Against All Odds (Book 2): As We Break

by Hunt, Jack

  “Is it true?” Keith Boone yelled. “Were you behind this?”

  Sam looked through the crowd and saw him sweep back his jacket, and place a hand on his gun. He didn’t question what was about to happen next, it was obvious. These people were already fired up at the town’s officials for minor issues but if they believed this man was responsible, they would kill him. Sam quickly pushed through the crowd making his way over, his eyes bouncing between Blake and Keith.

  “I was forced to do it,” Blake replied. “They killed my family and…”

  Before he could finish, Keith yanked out a handgun.

  “Get down!” Sam yelled motioning to those near the podium.

  Everything slowed in those final seconds as Sam lunged across two people and landed on Keith. They hit the floor hard, the gun went off and someone cried out.

  On the floor Sam wrestled away the gun with a few sharp jabs to Keith’s jaw as three officers descended. It was pandemonium as many people tried to flee, and others gathered around a woman who’d been shot.

  The cops didn’t mess around or ask questions, they grabbed both of them and slapped handcuffs on them. Sam felt a hard knee press on his shoulder even as Mason tried to intervene and tell them that he wasn’t involved. Keith denied involvement and said the gun was Sam’s.

  “I didn’t do it,” Sam said.

  “Leave him alone,” Amanda shouted.

  Around them a fight broke out between Keith’s three friends and several men in the crowd. Two women jumped on the back of a cop who was trying to get a second cuff on Keith’s wrist. All that could be heard was screaming and yelling.

  Two more gunshots were fired from the front of the room and a calm settled over the crowd. Sam turned his head to see Chief Sanchez lower the gun in his hand. He took to the microphone. “Unless you want to spend the night in jail, you will back off and let my officers do their job!” The crowd moved away as Sanchez pushed his way through in a threatening manner. Hauled up by an officer, Sam glanced at Richard. He had this smirk on his face like he was enjoying every minute of it.

  The cuffs bit into his wrists and a strong arm clamped onto his.

  “You’re under arrest, anything you say…”

  They read him his Miranda rights as he and Keith were led away.

  Chapter 14

  Mia didn’t care for Lieutenant Douglas but she wasn’t going to kill him. After she hung up on the asshole, Douglas peppered her with questions. “What did he say? Is the generator staying on? Are they leaving?”

  “No, he’s not leaving,” Mia replied with a hint of anger and frustration. She got up from the seat and eyed the escape hatch. Unlike the blast doors, once the escape hatch was open it really didn’t offer much protection to the inhabitants of the capsule. It was designed for escape only, not for escape and returning.

  Within minutes of the conversation ending, the power went off again and she slumped down.

  “We might as well let them in,” Mia said.

  “Sure, why don’t we just launch the missiles while we are at it?”

  “It takes four keys, two of which are held at a different launch facility.”

  Douglas snorted. “I was being sarcastic.”

  “As was I.” She breathed in deeply. “So what do we have to lose?”

  Douglas walked back to the stripper and began cranking on it again. “I’m not opening the door.”

  “So you basically want us to die?”

  Douglas slammed his fist against the counter. “We die either way. At least this way, we do it on our terms.”

  She laughed. “Our terms? They’ve been in control of us ever since they arrived.”

  “They’re not in control now and I aim to keep it that way.” Douglas gave up turning the hand crank and slipped into the single bed, rolled to one side and patted the empty space indicating he wanted her to join him. “Well if we’re gonna die, do you want to…?”

  “Hell no. Especially not with you.”

  He laughed hard and folded his arms behind his head. “I’m just joking.”

  Mia paced the room; her thoughts were with her child.

  “I’m not staying in here.”

  “Yeah, you are,” he replied without looking at her. “It’s what you signed up for.”

  She casually walked over to the ladder which led up to a manhole cover, a few turns on that and sand would fall between the container and the capsule, and chains would stop the manhole cover from hitting her in the face. She would unbolt the chains, climb up a ladder welded onto the inside and go to the top where there was a small shovel for the last two or three feet of soil. She hadn’t managed to get a few turns in when Douglas dashed over and pulled her back, throwing her to the floor.

  “I told you. You’re not going anywhere. We do this on our terms.”

  “Our terms or your terms?” she asked, throwing his words back at him.

  “My responsibility is to stay in charge of this capsule, that includes you. I outrank you.”

  “Fuck your rank!”

  Douglas folded his arms. “If we make it out of this, I’m writing you up.”

  “Oh go to hell!” she said, rubbing her side on the floor.

  He stood below the manhole defiant. She would have thrown something at him if everything weren’t secured. It was secured so that if a nuclear bomb hit the place, and the shock absorbers kicked in—the bed, microwave, and coffeemaker wouldn’t fly across the room and potentially knock one of them out. The government had thought of everything except picking the right people. She sneered at Douglas. Mia felt like a penned-in animal.

  He chuckled. “Even if you could make it out, don’t you think he has someone posted outside that will kill you the moment your head breaks the surface?”

  “I would rather die trying to escape than die in here like a coward.”

