by D A Carey
“I’m sure you were a much bigger help than you admit. I know men don’t say thanks well,” Liz said supportively.
Junior shook his head. “Then, of all things, he took a nap! He took a freaking nap! I asked him how he could sleep at a time like this. I thought he was merely getting comfortable. I didn’t believe he could actually sleep.”
“What did he say?” Liz asked.
“He said it was his Zen mindset,” Junior answered incredulously. “He said he used mental downtime to relax and get into a calm state before the killing.”
“What happened after that?”
“Sure, as shit…pardon me, ma’am, but sure as shit he wasn’t asleep for fifteen minutes when two carloads of gang members met in front of Ellie’s house and got themselves all riled up. Even though I couldn’t hear what they were saying, it was easy to see they were howling mad and pointing at the house and bodies and yelling. A couple of them even shot in the air a couple times.”
“What did Vince do?”
“He cocked one eye open and said they’ll be headed our way in a while, that they needed to get themselves a bit more psyched up first. Then he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.”
Liz was almost speechless. “That was it?”
“Yeah, then they got in the cars and headed our way on the trail you all took. At the moment they loaded up and headed after you all, he stepped out of the truck and knelt behind a low concrete wall off to our left. He told me to sit tight and be ready. The first car came into the kill zone Vince had marked with some bottles and other debris. He shot into the driver’s side window, then the tires and engine, making the car swerve to the left and onto a curb, then he rattled off a volley of shots into the cab at the men. He likes to carry that sweet Winchester SX-AR .308 semi auto. I know you don’t know guns, ma’am, but that’s pretty much the same as the FN .308 that’s respected around the world. His has the heavy barrel which makes it more accurate for long-range shots. Those .308 rounds can sure do some damage.
“I don’t know how many men were inside the car to start or hurt or dead after his barrage. It was something like six or seven men that came up firing between the two cars when he paused. Vince stepped back behind the concrete barrier as casually as you please to reload, like it was part of the plan.”
Liz was hanging on his every word. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t know if he wanted me out there throwing lead or if he wanted me in the truck and ready to drive. When the hoodlums returned fire, I thought Vince was pinned down. I was about to open up and help him even though he told me to sit tight. Then he turned to me and the guy was smiling. He had a freaking smile on his face! It’s like they were all following the script in his play.
“He held up a hand to me in a motion to stay where I was. Then he pulled out a hand grenade and tossed it between the two cars, right at the gangsters. It tore them up. Everyone on that block was shell-shocked except for Vince.”
“Is that when you two left to catch up to us?”
“No. That’s when he stood up and walked in on them liked he was shooting skeet. He never hurried, and every time one poked his head up, Vince shot them. When he got close, there were two left behind the last car randomly firing rounds over the door. Vince put three rounds through the door where a man was taking cover. He fell, and the gun skidded away and the blood pooled. It was obvious he was done. Vince wasn’t taking chances, though. He stayed at an angle that would be tough for them to get a shot at him without exposing themselves and skipped a couple of rounds under the car. When the last man moved behind a tire, Vince stepped sideways around the car in a quick pie move and killed him.”
“Oh my God.”
“Vince pulled his handgun and methodically put down the rest with headshots. I know it sounds harsh, but it’s understandable if you knew what they planned for us and you ladies. We can’t take a chance on anyone like that following us.”
Junior noticed the sickly expression on Liz’s face and regretted sharing so much detail.
“I’m not sure I agree we needed to execute them.”
“Ma’am, you might be right, but I was beyond questioning him by that time. He got in the second car and drove it beside the first to block the road then got out and shot into the engine and tires with his rifle to disable it.”
“Why block the road? Did he think there were more? Couldn’t they take another route?”
“I don’t know,” Junior said. “It would definitely slow them down if there were more. Vince got in the SUV, keyed the mike twice, and asked me to drive. He said it all so calm and polite like I was taking him to the store or something. Man, that dude is cold.”
“Couldn’t he have gotten shot walking right up on them like that? That doesn’t sound smart.”
“Yeah. Everything I’ve been taught says that’s foolhardy. While it might work a time or two, eventually the odds will catch up and you’ll end up shot. I asked him about that later on our way here.”
“What did he say?”
“That’s just it. I see why men follow him. He said he needed to kill them, that it was his family and innocent people like you we’re protecting, and that he didn’t want to imagine what they had planned for the rest of the group if we didn’t stop them. He said he would take a bullet to keep you women safe.”
Junior peered into Liz’s eyes. “It wasn’t a suicide mission. He did weigh the risks and decided to walk right into them. He said that since he and I had never worked together, he didn’t want to guess what I’d be doing in a firefight, and because my primary mission is to take care of you, he didn’t want me in the middle of that fight unless he absolutely needed to.”
“It still sounds risky to me. Anything could have gone wrong.”
