Kiamichi Refuge (16 page)

Every person will have a radio, and we will use code names for the squads and for Nolan and Charlie. Each of you will have both a rifle and a handgun, and each squad will have at least one person with binoculars. Now, we’ll break up into squads and let your leaders tell you the specifics of the plan.”

***

Before dawn the next morning, the three squads were in place. Talako’s squad was designated Gray Eagle, and was the larger squad assigned to the area around the church building. Charlie climbed up and through a trap door that gave access to the tiny observation platform in the steeple. It made a perfect spot for the old sniper to set up. His call sign was Hawkeye.

Shane’s code name was Lone Eagle, and he was in the middle of downtown on the ground level so he could stay mobile. His quickness in assessing threats paired with his fighting skills, both with guns and hand-to-hand, made him a valuable asset. His assignment was to shadow the gang from wherever they got out of their van, try to see if any went off in another direction, and take whatever action he deemed appropriate if they did.

The men who were already in the church building guarded the outside doors. Ken and Sarah guarded the stairway to the basement, where the women and children were, in case anyone got that far. Heather and Jimmy were in the classrooms upstairs, overlooking the street and parking lot. Talako took up his position in an empty house across the street, and Nolan, code named Blue Eagle, was in an upstairs window of a house across the parking lot from the church. They both had a clear view of the entire street, and Talako’s position allowed him to see most of downtown, as well as the small cluster of houses on the street behind Lydia’s shop.

Gus’s squad, Green Eagle, was assigned to the downtown area. From their spot on the roof of an abandoned store, Gus and Hunter could help Talako cover the homes behind Lydia’s, while Tanner and Erin were on the roof of Gus’s shop. Tanner watched the alley behind the shop and the homes on the next street. Erin had the front, and was expected to see the gang first if they came from the west, the direction they had gone when they left town. Erin’s position was designated Aerie One.

Red Eagle, John’s squad, had the southeast section of town, and were able to see the homes there, as well as monitor the road that led out of town to the south. Will and Vince could see the east end of Main Street and the intersection near the church. John and Ian were on the roof of the old feed store, the last building at that end of town, and their position was called Aerie Two.

Each squad had an assigned channel to communicate within the squad, and Nolan had his own channel as commander. He had instructed one of each pair of fighters to stay tuned to the squad channel, and the other to stay on his channel, to speed up communications. Charlie and Shane would monitor Nolan’s channel.

Everyone was ready to move if needed elsewhere, except those guarding the church. They had a lot innocent people there to protect, and they all considered that protection to be paramount. After all, keeping the townspeople safe was the ultimate goal, the main reason they were there, ready to fight.

***

The wait seemed interminable, and those who were on roofs began to feel the heat of the blazing sun soon after it rose. There was not even a wisp of a breeze. Erin wiped the perspiration from her forehead, and with the sun at her back, used her binoculars to scan to the west, past the buildings of town, down the two-lane highway that connected the town to the turnpike. She supposed that the bad guys were sleeping off a drunk, and would be late coming into town.

As time dragged on, everyone got sweaty and tense from the waiting, but Erin continued to watch the highway. Suddenly, she caught a tiny flash of light, a reflection from the sun on something shiny, then she heard the faint hum of an engine, just a split second before she saw the beat-up old van top a hill in the distance.

“Blue Eagle, Blue Eagle. This is Aerie One. We have a sighting and it’s the same van we saw before. Now approaching the west edge of town.” Erin raised the binoculars again, being careful to stay inconspicuous. “Slowing down. I can see faces now. Looks like the van has a full load of passengers, maybe eight or ten.”

“Aerie One, have they reached your position yet?”

“Rolling slowly past us . . . now. Still heading east, Blue Eagle.”

“Hold your position, Aerie One. All squads, remember: do not fire until there has been an illegal act committed. We are not murderers, but if any of them commits a crime, shoot to kill. Once the shooting starts, it is open season on buzzards.”

Gus’s voice broke in. “Blue Eagle, the van is stopping between our position and the corner. Buzzards are exiting the vehicle and running toward the alley.”

