Story Market Day
- Thread starter ComCamGuy
- Start date
Landcruiser
Contributing Member
In all fairness, more families have 'that uncle/cousin/...' than society as a whole ever wants to admit. Take away all the safeguards of polite society and problems like that will explode in magnitude and frequency. Afghanistan and the things that are currently happening there are a small window into what can happen as soon as societal controls as we currently know them are removed.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Or ... they could just be a different level of depraved. Evil is not gender-specific
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
The mythical guard rails of polite society - yes, they seem to almost evaporate some days don't they? When you get to an A'stan, it often seems they were never really there ......
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The location for their discussion was well situated. The trees, combined with the small fold of land between them and the camp would help block and dissipate the sound. Zed was waiting at the ‘interrogation’ site while Kara and Angelique went to snatch the woman and the boy.
Kara figured it would be more disarming to have Angelique with her best smile be the one to see the boy first. It would also not set off as many alarm bells in most people compared to some strange guy sneaking around their camp. Angelique was to get a hold on the boy, keep him entertained and quiet while she carried him to the trees. She figured to use some of the same tactics she used when playing with Finn down at Larrissa’s.
Kara had the harder and potentially more dangerous job; quietly convince the woman to come with them without raising an alarm or a ruckus. Kara really didn’t want to hurt her, but she had to make her understand very quickly to obey was the right path.
To navigate back to the stand of trees quickly, they employed a trick Kara learned from her old boss, John.
Going from the trees to the camp, they placed thumbtacks on the trees. Not a lot, just enough so they could barely see the next one from the one someone was at. Each location got two thumbtacks; A green one at ankle level on the side of the tree facing the stand of trees and a red one about 9 feet up on the camp side. This way both weren’t readily noticeable just looking around, unless you knew to look either up or down.
Kara and Angelique moved to their positions. Each knew the waiting would be the hardest part. It seemed like forever until they heard the front door of the cabin open and close, then feet on the ground and the small patches of snow. Showtime.
Kara was well hidden. She had to be. They would be walking past her to get to Angelique’s position. Kara steeled herself for what she might have to do. She wasn’t going to fail Angelique again and let her get hurt. Not if she could help it.
The little boy came bouncing around the corner, not a care in the world. He almost stumbled when he saw Angelique. Angelique was trying as hard as she could to force happy, pleasant thoughts his way, all the time begging in her head ‘please, just come to me, and everything will be fine’.
She scooped him up, making silly faces and saying low nonsense. He was a little old for this to work, but she had to try. She gave him a piece of honey hard candy and kept him turned towards her and away from the woman. This way she could deflect his attention while keeping an eye on Kara in case she needed help.
The woman came around the corner and was understandably surprised.
“Hey! Who are you?”
The woman looked like she was going to say more but she must have seen Kara moving out of the corner of her eye. Before she could turn, Angelique saw Kara press a pistol-shaped stun gun into the woman’s ribs.
Kara knew she didn’t want to kill this woman. Not to just ask questions. One of the things she had in her pack for questioning and interrogating, she figured would come in handy for this. She had a newer style Tazer with both the fired type of probes and the touch probes. To make it feel more like she was jamming a gun in her ribs, Kara taped a plastic tube onto the side.
Kara stepped up as the woman turned the corner. She had to catch her before she screamed. She got to the woman just as she made it around the corner. She jabbed the tube in her ribs as the woman spoke to Angelique.
“Hey! Who are you?” The woman said, a puzzled but accusatory tone to her speech,
The woman froze when Kara made contact with her ribs. Kara had to get this right, the first time.
“We need to talk. You need to be quiet for now. We are going to take a short walk so we won’t be disturbed. We won’t hurt you, and more importantly, we won’t hurt him, as long as you are quiet and come with us. We take a walk, have a talk, then we let you and him go. You screw this up, a lot of people get hurt.” Kara was trying for serious but not threatening.
The woman didn’t move. Not at all. Kara had to make sure.
“We got a deal? We take a little walk, have a little talk, and you and your Brother? Son? You come on back to the house, none the worse for wear. We got a deal? Yes or no?”
The woman nodded her head, yes.
Once the woman nodded, Angelique turned and started down the path they had marked to where Zed waited.
Kara figured it would be more disarming to have Angelique with her best smile be the one to see the boy first. It would also not set off as many alarm bells in most people compared to some strange guy sneaking around their camp. Angelique was to get a hold on the boy, keep him entertained and quiet while she carried him to the trees. She figured to use some of the same tactics she used when playing with Finn down at Larrissa’s.
Kara had the harder and potentially more dangerous job; quietly convince the woman to come with them without raising an alarm or a ruckus. Kara really didn’t want to hurt her, but she had to make her understand very quickly to obey was the right path.
To navigate back to the stand of trees quickly, they employed a trick Kara learned from her old boss, John.
Going from the trees to the camp, they placed thumbtacks on the trees. Not a lot, just enough so they could barely see the next one from the one someone was at. Each location got two thumbtacks; A green one at ankle level on the side of the tree facing the stand of trees and a red one about 9 feet up on the camp side. This way both weren’t readily noticeable just looking around, unless you knew to look either up or down.
Kara and Angelique moved to their positions. Each knew the waiting would be the hardest part. It seemed like forever until they heard the front door of the cabin open and close, then feet on the ground and the small patches of snow. Showtime.
Kara was well hidden. She had to be. They would be walking past her to get to Angelique’s position. Kara steeled herself for what she might have to do. She wasn’t going to fail Angelique again and let her get hurt. Not if she could help it.
The little boy came bouncing around the corner, not a care in the world. He almost stumbled when he saw Angelique. Angelique was trying as hard as she could to force happy, pleasant thoughts his way, all the time begging in her head ‘please, just come to me, and everything will be fine’.
She scooped him up, making silly faces and saying low nonsense. He was a little old for this to work, but she had to try. She gave him a piece of honey hard candy and kept him turned towards her and away from the woman. This way she could deflect his attention while keeping an eye on Kara in case she needed help.
The woman came around the corner and was understandably surprised.
“Hey! Who are you?”
The woman looked like she was going to say more but she must have seen Kara moving out of the corner of her eye. Before she could turn, Angelique saw Kara press a pistol-shaped stun gun into the woman’s ribs.
Kara knew she didn’t want to kill this woman. Not to just ask questions. One of the things she had in her pack for questioning and interrogating, she figured would come in handy for this. She had a newer style Tazer with both the fired type of probes and the touch probes. To make it feel more like she was jamming a gun in her ribs, Kara taped a plastic tube onto the side.
Kara stepped up as the woman turned the corner. She had to catch her before she screamed. She got to the woman just as she made it around the corner. She jabbed the tube in her ribs as the woman spoke to Angelique.
“Hey! Who are you?” The woman said, a puzzled but accusatory tone to her speech,
The woman froze when Kara made contact with her ribs. Kara had to get this right, the first time.
“We need to talk. You need to be quiet for now. We are going to take a short walk so we won’t be disturbed. We won’t hurt you, and more importantly, we won’t hurt him, as long as you are quiet and come with us. We take a walk, have a talk, then we let you and him go. You screw this up, a lot of people get hurt.” Kara was trying for serious but not threatening.
The woman didn’t move. Not at all. Kara had to make sure.
“We got a deal? We take a little walk, have a little talk, and you and your Brother? Son? You come on back to the house, none the worse for wear. We got a deal? Yes or no?”
The woman nodded her head, yes.
Once the woman nodded, Angelique turned and started down the path they had marked to where Zed waited.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Finally they came to the clump of pine trees. Angelique wormed her way through the interlacing branches. She turned to make sure the kid didn’t get scratched up by the branches.
Kara watched the woman push in after Angelique. She knew Zed would be watching her the moment she came in, so Angelique should be safe to move to the far side of their little clearing. This was to separate the kid from the danger zone where the conversation was to happen.
Zed was sitting behind a small camp stove with a cup heating on the flame. He had a cup of hot chocolate for Angelique to give to the kid to keep him distracted and busy. This whole meeting was going to be delicate. They were running a lie within an bluff within a faint, all to find out what this group was about.
