Redaction: The Meltdown Part II (42 page)

“Yeah.” Pete dusted his hands on his pants. “I say we all go after this one.”

“Agreed.”

Scrambling inside, Manny released the brake. They worked the vehicle back and forth until finally they got it moving. His arms trembled by the time it rolled down the hill. As it moved up the next, he sprinted after it then headed for the woods.

“Hey!” One of the guards yelled. “Get back here.”

He pumped his legs harder, kicking the snow in front of him. Damn this was hard.

The gun popped. He reached the woods.

Standing in dark wood, Beth waved at them from in front of a pine tree trunk. “This way.”

Manny veered toward her, too late realizing they were heading back toward the guards and their guns. Rini dashed between the trunks in a flash of color. With a burst of speed, he caught up with Beth. “Are you nuts?”

Rini stopped in a small clearing. Gray sunlight shone on the brown and white ground. “We’ve found blood.”

Jesus. He’d forgotten the woman.

Pete and Paul overtook him and burst into the clearing. “Where?”

Manny staggered to a stop next to Beth.

“Here.” Rini pointed to the ground. Red spots dotted the brown pine needles. A single set of footprints stomped the snow.

“We’ll follow them to Aunt Alma.” Keeping an eye on the ground, Pete jogged to the right. Paul followed hard on his heels. Soon they were shadows in the dim light.

Beth and Rini entered the woods next.

Manny followed.

Pete disappeared, then Paul went down.

What was going on? His heart beat double time.

Rini yelped and was jerked to the right.

“No!” Manny reached for Beth.

Someone slapped a hand over her mouth and pulled her into a clearing.

No. They wouldn’t get them. Manny slapped away a bough just as the woman screamed again. He stumbled over something. Air slammed from his lungs. He rolled over and raised his fists.

A man loomed over him. Sunlight glinted off the rifle in his hands.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

“Relax Manny.”

They knew his name? Oh God, he was going to die. Manny blinked the man into focus. Tan and green jacket. Wide grin. Helmet. Not a man; a soldier. One he knew. His gaze shifted to the name on the right side of his jacket. “Robertson?”

“Yep.” Robertson grabbed Manny’s wrist and pulled him to his feet. The German shepherd sniffed Manny’s leg then moved on to Pete. “Sorry about that, we didn’t have time to take out the garbage.”

The soldier nodded to the body at Manny’s feet.

A knife stuck out of the man’s throat. He recognized him as one of the murderer’s men.

The woman sat holding a cloth to her swollen lip, but otherwise unharmed on a fallen log.

A big soldier stood at her side. “Okay, one more scream, but this time I want you to kinda strangle off on the end.”

She took a sip from her water bottle. “If it helps.”

Paul and Pete fell at her feet, touching her hands, knees, and arms. “Aunt Alma, are you alright?”

“Sure, they rescued me before he could do anything.” She cupped each of their cheeks. “I told you we could trust the soldiers.”

“Manny.” Robertson snapped his fingers in front of his face. “How many bad guys are there?”

Rini and Beth walked from the woods, arm in arm chatting to the soldiers on either side of them.

Everyone was safe. Everyone was okay. Manny swatted at the needles sticking to him. What had Robertson asked? Oh, yeah. “With him gone, there’s four left. But only two stayed to guard us.”

Robertson’s face flushed red and he bit off one word. “Trent?”

Manny retreated a step. Whoa. The soldier was one pissed off dude. “Who?”

“The man you saw kill that woman from the old neighborhood.”

Trent. Manny rolled the killer’s name around in his head. Trent seemed like he’d sell fancy things, not murder people. He mentally smacked his forehead. Now
he
sounded like Rini. “Um, Trent and another guy took off.”

“Do you know where?”

“They talked about shopping,” Pete spoke up. “I saw them break through a fence, heading toward a bunch of buildings.”

“Damn,” Robertson swore softly. His fist pounded his thigh. The dog dropped to the ground and waited.

Manny reached for him then dropped his hand. “What’s wrong?”

“That’s where our people are. Colonel Dobbins thought we should pick up some blankets and jackets since we had to wait for you to show up.”

Manny’s stomach rolled when he made the connection. “Wheelchair Henry?”

Robertson nodded. “Everyone.”

Oh no! The niños. Manny lurched forward. He had to get to them.

