by Payne, T. L.
“Jim. Aiden,” Scott said, his voice just loud enough, he thought, that anyone close by could hear but still not be heard by the folks hiding in the field.
“What are you two doing here? You are supposed to be…”
“The cartel is holding their daughters and sisters. They’re trying to protect their families,” Raine blurted.
“Don’t attack them, Jim. They’re just as concerned for their daughters as you are yours,” Scott said.
Jim stepped out from behind a tree and approached them. “How do you know this?”
“I followed a wet weather creek to that shed. I overheard them talking about it.”
Jim looked over his shoulder. Aiden stepped out and joined them. “Clive. Stand down,” Aiden called back.
“Clive?” Aiden turned. Scott strained to watch for the man.
Aiden pivoted and hurried east along the tree line.
Scott cursed under his breath. A second later, Aiden returned with Clive. “So. What’s the plan now, in light of this new information?”
Scott and Raine kept an eye on Cartwright’s group while Jim, Aiden, and Clive hatched a new plan—one that didn’t include killing the other group. Jim dropped to a crouch beside Scott.
“Did you guys come up with a plan?” Raine asked.
“Yeah. Let’s pray this works. Be ready if it doesn’t,” Jim said as he stood.
He took two steps closer to the field and stopped. He turned over his shoulder and said, “Thank you both for doing this. Thank you for sticking your necks out for Justice.”
Scott and Raine looked at one another. Scott hadn’t thought about them seeking justice, but he guessed that was part of it.
Jim cleared his throat. “Hey, you behind the hay. We share the same goal. You are concerned about your family and I’m trying to save my daughter. We both just want our family members back safe and sound.”
Scott saw the top of a head poke up from the bale of hay.
“You all are gonna get my baby killed. We can’t let you do that,” the woman said. She stood and stared Jim down.
“I understand that. I know you're scared. You have every right to be. Those men are dangerous. But we can take them out. We have trained people that know what they are doing and they…”
“You mean old Buddy Hughes and his cousins. They’re nutjobs. They run around the county like they’re some sort of militia or something. They don’t know shit. The sheriff was handling things, and you assholes went and murdered him,” a husky man in his late forties said.
“He fired on us,” Raine said, stepping out and walking toward the man. "They put out spike sticks to stop the vehicles and then opened fire on us when we got out to help when a vehicle ran off into the ditch.”
“You’re that chick with the group staying at the Wards’, aren’t you?” the man asked.
The skinny kid stood and stepped out from the hay. “That’s her. I saw her at Dean’s.”
“Yes. I am staying at Mrs. Ward’s. We’ve been attacked without provocation. Instead of trying to kill one another, we should be pulling together to save our family and friends from the cartel. What do you think is going to happen otherwise? You really think they are just going to release them unharmed if you do what they ask?” Raine asked, continuing to ease nearer to them.
“Raine. Stop!” Scott yelled. Raine held up a hand.
“Why should we trust you? You people don’t belong around here. You’re the ones that brought this down on us,” the woman asked.
“Because if you don’t, they’ll all die,” Raine said.
“We have a plan in place—a good plan. It will work. I wouldn’t risk my daughter’s life on a plan I wasn’t confident in. Help us. Help us take this asshole down and get our family back,” Jim pleaded.
The man and woman stared at one another. The man nodded. The woman turned to face Jim. Scott eased forward, his hand dropping to his holster.
“What do you need us to do?”
Chapter 26
Scott and the others reached the first rally point just as Russell set off the first of the M-60 firecrackers. They sounded just like gunfire to Scott. A moment later, the repeating echo of a rifle’s report bounced off the surrounding hillside and rolled through the hollows. It became hard to tell the difference between the firecrackers and rifle fire.
“My daughter,” the husky man said. “We need to get up there.”
Jim held his hands up, palms facing out toward the man.
