by JL Curtis
The sergeant ran back to the car. “Damn, no this is the old system with the VHS, and no replay capability. And I don’t have a key or a player.”
“I know what the sheriff has and I think that is the same thing we use,” Deputy Hart said. “Pop the trunk and let me look at it.” Keying his radio, “Dispatch, is the sheriff available, we need a master key and VHS player for the in car video, standby.” Looking in the trunk, “Dispatch, it’s the same as ours, and we need it ASAP, the trooper was shot point blank by a twelve-gauge.”
The sheriff answered himself. “I’ll be on scene in ten minutes. Do you need any other assist from us?”
“I’ve got a crew on the way, but you might have your investigator standby if we need him,” the sergeant replied.
16 Shots Fired
While this was going on at the scene on I-10, Jesse turned down a dirt road into the bottoms and told Aaron, “I want to show you where I lived as a little girl, before Daddy and Momma were killed. It’s only a mile or so up here, and there is a nice young couple, the Altons, with a little baby girl living there now. She used to work at the bank until she had the baby and now she’s staying home with her, but it’s hard on them trying to make it on one income. If she’s home we can stop and take a quick bathroom break too. I usually stop in and check on her when I get the chance.”
Aaron nodded and tried once again to get comfortable. Finally, he propped his right leg up on the dash to give him enough room to fit around the terminal, cabling, shotgun and rack and Jesse’s rifle all stuffed in the passenger’s side floor well.
Topping the small hill, she stopped for a minute saying, “This was so nice as a little girl. I had lots of room to play and there was a nice fenced back yard for me to play with the puppy. That’s what I remember most.”
Winding down the road from the hill, she crossed the creek and slowed at the driveway, looking at a white van sitting in the driveway. “Huh. I don’t think they bought a van, must be a repair man. Hang on while I give her a call.” Dialing the phone and receiving no answer, she was debating what to do when she heard pops and Aaron screaming in pain.
Flooring the cruiser, she only made it about forty feet until the engine quit and she realized what she was hearing was gunfire. It was hitting the car in the trunk but moving forward as the car slowed to a stop.
She screamed at Aaron, “We’ve got to get out, open your door and bail, I’m right behind you.” As she said it, she realized there was blood all over the ceiling, dash and door frame. Aaron managed to get the door open and roll out onto the ground then fell into the bar ditch with a groan. Jesse was halfway over the center console when she felt a slap on her right hip and pain radiating below her vest. Sliding over and face first out the door, she managed to grab her rifle on the way out of the car. She managed to miss Aaron when she landed in the bar ditch, as the car continued to get peppered with what she now realized was a fully automatic rifle.
Aaron lay in the bottom of the bar ditch holding his right leg, and moaned, “AK, maybe a forty-seven or a seventy-four but its full auto. Heard that before. Got me in the leg, I think it’s broke and I’m bleeding pretty good. Find the shooter!”
Jesse looked frantically under the car but couldn’t see anything but the roof of the house due to the road being higher than the driveway. Squirming forward, she finally got to a position where she could see the house and front yard, and discovered the gunman was leaning against a post on the porch and firing at the car from there.
She keyed her mike, but didn’t hear anything and reached for the radio only to realize her radio had been shot off her hip. Her hand came back bloody, and she felt faint for a second, but realized she couldn’t afford to pass out now. Squirming back down the bar ditch, she got Aaron in a half-sitting position and got his belt off with his help. He held his pistol and watched as she threw the belt on as a tourniquet and used a stick to tighten it down. Looking in the car, she saw her cell phone on the passenger’s side floorboard, and reached in and grabbed it. Thankfully it was still working, though bloody. She frantically dialed 911. When the dispatcher answered, she said, “Lisa, we’re at the old Tate place, somebody shot at us, disabled the car and radio, and Aaron’s been shot. There is a white van parked up by the house, unknown plate and so far as I can tell only one shooter. We need backup out here quick. And Mrs. Alton’s possibly there as a hostage.”
