The Siege (30 page)

     “Very well. Who holds proxy for Debbie?”

     David stood.

     “I do. She votes to let them stay.”

     “Okay. Who holds proxy for Joe?”

     John stood.

     “I do. Joe votes for them to stay.”

     “Very well. We have four proxy votes for the newcomers to be allowed to stay. Now, for the rest of us, we’ll need to see a show of hands. Karen, would you do the count?”

     “Certainly.”

     “Thank you. Now, for everyone who is in favor of allowing these people to live here permanently, and become permanent members of our group, please raise your hands.”

     A few minutes later Sami went bounding out to the apple orchard and whispered in Hannah’s ear.

     Eva said, “I assume the votes have been counted, and you’re here to tell us of our fate.”

     The girls looked shocked.

     Hannah gasped, “You knew?”

     Eva smiled.

     “Of course I knew. I figured it out when I saw everyone starting to gather in your dining area about the same time we were coming out for our picnic. You must remember,
sweet child, that I am much older that any of you. I’d like to think that with age comes wisdom.”

     “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have kept it from you.”

     “Nonsense. You kept it from me to spare my feelings. So I wouldn’t be stressed, knowing that the fate of my husband and I was in the hands of others. I totally understand why you kept it from me, just as I understand the reason for having the meeting and taking the vote to begin with.

     “Now then… are you going to keep me in suspense all day, or are you going to tell me what my future holds?”

     Sami said, “It was unanimous. Every single person wants you all to stay and be part of our family.”

Chapter
62

     There was but one thing left to do.

     It wasn’t anything anyone wanted to participate in, but it obviously had to be done. And there were no shortage of volunteers.

     In the end, Bobby chose Bryan and Brad to go with him. They were healthy and strong, and both were capable of defending themselves if there was trouble.

     While the three were gone, several of the others prepared the gravesite. There were eleven victims, but only six graves. The children would be buried with their parents, the husbands with their wives.

     Karen was busy working on the markers, which consisted of small white crosses with their names hand painted. On the children’s crosses she added a teddy bear.

     When the team returned, with the bodies wrapped in linen and placed snugly into the back of two pickup trucks, there was little ceremony or fanfare. The pickups were simply backed up to the graves and the bodies were gently and lovingly placed inside them
.

    
Bryan, the closest thing the group had to a minister, said a separate prayer for each one of the departed. Then the women of the group took the survivors away, to comfort them. It fell to the others to seal the graves and install the markers.

     For the first time since her ordeal began, the Widow Spencer was able to come out in
to the sunshine. She was in a motorized scooter now, still trying to get used to it, and trying not to get it stuck in the soft ground of the tiny graveyard.

     Frank was beside her in another scooter, holding her hand during the
service. Eva was on the other side of him, holding the other.

     Frank was still technically on bed rest, but had insisted on seeing his best friend and the others buried. He’d return to bed as soon as it was over, he’d promised. And he’d be a good boy after that.

     A couple of days later, Karen had Bryan carry a large white rock from her workshop to the burial spot. It was a monument she’d made for the fallen, and she’d have carried it herself but it was just too heavy. She asked Bryan so they could say a prayer together after the stone was placed.

     It said simply:

    
These are the fallen in the massacre at Buena Vista Drive. May there come a time when man allows others to live in peace and harmony, and without fear. A time when greed no longer drives men to kill. God bless and watch over these good people.

     Thank you for readin
g
THE SIEGE
.
It was a fun book to write, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed it.

    
Please enjoy this preview of
The Army Comes Calling
, the next installment of the
Final Dawn
series.

THE ARMY COMES CALLING

     The Huey hovered over the compound for several minutes. John, against all good judgment, went up to the roof and watched. It was a very bold and possibly very stupid move. If they had wanted to take him out, a short burst from their door gunner would have done the trick quite nicely.

     John wasn’t even sure why he went up. He supposed it was to show the Army he was
n’t afraid of them. To show them that if they wanted a fight, they had one.

     Inside the safe room, it was deathly silent. The bulk of the c
ompound’s residents were lost in their own silent thoughts.

     Many of them were wondering if they’d seen their last sunrise. Many of the parents were wondering if the children would be spared, and what might become of them. Many of the children were close to tears, but didn’t want to be the first to start sobbing.

     At the control center, Sarah was doing the play by play.

     “Still no other activity on any of the other monitors. Even the long range cameras show no activity on Highway 83 or Interstate 10. I still can’t see the helicopter, it’s still out of camera view,
but I know it’s out there. I can hear it.”

     John didn’t tell anyone he went up to the roof. He’d left the security center without saying a word. The key players in the security center probably assumed he went to check on the women and children.

