《sHe: THE BATTLE OF THE NEW BREED (BOOK 2)》 THE OTHER TWIN [Part 1 Of 5] ROBERTA JENSEN hand shook while she signed a few forms on a clipboard file, with Dr Emma Rickman and her Aunt Florence Jensen watching her every move. Lilya Devon was by Laura''s bedside in the ward. Her aunt¡¯s eyes were reddened after lots of heartrending, she spoke out¡­ ¡°Consider your options once again, Robbie; do you really need Laura to be sent to Washington? She can always be here, and we can look after her.¡± Roberta ignored her opinion since she has accepted a career transfer to Washington DC with a promotion. It was finalized in her mind but the annoyance from the old woman still kept lingering on. She tried hard from reacting in response while her aunt kept on persuading¡­ ¡°You can always take a flight from Washington whenever you are not working on any cases to see Laura.¡± Roberta Jensen spoke finally, after biting her own tongue from disputation; and from the corner of her eyes, she knew that Lilya was also observing her¡­ ¡°Thank anyways, but where ever I go¡ªI need my sister Laura there to be with me.¡± Flo Jensen was still pushy and unrelentingly alleged¡­ ¡°Our concern is that Laura is a heart patient, and it is not advisable for her to travel in her condition. Like I suggested, Laura is always welcome to stay back with us here.¡± A sign of agitation was showing in her signature''s stroke in the final form that Roberta had the ball-pen on, after hearing the dicey excuses from her aunt. She tossed the form and pen on the side-table. The ballpoint dropped and Lilya picked it from the floor; she heard her fianc¨¦ replying after pocketing out an approbation medical letter from her leather jacket... ¡°I have already got a second opinion from her cardiologist confirming that she is fine to travel but anyways, thanks for the concern, Aunt Flo.¡± Roberta felt the pride of victory on her final animus day in Columbus, Ohio¡ªand her rich aunt cannot buy her way into her life with her money because she has already earned her personal slush fund in her own street dealings. But her aunt was still persistent. ¡°Please, if you...¡± Dr Emma Rickman knew the hot-tempered Roberta was about to erupt into an argument any moment, she held her wife¡¯s arm and she interrupted... ¡°Come on, Flo¡ªRobbie, we see you down at the lobby.¡± ¡°Okay doc,¡± Roberta was relieved that the spineless-doctor intervened. Florence Jensen felt really devastated, wiped her tears and she kissed Laura''s forehead as a sign of goodbye. Dr Rickman led her consort out of the door. Lilya Devon had observed the family drama and she remarked¡­ ¡°Even on the last day here, you still want to play the bad-cop role¡ªthe big and mean Lieutenant Rob Jensen to bully her.¡± ¡°Now what?¡± Roberta was looking at her over her shoulder in defence. ¡°Why can''t you be a little sensitive, they are just both old people?¡± ¡°Shut up and stay out of this, Snowy. You don''t know them as I do¡ªand the amount of crap I took from that old nagging hag when I was growing up.¡± Roberta retorted, remembering the cumulative resentments of her past that she still felt were denigrating. ¡°But she was there for you and Laura for all these years, Rob¡ªcan''t you be a little nice to her on your last day here? I know you are the ungrateful kind that will not come back to Columbus again to visit your aunt in the future.¡± The animadversion caused Roberta to kick the chair beside the bed. ¡°What''s wrong with you? I don''t need this today from you, Lilya¡ªjust back off, okay!¡± This was her derisive lover who has been with her for the last five years but still could not understand her despite proclaiming that she loved her for who she was¡ªLilya simply disparaged a lot at Roberta¡¯s every demeanour acts.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to understand you better, Rob¡ªand I want to know if this is how you will treat me someday. Because of your attitude¡ªyour aunt has even distanced herself from me; even though I am trying hard to get close to her.¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up, will you¡ªwe are leaving Columbus soon and I don''t want to get into one of your arguments now, okay?¡± Roberta has been in the unreasonably mistrustful and suspicious mood ever since she was made Lieutenant a month ago after her major breakthrough drug seizure from both gunning down the legendary Hernando of the LA Chicanos and the bust of recovering the greatest narcotic haul in Columbus for the DEA. It has been an accelerating month since her new promotion coupled with the media frenzy that made Roberta once again the centre of attraction for the Whitehouse anti-crime campaign of street wars. It was the word on the streets that was bothering Roberta¡ªthe LA Chicanos have put a hit on her and her family to reckoning the deaths of Hernando and Ohio¡¯s warlord family heads; before even the Russian Daughters of Oligarch found out about her involvement of siphoning part of their cocaine in the haul¡ªRoberta has requested for her transfer to Washington for the sake of safety. Even Roberta¡¯s top informer Mister Clarkey has been avoiding her and has not been picking her call for a meet¡ªit was a telling sign that she has been green-lighted by anyone of her enemies. Roberta was now assiduous to keep her aloof mind from further deterrent remarks. She tested a small remote device and held it against Laura''s Mimi pendant¡ªthe device made a beeping sound. ¡°Now what the fuck is that?¡± the tattooed albino girl sneered back. ¡°I have placed a tracker in Laura''s pendant,¡± Roberta replied while adjusting the levels on the small gadget, making Lilya even curious¡­ ¡°Why in God¡¯s world are you doing that for?¡± ¡°So that I will know where she is at all times, in case she is abducted.¡± But to Lilya, that was the most ridiculous thing she has heard from Roberta¡ªand the albino teen burst into laughter and continues to belittle¡­ ¡°What a paranoid jerk you are turning out to be lately! See that, even Laura is smiling!¡± ¡°Fuck off Lilya, you don''t know what it is like to be a cop dealing with high profile criminals who are wanting me dead¡ªthey will try to hurt me in any ways possibly. If they know I have a sister, there is a big possibility they will abduct her to get back at me. That the reason I can''t leave any tracks back here in Ohio; I even have to fake Laura a death certificate so that she can remain anonymous once she is admitted in Washington.¡± ¡°I think you are being lots silly lately with the wedding date approaching; so will that shitty thing affect Mimi¡¯s pacemaker?¡± Lilya was now concerned for the frail woman who has been in a comatose state for almost eighteen years who was now GPS-wired. The ire Roberta vexed¡­ ¡°No, it will not. It is low level¡ªand I can only pick the signal from less than half a mile range.¡± The sharp albino girl mordantly mocked, laughing out loud to restart her altercation¡­ ¡°Get one for me then. Am I not the fianc¨¦e of a gangsta busting super-cop? Come fit a GPS tracker on to my Princess Albertina, so that I can be safe too.¡± ¡°Bitch!¡± ¡°Moron!¡± The obdurate natured Lilya left the wardroom. ** Roberta followed the two female medical assistants who were pushing and loading Laura''s gurney into an ambulance at the hospital¡¯s driveway. Aunt Flo and Dr Rickman watched from the lobby, the ambulance door closing before they both walked over to Roberta. Lilya drove her car and parked behind the ambulance. Roberta was feeling perturbed and turned to her aunt, ¡°You sure you both don''t want to come to the airport?¡± The old woman kept wiping her tears ¡°No Robbie, I am not very good with goodbyes.¡± Roberta did not know how to get out of the situation so she made a passing remark¡­ "I will fly down to visit you all when I can.¡± Her aunt nodded and Dr Rickman spoke on her behalf. ¡°Please do that Robbie, your Aunt Flo and I would like that very much.¡± ¡°Yes doc, we are family,¡± said Roberta before hugging Flo Jensen tightly. She pulled Dr Rickman in with her free hand and the three of them hug together briefly. This made Lilya who was behind the wheel to smile as she watched them in the affable gesture¡ªand then she overheard Roberta saying¡­ ¡°I am going to miss you very much Aunt Flo...thank you for everything you have done for both Laura and I. I can never repay you both.¡± ¡°Just be safe and take good care of yourself¡ªand Laura for both of us when you are over there...that all we ever want,¡± the old woman responded and Roberta kisses them both before getting into the car. Her aunt walked over to the driver¡¯s side window. ¡°Bye Lilya...take care you both, and call us the moment you land in D.C.¡± ¡°Will do Aunt Flo, bye,¡± she kissed her farewell before Lilya steered away. The car stopped over at the entrance of the hospital main gate; Lilya turned and grabbed Roberta by her collar and kisses her lips. ¡°That was a beautiful thing you did just now, Rob...I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too, Snowy.¡± The car was into the main road and it tried to get closer to with the ambulance that was driving ahead. Lilya teased back¡­ ¡°I hope what you did and said to them was genuine, or was it one of your deceiving undercover cop routine act that you pulled on your poor aunt?¡± ¡°Shut up, bitch¡ªjust drive.¡± They both ended up laughing. PREVIOUSLY ON BOOK 1 [Part 7 of 7] Doran could by no means comprehend the rationality behind the female cause in the present post-Medusa era ¡ª he had heard the same reasoning from other women like the warden, her guards and even the one named Agent Wolfe ¡ª who made their maxim that the new Intersexual breeds should remain lesser as their subservient ¡ª but, never as their equal. He reckoned that the uprising that had been sparked now would need to be pursued beyond the walls of Tombscradle ¡ª into the domain of the larger populace of Intersexuals in the cities ¡ª to those over there, who needed to be unshackled next and be emancipated... The Preacher caught a glimpse of Wu Leong, who was now wearing a belt strap with a few hand grenades attached ¡ª he took one and yanked out the pin ¡ª the horrified Hajja who was standing beside him backed away and exclaimed... "Preacher, what are you doing? This is insane!" Everyone backed away, even some ran away, leaving Doran alone near the tied-up Elite Commander ¡ª the Preacher was still gripping on to a live grenade ¡ª he clutched the Commander''s cheeks with his palm and packed the whole grenade into her mouth ¡ª like the Holy Communion Eucharist bread ¡ª that he had served in the many prison yard Sunday Masses before... Petersburg made a gagging choking sound biting on the bomb. The Preacher stared into the e-SWAT Commander''s budging eyeballs ¡ª and, he vowed his final libretto... "Woman, take this message to Hell ¡ª that The God''s Army will prevail on this earth! "Eat my word and you will live ¡ª spit it out, and you will perish ¡ª do this, in memory of me!" <> MORE THAN TWO DOZEN passenger cars, three e-SWAT buses, two prison buses and a bulletproofed Hummer were packed with the rapprochement of Intersexuals. They drove out from both the prison gates into the desert road ¡ª many over-cramped on the roof of all the vehicles, similar to the public transportation in third world countries... Reeves ran up and hopped on the ladder at the back of one of the moving police bus, where Joe was on top with other Wesleyan Whites ¡ª they shared a joke and laughed.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The Elite Commander Petersburg was left behind tied to the goalpost, choking with an explosive in her mouth ¡ª grunted deep-throat, seeing the convoy of vehicles trailing away from Tombscradle with the liberated insurgents aboard... Li Chi drove the Hummer with Ramirez sitting in the front seat with him. The short-circuited vehicle was booted back running for the AOG leaders by the handy Peckerwood Russell Collins after it was electrocuted in the yard earlier. At the back-seat were Doran and Hajja. They all heard an explosion behind them shortly ¡ª Ramirez guffawed hard... "The bitch doesn''t love us ¡ª so, she spat it out!" * Blood dripped from her fingernails and onto the office floor in the blazing IMU. The office phone on her desk was ringing continuously before it stopped ¡ª and then the Warden''s cell phone ring tone came on. Finally, that too discontinued and the walkie-talkie on the side table then crackled ¡ª with the nervous Governor Harris'' voice ¡ª coming on clearly with some high-level sub-rosa instruction... "WARDEN GRAVES, ARE YOU THERE? DID YOU GET MY MESSAGE TO EVACUATE ALL OF THE FEMALE PERSONNEL? THIS IS A DIRECT ORDER FROM WASHINGTON ¡ª YOU ALL HAVE ONLY A FEW MINUTES LEFT TO LEAVE THE TOMBSCRADLE''S PREMISE... "PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!" The headless corpse sat in there with no urgency ¡ª behind the warden''s desk. * The whimsy Sergeant Brown came out from her opprobrium hiding when the rebels left ¡ª and she slowly approached the goalpost where the smouldering deceased Commander hung dead on the crossbar... Her limbs below her torso had gone missing... Desiree Brown was the only e-SWAT survivor in the big-yard ¡ª gazing at the enemy afar, transporting themselves away... Her helmet dropped on the sand after peering above, looking at a bright missile which was falling fast from the skies. * The convoy had travelled half a mile on the desert road, away from the prison ¡ª those from Wesleyan on the bus-tops were singing the similar sanguine rhymes when they were first brought outside the university, with the pretext of visiting the police carnival five years ago. They discontinued singing ¡ª and everyone turned their heads to witness the virulent explosion in the background. The sunset firmament was lucidly bright as daylight for a split moment ¡ª behold, witnessing the long-ranged ballistic missile that had flattened Tombscradle afar, into its seismic, nullity rubble ¡ª it was followed by smoke and dust rings rising high up into the air. They all watched and were baffled for an instant at the mushroom cloud rising, before Kiki-boy''s levity voice was heard singing ''Coming Round the Mountain'' again ¡ª and the others Wesleyans joined into the symmetry tune... Everyone sang the mirth chorus, joyously aloud... ''Yippie ya-ya, yippie-yippie ya..." Chapter 2 THE WATCHFUL eyes of the conspirators were analyzing the aerial satellite video footage of the drone attack that flattened Tombscradle penitentiary to ruins. The magnified micro satellite-video also disclosed convoys of vehicles with the droves of Intersexuals prisoners steering away from the massive explosion that was occurring at their rear. The President was conceited that her mastermind devise was falling into place¡ªbut she was flummoxed by Lucinda Gates'' enquiry... "Are you sure it is a good idea¡ªwe are letting those inmates to go out into the open?" "That is the grand plan, Lucinda¡ªlet them escape today and we will return to hunt them again another day!" Cory elucidated with displeasure; she was expecting amenable feedback from her¡ªbut Lucinda Gates have been in qualms since Cory''s commencement of some of her foremost and extraordinary National Security strategies implemented by stating that it might beneficial for campaigning the party in its next coming election''s goals to remain in the Oval Office. "What happens if it backfires?" Gates affixed again. "No, it will not!" The president scoffed, boldly appended more details of her upcoming plans... "Right now those fuckers are already branded as escaped convicts, who have torn down and razed Tombscradle to ground zero. Next, we as the responsible government will go out and hunt them down; but like any cornered animal they will definitely retaliate¡ªand by them doing so¡ªthey will be labelled as terrorists who are a threat to National Security on our very own soil." Gates was more mystified on how this would end. Agent Wolfe who stood in the background as part of the clandestine also bolstered Cory''s initiative by articulating a favourable bootlicking respond. "Madam President''s brainchild is actually brilliant, Ms Gates¡ªthere is a group of Arabs in there with them," said Wolfe who was an ex-Marine who had a few Iraqi tours in her career before currently becoming the Head of the Whitehouse Secret Service. Cory intervened, and she took over the control of the autocratic discussion. "Precisely¡ªthe Middle East foreigners demonstrating students whom we rounded up years ago have currently escaped along with that God''s Army¡ªand I have authorized the FBI to profile them in the most-wanted list¡ªsoon the media will then circulate them as ISIS militant supporters who are aiding those radical Catholic monastery monks with that¡ªthe scar-faced Preacher freak¡ªwhat''s his damn name again...?" "Doran," Wolfe responded her with a knavish grin... It was the Wolfe''s personal inaugural visit over to Tombscradle during her bout of depression that had then pushed the Preacher against the cornered wall¡ªwhere Agent Agatha Wolfe had then twisted the arm of the man of the cloth''s with her death threats that gave Doran a shot to spur his upraise in return; so that the priest-monk can keep his ''monastery lambs'' alive from her foreshadowed slaughter coercions. The turn of events has made the Preacher as President Cory''s scapegoat in her future re-election masterplan... Cory continued. "Yes, that she-fuck will be well-known soon. He will be the most hated freak who will be the blame for all future terrorist events in the country along with his prick waving minions followers." Madeline Cory cackled and she went on revealing her deeper canard...This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "We will create the exact chaos and unrest just like it was 40 years ago during the 9/11 who engineered by the male pricks back then¡ªby replicating that, our present office will soon succeed in halo superiority status; and that it is when we go out in full force and fight those shemales to the last!" It was an eccentric plot of calumny to digest¡ªand Lucinda Gates broke out from her silence again to proffer the pragmatics... "If that''s our primary focus for now¡ªthen what about your election campaigns for your second term?" "We will continue the participating those fund-raising as scheduled¡ªbut in the meantime, we let the federal agencies get busy with the witch-hunting. With our daily victories against this new breed of terrorist¡ªthis will raise the public''s confidence in our administration, and we will soon have an easy victory in the next coming elections." At this point, Agent Wolfe as the Head of Secret Service was now equally concerned. "Madame President, is this not a dangerous threat to your own safety; the possibility of the insurgents attacking you during your campaign outside of Washington?" It made the inebriated Cory laugh out valiantly... "That''s what I want now¡ªto walk on the tightrope this time in this election. Let those she-fucks extrude their daring attempts to take me out¡ªbut I will be all prepared and, oh yes, I will be waiting for them out there too!" The older woman spoke audaciously, "yes, let the public see that even the president of the country is not safe and she is in direct imminent danger from the possible threats¡ªbut in the end, she will heroically prevail above all¡ªand that will also definitely get us more prevalent support because we have the antidote to the society''s panic and fear spots, where the people will be in dire consistent need of my leadership in the Whitehouse to ensure their prerogative of safety. "Every American household will then want me to take full charge, and to take a frontal assault at their domestic enemies¡ªand oh-yes¡ªwhen that time comes, there will be no quarter for those rebel freaks when I crush them¡ªyes, we will push them far down into the pits, until the last miserable shemale fucker falls into his obliteration!" After grokking Cory''s cabal strategy for the next quadrennial election campaign, Gates turned to the Secret Service Head beside her... "Agent Wolfe, give us the room, I want a word in private with the President." Agent Wolfe stood up and left the room¡ªdeep down she was feeling marginalized from the removal from the delectable closed door of the cabal discussions. When the door closed, Gates took out a file from her leather folder and thrust it to Cory, who opened to glimpse inside. "Maddie, ''your grandson'' survived your attack in Tombscradle¡ªand he is now part of that Preacher''s terrorist group." Cory laughed. "Is that so¡ªbut anyway I don''t give a damn if the real McCoy is alive or dead because he is insignificant to me. So we let the actor continue to play his role as Samantha''s son for now," she picked up, waving the file to warn... "But I don''t want this real fucker near to Samantha at all cost!" Cory stood up, all haughty and she fixed her next double gin and tonic to celebrate her diabolical blueprint. Lucinda nodded in reverie before she spoke again in remorse... "I wish we had not lost the other twin¡ªit is still a real baffling mystery to me, on how she went missing hours after birth at the hospital. Samantha''s daughter could have been well-groomed and she could have adjusted well onto politics under your guidance." President Madeline Cory took a sip of her drink to purvey her thoughts of her legacy... "Knowing for a fact that irresponsibility runs deep in the bloodline of my rake ex-husband''s legacy; it is clear that any granddaughter of Richard Cory will be no different from Samantha when she was that age¡ªwith all the free sex, booze and cocaine." The president expressed in bemusement and concluded... "Fuck her daughter¡ªshe would not fit in at all into this administration!" Gates pointed hesitantly at the file that was on Cory''s side of the desk... "Then, what about the boy?" "What about him? He is part of a terrorist organization, isn''t he? We shoot to kill him then!" Cory picked the file back and she tossed it nonentity to Lucinda Gates¡ªand an evince mug shot photo slipped out¡ªJoseph Edgar Cory was the name in his birth records; the anathemas step-grandson of the president whom she has never met since the day he was born¡ªhe was sent to Tombscradle five years ago and was known over there only as Big Joe from Wesleyan¡ªa nobody figure who thought he was an orphan all his life. Joe still lived in the dark about any knowledge that he has a family tree with a mother hidden away inside the Whitehouse¡ªand also an unknown twin sister mislaid somewhere in Mississippi Delta. Chapter 3 JOE, DO YOU COPY?" Reeves Jensen''s voice crackled out of the walkie-talkie, a second after the red-haired youth took an enormous bite off his hamburger. Joe was behind the wheels of a luxuriant Mustang convertible¡ªand the getaway V8 was parked half a block away from the augur crime scene that was about to transpire. "JOE, ARE YOU THERE?" The red-haired was almost choking on what he was masticating, it was too good of a morsel to spit out and respond back to Reeves'' calling. Being nervous in their first heist attempt, he needed some comfort food¡ªit was his way to deal with the situation where one wrong slip by him can result to death to the cadre involved in the marauding that morning. On a rooftop, Reeves was dressed in civilian attire after years of both in school and prison uniforms¡ªhe finally felt like a free-male in the outside world. Looking through a pair of binocular at a bank''s back entrance from across the street, he spied at a security truck that was waiting with three armed female guards keeping a lookout. Reeves next focused the spyglass on the opposite side at bank''s rooftop where someone else perched¡ªMarlin¡ªwhile in the meantime, Reeves was trying to understand what Joe was interconnecting on the other end... "WHAT DID YOU SAY? HEY, ARE YOU EATING OVER THERE, JOE?" Marlin was hidden on top of the bank''s roof with a rifle, observing the crowd to weed out for cops; also taking stock of the habitual vista like he once did alone from his prison window¡ªlike every other city folk that were perambulating below in the sidewalk was all rotund with obesity. He was distracted and he smiled while listening to the vacuous Joe on his ear-piece¡ª "YEAH MAN, THE BURGERS ARE SO GOOD¡ªIT HAS BEEN AGES SINCE I HAD A JUICY ONE LIKE THIS." After years of being locked up, reclusive alone in F-Block, Marlin Petrof discovered that¡ªthat even the most mundane of cavil spoken communication sounding delightful and dulcet to his ears. He was grateful to be alive outside in the real world again¡ªand felt he owed it big to Reeves and his friends for rescuing him from Block F¡ªor else he would be dead in the locked-up cell with the Middle Eastern inmates when the final bombs were dropped to sweep illegal semen collection Tombscradle out of its existence under the carpet of the government''s malevolent machination cover-up. The blond youth then glanced across and eyed the sidewalk cafe that was right across the bank at Troy Norton having coffee at the alfresco cafe opposite the money truck; seated with his back turned away from the security truck¡ªbut observing the security guards from the cafe''s window reflection. Troy too has an ear-piece, listening in¡ªrolling his eyes while heeding to the picayune conversation between both the ex-Wesleyans where the irked Reeves'' orders came on firmly... "HEY FAT FUCK, TRY TO STAY FOCUS! THEY WILL BE COMING OUT ANYTIME!" A ''blind'' homeless Intersexual was begging on the street. People were avoiding the sightless homeless Intersexual who was wearing a long duster overcoat; he approached Troy with a cane...This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Spare change for a blind man, Sir?" Troy picked some coins from the tabletop and thrust into True Bob''s palm with a torn glove. "Thank you, Sir," the half- Cherokee left after he muttered softly... "You still owe me 130 bucks, bitch." The ''homeless'' walked away, and it forced a smile on Troy thinking of his owed stipend to the Chief from their arm wrestling ''ass-bets'' in prison. He went back sipping his coffee¡ªhe thought that his buddy in the getup really looked like a mendicant travelling hobo that he once was before his imprisonment¡ªhe was waiting to contempt the Chief with a dozen puns once the heist was done. The backdoor of the bank opened and six female bank guards progressed out, each was carrying a strongbox. The two armed guards kept an extra vigilant lookout while the third started unlocking the back door of the money-truck. "MARLIN¡ªNOW!" Reeve''s distinct voice alerted the cue to his team... Marlin fired towards the armed guards, hitting the side of the truck with his machine gun. True Bob and Troy fired their pistols at the other side of the truck and punctured the two tires¡ªand the armed personnel were caught off-guard and they were cornered. The bank guards with the strong boxes recoiled to retreat back into the back entrance door of the bank¡ªbut Reeves worked his sniper rifle, aimed with exactitude to avoid any stray bullets from hitting the female guards on-duty¡ªhe shot thrice before the final bullet blasted the touch-pad on the door to impair its mechanism¡ªjamming it from the women with the strong-boxes to flight back inside the bank. Reeves has done lots of target training hours on the sniper rifle back in for a month¡ªsince the radical prison breakout. The stolen e-SWAT Hummer from their prison incursion with Hajja came on full speed¡ªthree Negros then alighted out, pointing their guns at the entire group of security guards who dropped their weapons down and ceded. Reeves and Marlin descended fast off the building roofs... "JOE! