Enforcing Home (5 page)

“We’re good; we ate at the armory. We’re going to get some shut-eye so we can relieve you later. Sarge said you were coming back down for a watch; we’ll come take over after some sleep,” Perez said.

I looked in at Jamie, “You sure? You’ve had a long day too.”

Jamie nodded, “We’re sure.”

I offered a weak smile, “Thanks, I’ll see you guys later then.”

Ian slapped the top of the Hummer and Perez pulled away. I stood in the rain for a moment and watched them as they made the turn and headed home; then continued my walk in the rain.

Chapter 3

M
ike came into the living room of the house. Doc was sitting on the sofa with his feet on the coffee table. His head was laid back on the cushion and his hat pulled down over his eyes. “Hey Doc, you got a stethoscope I can borrow?”

Without moving, Doc replied, “You and Ted playing doctor again?”

Mike didn’t miss a beat. “No, ever since the time I played proctologist, Teddy won’t play with me.”

Doc’s head rocked back and forth on the sofa as he reached into his pack lying beside him on the couch. He fished around, pulling the apparatus out and tossing it in Mike’s direction. “Don’t break it; and bring it back.”

Mike snagged it in the air. “No worries; I won’t hurt it.”

Now properly equipped, Mike went back to the bedroom and opened the closet door. Looking at the huge safe, he smiled. “Hello gorgeous,” he said as he slipped the ends of the scope into his ears. Pulling a Sharpie out of his pocket, he uncapped it and held it in his mouth as he placed the chest piece against the safe just above the dial.

After giving it several spins to the right, he began turning it very slowly, listening intently as the dial moved. After rotating the dial about one third of a full revolution, he heard a faint click through the earpieces. He released the dial and smiled, noting that it was set on 36, which he wrote down on the safe. He capped his marker, “That’s enough for today;” and laying the stethoscope around his neck, he headed out to the living room. Tossing it back to Doc, he said, “Thanks, I’ll need to borrow it again later.”

“Didn’t get in huh?” Doc asked from under his hat.

Ted was in the kitchen, and asked, “Get into what?”

Doc wiggled his feet, “Houdini here is trying to get into that safe.”

Mike looked at Doc with mock surprise, “Why; whatever gave you that idea?”

“You want in that can? I can get you in,” Ted said.

Mike stared at him for a moment. He knew better than to ask; but curiosity got the better of him, “Oh yeah, how?”

Ted reached into his pack lying on the counter and pulled out a small block and tossed it to Mike. He caught it and smirked, “I want whatever is in there in one piece,” and tossed the block of C4 back to Ted.

Ted caught it and shrugged, “Whatever; it’ll get you in though.”

“I’ll try my way first.”

Ted held the block up, “You’ll want it later. I’ll hold onto it for you,” he smiled, winked and shoved the block back into his pack.

Mike gave him the finger in reply. “I’m going to get some sleep before our fun tonight.”

“Good idea; now shut up so I can too,” Doc replied from under his hat.

I was in the bathroom changing into some dry clothes; the rain had soaked me to the bone. The house was quiet. I assumed Mel and the girls were at Danny’s house, which was fine by me for the moment. Dropping my wet clothes in the tub, I toweled off and put on a dry set. After changing, I went out to the living room and sat on the couch, listening to the rain as it pelted the roof. I laid my head back on the sofa and closed my eyes. As soon as they closed, the image of the bullet crashing into the man’s head I had just executed flashed into my mind. It was as if I had been jolted. I quickly sat up and slipped a holster onto my belt. Picking up the Springfield, I looked at it for a moment, turning it over slowly.

The gun was wet, rain thankfully; and I used the towel to dry it. Dropping the mag, I replaced it with a full one from the vest and pushed it into the holster. I picked up the carbine as I went out the door for the short walk to Danny’s.

Mel was sitting on the porch with Little Bit in her lap. Lee Ann was in front of her with her legs hanging off the porch, her H&K laid across her lap. Bobbie, Jess, Fred and Mary were there as well. I tried to look upbeat as I approached, doing my best to smile, “Hey guys.”

Mel looked up; it was obvious she could see through my attempt at hiding my mood. “Where’s Taylor?” I asked.

“She’s inside lying down,” Jess replied.

I looked at Lee Ann, “You alright kiddo?”

She shrugged, “Yeah, did you find them?”

All eyes were on me, waiting for my response. I surveyed the faces of those before me, “We did; and they won’t be bothering anyone any time soon.”

