Autumn (Four Seasons Book 1)

by Robert Sullivan

  Spencer stopped the car, got out, and walked towards the two Black Hand men. “About fucking time you show up,” the injured one said. He looked up and saw that it was Spencer and said, “Oh. Goddamn it.”

  “Not who you expected?” Spencer asked.

  “No, I thought it would be someone else,” the injured man said. “Georgia got me good you know, right in the leg.”

  “Aren’t you armed?” Kelsey asked.

  “No, we were just called in to observe and report,” the other Black Hand informer said. “There aren’t enough guns for us to go around right now.”

  “Sucks for you, doesn’t it?” Kelsey asked.

  “It would’ve been nice to be armed when that whore fired on us,” the injured one said.

  “How did you know her name?” Spencer asked.

  “From when we took out all of your spies,” the uninjured Black Hand informer said. “She was one of the ones that got away. Our leaders put out her picture and told everyone to be on the lookout for her. What I did not expect was to see that bitch from the protest with Georgia. What’s her name, Spencer?”

  “What are you talking about?” Spencer demanded.

  “Georgia isn’t the only one we’re looking for. We’ve been looking for that girl ever since that protest,” the Black Hand informer said. “Of course, we’re assuming that Georgia is going back home with this girl, so we’ll know where to pick them up.”

  “Did you tell this to anyone else already?” Spencer demanded.

  “Of course,” came the reply. “I imagine there’s already people on their way to Georgia’s house.”

  “You don’t know where they live,” Spencer interjected.

  “Yeah, I don’t,” the Black Hand informer said. “But my bosses did when I told them that Georgia had gotten away. Apparently her foster father said she was missing this morning and gave an address for anyone with any information.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Spencer said, going back to his car.

  “That’s it?” the uninjured Black Hand informer said.

  “What did you want me to kill you or something?” Spencer said, talking over his back.

  “No, but I thought you would try to detain us or something,” the injured man said.

  “I’ve got reinforcements coming soon,” Spencer said as he got into his car. “I think I can handle you.”

  “Do we go to Georgia’s house?” Kelsey said.

  “Not alone,” Spencer said, getting his phone. “I’m getting everyone west of the state line to the Smith house. The Black Hand is going to send as much as they can spare against Georgia and Rebecca…” Spencer paused and saw one of the Black Hand informers on his phone. “And even more because I’m going to be there.”

  “Do we shoot them now?” Kelsey asked.

  “We don’t have time for that,” Spencer said. “Get to the Smith house, now!”

  Rebecca and Georgia were up in her tower. Upon arriving back at the home, they had snuck up to the tower rather than wake up the Smith parents. They would wait until the morning to show that Georgia had arrived back home.

  “What was it like?” Rebecca asked.

  “Being in the Black Hand?” Georgia asked. “It was surreal. They’re shameless. They really don’t give a fuck about being careful anymore. They’re just doing whatever they want, whenever they want.”

  “Damn,” Rebecca said. “How did they find you out?”

  “I think I blew my own cover,” Georgia said. “A few weeks ago, two of my fellow spies just disappeared. I got nervous and went into hiding, but I think by running off like that, I kind of tipped them off to me.”

  “What did the Black Hand have you do?” Rebecca asked.

  “Arson,” Georgia said. “I…felt bad about what I had to do, but I stuck to it.”

  “Did you…hurt anyone?” Rebecca asked.

  “Not directly. But I did damage a lot of property so I cost people their livelihoods,” Georgia admitted.

  Rebecca nodded. “It’s over now and you’re here with us.”

  “I don’t how long I should stay though,” Georgia said. “They may know where I live and come after me.”

  “Where would they get that information?” Rebecca asked.

  “Did the Smiths put out any bulletins about me missing?” Georgia asked. “They might’ve put the home information on it.”

  “Ed did call the police this morning,” Rebecca admitted.

  Georgia got up suddenly. “I need to go,” she said. “You’re all in danger while I’m here.”

