Things were beginning to get back to normal again, except for one thing.
There were two men tied to chairs in the basement, and there wasn’t a consensus on what to do with them.
Most of the adults not busy with other duties had gathered in the dining room at John’s request.
“I called you here because we need to deal with the problem at hand in the utility room. I’ll be honest with you. I never thought we’d take them without a fight. I knew we had the advantages on our side. I knew we’d take them. I just didn’t think we’d take them alive.
“I thought that by now they’d be in the same hole that their buddies are in out there. And to be honest, it would have been much easier that way. Taking them alive presents a whole new problem.”
Mark asked, “Well, John, we asked you to head up our security program because you’re the only expert we have in that area. We’ve trusted your judgment before in all matters pertaining to security, and you’ve always been right on the mark. Since you’re the expert in this area, what do you propose we do with them?”
John selected his words carefully.
“Some of you won’t like what I have to say. Those of you who had a chance to see these men up close and talk to them may share the opinion that they’re a broken and pitiful lot.
“But that don’t change the fact that they came here to do us harm. They raised weapons against us and would have shot us if they had the chance. One of their group, and I’m assuming it was the dead man on the mountain but it might not have been, shot my Sami. They could have just as easily shot any of you. Or any of yours.
“It also doesn’t change the fact that if we let them go, they’ll likely go back to the environment they were in before. They ran with a rough crowd of convicts and criminals before, and they’ll go back to that.
“Right now, they’re scared shitless. They may be too scared to recruit more people for a second shot at taking the compound. But as time goes by they’ll get bold, and hungry. And they’ll be back.
“We have no choice but to get rid of them.”
Sami was aghast.
“Dad, do you mean kill them? Surely you can’t be serious.”
“I am dead serious, sweetie. If we set them free, in all likelihood we’ll see them again at a later time. Only this time they’ll have learned their lessons. They’ll come back with a much bigger force. They’ll be better armed. And they’ll have the knowledge they didn’t have the first time. They’ll know the layout of this building, and of the compound. They’ll know about the escape tunnel. If they hit us hard and fast, and swarmed all over us, they might capture the tunnel before we could evacuate next time. Then all they’d have to do is cut our power and water lines and wait us out. Or pick us off a couple at a time, like we did to them.”
Bryan was having none of it.
“But John, they’re criminals. Who says we have to set them free? Why can’t we turn them into law enforcement?”
“Come on, Bryan, you’ve been monitoring the ham radio just as much as me. You’ve heard the broadcasts. There is no more law enforcement. The police departments in San Antonio, Kerrville, Junction and Eden have been decimated like everywhere else. Most of the officers are dead or long gone. And those that are left have no authority to arrest people. Not without judges to issue arrest warrants and courts to try them. There are no sheriffs or county marshals either. Most of the towns are ruled by vigilante committees or not at all.”
“No.”
It was Hannah, and all heads turned to look at her.
“John, we’ve been through an awful lot. You and Sami have suffered more than anyone else. I know that. And I know it just as easily could have been me, or Mark, or Markie who got shot. But I’m sorry. I refuse to be a party to murder. And even though they are evil men, let’s make no mistake about it. Let’s call it as it is. Killing unarmed men, no matter how evil they are, is murder. It’s not right. I say no.”
John walked to Hannah and hugged her.
“I’ve loved you like a second daughter. I still do. You love Sami and she loves you. I know that too. I couldn’t bear to lose either one of you. I’d have a hole in my heart as big as Texas.
“But if you and the others prevent me from doing this, we’re making a dreadful mistake. A mistake that will very likely cause more lives. And I’m not talking about the lives of more evildoers. I’m talking about us. You, or Sami, or Brad, or one of the children.
“I’m not asking any of you to have a hand in this. I am quite capable of taking care of it myself.
“All I’m asking is that none of you try to stop me. Because if you do, and I’m right, then there will come a day when we are burying our own. And I won’t say I told you so. But each of you will know that if you’d let me do what I knew needed to be done, they’d still be alive. Only then it’ll be too late. And each of you will be haunted for the rest of your lives, because you’ll know in your heart you could have prevented the tragedy.”
Debbie spoke up, attempting to be the voice of reason.
“Look. Seven years ago when we first assembled in the mine, we set up a form of government like those of the old Indian tribes. We agreed to get everyone together to settle key decisions. We agreed to let everyone who wanted to speak have their say. Then we agreed to let every adult cast a ballot and take a fair vote. And if the vote ended in a tie, we agreed to let the three elders make the final decision.
“As I look around, I see only a handful of the adults. We’re violating the very rules we put into place, that have served us well all this time. Not one of the elders is here to join in the debate. I propose we send food and water down to the prisoners and resume this discussion tomorrow, with everyone present, so we can do it the right way.
