Nick came and visited me a couple of times and monitored my recovery. He was eager to get me back to the Gobbler and debrief with X. I knew I had to do this, but put it off until I took care of Roxy. I was not authorized to take out Roxy and this would have to be a stealth mission. I would be in deep shit with X and Alpha if I started to take out unauthorized targets. That and I had to be careful of the local police. I didn’t need any trouble with them.
It was a beautiful Wisconsin fall day and the air was cool and crisp. The leaves that returned to the trees were actually starting to turn color. I just got done with a run and walked into my house. Collin was in the kitchen making some eggs. Kippy was at his feet waiting patiently for any scraps that might make their way to him.
“Hey Dad, you just missed Ben. He was looking for you. He said that he would be at the station and you could catch him there.”
“Thanks bud. I’ll freshen up and go there after I have some breakfast.” I said while making my way to the bathroom. It’s been a couple of months and I have to get this thing off my arm. I’d go see Dr. Gayle after Ben today. I have some pains and aches, but I’m pretty much healed up. Nick is going to take me in to the Gobbler before I know it and I will have GPS in me again. I will have to take out Roxy without them knowing about it. I took a shower with my cast outside of the curtain trying to keep it dry.
I ate breakfast with Collin and Kippy and made my way to the police station. I said hi to the guard at the door and was escorted to Ben’s office by the Desk Sergeant. I knocked on the door loudly three times saying, “Permission to enter sir!”
The door opened and Ben shook my hand saying, “Good to see you, old boy. Have a seat.” He motioned me to one of the chairs in front of his desk and he sat on the chair next to mine. He must be serious if he isn’t sitting in his chair. This might be some kind of heart to heart talk, I thought to myself as we exchanged pleasantries.
I leaned back and tried to make myself comfortable, “So, what’s up Ben? What can I do for you?”
Ben leaned forward with his hands on his knees, “You seem to be recovering nicely. I have noticed that you are running and working out. Almost like you’re getting ready for a mission. I know you want me here to keep an eye on Collin, but I wish you would reconsider me joining you.”
I smiled warmly at my good friend, “No Ben. I can’t have you mixed up in my mess. I need you to take care of Collin and from the looks of things in this town, the citizens here count on you for their safety. You can’t take a chance on getting hurt, or worse. I do appreciate it though. You are a good friend.”
Ben shook his head in agreement saying, “I don’t like the idea of you going off on some kind of dangerous mission solo. You aren’t 100% healthy yet. Just promise me that if it gets too crazy, you call me immediately.”
I nodded in agreement, even though we both knew that would never happen. There was too much risk involved with this mission. He could get arrested or badly injured or killed. I needed somebody to keep an eye on Collin in case I would get taken out.
My next stop was to the hospital. While I was walking there I noticed all the vacant business streets on Main St. The businesses still had partial signs out front and furniture inside. It was like looking at a ghost town. But some businesses were actually trying to make a go of it again. There was a general store that would sell just about anything they could get their hands on. The High School was back in business for the kids that were still there. The younger kids that were elementary school age also went to the High School. Their school was too badly damaged to use. There was even a couple of churches that seemed unaffected by the war. There was actually hope here in this little town. You could see it in the faces of the people who lived here. A big part of that was Ben and his wife Elaine. They cared deeply for the inhabitants of this town and they knew it.
I knocked on the front door and Isabel answered, “Come on in Mr. Walsh. You look good today, are you having any problems?”
She was a cute kid and I could tell she liked Collin. They were spending a lot of time together and I could see the eye contact between the two of them. As I sat in the make-shift waiting room I thought it was puppy love, and it was so innocent and charming. To think that after all the destruction and pain that has occurred there could be something as simple as two kids falling for each other. It actually gave me some hope for a future. This town was special and I will do anything to keep it that way.”
Dr. Gayle came out and gave me a hug, “How are ya feeling today, Mr. Walsh?”
