The Shadow Patriots Box Set

by Warren Ray

  He needed the walk to clear his mind and the solitude always helped. He was still smarting over the loss of his two trucks and weapons. After they left, a couple of Winters’ men came to report that Nordell was trying to help his neighbors get safely out of town. They needed the trucks to transport them south to Ft Wayne, Indiana. Winters shook his head because he would have been more than happy to assist Nordell. After hearing about why he needed the equipment, Winters decided to give them a day to get their neighbors to safety before taking their stuff back. Still, Nordell was unstable and dangerous, and he knew he would have to use force to reclaim it.

  Winters turned the corner of one of the buildings and saw Reese walking in his direction. He hadn’t had much contact with her since the last trip to Canada. The last time they were together was when they escaped out of Detroit.

  She was in the same SUV he and Mr. Peterson had jumped out of to fend off a car that was hot on their tail. He had turned to the backseat to see her chambering a round and lowering the window to line up a shot. Winters smiled at the memory. She had proven herself on many occasions, but she was a wild card nonetheless. Winters had been apprehensive when she had killed the three cops at the party house. He remembered the fleeting look of satisfaction on her face as she walked off in a daze. She had also held her own in the sandpit battle standing firm beside Meeks. She didn’t show any hesitation, if anything, she seemed to be enjoying herself. He remembered her big brown eyes looking at him when he and Elliott made a run for a sand dune.

  Winters smiled as she approached. Her long blond hair was in a ponytail with a few loose strands swirling in the wind. She wore new blue jeans and brown-laced boots she had acquired in Canada, a blue striped buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a white tank top completed her look.

  “Reese.”

  “Hey Cole,” she returned the smile.

  Winters had insisted she and Sadie call him by his first name. He didn’t always like being called Captain and enjoyed hearing his name every once in a while.

  “You okay?” she asked him. “That man was as crazy as they come.”

  “Yeah, he’s a bit off his rocker.”

  “That’s being generous.” She looked at the side of his face. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to bruise too badly.”

  “It’s a little tender,” said Winters as she gave it a gentle rub.

  “You know, Cole, it seems like you’re always getting hit.”

  Winters chuckled. “Let’s not forget getting shot at.”

  She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Yeah, there’s always that too.”

  They walked to the edge of the lot and sat down in the grass.

  “So, you just out for a walk? Are you bored?” he asked her.

  “No, just like walking is all, helps clear my head.”

  “Yep, me too. Anything in particular with you?”

  “Just wondering what’s going to happen.”

  “Do you have any second thoughts about being here?”

  “Not at all,” she said without hesitation. “I like being here with you guys. I feel like I’m doing something important. It helps make up for losing my mom.” She looked off in the distance staring at nothing. “Being here means everything to me, Cole. It makes me feel better for what they did to me.”

  Winters could see the hurt in her eyes. He had worried about her from the get go and wanted to make sure she didn’t allow her rage to take over, like it almost did him. “I know how you feel, Reese. Now granted, I didn’t go through what you went through. But, I experienced a devastating loss when I watched all my friends get murdered. The worst part of it was there was nothing I could do to stop it. Not only was it gut wrenching, but I felt so helpless.” Winters paused for a moment. The memory of that day at the train station still haunted him.

  Reese looked at him and reached out for his hand.

  “You see, Reese, before I took my revenge I ran away, and the guilt of running away was incredibly overwhelming. So, I really do understand where you’re coming from.”

  The two sat in silence for a minute.

  “Did you feel satisfaction when you first killed?” she asked.

  He looked deep into her eyes. “At first it felt good, but then I got sick over it.”

  She squeezed his hand tighter. “It felt good to me too but only for a second.”

  “I figured it did. I remember you looked like a zombie.”

  “I felt like one.”

  “The next time for me,” continued Winters. “I felt so much rage coming out that it scared me.”

