Savage Rising

by C. Hoyt Caldwell

  Chapter 85

  The blue-and-silver charter bus with the impostors dressed as students rambled through the parking lot at a slow pace on its way to the west side of Wayne Drake Community College’s campus. On board, the soldiers’ hearts were all pounding against their rib cages. A few bowed their heads in prayer, while others stared out the windows of the bus watching real students saunter through the courtyard without a care in the world. They had nothing of significance on their minds. They were mindless, just as the master general had said. They took for granted the illusion of freedom. They were told they were free, so they believed it. They were dumb, driven cattle.

  Chapter 86

  Dani navigated her cruiser around the blue-and-silver bus at the east end of the parking lot and headed straight for the public safety office. Between the dueling groups of protesters, the students, faculty, and staff, the campus looked as if it was stuffed to the gills.

  “No media,” Nola said, looking intently out the window.

  “Most of the media in this area are probably in Knoxville. Bigger campus, bigger turnout.”

  Nola nodded. “Who needs the media when you’ve got cellphones and Twitter?”

  Dani didn’t bother looking for a parking place. Even though they were out of their jurisdiction, she hoped the PROTECT AND SERVE emblem on the vehicle gave her “park wherever the hell you want” privileges.

  Out of the cruiser, both Dani and Nola searched in every direction for anything that looked out of place.

  “Got any suggestions on what to look for?” Nola asked.

  Dani directed her attention to the protesters. “My guess is they’ll try to blend in where they won’t stand out.”

  Nola studied the open-carry group.

  “Keep your eye on them. Ima talk to campus police.” Dani gave the protesters a last look before heading to the public safety office. She made a point of noting bottlenecks, high ground, and exits along the way. What she saw very little of was a police presence. The demonstrations weren’t huge, but she’d expected to see some local law enforcement besides campus cops keeping the peace.

  She entered the offices and waited in the lobby for way too long before a kid out of uniform appeared behind the glass partition.

  “Whoa,” he said. “Is there some kind of trouble?”

  “I need to speak to whoever’s in charge.”

  “That’d be Sergeant Jones.”

  “Okay, I need to speak to Sergeant Jones.”

  “He’s not here.”

  “Where is he?”

  “It’s Friday. Student union has free cookie day for faculty and staff. It’s a thing they do…”

  “Can you call him?”

  “He doesn’t like me to interrupt his break…”

  “It’s an emergency.”

  “But it’s free cookie day at the student union…”

  “Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you…Look, just tell me where the student union is, and I’ll find him myself.”

  The kid pointed to his right and said, “Turn to the right out the door…”

  Dani tuned him out and fixated on the tattoo on his forearm. It was the Gray Rise insignia. She smiled politely while the kid was still talking and backed out the door.

  “I ain’t finished telling how to get there.” As the door closed behind Dani he said, “You know what, if you see someone with a cookie just ask where they got it.”

  Dani quick-stepped it to Nola without running.

  “I’ve spotted a few protesters that don’t fit in…” Nola cut herself off when she saw the somewhat panicked look on Dani’s face. “What is it?”

  “I think we have to consider the possibility that the campus police have been compromised.”

  “Compromised? You mean they’re in on it?”

  “The guy at the desk had a Gray Rise tattoo.”

  “Shit,” Nola said.

  “And I think the fact that there are no local police here suggests a bigger problem.”

  “Yeah, I was wondering about that. So, what do we do?”

  Dani thought for a second before pulling out her cellphone again. “I’ve got a contact at the state police.” She looked through her contacts, found Armstrong’s number, and pushed the call button, only to notice she once again had no bars. “Fuck. Do you have a signal?”

  Nola examined her phone. “No. I had full bars on the way over here. I checked…I’ve heard a lot of people walking by complaining about not having cell reception…I wonder…” She stopped herself as she considered how crazy the question she was about to ask sounded.

  “What?”

  “I mean…First rule of warfare, knock out communications.”

  “You mean a jammer of some kind?”

  “It would have to be military grade to take out an area this big, but yeah.”

