by Mark Goodwin
Danny agreed. “That makes sense. We can do that. Sly, Friendly, and Javier could get backpacks into the compound on Sunday after work without being spotted. And you’re right. They have plenty of places to hide the weapons until the following Saturday night.”
“Alrighty then.” Ben looked at his watch. “What do you say we go get some lunch and come back later to work out the details?”
“I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” Parnell picked up his hat and placed it on his head.
CHAPTER 7
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho.
Joshua 2:1
Saturday morning, Danny sat in the living area of the 34-foot fifth wheel camper behind the barn where he and Alisa now lived. He sorted through the selection of handguns, which had been taken from the various assailants who had attacked the compound or the raid on the Greenville outpost. The spare weapons were broken into two separate stockpiles to reduce the risk of them all being taken in a single raid against the farm. Half were kept in his trailer, and the other half were stored in the attic space behind the knee wall of Miss Jennie’s house. Danny picked up the heavy .357 revolver. He remembered who it had been taken from. “This one belonged to Travis.” Travis was one of the ringleaders of the group, which had kidnapped Alisa. Danny found a certain satisfaction in the gruesome death that Travis had died while being interrogated by JC. He placed the revolver in the backpack.
Next, Danny pulled out the drop-leg holster, which still held a 9mm pistol and extra magazines. “Gorbold.” Danny pulled the semi-automatic weapon out, ejected the magazine from the grip, and pulled the slide back to make sure there was no bullet in the chamber. “This will make a nice piece for one of these guys.” He slapped the mag back into the butt of the pistol and returned the gun to the holster. He placed it in his bag.
Danny cringed as he pulled the next weapon out of the ammo box where it had been stowed. It was a Glock 23. He mumbled to himself. “Beautiful pistol. It would have made a very nice backup gun if it hadn’t come from those monsters. But, it makes me sick at my stomach, just looking at it. It’s best that it goes to someone who knows nothing of its origin, and to a place where I’ll never see it again.” The firearm had come from one of Taylor and Willow’s captors. Danny placed it in the backpack and wiped his hands on his jeans, as if the pistol was permanently tainted by the sub-human disease that had turned those men into depraved creatures of darkness. Danny felt a sense of pride in knowing he’d helped to alleviate the earth of such wickedness.
Alisa walked in the front door of the trailer. “What’s up?”
“I’m bagging up some guns to take to the airport.” Danny continued his task. “How’s the weather looking out there?”
“It’s still cloudy.” She leaned against the door. “I thought Ben gave you guns to take.”
“He gave us twenty. I told him we’d provide the other ten.” Danny placed three 1911s in the pack; all of which had been taken from the corpses of the men Schlusser had sent to attack the farm.
Alisa looked in the bag. She pulled out the Glock. “Wow. This is nice. I wouldn’t mind having this one.”
“You don’t know where that’s been.” Danny snatched the gun from Alisa’s hand the way a mother might intervene moments before her two-year-old daughter stuck a piece of unwrapped candy from the floor of a city bus in her mouth.
Alisa scowled. “So clean it.”
“It’s not the kind of filth that can be scrubbed away.” Danny shook his head. “Just trust me on this one, Alisa. I’ll bring you a better gun back from the raid, a souvenir.”
Alisa’s eyes glassed up, the way they always did when he spoke of coming back. All of the talk of the mission, the battle, and leaving to fight never seemed to bother her so bad as when he’d mention coming back. Danny never asked her about it. He knew it was because that was the part that might not happen.
“Make sure you bring my husband back.” She swallowed hard. “That will be the best souvenir of all.”
Danny wished he hadn’t brought up the subject. He hated to see her upset. Her emotional state and the corresponding effect on the baby was constantly on his mind.
“I still don’t understand why you guys won’t be back until Tuesday.”
Danny hoped to be back Sunday night, but he knew delays always popped up, so he went long on the estimate of the amount of time he’d be gone. This too was done in hopes of keeping Alisa from worrying. “The ditch work crew may not even work on Sunday. So we won’t make contact tomorrow. If not, we’ll have to spend another night in the bush and catch them on Monday.”
“But they have supervisors coming around on Mondays. That’s too dangerous.”
Danny dismissed her concern, more for her sake than out of absolute conviction. “Not at all. Supervisors come around once a day. Always in the afternoon so they can see how much progress the crew has made since morning. Besides, they ride around in Hummers, so we’ll hear them a half a mile away.”
Alisa pressed her lips together as if she had yet to be convinced.
“I’m telling you, this mission is almost risk-free.”
She crossed her arms. “Yeah, right.”
Danny quickly changed the subject. “You should have Dana sleep in the trailer with you while I’m gone.”
Alisa watched as he continued loading the backpack. “Then Nana will be in the house alone. It’s just her, Dana, and Gwen now. Gwen is going with you guys.”
“Then why don’t you go sleep in the house. I’m sure Gwen won’t mind if you take her bed while we’re gone. It will be like a slumber party for you and Dana.”
