En cite obsesse aux murs hommes amp; femmes.
Ennemis hors le chef prest a soy rendre:
Vent sera fort encore les gendarmes.
Chassez seront par chaux, poussiere, amp; cendre.
In the besieged city men and woman to the walls,
Enemies outside the chief ready to surrender:
The wind will be strongly against the troops,
They will be driven away through lime, dust and ashes.
I squeezed Debra’s hand and emotionally braced myself to leave her and Megan with the rest of the crowd that had come out to the meeting with us.
Megan smiled grimly. “Kick his ass, Dad.” When they’d brought me back injured, her emotions had made the predictable transformation from grief to barely controlled rage.
I hugged her to me and whispered, “If this doesn’t work, it’s up to you to watch out for your mom and Zach.”
“It’ll work.”
I appreciated her confidence, but I hadn’t told her what I had in mind for this meeting.
Jim and I stepped onto the bridge and away from the grim faces of the people that had come with us to meet Larry. The folks of Rejas brandished a variety of weapons, from machine guns taken off of the bodies of Larry’s so-called soldiers to homemade bows and arrows. Each of them had come with whatever they could get their hands on and, though they were outnumbered, outgunned, and quite possibly outmaneuvered, there wasn’t the slightest hint of hesitation. Everyone appeared ready to make their stand.
The bridge stretched over the reservoir for about two hundred yards, and I saw two figures approaching us from the other side. As we walked out to meet them, I examined our opposition. Out front, partly on the bridge itself, sat one of Larry’s tanks. Just behind it, I could see a few hundred troops. Just past the bridge, the road veered sharply to the right and into the thicket, blocking any further observations, although just at the edge of the bend, I spotted the front of a second tank.
“You call this a plan?” I said through the side of my mouth. We were under the supposed protection of a white flag, but my confidence in Larry’s willingness to honor the truce was limited. The whole thing was iffy, at best. Too many things had to go just right.
If Jim had similar thoughts, he kept them well hidden. “Just keep walkin’.”
I recognized the two people approaching as Larry and Han. “Larry’s leg seems to have healed well. There’s no limp at all.”
Jim grunted. “Maybe next time.”
“One can only hope.”
We stopped a few feet away in the middle of the bridge, twenty feet above the murky waters of the reservoir. I was surprised at the hulking leviathan beside Larry. I had forgotten just how huge Han was, or perhaps the rough lifestyle had bulked him up. Whatever the reason, I had to work to keep my jaw from dropping.
“Hello again, Leeland.” Larry smirked. “I see your townspeople have determined to do the sensible thing and turn you over to me.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice, a wicked gleam in his eye. “Doesn’t it frustrate you to find just how little you mean to them? Or that you’ve wasted your time with a group of people that just don’t care much what happens to anyone else, as long as they are left alone to meek out their miserable existences?”
“You haven’t changed a bit, Larry. Still a big-headed windbag with delusions of grandeur, eh? You even had to put on a uniform and call yourself a general to appease that ego, didn’t you?”
His eyes narrowed, and he turned to address Jim. “I’m gratified that you decided to do the right thing, Mayor. I’m truly sorry that we had to use such drastic measures to recapture Mr. Dawcett, but this is a martial law situation. You understand, I’m sure.”
“Han, bring him.” Han stepped forward.
“Oh no, you don’t!” I whipped out the pistols I had hidden under my jacket, planted the first one firmly in Larry’s ribs, and jammed the second under his chin. “Tell your dog to stay put, or I’ll do what I should have done two years ago.”
Larry froze.
Han froze.
Jim froze.
“What are you doing, Lee?” Jim yelled. “This ain’t what we agreed on!”
“Change in plans. I’m not about to trust this scum to turn our people loose unless he has to.”
I dug the pistol into Larry’s side. “This is to make sure he has to.”
“What makes you think I’ll do it now?” Larry’s words were laced with disdain, but I could see the way his Adam’s apple bobbed beneath the muzzle of the pistol.
“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t. It’s as simple as that.”
“And why should I believe you won’t if I release them?”
“Because one of your hostages is my mother-in-law. And if you’ll recall, I went through hell and back for my family, even went so far as to take a beating from your pet gorilla to buy them time.”
