by Hunt, Jack
Allie was beyond distraught. The thought of never seeing her sister again tormented her. She was angry at herself for thinking she could con Maddox into making the arrangement, and overwhelmed at the thought of Tyler placing himself in harm’s way. “He’ll be expecting me anytime now,” she said to her father. Jude’s men had placed her in the cell beside him. Though the bars kept them apart, they chatted through the night. Her father reached through and clutched her hand to reassure her that everything would be okay, but it wouldn’t. How could it? If Jude knew what was planned, all he had to do was ensure she didn’t show and Tyler and the others would be screwed.
Allie looked across to Andy’s cell.
Hours earlier, she’d brought him up to speed on her interaction with Tyler, Corey and the others, and the original plan. He’d listened intently then retreated to the back of his cell without saying a word.
“I need to get out there,” she said. “There must be a way out.”
Right then one of Jude’s men entered and made his way down. “Let’s go,” he said, unlocking her cell and making a gesture. She looked at her father and slowly rose from her hard bed and made her way out. No sooner had she stepped a foot outside than she made a break for it. She fired a foot into the guard’s shin and bolted towards the exit. Bursting outside, she was stopped in her tracks by two armed men pointing rifles at her.
Her hands slowly went up as they ordered her to get on her knees.
The guard she injured came over and slapped her across the back of the head, and she found herself on the ground eating dirt as they clamped her wrists with a zip tie and strong-armed her off to Jude’s.
She wriggled within their grasp as she was thrust into his office. Allie turned and spat at the guard. “Piece of shit!”
The guard looked as if he was about to strike her when Jude intervened.
“Enough. Leave us alone.”
The hulking man scowled and turned away.
“You really are a firecracker,” he said before chuckling.
Allie turned and glared at him.
“Fresh apple juice?” he asked pouring into a glass. She wanted to say no just out of spite but she was thirsty. Jude walked over and cut her ties before handing her the glass. She looked at him through skeptical eyes trying to determine what he was playing at.
“I wanted to speak to you about Tyler. He’s my son. I care a lot for him, and I would hate to see harm come to him.”
“Then you should speak with your other son, as I don’t think he shares the same sentiment,” Allie replied with a disgruntled glance.
He smiled before gulping down some of his juice. “Maddox just needs time to get to know him better. Even I do. But one thing that is important is discipline. Without it we are like a rudderless ship. It’s what keeps us on track, reminds us of our duties.”
“What are you going to do with him?”
Jude motioned for her to take a seat. “Well that depends on you, Allie. I know you were watching the camp. Your interest is obvious. You want to see your sister again. But why Tyler? Why get him involved if your purpose was to get Maddox to convince me to send you in with supplies? Where does he come into all of this?”
She shrugged.
“Come on now. You know I will eventually find out.”
She refused to say anything. It was the only hope she had of protecting him.
“Allie. One way or the other. I’m going to know. Now you got him into this, do you want him to come to harm?”
She shook her head.
“Do want him to suffer for your decisions?”
“No.”
“Then do what’s right. Tell me what you had planned. Where is Tyler right now?”
Her chin dipped. Once he saw that she wasn’t going to speak, Allie thought he would just send her back to the cell but that wasn’t what he had in mind. Jude rose from his desk and came around and perched on the edge. “Maybe I’m going about this the wrong way. You want to see your sister, yes?”
She lifted her eyes but said nothing.
He continued. “I will take that as a yes. What about if I said that Madison could return here? Live with you? What then?”
Her mouth opened ever so slightly and her heartbeat sped up.
“You know I can make that arrangement, don’t you?” He paused. “But I need you to do something for me.”
He was beginning to sound like Maddox, or maybe that was where Maddox learned it from. Either way she didn’t trust him anymore than his son.
“What?” she asked naively. “I won’t kill him.”
Jude snorted. “Maddox. He’s, uh…quite the wild card. No. I’m not asking for you to kill him. Don’t worry. No harm will come to Tyler. He’s my son after all. Misguided but that’s to be expected after years under Andy’s thumb. No, he’s my son and in time I should be able to unravel, redirect and create new bonds of trust. But as it stands, I can’t do that without knowing what you told him.”
She stared back unsure.
“I need to know, and I need to know now.”
Allie couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I told him the truth. About this place. You. My sister. He was going to help me get her back.”
“Okay. Now we’re getting somewhere.” He sat down on the edge of the desk and ran a hand around the back of his neck. “So, how did you intend to get Madison back?”
She took a deep breath, hesitating to say anything more than that.
“You do want to be with your sister, yes?”
Allie nodded.
“What if I said you could see your father too?”
Her father meant everything. After losing her mother she would do anything to protect him. “What do you want of me?”
He lifted two fingers. “Come closer and I’ll tell you.”
21
“Where the hell is she?!” Markowitz yelled in Tyler’s face as he lowered the binoculars. Tyler glanced at his watch. Cold rain splashed against it and ran off the top of his rain jacket. Everyone’s nerves were on edge. It had been years since they’d worked together and even longer since they’d tackled any operation as dangerous as this. Tyler took the binos from him and scanned the terrain. She should have been there by now.
