Dark justice, p.26
Dark Justice, page 26
part #7 of The Shadow Patriots Series
Tannenbaum finally spoke. “Buddy, we know where they are.”
Jervis wiped the sweat off his forehead. “You do?”
“Yep and we aim to get them back.”
Jervis scanned the debris and then turned back to Tannenbaum. “Count me in. I'm not one to run, and I'm pissed off enough to want to get even with these bastards.”
Vatter hadn't contemplated how difficult it was going to be to gather enough who were willing to join him. He hadn't really thought about that as his anger had clouded his thoughts. All he could think about was getting even with the rebels and getting their girls back. If he were going to have trouble finding enough guys, then he'd have to get as creative as they were.
His mind was spinning a mile a minute trying to put together a simple plan, and one slowly came together. They would do what the rebels had been doing to them. They'd pretend to be rebels. Dress in civilian clothes and drive a raggedy old van into Hudson. He'd just wait until everyone left and then arrive all calm and cool wanting to help them. Find out how many guards they left behind and take them out quietly. It would be dark enough the girls wouldn't be able to recognize them until it was too late.
Chapter 68
Hudson Michigan
Monday Night
Winters was sleeping on his left side, facing the wall, when he opened his eyes and found it completely dark in the room. It was nighttime, and he couldn't see anything as he thought about where he was. Then it hit him, he was in a bedroom and not in a barn on a bed of hay. He had come here with the girls who were sleeping in the other bed. He then felt a body next to him and thought perhaps it was Collette scared of a spider.
He turned over on his back trying to figure out who it was. Whoever this was, slept on her back, which meant it could be either one of the girls. He turned over on his right side and touched a shoulder to find hair. Definitely not Collette, which meant it had to be Laney. He could hear her steady rhythmic breathing and listened for a moment. It then began to dawn on him it wasn't Laney either. He remembered how she breathed and this wasn't it.
Winters put an arm around the girl's waist and realized it was Reese. Her presence brought a smile to his face because she wanted to be here, to be near him, if only for a little while. It gave her great comfort, and now, gave him the same. He continued to listen to her breathing. It was hypnotic as the air flowed in and out of her lungs. The calm and steady breathing was the complete opposite of their lives, which was chaotic and dangerous.
He reached down and put his hand over hers while continuing to listen not wanting to leave her side. After a few minutes, she spread her fingers apart and squeeze.
“You're awake,” said Reese.
“I am,” said Winters, “as are you.”
“I've been up for a while. Those two girls, the ones who found me, said you were still sleeping and thought I should slide in with you.”
Winters tightened his grip on her hand. She was still struggling with short-term memory. “I'm glad you did. It was nice to wake up next to you.”
“Really?”
“Oh gosh, yes. I've been listening to your breathing. It was soothing enough to be hypnotic.”
Reese let out a chuckle. “I did the same thing to you when I came in here. I loved listening to you breathe.”
“Well, aren't we just a pair.”
“I brought a candle in here. It's right on the floor by me if you want to reach over and get it. There's a lighter too.”
Winters gingerly reached over her careful not to touch her damaged right side. He grabbed the lighter first and lit the wick of the round pillar candle. It was sitting in a glass base, which he picked up and set on a table by the bed. The candle lit up the room with a soft glow. It was enough for them to look at each, which made them both smile.
“There you are, Mister,” said Reese raising her left arm around his neck and pulling him down to her.
The soft kisses were the same as the first day in the pickup truck. Not as forceful though, as she was still weak.
“If we keep going, I won't want to leave,” said Winters after pulling back afraid of hurting her.
“You have too?” she wondered anxiously.
“Hmm. I have to go to Grosse Pointe tonight.”
“What's there?”
Winters treaded lightly not wanting to confuse or upset her. It had to be frustrating not to be able to remember things. “Do you remember Mordulfah?”
She looked up at the ceiling with a blank stare. “I think so. He's bad right?”
“Yes.”
She let out a frustrated breath. “I'm sorry. It's just so hard. Sometimes it comes, but then it goes.”
“It's okay. It's only been a few days since your injury, so don't be so hard yourself.”
“I'm just thankful I can remember you.”
Winters leaned down and gave her another kiss, which turned into a five-minute session. He couldn't get enough of her but had to pull back when a pain shot through her shoulder.
She winced and then apologized, “I'm sorry.”
“Reese, you're the one hurt here, and I'm the one on top of ya.”
“But I like you there.”
“As do I and we'll do this again.”
“But you need to go.”
“I do. Now, come on let's get you up.”
Winters got off the bed and then helped her to her feet. She was wearing a white cami top and a pair of red shorts. He handed her the red crutch, and they walked down the hallway to the living room where several candles were burning. Laney and Collette were sitting on a couch chatting with each other.
“There they are,” said Collette.
“Were you guys making out?” laughed Laney.
“Of course they were,” said Collette. “Look at Cole's face.”
“You two are just, like, so damn adorable,” said Laney as she got to her feet.
“Are you two done?” asked Winters.
