Angela smiled as Stephanie pouted. “You’re not jealous over me?” she accused.
Danny leaned over the table. “Stephanie, don’t even start. Last week in the gym, you had two men really checking you out on the treadmill. It was the day you had on some really short shorts. Dad threatened to eat their eyes. I had to threaten to call Carroll before he would leave them alone,” Danny said, and Stephanie smiled.
“I told you to keep that between us, Danny,” Bruce said, looking at her with a scowl.
Danny waved her hand over her head. “Whatever,” she said. “I never seen you jealous except once around Mama. I think it’s cute. It reminds me you’re not all warrior.”
“Never said I was,” Bruce said as Angela and Stephanie gave him lovey dovey eyes. Looking back at Angela, he asked, “Well?”
“I called Cook to bring your bag,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him.
“What the hell for?” he asked.
“I’m not keeping my emotions under control, baby, and to warn you, neither is your other wife,” Angela said, smiling. “If you don’t get medieval on some ass, we will.”
Feeling somewhat out of place, Bruce shook his head. He was the one that was supposed to be reined in, not everyone else. “I’m not breaking open the bag on Christmas,” he said.
“Wait till midnight,” she answered, still smiling. “You have our permission.”
Closing his eyes, Bruce said, “Please control yourselves so I can talk to him.” Then, he opened his eyes and looked at them.
With a large smile, Angela proudly said, “I’m going to chop his dick off.”
“Then, I’m kicking it around in the dirt,” Stephanie added. “Where’s Buffy? She’ll want to watch and see if it crawls around.”
“I’m not getting blood all over the command bunker,” Bruce snapped as Carroll stood up, leaving. “Where are you going?” Bruce asked.
“Some plastic to put on the floor and on the walls,” she said, heading toward the stairs.
Jumping to his feet, Bruce shouted, “Hey now, this is enough. I’m the one you’re supposed to control!”
Carroll turned around. “Bruce, this was done here in our home. We be responsible for these people. This didn’t happen out in the wasteland; it happened here in these walls we built to keep out evil, but it still found us. That camera down there is going to record what we dos ta those that be bringin’ evil amongst our family. I’m going ta dos it myself; I don’t be needin’ you. I’ve skinned hogs and many other animals. I’ve seen how you done it many times,” she said, turning back to the stairs.
“Carroll,” Bruce called out, shaking his head. When she turned to look at him, he said, “That is for the sentencing phase. I want to see if either of them have some semblance of remorse or honor.”
Letting out a cackle, she said, “Oh I’m sure they do, but only because theys got caught.”
“Carroll, please. You all agreed I’m in charge,” Bruce said. Then, his eyes got hard. “I know this hurts, but I also want the people to see we do listen. I’m going to say this before I question them. If they admit to what they did, I’ll give them a release from the pain fast. If they don’t, after the display I put on, we shouldn’t have a repeat here for a long time.”
Her old face broke into a grin. “Okie dokie, Bruce. You right; you be in charge. I shouldn’t be doubtin’ ya, but in our home, I hope you forgives me. It’s just be a bit much,” she said, sitting back down. “I can’t believe one in here be doin’ that,” she said, putting her hands over her face. Marcus leaned over and hugged her tight.
Seeing that Carroll was under control, Bruce leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry, Carroll, but the evil in mankind’s heart knows no bounds. Only when it sees that it won’t be tolerated and what it gives out is returned tenfold do we stand a chance to stop it.”
Ted was helping a guard drag Oscar down the stairs. His hands were still cuffed behind his back and his feet tied together. When they put him in the chair, Bill walked in carrying two laptop computers and two plastic bags. Without being told or them asking, Bill handed the laptops to Matt and Jake then tossed the bags to Bruce. “Just some dope and cameras. Didn’t look through the cameras,” Bill said, sitting down.
Matt and Jake opened the laptops and went to work as Bruce stood up. “Oscar, I want you to tell me what happened, and I want the truth,” Bruce said.
Oscar looked around the table and swallowed hard. “We didn’t mean no harm. We were just going to party,” he said.