Lee Ann cocked her head to the side, “Did you kill them?”

“I hope so,” Little Bit replied.

“You better have,” Mel added.

Danny walked out on the porch, “What’s the word?”

“The word is the three that were after the girls are no more,” I replied.

“And?” Mel asked.

“And there are more of them.”

“We’re going after them aren’t we?” Jess asked.

“Yeah; we can’t let them come back,” Fred added.

“Mike and Ted are going to go find them later tonight. We don’t know how many there are, or where they are. We have an idea, but we’ve got to get some more info,” I said.

“You think they’ll come back?” Danny asked.

I looked up at him, “You know they are; three of theirs are dead.”

The statement caused a flurry of comments. I told everyone we needed to keep our eyes open, especially at night. Jess and Fred were convinced they would be back tonight, but I thought it unlikely. Their leader, Billy, seemed like the kind of guy that would surely want his revenge; but he would probably plan it and pick the time and place to act on it. While we were discussing this, Miss Kay walked out on the porch. She was perpetually smiling it seemed; she announced, “Dinner’s ready.”

“I’ll run get Brandy,” Jess said as she hopped up. I was pleased to see the .45 I gave her jutting out of a back pocket of her jeans;
she needs a holster,
I thought. We went in and had a quiet dinner; no one talked much. Taylor wouldn’t come down; she stayed upstairs in the bed. I for one was happy there was no conversation; what I’d just done was weighing heavy on my mind. Miss Kay tried to lighten the mood with cheerful conversation, but it didn’t go far. I was brought around by Danny talking about the chicken feeder.

“We got your chicken feeder running,” He said.

I was caught off guard by the comment; and it took Little Bit chiming in to bring me around. “Danny put the guts of the squirrels we killed today in a bucket. He said it was a chicken feeder.” She screwed her little face up, “chickens eat guts?”

I smiled, “Actually they will; but the guts aren’t for them. The guts are for the flies.”

“Eww, they’re going to eat the flies?” She asked.

Laughing, I replied, “No.” I leaned across the table towards her, “they’re going to eat the maggots!”

“That’s disgusting,” Lee Ann offered.

“You have a bucket of guts to grow maggots in?” Miss Kay asked.

I relayed the concept to everyone, with Little Bit adding colorful details on the design. Once the description was done, I sat in silence with all eyes on me. Little Bit was beaming, smiling from ear to ear. Finally, Miss Kay spoke up, “That is amazing; I would never have thought of that.”

“Yeah, how’d you come up with that?” Fred asked.

“I read a lot.”

“Yeah; too much,” Mel added.

I smiled, “not anymore.” Looking at Kay, I said, “thanks for dinner; it was good.” Then I got Danny’s attention, “we have to go to the barricade.”

“What? Why you? You need to come home with us,” Mel shot back.

“I’m sorry babe; we have to go. The guys are going out to find the rest of the group that came after the girls; and someone has to watch the barricade.”

“Why can’t Thad do it?” She asked.

“He’s already down there.”

“Why not Tyler and Aric?”

“Tyler is already down there too,” I replied.

“I can go.” Aric offered.

“Me too; I’ll go,” Fred added.

“I know you would,” I replied with a halfhearted smile. “But we’ve already discussed it, and we don’t want any women down there right now.”

Jess jumped to her feet, “What! We’re just as capable as you are!”

I did my best to explain the situation as delicately as possible. “I know you are. It’s not that I think you are not up to the challenge. These guys aren’t looking to take food or weapons.”

Jess crossed her arms indignantly, “We can still do our part!”

I walked slowly to her. “I know; but these guys are looking for women. They were trying to take the girls; do you understand that?” She stared back at me for a moment, “what do you think they wanted them for? Think about it for a minute; what do you think they would do with you.” I pointed at Fred, “or her,” then at Mel and Bobbie, “or them?” Lastly, I pointed at Little Bit, “or her and her sisters?”

I watched their faces and could see the realization slowly come over them collectively. Jess relaxed; she had her demons already to deal with. She knew the horrors I was trying so hard not to say. She slowly sat down beside Mel and looked at Little Bit, “Let him go.” She looked back at me, “he’s only trying to take care of everyone.”

Mel let out a loud sigh, “I know he is; but why is it always him?”

“It’s not just him; I’m going too,” Danny said.

I looked at Mel, “And it’s not my ass on the line really. Ted and Mike are going out tonight to find these guys.”

