EMP

by Jonathan Hollerman

  “Don’t worry about us; we’re right behind you,” Brody responded, motioning Randy to follow him into the woods where they dropped their packs.

  Chapter 24

  It was midday by the time they reached Mr. Andrews’s retreat and it did not disappoint. Sean studied the extremely large cabin from the tree line as they waited for Andrew to return with Brody and Randy. There was a freshly installed six-foot fence with two rows of razor wire around the top that circled the entire perimeter of the tree line. Mr. Andrews had used a backhoe to push a four-foot high berm of dirt around the structure to provide ballistic protection on the first floor. There were steel roll-down shutters installed on all the windows like Sean had seen detailed in one of his survival manuals. Anyone approaching this formidable structure would just turn away unless they had a very large force and armored vehicles.

  Beth Ann was seated comfortably next to Darren ,and the four captives were seated in a circle back to back with Caleb a few paces away, watching them closely. “Damian, do me a favor and bring that young man over to speak with me please,” Sean requested. Damian separated the young man from the others and Sean led him away from everyone to speak privately. “Now here’s the deal: I’m going to ask you some questions first because you have been the most honest with me. If you lie to me or I even think you’re lying to me, it’s going to go very badly for you. Do you understand me?” The young man nodded his head and then stared at the ground. “When I am done asking you questions, I am going to ask each of the others the same questions and your stories better all match up. Do you see where I am going with this?” The young man nodded once more still looking at Sean’s shoes. Sean pulled out his Glock 19 and gently raised the young man’s chin with the barrel until they were looking eye to eye. He started shaking with the cold steel under his chin. “It’s respectful to look at someone when they’re speaking to you.” Sean holstered the Glock and continued, “Plus it helps me tell if you’re lying to me. I’ll be honest with you, too. I used to have a job in the military where I was trained in interrogation skills, so I will know if you’re lying to me, understood?” The young man nodded his head again, this time keeping eye contact. “Say ‘yes’ from now on and no more shaking head answers, okay?”

  He nodded his head in affirmative bringing a sharp look from Sean before he stumbled out a nervous, “Yes, sssir.”

  “So what should I call you, young man? What’s your name?”

  “My name is Charlie,” he mumbled nervously.

  “Okay, Charlie. We’re about to walk up to the front door with you four in the lead. How many guards are left inside?”

  “Jusssst one, sir,” he stammered.

  “Okay, what’s the guard’s name and how do you think he is going to react to us coming to the front door with you four in custody? Can he be reasoned with?” Sean asked.

  “Richard’s his name, but I don’t know him very well. Maybe... I don’t know... Probably.” Charlie seemed uncertain but was trying to be as forthcoming as possible.

  “Is he a professional? Does he have tactical training? Is he a hot head? Describe him to me,” Sean asked with a reassuring smile.

  “He is just one of the deputies from town. I think he was a brick mason before this. I don’t think he has any tactical training or anything like that.”

  “Is he married or have a girlfriend...kids? How old is he?” Sean asked faster, liking the results so far.

  “I don’t know for sure how old he is, maybe in his late thirties or early forties. He’s married, but I’m not sure if he has kids or not.”

  “Good, Good,” Sean praised him. “Do you know his wife’s name?”

  “Jessica.”

  “Okay, great. Now are there any booby traps or surprises leading up to the house?”

  “Yes, there’s a hidden pit with spikes about ten feet from the front steps under the section of walkway that has leaves covering it. There is also a trip line with a pepper spray canister across the third step.” The young man was starting to relax now.

  Sean was happy with the way things were progressing but wanted to throw him off balance. So with the most sinister voice he could muster and looking him directly in the eye, Sean asked, “Where does he keep the girls?”

  The young man’s knees almost buckled at the question. “I don’t have anything to do with that, I swear,” he pleaded.

  Sean stepped closer until his nose almost touched Charlie’s. “Is that the question I asked?” he raised his voice angrily.

  “He keeps them chained up down in one of the underground storage rooms,” he blurted out quietly.

  “How many?” Sean spat out.

  “I don’t know, honest. I told you I don’t have anything to do with that. I’m not allowed down there—only Mr. Andrews and Travis are,” Charlie pleaded.

