The Shadow Patriots Box Set

by Warren Ray

  “You, of course, will not be attending the wedding, but you will be part of the celebration. There is nothing quite like beating another man to get one excited for his conjugal delights.”

  The thought made Winters’ stomach turn.

  Chapter 65

  Washington D.C.

  Reed sat in his office thinking about the recent capture of Winters. The news pleased him, and he was glad the issue was off his plate. The band of rebels had been a thorn in his side the past couple of months. Winters actions had proved him right though. He had predicted there would be trouble from the population if their plans were exposed. Now, because of Winters, they had to make a deal with the devil himself and hire Mordulfah to further their efforts. It bothered Reed the deal Perozzi had made with the man though. He considered the price way too high. “Too much was being given away with this lopsided deal,” thought Reed.

  Reed turned his chair to the salt-water tank and admired his fish. He had owned a fish tank ever since he was a boy, and found it a great way to help him get his thoughts in order. He loved the way it soothed him as he watched the fish go about their business. Theirs was an uncomplicated world of eating and swimming from one end of the tank to the other, never seeming to care how small the world they lived in really was.

  This was a stark contrast to the world of politics and dealing with different personalities. Some of whom were the total opposite of him. His friend Gerald Perozzi was a prime example of being an opposite. Despite Perozzi’s enormous wealth and the wheeling and dealing with world players, he never seemed to let the bad deals bother him. Reed wished he would show more concern for the deal they had made with Mordulfah. The absurdities of the deal never fazed him, saying it was the cost of doing business with such a man. Of course, Perozzi didn’t have to put up with the day-to-day crap that always popped up. “No, I’m the one who has to do all the dirty work,” Reed thought.

  Reed got up and selected some food for the fish. He sprinkled it across the tank and watched all the fish rush to the surface to grab their share. His thoughts turned to his next immediate problem, Major Green. There was just something a little unnerving about the way he had brought up Mordulfah. It seemed like Green was trying to get a reaction out of him and he didn’t appreciate being played. It was why he decided to send Pruitt to follow him. He was probably being paranoid, but he didn’t trust anyone, especially in light of their recent takeover of the government. Too many people were still positioning themselves for whatever power they could grab. Everyone wanted something and he had to be on the constant lookout for anyone who wasn’t on his side. If Green did suspect things weren’t as they appeared, then perhaps he’d want some power for himself, or worse yet, cause trouble by trying to topple him.

  This was why Pruitt’s services were invaluable to him. He had already proven himself many times over by getting compromising photos of power players. This had proved to be a valuable tool to keep people in line. For those who had ethics and morals, well, they didn’t always survive accidents, though this was always the last resort. Too many accidental deaths encouraged gossip, which could upset the apple cart, as it were.

  If Green wasn’t on his side then he might have to use that card, which would be a costly card to play, because his mother was well respected in the district and knew many important people. Reed also couldn’t transfer him out to the war if he knew what was really going on because he’d be able to poison the minds of well-armed military men. They, in turn, might come back to Washington and stage a coup. This would create a much greater liability than having Green killed here.

  Reed sat back down in his chair and continued watching the fish devour the food, some of which sank to the bottom, where the fish would find it later while they swam back and forth to nowhere.

  Chapter 66

  After breaking into Pruitt’s house, Green headed back to his office. He’d been away too long and didn’t want anyone to think something was wrong. The day had been nerve racking, having discovered that Pruitt was Reed’s go to guy for nefarious activities. It was bad enough finding Sam’s license plate number written down, but to find scandalous photos and the list of names. One of these people, he knew, had been killed in an auto accident, and this was more than just a little unsettling. Green’s mind was reeling with all the information, and it would take considerable sorting to determine his next course of action.

  He arrived at the Lafayette building and tried to contain his nerves as he greeted his secretary, Grace, who seemed to have thought nothing was uncommon about his absence. This gave him a little more confidence and since she never mentioned it, he could assume Reed had not been by to question him. He sat at his desk and looked at his computer with full knowledge they were monitoring his activities. He wanted to research the two crossed out names on the list, but that would send up red flags.

  He tapped his fingers on the desk, and in a short while, came up with an idea. He got up, walked out to his secretary’s desk, and offered her the rest of the day off. She didn’t hesitate one bit and gave him a big smile. He said it would be no problem as long as she didn’t tell anyone. Grace zipped her fingers across her lips, grabbed her purse and left the office.

  Green waited ten minutes before he jumped on her computer and typed in the first of the crossed out names. At the top of the results was a news story on the man’s death by a hit and run driver. He had left a restaurant and was crossing the street when a car hit him. Witnesses had said the driver appeared to be drunk and didn’t pull over after hitting him. No one was able to get a license plate number and the death was still under investigation. The victim was the former Director of the Department of Commerce under the past administration. He had been an outspoken critic of the new administration and had accused it of being unlawful.

