by Warren Ray
“Your welcome, Mayor.”
Simpson continued. “What we want to know is what do you plan on doing next?”
“We’re going to need to find out what the enemy is up to before we decide.”
“What the mayor wants to know, CAPTAIN, is what are you are going to do with the crap load of armed men up on the interstate. You do know they are there, right?”
“Yes, I’m well aware of them.”
“I’m puzzled then, why haven’t you attacked them?”
“How is it you know?”
“Well, after you sent that skinny Texan up here asking for my help, I got curious and I took a little drive and saw them.”
“Did you fire on them?”
“No I didn’t,” he stuttered a little bit. “We were not in a position of strength to do such a thing.”
“Did they see you?”
“Yes, they did.”
“And did they chase after you?”
Nordell hesitated for a moment. “No, they didn’t but that’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” asked Winters, knowing he wasn’t going to win any kind of argument with him. There wasn’t any pleasing this man because he had only come here to satisfy his ego.
“The point is, Winters, you’ve got a bunch of sitting ducks waiting to be taken out and you didn’t do anything of the sort.”
Elliott walked in and moved next to Winters.
“What do you want me to say, Sergeant? You want me to tell you I don’t know what the hell I’m doing? That I should hand over the reins to you because you’re the more experienced man?”
Nordell didn’t respond.
“To be quite honest with you, Sergeant, I’d be more than happy to hand the reins over to a more experienced person, someone who is a more seasoned leader, but unfortunately, I haven’t found that person yet. So until I do, I plan to lead these men the best way I know how, and if that means running from a larger force until I’m sure I can win, then yes, that’s what I will do. Now, as for your insinuation that I’m just leaving those sitting ducks alone up there on the interstate, you’re wrong in that assumption. I’ve had my guys watching those men because we didn’t know where the other half of their force was.”
“There’s more?” asked a nervous Mayor Simpson.
“Yes, there’s more. There are approximately fifteen hundred bad guys up on that interstate, but that is only half of their three thousand-man force. Up until this evening, we didn’t know where the other half was. We found out when we had a shootout with them. Even though we came into conflict with a much larger force than ours, I believe they only had half of the remaining fifteen hundred there, while they have the rest waiting in the wings somewhere. The man we are dealing with is very cunning, and he wants to draw my men in and surround us. And, so far, he’s done a pretty damn good job of it. You see, we are only three hundred going after three thousand. So, don’t come in here and tell me what I’m doing wrong, especially when I still have two friends of mine behind enemy lines, who, God willing, we’ll be able to rescue. Those two put their lives at risk tonight to save those fourteen girls. So, if you don’t mind, a simple thanks and what can we do to help will suffice.”
Winters watched Nordell become fidgety and wondered if he was feeling ashamed of his little tantrum.
“What're their names?” asked Mayor Simpson.
“Whose names?” snapped Winters.
“The two still trying to escape.”
“Meeks and Reese.”
“Well, we’ll pray for those two men.”
“Reese is a girl.”
“Oh my,” said Simpson, shocked at the revelation.
“Believe me, she can handle herself, she’s been through hell and back and still stands tall.”
“Yes, of course. Again, thank you, Captain.”
Nordell followed Simpson out of the room without saying a word.
Chapter 66
Somerset Center Michigan
After successfully getting away from the cops by running for the past several hours, tearing their clothes, and falling into a pond, Meeks had led them right into the hands of a scared homeowner.
“Don’t move, or I’ll blow your head off.”
“I’m not moving, please, don’t shoot,” said Meeks.
“Get on your knees,” ordered the homeowner. “You, Missy, get on the floor with him.”
Reese rolled off the couch and joined Meeks on the floor. “Please Mister, we don’t want any trouble.”
“You found trouble by breaking into my home.”
“Throw your guns behind you,” he ordered lifting the shotgun right to Meeks' face.
Meeks slowly removed his Sig and threw it across the floor.
“You too, Missy.”
Meeks started cursing to himself. He broke a cardinal rule by not knocking on the door first. Fatigue had clouded his judgment and now he was paying the price. He needed to convince the homeowner they were not here to rob him. It wouldn’t be easy because he and Reese looked like hell. Their torn clothes were wet and dirty. Reese’s blond hair was dirty and stringy. They both had scratches on their faces and probably looked like druggies. He just hoped the old man wouldn’t get the cops before he had a chance to explain.
“Please, sir, I can explain,” said Meeks.
“You can explain it to the police.”
“Crap,” thought Meeks.
“Please, sir,” pleaded Reese. “Please, don’t call them.”
“I’m not going to call ‘em.”
“You’re not?” asked Reese.
“I can’t call ‘em because the phones don’t work. So, I’m going to go and get them.”
The heavyset homeowner stood at five-foot-eight and wore a dirty sleeveless t-shirt over faded jeans that were held up by red suspenders. His thin gray hair was messy and flew in different directions whenever he moved his head. It didn’t look like he had shaved for a week as his white whiskers stood in contrast to his tanned face.
