The door closed behind her. Ethan shook his head. "Stubbornest woman I've ever met."
"You're telling me." Josh smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I've battled with her over rest and eating since I first got here."
The dynamics between these three intrigued him. Josh seemed almost territorial about Randi, but Randi and Ethan came across as close friends. Maybe Josh wanted something more than friendship with her?
Bryan turned to look out over the perimeter as Adriana drove around on an ATV. "Why is she making rounds by herself?"
Josh muttered something under his breath.
"No, wait." Ethan grabbed his arm. "Mark's behind her."
"Good. I've told them a million times not to do rounds alone. Especially not now."
"Are the children going to be okay at the park?" Bryan asked. "I wanted to talk to Mark about the area, but I haven't seen him since he got back. Well, until now."
"We scoped it out. It's pretty empty." Ethan frowned. "I still told them not to leave the RV under any circumstances. My bigger worry is what if none of us are left."
"Someone will escape if it comes to that." Josh slapped Ethan on the shoulder. "We won't leave them to fend for themselves. However, I'm praying we can hold our ground and get rid of Vixen and crew."
Good luck with that. The woman had her heart set on killing Reginald, and nothing stopped her once she'd made up her mind. Of course, now that he'd betrayed her, he would be on her target list. If he had the chance, he'd take her out and do away with the vile creature once and for all. If they didn't have Vixen to lead them, the rest of the group might scatter.
"I need to check all of the posts." Josh turned to leave, but before he could get very far, Ethan stopped him.
"Don't forget to wake Randi. I'm headed into the perimeter with Jill. Xever has us scheduled to stay out there."
"I'll let her sleep a little longer." Josh grinned as he walked through the door.
Ethan gave Bryan a fist-bump. "Later, man. If you hear the air horns blowing, you'll know we ran into big trouble."
"Take turns resting while you're out there." Bryan called as Ethan slipped through the door. Did the man even hear him? If they all wore themselves to a pulp, Vixen's group could walk in and take them over without a fight.
Bryan paced between the two towers. Was he better off here or out front? Xever was a good shot and in the front. If Vixen and her minions breached the fences, he needed to be where he could keep them from killing everyone in sight.
His skin crawled. How much longer before she attacked? He hoped his original assessment that she'd attack sooner rather than later was right. If she had a brain, she'd wait until they spent all of their energy watching and waiting and invade when they were at their weakest, but she'd never come across as overly intelligent.
Vixen gathered her group together long before sunup. They needed to get a move on before Reginald's group had time to prepare any surprises for them. She stood looking over the bleary-eyed group. "Thank you for rising so early. If we want to win this war, we must strike when they least expect us. Their numbers are limited. We have far more resources. With the element of surprise, we'll destroy Reginald and his group."
She watched her minions for a beat. Were they up to this or would they let her down? "Alton, you and Pepper head on out." As they left, she clapped twice to draw the crowd's attention back to her. "Pepper will install herself in one of the windmill towers and pick off Reginald's group one by one as we destroy them on the ground. Are you ready?"
Cheers rose from her citizens. Once they were safe, she would recruit more people and grow Atlas to enormous proportions. She looked forward to ruling over thousands, even hundreds of thousands. "Let's head out to our rendezvous point. As soon as Alton has Pepper situated, we'll roll."
As the crowd dispersed, Vixen headed for the firetruck. Jose, with a little help from several other men in town, had welded a huge scoop on the front of it. Taking out dear ol' Reg's outer fences would be no problem.
She climbed in the passenger side and gave Lewis a nod. He started the engine, and they roared down the road. The dry landscape zipped by. The bleakness of winter clung to the area, but when the freshness of spring brought rains, the scent of the blooming purple sage would fill the area. If she lived until spring. This mission might be the end of her, but she had to repay Reginald for his evil. Not only did he take his family from the safety of Atlas, but he failed to share with her good citizens his safe haven. Then to add to his numerous sins, he sent her own man to steal her dog. Her hand trembled, and her muscles strained against her skin. She was ready to kill Bryan with her bare hands if necessary. No one messed with her dogs.
