by Mack Norman
“Becky, why are you asking us to volunteer? We don’t exactly see eye to eye on many issues,” Jake asked.
“I know, but surely we can put that behind us to get medicine and help our community. Look, besides Tom and his deputies you two are the only ones in town with the experience needed to get those two safely home and get the medicine back here,” the Mayor, insisted.
Jake winked at Mark and then said, “I know you are right, but I hate to leave Sue home alone. Can you post a guard at my home while I’m gone?”
“Of course, Mark, have Sally and the kids stay at Jakes, and we will keep them safe while you are gone. Plan to leave early in the morning before everyone is awake for the day,” Becky responded.
Becky came back to the clinic and returned the weapons to Max and Amy. Then she reported to her new team that they were cleared for the trip in the morning. She told Max and Amy that they had better watch their backs.
“Becky, Tom needs to determine the best location to ambush the Clan members when they show up in three days. Make sure your team has plenty of cover, and they don’t. Do you have any explosives,” inquired Amy?
Tom answered, “No, but I can make some from Ammonium Nitrate and diesel fuel. I can get blasting caps from Henry over at the Farm Supply store. What are you thinking?”
Amy replied, “I want to keep your losses to a minimum. These men aren’t professionals, but they won’t run from a gunfight. Your men probably haven’t been shot at, and I don’t want a long battle and the tide turning against us when blood starts flowing. I want some explosives set close to where the thugs will be standing when you start shooting. Have several smaller explosives ready to throw at them in case they don’t stand exactly as we planned. I want the explosives to kill them all and have no gunfire at all if possible. Wrap the explosives in nails, nuts, and bolts to increase their killing power. Tell your men to duck before they explode.”
Max took over from there and said, “We then need to be prepared for a larger force to head this way.”
They met in secret the rest of the evening and laid the best plans they could to eliminate the threat of the Clan from Morgan County.
The first plan was for Max and Amy to leave early in the morning in an old Dodge pickup that belonged to Becky’s husband. Becky hid several pistols and extra magazines under the toolbox in the bed in case they needed them. Jake and Mark got in the cab of the truck, and Amy and Max made themselves comfortable in the bed of the truck. They tried to act though they were happy to be heading home and laughed a lot while talking in the back.
They had only traveled about 1o miles due to dodging abandoned cars and tree limbs that no one had bothered to clear. Later, the truck veered to the side of the road and stopped with both men getting out of the truck.
Max whispered, “Be ready. This is it,” as they both drew their pistols but kept them hidden under their coats.
Jake yelled back to them, “Too much coffee this morning. Gotta pee.”
Mark just waved and started working his way to the back of the truck. He acted as if he was staring out into the woods. He pulled his hidden pistol from his belt leaving the holstered pistol on his side to fool the two in the truck. He walked behind a tree as if to relieve himself then suddenly turned to fire. Amy beat him to the draw, aimed, and shot twice ending his worthless life. The man fell beside the tree, his pistol flying toward the pickup. He didn’t fire a single shot.
In the same instant, Jake saw the signal from Mark, turned with his drawn pistol and got off one errant shot before Max plugged him twice in the chest. Jake and Mark lay on the ground dead, their treasonous plan backfiring on them. Now Amy and Max had another issue. They had to hide for a couple of hours so their story would ring true.
Max placed the men in the back of the truck while Amy retrieved their weapons and stuffed them inside the toolbox in the bed of the truck. Max drove back toward town searching for a place to wait until it was time to return to town. They also needed time to rehearse their story about being attacked.
“Amy, if we were attacked, why aren’t there any bullet holes in the truck and how did we escape being shot,” Max pondered.
“Damn good questions. We’ll shoot up the truck and figure out a story that works for why we didn’t get shot.”
Max saw an old barn close to the road that had several old rusty farm machines parked outside and an open door. He drove the truck into the old barn, and they got out and explored the barn to make sure it was empty. Max dropped to the ground and rolled in the dirt for a minute and then stood up and smiled at Amy.
Amy then wallowed on the floor and said, “I guess we have to look the part of people who hid on the ground while the battle was raging. We picked up our dead comrade's arms and shot at the villains as they fled the scene. Now put a couple of bullet holes in the truck, and we’re home free.”
Max backed away from the truck and shot three rounds into the driver’s door and two into the bed of the truck. Then for good measure, he raised the hood to see how high the engine stood under the hood. Then he shot several bullets into the hood and one in the grill making sure to miss the radiator. They both stood there in awe that they were abusing the very transportation that was supposed to take them to Gallatin later.
Amy said what they were both thinking, “Max, we have a good running pickup with three-fourths of a tank of gas and could be home before dark.”
“Babe, I was thinking the same thing, but those people trusted us to handle this problem and to bring their truck back to them. I’ve done some things that I never thought I’d have to do to survive but I’m a man of my word. Take the truck and head home if you want to, but I’m going back to help them kill the men who kidnapped my girl,” Max stated.
“Max you are too good for your own good, at times,” Amy smiled as she patted him on the back.
“Those people shared their medicine and probably saved our lives; we owe them, and I won’t let them down by running home,” Max insisted with conviction.
