Innocent Shadows

by Warren Ray

  “You probably have the keys,” said Grant.

  “I do?”

  “You killed him and took his truck, right?”

  Winters nodded.

  “They’re probably on that key ring.”

  Winters wasn’t sure where the keys were but figured Collette knew since she was the last one to drive it. He said his goodbyes to everyone after getting assurances they were going to divide the food with everyone. He got back in his van and gave one more wave to everyone as he pulled out of the parking lot.

  He drove back to the hideout and found Billy Gamble’s truck sitting in the driveway. He walked inside the house and began looking around for the keys. Not finding them, he went back to the bedroom to find the air much cooler than before. He looked around and found Collette’s jeans crumpled on the floor. He picked them up and felt the keys in the back pocket. They jingled as he pulled them out, which made the girls stir.

  “Hey,” said Laney, as she opened her eyes.

  “Hey,” Winters answered quietly.

  “I’m awake too,” said Collette.

  “Sorry about that,” said Winters.

  “No, I’ve been awake for a bit,” said Collette.

  “Me too,” said Laney.

  Collette sat up and ran her hand through her short black hair. The disheveled hair began to stand back up the more she fussed with it. She stretched her back as Laney sat up as well. Her light brown hair was also in dire need of a brush as she flung it away from her face.

  “How’s our baby sister,” asked Collette.

  “In need of a doctor, I’m afraid.”

  “What are we gonna do?” asked Laney in a concerned tone.

  “Take her to Winnipeg.”

  “Oh? When are we gonna leave?” ask Laney.

  “We?” asked Winters.

  “Of course, silly,” said Collette, putting her arm around Laney. “You’re not gonna take our baby sister to Canada without us.”

  Laney threw out her chest. “Not gonna happen, Mister Winters. You’re not done with us yet.”

  Winters sat down on the bed and cocked his head. “Thought for sure, I was.”

  Collette turned her head to Laney. “Isn’t he just a silly-boy?”

  “The silliest.”

  Winters laughed to himself at their attitudes. They were acting like the teen girls that they really were and not the jaded adults they had been forced to be. The relief of not having to prostitute themselves lifted a heavy burden from their shoulders. So much so that they didn’t seem to be at all bothered by what they had done last night, and in light of all the killings, that was powerful.

  He watched them embrace each other and give him pouty looks. Winters, of course, was going to let them come to Canada with him. It would help Finley to have her friends with her.

  “I suppose you could come along.”

  “Yes,” they both replied while shaking their shoulders around in a dance.

  “We’ll leave tonight. It’s an eleven-hour trip, so think about what you’ll need and tell your families.”

  “Do we take the guns?” asked Laney.

  Winters got up and gave them a serious look. “We go everywhere armed.”

  “Yes, I love it,” said Laney, throwing out a fist.

  Chapter 52

  Sarnia Ontario

  The guards brought food and a deck of cards to the warehouse hours ago but hadn’t given Scar any answers to his questions. He didn’t want them to think he was alarmed, but the hours had dragged by and nothing was happening. The more time that flew by, the more obvious it became as to why they were there. He was grateful the cops didn’t handcuff them whenever they took a trip to the bathroom. So far, none of them had seen a clear opportunity to overpower the guards whenever they made the trip. Even Bassett commented the two guards left themselves more space than before. They would have to get creative if they were going to have any kind of a chance to escape.

  Scar got up and stretched his legs trying to work out the kinks. Staying in this small room didn’t bode well for him, and he ached to get outside for some fresh air. He had hoped to see Sergeant Wilson to try to reason with him, but so far, he hadn’t shown up. He figured Wilson had made some phone calls on the sly and was probably waiting to hear back or was trying to negotiate a time and place. Scar didn’t know who would be in charge of something like this but figured it had to be someone in Washington D.C., which meant it would take a while. This would work in their favor as they had already decided they should try to escape here, figuring they had a better chance than if they were handed over to the National Police. It was going to be dark soon, and it seemed they were staying the night here. These were not the greatest facilities to be holding prisoners, which cemented the fact Wilson was doing this under his superior’s noses. There was no other explanation for the relocation and never being booked. The garage door started to open and soon they could hear a truck pulling into the warehouse.

