War Zone: Homefront

by Thomas A. Watson

  Not knowing who’d spoken, Nathan just nodded his thanks. “We have to hit them in sniper teams from the south, and make it look like the others,” Nathan blurted out. “They can’t come north.”

  Walking around the table, Bill grabbed Nathan’s rifle. “You get home and make sure your boys are okay,” Bill told him in a stern voice. “Sherry,” Bill said, seeing Sherry staring off into space.

  Blinking tears from her eyes, Sherry turned to Bill. “We have this. Make sure Tim is okay. If you need me when I get back, let me know,” Bill told her. “Take Nathan with you,” Bill added softly.

  Getting up, Sherry walked over to grab Nathan’s arm. “Hold on,” Nathan said, spitting into the basket. Bending down, Sherry picked up the basket to hold it in front of Nathan as she guided him to the door. “Apollo, Ares, come,” Sherry said over her shoulder, and the dogs leapt up following them out.

  “We should’ve been patrolling,” Rusty said when Nathan was gone. “We’ll keep two sniper teams out like Nathan wants, but another team will be sent out every day, checking every building around us for twenty miles.”

  Nodding, Bill replied with a sigh. “Good idea, but keep Nathan and Tim here for a few days. They need to refocus.” Then, after a beat, he continued, “We need someone to tell Ephraim, and warn him.”

  “I’ll do it,” Rusty said. “We need to get those families from Nathan’s house here now. After we start sniping, it’ll be real hard moving a group that big, forty miles on horses.”

  “We do that first, like tomorrow or the day after. Nathan wants to get the ammo and weapons from Jeremey’s.”

  “They’re in safes or in locked storage containers,” Rusty said as people headed out of the dining hall.

  “Nathan has the combinations and keys. I think it’ll keep his mind and those boys’ minds occupied with menial tasks.”

  “They can do it tomorrow. I’ll send my boys over to help,” Rusty nodded. “Fucking Doyle Bailey. I knew he was a snake, but man, that’s just…” Rusty stopped at a loss for words. “We should’ve planted evidence on his ass.”

  “Don’t have to worry about that anymore. We see him, we kill him,” Bill said as Aiden came over.

  “Not even the Kesters would go so low as cannibalism,” Aiden huffed. “I have to say, I’m proud of Nathan. He didn’t hand out any toe tags, and Nathan really hated Doyle before this.”

  “Nathan would’ve been the first cop to have an arrest stick. Pulling over Doyle for a broken taillight and then finding that half gram of crystal in plain view, all backed up by dash cam? I’ve seen people put away for decades with less evidence on them, but the judge threw it out,” Bill related in disbelief.

  “Good old 49-902,” Aiden said with a frown. It was the Idaho Code section allowing for stops related to defective motor vehicle equipment.

  “What do you expect from the 9th Circuit?” Rusty pronounced with a sigh. The recent case out of California dealt with another defective taillight stop. The ruling, with stringent new guidelines for such stops, resulted in the suppression of the evidence garnered in Bailey’s arrest. It was all old news, but the long-time peace officers still rankled at the new rules, which they interpreted as another effort to tie their hands.

  Shaking his head, “You know it’s bullshit when your DA asks the judge, ‘What the hell is that?’,” Aiden said. “Let’s get to it, guys.”

  ***

  Walking into the living room drying his hair, Nathan saw the girls playing with the little ones. “Jasmine with Tom?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Amanda answered, looking up. “And I don’t want to know, like, ever,” she added.

  Shaking his head and letting the towel drape over his shoulders, “You’re right, you don’t,” Nathan said with a reassuring tone.

  “John said you and Tim knew some of the gang, and even the leader,” Amanda said as Emma got up and ran to Nathan, holding her arms wide.

  Catching Emma, Nathan picked her up before settling her on his hip. “Yes, and the rest of the posse knows them as well.”

  “I know you were a deputy in Kootenai and Shoshone counties, but Bill and Rusty were only deputies in Kootenai,” Amanda blurted out.

  “Amanda, there were bad guys before this. What do you think, they would just stop being bad guys?” Nathan asked, heading to the kitchen.

  “No, it just doesn’t seem right, knowing the bad guys names right off the bat.”

  “I can tell you, if I had been around here when this happened, I would’ve gotten my stuff here, and then I would’ve rolled out with a kill list,” Nathan huffed.