  She looked down at the ground. “When I was in the sandpits, I felt the same thing. Every time I pulled that trigger, I got madder and madder, but I loved it. It was only later when I was finally able to go to bed that it scared me.”

  Winters thought back to the sandpits and remembered the crazed look in her eyes. “Like you were Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?”

  “Yes, exactly like that,” she said looking up at him like it finally hit her.

  Winters could see she had been as conflicted as he had. “Reese, you mustn’t let it take you over. I almost did and it scared the hell out of me.”

  A tear formed and slid down her cheek. “I know, I know, but sometimes I just want revenge so much that it hurts.”

  Winters put his arm around her. “I know, believe me, I know.”

  A few more tears streamed down her face. “What do I do?”

  “You have to forgive yourself for whatever you think is your fault. In my case, even though there was nothing I could do to save my friends, I blamed myself. It’s stupid to think that way, but I think it’s because I felt so guilty I survived and they didn’t.”

  She looked up at him.

  “I still deal with it.”

  “You do?”

  Winters nodded. “At times.”

  A slight breeze blew in their faces as neither said anything for a few moments. Then Reese said, “I didn’t get to say goodbye to my mom.” She paused and looked across the parking lot. “I wasn’t home when they came. I was at a friend’s house. I told my mom I wouldn’t be long, but I hadn’t seen my friend in quite a while and lost track of time.”

  Winters saw more tears run down her cheeks. She stopped talking, but he knew she wasn’t done and waited for her to continue.

  “I knew something bad was going to happen when they took me to a different truck than my friend. I begged to be with my mom. They said they’d find her, but they didn’t. So…I didn’t get to say…”

  She stopped again and wiped away her tears. “That’s my burden.”

  They continued to sit there in silence holding each other.

  She looked at him. “How did all this happen? What are we supposed to do?”

  It was a good question and made Winters think in a reflective way. He liked poetry and thought about her question in those terms. After a moment, he looked at her and said. “The world grew dark and I picked up a sword, but I fight for righteousness.”

  Reese formed a half smile.

  “Reese, you mustn’t let Mr. Hyde overwhelm you, when you fight, you fight for the right reasons.”

  She nodded.

  They both turned when they saw Bassett come screaming up the road in the squad car. Winters knew something was wrong if they were coming from the south instead of the interstate.

  Chapter 42

  Winters and Reese ran back to the where the Shadow Patriots were sheltered. He saw that Bassett and Nate were already telling everyone what happened. By the looks on their faces, he knew it was serious.

  “Captain,” said Bassett.

  “What’s going on, Corporal?”

  Bassett and Nate relayed the story to Winters. When he learned the convoy was sitting there, his first thoughts were that Mordulfah was indeed trying to bait them. His second thought was of the citizens of Jackson and their precarious situation.

  “We need to get into Jackson and warn them,” said Winters.

  “That
means we’ll have to deal with Nordell,” said Scar.

  “That’s going to be fun,” said Meeks.

  “Yeah, well, that’s just the way it is,” said Winters.

  Winters thought about whom he wanted to go where. While they were in Canada, he assigned the men to different teams to make deployment easier.

  “I want Scar’s, Meeks’ and Nate’s teams to go to Jackson. The rest I want to go with Bassett.” He looked at Bassett. “Corporal, I need you to lead the rest of the men to these areas.” He pointed to the Whipple Road and Notten overpasses. “We checked them out today and both are good places for quick strikes. I’ll leave it up to you to scout the convoy you just attacked to determine what they’re doing now.”

  It took the teams just under twenty minutes to load what they needed and head out. Elliott drove Winters in the lead car down West Street through Jackson. Following close behind him were half of his force. A hundred and fifty men stuffed in cars, SUVs and a transport.

  “You think the cops have already scooped some up?” asked Elliott.

  “Hard to say. I can’t imagine many people having left yet,” said Winters as he looked at his watch. “It’s only three o’clock. I just hope Nordell hasn’t taken off with any of the transports.”

