by A. American
Keying the radio, I asked the obvious, “What’s up?”
“Hey Morgan. We’ve got an issue we need you to come take care of.”
“Now?”
“Yes now.”
“What the hell is so important you need me to come to town in the damn dark?”
“We’ve had a murder.”
I looked at Danny, “So fucking what. I’m not going up there tonight.”
Danny shrugged, “Don’t tell me; tell him.”
“Have you got the guy?”
“Yes, we’ve got the offender.”
“Then lock his ass up. Give him to the PD for the night, and I’ll come to town tomorrow.”
“This can’t wait. There’s a crowd of people wanting to lynch this guy.”
“Then let them. If he killed someone and there’s no question, let them have him. Either way I’m not coming up there tonight. The PD is there, they’ll deal with it till tomorrow. Out,” I said the last word with a tone of finality and handed the radio back to Mike.
“He’s out of his fucking mind if he thinks I’m going to drag my ass up there tonight,” I said.
Mike shrugged, “Whatever dude.”
“Where’s the old man?” I asked.
Mike leaned back against the bunker, “Oh, he’s still on his play date. Ted’s supervising.”
“Still?” Danny asked.
Mike shivered, “Yeah. I don’t know what the hell he’s doing in there but it sounds medieval.” He paused for a moment, then added. “Or maybe some sick S and M sex game.”
Danny’s head came around. He had the look of someone that just smelled something offensive. “Why’d you have to add that?”
Mike bounced off the bunker and smiled, “Cause now you’ve got that image burned into your mind. You’re welcome.” He stretched and took a deep breath, “My work here is done.”
“Yeah, go home,” I said.
Aaron hung limply from the rope. His throat was nearly as painful from the screaming as his body was from the lashes. The old man had been sadistic with the delivery of the lashes. One moment they would land on his back, then his stomach or his sides. But before that began, the old man had ripped the shirt from his back to ensure he’d receive the full effect. And the effect had been profound.
Sarge pulled the whip from the bucket of now pink water. He looked at Aaron for a moment before laying the handle on the stool and picking up the bucket. He unceremoniously poured it over his head. Aaron’s head jerked and he inhaled sharply.
Sarge pulled the stool a little closer and sat down. Dangling the whip in front of him, he shouted, “Wake up numbnuts!”
Aaron jumped again and looked up, bleary-eyed. He tried to focus on the man in front of him. His head spun as the memory of where he was slowly faded back into his mind. Blinking, he managed to almost focus his eyes.
Sarge smiled at him. “That sack of shit you call a head starting to clear up?”
“What do you want to know?” Aaron croaked.
Sarge smiled, “That’s more like it. You one of Billy’s boys?”
Aaron nodded, “I needed to eat, and he let me in his group. I just did what I had to do to survive.”
Sarge nodded, “And just what have you been doing?”
With pain raking his body, he replied, “I’m not some kind of monster.” He started to cry, “I’m not a bad guy. I was going to starve to death.”
“Why are you watching us Aaron? What’s Billy got up his sleeve?”
Aaron didn’t answer right away. Sarge waited a moment before standing. Aaron looked at him, but still didn’t reply. Sarge let out a breath and took a quick step towards him. In one quick motion he grabbed Aaron’s pants and jerked them down.
Aaron jumped, “What are you doing?” He howled.
Sarge sat back down on the stool without saying anything. Leaning over, he slid the bucket of tools Mike had set out over in front of him. Reaching down, he pawed through it and removed a pair of tin snips. Looking back up at Aaron, he repeated his question. Aaron simply stared back.
“Look, we were doing so well. You and I are just talking. I can assure you that whatever sort of threat Billy’s laid on you pales in comparison to what I will do to you.” Aaron still didn’t reply. Sarge looked at the snips, working them a couple of times as he looked into Aaron’s eyes. “I see you’re not circumcised.”
Aaron’s head was suddenly clear. The haze in his head vanished as the fog retreats from the rising sun. He looked at the tin snips, then at himself. Surely he isn’t serious?
“I’m only going to take a little off the top,” Sarge said. Then Sarge raised his hands and made a show of trembling them. “But at my age, they shake just a bit.” When Sarge started to reach for his manhood, Aaron screamed.
“Alright, alright!”
Sarge stopped and leaned back on the stool, “I’m listening.”
Aaron looked at the snips again. “Billy hooked up with some DHS guys.” He looked up at Sarge, “They have a real hard-on for you guys.”
Sarge smiled, “I wonder why?”
“I, I don’t know. They just told me to come over here and watch you guys. I was supposed to count how many of you there are. Get a feel for your security routines, patrols, that sort of thing.” He paused for a moment and winced, “Can you please cut me down. Please, my shoulders hurt so bad.”
Before Sarge could answer, Ted leapt from the workbench. Sarge quickly stood up and spun around. From outside the garage, a voice said, “Too late, you’re already dead.”
Dalton stepped through the open garage door. Ted shook his head and mumbled, “You creep around like a damn cat or some shit.”
“That’s a good way to get your ass ventilated,” Sarge added.
