by Warren Ray
Hadley was just about to take another swing when he heard Bassett yelling his name. Hadley was breathing heavily, his frightened eyes had turned to rage when Bassett grabbed the club.
“Hadley, down buddy.”
Hadley let go and backed up.
Bassett took out his 9mm Glock 17 and put the Jiji out of his misery.
“You okay, man?”
Hadley let out a big breath. “Yeah, I’m good, bastard scared the hell out of me is all.”
“Hey, you did good man, you were like a beast.” Bassett turned when they heard more gunshots down Bellevue. “C'mon, Burns needs our help.”
Chapter 87
Washington D.C.
Green left the coffee shop and took another route to get back to his office. On the way back, he kept thinking about Cara along with everything else. He had so much on his plate he needed to separate it into three different blocks. The first was the O’Connor revelation. Since there wasn’t anything he could do about it now, he decided to put that on the back burner. He would, however, add the background info Sam had just provided and put it with the other flash drive he and his mother had put together. The second block was his impending meeting with Jacob Gibbs. They were to get together tonight and he was sure he’d find out what was bothering the man. If it wasn’t what he’d gotten from Alison O’Connor, then there would probably be something else to add to his miserable agenda.
The third block was Cara and what he was going to do about her. The safest route was not to do anything, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew he couldn’t let it slide. He needed to either help her or bring her to Reed’s attention. If he found out she was in town and she had come to see him, then he would have some major explaining to do. The more he thought about it, the more pressing that issue became.
He got back to the office and headed to a meeting intended to provide an update on the Shadow Patriots. His anxiety rose when he heard they were in Jackson, Michigan, and in a shootout with the cops. The cops had the town surrounded and were confident they would finally be able to take the rebel force down.
Green knew the cops didn’t have enough men for that kind of an operation and figured Mordulfah was involved. He looked around the room at the men and women wondering why none of them ever mentioned Mordulfah’s name. It was the proverbial eight-hundred-pound gorilla in the room. He was getting tired of these useless minions. They accomplished nothing and only wasted his time. He decided to have a little fun with them and entertain himself.
“What kind of help are our men receiving?”
Dead silence. A few dared to look at him while most kept looking down at the table.
“We don’t have the kind of manpower required to surround a town that size. We have, what, four hundred men in the area.”
“That’s enough manpower,” said Jackie, a transfer from the State Department.
“Jackie, with all due respect, I’ve spent my entire career in the Army and I can assure you four hundred men is nowhere close to being enough.”
“Apparently, you’re wrong,” protested Jackie.
Green got a kick out of her response. He was enjoying this.
“The rebels must have fewer numbers then,” said Henry coming to Jackie’s defense. Henry was a bureaucrat from some alphabet branch of government. Green had forgotten which one and didn’t really care. The man was a complete idiot and only got in the way by insisting on some new procedure whenever he felt like contributing.
“We don’t have an accurate rebel count. The last one we had was a couple of weeks ago when they took out the Police Headquarters in Detroit,” said Green.
“Captain Vatter seems pretty confident of the situation,” said Jackie.
“I’m sure he is, just like Captain Cox was when his station was raided and he was killed.”
“What are you trying to say, Major Green?” asked Henry.
“If they have the town surrounded, then they must be getting help from Prince Mordulfah.”
Green thought the room was quiet before. He didn’t realize it could get any quieter. He looked around the room trying not to break out in laughter at these scared and useless people.
“It’s okay. We all know of his involvement. It’s okay to bring it up.”
“I don’t know what kind of involvement you’re talking about,” said Jackie. “Yes, we’ve had reports of volunteers helping the Police, but I don’t know exactly what you’re implying.”
“I’m not implying anything. I just like to have an accurate assessment of what is going on out there. I’m a soldier and as such, I like to have all the intel on the table so we can make better decisions.”
“Prince Mordulfah is an ambassador and is here to help our Muslim friends in the area,” said Jackie. “I’ve met him and I can assure you he is an honorable man. We should be lucky a man of his caliber is there to help.”
Green thought to himself. Spoken like a true State Department hack.
“Any help is appreciated,” said Henry nodding to Jackie.
Green, having had enough of this foolishness, needed to get out of there. The only thing he’d learned of any value was that Winters was in Jackson, Michigan. He knew Winters was coming back to Michigan and he had three hundred well-armed men with him, but this is the first he’d heard of his actual location. What he found interesting was the cops and Mordulfah’s men now surrounded the Shadow Patriots. That was different and he was sure Mordulfah had changed tactics.
Chapter 88
Jackson Michigan
Winters, Elliott and Reese finished putting all the weapons they’d confiscated from last night’s raid into the SUV. They froze when they heard a rattle at the garage door. Winters motioned to Reese to turn the headlights off on the car next to her. Winters did the same to the other one while Elliott shut the tailgate of their loaded SUV as quietly as he could. They hopped in and shut the doors.
Winters turned to Reese. “You armed?”
Reese pulled out her Taurus.
“Not enough. Grab a rifle back there and take the driver’s side.”
