by Lee West
Returning his gaze to the Cramers’ house, Mark noticed a slight change in the façade. Looking through his spotting scope, Mark inspected the signal window. Someone had lowered the shade, indicating a need for help. Finally. He was tired of safely sitting in his attic, waiting for others to restore order.
Lifting the blanket off his arsenal, Mark stood looking at the weapons at his disposal, considering his options. Deciding for a full load out, Mark donned a tactical plate carrier loaded with rifle magazines and a ballistic helmet with attached night-vision goggles. He attached the AR-15 to a sling point on his vest and let it hang across his chest. For the first time since the lights went out, Mark felt a sense of direction, excitement and hope.
~ ~ ~
Sam heard Jane’s footsteps as she returned to the basement. He was always amazed at her ability to walk in the dark. She rarely turned on the lights to walk through their own home.
“Everything quiet up there?” asked Charlie.
“Not really. I pulled the signal shade down no problem, but while I was up there, a car came into the neighborhood. Three more New Order men are in the house now.”
“Shit. That makes eight. There’s no way we can get in there with all of them inside,” said Sam.
“I say we wait until tomorrow. Maybe they’ll leave again. Then the two of you can go inside and cut Lea free while I watch over you, like we did today. In fact, I could move upstairs for a better view. I have my radio, so we can stay in contact,” said Charlie.
“Assuming they leave again,” said Sam.
“You’re also assuming they won’t kill Lea or harm her further tonight. We can’t take that chance. We need to get her out of there as quickly as possible. Her life depends on it,” said Jane. “You should have seen the conditions they’re keeping her in. She’s little more than a piece of trash at this point. A few shots of hard booze away from a death sentence—or worse.”
“Sam, do you think with your hunting knife or my knife you can cut her free, or should we try to get more tools for you to use, just in case?”
“I can do it. It’ll take a little time, mostly so I don’t slice through her wrists, but I should be able to do it with my good knife. I didn’t even think to bring it,” said Sam.
“No one could have predicted that we would be in this situation. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” said Jane, wrapping her arms around him.
“I know, but I can’t help thinking that if I’d brought both knives with me, we could have grabbed her and we would be out of here.”
“It probably wouldn’t have made a difference. We only had a few minutes with her before we had to bolt out of there. If you had tried to cut her loose, you might have done more harm than good. Who knows, you could have inadvertently hurt her,” said Jane. “Or got through most of the rope, but not enough to get her free. Tank might have noticed.”
“I know you’re right, but still, it bothers me.”
“How will your friend Mark get in? Did you leave a door open, Jane?” asked Charlie.
“No, I didn’t think of it. Seeing the extra guys roll up to our house sort of threw me. Hold on, I’ll be right back,” said Jane, heading toward the steps.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Jane opened the rear sliding door, peering beyond the deck and into the yard, hopeful Mark would see the signal and come to them.
“Jane,” someone whispered from a distance.
A slight rustling near the pines announced Mark’s arrival.
“Boy, you are a sight for sore eyes. They have our daughter tied up in the basement of our home. We’re trying to figure out how to get her out of there without getting us all killed. We could really use your help,” said Jane.
“Definitely. I saw the signal and came as quickly as possible. I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines. I want to help in whatever way I can,” said Mark.
“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate this. Come on in, we’re all in the basement.”
In the basement, the four sat huddled around a flashlight, formulating a rescue mission.
“Jane, you definitely saw three men walk into the house earlier this evening?” asked Charlie.
“Yeah, it was right after I put down the shade to signal Mark. On my way back to the basement, I passed the front window just as they came into the neighborhood.”
“I’m surprised I missed that. I must’ve fallen asleep for a minute,” said Mark.
“Okay, so here’s the situation as we know it. We have eight or possibly more unfriendlies, potentially on multiple levels of the house, and a hostage in the basement. Correct?” asked Charlie.
“Yes. And we’re sure there were only five men originally in the house. Jane and I sat watching them for nearly twenty-four hours before we went in yesterday. While in the house, we searched it from top to bottom. No one else is in there,” added Sam.
“Well, that’s good news. At least we have a firm headcount. That should make things a little easier,” said Mark.
“Eight on four doesn’t sound easy,” said Sam.
“I think we need to draw all of them out into the yard and pick them off one at a time,” said Jane. “Or a few at a time.”
“Bingo,” announced Mark.
“We just need to be sure none of them go back inside. We also need to be sure we don’t hit the house. I wouldn’t want Lea getting killed by a stray bullet from one of our guns,” said Charlie. “She’s in the basement, but bullets have a strange way of travelling and they could move her without our knowledge.”
“How do we get them all out of the house at the same time?” asked Sam.
“That’s the tricky part. We’ll need two levels of distraction. The first will draw out some of the men. I assume they won’t all pile out at once. Then a second to ensure the rest move outside and into the kill zone we’ve created. With the suppressed weapons, the second group won’t have a good sense of what happened,” said Mark.
“How do we get them out?” said Jane.