  Lifting her chin up, “Nathan, I’m sorry,” Amanda said, and Nathan turned at the imperial tone. “Mr. Fisher is mine.” All tension left Nathan’s body while he stared at Amanda in utter shock, hearing the name of his parents’ killer. “He’s mine. I get to make him pay.”

  It took over a minute to regain his composure, but Nathan finally shook his head. “If I find him again, sorry, firecracker, but he’s spoken for.”

  “I’ll find him first,” Amanda huffed. “You’re the best, and I’m going to crank the gat on his ass.”

  Experiencing more emotions at one time than he’d ever had in his life, Nathan just spun around continuing to the kitchen. Pulling out a crystal cocktail glass, Nathan just stared at it for several minutes, then put it back up in the cabinet. Next, he pulled out a much taller and bigger glass. Setting it on the counter, Nathan reached under the counter pulling bottles out.

  Looking over her shoulder, Amanda saw Nathan pouring vodka into a tall glass. Getting up, she walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. “Can I do anything?” she offered in a small voice.

  Picking up another bottle, “Make sure nobody hassles the boys for the next few days,” Nathan sighed. “They don’t need the other kids pestering them about what…” Nathan just stopped as he continued to pour.

  Giving a shiver as hundreds of possible images of what had happened filled her mind, Amanda didn’t know she wasn’t even close. “I will,” she promised, still hugging Nathan tight and watched Nathan pick up another bottle. “How much are you going to pour in there?”

  “It’s a Kamikaze, equal parts of vodka, triple sec, and lime. I hate alcohol, but I really need a drink,” Nathan sighed, just happy he wasn’t gagging, but he still felt nauseous.

  Looking closer at the size of the glass, “So, it’s five ounces of each?” Amanda asked.

  Setting the bottle of lime down, Nathan lifted her chin up. “You just figured that out?”

  Shrugging, “Just judging by glass size, the volume looks approximately sixteen ounces. But I think you poured more of the vodka,” Amanda said, laying her head back on his chest. “The empty space at the top of the glass is about an ounce, but you said equal parts.”

  Giving a chuckle, Nathan bent down kissing the top of Amanda’s head. “You amaze me, firecracker.”

  Emma didn’t like that and swatted out, hitting Amanda on the top of the head. “No, mine,” Emma said very clearly.

  Popping Emma’s hand, “What have I told you?” Nathan snapped at Emma. “I do have other kids, and I will love on them when they want it, or I do. You’ll get a spanking if you keep on.”

  Never letting go or taking her head off Nathan’s chest, Amanda smiled. “I tried telling Emma I found you first, and she just kept calling me a bitch.”

  “Bitch,” Emma sang out, then clapped her hands.

  “All right, that’s enough,” Nathan mumbled, grabbing Emma’s hands so she couldn’t clap. “Don’t say that word, or I’m getting soap for your mouth,” Nathan warned, and Emma just looked at him in shock. She didn’t understand what he’d said, but understood the grumpy look he was giving her.

  “Nathan, she eats the soap when she gets a bath,” Amanda chuckled.

  Hearing running feet, Nathan turned to see Casey rounding the kitchen island. “Nathan, since you have all the Disney movies, can you watch one with us? Please?” she begged
.

  Leaning back and looking up at him, “Why do you have all those kid movies?” Amanda asked.

  “Amanda, I told you, Bill’s, Aiden’s, and Rusty’s kids spent the night all the time. When they were little, no matter how hard I tried, they wouldn’t sit down and watch Lethal Weapon. So I bought them kid movies,” Nathan explained, then shrugged. “Have to admit, some of them are great.”

  “But you have some baby shows still wrapped in the store plastic,” Amanda pointed out.

  “Oh, those are for Nolan,” Nathan said. “He needed something to watch in his crib.”

  Dropping her arms from Nathan’s waist and stepping back, “Where did you find a crib with a flat-screen and speakers?” Amanda asked.

  Glancing around before he leaned closer, “I had a guy at Best Buy put it together for me,” Nathan whispered. “I couldn’t find one that came like that, so I bought a crib, took it to Best Buy, then bought the TV and surround sound, and got him to put it all on the crib.”

  “It’s so cool,” Casey laughed. “So, can you watch a movie with us?”