“Leeland, I assure you-”
“Shut up! Your word doesn’t mean dick! You’ll let those hostages go only as long as I force you to. So get on your radio and send them out. Now!”
I pulled the second pistol from under his chin and tucked it back under my jacket. As I did, I saw Han at the edge of my sight trying to inch closer. Without turning away from Larry, I said, “Go ahead and try it, Han. I’d love an excuse to ruin this pretty uniform your boss is wearing.”
He stopped and moved his hands out to the side where they could be easily seen.
“You might be smarter than I gave you credit for. Now pull open your jacket and drop your gun belt. Make it slow. Jim, take his gun and toss it into the water.”
Jim jumped, apparently startled. “This ain’t right, Leeland. It ain’t what we agreed to.”
I stole glimpses at the crowds on either side of the bridge. On both sides, people had weapons raised, some aimed at me, some at Larry and Han. Still others aimed at the opposing army. Everywhere though, people appeared uncertain as to what exactly was going on.
“Do it, Mayor!”
He hastened to grab the pistol from the ground, but seemed to hesitate at throwing it into the reservoir. I understood. Firearms and ammunition were valued commodities, rapidly diminishing resources. Nevertheless, it was vital that Larry and Han be unarmed if this was going to work.
“Don’t worry, Mayor. I’ll still go with them. You’ll get to save your precious town. I just want to make sure my family is safe first.” I turned back to Larry and frisked him with my free hand. I left the radio on his belt and threw his pistol out to join Han’s. The splash told me that it wouldn’t be easily recovered.
Jim started to step toward me. “Leeland-”
Whipping my second handgun out again, I pointed it directly at Jim. “Sorry, Mayor, I need you to come over here where I can see you.”
Jim looked at me as if he had never seen me before. “What the…?”
“Get over here with these two where I can keep an eye on you.”
“Dammit, Leeland!”
“Now!” Jim scrambled to do as I said.
“Now reach into Larry’s jacket here and pull out his radio.” When he did, I ordered, “Take it, Larry. Tell your troops to release those hostages or, so help me, I’ll drop you where you stand, and to hell with what happens after.”
He swallowed and keyed the radio. “General Troutman here.” He looked up at me and, for a moment, I thought he was going to resist. “Release the prisoners.”
I snatched the radio from his hand before he could say anything else. “Now, as soon as I see our people back on this side of the bridge, we can settle things between ourselves.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I want to see people moving over here in thirty seconds, or I swear I’m going to ruin your day!” I shoved the barrel of my pistol down the front of his pants. “One. Two. Three-”
Larry snatched the radio back. “Get those prisoners over here! Get them over here now!”
“Seven, eight, nine…” I had reached seventeen when I saw the first of them running across the bridge. Amber was the tenth.
When the last one had filtered through the crowd on our side of the reservoir, I turned back to Larry. Pulling the pistol out of his pants, I shoved it back into his ribs. “We did have an understanding about this meeting, didn’t we, Larry? The next time we met?”
“Leeland, no!”
“This is between me and Larry, Mayor. You can go back to the factory now. This will all be over in a few minutes. I’ll kill him, his thugs will kill me, and everyone else gets to go home happy.”
Jim looked at me with wonder in his expression. “You’re just as crazy as he is.”
“Maybe so,” I acknowledged. “But in a couple of minutes, I don’t think that’ll matter anymore. Now, get back to the factory, or you’re going to get caught here when the bullets start flying.”
The mayor lowered his eyes, apparently defeated, and stepped away from Han and Larry. Then, as he drew alongside me, he grabbed my arm and pulled it away from Larry. “This ain’t right!”
The two of us struggled for the pistol for a moment before Jim suddenly snatched the second pistol from my jacket and pointed it at my belly. The other was still held aloft, pointing at the sky, where he held my arm locked with his. Turning me to where he could see Larry over my shoulder, he said, “None of this was supposed to happen. We was comin’ out here ta negotiate with you. I wasn’t gonna let you take Leeland, but I figured I could trade my people for some more of the explosives we used to get your tanks.”
He panted a bit from our struggle and looked at me. “You went and ruined it! Damn it, Leeland, none of this had to happen! You’ve committed us to a war we can’t win!”
I looked around. Guns from all sides were trained on the bridge, but everyone hesitated to fire the shot that would no doubt begin a raging battle. “So now what?”
