After the very short meeting with the Judge, where Smith was given his “do or die” options, Hobson and Smith’s other two guards walked him out of the courthouse. But instead of heading back to the police station to rejoin Blake, they took him to a small building that turned out to be a clinic, where a woman who called herself Amy took the silly bra off Smith’s head and treated his bullet graze and last night’s bleeding properly. The clinic wasn’t much to look at, but it had everything Amy needed to make sure his wound wasn’t infected.
Hobson had left after dropping Smith off at the clinic, but Kyle and Stephens remained behind. Both men stood watching as Amy worked on Smith, as if Smith was going to do anything.
Right now, Smith was biding his time. There was no need to take chances. Sooner or later, the opportunities would present themselves. When that happened, he would grab them, and God help anyone who stood in his way.
Amy was standing next to Smith, finishing up, when he noticed the tattoo on the interior of her forearm. It was two plain black X’s resting on top of one another. Except, of course, Smith knew what they really were. It was a rune called an inguz.
“You used to be Black Tide,” he said.
The doctor—he wasn’t sure if she was actually a doctor in the MD sense, but she was the closest thing Gaffney had to one—gave him a surprised look even as she taped the bandage into place. “How did you know that?”
“Your tattoo.”
“Oh,” she said.
From her slightly surprised reaction, he guessed she’d forgotten she even had it. She was young—early thirties, with curly brown hair and sympathetic blue eyes—and reminded him of a lot of the younger medic trainees back on the island. And maybe she had been one of them, once upon a time, so how did she end up here?
From the way Amy seemed to sneak a look back at Kyle and Stephens without letting on that she was doing it, it was pretty obvious to Smith that the two men didn’t know about her past, and she wanted to keep it that way.
She confirmed that by saying to him, “It’s history.”
“Understood,” Smith said.
She gave him a Do you? Understand? look.
He pursed a smile. “The past is the past, right?”
“Right.”
“Thanks for the touchup, doc.”
“Sure.” She walked to a wastebasket and snapped off her surgical gloves, then dropped them inside. “You should be more careful out there. That wound could have gotten infected easily.”
“I wasn’t looking to get shot, doc. It just happened.”
“You should still be more careful,” she said, looking at him as she said it the second time.
He nodded, and thought, Message received, doc. Message received.
“I’ll do that from now on,” he said.
“You done with wasting the good doctor’s time?” a voice asked.
Smith glanced over at Travis, brushing aside the curtain that separated the back of the clinic with the waiting area. He was wearing that Cornhuskers ball cap again and looked every bit as punchable as he had since the first time Smith saw him.
“He’s good to go,” Amy said.
“Come on, then,” Travis said to Smith. “Time for you to earn your keep, tough guy.”
Kyle took off, leaving Smith to be guarded by Stephens and Travis. The former remained behind Smith, while the latter took Hobson’s place up front. Smith thought they would take him right back to Blake, or somewhere else where he could get ready to earn his “keep,” but instead they walked him over to a park about half a block from the police station.
It was a nice, bright morning and there should have been a lot of people out and about, but most of the benches were unoccupied and birds were left to fend for themselves from the scraps, of which there weren’t that many because Gaffney was impossibly clean. Two large sandlots were empty, but there were kids hanging around the slides and seesaws across the park from them, while a half-dozen moms stood watching them diligently. The oldest kid couldn’t have been more than five, and the rest were even younger.
Next to the group of moms and their kids was a young blond boy riding a swing, while a woman pushed him higher and higher.
It took Smith only a few seconds to recognize them:
Mary. The woman pushing the boy was Mary.
And the boy, of course, was Aaron.
Travis was standing next to Smith, giving Smith a good whiff of the man’s strong aftershave, while Stephens hung in the back.
“What are we doing here?” Smith asked.
“Thought it was a day for a stroll, that’s all,” Travis said.
“That’s all, huh?”
“Don’t be so suspicious all the time. It’ll give you ulcers.”
Across from them, Mary pushed Aaron even higher, and the boy laughed as he soared. Mother and son both looked reasonably healthy to Smith. Certainly, he didn’t see handcuffs or chains on them, or anything keeping them in Gaffney against their will.
Travis feigned shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked across the park. “Say, aren’t those your old friends, Mary and Aaron?”
Smith grunted but didn’t say anything.
“Yeah, I think that is them,” Travis said, lowering his hand. “Small world, huh?”
“Yeah. Small world.”
“They look pretty happy. What do you think?”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“It can, yeah, but they look like they really like it here. The boy, especially. I heard he was a mute.”
Smith remained quiet.
“You know,” Travis continued, “it would be a shame if something were to happen to them. To both of them.”
“Yeah,” Smith said. “It would be a shame.”
“But hey, Gaffney is a pretty safe place.” He turned to look at Smith. “What do you think? You think they’ll be safe here, while you’re out there doing what the Judge asked you to do?”
“Did the Judge tell you to bring me here?”
“Nah. I told you. It’s a nice day for a walk, and I thought you’d appreciate some sunshine after being cooped up in that jail cell all night.”
