Vengeance: A Post-Apocalyptic, EMP-Survival Thriller (Seven Cows, Ugly and Gaunt Book 4)

by Mark Goodwin

  “Yes, sir.” The two deputies replied in unison.

  “Turn the whiteboard around until we get there. We’ll be along shortly.” Parnell’s eyes looked distraught and his face apprehensive, like a man about to descend into a pit where no one had ever gone before, an explorer of murk tasked with an expedition of gloom.

  The man carried his weighty countenance like an iron anchor as he led the way to the vehicles. “Danny, let’s try to fit your group in my pickup. The town is already watching for all of us. Henry, you and Michael follow us on over. Let me do the talkin’ if we run into a bunch of ‘em.”

  Danny and Gwen rode up front with Parnell. Antoine and the two brothers rode in the back. Parnell drove around the back of the Sheriff’s Department, cutting across Ford Avenue to Spring Street. This maneuver kept them off of the more populated roadways like Union and Cabarrus.

  The sheriff pulled into the back alley behind city hall and cut his engine. “We’ll go in the back, right here.” He briskly got out of the truck and opened the door, holding it for Danny and the others. Once inside, the sheriff led them down a long service hallway.

  Parnell held his hand up at a woman barreling down the hall toward him. “Not now, Arlene!”

  “Sheriff, we have a right to know what’s going on!” Her eyes blazed like glowing embers beneath a witch’s caldron. “Folks around here have heard all sorts of things. Folks are scared, and rightfully so. You need to tell me what is happening, and you need to tell me right now! People are cooking up their own interpretations, and things are about to get out of hand.”

  “I’m sure you’ve had no part in the speculations nor the transmission thereof.” Parnell’s jaw seemed to be ratcheting tighter.

  “I’m simply performing my civic duty to keep my fellow citizens informed on matters. Which I might add, is also one of your fiduciary obligations. Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or are you going to leave us to formulate our own explanations?” The woman followed him, nipping at his heels like a rabid badger.

  “Sounds like you’ve already meted out your own assumptions.” Parnell ushered Danny and the others into the main hall and slammed the door in Arlene’s face.

  A gaggle of snarling townsfolk swarmed around the mayor, the council members, and the county commissioners. Parnell yelled out, “This is a closed meeting. Anyone in here without an invitation needs to leave immediately!”

  The general roar of the congregation abated to a hushed clamor as some members of the horde turned to see what the sheriff might do. They collectively dismissed his warning as a bluff, and the billowing cloud of complaint returned, filling the room with its incessant disquietude.

  “Grisham, Douglas, start cuffing them. Start with Diane Crothers and Ron Haskell. They’re the rabble-rousers-in-chief. Once the rest of them get a whiff of what law and order smells like, all of ‘em will clear out.”

  “Do you want us to take them to the jail?” Grisham requested clarification.

  Parnell shook his head. “Stick them in the back room until the meeting is over. But, leave the cuffs on them.”

  The two faithful deputies walked down front and apprehended the man and woman as instructed.

  “This is a police state! I’ve done nothing wrong!” Ron Haskell made a grand theatrical performance as he was escorted out of the room.

  Parnell crossed his arms. “You’re trespassing, Ron. I offered to let you leave on your own accord, and yet you snubbed my gracious invitation. When mama tells you not to stick the fork in the electrical socket, and you don’t listen, you can’t cry about that tingling feelin’ shootin’ up your arm. You just have to bear it with grace.”

  “You’re a tyrant! Just like you’ve been accused of being, Parnell.” Diane Crothers glared at the sheriff with the venomous eyes of a coiled viper as Grisham fought to keep the woman under control.

  Parnell removed his hat and bowed his head in a mock salutation. “Bear it with grace, Diane. Bear it with grace. I don’t expect you were plannin’ on voting for me anyhow.”

  As the sheriff had accurately predicted, the room quickly cleared of all the unsolicited attendees.

  The mayor ripped off his jacket and pulled out a handkerchief to blot the perspiration from his forehead. “I haven’t seen them acting like this since the day the lights went out!”

