by Warren Ray
“Yes.”
“And do you not have those men?”
“Yes.”
“Well, there you go. You can take your revenge on those men. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get my prisoner, so I can get the hell out of here.”
Cox shook his head in disappointment, but led them downstairs to the cells, as Millsap and one other officer followed them. The shuffling footsteps woke everyone up, and they stared out of the crowded jail cells. They weren’t too surprised to see their fellow patriots dressed up in business attire.
Millsap approached the cell holding Bassett and ordered the prisoners to back up. Bassett stepped out smiling at Cox. This scared Cox and he yelled for his men to handcuff him. Millsap and another cop came over and put their hands on Bassett.
He reacted immediately.
He grabbed one of Millsap’s hands and twisted it around as he took hold of the knife on the officer’s belt and jammed it into his gut. Millsap screamed out in agony. The other cop’s reaction was hesitant, and cost him the advantage. Bassett yanked the knife out of Millsap’s gut and spun the dying man around as his body fell to the ground. Bassett leaped at the other cop, swung his knife hand around and sliced the man’s throat. Cox’s eyes turned into saucers as he reached for his gun. He nervously grabbed it and pulled it out. He raised his arm just as Bassett rushed him, shoving the knife upward into Cox’s armpit. In one continuous motion, Bassett stabbed him in the neck, and then the chest. Cox dropped his gun and slumped to the ground. Bassett looked down at him and screamed, “you friggin child rapist.”
Nate stood watching the whole thing unfold. He thought about helping, but Bassett was quick and seemed determined to take them all on. He liked the young corporal’s moves. After it was over, he bent down and took the keys off the dead Millsap, who was lying in a pool of his own blood.
“Hell’s bells, Bassett,” said Scar. “You been planning that move all day?”
“No, it just kind of came to me.”
“Improv…I like it.”
“What took you guys so long?” asked Meeks.
“We all went out for massages,” said Taylor.
“Well, I hope you enjoyed yourselves,” laughed Meeks.
Nate and Elliott pulled the pistols they had smuggled in and handed them to ready hands. Nate then told Bassett to put the cuffs on. The four of them went back upstairs, where they met a cop out in the hall.
Nate looked at him. “Captain Cox needs you downstairs.”
As soon as the man passed by, Taylor grabbed him from behind, and with his knife wielding right hand, sliced his throat. The man went slump, and Taylor passed his carcass down the stairs. Nate didn’t see anyone else around, so he signaled the coast was clear. The Shadow Patriots had come in through the front door and then left through the same one as they hustled to their waiting vehicles.
Chapter 68
Alexandria Virginia
Green had gotten up early to go for a run. After meeting with Sam last night, he felt good having made the decision to go all in. He needed to take Pruitt out. It only made sense, he really didn’t have a choice, and it actually made things clearer. With Bassett still in the Midwest helping the Shadow Patriots, and Winters being held captive, he needed to have more skin in the game and honor his commitment to protect his friends. He would also have to let his mother know just how deeply he was going to be committed. He worried about her safety and felt she needed a heads up.
Green came into the kitchen and found her at the stove frying bacon and eggs for their breakfast. He loved his mother, but he wished he had a wife cooking for him instead. It was something he had decided to put off, at least until the war ended. He’d had girlfriends in the past, but the Army always got in the way. He didn’t want to have to leave a wife, go to war and possibly never come back.
His mother, holding the frying pan, turned around to face him, and motioned him to sit down.
“What’s on your agenda today, John.”
“Got some things to take care of.”
“Still haven’t heard from Corporal Bassett?”
“Not since he left Canada, and that was two days ago.”
“What about this Captain Cox?”
“He wouldn’t take my calls yesterday. I’m afraid something bad has happened to Bassett.”
“Is that all?” she asked, giving her son the ‘don’t try to pull my leg’ look she used when she knew there was more going on than he was telling her.
Green sighed and proceeded to fill her in on everything he’d been doing.
She served their breakfast and sat down. “I knew both those men. Now that I know they were killed by this Pruitt fellow, my suspicions are confirmed.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, and I’m not the only one who thought it a bit strange they were both killed in car accidents.”
“Who else?”
“You mean besides most everyone in Washington? I have many important friends who strongly disagree with this new government. Some are on that list of yours. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that they’re being blackmailed. It would explain why some of them altered their opinion so quickly. They’re all weaklings anyway. The ones killed, now those were strong men.”
Green stared at his mother.
“You’re worried about me?”
“Of course I am.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. I’ve been reaching out to certain people.”
“Don’t feel like running I take it.”
“Never was one to run, John.”
“This is not helping me any.”
Sarah shrugged her shoulders.
“Who have you reached out to?”
“Well, there’s Senator Abby Seeley”
Green leaned back in surprise.
“She and I go way back.”
“Wasn’t she on the Senate Select Committee?”
“Yes, not that it means anything anymore, but she and her husband still have ties to a lot of disgruntled power players, all in secret of course.