“I mean for God’s sake, those are men down there. Yes, they may be evil, but they are human beings. They’ve been there for more than twenty four hours with no water, no food, strapped upright in a metal chair. We don’t even treat our animals that poorly. And we’re better than that.”
Mark nodded his head.
“She’s right, John. We’re violating our by-laws by trying to make such a decision without a quorum and without the elders. Let’s get everybody together after breakfast tomorrow. Our heads will be clear. We can let everyone have a turn to state their opinion, and we can put it to a vote.”
Everyone else nodded or affirmed their agreement with the idea.
Everyone except John.
The group disbanded. Some of them went back to their apartments, or to the kitchen for a snack. A couple of them went to shoot pool in the recreation room, and some went to the lounge, where several of the school kids had taken a “field trip” to hear Joe Kenney play the guitar and sing silly songs for them.
John slipped away quietly, unnoticed.
Hannah, tired from spending the previous day cleaning her apartment, asked Sami and Sarah if they wanted to join her for a picnic lunch later.
“We can go to the orchard and sit under the apple trees. Just sit there and feel the wind in our hair and enjoy the beautiful day.”
“Should we invite the guys?”
“Let’s not. They’ll just fart and burp and talk about boobs. They’ll spoil the whole thing.”
The place was getting back to normal again, and the sense of serenity was returning.
Then two gunshots rang out, a few seconds apart.
Chapter 27
After the first shot, everyone froze in place.
After the second, chaos ensued.
It was obvious that the shots came from inside the building. Everyone except Helen, sitting at the control center, thought they were under attack again.
Joe Kenney immediately stopped playing and told the kids to run to the kitchen and hide in the storage room.
Hannah ran to the lounge to make sure that little Markie and the other children were okay.
Sami, Mark and Brad immediately drew their side arms and started looking for the threat.
Those who had returned to their apartments immediately locked their doors and turned on their radios for updates, just as they had been trained to do.
Bryan ran to the security control desk to get a rifle and make his way to the top of the building.
And John… well, John was nowhere to be found.
As Bryan approached the security control desk he could see that Helen was distraught and close to tears. She pointed at the monitor from the basement utility room, and Bryan saw John untying the rope that held the two prisoners.
And he watched as the two bodies tumbled to the floor.
“I saw the whole thing,” Helen said. “I watched as he walked into the room and said something to David, who was standing guard. David left, and John stood there in his place. I just thought he was relieving David so he could get some breakfast.
“Then, after David was gone, he locked the door, walked over to the prisoners, and took out his gun. And he just shot them in the head.”
Bryan keyed the microphone on the base radio and said, “Everyone stand down, we’re all clear. Please go back to what you were doing. Mark, Brad, please meet me at the security desk.”
David came around the corner and said, “What the hell was that all about?”
“David, what did John say to you?”
“He said he had nothing to do and was bored, so he was going to relieve me early. I said thanks, and left. Then I was down the hallway, almost to the stairs, and I heard two gunshots. I ran back and the door is locked. What happened in there?”
“He executed the prisoners.”
Mark and Brad arrived just in time to hear Helen say those chilling words. Hannah, Sarah and Sami were right behind them.
All of them watched the monitor as John laid out the dead prisoners on the floor. Bright red blood rolled from the entry wounds in their foreheads, brain matter fell from the exit wounds in the backs of their shattered skulls.
John unlocked the door and entered the hallway, then walked up the stairs. The group followed his every move, unsure where he was going or what was going to happen when he got there.
John walked directly to the security control center, removed his pistol and holster from his belt and laid them on the counter, and turned to face the group.
“Some of you may hate me for what I’ve done. I hope you live long enough to understand that sometimes you cannot place decisions like this in the hands of the faint hearted or meek. Sometimes when you feel so strongly that you’re right, you have to take matters into your own hands. Even when popular opinion is against you.
“I resign as your security chief. And if you vote to banish me from your group, I will exit quietly and cause you no grief. If I fry in hell for what I’ve gone, at least I’ll do so with a clear conscience. I did what had to be done.”
With that, he turned on his heels and walked away. Sami broke into tears and ran after him. The rest of the group stood there, pretty much in shock, not knowing what to do.
No one said anything for a full two minutes. Again, they watched the monitors as John walked into the basement supply center they’d nicknamed “Walmart.”
He walked directly to the shelf holding the bed sheets and selected two packages.
Sami was behind him every step of the way. The group couldn’t hear the conversation, but she appeared to be pleading with him.
He stopped long enough to hug his daughter, and to hold her. It appeared they were crying together.
Then he held her at arm’s length, wiped her tears with his thumb, and kissed her on the forehead. Sami left him there, and he headed back to the utility room.
Hannah was the first to speak.
“Oh, John! What have you gone and done?”
