by P. D. Clover
“So, have you thought about my offer?”
Helen stared at my knife and nodded.
“Great!” I reached out with my left hand and released the ball gag, then pulled on the strap removing it from her mouth with a wet pop.
“So, how many others are involved and what are their names?” I asked.
“I, I, don’t know.” She started crying.
“Helen if you cry, I will cut your eyes out,” I said calmly.
She stopped crying. “I really don’t know. I didn’t do anything to those kids. It was all Jacob, I swear! He rented them to people he knew. I had nothing to do with it! Please let me go! Please?” Helen begged.
I let out a deep breath and put my knife under her right eye, “WHO are they?”
“I DON’T KNOW I SWEAR TO GOD!!! HE MADE ME STAY IN THE LIVING ROOM WHEN THEY CAME OVER… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE…”
“I told you not to lie to me,” I said as I pressed the knife into her cheek, she screamed and shouted, “BILLY STONEWORTH!!! HE WAS ONE!!”
“Now I thought you said you didn’t know any of them?” I left the point of the knife in her cheek.
“WE TOOK THE KIDS TO THE PARK AND WE RAN INTO BILLY AND HIS WIFE. CALEB HEARD HIS VOICE AND PISSED HIMSELF. THAT’S HOW I KNEW!! I SAW PEOPLE FROM TIME TO TIME BUT JACOB MADE THEM WHERE MASKS!!!! I SWEAR TO GOD PLEASE!!!” she cried.
I pulled the knife out of her cheek, “I believe you. Now open your mouth…”
“No, please, please, please,” she begged.
“I said open.” She opened her mouth and I put the ball gag back in her mouth.
She started crying.
I walked over to her husband, Jacob, he was unconscious on the floor. It would seem he really did knock himself out. I surveyed the damage. There was blood, pink foam, and teeth all around the landscape paver. I checked his pulse again…weak, but there. I picked up the 4-pound hammer I had used on his ankles and knees. I lifted the blood covered tool high into the air and brought it down with all my strength on the base of his skull, where the neck and head are joined. The hammer hit home with a muffled crunch, and Jacobs body jerked violently, then twitched ever so slightly like a plate of Jell-O on a table that got bumped by accident.
I looked over at a tear and snot covered Helen. She was trembling. My stomach was churning. I wanted to vomit. I clutched the hammer tight in my hand and focused on the memory of what those two kids looked like in that room. The hell they had to have known…the way they were chained. I let my rage boil through my soul, I ground my teeth with anger, and opened my eyes. There before me was someone who was supposed to protect and love those poor children. She had been complicit in their torture. She deserved this. I reached out and grabbed her bound legs. I pulled hard, dragging her beneath me. Her hands were still cuffed behind her. I placed my left hand around her throat, raised the hammer in my right hand high and brought it down on her face with every bit of hate I could muster…again and again, until I felt the hammer bounce off the concrete floor below. I dropped the hammer, stood, and walked out of the basement carefully shutting the door behind me.
I walked through the kitchen and into the back yard taking deep breaths. I looked up at the clear November night sky. There was a meteor shower! I flipped down my NODs and the whole sky was awash with meteors, then I remembered what had happened. Those weren’t just meteors; they were bits of satellites and everything else we had up there. It would probably be ten years before we could launch another satellite. I wondered what happened to the International Space Station. I wondered how long it would be until we could put another space station into orbit…years, decades? I had no idea. The Kessler syndrome was taking out everything in orbit.
I stayed outside watching the sky until Matt came out, “Hey bro, it’s time to roll.”
“Alright, I’m coming.” I turned to walk into the house and stopped. I decided to walk around the house instead. It didn’t feel right to step back inside.
As I walked around the house, I saw Matt’s truck and trailer. How long had I been standing in the back yard?
“Did she tell you anything?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, said her husband made everyone wear masks, but she knew who one person was,” I answered robotically.
“How did she know and who were they?” Ryan asked.
