The Shadow Patriots Box Set

by Warren Ray

  Chapter 75

  Detroit Michigan

  Winters worried about the girls. They were all tired and were now sleeping in the SUV’s. He would do everything he could to protect these girls. They had been through a lot and had endured things they should never have even seen. Of course, it was a different world now, a world where evil prevailed over the land. Winters found it heartbreaking to discover this evil included using children for sexual pleasure. He had a difficult time wrapping his mind around it when the discovery was first made. After meeting Mordulfah and seeing what kind of scum he and his kind really were, it became clear. To them, women were nothing but property. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He needed to get off the subject and consider their current situation.

  Elliott and company had returned from reconnoitering the interstate. As expected, the cops had been smart and positioned vehicles at intervals up and down the freeway to maximize the patrolling of the road. The cops weren’t taking any chances and were hoping to box in the Shadow Patriots. Winters knew it would only be a matter of time before the cops, and Jijis would start going street-to-street looking for them. His options were few, and he knew they would have to discover the holes in their enemy’s lines to make their escape. Thanks to Colonel Brocket, Scar had come back from Canada with plenty of supplies and ammunition. Winters had decided to wait for the cover of darkness to escape, and nighttime couldn’t come fast enough.

  He thought about what they could do and decided to use Bassett’s recent combat experience, fighting house to house in the Middle East.

  He approached Bassett. “Corporal, you have more experience in this type of setting, what do you think of our options to escape.”

  “Already been thinking about it, Captain.”

  “Glad to hear it, because I’m open to suggestions.”

  Bassett laid out his plan and Winters concluded it had an excellent chance for success.

  Winters then got everyone’s attention. “Guys, I’m going to have Corporal Basset brief you on our strategy.”

  Everyone nodded and moved over to the makeshift table they had put together, and looked down at the map.

  “First thing we need is reconnaissance,” said Bassett. “We need to find their weak points and then exploit them. The things we’re looking for is their quantity and the quality of that manpower. We need to stay away from the battle hardened men. The Jijis will be the most experienced, but not all of them are trained soldiers either. You’ll be able to tell by how they walk, how they carry themselves, are their weapons “at the ready”, meaning are the weapons at a forty-five-degree angle. My first choice would be to go through the cops. These guys won’t have any combat experience, otherwise, they’d be out West fighting.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “We need to be ghosts out there, no contact what so ever, we don’t want them to even know we were there. Radio communications at a minimum, keep the volume down, and whisper into the mics.”

  The men listened intently to what Bassett was telling them. When he was satisfied everyone was on the same page, he formed them into six, two-man teams.

  Chapter 76

  Bethesda Maryland

  Major Green had been waiting for Pruitt to show up for the last couple of hours. When he was a no-show, Green decided to go back to his office. He had a growing concern for what was happening while he’d been waiting for Pruitt. He would check in with his secretary and then come back to see if there was any activity in Bethesda.

  As soon as he arrived, Grace gave him a stack of messages. He took his jacket off and thumbed through them ignoring the ones that could be put off till tomorrow. Toward the end of the pile was the one he was looking for. It was his contact at the National Police here in the district. He gave the man a call and learned the rebels had attacked Mordulfah’s compound and freed Winters.

  They killed over twenty of his men and some women as well, but Mordulfah had escaped unharmed. Green also learned they were still in pursuit of Winters and assumed he had not escaped the city. The local cops were going street-to-street looking for him. Green thanked his contact for the update.

  He put the phone down and tried to contain his delight in the news, but couldn’t help himself and threw his arms up with clenched fists. It was good news and he reveled in it for a few minutes. He just hoped they made it out of the city.

  He continued to go through the stack of notes and decided he could put everything off until tomorrow. He grabbed his jacket and headed back to Pruitt’s house. He purchased some take-out to tide him over in case he would have to wait for a while.