She nodded and reached back for an AK-47.
“Elliott, be ready to burn rubber. Reese, as soon as he starts it up, lower your window and spray that baby everywhere.”
Both Winters and Reese chambered a round and readied themselves.
They didn’t have to wait long before sunlight leaked under the garage door as the Jijis lifted the big door. They all slid down in their seats when they saw four men enter the building. They walked inside and yelled to others outside. Winters saw they were Jijis and from what he could see, he figured there were probably eight of them.
“Okay guys, let’s be cool…they haven’t seen us yet,” whispered Winters.
The Jijis looked at the cars while pointing to the bullet holes. One then turned and started to come toward them. Winters looked at the entrance and saw three Jijis standing in the way.
“Now Elliott, now!”
Elliott turned the key, threw the gearshift in drive, and floored the pedal. The tires squealed on the concrete floor as the SUV bolted toward the entrance and rammed into two Jijis, throwing them into the air upon impact. Winters saw more Jijis outside. Five vehicles were to their left. He yelled at Reese to fire. She hit the window button and pointed her AK out of the vehicle. She pulled the trigger and swept the parking lot as Elliott drove straight ahead. The ensuing report was nearly deafening. Winters yelled to Elliott to lower the back glass. He climbed over his seat to join Reese. He tapped her on the shoulder and she stopped firing.
“They’ll be on our tail in no time.”
She nodded.
Elliott took a right and drove behind another building before taking a left on Wisner Street. He picked up speed.
Winters spotted the first tail coming fast. “Here comes one,” he yelled.
“Got one up ahead. Taking a right, hang on,” said Elliott.
Reese and Winters braced themselves as Elliott took a hard right on
to Argyle Street. Winters twisted around to see two vehicles turning to follow.
Winters grabbed the radio. “Scar, come in.”
“What’s up, Captain?”
“We’re in trouble, got some Jijis on our tail.”
“Where you at?”
“Just left Jackson Crossing. Going west on Argyle.”
“We’re on our way.”
Winters thought about their dilemma. They were right next to the interstate, which meant there was hundreds of Jijis close by. If they couldn’t outrun these guys, then they were going to have a hell of a gun battle. He wanted his men close but didn’t want them to get surrounded either. He picked the radio back up. “Scar, get your guys in the area, but stay back till I give the word, over.”
“Will do, Captain.”
“Captain, Nate here.”
“Nate who’s with you?”
“I’m downtown with Amber and Sergeant Nordell.”
Winters jerked his head back in surprise. “Keep your radio close.”
He looked out the back and saw the Jijis getting too close. He raised his M4 and let loose a volley. The chase vehicles slowed down. When they started returning fire, Winters fired again.
Elliott floored the pedal bringing their speed up to a hundred miles per hour. Four vehicles were now behind them and they were running out of road. They passed through Airport Road and Winters saw more Jijis coming down from the interstate. His worst nightmare was becoming reality. The Jijis were flooding the area.
Chapter 89
Leslie Michigan
Bassett was proud of Hadley’s initiative to come and take out the Jijis who had boxed him in. It was not an easy thing to do for an inexperienced person. It took a lot of nerve to sneak up on someone who would not hesitate to shoot back. The Texan had grown tougher these past few weeks since he had let Bassett out of jail back in Detroit. Bassett had witnessed Hadley’s first killing. It had been up close and personal, which was never easy, but he moved past it and performed magnificently escaping out of Detroit. It was a shame a bad knee had kept him out of the Army because he would have made a great soldier. Bassett smiled thinking their loss was his gain.
Bassett picked up the radio and called Burns.
“Can you flank these guys already, so we can get the hell out of here?” asked Burns.
“Got you covered, we’ll swing around both sides.”
Bassett looked up at Taylor on top of the roof and yelled. “See anyone else?”
“If there’s any more, then they’re too scared to come out and play.”
Bassett led his men down a few blocks down while Eddie led another group around the other side. Bassett came around the corner of a house and saw eight Jijis shooting at Burns. He directed four of his men around the other side of another house. He waited for Eddie’s men to get into position before giving the signal to open fire. They had them surrounded and it took only a minute before they finished off the rest of the Jijis.
Afterward, they did a head count of the dead and took all their weapons. While they did this, some of the townspeople got up the nerve to come out to talk. As was usual, most were elderly or mothers with their children. Hadley brought the rescued girls out so the neighbors could take them under their wings. It was a close-knit community, made even closer because so few had stayed in town to face the hardships of war.
Bassett watched in satisfaction by how the citizens came together and comforted each other in such a painful situation. A few approached to thank them for risking their lives to protect them. He saw Burns make it a point to tell everyone who they were, which surprised many of them as they had only heard they were killers. It was a good public relations move, as it would surely spread to other towns and perhaps even motivate others to have the courage to come out and stand tall.
For the next several of hours, Bassett led a squad through the town to make sure there were no Jijis left hiding. More and more neighbors came out and helped in the effort, which made the whole process easier. During that time, the citizens decided they would stay together and remain there. They didn’t think the Jijis would come back and if they did, they would have to deal with armed citizens thanks to the weapons the dead left behind.