The woman came through the trees and was instantly looking around for her kid. Once she spotted him off to one side, deeper in the trees with Angelique, she turned her attention to Zed. When Zed saw her ‘see’ her kid, he started to speak.
“Good morning. I’m sorry we were so dramatic, but we need to speak and this seemed the best way.”
Zed tried to keep his tone pleasant. He also tried to let some of the accent he remembered from the hunting guides bleed in, just to keep things a bit off kilter. Maybe she would believe English wasn’t his first language.
“What do you want? Why did you kidnap me and my son?” The woman barked at him.
Zed tried to not react to her outburst. When someone is upset, the calm one usually has an edge.
“I needed to ask some questions and didn’t want any more bloodshed until I had the facts.”
The woman looked confused by his approach. Good, thought Zed. Confused is better than angry.
“What do you mean, more bloodshed?”
“Several days ago, members of your group fired on two vehicles down on the road, crashing one and killing my daughter and two granddaughters.”
There was an acid to Zed’s tone now and a glare in his eye as he pulled several Polaroid pictures out of his pocket and handed them over to the woman. Now he had to sell the lie he built. The three pictures were of Penny as she lay unconscious, Hera with some moulage on, and since they didn’t have Olivia for the third, Zed got Ruby to play the part of the third person. Most people would buy the relationship of Ruby to Penny and Hera based on the complexion and hair color alone.
The woman took pictures from his hand and looked at them. Three battered and bruised red-heads, Correction, three dead red-heads in her mind. Zed could see the moment she bought it. A look of horror came over the woman’s face. Time to sink the hook and get the info.
“I want to know why.”
His words hung in the air as she looked at the pictures again and again. Finally, Zed held out his hand for the pictures back. He wasn’t about to let her keep them. If she looked at them too long, she might pick out details and other things they didn’t want seen.
“We didn’t find anyone dead. We didn’t know!”
The woman seemed to be trying to figure out how to explain…tried to come up with something…anything to say. Zed wasn’t sure if it would be an excuse, a lie, or the truth. The next few minutes would tell the tale.
“You didn’t find anyone because we put them in my wife’s car, the one in front. My Son-in-Law had to drive his dying wife and children to us in a futile effort to save them, leaving my wife and my only grandson behind hiding in the woods hoping to not get caught before we could get here. You have patrols out hunting them right now.”
Zed had to explain no bodies and bring it back to want to know why. The woman didn’t seem to know what to say, so Zed prompted again.
“I ask again. Why did you kill my daughter and granddaughter’s?” There was iron in his voice now.
“We didn’t know! Billy said they must be the ones who killed our patrol! He said he recognized the vehicles from the cameras we had on the roads!” The woman blurted out.
OK, now we are getting somewhere, Zed thought. So they had at least some parts not knowing everything going on. Did deeper, Zed. Now was the time to reintroduce violence, only directed their way, back into the conversation.
“You didn’t think the fact you found nothing but woman’s and children’s clothes and a small amount of food odd? Instead, your group decided you had to track down any survivors. I guess that’s to eliminate any witnesses. Tell me why I shouldn’t let the rest of my group have the revenge they crave?”
“You can’t! We are innocent!” The woman practically screamed.
Zed saw Kara about to intervene case she lunged or started to really scream. Zed caught her with his eyes, telling her to wait as he held up the pictures again.
“As opposed to the evil demons my daughter and her kids were?”
The woman didn’t seem to have a good answer for his question.
Kara thought to prod her along. She knew you couldn’t give her time to think or come up with a story to cover what happened. They needed the truth.
“She isn’t denying they did it, Sir.”
Kara’s glare when the woman turned to look at her when she spoke made the woman step back as if struck a physical blow. Kara could see an almost terror to the woman’s eyes. They didn’t want her terrified, they just wanted her compliant and cowed while they asked questions. Zed spoke again. Kara hoped it was enough to break the spell.
“What was that?” The woman said as she tore herself from those eyes to turn back to Zed.
“I said, what happened to your patrol?” Zed’s voice was smooth and steady as he asked her once again.
The woman began answering, the words coming out piecemeal and haltingly.
“We have been sending out three person patrols for months now, just to keep an eye on the area. Well we had one of our regular groups patrolling north of here not report back in a couple weeks ago. When we sent out another patrol, they found them.”
The woman stopped, evidently struck by the memory.
Zed spoke again.
“OK, you found them. What happened?”
“My Uncle was the leader of the patrol and two of his sons, my cousins were with him. All three were killed, stripped of their stuff and even their clothes. Shreds of them left lying in the middle of the field around their bodies.” The woman seemed lost in her description.
“How were they killed?” Zed asked, his weird accent more pronounced now. He saw Kara’s eyes go wide. He knew where this was headed. Kara didn’t describe much to anyone about their problem s during the trip to Karl’s but Heidi filled in some of the blanks.
The woman spoke through choked sobs.
“My cousins had their heads blown off. My Uncle, they tortured him. They stabbed him too many times to count. I don’t know how long he lasted, but they said he looked like a human pincushion.” The woman was crying now.
Zed was looking past the woman. He was looking at Kara. She was taking in great big gulps of air as she tried to bring herself back under control. He glanced over at Angelique and saw she had also put two and two together.
Kara spoke, her tone was flat and measured. Zed could see it was taking everything Kara had to do this.
“Your Uncle was wearing a red flannel shirt under his denim jacket.”
The woman spun, looking at Kara, staring at that face. A face marked with a fury not there before, even as much as Kara tried to hide it.
“What do you know of it? Why did you do it?” The woman screamed.
Kara tried her best to stay detached! She tried to not let her temper rule the day! It didn’t work.
“Your Uncle was a piece of shit! He got himself and his sons killed because they were trying to rape a woman and her fifteen-year-old sister!” Kara snapped out.
“Bullshit!”
The woman was furious now and started to attack the woman. Kara easily swept her legs out from under her and pushed her down next to the camp stove. She didn’t want to have fight right now. It would spiral out of control and someone would end up dead. Not her, she knew. Then what would they do with an orphan kid?
Zed didn’t move. There was no way he was getting physically in the middle of this and didn’t want to distract Kara. When the woman hit the ground, he saw his opening.
“I don’t recommend you continue trying to attack her. We are just here to talk.”
“My uncle wouldn’t do such a thing! I don’t know what that woman told you all, but he wouldn’t do it.” The woman blurted out, still looking up at Kara towering over her.
“He tried, and his sons were going to watch and help, otherwise they would be alive today.” Kara’s voice was cold as a mountain stream and flat as a pond.
Angelique got chills even hearing the tone in Kara’s voice. She had to focus on the kid here in front of her, even while listening and staying alert.
“I don’t believe you! That woman is lying!”
Kara locked her gaze on the woman’s eyes.
She pulled something from her pocket and tossed it to the woman on the ground, who caught it. As the woman looked at the lighter in her hands, Kara spoke, her tone full of anger now.
“I’m not lying. It was my fifteen-year-old sister they were going to rape.”
Kara watched the woman push in after Angelique. She knew Zed would be watching her the moment she came in, so Angelique should be safe to move to the far side of their little clearing. This was to separate the kid from the danger zone where the conversation was to happen.
Zed was sitting behind a small camp stove with a cup heating on the flame. He had a cup of hot chocolate for Angelique to give to the kid to keep him distracted and busy. This whole meeting was going to be delicate. They were running a lie within an bluff within a faint, all to find out what this group was about.
The woman came through the trees and was instantly looking around for her kid. Once she spotted him off to one side, deeper in the trees with Angelique, she turned her attention to Zed. When Zed saw her ‘see’ her kid, he started to speak.
“Good morning. I’m sorry we were so dramatic, but we need to speak and this seemed the best way.”
Zed tried to keep his tone pleasant. He also tried to let some of the accent he remembered from the hunting guides bleed in, just to keep things a bit off kilter. Maybe she would believe English wasn’t his first language.