  Reaching back and pulling Casey to his leg as he hugged her, “Let me check on the boys. Then I’ll sit on the couch and all my girls can cuddle around me,” Nathan smiled.

  Hugging Nathan’s leg, Casey looked up. “Chip may want to cuddle,” she said with a worried face.

  “Then he can cuddle with us,” Nathan laughed.

  Amanda and Casey ran back to the living room discussing what to watch as Nathan picked up the glass and downed half of it. “Dink,” Emma said, holding out her hands.

  “No, I’m not sharing this,” Nathan told her.

  “Nphin,” Emma grunted, reaching out for the glass with both hands.

  “At one time, I really thought I was cool,” Nathan sighed, and put the glass to Emma’s mouth. When the liquid hit her mouth, Emma jerked back shaking her head and then tried to wipe her tongue off. “Because at one time, having a little girl drool in my drink would’ve made me sick. Now, I don’t even pause drinking after you.”

  “Psssft,” Emma blew out, trying to get the taste from her mouth.

  “Hey, I warned you,” Nathan said, then downed the rest of the glass. After refilling the glass, Nathan headed down the hall before turning in to the boys’ room. He found John in one chair and Jasmine in the other with Tom in her lap.

  “Now that is cute,” Nathan grinned. “Both our boys are bigger than you, and you still put one in your lap.”

  With her arms around Tom, Jasmine shook her head. “John wouldn’t sit in my lap.”

  Nathan turned to John as he shook his head. “Nathan, I would squish her!” John cried out. “She can’t be much over a hundred pounds and I weigh two-fifty. I can’t squish my stepmom.”

  Rolling his eyes to the ceiling as he pondered that, Nathan finally nodded. “Okay, you’re doing it because you think you might hurt her. I won’t pee in your bed after you go to sleep,” Nathan informed him. John and Jasmine both chuckled, and even Tom gave a soft chuckle.

  Moving over and sitting on the edge of Tom’s bed, Nathan turned Jasmine’s chair toward him. “Tom, I’m sorry. I would give anything to take that from your mind.”

  “I know you would, but don’t be sorry,” Tom said with a long sigh. “I’m glad I saw it. Well, not glad, but…” he paused, lifting his head up and looking at Nathan. “It lets me know just how dangerous and evil some people can be. I won’t ever let that happen to anyone in our family while I’m alive,” he vowed.

  “If they can get past me, then you can have a crack at them,” Nathan said, lifting his glass and sucking half of it down while Jasmine stared at the glass.

  “Sorry, Tom, but I’m the oldest, so you’ll have to wait after me,” John chimed in.

  Balancing Emma on his leg, Nathan let her go and patted Tom. “If you need to talk, I’m here.”

  “Nothing really to talk about,” Tom shrugged. “I wanted to help, but couldn’t. Even if you and John had been on the ridge, we still couldn’t have done anything. There were just too many of them. If we would’ve shot into that group, I think we could’ve gotten away. But then they’d know to come looking for us. There’s too many of them, and not enough of us to stop what they were doing for long. All we can do is protect our family.”

  Nodding as he turned the glass up, finishing it off, “Or die trying,” Nathan said, lowering the glass.

  “Nathan, Sherry said you don’t like alcohol,” Jasmine said.

  “I don’t,” Nathan admitted. “I’ll drink a mixed drink every once and a while or have some wine, but never anything straight. But today, I needed a drink.”

  Hearing a slight slur in Nathan’s speech, “How many kamikazes have you had?” she asked.

  Cutting his eyes at her, “How did you know what it was?”

  “That’s my favorite,” Jasmine laughed.

  “You’re not old enough to drink,” John said, and Jasmine turned to John with a scowl. “I, ah, well…” John stuttered, turning away. He really felt bad for blurting that out.

  “I was in college, and went to a lot of parties in high school,” Jasmine told him, turning back to Nathan who was grinning. “So, how many?”

  Shrugging, “Two,” Nathan answered. “I’ll fix number three when I get back to the kitchen.”

  “Can I get up now and not get a spanking?” Tom asked.

  “You were going to spank him?” Nathan chuckled.

  Holding her chin high, “Yes,” Jasmine said proudly. “I wouldn’t have liked it, and I really think I would’ve cried afterward,” she admitted, dropping her chin.

  Getting up, Tom turned to Nathan with a genuine grin. “That’s why I sat in her lap. I don’t think I could’ve handled her crying for giving me a spanking.”

