While Abigail was hugging everyone goodbye, Tim shocked them all. “I'll be leaving with them to, Turk needs someone to watch his ass.”
Silas had expected to hear something by now. It had been two days since the siege on the park, should have ended. Nervously, he checked the two radios, he always had with him. One was so Sofie could reach him, the match to the other had been taken by Josiah. Who might call to him on that one, was anybody's guess. Once Silas was satisfied the radios were in working order, he went back to planning his options.
Rachel was beyond concerned, on the lack of news from the Tennessee expedition. She had hoped that expedition, would rid them of a strong adversary, depose Josiah and place Zackary as Delilah's puppet. Thinking of Delilah, brought a hint of sadness to Rachel. Delilah had been her trusted companion for several years, if she were still alive, Delilah would have found a way to contact her, by now.
Rachel had only herself to blame for that. She had become to attached to her original hypothesis. Science dictates, that any hypothesis has to be proven, by trial and experimentation. In the past year, she had only achieved measurable success with a small number of the children. The fear and coercion she was using to control the adults, she knew was a short term solution. Even her zealots and the sisterhood were a fickle lot, take away the reward of power over others and they would turn on Rachel to. It was time for a change, but first she had to cut the dead weight.
Rachel was broken out of her revery, by a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Sister Lucy entered the office, knelt down and bowed her head. “You had a request, Mother?”
“Yes, the same as always, any news?” Rachel answered.
“We have received no communication, the patrols have seen no one on the road. Should we send the patrols farther out?” Sister Lucy replied, avoiding eye contact with Rachel, fearing the news she brought would evoke the ire of the Mother.
“No call in the patrols, is our transport ready?” Rachel sighed, resigning herself to the loss of Delilah.
“Yes Mother, we are ready to leave, just give the command.”
“And the Progenitors, they are waiting with the transport?”
“Yes, the Chosen are well looked after.” Sister Lucy answered, hoping Rachel would reveal a bit of the plan.
Instead, Rachel continued with her questions, becoming more personal. “Sister, you are devout to the path, are you not?”
Lucy finally looked up beaming, glad to have the answer to the test. “Yes Mother, you have shown me the way to ascension. Your teachings, have risen me above the fallen.”
Rachel nodded, knowing she should have expected the rhetoric. “Very good. You understand we have impure elements among us. If our movement is to proceed, they must be purged..”
Lucy became confused again, but played along. “Just show us the way Mother and your faithful will follow.”
At his office in the warehouse, Silas was looking at the two piles of supplies he had gathered. One for running and one for fighting, “Alright, which one is my huckleberry?”
There was a quiet knock on the door and then a breathless Sofie Albright, stepped in. “Sorry to startle you Silas. They'll be expecting me back soon, but I wanted to warn you … I mean I have a feeling … Oh bother, what I'm trying to say is Rachel is up to something.”
“I figured as much, I'm not sure exactly what though.” Silas answered.
“I think you do, I think Rachel is going to go all Jonestown on us. After the last few meals, Rachel has been having her special lot, hand out trays of drinks. They all say that phrase, May the sins of my life be cleansed, by the blood of the Mother” Sofie argued.
Before Silas could answer, one of his radios crackled and an unknown voice called. “Silas … Silas, come in please.”
“Silas here.”
“Silas, I bring regards from Josiah.” The voice responded.
“And how is my old friend?” Silas asked cautiously.
“He has moved on to a better place. His final sermon … was …. inspirational.” The voice replied, choosing his words carefully.
Silas choked up a bit, but it was the news he was expecting. “I'm …. sorry I missed it. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
“I go by Turk, Abigail and Clay are here with me, too.”
Hearing her husbands name, Sofie tore the radio from Silas' hand, but then paused. She knew she had hurt Clay when she joined the Sisterhood, but that was the only way to be closer to her children. “Clay … its Sofie.”.
“Sof, sweetheart. God it's good to hear your voice, I have Chloe with me here. Sof, our little girl misses you.” Clay gushed, in excitement.
“I apologize for breaking up the reunion, but we essentially have a hostage situation here and if Sofie is gone to long, than …, well the wrong people are going to get suspicious.” Silas interjected.
“You're right, Clay has filled me in on the basic situation there. We do have a sizable number of well armed converts here, but I'm afraid if we come in guns blazin, a lot of innocents are going to be in the crossfire.” Turk answered.
Silas cleared his throat and motioned to Sofie to remain quiet and pressed the call button. “Sofie and I have had some time to think about this. Sofie can get Zoe and Seth out of the dormitory, over to the safe room I have here. We just need to know, when to make our move.”
A few minutes of discussion, going back and forth and the rudiments of a plan, were put together. As they ended their conversation, everyone withdrew to allow Clay and Sofie a private moment, to say goodbye.
When she was done, Sofie handed the radio to Silas, smiling broadly, but wiping tears from her eyes. “I'd almost forgot, how sweet that man could be. Well enough of that, I guess we better get the supplies, I came for in the first place.”