Jeff’s voice came from the kitchen, scaring the shit out of everyone in the room. “Me too; I’m going with them.” All eyes were now on Jeff. He smoothed his beard that was now down past his collar, “I know you think Morgan is always hanging his ass out in the breeze, that he takes a lot of risks; but the reality of the situation is just the opposite.” Jeff nodded at me, “We’re all here because of him in one way or another. It’s like he’s got some weird gravitational pull that holds all this together. We all owe him. I know I do; he saved my life, took me in here.” He looked at Jess, “He looked out for you, got you to your family; shit went south and now here you are. Brandy, I know you haven’t said anything, but he’s saved your family as well.” Brandy nodded slowly. “We all take risks today; it’s just the way of it.” He finished what he had to say and shrugged, “jus’ sayin’.”

Jeff’s statement shocked everyone. He’d never said so much at one time before. Once again the room fell silent until yet another voice surprised everyone.

“I agree; I know he saved me.” It was Mary. She was sitting on a chair against the wall; and until that moment, I had no idea she was even in the room. She was dealing with her own demons.

The sudden realization that Mary was there caused me to jump once again. I looked around the room, “Is there anyone else here I don’t know about?”

“I think this is everyone,” Jess said.

“You gals think you’re not being allowed to participate; but it’s quite the opposite. We have no idea where these guys are going to come from. I seriously doubt they are going to come through the front door. They’ll probably watch us for a few days and find a soft spot to come through, probably through the woods somewhere.” I scanned the room, “it will be up to you gals to stop them if that happens.”

“They’re going to sneak in here?” Little Bit asked as she shrank back against Mel.

“They’re going to try kiddo; but we’re going to stop them,” I replied with a smile.

“Yes we will,” Jess added.

“Until this is over, everyone needs to be extra careful. Stay close to home, and never go anywhere alone. We have to stay together; if anyone is alone, he or she runs a risk of disappearing.”

The room was full of solemn faces, the weight of the situation settling over them. Danny and I needed to get to the barricade, and Jeff needed to hook up with the guys. Mel decided to stay at Bobbie’s. Brandy would wait there until Tyler returned from the barricade, then they would go home. Jess, Fred and Aric would all go home; Thad would be there as well. It would be better to have everyone together in groups.

I kissed Mel and Little Bit. Lee Ann never was much of one for a kiss on the cheek; but she did stand up and give me a hug. I smiled and razzed her, “Awe, I feel so special.” She smiled and rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she replied as she twirled and walked away. I knew then she was going to be alright.

It was still raining, so I ran home quickly and put on my rain gear. A poncho serves its purpose well and has many uses aside from wearing, but I hate the damn things. You’re always wet from the knees down, and they seem to be a perfect gutter for directing water into your boot. I put on my rain gear. It was expensive when I bought it, but Blackhawk makes some awesome gear. Once dressed, I wandered back across the fence. Danny and I loaded onto one of the ATVs, headed for the barricade; and Jeff took another and headed over to meet the guys.

“Miss Kay has dinner waiting on you guys,” I said when we stopped.

“Good; I’m starving,” Tyler replied.

“You think we should go warn Miss Gena and Dylan about these guys?” Thad asked.

I shook my head, “I wouldn’t. They could be watching us; and we don’t want those guys to know they have anything to do with us. That could make them a target.”

“I agree,” Sarge replied.

“You guys take off; we’ve got this,” I said.

“Sounds good; I’m hungry,” Thad replied.

“And I’m wet,” Tyler replied.

They loaded up and quickly left, leaving Danny and me in the dark as the rain continued to pelt us. Once they were gone, I went over to the war wagon and pulled the NVGs out. These things were amazing. I once heard someone say that having them made it
unfair
for those that didn’t have them. The device I held in my hand certainly proved that statement true. Third generation Mil-Spec equipment is light years beyond most of the commercial equipment available, though I was truly thankful for mine when I needed it. Had I known then what I know now about the quality of the equipment, I would have bought my own PVS-14.

I took the NVGs out to the road, turned them on and scanned the road north and south, and then the field across the road. Seeing nothing, I turned it off and walked back to the barricade. Danny was tying a poncho up in the trees near the buggy, his headlamp illuminating the paracord he was knotting.

“Good idea,” I said.

“I thought it would be nice to have someplace out of the rain,” he replied. He finished the knot he was tying and let the limb go. It popped up, and the poncho snapped tight.

Stepping under the poncho, I stuffed the NVGs into the pocket on my rain coat. Danny pulled his poncho over his head and hung it on a limb. “That’s better,” he said.