     The women and children certainly assumed he was manning his usual station at security, plotting his next move.

     But here he was, standing on the roof, glaring at the invaders who’d had the nerve to violate the sanctity of their home.

     And wondering what the hell they were doing.

    
He suspected they were looking for a place to land. But there just wasn’t sufficient space in the compound to do so. All the open space was now covered with crops.

     Perhaps they didn’t want to do damage to the plants. That might not be a bad sign, depending on their intentions. It might mean they were friendly, just paying a courtesy call, and didn’t want to do any damage to the property.

     Or, it could mean that they didn’t want to cause any damage to the wheat crop that would become theirs after they blew everyone away.

     After a few
minutes the chopper suddenly rose and banked sharply. It flew directly over John’s head, and then hovered over the clearing at the front of the compound.

     Sarah gave an update.

     “Okay, the helicopter has moved to the south side of the compound. It’s hovering now, just a few feet above the ground. I can count three people in the back, and two pilots in the front.”

     Mark, Bryan and Brad stood with her, watching the monitors but not saying anything.

     John, before anyone else, knew they were coming to call. He was already off the roof, and working his way down the stairs, unbuckling his web belt along the way.

     He would go out alone, and unarmed. A handgun wouldn’t do him a lick of good against a machine gun. But it would give them cause to shoot him if they thought he was hostile.

     He might be walking into a certain death. But if that was their intention, it would happen whether he had his handgun or not.

     Sarah’s voice changed. She was obviously more excited now.

     “Okay, now they’ve landed. They’ve landed on the south side of the compound. The propeller blades are still moving, but slower now. Two men have stepped out of the back. The third man in the back is still sitting behind what looks like a machine gun. The two pilots are just sitting there.”

     When she paused, John took his turn on the radio. “One of you guys meet me at the walkthrough gate. I’m going out to see what they want.”

     Sami, in the safe room helping take care of the children, suddenly felt faint. She felt as though someone had punched her in the gut. Why John? Why her father? Why was he always the one putting his life on the line?

     Hannah recognized the cues and went to her friend and held her.
So did little Markie.

    
Mark tapped Bryan on the shoulder and motioned for him to come along. They met John at the gate and Mark said, “I’m going too.”

    
Bryan said, “Oh no, you’re not. You have a kid. I don’t. I’m going.”

     Ordinarily Mark would have argued. But he had the sense there wasn’t enough time. And there was something in
Bryan’s voice that told him he’d already lost the argument.

     John said to
Bryan, “Lose your weapon. I don’t want to give them any reason to gun us down.”

    
Bryan complied, and felt naked without his sidearm. But John made good sense.

     Mark called in.

     “Sarah, are we all clear?”

     “Yes. You can open the gate.”

     She watched on the monitor and caught her breath as she saw her husband step through the gate with John. This was something she hadn’t expected.

     But Sarah was a trooper. She kept doing her job although her heart was breaking.

     “Okay, the two men standing outside the helicopter are just watching, like they’re waiting. John and Bryan are walking down the fence line, but they can’t see each other yet. Okay, now, John and Bryan are around the corner. They are approaching the helicopter with their arms stretched out to their sides. I hope you all are praying, because these guys need all the help they can get.”

     John and Bryan were within twenty feet of the visitors now. John immediately recognized the gold oak leaf insignia on one
of the men’s brown flight suit. Sewn onto the other man’s flight suit was a blue eagle, its wings outstretched.

     Nothing on the men’s faces gave any indication whether they were friend or foe.

     John nodded at the man wearing the gold leaf and said, “Hello, major.”

     Then he turned to the taller of the men, the one wearing the eagle, and said, “Colonel, my name is John. This is my friend Mark. How can we help you?”

     “Are you two in charge of this place?”

     “We have no real leaders. But we represent the group.”

     “We have orders from the President of the United States of America to take possession of your livestock. You and your people are welcome to stay here if you wish. But we will be here with transport vehicles by 1400 hours tomorrow to load your animals. Please have them ready to go.”

     John was unswayed.

     “Colonel, may I ask by what authority President Sanders thinks he can take livestock that doesn’t belong to him?”

     “It’s not President Sanders. Sanders died a long time ago. It’s President Clark. Call it an executive order for the essential health and welfare of the American people.”

     He was obviously not a man who enjoyed backtalk or debate. With a cockiness common of military officers who knew they could snuff out lives with a simple nod of their head, he turned on his heels and returned to his helicopter.

     His major followed without so much as a word.

     John and Mark held their ground as the Cobra lifted off, swirling dust and leaves all around them. It rose to a level just above the treetops, banked sharply to port, and flew off to the north.