Silas took the requisition from Sofie and scanned it for a moment. “This won't take long. Another odd collection. Rachel what on earth are you up to?”
Sofie began putting the bits and pieces, Silas was handing her, into the bag she had brought. “Silas, I have a couple of questions for you.”
“Go ahead, I'll answer anything I can.” Silas responded, cordially.
“Why are you taking the risk? I mean, you could wait in the safe room with the kids and I.” Sofie quizzed.
Silas laughed. “I know I don't cut much of a dashing figure, but I can do this. I … I am ready for this. Sofie, I am not a hero and I am not looking for some kind of payback, but I am the right man for the job.”
Sofie kissed Silas on the cheek. “I never doubted it for a minute.”
Silas smiled. “You said you had two questions?”
“Could you fill me in on this brilliant plan we have, for me to get Seth and Zoe out of the dormitory and over here?”
There were a dozen things that could go wrong with the plan, that she and Silas had put together. In the children’s dorm, the last bed check of the night was done and there was just one floor monitor, at this time. Sofie needed to be moving, waiting any longer and the other Sisters would be rising and preparing for morning duties, making it impossible to act on the plan.
Sofie slipped out of her cot as quietly as possible and hoped if one of the Sisters she shared the chamber with saw her leave, they would think she was going to the toilet. Once she reached the children dormitory, Sofie was going to have to talk her way past the floor monitor and she hoped her cover story, would hold up.
Max didn't mind night monitor duty, for the most part, his time was his own. Occasionally a parent would try and sneak in and see their kid. Which gave Max an opportunity to trade a closed mouth for extra rations or other favors. Max's favorite pastime, was looking at some of the girls as they slept. Max knew what would happen to him, if he was ever caught with one of Rachel's little pets, but looks were free and some of these cuties were very look worthy.
Max had just stepped out of the sleep chamber, designated for the older girls and saw one of the Sisterhood, entering the dormitory. Max wasn'
t too concerned about the Sister seeing him leave the girls room, odds were she didn't have a legitimate reason to be here. These Sisters were an interesting lot, wearing those long dresses and hair all pulled up in a tight bun, but underneath all that they were still women.
“Sister, what can I do for you?” Max called out, just loud enough for his voice to carry down the hall.
“Oh there you are, mother sent me over on a task.” Sofie replied.
Max quickly went down the hall and directed Sofie into the small office, used by the floor monitors. “She did? Now that is news to me, how about you clue old Maxie in?”
The confines of the small office, made Sofie nervous and she definitely did not like the way old Maxie was looking at her. Yet she kept her voice calm and matched his gaze. “Mother came to a last minute decision, she wants two of the younger children to join the Chosen. I'm here to fetch them.”
“Which two of the children, are you after?” Max queried, testing her story.
“Seth and Zoe, Mother says they will be her insurance policy.” Sofie answered, hoping she sounded sincere.
“Seth and Zoe you say.” Max paused glaring at Sofie. “I recognize you now, you’re Seth's Ma, ain't ya?”
“Yes, I am. I suppose that is why Mother sent me for them.” Sofie suggested.
“Seth's Ma, you want to know what I think? I think you was just hopin to spend some time with your boy, a boy should be with his Ma I understand that, but if I get caught, it'll be my ass. Now if there was just a little somethin you could do for Maxie, to help take the edge off the hidin I'd get if Mother finds out?” Max leered, staring down at Sofie's chest.
Sofie did her best to smile coyly at Max as she raised her hands to her collar and loosened the button. By the time she opened the third button, her cleavage was exposed and she whispered to Max. “Am I getting warm?”
Max licked his lips, at the sight of the exposed flesh. He barely contained a laugh, thinking this bitch didn't know he'd of settled for an extra food ration. Max pushed Sofie's hands to the side and finished unbuttoning the dress to her waist. “Well now, let old Maxie get a proper look at you.”
Sofie resigned herself to what she had to do and put together a plan B as she lifted her hand to the clip, that held her chestnut brown hair up and let it cascade down to her shoulders.
Before Silas got himself ready, he placed a change of clothes for Sofie and the two children into the secret room, he had created in the warehouse. Then added some children books and board games and then, as an afterthought, a couple of shotguns and a few boxes of shells.
It always struck Silas as odd that Rachel had let him remain as overseer of the compounds material possessions, after he had made it clear that he did not follow the True Believer line. Arguably, no one was better at rationing the groups supplies as he. However, Silas knew Rachel kept him here to show him how impotent a threat, she considered him. Well this morning, he would show them all the temper of his metal.
Sofie struggled to wait for her moment, saying a silent apology to Clay. Max pushed Sofie back against the wall and slid his hands inside the open front of her dress. Sofie's skin crawled in revulsion, as Max ran his fingers over her taut stomach and then up her back.
Max mistook the goosebumps that rose on Sofie's skin as arousal and slipped his hand up and unclasped her bra, then slid both hands inside the bra, to cup her breasts. Fighting the urge to push Max away, Sofie wriggled her hips against him. Max, excitedly began to breath in short quick bursts and responded, by grinding himself against Sofie.