“What do you want? Why did you kidnap me and my son?” The woman barked at him.
Zed tried to not react to her outburst. When someone is upset, the calm one usually has an edge.
“I needed to ask some questions and didn’t want any more bloodshed until I had the facts.”
The woman looked confused by his approach. Good, thought Zed. Confused is better than angry.
“What do you mean, more bloodshed?”
“Several days ago, members of your group fired on two vehicles down on the road, crashing one and killing my daughter and two granddaughters.”
There was an acid to Zed’s tone now and a glare in his eye as he pulled several Polaroid pictures out of his pocket and handed them over to the woman. Now he had to sell the lie he built. The three pictures were of Penny as she lay unconscious, Hera with some moulage on, and since they didn’t have Olivia for the third, Zed got Ruby to play the part of the third person. Most people would buy the relationship of Ruby to Penny and Hera based on the complexion and hair color alone.
The woman took pictures from his hand and looked at them. Three battered and bruised red-heads, Correction, three dead red-heads in her mind. Zed could see the moment she bought it. A look of horror came over the woman’s face. Time to sink the hook and get the info.
“I want to know why.”
His words hung in the air as she looked at the pictures again and again. Finally, Zed held out his hand for the pictures back. He wasn’t about to let her keep them. If she looked at them too long, she might pick out details and other things they didn’t want seen.
“We didn’t find anyone dead. We didn’t know!”
The woman seemed to be trying to figure out how to explain…tried to come up with something…anything to say. Zed wasn’t sure if it would be an excuse, a lie, or the truth. The next few minutes would tell the tale.
“You didn’t find anyone because we put them in my wife’s car, the one in front. My Son-in-Law had to drive his dying wife and children to us in a futile effort to save them, leaving my wife and my only grandson behind hiding in the woods hoping to not get caught before we could get here. You have patrols out hunting them right now.”
Zed had to explain no bodies and bring it back to want to know why. The woman didn’t seem to know what to say, so Zed prompted again.
“I ask again. Why did you kill my daughter and granddaughter’s?” There was iron in his voice now.
“We didn’t know! Billy said they must be the ones who killed our patrol! He said he recognized the vehicles from the cameras we had on the roads!” The woman blurted out.
OK, now we are getting somewhere, Zed thought. So they had at least some parts not knowing everything going on. Did deeper, Zed. Now was the time to reintroduce violence, only directed their way, back into the conversation.
“You didn’t think the fact you found nothing but woman’s and children’s clothes and a small amount of food odd? Instead, your group decided you had to track down any survivors. I guess that’s to eliminate any witnesses. Tell me why I shouldn’t let the rest of my group have the revenge they crave?”
“You can’t! We are innocent!” The woman practically screamed.
Zed saw Kara about to intervene case she lunged or started to really scream. Zed caught her with his eyes, telling her to wait as he held up the pictures again.
“As opposed to the evil demons my daughter and her kids were?”
The woman didn’t seem to have a good answer for his question.
Kara thought to prod her along. She knew you couldn’t give her time to think or come up with a story to cover what happened. They needed the truth.
“She isn’t denying they did it, Sir.”
Kara’s glare when the woman turned to look at her when she spoke made the woman step back as if struck a physical blow. Kara could see an almost terror to the woman’s eyes. They didn’t want her terrified, they just wanted her compliant and cowed while they asked questions. Zed spoke again. Kara hoped it was enough to break the spell.
“What was that?” The woman said as she tore herself from those eyes to turn back to Zed.
“I said, what happened to your patrol?” Zed’s voice was smooth and steady as he asked her once again.
The woman began answering, the words coming out piecemeal and haltingly.
“We have been sending out three person patrols for months now, just to keep an eye on the area. Well we had one of our regular groups patrolling north of here not report back in a couple weeks ago. When we sent out another patrol, they found them.”
The woman stopped, evidently struck by the memory.
Zed spoke again.
“OK, you found them. What happened?”
“My Uncle was the leader of the patrol and two of his sons, my cousins were with him. All three were killed, stripped of their stuff and even their clothes. Shreds of them left lying in the middle of the field around their bodies.” The woman seemed lost in her description.
“How were they killed?” Zed asked, his weird accent more pronounced now. He saw Kara’s eyes go wide. He knew where this was headed. Kara didn’t describe much to anyone about their problem s during the trip to Karl’s but Heidi filled in some of the blanks.
The woman spoke through choked sobs.
“My cousins had their heads blown off. My Uncle, they tortured him. They stabbed him too many times to count. I don’t know how long he lasted, but they said he looked like a human pincushion.” The woman was crying now.
Zed was looking past the woman. He was looking at Kara. She was taking in great big gulps of air as she tried to bring herself back under control. He glanced over at Angelique and saw she had also put two and two together.
Kara spoke, her tone was flat and measured. Zed could see it was taking everything Kara had to do this.
“Your Uncle was wearing a red flannel shirt under his denim jacket.”
The woman spun, looking at Kara, staring at that face. A face marked with a fury not there before, even as much as Kara tried to hide it.
“What do you know of it? Why did you do it?” The woman screamed.
Kara tried her best to stay detached! She tried to not let her temper rule the day! It didn’t work.
“Your Uncle was a piece of shit! He got himself and his sons killed because they were trying to rape a woman and her fifteen-year-old sister!” Kara snapped out.
“Bullshit!”
The woman was furious now and started to attack the woman. Kara easily swept her legs out from under her and pushed her down next to the camp stove. She didn’t want to have fight right now. It would spiral out of control and someone would end up dead. Not her, she knew. Then what would they do with an orphan kid?
Zed didn’t move. There was no way he was getting physically in the middle of this and didn’t want to distract Kara. When the woman hit the ground, he saw his opening.
“I don’t recommend you continue trying to attack her. We are just here to talk.”
“My uncle wouldn’t do such a thing! I don’t know what that woman told you all, but he wouldn’t do it.” The woman blurted out, still looking up at Kara towering over her.
“He tried, and his sons were going to watch and help, otherwise they would be alive today.” Kara’s voice was cold as a mountain stream and flat as a pond.
Angelique got chills even hearing the tone in Kara’s voice. She had to focus on the kid here in front of her, even while listening and staying alert.
“I don’t believe you! That woman is lying!”
Kara locked her gaze on the woman’s eyes.
She pulled something from her pocket and tossed it to the woman on the ground, who caught it. As the woman looked at the lighter in her hands, Kara spoke, her tone full of anger now.
“I’m not lying. It was my fifteen-year-old sister they were going to rape.”
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Sportsman
Veteran Member
This is getting very interesting. Is it a decent group with a few 'holes in it or a group of full-out evil people with a few innocents? Could go either way.
I see you already found the typos. It's okay, we'll take the chapters early and find the typos for 'ya!
Thank you.
I see you already found the typos. It's okay, we'll take the chapters early and find the typos for 'ya!
Thank you.
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
Thanks for another chapter, oh and found another typo.
Zed would be watching her the moment she e came
Zed would be watching her the moment she e came
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
yup, page 113, where the three asses thought they would take advantage of Heidi and Kara, they thought Heidi was Kara’s 15 year old sister
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Accomplices before, after or during the act are still accomplices and particularly so if one derives actual benefit from the bad acts. Those benefits could be anything. In our world that's usually money or trinkets/items. In a PA environment it could be anything from clean socks to diapers for a child, fuel - pretty much anything.
The only 'innocent' would be a minor child but, I have a very narrow view of right & wrong.
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The words hung in the air. No one moved. No one spoke. Missy didn’t have any idea what to do or think. Here was the person who killed her uncle, but the reason why was so horrid…Most of her brain had a hard time accepting it. The look on the woman’s face left no doubt possible though. There was no way she didn’t believe this woman believed what she was saying.
She didn’t grow up around him, or his sons. Were they really capable of such things? She didn’t know. She had to admit, she didn’t know.