  Douglas walked over to her. “You might think it’s cowardice but what I’m doing is for our country.”

  “You idiot. They’re going to launch those missiles one way or another. You’re not going to stop them.”

  “We already have,” he said. He cupped a hand over one ear. “You hear that?”

  She said nothing so he continued. “It’s the sound of them doing nothing. They want in here to protect themselves after the launch, or did you think you were the only one who knew that?” he bellowed getting closer.

  Mia saw her opportunity and took it. In a flash she reared back her leg and fired it at his face knocking him out cold. She scrambled across the capsule and climbed up to release the hatch. She shot a glance back at Douglas and kept twisting the handle until it gave way, and sand fell, some of it entering the capsule, the rest disappearing outside. Like someone trapped underwater swimming to the surface, she hurried up the diagonal ladder and pulled the shovel away from the side and jammed it into the hard earth to begin digging her way to freedom.

  Beads of sweat dripped off her face as she put all her strength into it. It didn’t help that it was hot inside the capsule and what little air remained was close to being gone. The earth was harder than she imagined. Maybe Douglas was right. Maybe it had frozen in the harsh Colorado winters and packed together. Small chunks broke away as she thrust the shovel at the dirt trying to pierce the earth. She thought she was making progress until she heard Douglas.

  “Mia!” he yelled. Her nostrils flared and she sped up looking down to see him stagger into view. “You bitch!” He reached up and began to climb.

  Back in Breckenridge, Anna was on her third glass of wine. She and Chase had convened in the kitchen. She was perched on a stool at the breakfast bar harping on about the nerve of her grandfather. In front of her was a large stack of envelopes from her father. She was going through them one by one. A glass in one hand, and an envelope in the other.

  “It’s like my whole life has been one big lie. How do I even know what is true anymore?”

  Chase nodded, pulling a face. “I hear you. I said the same thing when my father came out a c
ross dresser.”

  She shot him a surprised look. “What?”

  He burst out laughing. “I’m joking.” She smiled and gave him a nudge.

  “You know, Chase I’m glad you came with us.” She reached over and placed a hand on his.

  “You are?”

  “Yeah, I mean if we’re all going to die…” she trailed off. His eyes widened and she cracked up laughing. “I’m joking.”

  She reached for the bottle and topped off their drinks and then slipped off the stool and went to find another.

  Chase tried to change her mind. “We should probably stay clearheaded. You know what your father said.”

  “Oh I heard him. I’m just not sure if anything he says is true.”

  She returned with another bottle and Chase frowned. “But the letters. He wasn’t wrong about that.”

  “No, but he said Elizabeth was just a friend.”

  “And he said he was set up.”

  “Who am I supposed to believe?” Chase stared back and then took a sip of wine. “Do I believe the person who’s been around my whole life or a man I barely know?”

  Chase shrugged. “What does your gut tell you?”

  “It tells me to turn my back on both of them.”

  “But…”

  “He still walked away, Chase.”

  Chase bit down on the corner of his lip. “But by the sounds of it your grandfather didn’t make it easy for him.”

  “He could have stayed in Breckenridge.”

  “I imagine that would have been hard. Bumping into your mother, her family, and you.”

  She shook her head and took a big gulp of her wine. “This house doesn’t feel the same without her. I just wish I could have heard it from her. You know, got her side of the story.”

  “Your mother never spoke about it?”

  “She was very tight lipped. If I asked her a question she only told me the bare minimum. It was only in the last few months she started talking about him. I mean, can you imagine that? I lived the last eleven years acting as though I didn’t have a father. That he didn’t care. And that my mother didn’t care. Only to find out that she still had feelings for him. That it was because of him she didn’t date or marry anyone else.”

  “Not even Eric?”

  She snorted. “Eric wasn’t her type. He’s a desk man. No. One thing I learned from her was why she loved my father. He was adventurous, spontaneous and had this wild streak in him. I think she was attracted to that because my grandfather smothered her while she was growing up. He never really let her live. You know?”

  Chase nodded. “Then why did he send you off to school?”

  “Maybe he wanted to surround me with people he admired. You know, Harvard types. They really are a different kettle of fish.”

  He sipped his drink. “You’re telling me.” He glanced around the room and then crossed to a cabinet. He picked up a photo. “This you?”

  “Oh God, yeah, when I was like fourteen.”

  “You were attractive even then.” He was quick to correct himself. “I mean, if I was fourteen I would have…” he trailed off and she smiled.

  “Attractive even then? Does that mean…?”

  He turned and headed back. “Okay, don’t let it go to your head. We’ll have a hard time getting you out the door.”

  She was about to say something when they heard a window smash.

  Both of them froze.

  “What the…?” Chase said.

  Anna hopped off the stool and scooped up the Glock 22.

  “Anna. Wait.”

  “I’m just going to check it out.”

  Chase collected Mason’s rifle from the living room, made sure it was loaded and followed. Anna slipped down the corridor. She didn’t fear anyone being able to break in because of all the bars on the windows but with the recent string of fires she was scared that someone might try to set the place on fire.

