by P. D. Clover
“Because there are no streetlights in the alleys. It will make him harder to see and shift the balance into his favor if he is forced to engage with someone. Proper night vision is expensive, and few can or are willing to buy it, even law enforcement.”
“That set of PVS14’s is like ten grand! Who can afford that?” she said defensively.
“Anyone who makes it a priority,” I answered. “And they are less than that. Also…” I Handed Ryan the extra kit bag with the PVS7, skull crusher and radio with throat mic and ear bud. “Here ya go... You’re welcome. But just so you know, it’s only a loner… I want it back at the end of the night, and I would appreciate it if you could keep what you have seen to yourself.”
“You mean your weird sub-guns, suppressors, spare comms and NOD’s?” she asked sarcastically.
“Hmm, your blood sugar must be evening out. Welcome back Officer Ryan. And yes, that’s exactly what I mean. It will only get people killed.”
“I understand and sorry about earlier. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just sort of...”
“No worries Ryan. You hadn’t eaten in a while or had anything to drink. I can tell by how hard you are hitting that jar of crappy fruit punch electrolyte mix. It’s understandable.”
“Wow… you’re really just gonna let it go that I almost drew on you?”
I let out an exhale, “Please don’t take this the wrong way… You would have never got it out of your holster.”
“Excuse me? I am a trained officer. I am a former ARMY MP. I think...”
I cut her off. “You think wrong. Matt had circled to my left and had the drop on you. In fact, that’s why he walked behind you the whole way here. Still, that wouldn’t have mattered. I can get this gun up, on target and fire a round in under a second, and that’s me taking my time... I have seen you draw, remember? You’re three seconds, or maybe two, if you’re motivated. You would have been dead before your gun cleared the holster.”
“Well, that’s a pretty cavalier thing to fucking say,” she said with heat in her tone.
“I am just being honest with you. You don’t have the skills to take on people like us. Shit, I wish you did. I’m not trying to offend you. I’m just trying to explain things to you. The world is different now. The sooner you grasp that, the better off you will be.”
“What do you mean I don’t have the skills? And they said that they expect things to get better in a couple months. Who are you? What the fuck do you know?” Ryan asked with fury now in her tone.
“Okay, I’ll tell you. But go ahead and get a protein bar or two in you... I am someone who made a very good living being a professional bad guy. I was a trainer for government contractors and law enforcement and occasionally active military personnel. I was not an instructor so much as I was their opponent for however much time, they had paid me for. It was my job to run the scenarios, be the enemy… In fact, it was my job to be the greatest threat they could possibly encounter. Think about that for a second. Really think about what that means. Sure, I have a shit load of training most people don’t. More importantly, I have the mindset. And that is what is really important... I am also a killer.” I just let that last part hang in the air. I looked over at Ryan, she was still.
“I’m sure you heard about the St. Louis thing?” I asked.
She nodded.
“What did you hear?” I asked.
Ryan swallowed her bite, “I heard you murdered three men and got away with it.”
“Who did you hear that from?”
“Kyle.”
“Officer Kyle Swindle?”
Ryan nodded, “The Chief told him to shut his mouth, that he didn’t know what he was talking about. It was during the whole thing with your son...”
“The Chief is a good man. We are lucky to have him and the Sheriff right now… But Kyle is right. I did murder three men in St Louis.” Ryan looked petrified as though I told her I was the devil himself.
“Would you like me to tell you the story while you finish your protein bar?”
She nodded.
“My wife and I were in St Louis for an award ceremony, we have to go to those things regularly for her job. She was pregnant with our first born and after the event she asked me to walk with her down to one of the buildings that was being renovated. So, we walked down to see how they were preserving the face of the buildings. My wife is an engineer. Did you know that?” I asked
Ryan shook her head and said with a full mouth, “I thought she worked in D.C.”