“Like who?”
“There’s Jacob Gibbs, the former Assistant Director of the FBI and John Osborne, he’s high up in the State Dept.”
Green was impressed, and a little surprised to hear their names. He thought they too had sold out to the new government.
“There are others, John. Believe it not, there are people who don’t like what’s going on and want to do something about it.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It just seemed everyone was cowering and running for cover when the federal government collapsed.”
“Do you blame them? Look what happened to the ones who did take a stand.”
“Which could happen to us,” said Green in a worried tone.
“You need to talk to these people and tell them what is really happening in the Midwest.”
“I don’t know.”
“They need hope and a spark. You could be that messenger, maybe even the one that brings them together. They need a leader, John.”
What his mother was telling him weighed heavily on Green’s mind, but he decided to take her advice to start reaching out to others. He needed allies and the more people they could bring together, the stronger they’d become. They would need to be better prepared for the coming days because he knew, Perozzi, Reed, and everyone else who had a stake in the new government, including the puppet president, would not relinquish their power easily.
Chapter 69
Grosse Pointe Michigan
Winters opened his eyes after hearing several people moving around upstairs. Despite having a comfortable bed, he hadn’t slept much, if at all. He mostly thought about his conversation with Mordulfah. What exactly did Perozzi offer him, and what did Mordulfah mean when he said that in the end, he would come out on top? After he got what he wanted, would he then assassinate Perozzi and Reed? Surely, Perozzi was smarter than to let this man put one over on him. However, the thought of Mordulfah killing the two men actually provi
ded Winters a pleasant fantasy. He’d love to be there when that happened.
Winters sat up on his bed and began wondering what all was going to happen today. He hoped Reese was holding on. Mordulfah hadn’t mentioned her, which gave Winters pause. From what he had gathered, she was a bit too old for his taste. So, what would he do with her, sell her into slavery…again? The thought sent shivers down his spine. Despite his wishes, the poor girl had opted to stay with them to continue to seek her revenge. She had gotten a taste of it and wanted more.
Sadie, on the other hand, concerned him the most. He had put her in a terrible situation, a situation he was unable to fix. She had already gone through enough. She had lost her mother and didn’t know if her dad, who was fighting in the war, was still alive. Now that bastard would take from her what remained of her childhood. Winters cringed at the thought.
The unlocking of his door pulled him away from his thoughts. He turned to see Wali at the doorway, who motioned him to follow. Winters left his room, trailed by two more Jijis.
They took him upstairs to the same large room where he had met with Mordulfah yesterday. The room was empty of people but had a large spread of food waiting at the table. He was told to sit and wait.
Winters looked at the strange food and wondered if it was his last meal. He hoped Mordulfah would join him because he wanted answers. If he was to die, he, at least, wanted to know what the prince’s plans were.
He didn’t have to wait long before Mordulfah came into the room, dressed in a white silk robe. The silk seemed to do a dance around his body as he moved to the head of the table.
“Good morning, Mr. Winters.”
Winters tilted his head.
“An excellent day, is it not?”
His graciousness sickened Winters. “For you, perhaps.”
Mordulfah let out a laugh. “Will you not join me for breakfast?”
“My last meal?”
Mordulfah sat down. “Oh no, you will have many more meals. Perhaps not as elaborate as this one, but it’s the least I can do before your big day.”
“Can’t wait to see what you’ve got in mind.”
“You won’t have to wait much longer. Please help yourself.”
Winters didn’t have much of an appetite, but he knew he would need his strength, so he picked up a banana and forced himself to eat. He thought about what to say as he took small bites of the fruit. “Seeing as how you’re going to torture and kill me, could you at least answer some questions?”
Mordulfah eyed him for a moment.
Winters pressed the subject. “If I am to die, then what does it matter to you?”
Mordulfah smiled. “Mr. Winters, you’ve caught me in an excellent mood, so I will answer your questions.”
“What are you getting out of all of this?”
“Mr. Winters, you surprise me. I would think you’d want to know what your government is getting out of this first.”
Winters placed the banana peel on the table. “Okay.”
“Control. Your government wants total control over its people.”
Winters already knew this.
“You can’t accomplish total control over a people who are not used to being told what to do, so in order to do that you have to get rid of those who will not conform.”
Winters knew what was coming next. He had heard it before when he had interrogated Commandant Boxer.
“The Midwest is a vast area and much more difficult to control than say the East Coast, where the population is more condensed. Here, you have large pockets of people who would rebel. Take yourself, as an example, you saw something you shouldn’t have and didn’t like it. So, what did you do? You took up arms against the government. Now imagine if say only five thousand people, spread out all over the Midwest did the same thing. Why, the government wouldn’t be able to handle it and would collapse. So what do you do? You divide the country up.”
“You’re going to kill everyone in the Midwest?”
“They are much too independent minded to leave them to their own devices.”