“Nah, you knew it was me,” Dalton replied as he leaned against the workbench beside Ted. Looking at Aaron, he raised his eyebrows, “Oh, I didn’t know it was that kind of party.”
Sarge laughed, “We were just talking about his upcoming circumcision.”
Dalton jerked his head to the side, “I wouldn’t take too much from the poor boy.”
Sarge laughed, “That’s what I said.”
“He tell you anything?”
Sarge looked back at Aaron. “Oh he’s been pretty chatty up to this point. But he says his shoulders hurt and he wants down. Tell you what Aaron, I’ve got one more question for you. Answer it and I’ll cut you down. How’s that sound?” Aaron hesitated for a minute then nodded slightly. “Where’s Billy Boy and his merry band of fucktards holed up?”
Aaron’s eyes closed as he replied, “We’re at the Elks Camp.”
“Good man, Aaron. I’m a man of my word and I’m going to cut you down.” Sarge pulled his knife from its sheath. Aaron saw the large piece of steel made by Busse Knives. Pointing the knife at Aaron, Sarge said, “But you know I’m going to have to tie you up.”
Aaron nodded and Sarge swept the blade through the rope and Aaron crashed to the concrete floor.
“I’ll tie him up,” Ted said as he hopped off the bench.
Dalton quickly stepped forward, “Let me do it.”
Dalton went up to Aaron and knelt down. He untied the piece of rope from Aaron’s hands. Aaron didn’t resist, he was spent. Dalton rolled Aaron onto his stomach and grabbed his left hand. He brought the arm up over Aaron’s head and folded it down behind his back. Aaron moaned in pain as it was certainly uncomfortable. Grabbing the right hand he swept it behind Aaron’s back and brought the hand up to meet the left hand. With the hands now together Dalton used the piece of rope and bound them. Aaron cried out in pain once again.
Sarge was shaking his head, “Damn Dalton. I’ve seen some twisted shit, but that takes the cake.”
Dalton stood up and
examined his work, “Just a little something I learned over the years.”
“What kind of fucking work did you do?” Ted asked.
Dalton glanced over and said, “Corrections,” bouncing his eyebrows.
“I didn’t think that kind of shit was legal.”
“If the cameras didn’t see it, it didn’t happen.”
Sarge knelt down beside Aaron, “How many peckerwoods does the DHS have?”
“I don’t know,” Aaron moaned.
Sarge rapped his knuckles on the back of Aaron’s head. “Come on now. You’ve got to have an idea.”
“There’s a bunch of them, I don’t know how many. We’re kept away from them. They put us in some cabins on the east side of the camp. We weren’t allowed in the rest of the camp,” Aaron replied. He was talking into the concrete so the words came out slightly muffled.
“Why were you guys hooked up with the DHS?” Sarge asked.
Aaron groaned, “Billy said we were going to have some fun.”
Sarge tapped Aaron’s head again, “And just what do you and Billy consider fun?”
“It wasn’t my idea.”
Tapping his head again, Sarge replied, “But you said we.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Aaron croaked.
“Back to my question, how many?”
Mumbling into the concrete, Aaron replied, “I heard Billy say once that there must be close to a hundred of them.”
Ted let out a low whistle. Sarge looked back at him and nodded. Looking back at Aaron, he said, “Aaron, we’ll be back later to talk some more. Don’t mess around in here.”
Sarge rose to his feet and motioned for the others to follow him, and headed into the house. Once in the kitchen, Sarge poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. Dalton poured himself a cup as well before taking a seat. Ted spun a chair around and sat down, resting his elbows on the back of the chair’s back.
“How can you drink that shit cold?” Ted asked.
“Hot or cold, it’s always good,” Sarge replied as he took a sip.
“What are we going to do with him?” Dalton asked.
“Shwack him,” Ted said.
Sarge looked at Ted for a moment, “You think that’s the right call?”
“You wanna be looking over your shoulder?”
Sarge sipped the coffee again, “Fawcett did say the gloves were off.”
“Should we let the Sheriff decide?” Dalton asked.
Sarge looked at Ted. Ted shrugged in reply.
“I guess it comes down to whether this is a military issue or a law enforcement issue,” Sarge said.
“I don’t think the Sheriff will want to execute the poor bastard. Is there any way to lock him up?” Dalton said.
Sarge laughed, “You don’t know Morgan too well. He’s got no issue with putting a sack of shit down. None.”
Dalton thought for a moment, then said “But does he deserve it?”
“There’s the rub. How do we deal with these guys when we take them. Putting them in the dirt is the easy solution. But is it the right one?” Sarge asked.
“Fuck it, shwack ‘em,” Ted replied.
Sarge chuckled, “That’s your answer to everything, isn’t it Teddy?”
“Sometimes, it’s the only answer.”
“Every time it’s a permanent answer,” Dalton added.
Sarge nodded his head slightly, “We need to have a discussion on this.”
Mike came back into the kitchen, knocking Ted’s hat off as he passed him.
Catching the hat, Ted said, “Cut it out, dickhead.”
“You get that radio to Morgan?” Sarge asked.