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?" Reeves was running while shouting into the walkie device in search of their getaway car¡ªand everyone then saw Joe making a grand entrance¡ªthe Mustang GT steered in and did a fancy-drift doughnut turn and halted with imprecision in front of his running friends "You saw that!" Joe replied vacuous, laughing with an accomplished pride but he was rebuked instead, True Bob was shouting back and he got in front with him. "Yeah-yeah, you fuckin'' showoff carnival pig! It is lucky you did not blow up a tire, you moron¡ªor else we would have lost the ride." Reeves noticed Hajja was forcing all the nine unarmed guards into the money-truck before locking them up inside¡ªReeves had wanted no hostages killed in this heist¡ªhe remembered the Jamaicans in Tombscradle''s riot recently where they had slit the throats of Nurse Heller and the other medical assistant women at the prison auditorium in their no-prisoner-policy. The rest of the blacks loaded the strongboxes of cash into the Hummer. Reeves and Marlin were the last to hop into the backseat of the convertible with Troy sandwiched in-between. The black leader''s voice came on the device while the Mustang sped off... "GOOD JOB, REEVES! ¡ªSEE YOU AT RENDEZVOUS POINT TONIGHT!" "Alright Haj, out!" The chary trained Reeves then heard the police siren drawing near with five police cars that were coming at full speed towards the bank to waylay but were intercepted with an ambush by the four Jamaicans. Zinga led the motorbikes attack¡ªall firing their automatics. The gun battle on wheels upshot the rattled police cruisers into a crashing pile up, and with only one patrol car was left in hot pursuit after the fleeing fast bikes. Zinga plunged a chain with spikes on the road behind¡ªthe tires burst and causing the sole speeding police vehicle to wind-mill before hurtling to drop with a sliding screech on its side on the tarmac. The entire OGA rebels have escaped from the crime scene unharmed after pillaging eight hundred thousand dollars in their palmy successful heist. Chapter 4 A FEMALE guard from the watchtower peered into her binoculars and spotted three elite force buses coming in the horizon towards the prison in Arizona¡ªthat also held inmates for Cory''s semen milking scheme. The woman at the tower forewarned into her walkie-talkie... "Oh my God¡ªthey are here, quick, alert the warden, over!" The Captain of the Guard inside the prison building was also warned, and she drew every banal guard''s unprecedented attention... "We are being attacked¡ªsound the alarm!" Hundreds of unkempt and squalid Intersexuals in that badly managed prison yard looked up to the alarming tocsin that blared out above... The three black buses drove side by side, taking up the entire two-way road¡ªthe bus on the left and right slowed down and the centre vehicle sped forward. The other two buses swerved and got into a rearward position¡ªboth then steered in reverse to catch up with the epicentre-bus. The main bus halted fifty yards away from the prison main gate¡ªthe tower guards fired their machine guns at the bulletproof windshield buses. Scores of Hispanics alighted from the exit entrance of the other two buses¡ªRamirez instructed them in Spanish to fire their thumpers. The missiles hit the outer prison walls with a great explosion, bringing down huge chunks of concretes¡ªthe watchtowers were shot down next.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. A figure in a monk robe alighted from the bus with a machine gun in his hand¡ªhe removed the covered hood to reveal his scarred face. The Latinos beside him stopped firing. The smoke and dust settled with a big gap on the prison wall¡ªand the prisoners can now see their liberators outside¡ª One of the inmates cried out. "Look! It is the one whom they call The Preacher¡ªhe has come to break us all out!" The prisoners'' merriment was short-lived; a platoon of armed riot guards unit intervened and they forced the Intersexuals back into their prison blocks with warning shots in the air¡ªsome of the revolting prisoners were shot dead at point-blank. Ramirez and his cohorts of pandilleros stormed in for an offence attack on the guards into the open prison yard¡ªthe fierce gun battle aggravated with the prison guards falling dead on the sand¡ªreliving similar uprising moments of Tombscradle a month ago in Texas. Doran was unperturbed as he walked among the dead perished on the sand¡ªand the surviving tenuous prisoners in threadbare orange garbs flocked towards him in their hundreds. He called out to them... "Come, my brothers¡ªlets us go out there and be fishers of men!" The prisoners chanted the Preacher''s name vivaciously before the three busloads of detainees with many more on the roofs drove away from the destructed prison walls. This was the fourth penitentiary that the Preacher had commenced his rescue vocation since the major fall of Tombscradle. Chapter 5 THE CAMARADERIE got drunk while celebrating their first heist success. In the abandoned tenement were Reeves, Joe, Troy Norton, True Bob and Marlin Petrov¡ªall the five ex-convicts raised their cans of beers. After several rounds of more drinking and inebriated touts of Reeves'' leadership¡ªhe then dropped another bombshell that left some of them remonstrating... "Sorry guys, I don''t intend to be a God''s Army''s bitch for long and keep going on pillaging for their war efforts because I am a free-male now¡ªand I have got my freedom to go out there and do things that matter more to me..." The guys also noticed that Marlin has soon isolated himself away from the rest to finish his beer alone at the balcony of the tenement¡ªthey did not particularly like Reeves'' new found friend very much¡ªwho was perceived as a furtive character, with a wedge driving into their prison bonding friendship with Reeves. They suspected that the stranger from F-block was putting bold thoughts into Reeves'' head ever since the fall of Tombscradle more than a month ago... But the domino effect has long started tumbling since then when Reeves became the controversial figure that was widely spoken about since a week after they came to the Mojave Desert¡ªthe Preacher had offered Reeves a position in the Council of 13 as the leader of the Caucasians faction in the One God''s Army. It was winning news for all in the Wesleyans white gang to have one of their own in such high positions¡ªafter all, the rebel ex-Wesleyan did heroically shoot down a terrorizing Blackhawk that would have gone further to kill hundreds of others during the Tombscradle insurgency.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. But Reeves Jensen turned it down... The leadership rank was handed to next best candidate¡ªthe redneck hero, Russell Collins¡ªthe untiring Intersexual who orchestrated the ambush that killed thirty marching e-SWAT soldiers by dousing and burning them alive with gasoline in the analogous uprising. The decision has caused some dislike frictions and a split among the Whites rebels in the One God''s Army camp. Joe noticed that Reeves has also stepped away with a beer to join Marlin¡ªeveryone''s eyes spied that the duo was closely scheming a cagy plan. Even Li Chi from the triad had then suspected something was amassing in the Mojave Desert when Reeves Jensen had flatly refused the headship position to be among the Council¡ªand he too suspected that Jensen was planning his escape from the rumours heard of his once attempt of jumping the school wall before he was captured. The Chinese who was the warfare council advisor member have then implemented the law among the assembled legion of rebels that any deserters from the One God''s Army''s cause will be put to death without a trial... Despite knowing about the death threats hanging over their heads, Reeves and Marlin were determined to escape to Washington DC. But their stratagem plans to find both their mothers have currently taken a setback when Marlin now discovered that Dr Jane Morris was no longer the head of Pan American Health Organization under Cory''s administration. Her whereabouts were unknown in all the internet searches that Marlin made... He still needed to find her first because she was the only one who knew the whereabouts of Dr Yankoff''s team who were in search of the vaccine cure to the contagion Medusa. Both the Intersexuals heard cheering from the tryst behind¡ªHajja and the Jamaicans stepped in to join in the heist celebration. Li Chi was also with them in the visit... His stalking eyes darted around the room until it met Reeves Jensen''s. Chapter 6 LAURA SLEPT on her hospital bed. The comatose woman has makeup on her face and was wearing a bridesmaid dress, with a small crowd gathered around her in the single room ward. A chaplain conducted a wedding ceremony from one side of the bed overlooking the bride and groom at the other side¡ªRoberta Jensen and Lilya Devon. A handful of guests were present in the hospital wardroom in Columbus; among them were Sargent Wanda Callahan, Roberta''s Aunt Flo and her husband Dr Emma Rickman who was standing nearby the chaplain who solemnized their vows before proclaiming the nuptial... "You are both now husband and wife¡ªLt. Jensen, you may now kiss your bride." Roberta was in her police uniform. She lifted the veil and kissed her nineteen-year-old albino bride who was wearing¡ªan all-white wedding miniskirt dress with a single sleeveless arm that displaying her full arm of her peacock plume tattoos, and she stood tall in her white knee-high boots. Everyone clapped when the couple locked lips. Aunt Flo was the first to kiss them both before Roberta went towards the bed, bending and kissed her elder sister Laura''s forehead and she whispered... "Laura, this is the happiest day of my life. I am so glad you are here with me today, I love you." Lilya followed next, placed her bouquet of flowers into her bridesmaid''s hand and kissed her sister-in-law who was in a coma... "Mimi, I love you too." ** House music with a mixture of African drums and rhythm blared and a large crowd dance wildly at the wedding reception hall¡ªRoberta danced the free-wings with her bride who was twerking in her short white mini bridal skirt. It was the terpsichorean mix-dance mania of the era that has swept the world. ** Hours later, they ran outdoors into the hotel''s garden, laughing in frivolity and both coquetted under a hidden dark tree. Roberta and Lilya began kissing vehemently. The lascivious bride took Roberta''s hand and placed it under her miniskirt... "I am so horny¡ªput your finger inside me." Roberta retrieved her hand away hastily while she looked around. "Are you crazy Snowie, someone might see us." Lilya was lustfully torrid after loading up with their wedding banquet booze and some recreational drugs¡ªshe put her consort''s hand on one of her breasts. "Squeeze me then," they continued their vigour kissing. Roberta took out an envelope from her pocket and she stopped smooching, "Hey, I got a surprise for you." The obdurate Lilya then teased back... "Now what is that? Is it that the bribe to get me married to you?" Roberta was slightly obfuscated and offended by her who poked fun frequently of her outside the police-work activates, "don''t talk crap, open it, this is for our future." Lilya looked at the content¡ªit was a certificate that entitled her to be inseminated with authentic pre-Medusa male semen at a fertility clinic. The albino girl replied indistinctly, "what''s this?" "Can''t you read, you southern-inbreed idiot?" the grinning husband said. "Snowie, I thought, now that we are married¡ªlet us quickly start a family." "I know what it is but why so soon¡ªcan''t it just be the two of us for now?" Roberta was disheartened by her spouse''s reply; she rambled with ire and turned her back. "If you don''t want me to be the father of our kids¡ªthat is fine! But I want you to remember that had I went through all of the trouble for it¡ªI had to pull a couple of high-level strings to obtain that fucking certificate so that you get the genuine male-semen¡ªand not that shit that other women get pregnant with these days with that shemale pus-ridden cum..."The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Lilya affectionately touched Roberta''s troubled face. "It is not that, Rob, I am more than happy to be the mother to our children but¡ªI don''t think I can be a good Mama when I look back on my own shitty past." She too felt cornered by the maternal responsibilities at nineteen¡ªand her husband had now burgeoned her with plans of starting a family without any prior discussion. "Come on, let''s put all our past aside, and listen to me¡ªwe are now married, Lilya¡ªlet''s move on, okay?" Roberta was about to kiss her but was interrupted by a voice calling her name out in the dark... "Yeah, what?" Roberta hollered back. It is Wanda Callahan and her ''tree-surgeon'' boyfriend coming towards them. "Rob, you got a visitor." Roberta had intended to commune further about their shared hymeneal future in starting a family with her liaison paramour of six years whom she had just married today¡ªthe cynosure groom ached for not to be interjected by another well-wisher at that moment. "Wanda, go and tell to whomever that is to wait, I will come in a bit, okay?" "You better come now, Rob¡ªshe said that she is from the Whitehouse." * Roberta paced pass the reception hall with the partying guests in full swing, she headed towards the quieter patio where a lone figure stood. She recognized meeting her five years ago at the convent/monastery raid in Cleveland. Agent Agatha Wolfe was cheery and she greeted the groom with laughter. "Rob-Rob-Rob, congratulations that you now got hitched." They both shook hands. "Thank you, Sir¡ªthis a surprise seeing you here on my wedding day, can I offer you some champagne?" Roberta was perplexed when Wolfe handed a file. Roberta checked out the content while the Secret Service Head diverted her... "I heard you requested a transfer to DC¡ªso here is a gift from the President of The United States herself." Roberta looked back and forth between the file perusal and glancing back at Wolfe in incredulity. "But I just recently got promoted to be Lieutenant, Sir... and this states that I am now made Captain?" Wolfe chucked out at the lien of what she had just offered Roberta on an auspicious day... "Yes, you lucky ''boy''¡ªa jackpot of a double promotion and a lovely bride¡ªthat is one heck of a threesome stiffy for a guy like you to handle on your honeymoon night?" "It says here that I am transferred into the elite SWAT Force division¡ªbut that is part military but I am just a city cop, and our training is different altogether¡ªand it is a different ball game too." The older agent grinned while nodding at the nervous and rambling Roberta who was acting histrionic... "Look here, ''son''¡ªthe President had personally handpicked you based on your illustrious street gang war successes which seem to be your forte¡ªwhat matters now is your ability as a strategist in running a team. Just keep the same mindset that you have now once you are serving the e-SWAT, and you be at the top of your game as always¡ªthen you can end up fitting into any outfit anytime¡ªand who-knows¡ªinto the Secret Service too someday." Wolfe tapped with the reassurance on Roberta''s arm¡ªwhile Roberta still stood apprehensive with the m¨¦tier proposal. Wolfe lighted a cigarette and handed the pack to Roberta. "Right now, you are fighting street crimes which are small fries compared to the new eminent and incipient threats that are now brewing¡ªI am referring to the local bred terrorist groups whom you are going to face now onwards at a larger and grander scale. "All you need to do is to use your same street strategy and you then lead a battalion against those adversaries¡ªand then you crush them dead, yeah¡ªare you clear now, Rob?" Roberta nodded in limpid and she began liking the challenges ahead which she kept hearing while smoking her cigarette... "Yes, thank you Agent Wolfe¡ªthis is indeed the greatest gift I have received so far in my police career." "Don''t worry, ''boy,'' the perks get better when you are in the big boys'' club. By the way, we have also been going through your profile in DC and we have learned that you have a sister in a coma, is that so?" Roberta was dumbfounded a moment when Laura was mentioned; she nodded and listened closely to the agent''s intent... "There is a hospital in California that specializes in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation which has a high rate of patients with brain injuries who have actually recovered after some period of treatments over there. It is really really expensive but I will look into it and will arrange that for your sister¡ªwith all the expenses paid by the US government, of course¡ªall you have to do now is to accept your new promotion as a Captain... "Can I have your John Hancock here?" Wolfe dangled a pen which Roberta gladly ratify the dotted line to get her second wedding bonus-bribe. Wolfe shook her hand again and left in the dark, Roberta heard her laughing and saying out aloud... "Capt. Roberta Jensen, just keep soaring higher in our club coz you are now a rising star!" Chapter 7 A CHOPPER LANDED somewhere in the Mojave Desert where there were scores of tents pitched; some members of the Council come out to welcome the visitors'' presence to the headquarters of the One God''s Army. The older woman in Islamic black burka alighted, and she was accompanied by her personal team of mercenaries. Hajja approached and greeted her with a slight bow... "As-Salamu Alaykum." The accompanied visitors walked, passing by two trucks where succour crates were unloaded by the Hispanic rebel members, supervised by Li Chi and Ramirez. Four of the Muslim mercenaries picked one of the wooden crates with Arabic words written on it¡ªthe group stepped into a larger tent where the Council of 13 were; compromised of various gang leaders and top generals and strategists committee of One God''s Army. The Preacher stood in front of more than a dozen strongboxes filled with stacks of US banknotes. The Afghan woman whose hands were concealed in her cloak, she now reached in, she picked a bundle of Benjamins with her left hand and ran her index finger on the currency notes. She then dropped it back into one of the strongboxes. She turned and nodded to a few Middle Eastern females and Intersexuals mercenaries who crow-barred to open the wooden crate¡ªDoran stepped up and saw the munificent of assault rifles that he had salutary requested for his revolution cause. He picked up one and examined it. The Afghan woman spoke while looking at Doran standing across the opened ammunition crate... "The Arab world has been enjoying peace ever since the Medusa struck the world two decades ago¡ªbut our Intel have recently uncovered that President Madeline Cory is building an Army¡ªand we believe, very soon, she will be the first in the occident to declare war again on the outside nations, that were once historically victimized by the United States in the past¡ªI strongly believe that she will be targeting the Middle East Federation very soon." The Preacher nodded. "Yes Binu Jain, I am aware of what you are saying¡ªthe president even has placed a bounty for my head by proclaiming in the media that I am the leader to a local terrorist group; when all I did was to preventing my Intersexual race from being persecuted. But that woman is consistently fabricating her lies feverishly every day to create fear and panic among her people so that more hatred is directed on to us." "Be cautious, Preacher, she may put her Army to the test on you all before she ships them out next to attack my country," the businesswoman caveated... "I am an Afghani and I remember growing up facing bitter wars at our village in the mountains of my country. Back in the year 2012¡ªa squadron of US Marines stormed into my village on the day of my wedding. They massacred everyone including my beloved husband, my parents, siblings and relatives in a matter of minutes¡ªthey killed everyone mercilessly based on the suspicion that we were part of the Taliban movement... "This is the reason I later got into the arms supply business¡ªso that I can get my reckoning with future zealot presidents like this woman Madeline Cory..." She exposed her hidden right hand from her Islamic robe, which was a stump without fingers¡ªand she concealed it again... "Allah the All-Merciful is so forgiving that He cleansed the world of the evil men in high offices back then with the tribulation of the Medusa Virus¡ªso that those who remained and lived then forth will have peace...but it is sad that peace is now short-lived with present presidents like Cory immerging and who is still lusting for blood." Doran replied solemnly. "Yes, her hatred runs very strong, and she is one of the kind who will wage war with anyone just to stay in power." "True indeed, young Preacher, she is also surrounded by people who are equally evil¡ªand one of them is this female soldier who single-handedly killed all of my loved ones on that night of my wedding. She massacred everyone on that cataclysmic night 20 years ago¡ªand today, she is the Head of the President''s Secret Service," The Middle Eastern woman handed over a photo with two images imposed of Agatha Wolfe as both in a Marine uniform and in the Secret Service suit... Doran took the photo, and he recalled how Wolfe had shot Sister Lisa Marie''s face at point-blank in the convent. His venom for vendetta festered to pay the price in blood for those five bereaving years he suffered in Tombscradle... "We then share the same nemesis, Binu Jain," he replied in a rancour tone. "Yes Preacher, I have also heard of the story that this Wolfe had killed those 22 Christian nuns that raised you and your brothers in the monastery," she then pointed at the strong boxes... "Like I said that I am in the arms business to get even with the murderers of my past. I don''t need your money, Preacher¡ªdo use it in your war effort and bring justice to mankind. "I strongly believe that it is in Allah''s plans in His Heavenly tenet, when He replaced mankind with the Third Breed¡ªso that they are to fight and kill these venomous snakes before they grow into bigger demonic dragons." Binu Jain gestured her customary farewell to the thirteen in the Council. "Peace be with you all, my sons¡ªyou who seek the path of the Truth."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Her people stepped out of the tent behind her¡ªthe Afghans headed towards their chopper. ** Doran later conducted hours of premeditated discussions with his council to decide the fate of the five thousand recruited AOG rebel members in the Mojave Desert¡ªwho were all currently going into vigorous training in various combat techniques of both weapons and martial arts. Among them at the open shooting target range were Reeves, Wu Leong and a few other Intersexuals who were training to be snipers. * At another tent, Joe and Troy step out after they were given slips of papers with their job designations in the rebel army outfit. Joe was laughing in the satisfaction that he got to do what he loved best¡ªhis thing about fast cars, so that he can palaver about like a protrusive rooster from dawn to dusk among the other unfortunate Wesleyans who were mostly assigned as foot soldiers. "I got into Intelligence and Communications," it was Troy''s forte. Joe pried. "Is it true, Troy that I heard you were a computer hacker before they threw you in TC?" Troy chuckled, admitting to his picaresque past. "Yeah, I was a kid back then when I defaced a few of the government websites online; and that ended me up in Tombscradle." They both saw Two Bob rushing out of the tent and started doing crude and stiff Native American dance with the paper in his hand, Troy asked... "Chief, what did you get?" "Demolitions! I am gonna be working with explosives, baby," laughed Bob, "I told them that I had to use dynamite when I used to go river fishing and they said I will fit perfectly in demolition. I am going to start blowing shit up from now on." Joe disrupted, "heads up guys, it is the Council of 13." They glanced up ahead and saw the rebel leaders coming out of the main tent led by the Promethean Doran¡ªand behind him were the prominent gang leaders of Hajja, Ramirez, Li Chi and other gang generals. They were strolling to inspect the training men; while the appointed warfare strategist, Li Chi briefed them while they passed by a group training unarmed combatants. The pedagogical fight instructor was Marlin, who was still recovering from his rib injuries¡ªhe was overseeing a redneck Intersexual beating and kicking Kiki-boy aggressively. The Wesleyan dropped face down on the dirt below. Marlin shouted at him who was now in tears of frustration from his many defeated bouts... "Come on Kiki, get the basics right! You can''t handle a gun well¡ªat least learn to use your fists to survive. Now stand up and spar once again¡ªand this time you better get it right!" Hajja clapped once to get Marlin''s attention to halt the training. Other leaders did the same around¡ªand every trainee followed Doran and his council... * Doran stepped on a small mount to higher ground and he looked down at his thousands of the polychromic races of his followers gathered, he gave his sermon... "My Army of One God, I know you have gone through a tremendous beating, injuries and suffering¡ªand through many other sacrifices, you made to get here this far. Many of your brothers have fallen, and many departed in those same sacrifices that we fought for together not long ago¡ªso that the few of us can walk away from the shackles that our enemies held on us now in recent times... "But our struggles and our fighting is far from over because our adversaries have plotted bigger schemes to eliminate us all¡ªus the New Breed Species whom God Himself created, and chosen us as His people to walk this earth." The Preacher took out a photo of President Cory from his robe and showed it to the now probity proselytized rebels gathered¡ªthose who were once peerless in various prisons before they have united as a single army in the desert... "This woman, the so-called president of this country¡ªwhom I see her as the Snake-woman that descended from the deep pits of hell¡ªshe is now plotting these schemed pack of lies¡ªcalling us the One God''s Army as a mere terrorist." The angered Doran crushed the photo and threw it down... "First, she captured us, then she caged us like wild animals¡ªand then unlawfully she extracted our semen¡ªbut the moment we retaliated back, she then sent her Army of female dogs on us the God''s Chosen People, whom God Himself had united¡ªand we then fought back, and defeated those bitches! "She then destructed Tombscradle with her own bombs, and she even blamed that on us too. But my suspicion started the moment we drove away from that prison¡ªwhy did she not drop a bomb on us and kill us all back then when we were escaping? "No, she did not do it because¡ªshe wanted us to be out here in the open¡ªso that she can continue her future deceitful plots¡ªand to throw more blames at us, and to darken our presence further by calling us all terrorists in this same very land which is also our birthplace called America! "Remember this, my brothers, this woman controls the media¡ªwhere her sermons of deceits are published and televised to poison the minds of her people to hate us all even more." Doran pointed at the skies¡ªwith reference to the drones and satellites in space... "Even at this very moment as I speak¡ªshe is looking down on us with her eyes in the skies¡ªand she knows where we are¡ªand what we are doing here in the wilderness. Then she is going to fabricate more treachery to blame us even further, because to the President and her horde of cronies¡ªwe the people of One God''s Army are just mere sacrificial lambs who are waiting to be slaughtered in her cunning plots and schemes. "So if we don''t stand up and counter her every move¡ªwe will then perish very soon like those meek lambs¡ªjust like our own massacred brothers, those who had encumbered that woman''s attacks in the past¡ªand they all died for us!" Doran saw the apparition presences of the nuns and monk-boys who died in the convent years ago standing among the crowd¡ªSister Lisa Marie nodded and smiled back at him¡ªthis made tears roll down from Doran''s eye; he continued in a choking voice... "...lets those who died for our freedom¡ªmay their death will not be in vain¡ªand we will justify it by acknowledging them with our True God''s Heavenly future victories against the Snake-woman!" Every one of the thousands of followers roared out the Preacher''s name aloud¡ªwhen the din subsided, Doran said. "Let us now pray." Every Intersexual gathered, regardless of their difference of faiths and beliefs; all chanted a common prayer... "Dear God, Yahweh, Allah, the Higher Consciousness¡ªwe are grateful that we are still alive today at Your Heavenly mercy. Give us the strength in our daily walk in life, that we will be better servants to You by being fearless soldiers who will fight God''s enemies and bring victory to our suppressed species¡ªso that someday, we will be treated as equals and be respected by the dominating females. Until that day arrives, we the Soldiers of God will remain united and be supportive of our cause¡ªand will be the force that brings changes to the free world. "We ask of this in Your Almighty Name¡ªAmen." Chapter 8 AGENT WOLFE was seated alone; she noticed that Cory was pacing back and forth in the situation room, swirling a couple of ice cubes in her glass of gin and tonic. She can interpret that the president was in a deep rumination on her Machiavellian plotting... Cory returned to her seat and drank up before she took a paper from a file¡ªand handed it to the Head of Secret service... "This is for your eyes only, Wolfe¡ªI don''t even want Lucinda Gates to know what is in it, is that clear?" The secrecy between her and the President of the United States has made the agent swollen with pride for only a few seconds until she began to peruse the written content... "This is a list of what I want you to get done before I begin commencing my coming Fundraiser in Louisiana on the next Fat-Tuesday," Cory added while Wolfe looked at the list in disbelief... "First, I want you to get rid of the Governor of Michigan who will be coming on air soon claiming to expose our semen milking prison operation using those prisoned orphan freaks. She will be holding a press conference with Rosewood''s local media in a sperm bank in Detroit in the next coming hours¡ªyou will then go and blow up that building, and kill all those birds with one stone¡ªand I will then blame it later on that fucking One God''s Army... "Then, I want a massive frontal attack on these following female organizations¡ªThe Aryan Sisterhood and The White Women for Justice¡ªthose white pride cunts are supporters of that senile Rosewood''s who is trying hard to make her comeback into the White House¡ªeven-though the old bitch never acknowledges in accepting their support because of their militia movements¡ªbut you go in there tomorrow and hit their camps hard and you purge them all out¡ªand once that is done, I will go on air again and affirm that they were all allies to The Preacher''s rebel terrorist group."Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Agent Wolfe misconstrued in a low and shaky voice at the final ultimatum... "Madame President, are you sure about the last request in the list here?" Cory grinned and chucked... "Yes, the senile fool had enough of her share of her crippling days in her husband''s politics¡ªand it is high time for her to take a permanent departure." ** 14 hours later¡ªthe governor of Michigan stepped on the podium in the Detroit sperm bank building in front of hundreds of reporters and Rosewood supporters¡ªshe was about to give evidence on the conspiracy theory to several Human Rights groups about Intersexuals orphans being held against their will in prisons where they were forced to extract their semen. Agent Wolfe was in a black SUV with CIA agents at the exterior of the edifice, looking at the sperm bank going down in multiple explosions¡ªthe detonated building collapsed into a mammoth pile of razed inferno; before the SUV drove away, killing the Governor and those masses present inside it. 25 hours later¡ªthe newly preferment Capt. Roberta in Elite Force uniform conducted a strike on The Aryan Sisterhood''s militia base camps in Mississippi; where many white women in militia fatigues were slain in an intense gun battle. The defeated leader of the Sisterhood managed to escape in a crop-buster plane. 37 hours later¡ªthe eighty-year-old ex-President, Anne Rosewood was in her limousine with a few other official emissaries escorting her in New York City. Crowds in the streets cheered for her comeback into the next elections and they were waving American flags on the cordoned pavements. Among those in the crowd was Agent Wolfe in sunglasses who supervised the execution of a car-bomb parked on the side of the road with the undercover civilian attired demolition experts from the black ops¡ªthe explosion ripped off Rosewood''s limo from the rest of her convoy. Rosewood''s vehicle was tossed at the other side of the road toward another stationary car-bomb¡ªthe second blasting impact gusted the limo vertically in the hot air before it fell upside down on its roof; resulting also the death of 47 of Rosewood''s supporters. In the midst of the major street panic, the nefarious and cold-hearted Wolfe was standing at a corner and eating a Popsicle under the sweltering hot weather¡ªshe had accomplished all the ultimatums of the covert agenda in Cory''s hit-list. Chapter 9 THE LAPTOP screen broadcasted the news coverage of Rosewood''s assassination by the Council of 13¡ªthe demagogue President Cory was addressing a press conference with full live media coverage on her war efforts on terrorism. Every AOG rebels painstakingly heard every word of the broadcasted deceits which were anaesthetizing to the eyes and ears of the American public... "This is a real provoking tragedy¡ªand what these bedamn terrorist groups have done is a real horribly calamity, by their brutal assassination our former President, Anne Rosewood. "I am now going to utilize all the relevant authorities in my power to bring justice by conduct a major dragnet to bring down The Preacher and his One God''s Army¡ªtogether with his other allied terrorist groups who had played along in this horrendous murder of Ann Rosewood..."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Doran slammed the laptop screen close and faced his caucus of generals¡ªhe spoke out growling¡ªhe thought of his last encounter with the villainous Wolfe in Tombscradle... "An enemy had once told me straight at my face that¡ª''if one pushes the right button of a person, he can then do incredible things out of the extraordinary'' Yes, that Snake-woman has pushed all my buttons and it is time we stand up against her! "I think we have done enough training here in the desert¡ªand it is time we go to New Orleans in the Name of God to kill some serpents over there!" Every one of the other twelve councils in the tent cheered out their approval. Chapter 10 REEVES AND Wu Leong along with three other snipers candidates were on their bellies as they shoot targets. A large group of Intersexuals stood behind them watching the contest between the rivalling marksmen. Reeves was a better deadeye with more clear-target hits; Wu Leong was annoyed with his misses¡ªhis remiss was because he was more focused on Reeves'' target board¡ªbut sharpshooting was not a competitive game¡ªthe Wesleyan beside him has zoned-in and mastered the mindset well with his better sense of accuracy than the rest of the marksmen. A messenger ran to a Hispanic lieutenant who was in charge of the shooters, informing him. "The Council wants to see them now." The lieutenant nodded and he chose his best two candidates... "Okay, Reeves, Wu Leong¡ªstep up!" Both stood up, dusting the desert dirt from their clothes¡ªthe supporters cheered and patted their shoulders and their backs¡ªwishing them both luck when the two snipers walked into the Council''s tent... ** When he stepped in, he saw the Counsel seated at a long table like The Last Supper with Doran in the centre. Reeves also noticed several photographs on a corkboard¡ªa litany photographs of President Cory, Agent Wolfe¡ªand Capt. Roberta Jensen¡ªthe one whom Reeves was accused to be akin to because of his surname. He heard Doran summoning out to them. "Come, Reeves...Wu Leong." Li Chi who was seated next to Hajja smiled and nodded at Wu Leong but his smile faded when he saw the presence of ''Reeves Jensen.'' Reeves then saw Russell Collins smiling at him too¡ªCollins was appointed as a leader representing the minority whites since Reeves had rejected the position in the Council when it was first offered to him by the Preacher and Hajja. Doran then addressed, "as you both know, we are going to attack Cory at her fundraiser, but only one of you sniper is going to take out the President¡ªand since you both are equally good¡ªThe Council of 13 is now going to vote for the best candidate."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Doran dropped a piece of paper in a bowl, "here is my vote.'' The rest of the members dropped in their votes¡ªDoran segregated and counted the ballot while Reeves and Wu Leong waited at the side. "The decision is 9 to 4¡ªand the sniper who will be designated to kill the Snake-woman is...... "Wu Leong!" Li Chi stood up and clapped the loudest¡ªhe was proud that a member of his triad was the chosen one... In fact, the Chinese had supplanted and influenced the parity of the voters by telling members of the Council that Reeves was not to be trusted because he was related to Roberta Jensen¡ªthe killer-cop who was recently made a captain in the e-SWAT¡ªwho had also recently butchering unrelated militia groups that were later fabricated by the media as allies to the One God''s Army. Doran peered back at the Reeves, and he gave a consolation remark. "Reeves, you are the back-up, in case we fail in New Orleans." Li Chi''s voice interrupted him. "We will not fail!" The Preacher ignored the Chinese and he then prepared the contingency team. "I want you to pick a team of your choice, Reeves¡ªbecause Cory is having another fund-raiser in a couple of weeks in California¡ªso you get there ahead of and be prepared over there." Reeves was speechless by the unexpected quandary of going to California¡ªhe then heard Hajja speaking up to him... "Reeves, who is in your team? Drop us some names." "I choose¡ªTroy¡ªJoe¡ªMarlin¡ªand True Bob." He replied with uneasiness with that sudden request. "The Money-truck Boys," the black leader laughed out. Doran adjoined saying in doubt. "Is that it¡ªjust the 5 of you?" "Yeah, I like it kept small and tight with those whom I trust most." Li Chi immediately scorned... "Jensen, you cannot have Marlin, he is wanted here in camp because he is one of our best-unarmed combat trainers!" Hajja considered pragmatically at the dilemma of the quality of training currently among the rebel army in camp¡ªthe rebels who were mainly compromised by the motley of undisciplined street brawlers; who will be facing soon the highly trained battle-hardened soldier of the President... "Li Chi is right, we need Marlin here¡ªbut Reeves, you may want a better backup for your security when you are out there in Cory''s territory. So I am going to assign the Jamaicans to escort you to California¡ªthey are versatile and well experienced¡ªyou and your team will be well protected at all time." Reeves sighed softly inward before nodding back¡ªwhen the council has decided the ruthless Jamaicans were to follow his crew, it just means that decisions had been done. There was no way he can protest with his negation of the Rastafarians'' presence¡ªespecially not in front of Li Chi who will be more aroused with his suspicions... Now his quest to go east to Washington DC with Marlin to search for Laura Jensen has been further hindered... Chapter 11 REEVES AND his team were packing their gear into the red Mustang while the Jamaicans heaved a drum of gasoline into the back of an SUV for the journey. Marlin came over to say goodbye to his confidant¡ªboth of them went on a short walk, passing by mirth rebel members who were also packing up to leave the Mojave Desert to their next destination of war in New Orleans. Reeves apologized several times that he cannot bring him along as part of the cell-group designated for California¡ªthe blond youth responded back... "It is okay, Reeves¡ªLouisiana is much closer to Washington in the east, and it is good news that I am heading towards that way. I will still be clueless when I get there too; Dr Morris is no longer the head of the Pan American Health Organization. She is totally off the grid; I tried locating her online in various search-engines but her whereabouts since then are unknown..." They both sighed deeply at those setbacks and spoke with some sense of disappointment in their voices¡ªtheir grand-plan to head to Washington together to search for both of their mothers has been disrupted when events and decisions kept changing rapidly in the rebel camp since the Rosewood''s assassination. The annoyed Marlin further added, "as long as that bitch Cory is alive, we will all be continued to be hunted by every one of her hound dog agency." Reeves forced a dissembled smile, agreed with sad nods... He has a bad feeling that this will be the last time that he would see his newfound friend who was now enlisted to fight in the warzone. "But the way I see it, it is a clear trap, Marlin; you will all be walking into Cory''s snare¡ªand I wish you that you will find a way to escape while on the road before you reach the New Orleans city limits." Marlin had thought about it earlier of being an AOG deserter¡ªbut he decided that it was best to remain in the group to New Orleans rather than being hunted while on the run from both Cory''s patrolling enforcers and also from Li Chi''s death penalty threat imposed to any of the captured runaway poltroon rebels... He also knows that he was being followed lately by the Chinese spies in the OGA rebel camp since his close association with Reeves¡ªhe had the similar intuition from the similar problem before with the Asians¡ªevading the Japanese back then while he was dating ''one of theirs'' five years ago . "Then do your best to stay alive, Marlin¡ªbecause ultimately you still need to find Dr Jane Morris in DC¡ªonly she knows where your mother is hidden from Cory''s administration." "Yeah, you too, Reeves, when this is all over¡ªwe will also try to locate your mother too¡ªin the meantime, I will get you the relevant information beforehand on Laura Jensen once I reach DC, stay in touch." the blond Intersexual assured back. * From afar, Li Chi spied on Marlin and Reeves who were together¡ªobserving both of them shaking hands before parting ways. The Chinese leader headed to Zinga who was in the driver''s seat of the SUV and he cautioned him...Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Zinga, you better keep an eye on that Jensen¡ªhe is a cunning bastard who will try to escape while on the road. That goes to his team too¡ªif they try to run away, just shoot to kill." Zinga responded with ire, "most definitely Mon, I hate dis idea of playing wet-nurse to dis nancy-boys in California. I hunger for war and want to fight along with di rest of you all in New Orleans¡ªit is payback time, Mon. I badly want to be part of dis historical victory when we take out the Snake-woman¡ªthat bitch had put many of us in Tombscradle for all those 6 years¡ªand I want to gut her right from her heart and straight down to her cunt." The blacks and the Hispanic were in that Tombscradle prison a year earlier before Cory started her semen milking scheme in Texas. "But I can''t object di direct orders given by di Council, especially when it comes straight from my leader Hajja...but who knows, if I get bored or if things go sideways in my journey to California, I might just gut those 4 white motherfuckers and leave them behind as road-kill¡ªand then I head back east to join you all in claiming our long-awaited victory in the warzone." Zinga laughed out while the iniquity Li Chi grinned¡ªhe thought of the glorious hero''s tales spoken in AOG camp of how the Jamaicans tortured the loathed Head of Guards Capt. Olsen of the Aryan Nation by amputating her every limb in Tombscradle recently... ''Maybe this kin of Roberta Jensen should share that same fate.'' ** A few hours later, a Mustang, an SUV and four motorbikes travelled the road to California. Reeves and True Bob rode on two motorbikes while the other two were ridden by two Jamaicans. Joe and Troy were in the Mustang tailing Zinga and Busta in the SUV¡ªthe Rastafarians smoked a reefer and were tripping to the olio of Marley''s ''Buffalo Soldier'' playing on the stereo. Another convoy led by a Hummer with Doran, Hajja, Ramirez and Li Chi and hundreds of stolen vehicles were heading east. Inside one of the buses was the enlisted Marlin looking out of the window... The urbane figure remained quiet among the uncouth and myopic OGA rebels¡ªthey were drunk and smoked-up while singing self-composed paean and bellowing out the chorus like inebriated Vikings warriors who were heading to conqueror and plunder the new world of their birthright freedom from the dominatrix run government. Although it has been a month out from F-Block after his five years of isolation Marlin had learned so much about the multifarious nonesuch Preacher since he got out of prison¡ªof how the priest-monk from a humble abbey has now become the fearsome leader of more than five thousand mobocracies ruled criminals... But Marlin felt like he was now a sort of a hostage of this do-or-die ''divine cause'' even though he rather be at the moment with the scientific research group that his mother was clandestinely into with their rummaging for the cure to the Medusa Virus¡ªhe has many glowing dreams while in prison alone¡ªof reversing evolution when someday the extinct male species will be whole again and walk on the earth again. He was lost again in his thoughts while he soul-searched, recalling the conversation he had with Reeves earlier¡ªhe envisioned the awaited death of the thousands of the conscription Intersexual of OGA rebels in New Orleans by the hands of Cory''s well prepared and equipped enforcers¡ªmultiplying the effect of the attacks in comparison to the recent assaults succumbed in Tombscradle... Tactically, Reeves was right of finding a diversion to his escape... ** Many hundreds of miles away in the east, a female prisoner sat with her head bowed down, her feet were drawn to her chest on her single bunk bed. Her subtle sobs were heard, a newspaper was scattered on the floor with the headlines... ''FORMER PRESIDENT ROSEWOOD SLAIN.'' She wiped her tears and looked up¡ªDr. Jane Morris, the once respectable epidemiologist was in her prisoner clothing; looking older and haggard after the five long years in a women correction facility in Washington D.C. Chapter 12 CORY WAS PLOTTING her next move, she was analyzing the live satellite feed of The Preacher''s mass convoy which were now travelling east by road to Louisiana. The president was alone in the meeting room until Lucinda Gates barged inside and slammed the door. ¡°Maddie, what have you done?¡± Cory used the remote to switch off the big screen and turned to her. ¡°Calm down Lu, what''s wrong now?¡± The fuming Gates bluntly indicted. ¡°You sent me to do your errand of setting up the fundraiser event in New Orleans; and while I am over here, you have plotted an unscrupulous presidential scandal in the history of the White House¡ªnow honestly, tell me¡ªdid you ordered the assassination of Anne Rosewood?¡± ¡°Calm down and sit now!¡± ¡°No, I will not sit down! Tell me, Madeline¡ªwhy?¡± She saw Cory was quiet, Gates continued to justify her thoughts at her. ¡°Rosewood was just an old crippled who don''t stand a chance to win her place back in the Whitehouse¡ªbut you had her killed! Do you know the implication if this scandal reaches the public¡ªwe will all go down for murder!¡± The inexpressive Cory reacted with an unctuous tone of voice¡­ ¡°That will not happen because that shitty God¡¯s Army will take the rap for her death¡ªso let¡¯s stick to the designed schedule of our second victorious term in office for now.¡± But Lucinda rationalized the solemnity cause and effect out aloud¡­ ¡°The semen milking project also almost leaked out and you had them too killed to cover that up in Detroit¡­do you know that there are still lots of shemale sympathizers out there, and they will someday dig up the truth¡ªand soon Rosewood¡¯s killing will be known to them too¡ªthis is very obvious with too many coincidences happening at once!¡± ¡°Look here, I know how to cover my tracks in everything I do. Nobody is going to take the word of that Preacher or his religious fucked-up terrorist group as the truth out there, okay? Now lower your voice when you speak to me¡­¡± Cory was getting agitated with the scarifying Gates who was sounding very unconstructive like her VP¡ªand it also made her laugh tensely with derision at her old-time friend... ¡°Look at you¡ªyou are acting more paranoid than my nigger Vice President.¡± Gates was still digesting the woman¡¯s unsavoury words¡­ ¡°So you are laughing now¡ª''ha-ha''¡ªnow share with me this joke of yours on why you put a hit on Rosewood?¡± Lucinda was getting more sardonic. ¡°Can¡¯t you read in-between the lines? Okay, for one, Rosewood is dispensable¡ªand she was no longer a worthy opponent since the launching of my New Economic Order¡ªand the people know that too. So now after her death, I have a new platform to step into¡ªI am going to walk right into my opponent''s camp next and I will share my condolences with them¡ªand soon that will sway most of her supporters right over to me¡ªand this is all going to happen tomorrow when we both attend her funeral.¡± Lucinda Gates was flabbergasted for a moment at the supercilious woman who was with not a mote of mores in her malevolent exploits. Gates questioned back¡­ ¡°Then, what about your own fundraiser in Louisiana tomorrow¡ªare you going to put that on hold too?¡± ¡°I got that Mary Freeman in as my last-minute replacement to represent me. It is about time she did some serious footwork in the party and not be sitting pretty with her VP position that she won on in her popularity contest. Gates realized that Cory was deleterious, and was plotting to put her Vice President at harm¡¯s way in New Orleans in case there was a rebel attack. ¡°The CIA and the rest of the feds are anticipating a possible attempt of violence. What happens if the Preacher attacks her at the fundraiser?¡± Cory felt cornered and she diverted back instantly. ¡°Hah! No, nothing will happen to Freeman, I don''t think that the Preacher is that dumb enough at all to attack us. He will be facing a ton of resistance the moment he and his ill-trained monkey-army enters the city limits of New Orleans¡­¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Gates can see her vile deceits well and she grilled her more¡­ ¡°But what if, Madeline¡ªwhat if he attacks¡ªhe has been gung-ho since Texas¡¯ prison breakout and so far had assailed 4 prisons as we speak; he has a few thousand followers right now backing him. What if he does endangers Mary Freeman in Louisiana tomorrow¡ªremember this¡ªshe is still your VP!¡± The President laughed with snider... ¡°So you rather want me to be taken out instead in New Orleans¡ªis that so, Lucinda?¡± Gates was perplexed at this moment. ¡°No, that is not what I am saying¡­¡± she was scathe and could not find the right thing to reply at that moment¡­ ¡°This goddamn Anne Rosewood''s killing is a big mess¡ªa very damn big mess!¡± Cory warranted her well thought aberrant strategy with mordant hilarity. ¡°It is not such a big mess at all¡ªbut it is good publicity for us tomorrow¡ªand if at all that Scarface Jesus-freak did attack New Orleans, and also if Mary Freeman does go down tomorrow¡ªit is better publicity with two casualties¡ªone each on both camp... That will pay off well for any of Rosewood¡¯s death suspicion on us; and at the end of the day, Freeman¡¯s death will serve well for the greater good of our party.¡± What she heard had disgusted Lucinda Gates who responded with abhorrence... ¡°How could you undermine her¡ªMary Freeman was the reason you are in office as the president today¡ªand now you are treating her like she is some despoil figure!¡± ¡°Come on admit it, Lucinda¡ªshe is just a weakling and a huge liability to us. Her matriarch methods are more fitted like of that dead senile Rosewood¡ªand it has no room for such ineffectuality in my New Order Policies. Just imagine if Mary Freeman had been the President instead of me¡ªwe will be going spirally down in every cornerstone in the economic and the progress of this country; now those are facts, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Now Gates saw the ungrateful side of the president. ¡°No, you are wrong Maddie, she is a very capable woman¡ªand she even trusted you and stood loyal behind your back in the sovereignty of this administration.¡± Cory mocked back with risqu¨¦ malediction¡­ ¡°Yes, one more added fact that she knows for sure is that I am more capable than her; that¡¯s why she was just a toothless loyal dog that I have been feeding so far¡ªbut in my book, she is just a piece of furniture¡ªMary Freeman is just another replica of Rosa Parks who is comfortably warming her butts in my office¡ªif that bus driver had refused to drive that bus that day, do you think Rosa Parks could have driven the bus herself? No, the bitch can¡¯t do jack shit!¡± It was getting even more repulsive and scurrilous to hear, leaving Lucinda Gates tarry on the spot; she stood silent and kept listening¡­ ¡°I need more capable people in positions for my next term in office and if that Mary Freeman gets her brains blown out tomorrow¡ªI will welcome it as a sign of good news and will move on searching for the next fresh blood as my new Vice President.¡± Cory stared into Gates¡­ ¡°Lucinda¡ªyou are my first choice if that standing opens up next!¡± Now Gates became mordant as how Cory had been to her a moment earlier¡­ ¡°Why? So that you can get me killed some day in one of your future election publicity schemes?¡± President Madeline Cory now laughed out loud in titer at the outlandish assumption¡ªand she slurred after her fourth gin and tonic that morning... ¡°Don''t be ridiculous, we both have been friends for more than 30 years and that is why I trust you the most in my office.¡± Lucinda Gates still felt that she has to knock some sense into her before it was too late. ¡°Please Maddie, if you say that you trust me¡ªbelieve me, that it is going to turn ugly if something bad happens to Mary Freeman tomorrow. Even if you want her out there in New Orleans¡¯ fundraiser, that is fine¡ªbut the least, give her the best protection; please, I urge you to engage your Kraken team to keep her safe and alive¡ªbecause I don''t think the local authorities will stand a chance against those shemale revolutionists¡¯ attacks!¡± ¡°You have once again underestimated the local law enforcement agencies¡ªI have noticed that there has been an impressive improvement in their performance. I feel their momentous presence tomorrow is far sufficient... ¡°No, I will not release my top-secret Kraken yet¡ªand certainly not for this middling fun-raiser occasion!