I smiled at the good doctor and said, “I think you can call me Sean. You did save my life. I’m great. I’m here to get this thing off my arm.” I waved my left arm around showing that it was fine and my arms plaster tomb needed to come off immediately.
Dr. Gayle’s smile turned into a look of motherly sternest, “It will come off when I say it is time to come off.” She motioned me to the exam room and pulled and pushed on my fingers and checked the mobility of the arm. “I give it another couple of weeks. I will take another look and then we can get rid of it for you.” I knew better than to argue with her. I thanked her for her time and left the office. I smiled at Isabel and walked back to my house.
It was evening and I had to get ready for the next day. I went outside and made sure my old 4-Runner started and was ready. Collin came out with a confused look on his face, “Hey Dad. Why are you fussing with the old ride when your new one is next to it? Are you planning on taking a trip?”
I turned off the ignition and hopped out of the truck, “Yes, I’m going on a little trip tomorrow. I might be gone for a couple of days. If you need anything get a hold of Ben or Elaine.”
Kippy ran out of the house and started barking at me until I picked him up.
Collin laughed saying, “He loves to go for rides. Maybe you can take the both of us?”
I rubbed Kippy’s ears for a bit and gave him back to Collin. “No, not this time Collin. I have some unfinished business to tend to in Madison. That’s all I can say about that for now.” Collin gave me an angry look and went inside the house with Kippy. I didn’t like keeping secrets from him, but I couldn’t let him know what I was going to do. I didn’t need him worrying too much or telling Ben.
We spent the rest of the evening with him telling me about college. Collin was a very good student and was studying engineering. He was a lot smarter than his old man and that was a good thing. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him becoming a cop like his old man. I knew eventually he would want to go back to Madison and continue his education. Just not now, it was too dangerous for him. He avoided the subject of what happened one he was forced underground. I figured he would talk to me about it when he was ready.
It was lights out and time to go to bed. Collin came over to me and gave me a hug, “Good night, Dad. Please be careful with whatever you are going to do tomorrow.” I gave him a kiss on the forehead and watched as he and Kippy made their way to their bedroom.
I laid in bed thinking about what I was about to do. I had to take out Roxy. She wouldn’t stop until Collin and I were dead. I can’t take the chance of her gathering new followers and starting up again. Maybe it is partially revenge, but it’s also for the safety of my kids. If anything happens to me, Ben will take good care of Collin.
27 Angel
I didn’t get much sleep that night thinking about what I would have to do. I got up before my Snoopy alarm would go off at 0600. I had all my gear and clothes laid out from the night before. A habit I gotten into when I worked late shift as a police officer. I always took a nap before going to work at midnight. I would wait until the last second to get out of bed. Squeezing every second of sleep that I could get before heading into the ghetto. It was essential that I had my uniform and equipment ready to go. I left nothing to chance, right down to clean underwear and socks.
I started to walk around my dark bedroom and grabbed my Ka-Bar. I sat back down on the end of the bed looking at th
e cast on my arm. “Nope I can’t have you on me if I’m going to do this right,” I said quietly as I carefully wedged the cold blade between my skin and the plaster. I began to cut away at my cast. I was surprised by how easily the cast disintegrated under the pressure of my blade. “I guess everything is in short supply around here.” It wasn’t long before the plaster tomb was in pieces on the floor. My arm felt 10 pounds lighter and I moved it around gingerly at first. I then did a couple of circular motions making sure it still worked.
I got dressed and put on my gun belt. I put my 40 caliber M&P in my leg holster after conducting a press check. I then retrieved Susie’s Beretta from under my pillow. I checked for brass and placed it in an old shoulder holster I had put on. I then put on an old field jacket that covered almost everything except the leg holster. I retrieved my AR-15 and bag with extra magazines, water, protein bars and binoculars.
