by Lopez, Rob
Farah stared down the barrel of the gun, and for a moment she forgot to interpret Lou’s signing.
“Uh, he says … I mean … you can’t be serious, we didn’t kill anybody. Let her go, she’s innocent.”
Fick took a step closer, pressing the pistol against her forehead. “You’ve got five seconds to save her life.”
“Please, we don’t know anything. Don’t … don’t be crazy. And … I didn’t get that last part.”
“I’m counting,” said Fick.
Lou broke into a furious bout of signing.
“The rebels,” stammered Farah, “they … no.” She turned to Lou. “I’m not telling them.”
Lou signed ferociously at her.
“I don’t care if they kill me,” she shouted back at him. “We can’t let these people win. They’ve been pushing us around and I won’t stand for it!”
Lou signed harder. Fick looked at them both.
“Seems I’m targeting the wrong person,” he said. He switched aim to Lou. “Tell me what he said or I’ll kill him.”
“No,” screamed Farah. “Leave him alone! He doesn’t know anything.”
“He’s already told you the location. Now you tell me. I’m going to count to five.”
“Stop it! This is insane!”
“One.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Two.”
“Don’t! I beg you.”
“Three.”
“Newberry Creek. That’s where they are.”
“Four.”
“It’s true, I tell you. Let him go!”
Lou’s temper boiled over. With a mute roar, he tipped up the table in front of him. The heavy frame knocked into Fick, causing him to stumble. Lou dived over the table, his large hand planted over Fick’s face, forcing the neck back with savage strength. Leon tried to get a shot at Lou, but Fick, still struggling to keep his balance, was in the way. With his free hand, Lou grabbed the pistol, but Fick maintained his grip, pulling the trigger. The first shot blew through Lou’s palm. Gritting his teeth, he pushed Fick’s head farther back, the muscles on his powerful arms turning to rock. Fick’s cry was muffled, but he pulled the trigger again and again, trying to turn the pistol in to aim. Bullet wounds appeared on Lou’s arm and chest, but Fick was being bent over until his knees were buckling. Eventually, Leon came around to the side and put several rounds into Lou’s head.
Fick collapsed, with Lou’s body falling down onto him. Kicking the body off, Fick grasped the back of his own neck, squinting with the pain. Farah threw herself onto Lou’s body, sobbing.
“You bastards,” she cried. “He didn’t deserve this.”
Fick staggered to his feet, still massaging his neck. “Get your troops up into the mountains,” he told Leon. “Find that camp. I’ll take the Humvees back to prepare Nolan’s little surprise.”
Leon started issuing orders, Fick climbed into a Humvee and Farah stroked Lou’s silent face, her tears falling onto his cheek.
*
“We’re doing it tonight,” said Eagleburger to Lauren.
“How?”
“This building connects to the County Sheriff’s Office. If we get a rope from the second floor, we can drop down into the alleyway behind the Registry Office. That’s our best chance to get past the checkpoint guards.”
“That’s not much of a plan.”
“It’s the best I can come up with. It’s got to be tonight if we’re going to rendezvous with your husband. I don’t imagine he’ll be able to hang around long.”
“He’s coming here?”
“Close enough. When I come to your cell, be ready to move.”
*
Rick’s bicycle column rode at a punishing pace through the mountains, using an established trail that rode the contours near the ridges. Time was of the essence, so breaks were kept to a minimum. They traveled light, with only weapons and ammunition and whatever rations and water they could cram into their small packs. Anyone who suffered a puncture or some other mishap was left behind to catch up later, so that by the time Rick reached Randall Gap, some four miles to the northwest of Asheville, he only had fifteen fighters with him, including Josh. The sun was already low in the sky when his exhausted scouts crept toward Mount Olive Church, a lonely building on the ridge that overlooked Beaucatcher Mountain and Asheville beyond. Next to the church was a small parking lot and a microwave tower array that had been burnt black. When Rick got there, his scouts had already rendezvoused with Moresby in the old cemetery.
Moresby came forward to shake Rick’s hand.
“Honored to finally meet you, sir,” said Moresby, visibly moved. “You have no idea how much hope you’ve inspired. We wouldn’t even be here if wasn’t for your actions.”
Moresby had three armed men with him, and one of them also wanted to shake Rick’s hand, closely watching his face as he did so.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” said the man.
“No,” said Rick, too tired for niceties.
“At the dam,” said the man. “You let me and my buddies go. Gave us a speech about going home. Well, you were right. My family needed me, and I was a fool to join a crooked militia. Some of us deserted, and we’re here to fight for our town.”
“There are more supporters in the city,” said Moresby. “I spread the word that you killed Fat Danny and his thugs, and there’s a lot of grateful people down there.”
“We’re not here to liberate the town,” said Rick. “I’ve only got fifteen guys.”
Moresby narrowed his eyes. “By the damage you were doing, it seemed you had a lot more. That’s what people think, anyway.”
“Well, they were wrong. I need to keep this a tight operation. And quiet. What’s the plan?”
“Sheriff Eagleburger’s going to get your wife out. She’s in good health, and he knows the area. Once clear of the government compound, he’ll bring her to the lookout observatory on Chestnut Ridge.”