Aaron had his phone out, trying to call Matt, but it kept going to voicemail; he finally left a message and hung up.
The dispatcher went out on the common tactical frequency with Jesse’s information and requested all units back up ASAP, and for someone to find out if Mrs. Alton was with her husband or at home.
At the scene on I-10, everyone froze and the sheriff was the first to react, grabbing the video player out of his car and throwing the key to the sergeant. “See what you can get and put it on common. I think we might have just found our perps. Can you call in for your folks to back us up, and also get a Ranger on the way?”
The sergeant nodded and immediately switched to a private channel on his radio and started barking commands.
Jesse hung up and immediately dialed the old man. “Papa, we’re at the old Tate place. Aaron’s been shot and we’re pinned down in the bar ditch. The car’s dead.”
In the background she heard the alert tone go off on his radio and Matt start cussing. “And tell Matt Aaron is trying to call him.”
The old man went cold. “Jesse can you get away by going down the bar ditch? It’ll take me fifteen minutes to get there and I’ll come over the ridge from the east. Where are you in relation to the car?”
“Papa, the shooter is just shooting at the car from the porch, but he’s slowed down and I don’t think he’s going to come up here. Aaron can’t move, his leg is broken and shot both. I’ve put a tourniquet on it and he’s sitting here, but we can’t make it anywhere.”
The old man was opening the safe and grabbing rifles, pulling out both his mongrel and a Barrett MRAD[16] in .338 Lapua, and ammo pouches which he shoved at Matt. “Okay, stay in touch with dispatch and we’re on the way. What do you have in the way of weapons?” he asked as they headed for the door.
“I’ve got my Python, the ninety-four and Aaron has his Glock, but I’m afraid to try to get the shotty in case they are watching the car through a scope. We got out the passenger’s door and I hope they think we’re dead in the car.”
“Okay, hang up and save your battery. We’re on the way, but will come in quiet. Stay safe, baby.”
In a quiet voice Jesse answered, “Yes, Papa.” Hanging up, she put the phone in her vest pocket, and turned to Aaron. “We’re going to be here for a while. I know how to get around back without being seen, but first we need to get you away from this damn car. How do you want to do this?”
Aaron considered for a minute and finally said, “Well, I can scoot on my butt if you can hold my leg steady, but it’s going to be slow. How far do we need to go?”
Looking both ways, Jesse said, “If we got back that way, it’s about ten yards to a kink in the ditch, which might be enough to hide you and the grass is a little higher there.”
Gritting his teeth, Aaron tried to reholster the Glock, but in the end just pushed the pistol into the front of his pants and squirmed around until he was pointed down the ditch, “Okay, let’s do this.”
Jesse reached under Aaron’s leg, placed it on her rifle and picked it up as gently as she could, but realized the only way for her to move was on her knees, and that hurt…
Minutes later, they finally got to the bend in the ditch. Aaron’s face was bathed in sweat, and he was moaning with every movement, but he never stopped inching back. Looking at Jesse, he realized she was crying and reached over to give her a hug, “Thanks, babe, without you I couldn’t have made it. Are you okay?”
Jesse wiped her eyes saying, “If I hadn’t asked you to ride along, none of this would have happened, and now I don’t know what is going to happen. And my
damn hip hurts and I want to shoot that sonofabitch!”
Pulling her down Aaron asked, “What do you mean, your hip hurts? Are you shot?”
Jesse turned so Aaron could see her hip, “No. I think the round hit the radio and I got some shrapnel from it, I don’t think I’m actually shot. But I can go down here about another thirty yards and get into the creek, and I can get around behind the house and come up a little arroyo that’s back there. That way if they try to get out the back, I can nail their asses.”
Checking the house, she didn’t see anyone outside and the van hadn’t moved. Turning back to Aaron she said, “With you this far away from the car, I don’t think they will bother to look for you, and if they do I’m thinking you can take them out with that Glock. I know you can shoot that damn plastic fantastic pretty well.”
Aaron managed a smile and replied, “Jesse, do what you’ve gotta do. I can hang on here, and I can call Matt when they get here and relay to him.”