“She does… She’s a consultant for a D.C. lobby firm. It’s complicated, but she is an engineer foremost. She was a utility engineer for years before she got the consulting thing. Anyway, she enjoys seeing how things like that are done, so we walked down a side street to get a better view of the supports and how everything was being stabilized… The side street was a dead end. We had somehow caught the attention of three gangbangers who decided it would be a great idea to follow us into the side street and rob us. Then they changed their minds after I gave them my wallet. They decided they would rape Dee. I objected. There was a struggle. One grabbed and threw Dee to the ground and the other two were on me. I was able to knock one out. When the other rushed me, we went to the ground and then there was a gunshot. I trap and rolled the guy off of me, once we had switched positions and I was on top, I was then able to see Dee’s attacker staggering off and Dee lying there in blood… I snapped… I grabbed a rock and smashed in the head of the guy who had been on me. Then I charged the one trying to get away. I caught him, threw him to the ground and stomped in his head with my dress shoes. They were really nice, made in Italy. I then went over to the guy who I previously knocked out. I rolled him over, then I jumped and landed all of my body weight on his chest with my right knee. I did that again, and again, until I didn’t hear anymore bones breaking… Finally, I stumbled over to Dee. I thought she was dead... She had managed to pull her derringer and shot the guy in the belly. He hit her before trying to get away. She had a concussion. I picked her up and went to the main street. People screamed. Police and EMT’s arrived. I was charged with murder times three. Thankfully, all evidence collected at the scene was lost. The DA had no case. Thank God… He was really pushing for it, wanting to make it a hate crime... Ridiculous… A couple years later, he was caught with an underage male prostitute. Kinda par for the course I suppose with those people… politicians I mean.”
I looked over at Ryan. She wasn’t eating, just listening. “Why tell me this?”
“Things are not going back to normal in a couple of months. Maybe years…if ever. How long did they say it would take to get past COVID-19? Come on, you’re smarter than that.”
Ryan just nodded, “you’re right, you’re right…” she let out a long exhale.
“What do we do?” she asked.
“Exactly what we are doing. Time has mostly missed our little town for the past 50 years. With any luck, so will most of this,” I said somberly.
“You did the right thing,” Ryan said with resolve.
“Did I?”
“They were a threat. You neutralized the threat. Who knows who else they could have hurt if you hadn’t stopped them?”
I laughed, “They had wrap sheets as long as my leg…rape, assault, you name it. They just kept getting released. But that’s not what I lose sleep over…”
“Then what’s the issue?”
“Why didn’t I check on Dee and my unborn son first? My instinct was to seek revenge, not check on them… That’s who I really am.”
Ryan didn’t respond.
“Still want me on this little security team?” I asked
“In normal times, no… No, I would not... Right now, I think maybe you should be in charge,” she said flatly.
“Well, ain’t that just a kick in the pants. How do you feel now?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Your head, your stomach, your reasoning abilities?”
“HAHAHA, better now. T
hanks.”
“No problem... Low blood sugar, high stress, mild dehydration can easily turn a mild startle into full blown shock. That is when bad decisions get made,” she nodded and stood.
I handed her some more protein bars and gel packs. Then I picked up the full camelback. “Here, let’s put this under your jacket. It has shoulder straps, so it can be worn like a backpack. Stuff the bars and gel packets into the camelback or in your cargo pockets. It’s what we do. Don’t be afraid to eat or drink any chance you get. It’s best to store the energy in your belly and blood.”
I handed Ryan the bag with the radio and night vision. “Here is a PVS7 with skull crusher mount and radio with throat mic and ear bud. You know how to put it on?” I asked
“Yeah, former Military Police, remember?” she smiled. She then put the kit on, checked her NOD’s, and said “Okay, I’m ready.”
“I believe that,” I said.
Then we walked to the alley and down to meet up with Matt.
Chapter 22
Ryan and I walked down the alley a couple blocks to Summerset St. We were about 120 yards from the house that had Matt so worked up.
We settled in across the street from the house, and I flipped up my NODs to rest my eyes. Ryan removed hers as well. I signaled to her with the universal sign for silence. I put my finger to my lips in a dramatic fashion. Ryan rolled her eyes and nodded.
