“No! No!” she cried out.
“You asked me for mercy weeks ago. I showed you and your father mercy. I took you into my bed. I trusted you and you stabbed me in the back. You betrayed me!”
She began to crouch and tried to get up, but vertigo set in and she fell to the floor.
“I drugged your wine. When you wake up in a few hours you’ll be down in my playroom. I don’t know what I’ll do with you. Maybe you’ll follow in Maria’s footsteps or maybe I’ll just trim parts off of you slowly. I don’t know yet.”
She crawled on the floor toward the doors.
“I have to admit, you had me fooled. You really did,” he said as he lay on the floor next to her so he could see her face. “So before you close your pretty little eyes let me tell you what’s going to happen to your country. I’m going to rape, pillage, burn, and destroy everywhere I go, and since you and your president thought it fun to fuck with me, I will go after him now.” He rolled onto his back and looked at the white popcorn-textured ceiling. “I sent a few people to go shoot him, but now that seems so… what’s the word? Blasé. No, I’m going to cross the mountains like Hannibal crossed the Alps. I’m going to take my army and march on Cheyenne. I’m going to burn that city to the ground and stick President Conner’s head on a spike.” He leaned over and kissed her quivering lips. “Now, go to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon.”
When the news of the massacre outside city hall trickled down to Gunny Smith, he couldn’t believe it. He had been with Colonel Barone for years. He didn’t always agree with some of his actions, but now this was too much for him. There had been grumbling and dissent brewing within the ranks from the first day Barone had ordered the mutiny. Most of that had disappeared when they arrived in Coos Bay. Many of the Marines and sailors had grown attached to the town and the people. They knew it was politically difficult for Barone to navigate the most recent objections from the mayor but to murder them all, to gun down men, women, and even children in the street was too much.
“Lance Corporal Jones! Get your ass in here!”
Jones came into the partially lit living room of the small house that served as the in-town barracks for Gunny’s sniper team.
“Yes, Gunny.”
“Go find the rest of the team, have them report here ASAP.”
“That might be difficult; there’s a lot of chaos going on,” Jones lamented.
“I don’t want to hear excuses, Lance Corporal!”
“Yes, Gunny,” Jones said and turned around to leave.
“Hold on, one second!” Gunny barked.
Jones stopped abruptly and turned around. “Yes?”
Gunny exhaled deeply, then asked, “What’s your opinion on all of this shit?”
Jones looked surprised, then answered with a question. “You’re asking me for my opinion?”
“Yes.”
Jones looked apprehensive; he was afraid to speak his mind. The earlier events had created a tension even among the Marines. No one knew who to trust.
Seeing this delay in answering, Gunny added, “I’m not going to repeat what you say to anyone, I’m not some type of Gestapo. You can freely speak what is on your mind here.”
Sheepishly, Jones said, “Well, I think what the colonel did was wrong. I’m actually surprised he had Marines pull the trigger.”
“I’m not surprised. You have to remember, in the end, we’re just people too. We’re not robots, we all have emotions and individual thoughts.”
“Gunny, how do you feel about what happened today?”
“Jones, things are going to get a lot worse around here. What the Colonel did today will not end today, he just made things worse. We have a choice, you have a choice, but before any of us go off and do something rash, I want to pull the team together. You all are my family and we should talk about this like a family.”
Jones nodded, then left. As the door closed, Gunny relaxed into the large leather chair. He thought deeply about everything. When they had arrived in Coos Bay it felt like they were coming home. Now this peaceful and functioning city had been turned on its head. He couldn’t be a part of this new direction Barone was heading in, he just wasn’t sure what direction he should go in. He could just bite his tongue and keep his head down, but silence is nothing more than a voice of approval. Without a doubt a resistance movement would rise up, but for it to matter they would have to have the support of Marines. The question he then asked himself was, could he join that effort or would he and his team be better off outside? If they left, where would they go? The conversation he and Gordon had back in Klamath Falls then came to mind.
“Idaho, maybe we’ll go to Idaho.”
“Gordon!” Eric exclaimed.
Samantha turned around when she heard his name. She stood up and stared at her husband, frozen to the spot.
“Sam!” he called out to her as he walked briskly toward her.
“Oh my God, Gordon!” she cried out and ran into his arms.
They both embraced and held each other for a long time. He smothered her with kisses and kept saying, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
“Why? Why didn’t you come back?”
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I failed you, I failed all of you, especially Hunter,” he said, as tears started to flow.
“I’m so mad at you. But I’m so happy you’re back,” she said, choking back tears.
“Where’s Haley? Is she okay?”
“She’s missed you so much, she’s been through a lot. She needs you.”
Seneca looked up from Nelson’s side and yelled, “Hey, you two, Nelson needs attention!”
Gordon and Samantha ran over to help out.
Nelson opened his eyes and said, “Am I dead?”
“No, buddy, you’re going to be okay,” Gordon said, holding his hand. “We gotta get him inside and get him treated!” They quickly loaded Nelson and Eric into the Humvee and took them to Lucy’s house.
Hearing of the death of her husband was a shock, but Lucy kept herself composed enough to treat Nelson and Eric. Her prognosis for Eric was good, but she wasn’t sure Nelson would make it. She was able to remove the bullets from Nelson’s back but he had lost a lot of blood. Now it was a matter of waiting and seeing if he’d survive.
Christopher, Cruz, and Wilbur offered to help but they found that they were more in the way than helpful. They exited the house for the Humvee. It provided a familiar place to sequester themselves while they waited for whatever came next.
As they sat discussing their next move, Christopher managed to make contact with the command element at Mountain Home Air Force Base over the radio.
Wilbur quickly took the radio from him, and after a back-and-forth with an officer, she detailed their situation. It appeared that Mountain Home was functioning, but greatly impaired. They would inform Cheyenne of Cruz’s location and situation, and radio back when they made contact. In the meantime, they were sending reinforcements to their coordinates.
Wilbur tossed the handset aside with a deep feeling of satisfaction. It had been a long time since she had felt… hopeful.
“Should we just head in that direction?” Christopher asked Wilbur.
“Mr. Vice President?” Wilbur directed the question toward Cruz, who was relaxing in the backseat.
“Let’s sit tight until we get word back from Cheyenne. I also think we owe it to Mr. Van Zandt to stick around in case we can be of help somewhere.”
“Speak of the devil,” Christopher chuckled as the front door opened and Gordon stepped out.
Gordon saw the three in the Humvee and nodded, acknowledging their presence. His shirt was stained red with blood. He looked at his hands. They too bore a deep stain from all the blood.