Home Base

by C M Hoffmann

  Cane slaps Beau’s shoulder, “Welcome to the team, Bigger, hope you’re ready.”

  Rapp, “Coll’s still at Trey’s house, we could always give him a call.”

  Pops, “Do it, tell him to arm up in Two-Six fashion and meet us here. Who else?”

  Cane, “That gives us nine. Pops, what about Ronson? That’ll make ten.”

  Pops, “I’m sure he’ll be looking for some action instead of sitting home, call your mother and tell Ronson to get a move on. I think that’s all we’ll need. Everyone stock up but we’re traveling light.”

  Wade, “I’m starting to get all tingly inside. I’ve been waiting for a real raid to happen.”

  “It’s not a raid yet, now it’s a sneak and peek. Go get set.”

  “I’ve got a good feeling about this, it’ll be a raid and now I can break out what I’ve been dying to use.” Everyone moves off to restock themselves and prepare for the sneak and peek. Silent minutes tick away as they check and recheck gear and ammo then decide what is necessary and what isn’t.

  Fred arrives a short time later. He enters the house merrily, “Miss me?!”

  Rapp, “You know it, big guy, but happy reunions later. Trey’s missing and we’ve got an idea of who’s got him.”

  “Trey missing? Did he get lost?”

  Fitz, “Unlikely. The preacher’s people may have snagged him.”

  “Oh he’s gotta be pissed.”

  Pops, “IF he did, I’m sure Trey’s plenty pissed. He definitely won’t make it easy.”

  Gavin comes hobbling in the front door, “Got that right. Angry fucker is probably chained up trying to chew his own hand off to get at ‘em.”

  Cane, “Good to see you up and about that was sure quick. I was worried you were going to milk that for a lot longer.”

  Gavin tosses the crutch on the couch and moves his injured leg around, “Little sore, nice chunk of meat missing and a few dozen stitches. But I ain’t missing this for anything.” Hearing Gavin’s voice, Mallory comes into the room quickly tears threatening to flow and she hugs him gently but tightly. He hugs her back and stands on his bad leg looking defiantly at Pops.

  Pops, “If you can’t keep up, don’t come.”

  Gavin stares back, “I’ll be fine.”

  Cane, “That makes eleven.”

  Pops, “Then, form up Two-Six. Everybody outside let’s do this while it’s still dark.” After all eleven members of Two-Six are lined up outside Cane’s house, Pops takes a long look at each of them. “Alright guys, now that you’re all squared away, Wade, you’re officially Basher One. Coll, Beau, and Ronson you guys are Addition One, Two, and Three. Shitty name, I know, but it’s the best we could do in a short time period, I’m not as well versed in codenames like my sons. We’re going to head to the Church of the New Age Resurrection and pray to whatever God you choose that Trey’s there. We’ve already burned too much time. Sunrise is a few hours out, let’s try and catch them with their dicks in their hands.” Wade snickers.

  Coll, “Uh what?”

  Cane, “It’s a funny story about Pops hunting, but for another day. I think now would be a good time to rescue a damsel in distress.”

  Pops, “Make your jokes now, but remember, when it’s time to work, you better focus.”

  Cane straightens, “You got it, Pops, we’ll harass him when we get him back.”

  “Then let’s move,” on channel five, “Two-Six, Headquarters.”

  Scarlett, “Two-Six.”

  “Moving on the Church, copy?”

  “Ten-four, stay safe.”

  A short somber drive later, Two-Six’s convoy arrives in the area and parks a few blocks away. The members convene at the lead vehicle. They take turns checking each other for gear yet again.

  Pops formulates the start of a plan, “Cane, night vision out, look for scouts. If you don’t see any threats immediately give it about two minutes and move up, get a look in the window. Get back here in ten.”

  Cane, “Roger that, mind if I take Coll?”

  “Put him to work.”

  “Addition One, let’s rock.”

  Coll, “Following you.”