“A slumber party.” Alisa looked at him like he had purple jelly beans flowing from his ears. “With Nana banging around at five o’clock in the morning. Danny, are you crazy?”
“It has been nice sleeping in since we moved to the trailer.” He chuckled. “Anyway, I don’t want you being alone while I’m gone.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can, but it’s not just you.” His response was kind yet firm.
“Okay. I’ll ask Dana before you guys head out.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “Thanks.”
Someone knocked at the door. Danny stood to answer it. “Hey, Antoine. Come on in.”
“Good morning, Alisa. How are you feeling?” Antoine wiped his feet on the mat before entering the trailer.
“I’m great, thanks for asking,”
The big man turned his attention to Danny. “You ready to roll?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Bring Danny back safe. This baby is going to need him.” She put her hand on her stomach, which still showed no signs of there being another person inside. “And, so do I.”
“I’ll do my best.” Antoine took the backpack full of pistols as Danny handed it to him.
Danny slung his rifle over his shoulder. He picked up the pack containing his gear and gave her a big hug. “I’ll miss you. See you soon.”
Her eyes glistened. “I miss you already.” She held his hand as he pulled away.
“I love you.” He followed Antoine down the stairs.
She stood at the door. “I love you, too.”
Danny made a conscious effort to put his head into the mission. If he allowed his mind to start thinking about being away from Alisa, he’d be fighting those feelings for the rest of the trip.
Chris, Jack, and Gwen were waiting at the truck when Danny and Antoine arrived. Danny dropped his gear in the bed. “Who’s riding up front with me? It’s going to be a long ride, and it’s going to be windy in the back.”
Chris hopped up on the bumper and climbed into the bed of the truck. “The humidity in the air makes it feel like ninety. I’ll take windy over muggy.”
“Me, too.” Gwen looked up at the sky as she climbed into the back of the F-150. “As long as this rain holds off, that is. Otherwise, I
reserve my right as a woman, to change my mind.”
“I guess you know where I’m riding.” Jack winked at Danny as he climbed in the back.
Danny turned to Antoine. “Just me and you, big guy.”
Antoine placed the bag he carried beside the two other packs full of guns, which Ben had given them. “Let’s roll.” He got in the passenger’s seat, rolled down his window, and positioned his AR-15 to be ready for trouble.
Danny started the engine and proceeded up the long gravel drive. He took the most direct route to I-85. According to reports overheard by Ben and Parnell, the interstate was just as prone to ambushes by highwaymen as the more rural routes, but the wide lanes provided more space to make a quick turnaround if Danny were to spot a roadblock. Everyone on the mission agreed that they would travel in one vehicle. For such a covert operation, an overwatch vehicle would increase the team’s footprint and thereby jeopardize the assignment. Danny maintained a speed of 50 miles per hour to conserve fuel out of consideration for the passengers in the rear of the vehicle, and to make it easier to avoid hitting stalled cars littered along the highway. Most of the vehicles had pulled toward the side of the road out of instinct when their engines had died as a result of the EMP. Since the event had come in the evening, traffic was not as bad, as if the attack had been during business hours. Still, Danny had a significantly higher number of obstacles to navigate around when he drove through more populated areas.
The team made it past Spartanburg without incident. Danny looked over at Antoine. “Hopefully the road will be a little more open for the rest of the drive.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a light wrap came from the back window. Danny glanced at the rearview to see Jack pointing behind the Ford. Danny peered into his side view mirror. “We’ve got a military truck on our tail. Looks like a Deuce and a Half.”
Antoine studied the passenger’s side view mirror. “Another vehicle is behind him. Two more actually. Do you think it could be trouble?”
“I don’t want to find out.” Danny quickly cut the wheel to the right and took the exit to Gaffney. He pushed the vehicle around the curvature of the off ramp as fast as he could. The sound of gear being slung to the side of the truck bed could be heard in the cab.
Antoine braced himself. “You’re slinging the people in the back all over the bed.”
“They’ll forgive me. It’s better than being shot at.” Danny sped out of the turn. He took a right and punched the accelerator up the main road. Danny continued barreling up the boulevard for a mile, not hesitating to look back. “Did the truck get off the interstate?”
Antoine focused on the side view mirror. “I don’t see them.”
Danny took a hard right onto a side street and slowed down. He cut through a parking lot and pulled to the edge of an abandoned shop where he could see up the road to the exit. “I think they kept going.” Danny stuck his head out the window and looked toward the team members in the back. “You guys okay?”
“A little worse for wear, but we’re still breathing.” Gwen sounded irritated.
“Sorry for the bumpy ride.”
“No worries,” Jack yelled as he repositioned the cargo strewn about the bed of the truck.
Danny waited five more minutes before heading back to the highway. Once back on I-85, the group continued toward Charlotte and exited several miles west of the Catawba River to avoid potentially being spotted by Schlusser’s watchmen. Danny took it slow through the back streets and eventually made it to the old coal-fired electrical plant where he and JC had stashed their vehicle when they had infiltrated Schlusser’s camp. He pulled into the same parking spot and cut the engine.
