by Darrell Bain
"Shufus, Fussy! Kill! Kill her!"
The two animals needed no further orders. Shufus leaped for her throat and Fussy was right behind, claws extended. Kailey screamed again as she tried to fend off the animals she could barely see. It took her a second or two to remember she still held a gun. Fussy was the closer of the two. She fired at his blurry form seen through the copious moisture of tears from her remaining eye. The bullet made a deep thunking sound as it impacted Fussy's chest and blasted its way out through his spine. By then Shufus was at her throat, ripping and tearing.
Samantha got to her hands and feet then stood upright. She ran at the woman just before she would have managed to shoot Shufus and grabbed her gun hand. She rode it to the ground as Shufus' weight tipped Kailey backward. The big German Shepherd's teeth reached her carotid artery and jugular vein at almost the same time. Blood poured from her throat in a gushing red stream. The blood loss quickly weakened her enough that Samantha could wrench the gun from away from her. She pointed it back at the woman's head and pulled the trigger. Bone and bits of skin and blood splashed back into her face. The woman's body went limp, the remains of her mouth hanging agape.
Samantha was dazed at the rapidity of all that had happened. She didn't know what to do next except to wipe at the odious matter from the woman's exploded skull off her face. She stood up and shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She looked around and saw Fussy's body and an instant later the crumpled remains of Caw-Caw. Seeing the bodies of her animal friends made her furious. She suddenly realized she still held the woman's gun in her hand.
"Shufus, are there any more of them?"
"One comes,"the dog replied.
"Where, Shufus?"
"Door."
He must mean the back door, she thought. "Watch out for a gun. Don't let him point it at you, Shufus."
"Kill?"
"Yes. We'll kill him." She stepped quickly to the side of the house, and stopped at the corner. She was out of sight from the back door and hoping the man Shufus knew was coming would choose her side of the house to look at first. She heard the back door open, then cautious steps going the other way.
"Come on, Shufus," she whispered. Her hands were trembling. She tried to stop the shaking but it proved impossible. She went on anyway, turning the corner just in time to see a man with a gun peek around the other corner. Apparently seeing no one, he then began turning to come back her way. She pointed the gun at him and fired. Her trembling hands caused her shot to miss completely, but by then Shufus was running toward her opponent, weaving away from the path of the pointed gun. She fired again and this time she saw her bullet impact his middle. As he wavered Shufus made a mighty leap and was at his throat.
Samantha ran forward, knowing he would try to use his gun to kill Shufus, but she couldn't shoot again for fear of hitting him instead of the man. She needn't have worried. Shufus' fangs closed on the man's throat and ripped deep before he leaped away. The man staggered and his shot went wild. Samantha fired again and missed. The rogue operative was gushing blood from his throat and bleeding from his middle but he still had enough strength to aim his gun at her.
Before he could fire another shot, Shufus returned, this time hitting him from behind and closing his teeth on the back of his neck. The big dog's teeth ripped through his flesh and grated on bone. The impact of the German Shepherd's weight knocked him to the ground this time. His gun came loose when he struck the earth. It discharged harmlessly as it hit the back sidewalk. Shufus was on him again in an instant and this time he didn't leave until he had chewed almost completely through the man's neck.
"Shufus, enough! Good dog!" She praised him as she picked up the gun. She was afraid someone else would be coming to get them.
Just then Ronald staggered through the back door, gun in his hand, looking for either Samantha or anyone who might be threatening her. He braced himself against the door jamb and stared at the carnage.
"Dad!" she yelled with relief and rushed to him. "Where's Mom? Is she okay?"
"She's hurt and too stunned to make it outside but she's okay. What happened here?"
"That man was trying to kill Shufus and me. Shufus killed him instead."
Ronald eyed the dead body with the hole in his middle, still smoking slightly from the singed material of his shirt, and then at his daughter who was still holding a confiscated gun in each hand.
"I think Shufus must have had a little help."
"It all happened so fast, Dad." She pointed with one of the pistols. "There's a dead woman at the side of the house." She broke into painful tears that wrenched at her emotions like her heart was being pulled from her chest. "She killed... F..Fussy and C... Caw-Caw but they saved my life. Then I... I shot her and... and shot the man there and... Shufus... " It all hit her simultaneously, what she had done, what her animal friends had done to save her life by giving up their own, how she had shot and maybe helped kill two people. She collapsed into her father's arms sobbing helplessly and feeling as if she would never be able to stop. Then she thought of her mother again. She sniffed and tried to stop crying.
"Are you sure Mom is okay? You said she was hurt."
"I'm sure, baby, but let's go back and check on her. Are you sure the woman around the corner is dead?"
"Oh, y... yes. Shufus t... tore... her throat out and I shot her in the head." Remembering the bloody wreckage of a body they had left she was abruptly sick. She leaned away and threw up while her father supported her and gently removed the pistols from her hands.
Just then Elaine appeared. She came out the back door by bumping it with her shoulder. She was holding a towel to her arm to keep pressure on the torn muscle. The furrow above her eyebrow had stopped bleeding but clotted blood was spread down the side of her face in a thick smear of red sludge. The first thing she noticed was all the blood on her daughter. "Sammie, baby! How badly are you hurt? What did they do to you?"