  They move off while Pops lays out the remainder of the plan for the rest of the team. “Now if he’s in there, this is how the building is set up, if my memory serves me correct. It’s pretty big and it’s got five entrances, which works out for us being that we’ll have an extra person on the main door. We’ll hopefully get lucky and they’ll be unlocked. Legacy will be here, Basher over here, Beau you’ll go with Wade since he’ll be one short on his side, Ninja here on the front door since you have three, Spartan here, and Addition here. Once we get confirmation he’s in there, we may have a long time to get set up or we may have seconds. So while we wait let’s plan for the best.”

  Fitz, “Ah plans, a list of things that never happen anyway.”

  Wyatt, “Better than winging it the whole time.”

  Pops, “If you’re done...”

  Cane over channel five, “Pops, we got a problem.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Cane, “Alright, Coll, looks like there’s one guy posted on the roof, how long have we been here?”

  Coll, “Forty-nine seconds.”

  “Tell me when it’s sixty.”

  Eleven seconds later, “Sixty.”

  “Hm, lucky. He’s moving, let me know at ninety and if we don’t see anyone else we’ll just have to assume he’s the only one.”

  “Think we’ll get THAT lucky?”

  “Doubtful, but you never know. As of now we still have the element of surprise. Most of the windows are stained glass but with little outside light we should be pretty good to get close.”

  “Ninety.”

  “Alright let’s move up. Move quick but quiet.”

  “On you.” They quick step the remaining distance to the building and peer into the first window.

  Cane mumbles, “Fuck,” over channel five, “Pops, we got a problem.”

  Pops, “Double time it back, but keep out of sight.”

  Cane, “Coll back to the group, move, now.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Four hours earlier.....

  Joshua, “Dexter, one’s moving away from the group, this may be our chance.”

  Dexter, “I see him. Where do you think he’s going?”

  “It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s away from the group.... Back to the vehicles.... He’s heading our way, stay quiet.”

  Trey moves to the restaurant and picks the easiest route to the rooftop he can find. After settling on the roof, he mumbles to himself, “Almost thankful for all this fighting and weight loss, woulda been a bitch to climb up here six months ago.” He settles in comfortably behind his favorite and most expensive rifle, careful to choose a good body position. He takes a few deep breaths and rolls his body into the rifle stock. Another deep inhale, “Number one,” he lets out half a breath and squeezes the trigger. BOOM! Cycle. He repeats the process over and over keeping a running tally out loud, BOOM! “Two,” cycle. BOOM! “Three,” cycle.

  Trey loads another live round into the chamber, “Six.... and.....” BOOM! “seven....” He cycles the bolt smoothly never losing focus on the next target. Trey remembers, “Little Willie, nice to see you,” and he smiles as he squeezes the trigger and the rifle jumps. “Eight.”

  He reloads and keeps up a steady stream up accurate shots, never missing one. He backs off the rifle and rolls his shoulder, the seven millimeter caliber is quickly inflaming the muscles. He sighs loudly and settles in, “Now where was I? Fifteen, where the hell did you go?” He scans the darkening street below him, “THERE you are!” BOOM! Cycle. “Next.”

  Wade over channel five, “Hit! Hit! FUCK! Gavin is down!”

  Cane over channel five, “Coming to you, Wade, rock those rounds out! Trey, moving north to Gavin, you got eyes on?”

  Trey, “Negative, just get to him!”

  In haste Trey jerks the trigger and misses his sixteenth target. H
e springs to his feet to rejoin at ground level and hears a loud thud. He watches himself fall face first into the dust where his feet had just been. He feels no pain, but his body flops gracelessly and he can feel his arms and legs at awkward angles. He struggles to turn his head... suddenly the world is black.

  Trey slowly comes to and feels handcuffs on his wrists which are secured behind his back. Some sort of cloth is covering his eyes and he can’t see much. The ringing in his ears slowly starts to fade…

  Joshua, “Dexter, I hope you didn’t hit him too hard. I told you a baseball bat was too much.”

  Dexter, “He’s got a pulse that’s all we need right? He sure does bleed a lot.”

  Trey realizes he is in a vehicle, he slowly works his head around so just one eye can see underneath the cloth. ‘An open SUV? That’s what you put me in? And nobody in the back seat to watch me? Oh that’s your asses.’ He leans towards the passenger side slightly and in one motion: falls, kicks the driver in the side of the head, and manages to open the rear door. He tumbles ass over head to the pavement and his head begins to pound in agony anew. The vehicle comes to a screeching halt as Trey makes it to his knees.