“Yes, that’s true, and he could probably tell I still had my doubts because he elaborated to say we had one chance when they were totally confused to take them out. After he hit the first vehicle hard and blocked the road, they’d be raging mad and not thinking straight. That was his chance to even the odds with a grenade. They would never be expecting that. Vince admitted it was harsh, but it’s a war to save his family.”
“Okay, but did he need to kill them?”
“I asked him that. I mean, as bad as things are, it’s still America. He said it’s possible he went too far; it’s a choice he chose to make on a split second and something he’d have to live with. He didn’t want me to have to live with that choice, too. He explained that at that moment he was thinking how hard it would be to keep our group safe if any of them told other gang members where we were headed. With all that in mind, he chose to put the scum down rather than to leave them to hurt anyone else.”
“Does that mean we’re safe?”
“No, there will be other gangs and threats. He pointed out that I may not have seen his last rifle shot down the street before switching to the handgun. There was another car back down the block that was laying back. He put a round through the windshield before they were able to back around a corner. It was a long way off, so he couldn’t be sure, although the gangster in the passenger seat resembled the one with the huge scar and the lazy eye from back on Ellie and Malcolm’s block. I asked him if he thinks they could be coming after us, and he said we’re probably okay. They’re nothing more than local gangbangers. We’re getting the hell out of dodge. That gang lost a lot of their men and transportation. There’s more low-hanging fruit here in this area. It wouldn’t make any sense to follow us.”
Liz was a bit rattled. “I’ll admit I’m clearly out of my element, Junior. Thank you for everything.”
After a few minutes of silence, Junior added one more thing. “When we were riding down the road, Vince told me it was Aristotle who said, ‘We make war that we may live in peace.’ Then he just went back to scanning his side of the road and didn’t say anything else. He’s an odd dude.”
***
Liz’s conversation with Junior made her mind race and wouldn’t let her sleep,
although her body was more tired than she could remember. Andy and Dwight insisted they couldn’t have a fire and could only heat food with Sterno cans.
Staying hypervigilant was exhausting, and the stress didn’t help much. During the meal, she was relieved the men said they would be sleeping until about two in the morning. The thought of sleeping for several hours sounded like heaven after the last few days, even though her mind probably wouldn’t allow it. While the men divided up guard duty, Liz resigned herself to a restless night with a racing mind. She decided she might as well get comfortable and accept it.
“Ma’am, it’s time to get up.” Junior shook her gently. “We need to get back on the road.”
“We just got here.” Liz stretched her neck to work out the kinks. “Is something wrong? Have we been found?” she asked in alarm as her mind shed the cobwebs of sleep.
“No, you’ve been out for about five hours.”
It was then that Liz noticed someone had covered her with a blanket and put another rolled-up one under her head. “Thanks for this, Junior,” she said
“It wasn’t me,” Junior said. “Vince did it. I’m not sure how he didn’t wake you.”
“I thought we were supposed to share a turn on guard. Why didn’t anyone wake me?”
“Vince told us to let you sleep. He said the same for Ellie and Kate, although Ellie was up all night.”
“What about Carol?”
“She slept like the dead as soon as we got here, then woke around midnight. Vince didn’t want her near the door, so he assigned her to watch the supplies and vehicles.”
“I feel bad for her, but I suppose that’s for the best,” Liz said.
Liz reflected that she should have been insulted that they skipped her, although she was too tired and worried about Carol to care much at the moment.
<< Levi >>
Levi got everything loaded into Greg’s truck. Thankfully Greg brought some cargo straps to ratchet down the cases from the plane. When they finished loading, Levi saw the captain paying for the fuel. The Springfield airport manager made himself a little more money by selling the crew a few sandwiches for silver coins.
While the rest of the world was in meltdown mode, Greg was happy, joking, and just as unconcerned as when things were normal. Greg’s wife Camille, Cami, was a bubbly and happy person much the same as Greg. She sat in the back seat of the truck with a smile on her face and a small dog in her lap.
Levi offered to get in the back, but Cami would have none of it. “No, you two need to talk. Greg and I talk all the time.”
“Okay,” Levi said, still uncomfortable sitting up front while Cami sat in the back.
“Besides,” Greg said, “if we have trouble, you can sit up front and scare the scalawags off.”
“Are you expecting trouble?” Levi asked, his defenses suddenly on alert.
“Heck no, I didn’t want you to get bored. You soldier types always need someone to fight or protect.”
“How can you be so sure you won’t have trouble?” Levi asked.
“Because the only two kinds making trouble are the city slickers and the redneck riffraff we already have. I don’t expect us to run into either of those. The city types are usually afraid of the country. Coming out here scares them more than robbing each other in town. They aren’t hungry enough yet to overcome that fear.”
“What about the local rednecks?”
“We all know who they are. They’re all living on the dole. This chaos is worse for them than us. They don’t get stuff for free, and they aren’t protected by the law right now if they get caught with their hands in the wrong cookie jar. That doesn’t mean they won’t try. It means they probably won’t do it head on during the daylight. They’ll try to steal behind our backs while we sleep.”