With his gaze burrowing holes in Oscar’s face, Bruce asked, “So you call beating a girl unconscious, raping her, and trying to kill her partying?”
Oscar shook his head rapidly. “No, we weren’t going to rape her, and we didn’t. She acted like she wanted it then changed her mind,” he said, and Carroll reached down, pulled out her knife, and put it on the table. Oscar looked at the knife then at Bruce.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Bruce asked, “Oscar, want to try again?”
“Shit, Bonnie is always teasing and flaunting it around,” he said, looking at Bruce.
Feeling the rage build, Bruce’s face started getting red. He leaned over the table, glaring at Oscar as Willie and Marcus scooted away from him. “I’ve talked to her and have it recorded. You’re just lucky she’s alive. If she would’ve been found dead, you and your buddy would be in the shop strung up. I know you’ve heard I can keep people alive for weeks to show them the errors of their ways. I don’t do it to teach you in this life; it’s for the next,” Bruce said as Cook came in, out of breath and carrying the two bags, putting them on the table in front of Bruce. Like everyone at Hope, Oscar had seen and heard about those bags and became very pale. He had seen one of the programs on the base TV channel what Bruce did with them.
“You can’t. You rescued me!” he shouted.
“I may have, but you condemned yourself. I’m trying to give you some semblance of honor,” Bruce said, standing up.
Oscar hung his head, sobbing, and looked back up. “Yes sir, we planned it out.”
“You were just going to leave her body there?” he asked.
“No. Tomorrow, we were going to take it down the road and leave it so it could be found. Everyone was going to think a gang did it,” he said.
“Damn, you’re even more stupid than I could’ve imagined,” Nancy said, looking at him through narrowed eyes.
Wanting to open his bags, Bruce never took his eyes off of Oscar. “Oscar, I find you guilty of rape and attempted murder. Sentence will be passed tomorrow after your crimes are announced to the clan. Because you did admit to your crime, I will take leniency into account.” Oscar started crying. “Ted, take him to the shop, and he is not to be untied for any reason. He can piss and shit on himself. Two guards on the inside and four on the outside. Deadly force is authorized to stop anyone trying to get in that is not in the command group. Oscar no longer has clan status or privileges,” Bruce said, and Ted moved over with the guard and hauled Oscar out.
“Carl, bring in the other one. Willie, will you give him a hand?” Bruce asked, and Willie followed him out.
Nancy looked at Bruce. “We get some say in this right?” she asked.
“Yes, Nancy,” Bruce said with a flat expression. “The entire command group will be there, and you will have to agree with the sentence on this one. If there is another one, someone else on the command group will be the ruling party for the sentence. The clan has to know we are united in punishment just like we are in safety and security,” he said as he walked over and poured a cup of coffee.
“Bruce, I’ll take this one,” she offered.
“No, all of you would let them off too easy,” Bruce said, walking back to his chair. Everyone took a sharp breath and stared at Bruce, but he just drank his coffee. A few minutes later, Mike walked in. Bruce jumped up. “How is she?” he asked.
“She’ll be fine in a month and back up in three. She has a small liver lac and a small amount of blood around her spleen. We’re going to watch her to see if the spleen is okay. If not, they’ll operate tomorrow. She has nine broken ribs, broken jaw, forearm, she broke four metacarpals in her right hand and two in her left, and two cracked vertebrae T-5 and T-6. The chest tube is starting to drain off blood from her hemothorax, and she has a small subdural bleed, but it looks okay for now. Her H&H is a little low, and if they are still low or lower in a few hours, we are going to transfuse two units in her,” Mike said.
Sitting back in her chair, Danny said, “Damn, that girl is tough.”
“Yeah, they did a number on her,” Mike said, sitting down. “What have I missed?” he asked as Steve came in with Buffy and sat down. Nancy filled him in as Willie and Carl sat Gage in the chair. Unlike Oscar, he was fighting them.
“Bitch, you better rectify!” Carl shouted as Gage leaned over and tried to bite him. Carl backhanded him. “Want to try again?” Carl asked.
“Fuck you, nigger!” Gage yelled.
