Copperheads - 12 (23 page)

It was a stinging point, obviously intended at undermining Terri’s authority and diminishing the influence she was trying to leverage. Keeping her best diplomatic expression intact, she responded, “There are some regions of the former state where we are just beginning to rebuild order and an elected government. In most regions, the rule of law is well established, in other remote parts of the territory, we’re only beginning to make inroads.”

Bella sighed. “So I am to believe that Del Rio, as well as the area along the eastern Rio Grande Valley, are not firmly under your government’s control?”

“I wouldn’t agree with that statement,” Terri responded. “While it is true that the Alliance hasn’t established as strong a presence there as we have in many of the major metropolitan areas or in the western part of Texas, there is law enforcement and local leadership that reports to our capital.”

“I see,” Bella Dona sneered, her demeaning tone obvious. “We thought as much given the threats we face from the north. I say, however, that I look forward to the day when we don’t have to expend so much of our limited resources on security.”

I bet that maintaining armored personnel carriers and a private army ain’t cheap
, Bishop considered.
I wonder if the Colonel knows about that.

Terri kept her cool, pretending to sympathize with their hostess. “I understand exactly what you are saying. Since society fell off the edge, we all have been forced to embrace violence in the name of self-defense and to establish the rule of law. Which brings us full circle back to our friend. If our man committed these heinous acts, we would fully support his punishment as per your rules and regulations. I ask, however, that you try to look at the situation from our perspective. Like you, we’ve seen the worst mankind has to offer. Over and over again, we’ve been involved in situations where miscommunications, invalid interpretations, and incorrect assumptions have led to all sorts of difficulties.”

“What is it you ask of us?” Bella Dona countered, clearly growing impatient.

“We would like to speak with our man,” Terri answered simply. “We would like to understand how these events transpired, both so that we can accurately report the incident back to our government, and so that we can take steps to ensure such issues never occur again.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Castro barked from his perch at the doorway. “We had to sedate the accused. He continued to resist us with the strength of the insane, and I couldn’t risk injury to any more of my men.”

I bet you had to sedate him
, Bishop thought, conjuring visions of an irate Butter beating the crap out of anyone who came within reach.
He would definitely be a handful
. 

“You don’t believe us?” Bella Dona spat after observing her guest’s reaction. “I find that offensive, to say the least.”

Terri tried to recover, “It’s not that we don’t believe you. We simply are trying to understand how and why this all occurred. We are not making any accusations of dishonesty or foul play.”

An unspoken message passed between Bella Dona and Castro, a silent communication that only they understood. The lady of the house then seemed to make a difficult decision. “Let us show you something. Perhaps it will help with this lack of understanding you profess.”

The Texan noted Castro clearly didn’t like his boss’s direction, the bodyguard visually tensing. Before he could protest, Bishop saw a look from Bella Dona that could melt iron.
There’s a lot more to this woman than meets the eye
, he concluded.
She’s scary as hell, and obviously completely in control here. I wonder how?
She doesn’t look all that tough to me.
   

Bella Dona rose abruptly, almost in a huff, and motioned her guests toward the door. Following the couple outside, she then gestured towards a group of buildings a short distance away.

The security squad that had greeted the pickup appeared, the group of muscular men forming a perimeter around the plantation’s mistress like she was the President of the United States strolling through a hostile crowd.

No words were spoken as the sizeable entourage crossed the grounds. A few moment later, Bishop spotted a large gathering of what appeared to be farm workers. Upon spotting Bella Dona, the throng parted while all of the men removed their hats. Every single pair of eyes looked away.

Pointing toward the ground with an angry, stabbing finger, Bella Dona spat, “Does this help with your understanding?”

Terri and Bishop followed to see five bodies laid out beside freshly excavated graves. “This is the work of your friend, that
decorated
government servant. Those men lying there were fathers, husbands, and brothers, murdered by this man you came here to defend,” Bella Dona hissed.

Bishop removed his own hat in respect for the dead. Much to Terri’s dismay, the Texan then moved forward and knelt close to examine the deceased.

The first cadaver had obviously suffered a broken neck. No other injuries were visible. It was the sort of demise Butter was more than capable of delivering.

The second body showed signs of a completely different form of death. A single bullet hole was visible in the man’s temple. No exit wound showed on the other side. As Bishop looked closer, he noticed a ring of raw skin around the man’s wrists.
This guy was bound and executed with a small caliber handgun
, the Texan surmised.
Now how would Butter have managed that?
 

Moving down the row of dead men, Bishop discovered two other questionable victims, both having been bound and shot in the head. One of the corpses had the sticky residue of duct tape across his mouth.

The Texan also noted that all of the deceased wore the same utility-gray shirts as Castro’s security crew.

The last carcass was lying face down. As he started to rise, Bishop noted an unusual marking on the dead man’s back. Pulling back the collar of the poor fellow’s shirt, the Texan almost gagged when he saw that the man at his feet had been severely whipped a short time before his demise. 

“Satisfied?” Castro asked from the edge of the crowd, almost as if he was daring Bishop to question the evidence at hand.

Before he could answer, Bishop’s attention was drawn to a nearby barn. There were two ropes dangling from the high, sturdy beam normally used to winch hay into the loft. A pair of hangman’s nooses swung in the afternoon breeze. Castro followed the Texan’s gaze.