"Nothing, Mom. Shufus and... and the others protected me. I'm fine, but you look horrible, Mom. What's wrong with your head? And your arm?"
"Just flesh wounds, as the old maxim says, but I have to admit they hurt like hell. Are you sure you aren't injured somewhere?"
"No, but Mom, they k... killed Fussy and Caw-Caw. They both saved my life and now they're d... dead." She began crying again, unable to prevent the emotional flow of more tears for her friends.
Gene came through the back door and found Elaine and Ronald hugging Samantha and Shufus on his hind feet with his front paws and head inside the circle of one of Samantha's arms. They were all huddled together like refuges from an enemy bombardment.
"What in God's name happened here?" he asked. "I thought me and Jennie were going to be too late after we found the two dead deputies in the ditch beside their patrol car."
"Dead deputies?" Elaine and Ronald asked together. Samantha was staring at Gene as if he had been materialized by a magician.
"Gene! Where's Jennie?" Samantha asked.
"She's making some phone calls. What happened? I thought whoever had bugged your house was killed in the shootout at the Zimmerman place."
"Ray! Did they hurt him?" Samantha had to ask. She never had got to talk to him after the family's decision to leave.
Gene came to the three. Shufus dropped to all four feet but kept himself so close to Samantha that their bodies were touching. Gene reached down and placed his large hands on Samantha's shoulders, covering them completely. "Sammie, I hate to tell you but Ray is dead and so is his father. Jennie found out with some phone calls after we found the deputies."
The announcement brought on a fresh flood of tears. Samantha thought for a moment the whole world was going crazy. Then Gene said, "Sammie, we're almost certain he was trying to get some help for his Dad and at the same time was coming to warn you that some really bad people were after you. He was riding Thunder with a broken leg. He reached the county road between his place and here but that was as far as he could go.
He made a heroic ride th
at few men I know could have managed. His last few words were about you and his father."
She buried her head against Gene's massive chest and let his shirt front soak up the seemingly endless supply of moisture from her eyes. A moment later she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.
"Sammie, it's me, Jennie. Everything Gene said was true. I'm sorry about your pets. I was just inside the doorway listening while I talked to some people. They were heroes, too."
"They were my... my friends. Not pets. Can we bury them?"
Gene gazed across the top of the heads of Jennie and Samantha and met Ronald's eyes. "Ron, Elaine, we have to get out of here, and I mean right now. The officials and law officers will be looking for us very soon. We've done nothing wrong, but if we get tangled up in the investigation we'll never get away from here. All it would accomplish would be to give more people like those monsters that killed the Zimmermans and the Deputies, and tried to kidnap all of you, more chances to succeed. Grab your suitcases and let's go. Don't even stop to do anything but wash the blood from your faces and don't linger doing that. We have very little time." He turned his attention to his wife. "Jennie, did you manage our arrangements?"
"We need to get to the Sanctuary landing field. A plane is on the way for us. I'm sorry to rush you but Gene is right. If we stay we'll be stuck here for no telling how long."
After the battle with the three rogue agents, and hearing the news of the Zimmermans and the deputies, it didn't take any more convincing. Fifteen minutes later they were on the way, with the Douglas family wearing their bloody, sticky clothes. Elaine's wounds still not properly bandaged and Ronald had a massive headache and a cut on his scalp from being hit twice with brutal force.
Chapter Thirty Four
Gene had patrolled the area often, looking for strangers or homes which had long been empty suddenly being occupied, and for any other oddity or change that might portend a threat to the Douglas family. He used that knowledge now, taking back roads and trails that bounced the occupants in the big SUV around despite their seat belts. Most of the way he kept to areas that were heavily forested, making the roads almost invisible from the air in case of a search for them by that means was underway. It took over two hours before they arrived at the obscure little Sanctuary landing field. There was no one normally there unless the field was in use, and so it proved then. Inside the air control office, Jennie made a quick phone call. When she couldn't get through she used her notebook as a phone. She spoke only a few minutes before closing it. She smiled at the bedraggled group. "The plane will be here shortly but if you hurry, I think you have time for a quick shower and a change of clothes. There'll be a doctor coming with the pilot who'll get you properly attended to, Elaine."She could not have spoken more welcome words if she had tried. The little building had no hot water for the two shower stalls but it was summer and the water was just cold enough to hurry them through their cleansing, though not enough time to thoroughly dry their hair.
Gene furnished several of his undershirts to use for towels and they were soon all dressed and much refreshed by getting out of the blood-soaked clothes and into clean ones. Their transportation arrived a few minutes later in the form of a small jet seating six passengers. Jennie ushered them aboard and into their seats. With no need to refuel, they were in the air within minutes. As soon as they were airborne the doctor gave Elaine a shot, some antibiotics and began working on the gunshot wound on her arm. A bit over two hours later the plane began its descent.
"Where are we landing, Jennie?" Elaine asked.
