by C M Hoffmann
Gavin, “Legacy Two.”
“You may want to detour this way, got someone here wants to see you.”
“Ten-four en route.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Mallory, “Thank you. I’m sorry about the way I acted.”
Scarlett, “I’m sorry I had to hit you.”
“No it’s fair, you did warn me.”
Scarlett chuckles, “Like I said it takes getting used to. Now how about we find something around to eat for when they get here.”
Marie, “Sounds good. I’m sure Wyatt is starving.”
They move through the house collecting food for dinner. Everything appears to be going smoothly when a knock is heard and Justin shouts, “MOM!”
Mallory sprints to the front of the house, “What is it, what’s the mat...” The front door is open, and standing in the threshold is a man in an orange jumpsuit. He has Justin by the scruff of his neck. The man holds a finger to his lips, a large knife gripped in his hand. Mallory stands stiff as a board as the man lowers the knife to Justin’s neck. Another head pops through the threshold of the door, followed by a third. They move silently into the house and passed Mallory. They split up; one to the front, one to the back.
Scarlett is in the kitchen, the sudden silence makes her feel uneasy. A shift in the air catches her attention, without looking she quick steps to the back door and turns the knob, “Skyy, Meeko, Mia!” As per usual the dogs file in at warp speed, they slide into the house and immediately begin to tense up. Scarlett flinches as Skyy barks and lets out a guttural growl. Before she can turn she hears the unmistakable yelp of a man in pain followed by the shattering of glass. She turns and sees Skyy, their white German shepherd, covered in what looks like pink and red tiger stripes, a man in an orange jumpsuit is flailing attempting to fight off the dog.
Another orange jumpsuit appears off to the side coming into the living room. It stops in its tracks as Meeko and Mia, the smaller of the three dogs, lock on to it and begin to growl. The second jumpsuit gasps and pisses himself. The third man enters the living room with a large knife in one hand and Justin in the other, “Call ‘em off, or I’ll cut his fucking throat.”
Scarlett stands defiantly looking at the knife wielder, “They don’t respond to commands, dipshit. And neither do I. Let him go, or I’ll cut your fucking throat.”
With the chaos, Marie quickly hid in the spare room. She draws the gun Wyatt had given her when she first arrived, loaded with .357 magnum hollow points. She peeks out of the room and down the hallway she can see the man with the knife. Her heart is pounding trying to force its way out of her chest. She breathes deeply to lower her pulse rate, contemplating what to do.
Knife, “Big talk from a little bitch.”
Scarlett, “Skyy, come.”
Skyy immediately perks up and for the first time in his puppy life, he responds. He releases the arm of the jumpsuit that had fallen through the coffee table. Blood drips from the edges of his mouth as he wags his tail happily and comes to Scarlett’s legs. The jumpsuit whimpers as both of his arms are completely useless when the muscles in the forearms and biceps are ripped to shreds. Skyy turns to face Knife and his blood streaked hair stands on end as he bears his teeth.
Knife, “So he does listen. Now put ‘em back out.”
Scarlett, “Told you I don’t respond to commands.”
“What do you think you playin’ at. You think I won’t kill ya ass? Is that it?”
Scarlett crosses her arms, “Oh I’m sure you would try, but you see, I’ve got a problem with people in my house that don’t belong. You can leave, or I can kill you. It’s a simple choice really.”
Knife laughs, “Oh yea? You think you got them mutts and you safe huh? Well I gots news for ya, this ain’t yo house no more.”
Scarlett rolls her eyes, “Last chance.”
Knife leans forward and lifts his chin, “My. House.”
“One.”
Knife gives her a confused look, “What?”
“Two.”
“Bitch, you think you my moms? Gonna count me down? Yo man ain’t here, we followed him and waited for him to leave. Haha!”
Scarlett smiles, “Three.”
BOOM! Marie fires and the round enters Knife’s shoulder and he stumbles to the side. Mallory grabs Justin, who is covering his ears, and kicks Knife right in the happy sack. He crumbles to the floor. Piss-pants tries to run, Scarlett reaches for the semi-hidden drawer on the table and produces her older-than-her inherited .38 caliber revolver and aims at the fleeing center mass. She squeezes the trigger twice, BOOM! BOOM! and piss-pants falls face first onto the porch. He groans and his legs twitch. Scarlett walks over to piss-pants lying face down, half inside, half outside. She lines the revolver up with his head and looks to the side, making eye contact with Knife, his eyes are about as wide as his forehead. She squeezes the trigger and piss-pants twitches for the last time.
