I run up the metal stairs with my rifle bag flapping against my back. I cringe as each step echoes off the brick building. By the time we climbed all seven stories to get to the roof, I am panting and wheezing, unable to catch my breath. We have no time.
“Snipers at the ready.” The fact that it is Officer Lincoln’s voice and not Jonathan's only registers for a second before I start assembling my rifle. Shay is already set up on the other side of the humming generator and the solar panels that power it. I stand next to her and look over the edge of the roof. The security forces would be overkill on any other night. Tonight it will play perfectly into our plan.
I hear a voice I don’t recognize giving directions to the runners. By now they have entered the city, Jeremy among them. Focusing my scope, I watch the street below. We aren’t using self-guiding ammunition and I have never hit a moving target before. I pick out soldiers to track. Curious civilians have come out to watch the scene unfold. No one cares about curfew when the government officials are out late on important business. They all want a glimpse of their prophet.
I kneel and rest my rifle on the roof’s edge and wait for the first explosion.
“Sniper positions check in,” Linc commands.
“Government building, check,” Shay reports. We hear every position check in and then Shay gives me a wicked grin. “You ready for this?” she asks.
“Hell yes.”
Chapter 73: Drew
Officer Mills is convinced that Captain Collins' family is in even more danger than we thought. She knows Jonathan on a level that I never want to. The captain’s family is not being held by just any rebels. They are hostages of Jonathan’s people. There’s a difference. Most of us never knew about the secret group within the rebels that are completely loyal to Jonathan. They have done things that none of us ever want to think about. I saw what they did to the farms we came across and the guards at the Texan checkpoints. They weren’t just killed. Whoever did that took pleasure in it.
The captain seems to think his family is in danger from more than just that faction of rebels. He won't tell us why, but the Mexicans are after them as well. Unlike Vicksburg, Mexicans are allowed in St. Louis and even control a part of the city. The prophet and her people tried to keep them out of every city in Texas, but that was impossible for a city with docks full of smugglers. That's why the captain had been moving his family from village to village. But now, Jonathan has moved them to the city.
We arrived in port yesterday but we are waiting. I don’t know why. Every soldier has had to stay below deck for twenty-four hours and it is getting rank. In this city, if enough money changes hands, a boat can escape inspection. People here will do pretty much anything for a good bribe. That is what will bring them down.
“I need all my snipers,” Officer Mills calls out. They huddle together in the corner and after a while, they disperse. Officer Mills motions me over. “You’re going with the snipers,” she informs me. “Who here can you trust?” I look around the room and then back to her.
“Lee,” I say. “I can trust Lee.”
“No,” she says. “I need Lee with me.”
“What for?”
“I have a mission too,” she says evasively. “He has certain skills that I need. I’ll send Lucas with you.” I start to protest but she cuts me off. “You can trust him.” She looks around to make sure we’re not overheard. “Start the search near the water. The kind of people who spend time at the docks, are the people who may be able to help you. Stay safe.”
“You too.”
The snipers are dressed in the traditional Texan outfits. Unlike in the capital, the people here don’t trust the military. They obey them and support them with taxes but they won’t talk to them. Lucas and I leave before anyone else and the darkness is our friend. There are quite a few ships in port and that will work to our advantage. With this many people around, someone has to know something.
Dawn would be proud of me. I don’t know if I’m defying the rebels so much or just Jonathan but she would be proud either way. If I ever get the chance, I will take Jonathan down for everything he has done.
People here are dodgy and distrustful and I have to force myself to be calm or I’ll never get the information I need. Lucas and I head for a place called the watering hole. They serve home-brewed beer to the smugglers that come into town. Alcohol is illegal in all of Texas, unless you find an official to bribe. The heavy door is shut but the sounds from inside drift out towards us. Lucas raps his knuckles on the door and we wait. A small window is opened near eye level.
“Who’s there?” a gruff female voice barks. Her eyes shift from Lucas to me and then narrow. We don’t look like we’ve spent our lives on boats. We don’t look like we belong here.
“We need to speak with Fitz,” I say.
“Never heard of him,” she says.
“That’s a shame,” Lucas pipes in, “being as this is his place.”
“Who is it Lara?” a man calls out.
“Tell him that Captain Collins sent us,” I say impatiently. We don’t have time for this. The door groans as it moves on its hinges and reveals a short woman with sun damaged hair and a wrinkled face. Her teeth are yellow and her voice is hoarse from years of hard living.
“Well, get in here,” she barks before slamming the door behind us. The room we enter is full of people. I can’t make out many of the faces in the dim light but I feel their eyes on us. The woman, Lara, tries to force a couple beers on us but we decline. “Don’t just stand there,” she says as she lights a cigarette. “Fitz is in the back.” She ushers us through another wooden door into a room very much like the other. Five men sit around a table playing cards.
“Collins sent you?” one of the men asks, not bothering to look up from the game. “Where has he disappeared to?”
“I heard he got mixed up in some trouble,” the man to his right says as he places a bet.
“His ship is in port,” a third chimes in.
