The Shadow Patriots Box Set 1

by Warren Ray

  Winters acknowledged her, but despite him being years older than her, and what they had done to save her, he was nervous talking to such a beautiful women. He had never been comfortable talking to girls in high school and still felt the same way.

  “You’re welcome, I’m just sorry we weren’t able to save the others.”

  She nodded.

  “May I ask you how all this happened?”

  “It was awful. The police came into town and went house to house ordering us to come out onto Main Street for an important announcement.” Amber paused for a moment. “Once we were all gathered together they told us we had to go with them. That it was for our own protection.”

  Winters shook his head.

  “Some protection,” said Scar.

  “There wasn’t anything we could do. All our men are out fighting in the war. We’re just women, children and old people, so there was no one to stand up to them. What can we do now?”

  “We can get you to safety,” answered Winters.

  “Where? Where is it safe anymore?” she asked haltingly.

  “We have contacts in Canada,” Winters offered.

  “Canada? No, I’m not going to Canada, maybe they’ll want to go,” she said pointing to the other girls. “But not me. I want to hold whoever killed my mom and grandma responsible. Is it true what your friend Meeks said?”

  Winters tilted his head.

  “That you guys are fighting them?”

  “Yes, it’s true.”

  She extended her hand to Winters. “Well, consider me a new recruit.”

  Winters thought for a second about whether this was a good idea or not but then thought, who was he to keep someone else from taking revenge. No one stopped him.

  He grabbed her hand tightly and looked deep into her eyes. Winters could see the pain and hatred in them. “Welcome to the Shadow Patriots.”

  Chapter 15

  The two SUV’s easily had room for the additional passengers. Amber sat between Scar and Meeks, while another two girls sat in the back. Amber had attended Northwestern on a softball scholarship, which had allowed her to travel to California, Arizona and Florida, playing in tournaments. Coming from a small town, the experience was one she didn’t want to leave. This is why, after graduating, she took a job in Chicago as a Pharmaceutical Representative. After seven years of making good money and five years of a bad marriage, she had decided to come home when the country took a turn for the worse. It was a decision that had saved her life, as the area where she worked was one of the many locations hit by a dirty bomb.

  The two in the back were sisters. Neither said anything and only held each other’s hands after Winters refused to take them to the sand pit. Winters told them the bad guys, were still in Eau Claire, and would no doubt want to find out what happened and go to investigate.

  Winters knew it was cruel and harsh to turn them down. Not only was he concerned for their safety, but also, it was a horrific scene. If they’d witnessed it, they would never forget it. The dad in him was trying to shield them from such memories.

  Winters wondered what these girls would want to do and where they’d want to go. He wouldn’t push the subject. They would need some time to grieve the loss of their family and friends. Based on his own experience, watching his friends get murdered, he knew it’d take more than a few days.

  Winters thoughts turned to the matter at hand. Just where were these girls being taken and for what purpose. The obvious purpose was to use them for the pleasure of the tyrants and terrorists, but a far deeper concern was the possibility of a sex trade.

  Elliott drove the SUV south on Highway 131. They wanted to put as much distance as they could between them and the cops, who they figured would be somewhere on the interstate. They got back to the campus late in the evening. The only lights on, thanks to Nate hooking up a generator, were in the building they were using. The sisters in the back needed to be awakened when they pulled into the parking lot. Winters stepped out onto the pavement but needed to stretch his legs before he could get them to move.

  Nate pulled up beside the first vehicle and all of his passengers got out. There was just some small talk among the girls as they huddled together. The eldest, Amber, felt responsible for them. She had known all of them since they were little girls and walked them inside.

  Winters stayed behind as the group went in where they’d be able to get some food. He wanted to take a few moments before having to deal with the situation at hand. It had been a difficult day. He would second-guess himself for the rest of his life if he could have done more to save those poor people.

  He turned when he heard light footsteps coming quickly toward him. He couldn’t tell who it was until Sadie grabbed onto him.

  “Cole, I was scared you weren’t coming back,” said Sadie.

  “You needn’t worry, Sadie.” He patted her back a few times.

  “Is it true what they’re saying in there?” she asked still holding on to him.

  “Well, if it’s Meeks going on, then I’m sure the truth is being stretched a bit.”

  She let go of him. “But you saved those girls though, right?”

  They walked over to a bench and sat down. He looked at her in the glow of the indoor lights flowing out onto her face. Sadie wasn’t as innocent as she should have been. She’d been through a lot and now, here she was, worrying about him. He had told himself he’d be honest with her. She deserved the truth, though, perhaps, not all the details.

  “Yes, we saved those girls, but we weren’t able to save their families.”

  “I’m sorry you’re sad.”

  Sadie’s perception took Winters off guard.

  “But you’re still a hero for saving those girls,” she said smiling up at him.

  He shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t feel like a hero, but she was being sincere.

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

  She jumped up and took his hand. Winters stood up and followed her lead into the building. Everyone turned their heads as they entered the makeshift cafeteria. Sadie led Winters to where Amber and the other girls sat.