“You two.” He jerked his chin at Larry and Han. “Get back to your people and pull back. We’ll talk this out later.”
“You think they’re going to just walk away and let you alone?” I demanded.
“Go!” he yelled, and I heard their footsteps rapidly retreating.
The two of us remained locked together for a moment. I saw Jim’s eyes following their progress over my shoulder.
He nodded. “Far enough.”
I took a deep breath, then screamed at the top of my lungs, “No, you can’t let them go!” I yanked my pistol down from Jim’s grip and whirled around, aiming at Larry’s back. “Come back here, you son of a bitch!”
Larry turned to see me aiming right at him. Then Jim fired twice. I heard the report and felt the stinging in my back that told me I’d been hit. I turned, “Wha…?”
“I can’t let you do that, Lee.” He fired twice more at my chest, just as I fired back at him. Screams of disbelief erupted from the townspeople as Jim and I both fell to our knees.
There are so many holes in this plan that it isn’t funny…
I dropped my pistol and clutched at the stinging in my chest.
…and if anything goes wrong, I’m dead.
Pulling my hand away, I saw it stained shiny and red. I held it out toward Jim, and there were more screams as people saw the crimson coating. Jim struggled back to his feet just before I fell to my face.
…so many holes..
I heard the sounds of boots approaching and resisted the urge to move. They stopped beside me, and I felt someone reach down to check my pulse. “You all right?” Ken whispered.
I answered without moving. “Just a little bruised. Forgot how much paintballs hurt at close range.”
Ken grunted. “Okay, boys, pick him up and get him back to the factory. Make sure everyone gets a good look at all the red on him when you take him back. Leeland, you’re dead. Don’t move a muscle.” Four sets of hands grabbed my arms and legs, lifting me to shoulder height. I concentrated on being dead as they bore me back toward the factory.
“The whole thing is iffy, at best,” I’d protested. “Too many things have to go just right. I mean, what if they get a good look at the pistols? What if they realize that they don’t quite sound the same as regular firearms? What if they don’t buy my acting, or Jim’s? There are so many holes in this plan that it isn’t funny, and if anything goes wrong, I’m dead. We’re all dead!”
Ken looked at me, his frustration obvious. “So you got a better idea? Nobody’s forcing you into this. Jim and I are fully prepared to do it without you. You can still bow out.”
“Bullshit! As bad a plan as it is, it would be even worse without me in it.”
“Yes, it is. But it’s like Debra said, you’ve already done more than enough for this town, especially in the last couple of days. Nobody would think any less of you if you passed on this one.”
“Except me.” I dropped my head and sighed. I looked back up at Ken. “Okay. The trick is going to be trying to keep Larry off balance. He’s too smart to fall for it if he has time to think about what’s going on.”
He nodded, relieved to see I was finally rolling with it. “Suggestions?”
“Piss him off … scare him. Do whatever we can to keep him reacting instead of thinking. Once the ball is rolling, he can’t get a second to gather his wits, or we’re all dead.”
“And how do we do that?”
“I’m going to remind him of our first meeting. I scared the hell out of him then, and it’s got to be eating away at that monster ego of his. I imagine that’s why he’s so insistent about getting his hands on me now.”
Ken nodded. “Makes sense. I take it you have something in mind?”
“Not really. Just gonna do like I did in the tank. I’ll start pushing buttons and see what happens.”
Less than a dozen people knew I wasn’t really dead, and it was all I could do to remain still as they carried me through the stunned crowd to Jim’s office. Once behind closed doors, I opened my eyes and saw smiling faces all around me.
“You didn’t tell me those things would sting so much,” Jim complained. “Still, I guess it’s better than the alternative. You look pretty lively for a dead man.”
I smiled. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Debra brought over a couple of wet rags and helped me out of my shirt, tsking over the welts on my chest. “I’ve never understood your fascination with a sport that causes so many bruises.” She pulled my head down and kissed me soundly. “But just now, I’m not complaining.”
As soon as I could stop grinning, I asked, “Where’s Ken?”
“Right behind you.” He closed the door behind himself as he joined us. “I’ve been busy trying to calm everyone down. Had to let one more person in on the act, too.”