Lewis turned down a road and parked at a family campground about a mile from Reginald's land. He sucked in a deep breath. "You ready?"
"As ready as I can be." If the truck worked liked she hoped, they'd slam through the outer gates, plow into the moat, and create a bridge of sorts with the fire truck. There was no way to alleviate their vulnerability as they breached Barker's land. Sweat beaded on her forehead. If he was smart enough to have Bryan in the tower, he'd pick off too many of her people. She'd instructed Pepper to take him down first. If she was unable to do it, then Vixen would kill him before he took too many of her people out.
"Let's gather everyone while we wait for Alton to call. I want to make sure there are no questions. If we don't follow the plan without fail, then no telling how many people we'll lose."
"I agree." Lewis climbed out of the firetruck and gave a long, loud whistle to get everyone's attention.
"Thank you, Lewis." Vixen took his hand and allowed him to help her up onto the truck. "As soon as we hear from Alton, we're going to leave and hit them hard and fast. If we don't adhere strictly to the plan, they will kill many. If you hesitate, you'll die. Don't look back. No matter what is happening around you, press in and take out as many of Reginald's people as you can. Do you understand?"
Most of the crowd replied with enthusiastic yells, but a few people gave hesitant looks to each other. Vixen narrowed her eyes and glared at them. She pointed at a petite blond woman. Why couldn't she ever remember this person's name? "You look scared. If you're going to act like a timid rabbit, Reginald's people will cut you down like a coyote does a rabbit in a field."
The woman let out a gasp.
Vixen suppressed a grin. "As I said before, Pepper will be at the top of a windmill tower. She'll take out as many of Reginald's people as she can, but we must do our part." Her radio squawked.
"This is Alton. She's in place. I'll meet you in the front."
"We're on our way." She turned to the crowd, smiled and made a 'round 'em up' motion. "Let's get this beat down on!" She scrambled all the way up to the top of the firetruck and clung to the ladder as those assigned to the truck climbed up. They would wait until Reginald's group was engaged in battle with the other teams, and the truck crew would swoop in and break through the fences.
Chapter 21
Randi kept her back to the compound as she walked toward the front. Unease crept up her spine, and her gut clenched. Why did her mother refuse leave? She'd talked to the woman until she was ready to scream, but she'd refused to budge.
She watched over the road leading to their front gate as the sky turned an array of colors. Dawn in the Hill Country was one of her favorite times. The air smelled fresh and clean, the skies grew vibrant. However, this dawn death waited outside the gates. She could feel it. Much like the moments before an attack in the Middle East, cold sweat trickled down her back, her hands shook, and an unexplainable sense of unease surrounded her. Ethan said that was God's way of preparing her for battle.
She ran through all of their positions in her mind. Bryan patrolled the walkway on her right. Her father took the back and Josh the one on her left. Gabrielle was in the back tower watching the river. Mary Anne and Adriana patrolled the lower part of the inner fence, while Jill, Nia, Aaron, and Ethan were in the perimeter. Regina
ld, Ayanna, Daniel, Miguel, and Mark were resting.
How did Vixen plan to attack? The river was out. They had Gabriele watching it just in case, but there's no way Vixen would've spilled to Bryan.
Miguel walked out of the tower and came to stand beside her. "All's quiet."
"For now."
"Why do you think they'll attack so quickly?"
"If they're watching us, they saw us move the kiddos. They know we're preparing to fight. If I were planning an attack, I would move. The longer they wait the better prepared we are. As it is, Bryan and Josh have booby traps set all around the place." Randi shrugged. "If they continue to delay, I vote for hitting them fast and hard in the middle of the night. Bryan said they don't even have guards patrolling their town. We could swoop in and cut them down while they sleep."
Miguel stared at her with wide eyes. "You can't be serious."