Sofie sensing that Max was becoming so focused on pleasuring himself with her, spun Max around so that he was pressed against the wall. Max took one hand from the breast, he had been caressing and ran his fingers through her long soft hair, then bent to drink in the smell of her hair. Sofie whispered in his ear as her hand slipped into the slit she had in her dress and withdrew her knife from the sheath, on her thigh.
Max moved his hand under Sofie's chin and bent in to kiss her. As he did, Sofie plunged the knife as hard as she could into Max's side. The knife was so sharp and Max's mind so clouded, he did not realize, at first,that he had been stabbed. Sofie viciously pushed away from Max as his lung collapsed and warm blood, flowed down his side. Screaming in anger, Sofie furiously plunged her knife, three more times, into Max's chest.
Max slid to the floor as he died. “Fuckin bitch.”
Sofie wiped of her knife on the sleeve of his shirt, placed it back into its sheath and quickly buttoned her dress and pulled back her hair. Knowing that Silas would soon be here to lock the building down she hurried down the hall to retrieve Seth and Zoe.
The younger children were in a room at the far end of the hall and as quietly as she could Sofie went in and woke Seth. With a finger to her lips Sofie indicated that he be quiet as she went over to the other side of the room to Zoe's cot.
Sofie gently shook the little girls shoulder and spoke to her in a hushed tone, “Zoe … Zoe, time to get up honey. I'm here to bring you to meet your mommy.”
Zoe's eyes fluttered open and tried to grasp what she was being told with the drugs and conditioning clouding her perception. “Mommy? Mommy is here?”
“She is coming honey, I'm taking you to meet her, but I need you to be quiet and hurry. Can you do that for me?” Sofie urged.
Sofie and the two children met Silas outside of the dormitory. Silas was wearing a helmet and his modified body armor vest. On his back was a bulging backpack and a shotgun hung from his shoulder. At his waist a cordless drill was holstered on one side and a pistol and knife on the other.
When Silas saw Sofie he questioned. “How did it go?”
“Piece of cake.” Sofie replied a little distracted by the feeling there was something important that she had forgotten.
Silas entered the dormitory to fulfill his part of the plan. At daybreak Clay would confront the compound and Silas was damned if he would let these children be used as pawns against him. He needed to prevent anyone from entering before then. When challenged by the night monitor, Silas intended to merely tie him up at gunpoint. When the fracas broke out Silas would be doing the monitor a favor.
The lower level of the dormitory had two exit doors, Silas sealed the one he entered by setting the lock, attaching a length of cable and then ran a series of screws through the jamb into the door. In time Rachel's people would break through, but the sleep chambers were on the upper levels and there were a number of doors to get through before they got there.
With the first door secured Silas turned to go to the next and saw two of the Sisterhood accompanied by Eustace Welsey. Eustace was a vulgar man, big,mean and enjoyed nothing more than to be a bully. When Rachel ordered Silas to be beaten, Eustace was in the thick of it. Eustace was not satisfied with merely hitting and kicking Silas, he had to humiliate him as well. He tore off Silas' shirt exposing his pale flesh and poked at Silas' rotund stomach. In Eustace's mind he was still facing that same beaten old man.
“Silas what are you up to and what in blazes are you wearing?” Eustace challenged with a laugh.
Silas leveled the shotgun at the three. “There is a reckoning coming. If you don't want to pay in blood I would leave now.”
“Brave words fat man. I doubt you have the stones to back them up.” Eustace menaced drawing his pistol.
Silas pulled the trigger on the shotgun. The load of buckshot caught Eustace square in the chest knocking him off his feet. The Sisters had begun to flee and a few pellets tore into the back of the one nearest to Eustace. The second Sister escaped out the door screaming for help. As Eustace died he raised his pistol at Silas and shot twice, the first bullet slamming into the body armor and the second bullet tore through the meaty flesh of Silas' upper arm.
Even though the vest stopped the bullet it still knocked the air out of Silas. Struggling to capture his breath Silas fought to move and secure the other door before more help came. Silas fired a round from his pistol into the heads of Eustace and t
he Sister as he passed them on his way to the door.
While Silas was engaging Eustace and the two Sisters, Sofie was getting settled into the safe room, hidden in the back of the warehouse. Not wanting Clay to see her in the garb of the Sisterhood she was grateful for the change of clothes Silas left. Still in the back of her mind she grappled to recall something she knew was very important.
Suddenly she dove for the radio. “Oh my God Silas.”
There was only one stairway leading to the dormitory upper levels and there was a door both at the bottom and the top. Silas was surprised that the night monitor hadn't shown yet, but perhaps the shooting had him frightened. Silas had just finished sealing the bottom door, when Sofie called out on the radio.
“Silas … Silas come in Please” Sofie radioed urgently.
“Here Sofie. Something wrong?” Silas responded both concerned and agitated for being pulled from his work.
Red Rises (Book 2): Dead To Rights (HZA, Vol. 4) Page 30
