by Steven Bird
“So, what’s next for us and how long is this future you’re referring to?” asked Nate.
“That depends on the results of just a few little matters we need to take care of.”
“And what would that be?” asked Ed, crossing his arms and leaning back in anticipation of what might be coming next.
“We’re going to need to take some photographs of both of you for one, and secondly, we will need to extract some DNA samples, preferably from saliva. And lastly, we need to take some basic fingerprints. It’s all to match with the growing amount of evidence we have in regards to the insurgency. Being apprehended while in possession of stolen restricted-use weapons puts you both at the top of our list of concerns.”
As Ed began to speak, Mr. Robbins interrupted. “And just so you know ahead of time, this is not a request. We will be taking the photographs and samples regardless of your consent. The only variable is how easy or difficult the process will be for you. Now, before we go any further, I need written and signed statements from both of you, with as much detail as you can provide. We need to know how you came to be in possession of the stolen weapons, as well as any and all cases of your involvement with insurgent groups like the Blue Ridge Militia, the Southeast Militia, or any other group taking up arms against the government.
“In front of each of you, you will find pens and paper. I’ll leave you for a few moments to allow the two of you to discuss between yourselves the level of your cooperation. It’s simple, really; we treat people well who treat us well. Those who choose to work against us will find us doing the same—only, we have much greater strength and resources. I’ll be back in about twenty minutes. The security personnel will remain by the door should you need anything.”
Watching as the door closed behind Mr. Robbins, Nate asked, “So what the hell do we do?”
“We eat every bite of his damn pizza, then tell him to kiss our flag-waving, freedom-loving, gun-and-religion-clinging, patriotic American asses… that’s what,” replied Ed, as he reached for another slice of pizza.
Unable to take such a flippant stance on the heavy-hearted subject, Nate said, “I have a feeling that no matter what we do, we’re screwed.”
“Of course we are. They’re playing the good cop game right now. I’m sure we’ll meet the bad cop soon enough. Every damn word that man says is part of a well-choreographed game. He’s a professional. Now hurry and help me eat the rest of this pizza before that treasonous jerk gets back.”
Chuckling to himself, Nate reluctantly replied, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
~~~~
Exactly twenty minutes later, Mr. Robbins returned to the office to find Ed and Nate full from gorging themselves on the entire pizza. Not even a piece of crust was left.
“I see you enjoyed the meal. I’ll make sure I pass along my compliments to the proprietors of the shop that prepared it. Now, let’s see what we’ve got.” He sat down, donned his reading glasses, and slid Ed’s paper closer to him so he could read it. Quickly looking it over, he gazed at Ed over the top of his reading glasses and began to read aloud. “We found the weapons. We did not steal them. We were going to give them back. Thanks for the pizza. Love… Ed.”
Leaning back in his chair, Mr. Robbins sighed while removing his glasses, rubbed his hands over his face with frustration, and said with a well-rehearsed smile, “Well, gentlemen, if that’s all you have for me, that’s all I needed to know. There is no sense in me wasting any more of your time. The gentlemen at the door will remain there until our technician comes by to take your samples. Have a nice day, gentlemen,” he said as he stood up and walked to the door. Reaching for the knob, he paused, turned to Ed and Nate, and said, “If you think of anything else you may want to share with me, just let the security personnel know and they will find me.” And with that, Mr. Robbins left the room.
“You know what?” Ed said, turning to Nate with a sneaky grin.
“What?”
“This is like the times as a kid when you really pissed your parents off and you expected them to jerk their belt off and tan your hide right there, only to have them just walk away. The unknown was always worse than just taking the whooping.”
Chapter Nine: Tipping Point
Arriving back at the farmhouse with their horses, Jason dismounted while Evan remained in the saddle, due to his injury. He noticed that she had changed into a new shirt and had a bag for her and her daughter ready by the backdoor. He began to introduce Evan to the woman and her daughter then paused. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I didn’t catch your name.”