She knew Billy was angry and wanted revenge for what was done to his brother. He was like a crazy person. He had several of the guys convinced it was for the safety of the group they had to hunt down and eliminate this threat to their group. He was protecting the group. That’s what he was always saying.
They had one group of people who were going around the outer areas, looking for danger, intruders, and food or game. Billy hijacked the second patrol that used to go farther out. The second group was now dedicated to finding the killers of his brother and nephews. Not that it did any good. All of them are way out there and the killers are right here, inside the sweeps, holding her son and have her captured.
She looked around at their faces.
“Now what? Are you going to torture me like you did him?”
The fierce blonde’s face shifted. No longer looking angry, it seemed sad. When she spoke, it was no longer harsh and forced. Instead, it was soft and quiet.
“He wasn’t tortured. From the first stab to the last, it was maybe thirty seconds.” The blonde took a deep breath before continuing.
“I was half naked, on my knees in front of him, where he wanted me. He didn’t see me grab my knife. The first stab was fatal. The others just made it quicker, so he didn’t suffer. He was gone in under ten seconds.”
Missy gulped. This was hard to hear, but she had to ask for more.
“And my cousins?”
“My little sister shot them. They were gone before they hit the ground.”
The man started talking again.
“It wasn’t torture. It wasn’t greed. It was self-preservation and defense.”
It was quiet under the canopy of branches while they all stared at one another. Finally the man spoke again.
“So what am I supposed to do about your group? Is all of this just a string of errors? We eliminated three untrustworthy rapists mid-act from your group. In return, your group killed an innocent woman and her children. Is this how your group works? Killing random people on the highway, stealing everything they have? If so, then I would be right to eliminate this threat to innocent folk. Pin you hides up as a warning to others who look to plunder and pillage the weak.”
The blonde spoke now, Not to Missy, to the man.
“I didn’t survive the rape gangs of Chechnya, carry my sister through the snow for god knows how long, get to America, just to have this shit start all over again right next door!”
The man held up his hand in a ‘wait’ gesture. He looked at Missy.
“If that is what this group is. I can offer you and the child shelter, or at least the child. The rest will be scoured from the earth, and serve as a warning. Or, if that isn’t what this group is, I need to find out how to make all of this end here and now. Either way, a decision will happen before sun down.”
“That’s not what we are like at all! We have innocent women and children in camp! You can’t just kill all of us!”
“You are right. You have innocent children in camp. If they are young enough to be raised right, and not follow the ways of evil, then they should be saved. What of the rest though? Should they be saved, or should I and my people take care of the rabid dogs before they spread?”
Missy’s eyes got big. Was this old man really talking about wiping out their whole camp? Oh, God! What could she do to stop it? What could she say?
“Look, we didn’t know! We didn’t do it! We thought they killed my uncle!”
Missy was interrupted by the blonde.
“I killed him, so would your group condemn me to death for defending myself and my sister from a rapist?”
Missy didn’t know how to answer her. For some reason, she looked over at the dark-haired woman holding her son. She was surprised to see tears streaming down the woman’s face. Why is she crying?
“Who is the leader of your group?” The man asked her.
“William and Linda. It’s their hunting camp and my grandparents.”
“Do you think I could talk this out with them, and they could make the rest listen and obey?”
“If Linda says it will happen, then it will happen. William differs to her.”
“Do you think they will meet with me?”
The blonde spoke behind her.
“I don’t like this plan.”
The man looked up at the blonde.
“I know, but I need to make sure we do the right thing, either way it goes. This could easily end up with a huge loss of life. If it does, and it wasn’t necessary, I don’t want to carry that burden for being wrong. I have to try.”
“I know, but if you go down into their camp, and you don’t come back out, or anything else happens, right or wrong, they all will be forfeit.”
He rubbed his face and looked back at the blonde again.
“Look, we have shooters around the camp right now. I will talk with them in the open in front of the cabin, so everyone can see everything. Anything goes wrong, half will get dropped with the first volley. We have the teams following their patrols. We could kill everyone here before my coffee got cold. I don’t think my daughter would want us to just kill everyone without first trying. We talked about this on the way here.”
“Talking about something doesn’t mean we have to like it.”
Missy saw the woman bring a microphone boom up to her lips and speak into it.
“Tiger is going forward with plan six.” She paused a moment listening. “Yes, I know, I tried to talk him out of it but….Yes, I know and….No, he’s doing it.” She looked back at the man.
“The others aren’t happy about you risking yourself this way.”
“I know, but you guys are too valuable to go in my place.” Missy saw his look harden, his eyes sharpen into a glare. “If anything happens, make sure I don’t suffer and they can’t use me as bait or leverage.”
Missy looked back at the blonde. There were a stream of tears pouring down her face now.
“They won’t get you, and we will turn this valley into ash and sorrow. You have my solemn promise.”
The man turned again to look at Missy.
“So, here’s what I propose to do. You and I, we take a little walk down to the camp. I meet with William and Linda. We hash this out. You and me, we walk back into the forest. Not back here, somewhere else. Belyana there,” he points over at the dark-haired one. “Hands you the kid, and we go our separate ways. Anything goes wrong, your fault, my fault, their fault, my people all around the valley and following your patrols, kill everything with two legs in the valley, burn the buildings, the vehicles and anything else of value.”
The man paused a moment to let that sink in before he continued.
“If they try to capture me, She” he pointed at the blonde. “Will shoot me herself so I cannot be a prisoner or a bargaining chip, nor give away anything about who we are or where we come from. Then they flatten everything. Any questions?”
Missy didn’t know what to say, much less anything to ask. The man stood up, then helped her stand up.
She didn’t grow up around him, or his sons. Were they really capable of such things? She didn’t know. She had to admit, she didn’t know.
She knew Billy was angry and wanted revenge for what was done to his brother. He was like a crazy person. He had several of the guys convinced it was for the safety of the group they had to hunt down and eliminate this threat to their group. He was protecting the group. That’s what he was always saying.
They had one group of people who were going around the outer areas, looking for danger, intruders, and food or game. Billy hijacked the second patrol that used to go farther out. The second group was now dedicated to finding the killers of his brother and nephews. Not that it did any good. All of them are way out there and the killers are right here, inside the sweeps, holding her son and have her captured.
She looked around at their faces.
“Now what? Are you going to torture me like you did him?”
The fierce blonde’s face shifted. No longer looking angry, it seemed sad. When she spoke, it was no longer harsh and forced. Instead, it was soft and quiet.
“He wasn’t tortured. From the first stab to the last, it was maybe thirty seconds.” The blonde took a deep breath before continuing.
“I was half naked, on my knees in front of him, where he wanted me. He didn’t see me grab my knife. The first stab was fatal. The others just made it quicker, so he didn’t suffer. He was gone in under ten seconds.”
Missy gulped. This was hard to hear, but she had to ask for more.
“And my cousins?”
“My little sister shot them. They were gone before they hit the ground.”
The man started talking again.
“It wasn’t torture. It wasn’t greed. It was self-preservation and defense.”
It was quiet under the canopy of branches while they all stared at one another. Finally the man spoke again.
“So what am I supposed to do about your group? Is all of this just a string of errors? We eliminated three untrustworthy rapists mid-act from your group. In return, your group killed an innocent woman and her children. Is this how your group works? Killing random people on the highway, stealing everything they have? If so, then I would be right to eliminate this threat to innocent folk. Pin you hides up as a warning to others who look to plunder and pillage the weak.”
The blonde spoke now, Not to Missy, to the man.
“I didn’t survive the rape gangs of Chechnya, carry my sister through the snow for god knows how long, get to America, just to have this shit start all over again right next door!”
The man held up his hand in a ‘wait’ gesture. He looked at Missy.
“If that is what this group is. I can offer you and the child shelter, or at least the child. The rest will be scoured from the earth, and serve as a warning. Or, if that isn’t what this group is, I need to find out how to make all of this end here and now. Either way, a decision will happen before sun down.”
“That’s not what we are like at all! We have innocent women and children in camp! You can’t just kill all of us!”