Sarah said, “I’m going to post a flyer on the dining room door. I want to call a meeting for tomorrow to discuss this.”
Sami reentered the room, to find the group still watching the monitor. John was wrapping the bodies in the sheets. Bryan started to leave, saying “He’s going to need some help.”
“No.” Sami was adamant. He said to tell you all this was his idea, and he will deal with it alone.
But Bryan was just as adamant.
“Screw that. We’re a team, right or wrong. And whether he was justified in what he did, we’re still a team. There are no isolationists in this group, no matter what the circumstances.”
He walked out the door.
Sami looked at the group and said to no one in particular, “I just want to go on record as saying that if you banish my father from the compound, I’ll be going with him.”
She looked at Brad, unsure how he would react to her statement.
She needed not worry. He walked to her and took her hand, and said “So will I.”
Sami and Brad walked away, and the group fell into dead silence. There seemed to be nothing left to say.
Chapter 28
Bryan went to the barn and retrieved the same all-terrain forklift they’d used to move the previous batch of bodies to the grave site. He drove it over to the west exit door of the big house and killed the engine.
Then he walked into the big house and to the stair case that led to the basement, to find John struggling to drag the first of the bodies up the stairs.
Without a word, he walked past John, and picked up the body by its feet.
The two carried the body out the door and placed it upon the wooden pallet on the front of the forklift.
John faced his friend, but didn’t say anything. Bryan put a hand on John’s shoulder and rested it there for just a brief second. It was all that was needed to be said. John wasn’t in this alone.
The two brought the second body up the stairs and placed it on the wooden pallet next to the first.
Bryan climbed back in the driver’s seat and fired the forklift back up. John climbed on the running board and held on as Bryan slowly drove across the bumpy ground to the trash burn area. Neither said a word along the way.
They arrived at the place where they’d buried the other four bodies, only to find Mark on the Bobcat finishing up another trench.
It took the three of them just a few minutes to place the bodies in the grave and cover them up with the second Bobcat.
John said, “Thank you for your help. I’ve still got some mopping and cleaning up to do.”
He turned to walk away, but Mark called out to him.
“Hey, John!”
John stopped and turned around.
“We’re with you on this.”
John didn’t say anything. He merely nodded his head, then went to finish his task.
There were two distinct camps.
One side saw John’s act for what it was: a desperate attempt to protect the people he loved from further attack.
The other side only saw the brutality in what he did. Shooting unarmed men, regardless of the circumstance, was against God’s laws and the laws of civil society.
The mood remained somber the rest of the day. John skipped lunch entirely that day. He’d simply lost his appetite while dragging the bodies of the men he’d killed.
For dinner, he chose to stay in his room instead of joining the rest of the group in the dining room.
Sami and Brad got their own food, fixed an extra plate for John, and retired to John’s apartment to have dinner with him.
John stopped eating after the third bite. He still had no appetite. He looked at Sami and said, “If I go, I want the two of you to stay here. There’s no reason for you to be outcast. You did nothing wrong.”
Sami said, “Neither did you, Dad. The only thing you were guilty of was using your brain to think things through to their logical conclusion. The others were thinking with their hearts and not their heads. If they used their heads they would have come to the same conclusion you did. Those men had to go. There was just no other way.”
Brad, to lighten the mood, tried to inject a bit of levity into the discussion.
“We have to go with you, John. I’ve eaten your c
ooking. It’s disgusting, and you’d starve to death within a week without Sami to cook for you.”
It fell flat.
After dinner, the three watched two movies in John’s room. There were several knocks at the door, but they went unanswered.
When John announced he was tired and wanted to get a shower and go to bed, Sami and Brad finally left.
They retired to their own room, where they stayed up long into the night. Between the two of them, they killed half a fifth of Jose Cuervo and commiserated about the sorry state of the world.
And how quickly friends can turn on each other when both parties have their hearts in the right place, but don’t see eye to eye.
Throughout the rest of the building, debates were raging. John’s act pitted husbands against wives, hawks against doves, humanitarians against the more aggressive.
And Christians against non believers.
It was quiet in Hannah and Mark’s bed. There was no animosity between them, though.
Nor any anger.
Hannah knew which side Mark came down on.
She, on the other hand, hadn’t decided where she stood. She was torn between her conscience, which said the killings were pointless and tantamount to murder, and her love and respect for John.
She knew that John was convinced in his own mind that the men would be a major threat if they were released. And perhaps he was right. Perhaps he was the only one clear minded enough to do what had to be done.
Perhaps.
Chapter 29
It was obvious that Bryan and Sarah were arguing over the matter. From the time they walked into the dining room for breakfast, neither of them spoke to another soul. The snarling faces each of them wore bore a definite “stay back” message, and the others were more than happy to oblige.
The Siege Page 9