  Winters introduced Sadie to them. She let go of his hand and politely went to each of them to ask their names. Amber looked up at Winters and smiled. He then made his way over to the table where his lieutenants were sitting.

  “Sadie is really taken with you, Captain,” smiled Elliott.

  Winters sat down. “Yeah, she is.”

  “Sorry if she heard us blabbering on about what happened.”

  “It’ll be nice that there’s some other girls here for her,” said Winters looking over at them. Sadie had all of their attention and talked a mile a minute. It gave him a little comfort. “She wasn’t shy, that was for sure,” he thought. He was glad the girls had taken a liking to her. Perhaps, she could relieve the newcomers of some of their sadness.

  He turned his attention back to the men. They didn’t look dejected but he knew they all felt bad about failing to save those poor souls back at the sandpit. Saving the girls from the transport was certainly a win for them, and they could hang their hat on that accomplishment. As a group, they didn’t dwell too much on what went wrong, but rather looked into what needed to be done next. Focusing on the future was more productive than wallowing in self-pity. He knew each would use today’s event as another weapon in their determination to stand tall and fight with even more bravado.

  “So, gentlemen,” Winters began, “now that we know what the cops are doing, we need to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

  They all nodded their heads.

  “Something tells me our answers are in Detroit,” said Elliott.

  “Or Dearborn, Captain,” suggested Meeks. “Besides those cops, we killed ourselves some Jijis.”

  “It’s a likely area, big Muslim population there,” added Elliott.

  “It’d certainly make sense,” said Winters. “When the Brits interrogated Boxer, he told them it took months to train and import those ter
rorists into the country. And since we killed them all, they must have wanted a closer supply.”

  “Plenty of angry young minds to be hired there,” said Elliott.

  “It seems weird. Cops working side-by-side with terrorists,” said Meeks.

  “No kidding. Especially when there’s girls involved, I wonder how they divide them up,” said Scar.

  “If they’re dividing them. Maybe they’re sharing them,” said Meeks.

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass how they're doing it,” fumed Nate. “All I know is, that it’s up to us to stop them and kill the sons-of-bitches.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Okay, first things first,” said Winters. “We need to find out where they were taking these girls and then try to determine their next move.”

  “Got to be Detroit or Dearborn,” said Elliott.

  Burns spoke up. “I’m pretty familiar with Detroit, Captain. Murphy and I can go do a recon, and see if anything comes up.”

  “Okay, then we’ll concentrate on their next move,” said Winters.

  “Don’t forget, Captain. We’ve got their map,” said Scar. “It should give us a pretty good idea of any pattern they’re following.”

  “Then it’s settled.”

  Chapter 16

  Washington D.C.

  Reed sat in his seat at the Four Season’s restaurant with his “boss” the billionaire Gerald Perozzi. Reed looked forward to ordering some appetizers to go along with his drinks. It was their favorite hangout for happy hour. The food was excellent as well as the service. One of the better benefits was that everyone knew who they were and there was always a table waiting for them.

  Perozzi especially liked the young waitresses that worked there. He’d had modest success in picking up some of the ladies, despite the fact he was in his seventies. He did maintain a strict workout regimen, which helped him appear younger. In reality, his money is what attracted the ladies.

  “So, Major Green seemed a bit vague.”

  “It went about as expected. He wasn’t going to give up any more than what was in his report, so I didn’t bother pressing him.”

  “Do you think he knows more than he’s letting on?”

  “I’m sure he does.”

  “Still, we should keep an eye on him.”

  “Oh, of course. I’ll initiate the usual bugging of his computer and phones.”

  “You can never be too careful with the help.”

  “Find out anymore on this Winters fella?”

  “Indeed we have.” He pulled out a file from his briefcase and handed it to Perozzi. “I just got this in today.”

  Perozzi began to read the report. “Says his wife just died and he’s got a kid somewhere. Call our media friends. Tell them who Cole Winters is and that besides being the leader of the rebels, he is wanted for murdering his wife.”

  Reeds snickered. “Already did that, it’s today’s headline.”

  Perozzi gave him an approving nod. “I need for you to go to New York tomorrow.”

  Reed didn’t respond.

  “I want you to meet with Mordulfah. I know you’re not fond of this guy, but we need to kiss his ass for the time being. At least till we get what we want, after that, who knows.”

  Chapter 17

  Green arrived at his new office. It was a nice plush one, wood trim, with wall-to-wall deep pile burgundy carpet. A large walnut desk sat between two windows overlooking the city.

  He didn’t think this was permanent and wondered how long he’d be welcomed here. He had a secretary, named Grace, who greeted him and showed him around the building. After getting the grand tour, he went to his office and sat down, not knowing exactly what he was supposed to be doing.

  After an hour, Grace rang him and informed him Lawrence Reed wanted a meeting. Green thanked her and quickly recapped his situation. He would have to make sure he had their trust and not say, or do, anything that might give him away. He got up and walked to the elevator in the hall. He stood and waited for it to arrive.