¡± The veto silenced Gates momentarily, she stared back blank a few seconds and stopped to proffer any more suggestions¡ªrealizing that Cory vehemently wanted her Vice President dead tomorrow night in New Orleans¡ªjust like her refusal the prod action to rescue Samantha¡¯s step-grandson a month ago¡ªit seemed like it has been preordained that there will a lot of deaths will follow until her coming election agenda. ¡°Then you have made up your mind that she should also die like the others; and if that is so, I wash my hands¡ªI quit! I don''t want any part in these deviant and deceptive plots of yours, Maddie!¡± Gates walked away to the door and she opened it¡ªtwo female Secret Service agents stood alert outside when the door was ajar, and they heard the president¡¯s stentorian voice calling from inside... ¡°If you walk out that door, you may as well tender your resignation immediately, this instance!¡± The door closed back slowly¡­ Lucinda Gates did not leave the room¡ªit would be signing her own death sentence if she had done so. Cory will requite if anyone had stepped out of her clandestine circle¡ªsoon she will be another one in the President¡¯s hit-list and would end up dead like Rosewood. Chapter 13 Reeves rode the old Motus MST bike alongside with the Mustang while the two Jamaican bikes were taking the lead in the open wasteland road. Joe glanced out at his dust-covered face that looked intense¡ªand he knew that Reeves was in deep thoughts. Joe was glad that he was part of the cell-group who will be absent from the eminent path of pogrom death in the New Orleans¡¯s battlefield like the rest of his Wesleyan friend who will be there soon. He knew that Reeves wanted Marlin badly to be with them¡ªeven though Joe was not keen that the duo had intended to take off together ever since Reeves had been quite attached with the newfound friend who was only known to them for a mere month¡ªJoe agreed that Reeves was over-trusting ¡®an unknown angel¡¯ as Troy said to him in one of the blathers they had behind the backs of Reeves and Marlin. All the vehicles were heading towards a desert sandstorm that was building up ahead on the road to California. * Eight hours ago, Reeves stood and watched the members of the council congratulating Wu Leong for winning the sniper votes in the Council of 13¡¯s tent¡ªRamirez jokingly cognomen that Wu Leong was a Lee Harvey Oswald kind of successor who was destined to take out the President of The United States soon. Doran came from Reeve¡¯s back and tapped his shoulder, ¡°Come, walk with me.¡± Li Chi noticed Doran and ¡®Jensen¡¯ pacing out of the tent. They both strolled outside the desert camp while other Intersexuals were in potter, seeing their leader promenade with the one named Jensen. A group of Wesleyan boys were scorning among themselves about Reeves because he now amounts to nothing to them after losing the vote to be the first-choice sniper in New Orleans¡ªKiki-boy was among the disgruntled ones who continued to badmouth ever since Reeves gave up his opportunity to be a member inside the Council of 13 to represent the whites. It was the worst decision ever made that had resulted with the educated and egocentric Wesleyans having to take orders from their ¡®redneck kins¡¯ under the new OGA white-leadership of Russell Collins. ¡°I am really glad that I did not win just now,¡± Reeves spoke out his mind and the Preacher smiled back¡­ ¡°My vote was for you, Reeves¡ªand you are more suited for the task.¡± ¡°Thank you but I am glad to disappointing you¡ªbecause I just can''t do it¡ªshooting cardboard targets are fine but I don''t have the stomach to kill anyone any more¡ªeven though I did take some of them out during the T.C. breakout, but it was different then.¡± Reeves was being honest about himself. ¡°It will come.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Reeves raised his voice¡­ ¡°No Doran, I don''t fucking want it to come! Maybe I am not cut out to kill another person any more, have you ever thought about that? Cut us loose, let my friends and I go. Just get those Jamaicans off our backs and we go our separate ways.¡± Doran looked at him, ¡°yes, I know you have told me in the past in prison that you want to search for your mother. Even your friend Marlin came to me recently wanting to leave for some personal reason¡ªbut I denied him too because we will live a day longer if we all stick together as a communion.¡± Reeves was more annoyed now and scoffed at the priest-monk¡­ ¡°What are you saying, man? Cory is waiting for your holy-ass to walk into New Orleans and she is going to ambush you all there¡ªand look here, Doran, many of your followers are going to be killed over there tomorrow!¡± ¡°Then what do you expect me to do, Reeves¡ªsit around here? The Snake-woman knows where we are and she can drop a bomb over here anytime and wipe us all out as she did back at Tombscradle. She wants us all to come out hunting and not to be hunted at this very moment... ¡°Yes, now she is offering us this fairground for a battle in New Orleans and we are going to take it¡ªand we are going to fight her hard, right to the end!¡± Reeves stopped walking and pointed back at the monk of the imminent dangers ahead¡­ ¡°You are a fool, she is gonna outwit you with all the firepower that she got¡ªand you don¡¯t have a fucking chance to stand up against her?¡± Doran looked at Reeves and he laughed¡­ ¡°We will overcome her and we will trample her down because God is on our side!¡± Reeves was really bothered by his simpleton ethos and perverse response¡ªand especially thinking that the Preacher was using his devout beliefs as a defence mechanism to rationalize all of his present frail actions just as in the past¡ªand with his evangelist move of implementing a mass attack on New Orleans based on his impeccable Hand of God credence that would intervene and lift his so-called glorious God¡¯s rebel soldiers to their significant victory¡­ Reeves also recalled the heterodox Wesleyan rucks who used to ridicule behind Doran as the ¡®Mad Monk of Tombscradle¡¯ for obfuscating his extreme sermons preaching of divine angels from the biblical rapture prophesy¡ªand about demons walking on the face of the earth as clouts of women¡ªthe zealot Preacher then touted the upshot of their death during their insurrection cause that will be rewarded with the promised path to the awaited heavenly utopia with their God. ¡°I bet the voices told you that too, right Doran?¡± Reeves scorned back at him. Doran now smiled widely and started to walk away back to the tents saying... ¡°Go to California, Reeves, go continue and complete God''s Will over there¡ªdo it for our brothers¡ªand may God be with you always!¡± The Preacher left the arrested atheist speechless behind¡ªleaving him no choice but to obey. * The vehicles¡¯ headlights beamed dull in the clearing dust¡ªReeves'' team strived out of the desert sandstorm cloud at the purlieus Arizona-California state border. Escaping alone at this point will also result in his friends to be massacred by the Jamaicans. He was in a titular position in leading a mission without any options¡ªother than to obey the Preacher¡¯s given orders. Chapter 14 THE VEHICLES were parked on the dirt road about half a mile from a majestic landscape of the placid Huntington¡¯s Lakeview with its lush pine forest. Zinga gamut out with a binocular and saw the main lake-house below and at two smaller cabins ahead¡ªthere were three floatplanes near the dock with no trace of human activities. ¡°It looks pretty deserted, let¡¯s go in, Mon.¡± The vehicles stopped nearby and the armed Zinga got off the SUV¡­ ¡°Don''t go in yet, we check di place out in pairs¡ªone Jamaican to one white boy, nobody strays!¡± ¡°Sorry, I am not all-white.¡± The half Cherokee responded jokingly while he glanced at Reeves to denote that he too was a half-Hispanic. Zinga retorted back at Bob, ¡°then you shut the fuck up and you follow me¡ªBusta, you stick with Jensen.¡± Something on the spot pricked Reeves¡¯ mind that there was no trust in this team; Li Chi might have instructed the Jamaican bodyguards to keep a short leash on him or may even have ordered something far worse¡ªlike dispelling his existence permanently and dumping his cutthroat body into the bottom of the lake¡­ He mistrusted the mission in California the moment of their arrival at the lake. * Zinga and True Bob sneaked up to the porch, passing a broken signboard¡ª''CAPT HOWDY~ CHARTER A PLANE''¡ªthat hung on a single rusty chain attached to a ceiling hook. They both cautiously entered the front door of the lake-house. The hallway has not been inhabited for eighteen years since the widespread of the Medusa; it was dark, dusty with low hanging cobwebs. Bob walked across and pulled the dirt-crusted curtain cloth to let the lights in¡ªhe heard Zinga exclaiming aloud in his mother-tongue before he spoke again to True Bob... ¡°Dis place is cursed with di dead¡ªI am not staying in here!¡± The implosion of the light inside the once darken house has stippled on a skeleton seated at the head of the dining table¡ªit was positively a pre-Medusa male by the tattered clothing worn; and probably was the owner of the establishment¡ªCapt. Howdy¡ªthe creatural sight freaked out Zinga and he stepped backwards.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. True Bob opened the nearest bedroom door and found another skeletal figure on the bed. There was a dusty photo frame at the bedside, a wedding photo of a younger Mrs and Mr Capt. Howdy was taken in the ''80s. The specious Zinga quickly paced out of the front door of the lake-house, fretfully propounding to the rest of the Rastafarians that they will be residing in the two nearby cabins. ** Oil lamps and candles lighted up the kitchen later that evening¡ªBob was cooking some of the provender rations that they had brought along, mainly canned Mexican beans and heating some prebaked tortilla on a lighted portable stove. Reeves and Joe looked out of different windows, observing the four big-haired Jamaicans who had decided to stay in the smaller cabins. They were performing a voodoo ritual and Joe was very curious. ¡°What the fuck are they doing?¡± True Bob laughed as he peeked from the kitchen window. ¡°It is a cleansing ritual so that evil spirits will not harm them.¡± ¡°It is funny that those Jamaicans are hardcore killers but they freaked out the moment when they arrived here¡ªwhere di balls, Mon?¡± Joe ridiculed like a true Wesleyan in the prison yard. Bob chuckled and responded back to him, ¡°one''s beliefs are powerful.¡± ¡°Hey Chief, you seem too like a man of nature with a miscellaneous of painted buffalo-butt beliefs¡ªhow come you have not freaked out yourself?¡± The secular Joe was laughing while he probed sarcastically to know more. The half-Cherokee replied casually¡­ ¡°These are good spirits in the house, they will not harm¡ªand furthermore, they both died peacefully during the Medusa outbreak.¡± They hear ghoulish laughter in the dark dining area, followed by Troy¡¯s voice. ¡°Guess who is joining us for dinner?¡± Troy switched a mini battery operated table lamp and now there were two skeletons on both ends of the table¡ªthe Mr. and Mrs... Joe now freaked out, unnerving. ¡°Why the fuck did you bring that one out?¡± Moments later, at a table of six¡ªwith the four living and two dead¡ªJoe blocked his face with his palm while he ate his food; Troy turned Mrs Howdy¡¯s skull towards Joe and mimicked in a woman''s voice. ¡°Joe dear, please pass me the bowl of beans.¡± Joe was in choler, ¡°this is fucking so un-cool Troy, why did you bring her out? I am losing my appetite here with her freaky teeth grinning at me.¡± ¡°Relax Joe, it is just bones¡ªand by the way, they are our host, you be nice.¡± True Bob was in derision. The big Wesleyan guy was no different than the recreant Jamaicans. Joe was still unnerved by it¡­ ¡°They are dead people, man, we should respect them¡ªand tomorrow we should at least give them a decent burial, what say you, Reeves? You have been so quiet since we got here¡ªsay something, man¡ªso we are gonna bury those bones in the morning, yeah?¡± Reeves finally spoke up in dissent, pointing his fork at the skull nearest to him. ¡°No, let them stay... ¡°Since the Jamaicans are freaked out, this will play it to our advantage¡ªthose fuckers will bother us less as long that those skeletons are in here.¡± He further warned them to watch out for each other¡¯s back¡­ ¡°I have a bad feeling that the Leach may have put a hit on me¡ªand if that happens, you guys will be going down next.¡± Everyone at the dining table looked back timorously at Reeves in silence. Chapter 15 MARDI GRAS STREET festival was building up its fete with partying revellers in costumes and beads dancing in the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana¡ªpassing colourful gigantic motorcade of floats promoted the regalia of Cory''s party in the election campaign. One of the passing floats was a tall nodding Trojan horse being travailed by disguised Intersexuals in carnival masks¡ªamong them were Ramirez and the Hispanics dressed up as primaeval slaves with the black Hajja cracking the whip at them. He wore a knee-length amber tunic with his matching caped Trojan warrior costume. The floats were led by the giant King''s Cake that was nearing the heavily guarded auditorium where the political Cory Fundraiser was to be held in a moment. A figure dressed in Jesus Christ robe with wig and beard walked against the rabble, a young woman lifted her t-shirt to him, exposing her huge breasts, "Jesus, my Lord, come bless my Sacred Heart?" But the Jesus stature was distracted by the sound of a siren coming behind his back¡ªthe Presidential convoy fleet of limos was nearing the vicinity of the auditorium. On building rooftops of neighbouring buildings were scores of God'' Army troops in perched position¡ªamong them was Marlin, with their rifles pointing at the street below. The street was filled with female street cops and Riot police who were controlling the revelry jam in sartorial festival colours of purple, green and gold¡ªthey were in vigil and anticipating the arriving Presidential convoy¡ªthe crowds were chanting for Cory. Wu Leong and an Asian Intersexual were inside the belly of the wooden framed Trojan horse float. Wu Leong has his sniper rifle out in the concealed opening gap¡ªit aimed and zeroed at the approaching Presidential fleet of vehicles. On the journey over from the Mojave Desert, Wu Leong had searched online in Baidu.com about his new given nickname Oswald¡ªhe discovered that the late assassin hailed by birth in that same city of New Orleans, Louisiana¡ªhe saw that the coincidence as a Feng Shui''s auspicious sign to his in next to no time accomplishment¡ªCory will be going down as another JFK tonight. In the back streets, lax beat cops were on patrol, mesmerized by the lurid of the passing parade at a distance¡ªthey were jumped and putsch by some lissome blacks who induced their swift cutthroats executions. A few hours ago, the rebels had ingress the city secretly via duct of the river point¡ªbut soon after hearing the arrival of the presidential convoy, hundreds of the hiding armed OGA members led by both of the black and Hispanic lieutenants emerged from adjacent buildings¡ªthey all wore navy-blue militia camouflaged pants with black sweater tops, moving swiftly into the dark milieus. The Presidential fleet was in the vicinity and awaiting official representatives came forward to welcome the Washington delegates. The Jesus figure observed the cars with a long pirate telescope¡ªhe spied at the doors of cars opening and the envois alighting. Wu Leong locked his target into the President''s limo¡ªhe glanced out at Vice President Mary Freeman get out, she was waving to the louder cheering predominant black crowd. Wu Leong''s trigger finger was locked...This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Jesus removed his wig and facial hair¡ªdisclosing his scar-faced identity underneath the raiment guise¡ªDoran shouted into his walkie... "Sniper, stand down! It is not the snake-woman¡ªthe Vice President is not our target¡ªstand down and don''t shoot her!" The annoyed Wu Leong cursed in Chinese, he targeted the police escorts nearby the Vice President; and that initiated the first wave of attack. Secret Service agents dived in and pushed the blood-splattered Mary Freeman back into her limousine to protect her from the unseen shooter. The vehicle drove off in a hurry. Hajja and Ramirez''s people stopped heaving the Trojan horse, they were now armed with rifles which were concealed on their float earlier¡ªthey started shooting at the uniformed cops who retaliated to the attacks. From the rooftop, Li Chi and the rest of the Intersexuals began barraging at the cops below. Hundreds of OGA insurgents broke out by storming in full din into the street carnival. Sexy Samba dancers in bright feathered costumes on floats who were undercover policewomen started shooting with their machine guns in recrimination at the advancing Preacher''s rebel army below... The historical Battle of New Orleans insurrection has begun. -O- Marlin on the rooftop looked over his shoulder and he detected the aerial incoming force majeure of four Army Apache combat helicopters from afar "Oh fuck¡ªnot again!" He remembered he had impaired himself with a cracked rib injury sustained from jumping off Tombscradle''s watchtower from the previous aerial assaults. He tapped on a shooting BGF Lieutenant and pointed at the choppers to him and warned of the imminent consequences. "We will be sitting ducks here, let''s get off the roof now!" The black lieutenant was unwavering... "No, we retain our position, we shoot those birds down!" He stood up and pointed his surface-to-air anti-aircraft Javelin towards the nearing choppers¡ªready with his countercharge sally. Down in the skirmish street was the fleeting multitude of dying enforcers. Female police dressed in Native American tribal feathers tossed grenades at the Trojan horse that was shielded by machine-gunned Hispanics in helot costumes. The explosion wretched the horse''s front legs like splinters¡ªand the rickety towering wooden steed creation collapsed... Oswald-Wu Leong crawled out alive from the retaliation¡ªbut his triad assistant was trodden dead under, and he was then immolated by the blazing ligneous structure of the Trojan horse. Doran in the Jesus robe ran vitiate into the chaotic streets of screaming and weltering crowd¡ªhe was randomly shooting down more policewomen at sight in the melee. He noticed the fleet of riot police trucks and squad cars coming from all corners of the streets to siege and backup the assaults... He calcified a moment, remembering Cory''s ambush warning that Reeves had forewarned him before leaving the Mojave Desert. -O- Out from the backstreet, demagogue armada of pimped-up Mexi-chromed pickup trucks drove up, armed with heavy artillery guns mounted at the back¡ªthe OGA vehicles enfiladed back to intercept the attacking riot police; resulting with firepower exchanged between both sides... One of the trucks was driven by Hank. Kiki-boy was at the back of the pickup firing his rifle¡ªhe looked shit-scared when the truck zigzagged among fiery debris of the carnival floats that also showered with raking fireworks of bullets fired in the counterattack. The rebel gunner on the moving truck manning the heavy artillery but he was cut down by the raining bullet charges¡ªanother fellow redneck took over the big gun, and he resumed the coup de main... Chapter 16 THE MARDI-GRAS battle grew more rigour and intense in New Orleans after the first hour; back in Washington, it was witnessed by President Madeline Cory and Agent Wolfe on the big screen with multiple windows of both satellite feeds and live CCTV street cameras inputs. Cory spotted Doran the Preacher in the Jesus outfit with Hajja¡ªboth the OGA rebels were on the screen firing above, killing the undercover policewomen in the erogenous costumes on the parade floats. The Apache helicopter hovered over the streets firing both bullets and missiles that thumped the burning streets, locking its target at the fleeing Preacher below. The gigantic floats exploded while Doran and Hajja ran in-between the falling fiery structures before they recede and took cover inside a building. A black Lieutenant emerged on the roof elicited his Javelin missile launcher and destroyed the combat chopper at point-blank, sending it into torsion. It crashed down into the anarchic street, triggering a major explosion. An agitated and profane cursing Madeline Cory at the Whitehouse punched the table to see the parlay of failures in New Orleans on the screen while Wolfe smirked behind her unnoticed¡ªit was because she wanted Doran for herself for a personal showdown in the future... The Preacher was her bitch. * Two other choppers shot rounds of ammo into the occupied rooftops, killing dozens of the perched rebels. Li Chi retaliated and shot his missile-launcher but missed the artful bird. The rooftops started caving in as more Apaches'' missiles shattering the peak structures. Marlin escaped with some Intersexuals by climbing down the fire-escape ladders while burning shingles dropped from above. They had to jump one floor down¡ªMarlin hurt his ribs again in his landing and was in pang before he recovered and mustered back on his feet with the rest of his fellow partisan fighters. It was the nub for him to miscarry from this ongoing OGA''s jihad¡ªhe intended that it was the opportunity to escape from the battlefield... Marlin dashed into the smoky burning streets, he caught a glimpse of a chopper shot by Li Chi in his second attempt. It gyrated in circles in the air before hurtling at the Fundraiser auditorium roof before it plunged, its blades shattering parked limos below. The One God''s Army rebels were crying out victorious when the craft blew up¡ªthe God''s Chosen People led by the Preacher have incapacitated the horrendous blitzes at that moment in time in their coup d''¨¦tat¡ªthey were winning their first sacrificial battle against Cory''s army. * A fleet of indomitable e-SWAT''s AFV Hummers juggernauts into the battle scene next in an Echelon formation¡ªfiring their preeminent heavy machine guns and the firepower pulverized the Intersexuals'' Mexican pickup trucks, blowing up a few that put a fight. Hank fled the breach assail background by driving away in rout; Kiki hanged in fear on at the back and he noticed a one of the armoured minatory Hummer was in hot pursuit¡ªblasting shots at their rear with near-hits.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. * THE E-SWAT infantry division ambushed the dithering insurgents in the chaotic street; many rebels were cut down by the surprise machine-gun attacks. Helmed by Roberta Jensen in command; she peering out from a Hummer top through a night vision binoculars¡ªshe grinned with satisfaction to see her troops in the parameter executing their street warfare tactics stratagem with adroitness. It was short-lived on-slaughter when Roberta spotted an imponderable group of rampaging women in chartreuse militia uniform rushing in from the back streets¡ªthey were the return of the Aryan Sisterhood who pursued their retribution for Cory''s recent assault mandate by Roberta''s genocide attack on their militia headquarter which transpired a few days ago in Mississippi... "Who the fuck are those pissed off women?" hiding at the side of a building, Hajja witnessed the incoming Aryan Sisterhood''s prowess taking on Roberta''s Elite force in the skirmish. "They probably are the militia Aryans who are also oppressed by the Snake-woman. It is a good day to have some Godsend allies." During the brief interlude, Doran removed his Jesus robe. He was now in his OGA militia navy blue camouflaged pants and black sweater worn beneath. The Preacher discerned that he had to camouflage his identity because the enemy''s target was to attempt at all cost to take him out with their advanced surveillance technology. Doran and Hajja smiled at each other before the duo charged into the streets, firing their machine guns, killing more Elite infantry on their path. * Hank swerved the pickup truck into the backstreets but the Hummer was still hot on his tail rewet. A Russell-Collin''s crony at the back of the pickup was shooting the mounted heavy gun from the meteoric pickup truck¡ªbut the inept bullets bounced off the Hummer''s bulletproofed windshield. Another white rebel then tossed a C4 on the road and it finally blew up the pursuing Hummer. Hank looked up ahead and marked an Apache chopper flying in the opposite direction to the fore. It discharged a missile and created an omnipotent explosion on the road causing a bull''s eye corollary hit which set off the pickup truck to windmill and crashed out. From the smoke and flames of scattered scrap metal, an injured Kiki-boy rose from the tarmac, bleeding from his face and he staggered towards the burning truck¡ªhearing Hank in panic hollering out his name. Hank shed squirting blood and survived the crash¡ªbut he was trapped upside-down in the driver''s seat of the wrecked truck that was leaning on its side. "Hank, are you alright?" "I am stuck. Help me Kiki, my legs...are stuck!" Kiki looked behind his back to the approaching shape of headlights looming over to another Hummer cruised in; the ingrate Kiki ran away instantaneously¡ªthe suffering voice kept calling out to him from the rear... "Kiki, help me! Come back, Kiki!" The coward Wesleyan hid in a dark corner and make out the armoured vehicle coming close to the wrecked pickup truck that was laid downside. An Elite soldier reconnaissance from the Hummer''s roof, she caught sight of Hank who was alive in the crash¡ªshe aimed the machine gun turret at the trapped Intersexual. In the gloomy position nearby, Kiki dotted his rifle and he aimed at the soldier with a clear shot at the woman¡ªbut his hands tremble badly, ingrate to pull the trigger and to be compromised. He was not confident of his rifle shooting training at the Mojave Desert; feared that if he missed, the soldier will turn around and kill him instantly. The soldier opened fire, shattering the smashed up windscreen of the pickup and Hank''s blood splattered out. Kiki sobbed alone in the dark, watching the sole Hummer driving away. The surviving Wesleyan Intersexual fled away to safety; wanting no part in any of the killings that were ensuing around him. Chapter 17 OUTSIDE THE BATTLE zone area, the Head of Police Jan Macready was manning a group of Intelligence officers inside a makeshift cantonment command centre that set the logistics in officiating the warfare in New Orleans¡ªat the staging area, there were a dozen of Abram tanks waiting for orders to be deployed out to battle the OGA radicles. Macready looked at multiple screens of the street fighting displayed on monitors¡ªa female soldier called out to her... "Sir, you got a call from the Whitehouse." Cory listened to a voice coming from the intercom in the situation room... "MADAM PRESIDENT, I GOT THE HEAD OF POLICE ON THE LINE." Cory picked up the receiver and yelled, "Macready, I want the Preacher dead, you hear me? Go, find him now and you take him out. I want that freak dead!" "Yes Madam President, we will find him!" "You are not listening, you incompetent dope! I said, he should not escape from New Orleans! What more do you want, Macready? "I have set up a perfect ambush for you and all I want is an effective execution on your part¡ªthat fucking Preacher must die tonight or else your damn head is on the line¡ªyou just do your fucking job now, and get it done right in the way I want it!" The opprobrious Cory slammed the phone down and she saw Agent Wolfe standing idle... "Wolfe! Go fix me a fucking drink now!" * In the