  “Hmm, wonder if that’s for us?” asked Burns.

  “Oh, it’s for us alright,” sneered Nordell, “Question is, are we going out dead or alive?”

  Scar shot him a glance. “So, much for optimism.”

  Nordell shrugged his shoulders. “Lost that hours ago.”

  A loud thud hit the cement floor, which echoed throughout the empty warehouse and gave the men pause as they tried to figure out what it was.

  Nordell let out a scoff. “I know what that is.”

  Burns looked doubtful. “Do ya?”

  “Cots. We’re spending the night in comfort boys.”

  They let out a collective laugh since they all had experience sleeping on cots.

  A key was inserted into the door and unlocked it before a cop pulled it open. A cop brandishing a shotgun ordered them up against the wall. The four prisoners moved toward the wall and watched another officer carry four cots into the room.

  Burns gestured at Nordell.

  “I know my cots,” grinned Nordell.

  “Excuse me, but how long are we gonna be here?” asked an impatient Scar.

  “One night only,” said the shotgun-toting cop.

  “And then?” asked Scar.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be out of here in the morning.”

  Scar didn’t like the sound of that but didn’t think he’d get anymore answers from this guy, so instead, he asked for something else to eat.

  “How’s a pizza sound?” asked the cop.

  Everyone’s eyes lit up and began arguing over the ingredients.

  “Despite all of this,” said Bassett, “pizza sounds pretty damn awesome.”

  “I’m with ya,” said Burns. “I can’t remember the last time I had pizza.”

  Bassett’s easy expression hardened. “Besides, we’re gonna need to keep our strength up when we escape tonight.”

  All eyes shifted to Bassett waiting for him to continue.

  “These cots have nice metal square bars that we can use to scrape through the drywall.”

  Scar considered this for a moment. “Nothing on the other side of this wall is there?”

  “Just more dead space between it and the outer wall,” said Bassett moving to the corner of the room. “Last time I hit the head, I noticed the guard’s table was not positioned where they could see the other side of this wall completely. So, if we burrow right about here, we can squeeze between the studs easily enough.”

  Nordell patted Bassett’s back. “Corporal, you’d have made a great Marine.”

  Bassett accepted the compliment.

  “We’ll do a recon later tonight and decide on our approach,” said Scar.

  It took about an hour before the pizza showed up but was well worth the wait. It was a deep dish Chicago style pizza, and they praised the chef. They devoured it in a matter of minutes and couldn’t compliment it enough. The cops had been gracious enough to get them brownies and cold sodas as well. Bassett had been right, the pizza was awesome and put everyone in a better mood.

  Th
ey let their stomachs settle while resting on the cots before they did another recon. After everyone used the bathroom, the one thing they all noticed was the two cops were now busy playing video games on a laptop. The faint sound of explosions and gunfire from the video game traveled through the empty building. The guys stood still and tried to hear it in their makeshift cell, but only Basset was able to.

  “Oh, to have such young ears again,” said Nordell.

  “They do come in handy,” said Bassett. “Don’t worry, once we bust through this wall, you’ll be able to hear ‘em.”

  Nordell rolled his eyes.

  “If they keep playing the game then I think we could rush them,” said Burns.

  “The element of surprise will give us at least two extra seconds if not more,” said Nordell. “Bassett, you and Burns should take the lead, you’re faster than me or Scar.”

  Bassett looked at Burns and gave him a fist-bump.

  “These metal posts should come in handy as well,” said Nordell, picking up a folded cot.

  Scar sat back listening to them. He now understood why Winters allowed the men to hash things out before making a final decision. It allowed you to consider everything before locking yourself into a position. He was glad he didn’t have to worry too much about these guys planning an operation. Everyone here knew what they were doing especially Nordell, who had the most experience.