“I don't know, Cole. We're definitely having some fun here,” said Laney looking at Collette.
“Hey, this is great fun for us,” mused Collette. “We even, like, helped her out with this.”
“Yeah, Cole,” chuckled Laney. “We were having some girl time with Reese, and before you knew it, we were, like, helping her get into bed with you.”
“So yeah, we've been sitting here waiting for this moment,” said Collette resting her chin on her knuckles. “We haven't seen any true romance in a long time, so you two, are like, it for us.”
A light went on for Winters. The girls were sincere, albeit in their usual fun way. But because they had also been subjected to psychological slavery, they hadn't seen any kind of real human connection in a while. They were girls and yearned for that type of closeness. It had been stolen from them and probably wanted to be reassured that it still existed. With that in mind, Winters leaned over and gave Reese a tender kiss much to the delight of his two innocent shadows.
Chapter 69
After entertaining the girls, Winters took Reese to get something to eat and then handed her off to Amber. He had to go and get ready for tonight's foray into Grosse Pointe. They would utilize the two drones Sergeant Armstrong had given them. They each had a thermal camera option and which would be ideal for their situation.
Before attacking the compound, they needed as much information as possible and be ready once they found the rest of their men. Even then, they'd still be up against a superior force, so they needed considerably more intel on Mordulfah's troop strength and where they were quartered.
For tonight's reconnaissance, he needed two different teams to operate the two drones. Each team would consist of four members. He had thought about backups, but they were not going to get too close to the compound. Each drone could fly just over four miles away and had a battery life of thirty minutes. This gave them plenty of room to operate in.
Of course, the two girls were coming because Laney knew how to fly drones. Besides Bassett, none of the others had ever flown one. He didn't think it would be too difficult to learn, but they hadn't had the time to do so. Since Laney was coming, he couldn't very well leave Collette behind. They were a matched set.
However, he had decided not to let the girls join them when they attacked the compound. Because of their lack of experience, he wouldn't allow it, but also if they were there, he'd worry too much. This would hinder him, and that would be the last thing he needed. Things would be happening too fast, and he would need all his facilities in sync.
Also, he knew he could trust them to guard their new encampment. It wasn't the most glamorous assignments, but it was just as important. It had been decided to not to move the girls into Ohio. Most didn't want to go, and if they could defeat Mordulfah, then it would no longer be a worrisome problem. They had already put such a hurting on the cops that they'd no longer be a problem.
Winters joined Scar and Meeks outside. “You guys get enough sleep?”
“Slept like a baby,” said Meeks.
“Me too. Found myself a comfortable bed and got an easy seven hours,” said Scar.
“Good to hear. Probably going to be a long night.”
“Who do you got going along?” asked Meeks.
“You guys, Bassett, Burns, Gunny, and the two girls.”
“Those girls are awfully chatty, ya think that's a good idea?” joked Meeks.
“Well, Laney knows how to fly a drone, so she's your team leader.”
“Wait, what?”
“Any of you guys know how to fly one of those things?”
Meeks looked at Scar who put his hands up and said, “don't look at me.”
“Doesn't Amber wanna come along?” asked Meeks.
“She wants to keep Reese company. So it'll be you, Scar and Gunny with Laney as your pilot and team leader,” said Winters with a half smile. “Be careful, she's pretty quick-witted.”
“That's cool. So, Junior is with you then?”
Winters shook his head. “You just love calling her that.”
“Don't know why I find it funny, but I just do. I mean, c'mon, until you, I've never even met a Cole before, let alone a Collette. Isn't it French?”
“I don't know, I guess so, but yeah, her and I have actually had the same conversation.”
“See!”
Winters conceded his point before walking inside the house they'd been using as their headquarters. The place was lit up with candles and battery-powered camping lanterns. Nordell and Bassett were sitting down at the kitchen table in front of a map of Grosse Pointe.
“How's it looking guys?” asked Winters sitting down with them.
“Captain, just going over some ideas,” said Bassett.
“Good. I'm gonna rely on you guys to come up with a battle plan. You got more experience with this, especially with our new toys.”
“We need to send that supply sergeant a big fruit basket,” joked Nordell. “He pretty much sent everything I would have requested.”
“Glad to hear,” said Winters. “Tonight, we'll have two four-man teams.”
“Oh?” asked Bassett. “Someone else knows how to fly one?”
“Yeah, Laney does.”
“That's perfect. We can cover a lot more ground then. Which one is she?”
“Light brown hair.”
“Both those girls are smart and pretty damn brave,” said Nordell. “I heard what the one did this morning. That's was, huh, definitely outside the box thinking.”
“Well, outside the box thinking has been our bread and butter from the start.”
Bassett scoffed. “That's for sure. Took me a while to get used that. So, what are the teams?”
“It'll be you and me with Burns and Collette,” said Winters. He turned to Nordell, “You'll lead the other team, with Laney, Scar, and Meeks.”
“Sounds good,” said Nordell.
“Oh, and I was messing around with Meeks, saying that Laney was team leader, so if you wanna have a little fun with that, by all means.”