Still wiping tears from her eyes while holding her daughter close, she said, “I’m Vanessa Taylor, and this is my daughter, Audrey. My husband was Bill Taylor. What—” She interrupted herself to wipe her eyes and clear her throat. “What are we going to do with my husband? We can’t just leave him out there like that,” she said as her daughter buried her face in her arms, refusing to face life’s new cruel reality.
“I’ll get him in the barn while Evan stays here with you. We can work out something more permanent once we reach your father’s place. For now, though, the most important thing is to get a move on and get away from here before any of their friends come looking for them. Why don’t you two go into the house for now? Evan will keep an eye on the house from his horse and when I’m ready for you, I’ll come and get you.”
Nodding yes, she led her daughter back into the house and closed the door. Evan looked at Jason. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
“You’ll only hurt yourself worse. Just stay put; I’ll be back.”
Evan nodded in reply as Jason headed off to deal with his tasks at hand. After about fifteen minutes, he came back to the house and said, “Mr. Taylor is taken care of for now, but the four-wheeler is a no go. I just can’t get the damn thing to start. We can’t keep dickering with it, either. Can you haul the little girl? If so, I can give Mrs. Taylor a ride. We’ll leave less of a trail that way, too.”
“Sure thing. If she’ll let me, that is,” replied Evan.
Jason stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door. Mrs. Taylor answered and Jason explained the situation to her in detail. Vanessa shook her head no and said with a rugged defiance, “I can get it started. We aren’t leaving it. We might need it later.”
“Okay, ma’am, but—”
“No buts!” she exclaimed as she marched through the backyard toward the barn with young Audrey in tow. Reaching the barn, the mother and her daughter went inside and out of sight.
“We’ll at least let her try,” said Jason in frustration. “I tried everything, though, and it just wouldn’t start. We can’t stick around here messin’ with it much longer, either.”
Just as he finished his sentence, they heard the ATV rev to life in the barn, followed by Vanessa riding out with Audrey on the back of the seat behind her. Evan chuckled and said, “Tried everything, huh?” He had a sly grin on his face, but it was followed immediately with a pain-filled wince.
“Keep it up, funny man, and I’ll poke you in the side.”
Pulling the ATV alongside the back porch to retrieve her bags, Vanessa said, “I don’t know what your problem was, all I did was flip the choke on, made sure the ground wire wasn’t touching anything, and pulled the cord a few times.”
“Ahhh, the choke,” Jason said, smacking his own forehead with the palm of his hand.
Strapping her bags into place on the ATV’s cargo racks with bungee cords, Vanessa rejoined her daughter on the seat and said, “I’ll lead the way. I’ll try to go slow so you can keep up. Be careful; it’s slick and rocky on the trail.”
“Lead the way, ma’am,” Jason said with a tip of his hat.
With that, Evan and Jason both nudged their horses and off they went, trying their best to keep up with Vanessa. This is supposed to be slow? Evan thought as every jolt from the horse’s stride sent pain shooting through his side.
~~~~
As they entered the woods, Vanessa slowed
to a stop to allow the men to catch up. Pulling their horses alongside her, Evan looked back, pointed, and said, “See those lights off in the distance?”
“Yep,” Jason replied.
“Probably the friends of Vanessa’s not-so-welcomed guests back there. Let’s keep moving.”
Jason nodded in agreement as they all slipped off into the darkness of the trees.
~~~~
After navigating the rugged hillside trail with just the moonlight to guide them, they popped onto an old gravel road. “This is Daddy’s driveway,” Vanessa said as she pressed the thumb throttle of the ATV and proceeded up the road.
“How you hangin’ in there, old man?” Jason asked Evan.
“I’m hangin’, but it’s sure as hell not fun,” replied Evan, trying to get a peek at his wound through the tear in his shirt.