“Wait! Just wait. That’s the diversion to draw out their shooters so we can get inside. When we see the aerial fireworks, that is the signal for us to rush the building. Not before. Okay?”
The man nodded, then reached over and placed his arm around the woman.
“What’s your names?” Raine asked, stopping beside the woman.
The woman glanced down, regarding Raine with disdain. “I’m Janie Cartwright. This is my husband, Donald. That over that is my boy Don Junior. The other two are my brothers, Troy and Dink.”
“I’m Raine Caldwell. We have to work together. That is our only chance. Can we put our differences aside for now and get your family members back?”
Janie slowly lifted her shoulders into a shrug. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to get my baby girl back home safely. If I have to eat with the devil, then so be it.”
Raine cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows.
“Do you have enough ammo?” Jim asked, pointing to Donald’s rifle.
Donald glared at Jim. “I got enough.”
Scott had hoped they could put their hostilities aside and work together, but he wasn’t sure he’d trust them. They blamed what had happened to their family members on him and his group. They appeared so blinded by it that they couldn’t see that this was their best hope of getting them back alive.
The colorful display from Russell’s fireworks lit up the sky above them.
“Okay. It’s go time,” Jim said, motioning for them to move down the trail toward the compound.
Scott’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly felt so unprepared. He was more concerned about getting one of the others killed than himself in the moment. He shut his eyes and an image of Lily and Vicki flashed before him. He exhaled through his rising panic.
When Raine stepped in behind Aiden, Scott grabbed her by the arm and allowed Donald and his family to pass them.
“Don’t turn your back on any of them, Raine. I don’t trust them,” Scott said.
Raine leaned in close. “I don’t much either. I think once they get their family out, they’ll cut and run.”
“Let’s hope that’s all they do,” Scott said.
The dense woods gave way to thick brush before opening onto a clearing in front of the compound. Russell and James were crouched by a tall native stone wall that spanned the length of the property. Scott couldn’t see over it.
Jim called to Russell as they approached. “Did Buddy make it in?”
“Yeah. He’s in the control room now,” Russell said.
“What the hell are you doing here?” James asked as Donald dropped down beside him.
Scott hadn’t thought about what James, Russell, and Buddy might do with them bringing Donald and his family in on the mission, but what choice did they really have? Other than killing them.
“I’m here for my daughter,” Donald said.
“She’s in there?” Russell asked.
“They’ve got five girls from the community they're holding. You people are going to get them all killed with your cowboy stunt here,” Donald spat.
Five? How are we going to rescue them all?
The plan had just gotten much more complicated. Five extra people to try to rescue with getting anyone killed. There was no way of knowing how the other women would react.
“I had no idea. We’re here to rescue his daughter.” James pointed to Jim, who was creeping along the stone wall toward the gate.
“Can we cut the chatter and get into position?” J
im asked.
James poked at Donald’s chest. “Alright, Donald. We’re going to get those girls out too. You just don’t go and do anything stupid.”
“You’re the one that’s stupid. You’re out here trying to play army. Who do you think you are?” Donald asked.
“I’m one of the ones risking their lives to save people. You?” James cocked his head to the side and stared him down. “What have you been doing this whole time?”
“Guys. This isn’t productive. Let’s get into position and be ready when Buddy gives the signal,” Scott said.
Donald pushed his chest out and lifted his chin before moving toward the gate. The others stacked up behind him. Russell crouched and ran across the driveway and pressed himself against the wall on the other side. Aiden fell in behind him, followed by Clive.
Scott crouched at the base of the stone wall and waited for the signal to storm the gate. His gut clenched at the thought of not knowing what awaited them. The compound’s defenses had been enough to concern Buddy. Scott was sure it would be no walk in the park. He tried to picture in his mind what Buddy and the others had described of the place. He drew in a deep breath and let it out.
“Just follow James and Russell’s lead. Just remember to follow the plan. You’ll do fine,” Maggie said.