Scarlett walks calmly towards Knife, who is scooting across the ground away from her desperately looking for the knife he dropped. The smile on her face is more unnerving to him than the fact that his cohort is dead. “I warned you,” she reminds him. Knife’s face loses all color.
Marie shakily enters the living room and points her gun at the bleeder still trapped in the coffee table. She looks to Scarlett, “Well?”
Scarlett never breaks eye contact with Knife, “Do it, we have to clean the floor anyway.”
Bleeder, “Wait...” BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Knife flinches with every shot but Scarlett doesn’t so much as blink. His nerve finally breaks. “Alright, Alright, I’ll leave.” He struggles to his feet and when he looks up, he sees only the barrel of the revolver. A dark hole of nothingness with a slight glint farther in. He sucks in a breath, BOOM!, it was the last breath he ever took.
Scarlett exhales deeply, “You had your chance to leave.” She closes her eyes to absorb what just happened. She can hear Mallory in the other room trying to calm Justin, and only slightly scolding him for opening the door. She hears footsteps and the unmistakable sound of a firearm clattering to the hardwood floor, followed shortly by Marie breathing deeply as she sits on the couch. A chill runs down her spine as she realizes what transpired. Mallory and Justin are finally quiet in the other room, Marie’s breathing slows, and the only sound is the steady tick-tock of the clock on the wall. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.
The sound of a car door slamming and the sound of boots slapping the pavement finally bring her eyes open.
Cane, “SCARLETT!”
She turns to see Cane, Wyatt, Beau, and Gavin come sweeping into the house incredibly smoothly in what she can only guess is a tactical clearing maneuver as they split up into different sections of the house. When they take in the scene all their firearms lower to a high ready position.
Beau, “What. The. Fuck?”
Cane wraps Scarlett tightly to his body after stashing his gun against the wall. “Are you okay? What happened? How did they get in here?” He swats at the dogs that are jumping up and down happily at their return. He notices Skyy’s war stripes in what he hopes are the bad guys’ blood.
Scarlett, “I’ll tell you later. I feel like a drink. And be nice to the dogs, they pretty much saved the day.”
Cane stands dumbstruck at seeing his wife so calm after the obvious turmoil that had occurred moments before his arrival. He says nothing more, just takes her hand and looks at Wyatt and Marie in a hug on the couch. “Beau, you mind securing the front door?”
Beau, “Uh, yea, no problem.” He walks to the foyer and grabs the bloodstained orange jumpsuit by the collar and the waistline, hauls the body to the street and tosses it unceremoniously.
Scarlett moves to the fridge and pours a glass of wine and hands Cane one of the few remaining bottled beers.
Cane, “So, missed me?”
Scarlett takes a sip, “Something like that...” and she retells the story of the home invaders.
“Well fuck, I guess I slipped on
ly worrying about steve. Haven’t thought of anyone following me home in I can’t even remember how long.”
“Mallory gave Justin a hard time about it, but I imagine she’s still sugar-coating it.”
Wyatt, “Y’all are in one piece and that’s all that matters.”
Cane, “Amen to that, brotha.”
Marie, “Tell me you’re done for a few days...”
Gavin returns with Mallory, hand in hand, “Wish we were that lucky. Gotta go back out to protect the fire department after a nap.”
Beau comes in after moving the last of the bodies, “Yea, burn out ain’t working out. Gotta break some stuff in a little bit.”
Scarlett, “Can’t you call in sick or something?”
Cane laughs, “Not at all dearest. But nothing would make me happier than to stay home for a while.”
Gavin, “Mind if I just crash here for a bit, skinny kid?”
“By all means. Good luck finding room though.”
Beau, “I can take over watch, I’ll come get somebody if I need relief. My adrenaline is still running pretty hot after my first night with Two-Six.”
Wyatt, “Then might I suggest, some much needed rest?”