“Quit poking at it; we’ll get you taken care of. Let’s keep moving,” Jason said as he kicked his horse into action and raced off to keep Vanessa in sight.
“Damn it,” Evan mumbled under his breath as he followed Jason’s lead.
After a few more bends in the road, they came to an old two-story log home that appeared to have been built a significant time in the past. The rugged old structure had a character that just couldn’t be found in modern construction. The large log home had a natural rock chimney on each end of the primary structure, which Evan immediately noticed; such a layout hadn’t been used extensively since the power grid was established and everyone began to rely on modern furnaces to heat their homes.
As Vanessa brought the ATV to a stop, two tall, rough-looking men stepped out onto the porch. Vanessa lifted Audrey off of the ATV and ran to the open arms of one of the men while the other kept a watchful eye on Evan and Jason, his hands clutching a lever-action rifle with a classically styled walnut stock.
Erupting into tears, Vanessa began to explain in detail the events of the night to her father. A seriously distressed look came over his face as he pointed towards Evan and Jason saying, “Get those two inside right away.” He turned and walked back inside, carrying Audrey in his right arm and his left wrapped around his daughter’s shoulder.
“Come on in, gentlemen,” said the second man while gesturing for them to follow.
As they entered the home, a woman in her mid to late fifties ushered Vanessa and Audrey into the back room while the men remained in the living room to discuss the events of the night. “Fellas, I’ve got to thank you for what you did back there. It’s devastating what happened to Bill, and we will no doubt have a breakdown around here once it all soaks in, but I’m just thankful those bastards didn’t get any further. There’s no telling what they would have done if you hadn’t come along. If that had happened, I’d be a dead man tomorrow because I would have snapped and set out to kill every damn one of them myself. My name is Carl Dennison. This is my brother, Ted Dennison,” he said, gesturing to the other man.
“No problem, sir,” Jason replied. “We would want someone to do the same for our families.”
“Speaking of your families, where are you two from and how did you stumble across my daughter’s home in the middle of the night?”
“It’s a long story, sir.”
“We’ve got time,” replied Carl. “Besides, Vanessa’s aunt—Ted’s wife—is getting some things together to patch up your buddy here. Vanessa told us he was hurt. Catch us up while we wait.”
Acquiescing to Carl’s request, Jason told the tale of their journey from the Homefront with Ed, Nate, Charlie, and Jimmy, as well as their altercations with the UN peacekeeping forces. He kept the details of their location vague for security reasons but told him just enough to ensure the integrity of his story. Considering what they had just witnessed back at Vanessa’s home, he felt confident that he and Evan were in good company and that they shared a common foe with this family.
“I was afraid it was gonna come to this, eventually,” added Ted. “Those sons-of-bitches have been cruising all around Del Rio lately, knocking on doors, harassing people, looking for information on any militia activity. I imagine part of that is compliments of you fellas?”
Evan spoke up and said, “We’re not fans of theirs, that’s for sure. And they aren’t peacekeepers at all. They’re a damn occupying force and nothing more, here to carve out their own slice of the American pie.”
Carl’s jaw clenched as he gritted his teeth with building rage. “Well, those bastards are in the wrong place if they think the people of Del Rio will simply roll over on their own friends and neighbors. A lot of folks here have been quietly linking up with the Blue Ridge Militia, and we won’t put up with this crap. What they’ve done tonight is an act of war. I don’t give a damn if they are here by authority of the president; that man is nothing but a complicit traitor, anyway. It’s an act of war on the people, and the people will take things to whatever level those bastards take it. What you two did tonight was only the beginning.”
“Are you two affiliated with the militia?” asked Evan.
Looking at Ted before he answered, Carl replied, “We are familiar with them.”
“Oh, by the way,” Jason interrupted. “We saw headlights rolling into Vanessa’s place as we left. Looked like another Humvee from a distance, but I suppose I could be mistaken. Anyway, I put Bill in the barn, in one of the stalls. I didn’t really have anything appropriate to put him in—we were sort of in a rush. I know you’ll want to go back a take care of him properly, but I highly recommend against that for now. They’re gonna have eyes on that place. They’ll want to make an example of anyone involved.”
