by Angela White
The Eagle nodded, grinning under his mask. “I know it.”
Kevin jogged to Kenn, shaking his head. He didn’t like some of these newer people that had signed up. Hell, he even didn’t know who that one...
Kevin stopped, turning in time to see the man slide into the driver’s seat. The masked Eagle gave Samantha a friendly smile that she didn’t react to, and began chatting as he started the engine.
Kevin strained to see. Who is that?
Eager to be gone, Kenn thrust a paper over Kevin’s shoulder. “Boss wants you to drive Samantha and then switch with Lee when we make camp.”
Kevin shook his head, watching the truck go rolling slowly by. “She has a driver, but I’m not sure who it is.”
“Where are they?” Kenn demanded, hinky feeling growing.
Kevin pointed.
Standing next to them, Seth froze. He recognized the man disappearing into the darkness with Samantha. The bandana gave it away. “Rick!”
Adrian spun at the name, drawing his gun.
Seth took off running after the truck, already knowing it was too late to stop, and if he opened fire, he could hit any number of camp members.
“Stop that truck!”
Adrian’s shout was lost in the din.
Aware of their panic and enjoying it gleefully, Rick patted Samantha’s arm and took her away from Safe Haven.
The truck vanished.
Seth ran to the next car about to leave. He ripped Roger from the driver’s seat of the jeep and sped off into the darkness after them.
Adrian pointed out a team quickly, sending them after Seth. Tracking Rick without backup was a bad idea. He was obviously more dangerous than any of them had given him credit for.
Torn, Adrian chose to stay with his herd. They would do rolling searches by the member list and he would take his place at the head of the convoy once they were all accounted for. He had to get the camp back together. Seth and the others now bore the duty of rescuing Samantha and bringing Rick back to stand trial. It was something that everyone in Safe Haven needed.
Adrian checked his watch and then glanced toward the brightly lit slaver camp. That was another issue he wouldn’t be overseeing, but there was little worry. Kyle was lethal. There wasn’t anyone in that camp that Kyle couldn’t handle.
4
Kyle and his men were regretting taking the newest mission–until about 4:00 a.m.–when they had gotten near enough to the slaver camp to view the people.
With Cesar gone, the camp was in chaos. Gang rapes took place by the fire, fists and knives flashing. The women were barely conscious, bloody and broken as one man finished and another took his place. Kyle’s group was sickened, but if he had said to keep low and wait until it was over and everyone was asleep, they would have.
Kyle was going to tell them exactly that. The remaining slavers numbers were still bigger, but then two young boys were pulled out of a truck, kicking, pissing and screaming for help.
Line up in the V. We go on two.
Kyle sent the instruction using their hand code, and the teams around him got set. They were the only thing standing between the slavers and Safe Haven. Kyle and Neil had hoped to wait for a better time to launch their assault, but they were no longer concerned with any of the slaves being caught in the crossfire. A quick bullet would be better than the slow death they were suffering now.
Vaguely glad that the fog had thinned, Kyle saw the glaze over Neil’s eyes and understood.
“This will give you what you want. Women like heroes.”
Neil didn’t bother with a lie, even though their men were all listening. “It will also seal my place. Yours, too.”
“There’s nothing he’ll deny us after this.” Kyle swept the drunken men. Other than the small group of guerillas getting ready to roll, this wouldn’t be a battle–it would be a barrel-shoot, with sitting ducks for targets. Even the armed men wouldn’t stand much of a chance against Chris and Shawn with their grenade launchers. “And nothing will ever erase the stain.”
Neil shared Kyle’s revulsion, but in this moment, he needed Samantha and his place more than he wanted a clean conscience. “For him, and for my new life, I’ll bear it.”
Kyle’s shoulders straightened proudly. “As will we all.” He raised an arm. “One…and Go!”
The two teams burst into Cesar’s muddy camp.
