After The Fall (Book 4): Undercover

by Nees, David

  “Time to go,” Jason said, standing up. He led the three to the fence. After scanning the road in both directions, they climbed over and ran across it. Jason led them to his pack and put it on.

  “Now, before we go, who are these kids?”

  Even in the dim light, Jason could see the concern in Ernie’s face. “This is Jack,” he pointed to the older, larger boy. “And this is Bobby,” he said gesturing to the younger one. “I’ve been keeping an eye out on them.”

  “So, you thought you had to bring them along?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to tell you when you were at the camp. Jack gets beat up a lot, protecting Bobby. Some of the older men and guards want to take Bobby, probably to abuse him. Jack’s pretty fearless which gets him in trouble. I’ve been helping to keep things from getting out of hand. If I disappear, I don’t know what would happen.”

  “Where are you planning to go now that you’re out?” Jason asked.

  Jack shook his head. “We don’t know. Anywhere’s better than here.”

  “They’ll come with me and my family. I’ll be responsible for them.”

  “That might slow you down.”

  Ernie nodded. “It might, but I’ll risk that. I couldn’t leave them here.”

  “Okay.” Jason bent down to the boys. “We’re going to move fast. There’ll be people after us in four hours or less. Can you keep up?”

  Both boys nodded. Their eyes wide.

  “If they have dogs to track us, we’ve got a big problem and the only solution is speed.” He stood up. “Everyone understand that?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Grab the rifle and follow me,” Jason said. He headed off at a trot through the dark woods.

  Chapter 31

  ___________________________________

  T hat morning a search went out for the missing guard. It wasn’t long before someone found him in the woods. He was brought in to see Todd Waymire, the camp commander. Todd sat in his chair as the guard stood and nervously told his story.

  “So, you don’t know who ran from the camp—the man and the two kids.”

  The guard shook his head.

  “Did you see the face of the man who attacked you?”

  “No, but the worker called out a name, ‘Jason’, and the guy told him, ‘No names’.”

  “Jason?”

  “That’s right. I heard it clear. After that they didn’t talk much.”

  Todd dismissed the man. He’d be punished later. Todd went over recent events in his mind. A Jason Rich had visited the camp the day before. He said he was taking over next week. He went around to inspect what was going on. Todd remembered that Jason had specifically told him that he wanted to do his inspection alone.

  Was this the same Jason? The coincidence was too strong. But why break a prisoner out? And threaten to kill the guard? Todd had a feeling this guy was not going to show up next week to take charge. And what about the kids? He didn’t have a clue. He needed to talk with someone right away.

  Todd grabbed his coat and told his guard to bring the car around. He’d go to the city and talk with Joe. Before he left, he had his assistant go get the man who owned some tracking dogs.

  After talking with Todd, Joe went to see Vincent.

  “We got a problem,” he told Vincent. “It seems Jason slipped into the work camp last night and freed one of the workers along with a couple of kids.”

  “Why the hell would he do that?”

  Joe shook his head. “Beats me. But I don’t see him taking over next week if he did that.”

  “Anyone see him?”

  “No, but the guy he freed said his name before he was told to shut up…the dumbass.”

  “On my end, neither him or Gino have shown up.”

  “You got your crew looking for them?”

  Vincent nodded.

  “I’ll tell the other capos to search as well. I want them found, even if I have to turn this city inside out.”

  “Big Al isn’t going to be happy about this.”

  “You let me worry about Big Al.” Joe’s face was full of anger. “And don’t forget who hired Jason. If something has gone sideways, you’ll be responsible.”

  “I was always worried about him.”

  “But you hired him. I don’t give a crap who encouraged you. It didn’t get done without your approval. Now get the fuck out of here and find him and Gino.”

  Vincent got up and hurried out. He’d have a few words with Tony when he got back to the neighborhood. His next thought was to find out where that woman lived. The one Gino talked about. Maybe Gino told one of the others.

  Carlo gave Tony the location for the woman’s apartment. Tony went there and found the block warden. The man accompanied him to the apartment and let Tony in. He looked at the clothes strewn around the rooms.

  “Looks like they left in a hurry,” Tony said.

  “Yeah,” the warden replied. “Her husband was taken away. Some issue about a gun he was hiding in the apartment.”

  “You have any idea where they might have gone?”

  The man shook his head. “After her husband left, the woman didn’t go out much, and her kids less. She would show up and pick up meals at one of the food centers with her ration card. She’d say her kid was sick and get a meal for them that way.”

  Vincent headed back to his neighborhood. The family disappeared after Jason visited them, but also after Gino talked to them. Did Gino spook them or did Jason plan something with them? “Need to find one of the two,” he mumbled to himself as he walked through the streets.

  Back at the work camp, the dogs were waiting. Todd grabbed his rifle and four other men and they set out. The dogs quickly picked up the trail and the pursuit began. The trail took them through the woods and then out onto the railroad tracks. We’ll find them. Todd had faith in the dogs and if the escapees didn’t know about them, they’d catch up before the day was out.