  “Guess how many,” Sean demanded angrily. He believed the boy didn’t know anything, but was angry that there were girls imprisoned underground.

  “I don’t know...maybe three or four. Honestly, I’m just guessing,” Charlie blurted out.

  “How the hell can you stand there with a straight face and tell me that there are girls chained up in the basement where you have been living? How could you stand by all this time and let that happen?” Sean asked forcibly.

  “He’d have me killed...or worse. You have no idea how crazy he is. I had no food, no guns, and nowhere to go. There was nothing I could do about it. I’m not like Mr. Andrews or Travis, I swear to you,” Charlie started sobbing.

  “Yet you help them in their dirty deeds. You do the right thing, Charlie, regardless of the consequences. You don’t leave innocent woman to be raped and tortured at the hands of a madman. You do the right thing, even if it costs you your life.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m so very sorry,” Charlie was openly crying now.

  “Don’t apologize to me. You are going to help us free them, do you understand? And then you will apologize to them.” Charlie nodded his head crying openly. “Okay, okay, calm down. I believe you,” Sean said, smiling at the young man and switching up his composure once more to keep him off guard. He put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder reassuringly, “So what else should I know about this log fortress before me?”

  It took a few moments before Charlie regained his composure and Sean waited patiently. “Uh, I don’t know. He’s got a lot of food stored in the storage rooms underground, as well as lots of guns and ammo. Oh yeah...,” his face brightened, “there is a secret passage leading from the barn over there into the underground storage rooms and then into the basement of the house.”

  Sean smiled at that. “Is there a key hidden in the barn so you can help us get in?”

  “Yeah, I can show you where the key is and help you get inside,” Charlie said nervously, looking over his shoulder in the direction of Mr. Andrews.

  “Don’t worry about him, Charlie. Mr. Andrews isn’t going to be getting free; I can assure you that he will pay for his atrocities. Thank you for your honesty, Charlie. I really mean that. Your answers are going to go a long way to helping you get out of this mess, okay?”

  Charlie nodded before offering out a “Thank you, mister.”

  “You can call me Sean, Charlie. Call me Sean,” he said once more with a reassuring squeeze to the young man’s shoulder and wiped the tears from the young man’s dirty face with his sleeve.

  He walked Charlie back to the group and then pulled the big guy aside and questioned him the same way. Big Mike was a little more reserved and not as easily intimidated as Charlie, but answered the questions the same. He didn’t offer as much free information as Charlie, but verified pretty much everything Charlie had said. Andrew, Brody and Randy were coming up the road then and Sean returned Mike to the others. Everyone gathered around and Sean shared with them the information he had learned from Mike and Charlie. He hadn’t even bothered questioning Travis or Mr. Andrews.

  “Brody, let me know what you think. My thoughts are to tie Mr. Andrews, Mike, and Travis to
gether at the elbows and use them as a human shield so Caleb, Damian, Andrew and myself can approach the front door. With only one guard, his attention should be squarely on us allowing you and Randy to take Charlie and circle around and approach from behind the barn. We will try and convince the guard to open the door and let us in. This should give you time to enter through the basement with Charlie and take him by surprise if he doesn’t let us in. Hopefully we can get this done without any more shooting. I think Luke should stay with Darren and Beth Ann in the tree line and give us a warning shot if anyone approaches down the lane. What do you think, guys?”

  “I can’t think of better plan myself,” Brody smiled. “Okay, maybe I could, but not on such short notice,” he joked.

  Sean smiled at him, “Alright, let’s get moving.” A few minutes later, Sean was slowly walking crouched over behind their three prisoners alongside Caleb, Damian and Andrew. “This sucks!” Sean said out loud unintentionally, getting a couple sideways looks from his friends. “I hope this Richard guy isn’t a wanna-be sniper,” he thought to himself. Navigating around the pit and up the booby-trapped stairs ended up being a little nerve-racking but the prisoners worked together, not wanting to fall prey to their own traps.