  After they finished, they all looked at Scar for approval.

  Scar nodded. “Let’s get to it.”

  Nordell and Burns began to tear apart one of the cots and then started to scrape through the drywall. It didn’t take too long before they tore through the first layer exposing the studs, which were spaced twenty-four inches apart. They had just started on the outer wall when they heard the garage door open and a vehicle drive in. The men froze realizing there was drywall laying all about.

  Chapter 53

  Port Huron Michigan

  The streets of Port Huron looked as eerie as all the other empty streets Meeks traveled through over the past few months. He could never get used to the stark emptiness with overgrown lawns encroaching into every area that wasn’t paved. Trash always blew about or was stuck in trees and there was always burned down houses. This town was no different, although he could sense people still lived in the area. It would be easy to cross into Canada via the St. Clair River and bring supplies back home. Of course, if it was so easy, then why was Scar in trouble?

  The five-vehicle convoy pulled through the streets and headed to the garage Hadley had used with Scar’s team.

  “Right here,” said Hadley.

  Reese hit the brakes on the big Suburban. The rest of the convoy pulled in behind them.

  “Alright, let’s check it out,” said Meeks.

  Hadley was the first one to reach the garage and pulled open the door. He walked toward the back and found the weapons. After removing them, Meeks pulled out a map of the city and spread it on the hood of the squad car. During the drive, he had decided who he wanted on which teams. Despite the fact it would take only Reese to watch the garage, he wasn’t going to have anyone not partnered with someone else, so he would have Amber stay with her. He gave out the other assignments based on experience and who had typically worked together. Badger would stay with him, while Hadley and Hollis would scout out a sharpshooter position. He dropped Eddie Perlee and Taylor’s old friend Harris down the river about a mile to watch the shoreline and a couple more to keep watch up on the interstate. He wanted a heads up on anyone moving in or out of the city.

  “Listen, guys, this is going to be a big waiting game, we might not see anything here for quite some time. We just have to be patient and stay out of sight. We can’t risk engaging anyone. So, keep your heads down and the radios on.”

  Everyone began loading up in their assigned vehicles and Meeks gave the girls a pair of night vision binoculars.

  “Wait till dark to pull these out,” said Meeks.

  Reese took the styrene case. “C’mon Meeks, this isn’t our first rodeo.”

  “Don’t worry about us,” said Amber.

  “I normally don’t, but damn it’s weird being in charge, I can’t help myself.”

  “Makes you appreciate Cole,” said Amber.

  “Man, does it ever. I don’t know how he did it.”

  “Does it,” interrupted Reese. “He’ll be back.”

  “I sure as hell hope so. Being in charge of a football team is one thing but this…”

  “Whole new ballgame,” smiled Amber.

  “Yeah and that’s an understatement.”

  Meeks gave them both a hug before getting into the squad car where Taylor sat in the driver’s seat. The older man gave Meeks a curt nod before letting off the brake. They snaked their way toward Interstate 94 and out onto Lapeer Connector, which was the last exit before entering Canada. They were able to get off that road and head through the giant parking lot of an abandoned home improvement store. Behind the store was a large wooded area that bordered the interstate. The area was out of the way of any residential homes, which is what he wanted. He didn’t dare take the chance that none of them were occupied. Now was not the time to be making new friends.

  Taylor pulled through the empty parking lot and into the woods stopping beside a small creek. Meeks was satisfied this was where they would wait to ambush the cops if they came this way. That they were coming at all was a big assumption he was making. Meeks wouldn’t rest easy for the remainder of the day not knowing for sure.

  He got out of the squad car and the eight men on his team began trudging through the trees and up on the interstate. They noticed a couple of buildings sitting alongside the side of the interstate and guessed they were for state trucks.

  Meeks looked at Taylor. “What ya think?”

