"Karl, can't you just take your medicine and leave well enough alone?" The doctor said as he paced a few feet in front of his armed guards.
"That's what you would've wanted isn't it? Well fuck you, Doc," Karl said.
"Your friend nearly beat your old buddy Chippy to death. Corporal, attend to the Lieutenant." Two of the soldiers rushed to Newstrom's side, lifted him, and carried him back to where they had been standing.
"Get him in the Hummer. We'll need medical back up," Martin said. Behind them, parked in the woods was a jet black Hummer. It must've been how they got in here in the first place.
"He's going to jail-you're all going to jail, you scumbags," Karl said.
"Karl, Karl, Karl, you really are insane. There will be no jail. There will be no media coverage. We don't exist, we don't answer to the usual sources. You watch; the papers tomorrow will report on the drill at VHS. There will be no mention of us or you or the stupid teenagers we trained. It all goes away. Just like it always does. It all goes away."
"I stopped you this time, you asshole, and I'll keep stopping you," Karl yelled at them.
"I'll give you this, Karl, you did indeed get in the way of this operation, there's no doubt. I'd have you killed if we hadn't already succeeded at well, how do I say this…keeping people from taking you seriously. Your friend there, he made it a bit more complicated, but after the debacle at Notre Dame, not many see him as credible."
"So it's on to the next project isn't it, you fucking scum," Karl said.
"Karl, there's work to be done here and where we are needed around the world. You don't see that. "
"What I see are kids dying while scumbags like you line their pockets. You go to hell. I should've let Duffy finish Newstrom."
"Karl, forget it. You can't win. Nothing has changed. You have made no difference in this entire thing. It disappears, it vanishes." He smiled and paused. "You'll especially like our next…uh…event. It will have an explosive effect on the military." He looked briefly at the soldiers. "Let's go." The four of them headed to the Hummer, to who knows where.
"You want to tell me what the hell just happened," I said to Karl who still stared at the Hummer as it pulled away. He didn't answer me. He looked to the sky and let out a bloodcurdling scream.
He sat on the ground and started to cry. When he sniffed away enough of the tears, he looked at me and said, "C'mon, Duff you get it by now. There's too many making too much to want to find peace. The money is in war. That's it, plain and simple."
I had no idea what to say. I just looked at Karl.
"People have too much at stake and as long as the machine has a way to make them fearful, the cash cow will get fatter and fatter. Martin's right. They're just on to the next project. Fuck!" Karl stood and kicked at the dirt.
"Karl, why did you pull me off him?"
"I've killed Duff. It takes its toll. I didn't want you to have to live it. Your nightmares are bad enough now." Karl looked up right at me. I didn't have a clue what to say. Karl kicked the dirt again and continued to curse.
Martin was right. The kids were back in school, the troopers had gone back to their barracks, and I'm sure the papers would have nothing to say about anything.
"Karl, you were right all along and you saved a bunch of lives today." I put an arm around his shoulder. "C'mon, buddy let's get out of here."
We headed back through the woods to the fields, toward the parking lot. The drill over, the sirens silent, and there was no longer any sight of troopers. I had no doubt the media would report a drill or a false alarm the next day. We walked along the edge of the woods by the soccer and softball fields to get back to the car.
Outside of one of the double doors there a single teacher stood there looking at us. A couple of hundred feet away, but she kept looking at us. I began to wonder if she would call another alarm and start this whole mess again.
"Duff, who's watching us?" Karl said.
"I've got no idea but I think she's had her eye on us since the woods."
"You think she saw what went down?"
"We were off in the woods so I doubt it. I guess in the confusion she could've followed from behind and saw," I thought about it a little bit.
"She could be with Newstrom," Karl said.
"Yeah or she could be a teacher getting some air." We came up on the Cadillac and Al, hearing us, got up from his nap and barked out the window. I saw Karl smile out of half his face. He got in on Al's side and Al licked him once while climbing on his lap.
"Duff, it just like when I was over there. No resolution, no closure on shit. They got away with it there and they got away with it here." Karl punched the car door. We pulled out and away from VHS and headed toward Crawford.
"Still…"
"Still, nothing Duff. Face it, I'm still nuts, and now, so are you. You've been discredited and no one will ever look at you the same way ever again. They won again," Karl said while he petted Al.
I didn't have an answer. He was right, though. I had become a crazy, punch drunk fighter everyone laughed at behind his back. These fucking assholes went on to the next town to keep their own version of terror going, and they were still making millions. Karl and I sat in silence for a long time as we took the winding roads back home toward the city. We lost and really nothing left to say.
Almost to the city line, Karl spoke. "Duffy, you promised me something."
I felt him looking at me while I drove. "I did?"
"Yeah. When we decided to do this I made you promise we could see something through to the end some time. That we could get somebody doing something wrong and put a stop to it-a complete stop to it. No bullshit, no cover ups, no ifs, ands, or buts."
"Yeah, so. You got something in mind?" Karl looked down at Al. His whole face changed.
"You bet your ass I do."
"You wanna clue me in?"
"We raid that no good fuckin puppy mill and shut it down once and for all."
"Karl…"
"Duff, what the hell do we got to lose? Everyone thinks we're nuts already."
"But Karl I don't think they're doing anything illegal."
"Yeah-and technically neither are the security firms." I didn't know what to say. I looked at Karl and I looked at Al. The idea started to appeal to me. It may not have been the guys we wanted, but it would be a chance to snuff out some evil shit. This might have been conclusive evidence I really was crazy but-you know what-I didn't give a fuck.
"All right Karl-let's do it."
Karl smiled and petted Al.
"We're gonna need some help you know," I looked at Karl.
"It would come in handy."
"There's probably good reason they all think we're crazy," I said.
"You don't think I know that?"