I went into the kitchen and searched for coffee remembering we have none. Yet I did have a bag of stims in my pocket and swallowed four of them washing them down with water from the kitchen faucet. I made my way to Collins bedroom door. I cracked it open slightly trying not to make any noise. Kippy’s head popped up from underneath the covers next to Collin. I put my finger on my lips motioning him to be quiet. Kippy froze and didn’t move, somehow knowing I didn’t want Collin to be awoken. Collin stayed asleep and I told Kippy to take good care of Collin. Kippy then made his way to the end of the bed and laid down on Collin’s feet watching the door. I softly said, “I love you” to Collin and carefully closed the door.
I made my way through the back door and locked it behind me. I put my bag and AR-15 on the seat next to me and fired up my truck. I took one last look at my house. I will be back. I promise you that Collin.
Highway 12 was for the most part deserted as I made my way towards 94. I went north on the interstate getting off towards Sun Prairie. There was an abandoned theatre nearby and I made that my staging area. There was an old frontage Road that went across the interstate leading to East Towne mall. I made my way on foot for about 10 minutes across and found some good high ground with cover and concealment.
I watched for hours as people came and went from the mall. My eyes were getting tired looking through my binoculars. It was the best I could do without getting noticed. There were a few stores that were operating among the closed or damaged stores. As nightfall came the clientele changed. I knew this was an area the black market operated out of. The local police turned a blind eye to this. They had limited resources and let this activity continue. I watched as hypes, prostitutes and drug dealers conducted their business. I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of Roxy. Among the criminal element at the mall I did notice some people that looked out of place. They were dressed a little differently and were clean. They didn’t blend in with the others. They were men and women, student type’s that were a mix of ethnicities. Mostly younger college age kids mixed in with some people in their 40s and 50s. The older ones were armed with pistols. A few had AK-47s that they proudly slung over their shoulders. They came and went from the East side of the mall. I watched this for a couple of hours and got a break. I recognized one of them. It was one of the men who pulled Roxy out of State St. I remember the expression on his face when we locked eyes. I could tell he was devoted to Roxy and wanted to get her to safety. He walked into that entrance looking over his shoulder. If Roxy is here, she should be close to him. That will be my way to her.
I stayed in my spot for three more hours until about midnight. The man dressed in black walked back to the parking lot by himself to an older grey two-door Jeep with a hard top. He had a bulge under his coat on his right hip. He was definitely packing something. I watched helplessly as he sped off onto E. Washington Av. My truck was too far away so I had to count on him coming back. I didn’t want to give up my spot.
There was an abandoned hotel closer to the mall that was still on high ground and I made my way to that. The night air was getting cold. It was probably about 40 degrees and I was feeling it in my arthritic bones. The stims had long wore off and I was getting exhausted. I reached in the pocket and felt the stims, wanting to take some more but resisting the temptation. I was getting a little too comfortable with these and knew I had to take them sparingly. Tomorrow I would need them.
The glass to one of the doors to the entrance to the hotel had long been blown apart. The lobby had a slight odor of urine and feces emanating from the long abandoned bathrooms. There was no power so the elevators didn’t work. The doors to the two stairwells had been long rusted shut, so I believed it was safe to spend the night there. I decided that once there was ‘normal’ activity tomorrow I would go back and get my truck. I could conceal it in the parking lot of the hotel next to some dead trees that were there. My truck could make it down the frontage road and I would attempt to get Roxy in the Jeep. Only her and one other person to take care of. That was acceptable to me.
I set up in a common area and found an old leather chair and made myself comfortable. I watched as the hypes and prostitutes finished their business in the light of a full moon. It was about 0400 and activity had stopped for about 30 minutes. I decided to try to get some sleep. It would be light in a couple of hours and I would be awake then…
There was an uninvited beam of light hitting my face through one of the side windows. It was about 0800 and I slept much harder than I thought. There was a text message from Collin on my personal phone: Please be careful dad. I’m not sure what you’re doing, but I am sure it’s dangerous. I smiled reading this message and told him I was fine and should be home in a day or two. I didn’t want him worrying about me.
