Sabotage (Powerless Nation Book 3) (20 page)

“Whoa!” said Mason. “Easy there.” Luckily her shot had lodged in the wall without doing any other damage.

The door across the hall opened and three unarmed soldiers ran out. Dee frantically tried to remember her practice sessions with Grandpa. She fired again but the shot went wide, thudding into the opposite wall.

Mason pushed her aside when the first guard got close. Using the paper cutter as a machete, he struck the man in the neck, the blade biting deeply into his flesh. The guard fell to the floor while two more crowded into the room.

Dee didn’t dare fire the gun again for fear of hitting Mason. She reached into her pocket with one hand and grabbed the first thing she felt there. It was sawdust she’d picked up while hiding outside.

She tossed the gritty fibers into the next guard’s face. He choked and clawed at his eyes while Mason clubbed him. He went down in a pile.

The last guard punched Mason in his unprotected side and Mason grunted. He tried to raise the blade but the guard hit Mason in the wrist, knocking the paper cutter from his hand.

Dee tried to get off a shot, but Mason was between her and the soldier. He landed a solid punch to the man’s face, but he came back with a double blow to the gut that bent Mason in half and left him gasping for breath.
 

The guard pushed Mason aside and approached Dee. “Hand over the gun kid, and no one gets hurt.”

Dee took a step back and felt the refrigerator against her back. She had nowhere to run. “Let my grandpa go.”

The guard rushed forward, and Mason reached out and caught the man’s foot. He lost his balance and fell forward, arms reaching for Dee.
 

She jumped sideways out of the way at the same time Mason rose from his crouch and leaped onto his back. He lifted the man’s head and slammed it into the tile floor. It made a dull wet sound and the man didn’t move again.

“You should take this,” said Dee, holding the gun out to Mason, handle first. “I’m useless with it.”

He shook his head. “Keep it. I kind of like this thing.” He bent over and picked up the paper cutter blade.

They crossed the hall and opened the last door into a large conference room with florescent tube lighting that flickered off and on. Chairs and tables were scattered around and a single desk lamp lit the entire room. Toward the back there were several people huddled in a group.
 

“Grandpa!” she said. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw Max, the mayor…and her mom and dad.

A sound from the lobby made her and Mason turn. “Get them and meet me at the jeep,” Mason said, then rushed back down the hallway.

“Come on,” Dee said. “We’ve got to hurry!”

Grandpa shook his head and made a muffled noise. Dee ran to the back of the room and realized they were all bound and gagged. She ripped the duct tape from Grandpa’s mouth.
 

“Untie your dad first,” he said in a raspy voice.

Ted’s eyes bulged as he strained at his bonds. “Hold still, Dad,” she told him while she fumbled with the ropes. “I’ll have you out in a minute.”
 

Crashing sounds from the lobby told her she didn’t have enough time. She rose and aimed the gun at the door.

The door banged open and Downey stepped inside. He was holding Mason’s paper cutter.

Dee stood between her family and the officer. Her dad was struggling to free himself, but she knew he wouldn’t make it in time. She remembered to check the safety and used her other hand to click it off.

“You don’t want to do that,” said Downey.

“Where’s Mason?”

“The grease monkey? You know him?” Downey rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Of course you do. All you traitors know each other.” He took a step forward.

“Stay back,” Dee warned.

Downey smiled charmingly. “I can see I’ve been going about this all wrong. Your grandpa was right. We need to work together.”

“It’s too late for that.” Dee wished her hands would stop trembling.

“I know you think I’m a bad man, but I’m not. I’m a good man that’s had to make difficult decisions. No one else could have trained a military force this quickly.”

“You call shooting people for not cooperating a difficult decision?”
 

“I did what I had to do to teach you people how to fight. We’ve got to be ready.” He took two more steps toward her. “You have no idea what’s coming.”

“Steady, Maddie...” Grandpa’s voice was soothing. “Remember what we practiced.”
 

Fire from up close. Aim for the chest. Empty the chamber.

Dee thought of all the suffering the man in her sights had caused.
 

