Evil Agreement

by Richard L Hatin

  Now they heard a second car door slam shut. Outside the cellar there were voices, men’s voices and they sounded angry.

  Miss Beacon whispered to Korie to move over against the wall next to the cellar doorway.

  “Get that gun ready. It looks like trouble is heading our way.”

  Korie didn’t answer Miss Beacon. She wasn’t sure Korie had the courage to follow through. She could only hope that the confidence she had in her would prove to be correct.

  The men had spotted the open cellar door

  “I’ll go first,” said one man’s voice, “and you cover me.”

  “I’m right behind you,” said the other man.

  The men slowly and carefully went down the cellar stairs. When the first man reached the bottom stair he quickly reached around to the right side cellar wall with his left hand, and flicked on the overhead lights. Miss Beacon caught a glimpse of his arm retreating back behind the cellar door.

  In the light Miss Beacon could see Korie, who had managed to position herself directly behind the cellar door. She had removed the pistol from her waistband, and now held it firmly with both hands in a classic shooter’s grip. She held the gun pointing upward, her hands next to her left cheek.

  Miss Beacon knew she had to provide a diversion to give Korie time to get the drop on both men.

  The first man pointed his gun around the edge of the open door. After a moment he poked his head around the edge of the door for just a brief moment to check out the cellar area.

  “Don’t shoot. Please don’t shoot. I’m unarmed,” said Miss Beacon in her best pleading voice.

  The first man now peeked around the edge of the door and looked straight in the direction of Miss Beacon’s voice.

  “Please help me. She’s very sick. I was sent here by Samuel to give her some medicine and when I found her she was having a seizure. I think she may be dying.”

  Miss Beacon was gambling these men might be thrown off balance by her referral to Samuel. She also was gambling that Kelley wouldn’t speak out and tip off these men to her ruse.

  The first man stepped out from behind the door. He held his pistol down at his side. Miss Beacon recognized him as Junior Fecteau, a low ranking member of the church and a coven wannabe.

  “Why if it ain’t Miss Beacon? I didn’t know Samuel had sent anybody else.”

  Miss Beacon had to hold his attention until the other man entered the cellar.

  “Could you give me a hand so I can give her some medicine? I’m afraid I can’t do it alone.”

  “Sure. Bobby, get your ass in here, man,” said Junior as he started to walk towards Miss Beacon.

  Just then Kelley let out an eerie screeching sound. That sound riveted Junior’s full attention on her. His younger brother Bobby now stepped out from behind the door. He was obviously very nervous. He was holding a pistol in his left hand, pointing only slightly downward. His hand was shaking.

  As Bobby stepped completely into the cellar his nervous eyes glanced sideways. He half noticed Korie. Because his brother had said to come on in, he allowed himself to let his guard down, just a bit. It was enough.

  Korie stepped towards Bobby and put the end of the barrel of her own pistol just inches from the side of his head.

  “Freeze right there, you bastards,” she shouted.

  Junior spun around bringing his gun up, ready to fire, when he spotted Korie’s gun against the temple of his younger brother.

  “Don’t even think of it,” said a very tense Korie.

  “Now Junior, you don’t want that nice young girl to shoot your brother do you?” asked Miss Beacon.

  “Shut up!” he shouted back.

  “Junior, she’s got a fucking gun pointed at me.”

  “I know, I know.”

  Korie cocked the hammer. “If you don’t both put your guns down now, my finger might just slip on this trigger.”

  “I’d get you next,” said Junior through clenched teeth.

  “Maybe you will and then again maybe not. You see, Junior, when you came in here I noticed you hadn’t flipped the safety off. Your gun’s locked, Junior.”

  Junior Fecteau wanted so badly to take this bitch out but he couldn’t remember if he had flipped off the safety.

  He decided in an instant to glance down at the gun in his right hand. At that moment Korie used her left hand to push Bobby towards his brother.

  Junior noticed immediately that the safety was off. He began to raise his gun when his younger brother stumbled into him. In the momentary confusion Junior made a deadly decision. He stepped sideways to get a shot off.