They waited for another two hours, and then Max drove out of the barn and to the road where they were immediately confronted by three rough looking men with shotguns and pistols blocking the way. Max saw Amy draw her pistol and a spare from the floorboard. Max pulled his pistol, stopped the truck, and opened the door to confront the men.
A man with a mouthful of broken and rotten teeth said, “We heard shootin’ and came to help you. We needs your truck, and you needs your lives. Walk away, and we won’t kill your asses.”
The other two men looked as if they were high on something and their guns were waving all over the place as Max said, “Go crawl back in the hole you meth heads came from, and we won’t blow big holes in your heads.”
Amy whispered loud enough for Max to hear, “I got the two on the right; you get the one on the left. One … two … three,” and she began shooting until her two targets dropped. One of the men’s shotguns blasted the front of the truck putting a dozen dents in the hood and fender. Max shot his man in the gut, but the man fired one load of birdshot at Max, which shattered the door’s window and caused the glass to strike Max from his chest up. This pissed Max off, and he shot the man three more times just because he could.
They made sure the men were dead and placed their guns in the back of the truck. Amy then looked at Max and said, “Max you are bleeding from a dozen places. Let me check you out.”
Max was lucky that the broken glass had only peppered his face and neck resulting in superficial wounds that quickly stopped bleeding. Amy smeared antibiotic salve all over Max’s neck, and face and they headed back to town. This time they didn’t encounter anyone until they were stopped by the roadblock on the north edge of town.
The man leading the crew at the roadblock stepped up to the truck and said, “My oh my, what happened to you. Oh, shit,” he said as he looked in the bed of the truck.
“We were ambushed several miles north of town. I need to get Max to the doctor. Please let us through,” cri
ed Amy very convincingly.
They drove on to the clinic with steam blowing upward from the radiator and the engine knocking. The truck lurched to a stop at the curb, and Amy made a production of helping Max into the building. She then asked the doctor to tend to Max and one of the nurses to send someone to the Sheriff. The Mayor ran to the clinic to meet them with the Sheriff and several deputies following.
The Mayor saw the doctor cleaning Max’s wounds and asked Amy, “What happened?”
“We were ambushed several miles north of town. Jake and Mark traded gunfire with the men and killed two of them. Max and I grabbed weapons and killed the last three who didn’t see us hiding in the bed of the truck. They shot back and hit the door Max was using for cover. I killed the bastard,” Amy told the Mayor and Sheriff.
The Mayor said, “Thanks for bringing our friends’ bodies back to us for proper burial and I’m sorry that you had to go through this conflict. I’ll leave and let the doctor check you two out. Thanks again.”
They shook hands, and the Mayor left with the Sheriff and his Deputies in tow. Max only had a few wounds that needed bandages, and they were soon in the Sheriff’s office to finish their plans for the next phase with a cover story that they had to give a written report on the ambush.
The Mayor asked, “What the fuck really happened?”
Max told them about Jake and Mark trying to kill them and then how they had turned the tables on the traitors. Amy filled them in on the meth heads trying to steal the truck.
The Mayor laughed and said, “Well, those shotgun blasts to the truck certainly have the entire town believing the story. You three finish the plans for our first ambush while I go offer condolences to Mark’s and Jake’s widow.”
They spent the next day preparing the usual meeting site with the explosives and moving a couple of cars a bit closer so their snipers would be concealed and have cover. Amy poured over their plans and made a few adjustments before pronouncing the plans perfect. Amy and two other snipers would take the Sheriff’s AR-10 sniper rifles and pick off the Clan’s people who tried to escape from afar while the Sherriff, his other two deputies, and Max blew up the Clan members. The Clan was expecting a woman to be offered up when the clan arrived. That’s when Max would signal the ambush to start.
At 10:00 the following day everyone was in place two hours early to make sure, no one saw them setting up the ambush. They had several baskets full of food, ammunition, and several bottles of vodka. Max saw the vodka and wished for a good Bloody Mary to steady his nerves. They waited for three hours before they saw the men drive up in a ratty old Pontiac Aztek.
The men got out of the car and walked up to Max, and the others and their leader asked, “Who is the new guy? Damn, you look familiar.”
“I’ve lived here all of my life,” Max replied.
“That’s funny because you match the description of the man who stole the boss’s lady and killed him and Ma. You’re coming back with us,” the man said as he raised his AR-15.
Max was blinding fast as he drew his gun and began shooting. He stood his ground as the Sheriff, and his men ducked behind a car. Max had a pistol in both hands as he aimed and fired killing five of the men as they returned fire wildly. Amy’s snipers fired as soon as they saw the fight begin and the fight was over in less than a minute. Max stood there dry firing his empty pistols. He had shot 27 times in that fierce battle and only pissed his pants once. He was shaking as the adrenaline sped through his veins and the realization that the battle was over.
“Max, you’re okay. Max,” Amy said as she forced his arms down and led him off to the side. Then she said, “Max, they are all dead, and only one of ours was wounded. That was the bravest thing I ever saw. You are my hero.”