  Green had parked the car up the street after seeing no lights on inside. After a few hours had passed, he grew restless and bored. He wondered how cops could sit hour after hour in a car during a stakeout. He had long ago finished eating his take out and wished he smoked cigarettes just to have something to do. He thought about breaking into the house again but decided it wasn’t such a good idea, especially if Pruitt didn’t come home. Darkness had consumed the landscape and homes up and down the street were awash with light.

  He looked at his watch. He decided he had waited long enough and headed home.

  Green walked into his mother’s home expecting the smell of dinner wafting through the air but instead saw his mother sitting in a chair in the living room. She looked panic stricken. He stopped cold when he heard the cocking of a revolver. He found Pruitt pointing a Smith and Wesson .357 in his direction. He was wearing yet another golf shirt, only this one was a multiple colored stripped one.

  “What are you doing here?” yelled Green.

  “So, you do know me then, that’s a start. Now, be a good soldier boy and slowly remove your jacket.”

  Green was pissed at himself for allowing Pruitt to learn he knew him. He removed his jacket and let it fall to the floor.

  “Thought you might be carrying. Now, don’t get any funny ideas, cause I’m quite a good shot, but even at this range it wouldn’t take an expert to put a rather large hole in you.”

  Green removed his Army issued Beretta M9 pistol and dropped it on top of his jacket.

  “Now move over to the couch.”

  Pruitt waited until Green sat down before picking up his pistol. He released the mag and tucked it in his pocket along with the round he removed from the chamber.

  Green shot daggers at Pruitt. “Now, you mind telling me what you want.”

  “What I want, are all the copies you made yesterday.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Pruitt moved over to Green’s mother and slapped her across the face.

  She let out a yelp, but recovered quickly and glared at him as if to say, “Is that all you got.”

  Green stood up but stopped in mid stride when Pruitt put his .357 to her head.

  “Don’t think I won’t do it. Now sit back down,” yelled Pruitt.

  Green hesitated for a moment and then relented.

  “I know it was you who broke into my place yesterday.”

  “Is it your place, Pruitt, or are you just a house pet for Reed.”

  Pruitt let out a laugh. “You think you’re a bad ass, eh Major?”

  Green didn’t respond.

  “Talk about amateur hour, you break in through a window but don’t take anything. Hell, I had a wad of cash sitting in my room, so much that even my housekeeper is afraid to take it. She told me she thought she had heard someone sneaking around. I knew it had to be you. I’ll give you credit for finding out who I was.”

  “It wasn’t hard to spot someone wearing an ugly bright red golf shirt. It was about as bad as the one you have on now, but not quite.”

  “Oh, you made me the first night, touché. You’re not as dumb as I thought. Now tell me, where are the copies?”

  Green thought about his options and decided they were few. He figured Pruitt would kill them as soon as he got the copies. Desperately wanting to get this man away from his mother, he began to lie. “Th
ey’re not here.”

  “Where then?” asked Pruitt.

  “I have them at my office?”

  Pruitt slapped his hand across her face again.

  This time the impact knocked her out of her chair. She landed on the carpeted floor where she curled up in pain. Green stood again, but Pruitt aimed the revolver in his face.

  “You like hitting women, you piece of crap.”

  “If it gets the job done, what do I care? Now, Major, I know you’re not stupid enough to have left ‘em at your office.”

  Green looked down at his mother and back at Pruitt. “They’re in the car.”

  “Well, let’s go get them.”

  Pruitt waved his gun at Green motioning him outside. They both turned and headed toward the door. Just as Green pulled it opened, Pruitt heard the soft shuffle of approaching feet on the carpet.

  Chapter 77

  Detroit Michigan

  Night had fallen over the city, and the sky was cloudy and moonless. Streetlights remained standing tall, but with no power, stood without purpose. The darkness only veiled the despair, that permeated the streets. There was an uneasy creepiness in the dilapidated neighborhoods, which had overgrown lawns, and boarded up houses, some with the roofs caving in. Trash littered the streets.