“I knew it. I knew this would happen,” Markowitz said lifting a hand in the air
“Calm down,” Holden said. “Not everyone operates on your schedule.”
“My schedule?” he said getting up in his face. “Do I have to remind you that this entire operation relies on timing? Get that wrong and we’ll find ourselves buried in a shallow grave.” He shook his head. “I say we pull out. It’s too risky.”
“We didn’t come this far to leave now,” Corey said.
“You want to take the risk. Be my guest but…”
“There she is,” Tyler said acting all theatrical and pointing towards the northern side. There was a line of three ATVs hauling trailers with canvas covering the meat, some of which was sticking out the back.
The rest of the group turned his way and Markowitz was the first to confirm it. He slapped Tyler on the back. “You’re lucky, kid. Real lucky.”
Tyler looked at Corey and gave a strained smile.
“Let’s move out,” Corey said grabbing up his soaked backpack and cradling his rifle. The sky above was a gunmetal gray with brooding clouds squeezing out the faintest rays of sunshine. The sound of thunder rolled in the distance making it clear the weather wouldn’t get any better. Their boots sank into the wet earth as they trudged down through the forest towards the camp.
It didn’t take them long to get into position.
Six armed guards shrouded by heavy hooded jackets eyed the perimeter and walked back and forth. “What we got, Bennington?” Corey asked over the comms.
“Tyler’s girl has entered the camp. A group of ten have gone out to meet her. You are clear to engage. I got the first one in my sight.”
Corey, Tyler and Bennington prepared to take out the guards. Only the heavy rain and
noise of the ATVs on the north side masked the sound of their suppressed gunshots as three of the guards buckled and dropped out of sight. Moving fast, Corey shifted into a new position and took aim. Over the comms he heard Bennington tell him that he’d taken out the fourth. “Tango down.” He breathed out slowly and squeezed the trigger, and got a clean head shot, sending the fifth on his way. The initial attack was over before the last guard who Tyler dropped had time to know his comrades were out of service. With the perimeter clear, the five of them moved in leaving Bennington to watch for threats and guide them safely through the maze of tents. Rain tapped against tents, earth and trees, beating out the rhythm of nature as it washed the world clean. The rules were clear. Engage only when necessary. This wasn’t about killing everyone in sight, only covering their tracks and ensuring they got in and out with the least amount of damage. The C4 would take care of the rest. Markowitz and the other two fanned out as soon as they breached the main campground.
“Corey. Hold. Two Tango’s at 3 o’clock,” Bennington said as Corey was coming up between two tents. “Hold.” He dropped to a knee and kept his rifle out ready to squeeze off two rounds if needed. But there was no need, the couple turned at the last second and entered a tent. “All clear, they’re gone.”
Corey raised two fingers and motioned to Tyler to press on.
Due to the size of the camp they anticipated that anything of value would be at the center, no doubt in the wood cabins. As they moved through the camp, they planted C4 and waited for Allie to give them a clear indication of where her sister was being held. Markowitz came over the comms.
“That’s the south and east covered.”
“Copy that,” Corey replied before ducking inside an empty tent and looking around. It was basic. Military-style folding cots with green blankets and white pillows. These folks weren’t living the high life despite all the supplies they were stealing. He peered out the tent slit at some of the silver Airstream RVs. There was hierarchy to this group. Tents on the outside, RVs inside of that and a few cabins at the core. Besides the cabins it seemed as if they had it set up ready to move out if push came to shove. How many more were set up like this throughout the county? And which one contained Morning Star? Who the hell was it? He’d entertained the thought of his father, or the mayor or even Jude, but could it be that it was just some random lunatic, much like Denise? Someone with a history of prepping? No. They had to carry some weight to convince this many people to get behind them. His father said that many Americans would flock to FEMA camps when disaster struck out of desperation even though they knew their rights would be trampled. People were finicky — driven by basic needs that had to be met even if it meant going against what they believed.
“I have eyes on her sister,” Bennington said, then repeated it.
“Roger that. Markowitz, how’s Gibby holding up? Over.”
“No problem.”
“Tyler. Where you at?”
“Look out the tent. I’m at 11 o’clock.”
Corey peered out and saw him in a tent holding a knife up to a woman’s throat. “What the hell?”
“She walked in on me. I had no other option.”
“Take her out,” Markowitz said.
“I’m not doing that.”
“Then I will.”
One second Tyler was standing in the entranceway holding a struggling woman, the next he had red mist all over his face and a limp body hanging on his arm. There was a bullet wound to her head.
“Damn it!” Corey said in a low voice. “You could have injured my brother.”
“You wanted her to raise the alarm?”
“Markowitz.”
“It’s done.”
“Would you two shut the fuck up? We have a job to do here,” Holden said.