  Dexter, “Lucky we were already here. Now that you’re awake we don’t have to drag you.”

  Trey groans, “Fuck you.”

  Joshua, “Such language. Stand him up, Dexter, let’s get him inside.”

  Trey allows himself to be stood up, only to go dead weight in their hands and drag Dexter to the ground with him. Trey rolls on top of him, his back to Dexter’s front, as luck would have it. Trey throws his head back and he feels the satisfying crunch of Dexter’s nose. Unfortunately the strike sends Trey’s head into an episode of positional nystagmus and his eyes water.

  Joshua kicks Trey in the ribs, “You’re going to save us you know. Why must you fight? Oh, Dexter, would you get up and drag him.”

  Dexter stands pinching his nose, “Screw that, you drag him.”

  Joshua glares at Dexter, “Fine.” He grabs Trey by one ankle and begins to drag him.

  Trey, “Y’all are bad at this kidnapping thing, ya know?”

  Dexter, “Interesting considering you’re the kidnap-ee. But please tell us: why are we bad?”

  Trey, “Because of this...” and he kicks his free leg at Joshua’s causing him to release Trey, stumble and fall. Trey struggles to his feet as fast as he can, but the multitude of head injuries make him light headed and off balance.

  Dexter quickly grabs him and punches him in the stomach, “Would you stop?!”

  Trey wheezes, “Not a chance, dipshit. I’m going to kill all of you.”

  Joshua, “Get him inside quickly, let the others deal with him.” They drag Trey into the building and toss him to what feels like a concrete table. The blindfold is rearranged so he can no longer see and a multitude of hands begin to cut and tear his clothes off.

  Trey, “Y’all gonna rape me or something?”

  Preacher, “Not so eloquently put. We are going to purify you.”

  Trey snorts, “Don’t know why I need to be naked for you to kill me. Maybe you secretly just want to see my junk.”

  Dexter slaps Trey, “Do not speak to him that way.”

  Trey spits blood and winces at the white spots floating in the darkness of his vision, “Far as I’m concerned you’re worse than steve, you can all go fuck each other.”

  The unseen hands remove the handcuffs from Trey, which quickly they learn is a bad idea. Trey flails this way and that, manages to get the blindfold off, the bright artificial fluorescent lights burn his vision, and he struggles to get up and stands stark naked in front of the preacher’s congregation. Not at all ashamed, Trey laughs at the looks they are giving him, “What? Never seen a real man naked? I didn’t think it was that nice, but your faces say different. Hell, I didn’t want to be naked. You pretty much asked for this.” He wiggles his hips, resulting in his manhood swaying in the air, and he laughs aloud.

  Preacher, “Enough! Followers, make him ready.” Twenty sets of hands descend on Trey and they wrestle him to the table. He is tied at each wrist and each ankle to each corner.

  Trey, “Y’all couldn’t at least put a blanket down before you rape me? This thing is cold as fuck.”

  Preacher lays his hand on Trey’s forehead, “You will be saved, my friend, and in return you will save all of us.” He moves to the middle of the table and addresses his followers, “Children, we must now pray over this demon. His black armor has been removed and he lies vulnerable. Our voices will purify him, gather round, close to me. Circle the table.”

  Trey, “Guaranteed if there’s one thing I ain’t it’s vulnerable. Trust me.” He thinks to himself, ‘Yea, as many as you can get close, I’m sure you’ll love this next part.’ Minutes drag on as the followers gather closely and their mumbling prayers are just whispers. It drags on for what seems like ages. Trey composes and readies himself, “Preacher, come closer.”

  Preacher leans towards Trey’s head, which is difficult being he’s in the middle of the group, “What is it? Have you decided to believe in us? Your conversion was expedient.”

  Trey, “Yes just give me a second to convert,” he takes two deep breaths and lets out an audible sigh. With that audible release, Trey begins to urinate into the air, catching the preacher in the face first, he lets loose a cackling, maniacal laugh and begins to flop around on the table spraying urine on any follower unlucky enough to be within attack distance.