  Bassett had led the six teams out on foot, disappearing into the darkness. Rather than go closer to downtown Detroit, which the cops had blockaded on I-75, they decided to try their luck a little further north along I-94. They would move the vehicles block by block, through the dark streets.

  Because of their injuries, Elliott and Meeks stayed behind with Winters who would coordinate with the recon teams and get everyone else ready to move out.

  Winters had them all loaded up in vehicles and ready to go. All the drivers stayed huddled around the first truck. The atmosphere was tense, and everyone remained silent, waiting for word to move out.

  A quiet breeze swirled around the men and was a welcomed respite for Winters who felt beads of sweat run down the sides of his face. He took his hat off so he could feel the cool air. He was nervous and could hear his heart beating. He looked at the men, who stood like statues, staring down at the radio that was sitting on the hood of Elliott’s SUV.

  They listened to the whispering chatter go back and forth between the teams. They spotted their hunters driving through the neighborhoods to the east. As they announced the streets, Meeks would turn his military flashlight, equipped with a red lens, onto the map. Under the soft red glow, he marked all the occupied locations. It was easy to see that the cops were methodically closing in on their position.

  Finally, Bassett announced he had located a safe place for them to move. “We’re clear on Warren Ave,” whispered Bassett. “Up to Yorkshire Rd.”

  Winters picked up the radio. “Copy.”

  Meeks found the intersection. “Few blocks over, and about a mile up.”

  Everyone scrambled to their vehicles.

  Winters got in the passenger seat and glanced at Elliott behind the wheel. He gave him a reaffirming nod. Elliott turned the key and eased back out onto the street.

  Maneuvering through the dark streets, without using the headlights, was not an easy task. Winters hunched forward, over the dashboard, trying to get a better view. The group of vehicles stayed close together. Winters counted the number of streets they passed and soon came to Warren Ave. Elliott turned right onto the six-lane road. He was able to pick up a little speed on the wider road.

  Slowly they made it to Yorkshire Road and parked between the boarded-up businesses lining the street.

  Winters picked the radio up. “Bassett, we’re here.”

  “Copy, I’m just a few blocks away.”

  “Captain, you’ve got two coming your way on Outer Drive,” said Scar.

  Winters quickly look down at the map. “Elliott, we just passed that street, go, go, go.”

  Elliott let off the brake and pulled forward.

  Winters kept his eye on the passing buildings. “Pull into this parking lot and go around back.”

  The sixteen-vehicle convoy followed suit.

  Winters got out and ran back to the street. Meeks and Elliott joined him as they made their way to the curb. Two cop cars stopped in the intersection and then started coming toward them at a snail’s pace. Both cars had spotlights pointed at the buildings, searching, as they passed.

  Winters, Elliott and Meeks scrambled back to their vehicles and waited for the two cars to pass them.

  “Bassett, those two are headed up Warren,” said Winters in a low voice.

  “I’m watching them.”

  The two cops reached the intersection of Cadieux Rd and Chandler Park Dr. and stopped. Burns reported that squad cars were all over Mack Ave. Winters looked at the map and noted the cops surrounded them more tightly than before. He figured they would not be able to sneak out of this one.

  Thirty minutes later, all the recon teams came back to report.

  Bassett and Hadley were the lasts ones to return. “We humped it past Cadieux, and saw that they’re posted at all the major intersections.”

  “They’re all up and down Mack Ave,” said Burns, pointing to the map, “and, as you can see, Mack Ave runs closer to the interstate, which narrows our escape.”

  “Funny thing is, I didn’t see any Jijis,” said Scar.

  “Nor did we,” said Bassett.

  The others acknowledged the same thing.

  “That seems strange,” said Winters.

  “Jackasses must still be licking their wounds,” said Nate.

  “Regardless, they seem to have plenty enough looking for us,” said Winters. “And we’re back to square one, without an escape.”

  “Can’t we keep snaking through the neighborhoods?” asked Elliott.