“Where’s that?” said Rick, pulling out a map.
“In the city, just north of the university. Once it gets dark, we’ll make our way down there. He won’t be able to get her out until the early hours.”
Squinting at the landscape, Rick consulted the map again. “Enemy positions?”
“Checkpoint by the river bridge, plus one on the interstate. The militia are barracked at the old National Guard depot, there’s a solid cordon around the government compound, and a single patrol that drives around the city at night.”
“Is that all?” said Rick. “Even after our last raid?”
“Yeah, they’re pretty complacent. Spotted a convoy heading east out of the town this morning, maybe to reinforce the garrison at Black Mountain, but at night, it’s pretty easy to move around, in spite of the curfew. A lot of the militia are deserting, so I think they’re low on manpower.”
Rick found that hard to believe.
“The observatory’s a dumb place to rendezvous,” he said. “There’s too many neighborhoods to cross before we get there. Should have done it farther east.”
“Oh,” said Moresby. “I chose that place because it’s near my home. I can rely on the people there, and it’s too late to change it now.”
Rick frowned and stared at the map, considering his tactical dispositions.
“My men need to rest,” he said. “We’ll stop here for a while while I figure out the best way to handle this.”
26
At Camp Alpha, darkness had fallen and the night pickets were out. The children had been put to sleep and the camp was silent. A single guard in a bunker downstream heard splashes in the creek and strained his eyes, trying to pierce the gloom. The moon had not yet risen and the stars gave scant light beneath the trees. The guard held his breath. The cans that hung from the strand of barbed wire strung across the creek rattled, and something heavy fell into the water.
“Crap,” said a muffled voice, and the guard knew then it wasn’t a bear.
Releasing the safety,
he fired a single shot into the darkness.
*
Scott snapped awake at the first sound of gunfire. Diving into his clothes, he was already half-dressed and in his boots by the time the gunfire increased. Conscious of his wound, he tried not to bend down too far to lace up his footwear. Grabbing his M4, he cocked it, using his fingers to make sure there was a round in the chamber, and shoved magazines into the deep side-pockets of his pants. He was at the entrance to his dugout and parting the curtain to look out when April spoke up.
“Scott,” she said.
“I’ll be careful,” he said, thinking she was going to make a scene.
Instead she thrust his heavy armored vest at him. “Put it on, this time,” she said.
He hesitated for a moment, then kissed her fiercely before running down the trench to the rally point.
*
Packy hopped about in his cramped quarters, one leg in his pants, looking for the rest of his clothes, which were scattered everywhere. He found a shoe and tried to put it on before realizing it was Dee’s. Discarding it, he dropped to his hands and knees, found another shoe, then discovered it was the same one.
“We need a little organization here,” he said.
Dee was curled up in the corner of the bed, rocking Jacob. “I put your shoes outside,” she said. “I couldn’t stand the smell.”
“A little communication wouldn’t go amiss, either,” murmured Packy, finding his Mac-10 and a satchel bag of magazines. Pulling on his pants, he shouldered the bag and cocked the submachine gun.
“You stay here,” he said.
“I’m not going anywhere,” intoned Dee.
“No, of course. Why would you?”
“You’re angry with me.”
“Sweety Pie, this ain’t the time to discuss our differences.”
“Come back to me.”
“I have to go.”
“I mean later.”
Packy straightened up, nearly hitting his head on the dirt roof. “You mean that? I mean, like, really?”
There was a pause.
“Yes,” said Dee.
Packy would have danced on the spot if he had the time. “Honey, I love you too. And I know you won’t say that, but I’m more than happy to generously interpret your words as a heartfelt plea to take care. And I will. I’ll be back. You can count on it.”
“You need to go.”
“Uh, okay,” said Packy.
Outside, he found his shoes. Before he put them on, he gave them a little sniff, wrinkling his nose. Pulling a face, he slipped them on and scampered along the trench.
*
The rally point was a large bunker in the center of the camp. When Scott got there, the fighting was in full swing, with the guards on the perimeter fending off violent attacks from three sides, with muzzle flashes and tongues of automatic fire lighting up the woods.
Within the bunker, citizens were loading up weapons for distribution. Sally was by the entrance when Scott showed up.
“Should you be here?” she said to him, feeding cartridges into a shotgun and getting ready to go out.
“Should you?” said Scott. “You’re too valuable to risk in a firefight.”
“We don’t have a choice. Most of the fighters are out with Rick.”
Looking around, Scott realized she was right. Out of the people forming up around him, he recognized only a couple as veterans of the fight back at Round Knob. Others, like Doug and Chuck, were too old to really be getting into a night fight. Fact was, they all lived here, and there was no other option.
“In that case,” said Scott, “to answer your question, yes, I should be here. Take Doug up to reinforce the bunkers on the north ridge. Harvey, you take Chuck and guard the south.”
Scott directed the rest to different points of the compass, then took a group with him to where the fighting seemed fiercest: downstream of the creek. Filing along the zig-zagging communication trench, they reached the bunker where the sole guard looked to be holding off an army. Filtering out into the fox-hole fighting positions, the camp citizens joined the fight, and Scott was able to make his first assessment of the nature of this attack.