“You just going to stand there boys?” the man at the head of the table demands.
“Captain Collins is in trouble,” I explain.
“I knew it,” one of the men says as he puts his cards face up on the table. “Full house.” He rakes in his winnings as the other men throw down their cards in annoyance.
“I need the room,” the fifth man says. The others file out quickly.
“Are you Fitz?” Lucas asks. The man just grunts.
“We need your help,” I say simply.
“I know,” he says. “I’ve had my ear to the ground for the past couple weeks for news of Collins' wife and children.”
“You already know about the kidnapping?”
“I know everything that happens in my city.”
“What can you tell us?” I ask.
“There’s a warehouse not far from here, number seven. They were there last week. They are long gone now but that’s where I’d start.” We immediately say our thanks and get out of there.
We walk the dock to find anyone that will tell us which way to go. Finally, an old gaffer recognizes our desperation and points us in the right direction. The warehouse is located at the far end of the port. We come upon it from an alleyway and look through the large industrial windows. I only see two men. No woman. No children. My heart sinks.
“They aren’t here.” I turn my back on the building before us but Lucas uses his weight to bull through the door.
“What the hell?” The shouts come from inside. I swear as I pull out my gun and follow Lucas in. Lucas keeps his arm steady as he puts one of the men in his sights. The second man begins to reach behind him.
“Hands where I can see them!” I yell. Lucas grabs one of the men and shoves the nose of his weapon into his back before speaking in a low voice.
“Get down,” he says. Both men comply. They don’t ask us why we’re here. That usually means they already know. Guilty. We disarm both men quickly.
“Where are they?” I growl.
“Where are who?” I use my foot to press his cheek into the cold concrete floor.
“No games.” I remove my foot and crouch down. I grab the man by the shirt and yank him up so that we are face to face. “There was a woman here. And two kids. It’s best if you just tell me where they are. Trust me, you don’t want to do this the hard way.”
“Snipers are set,” the voice comes over my com. “Runners ready.”
“You guys are rebels?” The man Lucas is all but sitting on says with a hopeful look towards my com. “So are we. We should be fighting together.”
“We are not the same,” I yell. “Where the hell are the captain’s family?” Before either of them can answer, the door bursts open and bullets fly by. I scramble to my feet and duck behind the metal beam in the center of the floor. I return fire as Lucas uses one of the men as a shield. His body jerks with each bullet that pierces his flesh. Lucas drops him to the ground as he reaches me. He puts up a hand for me to stop firing. There is a pause in the action as our attackers reload.
Lucas and I run into the open and fire rapidly. There are three men plus the one that I had been restraining. We each drop a man as we run towards them. We reach them before they have managed to reload. Lucas tackles a large Texan with long stringy hair and I deliver a knee to the gut of another. He doubles over and I use my knee again. This time, his face takes the blow. A third raises his newly loaded weapon and I look up just in time to see him point it at me. The sound of a bullet exploding fills my ears. As if in slow motion, I wait for the impact but it never comes. The man’s head snaps back and his gun collides with the concrete floor seconds before his body does the same.
I don’t have time to think as the man beneath me struggles to get free. I knock him unconscious using the butt of my gun and look around. Lucas has killed the remaining intruder and the man we had been questioning faces us, gun still held out in front of his chest. He saved my life.
“Drop it!” Lucas commands. He doesn’t budge.
“You can’t take us out at the same time,” I say. “You’ll just end up with a bullet between your eyes.”
“Isn’t that what you’re going to do anyway?” he says.
“You shot your own man there.” I look behind me at the dead guy. “Why?”
“He was not one of us,” he spits. “Filthy cartel.” He lowers his gun. Lucas walks up to him and takes it.
“What business does a cartel have with you?” I ask suspiciously.
“You want to know about that smuggler's whore?” he says. Lucas hauls off and punches him. I grab his arm when he winds up again.
“Wait,” I tell him. The man looks at me as he wipes blood from his lip.
“We had her,” he says. “It was on Jonathan’s orders.”
“That means nothing to us,” Lucas barks.
“It did to us.” He takes a step back to create more space between him and the imposing Lucas. “We had orders.”
“Orders to hurt a woman and her children?” Lucas’ temper boils and his face reddens. “That’s sick.”
“Lucas,” I say calmly. “Let him talk.”
“Thank you,” Jonathan’s man says.
“It isn’t for you,” I snap. “Where are they now?”
“The cartel took them,” he explains. “One of the boys isn’t Captain Collins’ spawn.” He pauses, “he’s Mexican.”
“Why would the Captain be protecting a Mexican boy?” Lucas snaps.
“Do you guys know anything?” he retorts. “The boy's family has a nasty history with Jose Munoz, head of the Munoz cartel. They took out his father in Mexico and his mother escaped with the boy. They eventually caught up with her and you don't want to know what happened to her. She paid Collins a great deal to get him out of the city when he was a baby. He's been hiding the boy ever since. It's kind of been a big deal around here. Everyone knows.” He pauses, “one last thing, the cartel will have no problem killing a child.”