  A pale dawn was breaking over the city when Jason and the others arrived at the warehouse. They had jogged most of the way, Jason forcing the pace. The boys had kept up pretty well, but Ernie lagged behind. His fatigue from being overworked and underfed was evident.

  “Ernie!” shrieked Ruth when she saw her husband.

  She ran to him and jumped into his arms, almost throwing him to the ground. Jennifer and Tom followed and Ernie was engulfed in a family huddle of hugs and crying. The two boys stood apart. Bobby had a sad look in his eyes; Jack’s face was impassive. Jason couldn’t see any emotions showing.

  Ruth broke away from her husband to look at Jack and Bobby. “Who are these boys?”

  Ernie introduced them to his wife and kids “I was helping protect them at the camp and I couldn’t leave them behind. They don’t have any parents to help. They’re coming with us.”

  “Speaking of that,” Jason said. “You can’t wait. You have to get moving right away.”

  “They’re coming after Ernie?” Ruth asked.

  Jason nodded. “We have to assume they’ll have dogs and be able to track us, so there’s no time to waste. Pack up your gear.”

  “Do it,” Ernie said.

  Everyone gathered their belongings. Jason took out a map of Charlotte and showed it to Ernie.

  “I suggest you try to get to Hillsboro. You can’t go direct as that takes you back past the coal train project. There’s too much of a chance to run into the men who will be looking for you.” He pointed to the map. “Head north, past Lake Norman, towards Hickory. Part of the way there, you’ll see a sign for a monastery. Stop there. They’ll give you sanctuary. It should be a safe space. Push until you get there. Keep moving day and night. If they use dogs, they’ll be on your trail.”

  “Do you think they’ll chase us that far?”

  Jason looked at Ernie. “You willing to bet your life they won’t? The lives of your family and those boys?”

  Ernie was caught by his stare. “I guess not.”

  Jason turned back to the map.
“You head up I77. You see how to get to the interstate?”

  “Head northeast from here?”

  “Right. That’s away from the coal train camp. Then follow Route 16. Keep moving day and night. It’ll be hard on the kids, but they’ll survive it. You can rest when you get to the monastery. Don’t assume you’re safe ‘til you get there.”

  Jason went over to a corner of the office. He came back with Gino’s .45 pistol and an extra magazine.

  “You take this along with the guard’s carbine. And don’t be afraid to use them if threatened.”

  He showed Ernie how to operate the both weapons. Ernie went to put the pistol in the pack that his wife had brought over.

  “No,” Jason said.

  Ernie stopped and looked at him.

  “It won’t do any good in the pack. Keep it in your coat pocket. Put the spare magazine in the other pocket. Keep the carbine over your shoulder.”

  Jason hurried everyone along until they were ready to go. Then he walked them downstairs to the door. At the door, Ruth reached up and gave Jason a big hug.

  “Thank you for getting Ernie free. You’ve brought new life back to our family. I know this is going to get you in some kind of trouble. You sacrificed a lot for us. We’ll always be in your debt.”

  “Are you going to be okay?” Ernie asked.

  “I’ll be fine. I’m not going to be in trouble so much as cause trouble. Things may get so chaotic no one will want to keep pursuing you.”

  “Thanks for getting us out of that camp,” Jack said. “I’ll help Ernie defend everyone.”

  “So will I,” Tom said.

  The two boys looked serious about adopting the role of protector.

  “I’ll help as well,” Jennifer said. “We don’t have any weapons, but we’ll help however we can.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got some fighters to go with you. For now, just do what Ernie says and help each other keep up. Can you do that?”

  The children nodded, their faces all solemn, grasping the seriousness of the moment.

  “Off you go, then,” Jason said.

  Ernie shook his hand and gave him a hug. “Thanks. I hope to see you again. Are you going to Hillsboro?”

  “When I’m done here.”

  The family left and Jason turned back to the mezzanine. A darkness began to envelop him. It wasn’t oppressive. But it scattered all thoughts of home, of peace, of comfort, from his mind. Reservations about killing, the weariness he felt at needing to use violence, dissipated like a morning mist. He was going to become an assassin now. He was going to bring terror to the mob. They had brought some form of stability to Charlotte but the price was terror and servitude of the population; the price they paid for their peace.

  That was going to change. How would the citizens respond? Would they take advantage of the turmoil Jason was going to create? Would they shake off the oppression the mob brought? He didn’t know. That wasn’t his concern. He was the agent of disruption. That, hopefully, would be enough to protect his community, his tribe.

  Chapter 32

  ___________________________________

  A s soon as the Ernie and family departed, Jason went up to the mezzanine. He took a chair and reached up into the ceiling, pulling down his sniper rifle and M4. After strapping the sniper rifle to his backpack, he left the building and headed towards the Catawba River. He was going to cross in the daylight, something he didn’t want to do, but if there were dogs on his tail, he couldn’t wait until dark.

  At the river’s edge, Jason took time to watch and wait. He was out of sight of any bridge and, after not observing any activity along the river’s edge, he waded out and began the awkward swim to the other side. Once he was back in wading depth, Jason turned up stream and pushed through the water. He wanted to go as far as he dared before heading to shore in order to throw off any following dogs if they crossed the river. If they didn’t find his scent on the other side, Jason hoped his pursuers would assume he had floated downstream and search in that direction. He needed to generate as much confusion and doubt as he could.