Before Scott could respond, Buddy’s flash grenade exploded. Scott shielded Raine with his upper body as James and Russell lit the charge on the gate. A pop was followed by shouts to advance. Scott stood and ran toward Jim, who was pulling mangled iron bars back so the others could proceed. Scott glanced back as he and Aiden dropped behind an outcropping of rocks beside the driveway just inside the gate. Raine and Maggie remained concealed by the perimeter wall.
The paved drive was lined on both sides by dense woods. Scott couldn’t see the main house or any of the other structures he’d heard were on the property. Russell and James moved from a stack of rocks to a large tree on the opposite side before waving for the others to advance. Scott followed Aiden, and they quickly moved to a thick stand of cedar trees. They continued advancing toward the house, staying vigilant to remain behind cover.
Gunfire erupted ahead. Scott wanted to rush in. His fear was that the cartel was shooting the prisoners, including JJ. James stepped onto the driveway and ran twenty feet before dropping by a tree. Russell stepped out and followed him. Bullets ripped through trees beside him as he dove behind a stand of thick bushes. More gunfire to their north told Scott that they were about to be engaged in an intense gun battle. He ran, concealing himself among the trees.
Aiden sprinted across the driveway and took up a firing position as James and Russell disappeared around a sharp bend in the drive. Scott could hear incoming rounds followed by James and Russell returning fire.
“How many shooters?” Jim called over the noise.
“There are at least two shooters at our ten o’clock,” Aiden yelled back.
Aiden began sending rounds that direction as Jim reached his position. More gunfire sounded to their right. Scott still couldn’t see anything. He hated not knowing what they were facing.
Aiden stood and sprinted north. Scott glanced back. Donald and his family were on the opposite side of the driveway, crouched behind bushes that provided very little cover or concealment. He wasn’t at all comfortable with them at his back.
Scott followed Jim and Aiden across a ditch and up a hill. At the clearing, Scott gasped. A single house stood on a hill. The clearing between the woods and the house was lined with short stretches of low native stone walls laid out in half circles. In front of them were nice landscape plantings. In the walls were slits from which rifle barrels protruded. A round struck a tree within twenty feet of Scott and he dove to the ground.
“James, how many?” Jim asked.
“Six. Maybe eight,” James said in between sending rounds downrange.
Russell lobbed a grenade behind the stone wall. Men screamed, and snow and dirt flew into the air.
“Go! Go! Go!” James yelled, motioning for Scott to move toward the house.
“There,” James said, pointing to the two men running from another stone wall back toward the house.
Russell and Jim fired simultaneously. One man jumped and spun around, attempting to return fire only to be cut down by more rounds to his torso. Rounds hit the second man in the back, and he dropped to the ground.
“On me,” James yelled, and Scott fell in behind him.
He and James sprinted across the open space between the trees and the first line of walls. Two men popped up from behind another low wall. James fired and then dropped into some type of pit behind the wall. He rolled a man over and felt for a weapon. He’d been shot in the forehead. His eyes were now lifeless. Scott picked up the man’s rifle and patted his pockets for extra ammo, stuffing two magazines into his left cargo pocket before continuing around the side of the building. James found the second man huddled a few feet away behind the sandbag reinforcement. He was alive but bleeding out. That was obvious by the deep red snow beneath the man's left buttock. His mouth opened, then closed. He briefly made eye contact with Scott. A look of resignation washed over his face, and his head lolled forward. James grabbed the rifle at the man’s side and jumped out of the pit. Scott followed. They dropped in front of one of the stone walls.
James switched out his rifle’s magazine and dropped the empty mag into a pouch clip to the belt. Scott caught movement to his right. A black-clad man sprinted from behind the wall, retreating toward the house. Scott twisted, placed the barrel of the rifle on top of the wall, and squeezed the trigger. The round struck the man in the left thigh, sending him crashing to the ground. Bullets began slamming into the man’s torso. Scott looked back to see Donald and Janie standing out in the open, firing round after round into the man.