“Now that does sound like fun,” said Nordell giving a rare smile.
Bassett stood up. “I'll get with her right now so we can give them a test run before we leave.”
Winters turned back to Nordell. “Did you want to send any of your guys back into Jackson tonight?”
“Yeah, I've got Hollis and Bobby on that. Besides, looking for any more stragglers, they want to pick up some clothes and a few other things for the girls, since they're staying put.”
“See if they can get up on one the tall buildings and radio for any of our guys.”
“Yeah, I'll definitely have him do that.”
“I can't imagine any of them not coming back to check things out.”
If they couldn't find them, then it was going to be next to impossible to take down Mordulfah. About the only thing they'd be able to do would be to harass him with guerrilla-style attacks. That would take too long and probably continue right into the cold winter months.
Chapter 70
Grosse Pointe Michigan
The quiet drone hung high in the air while circling Mordulfah's small army. The four-prop DJI Phantom 4 Pro traveled at a top speed of forty-five miles per hour. The customized thermal camera was sending back clear black and white images of the compound.
Corporal Bassett was manning the remote control on top of the former St. Clair Shores Housing building, which was a mile and a half away from the mansion. The eight-story building offered them interference-free control and a perfect view of the area including any approaching vehicles. It was also close enough they could save on the battery, which wasn't too much of a problem seeing as how each one had a thirty-minute operational time and they had fully charged spares. Winters liked this position so much he wanted to incorporate it into the battle plans so they could launch the drones from there.
Nordell's team was to the south on top of a high school, which was just over a mile away from the mansion making it another ideal place to set up. Once they were on the roof, they too could monitor anyone coming and going.
The mansion and the surrounding buildings were lit up with lights as well as the field directly in front of it. Floodlights had been erected and placed all along both sides of the field from one end to the other.
A large crowd was assembling on the field and making the job of seeing how many men Mordulfah had easier. By the looks of it, he still had over a thousand men and maybe a bit more.
“Look at all those tents, there's, like, hundreds of them,” said Collette as she stared at the monitor over Bassett's shoulder. “How come they're not using those houses?”
“Easier to keep an eye on the troops, such as they are,” said Bassett. “Though some of the commanders are probably using them.”
“It's something to bear in mind when we're attacking them,” said Burns.
“We should see if they're in use now,” said Winters as he pulled the radio out of his pocket to call Nordell. The houses were on the south side of the field where their drone would be.
“Gunny, here.”
“Can you check out those houses on the edge of the field, see if they're occupied?”
“Roger that.”
Winters pulled out the binoculars and pointed them across the lake towards Canada. He could barely make out the twinkling lights of a country that wasn't participating in the war. At least not officially, thankfully, they, or at least some of them, were helping the Shadow Patriots.
On the drive to Grosse Pointe, Scar had filled Winters in on what happened to them over in Sarnia. Winters had seen and experienced enough that it didn't surprise him. If anything, he expected something like that. There had been plenty of opportunists on the American side, why wouldn't there be across the lake. People are people no matter where you are. Most are good, but there's always some bad ones in the mix.
“What was that?” said Collette tapping Bassett's shoulder. “Go back.”
Bassett toggled the joystick and swung the drone back around.
“Right there, see 'em.”
Everyone moved closer to the monitor. Ten people were being marched across Lake Shore Road into the lit up field directly in front of the mansion. They were prisoners and had their hands tied behind their backs. It took close to a minute for them to be brought across the field amid a growing crowd of Jijis.
Bassett flew in a little closer. The black and white imaging was bright enough to show that the prisoners consisted of older men.
“What are they doing?” asked Collette.
Winters didn't want to answer her knowing these prisoners were going to be tonight's entertainment. It was going to be a spectacle as Mordulfah took their heads.
Nordell called over on the radio. “You seeing this?”
“Affirmative.”
Collette grabbed Winters' hand as the prisoners were forced into a kneeling position. She didn't need to be told what was happening now, as it had become apparent when Jijis holding large machetes got behind them.
“Is that him?” asked Bassett focusing in on a man with flowing white robes.
“It is indeed.”
Mordulfah had jumped on top of a platform and was now addressing the crowd in front of him. The Jijis yelled with their hands high in the air in celebration while the prince riled them into a frenzy. He then jumped off the platform and sat down at a small table set up just for him.
Collette squeezed Winters' hand as the first Jiji started hacking away at his victim. This wasn't going to be a quick beheading like you'd get from a guillotine or from a trained swordsman. This was slow and messy but made for better entertainment as was evident from the screaming masses.
The four of them stared in silence at the bloody scene. It took about twenty seconds before the head came off, which made the crowd cheer wilder. Then the next Jiji started in on his victim and began hacking away.
Collette turned from the screen and buried her head into Winters side. She didn't want to see anymore.
“I think we've seen enough,” suggested Winters.
Bassett toggled away and resumed scanning the grounds. “Too bad this drone wasn't big enough to carry a Hellfire missile.”