  The preacher falls backwards and begins to wipe his face off in disgust. He closes the distance to the head of the table and slaps Trey across the face, “You heathen! How DARE you defile this place.”

  Trey, “Fuck your place. If you thought this would be easy, you’re in for a long night.”

  Preacher, “Enough of this foolishness. Joshua, Dexter, bring the cross.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Two-Six anxiously waits staring into the darkness when Cane and Coll come back into view.

  Pops, “What is it?”

  Cane, “They crucified his ass, in the normal sense.”

  Wade, “There’s a ‘normal’ way to crucify people?”

  “Yea not everyone is nailed to a cross like in the Bible. Most of them were tied there, let the weight of their bodies suffocate them. Trey’s in there butt ass naked on a cross. He’s conscious but we need to move.”

  Pops, “Two-Six, you know your job, get in quiet if you can, on my order. If you can’t go quiet, go loud: bust the windows if your door is locked and get your asses inside fast.” Nods all around.

  Wade, “And everyone take one of these.” He tosses out cloth to everyone.

  Cane smiles, “I knew you were my best friend for a reason.”

  Coll, “Really? Masks?”

  Pops, “It’s actually not a bad idea, might have some scare tactics on our side.”

  Cane, “There is a scout on the roof too.”

  Ronson pulls a large steel cylinder from one of his pouches, “I think this might help with that problem.”

  Gavin, “Suppressor, that’s awesome.”

  Pops, “Think you can drop the sentry two stories up?”

  Ronson, “In my sleep.”

  Pops, “Then on my word, you drop the scout. One shot preferably, and on his way down we’ll hit the doors. Get in position.”

  Silently, Two-Six dons their masks each with a different styled white skull painted on the fronts. They become the creatures of the night they have always been. When a brother is in danger, all bets are off, there are no rules of engagement, and it’s fight tooth and nail until the last breath. They look at each other and swell with testosterone. Men together in a stressful situation. Situations that are all living, breathing, and evolving with time. The heat of their blood can be felt in the thick humidity. Once again they move as predators in the night. They slowly circle the building, a gam of sharks testing the waters surrounding their prey. A low fog begins to settle a few feet off the ground masking their approach. It pa
ys no mind to the raiders moving silently amongst the moisture.

  Pops keys his radio, “Everyone in position?”

  Wyatt, “Pops, hold on we can hear the preacher talking.”

  “Standby.”

  Preacher, “Oh my friends how wonderful of a job you have done. We have realized the failure of humanity in the change of their faiths. This sacrifice will signify the rebirth of the old ways and when his wretched soul is burned out of his body the human race will be saved. The demon in black has defiled this place with words and excrement. His mere presence is evidence of the weakness that overwhelms this planet. They have brought forth the desolation of our lives, and thus must be destroyed to restore balance.” The followers around him mutter prayers to themselves in joy.

  Trey, “Yea, I forgot ‘words hurt’ and you need a ‘safe place’. You’re pathetic.”

  Preacher, “I will not correct you again. Cease your insolence.”

  Trey snorts, “Or what? I’m naked, on a cross, very likely about to be murdered in cold blood? The fuck I got to lose?”

  Preacher chuckles, “More than you realize. Children, first we must purify his body! Joshua, my dagger please?”

  Joshua hands a large decorated, ceremonial dagger over, “For you, Teacher.”

  Trey mutters to himself, “Shit, didn’t think about that.”

  Preacher smiles, “Thank you, my son. Now in the first of his sinful ways I have been told in a vision is his lust. His bloodlust, his lust of women, his lust for power. WE will REMOVE that which causes his Lust!”

  Trey, “And what would be that which causes my ‘Lust’?” Hoping the answer is different than he fears.

  Preacher’s lips form a tight line, “Your desire for reproduction is caused by that which you reproduce with.”

  “So you’re gonna cut my dick off?”

  “Such language in the Holy One’s house.”

  “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you: FUCK you and FUCK your crazy ass ‘holy one.’ You’re gonna need a bigger knife than that you piece of shit.”

  “Ah, we thank you for proving my point. You need to be purified.”

  “You know what you fuck?”

  Preacher inclines his head towards Trey, careful not to get too close, “What’s that?”