The slavers didn’t see the threat coming. For six months, these men had lounged in complete safety on foreign soil. That changed as Kyle shot the first arm rising to fire, then the head that it was attached to.
He spun, checking the right. Clear! Left? Fire!
Bang!
The guerilla fell at Neil’s feet, causing the trooper to spin around. He stayed his hand, realizing Kyle had saved him.
Neil nodded and spun right. Clear! Left?
It was a pattern of behavior that protected each of the men in their line of sight–one that always began and ended with a shout of ‘remember to look!’ during the training that Adrian demanded.
“Down!”
The Eagles dropped at Kyle’s roar.
Bbrrrrr...
The machine gun rattled across the filthy camp, hitting fleeing shadows, but none of the Eagles that it was aimed for. They knew to stay low.
Billy quickly found the gunman and delivered a spray that sent him behind a tent for cover.
The Eagles moved in, bullets ripping through the canvas without mercy.
Three captive women were caught and killed by stray rounds, and one had her throat slit by a man trying to use her as a shield–his arm jerked as the bullet hit him in the head. The rest of the women and kids got out of the way.
Shouldn’t they be screaming or something? Kyle wondered in a distant, store-it-for-later way as he fired again.
The armed group gearing up to attack Safe Haven joined the gunfight, peppering them with slugs, but Chris was ready. He fired the grenade launcher with a leer. “Hell’s waiting, boys!”
“And this is how you get there!” Shawn shouted, firing his own launcher from Chris’s right.
The grenades exploded together, catching most of the scattering Mexicans and the two Eagles reloaded each other–Marc’s addition to their training. It allowed them to fire four shots in half as much time.
Dirt and blood rained over the campsite.
The slavers were helpless under the fury of Adrian’s Eagles. They’d come prepared, but more than that, the feeling of helplessness that these the Eagles had been smothered with for the last three days was finally being released. When it was over, these men would be expected to rejoin Safe Haven and act civilized, but right now, they were savage, killing any male that moved. They walked the camp without breaking ranks, and didn’t pause even when one of their own cried out.
Billy grabbed Chris’s limp arm and hefted him over one shoulder as he advanced, gun barking.
Kyle grunted as a slug hit his vest and went through, spinning him around. It was caught and held by the next layers of protection and he spun back, shooting and killing the man who had hit him.
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be!
“Eagles Fly!” he screamed, glad of the second vest, of this second chance at life that Adrian had given him.
The V expanded, each man marching forward to form a single line of side-by-side walking death. Extremely effective, it allowed a better range of fire and gave the Eagles the final advantage. The slavers’ rampage was over.
Kyle didn’t holster his weapon until they had walked every inch of the garbage and blood-filled camp. His Glock barked death sporadically, changing bleeding, begging slavers into mud-shrouded corpses.
It was hard to look at, but little compared to the slaughter they’d left at the picnic area. His guilt was eased by each new horror they uncovered. There were tents full of feces, dead dogs, and bodies of women and kids piled in the brush behind the camp. Revolted, Kyle waved at Neil. “Get a bigger fire going. We’re not leaving this.”
; Neil didn’t like the chore, but couldn’t argue the duty. The corpses had been American survivors–members of Safe Haven that hadn’t reached its borders in time–and they deserved more than to be left behind some camp for the animals to drag away.
“Movement in the rear row of trucks,” Neil passed the message from one of their men. “How do you want to handle it?”
“Those are our damsels in distress.” Kyle motioned for Jeremy to handle their men. “Tell the boys to settle down.”
Around them, the Eagles were celebrating their victory–the end of the feud–and their loud shouts and curses were scaring the slaves, Kyle was sure. They were used to being abused by rough, uncaring males, and he wasn’t looking forward to observing their fear on the ride home.
“Tell them quiet is best. We don’t want to spook these women,” Neil added. “None of them will have a clue what’s going on, so make sure you talk to them. Try to pick out the strongest of them and we’ll have her take charge as much as we can.”