Winters remembered his 20th-century history. He knew Lenin and Stalin had done the same thing. They killed millions of their own people to gain control over the whole country.
“And this is where you come in?” asked Winters.
“They did try to do it themselves with their pathetic Patriot Program. It worked to a degree. It certainly has made my job easier, but it was more than they could handle.”
“And those terrorists we killed in Minnesota?”
“Terrorists? No, they were not terrorists. Those were my men, some of whom were very dear to me. That is the reason you are here with me today.
“Your men?”
“Yes. Mr. Perozzi came to me wanting to hire some men. He paid me well, but after what happened to them, it was not enough. He had given me his assurance they would not have any problems, and they wouldn’t have, had you not come along.”
Winters took some satisfaction in knowing that. “Just protecting the innocent.”
Mordulfah grunted. “Yes, well, thanks to you, I negotiated a much better deal than before.”
Winters gave him a puzzled look.
“Mr. Winters, after that debacle, Perozzi came groveling to me for help. I relented, of course, but not before he surrendered to my terms.”
“And what were those?”
“He gave me all of the upper Midwest.”
Winters leaned back in his chair shocked at what he just heard, not sure, that he heard the man correctly. “Excuse me?”
“Yes, we are to be our own country.”
Winters stared at the man in silence.
“When I said I would divide the country up, I meant that literally. I will control the upper Midwest from Michigan all the way to the Dakotas with its rich oil fields. I will import my people here and we will have a Sharia compliant country.”
Winters took a few moments to take in what he had just heard. He didn’t want to believe it, but then, considering everything that had happened to America in the past year, it wasn’t much of a stretch. He felt like he was a pawn in a chess game, where just one sacrificial move had an overall consequence in a grander scheme. These people who had taken over the country were as evil as they came, and had probably been scheming for more than a decade, which would explain why the government had systematically cut the military in half. These were diabolical people, yet very patient.
“I see you’re having a difficult time believing all of this, Mr. Winters.”
Winters turned to him. “No, it’s actually starting to make sense now.”
“I’ve treated you to these meals for two reasons.”
Winters was interested.
“First, as I said before, had it not been for you, I wouldn’t be in this position.”
“And the other reason?”
“I actually admire what you’ve done. You are much like our own freedom fighters. Fighting for something you believe in, and you’ve accomplished much with so few resources.”
Winters didn’t respond.
“But unfortunately, I still must punish you for killing my men.”
“I’m just curious about one more thing. Yesterday, you said you would come out on top of Perozzi.”
“Yes, Mr. Perozzi and that fat little man, Mr. Reed, think they’re going to remove me once I’ve completed my task.”
“How do you know that?”
“He was too eager to agree to my terms, even after I came back and asked for North Dakota. No one in his right mind would give up something so valuable, that easily. So, it is obvious he intends to have me killed.”
Winters had to give Mordulfah credit. He wasn’t a stupid man.
“Little do they know that I have my own people within arm’s reach of them and once I am established, they will be the ones eliminated.”
“Knight takes King.”
“Yes, indeed Mr. Winters, are you a chess player?”
“I’ve played.”
“It’s a shame we haven’t the time to play a game. Though I suppose we’ve been playing each other for some time. Now, Mr. Winters, I think we’ve talked enough. I’ve much to do today. I would advise you to take what time you have left to finish your meal, for you too, have a big day ahead of you.”
Mordulfah got up and paraded out of the room with his silk robe flowing behind him.
After eating, the guards led Winters back to his room downstairs, where he sat down on the bed. His mind was reeling from his conversation with Mordulfah. He shook his head as he realized he was, in some way, responsible for the man even being here. Yes, the government would still be forcing their dominant control over the Midwest, but they would be doing it without Mordulfah. Without him, Sadie would not presently have to submit to the degradation of having to marry the bastard. He hung his head, overwhelmed by what was happening.
Sadie sat on the floor of a large bedroom overflowing with pillows. Mordulfah’s ladies, who were part of his inner circle, and charged with caring for his harem, surrounded her. They had dressed her in an all white Zaboun, a traditional wedding garment, which they fitted to her child’s body.
She sat while the women put a covering on her head. She couldn’t understand a thing they were saying and didn’t really care. She felt as if she was floating in space, everything was so strange and seemed to be moving in slow motion.
The previous day they scrubbed her down and anointed her with oils before dousing her in perfumes. They spent the evening painting henna designs on her hands, which she hated. They smacked and scolded her when she tried to pull away from her caretakers.
Sadie wondered where Cole and Reese were, and if they were okay. She had not seen either of them since their arrival at the estate. She wished she could have given Cole the message Hadley told her in the jail cell at the police station. She wondered what was taking their rescuers so long, and hoped nothing bad had happened to them.
The older woman who was in charge offered her some food. She couldn’t pronounce her name and silently called her Crappy, referring to her demeanor. The woman was quite unpleasant to her and to the other ladies, ordering them around and not doing much of anything else.