Jesse hugged Aaron and kissed him tenderly. “I love you, Aaron, please be here when I come back.”
“I’ll be here, and I love you, Jesse, and make damn sure you come back.”
Chuckling, Jesse picked up her rifle and crawled down the bar ditch until she disappeared from Aaron’s sight. Sitting the pistol in his lap, Aaron pulled his phone out of his shirt pocket; as he did so he heard the first sirens as they approached. Dialing Matt, he was surprised when he answered immediately, “Matt, I’ve moved about ten yards west of the car, still in the ditch on the right side of the road. I’ve got cover but Jesse is trying to get around behind the house by going down the creek and up what she called an arroyo in the back. I can hear a siren coming now.”
“Roger, standby,” Matt said. Aaron heard more noise and assumed Matt put the phone on speaker. He heard Matt repeat what Aaron had said to the old man and heard the old man cuss, then say something to Matt. Aaron heard some more unintelligible noises then Matt came back, “Okay, your position has been called in to dispatch, and the sheriff and more units are converging on your location from the west and south. We’re coming in from the east and will be there in a couple of minutes. Apparently the sheriff is trying to get somebody to answer the phone, but so far no luck. Put your phone on vibrate and I’ll call you when we get on site.”
“Okay,” Aaron replied then shut the phone off and replaced it in his pocket. He picked up the Glock and craned to see the house; seeing nothing he slumped back into the ditch and tried to get comfortable and ignore the throbbing in the leg.
Jesse was crawling by the house and around to the arroyo when she heard the sirens, and called the old man to update her position, she was surprised to hear Matt answer, but told him where she was and was going. She knew Papa was going to be pissed, but she wanted her pound of flesh out of these assholes, and figured they would run when confronted by more than one car.
The sheriff pulled up to the top of the hill and stopped, not wanting to push the situation until he’d seen what he needed to see and had more than just himself on scene. He tried the Alton’s number again, but still no answer. Apparently, dispatch had not been able to get in touch with the phone company to make sure the line was open and he had priority.
Hearing sirens coming, the sheriff looked back down the hill and figured at least two cars were on the way. The first car that pulled in was the Trooper sergeant and the second was Deputy Hart. Turning back to the house he broke out the binoculars but all he could see was the front of the house, the white van, and no movement. He panned over to Car #214. It was shot to shit and he was amazed that Jesse and Aaron got out alive. He looked but couldn’t see Aaron, nor could he see Jesse. The trooper walked over. “Well, it looks like that might be our van but I won’t know till we see the plates on it. They shot Wilson at point blank range and didn’t even bat an eye. They’re killers plain and simple and this one may not end well. You got a hostage negotiator on the way?”
The sheriff turned. “I’m it. For better or worse, but hell I can’t get them to answer the damn phone!”
On the other side of the ridge the old man stopped the Suburban and motioned to Matt to wait. “Dispatch, this is Cronin, I’m on the east side of the Tate place, if the sheriff isn’t on, patch me through to him.”
The sheriff answered immediately. “John, we’re on top of the hill, can’t raise anybody down at the house. Are you in position yet?”
“Nope, we’re down below the ridge, I wanted to check in before we got up there. Standby one, we’ll call Aaron and see if he’s seen anything in the last ten fifteen minutes.”
Matt was dialing even as the old man reported in. Aaron answered and said there had been no change, and hung up. Rather than try to call Jesse, the old man sent a text to her that simply said, “Twenty?” A minute later Jesse texted “Arroyo.”
“Sheriff, no change on the front from Aaron, and Jesse is in the back in the arroyo that runs up to the back yard. We’re going to move up and take position at the top of the ridge.”
“Roger, John, let me know when you get in position, I’m still trying to call and get an answer.”
The old man got out of the truck and methodically set up his rifle, loading it full and putting five extra rounds in his shirt pocket. He handed Matt the Barrett and a box of ammo, and Matt loaded up also.