  Korie now stepped to her right in a circling move while at the same time crouching lower to the floor. Her gun was poised to shoot.

  Miss Beacon tipped over the chair with Kelley in it. Miss Beacon half caught her as the two women fell to the floor.

  Junior got off a shot. It missed wide. Korie returned fire with two quick shots. Both bullets hit their target. Junior fell to his knees. He was hit in the right shoulder and also in the right side. He tried to fire his gun. As he raised it, Korie fired again. This time he was hit in the chin area of his face, as the bullet’s slightly upward trajectory led to a complete severing of his brain stem. In a single violent reaction, he flipped backwards onto his back from his kneeling position. His legs remained bent at the knees as his lower legs remained twisted under his now lifeless body.

  Bobby was facing his brother during this split second shootout. He watched in horror as his older brother, whom he loved and admired was shot to death.

  “Listen. Put your gun down. Don’t make me shoot you, too.”

  Bobby looked at his own gun. Its safety was off. He had no choice. He knew it. He turned, firing away as he did.

  Korie couldn’t take a chance. She took aim and pulled the trigger twice. Both shots hit him in the chest in vital locations. The first shot hit him in the heart, it caused his body to twist, and the second hit him in the lower spine, shattering it, and shredding his spinal column at the same time. His dead body convulsed backwards. He fell, tumbling over Miss Beacon and Kelley in the process.

  The quick succession of shots that had exploded in the closed cellar rang in Korie’s and Miss Beacon’s ears. The acrid smell of spent gunpowder filled the now smoky cellar.

  In a moment, the room was about to be inundated by the smell of the dead men’s bladders and lower intestines, as their bodies could no longer control their normal functions.

  Miss Beacon pushed at Bobby’s Fecteau’s dead body, rolling it off of her own.

  “Where did you learn to shoot like that?” asked Miss Beacon.

  “A few years ago I took a self defense course. I got a chance to target practice at the police station firing range. I guess I was pretty good.” Looking down at the floor she continued, “Afterward, I signed up for a month’s worth of lessons at a local gun club.”

  “Well, it sure came in handy.”

  “Right,” said an obviously stressed out Korie. Tears were running down her cheeks.

  Miss Beacon went to her and gave her a big hug.

  “You saved Kelley’s life. Look, we still have a chance to stop this madness thanks to you. I know Aaron will be proud of you.”

  “What now?” Korie said wiping away a tear with the back of her hand.

  “Well.”

  Just then, they both heard a low moan. They turned to see Kelley trying to sit up.

  “Now, we get her out of here,” said Miss Beacon.

  28

  Aaron returned to Miss Beacon’s place. He parked the Land Rover outside of the sometimes barn, sometimes garage. There was no one home, so he decided to sit and wait in the kitchen. He turned off the table radio, which had been left on. He sat in the dark listening to the steady rain. There were occasional flashes of lightning, along with the rumble of accompanying thunder. Sitting at the kitchen table, he could see out the side window, which overlooked the road, that passed by the front of Miss Beacon’s place.
/>   His mind was swimming with images. He put his hands to the sides of his head, in a gesture to try and control the crosscurrents of his mind. He hoped Korie and Miss Beacon would return soon. He needed someone to talk to.

  At that moment, he noticed the light from an approaching vehicle shining on the road below. He stood up from the kitchen table and stepped over to stand to the side of the window. The vehicle was moving along the road at a very slow pace.

  Aaron quickly slipped to the front room and looked out the front window at the road below. A station wagon rolled into view. It never quite stopped but moved at less than a walking pace. From the faint light provided by the street light, Aaron thought he could only see one person in the car.

  Once past the front of Miss Beacon’s place, the station wagon quickened in pace and pulled out of sight down the road.

  Just as the car rear taillights disappeared from view, the telephone rang.

  Its loud ring startled Aaron.

  It rang again and again. Aaron didn’t want to answer the phone. It kept ringing. After the nearly twentieth ring he decided to answer the phone.

  “Hello.”