  She spotted the brick on the floor in the dining room.

  Anna peered through the peephole of the front door and saw several men fanning out. She didn’t recognize any of them. Her mind shot into overdrive.

  “Holy shit. Shit!”

  “What? What is it?”

  Chase took over at the peephole then backed up, a look of fear on his face.

  Anna took only seconds to decide what to do. She hurried into the living room, brought up the Glock and began to fire multiple rounds out the window. One struck a guy in the shoulder.

  “Chase. Check the rear.”

  Chase lingered in the doorway, frozen by fear.

  She glanced at him. “Go.”

  He nodded and hurried away. Anna pulled back then scanned the room for anything she could put up to block the window. Nothing came to mind. She peered out again, it looked as if they had pulled back.

  “How we doing, Chase?”

  “Nothing so far.”

  Outside, shrouded by darkness, Howard Boone and Carl retreated to the end of the driveway, seeking cover behind a cluster of thick trees. After one of the rounds had torn Carl’s shoulder and put him on his ass, Howard had rushed in and dragged him out.

  “I thought you said the place was empty?” Howard bellowed.

  “It was. Last week. She went into the hospital,” Carl said, gripping his shoulder and groaning. “Am I going to die?”

  “Not today, you idiot,” he replied peering around the tree and trying to get a bead on whoever shot at them. Since going on a crazed spree inside Richard’s home, he’d gathered together a group of Carl and Keith’s friends and set them various tasks throughout the town. He knew the quickest way to bring an end to those looking to strip them of their guns was to distract them, make their job harder and ultimately break the town’s morale. The community needed to see that no one was safe unless they were armed. Violence, disarray, and fires would spread throughout the city — it was the only way to drill it through their skulls, and dethrone city officials like Underwood.

  He’d already seen how the people turned on the police after the six homes they’d torched along Lincoln Avenue and Main Street led to civil unrest. He glanced at his watch. Right about now Keith would be starting a riot down at the town hall meeting, that would keep cops at bay while he dealt with one more home owned by Richard.

  It was common knowledge that Richard frequented a home on Peerless Drive. Howard couldn’t think of a better way to get back at the man than to strip him of everything he cared dearly for. However, now they had an unexpected problem.

  “You think it’s her?”

  “If it is, this is going to be a bad night for her.”

  There were eight of them crouched down in the tree line gazing at the house.

  “I think I should get this checked out.”

  “It’s just a graze,” Howard said. “Suck it up.”

  “You call this is a fucking graze?” Carl yelled, taking his hand off to reveal a bloodied hole.

  “It’s your own fault,” Howard said motioning to three of his men to head around the back. “I want in. You see anyone. Kill them.” They nodded and took off leaving him to take the front with four others. He looked down at his hand that was cut up from trying to get past the barbed wire rolled around the property’s fence line. He squinted at the window that was broken and saw a head peek around. He wasn’t into negotiating, and he didn’t have any fuel to burn them out.

  He hadn’t expected all the windows to be barred.

  Carl winced. “C’mon, Howard, I need to get to a hospital.”

  “Shut up before I put another bullet in you,” he said before darting out and motioning for the others to follow. More rounds were fired as they zigzagged their way up the driveway and took cover behind a twenty-five foot fishing boat on a trailer.

  “Okay, listen up. Chances are they’ve barricaded the doors, and we aren’t getting through those windows unless…” he trailed off. “Paul. Bring up the Jeep. You got that winch?”

  Paul nodded.

  “We’ll hook
it up to the bars and pull them off. In the meantime, I want two men up on that roof. Take up the shingles; I want them to think we’re heading in through the attic. That will distract them while Paul brings up the Jeep and I’ll attach the winch to the bars.”

  Paul took off at a crouch heading to the vehicle.

  Two of his men went around the side to climb.

  Howard brought up his rifle and peered through the night vision scope.

  He patted Terry on the shoulder. “Run across the driveway.”

  “But I’ll get shot.”

  “No you won’t. Trust me.”

  He was hesitant but he only had to remind them of what he’d promised — wealth, freedom from their criminal records and a place beside him when the town crumbled.

  Terry jumped up and sprinted. Howard brought up the scope to his eye and focused on the window. C’mon, c’mon, he thought as he waited for the person to take the shot.

  Sure enough he saw the hand come up.

  But it was too late.

  Howard squeezed his trigger, and a bullet tore through the hand.

  Chapter 15

  If the earth wasn’t so solid, Mia might have escaped. Douglas reached up and clasped her ankle. Mia let out a scream, and used her other foot to kick his hand away. Douglas cried out. “Would you stop it. You’re going to get us killed.”

  He stopped trying to get her for a second and leaned against the ladder trying to catch his breath.

  “Killed? If we stay in here any longer we will die.”

  “And if we leave we have failed,” he replied.

  “Is that all you’re worried about? Don’t you have family?”

  “Of course but they are only safe because of what I do here.”

  “Bullshit. You know as well as I do that they are going to launch those missiles one way or another. If they are responsible for taking down the entire grid, this is nothing to them.”