"Of course I am. We don't need to take out their entire town. Kill Vixen and a couple of the others in charge. The rest will stand down. The woman's basically a cult leader. Without the leader, the cult falls apart."
"I'm surprised you and Bryan haven't already slipped in and taken care of it."
"We talked about it, but if we do that, we risk leaving y'all alone. She might have a team sweep in here while we're gone.
"Are you saying none of us will survive without you and Bryan?" Miguel glared at her. "The rest of us know how to defend ourselves."
"Yeah, but--"
"But nothing. You've got control issues girly." He slapped her leg where she'd gotten shot when Leon died.
She suppressed a yelp. It'd been a while since the sniper attacked her and Leon. The wound was healing well, but still hurt.
"You're not at the top of your game right now. If you tried to slip away on a secret mission, Bryan'd bring your body back. If he survived." Miguel shook his head. "Strength in numbers. We stick together."
At what cost? She took a deep breath and searched the road through her binoculars. A fire truck with a scoop on the front roared toward them. She hit the air horn and let out a long blast.
Air horns around the complex sounded off. Were they attacking on more than one front? She didn't dare leave her post to check. "Miguel, walk around the compound and see what's going on in all directions."
He ran through the tower door with his rifle in hand.
They should've run when they had the chance. Was this land really worth all of the death and destruction sure to follow?
Images of all of her loved ones lying dead flashed through her mind. "God if you take them all and leave me alive to deal with the carnage..." She clenched her jaw. "You've left me alone once before, please don't do it now."
As the truck neared, she aimed and fired into the cab. She tried to hit the driver to slow them down. She sucked in a deep breath, let it out with a whoosh and fired again. The driver slumped to the side, and the firetruck slowed.
Someone jumped out of the back and ran around. Before he reached the door, Randi fired on him. He dropped to the ground holding his leg. She fired several more rounds, but didn't hit any of the people on the truck. At least it was dead for now. She needed to keep anyone from replacing the driver. If she accomplished that, she was golden on this front.
However, she'd wasted a ton of ammo to disable two people. Not acceptable. Focus Marine.
She took another deep breath as the tower door slammed open, and Miguel joined her. "Is this their only attack front?"
"No. They're hitting us from three sides. The river side is empty so far."
Made sense. They'd have to climb down the hill there. It would be too easy to pick them off. "How are they attacking on the other sides?"
"Dump trucks with battering rams welded to the front." Miguel steadied his weapon and fired at the cars accompanying the truck.
Randi focused on those clinging to the ladder and opened fire. She dropped three people in succession then saw Vixen. "Time to pay." She sucked in a breath, held it a second, and fired. The shot went wide, and the leather-clad witch flattened her body against the ladder.
Three cars roared down the road. One stopped next to the truck. The passenger climbed out and ran for the driver's side of the firetruck.
Randi and Miguel fired at him, but he made it inside, slumped below the windshield, and backed up. Were they leaving?
Miguel fired on the car to the right of the truck, and Randi focused on the two on the left side.
The truck came roaring toward them again.
Vixen held the ladder in a death grip as Alton sped up. He'd taken too long in replacing Lewis, but at least they were on their way, now.
The tattooed chick and a man continued to fire at them taking down several of those clinging to the truck. Were they all dead or just too weak to hold on?
They neared the moat. Bastian's car with six people in it exploded with a loud boom. Shrapnel rained down on the truck. It rolled to a stop, and Vixen scrambled off the ladder as it extended. Why didn't Alton take the truck into the moat like they'd planned?
Alton joined her on the back and began firing. "Truck died in the explosion, but we can still climb up and drop onto the bridge. It'll give us an advantage."
She grabbed her rifle and fired while those who'd arrived by the one remaining car climbed on. If she kept the man and woman focused on her, then at least some of her people would get over the fence.
Alton fired again. He hit the young man in the head dropping him to the ground.