“Get down, dumb-asses!” James yelled.
Scott had lost sight of Jim and Aiden, but gunfire on his left told him they were advancing on the house. Someone was firing three-round bursts farther ahead and to their right. Scott was still at least one hundred yards from the house. This was taking too long. Now that he knew he was being attacked, David might kill JJ and the other women.
Scott felt a hand on his back and jumped. “Let’s move,” Maggie said, pointing to an earth berm to their right. Raine’s face appeared behind Maggie.
“I thought you were supposed to stay at the gate,” Scott said.
“Jim and Russell are both out of ammo. They’ve joined Buddy at the back of the house. Several of them tried to flee,” Maggie said, motioning for Scott to move out.
Scott sprinted fifteen feet to the four-foot-high mound of earth and crouched beside Maggie. He turned to Raine. “You should get back to the gate.”
“She’ll be fine with me,” Maggie said.
A volley of rounds showered them with snow and dirt. When the firing stopped, Maggie popped up and returned fire. A round slammed into her right arm, sending her to the ground. “Maggie!” Raine screamed.
“I’m fine. It’s just a grazing.”
Scott rose and put two rounds in a man fast approaching them.
“Go, Raine. You guys have to get to the house,” Maggie said, unholstering her pistol and clutching it to her chest. “I’ll be fine. Go save your friend.”
Scott pulled Raine away from Maggie, and the two ran toward the house. Scott crouched beside the right front tire of a black SUV. He could see that the garage door was open. He leaned forward to see if anyone was inside. The windshield of the SUV shattered, forcing him to scramble back for cover. Raine raised up and fired two rounds toward the house.
“I think I hit him. He’s hanging out of the window,” Raine said, a huge grin spreading across her face.
Scott leaned around the bumper, then looked back to Raine. “Good job!” he said. “Are you ready? We are going to…” A round slammed into the side of the SUV, inches from Scott’s left shoulder. Scott whipped around to find a man running towards them with a pistol raised, firing at the
m.
“Run, Raine!”
Chapter 27
As Raine retreated down the driveway, Scott ran around the front of the SUV, attempting to shield himself from the gunman. When the shooting stopped, Scott rose and looked over the hood. The man was changing magazines. Scott brought his rifle up, steadied it on the hood, and squeezed two rounds into the man. One hit him in the right arm. Scott’s aim had been off. He’d been trying for his chest. The other round was high and to the left, but it struck the shooter in the neck. The bleeding man dropped to his knees, clutching his throat. His other hand dangled at his side. He’d likely bleed out, but Scott put a third round into the man to make sure that he was indeed out of the fight.
Scott scanned the house. The front door stood open. He raised his rifle and checked each of the windows on the second floor of the home. He saw no one. After examining the ground-floor windows and determining he was in no immediate threat from anyone inside, Scott ran to the front door and quickly slipped in. He threw himself back against the foyer wall and scanned the visible portion of the large open family room and kitchen. He pushed down the short hall and stopped before the wall ended. He whipped the rifle’s barrel to his left. The kitchen was clear. He quickly turned to his right and scanned from left to right, looking for anyone hiding in the living room. It appeared empty. He rushed to the door to his left. It was open just a crack. He pushed it the rest of the way open with the toe of his right boot. The space beyond was the garage. Scott closed the door and locked the deadbolt.
As Scott crossed back through the kitchen, he glanced through the glass wall into the back yard. He could hear gunfire coming from that direction. He thought he spotted Buddy and Jim advancing on one of the berm-fortified positions. Scott turned his attention back to the closed doors beyond the family room. As he entered the short hall, he counted four doors. The one at the end stood open. He could tell that it was the bathroom. It made him very uneasy. He needed to clear the ones closest to him first, but if someone was hiding in the bathroom, they could pop out at any moment. He had to decide which to clear first.