  Sean knocked loudly on the front door. “Hey, Richard! Open up! Mr. Andrews wants you to open the door!” Mr. Andrews mumbled through his gag but Sean just ignored him. There was no sound or response from the other side of the fortified door. “Hey Richard, your wife Jessica wants you to open the door as well! She wants her husband to come home safe and sound!” Sean hoped that the mention of his wife’s name may throw him off guard. “Now listen, we aren’t going to hurt you, I promise. We don’t have any issue with a man guarding his post, but Mr. Andrews is no longer in charge—we are! We are coming in there one way or the other, so why don’t you do yourself a favor and just open the door. There will be no recourse from Mr. Andrews as he has a one-way ticket down south where it is extremely hot. You can fight us and join him, or you can go back home to your wife. It’s your choice, Richard,” Sean listened intently, but still didn’t hear anything. He waited for a few minutes to buy some more time before continuing.

  “Hey Richard, we know you are in there! Please make this easy on yourself and let us in. We don’t care about you! This piece of trash has young girls locked up in his basement, did you know that? Can you imagine that? What if one of them had been your wife? We are only here to rescue the young girls and then we’re gone. I’ve heard from Charlie that you’re a pretty stand-up guy. You need to help us get our friend’s daughter free. If you want me to believe you’re not part of his disgusting lifestyle, you need to open the door. Otherwise, you are going to be standing in front of Jessica in the middle of town with a noose around your neck trying to plead your case to a jury.” There was a pause before Sean heard a click and then what sounded like some heavy bars sliding along the inside of the door before it was quiet again.

  “Do you promise to let me go?” Richard yelled from inside.

  “I do!” Sean yelled back. “Just make sure you don’t make any sudden moves or try anything heroic like a rescue attempt.”

  “Before I let you in, I want to see the evidence for myself. If what you say turns out to be true, then I don’t care what you do to him; I’ll tie the noose myself! Tell me where they are being held and I’ll go check it out before I open the door!”

  Sean’s head raced as the last thing he wanted was to have Richard stumbling through the basement, taking Brody and Randy off guard. “I don’t know where they are hidden. All I know is there is a secret room somewhere in the house. I haven’t had a chance to find out exactly where yet. It may take some time to find. Besides, I’ve got his keys in my pocket and you’ll probably need them if the room is padlocked....”

  Sean was interrupted by Brody’s muffled voice through the door, yelling instructions to Richard to drop his weapon. A moment later the heavy wooden door was swung open by Randy, allowing them entry. Sean waved back at Luke and Darren to bring Beth Ann. “Caleb, you should probably stay here a minute and help them bypass those booby traps.” Sean walked inside to find Randy on top of a prone Richard searching him while Brody had his weapon trained on the deputy. Andrew and Damian pushed the three bound prisoners into the corner of the entryway and kept guard. "Did you see any evidence of where the girls may be kept downstairs?" Sean whispered in Brody's ear.

  "No, we weren't looking though. It's maybe fifty yards from the basement to the barn? There was a long main tunnel with multiple doors off either side. Two of them were Liberty vault doors but the rest were just padlocked. We didn't want to keep you waiting, so we moved straight through," Brody said, not taking his eyes off Richard on the floor. Randy finished his pat down and zip-tied Richard's hands behind his back, roughly picking him up and pushing him over with the others.

  "Hey, you said you would let me go!" Richard complained.

  Sean looked at him with a frown but it was Damian who answered him, "That was only if you opened the door for us."

  "I was going to, you know I was...," he pleaded.

  "That was yet to be seen," Sean informed him as he walked over and roughly pulled Mr. Andrews, who had sat down, up to a standing position by his hair. "Are you going to tell me where the women are? Or are we going to do this the hard way?" Mr. Andrews just stood there and stared at him with slobber running around the edges of the gag that was still in place. "Just nod yes or no," Sean instructed. Mr. Andrews nodded “yes” with an icy glare. Sean figured they must be fairly accessible if he was going to give up the information that easily.

  "Well, show us the way," Sean said, irritated.

  "Wait," Brody cut in as Caleb, Darren, Luke, and Beth Ann came through the front door.

  "Where is she?" Luke asked emphatically.

  "We’re just about to go find her," Sean informed him, looking back to Brody curiously.