“You are right. You have innocent children in camp. If they are young enough to be raised right, and not follow the ways of evil, then they should be saved. What of the rest though? Should they be saved, or should I and my people take care of the rabid dogs before they spread?”
Missy’s eyes got big. Was this old man really talking about wiping out their whole camp? Oh, God! What could she do to stop it? What could she say?
“Look, we didn’t know! We didn’t do it! We thought they killed my uncle!”
Missy was interrupted by the blonde.
“I killed him, so would your group condemn me to death for defending myself and my sister from a rapist?”
Missy didn’t know how to answer her. For some reason, she looked over at the dark-haired woman holding her son. She was surprised to see tears streaming down the woman’s face. Why is she crying?
“Who is the leader of your group?” The man asked her.
“William and Linda. It’s their hunting camp and my grandparents.”
“Do you think I could talk this out with them, and they could make the rest listen and obey?”
“If Linda says it will happen, then it will happen. William differs to her.”
“Do you think they will meet with me?”
The blonde spoke behind her.
“I don’t like this plan.”
The man looked up at the blonde.
“I know, but I need to make sure we do the right thing, either way it goes. This could easily end up with a huge loss of life. If it does, and it wasn’t necessary, I don’t want to carry that burden for being wrong. I have to try.”
“I know, but if you go down into their camp, and you don’t come back out, or anything else happens, right or wrong, they all will be forfeit.”
He rubbed his face and looked back at the blonde again.
“Look, we have shooters around the camp right now. I will talk with them in the open in front of the cabin, so everyone can see everything. Anything goes wrong, half will get dropped with the first volley. We have the teams following their patrols. We could kill everyone here before my coffee got cold. I don’t think my daughter would want us to just kill everyone without first trying. We talked about this on the way here.”
“Talking about something doesn’t mean we have to like it.”
Missy saw the woman bring a microphone boom up to her lips and speak into it.
“Tiger is going forward with plan six.” She paused a moment listening. “Yes, I know, I tried to talk him out of it but….Yes, I know and….No, he’s doing it.” She looked back at the man.
“The others aren’t happy about you risking yourself this way.”
“I know, but you guys are too valuable to go in my place.” Missy saw his look harden, his eyes sharpen into a glare. “If anything happens, make sure I don’t suffer and they can’t use me as bait or leverage.”
Missy looked back at the blonde. There were a stream of tears pouring down her face now.
“They won’t get you, and we will turn this valley into ash and sorrow. You have my solemn promise.”
The man turned again to look at Missy.
“So, here’s what I propose to do. You and I, we take a little walk down to the camp. I meet with William and Linda. We hash this out. You and me, we walk back into the forest. Not back here, somewhere else. Belyana there,” he points over at the dark-haired one. “Hands you the kid, and we go our separate ways. Anything goes wrong, your fault, my fault, their fault, my people all around the valley and following your patrols, kill everything with two legs in the valley, burn the buildings, the vehicles and anything else of value.”
The man paused a moment to let that sink in before he continued.
“If they try to capture me, She” he pointed at the blonde. “Will shoot me herself so I cannot be a prisoner or a bargaining chip, nor give away anything about who we are or where we come from. Then they flatten everything. Any questions?”
Missy didn’t know what to say, much less anything to ask. The man stood up, then helped her stand up.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Kara, Angelique and Zed had talked extensively about how to handle the next phase of their intelligence gathering. When they decided to snatch the girl and the kid, they knew it wouldn’t be enough. It was an initial action to decide the next steps. Some of those steps were in-depth, well thought out plans, and some were, as Kara put it, ‘Garen style whims of the universe.’
All of these things hinged on the worry about the likelihood of later encounters. This camp was hours away by fast car. On foot, it would take a dedicated and extended effort to get to them, if they even knew which way to go.
If the place turned out to be a rat’s nest full of brigands and thieves, they would collect diagrams, pictures and such, then pull back, get re-enforcements and clean the place out. A problem with leaving a group like that is it’s toxic, cancer-like effect and better stopped early before too many were tainted by it and it spreads and grows.
On the other hand, if it was an error or an isolated issue, then to just destroy them out of hand would make Zed, Kara and the rest the brigands and monsters. In that case, they needed to communicate with the leaders and settle things, without giving too much away in the process. All of that was the driving force behind the deception stories, pictures and such.
It was going to be the biggest bluff or con they had ever done. All three of them knew they had to sell their parts in the story like their lives depended on it. That part was easy; it did. They were too far from back up to expect anything there. If the other side realized it was only three of them there, they were truly screwed.
One of the other quirks in this whole problem? Kara wasn’t necessarily willing to bold face lie to pull this off. This was a heated conversation with the three of them as they planned this.
“Look, I know, but deceiving and misdirection isn’t the same as lying. Make them think there are a hundred of us out here? I’ll be the first to put out the broomsticks for snipers. To say our people won’t be happy with you in danger is not a lie, to say the three hundred snipers around the compound aren’t happy, that’s a lie. It may seem like semantical bullshit but whenever I bend or break this point, it seems bad things happen.”
Kara seemed quite adamant about this. Zed could accept it, even if he didn’t understand it. He was surprised when Angelique agreed with her. So was Kara.
“Fine, I’ll take care of the lies. Penny and Hera could have been killed, and Olivia too. I have to sell the seriousness of the event as it pertains to us, make it personal to us, and make it something that could easily escalate to a Hatfield and McCoy level of commitment if I end up going in to talk to them.”
“I still don’t like it being you going in to talk to the people in the camp.” Kara said.
“Well, Angelique is the one on the long gun so she is out, and if I have to get rescued, you would be better coming in for me than me coming in for you.” Zed got quiet before he continued in a softer sadder tone.
“Besides, I’ve lived a good long life with no regrets. I have Marta and my sister waiting for me on the other side.” He stopped and looked at the two women. “If it looks like it’s going to be bad, send me home to Marta and my sister and get the hell out of here.”
Angelique started to object.
“What kind of talk is that? If it looks like that, then you shouldn’t go in the first place!”
Kara interjected.
“Agreed, but we are just planning in case we get tricked and it gets bad.”
“What kind of bad, Kara? What kind of bad would make it where we shoot him? Correction, since I’m on the long gun, me shoot him?”
Zed spoke before Kara did.
“Not to fill your head or mine with horrific images, but let me tell you one the rebels use in Africa, the drug gangs in South America and other horrible people in other places. They chain you up, then they hang a car tire around your neck and shoulders, fill the tire with gas or kerosene and light it. A horrible way to die, or if somehow you survive and are rescued before you die, a horrible way to live afterward.”
Kara spoke to Angelique.
“If it comes to him captured and they are going to do something bad, hand me the rifle, and I’ll take the shot.”
Angelique didn’t like any of this. None of it at all. She had to trust them and help them, but she didn’t have to like any of it.
All of these things hinged on the worry about the likelihood of later encounters. This camp was hours away by fast car. On foot, it would take a dedicated and extended effort to get to them, if they even knew which way to go.
If the place turned out to be a rat’s nest full of brigands and thieves, they would collect diagrams, pictures and such, then pull back, get re-enforcements and clean the place out. A problem with leaving a group like that is it’s toxic, cancer-like effect and better stopped early before too many were tainted by it and it spreads and grows.
On the other hand, if it was an error or an isolated issue, then to just destroy them out of hand would make Zed, Kara and the rest the brigands and monsters. In that case, they needed to communicate with the leaders and settle things, without giving too much away in the process. All of that was the driving force behind the deception stories, pictures and such.
It was going to be the biggest bluff or con they had ever done. All three of them knew they had to sell their parts in the story like their lives depended on it. That part was easy; it did. They were too far from back up to expect anything there. If the other side realized it was only three of them there, they were truly screwed.
One of the other quirks in this whole problem? Kara wasn’t necessarily willing to bold face lie to pull this off. This was a heated conversation with the three of them as they planned this.