  Standing up, Nathan laughed. “Well, the girls have informed me, I have to watch a Disney movie.”

  “I’m in,” Tom said, and headed for the door.

  Getting up and following, “That does sound like a good idea,” John admitted.

  As Nathan watched them walking out, Jasmine noticed he was swaying slightly on his feet. “You’re a lightweight,” she mumbled, moving over to his right side and wrapping an arm around his waist, since Emma was riding his left hip. “You don’t want to take a nap?”

  Heading for the door and draping his arm over Jasmine’s shoulders, “I’m not falling asleep today,” Nathan informed her. “I’m passing the fuck out.”

  Walking back into the living room, they heard Natalie talking. “How did you know the names of the counties Nathan works for?”

  “Idaho is our home state now,” Amanda replied.

  As Nathan headed to the kitchen to refill his glass, he saw them on the couch talking. Leaning back, “You know all the counties in Idaho?” Natalie gasped.

  “There’re only forty-four,” Amanda shrugged. “It’s important to know.”

  Giving a grunt as he poured, “I don’t know all of them and I live here,” Nathan admitted. “I knew them in school, but that was just to pass the test. After that, it wasn’t worth the effort to maintain the memory.”

  Standing beside Nathan as he fixed his drink, Jasmine understood now why he was wobbling on his feet and slurring his speech. Tim and Sherry walked out of their bedroom, noticing all the kids getting comfortable in front of the TV. “What’re we watching?” Sherry asked.

  “Disney, and they’d better pick a good one,” Nathan replied, lifting his glass.

  Seeing that, Tim walked over to the cabinet, pulling out a cocktail glass and then the bottle of vodka. He filled the glass and Nathan drained his. “Glad you buy the good stuff,” Tim said, downing the straight vodka.

  “Good or not, I do that, and my nuts will go flying across the room,” Nathan huffed.

  “Sissy,” Tim gasped at the burn in his throat. He set his glass down as Nathan started refilling his. “See? That takes too long.”

  “Don’t care,” Nathan said as Tim took the vodka bottle. Jasmine was
wondering if she should get Emma, but then wondered why Emma wasn’t trying to grab the glass. Anytime Nathan had a drink, she wanted some.

  “We’re going to watch The Incredibles,” Casey announced.

  “Good choice,” Nathan said, taking a sip this time and headed to the couch. Moving slower because his stagger was more pronounced, Nathan stopped at the end of the couch. “Where am I sitting?”

  “Here,” Amanda, Natalie, and Casey replied, pointing to the middle of the couch.

  Putting his glass on the coffee table, Nathan sat down moving Emma to his chest, before they piled on and around him. Sitting under Nathan’s right arm, Amanda turned to see Jasmine smiling. “You can sit here and I’ll sit in your lap,” Amanda offered as Chip climbed up, joining Emma on Nathan’s chest.

  “No, you guys need some ‘Nathan time’,” Jasmine laughed.

  The laugh stopped when Jasmine noticed the stern look on Amanda’s face. “I wasn’t asking. I’ll sit in your lap,” Amanda replied curtly. Seeing Jasmine not moving, “Ares!” Amanda snapped, and Ares jumped to his feet.

  “You wouldn’t dare!” Jasmine gasped.

  “You want to find out or sit down?” Amanda grinned.

  “Ares won’t attack Jasmine,” Nathan chuckled. “Maybe lick her.”

  “Shh,” Amanda hissed at him, then turned back to Jasmine. “So?”

  Grinning, Jasmine moved over, and Amanda jumped up. When Jasmine sat down, Amanda got in her lap and they all snuggled into Nathan. “What’s it taste like?” John asked.

  “Try it,” Nathan said as Casey lifted the remote.

  Picking the glass up, John gulped half of it down, not even bothering to test it first. “That’s nasty,” he grunted, and Tom grabbed the glass, looking at Nathan. When Nathan nodded, Tom drained the other half.

  “Aw, that tastes like gasoline lime,” Tom gasped.

  “You sip it to test,” Nathan laughed.

  “That’s how you drank it,” John replied, shaking his head to stop his wavering vision.

  Hearing the movie start, they both sat down on each side of the pile. With Nolan in her arms, Sherry climbed in the recliner with Tim. Nathan didn’t make it ten minutes before his head tilted back and he was sound asleep.