“Understood,” replied Carl. “Bill was a good man. He wouldn’t want anyone risking their lives when there is nothing we can do for him, anyway. The best way to honor him will be to stand strong and not let those bastards think they can treat our neighbors like this.”
Just then, Vanessa’s aunt entered the room and said, “I’m all set up for Evan. I believe Vanessa said that’s his name.”
“Yes, ma’am, it is,” replied Evan, standing to be courteous and respectful.
“Evan, this is my wife, Patricia,” Ted explained. “She’ll get you patched up for now. Then you two guys can rest up before you head out. I’m sure they’ll be flying overhead searching for the culprits in no time. Those damn drones are quiet, too, and can observe from a distance. If you aren’t careful, they’ll follow you home and that would not be a good thing. I know you’re almost home and are anxious, but don’t get sloppy and blow it now.”
“Thank you, sir. We’ll take you up on that,” said Jason as Evan was led into the next room.
Chapter Ten: In-processing
As the forensics technician who collected the DNA and fingerprint samples from Ed and Nate left the room, Nate looked at Ed and said, “Now what?”
“Whatever it is, I wouldn’t count on our situation improving any. We didn’t make any friends today. Not that anything we could have possibly said could have truly served us well. We were being used, regardless. He was trying to play us like a fiddle—wax our strings, tune us up, and then expect us to play his tune.”
Nate nodded in agreement as the door behind them opened abruptly, with three soldiers walking into the room. “Up!” ordered one of the soldiers sharply. Ed and Nate complied, Nate balancing on one leg and leaning on Ed with his hand.
As Ed helped Nate out of the room, the soldiers following closely behind, Ed began to turn right to return from the direction they came, only to be corrected sharply by an AK74 muzzle brake to the back, followed by the order, “No! To the left.”
Here we go, Ed thought as he and Nate complied with the short, but forceful command. The vacation must be over.
They were then led out of the building for their first time since their incarceration. “Into the truck,” the soldier commanded, pointing in the direction of an awaiting cargo van. The soldiers led Ed and Nate to the truck and shoved them inside; the doors slammed shut behind them, leaving them in total darkness.
&nbs
p; As the truck began to move, Ed said to Nate, “Here we go. If we get separated, keep up the fight. If you get out of here someday and I don’t, keep up the fight. No matter what, keep up the fight. If people like us just lie down and take the hand that is dealt us all across the country… let’s just say I would hate to even imagine things going down that way.”
For the next few minutes as the truck drove over bumps and swerved around turns, every move exaggerated by their lack of sight, Ed and Nate sat in silence, contemplating the myriad things that may await them at their destination. As the van pulled to a stop, both men sat up and covered their eyes, temporarily blinded by the sunlight shining in on them from the opened rear door.
A figure stood in the doorway, obscured by the light. “Out!” the figure ordered. Ed and Nate hesitated, causing the man to repeat his order with an even more forceful tone.
“Okay. Okay. We’re coming,” replied Ed as he helped Nate out of the van. His eyes adjusting to the light, Ed looked around and saw ten-foot tall sheet metal walls with multiple rows of razor wire across the top. He saw a large cargo plane at a low altitude on climb-out, apparently having just taken off from somewhere nearby. A sharp jab in the back urged him forward as a large steel door built into the wall slid open.
“Inside,” the rather unfriendly escort ordered.
Leading Nate inside, their escorts were relieved by two men in solid-blue utility uniforms resembling military BDUs. Both appeared to be unarmed with the exception of tasers and batons. One of the men was of African descent, while the other appeared to be a Latino-Caucasian mix. Ed noticed this detail, as he was surprised to see personnel on this level who were not Russian, which had been their experience until now.