Max slowed his breathing down and replied, “That was the most exciting, terrifying, and bloodcurdling thing I have ever gone through. Walk me away before they see I pissed my pants.”
“Max, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Most men would have shit their pants,” she offered.
“Walk with me while I calm down,” Max whispered.
Max expected there to be a celebration and cheering when they got back to town after burying the Clan member, but no one was on the street. He saw several scared people peeking out their windows as they unloaded the newly gained weapons at the Sheriff’s office.
Amy probed, “What’s wrong with these people? They should be cheering. We killed nine of the clansmen, and only one deputy got a nick on his leg.”
Tom, the Sheriff, replied, “They are scared shitless because they know we just declared war on the Clan. The Clan ran things around here for years before the lights went out.”
“Wait, I thought this was a clan like a family,” Max replied.
Tom answered with a laugh, “No it’s the fuckin’ KKK. They have run roughshod over these people for a hundred years. Have you seen any Blacks in the area? Hell no because the Clan either killed them or ran them off. Every time I tried to arrest one or even investigate, their activity one of our citizen’s home burned down, or a child was kidnapped.”
Max replied, “Then it’s time they were exterminated like rats. We need to change the plan.”
The Mayor could only get twenty of the town’s people to join their little army. She forced three of the town folk to loan them three vehicles that would run. That gave them four vehicles counting the crappy Pontiac the Clan had driven to the meeting. The Sheriff, Max, and Amy quickly put the plan together while one of the Deputies manufactured more bombs to go with the ones that had not used at the ambush. It was a hectic day, but the convoy was on the road by midnight and only took two hours to arrive a mile away from the Clans headquarters where Amy had been taken a week ago.
It was Saturday evening, and their intelligence told them that the Clan had a massive meeting at the Clan leader’s house every Saturday night. There would be fifty to sixty of the vermin at the dinner not including their wives and children. The Mayor objected to placing women and children in danger until her brother told her that there wouldn’t be any young children at the dinner.
Amy, Max, and three of the deputies were assigned to kill all of the men on watch outside of the large cabin. Then the others would come in to place explosives along the outside wall and throw several bombs through the windows. Every one of them would surround the cabin and kill any survivors.
Amy was dressed in black, and the first man never heard or saw her come up behind him. The point of Amy’s knife slicing through his back on its way to his kidney was the first thing that told him he was under attack. It was also the last thing he felt that day.
Max slipped up behind his first man, reached around his shoulder, and cupped his hand over the man’s mouth as he brought the knife to the man’s throat. The man twisted sideways and threw an elbow back into Max’s side, which forced the knife away from the man’s throat. The man grabbed Max’s arm and flipped him down to the ground as he drew his pistol and pointed it at Max. Max cringed, waiting for the gun to discharge when suddenly the man fell on top of Max.
The man was dead, and Amy came over and tugged her knife from the man’s throat. She went on to kill several more Clan guards. Max killed one guard and then placed his explosive device on the front porch and lit the fuse when the Sheriff signaled. Several bombs were pitched through the glass of windows all around the house along with five one-gallon glass jugs of gasoline.
The explosives inside the house detonated first and set the gasoline on fire with a huge explosion, and then the bombs on the outside exploded one at a time over several seconds. The back wall of the house blew out with burning people and furniture thrown out on the deck. The people were shot out of mercy even though the plan was to let them suffer.
The entire house was engulfed in flames when two pickup trucks full of Clan members who were late for the dinner arrived. There was a brief but fierce gun battle, and the fight was over. All of the known Clan members were dead, and all of their bodies were burned in the
house fire, so no one had to bury the monsters.
The Sheriff said a prayer for the Clan members, “God may you forgive us for the work that had to be done today and send these degenerates to hell. Amen!”
Max and Amy returned to town, and Max placed several buckets of water on the Coleman stove to heat for their baths. Amy laid out some clean towels and some clean clothes as the water warmed. The water boiled a few minutes until Max poured the first five gallon bucket into the tub, which already had several inches of cold water in it. Max stuck his finger down into the water. It was hot but just right for a bath.
“Babe, your water is ready.”
“Max, you go first. I have a few things to attend to before I can take my bath.”
“Are you sure, I’m a bit dirty from the fight.”
“I’m used to your dirt,” laughed Amy.
Max settled down into the hot water, and he felt better as the warmth surged through his aching body. He had his eyes closed as he ran the soapy washcloth over his chest and his mind wandered to the beautiful blonde who would run him off later when he tried to scrub her back. Then before he could open his eyes, he felt her legs brushing his thighs. She settled down on him and felt damn good. Her body was much hotter than the water.
“Max, scrub my back.”
“I thought this wasn’t going to happen again,” Max said.
“You were an exceptionally good boy this week, and we both deserve a treat for our good behavior. Besides, what makes you think you’re getting more than a bath?”
Max pulled her head down, kissed her, and said, “Because you can’t control yourself around me and my sexy body.”
Max was right.
Two days later when everyone had rested from the week’s events, the Mayor called Amy and Max to her office and thanked them for the help, “You two need to stay with us and join our community. We could use strong people like you to help rebuild this town,” the Mayor insisted.