  “Would it knock out my car’s two-way?”

  Nola shook her head. “You’d need an RF jammer for that. It’s possible they’d have one of those, too, but I doubt it.”

  “Why?” Dani asked as she opened the passenger-side door.

  “Because all hell is gonna break loose when they start shooting. They are going to need to communicate with each other to keep things tight and on time.”

  Dani picked up the radio mic, but Nola stopped her before she pushed the call button.

  “If they’re as well organized and equipped as we think, they will be scanning emergency frequencies.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Switch to channel 19.”

  Dani did as Nola suggested.

  “It’s the trucker channel. Trust me. They hear a woman’s voice they’ll answer quicker than shit and do just about anything you ask them to do. And whatever you do, don’t let on that you’re a cop. That’d be the end of it.”

  Dani clicked the call button and as much as she hated to, played the damsel in the distress card. “Anyone out there wanna help a lady out?”

  There was a brief moment of static before a gravelly voice answered, “Roger that, little lady.”

  Chapter 87

  Spivey stewed in the back of the FBI agent’s car. He had failed. He was so close, but in the end he had let Mac down. The Gray Rise was going to strike, he was sure of it, and a lot of innocent people were going to die.

  The dispatcher’s voice diverted his attention away from his masterful inner condemnation. “All units be advised: Command dispatch is looking for THP Corporal Maggie Armstrong’s 10-20.”

  Spivey turned to look out the window and watch the FBI agents shooting the shit and acting like they didn’t have a care in the world. He wanted to pound their faces to dust.

  “We’ve got an off-grid, priority-one message for her from a Dani Savage.”

  Spivey’s head snapped around, and he stared at the radio wide-eyed.

  “Repeat, command dispatch has an off-grid, priority-one message from a Dani Savage for Corporal Maggie Armstrong. We need her 10-20 ASAP. Over.”

  Spivey screamed, “Hey! Open the door! Open the goddamn door!”

  The main agent looked his way and smirked, but otherwise ignored his pleas.

  Spivey lay down in the seat and started pounding the window with the bottom of his feet. “Open the goddamn door! Open the goddamn door…”

  The door ripped open and the agent barked, “Hey! Straighten your shit up or we’re shipping you to a psychiatric unit…”

  Spivey sat up. “Call Corporal Maggie Armstrong with the state police!”

  “Just calm down and we’ll…”

  “Get Corporal Armstrong on the phone now!”

  “I’m not…”

  “Get her on the fucking phone or you’re gonna have to explain to your bosses that you could have stopped a massacre if you’d just made one fucking phone call! One!”

  The agent sighed. “You’re such a pain in the ass.” He pulled out his phone. “What’s her number?”

  Spivey hesitated and then said, “I don’t fucking know.”

  “Seriously?
You ask me to…”

  “There’s state patrol all over this fucking campus. Ask one of them.”

  “Forget it…”

  “One call! You can still stop it!”

  The agent grunted and turned to his colleagues. He directed them to get on the horn with the state police and find Corporal Maggie Armstrong.

  Chapter 88

  “We do what, wait?” Nola asked, growing increasingly fidgety. An imaginary clock was counting down in her head. They were running out of time.

  Dani was listening to the same imaginary clock. She walked to the front of the cruiser and zeroed in on the open-carry demonstrators. They all had dour faces and stared menacingly at the Million Moms group. “I don’t think we can wait. We can’t assume she’s going to get the message.”

  “Then what?”

  Dani ran their situation through a quick series of scenarios in her head before she dropped her chin to her chest and quietly said, “Fuck it. We’ve gotta do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “Check the IDs of the demonstrators.”

  “We can’t…I mean, we don’t have jurisdiction.”

  “We can’t just stand around hoping they don’t start shooting up the place,” Dani said as she opened the trunk and handed a Kevlar vest to Nola. “Put this on.”

  Nola put the vest on while she watched Dani dig through the contents of the trunk. The deputy smiled when she found a plain black windbreaker and put it on. “What’re you doing? It’s hot as hell out here.”