Rummaging in his back pack, the old man dropped a spare box of 30-06 and spare box of .338 Lapua in and zipped it shut, “Okay, let’s go Matt, we’re going to walk up to just before the crest, then move to the right about ten yards. Just follow me.”
Matt nodded and they moved stealthily up the back of the ridge, then in to a small bench that overlooked the house, road and part of the back yard. The only vehicle in sight was the white van.
Matt got down in a good shooting position and called off the license plate off to the old man, who then reported it on common. The trooper sergeant came back immediately. “That’s our shooters. There are at least three of them, and the sheriff is now on the line with them. Apparently they do have two hostages. Per the sheriff, position and standby.”
The old man clicked the mic twice in response.
Matt continued scoping and said, “I wish we had a range finder, I hate having to guess the range even though I can usually get close.”
“It’s five hundred fifteen yards to the front steps, with the angle it’ll shoot five hundred on the nose,” the old man said in a dead voice.
Matt looked over and was stunned to see tears streaming from the old man’s eyes. “Are you alright?” he asked.
The old man looked at Matt and answered in that same voice. “Not really Matt, you see this exact spot was where I shot my son eighteen years ago. That is how I know the exact range, it got measured.”
Suddenly the radio squawked, “All units, all units pull back immediately, we’ve got two minutes before they start shooting hostages.”
Matt looked at the old man. “What do we do now?”
Savagely the old man answered, “We stay. They can’t see us, and I’m damn sure they have no idea we’re here. Get back on the damn gun and spot for me if they come out!”
Suddenly, Matt’s phone buzzed. He reached for his phone answered it, and hit speaker, partially covering it with his hand to mute it. “Go ahead, Aaron, where are you?”
Aaron’s tinny voice came from the speaker, “I’m in the same place in the ditch, and I can see two of them moving around. It looks like they’re grabbed a couple of hostages and coming out to see if the others have left.”
The old man looked at Matt. “Get on the scope, this may be the only shot we’ve got. Just spot and I’ll do the shooting.”
About that time the radio squawked again, “All units report clear at this time.” Then the sheriff came over the radio, “John, if you’ve got anything, take it full authorization.” The old man clicked the mic twice, laid the radio down and eased back into position behind the scope.
Aaron’s voice came over the speaker. “Two coming out, one
with a lady hostage, one with a baby, both armed; can’t tell with what, but I’m assuming AKs since I’m pretty sure that is what took out the car. They’re standing on the porch, wait, coming to the front of the porch, looks like they are arguing, the one with the baby is pointing to this car. One with the female hostage is coming off the porch, heading this way. Other one with the baby hostage is just standing there looking around.”
The old man said, “No shot on the one on the porch, I can only see his legs.”
“Yes, sir, the other one is still coming this way, I can’t move, leg’s broke, but if he gets all the way up here, I’ll get him with the pistol if I can. Standby, first one has stopped woman is not cooperating with him, keeps falling; he’s yelling back at the one on the porch.”
BOOM.
The old man had taken the shot as the second armed thug had stepped to the front of the porch and he got a clear shot. Riding the recoil, he frantically tried to swing to the first armed thug.
CRACK!!!
Matt had taken the shot with the .338 and the second thug crumpled to the ground.
“Matt, what in hell are you doing? Goddammit, you shouldn’t have done that, I…”
Coolly, Matt answered, “I was on him when I saw you settle down for the shot, and when they heard it, the woman dropped. The perp was rotating the rifle to shoot her. I know you’re good, but there is no way you could have gotten there before he shot her, so I took it.”
The old man said, “Movement behind the house!” Swinging his rifle, as Matt jumped back on the .338, he realized he was staring at Jesse through the scope and quickly pulled off saying, “That’s Jesse in the back, coming up from the arroyo.”
Matt stayed on Jesse, making sure to not touch the trigger and making no attempt to reload a round. “I’m safe over here. Rifle is up, I can’t tell what at, but she shot.”
They heard the rattle of an AK overlaid with the crack of Jesse’s 30-30. “She is down on one knee, just shot again. She’s down in the grass.”