by Warren Ray
“Definitely need the band back together,” chuckled Scar.
“We’ll leave in the morning then, which means we need to scrounge up more supplies and fuel today,” said Winters.
“I can get Bill on that. Some of them are a little restless anyway,” said Meeks.
“So, what about Sadie?” asked Scar.
Winters responded a little defensively. “What about her?”
“Couldn’t get her to go, huh?”
“She turned the waterworks on.”
Scar laughed. “Yeah, I know how that works.”
“Plus, you and Meeks made her a promise, if you remember.”
Scar turned to Meeks. “Oh yeah, we did, didn’t we?”
“Well, she looked at us with her sad puppy dog eyes. How could we say no?” said Meeks.
“Exactly, now you know why I gave in.”
“She does have a way with us old guys,” said Scar. “I got to say, I kind of like having her around. Reminds me why we're here.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Which is why it’s nice to have Amber here as well,” said Meeks.
“And, don’t forget Reese,” said Scar.
Winters raised a finger up. “Yeah, she surprised me a little, after what happened yesterday. I didn’t think she’d want to stick around.”
“She held her own, Captain,” said Meeks. “She stood right there with me, shooting pretty well at those cops. Give her a few lessons and I think she’ll be alright.”
“Well, I’ll leave that up to you then.”
“No problem, it’ll give me something to do today.”
“Don’t want to scrounge with the boys?” asked Winters.
“Come on, Captain, you know Scar and I aren’t all that good at that.”
Winters looked at both of them with a smirk on his face.
Scar held up his hands in mock defense.
Later in the day, Winters bumped into Amber who was outside getting some fresh air. He strolled up to her and asked if she would like some company. They walked along the quad enjoying the beautiful sunshiny day. Stopping at the Memorial Fountain, they leaned against it.
Winters stared across the quad. “I was a little surprised you wanted to stay.”
“I think I can be of use here.”
Winters turned to her. Her beauty was making him tongue-tied and he struggled with what to say next. “Well, you’ve been an asset already.” He cringed at his words, which he thought made him sound like a bookkeeper.
“I really believe in what you’re doing, Cole.”
He was surprised to hear her call him by his first name.
“I’ve talked to some of the guys about what you did at the Patriot Centers. The things you’ve done, all the people you’ve saved is so amazing. I can’t even describe it well enough and give it justice. You’re the bravest man I’ve ever met and I’m honored to be here with you.”
Winters was shocked by her words. He’d never thought of himself as brave. If anything, he was someone who allowed his Mr. Hyde to take over at times.
“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, Amber.”
“You’re just trying to be modest.”
Winters shook his head. “No, no I’m not. If you only knew how scared I’ve been, you’d think otherwise.”
“Which says even more about you. Even soldiers get scared, Cole. It’s not how you feel when you’re fighting, but it’s what you accomplish while doing it. I’d be more worried if you weren’t afraid. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
Winters thought about it. “Perhaps you're right. I’ve never been one to brag, but truly, I couldn’t have done any of this without the guys. They’re all really incredible and they deserve much of the credit, cause without them, we wouldn’t be here today.”
“They all speak highly of you, Cole.”
Winters was a little embarrassed and needed to change the subject. “What about you? How are you doing?”
“Tired of course, and sad about losing my mom and Nana, but I’m angry too. I’m just so pissed that there are people out there who think they can do whatever the hell they want. I just don’t understand it. None of the girls can either. Doesn’t anyone know what’s going on out here?”
Winters shook his head. “Not from what I can tell. They’ve been very good about keeping everything under the radar. Even with the Patriot Centers, and everyone they killed. They’ll just say they died in the war. Who’s going to question it? It’s not as if we have any way of getting the word out. There’s no postal service and very limited telephone service. Not that it matters much, who are we going to call, the media?”
“Yeah, right, the media,” she said in a sneering tone.
“At some point, word will leak out. I know one of the guys, told a ham-radio operator friend of his, so there’s some chatter out there. The problem is there’s so much gossip, misinformation, and disinformation, it’s difficult to make anyone believe it, let alone the masses. I mean who would believe the government is purposely killing its own citizens.”
Amber shook her head in disgust. “It’s a hard one to swallow.”
“Exactly, and every region of the country has its own problems to deal with.”
“What about your British and Canadian friends?”
“With all the international politics and diplomacy involved, there’s only so much they can do. Officially, they’re not in this fight. Unofficially, they’ve been keeping tabs on what is going on. Everything they’ve done for us is under the table. Thank God for it though, cause I don’t know where we’d be right now without them. They have an intel network, which is second to none and have been monitoring all communications trying to piece it together. Once they hear about this Mordulfah character, they’ll be all over that as well.”
“It’s nice to know someone knows what’s going on here.”
Winters looked at her seriously. “Yes it is, and it’s nice to have Canada as a friendly retreat, but we’re mostly on our own.”