  Green sat back in his secretary’s chair after reading the article and took a deep breath, knowing it had been Pruitt driving that car. He typed in the next name and read an article on his unfortunate death. A stolen vehicle had rammed into his car, which had rolled down an embankment and caught fire. The police never found the driver of the stolen car. The hairs on Green’s arm rose as he finished reading the news article of former Senator Kelly from Florida. Green knew of him and remembered him to be another harsh critic of the new government. He had been calling for new elections and had been getting some traction from like-minded people before the war had begun. The war had changed everything. The American people had rallied around the present government, but Senator Kelly hadn’t given up calling for new elections.

  Green made notations on all the remaining names, who they were and what they did for a living. The names with the marks next to them had been critics but changed their tune after the war started and now supported the government. The names without the marks had always appeared to be supporters of the current administration. These names matched up with the pictures he had copied. “Already in their pockets,” thought Green.

  To ensure his secretary wouldn’t realize he’d been using her computer, he erased the search history. He knew he couldn’t get rid of it completely. It would still be on the servers, but he figured no one would be keeping track of her searches.

  A couple of hours later, he met Sam in an Alexandria sports bar called Pub II. No one knew where Pub I was or if one ever existed. The bar had a wide-open floor plan. High tables sat in the center with smaller tables surrounding them. Banners of various professional teams, along with the local college teams hung on the walls. The televisions were playing soccer games from Europe. Because of the war, all the American professional sports teams were out of business.

  The place had few patrons and they had their choice of tables. They grabbed beers at the bar before picking a table by the dart boards and decided to play a game. Sam had played darts throughout his college years at Georgetown. He had been good enough to compete in a couple of tournaments in Vegas during the summer breaks.

  “So, what did you find out?” asked Sam

  Green too
k a sip of his beer and filled him in on everything he had done and what he had found in Pruitt’s house, including the name written by his license plate number. Sam shook his head and let out a sigh. He grabbed the darts and wildly threw them at the dartboard missing it completely. He raised his beer and gulped half of it down.

  Green waited for him to finish. “I guess none of this is surprising if you think about everything else they’ve been doing.”

  “No, I don’t suppose it is. Question is, how long will it be before they figure out what I helped you with?”

  “Do you know Pruitt’s contact at the State Department?”

  “Yeah, I know him. He’s a bit of a weasel, but he doesn’t have direct access to those log sheets. He’ll have to find someone to bribe in order to take a look, which won’t be too difficult for the right price.”

  “Can’t you bribe someone and get your name removed?”

  “He’s had a full day already, I’m going to assume he already has my name.”

  Green took a sip. “Even so, if Pruitt knows who you are, he still doesn’t have anything. He’d need to look at your computer records.”

  “I’m aware of that, but all it’ll take is for that weasel to offer another bribe to get at them. We have a big IT department. I’ve no doubt someone there wouldn’t mind making an extra buck.”

  “So that should buy us another day.”

  “Okay, so what are you going to do about it tomorrow?”

  Green hesitated because he didn’t have a good answer. Sam stared at him with a look of desperation. Green felt bad for getting him involved and owed him big time. Then it dawned on him that he was at a crossroad and had a choice to make. He was either all in or nothing. He decided to go all in. This decision allowed him to see his next move with perfect clarity.

  Chapter 67

  Detroit Michigan

  Nate saw a squad car parked alone in an abandoned parking lot, and he pointed it out to Elliott, who was driving their SUV. It appeared the cop was taking a nap, which made him an easy target. They still needed a cop after coming up empty in Saline, which remained closed since they had come through there like hell on wheels. Elliott pulled into the far side of the parking lot and drove slowly across it.

  The squad car was parked with its nose toward the building. He moved up close behind it and Nate jumped out carrying a sawed off, double barrel shotgun. He moved quickly to the driver’s side and found the window rolled down. He shoved the shotgun against the side of the man’s head.

  “Wakey wakey,” he sneered.

  It took a second for the startled cop to realize what was happening. He started to reach for his sidearm, but thought better of it, when Nate shoved the barrels into his skull.

  “Get out,” Nate ordered as he moved back and pulled on the door handle.

  “Don’t kill me, please,” said the frightened man.

  “I won’t kill you, just so long as you play nice with me,” said Nate as he questioned himself about that statement. He didn’t care for these cops and what they were doing. It pissed him off to no end, and he had no problem killing them. All he needed was an excuse, no matter how small, to pull the trigger, but he didn’t.

  Nate had the cop remove his gun belt and drop it to the ground. He motioned Bill Taylor to handcuff him.

  When Nate got back into the SUV, he heard the radio come alive.

  “Nate, come in.”

  Nate grabbed the radio. “Nate, here. Who’s this?”

  “It’s Peterson.”

  He thought it odd for Peterson to contact him, and suspected something was wrong. “What’s up?”