  When he had gotten a hundred yards upstream, he bolted to the shore. Once hidden in the trees, Jason went through the now familiar routine of stripping and wringing out his clothes. The day was cold and continuing with fully wet clothing only invited problems.

  Two more hours of walking, being careful to not be observed, brought him further into the city. Along the way, Jason had purposely soaked his boots in some motor oil he found spilled on a garage floor. He hoped it would kill his scent. After wiping the excess off, he worked his way to an abandoned golf course on the southeast side of the city, outside of the inner downtown. The grounds were covered by tall grasses and sprouting trees. The fairways looked like fields and even the greens had become overgrown with only the sand traps indicating their presence. The wooded areas had grown denser and provided Jason with good cover for camping and planning his next move.

  He set up camp in a large section of trees. He put trip wires around the camp area to alert him to any intruders and then started a small fire. He wanted a fire while there was daylight left, making it less likely to be noticed. Then he dried his clothes and heated some of the sausage on a stick. Before night fell, Jason killed the fire. He’d sleep without one. It was the price to pay for stealth. Who knew how far and wide the search for him would be? If his pursuers thought he had run off with the family, they might not search for him in town. But if they thought he might return their search would intensify.

  He hunkered down under his tarp and wrapped up in his thermal blanket. It was a cold night but he’d experienced worse. He felt a sense of freedom, being released from the role he had played with the mob. Now he could operate in his own style. He could be the deadly aggressor, wreaking havoc and sowing fear in his enemies. Tomorrow he would find a spot from which he could target the mob leadership. He was going to take his battle directly to Big Al and Joe.

  Jason slept only a few hours. While it was still deep in the night, he packed up his camp and started for the downtown area. He’d need a place to hide, while he scouted for a shooting position. Maneuvering in the daylight was out of the question with the larger number of people and activity in the inner part of the city.

  He also needed more information. Where was the militia housed? Where did their commander, Roper, stay? There were blind spots in his knowledge that could be dangerous to him.

  Jason worked his way east from the golf course. He wanted to get into the inner city perimeter and find a hide before daylight. After passing a school he came to a complex freeway interchange that marked the I277 road which formed the inner perimeter. The trees had multiplied and the grasses grew high with bushes and other volunteer plants working to turn the once well-trimmed areas into a tangle of brush and woods.

  Jason’s tactic was always to use the now overgrown green space corridors to conceal his movements. The problem was inside the downtown, there were fewer of these areas and they didn’t connect into any workable passageways.

  Most of the streets running under I277 were blocked off. The few that remained open were manned as secured entry points. Jason picked a dark underpass, not a road, but a ramp to the freeway from the downtown.

  He watched the underpass from the concealment of some trees. Caution dictated patience. The underpass was blocked with a rubble wall almost to the height of the upper roadway. Jason scanned the barrier. There had to be a chink in it somewhere. Along the edge, where the slope climbed to the upper road, Jason could see the attempts to seal the gap were incomplete. He’d have to remove some of the block. That’s the best way through, after I do a bit of work.

  After assuring himself he was alone and unobserved, Jason went to the barrier and crawled up the slope. He put is gear down and began to remove the concrete blocks that had been stuffed into the gap of the barrier. In a few minutes he had a man-sized hole that he could crawl through. He peered into the greater darkness under the highway. He could see no one. />
  He stuffed his pack and rifle through the opening and then crawled after them. Small blocks of concrete from the wall pulled loose and rolled down the inside slope which was fully paved up to the overpass. The noise made Jason freeze. When the silence returned, he grabbed his gear and slid as quietly as he could down to the roadway.

  Now under the highway, there was no place to hide. He brought his M4 up to the ready position. If I have to use this I’m probably toast. The shots would be heard at the checkpoints and he would be on the run with a hot pursuit. If discovered, there was no way to retreat except for a scramble back up the concrete slope to crawl through the gap he had made. That didn’t make for an attractive option either.

  Jason stepped onto the road and walked forward. He carefully placed his steps to avoid the scattered branches that littered the pavement. A snap from them would sound like a rifle shot in the quiet of the night. The underpass was about seventy yards long, but it seemed to go on and on.

  He was a third of the way through when he heard footsteps. He ducked behind one of the columns holding up the overpass. He was not sure he could remain undetected if anyone walked the length of the underpass.

  There were indistinct voices. It sounded like two men. They were headed into the underpass; Jason could now make out their conversation.

  “Damn sergeant, makes us walk around checking out every sound.”

  “He’s a pisser ain’t he?”

  “Probably some animal knocked something loose. It’s all it ever is.”

  The men came forward. Jason laid his carbine down and took out his knife. He’d try to take them out without a shot. It was more dangerous, but he had the element of surprise on his side. Better than shooting. If the loose concrete was heard, a shot will bring more for sure.

  “Do we have to bother?” one of the men said.

  “Can you see what’s down there? It’s too damn dark. So, we got to go and inspect it. If there’s a big hole the sergeant will have our asses if we didn’t see and report it.”