Chapter 32
Detroit Michigan
Bassett set the phone down in the cradle and looked at the two cops sitting at their desks. He leaned back to figure out his next move. He needed to get out of there fast and travel to South Bend to warn Winters of the ensuing raid. He remembered that when he had pulled into the station the fuel gauge in his car read empty. He would have to ask where he could fill up. He got up and walked over to one of the officers.
“Hey, how’s it going? I’m Josh Bassett,” he said putting out his hand.
The officer tilted his head up and grabbed his hand. “I’m Don Hadley.”
Bassett sat down across from the man who was younger than him and had a southern accent. His crew cut made him look like he had just come out of high school. “Don, I’m with Homeland Security and am here to help get those Shadow Patriots.”
“Yes, we all know who you are. Looks as though you’re gonna be a happy camper after today.”
“Right, very exciting to be finally getting these sons-of-bitches.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see the look on that guy’s face. You know, he killed some of our guys.”
“Sorry to hear.”
“I’ll bet Mordulfah will be happy as well.”
Bassett raised an eyebrow. “Who’s Mordulfah?”
Hadley answered in a low voice. “He’s the guy who runs the Muslims here. They say he’s some kind of Saudi Prince. Scary guy if you ask me. I’ve only seen him once and that was enough. I prefer to stay away from him.”
“What’s he doing here?”
Hadley didn’t answer.
“Come on, man. This guy sounds interesting.”
Hadley hesitated for a moment. “He’s the one who’s been helping us.”
“Helping?”
Hadley seemed nervous and looked around again.
“Yeah, you know, help us move the population down south. We don’t have enough people to do it by ourselves, so we’ve been re
lying on him.”
Bassett’s curiosity was peaked with anger. It was bad enough the government was forcing people out of their homes and relocating them. The reason for this baffled him in the first place, but to be using Muslims to help was beyond his comprehension. He tried to control his voice. “Oh, like contract workers?”
“Well, yeah, I guess that’s one way of putting it.”
“It sounds kind of strange though when you think about it.”
Hadley shrugged his shoulders. “I’m surprised you don’t know about this. I mean you’re from Washington, I would have thought you’d know.”
Bassett rolled his eyes. “You know how the government is, one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing.”
“I hear ya. I can’t say I know everything that goes on here either. I’m kind of on the low end of the totem pole. I hear stories though.”
Bassett tried to play it cool and chuckled. “Man, I’m right with you. Hell, they told me to come out here and see if everyone’s doing their job, and damned if I even know what anyone’s supposed to be doing.”
Hadley laughed.
Bassett leaned forward toward the desk. “So, what kind of stories.”
“I don’t know if I should be telling you this, but I hear that when they go to a town to help everyone move, sometimes they separate some of the girls.”
Bassett clenched his fist and cocked his head back.
“Exactly,” said Hadley. “Young girls too, and pretty.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Hadley nodded. “Disgusting isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I’d say so.”
“I can’t confirm any of this, but I hear some of the guys talking.”
“Where do they take them?”
Hadley shook his head. “Hell if I know. If it’s true, and I think it is, I don’t want any part of it. I mean, come on, I’ve got sisters that age. Thank God, they’re in Texas. Wish I was with them.”
“Yes, thank God for that.”
“I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t think you could maybe do something about it.”
“Sounds like the spoils of war have hit our shores. I’ve seen this before in the Middle East.”
“You were in the Army?”
Bassett nodded.
“Why aren’t you out West fighting?”
“Got assigned to Washington by my former Commander.”
“Better than being out West. Those damn Chinese are going to win this war and then what? Are they going to keep marching east? Hard to believe this is happening to our country. I mean, this isn’t supposed to happen to us.”
“I hear ya brother. I’ve got a lot of friends fighting out there. I haven’t heard from any of them in a long time. I’m sure a lot of them are dead.”
“Must be tough not knowing?”
Bassett sat back in his chair taking in everything the kid was telling him. It was a lot of information to process. He knew something bigger than just moving the population was going on here. It was obvious this Mordulfah character was at the center of it. Why would a Saudi Prince be here in Detroit, and why was the government asking for his help. If he is a prince, then he must have some deep connections in the government. The man must be getting something big in return for his services.
“Where is this Mordulfah guy at?”
“He took over the Ford Mansion in Grosse Point, I mean, can you believe it?”
“What’s so special about it?”
“It is or was, a historical site. The place is huge.”
“Where’s it at?”
“Right on the water of Lake St. Clair.”
“How long has he been there?”
“Not long at all, a couple of weeks, I think.”
“So he’s been here?”
“Oh yeah. Cox is all up this guy’s ass.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, even lets him sit at his desk and use his office. The man comes in with an entourage. He practically kicked Cox out of his own office, kind of funny to see Cox act like a little squirrel.”
Bassett smirked. “Nothing like seeing the boss get his, right?”
Hadley returned the gesture.
