The Trade of Kings Read online

  “Mark, get upstairs and get ready with the rifle like we talked about. Stay in touch by radio and let me know what you see, okay? Jacob and Josie, I want you two in the basement with Tina, Jason and Sarah.”

  “Oh like hell I’m going in that basement,” Tina replied. The wrinkles on her face deepened as she pulled back her lips into a sneer. “Sarah, you and Jason get down there and watch over the kids. I’m going to take a few of these assholes out myself.”

  “Easy, Tina; we don’t know if whoever’s out there is with the gang. But that’s still a good idea.” Dianne nodded to Sarah in confirmation before Jason, Sarah, Jacob and Josie hurried inside and headed down the stairs, picking up a few weapons and ammunition along the way.

  “That’s bull and you know it,” Tina grumbled at Dianne. “There’s no way someone’s here without having some sort of nefarious motive.”

  “I know,” replied Dianne. “So let’s go out and greet them. Mark? Upstairs, now. Stay hidden and tell me what you see. Tina and I are going to stay around the side of the house until you give me a headcount and description of who’s out there.”

  “Got it, Mom.” Mark nodded and bounded through the door, racing upstairs with his rifle in hand. Dianne and Tina stood on the front porch near the edge of the house, scanning the area in front for signs of movement, not wanting to show themselves out back until they knew what to expect. It only took a moment for Mark’s voice to come through on the radio.

  “Mom?”

  “What do you see, Mark?”

  “Two guys in blue jeans, one wearing a blue jacket and the other in a black jacket. They’re down by the barn where you… where you shot that guy who was trying to break in.”

  “Are they trying to break in?”

  “I’m not sure. They’re just kind of… standing around?”

  “Are they looking at the house?”

  “Not really.”

  “Okay, good. Keep watching them. Tell me if anything changes.” Dianne turned to Tina. “Go around to the other side of the house and keep your eyes open. I’m going to the back to see what these idiots are trying to do.”

  “Will do.” Tina hurried off to the other side of the house. Dianne, meanwhile, took a deep breath and walked around the side she was closest to, keeping her rifle at the ready and continuing to scan the trees as she went. With no signs of movement near the house, Dianne eased around the corner near the porch and raised her rifle to look through the scope at the lake and barns at the other end of the property. It took her a second to locate the two men that Mark had described, but once she did she saw that they were just as he had described.

  They stood in front of one of the larger barns, looking around as they pawed through a large duffle bag held by the one in the blue jacket. After a moment the one in the black jacket pulled out a tool that looked like a pair of gardening loppers. The man in the black jacket held the tool near the lock to the shed and Dianne realized that it was actually a pair of bolt-cutters, and that they were trying to cut through.

  “Seriously?” Dianne whispered to herself in frustration as she tried to decide what to do. She wasn’t about to negotiate with the men—even if they weren’t with the gang, she had gone through enough talking to last a lifetime. Neither of the two options she saw open to her made her happy. The first, giving off a warning shot and trying to scare them off, was a bad idea because they might return fire or come back later. The second, to shoot them at a distance and kill them, seemed overly cold-hearted to her. Cold-hearted? She thought to herself, Really? Cold-hearted? I’ve killed four people so far. I think we’re beyond cold-hearted.

  As Dianne sighted in on the two men, getting ready to fire on them before they broke through the lock, a shot rang out from the far side of the house. Before she could pull back from the scope she saw the man in the black jacket drop the bolt-cutters and heard his distant cry of pain. He dropped to one knee while his partner whirled around, trying to trace the direction the shot came from as the sound echoed across the fields and trees.

  Dianne started to move back around the house to both get into cover and figure out where the shot came from when a second one rang out, sending the already-kneeling man toppling over to the ground. Blood and gore was painted onto his companion and part of the front of the barn, and Dianne could see through her scope that part of his head and skull had been blown away. A second later, on the radio, Tina’s voice came through clear and harsh. “One down, one to go. You gonna do any shooting or what?”

  “Tina? What are you—”

  “Shoot more and talk less, girl, or else that other one’s going to get away and warn his friends!” Dianne kept her sights trained on the fallen man for another moment before moving to look at his companion. The second, uninjured man was stumbling back, a pistol having appeared in his hand. He looked around frantically, trying to place the origin of the gunfire while simultaneously checking to see if his friend was alive or not.

  Tina’s action rendered Dianne’s indecision moot and Dianne sighted in on the man, firing off a pair of shots that both just barely missed him. The slight whizz of the passing projectiles and the soggy thunk as they embedded in the wood of the barn behind him sent him into a panic, and he turned tail and ran for the woods. A third shot from Dianne’s rifle hit home, though, striking him in the center of his back and barely missing his spine.

  The man screamed in pain and dropped his pistol, nearly collapsing to the ground in the process. He willed himself to keep moving though, the image of his dead companion still fresh in his mind. Dianne and Tina both ran around to the back porch and looked at each other. “Stay here,” Dianne said, “and keep watch with Mark. I’m going to go take care of him.”

  “Make it snappy before he gets away.” Tina’s expression was grim as she looked through her scope at the body of the first man.