“Look, I know, but deceiving and misdirection isn’t the same as lying. Make them think there are a hundred of us out here? I’ll be the first to put out the broomsticks for snipers. To say our people won’t be happy with you in danger is not a lie, to say the three hundred snipers around the compound aren’t happy, that’s a lie. It may seem like semantical bullshit but whenever I bend or break this point, it seems bad things happen.”
Kara seemed quite adamant about this. Zed could accept it, even if he didn’t understand it. He was surprised when Angelique agreed with her. So was Kara.
“Fine, I’ll take care of the lies. Penny and Hera could have been killed, and Olivia too. I have to sell the seriousness of the event as it pertains to us, make it personal to us, and make it something that could easily escalate to a Hatfield and McCoy level of commitment if I end up going in to talk to them.”
“I still don’t like it being you going in to talk to the people in the camp.” Kara said.
“Well, Angelique is the one on the long gun so she is out, and if I have to get rescued, you would be better coming in for me than me coming in for you.” Zed got quiet before he continued in a softer sadder tone.
“Besides, I’ve lived a good long life with no regrets. I have Marta and my sister waiting for me on the other side.” He stopped and looked at the two women. “If it looks like it’s going to be bad, send me home to Marta and my sister and get the hell out of here.”
Angelique started to object.
“What kind of talk is that? If it looks like that, then you shouldn’t go in the first place!”
Kara interjected.
“Agreed, but we are just planning in case we get tricked and it gets bad.”
“What kind of bad, Kara? What kind of bad would make it where we shoot him? Correction, since I’m on the long gun, me shoot him?”
Zed spoke before Kara did.
“Not to fill your head or mine with horrific images, but let me tell you one the rebels use in Africa, the drug gangs in South America and other horrible people in other places. They chain you up, then they hang a car tire around your neck and shoulders, fill the tire with gas or kerosene and light it. A horrible way to die, or if somehow you survive and are rescued before you die, a horrible way to live afterward.”
Kara spoke to Angelique.
“If it comes to him captured and they are going to do something bad, hand me the rifle, and I’ll take the shot.”
Angelique didn’t like any of this. None of it at all. She had to trust them and help them, but she didn’t have to like any of it.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Kara was stunned to find out the three jackasses Heidi and her encountered were from this little community, were this woman’s uncle and cousins. How was she supposed to explain she did the world a favor? How do you tell someone their relative was a bully and a rapist, and evidently had no problem with his kids being so as well?
While her brain was trying to come up with an answer, her mouth blurted out.
“Your Uncle was a piece of shit! He got himself and his sons killed because they were trying to rape a woman and her fifteen-year-old sister!”
Which did nothing constructive. At least she didn’t have to hurt her when she deflected the woman’s attack.
Kara tried using her precise wording commitment to force herself to be calm. The bad guys thought it was her fifteen-year-old sister, so it wasn’t a lie to say that was what they were going to do. If they weren’t going to do that, they would have lived. Not a lie.
The next bit she had to mentally thank a comic she saw years ago for.
‘I didn’t survive the rape gangs of Chechnya, carry my sister through the snow for god knows how long, get to America, just to have this shit start all over again right next door!’
Well, she had never been to Chechnya, so it was true, she didn’t do all of that.
The whole microphone deception was verbalizing one half of her internal monolog with herself.
And she meant every word when she said they wouldn’t get Zed and she would turn the whole valley into ash and sorrow or die trying.
After Zed and the woman walked out of the little space in the trees, Kara looked over at Angelique.
“Come on, we have work to do.”
While her brain was trying to come up with an answer, her mouth blurted out.
“Your Uncle was a piece of shit! He got himself and his sons killed because they were trying to rape a woman and her fifteen-year-old sister!”
Which did nothing constructive. At least she didn’t have to hurt her when she deflected the woman’s attack.
Kara tried using her precise wording commitment to force herself to be calm. The bad guys thought it was her fifteen-year-old sister, so it wasn’t a lie to say that was what they were going to do. If they weren’t going to do that, they would have lived. Not a lie.
The next bit she had to mentally thank a comic she saw years ago for.
‘I didn’t survive the rape gangs of Chechnya, carry my sister through the snow for god knows how long, get to America, just to have this shit start all over again right next door!’
Well, she had never been to Chechnya, so it was true, she didn’t do all of that.
The whole microphone deception was verbalizing one half of her internal monolog with herself.
And she meant every word when she said they wouldn’t get Zed and she would turn the whole valley into ash and sorrow or die trying.
After Zed and the woman walked out of the little space in the trees, Kara looked over at Angelique.
“Come on, we have work to do.”
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Missy and Zed walked through the forest towards her place. She didn’t see how he was picking his way through the forest, but here and there he would tell her to turn right or left and guide them in a new direction. As they walked, He spoke to her quietly.
“What did you do before everything went to crap?” His tone was light and engaging, without any of the doom and gloom seriousness from earlier.
“Well, I used to go to school and sling boxes at one of the distribution warehouses until Jeromy came along.” She said, not sure where this was going.
“So Jeromy is your son?”
“Yeah, the apple of my eye, my denier of sleep, and constant source of amusement.” Missy said, a smile on her face for the first time since she turned the corner of the shed this morning.
“I promise you, he is safe with us, and from us. I wouldn’t put you through that. I also will stand by my offer earlier. If you just want to leave with us, the offer still stands. You would be safe, warm and fed. Jeromy would grow up safe as well.”
Missy stopped walking for a moment. Who were these people? They came here for answers about a horrendous wrong done to them, a great tragedy, but here they are, not looking for vengeance but, instead, want to stabilize things to bring peace. Then again, these were the people who killed her uncle. Missy felt so confused. She remembered the look in the blonde’s eye when she spoke, both about her uncle and about promising to rain hell down on them if anything happened to the man beside her.
Who were these people?
“What did you do before everything went to crap?” His tone was light and engaging, without any of the doom and gloom seriousness from earlier.
“Well, I used to go to school and sling boxes at one of the distribution warehouses until Jeromy came along.” She said, not sure where this was going.
“So Jeromy is your son?”
“Yeah, the apple of my eye, my denier of sleep, and constant source of amusement.” Missy said, a smile on her face for the first time since she turned the corner of the shed this morning.
“I promise you, he is safe with us, and from us. I wouldn’t put you through that. I also will stand by my offer earlier. If you just want to leave with us, the offer still stands. You would be safe, warm and fed. Jeromy would grow up safe as well.”
Missy stopped walking for a moment. Who were these people? They came here for answers about a horrendous wrong done to them, a great tragedy, but here they are, not looking for vengeance but, instead, want to stabilize things to bring peace. Then again, these were the people who killed her uncle. Missy felt so confused. She remembered the look in the blonde’s eye when she spoke, both about her uncle and about promising to rain hell down on them if anything happened to the man beside her.
Who were these people?
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Just before they cleared the tree line, they stopped.
“So, here’s how this works. You and I walk into the clear spot in front of the house. You go get William and Linda so we can talk. Remember, you have to make them understand it all happens peaceably. Anything goes wrong and I get attacked, your fault, my fault, their fault, my people all around the valley and following your patrols, kills everything with two legs in the valley, burns the buildings, the vehicles and anything else of value. Then they disappear. The only bright spot will be, your boy survives, to be raised by a new set of loving parents. We don’t want any of that to happen. You saw how easy it was for us to come in here and do what we have so far. You know we could do it. I am begging you to convince them of this so we don’t have to. ”
Missy felt the weight of his words roll down on her. Her feet were unsteady and they started into the opening and saw the people milling about.
“So, here’s how this works. You and I walk into the clear spot in front of the house. You go get William and Linda so we can talk. Remember, you have to make them understand it all happens peaceably. Anything goes wrong and I get attacked, your fault, my fault, their fault, my people all around the valley and following your patrols, kills everything with two legs in the valley, burns the buildings, the vehicles and anything else of value. Then they disappear. The only bright spot will be, your boy survives, to be raised by a new set of loving parents. We don’t want any of that to happen. You saw how easy it was for us to come in here and do what we have so far. You know we could do it. I am begging you to convince them of this so we don’t have to. ”
Missy felt the weight of his words roll down on her. Her feet were unsteady and they started into the opening and saw the people milling about.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
“Missy! Where have you been!’ A couple voices rang out. The loudest was Bethany, who started towards her but stopped when she didn’t recognize the man beside her.