Robertson grabbed his arm, spinning him back into the clearing. “I know you want to go to them, but I’m asking you to trust us.”

“With all you here, who’s watching them?” Protecting them. If anything happened to the niños, he’d never forgive himself. They were his responsibility. A responsibility he’d shirked just to be normal for a bit.

And look what happened.

“We’ve got three armed Marines and Colonel Dobbins.” Robertson leaned closer. “I’ll say this for your ears and if you ever repeat it, I’ll deny it even under torture.”

“What?” What was he talking about?

Robertson looked around. “Even sick, the Marines are more than enough to take out Trent and his asshole. Of course, given that your Wheelchair Henry is
Army
Special Forces, he doesn’t need the jarheads to take out the trash.”

“But he’s…” Manny stilled his tongue. The man had done more to help him survive than anyone. He wouldn’t speak disrespectfully of him.

Robertson rocked back on his heels. “Hell, man, that’s his secret weapon. They’ll underestimate him and bam!” He punched his fist. “They’re dead before they hit the ground.”

The information shuffled around Manny’s head. Blind Connie and Mildred had protected the niños earlier when the soldiers had been fired upon. So had a lot of other people. His heart resumed a normal beat in his chest.

“I hate to ask it of you man, but my men and I can really use your help.”

Manny tensed. The soldiers wanted his help? He’d held a gun earlier but the weight of it… God knew if he could even fire it.

Robertson waved to the kids and the girls. His men drifted back into the trees, melting in the shadows. “I need you guys to go back.”

“Back?” Manny resisted the urge to clean out his ears. He couldn’t have heard right. They’d just got here.

“I know you wouldn’t want to leave the others.” Robertson rested his hands on his gun. “And we can’t go in there guns blazing. Those assholes are bound to take some people hostage.”

Manny’s stomach shifted like he’d swallowed handfuls of bee-bees. It wasn’t his problem. He’d only promised to look after Rini and Beth. To see to the woman. The bee-bees settled dragging his stomach to his knees. But he’d promised to help take care of each other. And those girls the sergeant-major had rescued were part of that. Part of what he left behind. “What can we do?”

Robertson squatted, picked up a twig and scratched out rectangles. “Here’s the truck.” He made a big shape behind a dozen or so others. “These are the cars.” He pointed to the smaller ones. “We want you to clear out three rows around the truck, then fall back to here.” A line marked the boundary beyond the rectangles. “Keep down but aware.”

“Aware of what?” Pete asked.

“Of the targets’ locations.” Robertson wiped the smaller rectangles away. “This should be enough space for us to pick them off, but if they reach the cars things might get hairy.”

Manny scratched the peach fuzz on his chin. Hairy was obviously something to be avoided. “Okay.”

Robertson pushed to his feet. “Good. Vegas, get into costume.”

Costume? What costume? Manny sidled closer to Rini and Beth. “Are you okay doing this?”

Beth swallowed hard. “Trent won’t be back will he?”

“He won’t be in a position to hurt anyone after we’re finished with him.” Robertson cracked his knuckles.

A dark-skinned Latino emerged from the shadows. Without a word, he skinned the jacket and tee-shirt off the corpse. “Pants ain’t gonna fit.”

Manny compared the dead body to the soldier’s. The corpse’s legs were half the size of the Vegas’s tree trunk thighs and in the uniform that would be noticeable. The knot on his rope belt dug into his gut. “You can have mine.”

He fumbled with the rope.

Vegas snorted and shook his head. “Manuel, I ain’t gonna get one of my legs in there.”

“It’s Manny.” Working the knot free, he stepped away from the girls and held out the waistband. Two of him could now fit where one had once strained to fit. Skipping meals for six months had taken off all the bulk he’d acquired in Juvenile Detention.

Robertson whistled. “Damn.”

Vegas looked at the ground. “Come on, Manny. We don’t want to give the ladies a show.”

Holding up his pants, Manny followed the soldier into the woods. Quiet settled around him. A few snowflakes drifted through the branches overhead.

“You’re gonna need to stay behind the vehicles as much as possible when you return.” Vegas stripped off his jacket and shirt. Another tan shirt molded to his chest.

Manny turned around and pulled off his pants. Cold air slapped his legs. Scars criss-crossed his thighs from the accident that had killed Rini’s brother. “I don’t think they’ll know if I was wearing camo pants.”