  “I’m hiding my Baptist Flats badge and emblem on the sleeve.”

  “What about your vest?”

  “You’re wearing my vest.”

  “Oh, no,” Nola said as she started to take it off. “Fuck that…”

  “It covers up your Baptist Flats patch on your chest. You’re wearing it so those idiots won’t know we don’t have jurisdiction.”

  Nola stopped short of taking the vest off. “All right, but don’t get shot unless you wanna make me feel like shit for wearing your Kevlar.”

  “Agreed.” Dani reached underneath one more pile of junk and pulled out a lockbox. After locating the key on her ring, she opened the box and handed the contents to Nola, an antique .22 pistol.

  “What the hell is this?”

  “It’s an old gun. Otis taught me how to shoot with it.”

  “It’s a fucking peashooter. What about the shotgun?”

  Dani shook her head. “Long gun will up the stakes. Too threatening. We go with no guns showing. We keep things nice and cool.”

  “That’s easy for you say. You’ve got a .38.”

  “And you’ve got the Kevlar.”

  Nola rolled her eyes. “I knew there was a catch. I’m just supposed to walk over there with my .22, face down a bunch of crackers with assault rifles, and smile?”

  “Perfect.”

  “Again. Easy for you to say. You’re the white one. I’m doing this shit while being black.”

  Dani loaded her pocket with ammo and handed Nola a handful of shells before shutting the trunk. After a sigh, she said, “Let’s go.”

  Nola stuffed the gun down the back of her pants and walked a few steps before she realized she was still holding on to the ammo. She quickly put the shells into her pocket and tried to shake the nerves.

  They reached the blue-and-silver bus in the parking lot and were startled when the hydraulic door opened and two students carrying backpacks exited the bus. Dani recognized the bus from the truck stop, but didn’t pay much attention to it beyond that. As she and Nola continued walking toward the demonstrators, she read one student’s shirt. PROPERTY OF WAYNE DRAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE. She noted how bright the lettering was and let the information pass through her mind. The word “new” came to her. She turned to look at the student again. “That’s a new shirt,” she whispered, followed by the words Principal Gardner had spoken the day before. “They Trojan-horsed us.”

  Chapter 89

  Armstrong was not happy. She’d been patrolling the gathering crowd at Volunteer Boulevard when a trooper ran her down. A priority-one call had come in from central command. She was to call right away. She complied and was chilled and confused by Dani’s message.

  She found her CO and told him she had an emergency. She had to leave.

  “No can do, Corporal,” the white-haired colonel said. “The FBI requests the honor of your presence.”

  “The FBI? Me?” She tried not to look nervous, but it was a struggle. She couldn’t help but think that the FBI wanting to see her had something to do with Dani’s message.

  “Are you Corporal Maggie Armstrong?” her CO asked, knowing full well that indeed she was.

  “But I have an emergency. I have to go…”

  “After you talk to the FBI. Agent,” her CO said, motioning to a thin man in a suit standing behind her.

  Maggie looked at him and gave him a fake smile.

  The agent escorted her down the boulevard to the row of hedges. When they reached the entrance to the parking lot, her nerves were even more frazzled by the sight of three more men in cheap suits and another man in handcuffs.

  “Corporal,” the agent said, “I’m really sorry to do this to you…”

  “You got a message from Dani,” Spivey interrupted.

  Armstrong recognized the familiarity in his tone. The man knew Dani.

  “Relax, Mr. Spivey,” the agent said. “Let me ask the questions. Did you get a message from a Dani Savage?” the agent asked Armstrong.

  She nodded slowly. “I did.”

  “What was it?”

  Armstrong swallowed before saying, “It’s a personal matter.”

  “Fuck that. Tell me…”

  “Hey,” the agent snapped and pushed Spivey back against the car. “Respect, Mr. Spivey.” To Armstrong, “I hate to ask you this, but are you sure you can’t share the message with us? If for no other reason than to shut this asshole the hell up.” He leaned in and whispered, “Between you and me, I think he’s a nutjob. He thinks he’s a secret agent. He’s going on about militias and guns. The ATF…”

  “The ATF?” The words came out of her mouth much louder than she intended. She looked past the agent and at Spivey. “Are you with the ATF?”