  “Hello,” he repeated.

  “Hello, Aaron. Do you recognize my voice?”

  He knew who it was but chose not to answer.

  “It’s me, Judy. How are you, Aaron?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Really. You left today in quite a hurry. Was it something I said?”

  “No.”

  “Well, it couldn’t have been something I did because I never got to, you know, hold you close,” she purred.

  “Look, I’m not interested,” he said getting ready to hang up on her.

  “Aaron, there’s someone here who wants to speak to you.”

  Aaron hesitated for a moment.

  “Hello, Aaron. My name is Samuel. I would like to meet you. We have so much to talk about.”

  “I know,” said a nervous Aaron.

  “I could have someone pick you up in a few minutes. What do you say?”

  “No, not tonight.”

  “Then when?”

  “Tomorrow. I’ll get in touch with you, tomorrow.”

  “Fine. Let me give you a telephone number.”

  “No need. I’ll find you.”

  “Good. I’ll be waiting.”

  Aaron hung up the phone. He was breathing rapidly, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. His hands were wet with perspiration. The voice of Samuel sounded young but deadly.

  “Where are they?” said an exasperated Aaron referring to Miss Beacon and Korie.

  Across town, in the office of Reverend Mitchell, the coven members were beside themselves. Their leader, Samuel had spoken with this Aaron Powell. To everyone’s surprise Aaron had agreed to meet with Samuel tomorrow. It almost seemed too good to be true.

  “I softened him up for you Samuel,” said a beaming Judy.

  “Bad choice of words,” said Chucky breaking into a raucous laugh.

  Everyone was in a celebratory mood, everyone that is, except the Reverend and the Judge. They acted pleased as punch but inside, they were fuming.

  One by one they left until there was only the Reverend, the Judge, Samuel and Ed Townsend.

  “Ed, I want you to check up on the Fecteau brothers for me. I sent them to guard my sister. I don’t want any screw-ups now that we’re this close. If everything goes well, we might have the calling ceremony tomorrow night.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted her under guard? I would have called a couple of my men, reliable men. Those Fecteau brothers always manage to screw things up, somehow.”

  “I made the decision, Ed. They are completely loyal to the church and this coven. Anyway, how hard could it be? Are you questioning my judgment?”

  Ed wanted to say something in retort but decided to hold his tongue. No need to piss off Samuel. Samuel was close to Moloch who is obviously close to Lucifer. Ed knew where he stood in the pecking order of things and right now Samuel was “the man.”

  “No, it’s fine with me. You’re right. How hard could it be? I’ll head over there right now and check up on them. Anything else?”

  “No.”

  Ed turned to leave. As he turned from Samuel he glanced over at the Judge who seemed to be studying him. The Judge nodded to Ed who managed a slight nod in return. Ed left the room.

  “Well, Judge, Reverend, it seems that we shall be the ones who deliver on the promise made long ago. We are the true Keepers of the Agreement, our sacred Covenant. There will be much to do. I’ll need both of you to help me organize our calling ceremony. I want to meet early tomorrow morning. Plan on coming over for breakfast at eight.”

  “Whatever you say,” said the Reverend, as eagerly as he could.

  “Do you need a ride home? It’s still raining,” asked the Judge.

  “No, Bob’s waiting for me outside.”

  “Well then, tomorrow it is!” said the Judge.

  With that, Samuel turned and left. He exited with a spring in his step.

  The room was silent for the moment.

  “Whew,” said the Reverend as he slumped into his office chair.

  ***

  “Why don’t we take the car?” asked Korie. The Fecteau brother’s car sat silent in the church’s driveway.

  “No. We could be stopped. It’s too risky. We’ll take her back through the woods.”

  “The woods, are you kidding? She’s not strong enough and we sure can’t carry her.”

  “Oh, I believe she’s strong enough. You’ll see.”

  They went back down the bulkhead stairs. Korie helped Kelley to her feet. At first Kelley rocked a bit on her feet, and then steadied herself by grabbing onto Korie’s arm.