Sure that Jeremy would have his hands full just quieting their teams, Kyle helped Jeremy at the trailers. He cut the padlock off the first trailer and shoved the door up.
The dozen or so children inside began screaming, pushing toward the rear as they begged for mercy. They cowered there, moaning in terror.
Horrified, Kyle slowly held his hands up, the lethal Glock back in his holster. “They’re all dead. Every one of them!”
He gentled his words as their noises of terror quieted a bit. “We’re here to help you.”
Behind him, Neil and the others slowly recovered from their shock. They hadn’t expected to see any kids here. Adrian would be delighted–and as revolted as they were right now to see the bruises, shrunken faces, and the other signs of abuse.
Kyle held out a hand, assisting the fearful kids. They pulled away from his light touch the second their small feet reached the ground and he hoped they wouldn’t go fleeing into the night.
“Get the supplies out, Neil,” Kyle ordered. “Get them fed and talking.”
Neil and the others did as he instructed, savage men now shoved back inside their facades, but the children knew and shied away. Monsters were easier to spot in this new world–even the ones who didn’t recognize it in themselves.
5
“Here they come.”
Jennifer didn’t respond to Lilly’s half-excited, half-fearful comment. She belonged to Cesar, too–all of the slaves locked in this semi to keep them unspoiled were his.
They listened as the truck next to them was opened.
“They’re all dead. Come on out.”
Jennifer and Lilly exchanged glances, but not determined ‘we’ll make it together’ stares. These were eternal vows of hatred.
“Don’t do it this time.” Lilly’s words came out in a low rush of terror-inspired courage. “Don’t make deals with them. If you promise, we won’t tell them about you.”
Jennifer felt the support of the other women in their truck–they were all against her–and the terror of the children crammed in behind her. They were afraid that she would agree.
Jennifer clenched her fists. “Let the new owners hurt the kids, so that you don’t have to serve. Is that what you’re asking me to do?”
“No.” Lilly leaned forward, eyeing Jennifer’s big stomach threateningly. “I’m telling you!”
Jennifer immediately punched Lilly in the jaw, making sure it split her lip. Those stung for days.
Lilly hit the side of the truck, rattling their hanging belongings.
“You don’t tell me,” Jennifer warned coldly. “I tell you!”
Lilly picked herself up off the filthy floor, wiping blood from her mouth as the other women scrambled to get away from them.
Jennifer’s stomach was grotesquely big in the light of their flickering candle. Lilly stared at it, keeping her distance this time. “I mean it, bruja. No more deals for us or your baby won’t live.”
The teenager stared back at Lilly without blinking, hating her. It never should have come to this. After a raid on a big city, the women in camp had sometimes numbered enough to overtake the Mexicans.
“Are you challenging me...coward?”
A cold chill invaded the semi–an ill wind that all of the watching women were scared of. They’d felt it before, and none of them were willing to step forward while crammed into this semi. Jennifer’s aim was too good.
“No,” Lilly reluctantly backed down, but only as much as she had to. “Only your right to make us trade our bodies for someone else’s kids. We don’t owe them anything.”
Fist raised, Jennifer lunged forward, ignoring the twinges from her gut. “Those kids are worth your life!”
Lilly cringed back and Jennifer followed; sure this would be going very differently if they were outside. The other women might be just as scared, but together, they were all angry.
“If you don’t take their place, you will be disobeying a direct order and I won’t tolerate that!”
Jennifer pulled the fire back in, hearing the male voices coming closer.
“And you’ll be the first one I fry in the fight,” she told Lilly ruthlessly. “I loathe you.”
Lilly clamped down on an equally hateful retort as the door was shoved up, but her glare didn’t fade.
“Come on out. They’re all dead,” the man at the door called.
The women moved for the door after Lilly, and Jennifer gathered the children that didn’t shy from her gentle touch. They knew they had nothing to fear from her.