  Nate absorbed the information with a cool demeanor and told Peterson to stay out of sight until they got there. He attempted to control his anger at hearing how Bassett had gone in with such a small force. Over the past couple of months, he had learned, to act more rational and to devise an unexpected game plan. Patience had never been a virtue of his, but he’d seen how effective it had been for Winters. Too bad Bassett hadn’t learned that lesson. He just hoped he hadn’t lost any men in the process.

  Now, he would have to remain calm and come up with a plan to rescue everyone and do it without storming the place. He first needed to interrogate the cop and find out what he knew.

  Nate and Elliott took the prisoner in their SUV and Taylor followed with the squad car. An abandoned vehicle might have caused someone to question the absence of the driver.

  They drove to a secluded spot, pulled into a meadow, and parked behind a weeping willow tree. After they stopped, Nate yanked the cop out of the truck and threw him to the ground. He retrieved the shotgun and pointed it at him. The cop immediately began to plead for his life.

  Nate stared down at him. “I’m only going to tell you this one time. If you don’t answer my questions, then I’m just going to shoot you. Then, I’ll go find another cop who, while kneeling beside your bullet-ridden body, will be more cooperative. So, it doesn’t really matter to me, which one of you it is. You understand?”

  The cop began to simulate a bobble head doll. “I’m the one you want to ask.”

  “Do you know who we are?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, you know what I’m going to ask ya then?”

  “Yes.”

  “First off, where is Winters?”

  “Mordulfah has him.”

  “And where is that?”

  “At Grosse Pointe. I can give you directions.”

  Nate looked over at Elliott who stood off to the side and gave him a nod.

  “What about the rest of my friends.”

  “We caught them trying to storm our station.”

  “How many got killed?

  “Four.”

  Nate wondered who they were.

  “Where are they at?”

  “Locked up downstairs.”

  “What’s going to happened to them?”

  “Cox is going execute them.”

  “He’s in charge?”

  The cop bobbled his head.

  “When’s he going to execute them?”

  “In the morning, he wants to make it a spectacle.”

  “Does Cox think he has all of us?”

  “Yes.”

  “You wouldn’t be lying to me now would you?”

  “No, with the ones we killed and captured in South Bend, he thinks he’s got all of you.”

  After asking more questions, regarding manpower and schedules, he moved off the side to talk to Elliott. They discussed whether to get the guys before trying for Winters. It was an obvious choice. They needed the manpower before storming Mordulfah’s place. It frustrated Nate that they had to wait another day to free the girls from Mordulfah.

  They had hoped to get to Cox at home like they had done Stiver, but their prisoner said he was staying the night at the station.

  Nate gave it some thought and decided to stage a rescue later that night when there wouldn’t be as many cops on duty. He shoved the handcuffed cop in the trunk of his own vehicle and cold-cocked him, knocking him out. They then took off to find Mr. Peterson, who was still keeping an eye on the place.

  It was two o’clock in the morning, and the remaining Shadow Patriots prepared for their raid. Nate, Taylor and Elliott changed into the business attire they had used in St. Paul. They would again pose as Government agents wanting Corporal Bassett back. Taylor had worked on their identification, perfecting their ruse. It would take an attitude, and he had plenty of it.

  The three of them walked into the station to the surprise of the night watchman.

  Taylor flashed his ID. “Homeland Security, you in charge here tonight, son?” he asked gruffly.

  Millsap came out of his chair quickly. “No, I’m not. Captain Cox, the station commander, is in charge.”

  “He’s here at this ungodly hour?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “Well?”

  “Well, what?” asked the tired looking cop, who had thick bags under his eyes.

&
nbsp; “Where’s Captain Cox?”

  “He’s in his office resting,” said Millsap.

  “Well, show me the way,” said Taylor in an annoyed tone.

  “To his office?”

  Taylor let out a long grunt.

  The baggy eyed Millsap took them to Cox’s office. He gave the door a soft knock and waited for an answer.

  Taylor shoved the man to the side and pounded on the door as he opened it. They all went into the darkened room and found Cox leaning back in his chair with his eyes shut. The loud knocking woke up a discombobulated Captain Cox. He leaned forward and looked at the three older men who were staring down at him.

  “What the hell? Who the hell are you?”

  Taylor reached into his pocket, pulled out his ID, and flashed it to Cox, who, as planned, didn’t get a good look at it in the dark office. “We’re with Homeland Security.”

  “Homeland Security?” Cox looked at his watch. “It’s two in the morning.”

  “Yes and I should be at home cuddling with my wife of thirty years, but instead I’m here talking to you. You think I want to be here talking to you?”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want my man back.”

  Cox looked dumbfounded. “What man?”

  “Corporal Bassett.”

  “You’re here for Bassett? I’ve got him locked up for killing some of my men.”

  “Yes, I know that. He’s also a traitor to the United States of America, which means he’s committed a national crime against the state. He needs to stand trial before we execute him.”

  “He’s being executed here in just a few hours.”

  “We’re aware of this.”

  “You are?” asked a bewildered Cox.

  “We’re the government, we know everything.”

  “You can’t have him, he killed some of my men.”

  “Did he not have help?”