I turned and found Amber staring at me as if she couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or furious to find me still alive. Finally, she decided on the former and came forward to hug me. “You scared the hell out of me!”
“Good. Everybody’s reaction had to be natural if we were going to fool Larry.”
Ken nodded. “Well, I’d say it worked. From what I could see out there, everyone is convinced you’re dead and Jim’s dying. Our people are all wondering what hit them.”
Jim grinned. “Now, how about we hit back?”
I felt the explosion more than heard it. The floor and walls shook with a ferocity that threatened to bring the building down around us and, as we ran out of Jim’s trailer, we saw that part of the building had, indeed, come down. The far end of the factory was a pile of rubble and swirling dust. People screamed and ran in all directions.
“Oh God.” Amber rushed toward the wounded.
“Leeland!” I turned and Ken tossed me my rifle.
“This way!”
I followed as he led us through the mob to one of the front bay doors. People hid behind old, rusted-out steel drums, wooden pallets, anything that presented cover while they fired ineffectually at the tank moving out onto the bridge.
Ken immediately signaled them to follow. We made our way to the forefront, and several folks did a double take when they saw two dead men walking. Smiles and muttered comments passed through the crowd as they realized that we had somehow managed to fool Larry.
A second explosion knocked me off my feet, and I saw several people thrown about like paper dolls in a high wind. Most landed without moving. The few able to move thrashed and screamed in anguish. The sounds of gunfire and screaming were once more all around me as Ken lead us to the fore of the skirmish.
“Hold your fire!” he screamed. “Hold your fire!”
I thought he was crazy at first. Hold your fire? While they bombed the hell out of us? But as more and more folks heeded his instructions, I understood. We were the only ones shooting. Larry’s goons lay on the ground on the other side of the bridge letting us waste precious ammunition. He had moved one of his tanks to the middle of the bridge, and the second was fully into the open, among his troops. The tank on the bridge was motionless and appeared to be waiting for something. When the shooting finally stopped, one of the top hatches opened, and a stick emerged waving a white rag.
“They’ve gotta be kidding!” Ken was clearly enraged. “They expect us to accept a truce after this?” He raised his rifle, but Jim put a hand on his arm to stop him.
“Wait. I need a couple of minutes. Just see what they want.” With that, the mayor pushed back through the crowd, leaving Ken and me to figure out what was going on.
“What’s that all about?” I asked, but Ken only shrugged.
“I have no idea, but let’s give him the time he needs.” He turned to the crowd. “You!” He singled out a young man in jeans and a dirty t-shirt. “I need your shirt, son.”
Without hesitation, the guy stripped off the sweaty white shirt and tossed it to Ken, who draped it over the end of his rifle and walked away.
At the beginning of the bridge, he stopped and waited for the soldier who had climbed out of the tank to walk the rest of the way to him. I watched with the others as they exchanged a few words, then the man handed Ken something and turned back to the tank.
Ken returned holding another of Larry’s radios. “His Majesty is in the second tank.” He pointed to the tank in the clearing across the bridge. “Says he wants to talk to whoever’s in charge. Wants to talk about our surrender.”
I grinned. “Well, hell! This should be fun.” I held out my hand, but Ken held back for a moment.
“Don’t push him too hard, Lee. You remember how unstable he is?”
I nodded. “I know, I know.”
“And that he has tanks?”
Again I nodded, less patiently this time. “Right, don’t piss off the crazy man with the tanks. Got it.”
Ken hesitated a moment longer before finally handing me the walkie-talkie.
I thought for a second before keying the mic. It was going to be a hell of a tightrope act. I had to keep him talking for a few minutes without enraging him to the point where he fired the cannons again. “Hello?”
“This is General Lawrence Troutman of the United…” He paused. “Leeland?”
“Yeah. It’s me, Larry.” I figured I would keep it simple and get Jim the time he’d asked for before I started pushing his buttons again. “What do you want now?”
There was about a ten-second pause before he answered, and I could only imagine the fit he was probably having over my survival. When he finally answered though, his voice was maliciously polite. “My, my, Leeland. Allow me to congratulate you on your fine acting skills. That was a wonderful performance you and your mayor put on for us. You truly had me fooled. I don’t suppose you would consider coming back to the bridge and doing an encore?”