The house was two stories, a light green with blue, purple, and pink accents on the gingerbread woodwork around the eves and along the porch posts. Such color combinations are not uncommon on old Victorian homes. There were two cars parked in front of the house and what appeared to be a motorcycle covered up. That probably meant that the lot was small, with no room in the back for storage or parking. This was a good thing. As we crept closer, I could see some light breaking free from the windows. They had their curtains drawn, but not completely. I hit my push to talk button twice and waited. Ryan looked at me puzzled, then over the radios came a single click in acknowledgement. Ryan’s eyes widened and nodded in understanding. The radios we were using were powerful and versatile, but they were not encrypted or anything resembling secure. It was not worth the risk of publicly announcing what we were doing.
I saw a figure move from behind the shadows of the house and flipped down my NODs to get a better look. It was Matt. He paused in the shadow of the house for a moment, looking and listening. Then he ran to our position.
“So, what’s up?” I asked in a whisper.
“We need to hit that house and have a serious talk with the people inside.” There was death in Matt’s voice.
“What? Why?” Ryan asked. I just did a press check on my Stribog and nodded, but before we set off, Ryan whispered, “Hold it!” It was almost too loud.
We turned to face her. She realized her gaff and that she could have given us away.
Matt looked at me and I nodded. We huddled up and Matt said, “I am 99 percent certain there are people being abused in there.” Then he just starred at Ryan, as though that should be enough.
“What makes you think that? I know those people. They are decent people. They take in foster kids. I have even been part of the wellness checks on them,” Ryan said this as though she thought her initial impression of us at Hill Top park might have been the right one.
“We were down here late last night. I happened to take cover by this house, and I heard some crying. Sounded like small kids, maybe. I couldn’t tell. I was exhausted and figured it was my imagination…. I also heard something else,” Matt said not wanting to continue.
“Why where you two down here last night? Did you have something to do with the truck that exploded?” Ryan asked.
“Yes and no, we will tell you about it later. Right now, I think the more important thing is… to know why Matt believes we should move on this place. Don’t you, Officer Ryan?” I said.
“I heard meat hitting meat, rhythmically…maybe crying,” Matt said starring at Ryan with his NODs on.
“But, I mean, you don’t know. You couldn’t have heard last night…” Ryan stammered.
“I heard that just now. I only heard crying last night.” Then Matt pointed to his hearing protection, “They amplify sound.”
“Okie dokie then. I’m on front. You’re on back. Two seconds after I signal, we breach... Sound good?” I asked Matt.
I am a father first. This was something I planned on looking into, come hell or high water. Consequences be damned!
“Wait, just wait. Let me go in first. They know me. Let me go in and check. You two listen from outside. If something goes sideways… Come in. If something is wrong, I will click the radio,” Ryan said.
“It’s her ass, I’m good with it,” I said.
“She has a nice ass. I don’t know that I am.”
“My ASS is none of your concern,” Ryan fumed… I just giggled.
Matt looked at her flatly, “How many rounds did you fire in CQB training this year? How about in your whole career?”
“What does that have anything to do with this?” Ryan said defensively.
“I have about forty-thousand rounds, in just CQB training.” Matt just looked at her with his NODs still down. “Henry probably has twice that.”
“Yeah, about that,” I concurred. “But she is right Matt. They will open the door for her. If they don’t, then we will do it for them,” I said.
“I still don’t like it,” he replied.
“Yeah, I know your sweet on her. I’ll be with her.”
Matt let out a hiss, “Fine, I’m tired of talking.” He turned, looked and listened, then headed to the back of the house.
“Okay then Deputy… Officer? I don’t know what to call you now?”
“Ryan is fine,” she said with a bit of a nervous laugh. “Do you really think he…?”
I stopped her, “Let’s deal with the high school romance after, okay?”
“YEAH! Yeah, of course,” she said.
“You should probable stow those in my pack,” I pointed to the skull crusher on her head and the PVS7 in her hand. “They may react strangely when they look out the window and you’re wearing that,” I said.