state of fight or flight, he looked out passim for any countering enemies as he ran in the menagerie streets of chaos with pogrom of bloody misshapen corpses from the strafing choppers. The macabre around had heightened Marlin''s state of kleptomania, his eyes were searching for a vehicle to purloin and hot-wire¡ªand then escaping from the maddening battle streets. He heard shots coming from nearby, he ducked to hide. He saw a group of Aryan Sisterhood militia rebels on the run... What mottled his mind and confounded him was that one of the young women in the group who has the exact simulacrum to Big Joe of Wesleyan¡ªbut this teenager was athletically built. The Aryans women were firing at a group of Elite infantry who were pursuing them on foot. One of the Aryan rebels directed... "Run, Commander! We will cover you!" The girl who resembled Joe''s likeness ran off alone while the remaining Aryan rebels were fighting off Roberta''s troops... Marlin followed her from the rear. **This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. A straying group of homeless women were looting a store nearby by breaking a glass window. Joana took cover after seeing two e-SWAT troops who cornered and shot one of the itinerant derelicts. The rest of the homeless women retreated into the broken in-store, more soldiers joined the incursion at the storefront. The Aryan Commander hid and she observed the five soldiers¡ªand she overheard the Sergeant just arriving on the scene saying... "What is going on here?" "Sarge, there is a group of looters hiding in the store...shall we go in?" a private asked "We got too many terrorists in town today, the looters may also be armed," the commanding officer replied. The Aryan Commander named Joana took out her pistol and pointed to discharge, wanting to take out all the five Elite soldiers from where she hid¡ªa voice spoke softly from behind her... "Not yet, Joe..." She turned back quickly and pointed her firearm at Marlin who was crouching close in the dark¡ªhe had startled her and she whispered back... "Who are you, freak? How do you know my name?" "Actually Missy, I don''t¡ªbut I know someone who looks exactly like you," his voice came from the dark. She scoffed back, "is that one of your lame pick up lines, you freak?" Marlin saw her pistol dotting his face. "Stop pointing that at me. My name is Marlin." "I don''t give a fuck¡ªyou must be one of the Preacher''s goons then." The blas¨¦d Marlin saw some activity ahead and he pointed... "Yep, his goon¡ªnow look over there, Missy!" They both noticed another soldier joining them with a flame-thrower tank on her back. The Sergeant commanded... "Burn the place down!" The flame thrower shot a jet stream of flame into the store''s broken window, incinerating the racks of merchandise, some screams were heard inside¡ª "Oh-no," exclaimed the Aryan Commander, and Marlin voiced out from behind her... "Now!" They both came out from the hiding, unfurled and shooting their weapons ahead. The surprise attack slew all the 5 e-SWAT with bullet holes on their backs and headshots. Aryan Commander rushed to the entrance of the store that was in flames, she heard Marlin from behind her... "You just wait here, Missy¡ªI will go in and get them out." Joana the Aryan Commander grabbed his black sweater sleeves with a tug. "Look here, freak, I am one of the Commanders to the Aryan Sisterhood and I don''t take orders from an inferior shemale-being¡ªbecause I am as equally capable as you¡ªand maybe even better, you hear me? Go and save your chivalry for some powder-puff bitches." Marlin noticed her running boldly into the blazing store¡ªhe placed on a handkerchief over his mouth and followed the volatile teenager from behind. * The furious gun battle between the Elite soldiers and the rebels prolonged further to the double hour¡ªDoran was fighting along with his AOG revolutionaries but they were running low on ammunition after almost two hours of combat. The magnanimous supply of ammunition from the arms dealer Bani Ibnu had depleted. The trigger happy Hispanics who were munificent in their attacks were the first to transient of bullet supplies, and they found their exit from the battleground. At a block away from the fighting ground, a communications-soldier ran to Roberta who was peering out of the hatch of the Hummer roof. "Capt. Jensen, the Head of Police Jan Macready is on the line." Roberta slipped on the headset... "Yes Sir." Macready gave out an importune commanding tone of voice. "Jensen, the President''s order that the Preacher is to be dead. You go in now and you hunt him down. Remember, he should not get out of New Orleans alive!" Roberta climbed out of the Hummer and turned nonchalant to her second officer, "Sergeant Yale, assemble a small team of 6¡ªwe are going to find the Preacher and we take him out!" Roberta turned next to communication-soldier. "Radio, set up the face recognition-mode of that scar-faced fucker!" The communication-soldier pulled up her tablet with the pre-programmed photo of Doran and the computer software scanned graphic lines on the photo to read. Chapter 18 INSIDE THE burning store, Marlin and the Aryan Commander Joana wore handkerchiefs over their mouth, they search for the dozen women in the blazing store but they were nowhere visible in the stinging heat and choking acrid smoke. Marlin heard a knocking sound behind a door at the back area, he kicked it open. Inside the sweltering confined quagmire, space was the trapped women coughing from the miasma of smoke¡ªand one of them was using a brick to break a padlocked grill gate... The vagrant women who earlier committed purloin panicked to see the masked armed duo in militia uniforms. A black homeless woman raised her hand and surrendered herself. "Please don''t shoot us. The food packets that I took, I have put it back!" The Commander brushed Marlin aside, and she walked forward to the locked grill gate. "Shut the fuck up you, black filth." She queried the nearest white woman in the group, "Hey you skank, is this the only way out?" The peripatetic nodded back... "Yes, but it is locked." "Get back behind me!" Joana yelled in authority and pointed her pistol at the padlock¡ªshe shot four times until her pistol clicked empty but the padlock was still intact. Marlin shook his head and smirked in the background before he stepped up to the padlocked door... "May I, O mighty Aryan Commander?" He pointed his rifle and fire once and the latched padlock cracked into two. Everyone was out of the razing store building a moment later, breathing into smoke-free air in the back alley. The Commander saw the huddling women and she shouted at them... "Go, run now and hide somewhere safe!" The homeless women start running and the Aryan Sisterhood shrew turned to Marlin, "You too, freak, go join your Preacher and fight your own battle." She began running in the back alley and Marlin followed her. She sojourned and faced him again... "Hey freak, why are you following me like a lost bitch-puppy?" "Your pistol is empty, I will see that you get to somewhere safe too," the blond Adonis youth replied. "I don''t need that shit. I can fucking take care of myself, now get lost!" They both turned to the sound of something monstrous approaching, Marlin dragged her away¡ªand they both cohere in silence a moment, hiding behind a derelict building wall as they saw a huge Abrams tank passing with a few Elite foot-soldiers running behind it. After their transient, Marlin spoke up in ire. "Fuck, Cory is sending all these mother-father tanks to take us out?" The young woman was equally twitchy yet scornful... "Yeah, why shouldn''t she? You fucking Army of God bastards killed Rosewood¡ªand that is why they are really pissed off!" Marlin was taken back with the indignant allegation¡ªand he elucidated loudly... "You are wrong! We believe Cory is behind all it¡ªshe created this plot by killing Rosewood and she has planted the blame on us all!" This made the young woman equally agitated and she shoved him away¡ªshe felt that the inferior-being had challenged her and more...This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Why should I believe you, freak? It is all over the CNN that your Preacher and some Arabs had made some hits¡ªand then you all killed Anne Rosewood¡ªthat is why Cory is after everyone out there and even us in the Sisterhood¡ªwe are now the target because of your murderous terrorist leader! Fuck you, people, we lost a lot of good Sisters in this fight today¡ªand they all went down bravely because of the mess that you she-fuckers have created!" Marlin was irked and ridiculed back after his unstinting patient with her for the longest period since he followed her twenty minutes ago... "So you dumb bitches get your sources from watching the CNN News, isn''t that so? Is that the best source of intelligence that you Aryan Sister cunt-hood Klan can dig up? What''s next to have you learned by watching TV¡ªon how does the Preacher cook up homemade bombs by watching Martha Stewart reruns?" Joana pointed her pistol at Marlin... "Shut up you, prick!" "Don''t point that at me!" Marlin was roused, he used his open palm to smack Joana''s forehead and she fell backwards dazed to the wall... "Your gun is empty by the way, you dumb twat!" The budged shrew attacked Marlin, charged in by throwing some kicks and punches but Marlin impeded her off easily before he hit his open palm on her forehead once more¡ªand this time she dropped on the ground... She picked herself up again, still dizzy and approached forward to attack, Marlin almost smites his rifle to smash her face but instead, he pointed the barrel to her face and snarled... "Back off! I had enough of your superiority bullshit for one evening, Missy...now get the fuck out of my face before I put a bullet into your arrogant Aryan pride-hole of a mouth!" The lightheaded virago now gaped speechlessly at the pointing rifle before she staggered and she walked away. Marlin saw her picking up her strides and disappearing when she took a corner at the alley. Marlin started to walk in the opposite direction with regrets of the time lost for being a Good Samaritan to the unappreciative Aryan grandee. He continued to search for a vehicle to hot-wire so that he can get out of New Orleans before the possibilities of the city lockdown¡ªor even worst like aerial bomb strikes that reduce New Orleans into a crater similarly like the annihilated Tombscradle . The only way he could escape the cordoned gridlocked carnival city was to move undetected to the out limits where the security will be permissive for his getaway... He turned swiftly when he heard footsteps running behind him, he raised his rifle, and spotted the Aryan Commander racing towards him and screaming... "Marlin, run!" Two elite soldiers hounded her and begin to open fire, the Aryan Commander fell. Marlin dropped on one knee and fired a few rounds back, killing both the soldiers. He rushed over to the Commander who was hit on the back of her thigh. She grovelled out in pain, Marlin used his handkerchief on the gunshot wound... "Hold on to this¡ª apply pressure over it!" Marlin noticed one side of her uniform jacket sleeve was torn, he ripped it off. He used the cloth, tighten a knot above her thigh, she grimaced out louder in pain. Marlin peeked at her sleeveless arm with a ''Superman''s S'' logo tattoo with an ''A'' alphabet in the background. He smiled to himself thinking¡ª''Aryan-ass.'' "Come, we can''t stay here, let''s go," Marlin lifted her halfway but she kept writhing to put her good foot down to the ground and she further disputed. "No need to carry me, I will slow you down...just let me hold on to your shoulder and I will walk on my own." Marlin ignored and he cradled her smaller framed body and paced forward, she stopped twisting. "No please, am I not heavy?" "You would be if you are that other Joe." "Who the fuck is he?¡ªthis Joe, you keep referring?" "Well, a long story cut short¡ªhe is someone who looks just like you but he can eat half the amount of his body weight every day," replied Marlin in amusement before they disappearing into the dark alley... * In the situation-room in Washington, Madeline Cory observed the big screen with multiple windows¡ªone particular CCTV visual captured her attention. She enlarged the screen and it was Marlin carrying a young woman. Madeline Cory used the remote to freeze the frame before zooming into the close-up of the young female in Aryan militia uniform... Agent Wolfe fox to steal a glance at the President searching for something in her files on the table¡ªseeing Cory taking out Joe''s photo. Wolfe peeked and noticed both the facial resemblance to the big screen¡ªshe overheard Cory jaundiced to her own amusement after discovering the female offspring of her stepdaughter Samantha who was alive¡ªand was in the combat zone... "This is very interesting that the ''other'' terrorist twin is also in town." Chapter 19 CAPT ROBERTA Jensen led her team of six women into the battlefront. They were all wearing night-vision Starlight goggles with face recognition app which scanned the faces of the Intersexuals from across the street. The squad was on the search and destroy mission; the strike-force was ordered by Roberta to not engage in combat¡ªbut to seek out for the Preacher''s presence in the urban battlefield. Minutes later, one of her soldier spotted the assail Doran fighting alongside with Hajja and Li Chi defending from the mobilized e-SWAT infantry regiment that magnanimous outnumbering them three-to-one¡ªand soldier enlightened to the rest loudly... "Captain Jensen, that''s him at 3 o''clock¡ªit is the damn Preacher!" Roberta spied at the direction¡ªher green night-vision POV has the similar traction that confirmed that it was Doran in combat. She orchestrated the on-slaughter order to her troop... "Shoot to kill!" They all fired at the direction of Doran and his men who obstinately fighting from their last line of defence. Doran dropped on the tarmac, and took cover from the hailing ambush attack¡ªand he felt the ground rumbling. Everyone peeked lurid ahead to detect three behemoth combat tanks coming from all directions of the streets. One of the Abrams started firing and marred the buildings where the rebels were holed¡ªthe surviving OGA started to intersperse on foot from the bombardment... Roberta yelled out. "Stupid fucktards! Who sent in the fucking tanks?" "It must be Head of Police General Macready, Sir!" responded Sergeant Yale and the irked Roberta turned to communication-soldier. "What a dumb fuck! Radio, call them off!" The soldier reacted back... "I can''t Sir, this comes from a higher chain of command¡ªso do you want me to patch you to General Macready, Sir¡ªso that you can talk to her directly?" "Forget it!" * In the confusion, Doran still held his ground, and he fired his last few machine-gun bullets at the approaching tank. He grabbed Li Chi''s thumper and fired their last mortar with the negatory result¡ªthe invincible tank with retrofitted reactive composite Chobham armour was impenetrable. The Abrams'' gun turret spun towards them, Li Chi seized Doran''s shoulder... "Come on Preacher, let''s go!" "No! Today we stand and fight to the last," he loudly vexed unbendable to Li Chi... Hajja knew the intransigent Preacher''s intention of doing the unexpected on that grave and ineluctable moment¡ªjust like how he faced a Hummer alone at Tombscradle like a martyr. "No Doran, let''s go now!" Hajja flayed back. Both Li Chi and Hajja dragged him away from the danger zone and started running with a few other surviving Negro Intersexuals. The assaulting tank fired, an explosion from the rear decimating some black rebels in the fleeing group. ** Roberta was still peeved at a MIA3 Abrams tank passing in front of her¡ª their presence had caused the chaos and now her target was lost. Sergeant Yale came running and called out to them... "Capt. Jensen, we spotted the Preacher escaping that way!" Roberta and her band of troops pursued the radical militant on foot... Hajja, Doran, Li Chi and two other black Intersexuals ran into a dark empty street while Roberta and her troops fired from the rear. Hajja ran ahead, still attired in his caped Trojan tunic¡ªhe was shooting at the CCTV above on a lamp post which made Madeline Cory in the Whitehouse to lose her video-feed of the chase on the escaping Preacher in New Orleans... Doran saw the flood of headlights coming from ahead in the dark street¡ªtwo Hummers were approaching firing their machine guns at them. Hajja pointed over at a three-star hotel building on his left, situated in a different street, yelling in-charge to the running rebels... "We go over there!" ** Some armed hotel women security guards stood vigilant in front of the hotel entrance after the Mardi Gras cavalcade attacks by the terrorist. The women in uniforms marked the five Intersexuals rebels approaching the vicinity¡ªand they engaged fire. Li Chi in reprisal lobbed a grenade which killed them all. Inside the hotel lobby, more armed security guards confronted the AOG rebels but they too were gunned down. The Intersexuals rebels ran up the fire-escape stairs inside the six-storied high hotel... Li Chi peeked out of a ventilation window¡ªoutside in the streets were the troops, with two Hummers stationary at the hotel entrance, Roberta Jensen was martialing them. Li Chi alerted in malaise... "Preacher, it is Jensen-cop! She will trap us in here!" Doran listened and assessed their situation, they were all out of ammunition and they ditched their empty rifles in the streets a moment ago¡ªand only Hajja who among them has a pistol with a few rounds of bullets... But they have a demolition guy with them carrying a bag of explosives¡ªhe is their only trump card for their survival in the getaway quandary... Doran replied with an intense tone. "Let''s go, we will find another way out!" They continued to run up the fire-escape stairs. * Roberta was speaking to the Hummer unit before she ran back to her squad and administered out... "Radio, you stay put here and call for all the backup units you can get for us...I want this entire goddamn place sealed off¡ªnobody fucking comes and leaves out of here!" Roberta and her remaining five Elite SWAT soldiers reached the hotel lobby entrance where they spotted frightened employees and guests with the dead security guards sprawled with blood pools on the pale marble floor. Roberta pointed at the elevator... "Yale, take 2 guys and go up to the highest floor and search from top-down¡ªthe rest of you, we take the stairs." * The five AOG Intersexuals opened a fire-escape door on the fourth floor¡ªthe demolition-guy with a bag of explosives rigged a C4 plastic explosive on the outer side of the door. Meanwhile, Sergeant Yale and two Elite soldiers come out of the elevator on the top sixth floor. The trio swept the floor for the public enemy number one and his followers. * The five AOG rebels took a brief provisional breather after the long hours of street combat; everyone torpidly respites their aching bodies. Doran turned over to the explosive-guy... "I want you to do the same thing of what you did back there. We need to create as many diversions as possible. Go set a C4 in one of the elevators to explode it on the 6th floor¡ªand you come back here after that." * Roberta and three soldiers walked up the fire-escape stairs¡ªRoberta was getting an update from Sargent Yale who was searching at the sixth floor. The Elite force members with Yale turned to notice the elevator coming up. One of the soldiers stood on point in front of the door. The chime dinged and the door opened with no one inside... An Elite soldier stepped inside the elevator car, unaware that above her head was a C4 timer that just had clocked to the zeros... The fiery blast threw back at them. The cable ruptured after the rocking explosion erupted¡ªand the damaged car plummeted to the ground floor lobby with a great crashing impact. It was heard by the Elite-soldiers on the fire-escape stairs... At the same time, when one of the Elite troopers with Roberta Jensen opened the door on the fourth floor¡ªit triggered another explosion which killed two more Elite soldiers. Roberta and another private who followed from the backend were thrown rearward¡ªand they both tumbled down the flight of concrete stairs with the spew of concrete debris and severed bodily entrails. Sergeant Yale and a surviving soldier recovered from the explosion on the ablaze sixth floor. The sinecure Yale who was in-charge, she stood up; looking slightly dazed at the surviving Elite private beside her, who was on her knees cupping her bleeding ears with both hands... "Get up soldier, we have to keep searching for the fucking Preacher!" "My ears, I can''t hear!" * The hotel guests and employees were rushing out in the main entrance. They gathered outside to peer at the blaze on the top two floors. Elite troopers made them sit on the tarmac while they then searched their identities. On the fourth floor, the One God''s Army rebels observed more hotel guest fleeing the bombed premise, carrying their belonging. Doran eyed some free-males carrying their luggage and he got a brainstorm¡ªhe told his men... "If we want to get out of here alive, we need to change our clothes."This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Everyone nodded and stared at Hajja who stood out prominent in the group wearing a caped Trojan tunic¡ªthey all could be easily spotted by the hounding enemy who was closing in... The black BGF leader distinguished a tall free-male Japanese tourist who was the same size as him, scrambling on the floor with a suitcase¡ªHajja pointed the pistol at him... "This is the bell-hop service; leave your luggage behind and Sayonara yourself by taking the fire-way stairs down for your own safety." The terrified Japanese civilian obeyed the costumed black rebel and ran away. Doran looked at the rest and pointed at an empty room... "Everyone, let''s go and change!" * Roberta and a soldier were recovering from their injuries at the foot of the stairs¡ªshe removed a severed arm lying on her chest, while the smoke and dust settled down. Roberta staggered on her feet and her body ached all over from the fall on the flight of the stairs. She noticed above at the hotel guests rushing out on the blasted door passage, they were running down the fire-escape stairs. Roberta slipped on her goggles with a face-recognition featured app¡ªand she searched the people using the stairs down. Sergeant Yale and the partially deaf soldiers came down from the sixth-floor stairs, and both joined Roberta¡ªnow there were four of them¡ªthe Elite SWAT entered the blazing fourth floor, searching for the cornered rebels... The OGA insurgents were in jarring Hawaiian shirts when they stepped out of the room after changing, acting nonchalant and moved among the fleeing hotel guests. Li Chi spotted the Elite soldiers occluding the exits... "Jensen is on the floor¡ªthe bitch-cop will identify us..." The rest of them started to panic, Hajja spoke out... "We are trapped here now. Let''s confront them and shoot all those cunts down!" Hajja knew that it was coming to an end with no way to escape with the advanced technology tools like the face recognition goggles that the enforcers were utilizing¡ªthe rebels mire to get past them other than to have a stand-off even though Hajja has limited bullets in his pistol chamber to take all four of the e-soldiers out¡ªplus and minus with some hits and misses... "Wait, Hajja! We can create more diversions." Doran voiced out to avoid the confrontation with Jensen but Hajja protested. "We don''t have the time for that, Preacher!" Doran was now in equanimity despite under the pressure¡ªhe ignored the desperation filled Hajja and turned to the demolition OGA rebel soldier... "You! Blow up a hole on the floor here¡ªand we will escape down through it." * More e-SWAT soldiers were rounding up additional hotel occupants coming out from the ground lobby entrance and were checking their IDs. Everyone below looked up to an explosion happening on the fourth floor that shattered a segment of the wall with large slabs of concretes hurling from above. The screaming and scrambling people on the ground floor begin to disperse... There was a hole on the floor¡ªand the third floor can be seen below. Hajja helped the demolition guy down but shots were fired directly at them. Doran turned to view Roberta unfrocking shots at their direction, killing the other black Intersexual rebel beside him. The unarmed Preacher was in frenzy; he grabbed the bag of explosive and sundering away from Jensen''s attacks... Hajja and Li Chi joined him while the trio was pursued by the machinegun firing Roberta and her Elite soldiers... Doran coursed along the corridor and noticed that the ceiling above him was cracking zigzag¡ªan enormous chunk from the fifth-floor detritus collapsed behind him¡ªand this snarl-up separated him from Hajja and Li Chi... Doran hollered back to them as the rest stood winnowed at the rubble pile... "Hajja, go find another way out!" Hajja turned to look at Roberta and the three soldiers firing at him and Li Chi. He kicked a room door that opened wide¡ªhe entered with Li Chi. Inside, with his last few bullets, the black BGF leader started shooting at the soft board wall to weaken it before they both smashed and broke through it. Roberta and her troops closed into the room, but another colossal chunk of the fifth-floor concrete plummeted from above¡ªcrushing the three soldiers to their death... Roberta was now the sole survivor¡ªbut she was trapped with flames in every direction surrounding her. Roberta checked the building''s structure has begun to collapsing with a fifty-foot metal beam from the roof above crashing on the fourth level. It created a path knocking several room walls down. Roberta scuttled by crossing on the smelting metal beam, it melted the rubber sole of her boots... * Doran too stood trapped near a corner with engulfing flames all around him while he receded and waited for Hajja and Li Chi. He was gripping on a bag of C4 explosives close to his chest while looking at the buildup inferno... He recalled himself as a young monk in the blazing cathedral, staring at the burning cross at the altar¡ªcracking sound of the Holy Madonna statue spoke to him... "You failed, Soldier of God!" He felt the presences of all the dead nuns and monk boys staring at him¡ªsomeone then stepped from behind them¡ªand it is his gorgon mother; her nightgown was in flames as she laughed out aloud... "You abomination! You are finally going to burn in hell!" Roberta hurried on the hot beam but stopped to spot through her goggle¡ªit was a positive match seeing the Preacher standing alone among the smoke, she whipped out her pistol, and aimed at Doran... Two shots were fired... Doran was hit in his stomach and he recumbent down on one knee. Roberta closed into him¡ªthe manhunt is over¡ªshe removed her goggles after confirming that her target was incapacitated, she dropped the glasses down... Doran gritted his teeth in agony, making out his adversary who was walking up in the beam among the miasma of smoke and flames. Doran lurched, and muster all his strength before he flung the bag of explosives towards her¡ªthe content spilt on the debris floor... Roberta eyed an exposed eminent rigged C4¡ªthe timer with running sixty-five seconds in countdown motion towards an inevitable explosion... Doran staggered up back on his tottering feet, holding his perforated belly and he rested his back on the tepid wall, calling out... "Well Jensen, the God''s Army has come today to New Orleans to fight you all to the very end! Okay, woman, let''s now go down together in the name of God!" The unarmed Doran was only thirty feet away, Roberta raised her