The woman screamed and grabbed him by the shoulders. She dragged him into the tower and hid behind the fire door. More shots rang out. Jose Sanchez fell off the ladder into the moat. Cheryl had reached the bridge. She raised her handgun, but the witch fired first dropping Cheryl to the ground in a heap.
Vixen watched as the woman killed her people. They had to get her out of there. "Alton, do something. She's going to pick off all of our men."
He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "What did you expect? You wanted to go to war. This is war. I told you you'd lose people."
"Not like this. Kill her." Vixen pointed at the door. "Doors don't stop bullets. Shoot her."
Alton groaned. "You can shoot her as well as I can." He pointed at the area below. "We're taking on fire from above and below. I'm trying to keep us alive. Let those still trying to get in this way worry about themselves."
Vixen ground her teeth and glared at the man. How dare he defy her orders? "I'm using the rocket launcher. It'll get rid of her."
"We're all too close. You should've used it when we were way back."
She climbed off the truck and reached into one of the storage compartments. Bastian only found one round for the weapon, so she had to make it count. That woman would die once and for all.
She climbed back onto the truck. "Cover me."
"I'm a little busy here."
"I said to cover me."
Alton turned toward her. His face paled. "Are you trying to kill us all? If you hit that tower at this close range, the debris will get us."
She stood and aimed at the tower door.
The woman screamed something, disappeared into the tower, and people began running, but it was too late.
Alton grabbed her arm and jerked it away from the weapon. "Are you crazy? You don't shoot a rocket launcher this close. We're no more than ten feet away. You're going to kill you and me, both."
She relaxed her grip. "What are you talking about?"
Alton sighed. "Give it to me. You're going to kill us all." He took the weapon and put it on the truck. "You got rid of the shooters at least. Come on. We're the last of our group to go through."
She climbed the ladder and dropped onto the bridge. Bryan stood on the other bridge picking people off. Where was Pepper? The woman was supposed to be dropping Reginald's group. Why didn't her group follow her orders? She shouldered her weapon and fired at a petite black woman. The woman grabbed her shoulder, but didn't drop. Vixen fired again. After three shots, the woman finally dropped
to the ground.
Bryan aimed at her, but she ran into the tower and emerged on the other side. She stayed in the shelter of the concrete and fired at random below.
Daniel came into sight. She took careful aim and squeezed off a perfect shot to his chest. He crumpled like a balloon. Traitor. He deserved a painful death, but at least he was dead. Now, if she could kill Bryan and the tattooed woman. Those two caused her far more trouble than she deserved.
She looked around the yard. Where was her dog? Had they hidden him in the house?
They weren't keeping Fritz. Not under any circumstances. He was hers. She darted to the far tower and ran down the stairs. She reached the bottom and eased open the door and peeked out. No one around here.
She took a deep breath, skirted the fence line, and encountered a heavyset woman. The woman lifted her weapon, but her hands shook. Vixen smiled and raised her handgun to the woman's face.
Randi's hands went limp, and her heart thudded in her ears. It was over. There was no hope. Sniper fire pounded the compound.
Bryan jerked her arm. "You aren't giving up, now."
"Why not? They've got a sniper we can't see."
"Pepper's not very good. She's not managed to hit any of her targets, yet."
"It's only a matter of time. With no way to get rid of her, we're easy pickings."
"She's in the windmill tower. Not the best place for a sniper. I would've hidden up the hill. Less wind interference.
"I don't care what you would do. I want to know how to get rid of her."
"Let me handle it. You continue to take out as many of Vixen's group as you can."
Randi nodded and fired on the people still trying to come through the inner fence. They'd slammed makeshift bridges across the moat and clambered across like a swarm of ants. How many lived in this witch's cult? Bryan had said about eighty, but it felt like thousands were invading.
Groaning reached her ears. Infecteds. They'd breached the fences, now the infected were swarming. She clicked the radio. "Perimeter watch for infecteds."
Inquisition Page 20