Darla Turner in her slippers in the snow holding her newborn and looking down at her butchered husband.
 

Angela and the kids locked in the barn and left to burn.
 

Harvey shot and left lying in the street.

Downey raised Mason’s blade and began walking toward Dee. “Put the gun down, Maddie. You need me. Your town needs me.”

Dee squeezed the trigger and the force of the bullet knocked his body backward. She fired again and again, tearing a hole in his chest. She fired until the empty gun clicked in her hand and Downey’s sightless eyes stared up at her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

D
EE
’
S
DAD
WAS
AT
her side a moment later, checking the body for a pulse. Then he pulled Dee into a tight hug. “You were so brave, honey. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Dee felt weak and hoped her legs wouldn’t give out on her. “I have to find Mason,” she said, leaving the circle of her father’s arms.
 

She half expected him to take away her gun and insist she stay where she was until he could go with her.
 

“Check Downey’s pockets for ammo first,” he said instead.
 

She rifled through the pockets and found several 9mm rounds, then reloaded her gun before heading for the door.

“Be careful, honey,” Claire called after her while Ted used the blade of the paper cutter to slice through her bonds.

Dee approached the lobby, noting how quiet it was. The sounds of gunfire outside had stopped. Afraid of what she’d find, she opened the lobby door and went inside.

Mason’s body was lying on the cheap carpet.

“No!” She dropped to her knees next to him, checking for bullet wounds. “Mason!” His dark skin was pale and his eyes were closed. There was no sign of blood. “Please wake up,” she begged. He didn’t respond.

Dee tried to check the pulse at the base of his throat but her hands were shaking too badly. She lifted Mason’s shirt and put her ear against his chest. She wanted to cry with relief when she heard his heartbeat, strong and steady.

“Give him a few minutes, he’ll come around,” Grandpa said, walking into the room, rubbing his wrists.

“Are you okay?” she asked him. She hadn’t seen him look so tired and sick since his heart attack the previous summer.

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

Mason stirred and Dee helped him sit up. “What happened?” she asked.

“He got me good,” Mason said ruefully, rubbing his head. “I was out in the jeep when I saw Downey coming. I hit him with the door when he ran by. It knocked the gun out of his hand. He didn’t even stop to look for it. I caught up with him in the lobby.”

Mason tucked a strand of Dee’s hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe.”

“You did though. If he still had his gun when he found me, things might have ended a lot differently.”

“So he’s dead? And your family’s okay?”

Dee nodded.

Mason exhaled in relief. “We’d better get out of here and find Hyrum and the others. They’re going to need our help.” He got to his feet and took a step to the door but he was too shaky to get far. Dee helped him down onto a shabby loveseat, and sat beside him.

“I just need a quick breather, then we’ll go,” he said.

Voices outside the front door made them all tense. Dee scrambled for her weapon with her heart in her throat. They had taken too long to leave and now they were trapped.

The door flew open and Hyrum stepped inside. “I hoped we’d find you here.” He scanned the room. “Did Downey come this way?”

Dee noticed the weapon in his hand. It was an M14 rifle, not one of the handguns Mason had taken from Hester’s house.
 

“He’s been neutralized,” said Grandpa.

Hyrum nodded. “Good to see you, sir.”

Sergeant Olmos crowded in behind Hyrum and spotted Dee. “Why am I not surprised to see you sitting around on the job?”
 

“What’s she doing here?” Dee asked Hyrum.

“She’s on our side now,” he said, relief in his voice.

“Oh really,” said Dee. “How did that happen?”

“Partly thanks to McKenna.” He held a hand out and McKenna slipped into the lobby next to him.
 

She smiled shyly at Dee. “It’s all over. We did it.”

“When we got to the fence, your friend Hester was already there,” Hyrum explained. “Turns out she was planning a jailbreak too. She had the shed outside filled with more guns.” He indicated his own rifle.

“We took up positions outside the fence while Sena and her team covered the kids still leaving the barracks. Your diversions were perfect,” he said. “They bought us almost enough time to get everyone clear.”