Will spoke up. “There’s a girl back there! I think they saw her. She just spotted them . . . she took off to the east.” Will stopped speaking for several seconds, then, “They caught her, and oh, no! They’re going to rape her!”

“That’s it.” Nolan’s voice was cold. “That’s it. They’re dead men. All squads except Aeries One and Two, move in now!”

“Girl is down! I repeat, girl is down!” Will sounded angry and breathless.

Hunter, Gus, and Shane burst out of their respective locations, running toward the alley. As they crossed the street, the van’s tires squealed. The driver had seen them, and he took off, abandoning his pals.

In the alley, the poor young woman lay on the ground, being raped by a heavyset, bald thug when John stepped out a nearby door and shot him in the head, then turned and quickly fired at another punk. Hunter and Gus came around the corner of the building and Gus shot a mean-looking black man who was raising a gun to take John out. Gus started to fire again, but was grazed by a shot from another convict.

Shane arrived in time to take a shot at a wiry fellow who was backing away from the fight. As the punk dropped from a gut shot, Shane side-kicked another convict in the knee, crippling him for the few minutes that remained of his sorry life. Shane leaned over and rammed his knuckles into the guy’s throat, crushing his windpipe, then in one fluid movement, rose and kicked another in the groin. When the man doubled over in pain, Shane grabbed his left ear, pulled him up, and drove his elbow into the thin bones of the man’s right temple, sending slivers of bone into the thug’s brain.

Hunter dove into the middle of the fray, grabbing the girl under the arms and helping her to a spot behind a dumpster, out of immediate danger. She was in a daze, but cooperated.

“Stay here. I’ll be back after we finish cleaning out the vermin,” Hunter whispered.

Vince sprinted down the alley, and shot twice at a tattooed young Hispanic who simultaneously fired at Will. The Hispanic kid fell to his knees on the pavement, but tried to raise his gun. Vince shot him again. The kid looked stunned for a second, then slowly toppled over. Will dropped his weapon and clutched his upper arm, where blood ran freely.

Two of the convicts managed to retreat, running west down the alley toward Tanner and Erin’s position. Tanner darted down the ladder, ran to the door, and stepped into their path, shouting, “Stop! Drop those guns, right now!”

One of them dropped a revolver and showed his empty hands, but the other one tried to raise his gun to shoot Tanner. Erin, looking down from the roof of the two-story building, shot the man in the upper chest. The bullet, angling steeply downward, hit several vital organs before exiting through the man’s buttocks. He fell backwards, and Erin watched his eyes glaze over as blood ran from his mouth.

Almost as quickly as it began, the fight was over. The last convict knew he had no chance to escape, with both Gus and John pointing guns at him. He dropped his weapon and clasped his hands behind his head, fingers interlaced. It was obvious that he had been through the drill before. With Tanner’s captive, that made two who would stand trial.

John lifted his radio wearily to his mouth. “Blue Eagle, it’s over. Will is hit, gunshot to the arm. He’s losing a lot of blood. Gus has a flesh wound. Notify Angie. We need transport for Will and Gus. Seven buzzards down, two captured.”

Late July

Nolan and Talako came tearing down the street in Erin’s Expedition, screeching to a stop in a narrow parking lot between two buildings. Shane had taken off his tee shirt and had it pressed firmly against Will’s arm in an effort to stop the bleeding. Ian and Shane helped Will into the seat, Shane climbing in to keep pressure on the wound. Gus climbed into the back.

Charlie, Ken, and Sarah arrived just as the big SUV sped away.

“How bad is it?” Ken asked.

John looked worried. “The bullet went through. I think he’ll be okay, if the bleeding stops. Gus has a graze, but it’s deep. He’s a tough old bird. Stayed in the fight even after taking a hit.”

“What are we going to do with the bodies?” Sarah inquired.

“Leave them where they are for now. We’ll deal with that tomorrow,” John sighed wearily.

The others gathered around, the expressions on their faces a study in contrasts, from satisfied to shell-shocked. Most of them avoided looking too closely at the dead convicts. Erin’s face was a blank, her eyes sad, and she was very quiet. The Gibbs twins came last, one on each side of the young rape victim, Amber. They had both known her in high school.