"Let us get to your temporary quarters and I'll tell you. Can you wait until then?"
"I suppose we'll have to. All this secrecy is unnerving, though."
"It's necessary, and I think you'll agree once you've been briefed. I talked to my boss. He told me he'd be speaking with all of us tomorrow morning." She chuckled. "Gene and I are almost as anxious about it as you probably are. Neither of us knows yet just why he believes Samantha is so important."
Samantha had said little during the flight. She kept going over and over the fight at their home and trying to think of what she could have done to prevent the death of Fussy and Caw-Caw. When she wasn't reviewing those details again and again, she berated herself for not telling Ray sooner that she only wanted to be a friend, not a lover. Perhaps he would have stayed with his Dad in that case. But then he would probably have been killed at his home rather than dying trying to reach her. It was no use. Her talent was what should take the blame for all the deaths, she thought.
Perhaps Shufus sensed her feelings of despair. He was in a double seat with the armrests up so that he lay sideways with his head in her lap. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She smoothed the fur on his shoulders and rubbed his ears the way he liked her to. If not for her talent she wouldn't have Shufus, she thought. Despite everything that had happened, including the deaths, she couldn't help but feel that he was worth it. After all, it wasn't his fault that bad people were after her. All his concern lay in loving and protecting her. He had very nearly given his life for her like Fussy and Caw-Caw had. Maybe one day soon she would understand why she was so important. She really, really hoped so. It would make her feel so much better to know that the deaths of her friends, animal and human alike, were part of something bigger than herself.
***
The quarters arranged for the two families weren't overly large but were quite sufficient. A small duplex where Gene and Jennie were placed was attached to the larger unit given to the Douglas family. It was so arranged that they could visit back and forth without having to go outside if they desired.
From somewhere that even Jennie didn't know of, a meal for them all was furnished, brought by a tall, handsome young man with dark brown hair that had a faint curl to it. His hair looked rumpled even though there was no wind. "Where can I put these?" he asked. He was holding a large cardboard container. "It's your dinner, or maybe supper. What time is it anyway?"
"Not quite three o'clock. Bring it in and I'll show you where to place it," Elaine said. She led him to the small dining room and pointed to the table.
"Okay. You folks enjoy your meal. I'm Juan Carrera, by the way, and I'll be seeing you again after you eat. No need for you to introduce yourselves. I know you all, or know of you, anyway." He smiled, touched his forehead with a finger and departed.
"I don't know about anyone else but I'm hungry," Gene announced. He sniffed dramatically at the wonderful aroma of hot food coming from the container.
"Then let's eat. I'm ready to find out what's going on here and I suspect the sooner we finish, the sooner we'll know," Ronald said. He and Elaine began removing small Styrofoam containers from the larger box. They contained fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and biscuits with butter and jam. Presently everyone was eating and saying very little. It had been a long and very trying day and it wasn't finished yet.
Part Four
The Skunk Works
Chapter Thirty Five
"DARPA? You mean that's the agency so interested in Samantha's talent?" Ronald exclaimed later that afternoon with obvious surprise and not a little angry apprehension. It was the last department of the government he would have thought wanted to use his daughter's talent, and just about the last one he wanted her to work for. He knew that if they expected Samantha to convince animals to take part in military operations of any kind they were in for a big disappointment.
Anton McAllister smiled in response to the question. His empathic gaze covered the four adults as well as Samantha and Shufus as he looked at each of them in turn, then all of them as a group. "Yes, we're the one but with a caveat. This office--" he waved an arm around to indicate he was including his office and others in the building, as well as a small housing development nearby where the two families had been quartered "-- is part of an ultra-secret project that has been in progress for a number of years. It comes under the umbrella of DARPA, but is actually separate for reasons you'll presently understand. So fa
r as anyone knows we're simply a research project financed by the military through DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. However, DARPA could be closed tomorrow and we'd continue right along with what we've been doing for years. Only a few, a very few, people know what we do here and we want to keep it that way. Our funding comes from sources so black that sometimes even the president knows nothing of us." He paused for a moment then said, "Are you sufficiently intrigued now?"
The startled, surprised expressions on everyone's faces told him that they were. "I know it's getting on toward evening, but understanding how curious you all are about your status, I'm going to ask you all to view a recording in a few minutes rather than wait until tomorrow morning. It's nearly two hours long and actually, it's a composite from a number of videos that will tell you what we're about and why we believe Samantha may be able to help us. Note that I said 'may', not can. But before we begin the movie, would you like to see it now or wait until tomorrow when you're more rested?"
"Elaine? Sammie? Which would you prefer?" Ronald asked his family.
"Let's get on with it, so long as you have some coffee to go with it," Elaine said.
Anton quickly saw that her opinion was unanimous. "Fine, but before we start, let me assure you that measures have been taken that absolves all of you from any participation in the deaths that occurred shortly before you were flown here. You don't have to worry at all about those events coming back to haunt you."
"I'm glad to hear that," Elaine said, glancing at Samantha. "But who were those... those... well, I hate to call them people. Those maniacs or terrorists or whatever they were. Who were they?"