Carl moved toward Gage, raising his fist as Bruce yelled, “Thank you, Carl!” Carl looked at Bruce and lowered his fist. Turning around, he walked to his chair and sat down. Bruce looked over at Cook. “Are my batteries charged?” he asked.
Astonishment flooded Cook’s face. “When have I ever brought you your bag with dirty tools or dead batteries?” Cook asked, offended.
Bruce stepped back. “Cook, it has been a while since they’ve been used. I was just asking.”
“I keep them with me. Mr. Paul has given me permission to have extra power to my room for them,” Cook replied. “I know they will be needed.”
“I’m sorry, Cook,” Bruce apologized, reaching out and patting Cook on the shoulder.
Giving a grin and waving his hand, brushing off the apology, Cook said, “That’s quite alright, Mr. Bruce. Do you need your sandals? I have them outside along with several rolls of plastic.”
“No, that’s okay,” Bruce said, reaching over to open the bags, taking stuff out.
“Your bag doesn’t scare me, bitch!” Gage yelled.
“Shit, and I though the other one was dumb,” Nancy said, pulling out her camera. “Finally, I get to watch a cure for dumb.”
Taking a breath, Bruce took out a roll of duct tape and threw it to Danny. “Tape him to the chair. Y’all help her,” Bruce said, reaching back inside the bag. “Gage, for your actions I have observed here your clan status is revoked retroactive from the time you were taken into custody,” Bruce said, pulling out a branding iron and the propane torch.
“You can’t use that on me. You have to throw me out!” he yelled as the others held him down, and Danny taped him to the chair.
Hearing that, Bruce actually stopped and looked up at him. “No, that is if you aren’t working, dipshit. Once you are a danger to the clan, the punishment must be appropriate and served before you can leave,” Bruce said.
“I didn’t do anything!” he yelled as more hands held him. Danny continued taping him to the chair.
Digging in his bag, Bruce handed the iron to Mike and Nancy. “Heat that up, please,” he told them as Nancy took it. Gage started struggling as Mike heated up the iron Nancy was holding. When Bruce pulled out the nail gun, Gage froze. “Put some nails in this for me please, Angela,” Bruce said, handing it to her. Angela smiled and took it from him. Next, Bruce brought out a sander and handed it to Stephanie. “Put a pad on for me please.” Letting out a giggle, she grabbed it.
Reaching in, Bruce pulled out his drill, put in a battery, and squeezed the trigger. Everyone stopped as it started to whine as it spun, watching Bruce put a drill bit in the chuck. “Alright, I’ll talk. Just put that shit up!” Gage yelled.
With the drill in one hand, Bruce started walking toward him, taking the nail gun from Angela in his other hand. “This has nothing to do with why you were brought here, Gage. You fought those that detained you and tried to attack them. What makes it worse is they are in the command group. You have no honor or pride, so I must teach you manners. Then, I’ll talk to you about the crime you are accused of,” Bruce said, driving the drill in his thigh.
An hour later, two guards carried Gage to the shop. He apologized to everyone in the command group in fifteen minutes, then the questioning started, and he described the event in graphic detail. Bruce had to stop Danny several times from cutting off parts of Gage’s body during the confession.
Feeling a hundred years old as he sat down on the table, Bruce rubbed his temples. “Is Oscar’s aunt still in the Center?”
“Yes, they had to stop her from trying to get in the house twice,” Nancy said.
“Tell them to bring her down,” Bruce said as Cook started gathering up the tools.
“Nancy, tell the guards to search them first,” Stephanie said.
“If they have weapons, they got them after I put them in the Center because I took two off of each of them,” Ted said.
“If they have weapons, then I’m putting them on shit detail,” Angela told everyone and Bruce just left her alone.
“There is an awful lot of blood down here,” Willie pointed out, but he was grinning.
“It’s not mine, so I don’t care,” Bruce said, dropping down in his chair, looking at his watch. 2312 hours. I’m getting too old for this shit, Bruce thought, letting out a sigh. Hearing someone coming down the stairs, he looked up to see a woman in her forties come in with a man the same age. The woman saw the blood and let out a scream. When the man saw it, he grabbed her, pulling her to himself.