“
Almost?
” asked Dee. “Jeremiah? Charlie? Kade?”
 

“They’re all fine,” he reassured her. “The soldiers caught up with us though and did get off a few shots. That’s when McKenna worked her magic. Somehow she’d gotten a bullhorn. She asked the soldiers if they were going to shoot children in the back, and asked what their own kids would think if they could see what they were doing. And on and on. She stopped the firefight almost before it began.” Hyrum ruffled the girl’s short hair. “The sergeant is here to take Downey into custody but it sounds like she missed her chance.”

“What happens now?” asked Dee.

“We still have a lot to figure out, but Amanda is already working on fixing the trucks,” said Hyrum. “We’re hoping to get everyone back to their families by tomorrow.”

“Hester said I can live with her,” said McKenna. “Some of my friends from the resistance are going too.”

“You’ll like her,” said Dee. “She’s really nice and her house is amazing.” She looked at Sergeant Olmos. “What about the military? Are you staying?”

“No, we’re clearing out,” said Olmos. “A lot of the officers have family in other camps like this one and we’re going to get them back. You aren’t the only ones Downey had under his thumb.”

“You’re saying you treated us the way you did against your will?” Dee asked, one eyebrow raised.

“No,” admitted Olmos. “My own kids died last fall. I actually bought into Downey’s plans. You might not believe this, but he had the right idea at first. Get the towns trained and working together to create a solid defense.”

“He should have just asked us,” said Mason. “We already had a militia. We would have welcomed more training.”

“Your town is different,” said Olmos. “In most places we tried to recruit we found that folks would rather hunker down at home. No one would join since there was no obvious threat. They wanted to sit around and wait for the government to tell them what to do. But what happens when the first government to show up isn’t our own?”

She paused for a moment letting that sink in.

“Downey’s plan was perfect in theory,” she said after a moment. “Confiscate all the supplies and weapons. Train kids and adults separately. Use each group against the other as leverage.”

“He killed people! You call that leverage?” said Dee. “I call it murder.”
 

“I said it was perfect
in theory
. In practice it was another story. Downey needed people to believe there would be serious consequences if they didn’t cooperate. He justified the occasional use of extreme measures. Then he and some of the officers grew contemptuous. They let the power go to their heads and took it too far. It wasn’t until tonight that it hit me. Was I really going to gun down children? Downey made me believe we were doing what was necessary when all along we’ve been the real bad guys.” Sergeant Olmos quit speaking and pressed her lips together.

“So that’s it then?” said Dee. “We’re really going home?”

“We’re really going home,” said Hyrum.

*

A few days later they all gathered at Grandpa’s house for their first meal together since the night Max had interrupted their evening with news of a raid.

“Everything looks amazing, Mom,” said Hyrum. “Dee didn’t help you cook it, did she?”

“I’ll help
you
,” Dee threatened, brandishing a butter knife at him.

“That’s enough you two,” said Angela, folding her arms.
 

Everyone bowed their heads while Grandpa spoke the words of a prayer. “Dear Lord, thank you for bringing us all home again. You’ve blessed us more than we know and we thank you. Keep us safe while we do what has to be done to get this country back on its feet. Amen.”

Everyone loaded up bowls with stew and warm bread and began talking at once.
 

Dee ignored her meal, studying each face at the table. Sena and Kade sat close together. It turned out Kade was a natural with math and science. He was going to help Sena reopen the school the following week. They exchanged a smile and Dee thought to herself that they made a good couple.

Sammy, Katy, and Joseph had all been overjoyed when everyone returned. Sammy had been especially happy to see his older brother. Mason gave Sammy a corner of his bread to sneak to Jasper, the dog, who waited patiently under the table. Mason caught Dee watching and winked at her.

Angela had one arm around Jeremiah while she ate. The young teen was struggling with the adjustment. He’d had a harder time in the training camp than the others. He was young and tender-hearted, and the cruelties they’d all experienced had left their mark on him. Dee knew if anyone could help him, it was Angela. She’d never known a woman more dedicated to her family.