Ken gestured for everyone to move in close. “Amber, we would like for you to come stay at the church with us. There are several ladies there already. We’ll be happy to help you in any way we can. Everyone, I think that prayer would be appropriate now, if you would join me.”

Heads bowed, they prayed.

***

Wearily, the group trudged back to their vehicles, which were parked behind the church. The two captives, tied hand and foot, had been locked in the city jail. Not one of the town’s three police officers was anywhere to be seen, but the keys to the cells were in a desk drawer. Heather and Hunter volunteered to stay at the jail to guard the prisoners until their trial, which would be the next morning.

***

Angie had just finished cleaning and stitching Will’s arm, while Mac and Valerie cleaned and dressed Gus’s graze, when the other vehicles pulled into the yard. Angie bandaged Will’s wound, then gave him a pain pill that Richie had gotten out of his stock. She rinsed her hands and walked into Nolan’s arms.

“Frances and Valerie prepared a light lunch for everyone. Go wash up and we’ll eat a bite,” she urged.

Exhaustion etched the faces of the friends seated anywhere that they could find a spot. Will was out cold, but Gus visited with Charlie while they ate.

In turn, each of the warriors quietly related his or her part in the morning’s fight, except Erin, who said very little.

“I wonder where the guy in the van went,” Gus scratched his head. “Did anyone see which direction he took?”

“He turned at the corner, went a block, and turned again, headed west. I bet he went back to wherever they were hiding out. Or maybe he just kept going. One can hope,” Ian replied.

Plans were made to meet in town the next morning for the trial, then those who lived elsewhere left. Angie promised to check in on her patients soon, and left instructions for their care in the meantime.

Promising that one of them would be back soon with Rose, Talako and John went home through the eastern cave. Erin told them to tell Rose that she was welcome to stay overnight if she wanted, then lapsed into silence once again.

***

Rose came back with John. She sat beside her husband until he woke up. He was groggy, but smiled into her dark eyes and reassured her that he would be fine. Angie gave him an oral antibiotic and another pain pill, then Rose let John lead her back home. She wanted to talk to her children and make sure that they understood that even though their daddy was hurt, he would be just fine.

Taking Erin’s hand, Tanner gently led her outside to the bench on the front porch.

“Honey, I know that today was completely out of your realm of experience. Maybe it would help to talk about it, if you want. Or we can just sit here and be still. Whatever you want, I’m here.”

Erin took a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring at the wooden planks beneath her feet. “I’ve never killed anyone before. I’m not sorry I did it, not at all, because he would have killed you. I guess it’s partly shock, and partly that I wonder if something is wrong with my heart, because I don’t feel the least bit guilty. Does that make me a bad person, a cold person, that I can take a life and not feel any remorse?”

“No. Absolutely not. It makes you a very brave woman. Those men were beyond evil. They would have gang raped that girl, or you, for that matter. They have killed before and tried to kill today. There was no reasoning with them. You did what needed to be done. Ernie would be proud of you.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I do. He left the weapons so that you and whoever you befriended could protect yourselves and others. That’s what you did today, what we all did. You stopped a bad man from killing me, and while I’m sorry that you had to do it, I’m also glad you didn’t hesitate. You saved my life today, Erin. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Funny, the only thought I had when I saw that punk take aim at you was, ‘not while I’m breathing.’ Those words were in my mind when I pulled the trigger. There was no way I was going to let that scumbag hoodlum hurt you, and do you know why?”

Tanner smiled. “I think I do, but tell me anyway.”

Erin put a hand on each side of his face, and looking into those beautiful dark eyes, said softly, “Because I love you.” 

***

The next morning, Talako presided over a trial held in the abandoned feed store. Twelve adults, none of whom had been involved in the battle the previous day, were chosen to act as jurors.

Because there were no lawyers available, the witnesses just stood and told their stories. One young woman came forward and pointed at one of the defendants. “My name is Robin Harris. That man raped me, along with a couple of his friends. They beat me and burned me with cigarettes, then laughed when I screamed.” She raised the bottom of her shirt to show the burn marks on her stomach. “They let me go, but that man told me that they would be back, and bring more friends next time.”