“Come on out. They can’t hurt you anymore,” the man helping them down soothed.
Jennifer took her time getting to the door, trying to decide what to do. She watched them carefully help the kids down, talking to them in low, comforting tones. Behind them, Mexican bodies lay strewn about the camp. Would these be better owners than the others? Did it matter? They would still be slaves.
Until my baby comes, Jennifer reminded herself. Then I’ll take them away and we’ll start our own world where men aren’t allowed to be monsters.
You’ll need help with that, the voice inside stated eagerly. Start with the leader of these killers and work your way up, as you did here.
What if these men are just as bad?
You have to keep those kids alive. Do what you can to that end.
But they’ll want me.
Yes. How else did you expect to pay for freedom?
Jennifer guided the final child toward the man waiting at the tailgate, hating the decisions she was being forced to make. Lilly wasn’t the only one who was tired of serving.
With no other choice, Jennifer let herself reach out in more ways than just physically when it was her turn to get out of the truck. “I’m the only one left.”
Doing a quick visual check of the perimeter as the other semis were opened and emptied, Kyle extended a hand. “Good. Be careful, the step’s...”
Kyle’s words trailed off as he looked up, attention instantly snared by the girl standing there. All he could see was her dirty face and a pair of the most amazing golden eyes. He couldn’t judge her age by them, not without more light, but he was instantly curious.
His hand slowly lowered. Who is she?
Jennifer stared back in fascination, thinking he was pretty. She had only seen Mexican males for so long that this one was beautiful to her, just for an instant, because he didn’t look like one of them.
“I’m Kyle.” He peered closer, eager for her to step into the light.
“Jennifer. Jenny, I guess if you like that.”
This time, the sound of her voice hit Kyle like bricks going into water–thick and hard. He stared stupidly. Do I know her?
Jennifer was almost immune to that reaction–it was what she had intended this time–but she wasn’t prepared for the way her heart picked up or how her skin felt grimier than usual. Who is he?
Kyle was aware of Eagles and slaves watching them, but the strength radiating from those eyes was enough to hold him in pl
ace. She seemed so familiar!
“I need to talk to whoever is in charge,” Jennifer requested lowly. “I have a problem.”
Kyle’s chest automatically puffed out. “That would be me, right now. What’s the trouble, Jen?”
His tone vibrated through Jennifer’s mind. He sounded so strong...and she needed that.
The slave took a breath and stepped closer, letting him see her stomach and age. “I’m in danger and so is my baby. We need protection.”
“You can go anywhere you want, but we have doctors and we follow the old rules. No one in our camp will hurt you.” Neil’s words floated over the huddling slaves.
Jennifer slowly climbed down from the semi.
Kyle would have helped her, but shock held him paralyzed. Not because of her youth or the pregnancy–he’d seen both before and after the war. It was the attraction smothering him in shards of need, making it hard to think, to breathe, that held him. He wanted her. Desperately.
Kyle drew in air instead of reaching out.
“Will you help me?”
Kyle’s brain was riddled with fog and guilt, and he struggled to think around the confusion. “You’ll be safe with us. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“In our camp, you’ll have the freedom that was stolen. We’re Americans and so are you. We take care of our own.” Neil was aware of something happening with Kyle, but he was eager to be back in Safe Haven–to see Samantha. He had an awful feeling and no reason for it. She was well protected right now. Wasn’t she?
“If you’re heading out on your own, we’ll give you what supplies we can spare. If you’re coming with us, be in one of the black trucks parked behind those rocks.” Neil pointed the way. “We leave in ten minutes.”
Jennifer felt the hateful glares of the other females. She knew what they were planning–it was hard not to with Lilly rolling up the sleeves on her dress–but the man now staring at her with an open glaze of need was in the chain of command. That was handy information to have.
“Please. You have to keep me away from them.”
Kyle turned to study the small group of muttering females standing across the fire. “They’re the threat?”