pistol to spot the Preacher''s head but she could not get a clear shot because of the bellowing heat, flames and smoke that crisscrossed on to her view¡ªbut her insensate trigger finger was ready to kill¡ªJensen grinned insidiously... "Well Preacher, it was nice knowing you too, bitch..." Li Chi and Hajja came in shooting from the flank, causing Roberta to dive off from the beam and roll on to chunks of burning debris. The surviving rebel duo had found rifles from the dead e-SWAT soldiers¡ªthey receded back to rescue their injured AOG leader... "The Preacher''s been shot!" Li Chi alerted at the coughing Hajja who was looking out to confirm if Roberta was really hit¡ªbut visibility was getting worse. They saw more cracks appearing on the ceiling with concrete chunks starting to drop... "Come, Li Chi, let''s get him, we got to go!" They both aided the wounded Doran and made their way out towards another safe corridor near the fire escape door¡ªthey then down the flight of smoke-filled stairway. * Roberta was trapped once again... She can''t use the same path the rebels had used to escape as more of the top floor concrete has begun to crumble down at her path. The heat and smoke were chocking; the intense carbon monoxide concentration fumes were causing drowsiness when she staggered on a huge slab of fifth-floor concrete that had fallen earlier, glancing back at the C4 timer juncture before leaving. She has only a small window gap of 38 seconds timeframe to evacuate or face the death anathema of the Preacher''s God which he had earlier forewarned ... Roberta mettle and leapt over sinkholes, the concrete below her feet were crumbling to drop into the third floor below¡ªshe managed to reach the elevator. She estimated that she has about less than thirty seconds left. Roberta used a scrap metal rod and pried open the elevator door. She looked at the dark shaft¡ªthe cables that were vibrating at that moment with rumbling noises¡ªshe spotting an elevator car descending down fast¡ªRoberta dived on top of the car and crashed into the insubstantial ceiling top... Roberta landed on her belly, and noticed two pair of feet inside the express elevator car floor, she peeked to discover two terrified civilian Intersexuals staring down at her. They begin to help Roberta up... "Are you okay, officer?" "What the fuck, there is a fire out there and what are you two Einsteins doing in this elevator?" Roberta asked in between coughing. One of them held up his Press ID pass, "We are reporters, we wanted to take shots of the fire on the 6th floor but the door will not open." Roberta retorted with a sordid vile suggestion, "go and try the 4th floor, that is where I came in just now; and yeah, you can get magnificent photos up there." The lift door opened and Roberta expressed away as it dinged... She heard a voice behind. "Thank you very much officer, you have been so helpful." The door closed again and the lift ascended above to the top floors, Roberta paced towards the lobby, dusting the dirt off her uniform, giggling heinously... The elevator door opened on the fourth floor, and both the gung-ho reporters beheld the dance of an angry inferno... The photographer started to click pictures¡ªnearby, the C4 timer clocked¡ª00:02 seconds...00:01...00:00... The camera flashed one last time... * Roberta stepped out of the hotel entrance door and two seconds later she heard an explosion from above, she dashed out and concrete debris dropped from above. Instantaneously, the entire six storied hotels finally crumbled to a devastating ground zero ruin¡ªwith Roberta being the last person to come out of it alive. She staggered out of the dust and the conflagration of smoke; and heard a voice calling... "Look, Captain Jensen made it out alive!" Everyone from the soldiers, hotel employees and the guests begin to clap and cheer while they looked ahead at Roberta stepping out from the fiery rubble and smoulder... In the similar chaos, Hajja and Li Chi in their colourful civilian attire walked pass undetected while they shouldered Doran toward an ambulance nearby¡ªan innocuous EMT staff responded immediately... "Is he hurt?" Li Chi prodded a gun at the woman belly and pushed her into the ambulance... "Get in and tend to him, you bitch!" Li Chi then shut the backdoor with Doran, Hajja and the EMT personnel inside; the Chinese drove the ambulance away undetected from the gathered crowd who were still mesmerized by the inflammatory fallen hotel in the razed disaster zone and¡ªmany surrounded around the surviving super-cop, Roberta Jensen. It was the perfect inestimable distraction as transient for the rebel leaders to flee the scene. ** The ambulance arrived close to a small cargo plane on a hazy abandoned airstrip where Ramirez was waiting with Wu Leong and a dozen Latinos. They unload Doran''s gurney¡ªthe Preacher was under morphine and his pupils were dilated¡ªhe gazed surrealistic at the shapeless movements surrounding him... Hallucinating visages of the dead nuns and monk boys masked on the faces of the people nearby. Doran grinned at them¡ªand Sister Lisa Marie smiled back at him, he murmured back to her... "I will race you, Sister Li-sa-m-riee..." "Race me to hell, you She-Demon of Edom!" The voice of the gentle nun said¡ªbefore her face transformed into his chuckling maternal mother, who then misshapen into her gorgon burnt-self with more bitterness in her tone of words. Her voice was the loudest among the voices which were tormenting him every night in the isolation cell-hole in Tombscradle for the past five years¡ªwhere a Revelation finally happened and he got his ''voice'' to answer back at her every question and every argument. "You are such a disappointment! You failed, you demon¡ªyou are no soldier of God! Now come to hell with me¡ªthe place you had once cursed me into before; where you burnt me to dust with hellfire and brimstones in the basement of my own damn house!" "No, mother¡ªI have not fallen¡ªI will rise again like the Fallen Sun in that burning Cathedral!" Doran replied... Hajja saw Doran staring intensely at them before he passed out¡ªthe Hispanic rebels loaded him into the freight plane door... Despite losing their battle in New Orleans, Ramirez was back in high spirits... "We go to Mexico and patch up the Preacher over there... "Hajja, looks like you are in charge of the God''s Army now till this Man of God himself returns from the dead," the Hispanic laughed aloud. "Ramirez, I am following you to Mexico," Li Chi spoke out. He somehow distrusted Ramirez¡ªthe Chinese wanted to be there and to make sure that the spearheaded Preacher will return back once he has convalesced and continued his ongoing revolution cause. Ramirez chuckled while Li Chi got into the plane before him... "Sure, why not, the more the merrier¡ªbut I must forewarn you, Leach, the Chow Mien over there sucks big time." Hajja and Wu Leong stood away, seeing the cargo plane door closed... The plane then took off and flew into the smoky night skies. Caution! Mother Onboard [Part 2 Of 5] THE KIDNAPPED EMT medic on the soaring plane was attempting in vain to stop the abdominal bleeding wounded, looking up in anguish, she beseeched to Li Chi... "I am not a doctor and I can''t stop the bleeding! He has lost a lot of blood¡ªtake him to a hospital now, he needs immediate surgery or you might lose him!" The Chinese Intersexual pointed his gun at the white woman''s face... "No, you do it, bitch¡ªand if the Preacher dies, your head will splat¡ªright here, right now!"Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. It terrified the medic, even more, Ramirez broke into inane laughter... "Isn''t that is too messy, Leach? I rather throw this cunt out without a parachute." Ramirez noticed none of his fellow Hispanics onboard was sharing their laughter to his joke¡ªthey were in total plaintive silence and were distressed by Doran''s severe condition. Some even broke into sepulchral prayers, Ramirez spoke out again... "No worries, muchachos¡ªthis is the Preacher we are talkin'' about here, and God is always with him¡ªhe will make it once we get into Mexico." Chapter 2 THE CARGO PLANE with the handful members of One God''s Army soared over the destructed and searing city of New Orleans. Below in the staging area in the war-torn streets, Capt. Roberta Jensen was treated for minor burns on the side of her neck and for the blisters on the sole of her feet caused by her melted boots. It was an assuagement that the fabric of her panoply uniform was fire-proof or else she would have been badly disfigured by the earlier conflagration in the hotel. She wore a fresh pair of boots that she ordered one of her troopers to part from. The hero-cop gaited over searching for her superior¡ªHead of Police General Jan Macready, who was debriefing the rest of the recouped captains from several assault taskforce divisions. Nearby the building fa?ade, there were several female e-SWAT privates who tagged a collected pile of severed thumbs amputated from the dead rebels'' hands¡ªthat will be used for fingerprint identification in the future CIA investigation. The more than three thousand corpses of both the fallen OGA and the Aryans Sisterhood militia head-shots were photographed¡ªand the bodies were later incinerated on the burning city''s pavements by the large team of flamethrowers. Roberta joined the group of Elite commanders who proceeded into the facade section of the fundraiser auditorium. It was partially destructed by an incendiary in the pyrrhic battle which ended two hours ago in New Orleans¡ªwith the rout withdrawal by the fleeing insurgents after the five hours of street fighting. There were a dozen Elite Soldiers guarding an impounded row of more than fifty handcuffed One God''s Army POWs who were forced on their knees¡ªsome of the Hors de combat was bleeding profusely from gunshot injuries but they were denied of any medical attention. A communication Elite-soldier came in a hurry to the superior officers and informing them. "Sir, we got the President on the line." Jan Macready replied. "Okay, I will take it." The hesitant soldier told in a lower voice... "Err Sir, the President wants to speak to Capt. Jensen." The soldier switched the device on¡ªand gave the communication tablet to Roberta¡ªand a visual of Cory appeared on the screen... "Jensen, what is the status? I heard you went after the Preacher¡ªdid you body-bag the bastard?" "Madame President, I shot him twice but his people created a diversion by blowing up the entire hotel to the ground; but I am very sure with the gunshot wounds he had sustained¡ªthe Preacher would be dead by now." Roberta told with a straight face with the shameful excuses coming from someone of her calibre of a hero-cop status hailed by the media. "Not good enough and don''t assume Jensen¡ªI want to see his fucking body! ¡ªand that is why I gave a clear instruction to every one of you that he should not escape tonight because he is bound to strike back at my administration with more of his terrorist acts once he has recovered from whatever fucking gunshot injuries." Cory sighed in disappointment, she was still insatiable for an outcome but responded without blowing her top... "So none of you damn idiots here can confirm if that Jesus-freak had died earlier tonight?" Roberta Jensen who was holding the communication tablet had to reply on behalf of everyone''s clemency. "We have round-up lots of One God''s rebels here, Madam President; I will interrogate them now." this was Roberta''s only answer to precede so to get Cory''s approval... "Do it quick, dammit¡ªand keep me on the feed¡ªI want to personally watch how you do it!" Roberta was under pressure with the president micro-managing -- but she maintained a pokerfaced when she passed the tablet back to the communication soldier who then pointed the device¡ªand she followed Roberta approaching the gathered POWs¡ªone of the Intersexual cried out, holding another of his kind with seeping blood wounds... "Please do something, Sir...he is in shock and needs medical attention." Roberta took out her pistol and executed the haemorrhaging androgynous Hispanic rebel at point-blank, coup de grace¡ªand she then kicked the Intersexual who spoke up a moment ago in the face, tirade aloud to the rest... "The moment you all stood up with that Preacher, you all have signed your own death warrant¡ªnow where is he?" Captain Jensen stared moratorium at the faces of her prisoners, singling them out one by one while she trained the pistol; she stopped at the next kneeling Hispanic Intersexual who cried out in fear... "I don''t know where he is!" "Don''t lie, I shot your fucking Preacher a few hours and he is now seriously wounded¡ªI am going to bleed you all to death like him if you don''t talk!" Jan Macready played the good-cop at the discretion to the surrendered rebels¡ªby responding to their grovels and remonstrance... "If you cooperate, we will give you all the medical attention you need. Just tell us where the Preacher is?" "Please, spare us, we don''t know," was the response by the bleating soldier of God''s Army. "Wrong answer!" Roberta shot him dead¡ªblood splatted on Jan Macready''s pants and she stepped back in repulsion. Cory was grinning on the tablet that was held by the anguished e-SWAT communications soldier who was forced to see the coldblooded execution; her trembling hands that held out the device¡ªwhile her president in DC was relishing the inhumane interrogation... Roberta then pointed the gun at the next Intersexual who was an oppressed black¡ªshe does a reverse psychology slant and spurned out... "What about you? Hey coon, you want to die too? Is your fucking life that worthless? Yeah, the fact is that the white fucking coward of a Preacher has now escaped¡ªleaving you all niggers here to die¡ªyou still wanna die for him?" "We will gratefully die for our Preacher¡ªany time, any moment of any given day!" "It is your lucky day then!"The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Roberta blasted him in the head after hearing his reply, and pointed the gun to the next new breed¡ªthe other black also hollered out in revulsion... "Me too, bitch-cop¡ªkill me! Long Live God''s Army! Long Live The Preacher!" Roberta pulled the trigger again... Her blank gaze roved around in apprehension by the tightlipped valour of the captured prisoners¡ªRoberta also feeling the pressure that her capability and credibility was being scrutinized by the eyes in Washington... But the wait was short-lived when Roberta heard a hysterical scream at the far end¡ªa shemale stood up, causing all guarding soldiers to point their rifles at the terrified Kiki-boy... "Don''t kill me¡ªI will tell you where they have taken the Preacher to¡ªdon''t kill me, please!" Roberta stepped forward towards the end of the line where the Wesleyan youth hoisted¡ªa redneck Intersexual behind him cautioned in disgust at Kiki... "You are a betraying spineless fool!" Roberta fired a fatal bullet to shut him up permanently. Cory was reassured that the interrogation was now heading somewhere¡ªwith the presence of a rat in the group... "Talk now, where is he?" Roberta demanded¡ªanother Hispanic Intersexual nearby voiced out. "Kiki, No! Even if you tell her, she will kill us all later¡ªand even you too!" Roberta booted him in the face hard, and it caused Kiki to be disorientated in trepidation by the brutal display of aggression¡ªthe histrionic Wesleyan babbled out while facing all the other subsist prisoners crouching below on their knees... "I don''t give a fuck about your damn Preacher¡ªand I will certainly not die for him like the rest of you religious retards¡ªyou get me?" Roberta came towards Kiki, swaggering minatory steps with her smoking hot-barreled pistol in hand¡ªthe coward Intersexual tried to convince her¡ªbut he began to stammer in fright, like his early days in Wesleyan; where he was ridiculed for it and they named him Kiki for stuttering... "Officer Jensen, I will tell...tell you everything... but it will cost me my life...I will only speak, once...once all these loyal fools are dead, they...they will kill me if I tell you this!" This made Roberta laugh, "okay, just talk now and I will deal with them later," ¡ªbut the terrified Kiki saw all the prisoners were staring absorbedly at him... "Will you spare me...life then, Office Jensen?" He did not know how to address the echelon ranking in the e-SWAT, but only knew her more from his Wesleyan days as the national hero super-cop in the TV news, and hearsay gossips and stolen newspaper of Jensen''s crime-fighting when he was in prison. Standing in front of his hero idol for the first time, Kiki now sought her reprieve but the gun was pointing sharply onto his forehead... Roberta replied in haughty malevolence... "Yes freak, talk before I lose my patience! I still got lots of other brains to blow up here for an answer¡ªnow where is the damn Preacher?" The handcuffed Kiki used his foot and pointed at another white genuflected Intersexual rebel in front of him¡ªit was the resourceful and unflagging factotum¡ªRussell Collins; the rube who was recently chosen as the leader of the Caucasians quarter in the Council of 13 over the educated Wesleyans clique. Kiki prated his traduce... "Him! He is one of...of the Preacher''s member of...the Council of 13...I heard him talk on the walkie to...to one of the Preacher''s right-hand man¡ªHajja, his name was Hajja, the leader to the niggers...I learned where they have taken the Preacher...kill him now...and...then I tell you where Officer Jensen!" Roberta blasted Russell Collins forehead at point-blank without any mote of remorse, the lifeless corpse fell back; she pointed smoking gun back again on Kiki''s face¡ªRoberta had enough of Kiki''s indict games... "Okay you fool, you have his blood on your hands and dick¡ªtell me where the Jesus fucker is now?" "They...they have flown the Preacher...to Mexico!" Roberta grabbed him by his AOG uniform lapel and mauled into him... "You are lying! How is that possible, you she-fuck¡ªI shot him twice and why the fuck would they take him outta the country to fucking Mexico? Would he not be dead by now without any medical attention? "Tell me the truth!" Roberta barked in incense disbelief because she was very convinced that Doran should be dead at this point of the moment... She thumbed the safety back on her pistol, Kiki-boy was in suppliant tears, moving on the same spot, grovelling and begging for mercy... "I am not lying, please Boss...believe me, that....that was what I heard him say¡ªMexico!" They both looked at the dead white general before the perturbed Roberta swung to pistol-whip Kiki¡ªhe flew backwards, sprawling below with a broken nose... Roberta was really angry at herself for her hesitation of not shooting the Preacher in the head a few hours ago¡ªbut instead, she executed her signature 2-kill shots¡ª''could the Preacher have survived?'' Now with that mistake, she was back answerable to her President... Roberta paced back and grabbed the tablet back from the communications soldier, "Madame President, you heard the snitch¡ªthe Preacher is on the way to Mexico but he is in a critical state, and I don''t think they will take the road¡ªit will be more likely out by air." * Cory was in the conference room in the Whitehouse with Agent Wolfe standing beside her, peering incredulously back at Roberta on the big screen. The maladjusted president spoke up, sounding slightly histrionic... "God-dammit! It is maybe too late; he is halfway out of the country by now. Anyways, I will send the Air Force to turn back all planes that are heading to the fucking Mexican airspace," she coordinated with her Secret Service, "Wolfe, go and do that now!" Heeding back to Roberta on the big screen, Cory then responded new commands... "Jensen, spare the rat¡ªhe may be useful for any further investigation¡ªas for the rest of the she-male dirt-bags, I don''t take prisoners. Now give the Head of Police Macready a rifle¡ªI want to see it with my own eyes of Macready shooting them all down!" An Elite soldier came forward and dispensed Jan Macready with a loaded rifle but she stepped back, recalcitrant¡ªrefusing to accept it and shrieked out... "No Madame President, I will not shoot any of the captives in cold-blood!" President Madeline Cory bellowed in frenzy at the obtuse woman... "What the fuck¡ªwe are in the middle of a civil war crisis here¡ªand as your Commander In Chief, I have given you a direct order! How dare you turn me down? "Macready, do it now!" "No Ma''am, I...I can''t!" Macready begins stammering like Kiki... Cory stared a moment at the shaken woman in her decorated uniform¡ªshe shook her head and began invective the Field General in front of the lower-ranking officers present... "Just as I figured, my Head of Police is a yellow-bellied coward; someone who never pulled the trigger to even kill a fucking spider in her entire career." The opprobrium ridden Jan Macready avoided the browbeat eye contact with the tablet that was held towards her by the communications soldier; Cory mortified the Head of Police further in a loathing tone... "You were such an incompetent imbecile out there in the streets just now¡ªyou can''t even properly execute tonight operation! I am totally holding you responsible for the Preacher''s escape! I want to see your damn resignation this very minute, do you hear me, you hopeless cunt! Now get the fuck out of my face!" The president gave a new order... "Jensen, kill all those bastards now!" All the helpless nonentity Intersexuals of all ethnic races looked up at the larger than life Roberta Jensen grabbing the automatic from the soldier¡ª she made a noncommittal check of the loaded magazine cartridge. The rebels recited lachrymosely aloud the common prayer taught to the One God''s Army by their Preacher-leader in the desert... She pointed the nozzle towards them... Some retch their guts out; most of them hardly reached the middle of their supplication as their last-words when the loud discharge hail of bullets drowned their screams of fear. Some got up on to their feet and tried to flee but the rest of the troopers opened fire¡ªcutting them down as their bodies piled over one another... When the smoke has finally settled down, scores of dead insurgents lay mangled with bullet ruptures; only a single falsetto voice was still shrieking out aloud¡ªthe Wesleyan was fully covered red wet with their thick warm blood. He grappled about before he threw up all over himself. His hands were still cuffed behind his back¡ªhe dropped backwards and fainted while choking onto his own vomit. Chapter 3 THE PARK was decorated with victory banners and thousands of pro-Cory multitudes who were chanting when the President stepped on stage¡ªwaving to the crowd, heading up to the podium to give her usual demagogue speech to hundreds of reporters and the sea of Neo-dominatrices gathered in celebration. She orated with animus superiority¡­ ¡°Yes, we defeated them today at their own game¡ªand this is a great historical female victory over our adversaries!¡± After the deafening cheering settled down, she continued speechifying in vigour energy in convincing of her recent conquest¡­ ¡°The terrorist leader, the one whom they call the Preacher¡ªhad led this dangerous and malicious attacks against us in Louisiana; leading the ultraist and fanatical group called The One God¡¯s Army¡ªand together with their militia allies The Aryan Sisterhood, they terrorized and razed the streets of that once beautiful city of New Orleans¡ªbut rest assured, we have defeated them all! Cory confabulated her malign accusations to demonize her adversaries to create fear of terrorism among the public¡­ ¡°You see, both of these malcontent anarchist groups have caused many terrorist acts in these recent months¡ªsuch as the bombing of sperm banks, causing prison breakouts¡ªand they even slew the former President Anne Rosewood. Even these extremist firebrand agitators almost killed our very own beloved Vice President Mary Freeman in New Orleans¡ªbut thank God, and also thanks to our brave women in our agencies like from the Police, CIA and FBI¡ªwe have managed to fight and crush them in one of the fiercest battles in the American civil war history¡ªwith that all happened less than 24 hours ago in our very own backyard in New Orleans, Louisiana. ¡°Many of our brave servicewomen have died today in the line of duty while protecting the country¡ªbut the surviving enforcers have managed to cripple the enemy leader for us¡ªbut the one known in reports as the Preacher, that sneaky leader had escaped despite his injuries that he had sustained¡­ ¡°He is now at large somewhere in this country. Yes, he is hiding somewhere in your neighbourhood; and like just any injured animal¡ªhe is now licking his wounds and so that someday very soon, he will recover back to health¡ªthen he will make a comeback in full force once again to attack us all!This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°He will be back to reign more grievous terror by burning your own home to the ground with your loved ones trapped inside¡ªand he will once again return and rape the trust that we women has blindly placed upon these New Breeds in the past...¡± ¡°Be warned, everyone over here¡ªthese extremist are dangerous; and anybody out there¡ªI repeat¡ªanybody whoever supports, aids and harbour these depraved criminals in their homes or fund their terrorist activities¡ªthey are committing treason to our country... ¡°Those traitors, I will assure you will be dealt with severe punishment!¡± The filibusterer manipulated deceits for her personal political agenda to presaged the laity in that victory speech¡­ ** Television sets at every home across the country broadcasted the speech live where their president declaimed vehemently¡­ ¡°That is why I have come up with some serious and severe extirpate measures to capture The Preacher before he attempts to butcher us all once again¡ªI have imposed the local authorities the rights to execute searches in your homes and conduct curfews at those highly dense crime areas¡ªwhere we believe that The One God¡¯s Army will next recruit your ''free-males'' children to join them into their future terrorist cause...¡± ** Prevailing hours later after Cory¡¯s presided her mandate broadcast nationwide¡ªhundreds of screaming proletariat women and their free-male Intersexuals children protested against the ordinance on the streets in downtown New York¡ªthe Rosewood stronghold held up realpolitik placards and banners¡­ ''No to Home Search, We want our Privacy!'' ''Cory Destroyed New Orleans!'' ''Rosewood''s death is a Cory-spiracy!'' There was also a ''mock Chinese-dragon'' effigy with its head image of Cory''s face with an anatomy of a snake raised slithering on stilts held up by the protestors. From all sides of the street, full geared Riot Police with the plexi-shields march in column formation¡ªmarched in while beating their batons to it. The remonstrating crowd pelted them from advancing with rocks¡ªsome recalcitrant demonstrators turned cars over to salient barricade themselves from the advancing policewomen who were firing rubber bullets¡­ A pint-sized tween Hispanic girl wearing a bandana ran headlong alone, and she hurled a Molotov cocktail that broke at the path of the trooping police¡ªthey retaliated back to the attack by rushing forward with their waving batons¡ªfustigating the headstrong protesters into bloody pulps. The Snake-woman effigy burned among the trail of hundreds of bloody civilian bodies swelling on the tarmac. Chapter 4 A SPEEDING old hybrid Toyota Camry travelled on a highway to the interstate. Marlin was driving shirtless¡ªand beside him was Joana Gilman grimacing in pain, punching the dashboard hard with her fist and cursing... "Fuck-motherfucker!" The Adonis noticed that the bleeding has stopped but Joana was refusing to seek any medical attention until they get out of the danger zone... She has a low tolerance to withstand the pain from her gunshot wound¡ªMarlin had suggested earlier that he will go and rob for medical supplies at any pharmaceutical store but she turned him down... "No goddammit, we will be fucking caught, you dumb freak! Just take me to my grandmother''s farm and she will know how to fix me!" her voice growled. After hours since the Adonis had taught the Aryan Commander a lesson about ''respect'' in the backstreet earlier, the girl was back being her abusing-self¡ªMarlin grasped that she was unquiet and still was in deep pain despite she had eaten the last of his few Oxy pain-killers that he had earlier offered her¡ªdespite he too was in a state of twinge from his rib-injury, after falling from jumping off the fire-escape ladder during the strafing Apache chopper attacks in New Orleans...Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "No, don''t stop anywhere, I can wait¡ªarrr...just give me your hand...please!" the crying girl placed her head on Marlin''s side and both her shaking palms clenched his hand tight to her chest; she was warm and burned with a fever. Marlin was left manoeuvred the steering wheel with the other hand. "Just drive, Marlin...it hurts, the pain is hell," he heard her mumble in between her sobbing tone. He gazed at the open road ahead¡ªand at the same time, he felt sorry for her. He saw his Japanese tattoo on his own arm that held on the steering wheel... This girl was as vulnerable like Suki whom he had failed to protect a long time ago¡ªand now Suki was lost and forever gone out from his life. Marlin clenched Joana''s palm hard, and he accelerated the pedal on the hybrid car¡ªit will be a long journey into memory-lane for him before they reached Jackson, Mississippi. Chapter 5 REEVES AND HIS TEAM were in Zinga''s cabin¡ªeveryone was in the middle of a video conferencing with Hajja through a laptop... "The curfew imposed by President Cory is spreading nationwide despite the public protest on violation of their privacy rights. This is another reason why the Snake-woman has now delayed her coming election," The BGF black leader''s video-feed was transmitted to the seated Reeves and Zinga in front of the laptop, while the others positioned themselves behind¡ªeveryone listened to more on-the-field information from last surviving of the eight quorum of The One God''s Army''s Council of 13¡ªwho has recently returned from the Battle of New Orleans. "Reeves, stay the designated course; I want you and your team to remain where you are now. It is safer there¡ªand it is also off Cory''s search grid because she is focused on the major cities for now. So don''t take any risk and venturing far out from the lake into the open because there will definitely be either police patrols or army roadblocks all along the way." "Hajja, how long do we have to be here, Mon?" Zinga''s impatience was coated in his voice, wanting to return and regroup with the rest after the three weeks at the lakes. Hajja expressed back with uncertainty... "I can''t answer that but it is safer to stay there where you are at the moment. Since your team is the one that is closest to execute Cory''s assassination hit the next time when she comes to LA, the Council have decided that you all stay put and train hard over there¡ªand when the time comes¡ªyou all will be there at the right strategic place for the moment to finally take the Snake-woman out for good."You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Zinga was still dissatisfied with the post-New Orleans decision of remaining status quo... "But we are all still fugitives, Mon¡ªam I right in saying that even if Cory is re-elected or even if there is a new fucking president¡ªthey will all still fight us, and they will still want to keep hunting us down?" "Listen Zinga, we have become fugitives the moment we broke out from prison. In the eyes of everyone, both the Presidents and the American public ¡ªwe the One God''s Army will always be branded as terrorist because of the many lies that have overshadowed our true and actual plight¡ªso we have to suck it up and just accept it!" Hajja as the acting-leader of the OGA synod can sense in their peering eyes that they have already given up hope after the mutinous defeat in New Orleans¡ªeven the once myrmidons Jamaicans were now questioning his authority, but he has to keep running a tight ship to proceed in executing the future war plans to remove Cory permanently from the presidency¡ªthis sole cell group at Lake Huntington was the AOG''s only hope for now. "Hajja, what is the condition of the Preacher in Mexico?" Reeves finally spoke up with concern for the leader who had given hope and liberated many of those in Tombscradle. Hajja replied in a low sad voice. "He relapsed since I last heard last from Ramirez¡ªand he is still undergoing more surgeries, and is fighting for his life." Zinga countered. "What if he does not make it and dies, Mon? Then what?" Hajja responded in ignited revere... "With or without the Preacher¡ªhis AOG soldiers will still continue to fight for the survival of all the new-breeds until the reckoning day will come when those women will accept us all as their equal and not as their slaves. "Even if he dies today, we will all move on as planned¡ªand we will all keep the Preacher''s legacy alive!" Chapter 6 THE FARMHOUSE stood near a barn with barren crop-less land around it, Marlin drove towards the rustic vicinity. He stopped the Camry halfway and shook Joana''s shoulder gently. "Joana...Joana, is this the place?" Her half-open eyes saw the bucolic house, and she nodded weakly before falling back asleep again. Inside the house, two sister-boys in their mid-twenties peeked out behind a curtained window with weapons in their hands. The one named Lee saw the old hybrid car and knew it was not the law authorities out there. The other, Cynthia instructed her to stay with Mrs Scott; she wanted to go out to investigate¡ªbut Lee stopped her when she noticed the driver stepping out of the vehicle...Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "It is a he-she¡ªwhat does he want?" "My guess, he is probably lost and wants directions," replied Cynthia before they both saw Marlin slinging his rifle onto his shoulders. Lee exclaimed... "Oh fuck, he is armed...get ready to blow the bastard away." They spied on Marlin stepping towards the passenger''s side of the car and bearing Joana out in his arms¡ªthey recognize the Sisterhood uniform... "That is one of ours!" "Jesus on a stick! That is Commander Gailman!" Cynthia exclaimed and both the females rushed out of the main door and pointed their firearms at the approaching Marlin who was cradling the wounded girl to the porch... "That is far enough, she-freak!" "Joana is shot¡ªwhere is her grandmother?" Chapter 7 IN AN OLD clinic, a Mexican surgeon and her nurse were operating on the feeble Doran who was breathing under an oxygen mask. This was his third scabrous surgery since arriving in Mexico and they were using archaic and unsophisticated equipment in the procedure. The meticulous surgeon dropped remnant bits of the broken bullet shrapnel from Roberta Jensen''s pistol into a metal bowl. Ramirez and his androgynous men looking jaded in the waiting area outside, one of them was balancing a soccer ball in his forehead while another equally bored and drowsy Hispanic kept a lookout at a window. Two other Chicanos were hitting on the receptionist at the front counter. Li Chi was using the slow internet connection for his Skype to communicate with the surviving 14K Chinese triad in San Francisco. The look-out ''jigger'' said something in Spanish to get their attention... "Sanchez is back." It was a great consolation to most of the Intersexuals who have waited outside during the six-hour surgery. Sanchez stepped into the clinic with the grocery bag¡ªhe was a relief sight for sore eyes and thirsty throats who greeted him when he brought in the beers and two bottles of tequila. Ramirez finished his beer in a single gulp when he heard Li Chi cautioning Sanchez...This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "You sure you not followed? There may be undercover CIA agent around." "What are you afraid of, Leach, the CIA in Mexico? Hey, this is our turf ground," bragged the Hispanic in Mexiconics, further saying that they will mince the CIA women and export them back to the States as premium pussy-cat food. Ramirez laughed along while he pulled the tab of a second beer can and guzzled it down before he chased it with the passing bottle of tequila... Everyone spotted the surgeon coming out of the operation room. Ramirez was the first to approach, asking in Spanish... "Well doctor, how is the condition of my friend?" "I have done my best for the gringo...he is all now in God''s hands," was the woman''s prognosis response. She was rendered speechless when every one of the visiting Chicanos, with an odd Asian in the mix, were rejoicing with an incantation and celebrated around her; she thought they were all drunk... The Mexican surgeon would not understand the momentous circumstances like how the rest of them do; that God will never fail the inalienable Preacher¡ªand his mystique God Himself will even bring him back from the dead to fight along with the AOG insurgents the next time and to win their cause against the ruling matriarch in sovereignty. Chapter 8 MARLIN WAS seated in the living room, observing the woman in her late fifties performing a surgery on Joana who was in her undergarments; laid face-down on the dining table. She was under anaesthetic while her grandmother, Mrs Scott was stitching her up, Cynthia and Lee assisting in the procedure... The sister-boys were also keeping a cautious eye on the ''inferior'' visitor seated across¡ªit was the first time that the Aryans had an Intersexual under their roof¡ªand they don''t trust him much, especially anyone being part of the Preacher''s One God''s Army. Marlin picked up one of the photo frames from the side table from where he was seated¡ªit was of the younger Mrs. Scott carrying a toddler¡ªit could not be Joana because it looked like a turn of the century faded photo; probably taken back in the ''80s or 90''s¡ªcould it be Joana''s mother as a baby back then? He was also not sure if Big Joe of Wesleyan was also from Mississippi. The Adonis'' eyes scanned around for his lacuna of clues¡ªthere were a dozen other photo frames displayed everywhere in the living room. Everyone soon overheard the sound of a plane soaring above the farmhouse, Lee spoke up... "That is the General''s plane." It annoyed the old woman, and she raised her voice straight away... "Why is she here? I don''t want that bitch or her mother in my house. It is people like them who create a mess like this," pointing at Joana, who spread insensate on the kitchen table.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Mrs Scott, General Gailman is her sister¡ªplease don''t make it difficult like the last time." This made Joana''s grandmother even more furious... "This is my house, and I have every right to who steps into my front door. I don''t want any more of your Aryan Sisterhood filth under this roof," she pointed at Joana again, and with a cosseted voice, she protested more... "Look at my innocent girl here¡ªyou have all have poisoned her mind with your silly militia ideologies and you went for war bringing her; Joana nearly bled to her death to get back here to me." "I am sorry, ma''am¡ªthe General is already here and I am going to let her in," Cynthia responded back politely back before stepping out of the front door. Marlin stood up to follow her out but the obdurate Lee drew out her pistol and cautioned out harshly... "You sit the fuck down, she-freak!" Marlin suppressed his spiking anger that raptured inside his head, and he wished he could teach the supercilious Aryan woman some respect like he did the last time to Joana back in New Orleans¡ªbut he reconsidered the requite urge¡ªit was not appropriate to pick a fight and trounce the rude dyke in the house of his host. Furthermore, they have confiscated his rifle the moment he had stepped into Mrs Scott''s house. Marlin sat back again, another photograph frame just caught his attention¡ªit was a four-year-old Joana sitting on a motorcycle with her teenager elder sister, Roxy Gailman... ** Cynthia ran on the barren field beside the farmhouse to a single-engine crop-duster plane. Roxy who was now thirty years of age¡ªdescending down with her Aryan Sisterhood bodyguard, an over six foot tall soaring female giant. They both removed their goggles and stepped away from the plane. It was late evening and the sun was setting when they strolled back into Mrs Scott''s farmhouse. Chapter 9 THE CISTERN flushing was audible¡ªand the current m¨¦tier director of CDC, a woman in late thirties stepped out from a closed stall. Tina Martin joined another woman who was washing her hands outside. Tina stood beside and turned the faucet in front of her; she looked up into the mirror¡ªit surprised her to recognize Lucinda Gates was beside her... "Ms Gates, what are you doing here?" Gates looked up smiling widely, "Ms Martin, it has been a long time. I came on an unofficial visit to see you," The older woman replied... She still was washing the unseen psychological blood and dirt off her hands¡ªsince she was dragged by the president''s crimes against the nation, as one of the conspirators in the death of Ann Rosewood... Right now, Gates aspired to do the right thing by secretly rescuing the tactile twins of Samantha from being eradicated in Madeline Cory''s future terrorist elimination efforts¡ªthat was the least that she can do as reparation so to come out clean from the political mess that she has been instrumentally involved with. But Tina Martin was still sceptical of her visit¡ªand she tensely grabbed some extra paper towel, wiping her wet hands. She had recently released an imprimatur bestseller based on her past research studies when she was the head of the IIRC (The Intersexual Intelligence Research Center) then at the Wesleyan University of Ohio¡ªit was the same place which the mooting Lucinda Gates had shut down overnight due to preconception of budget cuts; during her similar surprise visit five years ago... ''She is back again today¡ªbut why?'' "I see...am I in some kind of trouble? Is it my bestseller, Miss Gates?" Martin''s voice mitigated with doubt. Lucinda Gates tried to ease the woman''s nervousness and the once insubordinate nature she was into five years ago¡ªwhile back then criticizing Martin''s defence of the revel studies of the science of female-evolution. Gates prevaricated candidly to her cold demeanour; even though she has not read the book nor was she aware of its existence as such a bestseller published¡ªbut she had to break the ice fast and get the distrustfulness filled Tina Martin to cooperate openly by putting their past differences aside... "Not at all, now relax, Tina, In fact, I like some of the things that you wrote in your book... "...and by the way, it is my pleasure to also remind you Tina; from the board''s feedbacks I got, saying that you are doing a fine job here as the director of CDC. But I am here right now because I need to talk to you about something in private." Tina handed her some paper towel when she saw her closing the faucet valve¡ªbut she was still overwrought by the woman''s surprise presence. Tina said... "Okay, let''s go to my office then, we will have some tea, Ms Gates." "No, that is not necessary, I am going to be very brief¡ªwe can do it here." Lucinda Gates opened a leather file with notes, and she pulled out a photo... "Tina, while you were back running the studies at Wesleyan University¡ªthere was this boy over there, do you recognize him?" Tina looked at the photo of a twelve-year-old Joseph Edgar Cory¡ªand she shook her head and returned back the photo... "It was a long time ago, Ms Gates¡ªit had been 5 years since I came here to Washington. What about him? Is he in some kind of trouble?" Lucinda then deceived her intent. "No-no, not at all, my dear; I am just curious about him and about his time spent at that University. In fact, it was I who placed him there in your care without your knowledge..." Gates held up the photograph again to refresh her memory... "You should remember the kid, Tina; the last time I heard, he tried to escape from the university with another boy¡ªbut they both were captured." Tina now dredged up the past reminiscences of ''being there'' during that haunting incident that sunny morning; other than hope that was lost in furthering her research on the female evolution when the university was shut down by the Whitehouse cogency which was directed by this same woman¡ªthere was this other gritty incident also happened the next day to the dark-haired boy who attempted to escape from the same Wesleyan University to find his mother¡ªTina then recalled looking into her computer''s video-feed where she followed the two boys struggling to jump the wall to escape before they were shot by down by tranquillized darts by the ambushing police...This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. This made her further distrust Gates'' present visitation and with her suspicious vague inquiries of the boys¡ªTina Martin''s eye caught again the last-name of the fat-boy in the open file by the washbasin¡ªit was Cory¡ªTina Martin played along... "Oh, this boy¡ªyes, Joel or something." "Joseph¡ªJoe, yes, you must remember him then?" "Yes, not much of him though...but he was a close friend of this other kid¡ªEve...yes, Steve, no¡ªsorry, Reeves," she apologized for being bad at recalling names... In fact, back then she only remembered the names of the top one per cent of the smartest congenital test subjects; until she met the enigmatic Reeves Jensen¡ªwho was brought in one day into her office in a straitjacket after beating up that ''same fat boy'' whom he later ran away with¡ªit was something about their friendship that still baffled her till today. Tina felt she had disclosed a modicum too much to this Whitehouse aide, and she feared that she will be dragged further deep after some vague assumptions of this Gate''s second visit... Firstly, knowing that the fat boy and the president shared the same last name¡ªand secondly, Tina Martin then wondered why the fat boy was secretly placed in the IIRC by Gates in the first place? This was getting into an unknowable furtive¡ªjust like the mudrakering conspiracy theories which she recently read speculated online¡ªstating accusations that pointed to the president in having a hand in Ann Rosewood''s gruesome car bomb assassination. "I have surrendered all the records of every boy in IIRC to your staff on the day I left Wesleyan. I am sure you can look it up from there," Tina Martin said and washed her hands again to recant any suspicion... The trained psychologist was avoiding eye contact of the peering Gates on the mirror¡ªshe felt the shrewd Gates was ''shrinking her'' and was reading her body moves¡ªjust as how she herself had caught that clever and cunning test-subject before, who thought he can escape from the legerdemain one-mirror during his advanced series test... She cannot afford to make that puerile mistake and get caught like that cocky boy named Eve¡ªand who knows, it would end her up like the former director of CDC, Dr Judy Morris, who was sentenced to prison with some vague treacherous accusations. "Yes Tina, but my question now is¡ªdo you remember if anyone outside the University who tried to contact this boy Joe¡ªdid anyone visit him back then?" The tactful Tina Martin briefly clarified that the Wesleyan University was more of a closed government-funded education and specie intelligence research facility for both the new-breeds and psychologists¡ªand it was not an adoption agency with any unofficial visitor dropping in... "Why Ms Gates, is Joe in any kind of trouble?" she asked the second time out of her inquisitiveness. "No, nothing like that...just asking if anyone from outside had any contact with him, it is just that." Gates felt that her investigation was heading nowhere and she too repeated a similar final response. "No, I don''t think anyone came, Ms Gates. Where are they now¡ªJoe and Reeves?" Tina was interested to know the whereabouts of one of her mystifying subjects... She had known Reeves briefly; the inscrutable loner who cried in isolation looking at his ''wall'' and later brought into her office in a straitjacket where she had a stimulating conversation with him¡ªwhere the twelve-year-old was cleverly ''shrinking her'' back then to get information about his mother... Then she regretted being nosy again in asking the boys whereabouts¡ªespecially after Martin had disclosed the identity of his mother whereabouts to Reeves before his escape attempt... ''Is this what Lucinda Gate''s second visit was about?'' But Martin pondered again¡ª''but Gates'' inquiries were more on Joe¡ªand not on Reeves Jensen.'' "They are now somewhere, in a college back in Ohio. Thank you for your time, Tina, I have to get going, thanks again," the preoccupied Gates bluffed again without a second thought, while she kept the photograph back into her file before stepping out of the ladies room in discontent. The former psychologist was alone in the washroom. Martin turned back at the mirror, grinning to her reflection¡ªfor assuming the two unexceptionable Wesleyan rebels a little too well, and that had made Lucinda Gate''s to visit her today after five years... Deep down, she had known how the duo used to deviously slip away in the past undetected from the snafu in the cafeteria to go to their secret place at the abandoned Stuyvesant Hall¡ªfacing the old wall to have their privacy away from the rest of the institutionalized Wesleyan herd. "Mirror-mirror on the wall, are they both up to something now?" * Someone was watching Lucinda Gates leaving the building lobby and was out of the CDC facade¡ªgamut into the binoculars in a black SUV across the road; Secret Service Iris Green reported on her cellphone... "Ms Gates has just left the building, Sir. She was with Director Martin of CDC in the ladies room earlier¡ªbut I did not go in." "It is okay Agent Green, just keep on her tail. I need to know about all her whereabouts," the voice of the Head of Secret Service ordered to the operative from the other end in the Whitehouse. Chapter 10 LAURA WAS tilted in a seated position in a recliner bed in an examination room in a hospital in Los Angeles. The coma stricken woman has electrode wires taped to both her temples and the tips of all her fingers. Two women doctors were working on her treatment; Dr Diana Waite turning a dial that discharged small doses of electrical charges into Laura''s wires¡ªa digital needle on the EG monitor moved. Her assistant, Dr Claudia Ryan was using a stethoscope to monitor Laura''s heartbeat¡ªand replying that it was normal. Turning the dial higher, Dr Waite notified her, "juicing up." At the foot of the bed, Roberta stood and looking in anxiety at her sister in the hands of the two investigational doctors... She lacked the faith in these doctors since her childhood dispute with one of Laura''s previous physician¡ªDr. Emma Rickman who gave many false hopes that her sister will recover back then through medications¡ªand Roberta had kept her sister in the life-support system for so long ever since, and she feared the day will come when they would pull the plug on her. Finally, Dr Waite went over to her patient''s ear and gently spoke some hypnotic instructions¡ªwhile at the same time, both the women in the lab-coats were monitoring brainwave movement on another monitor screen... "Laura, can you hear me, dear. Please response by lifting the index finger of your right hand...Laura, can you hear me?" Roberta fretted after seeing no response on her fingers... It was something out of a habit that she too did in the past¡ªnoticing Laura''s finger when she spoke to her in her hundreds of hospital visits... Dr Diana Waite turned the dial higher, "going up a notch." "Okay, heartbeat still normal," echoed Dr Ryan beside her while Waite tried communicating again... "Laura honey, can you hear me?" Laura''s index finger moves slightly¡ªRoberta grinned back in amazement. "That is very good, Laura," Dr Waite turned towards Roberta, and smiled before she added... "Laura, do you remember your sister, Robbie?" After a few seconds of pause, her index finger moved again; it made Roberta''s eye well in tears of joy after the eighteen waiting years... Laura''s finger finally moved and has acknowledged her.