“Why two ropes?” Bishop asked.

“There were two individuals involved in last night’s transgressions. Both are to be executed this afternoon at sunset,” answered the local muscle.

Terri picked up on Castro’s admission immediately. “Two people? Why weren’t we told about this? Are both of the accused from our convoy?”

Bella Dona stepped forward, “You weren’t told because it isn’t significant. One of the perpetrators admits that she traveled here independent of your convoy. She has confessed that you had no knowledge of her presence or intent.”

“She?” Bishop asked, tilting his head.

“Yes,” Bella Dona answered with a nonchalant response. “I believe her name is May.”

Terri’s shock at the name of Butter’s coconspirator passed quickly. Bishop saw it and hoped he was the only one who took notice.

Stepping toward their hostess, Terri’s tone became very undiplomatic. “So you expect me to believe that a 20-year-old girl traveled several hundred miles across hostile lands so she could meet up with our friend and try to kidnap and rape another woman? I’m struggling with this, partially because it doesn’t make a lick of sense, but mostly because new facts keep coming to light. You must realize that May is a citizen of the Alliance as well.”

Everyone but Castro seemed to have forgotten about the throng of people that still surrounded the Texans and their hosts. Bishop was reminded of their presence when several of the onlookers inhaled sharply as his wife’s words challenged Bella Dona.

Castro appeared about ready to explode, the purple-faced strongman taking an aggressive step toward Terri with murder in his eyes. Bishop intercepted, moving in front of the local, his posture making it clear he was ready to fight.

Bella Dona regained control of the situation quickly, “I think we should all step inside before continuing this discussion. Please, let’s get out of the heat and give everyone’s emotions a chance to simmer down.”

With their guests in tow, Castro and Bella Dona took the opportunity to have a quiet, private discussion as they strolled back toward the Castle. Bishop decided to do the same, drawing close to his wife and leaning into her ear. “Butter didn’t kill all of those guys back there.”

“How do you know?”

“They were shot in the head with a small caliber handgun, probably a .32. Butter carries a .45 like mine. There would be an exit wound the size of a golf ball if they had been shot with one of our pistols. Plus, our guide initially told us that Butter had killed two of the sentries, remember?”

“Perhaps May shot them? She could have brought a weapon with her.”

“Could be, but the guys who were executed had been bound right before they were killed. One of them had most of the skin whipped off his back. I think Castro had his incompetent guards killed and is blaming Butter.”

Terri nodded, then added, “Did you see how all of the farm workers wouldn’t make eye contact with Castro or Bella Dona? It was like they were scared to death of our hosts. What have we stumbled into here, Bishop?”

“I don’t know, but this whole mess reeks of evil. It’s everywhere. There’s something else that’s bugging me – where have I heard of the relationship between Copperheads and Quakers before? I just can’t quite place it.…”

“A conservative religious group and a breed of snake?”

“No, I am sure someone coupled the two groups of people in another conversation, and it’s driving me nuts trying to remember. It’s like those times when you can’t think of a word.”

The group arrived back at the main house, the two Texans escorted into the library, no one speaking a single word. Again, they found themselves alone in the room with Castro and Lady Bella Dona.

The lady of the house didn’t take her seat, however, choosing instead to stand beside her previous perch. After everyone was settled, she began speaking as if the entire affair was nothing more than a social Sunday tea. “It is obvious by the look on both of your faces that you don’t believe we are being forthright about this situation. So be it. If you’ll excuse me for a brief time, I will make arrangements to have a key witness to last night’s events brought here so that you can interview her. In the meantime, I will have additional refreshments brought in.”

As Bella Dona turned to leave, she had another thought. “And please, don’t try to leave this room. Our security people are extremely tense given last night’s trespass, and I wouldn’t want any harm to befall my guests.”

The couple found themselves alone in the library, looking at each other, both questioning just exactly what was about to happen next.

Grim lowered his binoculars and turned to Kevin. “Bishop was right. Those armored vehicles are old French surplus models they sold to Mexico years before the collapse. I’m stunned they’re still running.”

“They look pretty potent to me,” Kevin replied, still scouting the closest APC through his scope.

Shrugging, Grim said, “Their armor isn’t all that thick. Oh, don’t get me wrong – it will stop anything we have with us, but if you had a .50 caliber, it would blow through that plating like it was made of cardboard.”

“But we don’t have a 50. Mr. Bishop told me to only bring along my AR10, and it doesn’t have near the same punch.”

Grim rubbed his chin, “That’s true. Hindsight is always 20/20. Still, now that I’ve had a good look at them, I’m not nearly as concerned.”

Studying the senior man, Kevin’s eyebrows bounded towards his hairline. “You’ve got a plan.”

Smiling broadly, Grim nodded. “Come on. Let’s get back to the camp. We’ve got a little prep work to do. If push comes to shove, I want to be able to get these truckers out of here.”

The two SAINT members stalked back to the camp where Grim immediately began to issue orders. “I want 20 gallons of gasoline carried between those two trucks where our friends up on the hill can’t see what we’re up to. Kevin, get a couple of the truckers and have them start pulling bullets apart and putting all the powder into some sort of dry container.”