  He was ushered into Reed’s domain. “Come in. Come in, Major. I hope you like your new office and it suits your taste.”

  “Yes, it’s fine, thank you.”

  “I wanted a quick meeting with you.”

  Green sat down.

  “We got a new report in today and I want you to handle this while I’m gone.”

  “What kind of report?”

  “Well, it’s right up your alley. We think those rebels attacked some National Police out in Michigan.”

  Green tried to contain himself. “Oh, really?”

  “Yes, our forces were in Eau Claire on routine patrol and were attacked. These rebels killed all the police officers.”

  “How can I help?”

  “Scour the report, look at the photos, and see if this appears to be the gang’s usual handiwork. Try to figure out where they might attack next, and where they might be hiding. Something tells me this won’t be the last time we hear from them.”

  “Yes sir, I’ll get on this right away.”

  “They burned down that town, Major.”

  “Any other towns?” asked Green.

  “We think so. I’ve got a report coming in from the National Police later today, my office will forward you a copy.”

  Reed got up and Green recognized the cue, their meeting was over. He shook Reed’s hand and left. He felt anxious as he went back to his office. His mind raced, knowing what he had just been told was completely fabricated propaganda. The only correct information was that Winters and his men likely killed those cops.

  Question was, “Why did they do it?”

  Why was Winters even in Michigan? Green knew the rest of the Patriots Centers were closed down. So, why was he there? Winters had to have a good reason for going because he wouldn’t have risked his men’s lives for nothing.

  He sat down, flipped the folder open, and started reading the report. It stated the Shadow Patriots were in Eau Claire and shot up the place. The National Police were on a routine check of the town and the rebels ambushed them. The cops lost eleven men during the shoot-out.

  Green went through the pictures. Knowing the truth about the government, allowed him to have a different perspective as he looked through the photos. He concluded that someone moved and staged the dead. They simply didn’t look right to him and only contained a smidgeon of the truth.

  Green sat back in his chair thinking about what really happened. He thought it more than likely the National Police were the aggressors and Winters had stumbled upon them and gotten into a firefight.

  Green read the report again and noticed there was no mention of the population, even though their town was burned to the ground. So, how many were killed and how many had survived. Were there any survivors and if so, where were they? He would have to fill in the factual details.

  Corporal Bassett arrived in D.C. tomorrow. He’d have to send him to Michigan to get to the truth.

  Chapter 18

  Saline Michigan

  Burns and Murphy headed to Detroit, driving across the deserted Highway 12 in the early morning. It was a drizzly day with the wind whipping through the trees. Burns was at the wheel of an old Ford Taurus, comfortable and not bad on gas. Finding fuel was always an issue and they needed to conserve that special commodity whenever possible. Thankfully, they could always count on siphoning enough gas out of an abandoned car to go another hundred miles.

  They left before sunrise so they would have enough time to look around the Detroit area. They had no illusions about the dangers of traveling in that area and knew they would stick out like a sore thumb.

  Burns, a ten-year Army vet, didn’t wear a ball cap and his salt and pepper hair was in need of some serious grooming as it had started to grow over his ears, and his beard had grown along with it. His job as a Pneumatic Parts sales representative had taken him to Detroit on several occasions. He had to come into the city every so often to meet with various plant managers.

  Burns had m
et Murphy when he came to work for Exacta Pneumatics, which was located outside of Chicago in Oak Park. Murphy was a design engineer and worked closely with Burns on customer specs. The two formed a bond when they discovered each served in Desert Storm. They shared a same love of country and a desire to see it get back to basic values.

  Murphy, like most of the others in the Shadow Patriots, liked wearing a ball cap. His cap boasted of his service in Desert Storm. He had a sergeant’s pin attached to the side along with an American flag pin. Although Murphy had tired looking bags under his blue eyes, he had an energetic personality, which Burns loved. They often got in trouble in company meetings. Neither could keep quiet about the stupid ideas, their bosses would implement. Their time in the military instilled common sense in them, something the corporate world seemed to lack.

  Murphy had inherited a large sum of money and they had plans to open their own manufacturing company. They had started to put the plans together when the economy collapsed.

  Both were divorced and their families were already in the south. This made it easy for them to pull up stakes as soon as the first dirty bomb blew up in downtown Chicago. With everything that was going on, they figured more would go off in the city. Once China invaded California, both knew they would have to volunteer their services once more for their country.

  Burns motioned to his left. “Check out the sandpits. I wonder if any bodies are buried there?”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me,” replied Murphy.

  Thirty minutes later, the two passed through Saline, a small community south of Ann Arbor and an hour west of Detroit.

  “Hmm, none of the houses are burned down here,” said Murphy.

  “Doesn’t look like anyone is here.”

  “Let’s take a look around,” said Murphy.

  “Yeah, why not.”

  Burns took a left on North Maple Road. Murphy kept looking for any signs of life, trampled grass, a stray pet, a light on in a home, or any smoke. Neither of them saw anything.

  “Nice little town here,” said Murphy.