Ryan stopped, “Yeah, yeah…uh, good point.” She handed me the PVS7 and took off the skull-crusher mount. I turned around so she could store it in my pack. I handed her the PVS7 to store as well. I could hear her lift up my wind breaker and unzip my pack.
“Done” she said as she rezipped my pack.
“You first,” I said with a small flourish of my hand in the direction of the house.
Ryan started towards the door. She was fixing her hair and unbuttoned her jacket. I watched as she practiced clearing her jacket out of the way to get to her gun. My estimation of Ryan’s draw time may be a bit off. It looked like she had been working on it.
Ryan whispered, “Did you really run 80 thousand rounds in CQB Training last year?”
“Hell no!” I said. Ryan stared at me with daggers. “It was more like four thousand, Matt ran about half of that.”
“But...”
“But what? It’s more than you have ever run live for CQB,” I said seriously. “We do at least that much shooting for just CQB every year. We have our own shoot-house… Well, I suppose it’s ‘we had a shoot house’ now.”
Ryan’s jaw was hanging open, “Seriously?”
“Later Ryan… It’s game time… Focus,” I said, as we were now 50 feet from the front porch. Ryan nodded and steadied herself as she approached the porch.
Ryan stepped up on the porch, and I followed her closely moving to her left against the door frame where I couldn't be seen by the windows or the door… Ryan knocked. Suddenly there was stillness inside the house, all the little movement and noises inside stopped. The house went quiet. I could hear a mumbling from inside the house and then footsteps coming towards the door. The locks on the door clicked and clacked, then the door opened about 8 inches. I hid myself to the left of Ryan and to the right of whoever opened the door.
A female voice asked, “Officer Ryan?”
“Hi Helen. How are you this evening?” Ryan asked professionally.
“We are good… Um why are you here and what’s that around your neck?” the woman asked.
Ryan reached up and touched her throat mic, “Oh this? It’s part of my new radio. Ya know, trying to keep in contact with everything that’s going on, it’s a little hard right now.”
Helen let out a nervous laugh, “Yeah, it’s crazy… No internet, TV, phones… Jacob tried to go to the store, and the cops told him to go home... It’s scary.”
“Oh yeah, I get it. I didn’t see you, Jacob or the kiddos at the park for the meeting today. Did Josh not make it down here?”
“No, no he didn’t… there was a meeting?” Helen asked.
“Yes, there was. I had some stuff to give the kids, I was hoping to see them there… So, Josh didn’t talk to you?” Helen shook her head. “Curious…because he said he did talk to you and that you said you all would be there. That’s why I’m here, to make sure you and Jacob and the kids are okay.”
The air went still. I could hear Helen breathing hard.
Ryan cocked her head and let her face go blank. “Maybe I should come in to check on everybody?” Ryan put her hand on the door.
Helen reacted and tried to slam the door on Ryan. I immediately hit my push to talk once, signaling Matt to breach the back door. Then I stepped out, turned, and rammed my shoulder into Ryan, shoving her into and through the doorway. The force was enough to knock Helen to the ground. I snapped my gun to my shoulder and pointed it at her face. She froze. Shock and fear were the only thing readable in her eyes. There was a loud crack and then bang, like a door being kicked in and the doorframe giving way.
“Ryan?” I shouted, “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay, just banged my hip and shoulder into the door, then tripped over the fucking couch.”
“Cuff her. I need to go find Matt,” I shouted.
Ryan came over and rolled the stunned and silent woman to her belly and cuffed her.
“Stay here,” I said as I started off down the hallway. I flipped up the Nods and turned the light on my weapon on, the lights in the house were also mostly on, so it washed out the night vision. As I moved down the hallway, I had no idea how many people were in here. I knew there was no point in asking the woman. She wouldn’t tell me anything, yet. I was hoping for no more than three adults, with two juveniles. The staircase was directly in front of me. With Matt and Ryan downstairs, I decided to go up. I quickly had the small upstairs cleared when I heard loud noises and shouting, then screaming and crying. I rushed downstairs, gun at low ready. The shouting and swearing gained in volume and intensity.