  “Got a nice high roof, and it’s, what, a hundred feet from the road.”

  Meeks waited for Hadley and Hollis to catch up. “What do ya think, Hollis?”

  “Oh, it’s perfect.”

  “Let’s go see if there’s a ladder inside,” said Meeks.

  The four of them walked over to the building and looked inside where they found several big dump trucks. Meeks looked at Taylor and flicked his eyebrows.

  “Whatcha thinking?” asked Taylor.

  “Badger, these big ole snowplow trucks will be just the ticket to jam up the road a bit. Make these two lane roads into one lane.”

  “I like your thinking,” said Taylor, as he took the butt of his M-4 and broke the glass on the door. He reached in and turned the handle. “Shall we?”

  “We shall,” laughed Meeks.

  “Hell, I can drive anything in here,” said Hollis a former over the road truck driver.

  Meeks stepped into the office and found the keys inside a box attached to the wall. He grabbed the keys and handed them to Hollis who began matching them up. As soon as he started the first one, Meeks and Taylor opened the garage doors. Over the next thirty minutes, they pulled four trucks out onto the interstate and parked them in pairs on each side of the road blocking one lane. Meeks loved the idea so much he ran over and jumped into one of the cabs. He liked how high they sat and how the big side mirrors gave you a great view to the rear. He took another quick glance in the mirror as he thought he had noticed something moving in the distance. He snapped his head back and the blood drained from his face. Four National Police vehicles were coming around the bend.

  Chapter 54

  Sarnia Ontario

  After pulling down the inner layer of drywall, Burns was beginning to tear at the outer wall when the garage door opened. Sweat formed on Scar’s forehead when he realized they had drywall lying on the floor and needed to hide it.

  Scar and Bassett fell to the floor to begin scooping up the larger pieces and Bassett stacked them in the opposite corner. He also caught the smaller pieces as Scar flung them over. Nordell opened one of the cots and rushed it over to the stack of drywall. Burns grabbed another cot and sat down on it, almost
hiding the hole in the wall.

  They heard someone unlocking the door. Scar gave a quick inspection and motioned Bassett to get over by Burns to help him hide the hole. As the door began to open, Scar rushed over to stand in front of it.

  He was surprised to find Sergeant Wilson at the door. “Hey perfect timing, I’ve got to go to the bathroom.”

  “Mister Scarborough, you think you can hold on for a minute?”

  Scar stood six inches over the smaller Wilson and could be intimidating if he wanted to. Right now he wanted to and glared angrily at Wilson. He didn’t want him to enter the room and stood his ground.

  “I can do that, but only if you explain why we’re being held here.”

  Wilson backed up a little. “I understand how upset you must be, but I can explain it to you and your men.”

  “Then let’s do it out here, I’m sick and tired of this room,” said Scar, shifting his big body a few more inches forward.

  “Okay, have it your way. What about your men?”

  “Trust me, you don’t want them out here, they’re even more pissed than I am.”

  “Come over here,” said Wilson.

  Scar walked toward the table the guards had set up and noticed Wilson had come alone in his personal car. He couldn’t wait to hear what the man had to say.

  “I’m sorry about all of this, but you must realize that you are wanted men and there are people who want to turn you over to the US National Police for the reward money.”

  “So, you brought us here?” asked Scar.

  “For your own protection.”

  The man was lying so Scar decided to play along not wanting to raise any alarm. “Our own protection?”

  “Yes, you see we weren’t the only ones to find you. Last night, in that restaurant you caught the attention of others. I have informants that told me they were lying in wait for you.”

  “Which is why we’re here?” asked Scar in a thankful tone.

  “Yes. We’ve got corrupt cops on the force, hell even some of the judges have been bought. Ever since your country fell, you Americans aren’t the only ones having problems. Had I not gotten you out of there, you’d be in some American jail right now. It’s why we didn’t book you; I didn’t want you in the system. As of right now, I’ve got everyone confused about your whereabouts.”