“Hey, listen I need to get some more fuel for my car. Where can I do that?”
“You’re going to have to ask Captain Cox. With the limited supply we get, he controls all of it.”
Bassett didn’t like what he heard. Cox didn’t like him and he knew he’d have to come up with a good excuse. He got up from the desk and thanked Hadley for the information. He wanted to call Major Green again but thought it might raise suspicions, plus he wasn’t sure if it was a secure line. He’d have to wait to inform him about Mordulfah.
Chapter 33
South Bend Indiana
Winters wandered into the cafeteria where Sadie was talking to Reese. She swung her head around and waved at him. He returned the wave and sat down after getting some coffee. She bounded over and sat next to him.
“How are you, Cole.”
“Well, I’m doing much better now that you’re here.”
She beamed at the comment.
“I see that you’ve made a new friend.”
“Reese, she’s awesome and so pretty.”
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s sad. She misses her mom.”
“Well, we all miss our families, now don’t we?”
She nodded. “She told me all about yesterday.”
“Did she now?”
“Yep.” She paused for a moment. “Weren’t you scared?”
He looked at her and nodded.
“But you killed all those bad guys.”
Winters hated having this conversation with a girl so young. How sad it was that she had to be a witness to all of this and not allowed to simply be a kid. To make matters worse, she didn’t know where her mom was or if she’d ever see her again.
“Are you going to go and find more bad guys?”
“Yes, we’re going back tomorrow.”
“I hope you don’t find any more girls.”
Winters gave her a puzzled look.
“If you don’t find any more then there aren’t anymore.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right about that.” He didn’t want to tell her that, in all likelihood, there were many more.
“If anyone can find them, it’s you.”
“Well, I appreciate your confidence in me.”
“You’ll find my mom too, I just know it.”
He smiled at her. “Yes, we’ll find your mom and when we do, we’ll get you both to Canada so you can be safe with her.”
She smiled again.
Winters took a sip of his coffee. He wanted nothing more than to find this girl’s mom, but he wasn’t holding out much hope.
“Tell me more about Cara.”
Winters liked the change of conversation. “What do you want to know?”
“What was she like when she was my age?”
“Well, let me see if I can remember that far back.”
She gave him a bump on the arm. “It wasn’t that long ago.”
“Seems like a lifetime ago.”
“What did she like to do?”
“She liked sports. She played soccer and was quite good at it.”
“I like soccer too, haven’t been able to play for a while though. My team came in first place last year.”
“Well, there you go, nothing like winning the championship.”
“I even scored a goal.”
“Sounds like you were pretty good.”
“I got lucky.”
He nudged her. “Oh, don’t be modest now.”
She laughed.
Winters cracked a smile. “She liked to dance. She took dance lessons for a long time.”
“Oh, I took dance lessons too. Was she a ballerina?”
“No, it was hip-hop jazz kind of stuff.”
“That’s what I did too. I loved it. I love the dance recit
als, being on stage in front of everyone.”
“Oh yes, dance recitals are fun. They’re even more fun for the parents.”
“You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“Not at all. Nothing like seeing your kid doing something special.”
Winters noticed Meeks walking in. He was carrying a Winchester Model 94 lever action rifle. He approached the two of them.
“Hey, guys.”
Sadie greeted him.
“Whatcha guys up to?”
“We’re just chatting,” answered Winters. “What about you?”
“I thought I’d take Reese out and give her some shooting lessons.”
Sadie perked up. “Can I come?”
Meeks looked at Winters.
“I don’t see why not,” replied Winters.
“Oh goodie, I’ve been wanting to learn.”
“Well, you’re in the right place for that, little lady,” said Meeks.
“You up for it, Captain?”
“No, you go ahead. I’ve got some things I need to do.”
Sadie got up and followed Meeks over to Reese who was sitting and reading a book. Winters watched her nod and put the book down. The three of them walked outside. Winters stayed and refreshed his coffee. He let out a sigh as he sat back down.
He pulled out the map Scar and Meeks had taken off the dead Jiji. He unfolded it and tried to figure out where more sex houses might be located. He took out a pen and put an x on the town of Saline where they found the first place. He looked at Eau Claire and the route that the transport was taking Amber and the others. That route would have easily taken them to Saline and then maybe Detroit. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. All roads lead to Detroit. That is where we’ll find our answers.
Chapter 34
Detroit Michigan
Bassett walked to Cox’s office and saw him sitting at his desk. He gently knocked on the door and asked for a moment of his time. Cox waved him in and put down his pen.
“Captain, I need to get some fuel and I hear you’re the man I need to ask.”
“What do you need fuel for?”
“I need to go out and do some more inspections.”
“Inspections? For what? From what I understood, you’re here to see to it that we’re doing our jobs. Well, Mister Washington, as you can see, we’re doing our jobs. As I told you earlier, we’ll have those Shadow Patriots rounded up by morning and you can go back to Washington with a fine report.”