  “But you just got back!” Rebecca protested.

  “Yes and the Black Hand is going to know I’m here…” Georgia started.

  Rebecca’s phone had started ringing. She picked it up and saw it was Spencer. “Hey, Spencer. Did you make it out okay?”

  “Rebecca, do you have some kind of basement at your house?” Spencer asked.

  “Yes, why?” Rebecca asked, fear exploding inside her again.

  “Get everyone down there immediately,” Spencer said. “They are coming.”

  The line went dead. Rebecca took a deep breath as Georgia said, “What was that?”

  “You don’t have any time to get away,” Rebecca said slowly. “Help me wake the family and get them down into the basement.”

  Georgia did not ask any questions, knowing why Rebecca would have said that. “I’ll get the other kids, you get Ed and Kathleen.”

  Rebecca nodded and rushed out of the room. She made her down one flight to the master bedroom and knocked wildly on the door. Rebecca burst into the room and said, “We need to go to the basement now! We’re all in danger!”

  Ed got up and asked wildly, “Rebecca? What’s going on? What happened?”

  “Georgia is back home, but the Black Hand knows where she is. They’re coming now,” Rebecca explained quickly.

  Ed’s eyes widened in fear. “Oh God. Kathleen, get up. Get up, now! We have to move!”

  Kathleen got up slowly and said, “The kids? Are they awake?”

  “Georgia’s getting them up now,” Rebecca said, starting to walk out of the room.

  “Good,” Ed said, following her out of the room. Kathleen followed him out of the room and the two of them rushed downstairs. Georgia had managed to rouse to the two young boys, who were rubbing their eyes blearily as Kevin said, “Mommy, why are we up now?”

  “We need to go to the basement,” Kathleen said, picking up the young boy.

  “Why?” Kevin asked. “There’s no tornado this time.”

  “We just need to go to the basement,” Kathleen said, trying to keep calm for the sake of the boys. “Bec, can you go help get Ben and Jessica up?”

  “Yes,” Rebecca said. She turned to go to their rooms, pounding on their doors fiercely “GET UP! We need to get to the basement.”

  The two teens emerged from their bedrooms, rubbing their eyes. “What the hell is this about?” Ben asked.

  “The Black Hand is coming to the house,” Rebecca said in a low voice, so the two young boys couldn’t hear them. “We’re getting under cover.”

  “What the hell are we going to do?!” Jessica asked, panicked.

  “Help’s on the way,” Rebecca said. “I hope,” she muttered to herself.

  “Do you see that up there?” Kelsey asked. “What’s that car doing all the way out here?”

  “That’s Travis’ car, don’t worry,” Spencer said. “We had a lot of people nearby.”

  “Oh, good,” Kelsey said.

  Spencer pulled up next to Travis and said, “How many of us are here?”

  Travis looked at the house, which was visible down the dirt road a quarter mile away. “There’s a dozen of us here already. I’ve sent a few ahead to guard the road in the other direction.”

  “Good,” Spencer said. “Any sign of the Black Hand?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” Travis said. “But Spencer, this is a big property and they could already be on the grounds somewhere we can’t see
them.”

  “We can’t sweep until we have more people here,” Spencer said, turning as he was distracted by lights pulling up the driveway. “And we’re too late anyway.”

  The car stopped a few feet from Spencer’s car and the Black Hand leader that Spencer had once followed deep into the damage zone once got out, flanked by three other heavily armed men. “Spencer, why am I not surprised to see you here?” Blake asked.

  “Blake,” Spencer said, getting out of his car altogether.

  “You know, I’m curious, why aren’t you surprised that I know who you are?” Blake asked.

  “How many of my spies did you take out?” Spencer asked. “Dozens? Over a hundred? I’m not surprised because I know how you got my name.”

  “Fair enough,” Blake said. “Well, I don’t know the exact number, but I am here for at least one more.”

  “Now, why the hell would you expect to me to allow you to do that?” Spencer demanded in a sneering tone.