“I have a stash of fireworks at my house. We could light ’em up in the house next door to our current location, requiring the New Order guys to cross the street to check it out—directly in front of our guns,” offered Mark.
“I like it. As they cross, we pick them off with suppressed fire. They won’t know what hit them. With any luck, the remaining men inside won’t see what happened to the first wave of men,” said Charlie.
“While you two are doing that, if all the men haven’t exited our house, I could shoot up the cars. I would think that might get the attention of anyone remaining in the house,” said Jane.
“Don’t you want to take one of those? It would be nice to drive to the storage locker instead of walk. Besides, Lea might not be able to walk very easily. You saw her condition. She’s been shackled to that pole for so long, her legs might be too weak to make it. I managed to find a muscle relaxant in the aspirin bottle and gave that to her. It should help ease some of her pain, but still, I’m worried about her ability to move quickly,” said Sam.
“All those times you would get on me for mixing pills into the aspirin bottle and it finally came in handy. I feel vindicated,” said Jane, with a broad smile.
“Why would you do that?” asked Mark.
“So I could just pack one bottle when we travel. The New Order guys probably never would have thought to inspect each aspirin.”
“No one would, really. The whole thing is a bad idea,” said Sam, shaking his head.
Mark shook his head, concurring with Sam’s statement.
“I don’t think driving out of here is a good idea, regardless of Lea’s condition. The only people in town who drive are the New Order men. Everything is so quiet now without the constant buzzing of cars and machines. You won’t get out of the greater neighborhood before they either hear or see you on the road. Then you’re screwed,” said Mark. “And what’s all this about a storage locker?”
“Jane and I keep a backup of our readiness supplies in a storage
locker at Store-Right on Michigan. We plan to head there to resupply and possibly stay for a while until we figure out our next move.”
“That’s clever. Keeping everything at the house makes sense in most disaster scenarios, but spreading it out gives you extra flexibility…you know, in case a nearby prison disgorges several hundred felony convicts into your community. Thanks mostly to these New Order thugs, most people’s supplies are totally gone. You two might be the only people with any sort of gear at your disposal,” said Mark.
“You’re welcome to come with us. We have more than enough for all five of us,” said Jane.
“We probably have enough for twenty,” said Sam. “And we can’t possibly cart a fraction of it out of there, so you’re welcome to take what you want while you decide on your next move.”
“I plan to go with them, at least for a little while,” said Charlie.
Jane thought it was interesting that Charlie failed to mention the HQ or safe houses to Mark. She knew Charlie would be returning to Scott’s as soon as Lea was extracted. She wondered why he would leave Mark out of the loop. Probably a trust issue, which gave her an uneasy feeling. They had to be a little more careful with whom they entrusted their secrets.
“Alright. Sounds like a plan,” said Mark. “I’ll take you up on the resupply offer and decide what to do from there.”
“Let’s get back to the plan for a minute. Is everyone clear about their role?” Charlie pointed at the crude map of the street flattened on the coffee table. “Mark, you’re setting off firecrackers in this house.”
“That’s the Spencers’ house,” said Jane.
“I’ll be at the front door of the Cramers’ house, with the door open a crack,” said Charlie, tapping his finger.
“After the firecrackers go off, I’ll move to this position,” said Mark, indicating a point on the map.
Mark would cleverly position himself so that he could shoot any of the men who made it past Charlie, without hitting Charlie in the crossfire. Sam joined the discussion, placing his index finger on the Archers’ garage.
“Before any of this goes down, Jane and I will cross the street way out of sight and make our way here, where we can observe the side door to the house and the backyard in case anyone bolts out of the slider on the deck. If all eight of them aren’t taken down in front of the house, we’ll start shooting out tires or whatever we can hit on the cars.”
“Once all of the men are out of the house and neutralized, Sam and I will go in and get Lea,” said Jane.
“I’m having second thoughts about you going inside,” said Mark.
“Me or Sam?” said Jane.
“Both of you, to be honest,” said Mark.
“I’ve cleared houses before—in the dark,” said Jane. “Sam has the least experience here.”
“I understand that, but my guess is that Sam is handier with a knife,” said Mark. “And we need to get Lea untied and back outside quickly. Unless we get extremely lucky and take all eight of them down with suppressed shots, their return fire will be heard throughout the town. In the past, any kind of noise drew other New Order men into the mix. It seems like they’re just waiting around for trouble. Nothing says trouble like live fire. I wouldn’t be surprised if several cars arrived before the gunfight ended. I recommend that Jane lights the fireworks and runs out the back door to a position here between the Spencers’ and Cramers’ houses, where you and Charlie can provide over-watch while Sam and I go in to get Lea,” said Mark.
“Alright. You’re right. That’s a better plan,” said Jane reluctantly.
She didn’t like the idea of being separated from Sam or Lea. However, the house would be pitch dark. Mark’s night vision and close-quarters battle training would tip the scale in their favor if things went awry with the original plan. They might also need to carry Lea out of the house, and Mark would be better suited for that task.