He didn’t like the conclusion that he came to. They were facing a well armed foe who appeared to be well led. Fresh gunfire in the west indicated that the camp was now surrounded, and he still didn’t really know who he was facing.
He had his suspicions, however, and the shooting of parachute flares over the camp confirmed his guess. The magnesium flares illuminated the camp with an eerie white light. He knew what was coming next. Distant hollow thuds marked the launching of mortar rounds.
“Cover,” he screamed.
27
Lauren didn’t know what time it was when her cell door opened. She’d been waiting for what seemed like an age. There was a sense of unreality about it all, as if she’d somehow been kidding herself.
Was Eagleburger really going to set her free?
He struck her as a sincere man who acted on what he believed was right, but she couldn’t help wondering if this was some kind of trap. Was this just another of Connors’ schemes? She couldn’t picture the sheriff as Connors’ willing accomplice, and he lacked the guile to lie convincingly, but then again, Lauren didn’t really know him that well. And even if he wasn’t a stooge, it was possible he was being used himself but just didn’t know it.
Or maybe he did. He hadn’t been able to hide his doubts about the plan, and in the darkness of her cell, those doubts were magnified until Lauren began to think this was a mistake. As the long hours crawled by, pessimism colored her thoughts and dragged down her hopes. She started to feel afraid of stepping out of her cell in case her worst fears came true.
The days of solitary confinement were taking effect, institutionalizing her until she felt she had no business being free.
Then the door opened, and Eagleburger stood there with the lantern, the light chasing the shadows away.
The outline of her doubts, however, remained.
“Okay, let’s go,” said the sheriff.
“Are you sure about this?”
Eagleburger pursed his lips. “Hell of a time to get second thoughts.”
“I’m sorry, I’ve just been … thinking.”
“Well, if you’re wondering whether it’s risky, I can tell you it is. But these walls won’t protect you. Your date’s been brought forward. You’re scheduled to hang tomorrow, so it’s now or never. And I mean, never.”
“Can you give me a gun?”
“No, I’ve only got the one, and if we have to shoot our way out of here, it’s only going to end one way. So I’d prefer it if we don’t have to use anything. Are you good to run?”
“I think so.”
“Come on then. We’re wasting time.”
Eagleburger led her out of the cell and up the stairs to the second floor. Lauren expected to find Connors waiting for her, but it remained as deserted as before.
“Why are you doing this?” asked Lauren.
“What kind of damn fool question is that?”
“I need to know,” said Lauren, stopping in the middle of the corridor.
Eagleburger turned to her. “Did you get replaced by someone else? Only a few days ago you were all for breaking out.”
Lauren wavered. “Tell me you’re on the right side in all this, and not with Connors.”
Eagleburger’s mouth fell open. “Are you seriously associating me with that son of a bitch?”
“I just want to know, okay?”
“Lady, I don’t need to do this. Here,” he said, taking out his revolver and offering it to Lauren. “If it makes you feel better, you can go on without me. I’ll find another way out.”
“Why do you have to get out too?”
“Because after tomorrow, my life can be measured in minutes. Connors is going to lock down and disarm the entire city. It’s just going to be one big prison. Ain’t no way I’m going to stick around to see that, so off you go. Good luck.”<
br />
Lauren felt ashamed. “I’m sorry. I’ve been getting paranoid.”
“Join the club. After I opened my big mouth to a militia commander about Fat Danny, your husband went and sent him to the great beyond. Not that I regret that in any way, but if they go looking for scapegoats, I’m the prime suspect. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to get going before they stick me in the cell next to yours, and that would be if I was lucky.”
Lauren refused the offer of the gun. “Thank you for thinking of me before you took off.”
“Don’t make me change my mind.”
Retrieving some coiled rope from a closet, Eagleburger led her through the building and several locked doors until they reached the window that overlooked the alleyway. With exaggerated care, he opened the window as silently as he could. The waning moon in the sky darkened the shadows but didn’t appear to light much else, though Lauren was worried that it might make them more visible as they descended the wall of the building. Tying the rope, Eagleburger awkwardly eased himself out of the window, hesitated for a moment, then began his descent.
Lauren watched his shadow fade into the blackness. The city was perfectly silent, but rather than see it as an opportunity, she took it as an ominous sign. Pushing her doubts to the back of her mind, she climbed out of the window and down the rope.
Eagleburger, seeing she was down okay, crept to the end of the alleyway and peered out along the street. He was still doing so when Lauren got to him, but he appeared reluctant to move farther.
“There’s a checkpoint at the intersection,” he whispered, “but there’s no one manning it.”
Lauren wasn’t sure why that was significant, but Eagleburger was clearly discomforted. After thinking it over for some seconds, he gestured that they should cross the street.
On the other side was a bank and a parking lot. Scooting across, they hid behind a car and listened, but there was no sign that they’d been spotted and the city remained silent. Gradually, Lauren eased herself into the idea that she was free now. She felt exposed and vulnerable, but as the adrenaline flowed, she had the sense of being in her element at last. All she had to do was stay sharp and she could make it.