  “No. Yes. It’s complicated. Why?”

  “Dani called me a few weeks ago and asked me about an ATF ID she found.”

  The FBI agent stepped back, half-stunned. “So, wait. You were working with the Baptist Flats Sheriff’s Department?”

  Spivey ignored him. “What was Dani’s message?”

  Armstrong hesitated before saying, “I…She said there was something…It was cryptic. Essentially, I need to go to Wayne Drake Community College.”

  Spivey felt a wave of relief. “She found it. She fucking found it.”

  Chapter 90

  “Wait!” Dani abruptly approached the students, surprising Nola as much as them.

  “We’re late for class,” one of the men said. They both continued to walk.

  “I just wanted to make sure you’re aware of the safety barrier.”

  “That’s okay, we’re just going to class.”

  Nola was still puzzled, but she remained vigilant.

  “It’s just that there isn’t a lot of security on campus today, and I really feel like you should let me tell you about the barrier…” She noticed both students were wearing tiny earpieces. “Stop!”

  Both men stopped dead in their tracks, but they didn’t turn toward Dani.

  Nola moved to the other side of the men and positioned herself next to a large SUV.

  “Look, lady, we just wanna go to class…”

  “First, I’m not a lady. I’m an officer of the law. Address me as Deputy.”

  Nola reached around her back and placed her hand on her gun.

  “Remove your backpacks please,” Dani said, placing her hand on her sidearm.

  The students didn’t comply.

  “Gentlemen, Ima ask you nicely one more time. Remov
e your backpacks, please.”

  Nola squeezed the handle of the gun. Movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention. She did a half turn and saw the reflection of the bus in the back window of the SUV. The movement she had seen was the barrel of a long gun being stuck out of one of the windows of the bus. She drew her weapon and spun around. Before firing she yelled, “Gun! Cover! Cover! Cover!” She got off a shot, missing the target, but causing enough of a distraction to affect the shooter’s aim. Instead of hitting Dani, the first bullet hit the concrete pavement just inches away from her.

  The two students took the opportunity to sprint toward the campus.

  “Shit,” Dani said, taking cover with Nola on the back side of SUV. “They’re getting away.”

  “Go,” Nola said. “I’ll make sure no more get off the bus.”

  They heard screams coming from the campus as the sounds of the gunshots were starting to cause panic.

  Dani psyched herself up with a few quick, short breaths and then said, “I really wish I hadn’t given you the vest.” She was up and running for the campus before Nola could reply.

  Chapter 91

  The FBI put a call in to Drake County local authorities so they could beef up security as best as they could until agencies from the state and feds got there. A dispatcher by the name of Tina answered the phone.

  “Everybody’s out and about,” she said. “I’ll pass along your message when they get back.”

  “Get back?” the agent said. “No, put out a call now.”

  “Can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. It’s imperative…”

  “You can impair all you want, but the radio’s broke. Went belly-up last night. Waiting on Darnell to run down a part to fix it.”

  “Raise them on their phones, then. This is a matter…”

  “The sheriff don’t allow phones. That Pokémon Go was distracting everyone from work. We didn’t hit our traffic-ticket quota last month. First time ever.”

  “Jesus Christ…”

  “Mister, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use the Lord’s name…” The agent hung up and yelled to the collection of state bureau personnel, highway patrolmen, and FBI agents that had gathered in the parking lot. “Listen up. We’ve got a local law enforcement agency that doesn’t know shit from Shinola, which means things just went from oh-fuck to fucked up. Burn your lights and open up your throttle on whatever you’re driving. If you know a shortcut take it, otherwise stick to the main roads. We don’t need anyone getting lost. There have been no reports coming from the campus on shootings, but calls have come in from five miles out of possible gunfire.”