Pedestals of Ash (40 page)

Bishop’s entire focus was on the man’s arms and hands. At this distance, it was unlikely either
shooter
would miss
,
and his only advantage was that his weapon was already up. His vision was so attuned to the man’s
arms
that
Bishop could have probably counted the individual hairs had he wanted to do so.
Don’t do it man,
he thought,
You can’t win. Just run away and live.
The man’s arm muscles twitch
ed,
and the barrel of his shotgun start to rise. Bishop pulled the trigger again and again. Before the lifeless body even hit the street, Bishop spun around and began mot
ioning for the stunned statesman
to get moving. The duo ran for over a block
, before slow
ing
to allow
the president
to
catch his breath. While t
he older man recuperated, his heart pounding in his throat
, Bishop paced back and forth, his temper getting the best of him. “Why? Why did he do that? He made me kill him and for no good reason. Why?”

The president’s answer stopped Bishop cold. “You killed his brother. Didn’t you realize that?”

“How d
o
you know they were brothers? How could you know that?”

The old politician shook his head and sighed, “The resemblance was clear. I’ve been observing people for years
,
Bishop. I may not look at them tactically like you do, but my eye is still pretty keen. Blood is thicker than water they say, and every candidate learns quickly to recognize family. I could have told you the second you shot the first one that the second guy was going to seek revenge. I was wondering why you waited so long.”

Bishop pretended to be checking his rifle, but was really mulling over the man’s words. He finally cleared his throat and
responded
, “Mr. President, taking a man’s life is never easy. Before I pulled that trigger I knew I would see his face at night for a long time. I will wonder who they were, how they got in this
mess,
and what their future would have been. I’ll think about their mother and wonder if she will ever know their fate. When you take a man’s life, you suddenly create a vacuum. All he was and will ever be is gone in a split second. I waited so long because I didn’t want to kill the second man – I wanted, prayed
…
would have even begged
…
for him just to turn and run away.”

Bishop realized
he
was rambling and thought the man beside him most likely didn’t understand or care. He looked around and
announced
, “We’ve got to get going,” and started to move off. The president’s hand shot out and grabbed Bishop’s shoulder, stopping him. “Bishop, you did the right thing back there. I have more respect for you as a man because you feel this way, but never doubt that you did the right thing.”

Bishop looked at the
Commander in Chief’s
eyes, seemingly wanting to say something, but didn’t
.
After a long pause, he mouthed the words “Thank you,” and then hurried off.

Terri and Diana looked at each other and smiled when the sounds of Nick’s ambush reached the compound. He had told them what to expect
,
and
early reports led both women to believe
things had gone according to plan.
As
the
blare from
the second round of shooting reached their ears, looks of concern flashed across both their faces.
Concern turned to outright worry w
hen Nick didn’t retur
n
in a reasonable amount of time. Terri was in charge of the quick reaction force Nick had organized. Her first instinct was to gather up her men and go help. After waiting what seemed like hours for Nick’s
team
to return, she
couldn’t wait any longer
and
pulled her group together. Soon, Terri was leading her fighters out of
the compound with rescue on her mind.

Hawk
’
s column was completely disrupted by the ambush. His men had scattered in all directions, with several small bands roaming the side streets of Alpha
, unsure
what to do
next
. Hawk himself seemed to be in shock at the experience
and
had become completely ineffective as a le
ader. While a few of the men
banded together and stayed huddled around the now withdrawn man, the majority
of his force was disoriented, dis
organized
and dispersed
.

Smokey’s group fared the encounter better. Despite his screaming for everyone to settle down and form up, several of his group had taken off to pursue Nick’s men. Smokey’s reaction to the confusion was to stay put. He had no idea who had just shot at them or what had happened to Hawk’s group. The last thin
g he wanted was to have one of his men
panic and star
t shooting at people on their own
side.

It was right about then that the first stragglers from Hawk’s column bumbled into the army patrol. The fog of war ruled supreme as the small cluster of five criminals opened fire on the soldiers from the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. The shots were wild and high
,
and the soldiers reacted with the speed and skill of an experienced combat unit. Within a minute, all five of the former
jailbirds
were lying dead, their bodies lined up at the drive-thru window like customers waiting on a bucket of chicken.

The small town of
Alpha, Texas
became a confused cauldron of swirling gunfights. All over the city, small remnants of Sm
okey’s forces engaged with the infantry
, Nick’s ambush party or Terri’s quick reaction force. Mass confusion ruled the fi
eld as plans had gone awry, making it difficult to distinguish friend from foe
. Bishop was trying desperately to avoid all of the combatants and simply get the president to the church compound – if it still existed.

Agent Powell was frustrated. To him, i
t seemed like random little wav
es of hostile people would shoot
at them without reason. When the first member of their patrol fell from
a gunshot to
the head, the attitude of the soldiers around him changed from puzzlement to anger. It was an unfortunate college junior that received the blunt of the soldier’s aggression. The kid, semi-forced into serv
ice by Smokey’s thugs, came jogging around a building,
carrying a
scavenged
shotgun primarily designed for duck hunting. Before the runner could even bring his weapon up, the three closest soldiers opened fire
,
causing the young man’s body to spastically jerk and fall to the ground. Powell’s concern was obvious
,
and he warned the lieutenant t
o get his men under control lest
they shoot the president by accident. The w
ord, calling for restraint, was
passed up and down the line.

Terri’s people were crossing behind a bank
,
heading toward an alleyway in the rear of the building. She was covering the corner when fou
r men approached at high speed,
brandishing
rifles and looking
desperate
.
For some reason, o
ne
of her men decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, yelling for them to stop and drop their weapons.
That warning
produced exactly the op
posite reaction. One of the sprint
ers shouldered his weapon and began firing
,
while the others scattered for a building that once housed a tax accountant’s office. Sporadic shots
were being exchanged between
Terri’s team and the skinnies
,
when three more stragglers from Smokey’s column
stumbled into
the
fight
. Terri screamed for her people to pull back
,
and a running gunfight ensued for a couple of blocks. One of Terri’s men kicked in the door of a home and her group
rushed
inside
,
seeking to hide and avoid the attackers. It would have work
ed, but the last man in was spotted
by the pursuing skinnies.

Unknown to Terri, Nick was watching from across the street where his men had holed up in a veterinarian’s clinic. When the men chasing Terri formed up to assault her hiding place, Nick’s people opened fire and killed the attackers almost instantly.
There
was a
stressful moment while
the two
different teams from
the
church
identified each other
, quickly followed by a joyful
reunion. Everyone was all smiles and hugs except for Nick. He was none too happy that Terri had left the compound on his behalf. Terri soothed his flash of anger by telling him Diana had ordered her to come bring Nick’s group home.

One of the men with Hawk tapped him on the shoulder and pointed. The ex-con looked over to see a man in helmet, full combat
gear,
carrying an AR type rifle
,
running down the street before disappearing from view. No sooner had that man left his vision, than another identically clad individual rose up and repeated the same basic action. When the third guy popped up and ran, it dawned on Hawk that a military unit was approaching his po
sition. His first thought was
T
he army is
coming to put us back in jail.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here!”

Hawk and his small
band
of men took off running in the general direction they thought Smokey
was located.
They had scampered a few blocks when they saw Smokey and a larger cluster of men gathered around an abandoned semitraile
r. Smokey’s men almost shot Hawk’s crew as they barreled down the street
, but fortunately one of the sentries recognized them.