“Mighty kind of you.”
“Hey, that’s me.” He glanced back at Stephens. “What do you think about Mary, Stephens?”
“I think she’s a good-looking woman,” Stephens said.
“She’s definitely that. And single, I hear.”
“You don’t say.”
“Nope. Would be a real shame if anything was to happen to her.”
“Yup. Definitely would be a real shame.”
Travis looked back at Smith. “So why don’t you and me make sure nothing happens to her and that boy while Mr. John Smith here is carrying out his mission.”
“You can count on me to keep an eye on those two like a hawk,” Stephens said. “Especially her.”
Almost as if she could hear them talking about her, Mary glanced around the park. She shielded her eyes, the way Travis had faked it earlier, but Mary’s was genuine as she squinted, trying to get a better look at them.
At him.
Then, when she was sure it was him, she waved.
“Wave back, tough guy,” Travis said.
Smith smiled and did as he was told.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Why don’t you go say hi?” Travis said. “Would be rude not to.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Wanted to check up on you and the boy.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I was in the area.”
“Well, it’s good to see you again, Mr. Smith, even though it’s only been a day since we last saw each other.”
“Feels longer.”
“Yes. To me, too, oddly enough.”
Smith smiled. It was the best fake smile he could muster, and he hoped it was at least semi-convincing.
Mary narrowed her eyes slightly at him, almost as if she could see through it. He guessed it wasn’t all that convincing after
all.
“We’re doing well,” Mary said. “Aaron is doing very well. He’s made some friends and is adjusting as well as I’d hoped. Better, actually.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
They both glanced back at the boy, who had moved from the swings and over to the slides, and was now taking turns to climb up and down with two other kids, both much younger than him. Aaron really did look like he was having the time of his life, though.
His mother, on the other hand…
Smith had to remind himself that he hadn’t known Mary long enough to be able to read her expressions with 100 percent certainty. Even so, it was hard to miss the not-entirely-comfortable smile she gave him when they first met; and now, as she talked about how well Aaron was doing.
He didn’t have to look back to see Stephens and Travis trailing behind them. Both men were keeping a respectable distance, probably because they knew Smith wasn’t going anywhere. Sure, he could take off running, but how far would he get? He already knew that Gaffney had horses, even if he couldn’t see the animals anywhere in the city. But they were there, ready to be used—and run him down.
Besides, he couldn’t go anywhere anyway even if he had such foolish notions. Travis had made it perfectly clear that Mary and Aaron’s lives were on the line. If he had doubts they might not carry out their threats, all he had to do was remember what they were asking him to do: Kill Mandy or bring her here to be killed. And people who could do that so cavalierly weren’t going to be above harming a mother and her son as vengeance.
Smith focused on Mary beside him. “But what about you? How are you doing?”
“I’m good too,” she said. “Why wouldn’t I be? Gaffney’s a nice town, with lots of nice people.” She tapped her forehead. “Looks like you had a bit of trouble out there, though.”
Smith reached up and touched the bandage Amy had placed over his wound. It reminded him that there was still a shooter out there, beyond Gaffney. Maybe it was even one of the Judge’s killers. In fact, it was a pretty good bet that it was.
“Yeah, it’s a little dangerous out there right now,” Smith said.
“You don’t have to tell me that, Mr. Smith,” Mary said.
“It’s a good thing you don’t have to worry about being out there with Aaron anymore.”
“No, thanks to Gaffney.”
Smith knew that both Travis and Stephens could hear parts of his and Mary’s conversation. It was the reason why he hadn’t come right out and asked Mary if she was being held hostage here.
He said, “So what do they have you doing around here?”
“I helped Amy out at the clinic yesterday, then did some stuff with the kids earlier,” Mary said. “Basically, whatever needs doing.”
So they didn’t try to marry you off yet, Smith thought. That would come later. Blake had said as much. The idea, it seemed, was to get people comfortable first, before the demands were sprung on them.
“So how long are you staying here, Mr. Smith?” Mary was asking him.
“Actually, I need to head out soon,” Smith said. “I have to run a little errand for the Judge.”
“Oh, so you’ve met the Judge.”
There was something about the way she had phrased the question that made Smith glance quickly across at her. He couldn’t quite read her expression, and maybe there was nothing to read.
And yet…
“Earlier, yes,” Smith said. “Have you met him?”
Mary nodded, her eyes trained forward. “Yesterday. He welcomed Aaron and me himself.”
“That was awfully nice of him.”
“He seems like a nice man.”
She looked over and smiled, and Smith thought Uh oh.
Because there was nothing convincing about Mary’s smile. It was forced.
Very, very forced.
“I’m glad you guys are doing so well in here,” Smith said.
“Yes, we’re doing fine,” Mary said. “Don’t worry about us, Mr. Smith. Just take care of yourself out there.”
He nodded. “I will.”
“Will you come back and see us again after you’re done with your errand for the Judge?”
“Yes,” Smith said. “You can count on it.”