  “I was wondering why you’d called us here, now I’m afraid I don’t want to know.” A well-dressed woman, who looked to be around sixty, took her seat next to the mayor.

  “Commissioner Small, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.” Parnell removed his hat and placed it on the table. “Michael, can you and Henry help me get this board flipped around?”

  The council members and commissioners murmured amongst themselves as the map laying out the plans for an attack against their neighbors to the south became evident.

  Parnell’s face was serious, like that of a doctor about to deliver a devastating verdict to his patient. “I’m going to ask you to forget everything you’ve picked up from the grapevine since last night and pay attention to what I have to say. We are in a dire predicament, and our very survival is at stake.”

  Parnell laid out his case. Henry followed with an exposition of the attack plan, incorporating the stealth side mission to be led by Danny’s team and the Pickens militia.

  Finally, Parnell presented a brief synopsis of Danny’s previous exploits at the airport and the Greenville outpost. Parnell was insistent upon the fact that it was the sacrifice of Danny and his friends, and the bravery exhibited in their accomplishments which had allowed Concord to exist without molestation by Schlusser and his hounds. Afterward, the sheriff opened up his panel to questions.

  Councilman Brown began with a question for Henry. “Officer Blackstone, what is your estimate of casualties on our side from this conflict?”

  Henry stood up to address the councilman. “We have very good medical support, especially when compared to the rest of the known universe. That advantage is going to radically reduce the number of deaths we will see from injury. Obviously, men will be killed in action, but avoidable deaths will be avoided.”

  “You danced all the way around the subject, but you didn’t answer my question. If you want me to vote to send the citizens of Concord into battle, I need some idea of the consequences of my actions.”

  “Yes, sir.” Henry grimaced. “It’s very difficult to say as a multitude of variables will affect the final body count. Our law enforcement officers are very well trained. We have several military war veterans serving on the auxiliary security force. Many of them have battlefield experience. All the men on the auxiliary are familiar with weapons operations. Most hunt. Combined, these individual attributes are a significant force multiplier, which gives us the strength of a much larger force. My best guess is that we will lose less than one hundred men.”

  Brown turned his attention to Danny. “You’ve been in multiple engagements against Regent Schlusser. Do you concur with Officer Blackstone’s assessment?”

  Danny did not concur. He had fought Schlusser, and he knew fifty-percent total casualties with thirty percent dead was probably more accurate. Schlusser’s men were seasoned killers. However, he didn’t want to offer a conflicting estimate. “I’m confident that Officer Blackstone is familiar with the capabilities of the men he serves with. That puts him in a much better position to provide you with a correct projection.”

  Councilman Brown gave an untrusting grin. “You also failed to answer my question. You people need to know that we have a protest growing out front of this building. In fact, there are people standing with signs at the courthouse and all up and down Union Street. They are delivering some very compelling arguments as to why we should deny your request. If I don’t start getting some answers, my vote is going to be a definite no!”

  “I’m inclined to side with my colleague at this point.” Commissioner Small added.

  Parnell stood up. “The man told you everything he can tell you
. Daniel has never worked with our police department nor our deputies. He hasn’t heard the stories of the men from Concord who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He told you he can’t make an assessment without knowledge of who these men are. Why can’t you people accept an honest answer? And you can tell these protestors out here to put down their signs and pick up some weapons with high capacity magazines. Because if we don’t eliminate this threat, Schlusser will be marching his goons down Union Street soon, and he won’t be packing a single-shot, .22 rifle.”

  The mayor held his hand up. “We understand that, Parnell. It’s just a tense topic. Folks are emotional. They’re having to face the possibility of losing loved ones.”

  Parnell sat back down and addressed the mayor. “James, I appreciate the fact that you are trying to mediate, hoping to keep the conversation civil, but it’s not a possibility of losing loved ones. That is a reality, which is baked in the cake at this point. The only question is how many are going to die, and will their deaths be in vain. The semantics are important here. We need to start dealing in facts.”