  “How many cops you figure?”

  “Well, Bassett counted a hundred vehicles, so if there’s four to a car.”

  Elliott turned to Winters. “You think we got enough guys?”

  “We should be good. Bassett needs just as many with all those Jijis he’s got to keep an eye on. Those Jijis have enough advantage as it is. Besides, we only need to hold the cops off for a little while. They won’t want to fight very long. They’re just a bunch of stupid young kids.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Winters hoped so, too. He was counting on the fact that none of those cops had any real combat experience. They were just punks with badges and guns. They’ll be all excited for a while until they start seeing their friends dying in front of them. Then they’ll turn tail and get the hell out of there. It was easy to push old people and women around. Besides, the teams he’d picked to come with him were his most experienced fighters. Most of these guys had been through hell and back.

  Elliott led the convoy down into Jackson and when they came up on East Washington Avenue, Winters saw his transports parked on the street.

  “Well, I’ll be,” said Elliott.

  Winters grabbed the radio. “Guys, our transports are just up ahead. Scar, I want them surrounded.”

  “You got it, Captain.”

  As they got closer, they could see a large number of people standing around who looked to be waiting to board the trucks. Some of the men were armed with what looked like the Colt M4s Nordell had stolen from them.

  Winters noticed in the side mirror that half of his convoy had taken a right onto Francis Street. He knew they would come around the other side so they could overwhelm anyone who stood in their way.

  Elliott stopped a hundred feet from the crowd. The Shadow Patriots got out and started walking toward it. Winters saw the anxiety grow on the faces of the women as Winters’ men approached them. They were strangers to them and nervous looks raced through the small crowd. Some of the men pushed the women and children behind them.

  “Where’s Nordell?” yelled Winters.

  An old man pointed around the corner.

  Scar and Nate hustled up to Winters as he and Elliott pushed through the crowd. No one made a move to stop them. They rounded the corner to see men loading more vehicles. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw the Shadow Patriots coming up the street.

  Winters spotted Nordell who was packing a sidearm. Nordell turned towards Winters and immediately pulled out his pistol. He pointed it at Winters and ordered him to stop.

  Winters yelled at him. “You going to shoot me in front of all these people?”

  “You take another step closer and I will.”

  Winters didn’t stop.

  Nordell fired a round into the pavement in front of Winters.

  The gathered crowd pushed backward.

  Winters stopped, but Nate didn’t. He passed by Winters and dropped his weapon on the ground as he kept marching towards the man.

  “Go ahead you son-of-a-bitch. Shoot an unarmed man.”

  Nordell hesitated and was thrown off that this man wasn’t afraid.

  Nate walked right up to him. He wound up his right arm and threw a haymaker into Nordell’s face. Nate followed that up with a left hook to his gut. Nordell dropped his gun and tried to grab Nate around the head and throw a punch with his now free hand. Nate saw it coming a mile away. He had been a scrapper all his life and had been in more than his share of bar fights. Nate crouched down to loosen Nordell’s grip, stood back up and delivered a right hook. The punch connected and knocked Nordell to the ground.

  “Put a gun to my Captain’s head,” yelled Nate. “Get up you grisly old man.”

  Nordell was in a daze and staggered back up. Nate had no pity for him and struck him again in the face. Nordell was down and out.

  Scar and Elliott spotted a man running towards them. It was Nordell’s friend Hollis and he was yelling obscenities as he moved across the street. Scar and Elliott intercepted him forcing him to the ground. They then forced him to stand and Elliott put his arms up under the man’s pits and locked his hands behind his neck. Hollis struggled to break free, but Elliott’s size kept the smaller man in check.

  Winters and Scar moved towards Nordell. Winters picked Nordell’s sidearm up, stuffed it into the small of his back, and looked around. Everyone crowded off to the side. They didn’t know what was going on.

  Scar put his arm on a heavy breathing Nate. “Ya could have saved a little something for me.”