  Dianne nodded and ran down the hill toward the barns, slowing down once she reached the buildings so that she could check alongside them for enemies before continuing forward. She didn’t bother to look at the corpse lying on the ground, knowing that Tina and Mark were watching her from afar and would have alerted her if the man was somehow still alive. Her eyes were wide as she searched around the buildings and edge of the woods at the back side of the property, looking for any sign of the man in the blue jacket.

  After several minutes of searching, the only signs she found of the second man were several drops of bright red blood scattered across a pile of leaves behind the farthest barn at the edge of the woods. The dry underbrush out into the woods appeared as though someone had crashed through it, but although Dianne stood still for a few minutes watching and listening, she located no trace of the man in the blue jacket. She was debating heading off into the woods to try and find the man when she heard a quiet voice over her radio.

  “Dianne? I’m coming up behind you.” The crunch of leaves came a few seconds later as Dianne slowly walked behind the barn, her head on a swivel as she kept a close eye on her surroundings. “There you are. What are you doing back here?”

  Dianne, still crouched near the drops of blood, pointed to them. “He’s hurt something fierce but he still managed to get away.”

  “Think we should go after him?”

  Dianne shook her head slowly. “As much as I want to… no. He could have gone anywhere. Besides, if there were two of them with weapons, I’m sure there are more, and they’re going to be pissed that we just killed one of their friends.” Dianne glanced up at Tina. “Any reason why you opened fire without talking to me first?”

  Tina snorted, “Didn’t realize I needed your permission, but if you really want to know, come back over here.” She led Dianne back to the man with the black jacket and rolled the body over. “Kind of hard to see now with his face having a new hole in it and everything, but I recognized him from the gas station. He was one of the ones working there; one of the gang.”

  Dianne’s prior indecision, some of which had lingered even after she and Tina had shot
the men, completely evaporated. A chill ran down her back and she squared her shoulders as she stood up and looked at the barn. “Good riddance to him, then. Let’s get a couple of shovels and get the body underground before rigor sets in.”

  “What about the other one?” Tina replied. “If he lives, he’s going to tell the others about us.”

  “Yes,” Dianne nodded, “he will. And we’ll be ready for them.”

  Chapter 4

  Washington, D.C.

  “Rick?” Jane crouched next to Rick at the edge of the building nearest the entrance to the compound. “Where did the rest of that group go?”

  “No clue. They were walking this way, then they split up and went in all different directions.”

  “What I want to know,” Dr. Evans said, standing behind Jane and Rick, “is why the ones across the street are just milling around. Do you think they spotted us?”

  “Anything’s possible,” Rick replied. “The real question, though, is what we should do. We’re stuck here until they decide to move on.”

  “If they move on.” Dr. Evans took half a step out from behind the building, trying to get a better eye on the people across the street, when the snap of shattering brick near his head was immediately followed by the crack of a rifle firing from very, very close range.

  Shards of brick from the wall of the building exploded outward and showered the trio, and they all dropped low to the ground and pulled back behind the building. As they moved, though, several more shots rang out, and they heard the nearby shouts and jeers of a group of gang members that had snuck around the compound and were just outside the nearby wall. Those on the ground nearby had no angle to shoot the trio, but as Rick took a quick peek back out across the street, he saw that the ones who had been merely standing around were crouched behind cover, their rifles aimed in the direction of the compound.

  “Dammit!” Rick cursed under his breath and pulled back behind the building. “They must have seen us when they pulled up. The few across the street are trying to keep us pinned down, and I bet they’re just trying to buy time for the ones close by to get inside.”

  “How many of them are close by?” Jane started to move to peek out as well, but a cluster of bullets hitting the edge of the wall drove her back.

  “I only saw a few of them across the street. I think the bulk of them are right on top of us.”

  “Should we get inside?” Dr. Evans nervously adjusted his grip on one of the rifles the police had given to them.

  “Might not be a bad idea,” Rick nodded. “Try to get somewhere defensible and hope they give up and leave. We need to get all the equipment from the car in, though. If they take our supplies or ammo, we’re screwed.”

  “How long do we—” Jane started to ask. The clatter of the metal front gate echoed up the drive, though, answering her question before she could finish it. Rick took a deep breath and peeked out at the entrance again, seeing that three men were struggling to climb over the tall gate and enter the compound. Two of them bore long pipes and the third had a rifle slung over his back, though none of them were athletic enough to actually make it over the gate with any ease or grace. The scene would have been humorous had the men’s faces not clearly been covered with the desire to do grievous harm to Rick, Jane and Dr. Evans.

  “Let’s go.” Rick pushed Jane and Dr. Evans toward the car and they quickly loaded up with all of their bags of supplies, ammunition and spare weapons. Looking around the compound, Rick tried to decide which building to enter, but the shouts of joy from the men near the gate told him that they had run out of time and would have to settle for whatever was closest. “This way!” Rick ran for the entrance to the nearest building and, finding it unlocked, stepped inside and used his foot to keep the door open while Jane and Dr. Evans followed behind him. Dr. Evans was running full-tilt while Jane was limping heavily, still struggling with her leg injury but fighting through the pain.