I had my NODS still down, I turned them off and flipped them up. “She said they ran into him at a park and when the boy heard the man’s voice, he pissed himself. Guy’s name was Billy Stoneworth.”
Ryan stared at me for a moment then she leaned in and gave me hug. “You’re a good man Henry.”
“I don’t know about that anymore. I do know I am done with patrols for a while.”
Ryan let out a laugh, it was a bit strained, but it was genuine.
“Alright y’all. Let’s roll,” Matt said.
I hopped in the bed of the truck and leaned against the back glass of the cab, “Home Jeeves!”
I could start to feel myself again, the shock of what had happened finally leaving me. The truth of what I had done, falling into the back of my mind.
We didn’t go straight home. We went to Josh’s house first and unloaded everything that Ryan and Matt had loaded into the trailer, which turned out to be a tremendous amount of stuff. I think the busy work kept them from thinking about the basement of that green house on the corner, where our lives were all changed forever. I helped the best I could, but my mind and body were just a little off. Josh tried to talk to me, but Matt and Ryan intervened. I’m sure they filled him in. I was really happy about that. I had no desire to ever think of it again. We finished unloading all of the kids’ clothing at the back door. Reba insisted she wanted to wash it all first. That way it would lessen the possibility of a smell triggering a memory.
Reba is an amazing person. She came outside and gave me a big hug and told me how proud she was of me. I knew then that Matt and Ryan had, in fact, told them what I had done… I felt a kind of shame wash over me in that moment of realization.
Ryan and Matt found a large amount of food in the house. It appeared that they were “wanna-be peppers”, using the foster money to stock food as well as guns and ammo which we also found in large amounts.
Once we were done unloading, we dropped off Ryan at her house. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn she gave Matt a kiss on the cheek. However, I knew I had hurt something in my mind, so I wasn’t really up to trusting my eyes at this moment. I needed rest and sleep, but most importantly I need to not see Diablo in my dreams. I just needed a break for a few days. Matt tried to back the trailer in, and I laughed knowing what hell Dee was gonna give him the next day for leaving it all crooked.
I jumped out of the bed of the truck and stretched my back. Matt grabbed his helmet which he had removed at some point. He asked me, “You okay?”
“No, no I am not okay…. but I will be.” I slapped him on the shoulder, “Kettlebell work out tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I need to work out some of these cramped muscles and work through some of this bullshit in my head right now.”
“You and me both Brother,” I said.
Matt stopped moving for a moment and said, “You did the right thing.”
I nodded, “I know. Still…it’s fucked up. But it is what it is.”
We started walking again and went inside. We stripped our gear and sat it on top of the cases of GNC brand whey protein powder Matt had purchased which we had stacked in the laundry room. I set our sub guns on top of the coat racks on the wall, that way they were out of reach of the kids but still easily accessible.
Matt said, “I’m gonna crash in the spare bedroom if that’s cool?”
“Absolutely Bro.”
We both strode upstairs and parted ways at the top of the staircase. I walked into my bedroom where Dee was sitting on the bed watching the security cameras on our bedroom TV. All TVs in the house could view our security cameras.
“How did it go?”
she asked watching me carefully.
“Mind if I tell you in the morning?” I asked, unable to hide my pain.
“That’s fine with me sexy pants.” She had a worried look on her face.
“I’m gonna grab a shower and then come to bed. Oh, and Matt is in the guest room.”
She was staring at me hard now. She was focused on my shirt. There were spatters of blood all over the places not covered by my kit. “Matt and I put our gear in the laundry room on a stack of whey protein boxes. Make sure the kids don’t see it, please?” I asked as I stripped off my blood-spattered clothes.
I took a long shower as Dee had armed the security system. I was grateful it was still operational. After I was done with my shower, I laid in bed and watched the raccoons eat Miss Kitty’s food on our security cameras. Dee was snuggled onto my chest when I fell asleep. Thank the Lord in Heaven, I did not dream.