Amber testified that the two men had both been with the man who had raped her, and that they egged him on, eagerly waiting their turns. John then explained that he had witnessed the rape and saw the defendants at the scene.

The old woman who had been beaten hobbled forward, and weeping, told the jury how the two had been with the gang that broke into her house. She pointed at Weasel, and stated that he had struck her husband on the head with a tire iron. She explained that they had hit and kicked her, and beat her husband to death. She described how they stole their food, her wedding ring and her husband’s watch, then left her lying on the floor, bleeding and unable to rise.

Erin, Tanner, and Ian testified that they had seen the men actively participating in looting and vandalism, then Gus described how they had gone through the town, stealing food, liquor, and valuables, breaking windows, and destroying property.

Talako asked the defendants if they had anything to say in their own defense.  Weasel refused to speak at all, and just stared sullenly at the floor.

The Hispanic man spat in Talako’s direction, cursing him in Spanish before switching to English.

“You don’t have the authority to try me. I know my rights. I want a lawyer! You stupid gringos can’t do this to me!”

Talako explained that there were no lawyers available, and that the court was just as legal as the courts that meted out justice in the Old West. “A community has the power to keep its citizens safe. You have had a speedy trial, a jury, and a chance to speak out, if you have anything to say to refute the charges against you.”

The man spat again, and began calling the witnesses filthy names. “I will rape you again, stinking
puta
! You will pay for this. I will get out of prison and rape you to death!” He shouted obscenities at Robin Harris, threatening violent retribution, and screamed at the old woman that he would kill her, too.

Talako interrupted the tirade by gesturing to Tanner, who punched the man in the gut, causing him to double over and gasp for breath.

Talako stared at the man, eyes narrowed. “You won’t be escaping from prison. We won’t be putting anyone in prison for a while. What we
are
using is the death penalty.”

The jury went into the back room to deliberate, but were gone for only about ten minutes before returning with a unanimous verdict, guilty on all counts, and a recommendation for the death penalty. Talako asked for volunteers to form a firing squad. Almost every man present, and some of the women, stepped forward. Talako selected six men and had six rifles prepared.

The two condemned men were dragged to the edge of town and tied to a chain-link fence, the Hispanic man cursing the whole time. The firing squad took up their positions in a line. Talako called out, “Ready! Aim! Fire!” and it was done. 

***

A homebuilder who lived in the area and owned earthmoving equipment offered to use his front-end loader to move all the bodies, and his backhoe to dig a mass grave at the edge of a nearby field. Talako accepted, and Shane, Vince, and Ian said they would stay behind to help. The townspeople left, relieved to have the threat of the gang removed, and those who lived in the country went home as well, but Ken lingered nearby.

When the hole was large enough, The three younger men threw the bodies in. The builder began pushing dirt back into the hole, and nobody said anything, except Ken, who simply muttered, “May God have mercy on their souls.”

***

Later that night, Erin and Tanner sat on their upturned buckets on the deck, holding hands and saying very little. Tanner watched the moonlight play across Erin’s sweet face and knew that he had found everything he had ever wanted.

Finally, Erin turned to him and whispered, “I love you, Tanner McNeil.”

He smiled and put his arm around her. “I’ve loved you forever, Erin. And we’re going to be okay, all of us, thanks to your Uncle Ernie.”

“Yes, we’ll be fine. The worst is over now, and we’re all alive and together.”

A few minutes later, they heard someone coming up the stairs.

Ian, Vince, and Shane joined them on the deck, dirty and exhausted.

“I’m afraid we have some news,” Shane frowned. “We buried those bodies, but there was a problem.” He paused, letting out a long breath. “Ollie Simmons was not among the dead. Maybe that was him driving the van.”

Ian added, “He’s still out there somewhere. It’s not over yet.”

Vince’s face went hard, his eyes almost blazing, but his voice would have frozen hell. “I’ll find him. And when I do, I will kill him, if it’s the last thing I do.”