  “Point taken,” the mayor said.

  “I, for one, am not convinced that the death of our citizens is unavoidable.” Councilman Green said. “Even if it is, I think we stand a better chance defending a position than trying to take a heavily armed stronghold. That’s not only standard military doctrine; it’s just plain common sense. My question is for Gwen. If attacked, what are the chances that the women and young teens would take up arms against their attackers?”

  Gwen shook her head. “Schlusser would never give the women firearms. He’s afraid they’d use them on him.”

  Leonard Green continued with his questioning. “Could Regent Schlusser use them as a human shield?”

  “The women aren’t exactly free, but they aren’t caged up either. It’s kind of like being in a bad relationship that you stay in because you’ve got nowhere else to go. He’d have no moral misgivings about using the women as shields, but it would be tough to pull off from a logistical standpoint.

  “And I know you didn’t ask my advice about the first part of your statement, but since I have everyone’s attention, I’m going to give it anyway.

  “I’m just a girl, so what could I possibly know about military doctrine? But, I’ve stayed alive on this hardscrabble planet this long, so you can trust I know a thing or two about common sense. I helped to blow up those fuel tanks. I was a combatant in the raid against the Greenville outpost. I killed my share of Schlusser’s men. Schlusser is still picking up the pieces from all of that. But, it’s been eight weeks, so he’ll be back up to full speed soon. You have a limited window of opportunity to hit him before he hits you. If you wait around for him to come to Concord it will be too late. I don’t know the man personally, never even seen him. But, I got a real good taste of the corporate culture during my stay at his compound. And you can bet your bottom dollar when he comes at you, he’ll be ready. He won’t come until he knows he can completely annihilate your entire city. When he comes, you won’t stand a chance.”

  Danny felt chills run up his arm and neck. Gwen’s statement was compelling, with anthem-like inspiration. He was sure the council and the commissioners would vote to support the action.

  Mayor James Scott asked, “Does anyone else have a question for the panel?”

  No one did.

  “I move to adjourn this meeting and reconvene at two o’clock to put the potential action to a vote.” The mayor rested his arms on the table.

  “No, Mr. Mayor,” Commissioner Small said. “We need to hold a town hall meeting. We can have the town hall this evening, but the people of Concord need to hear the issue. We are here to represent them. We can’t do that if we don’t know how they feel.”

  “I second that motion.” Leonard Green waved his hand. “These are the people we’re asking to make the sacrifice. They need to be involved in the decision-making process.”

  Parnell’s voice showed his frustration. “We can’t have a town hall meeting about this! I’ve already caught spies from Charlotte up here. I’ve still got them boys in the county lockup. A town meeting would be tantamount to sending Schlusser a copy of our battle plans!”

  Green was adamant. “You can tone down the specifics of the attack for the town hall, but I will not authorize a military action without public buy-in.”

  “I agree, Mayor.” Commissioner Brown sided with Green and Small for the town hall meeting. “We can vote tomorrow after we’ve heard from our constituents.”

  The mayor looked at Parnell with regretful eyes, as if he wanted to apologize. “I’m postponing the vote until 2:00 PM tomorrow afternoon. Can everyone be back at six this evening for the town hall?”

  Parnell huffed. “We’ll be here.”

  Commissioner Brown stood up and made his way out of the room. “I’ll announce the town hall to the people outside of city hall. Then, I’ll make my way down to the courthouse and tell those demonstrators as well.”

  Parnell turned to Danny. “Sorry about all this. Can you stay until tomorrow?”

  Danny didn’t want to. He wanted to get home to his wife. “I suppose we have to. You’ll need us here for the town hall, and we certainly can’t be on the road after dark. It’s pretty rough out there.”

  “Thank you, Danny. We’ll go back to the department. Grisham, can you run over to Ren’s and get us something to eat. We’ll eat in the conference room. It’s the only place we’ll get any peace.”

  “Yes, sir,” the deputy said. “What about Ron and Diane? Should I turn them loose first?”