Chapter 90
Jackson Michigan
Elliott looked ahead and saw that Argyle veered sharply to the left. He yelled out a warning before slowing down for the turn. He raced around the corner as fast as he dared in the top-heavy vehicle. For a few seconds, the driver’s side offered a clear line of sight to their pursuers. Reese took advantage and emptied a magazine at the car immediately behind them. Bullets pelted the car and Winters finished them off. The driver had failed to make the turn and crashed through the chain-link fence that bordered the small airport.
“One down and who knows how many left,” said Winters.
Winters looked at the big hangers as they passed by the airport wondering if they could make a stand there. He was beginning to think they might not be able to lose all these Jijis. He needed to find a place where they could hold them off long enough for help to arrive. He wanted to get as far away from the interstate as he could. The further away, the fewer Jijis there would be and the closer he would be to his friends.
“Cole, look,” said Reese, pointing across a wide-open parking lot as they approached Wildwood Avenue.
Winters turned to see ten vehicles closing in on their left. “Slow ‘em down, Reese.”
Reese raised the AK, pushed the barrel out the window and pulled the trigger. The rounds hit the first car in line. That car slammed on the brakes causing the one behind it to ram into it. This caused a chain reaction as more vehicles slammed into the back of the one in from of them. Elliott took a right onto Wildwood Avenue and Winters pointed his M4 out the back window and emptied his magazine at the pile-up as Elliott pulled away.
Winters turned to Reese who had a big smile on her face. “That was…some pretty nice shooting.”
“That was awesome,” she screamed.
“Never be able to do that again,” said Winters.
“You just never know,” she boasted.
Elliott punched the gas pedal and flew down Wildwood, but wasn’t able to shake their pursuers, who were getting too close for comfort. Winters wanted Elliott to head back downtown and away from the interstate.
“Here we go again,” said Reese as she spied more Jijis coming from the left on Michigan Avenue.
“I got to go right again,” yelled Elliott seeing a car coming up Robinson.
The tires squealed as Elliott jerked it to the right. Reese let loose a barrage of bullets through the intersection. Winters emptied another mag out the back window at a car speeding up on their tail. The windshield splintered as the rounds flew through hitting the driver. The car swerved into a chain-link fence and then into a tree
“Son-of-a-bitch,” howled Elliott. “They’ve got a roadblock up ahead, I’m going to the left.”
As they turned left, down Woodlawn Avenue, the Jijis from the roadblock fired at them. A bullet hit the rear side window and went out the other side. Winters felt the rear of the vehicle sink and then felt the unmistakable vibration of a flat tire.
“What do you want to do?” asked Elliott.
Winters looked out the back and saw the Jijis had turned and were heading down the street after them. He scanned the area and saw they were headed toward a dead end.
“Let’s get to the end and spin it around. I want the rear end pointed to the woods.”
“Should we hole up in one of these houses?” asked Elliott.
“No, they’d just burn us out. We need to be on the run.”
“Déjà vu,” grunted Reese.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
Elliott drove into a driveway and then backed up pointing the front end at their pursuers.
“Grab plenty of ammo and the radio,” said Winters, as he opened the door. He hurried around to the back and noticed they had taken more rounds than he remembered. He t
hen realized all the ammo was for AK’s. “How much ammo you got?” he asked Elliott.
“Not much.”
“Leave the M4’s and grab an AK.”
Elliott nodded but decided to fire his own gun one more time. He stomped to the front of their truck and emptied a couple of magazines into the approaching Jijis. The car stopped and backed up until it was about a hundred yards away.
“That’ll give ‘em something to think about,” said Elliott as he smashed the M4 against the truck. “Don’t want them using this on me.”
“Good idea,” said Winters. He was about to destroy his, but then came up with a better idea. “Let’s just burn the truck.”
They grabbed everything they needed and Winters reached for his knife, got on his knees and jammed the blade into the gas tank. He pulled it out letting the gas stream onto the ground. He balled up a piece of paper and set it on fire. Everyone backed up as he threw the fireball into the puddle of gasoline. A swooshing sound erupted as the fire raced up to the tank. They ran into the woods and turned to see the SUV on fire.
“No explosion?” asked Reese.
“That’s Hollywood stuff,” said Winters.
“I’m feeling a little ripped off,” said Reese with a sly grin.
“I’m with Reese, an explosion would have been much cooler,” laughed Elliott.
“Well, make sure you bring a grenade next time,” said Winters patting Elliott on the shoulder. “Now, can we get the hell out of here?” He turned to Reese. “You’re the expert at running through the woods. So, lead the way, my dear.”
As they started through the thick underbrush, Winters needed directions from someone familiar with the area. He remembered Nate was with Nordell who grew in Jackson. “Nate, you copy?”
“Here, Captain.”
“We had to ditch our ride on Woodlawn Avenue. We’re making our way through the woods to the south. Any suggestions?”
“Let me ask,” said Nate.
It took a couple of moments before Nate came back.