He tugged the string out of the belt loops and wrapped it around his fingers.

“They’ll notice.” Vegas growled. “Every damn one of you is wearing jeans.”

Manny jerked the wide legs over his damp sneakers, careful not to let the blue jeans get any damper. Cupping one hand over his shrinking privates, Manny turned around.

Blood stained the front of the tee-shirt and created lines on the jacket Vegas wore. “You know about the power of military ACUs don’t you Manny?”

He swapped his soft jeans for the stiff fabric. Water beaded on the outside. What had they done to it? It felt like those weird tablecloths his mother used to put on the patio table. “What power?”

“You step into those uniform pants and the girls are gonna wanna take theirs off.” Vegas jumped a little as he pulled the jeans over his legs.

Heat burned Manny’s face as he stepped into his new pants.

“And you’ve already got yourself one admirer.”

Manny cleared his throat and tried to slip the rope through the belt loop. “Beth and I are just friends.”

“Whatever you say.” Vegas chuckled. “It’s gotta drawstring already.”

Now he felt like a fool, too. Folding down the waistband, he caught the string and tugged. As the fabric gathered, he pushed it back bunching it around his sides and back. “Why are you dressed in that man’s clothing?”

“I’m going to escort you out of the woods, then pretend to go back and play with Mrs. Hunt.” Vegas tucked the tee-shirt into his pants then pulled it out again. “That way there’s a reason why you and the others came back.”

“You two about done in there?” Robertson stepped out from behind a tree. The dog thumped his tail and his ears twitched.

“We’re ready.” Vegas picked up his rifle. “Remember what I said about those pants, Manny.”

Manny rolled his eyes. Like he believed it. After folding the cuffs, he trailed behind them.

Talking with her hands as much as her mouth, Rini spoke with Pete and Paul under a big pine. Beth stood a little to the side. When she spied Manny, she inspected him from head to toe.

Manny stood a little straighter.

Vegas nudged his shoulder. “Told you. Chicks dig the uniform.”

Robertson checked his weapon. “Alright, let’s get this thing going.”

Vegas led the way through the woods.

Manny fell in behind him.

A twig snapped; Beth slipped her hand into his. “I’m scared.”

Who wasn’t? “We’ll be fine.”

The soldiers would take care of the bad guys. His job and hers was to keep everyone behind the cars. There would be no hostages.

The pines cleared enough so they could see the trunk. Robertson gathered them close. “Okay I want you to look scared. Don’t go near the targets unless you absolutely have to.”

Vegas bowed and motioned for them to precede him with a bloody knife. “After you.”

A hand settled on Manny’s shoulder as they reached the clearing.

Vegas grinned. “Mind your step,” he whispered, shoving his shoulder. “And don’t interrupt me again.”

Manny staggered across the snow, digging a trench. When he looked up, the two guards were watching him. He jogged a little faster and caught up with the girls. “Let’s get going.”

The three rows of cars had been cleared.

“We have to hurry.” They separated, each taking a row. None of the other kids looked at him. He passed a bumper of a Honda. Two kids shoved the body in the driver’s seat to the passenger’s side. Beth stayed behind him. They’d paused by the open door when a shot rang out.

Someone screamed. Everyone ducked.

Manny pushed Beth in front of him then onto the road.

“Hey boy!” The guard standing on the hood aimed at him. “Get over here.”

Manny rose to his feet. His legs shook.

“Don’t go!” Beth clawed at his hand.

He had to. Swallowing the lump stuck in his throat, he put one foot in front of the other. Three rows of cars had been cleared. The soldiers would take out the bad guys soon. He moved abreast of the rear wheels.

“Faster.”

Where were they? Manny held his arms stiffly at his side.
Don’t look at the woods. Don’t look at the woods
. He set his hand on the trunk. Another step and he’d be in the open.

Another shot rang out.

The guard on the road jerked his head backward then he fell.

“Robert E!” The one on the hood turned toward the wood, raising his weapon. Another shot and red splattered his chest. He crumpled onto the metal then rolled off. The German shepherd darted out of the trees, beelining for the bodies.

Robertson strode from the woods, blowing the barrel of his weapon.

While two soldiers knelt at the edge of the wood, sweeping the area with their muzzles, two more stormed across the road. Vegas stooped near the first body on the ground and touched his throat. “Clear.”