My resting place was where the hotel breakfast would have been set up. I squinted looking around trying to get my bearings. I used my imagination thinking I could smell fresh bacon and eggs. I used to think complimentary hotel breakfasts were cheap and often inedible. Now I would almost do anything for one of those. I gathered up my gear and carefully made my way back to my truck. My head was still in a morning fog as I saw my truck tucked into the corner of what used to be a busy parking lot. After a careful inspection of my truck I hopped in and fired it up. I drove to the hotel lot and backed into a spot in front of the door, or what used to be the door.
The sun was pouring into the hotel now and I was fully awake. I walked over to a window that faced the East side of the mall. It had a clear view of the parking lot and the entrance where I saw the man in black yesterday. A set up a couch and chair by the window off to the side. I have pretty good concealment there and could still keep an eye on the parking lot. There wasn’t much going on at the mall today. I spent my time looking through my binoculars and my stomach was starting to rumble. I eventually started to eat a MRE. It was late afternoon and I finished up my beef stew and started to relax. I knew this was a dangerous time of day. I had a full stomach and I was starting to feel the lack of sleep. I dug around in my pocket and couldn’t find them at first. My heart started to pound with the thought that my stims were gone. “That’s not a good thing to be panicking just because you lost some pills.” I thought to myself as I eventually found the bag that they were in. I took four out and swallowed them down with a gulp of water. I kept my eyes on the mall parking lot using my binoculars most of the time. The stims were kicking in and I was getting anxious.
It was now dusk and the mall began its nighttime ritual. There were some new faces coming out of the mall and some that I recognized from yesterday. There was a lot of pain down there that I couldn’t concern myself with. I decided to stretch my legs and go check on my truck. Everything was okay so I went back to my perch inside the hotel.
As I was walking in the entranceway… “Hey you. You want a date?”
I spun around and unholstered my M&P pointing it at the figure behind me.
A girl about 18 to 20 years old wearing a tattered sundress and barefoot put her hands in the air, “Hey! I don’t want any problems. I’m just looking for work.” I was pissed of
f thinking that a kid could sneak up on me like that. I was jumpy and just wanted this to be over with. I kept my pistol pointed at her. I took a better look at her and saw a scared kid. She was about 5 foot four and maybe weighed about 90 pounds. She had dirty blond shoulder length unkempt hair, green eyes, a pretty smile and some freckles on the bridge of her nose and cheeks.
“Really. I will just leave.” The trembling voice said.
There was no way I could let her go now. I didn’t know if she was some poor kid that was reduced to selling herself for food. Or a scout that would give my location away. I had a vehicle, weapons, ammunition and some food. Those things were very valuable. Especially next to where the black market operates. These are the things that are at the highest premium.
I put my body between her and the exit. I holstered my gun and said, “I’m afraid I can’t let you leave, but I won’t hurt you. I don’t have time to explain myself.”
The girl tried to push herself through me in a feeble attempt to escape. I grabbed one of her thin arms and pushed her down onto a chair. “Like I said before, I don’t have time for this shit. If you run away from me I will shoot you. I’m not fast but my bullets are. Do not force my hand little girl.” The girl just sat there looking scared. I had my AR-15 slung and she was eyeing up the Ka-Bar on my belt. I noticed some scars on her arms and legs that looked like old knife wounds. It looked like this poor thing has tasted some real pain.
We stared at each other for about a minute in silence as I thought, “I should kill her now. I don’t need any more baggage in my life and I couldn’t risk letting her go. She was too much of a distraction and when the time came I would have to move quick. But, that would make me a bigger piece of shit than the ones down in the mall right now. I couldn’t do it.”
She sat frozen in the chair as I dug through my bag and found a pair of handcuffs. Her eyes got big looking at them so I could tell she has had some bad experiences with these. I kept them in my hand looking at her, “I don’t want to use these on you, but I can’t have you leave.” She nodded yes and started to relax a little bit. I guess she figured that if I hadn’t hurt her already maybe I was safe to be with. I put the cuffs in my pocket and she relaxed a bit.
Mad City: Book One of the Sean Walsh Post Apocalyptic Series Page 17