“Is that from Oscar?” she yelled.
Shaking his head as he yawned, Bruce stretched his arms over his head and said, “No, it’s from Gage.”
“This is how you question clan members?” the man shouted.
Bruce dropped his arms. “No, Gage was being rude and lost his clan status before we even started to question him. He attacked his guards and had no honor, so I taught him manners.”
“This is barbaric and no better than the gangs out there!” the man bellowed.
Calmly, Bruce looked at the man and woman and spoke in a flat voice. “Yell again and you lose clan status and go on shit detail. The command group agreed to meet with you. We are tired, hungry, and have missed Christmas.”
“Well, torture does that to you,” the man shot back.
“Keep on, boy. You used your last pass. The next time you show rudeness, you get a collar and get thrown to shit detail,” Bruce warned, and the man backed up. “Now, what do you want to see us about?” Bruce asked.
The woman looked at Bruce. “Oscar couldn’t have done this, he’s a good boy,” she said.
“Beg to differ, ma’am,” Bruce said.
“I demand to represent my nephew,” the man said. “What are the charges and evidence?” he asked.
“You represent yourself in the clan. Others aren’t allowed to argue your charges. Your word is your bond. Treat others with respect. Any of those ring a bell? As for the charges: rape and attempted murder,” Bruce said.
“He can’t represent himself, and I demand to see the evidence,” he said with his voice getting louder.
Mike leaned over the table. “Voice control, boy. Use it,” he said, looking at the man.
“Cook, don’t leave just yet with the bags,” Bruce said, standing up, and they both took a step back. “Let me guess; you were a lawyer?” Bruce asked, and the man nodded. “Well, the evidence has been presented, and like I said, you represent yourself. You are tried at the earliest opportunity now, not months or years away. A member of the command group passes judgment. Then, a trial is held, and several forms of punishment are offered, and the command group agrees on punishment,” Bruce informed him.
“That’s not right,” he said. “Others need to see the evidence and need to let h
is peers judge him,” the man said.
“Maybe later down the road, but we are at war now, and those are the rules. Now, is there anything else?” Bruce asked.
“How do you know he did it?” the aunt asked again.
“Stephanie, play the victim’s and Oscar’s video,” Bruce said, and she did. At least the aunt jumped back at seeing the video of Bonnie, which gave Bruce some semblance of hope. When it was over, they looked at Bruce.
The man stepped toward the table, and Ted and Carl jumped up. Danny just pulled her pistol. Seeing that, the man froze as a laser shot from across the room right between the man’s eyes. Looking up, he spotted a smiling Buffy. “You are basing judgment of her testimony while she is under the influence of drugs and severe trauma. My nephew has confessed only because of intimidation,” he snapped.
A rumble rattled in Bruce’s chest as he closed his eyes and started rubbing his temples hard. Everyone on that side of the table between him and the aunt and uncle moved to the other side, not wanting to get caught in the hellfire and brimstone. The man moved back beside his wife seeing everyone leave. “Command group, I’m introducing a new clan law. Lawyers are not allowed to hold any position of authority on any committee, office, or position of authority. They may run crews no larger than five but in no position to pass any type of decree,” Bruce said, and everyone replied, “Aye,” passing the law.
The man started stuttering.
“Don’t; I’m fighting a headache. She was under the influence because of Oscar’s actions. His confession will be viewed as a positive in his sentencing,” Bruce said.
“When was the trial?” he inquired.
“After his questioning, he was found guilty, and his clan status was revoked from time of arrest,” Bruce said. The man raised his hand, pointing at Bruce. “Mister, I’m getting pissed. If you say anything stupid, you get a collar, and it’s shit detail,” Bruce said, and the man lowered his arm.
The aunt stepped up. “It was his first offense,” she said.
Jumping up, Bruce asked, “What, you want us to let him perfect his technique for the next time and kill the girl and get rid of her body?”
Blue Plague: War (Blue Plague Book 6) Page 16