  “Nope. They’ve done enough damage. I don’t need them causing any more trouble. They were trespassing. I can keep them locked up till they see a judge Monday morning if I want. Al, you go ahead and book them.”

  Deputy Douglas grimaced. “I’ll do it, Sheriff, but you know this is going to have serious political blowback.”

  “It won’t be the first time I’ve been in a whirlwind with a truck full of manure. I’d rather do what we have to do today and secure a future for Concord than worry about the next election. Politics won’t matter if we don’t save this town.”

  “Yes, sir.” Deputy Douglas split off from the rest of the group.

  “Are we going out the back?” Danny asked.

  Parnell retrieved his keys. “Chris, can you and Jack take my truck back to the department?”

  “Sure.” Chris nodded.

  “Good. I’m going to walk back.” Parnell turned to Danny. “I need to go out the front door and take a stroll down Union Street to interact with the people. I have to get in front of this thing before it goes off the rails. I’d like to introduce you, Gwen, and Antoine to some of the townsfolk before the town hall. I want them to see you as humans and not some bunch of warmongers that I’ve shipped in to help me build my case for expanding my empire. Unfortunately, we’ve got some folks trying to paint it like that. Most folks in Concord are really nice people, but like the rest of America, their minds can be manipulated by ne’er-do-wells. However, if any of you don’t feel comfortable speaking with the public, you can ride back with Chris and Jack.”

  “After all we’ve been through, I think I can handle some grumpy townsfolk.” Antoine chuckled.

  “Me, too,” Gwen said.

  “You know I’m here for whatever you need me for.” Danny put his hand on Parnell’s shoulder.

  “Okay then. Let’s go see if we can change the tide.” Parnell led the way toward the front door. He pushed the double doors open and walked out onto the porch of city hall.

  A crowd of protestors was gathered together. They wagged their fingers at the sheriff, yelling indecipherable complaints, accusations, and slurs. On the opposite street corner was another group, supporters evidently. They cheered, clapped, and whistled as Parnell, Danny, Antoine, and Gwen stepped out. Parnell first addressed the supporters, waving his hand high above the protestors and giving them a big thumbs-up.

  Arlene, the vicious woman who had first
approached Parnell in the hallway prior to the meeting, was in front of the protestors. She pressed her face up close to the sheriff. “I warned you this was going to happen! Where are Ron and Diane?”

  “They refused to leave a closed meeting after being asked nicely. Therefore, the two of them were arrested for trespassing. They’ll see a judge Monday morning, just like everyone else who is arrested on a weekend.”

  “Oh, well that’s convenient.” Arlene turned to the crowd and cupped her hands over her mouth as she yelled. “The tyrant has stuck his political opponents in the dungeon. Don’t think Concord is a bastion of freedom. This is just as bad as Russia or North Korea or any other totalitarian dictatorship.”

  Gwen rarely used it, but the good Lord had blessed her with one of those voices that could really carry when she wanted to be loud. She stepped up on the three-foot high wall out front of City Hall and addressed the crowd. “I lived in the county to the south of you for a few weeks, and let me tell you something, if anyone would have spoken out against the government there like this woman just did, they’d have been beaten down or shot in the street. So, you probably wouldn’t have to travel across the ocean to find a worse place to live than Concord. In fact, you may soon get a chance to experience the luxury of living under the rule of Regent Schlusser because he has designs on taking Concord, just as soon as his forces are strong enough to take you down.”

  Arlene stood up on the wall next to Gwen. She also had a loud mouth. “Or so you’d have us believe. Some folks say you’re just here to stir up trouble.”

  Gwen’s eyes grew angry. “The trouble is already stirred up. You can stick your head in the sand like a child who thinks pulling a sheet over their head will protect them from the boogie man. That might work for a kid with an overactive imagination, but this boogie man is real. I’ve fought against him. I’ve seen the damage he’s done. I know the widows he’s made, my friends have been shot by his thugs, and I’ve watched a girl cry for her dead boyfriend. Regent Schlusser is real, the threat is real, and the pain he leaves in his wake is real.”