“Shite!” I yell. “Let's go!”
Chapter 74: Drew
As soon as we are back on the street, a nearby explosion shakes the ground beneath our feet. People pour out of the buildings closest to us and off of boats to see what is going on. All of a sudden, we are engulfed in a throng of people. There is another explosion in the distance.
“It’s started!” I yell as Lucas and I push past people at a run. “We’re running out of time.”
“Go for explosion 3,” the order comes.
“That’s not Mills giving the orders.” Lucas grabs my shoulder so that I stop and turn to him. “Where is she?” his voice is worried.
“I don’t know but we need to keep going.” I speed up my pace and he is right behind me. We left the man at the warehouse to take care of the unconscious cartel member after he gave us a possible address. The cartel controls a sector not far from the docs.
“I thought the cartel couldn’t get into Texas” I yell above the noise that now surrounds us.
“They can’t get into Vicksburg. But then, no one can,” Lucas explains between short breaths. “St. Louis is anyone’s city. The cartel won't lift a finger to help the Texans hold us back. Destruction leads to easy pickings for them. They would love to seize power once the city is in chaos. We can't let that happen.”
“Our only mission right now is to save that family,” I remind him.
“I know.”
We follow our directions carefully as well placed bombs go off not far from the alleyways we run through. I turn the corner of our destination and immediately go back into the shadowy alley.
“Five men in black,” I say to Lucas.
“We can take them,” he says quickly.
“No, I have another idea.” I lead him around to the back of the tall apartment building. There are no back doors, only a small window near the ground. “If you were holding hostages, where would you put them?”
Lucas grins as the answer comes to him. “The basement.”
“You stay up here to help us get out.” He nods in agreement. The glass shatters with one swift kick. I look around to make sure it went unheard and then use the sleeve of my shirt to brush away the remaining shards and slide through. My feet dangle as I hang from the window sill by my fingertips and then slam into the concrete floor as I drop to the ground.
Looking around, this place is almost identical to the basement I was kept in in the capitol. A woman shields two children in the corner of the room. I put one finger to my mouth to keep them quite.
“I’m a friend,” I whisper. Her eyes shift to the door but she doesn’t say anything. “Dana, Captain Collins sent me.” She stares at me and then her shoulders sag as a silent sob escapes her. She moves into the dim light and I let out a small gasp. Her face is swollen and the dark circles under her eyes make her look gaunt. Every movement is an effort for her. There is a hand print on her neck and left arm. She reaches back and pulls the two boys forward.
“Henry,” I say softly. “Tony. I’m going to get you out.”
“My name is Antonio,” the young dark haired kid corrects me. I smile at him but he does not return the gesture.
“There are guards,” Dana whispers.
“Runners keep it going.” I cover the speaker on my com with my hand to quiet it and Dana looks towards the door sharply. No one comes.
“Come on.” I pull the boys to the window. “Lucas,” I call in a hushed voice.
“I’m here,” he says, sticking his arms through the window. I lift Antonio first and Lucas pulls him out. Henry goes just as easily. As I turn to Dana, there are voices at the door.
“Whose turn do you reckon it is?” a man says. “With the whore I mean.”
“You can always make it your turn,” someone else laughs.
Dana grabs my arm and points to the window. “Go,” she whispers urgently. I am about to say no when the door opens. Dana launches herself at the man. I have no other choice. I look back at her one more time as she scratches and tears at the man with her nails. I grip
the edges of the window sill and pull myself up. When I am halfway through, Lucas grabs my hand to help me out. I hear yelling behind me and then a gunshot. Lucas looks at me but I just shake my head.
“We have to get out of here,” I state. “We need to get back to the boat.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, a large Mexican rounds the corner and barrels towards us. I am out of ammo so Lucas and I shield the boys behind us. The man is almost on us when he suddenly collapses in a heap. I look to the rooftop where a sniper is position. I throw her a salute before taking off.
“Runners cease the explosions,” Officer Mill’s voice commands. “We have reached an agreement and St. Louis has surrendered.” An explosion nearby shakes me to the core.
“Grace,” Lucas speaks into his com, “where have you been?”
“Switch to beta frequency,” she responds. I can no longer hear them on my own com but Lucas’ is loud enough for me to pick up a few things.
“Report,” Officer Mills says.
“We have the boys but the woman is lost to us,” he replies.
“Get back to the boat as soon as you can. I want to get us away from the docks as a precaution.”
“What happened?” Lucas asks.
“Lee and I negotiated a deal with the ruling family here in St. Louis. That’s all I can tell you right now. There are people who will be angry we didn't completely destroy the city. I decided it was more important to save as many people as I can.”
“What about your orders?” Lucas says to her. “You don't have the authority to do this. Think about this, Grace. When Jonathan gets his hands on you...” Lucas' voice cracks with fear.
“Everything is going to be okay,” she says before her voice is on my com as well. She orders all rebels to return to the ship.
Day of Reckoning (Dawn of Rebellion Series Book 2) Page 20