Chapter 24
I awoke the next morning alone in the bed, to the sounds of laughter. I could hear my kids downstairs, playing and laughing. My eyes began to water. I was overcome with the memories of the previous night, and there was a hollow feeling in my chest. After about 30 minutes of tears and a racking pain in my soul, I took some long, deep breaths and brought my mind to focus on the laughter drifting up from my kids downstairs. I felt lighter somehow. I rolled out of bed and put my gym clothes on. I went out my bathroom door to the widow’s walk, then down the stairs into the backyard where I began stretching. I grabbed my 35-pound kettlebell and warmed up for a serious workout. Once I was loose, I grabbed my 65-pound kettle bell and started my long-practiced routine. I decided to add some sand-bag work to my routine with my 120-pound sandbag. After that, I worked with my battle ropes and a couple of old tractor tires. I had been in full go mode for about 35 minutes when Matt joined me. It felt good to work off last night. After another hour or so of working out with Matt, I felt better. I could tell he did as well. We finished up and went in to clean our gear and grab breakfast.
It would appear breakfast would be first, as we walked in, I saw a feast on the dining room table before me. Pancakes, Belgian waffles, hash browns, mixed fruit, bacon, sausage, biscuits, orange juice and the ever coveted, sausage gravy!
“Wow!” It was all I could muster.
“So much for the workout… I’m gonna eat like a fat kid!” Matt said with a smile.
“What’s all this for Boss?” I asked.
“I just thought you could use some cheering up… That’s all,” she said with her thousand-watt smile.
“Good call Boss… Good call… Where are the kids?”
“CHILDREN!!!! BREAKFAST!” Dee shouted.
Not a second later, three wild and laughing children careened into the dining room and piled into their seats. Dee must have made them stay out while she cooked. They were so excited, they were practically vibrating with anticipation. I helped my wife fix the kids their plates, which consisted of waffles, fruit, biscuits and gravy, and maple syrup liberally poured over everything. A massive amount of food for anyone. I piled my plate with bacon, sausage, and a couple of mushroom and spinach omelets. Matt, true to his earlier declaration, grabbed every carb on the table, stacked them on his plate, and smothered them in gravy and a light sprinkling of crumbled bacon over the top.
“Would you like a tall glass of syrup to wash down that heart-attack-on-a-plate, Buddy?”
“Leave me alone. I need this,” Matt said seriously.
Dee and I laughed at that. She had settled down with an omelet and waffle. Once the kids finished, they stumbled off to their rooms, probably to slip into a food coma.
“That was amazing Boss! Thank you. I really did need that.”
“Don’t get used to it. I have been looking at our supplies. We will be okay for a long while, but we need to be smart about our food and snack situation.”
“Copy that, Boss… What are your plans for the day?” I asked.
“Clean and organize. What about you two?”
“I plan on hanging around here today, clean my gear, and relax. I will probably need to do some walking around tomorrow, but that is a tomorrow problem,” I said.
“Ditto,” Matt mumbled through a mouth full of food. He was on his third plate.
“Do you have a tapeworm?”
Matt shrugged his shoulders, took another bit of food, and said, “hmmmmm, maybe?”
I got up from the table and grabbed a bottle of vinegar-water cleaning solution, along with a couple of rags. I then went and collected my gear. Instead of walking all my kit through the house and risking Dee or the kids seeing it, I took it out the side door and sat it all on the patio table. Once I had moved it all out there, I began the meticulous work of removing everything and wiping the mags, radio, helmet, PVS14s, and everything else down. Once everything was emptied from the kit, I was able to start spraying and scrubbing the plate carrier and camelback pack. There was so much blood… I ended up just grabbing the hose and spraying it off. Matt had come out to join me. It appeared he had taken a shower and put on his urban battle belt. I guess it was time to make those part of the everyday uniform. He sat down and watched me finish rinsing out the gear.
As I was finishing-up he asked, “You okay?”
I turned off the hose and went inside for a moment to grab one of the 5.11 bags Dee had purchased. I came back out and started loading everything from the carrier into the bag.
“I think I am… Hard to say, I suppose time will tell.”