Cane, “Hell yes.” They get ready for some sleep by stripping down and wiping off. Cane spends a few minutes pampering each of the dogs in turn for saving the day. “I guess I need to bathe y’all soon,” he shakes his head and offers all three their own rawhide bone, which they each accept with astounding joy.
♦ ♦ ♦
Trey and Coll’s reunion upon returning home is dramatic in its own manner. Emma begins to cry at the sight of Trey’s bandaged head and Lynn moves to adjust the bandages as her paramedic training kicks in.
Trey, “Ow, ow, OW! The doc wrapped me up, I’m sure he did it right.”
Lynn, “That doctor is a crazy old man. I don’t trust him.”
Coll laughs, “Well he may be crazy, but then again I think we might all be a little bit off nowadays.”
Lynn finally stops fiddling and sighs, “Get yo ass in the shower, you stink, and then into bed. Emma, you make sure he gets there after his shower.”
Emma sniffles, “Y-yes ma’am.”
Trey scoops Emma up, ignoring the sense of vertigo from bending over, “I’m fine, little bit. Just need some rest. Come on you can help put my gear up.”
Emma, “Can I read you a bedtime story? You always do it for me when I’m sick.”
Trey smirks, “Of course you can. Go pick one while I go take a bath. Make it a good one.”
“It’ll be the best one!” She runs off to her small library of children’s books. When Trey finally peels off his gear and climbs into the shower, Emma anxiously awaits his return sitting on his bed, clutching her favorite book: ‘The Rainbow Moth.’ A book, unbeknownst to Emma, was written by her ‘Titi’ or Aunt Scarlett years before.
♦ ♦ ♦
Pops, Wade, and Ronson’s welcome home is met with the aroma of what Pops remembers has to be the last of the deer breakfast sausage cooking.
Pops opens the door, “Honey, I’m home!”
Mom, “In the kitchen.” She comes scurrying out into the living room, “Where’s Trey and Gavin? Is everything alright?
“We got him back and he’s patched up and home. Gavin went over to Cane’s, I imagine at Mallory’s request.
“Good,” she kisses Pops and moves back to the kitchen.
Abbey runs in, “Dad! You’re back! What happened? Tell me everything! Where’s Wade?”
Wade, “Right here.”
“There you are sweet cheeks! Thought you might’a gotten lost!”
Wade reddens but smirks, “Nope, made it back. Finally got to use the masks I was telling you about.”
Mom, “Come in here and eat then you can all get cleaned up.” Pops and Ronson move off to the kitchen.
Abbey wraps Wade in a hug, “Glad you’re back. Did you really get to use the masks?”
Wade, “Sure did.”
“You’re a regular Batman you know? I think I’d like to see you wearing it.” She smiles and winks as Wade reddens yet again. “Come on, big bear, let’s go eat.”
♦ ♦ ♦
At the houses of Fitz and Fred other than a teary eyed and heartfelt happiness for the safe return of Trey, no drama ensues. The morning winds down with all the members of Two-Six tucked safely away for a few hours. Each member dreads the coming days but with a certain adventurous excitement as the toils of ‘normal’ life fall deep within the recesses of their memories.
♦ ♦ ♦
As the sun breaks passed the midday rise, all the members of Two-Six toss in their sleep. Only with the light in their eyes does each of them finally wake up and dress for the remainder of the day. Scarlett takes her spot behind the radios as Cane, Wyatt, Beau and Gavin make their way outside. The thought of demolishing houses and scattering debris to create a makeshift obstacle course for anyone trying to enter the city wears on their minds.
Two-Six meets at the police complex and strategizes with the chief.
Chief, “Ok, so where should we start?”
Fitz, “What’s the main issue with the burn out?”
“We can’t control it, it’s spreading faster than we can put it out and eventually it would have engulfed the whole city. The people still living on the perimeter that refuse to move inward are in danger of losing everything including their lives.”
Cane, “So let’s start with the neighboring houses that are empty. We’ll double check that people are still living in the marked homes and we’ll pull down around them. Burn what we can, destroy what can’t be burned.”
“Sounds about right, why didn’t we think of that first?”
Gavin, “Gotta adapt to the situation as it changes. The burn out was the best idea we had at the time, provided everyone moved inward or was gone. Now that they’re not, you need to change.”