  The building looked like a plain—if somewhat dated—government building with faux tile floors, barren walls and rows of doors that led to a variety of rooms. Most of the doors were closed, though a few had clearly been left open during the evacuation that sent both government and civilian workers out of the city. Why the building hadn’t been locked was a mystery to Rick, considering how most of the open rooms contained expensive-looking equipment and supplies, but it wasn’t a mystery he had time to dwell on. The first of the gang members had finally made it over the gate and would likely be opening it for the rest of their comrades, and Rick knew that his group had only minutes at best to find an elevated, defensible position.

  “Look for stairs!” Rick called out to Jane and Dr. Evans, both of whom were ahead of him. The heavy bags weighed him down and he took in deep, gasping breaths of air, fighting against both the load he was carrying and his general state of exhaustion.

  “Over here, quick!” Dr. Evans poked his head out from a doorway ahead of Rick. Rounding the corner, Rick saw a wide flight of stairs leading both up and down. Jane was already on the next landing up, moving with purpose despite her injury and everything she was carrying. Rick motioned for Dr. Evans to go after her before releasing the hook on the back of the door that was holding it open. He caught it before it slammed shut and slowly closed it before turning and heading up the stairs after Dr. Evans.

  The second floor of the building had all of the doors in the hall opened, and as Rick walked along he could see that the majority of them appeared to be conference rooms or shared work spaces. The layout of the larger rooms reminded him of classrooms in college, and he wondered what they were used for before the State Department took over the complex from the Navy.

  “Rick, down here.” Jane’s whispered voice echoed down the hall and Rick followed it until he reached a large room with several rows of windows looking out into the center of the compound. Dr. Evans and Jane had already dropped most of their supplies on the floor and were getting their rifles out and at the ready. Rick did the same, and the three each took up a post at a separate window in the room and peered out at the scene below.

  The three gang members that had been trying to get over the gate had been successful, both at getting over it, as well as opening it for their friends. A cluster of men and a couple of women were standing and walking around the vehicle parked in the middle of the compound. They were talking and shouting at each other, and though it was hard to make out what they were saying through the mix of English and Spanish, it quickly became apparent that they weren’t sure what to do with the vehicle.

  After a moment of arguing amongst the group, a man and woman rounded the corner of the far building. Each of them wore a large black jacket and jeans, and their tattoos and hairstyles were more elaborate than any of the others. The immediate cessation of the arguments between the gang members at the mere sight of the pair instantly drew Rick’s attention, and he focused on them as the man began to speak.

  “Where are they?” Rick had to press his ear against the glass to hear the man, and he hoped that the thick curtains around the sides of the windows would provide enough concealment to keep him from being spotted.

  “Dunno. Took us forever to get over that gate.” The man spoke in English, but with a heavy accent.

  “Did you search the buildings?” The man stepped up near the car and looked in through the windows at the empty seats.

  “Not yet; we were going to search the car first and—”

  The relative calmness that the apparent leader of the gang had been demonstrating evaporated. Faster than Rick’s eyes could follow, the man whipped out a small collapsible baton from his back pocket and began flailing about with it, striking at everyone he could reach while he screamed at them in Spanish. Near the end of his rant, as the gang members were still running around the car, trying to escape his wrath, he stood still, breathing heavily as he shouted at them. “Find them! This thing’s completely empty! If they had anything on them, they took it with them, so go! GO!”

  He waved the baton
menacingly and the gang scattered, forming into small groups as they spread out through the compound. The woman who had walked in with the leader strode up next to him and wrapped an arm around him, which he shrugged off before turning his eye to the windows on the buildings in the compound. His eyes moved quickly, scanning them for signs of life and movement, and Rick barely pulled his head down below the windowsill before the man looked in his direction.

  “Oye! They’re up there! Get after them!” The man’s shout was loud and forceful, and even though Rick couldn’t see what was going on, his heart sank as he saw the curtain next to him jittering back and forth. He glanced over at Jane and Dr. Evans, both of whom had ducked out of sight far earlier, and shook his head at them. With their position compromised, their day was about to get much, much worse.

  Chapter 5

  The Waters’ Homestead

  Outside Ellisville, VA

  The early afternoon turned into the early evening before Dianne and Tina finished burying the body of the man in the black jacket in a shallow grave. They put him next to the body of the first man Dianne had killed, digging as deep as they could through the cold earth filled with rocks and tree roots. After they finished, they put the shovels away and checked on the animals again. The barns smelled awful and the animals were restless from spending so much time indoors, but Dianne topped off their food and water and whispered words of encouragement to them. While they hadn’t played an integral part in the survival of her family thus far, she knew that she had to keep them safe through whatever storms might come, as they would be vital for sustaining a long-term supply of food.

  The evening shadows were growing long as Dianne and Tina trudged up onto the back porch. Dianne raised her hand to knock on the wooden cover but someone inside was already unlocking it from the inside. Dianne and Tina stood back as it swung open to reveal Sarah looking out at them. She wore a mask of concern on her face, though she appeared in better spirits than she had in days, and for good reason since Jason was still looking better and better.