“Who is that with you and where is Jeromy?” Bethany said, sliding to a stop.
Missy knew she had to get a handle on this, and fast.
“No time right now, Bethany.” She looked to the porch, where an older gentleman sat in a chair, a pipe in his hand.
“Grandpa William, This man needs to talk to you and Grandma Linda. It’s real important and can’t wait.”
The man stood and stared at Zed standing in the open space in front of the house.
“That sounds serious. Why don’t you come up here on the porch and have a seat so we can talk.”
Zed listened to Williams tone and pacing. The same people skills that made him so much money in the corporate world by reading people worked outside the boardroom as well.
“Sir, I appreciate the hospitality, but it’s kind of important for me to stand out here. I’m sorry. Missy can explain since someone needs to get Miss Linda.” Zed said in his best polite company tone.
Missy scampered up the steps. She pulled the door open just enough to speak into the house and call for Linda before moving over next to William. Moments later, a squat, grey-haired lady came out of the house and walked over to William and Missy. Linda was barely five foot, if that, all the more jarring when she was standing beside William, who was at least six foot, but rail thin. It would be hard to conjure a more contrasting couple.
Missy was deep in explanation with them, their voices not carrying very far. Zed was left as an observer from afar. He was hoping his mere presence in the middle of their camp would be enough of a diversion for Kara and Angelique to do what they needed to do and get to their next positions. He had his radio keyed so they could hear the discussion once he got the chance.
The porch conference had been going on about ten minutes or so when a pair of men came out the front door and added themselves to the group on the porch, forcing their way into the conversation, which immediately included raised voices and waving arms.
“Who is that with you and where is Jeromy?” Bethany said, sliding to a stop.
Missy knew she had to get a handle on this, and fast.
“No time right now, Bethany.” She looked to the porch, where an older gentleman sat in a chair, a pipe in his hand.
“Grandpa William, This man needs to talk to you and Grandma Linda. It’s real important and can’t wait.”
The man stood and stared at Zed standing in the open space in front of the house.
“That sounds serious. Why don’t you come up here on the porch and have a seat so we can talk.”
Zed listened to Williams tone and pacing. The same people skills that made him so much money in the corporate world by reading people worked outside the boardroom as well.
“Sir, I appreciate the hospitality, but it’s kind of important for me to stand out here. I’m sorry. Missy can explain since someone needs to get Miss Linda.” Zed said in his best polite company tone.
Missy scampered up the steps. She pulled the door open just enough to speak into the house and call for Linda before moving over next to William. Moments later, a squat, grey-haired lady came out of the house and walked over to William and Missy. Linda was barely five foot, if that, all the more jarring when she was standing beside William, who was at least six foot, but rail thin. It would be hard to conjure a more contrasting couple.
Missy was deep in explanation with them, their voices not carrying very far. Zed was left as an observer from afar. He was hoping his mere presence in the middle of their camp would be enough of a diversion for Kara and Angelique to do what they needed to do and get to their next positions. He had his radio keyed so they could hear the discussion once he got the chance.
The porch conference had been going on about ten minutes or so when a pair of men came out the front door and added themselves to the group on the porch, forcing their way into the conversation, which immediately included raised voices and waving arms.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
“This is all bullshit! He’s one of them and he’s going to pay!” One of the two younger men bellowed as he turned and pointed at Zed.
Zed didn’t like the looks of where this was going. He forced himself to keep his face calm. He couldn’t show fear. Think about the time you turned around and were ten feet from the Cape Buffalo. Those are one of the most dangerous creatures in Africa and he was standing right there. All he had to do was just breath and wait. Nothing has happened yet.
He watched the group on the porch get more and more agitated.
Zed was deep inside his head now. This didn’t look good at all.
“Marta, I might be home for dinner.” He didn’t realize he was speaking out loud, but right after saying this, he heard two things. One was a break of static, followed by two breaks of static in his ear. The second thing was, he thought he heard faint laughter that he swore was Marta’s.
Zed didn’t like the looks of where this was going. He forced himself to keep his face calm. He couldn’t show fear. Think about the time you turned around and were ten feet from the Cape Buffalo. Those are one of the most dangerous creatures in Africa and he was standing right there. All he had to do was just breath and wait. Nothing has happened yet.
He watched the group on the porch get more and more agitated.
Zed was deep inside his head now. This didn’t look good at all.
“Marta, I might be home for dinner.” He didn’t realize he was speaking out loud, but right after saying this, he heard two things. One was a break of static, followed by two breaks of static in his ear. The second thing was, he thought he heard faint laughter that he swore was Marta’s.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
With all the screaming on the porch, everyone else seemed to scatter. No one wanted to be out and about with the tempers flying.
Zed was momentarily distracted by a tiny golden blob of color moving above the porch. He watched it a moment, entranced. His mind connected it. Once he made the identification, he was a bit puzzled.
‘It’s a little early for a Rufous Hummingbird to be up here.’ His mind said. He remembered watching them swarm around the feeders and bird baths Marta used to set out. He better put them back out when he got back to the house.
“NO!”
The scream snapped Zed back to the here and now. The two younger men were charging off the porch towards him. The one in the lead had a Knife in his hand, the second one was clawing at a holster.
The scream was Missy, who had thrown herself forward, trying to catch the, to stop them. They kept coming towards Zed. The man got the pistol from his holster into his hand.
“Kara. You promised.”
Zed was momentarily distracted by a tiny golden blob of color moving above the porch. He watched it a moment, entranced. His mind connected it. Once he made the identification, he was a bit puzzled.
‘It’s a little early for a Rufous Hummingbird to be up here.’ His mind said. He remembered watching them swarm around the feeders and bird baths Marta used to set out. He better put them back out when he got back to the house.
“NO!”
The scream snapped Zed back to the here and now. The two younger men were charging off the porch towards him. The one in the lead had a Knife in his hand, the second one was clawing at a holster.
The scream was Missy, who had thrown herself forward, trying to catch the, to stop them. They kept coming towards Zed. The man got the pistol from his holster into his hand.
“Kara. You promised.”
Landcruiser
Contributing Member
Ugh.... Bad decisions...but the two who are armed will be dropped. If polite conversation does not commence after that, then Zed's life will only be the first of many as the camp and all occupants lives are forfeit.
My concern for later in the story is who mentally breaks and when....
Kara doesn't especially strike me as one who would walk away after being forced to shoot a friend....
My concern for later in the story is who mentally breaks and when....
Kara doesn't especially strike me as one who would walk away after being forced to shoot a friend....
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
For a moment, it was unclear what happened next. The man with the pistol suddenly crumpled to the side, gasping and clawing at the dirt. At the same time, the one in the lead, the one with the knife, stumbled and pitched forward, a massive wet spray coming from his rapidly deflating head. It sounded like a watermelon full of pudding, dropped off a freeway overpass. He slid to a stop five feet from Zed’s boots.
Zed threw his hands up in a stop motion out to the left and the right.
“Hold! This isn’t what I want! This isn’t what any of us want!”
Zed scanned for threats around him, then looked back at the porch.
“This should prove the truth of what we told her. We are ready and able to do what we say.”
Zed took a few deep breaths as surreptitiously as he could before continuing.
“William, Linda. Two of my people defended themselves from being raped, killing three of yours. Your people initiated an ambush, killing my daughter and my two young granddaughters. Where I come from, these things can start a blood feud that lasts centuries. That is what I am hoping to avoid by coming here today. There are two ways for a blood feud to end, winning or not starting one.”
“My group has been attacked twice by yours. Unless you can promise me this is ended and you will fix your issues among your group, stop them from raiding, ambushing random cars on the highway, terrorizing and traumatizing those around you, then you will leave us no choice but to stop the problem our way.”
Zed held his stare at Linda and William, steadfastly ignoring the two bodies in front of him.