Gwen jumped out of the back. “I never thought I’d see this place again.”
“You got that right.” Antoine got out and closed his door.
“So this is where you and my dad came?” Jack inquired.
“Yeah.” Danny knew this had to be an emotional experience for Jack and Chris, since this very place was one of the last locations JC had visited.
“Where’s the peninsula?” Chris asked.
Danny could tell that Chris was thinking about his father, even though he said nothing about it. “We’ll follow these tracks north. It’s not far.”
The team collected their gear from the bed of the truck and Danny led the way. They followed the train rails through the woods for several hundred yards until they came to a clearing. Danny pointed to the right. “That’s the southern tip of the peninsula, on the other side of the river.”
“Let’s go check it out.” Chris retrieved his binoculars from his backpack and headed toward the river’s edge.
Danny and the others followed. Chris passed the field glasses to his little brother.
Jack scanned the houses on the other side. “Riverfront property. These people were living large.”
“Do you see any activity?” Danny asked.
“No.” Jack handed the binoculars to Danny. “Nothing.”
“Where’s Schlusser’s place?” Chris stood next to Danny as he surveyed the opposite bank for signs of life.
Danny continued to scan. “On up. About another quarter mile or so.”
“Then let’s go look for him.” Chris turned around.
“We will, but this could be a good crossing point for the raid.” Danny gauged the distance from bank to bank at this section of the river. “We might be able to establish a cable ferry.”
“I’m guessing that’s not someone who leaves a dollar under your pillow if you put a piece of cable under there before you go to sleep,” Gwen said.
Jack tickled her and made her squeal. “No. It’s a boat that you pull from one river bank to the other with a rope.”
Danny’s forehead creased. “Guys! Take it easy with the noise. We’re in hostile territory. You could get us all killed.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t let the cable-ferry comment slide without some type of retribution.” Jack gave Danny a look that appealed to his reason.
Danny passed the field glasses to Antoine.
Antoine inspected the opposite shore. “It’s not a bad idea. I see plenty of boats that nobody is using.”
Danny led the team further up the tracks, through more brush until they reached another clearing. “We’ll get our best view of the houses Schlusser and his top brass are using from this neighborhood straight ahead. It’s only a few homes, but I’d rather not be spotted by anyone who might still be living there. We’ll have to be extremely quiet and keep a low profile. Chris, can you take overwatch?”
“Sure,” he said.
“Gwen, you come with me. If we’re spotted, we can play the lost couple routine until Chris’s team can come in and get us out,” Danny said.
Gwen smirked. “A lost couple wearing full tactical gear armed with battle rifles.”
“A smart lost couple trying to survive the end of the world as we know it.” Danny rolled his eyes.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Antoine asked.
Gwen put her hands on her hips. “Yeah, you can be our 300-pound, six-foot-nine, black, adopted son.”
Jack jokingly chided Gwen. “You didn’t tell me you had kids.”
Although Gwen’s assessment contained a grain of truth, Danny refused to laugh at the distasteful jest. “We need you on overwatch, Antoine.”
The team worked their way to the edge of the tree line. Danny looked toward the homes ahead of him. “I need to get to that point right there, to get a good view. I’ll have to walk through those four backyards. If we’re spotted, we’ll do everything we can to de-escalate, but if I yell fire, come out shooting.”
“That’s going to be the end of our covert operation if we start shooting across the river from Schlusser’s house,” Jack said.
“If the homeowner decides to kill us, that will be the end of our trip anyway,” Danny said very matter-of-factly.
Jack and Antoine nodded that they understood.
Chris handed Danny t
he binoculars.
Danny and Gwen moved cautiously along the river bank by the first house. They made it to a hedgerow separating the first house from the second. They took cover at that position and checked for activity around the second house.
“It looks abandoned to me,” Gwen whispered.
Danny spoke softly. “Me, too. Let’s move on to that tree. Stay low.”
Danny led the way to the next location where the two of them laid prone until they could see if anyone was around the third house. “Do you see anything?”
“Nope.”
Danny motioned for her to follow him to the last post before the point. When they arrived, he waited and listened. “I think we’re good. The grass is tall, if you hear something, just drop down into the grass. We’ll be hard to spot.”
The two of them finally made it to the edge of the point where they had an excellent view of the houses on the other bank. Danny laid prone and looked through the field glasses.
Many of the homes were obscured by trees and bushes. Others had unobstructed views. Inside one of the homes, Danny saw a gathering of seven men with black polo shirts. He passed the field glasses to Gwen. “Look at the house with the gray roof. See if you recognize any of those guards.”
“Never seen them.” She passed the binoculars back.
Danny continued to examine the houses. He focused on the giant three story villa with the terracotta tile roof. People were all around it. He spotted several more men with black polo shirts. Unlike the men in the house with the gray roof, these men stood like sentries. They were spread out and watching. Danny looked into the windows. Most had the shades drawn. He looked down at the pool. Two girls, early twenties lay on lawn chairs. “They’re wearing only half a bathing suit.”