He reached for a roll of gray duct tape, threw it to Reese, and ordered her to wrap Meeks’ wrists together. She picked up the tape and started wrapping it around Meeks’ clenched hands.
“More than that, Missy.”
She pulled it around a few more times.
“That’s enough. Now do his ankles.”
She kept wrapping it around until he told her to stop.
“Now, get over here.”
She stood up and walked toward him.
“Don’t try anything funny, Missy,” he said, leaning his shotgun against a table.
He grabbed the roll of tape and ordered Reese to put her hands together. He began to swing the tape around her wrists.
The thought of being tied up again sent chills down Reese's spine with goose bumps exploding across her skin. The first time she'd been tied up, she'd been stripped naked, thrown across a table and raped repeatedly by several different cops. It had been a just a preview to her coming days, but at the time, she thought she was going to be killed afterwards. The memories raced through her mind causing her to increase her breaths. Damn if she was going to let it happen again. She looked at the grisly old man's eyes as she lowered her hands.
Screw this. She swung her balled fist up hitting him on the chin. His head snapped up. She pulled back her right hand and drove home a punch to his right eye. It had little effect on him and only seem to anger him. He wound up and belted her across the right cheek. The blow knocked her to the side knocking her off balance. The blow stung—but she'd been hit harder. He lunged at her grabbing her left arm and threw another punch. She ducked while trying to break free if his grip. She swung her right fist connecting to the side of his face. The blow caused him to let go of her arm but he then pushed forward throwing his weight against her knocking them both against a chair and to the floor. He landed on top of her and slapped her.
“Give it up, Missy,” yelled the old man.
Reese wasn't finished and reached into her boot to
pull out her knife.
Meeks saw the blade and yelled at her. “No, Reese, don’t do it. Don’t do it.”
Reese gave him a confused glare. What the hell?
He continued to shake his head no.
She trusted Meeks and slid the knife back in her boot.
The old man grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her across the floor. She kicked her feet against the floor to lessen the pain. She screamed as he pick up the roll of duct tape and fell back on top of her.
“Feisty little bitch aren’t cha,” said the old man breathing heavily as he wrapped her hands together.
Reese glared at him.
He looked into her eyes. “Oh yeah, you’re a little wild hell cat, aren’t cha? Now you ain’t nothing but a caged animal.”
The old man picked Reese up and sat her down on a kitchen chair. He then pulled another chair behind her and lifted Meeks, surprising him with his strength. He then wrapped duct tape around both their waists binding them together in the chairs.
“That ought to do it,” he said. “Now, I’m going to go and get the cops. I’ve been hearing gunfire and have seen them drive by a few times tonight, something tells me they’re after you two.”
“Sir, please listen to me,” said Meeks.
“You say another word and I’ll hit you so hard.”
Meeks gave up knowing there was no convincing him.
The old man grabbed his shotgun, the two pistols he confiscated and walked out the front door.
“Why?” exploded Reese.
“Because. He’s not the bad guy here.”
Reese let out a loud guff. “That bastard just dragged me across the floor by my hair.”
“He’s just protecting his home. We’re the ones who broke in. He’s only doing what he thinks is right.”
“Hitting girls is doing right?”
“You did hit him first, and may I say, that was a hell of a move you pulled on him. I’m thinking you’ve been hanging around Corporal Bassett a bit too much.”
“Yeah, well it would have work, but that grisly old man has got a hard head.”
“And he outweighs you by about two hundred pounds.”
“Tell me about it. Bastard gave me a nice wallop, I’m getting a shiner for sure.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Oh please, I’ve gotten much worse.”
Meeks knew she was referring to her time at the party house.
“I shouldn’t have listened to you.”
“And killed him? It wasn’t right. He’s an innocent bystander. Trust me, you’ll be glad you didn’t later on.”
“Later on? Later on, when? He’s gone to get some cops.”
“Oh, stop being so damn melodramatic. Don’t tell me you’re not working on getting that blade out right now.”
“Hey, a girl's got to bitch sometimes, okay?” said Reese.
“Just hurry.”
“Well, maybe you could help me and lean back so I can grab it.”
Meeks pushed on the floor.
“Bit more,” she said straining for the blade.
Meeks pushed back as much as he could.
“Got it.”
Reese grabbed the blade, put it between her knees and started cutting the tape from her wrists. Within a few moments, she got up and freed Meeks.
“We’ll need to thank Nate for the knife,” said Reese.
“I’ll give him a big wet kiss,” said Meeks.
“Shouldn’t I do it?”
“Oh, he’d like that,” grinned Meeks. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Wait, let’s see what he’s got for food,” said Reese heading to the kitchen. “I’m starving, again.”
She opened the cupboards, found some crackers and trail mix. She grabbed a plastic bag and threw them in. Meeks added two water bottles and a few chocolate bars into the bag. Satisfied with their loot, they headed out the back door and took off running west across the field.
Chapter 67
Bassett concentrated on driving the squad car through the fields while wearing his night-vision goggles. After setting the fire and calling for help up on Briggs highway they came racing down Devils Lake Highway and headed west on Sanford Road. After threading their way over to US 127 they headed into the fields hoping this was where Meeks would go. They didn’t think they had long before the cops figured out they had been duped.