Before he could get into it with him, Bennington told him to head out. “Now’s the time. Go. Go.” From between the tents Corey could see Allie hugging her sister and pulling away while others loaded up the trailers. Madison disappeared into the tent as Allie went to assist the others. She cast a glance over her shoulder as if looking to see where they were. She made a low gesture with two fingers towards a cabin, the signal for which one contained the ammo. Chances of her seeing them were slim to none. They moved like shadows in the early dawn, sidling up behind RVs. The plan was straightforward, Tyler would head in and collect Madison while Corey led the others to the cabin. He had no idea how large the machine was but Allie was convinced it was moveable. Corey had seen a few while growing up. They varied in size but were constructed in a similar manner. There was an area to load brass shell casings, and a tube that could be filled with powder. Shells would drop down, get filled with powder and a bullet would be placed on top, it was standard. Some were more complex than others but that was the guts of it.
As the four of them converged on the cabin, darting in and out of the spaces between RVs, Corey caught sight of Gibby choking a man out. He lowered him to the ground and continued on using hand gestures mostly and whispers over the comms only when needed. Drenched by the rain they made it to the rear of the cabin and Corey peered through the windows. In the distance they could hear raiders yelling as Allie and crew instructed them on where to put items in a trailer. Water rolled down panes of glass as Corey tried to see if there was anyone inside. No movement. “Moving in.”
He tried the handle and it opened. Pulling back the door he ducked inside. As soon as he entered, he could hear three people talking. He figured they would have someone watching over the machine, as well those working tirelessly to create more ammo. It was the lifeblood of survival for a society that was lost in anarchy. The new form of currency wasn’t food or water but a projectile. Beans, bullets and bandages was what his father would say. Yet bullets took precedence over everything else. Without that an individual was working at a disadvantage. Of course it would only last so long. Eventually powder would be hard to get hold of and in time humanity would have to go back to primitive methods like bows, knives and swords.
Holden came up behind Corey and patted him on the shoulder, he made a gesture and peeled away to the left through a doorway while Gibby went to the right. Markowitz was covering the outside. Silently they crossed the breadth of the home until he heard movement from a room off to his right. Corey slid the rifle behind him and pulled his knife. The door opened and a man stumbled out doing up his zipper with his head down. He glanced up, his eyes widened and before he could open his mouth Corey grabbed him, hand over mouth, and jammed the tip of the blade up into his skull. He dragged him back into the bathroom and laid him out.
By the time he made it out, Gibby and Holden had taken care of the other two. There before them in a large living room were boxes and boxes of brass casings, primers and bags of powder. At the center, several seemingly average-size cartridge reloaders were attached to a thick table. They were a common product that nearly anyone could buy but often were forgotten by preppers. Yet it was vital if you wanted to stay ahead of the curve.
“How the hell are we gonna get all this shit out of here?”
“We’ll need to pull one of those trailers around.”
“It’s already been taken care of. Allie said it was the last trailer to be loaded. They often fill the other trailers with dry goods and medication and leave loading the ammo until they’re just about to leave.”
Holden stared at Corey. “That’s how we’re getting out of here, isn’t it? Under the tarps covering the goods.”
He nodded. “We’ll be meeting up with Tyler, Madison and Bennington later. Once we are out of sight of the camp, Allie will stop the ATV, causing the others to come to a halt. That’s when we’ll take the rest, cut through the forest and…”
Holden swept back his rifle. “Hold on a minute. But what about the others? Jude’s men. Allie isn’t alone.”
“Casualties of war,” Corey said. “Now let’s get this shit loaded into those boxes over there.” In the next room boxes had been stacked up with the names of people sc
ribbled down the side. Corey ran his hand over some of the ones that were ready to go out. Jude’s name was on eight boxes. Others had different names. Well, I’ll be, he thought. The raiders had been smart, they weren’t hogging everything they were taking for themselves, they were trading it to others at a cost. It was like selling on the black market. Jude’s camp had to deliver wild game in exchange for what they wanted, for another camp it could be something else. There was still so much about the raiders’ operation that was unknown. Who was Morning Star? Did he or she even exist? Allie said they answered to the one-eyed man, Thomas. Maybe it was just him creating some mysterious persona in order to give people a symbol, a figure to rally behind. Like a guru of a religion.
“Markowitz, you see that trailer yet?”
“They’re still loading up,” he replied.
“Tyler. You got Madison?”
“Closing in. Had a few difficulties. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
Corey returned to loading the ammo machines into the boxes along with casings and powder and burying it all below what they already had been assigned.
“You know they’re going to come in here,” Holden said.
“Of course. And we’ll take care of it.”
He didn’t need to explain what that meant. There were those that had to die. They had no qualms about killing these people. Willing participants or not, they had taken out many good people in Whitefish, officers, volunteers and even a few close friends and family. In his mind they were just like Gabriel, each and every one of them.
“Corey. Here she comes,” Markowitz said backing into the cabin and retreating into the darkest recess. Corey and the others moved into position taking cover behind doorways, in the bathroom and behind furniture. Sweat trickled off his brow. He knew this would be the closest they would get to the alarm being raised. All it would take was for one of them to spot them and yell, and they would have a battle on their hands.