“I feel better about this. When the first wave of men start filtering out, I can be on the south side of Jane’s house, here,” said Mark, pointing on the map. “That enables me to help Charlie pick off the men that rush outside, and get to Sam for round two.”
“Exactly,” said Charlie.
“It’s settled, then. I’ll dash back to my place and grab the firecrackers. The rest of you should get your gear together and be ready to move out as soon as I get back,” said Mark excitedly. “I suggest you pack up everything you want to take out of here, because we’re probably looking at a grab-and-go situation when the shooting stops.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
The group huddled together on the floor of the Spencers’ living room. Mark delivered a duffel bag filled with assorted fireworks. It was the largest selection Charlie had ever seen. Although Charlie was slow to warm up to anyone new, especially in this changed world, he couldn’t help but admire Mark. However, liking and trusting were two different things. He needed to be sure about Mark before he felt comfortable sharing the location of the safe houses and HQ. Charlie was grateful that Jane went along with his small lie about where he would go after the extraction. He had no intention of staying at the storage locker longer than required to stuff his backpack with the supplies that he intended to give to Scott and his family.
“We need to join the wicks to make them as long as possible,” said Mark.
“Why? It seems like we’re risking that the wicks may not stay lit,” said Sam.
“I don’t think one round of firecrackers is enough. We need to set off the first round. Give them time to get up and then start setting off the second and third rounds. That way they know exactly where to go. If we just set off the first round, by the time they look outside, they might not catch where the noise came from. That would be a disaster,” said Mark.
“We could have all of the New Order men walking around in different directions. We need to avoid that,” said Charlie.
“I’m glad you guys are helping us. This is a great plan. I’m starting to feel confident about getting Lea back,” said Jane.
“Don’t thank us yet. A lot can go wrong in a short stretch of time,” said Mark.
Tying the last wick, Charlie said, “That should do it.”
“Come on, Jane, let’s get these set up,” said Mark, grabbing the first string.
“The ones with the longest wicks will go into the dining room; then we’ll put the medium-length wicks into the living room and the shortest ones right here—in the front window. You’re going to set off all three simultaneously, starting with the longest wick,” said Mark.
“Got it. If I go quickly enough, the length of the wicks should space out the noise, creating a long chain of blasts,” said Jane.
“That’s the idea. We’re hoping to grab their attention and draw them in.”
“I’ve never really blown off firecrackers before. Never been into them. What do you think will happen to the inside of the house?” asked Jane.
“Let’s put it this way, the Spencers could very well be out of a house. The fountains will likely catch the place on fire,” said Mark.
“Can’t we just stick to the firecracker things?” said Jane. “I hate doing that to them.”
“The fountains will really attract their attention. They might even guess that a fire broke out in the basement and ignited the family’s Fourth of July stash. I wouldn’t be surprised if they dragged out some chairs and watched the show.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice,” said Sam. “We could gun them down all in one place.”
“I’m not counting on it,” said Charlie. “Jane, if you’re ready, we need to get in position.” Charlie glanced at Mark and Sam.
“I’m set. What could go wrong?” said Jane, with a sarcastic tone.
Walking to Jane, Sam embraced her tightly. “I love you, you know.”
“I know, and love you more. Now go rescue our baby,” said Jane, pulling away from his embrace.
“Jane, you’ll be on your own without a radio. Mark and I will be communicating throughout, a
djusting the plan if needed. Under no circumstance are you to leave your covered position until one of us signals or yells that it’s clear. No matter what happens, we meet at the end of the street, near the woods,” said Charlie.
“Got it,” said Jane.
“I know those woods really well. With the moonlight’s help, we should have no problem cutting through to get to Michigan Road,” said Mark.
“Alright—let’s do this,” said Jane.
Charlie and Mark walked out first. Sam took one more look over his shoulder at Jane and then slowly closed the door behind him.
Chapter Forty-Nine
From her perch near the window, Jane watched the shadowy figures of Mark and Sam sprint across the street to get into their positions. A few minutes after they vanished into the darkness, Mark appeared at the back corner of the Archers’ house and crawled down the southern face of the house to a spot several feet back from the front corner. Once Mark and Sam were in position, Charlie would signal Mark that he was ready. Then, when everyone was situated, Mark would flash a small light, giving Jane the “thumbs-up” to start lighting the wicks.
Jane breathed rapidly, waiting for Mark’s signal. She refused to allow herself to ponder the fact that they were lining up to kill these men in a cold-blooded ambush. The men were vicious killers who had destroyed the lives of her friends, neighbors and fellow police officers. Even after the police took back the town and things returned to normal, it would take a very long time to heal the collective wounds inflicted by these jackbooted murderers. Tonight was just the first of many necessary steps they would all take to smash down this supposed New Order.
Staring intently at Mark’s position, Jane thought she had somehow missed the signal. It seemed like an eternity since he’d settled into a prone firing position. Finally, a faint light flashed on and off.