William and Linda were talking with each other now. Missy had picked herself up from where she landed and was sitting on the steps to the porch, numbly staring out into space. Finally Linda stepped down off the porch and walked towards Zed.
“Mister. You roll in here, steal two of my people, tell them you killed three others, then come make demands of us, then kill two more. Seems your side is the one doing all the killing. What makes your side right and our side wrong?”
Zed looked the woman in the eye as he reached into his pocket, withdrawing the pictures.
“Our side killed armed men. Men who had a choice and chose to do evil. Your side? Your side tried to rape women and children traveling past your area. Your side killed an innocent woman and her two daughters as they drove by, doing nothing to you or yours. Your side? Two more coming to hurt the man who came to talk to you, hear your side of the story. They came at me, weapons drawn, ready to once again do violence on one who did them no harm.”
Zed looked at her, a gleam showing in his eye. Not a pleasant gleam, this gleam said he may have come to a conclusion.
“You know, Linda, I came here trying to convince myself that you guys couldn’t be that evil. You couldn’t warrant your own destruction. I came here looking for hope. Instead, maybe I just needed to see you in person to accept it. I can walk out of here and not look back. My conscious will be clear.”
Zed looked over Linda’s shoulder at Missy.
“Missy, I’m sorry. I tried. I will keep my promise though, your boy will survive and be brought up right.” Zed started to turn. Started to walk away.
Linda looked confused by what Zed said.
Missy stood up and ran to Linda, calling out for Zed as she did.
“Sir! Wait! Linda, don’t you get it? We are the villains in this story! We have to stop this! Billy was wrong, Garry was wrong! They were the bad ones! They brought this down on us! They earned their punishment and so have we!”
Linda looked at Missy.
“What did he mean ‘your boy will survive and be brought up right’?”
“What I meant was I’m not going to kill a five-year-old for the failings of their adults. I promised her even if she couldn’t convince you to drop the whole thing and mend the errors of your ways, I would see to her son.” Zed said, half turned around to face Linda.
“You would really kill all of us for what a couple did?”
“No, I would kill all of you for not fixing your path once it was pointed out to you the errors of your ways. I would kill you all to prevent you from doing or allowing to be done what you did to me and mine.”
William was walking out to join Linda and Missy now.
“Mister, you are right. As much as it pains us, we have to admit you are right. The problem is what to do now? How do we convince you we will change? How do we convince you to not kill us all?”
Linda spoke up now.
“Maybe if we sent Missy and Jeromy with them for a while?”
Missy exploded.
“What the hell! Trade me off? Am I a ****ing ransom payment? A bribe?”
Zed stepped in before this got back out of hand.
“This isn’t the fifteenth century. The whole idea of sending off the royal offspring for hostages of goodwill is bullshit and barbaric! So is indentured servitude or working off the crimes of family members. We would not ask that, nor accept it.”
He looked over at Missy who was about to start up again. He locked eyes with her and held up his hand. Wait.
Zed looked back at William and Linda.
“I don’t know how you could convince us. What I will accept is you oath to God to try. If you break that oath, then…the hell and fury my people will visit upon you will be a taste of your everlasting damnation to come in the afterlife. Even if you do not take such an oath seriously, my people do.”
Linda and William looked at one another then at Zed.
“We will fix this. On this we swear.”
Zed looked over at Missy. He held out his hand like one would to a child.
“Come with me. We need to get your child.”
Over his shoulder he said “My people will stay in position for probably a day or two. Do not come looking for us. You will not like finding us.”
With Missy’s hand in his, they walked off into the trees.
Zed threw his hands up in a stop motion out to the left and the right.
“Hold! This isn’t what I want! This isn’t what any of us want!”
Zed scanned for threats around him, then looked back at the porch.
“This should prove the truth of what we told her. We are ready and able to do what we say.”
Zed took a few deep breaths as surreptitiously as he could before continuing.
“William, Linda. Two of my people defended themselves from being raped, killing three of yours. Your people initiated an ambush, killing my daughter and my two young granddaughters. Where I come from, these things can start a blood feud that lasts centuries. That is what I am hoping to avoid by coming here today. There are two ways for a blood feud to end, winning or not starting one.”
“My group has been attacked twice by yours. Unless you can promise me this is ended and you will fix your issues among your group, stop them from raiding, ambushing random cars on the highway, terrorizing and traumatizing those around you, then you will leave us no choice but to stop the problem our way.”
Zed held his stare at Linda and William, steadfastly ignoring the two bodies in front of him.
William and Linda were talking with each other now. Missy had picked herself up from where she landed and was sitting on the steps to the porch, numbly staring out into space. Finally Linda stepped down off the porch and walked towards Zed.
“Mister. You roll in here, steal two of my people, tell them you killed three others, then come make demands of us, then kill two more. Seems your side is the one doing all the killing. What makes your side right and our side wrong?”
Zed looked the woman in the eye as he reached into his pocket, withdrawing the pictures.
“Our side killed armed men. Men who had a choice and chose to do evil. Your side? Your side tried to rape women and children traveling past your area. Your side killed an innocent woman and her two daughters as they drove by, doing nothing to you or yours. Your side? Two more coming to hurt the man who came to talk to you, hear your side of the story. They came at me, weapons drawn, ready to once again do violence on one who did them no harm.”
Zed looked at her, a gleam showing in his eye. Not a pleasant gleam, this gleam said he may have come to a conclusion.
“You know, Linda, I came here trying to convince myself that you guys couldn’t be that evil. You couldn’t warrant your own destruction. I came here looking for hope. Instead, maybe I just needed to see you in person to accept it. I can walk out of here and not look back. My conscious will be clear.”
Zed looked over Linda’s shoulder at Missy.
“Missy, I’m sorry. I tried. I will keep my promise though, your boy will survive and be brought up right.” Zed started to turn. Started to walk away.
Linda looked confused by what Zed said.
Missy stood up and ran to Linda, calling out for Zed as she did.
“Sir! Wait! Linda, don’t you get it? We are the villains in this story! We have to stop this! Billy was wrong, Garry was wrong! They were the bad ones! They brought this down on us! They earned their punishment and so have we!”
Linda looked at Missy.
“What did he mean ‘your boy will survive and be brought up right’?”
“What I meant was I’m not going to kill a five-year-old for the failings of their adults. I promised her even if she couldn’t convince you to drop the whole thing and mend the errors of your ways, I would see to her son.” Zed said, half turned around to face Linda.
“You would really kill all of us for what a couple did?”
“No, I would kill all of you for not fixing your path once it was pointed out to you the errors of your ways. I would kill you all to prevent you from doing or allowing to be done what you did to me and mine.”
William was walking out to join Linda and Missy now.
“Mister, you are right. As much as it pains us, we have to admit you are right. The problem is what to do now? How do we convince you we will change? How do we convince you to not kill us all?”
Linda spoke up now.
“Maybe if we sent Missy and Jeromy with them for a while?”
Missy exploded.
“What the hell! Trade me off? Am I a ****ing ransom payment? A bribe?”
Zed stepped in before this got back out of hand.
“This isn’t the fifteenth century. The whole idea of sending off the royal offspring for hostages of goodwill is bullshit and barbaric! So is indentured servitude or working off the crimes of family members. We would not ask that, nor accept it.”
He looked over at Missy who was about to start up again. He locked eyes with her and held up his hand. Wait.
Zed looked back at William and Linda.
“I don’t know how you could convince us. What I will accept is you oath to God to try. If you break that oath, then…the hell and fury my people will visit upon you will be a taste of your everlasting damnation to come in the afterlife. Even if you do not take such an oath seriously, my people do.”
Linda and William looked at one another then at Zed.
“We will fix this. On this we swear.”
Zed looked over at Missy. He held out his hand like one would to a child.
“Come with me. We need to get your child.”
Over his shoulder he said “My people will stay in position for probably a day or two. Do not come looking for us. You will not like finding us.”
With Missy’s hand in his, they walked off into the trees.
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