“Thank God you’re not dead, are you okay?” she said.
My mouth was dry and I was having difficulty swallowing, I could only just see out of my left eye and my head was throbbing. I sat up cautiously.
To the left of me on the floor was my attacker. I found out later that Jack had kicked him in the face, and then Lea repeatedly slammed the butt of an AR-15 into the side of his head, until he lost consciousness.
The man Jack had been fighting was also lying on the floor, but was conscious and screaming. His arm was in an unnatural inverted ‘V’ shape, and his face was covered in blood. Jack had managed to fight him to the floor. As the man was on all fours, Jack thrust his boot into the man’s elbow joint, forcing it to snap. He didn’t get up after that.
Jack walked over to where I was sitting. He also had a swollen face, but I could almost detect a tear in his eye when he looked at me.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here, now,” he said.
Lea helped me to my feet. I felt unsteady but was present enough to ask, “Have you checked them for radios?”
“They’re clean,” she said. “We’ve taken their ammo as well. Come on. We have to move quickly.”
She led me through the entrance and I squinted in the bright sunshine as I looked around. I felt another wave of pain jolt through my head and paused for breath.
“I’ll drive,” Jack said.
“Don’t be stupid. I’m the one that knows where we’re going,” Lea replied.
Jack slid into the back of the Range Rover, so I took the passenger seat. In the cup holder was a full bottle of water. I unscrewed the cap, took a couple of gulps, and then poured some of it over my head to try to clear it. I twisted the rear-view mirror around to look at my battered face.
“That was a close run thing,” I said, “I thought we’d lost.”
“We can always go back, get the respirators and ear defenders, and then get as far away from here as possible. Why risk ourselves anymore? That was nearly the end of us,” Jack said.
“No. We’ve come this far now, so we have to see it through,” Lea replied. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder? Because that’s what will happen.”
It was difficult to think straight, but the only option I could see, was for us to carry on. Running away wouldn’t solve anything or make our lives any easier, Lea was right. If we wanted any chance of a future, it was now or never. I started to feel a deep surge of anger over what we had endured.
“So you’re in then, Lea?” I said.
“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?”
“All the way in?” Jack replied.
“All the way,” Lea repeated.
I nodded, “Straight to fucking Ron’s.”
“I hope you both know that this will probably be a one way trip?” Jack said.
“I don’t see that we have any other choice. The next activation is this morning, Genesis Alliance probably wants us dead, and the entire civilised world has fallen apart. We might not get out of this alive, but I’d rather die trying,” I said.
Jack and I made our rifles ready.
Lea pulled out of the car park and we headed towards Oak Street, the next few minutes were filled with silent contemplation. I was curious about what kind of man Ron was, a monster like that would be unrepentant, I imagined, but I would probably feel the same if I put a bullet between his eyes. Ron deserved nothing less for what he had done to the world, and was now going to reap what he had sown.
We reached the road leading to Oak Street just after ten in the morning, the route through Monroe to his house was clear. Not only were there no abandoned cars or rotting corpses, but there was also no sign of any guards. Perhaps our opponents at the plaza were supposed to be guarding the entrance to the road.
Lea drove slowly along Conant Street towards the entrance of Oak Street. As we reached within a couple of hundred yards, our vehicle stopped slowly.
“Get down!” she hissed.
I ducked into the passenger foot-well and Jack lay across the backseat.
“What is it?” he said.
“There’s two people dressed in black at the end of the Oak Street. They must be a couple of guards stationed by Ron.”
We had expected some form of resistance; it seemed unlikely that Ron would let anybody get within range to his house — if that’s where he was. The presence of these guards at the end of his street suggested that Ron was home.
“We can’t stop here for too long,” Jack said, “they might get suspicious, and we’ve less than an hour before the next activation.”
“Lea, wind the windows down and drive slowly towards the guards,” I said. “They’ll assume we are fellow members of Genesis Alliance, we’ll be on top of them before they know it. When we get close, tell us which side of the vehicle they are on and we’ll spring up and take care of them.”
“Where do you want me to go after that?”
“Drive straight up in front of Ron’s house. We’ll jump out of the car and use it as cover in case there’s any retaliation. I wouldn’t bet against more armed guards being inside.”
Lea paused for a moment, “What if you don’t take the guards out?”
“We will, just make sure you get close enough,” Jack said.
The Range Rover started to move forward slowly.
“They’ve seen us, but they’re not moving,” Lea said.
A few seconds later, when we must have been very close to the end of Ron’s Street, Lea said, “They’re both armed, but the rifles are slung by their sides. They’re coming around to my window…”
“Stop talking, and let us know when they’re a few yards away. If they get too close, then they’ll see us,” Jack said.
“Now!” Lea shouted.
I sprang from my crouching position in the foot-well and saw the two guards very close to Lea’s window. I aimed for the female, who had a look of open-mouthed surprise on her face, and fired twice into her chest. She dropped to the ground. I heard Jack’s rifle fire three times in quick succession.
“Drive,” I yelled.
She sped away from the scene, and I looked back. Both of our victims were motionless on the ground.
“I think they recognised me,” she said. “I’ve seen both of them before in the house.”
“That’s probably the last you’ll see of them,” Jack replied.
The Range Rover screeched to a halt in a matter of seconds.
“We’re here,” Lea said, “it’s the one on the right with the wooden door and large porch.”
“Out. Get out now!” I shouted.
Lea flung her door open and exited quickly. I dived over her seat and jumped out of the same door. Jack was already crouched beside Lea with his AR-15 ready. I turned back to look through the vehicle windows at Ron’s house.
Jack nudged my shoulder and pointed left and right. Two black Range Rovers had appeared at the far ends of the street — about three hundred yards from us in either direction. This was starting to feel like a suicide mission, but it was our last roll of the dice. The only way we would get out of this alive now, would be to capture Ron and use him as leverage to escape. We had to move quickly, as we were exposed on the street. If more Genesis Alliance showed up, we wouldn’t last long in a firefight.
“We’ll have to go into the house, but Ron needs to be taken alive. Are you ready to move?” I said to Jack and Lea.
Both nodded.
“Lea, what’s the layout?” Jack asked.
As he said this, I looked to my left. Slowly appearing around the corner, was another vehicle.
“Fuck it,” I said, “there’s no time. Straight through the front door.”
I looked up and saw the door to Ron’s house open. An old man with silver hair, wearing a red checked shirt and cream trousers, appeared with his hands up. He was smiling.