him and a few more tonight.”

  “Why?” she asked perplexed.

  “Because someone has to.”

  She looked for his eyes behind the goggles. “Thank you. I…I didn’t like doing this, but I was hungry.”

  “I know, honey. It’s okay, but it ends tonight.”

  “Finley and Laney are helping then?”

  “Yes, and I’m afraid I’ve put them in danger.”

  She looked towards the street and then back at Winters. “Can I help?”

  Winters observed that she appeared to have calmed down. She wasn’t much taller than Laney and her black short spiky hair was matted down in some places. She had both ears pierced in several different places and a piercing on the side of her nose finished off the look. And, like the other girls, she had a few butterflies tattooed on the side of her left leg and another on the bottom of her wrist.

  “How old are you?”

  “I’m eighteen.”

  Winters considered her offer and what she could do to help. He didn’t have many options and not knowing where Finley was made them even less so. Did another man hold her as a hostage? Even if he came up from behind, there was no guarantee he could find Finley before being spotted. The best thing he could hope for was to draw them out and then an idea struck him.

  “Would you be willing to do a little acting?”

  Collette let out a loud scoff. “It’s what I’ve been doing.”

  Winters told her what he wanted her to do before they both hustled back inside the house. She dropped her clothes and ran upstairs to gather her props for the show. She opened the front door, took in several deep breaths and ran outside screaming in her a high-pitched shrill voice.

  Chapter 24

  Winters moved to the big picture window to watch Collette act in the rol
e of her life. The eighteen-year-old spiky haired girl had freaked out at first but had calmed down upon learning who Winters was and what her friends were doing.

  “Help, me! Help! He’s dying, I need help! Someone help!”

  Winters watched the girl stumble across the lawn crying and then falling to the ground in hysterics. “She’s pretty darn good,” thought Winters. He looked back toward Jasper who had Laney in his clutches. He hesitated a few moments before looking behind him. Winters looked in that direction figuring someone was waiting in the weeds holding onto Finley. Collette kept up the charade screaming at the top of her lungs.

  A flashlight flicked on and a beam of light streamed on Collette, who had smeared blood on her arms to finish off the deception.

  Jasper started pushing Laney toward the house, and Winters had to step away from the window when the beam flashed across it. Jasper let go of Laney as he reached the screaming Collette keeping the light pointed at her.

  “What’s going on?” yelled Jasper.

  “He’s…” said Collette choking on her words. “He’s dead.”

  “Whose dead. Mickey?”

  “No, but he’s shot and he’s bleeding.”

  “Who, damn it, who shot him.”

  “Some guy named Winters.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Collette nodded. “Hurry, Mickey’s bleeding.”

  “But that guy’s dead though, right?”

  “Yes…yes, Mickey shot him dead.”

  Jasper turned around and switched the flashlight off and on three times. From across the street, a man started dragging Finley out of the bushes. Winters let out a breath of relief knowing his instincts had served him well.

  “You both stay here,” ordered Jasper.

  Laney fell to the ground and wrapped her arms around Collette. Winters rushed over and hid behind the door where he pulled out his knife. His heart began to race as the door squeaked open. He gripped his knife tighter as Jasper walked in. “Just one more foot,” thought Winters as he angled the blade of his knife. Jasper had just put his foot on the first step of the staircase when Winters wrapped his arm around the taller man’s mouth and shoved the knife into the side of his gut. Jasper’s knees buckled and Winters slid the blade across his throat. Air hissed out as he dragged him into the living room behind a couch. He then looked back out of the picture window. The second man was just now reaching the girls with Finley in tow.