Scar told Bassett to pull over. He stepped out of the squad car and jumped up on the hood of the SUV that Nate was driving. He carried a set of Farvision 20x50s night-vision binoculars and scanned the area. He took his time, not wanting to miss anything. He saw a red fox out in the field to his left. The fox stared at him for a moment and then trotted off.
Scar got down and climbed back into the squad car. Signaling Nate to follow, they pulled onto Meridian Road and headed north when they saw headlights coming from the east on Foster Road.
Scar grabbed the binoculars and saw it was a pickup truck driven by one man.
“It’s not a cop,” said Scar.
“Well, he sees us now, so no sense in running.”
Scar picked up the radio. “Nate, it’s not a cop.”
Scar removed his Kimber .45 from its holster.
The pickup truck flashed its headlights at them and drove to meet them. The driver got out and walked over to the squad car.
Bassett lowered the window.
“Excuse me, but I think I have who you’re looking for,” said the driver.
“Who’s that?” asked a surprised Bassett.
“Ain’t you fellers been chasing down a man and a woman?”
Bassett looked over at Scar and turned back to the old man. “Yes, we have.”
“Well, I’ve got them tied up over at my place. They broke in and I got the jump on them.”
“You’re a very lucky man, sir,” said Bassett trying to sound like the cop this man thought he was.
“What did they do? Are they druggies? Cause that woman, she’s a hell cat.”
“Yes sir, that is exactly what they are, they’ve been robbing homes looking for things to steal to support their drug habit.”
“Alrighty then, well, follow me.”
The old man walked back to his truck and turned it around. Bassett looked over at Scar and started laughing.
“Meeks, let an old man catch him,” chuckled Scar.
“Well, maybe if they didn’t do so many drugs,” laughed Bassett trying to finish his sentence, “they wouldn’t have gotten caught.”
Scar picked up the radio and filled Nate in.
“That boy ain’t never going to hear the end of this one,” snickered Nate.
They followed the old man to his house and pulled into the driveway.
The old man noticed the broken back window of the squad car when Bassett and Scar exited the vehicle.
“What happened to your back window?”
“Those druggies you got tied up, shot it out,” said Bassett.
“I’ll be damned,” said the old man.
“These two are dangerous. You’re lucky to be alive, sir,” said Scar.
Burns and Nate joined them in the driveway.
Bassett didn’t bother introducing anyone.
“Now, I’m just going to warn you,” said the old man. “I had to rough up the girl a little bit.”
“Oh?” asked a concerned Nate.
“Well, she tried to fight me. She landed a pretty good sucker punch on me, but she’s just a little thing, and I pretty much just sat down on her,” chuckled the old man.
“Did you hurt her?” asked Nate.
“Oh, I pulled my punch, she’ll probably get a shiner, though. Heck, she didn’t even cry, not one time.”
“It’s all the drugs she’s done, dulls the senses, you see,” said Bassett.
“Well, that’d make a whole lot of sense.”
The old man led them into the house through the front door and was the first to see his prisoners were no longer there.
/> “Oh hell, they’re gone,” exclaimed the old man.
Scar reached down and picked up the cut duct tape. He threw it to Nate. “Should make you proud.”
Nate caught it and let out a scoff.
“I’m so sorry, Officers. I don’t know what to say, I thought I had them tied up good.”
“Apparently not good enough,” said Nate handing the tape to the old man.
“Well, I did get their guns, so at least they won’t be shooting anyone else.”
This caught Scar’s attention. “We’re going to need those weapons for evidence, sir.”
“Of course, I got ‘em out in my truck.”
They all followed the old man outside and waited for him to retrieve the confiscated weapons. Scar recognized Meeks’ Sig Sauer 9mm but didn’t remember Reese carrying a Taurus. Scar thought she must have lifted it off the dead cop she had gutted.
“You going to need to fill out a report or something?” asked the old man.
“Sir, we’ll take care of that later,” said Bassett. “Right now, we need to see if we can track these two down. You’ve been a big help and we appreciate it.”
“Do you need any help?”
“No sir, we can handle it from here,” said Bassett. “We’ll come by in the afternoon and get all your information.”
The old man apologized again before going back inside his home. They waited until he shut his door.
“Now what?” asked Nate.
“They can’t be too far away,” said Bassett.
“Yeah, well, now they’re unarmed, not a good thing,” said Nate in a concerned tone.
“Apparently, Reese still has the knife you gave her,” said Scar.
“Yes she does, and I’m glad she’s put it to good use,” said Nate.
“Which way?” asked Bassett.
A boom of thunder rang out in the distance. Everyone looked up and saw a flash of lightning streak through the cloudy sky to the west followed by more thunder.
“We better hurry up and decide,” said Bassett. “Otherwise, we’re going to have a couple of drowned druggies on the loose.”
“West. They’ve been headed that way the whole time.”
As soon as Bassett and Scar got in the squad car, the first raindrops bounced off the windshield and then a strange message came over the police radio.