  “Be sunup before we could finish,” offered Bassett.

  “We’re going to have to blast our way through, Captain,” said Nate.

  “They’re not at all alert, Captain,” said Bassett. “We noticed the cops on Cadieux looking bored and goofing around.”

  “Then let’s take the suckers out one at a time,” said Nate.

  Winters listened to the men go back and forth with different suggestions. He looked back down at the map and noticed a high school a few blocks away on Cadieux. Then an idea struck him and a wily smile came across his face. “Guys, I’ve got an idea.”

  Everyone stopped talking and looked at Winters.

  Nate let out a snicker.

  “Whatcha you got, Captain,” asked Scar eagerly.

  He pointed at the map. “There’s a high school right over here.”

  Everyone looked at the map.

  “Bassett, you said those cops, just up the street from the school, are not paying much attention.”

  Bassett nodded.

  “Think you can take them out quietly?”

  “How quiet?”

  “No gunfire.”

  “Won’t be easy, but yeah, it’s doable,” Bassett replied.

  “Okay, so once we do that, we’ll drive their cars over to the high school.”

  “Then what, Captain?” asked Meeks.

  “Nate, you think you could set the school on fire, and I mean the whole thing?”

  “Oh, hell yeah, I could.”

  “Once it’s up and going, we’ll get on their radios and tell everyone we’re trapped in the school. Hadley, you can help with that, right?”

  Hadley nodded.

  “I like it, Captain,” said Scar. “Should draw enough of them in.”

  Bassett looked doubtful. “You think this will work?”

  Scar patted him on the shoulder. “I told you before, we didn’t get this far by being careful.”

  “When we pull out we’ll take one of their cars so we can monitor their communications,” said Winters.

  Bassett led a small team consisting of Scar, Hadley and Nate through the backyards up to Cadieux and circled around behind the four cops. They were out of their cars leaning a
gainst the fenders talking to one and another.

  Bassett thought about what to do. “We need to get their attention directed away from us,” he whispered. He turned to Nate, “you crazy enough to do something?”

  Nate gave him a half smile.

  “Can you get back around and approach them looking drunk?”

  Nate let loose a small laugh and took off while the others waited in the shadows.

  A few moments later, Nate came stumbling up the street. The cops looked his way and started moving toward him.

  “You there! Who are you?” shouted the tallest of the four.

  “Who me?” slurred Nate.

  “This guy is plastered,” said the tall cop.

  Bassett watched as Nate fell to the pavement and struggled to get back up. Bassett withdrew his knife and waited until the cops were ten yards away from Nate. He gave a signal to Hadley and Scar. The three of them sprang toward the cops.

  The cops’ backs were toward them as Bassett closed in. When he reached the first cop, he thrust his knife into the man’s side. He immediately withdrew it and went for the one next to him. The first cop screamed as he dropped to the ground in pain. The second one grabbed Bassett’s arm as the knife penetrated him. Scar jumped on top of him, his big frame took the second cop to the ground. Scar grabbed his head, jerked it up, and then slammed it into the asphalt. Hadley threw himself into the third cop. The two of them fell into a roll. Hadley found himself at a disadvantage as the cop rolled over on top of him, and started punching him in the face.

  Nate leaped up, faced the approaching tall cop, and kicked him in the groin. He plunged his knife through the cop’s throat while he was kneeling in pain. Nate then jumped over to the cop who was on top of Hadley. He grabbed the man’s hair and pulled him back. Nate kicked him in the face until he stopped moving.

  Nate helped Hadley up. “You alright?”

  “I’m good.”

  The four of them breathed heavily as they recovered from their efforts. They dragged the dead cops behind a house and signaled Winters to meet them at the school. Finally, they moved the patrol cars to the school parking lot, where Nate proceeded to break into the boarded up building. He found a couple of five-gallon buckets, and went back to one of the cars, punched a hole in the fuel tank, and collected the gasoline.