  Blake looked around and saw the two Continental vehicles. “I don’t expect that you would.”

  “So why are you still here then?” Spencer demanded.

  “I’m going to try to reason with you,” Blake said calmly.

  “What?” Spencer asked, taken aback.

  “Look, I want to avoid any further bloodshed tonight,” Blake said. “Quit this house, let us take the spy, and I’ll let you live to fight another day. I won’t do anything to the rest of the family either.”

  Spencer paused, considering the matter. “Spencer, you can’t,” Kelsey said.

  “I’ll make sure that my men move off the property for at least an hour while you make up your mind,” Blake said. “When we come back, you better have cleared out or the blood will be on your hands.”

  Blake got back in his car with his men and drove away. “Spencer, you aren’t going to give her up, are you?” Kelsey asked, worried.

  “Of course not,” Spencer said. “But now I have an hour to get everyone in position to defend the house.”

  “Now that’s the Spencer I know,” Travis said.

  “Now look, we know anyone coming onto the property is going to be our people,” Spencer said. “We need to get them in position around the property so that the house has a solid ring of protection.”

  “Do you think that we should move the family?” Kelsey said.

  “No,” Spencer said. “It’s too much of a risk that the Black Hand would notice us moving them out and I’ve seen that basement they’re in. It’s the safest place for them to be right now.”

  Spencer pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. “Alright, let’s get everyone in position.”

  Rebecca was sitting in the corner of the basement with Kathleen. She had just filled in her foster mother on what had occurred that evening while Georgia did the same with Ed. She felt her phone buzz. She picked it up and saw that Spencer had sent her a text. “The Black Hand attacks in an hour. Stay under cover.”

  “That was Spencer,” she said. “The Black Hand is going to attack soon.”

  Kathleen sighed. “I thought Ed had gone overboard building this cellar. But it’s turning out to be useful.”

  “I’m sorry we brought this on you,” Rebecca said tearfully. “Georgia, Spencer, me…even Anne to an extent. We caused this.”

  “We can’t worry about that right now,” Kathleen said. “Right now, we’re all safe and that’s what matters. We might be in a lot more trouble is Spencer wasn’t out there for us.”

  Rebecca nodded. “I just hope that he’s alright.”

  An hour passed. The sky was beginning to lighten and Spencer was beginning to worry that their cover would be exposed. Their time was up and Spencer felt that he had enough people in position to defend the house. “Where are they?” he muttered to himself.

  “Maybe they’re waiting for the light so they can see us?” Kelsey suggested.

  “If I were them I would’ve gone after them in the dark. If you’re the attacker, you use whatever advantage you have,” Spencer said.

  The time crawled on. The sky continued to get lighter and lighter. Spencer, growing annoyed, barked into his radio and said, “Does anyone see any hostile forces?”

  A chorus of negative responses came in. “Goddamn it, what are they doing?” Spencer asked of no one in particular.

  “Maybe they decided it was not worth it?” Kelsey said.

  “I’ve not know the Black Hand to give up like this,” Spencer said. He walked around in place for a moment, then noticed something in the distance that caught his eye. He pulled out his rifle scope and looked at the distant tree line and noticed someone looking at them through binoculars. Spencer could tell that he was from the Black Hand, once again by the armband.

  “They’re taunting us,” Spencer said.

  “What?” Kelsey said.

  “They’re not going to attack while we have the place crawling with our people,” Spencer said.

  “So, what do we do?” Kelsey asked.

  Spencer threw his rifle scope to the ground. “We keep a detail here to keep the Black Hand honest and keep them from attacking. Then we move the family out of here.”

  “When do we do that?” Kelsey asked.

  “Soon,” Spencer said, turning to go to the house. “I need to explain this to the family though.”

  “Spencer’s coming,” Rebecca said suddenly, looking at her phone.

  “What about the Black Hand?” Kathleen said quietly.

  “I don’t know,” Rebecca said, getting up.