Mike nodded, “Yeah, he told Livingston to stuff it up his ass. Said he’d be there tomorrow.”
Sarge shook his head, “That’s what I figured he’d say.”
With my plans for the day changed, I was having a quick breakfast before heading to Eustis. The chickens were really laying well now and keeping us in plenty of eggs. Each morning Little Bit would go check the laying boxes for new eggs. What she didn’t tell us was there was a broody hen in the coop sitting on eggs, and she’d let her. Bobbie was scrambling eggs when Little Bit came through the door shouting.
“We’ve got baby chicks!”
Surprised, I looked up, “What?”
She ran up holding one in her palm, “There’s seven of them! They’re so cute, look at it.”
She held her hand out to show me the little yellow puff ball. “Where are the rest of them?” I asked.
“They’re out in the coop with their momma,” she replied. Holding her hand up, she rubbed the chick’s head as it peeped. “He’s so cute.”
Her sisters, along with Fred and Jess, came over to look at the chick. All the girls were oohing and ahhing over the hatchling.
“I thought you were getting the eggs every day,” I said.
She smiled, “I was, but there was one hen sitting on eggs and I let her. She hatched them all out.”
Rubbing her head, I said, “Good job kiddo; now we have even more chickens.”
Mel set a plate of eggs in front of me. “Where are you going today?”
“I have to go to town. Livingston called and said there was an issue they needed me to deal with.”.
Taylor’s head popped up, “You’re going to town? Can we come? We haven’t been anywhere, please!”
“Yeah, let us go with you. You can’t go alone,” Jess said.
I looked at Mel. They wouldn’t be able to go without her permission. She shrugged, “Don’t let them get hurt.”
I smiled, “Just a milk run. No big deal,” I replied.
“We can go?” Taylor asked.
I nodded as I stuffed a bite of eggs in my mouth, “Sure. Get your stuff together; we’re leaving soon.”
The girls jumped up and ran off to get ready to go to town. I guess than once again such an event was a big deal. It was kind of funny to see them so excited about something as simple as a ride to town.
“Can I come?” Little Bit asked.
“No, not this time sweety,” Mel answered before I had to.
Putting on a pout, she said, “I never get to go anywhere.”
I smiled at her, “When you’re bigger, baby girl.”
I went out on the back porch where Danny and Thad were sitting, and flopped onto a chair.
“You guys going to work on that water tower?” I asked.
“Yeah, Dalton said he’d come help too. The three of us should be able to handle it,” Thad said.
“Sorry to bail on you guys.”
“Don’t sweat it. I know you have an aversion to hard work,” Danny replied with a snicker.
“Believe me, I wish I were going with you guys today.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll get the tank up today. Be careful up there,” Thad said.
I nodded and stood up, “Thanks, guys. See you later.”
I went out to the old Suburban and started it up. It cranked immediately and settled into that typical Cummins rumble. I was amazed at the old truck. It was beat when I bought it, and it had only been more abused since. Walking to the house, I grabbed my pack and a bag of mags I’d put together for road trips. With recent events, I wanted plenty of ammo when leaving here.
When I got back to the truck, Sarge was there with Mike and Dalton. “We need to talk,” Sarge said.
Setting the pack into the truck, I replied, “What’s up?”
“What do you want to do with that guy we caught?”
“You done with him?” I asked.
Sarge nodded, “He told me what I needed.”
“Where are they hiding out?”
�
��Billy’s hooked up with around a hundred DHS, and they’re at the Elks Camp. You know where that is?” Sarge asked.
I was surprised how close they were. “Yeah; and it’s not far either. Just off 450 west of Umatilla.”
“We’ll have to get over there and take a look then. Back to the original question,” Sarge replied.
It was a tough question. Sure, we’d caught the guy snooping around, but he hadn’t done anything to us. He was obviously on the wrong side of the equation, but how should that be dealt with?
I shrugged, “I don’t know. He didn’t do anything other than sneak around.”
“Teddy wants to plant him. Says if we turn him loose, we’ll be looking over our shoulders. And he’s right about that,” Sarge said.
“What’d he say he was doing with them?” I asked.
“Same thing they all say, just doing what they had to do to survive.”
I rubbed my head. I hated these kinds of decisions. But in the end, I didn’t want to kill someone for no real reason. “Let’s take him to town. I’ll give him to the Eustis PD. Cecil’s going to need labor in the fields, and he can be put to work there.”
“I like it,” Dalton said.
Sarge nodded, “Sounds good to me. We’ll fetch him from the shed, and I’ll go with you.”
“I want to stop in Altoona and distribute the flour we’ve got. It would be good to do it from the Hummer so they know it’s the Army giving it to them,” I replied.
Sarge nodded, “Alright, we’re going to need some security though.”
“The girls are going with us. That should be enough.”
“It’ll be good for them. They need to get out and put their skills to use,” Dalton said.
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Let me go load his ass up and I’ll meet you by the bunker,” Sarge said as he got back in the Hummer.
Looking at Dalton, I said, “Danny and Thad are inside. Go get you some breakfast.”
“Thanks, I think I will. I’m hungry.”