  Nate let out a laugh. “Maybe next time.”

  “Scar, help me get him up,” ordered Winters.

  Winters and Scar each grabbed an arm and dragged Nordell across the street to a low brick wall that bordered the sidewalk. Everyone moved out of the way as Winters set him down on the wall. Elliott practically picked Hollis up and shuffled him over to his friend on the same wall.

  Winters glared at Nordell. “First things first. I don’t appreciate you storming into my camp and taking whatever you want.”

  Nordell tried to protest.

  Winters pointed his finger at him. “No. You shut the hell up. You had your chance and it’s gone. Despite what you think, we’re here to help. We’re on the same side.”

  By this time, several hundred of the townsfolk had gathered in the intersection staring at Winters and his men. He noticed them and looked around to see how scared these people were. He saw young mothers hold tight to their children, elderly people kept close to their families, teenage boys gathered in small groups off to the side. He also saw the young girls who were the ideal targets of Mordulfah and the cops.

  Winters saw an older man in his seventies approaching. He was lean and hunched over slightly. He wore a blue ball cap with a yellow M on it. He introduced himself as Mayor Simpson. Winters explained who he was and what they were doing.

  The mayor was surprised. “He didn’t tell us he stole these things from you.”

  “If he had just explained himself, there wouldn’t have been a problem. Which is why we’re here now, we want to help.”

  “We’d be very grateful for any assistance,” said Simpson.

  “I’ve got to tell ya that you’ve got cops south of here, just sitting there, waiting for you to come to them.”

  “What?” asked a surprised Simpson.

  “We overheard the cops saying they’re setting up on 127 and 124.”

  “Oh no,” said the Mayor. “Those poor folks.”

  Winters saw the distraught look wash over the mayor’s face. “How many have left?”

  “I know of about fifty who said they were leaving. Maybe a few more hopefully less.”

  It might have been a devastating number for the mayor,
but Winters was thankful the number was so small. He was used to seeing a much larger death toll. “Can you get some of your people to spread the word not to leave?”

  “Yes, I can do that.”

  “We’ll help ensure a safe passage for everyone. But, first, we need to go pay the cops a little visit.”

  The mayor seemed a little surprised and then excited. “You’re going after them?”

  “Only way to get rid of them.”

  After they got their weapons back the Shadow Patriots moved out and promised they would come back to help with the move to a safer location. Winters rejected the offers from some of the locals to come and help fight. He didn’t think it was a good idea to mix new people in with his experienced fighters, at least not now.

  At the edge of town, on Route 127, Winters thought about what he was going to do to flush out the cops. He thought they would be hiding and then come storming out. He didn’t think they would come out shooting because he figured they were also on the hunt for pretty girls. Then an idea struck him. He had two pretty girls with him.

  Chapter 43

  Bassett left Jackson and headed to Notten Road, which crossed over Interstate 94 but had no access ramps on either side. Before leaving, they had decided to go to Notten Road first because it was closer to where they had intercepted the Jijis earlier in the day. They hoped their quick attack had forced the Jijis to change whatever their original plans were. Putting eyes on the Jijis was one of the first things they wanted to do after they set up a perimeter around Notten Road.

  It was late afternoon when they arrived. The skies were cloudy and overcast and it looked like it was going to rain again. Bassett didn’t want any surprises from the Jijis so he situated men north of their primary position on Harvey Road. He also placed some men on the southern flank. Bassett instructed them to report on their status by radio every ten minutes. He left Bill Taylor in charge while he and Eddie Perlee went to check on the Jijis.

  It took a little over an hour before Bassett was able to find a good place to observe the Jijis. He wanted to be south of the interstate in case he needed a quick escape back into town. They weaved around country roads to get to Freer Road, which was the closest to Route 52. The dirt road had a house here and there. Some appeared abandoned while others did not. As they got closer to the interstate, Bassett located a couple of tall barns, which was just what they needed.