  "I am completely surprised that the deputies from town haven’t come looking for these four yet. It can't be long before they show up. We need to set up a watch while we go look for the girls. We need to be quick as well. I'm sure we want to be long gone before anyone shows up," Brody advised.

  "Very true. Charlie, where do you guys keep watch here?" Sean asked.

  "Upstairs in the loft there is a good three-hundred-sixty-degree visibility. I can show you where." Charlie was going out of his way to be as helpful as possible.

  "No, Charlie. You’re coming downstairs with us. There are women you left down there, remember? You're going to help us rescue them like you should have done months ago." Charlie lost his smile and nodded, returning his gaze to his feet.

  "Randy, take the Barrett, Andrew, and Caleb with you to the loft and keep watch. The rest of us will head down to the basement," Brody said.

  The three split off as Sean gave Mr. Andrews a rough shove forward, "Lead the way." They made their way down to the finished basement of the house and through a doorway into the workout room. It had one wall that was floor to ceiling mirrors with one of the sections left propped open by Brody with a large dumbbell. They walked down the dark yet surprisingly dry concrete hallway. It was approximately six feet wide and, like Brody described, had multiple doors on either side. They walked to the third door on the left, where Mr. Andrews stopped and nodded. Damian had the five prisoners take a seat along the wall as Sean took Mr. Andrews’s large key ring and started trying them one by one in the large padlock. Sean had a sickening feeling in his stomach as to what he might find. Luke stood looking over his shoulder, bouncing in anticipation. There was a click and the padlock popped open. Sean couldn't get it off quick enough as Luke pushed him aside, opening the door.

  "Wait!" Brody yelled at him, fearing another booby trap. But Luke just ran through the door. Sean looked back at Brody who just shrugged, slowly following the worried father into the vast room. Sean followed Brody into a dimly lit room about thirty feet wide by thirty feet long. After his first step inside, the smell of urine, fece
s, and body odor assaulted his senses. There were sheets hung up on ropes to form different rooms to the left and right. The sheets had been flung open in Luke's attempt to find his daughter. Sean could hear him sobbing and rushed forward to find Luke sitting on a low bed, holding his daughter tight. At first Sean feared the worst till he heard her muffled sobs mixed in with Luke's. She looked in pretty good shape and Sean hoped that Mr. Andrews had been too busy planning his attack the night before to visit her. There was a chain attached to a ring in the concrete wall wrapped around her stomach tightly with a padlock on it.

  Sean started fumbling through the keys, looking for a smaller-sized key when he heard Darren behind him, "What the F....!" Sean spun around to see Darren wide-eyed in shock. Sean stepped around the curtain to see what had caused his uncharacteristic outburst. His stomach dropped at the sight of Butch’s wife, naked and chained to the next bed in an uncomfortable, degrading position. Sean thought she was dead, but at the sound of their voices, her head slowly turned in their direction. Her eyes were blank, without any emotion. Sean rushed forward, frantically trying to get her free. He found the right key and removed the chains from her wrists and feet. She didn't say anything but just turned to the side and curled up in a ball. Sean started looking in the other sectioned-off areas and made even worse discoveries. In all, there were six women of varying ages. Sean's blood boiled as he rushed back into the hallway’s fresh air, taking four or five deep breaths. He hadn't even realized he had been holding his breath as much as possible.

  "What's going on in there?" Damian asked, worried. Sean couldn't even begin to describe it in words, so he just ignored the question. He grabbed Charlie by the scruff of the neck and pulled him into the room. "You too, Richard!" Sean yelled. Damian pulled Richard to his feet and shoved him through the door after Sean. When Charlie saw the first sectioned area he doubled over and puked. Sean couldn't hold up his dead weight so he let Charlie drop to the floor. He turned to Richard and could see complete disgust in his face. It was raw emotion that no man could fake. Sean pulled out his pocket knife and cut Richard's hands free and handed him Mr. Andrews’s keys. "Get them out of those freakin’ chains," Sean said furiously. Richard just nodded and quickly moved over to the first bed to free the young girl who was starting to cry now as she realized they weren't going to hurt her. He cut the ties to Charlie's hands as well and pulled him to his feet.