Matt just nodded, “I figured as much. You did what had to be done man.”
I nodded. I didn’t want to rehash last night, at least not my role in it.
“Do you know who that Billy guy is?” Matt asked.
“No, I have never heard that name before. Hopefully Ryan is on that and getting people to deal with it. My cup is pretty full at the moment.”
“Yeah, mine as well,” Matt said somberly.
“So, did I see what I think I saw last night…when we dropped Ryan off?” I asked with a grin.
Matt just stared at me, “I thought you were catatonic.”
“Almost, but not totally. Soooo?”
“You are not gonna let this go, are you?”
“Not a chance in hell,” I said with a laugh.
“We connected last night. That was some heavy shit man. While we searched the house and loaded my trailer, we just talked. About life, things we used to do, things we hope to do again… opportunities missed. It’s, just one of those times when you feel like you can be honest with someone because you shared this thing, ya know?”
“Yeah bro, I do. I’m happy for you. I hope it works out. I hope you can find some joy,” I said seriously.
I handed Matt the bag, “Do you mind putting this on the third floor? I need to get clean. I don’t want Dee or the kids to see me covered in this,” I said as I pointed to myself. I was covered in the misty spray of blood, vinegar and water. “I’m gonna grab a shower and wash these clothes in there as well.” I pointed to the gym clothes I was wearing.
“No worries brother… Oh, do you want me to take the Stribogs up?” he asked.
“No. In fact, I think we should bring some more stuff down. We need to put two rifles or Pistol Caliber Carbines by each door, in case we need to react fast out of any door.”
“You have a preference for what goes where?” he asked.
“Nah, a tool is a tool, but we do need to make sure there is a couple of extra mags with each gun,” I answered.
“Done and done man, I’ll start right now,” he said.
“Thanks bro, I appreciate it,” I said seriously.
“Go get a shower. You stink like dead people,” he said with a wolfish grin as he opened the door to go inside.
I couldn’t help but laugh, “There is something very wrong with you.”
I walked to the back of the house and went back up the staircase that led to the widow’s walk. Before I entered the door to my master bathroom, I hung the plate carrier over the railing
to dry in the sun. I then walked back through the door I exited this morning. Once inside, I turned all the shower heads on and stood in the water, letting the torrents of water crash into me and wash off my clothing. After a few minutes and once I was sure I got all the crud I could out of my clothes, I stripped down and scrubbed the stink from my skin.
After I finished cleaning off, I got dressed and strapped on my gun belt that had my holster for my Glock 22 with weapon light, four extra mags, radio, dump pouch, and knife. I walked downstairs and went out to sit on the porch swing. It would seem Matt had beat me to it. I sat on the railing across from the swing.
“You’re in my seat,” I said with a grin.
“Meh, you’ll live. Hey, have you heard from your neighbors?” Matt asked.
“You went with me to the park the other day, remember?”
“No, I mean your immediate neighbors. The little brick rental behind you, the houses across the street… Hell man, the big one next door? Why haven’t they come over? Why are they not walking around?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked
“Don’t you think it’s strange nobody is walking around checking on anyone? Listen for a second… nothing, no cars, no motorcycles…nothing,” Matt said with a tone of puzzlement.
“No, I don’t think that’s odd at all. We weren’t close to any of our neighbors. I mean, sure I know some of them from neighborhood functions, but we are not friends or anything. The only friend I have in the neighborhood is Josh. I just didn’t hang out with these people…hell, I barely know people’s names here. We hung out with Mark from the bank and his family, as well as, other people that our kids went to school with or from the country club. We just never really hit it off with the people around here. A lot of the people in these areas are retired and moved here from somewhere else. I imagine most people feel like we do. Isolated and disconnected, just waiting on the next bit of information.”
“We should do something about that,” Matt said firmly.
“Oh yeah, like what? Ryan is already organizing security. Josh is the neighborhood liaison with the County. I think we need to sit still for a moment and take a rest. It’s all a waiting game now bro.”