“It sounds like you’re confident in your neighbors and their ability to remain safe.”
“I trust in the Lord,” Greg said. “There aren’t enough of us, though. When a bad guy dies, three more pop up. When a good man dies, we’re all diminished. When a man sees his child go hungry, he may do bad things. When a good man is forced to do bad things, that’s the same as a good man dying.”
“So what can we do?” Levi asked.
“Trust in the Lord. Our church is running missions to check on our members and a few other local people. We’re keeping each other fed and in some cases moving families in together. If this goes on longer, we’ll have to make better plans.”
“Where is the food coming from? Did you all have stored food in preparation?”
“Some of us did. Not nearly enough, though. Yesterday we butchered one of my cows and brought the meat around to several families. Everyone had to cook it right away. That bought us a couple days.”
“That sounds good. Will driving me to Carrolton take you away from the church and your mission to serve your neighbors?”
“No, there are other men. Plus, Cami and I need a break. We want to go to that restaurant and see how things are going. We’re worried about Vince too.”
“He’s like family to us,” Cami said from the back.
After a mile or so of silence, Greg said to Levi, “Is there a chance you have accepted Christ as your savior?”
Levi chortled deep in his chest. “No, I’m Jewish. My parents would die if they even knew I was having this conversation.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. It’s that with all that’s going on, I worry. I do wonder what God thinks. Some people think we’re in a very critical biblical time right now.”
“I can see where they might think that,” Levi responded diplomatically.
“Any chance you’re a messianic Jew?” Greg asked.
“No, although I have to admit they have a very interesting belief that I’d be more inclined to listen to if it weren’t for my family and how it would kill them.”
This time Greg nodded with mirth in his eyes. “I’ll let it drop for now. Let’s get you to Carrollton.”
Heading South
“When you have completed ninety-five percent of your journey, you are only halfway there.”
- Japanese Proverb
Peotone, IL
Judith Patterson lay on the floor, her bloodied check resting on the tile, her gaze locked on her husband’s lifeless eyes. The man with the scar cackled as he kept kicking both of them. Judith was past feeling rage; the torment lasted so long, time lost meaning. She was helpless and tired and in such terrible pain. She didn’t fear death now. A world like this without her husband was not a place she wanted to be. The cold numbness in her body made her confident the Lord would grant her one last wish soon. She could feel during the beating the moment when something broke loose inside her. She lost consciousness on the floor of her kitchen and never expected to awake. She wished she hadn’t. She was face to face with Larry, and his eyes were open, glazed over in death, and Judith couldn’t move. She could only feel the cold floor on her cheek and the internal bleeding expanding in her stomach.
Judith and Larry were both in their late seventies. They had been high school sweethearts and lived in Peotone their entire lives with the exception of the four hardest years of Judith’s life when Larry was in the Navy during Vietnam. It always hurt Judith that she couldn’t have children. Larry never minded. They led an idyllic, charmed life and were enjoying their twilight years.
Even the loss of power and order hadn’t been too bad. They had a generator, and Larry made sure they were stocked up on food and had several weeks’ worth of their medicine. They spent their days reading, tending flowers, and enjoying each other.
That ended when the scar-faced man banged on their door.
“Go away!” Larry yelled through the door. “We don’t have anything for you. There’s nothing worth taking. I’m calling the cops.”
The men kicked in the door. Larry offered them whatever they wanted, and most of the gang accepted that. They practically danced with excitement when they found the trove of pill bottles meant to last him and his wif
e through the crisis. For a brief moment, Judith hoped that they might only rob them and leave. Then the scar-faced man got a sadistic smile on his face and started kicking and beating them for no reason. They’d already stolen everything of value. His men stood back in silence. No one came to Larry and Judith’s aid.
As her organs bled out inside her body, Judith heard the gang’s elation at the food and drugs they stole. She could see the leader drinking a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Larry saved and scrimped for and was keeping for a special occasion. The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness for good was their plan to hit more houses in her neighborhood. She wished she could warn her friends that were retired and the young family down the street with kids, but it was too late.
<< Ellie >>
The night passed restlessly for many of them. Despite that, most of the people managed to get at least some sleep. By two AM, Vince and the other men got the vehicles packed up and checked out. A couple of people were still dozing during the commotion, and Andy made sure everyone else was up and ready.
Vince and Dwight worked with Malcolm to make sure his vehicles were configured for a night run like Vince’s. They took some fuses out and checked to make sure that the dome, taillights, and other non-essential lights wouldn’t potentially give them away. They used duct tape to hide everything except for a strip of the headlights and brake lights. During a break in the preparations, Ellie asked Malcom what they were doing.
Malcolm said, “It makes total sense. I’m mad at myself for not thinking of it ahead of time.”
“What do you mean?” Ellie asked.
“Like Vince mentioned earlier, the safest time to be on the move is early morning. We may drive into the late afternoon sometimes, but we definitely need to be on the road by three.”
“I get that. Won’t it be harder to see without the lights?” Ellie asked.