  Rebecca went upstairs and answered the door to see a very tired Spencer. She hugged him tightly and said, “What happened? Where did they go?”

  “They didn’t attack,” Spencer said. “I guess they saw that there were too many of us and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.”

  “So what now? Will they come back?” Rebecca asked.

  “Probably, but we’re not going to keep you around long enough to find out,” Spencer said.

  “What do you mean?” Rebecca asked.

  “We’re going to have to move your family,” Spencer said. “And we’re going to do is soon.”

  “How soon?” Rebecca said.

  “Within the next couple of weeks,” Spencer said. “We’re going to keep a security detail here until we can find a location for you and get you all to safety.”

  Rebecca blinked tears out of her eyes. “Why are you doing all of this for us?” she asked, overwhelmed.

  Spencer’s eyes watered up as well. “Because I love you, Rebecca. I’m going to keep you safe no matter what.”

  Rebecca blinked tears out of her and drew Spencer close. “I love you too,” she said quietly.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  The Enemy Revealed

  “Did I ever tell you about how much I fucking hate the rain?” Jared asked.

  “You’ve mentioned it on more than one occasion,” Julia said wearily.

  “Well, it needs to cut the shit,” Jared said, moving away from the window. “When I was a kid everyone would go on and on about how climate change was going to cause an endless drought and yet here we are with rain and more rain.”

  “The politicians who hyped it weren’t really clear about what it would cause,” Julia said. “I don’t think they really knew.”

  “Well, I wish they would be right enough for the rain to stop,” Jared said. “You know, Julia, as much as I hate to admit it, but you’ve turned a lot around here.”

  “Are you drunk?” Julia demanded.

  “No, I mean it, you’ve done a good job,” Jared said seriously. “I’ve…I’ve been unfair to you.”

  Julia continued to look suspiciously at him, but said, “Thanks…Jared.”

  “Don’t expect more praise to be doled out anytime soon,” Jared said. “We’ve got a lot of shit to get done in about two weeks.”

  “So, they’ve given you a final plan?” Julia said.

  “They’ve got two for me,” Jared said. “One if the Globa
lists win, one if they don’t.”

  “Start with if they don’t win,” Julia said.

  “Raise all kinds of hell,” Jared said simply. “Set the whole network off at once. Mass executions, indiscriminate violence, attacks on government officials and buildings, burn everything.”

  “It sounds like you would almost rather have them lose,” Julia said.

  “If they do win,” Jared continued. “We’re to target more specific targets. No murders or anything like that. We’re just supposed to intimidate people.”

  “Who?” Julia asked.

  “Non-Globalist politicians,” Jared said. “Apparently we’re supposed to scare them into line to make sure they adopt a Globalist program.”

  “That’s not necessarily dramatic,” Julia said.

  “We won’t need to wait much longer for things to pick back up,” Jared explained. “If they win, then we’ll be the secret police, terrorizing the nation at will.”

  “Do you care at all about the Globalist policies? About their, everyone will be equal shit?” Julia asked.

  “I’m not an ideologue,” Jared said, “They’ve given me people to terrorize and I do it. I don’t care about the why.”

  “No, I suppose you wouldn’t,” Julia said. “What are you going to do until the election?”

  “I’m going to take some rest and relaxation,” Jared said. “There’s nothing to do until after then anyway and I could use a break. It’s been a long year.”

  Julia nodded. “What is rest and relaxation for you anyway?”

  “Hunting,” Jared said.

  “People?” Julia said.

  “No, animals this time,” Jared said. “It’s firearm season for whitetail deer upstate and I aim to take out a few.”

  “How did you get a hunting license?” Julia asked.

  “Do you honestly think that I would waste time doing that?” Jared retorted.

  Later that week, Jared was up by himself in upstate New York. He was trespassing on someone’s property with an illegally modified weapon, hunting without a license. Committing felonies, even while he was relaxing, brought him some manner of pleasure as he bagged multiple deer without taking the carcasses with him. It was all a game to him.