  Korie shot a look at Miss Beacon’s that seemed to say, “Look at her, she has trouble standing.”

  “Let’s go. We can’t stay here any longer.”

  Korie, holding onto Kelley, led her to the stairs. After a slight struggle Kelley made it to the top of the stairs. The three women were now standing in the gravel driveway of the church. The rain had slowed down a bit but was still steadily misting.

  With Miss Beacon leading the way the women headed down the driveway turned left and headed down to the end of the cul-de-sac. In a few moments they entered the woods. After going just a few feet into the woods, Miss Beacon stopped.

  She bent over and said, “Good boy, I knew you’d be waiting.”

  “Is that the dog?” asked Korie, somewhat amazed the dog had waited for them.

  “Yes, it is. He’s going to lead the way for us, aren’t you boy?”

  Korie and Kelley could hear the dog panting.

  Korie slapped at her arm. It was a mosquito on a mission.

  “Let’s get going before the bugs eat us alive,” said Korie.

  “Oops, I’m sorry Kelley,” said Korie.

  Kelley nodded and said “It’s okay. You guys saved me, thanks.”

  “Are you two ready?” said Miss Beacon.

  “Yeah,” said Kelley.

  “Yeah, we’re ready,” said Korie.

  Miss Beacon tied her dress cloth belt around the dog’s neck in a sort of collar and leash.

  “Well then, let’s go.”

  The three women headed deeper into the woods, led by the dog, which earlier in the evening was prepared to take a bite out of one, if not both of them.

  As they moved deeper into the dark and wet woods, the rain and fresh air seemed to refresh Kelley. She soon walked along without having to hold onto Korie.

  Minutes later a car slowly pulled into the church driveway. It pulled to a stop behind the Fecteau brother’s car.

  Ed Townsend got out of the car. He walked completely around the Fecteau car. He noticed the car keys were still in the ignition. Looking over at the church, he noticed the church cellar lights were on and the bulkhead doors were wide open.

  This isn’t looking too good, thought Ed.

  He drew his service revolver f
rom his shoulder holster and holding it in the ready position, he slowly approached the bulkhead. In a quick, but highly trained move, he stepped in front of the bulkhead doors, and pointed his gun down the stairwell, ready to fire.

  Nothing threatened him from the cellar. It was eerily quiet, except for the sound of falling rain.

  He slowly descended the stairs. As he approached the bottom he noticed the all too distinct odors of gunpowder and human excrement. He had a good idea of what he was about to encounter. Still, he had to be very careful. Someone could still be lurking in the cellar, ready to take him on. He almost wished there was someone hiding in the cellar. He hadn’t plugged a perpetrator in quite a while.

  He leaned against the left side of the bulkhead wall. He took a deep breath and then launched himself into the cellar rolling on the floor, gun pointed hand sweeping the cellar. His FBI training had taught him that in situations like this when you’re alone and facing an armed assailant, you have to present the smallest target possible. And most important of all, identify the target, confirm it as hostile, and shoot first!

  His eyes quickly scanned the scene in the cellar and in a moment he realized no one else was in the main cellar that could pose any immediate threat. He spotted the Fecteau brothers and concluded they were dead. He sprang to his feet and ran to the back wall. He quickly stood up against the back wall, still with his gun held ready. He moved along the wall and stopped, next to the opened door, which led to the back room chamber where Samuel’s sister had been held. His ears couldn’t pick out any unusual sounds. He moved quickly across the open entrance, pointed his gun inside, ready to fire in an instant. It was obvious the chamber was empty.

  Ed holstered his gun. He turned and surveyed the “scene,” as he would call it.

  Two dead men, both shot with a large caliber weapon. He examined the bodies. One shot three times the other shot twice. Both men got off shots of their own, but had apparently not hit anyone. At least there was no evidence of anyone being wounded in this gunfight. There was a folding chair sitting in the middle of the room.

  What significance did it hold? How many were there? One or more of them had to have been good shots, he thought. He surmised where he thought the shooter, or shooters stood, and checked the floor for any sign that might give him some information he could use.