“Why would I do that? You already let our people go. I got what I wanted.”
“But you know there were other people in that hospital. I suppose you don’t care about them?”
I shook my head at his audacity. “You lying son of a bitch! You don’t have any more hostages. All you have are your troops on that side of the bridge, and your enemies over here.”
“But, Leeland, there are more than fifty more of your people back at the hospital. How could you be so selfish?”
“We already heard about the rest of the people at the hospital!” Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I thumbed the transceiver once more. “You think you could kill that many people and none of the others would notice? Or have you just reached the point where you can’t tell the truth from your own lies anymore?”
Larry was silent for a few seconds, and I glanced around to see how the others were taking the discussion. I couldn’t afford to have any of them believe him. If they did, they might begin to feel that it was wiser to turn me over and take Larry at his word. From the expressions around me, I needn’t have worried.
As the radio squawked back to life, I saw a ripple in the crowd that started at the perimeter and snaked its way toward me. I concentrated on my conversation, but watched to see what caused the commotion.
“All right,” Larry said. “It was a futile attempt to fool you, I admit. It was worth a try, but I would have been surprised if it had worked. In fact, I think I would have been more than a little disappointed.” The ripple turned into a parting in the crowd as Jim returned leading two other men.
“Let’s simply return to the original proposition, then. I will agree to let your little town go free if you will agree to turn yourself over to me.”
I grinned when I saw the gear the mayor and his men carried. Looking up at Jim, I nodded understanding. I knew how to steer the conversation. “You think I’m about to believe you now? You think anyone here will? Every time you open your mouth, another lie falls out. I might have believed you once, but I know you better now. You can take your proposition and shove it.”
“Are you certain, Leeland? Think of all the people you are consigning to death. Shouldn’t they have some say in this?”
“Sorry, Larry, I’m tired of your mind games. It’s nothing more than some kind of ego-stroking for you-mental masturbation-and I’m not a voyeur.”
“This is your last chance. Either you walk out and meet my man on the bridge right now, or I’m afraid you leave me with no other choice than to open fire on your facility.”
Jim met my eyes. “Ready.”
“I’m tired of talking, Larry, so let me put this in terms you can understand.” I pointed, and Jim touched the first pair of wires to the car battery he’d brought up.
I saw the explosion a split second before I heard it. The screams and curses of Larry’s men reached us just as the first pieces of debris began hitting the water, and I saw most of Larry’s soldiers hit the dirt. Others panicked and bolted for the trees.
“Damn,” Jim cursed, “wrong one!” Grabbing the next of what looked like a dozen pairs of wires, he touched them to the terminals, and the bridge almost directly beneath the tank exploded in a cloud of dust and rubble, actually lifting the tank a few feet before tumbling it sideways into the reservoir. Cheers erupted from our side, until people saw the second tank moving into better position.
But the mayor was far from finished. He began touching one set of wires after another to the battery terminals. Explosions like land mines ripped through the enemy, indiscriminately throwing men and vehicles high into the air on the other side of the reservoir.
Trees began to jump into the air and fall among the panic-stricken men. Jim had been busy burying Astrolite charges under some of the surrounding trees. A large pine fell across the front of the tank as it tried to maneuver for a shot, and I thought for a hopeful moment that it was trapped. With my heart in my throat, I watched it back out from under the fallen pine as if it were nothing and realized that I had greatly underestimated the power of the behemoth. Then, I saw its cannon.
“Yeah!” It was curved in nearly a fifteen-degree bend. They would never be able to fire that thing ever again.
The tank began a rapid retreat as Larry’s fear for his own safety overcame his obsessive desire for my head. He drove away, unheeding of the men on foot around him, and I saw a few of the slower ones crushed screaming beneath the treads as he fled.
Cheers erupted again, and I joined them unabashedly. Pumping my fist in the air, I whooped and yelled. As I turned about to share the glory of the moment with those around me, I froze. Staggering toward me, tears streaming down her face, Debra came to my arms.
“The second explosion…”
The last several minutes flew through my head as I tried to make sense of what she had said. Larry and Han on the bridge, paintball guns, playing dead, Larry’s attack with the tank cannon, Amber rushing to help…
…the second explosion…
I gasped. “Amber?”
Her sobbing was the only answer.