Nineteen
“What are you doing back here?”
“I came to talk.”
“About what?”
“You know what.”
“Why don’t you tell me anyway?”
“Gaffney. The Judge.”
“What about Gaffney and the Judge?”
“You really going to make me say it?”
“Look, mister, the last time we saw you, you were tied up in a shack. You were supposed to be dead. But here you are, alive and well. So why don’t you explain to me what you’re doing here, and don’t skip any of the details?”
“All right, then. The Judge sent me here to bring you back for trial. Failing that, I’m supposed to kill you.”
Mandy stared at him, speechless. He wasn’t sure if she was surprised to hear why the Judge had sent him, or that he had just come right out and told her.
No, it was definitely more of the latter.
The first time he saw Mandy, he was sitting on the ground, tied to a pole, and looking up at her and her male companion, whose name turned out to be Roger. The young man stood next to Mandy now as Smith was led inside Mandy’s office, one of those mobile buildings that were dragged between construction jobs for the supervisors to do their paperwork inside while everyone else sweated their asses off in the sun. The walls were pockmarked with fresh bullet holes, and he didn’t have to ask where they’d come from, or when.
“There have been skirmishes in the past, but it was never like this. Never this intense,” Blake had said about last night’s attack by Gaffney’s crew.
It had been pretty intense, all right, from the reception Smith had gotten when he showed up out of the blue and nearly got himself shot as a result. He had arrived on horseback, one that Gaffney had provided him.
Given what he’d just told the duo standing in front of him, Smith wasn’t shocked to see Roger slowly reaching for his holstered sidearm.
Smith shook his head at the man. “If I wanted a fight, I wouldn’t have let the girls out there take my gun.”
Mandy put her hand over Roger’s, then shook her head when the young man shot her a questioning glance. “No. He’s right. He’s taking a big risk coming back here like this. Let’s hear him out.”
“But you heard what he said, Mandy,” Roger said.
Mandy looked over at Smith. “And he didn’t have to tell us any of that, but he did. The question is: Why?”
“I need you to come back to Gaffney with me,” Smith said.
“For what? My trial?”
“That’s right.”
“And why would I do that?”
Smith tapped the empty holster on his right hip. There was a SIG Sauer in there before Mandy’s people relieved him of it. He’d chosen it from dozens of weapons that Travis had offered him back at the police station. While there, Smith had wanted to see Blake again, but Travis wouldn’t grant the visit. Smith had considered taking it anyway, by force, but decided that it wasn’t the time. Not then, anyway.
“When I see the Judge for the second time, I’ll put a bullet between his eyes,” Smith said now, to Mandy and Roger.
A flicker of surprise flashed across Mandy’s face for the second time since Smith entered her building. “You’re going to kill him?”
“Yeah,” Smith said.
“Just like that?”
“I figured that will solve both of our problems.”
“What about the others?”
“What others?”
“The Judge has loyal men that are always with him. Hobson, Travis—the others.”
“I’ll kill them, too, if I have to.”
This time it was Roger’s turn to lift both eyebrows in surprise. “You know how many of them there are?”
“S
ix.”
“More than six,” Mandy said.
“How many more?”
“At least ten,” Roger said.
Ten, Smith thought. It was more than he’d expected. He’d only seen Hobson and his posse yesterday—that was six. This morning he hadn’t seen anything that would lead him to think the Judge had more men available.
But of course there was no reason for Mandy and Roger to lie about that. Better than him, they knew what kind of firepower the Judge had at his disposal.
“At least,” Roger said. “Who knows how many more has joined him since we last counted.”
“I thought you guys keep a close watch on Gaffney,” Smith said.
“We do what we can, but we can’t see everything,” Mandy said.
“So at least ten, maybe more.”
“That’s right. Maybe more,” Roger said.
“All right.”
“All right, what?”
“All right. I’ll kill as many as I have to to end this.”
“The Judge,” Mandy said.
“The Judge?”
“All you have to do is kill the Judge. And maybe Hobson.”
“What about the rest?”
Mandy shook her head. “Maybe Travis, or Stephens, but the others…” She paused, thinking about it some more. Then, “I think that’s it. The others shouldn’t be too much of a problem if you cut the head off the snake.”
He smiled at that. Cutting the head off the snake to kill the body was exactly what the Judge had sent him here to do, with Mandy. The portly man obviously knew that this whole “rebellion” was centered almost entirely around Mandy, and that once she was gone the rest would either fold or run away. One way or another, he’d be rid of his junkyard nuisance.
Smith had considered a lot of things in the hour or so ride from Gaffney over to the junkyard, the two locations linked by a country blacktop. Not that Smith used it, electing to ride across the flat plains instead. He could feel the eyes of his watchers in the background during the entire trip. He wasn’t sure if it was Travis or Hobson or one of the others; not that it mattered, really. They were making sure he went straight from point A to point B, which was what he did, using the fresh air and hot sun to cycle through his options.
After The Purge, AKA John Smith Box Set | Books 1-3 Page 27