“Insightful, I’ll need y’all on the front line, we’re going to keep all the demo crews on the same street and move them as needed. Naturally, the noise will most likely draw steve in so you’ll all be playing security. Your first area of operations is the north side, much of the south has already been burned because there were fewer people living there. We have spare officers and civilians moving large furniture. This is of the utmost importance. You cannot leave those actual demo crews unprotected. Let the thousand other armed people protect the workers moving junk. You are needed to secure those trucks and demo crews. Do you understand?”
Pops, “We got it, Chief, it’ll get done. Do the demo crews know what they’re doing?”
“Yes they were briefed before you got here. They’re waiting on you to start. Hope you brought sunscreen, it’s fixing to be a hot day.”
Pops nods, “Two-Six, let’s go to work.”
Two-Six returns to their vehicles and proceeds away from the department. Many people can be seen cleaning up the surrounding area of the complex. A few are breaking up dirt in what appears to be the start of a garden. The sight of Two-Six’s vehicles emblazoned with the fluorescent orange Spartan helmet and crossed spears turn almost every head. The children out in the sun jump and cheer as the vehicles roll passed. A few older children chase after the trucks laughing. A feeling of pride bolsters Pops in the knowledge that his sons and their friends have been the turning point in the fight for survival in an unknown future.
As they arrive on the first street of the day, they are surprised by the variety of vehicles stationed around the area.
Cane, “Holy shit, they’ve got everything from fire trucks, to the department’s deuce and a half, some civilian trucks with huge towing capacities, and what I’m guessing is some of the military hardware from Laplace.”
Fred, “Yep, Recovery did a hell of a job. Thought they were only going to be used for the wall, but I guess they pushed a few into service. Wonder how they’re gonna knock down the houses. I see a few dozers and dump trucks but they won’t be able to just drive through the houses.
”
Fire Commander, “We’ve thought of that and trust me more than a few of these bozos want the chance to ram a truck through the front door.”
Rapp, “So what’s the plan then?”
“We’re going to punch a hole through the corners on the first few, use some of that big ass logging chain from Home Depot and pull down the corners. Hopefully that’ll be enough to collapse the houses but somehow I don’t think we’ll be that lucky.”
Trey, “No time like the present, the sooner y’all start the sooner we’ll see if it works. And if it’s loud enough to bring steve out.”
“You got a point,” the commander keys up his radio, “Alright guys, security is here, get started.”
Down the length of the street on both sides, crews of six men approach the houses. Four go to either corner of the front of the houses, the remaining two split and one shuts off the water to the house, while the other turns all the breakers in the houses off to avoid the main threat of uncontrolled fire. The crews at the corners soon go to work with sledge hammers and axes to put holes about a foot wide on the adjacent sides creating a space to flip the heavy duty chain through.
More crews enter the houses and begin to haul couches, refrigerators, stoves, beds, dressers, and the like and dump them on the front lawn. The moving of major appliances and furniture begin to make large mounds in front each of the houses to be torn down.
Cane, “Hey, Pops!”
Pops, “What’s up?”
“I had a thought about the furniture and crap being pulled out. I think instead of just ditching the stuff we should use it to fill holes in the wall when it’s done. Beds and things that can fit, I say we move them under the cars so steve can’t just crawl underneath.”
“What’re you telling me for? Tell the commander or the chief.”
“Just running it by you, Old Man. Makin’ sure it makes sense.”
“Better than just leaving it open. Go run off, smart kid, and spread the word so the crews don’t just start destroying what they pull out.”
“Got it,” and Cane runs off to find the fire commander.
The work continues slowly but steadily. The clearing crews begin to finish the houses faster than the hole makers and soon start to switch positions. When the first house is ready to be pulled, everyone gathers around to watch, eager to see that their effort hasn’t been in vain. The chains are threaded through the holes simultaneously and hooked to the trailer hitches of two large civilian pickup trucks. They can hear the trucks switch to four wheel drive and the fire commander stands between them. When the drivers signal they are ready, the fire commander raises his arms looking once again to see if the drivers are paying attention. He breathes deeply and swings his arms down and both trucks’ engines flare to life. They steadily pull on the chains until the sound of cracking lumber is barely heard of the roar of the engines. The supports crack in half and the house remains standing.