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "I am going one more notch up." Dr Ryan nodded, overseeing the digital needle that undulated almost at the max, and Dr. Waite spoke to her again... "Laura, Robbie is here with you...are you happy that Robbie is here?" Laura''s finger moves again, Dr Waite touched the dial and Dr Ryan shook her head¡ªfearing that Laura Jensen was a heart patient. "No, Diana," but Waite cranked up a little more juice, and that causing Laura''s index finger to begin tapping softly... "Laura, do you want to see Robbie?" * In her kip world, darkness turned to daylight ¡ªLaura slipped into one of her repeated dream loop where she was in the backseat of the Buick with her father Herbert Jensen driving. She looks out the window to saw the nine-year-old Roberta behind a Mexican truck¡ªher mother was also present, hugging the seraphic blond girl in a red dress, who has a baby robin in her little hands. The twelve-year-old Laura looked back into the rearview mirror¡ªand her eyes met her father''s before she asked him... "Dad, where are they going?" "Home Laura¡ªthey are going home." Laura beheld the old truck overtaking their Buick¡ªand the cherubic girl in red dress smiled and was waving at her. * Dr Diana Waite studied that Laura''s tapping index finger was getting extremely frantic. "Laura, if you want to see Robbie¡ªstart opening your eyes, dear¡ªcome and see, Robbie is here¡ªplease open your eyes, Laura". From her dream world¡ªher eyelids fluttered slowly with her head moving a little unstable from the enormous sentient effort from within herself¡ªher vision was blurry while she focused unsteadily into vertigo to see the twenty-seven-year-old Roberta standing at the foot of her bed. Her finger was still rapping... But instead¡ªLaura focus was on the vestige of nine-year-old Roberta¡ªand her raspy voice croaked when she spoke again after many dormant years... "Robbie, must...go...find the girl in red!" Laura''s eyes slowly closed, and she sank back gently into her state of coma¡ªher index finger then stopped tapping... Roberta was agonized and responded back in bewilderment... "Dr Waite, what happened? What girl in red? Laura opened her eyes¡ªand saw and spoke to me, didn''t she?" She was wretched and wanted the doctor''s affirmative aye¡ªso that she can believe that the wagered therapy here in California will be the final holy grail or even the magic bullet that will make her sister whole again as she once was eighteen years ago. "It is common for patients to speak at times, but judging by the brain waves, I suspect Laura was still in a dream state just now¡ªa similarity like how people speak in their sleep." Roberta was choking hard and deep¡ªshe wanted an irrefutable confirmation... "You mean that she did not see me when she opened her eyes a moment ago?" Dr Waites shook her head, seeing Roberta in despaired state of scavenging for hope... "But Capt. Jensen, she is responding well to the given therapy. Just give her a little more time and someday soon, I can assure you that she will come out of it¡ªplease be patient with her and all will be well." Chapter 11 JOANA WAS in her bedroom, her head moved a little while she recovered from the anaesthetic. Her boisterous elder butch sister was inside with Lee beside her bed. Roxy Gailman stroked Joana''s forehead, "you okay kiddo?" The younger teenager nodded with her eyes closed, still breathing shallow. General Roxy Gailman continued her t¨ºte-¨¤-t¨ºte with her trusted Aryan soldier, she fumed while she relating the current events to the trusted Lee who had stayed behind at the farmhouse with Cynthia as her grandmother''s bodyguards¡ªinstead of being at her side at the battlefront in New Orleans... "That bastard Robbie Jensen then intervened into the warzone with bigger guns and tanks when we were almost winning in beating them pigs¡ªor else it would have been an act of sweet Aryan revenge after all the strikes the bitch-cop made on the Sisterhood camps. I should have killed that cunt years ago back in Columbus!" The room reeked of medicine and it further constricted her to calm down her anger; Roxy turned back to her sleeping sister, placed her hand on her... "Okay, you rest well, Jo. I will bring Ma the next time¡ªand I hope your grandma behaves." Roxy touched her cheek before walked to the door. Lee inquired as she followed her out... "General, what about the he-she freak? We took away his rifle but he is still a potential threat to everyone here." "Kill him, and bury that pile of shit in the backyard." Both Roxy and Lee hear a pistol click behind them¡ªthey turn to see Joana pointing a loaded pistol at them, whispering back. "Lee, if you ever touch him, I swear that I will blow your brains off. That freak just saved my life, the least I can do in return is to let him live." Roxy released nervous laughter, "okay kiddo, he is all yours and have it your way for now; but if he harms anyone or even the house-cat¡ªI will make sure that you pull that trigger yourself...now you go and rest, that is an order!" Both the Aryan sister-boys left the bedroom. * They both spotted Marlin at the dinner table eating some beef stew. Mrs Scott was also sitting at the head of the table on the other end. Roxy removing her bomber jacket, revealing her Aryan tattoos along with some demonic mystical creatures'' designs¡ªand a Che Guevara image was inked on her right biceps. "General, are you staying for dinner?" Cynthia invited her. "Yeah, why not¡ªit is been a while since I had Grandma''s cooking..." Roxy felt the hostility after scrutinizing the quiet Mrs. Scott wiping her mouth with a napkin and left the table to return back to her bedroom. Roxy instantly lost her appetite¡ªshe eased the embarrassment tension of being unwelcome by chuckling. Roxy went on picking a bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey from the shelf¡ªlaughing out louder to provoke her grandma who slammed her room door. The raffish Roxy sat across Marlin who also ceased his eating¡ªand the Intersexual was expecting more discriminating Aryan remarks to be hurled at him... "Hey freak, you got a name?" the narcissist swigged to drink straight from the bottle to show control. "Marlin." He was leery and did not reveal his last name. "Holy catfish! Welcome to the bayou, you got the name of a fucking fish too." The other three rambunctious sister-boys at the back were amused¡ªRoxy Gailman sat down, and was growing miserable in disenchantment with thoughts from the recent battle loss¡ªshe refilled her next drink into a glass; she was not in the mood to bash Marlin any further and instead she wheedled... "So you must have been one of the Preacher''s boys¡ªI must say that you she-fuckers put a good fight in New Orleans until that that Jensen came in. That cunting cop Jensen appearing out of nowhere like a bitch-version of Captain America and cheesin'' anal volcano shit all over on us with shells and mortars. "I should have killed her a long time back then. In fact, that bitch and I go way back¡ªand I can''t still believe myself growing up as friends with her back then in Columbus¡ªyou know where Columbus is, right. fish?" Marlin remembered Reeves at that moment; who grew up in Ohio. He was called and accused as being related to Roberta Jensen by some in Tombscradle... ''Was he actually related to this Jensen-cop?''The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Roxy was now paying attention back to Marlin during her storytelling while belched out from the whiskey bent. "Ohio," Marlin uttered. "Bingo, what a clever fish you are! Yep, way back there in O-fuckin''-high-O, we had this small setup going¡ªour very own gang¡ªwe called ourselves ''The Supreme Throttlers''¡ªit was my very own motorcycle gang... "We all even got our own tattoos." Roxy pointed at hers which was above the Che Guevara tattoo... "Even fuckin'' Capt. America Jensen has got one too." Roxy noticed Marlin''s tattoo on his left arm and needled him. "Look here, our fish got one in Japanese¡ªwhat it says¡ªis it an ad to eat Sushi?" Almost close, as Marlin thought of his girlfriend, Suki, who relished soixante-neuf¡ªthey both loved it. Roxy lighted up a cigarette and drank more whiskey, and spoke out her mind. "I treated her like my own blood-sister back then but that ungrateful fuckin'' dyke decided to be a cop¡ªand by then, I just had to fuck the hell off and I left fuckin'' Ohio to be here in Jackson with my mother and my kid sister¡ªyou got any siblings, fish? (...whatever your name is?)" "No, I am the only child." Roxy laughed. "Same here, freak, I was the only kid for the longest time until my mother had Jo...I was 14 or 15, I think back then." She stopped talking and drank more Wild Turkey, blowing smoke directly at the Adonis to get his attention... "Little Jo¡ªso you both are around the same age, and I think my kid sister fancies you, fish." Roxy laughed again as she recurred the thought a moment ago when Joana pointed a loaded gun at her and Lee in the bedroom. Roxy spoke louder now so that she can be understood by all those who were behind closed doors... "Jo is the odd one out in the family who did not turn up as a sister-boy like the rest of us¡ªand I blame grandma who raised her as a little pretty girl." The Aryan sisters-boys all joined in laughing, and saw Roxy pointing at Marlin and slurred, "but hey you, now remember always that she is a soldier of the Brand first¡ªso you better listen hard, fish¡ªbecause I am gonna say this only once¡ªdon''t you knock her up and breed any fries okay. We need her to stand up with us and fight Cory''s army after the fuckin'' hits Jensen had put on our camps¡ªis that fuckin'' clear, freak¡ªor should I shoot your dick off ''now'' as a precaution?" Roxy stared forcefully at the ''inferior-being'' in front of her after the coercion warning she made. The unarmed Marlin then nodded back; he knew the intimidation will start sooner or later after the butch was inebriated. He finally spoke up to the Aryan leader, "in fact, I want to leave in the morning. I came here to safely deliver Joana to her grandmother¡ªnow with that done, I need to continue my way back." "Where are you heading to?" Roxy asked after a short pause "Heading east." "Fish, are you dumb or stupid, or both? It is ''open season'' for she-freaks out there with their massive roadblocks and curfews ever since the New Orleans attack¡ªand now you want to walk into Cory''s path and die? You don''t seem to be like the sharpest tool in the Preacher''s shed." "I will take my chances." Marlin responded his desire even though Roxy had a valid point¡ªand he knew the consequences of death if an OGA insurgent was found captured at the martial roadblocks; but right now, he has not enjoyed anybody''s company since he got into the hostile sister-boys'' environment in the farmhouse after more than twelve hours ago. Roxy pointed at him, half-standing off her seat... "No, you are fuckin'' staying put here, you hear me, period!" "I can''t, I need to go, I have urgent matters..." Roxy slammed the table with a fist... "What if you get caught and rat about us here in the farmhouse? You will jeopardize everyone''s safety out here." The one in the sorority called Lee voiced out from his back... "We can always go to the first option, General¡ªwe can bury him in the backyard." Roxy was back to her jovial self again, easing the rest of provoked women with their readiness with their firearms after the ''inferior-being'' spoke up against their General... "No, that will break Little Jo''s heart¡ªthis big fish outta water here is her knight in shining armour who rode her home to safety from the battlefield." They all laughed when Roxy stood up prancing on an imaginary horse¡ªshe then finishing her drink before finalizing her command once again... "I am going to keep my word with Jo and let you live, fish¡ªbut till then, you are under the detention of the Aryan Sisterhood¡ªbut I promise that I will let you go when things cool off back east. Treat this place as your R&R for now, after that screwed-up battle we fought in New-fucking-Orleans." Roxy was laughing drunk and wagging her finger jokingly at Lee who stood among the other doubting butches... "Lee, I want this guy still kicking alive when I come back the next time with Ma, okay?" The general slipped back on her bomber jacket before she snapped her finger to her great big bodyguard, "Bigfoot, let''s bounce." She was then talking aloud to herself, "that is a fuckin'' good whiskey over there¡ªit will be a long chilly ride back to base just on time for some hot supper." * Lee accompanied Roxy with a flashlight in the dark, with the three figures walking on the bumpy field towards the plane. Roxy climbed into the anterior cockpit while the giant squeezing herself into the rear compartment. Roxy turned to Lee... "I will be back in a couple of days with Ma. If the freak tries to escape¡ªshoot and kill him!" * Marlin was still annoyed with himself after the Aryan Sisterhood General''s decree¡ªand he felt he had never learned his lesson from the numerous times risking his neck out into some female problems in his life; just like the risks he took with Suki in his past even after with her cousin Ken was breathing down tepidly on his neck with vicious threats¡ªthat finished him then with five years served in Tombscradle¡ªand now once again for Joana¡ªand her arrogant older sister''s diktat has ended up with him as a prisoner for the second time in Mississippi... ''Is doing the right thing worth the while?'' He heard the General Gailman''s plane soaring above the farmhouse roof, rattling some of the plastic photo frames in the living room¡ªone with an older Roxy photo with a twelve-year-old Joana dropped on the floor. Chapter 12 ZINGA OBSERVED the target board with a pair of binoculars, Reeves had advanced from a tyro; he was getting better with more accurate hits compared with the inert results back in the Mojave Desert to be the best of the other shooters¡ªbut yet he failed to make it in the slate as the first choice hit-man in the New Orleans mission. One of Zinga''s men, Kujo was also vied in practising his crossbow; he was hitting sharply on target too. Reeves''s rifle was fitted with a silencer¡ªdotting the target on the board, his mind was in the zone, visualizing that each tautological shot that he took was aiming for the head of every each of the Jamaicans present at the lake. He has to improve his target accuracy as a safety precaution¡ªto any case of them turning hostile on him and his team. Reeves Jensen sensed the thankless Li Chi had set these hired killers on him despite he had saved the triad member Wu Leong from being massacred on the rooftop chopper attacks in Tombscradle¡ªOswald-Wu Leong was then voted by the Council of 13 to take out the president; where the mission failed. He overheard Zinga calling out. "Jensen, enough¡ªconserve your ammo!" Nearby, True Bob was under the regular shady tree spot, he saw Zinga and Kujo stepping into back to their cabin¡ªto bong some nuggs and get their afternoon highs. Reeves was wrapping up his rifle gear, he heard Bob''s bird whistle¡ªand looked up at the half-Cherokee nodding at him ... The both of them militate in secret by sneaking out of the guarded camp without security permission. They left to explore the surrounding at the lake. ** Reeves and Two Bob ran uphill among trees and bushes¡ªthey leapt over fallen tree trunks and scaled the boulder terrains in the forest edge near the lake. They wanted to go further deep into the woods where a few days ago, while Bob was gathering medicinal herbs, he spotted several hoof tracks of a game at the rivulet¡ªit has been awhile they all had real sumptuous red meat other than their regular diet of wild birds, rabbits and the fishes from the lake... They both lie on their bellies and waited patiently behind some bushes that faced a creek; Reeves whispered to him, "Bob, you sure it will come?" swatting at swarming flying bugs. True Bob grinned back, "Who knows, maybe it would¡ªbut once we bag it, I have got a perfect recipe for it," the optimistic Bob replied encouragingly while smacking his lips. Minutes later, they heard branches breaking up ahead across the other side of the stream and a cow moose walked to the watercourse¡ªBob and Reeves were wide-eyed, sparkling grins to each other. Reeves pointed his sniper rifle and adjust the scope to lock the head of the majestic beast in the frame; his finger was on the trigger¡ªTwo Bob was observing Reeves and was anticipating the kill... A moose calf came running up and started suckling the mother cow, Reeves slowly lowered his rifle, "Fuck, I can''t." True Bob was in a state of incredulity and tapped him to hurry... "Take the shot, Reeves." The two quarry creatures'' outstretched necks peered up to the distinct voices; sensed danger before they ran away... "Why did you not shoot, man? What is the matter with you?" Reeves stood up and replied quietly. "It has got a calf that is still suckling." "So what, you are now compassionate over some Bambi? Damn you, Reeves, we will never get a chance like that again!" He burst into latent anger.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Reeves walked away, pointing at some wild turkeys toms feeding on berries from a juniper tree. "Let''s stick to the regular menu. Bob." Two Bob was still thwarted and he followed him, kicking anything that came at sight¡ªif it was not for his bad eyesight, Bob would have brought along a rifle and would have taken the shot himself. ** Troy and Joe were swimming in tepid water near the dock where the parked three floatplanes were on the lake¡ªthey both noticed the hunting duo afar, returning to the lake with their kill. "Since we will be here for a while, I wanna look up for ways to repair one of these planes and then learn to fly it," Troy made a suggestion and that got Joe laughing and excited. "Scandalous! That is a great idea, we might make it to Canada, fuck yeah! I spent all my life in Wesleyan U and then years behind in T.C. prison bars¡ªand damn, I''ve never been on a plane before¡ªI am with you bro, we will both fly this shit around!" "Same here never got on a plane before," Troy said in return¡ªknowing that since the Medusa virus, there has been a great slump in the travelling industry with the lack of commercial pilots. Something then caught his attention while he looked over Joe''s shoulder. "Joe, what is happening over there?" Both of them glanced at True Bob and Reeves engaging in an argument with the Jamaicans on the shore... * Zinga and his boys¡ªBusta, Kujo and Vishon have surrounded Reeves and True Bob; there was a shouting contest with Zinga bellowing out... "You listen dis here Jensen, you don''t wander off anywhere without my permission!" The whities'' action to disappear was an insult to his tenure status given to him by Hajja as the head of the team''s security. "I don''t have to ask your permission for anything here," Reeves roared back in dissent; and the Jamaican named Busta who was Zinga''s number two also yelled out... "We are in charge of security, and you better listen to us, Mon!" The plucky Reeves ignored him and stared straight at Zinga and thrall at him¡ªhe needed to abate the control of the bullying by the Jamaicans since their arrival at the lake... "Fuck off, we can take care of ourselves¡ªI clearly told the Preacher that we don''t need the four of you wet-nurses with us here!" Zinga felt belittled. "Motherfucker, you do what we say around here!" Zinga drew out his pistol but Reeves was quick to point his rifle barrel at Zinga''s face¡ªthe magnitude of his action made the rest of the rambunctious Jamaicans to draw their weapons out for a standoff... Reeves made it crystal clear to them all... "This is my mission here to execute the Snake-woman¡ªyou better get to know your place if you wanna be part of it¡ªand fucking stop harassing everyone here, you hear me?" The derided Zinga challenged him vehemently "You dare shoot me, you white nancy-fuck?" "That is what I am training every day for¡ªto put a bullet into anyone who gets in my path. If you are not happy by the way things are going here, you can pack your gear and head back to Hajja¡ªwe don''t need you in the mission, is that clear, monkey Mon?" "Motherfucker!" Zinga removed his pistol''s safety and his inimical men pursued readily for a deuce. Zinga was now howling back at the adamant Reeves... "We will see now who will leave dis place alive¡ªdi four of us or the two of you?" True Bob''s jaw dropped speechless; he was only one armed with a bowing knife, and Kujo''s crossbow was squared to his chest. "Don''t count on it, Zinga¡ªit is 4 on 4 now!" The Jamaicans heard a voice from behind them. Troy and Joe were dripping wet, pointing their guns at the back of the Jamaicans. The one of the named Kujo with the crossbow turned, and Joe placed his pistol barrel at the back of Kujo''s tresses of dreadlocked hair... "Hey Spooky, turn back once again and I will blam-blam you, Mon!" Zinga lowered his weapon in secede but his hateful eyes were still locked on Reeves; he said something in Jamaican Patois and all his men stood down. They left in seethe back to their cabin with Joe gloating with laughter at their earshot... "It is a good thing we came on time and saved your day, Reeves¡ªguess what, I nearly pulled the trigger just now!" Reeves was still exasperated hot when he turned to discover that the bragging Joe was standing butt naked holding a gun. He yelled at the red-haired Wesleyan... "Go put your pants on, you fucking idiot¡ªday by day, you are getting to be a bigger goof-ass!" Reeves picked up the two dead turkey birds from the sand and stormed into the main lake-house. Chapter 13 JOE WAS the ''jigger'' guy who was assigned to spy on the Jamaican''s cabins from the lake-house¡ªhe was now getting jejune. He chose to take cover by positioning himself by the kitchen window where True Bobs was shallow frying the turkey chunks; it was so that the Wesleyan can have his fun teasing their chef... "Chief, are you done? Since crossing the time zones, I get early hunger pangs." "Shut the fuck up and wait, you man-pig¡ªturkey meat takes longer to cook." Bob was still pissed that Reeves had not brought down the big moose earlier at the creek¡ªhe missed eating red meat since they had arrived at the lake in over the three weeks ago. Joe continued to needle him, and both nearly got into a spat... "Are you slow dancing with the wolves? Yo, do you need any help over there, Chiefo?" "What help can you give, you fat ass? You will end up eating more than you help¡ªnow stop dicking me and get the fuck out of my kitchen¡ªor else I will dump your fucking dinner in the trash¡ªand you will be eating your shit from over there tonight! " ** After the standoff they had earlier that morning with the Jamaicans, Reeves had sought out Troy''s engineering expertise¡ªand they both had built a couple of homemade listening bugs from cell phone transmitter parts so that they can tap onto the communication in the Jamaican cabin¡ªit was vital because most of the interaction and messages from Hajja and even Li Chi came to the Jamaicans first hand before they relayed the instructions to Reeves and his team. They had a lucky break that afternoon when all the four noisome Jamaicans went to the lake for a swim and spent some hours there¡ªthe valiant Reeves and Troy skulked into the rivals'' cabins and placed in the hidden listening bugs.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Moments later, the niche Troy Norton was configuring a translation software on his laptop while Reeves silently observed him with the Howdy-couple at the kitchen table. After some fine-tuning, the audio was heard on the Troy''s laptop''s speaker¡ªJamaican Patois was spoken in saturnine. After Bob chased him out of the kitchen, the curious Joe came over to join them at the table. "Their language sounds so Yiddish." Troy was tapping on keyboard keys, and he answered assertively to Joe... "Hold on to your man-boobs¡ªlet the translation software kick in, dude." Troy selected the options on the screen¡ªJamaican Patois to English translation and he clicked the okay-tab¡ªthe software pre-programmed voices substituted the Jamaicans'' voices¡ªand it also displayed the written text of the translation on the laptop screen... The three of them overheard the robotic-like male voice of Busta with a British accent... "The-sooner-the-fund-raiser-starts-then-we-are-back-in-business-until-then-it-will-get-boring-playing-baby-sitters-to-these-whities." "Zinga-what-happens-if-it-takes-months-are-we-still-going-to-sit-around-here?" Another voice spoke through the speaker¡ªthey all assumed correctly it was Kujo. "What-are-we-to-do? Hajja-has-put-us-on-this-screwed-up-situation!" The translation software has substituted Zinga''s voice into a woman speaker''s mode. Derisive snort and laughter by Joe when he heard it¡ªand he jeered out... "Thick-lips Zinga sure sounds sexy!" Everyone at the table shushed Joe, and they listened to Zinga who continued to speak... "I-am-feeling-very-jumpy-and-can''t-think-straight-since-we-ran-out-of-our- marijuana-supplies. Day-by-day-that-Jensen''s-attitude-is-getting-on-my-nerves. If-he-pulls-another-one-of-his-stunts-like-he-did-today-we-kill-them-all-and-return-to-base-and-we-tell-Hajja-that-they-all-drowned-in-some- fucking-accident-in-the-lake." The smile in Joe''s face vanished¡ªand so did his appetite. Chapter 14 MADELINE CORY was seated while Lucinda Gates and Agent Wolfe stood beside when the president spoke to Emmanuel Ramos Garcia on the video-feed¡ªhe was the eighteen-year-old Intersexual, the newly elected President of Mexico¡ªthe first of the kind of the New Breed-specie president in the world. "Okay, I am glad that you are aiding my government but it has been weeks now, President Garcia; but why do you keep delaying the entry of our federal agencies into your investigations? You and I know that the terrorist Preacher has taken refuge in your Mexican soil!" Madeline was losing her patience by the Young Turk''s protracting tactics that were interfering with her election timeline schedules. "I am afraid we need more time, Madam President Cory¡ªour local agencies over here are doing their best in the search of this rebel leader, Doran, who has caused much devastation in your country..." The intolerant Cory intervened when the young leader was a little incessant in his replies which she perceived were more of excuses. She clapped her hand once to zeal the Emmanuel Garcia''s attention before she spoke again in determination... "That is what I am saying, Mr President¡ªmy CIA here is effective in these sort of search and destroy executions pertaining to worldwide terrorist matters. We have a wide database that we can share in magnanimity with you¡ªsuch as Intel that goes back way before the Medusa days which will mutually benefit Mexico; so that it will prepare your country if ever there were such similar future attacks¡ªjust like that Mad Dog Salazar''s Army insurgency of violence that broke out during your own election months ago." President Garcia was sedition as he scrutinized Cory''s offer seriously, but he then was upfront in his response... "I am sorry...this is the very reason my cabinet don''t want your preponderance CIA on our soils¡ªbecause they know too much. It is a matter of our own National and Internal Security breaches in past perfidies that had caused internal turmoil in my country. Therefore, we have now come to the decision to deny your federal agencies'' involvement inside Mexico. I frankly apologize to you as your neighbour¡ªbut in return, please let us do our responsibilities here in finding this dangerous Preacher ourselves; and once we have apprehended him¡ªwe will then willingly hand this criminal over to you."The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Cory felt disparaged by this third world amateur, and she intimidated him... "What are you so afraid of, boy? Was it that your election victory into the Presidential Palace was funded by drug Cartel? Hey, we have every detailed Intel on you since your birth¡ªand we can even topple you any time if you don''t cooperate or come to an agreement to something to such a minor as this current matter!" She was now on the verge of an iniquitous of accusations and was in a harassing mood to get the matter resolved her way. "Those are preposterous allegations, President Cory¡ªhow dare you insult the Mexican polity! Yes, I will still deny you and your CIA agents to any access into my country¡ªand I will never be one of your puppets to be pushed around to do any of your errands... "Furthermore, I don''t care about your fabricated Intel on my past because over here, I was elected fairly as the President by my beloved people to proudly serve them in my country!" the youth leader raised his voice and Cory countered him back... "Hah! Listen here, boy¡ªI am giving you 48 hours to hand me that terrorist Preacher and if failing to do so¡ªyour beloved half-assed run country of yours will then face some major consequences¡ªyou bet, it will be ugly!" Emmanuel Garcia did not appreciate of her pouring scorns and peremptory threats on Mexico¡ªand also of her vilify view on how he administered his presidency... "President Cory, I repeat¡ªI am not afraid of your threats and let it be a reminder that I am the President of Mexico¡ªand I expect you to give me equal respect despite my age, experiences and gender. Good day to you!" She further sneered at him... "Remember this, Chico¡ªyou have only 48 hours remaining in you presidency or else the next time I will personally see to that you will be selling oranges on the Mexican border!" The young Mexican leader did not want to be further denigrated and the screen goes blank with Cory laughed out aloud along with Agent Wolfe''s guffaws¡ªLucinda Gates has a beaten expression by the turn of events that just happened¡ªof how the insidious Cory has prepared herself effortlessly to go to war with Mexico by using the fugitive Preacher as her excuse. Chapter 15 THE NEXT MORNING, Zinga and Kujo were coming out of their cabin, heading to the area where they practised their target shooting¡ªthe vigilant Joe was on still on vedette-duty¡ªspying out through the diaphanous curtain of the window while giving Reeves the updates of every Jamaican movement and activity with a touch of malign... "Their breakfast of egg white splooge is done; Zinga is out with his lover-boy Spooky Kujo, they are heading for practice." Outside, Kujo has started working his crossbow on a different target board under a tree while Zinga was petulantly looking at his wristwatch. Inside, Reeves was on a new hush-hush development with Troy who was pointing at some data in the laptop screen on the dining table. Reeves kept looking up¡ªnoticing Joe and True Bob were doing their regular routines with constant niggling¡ªhe spoke in a low whisper... "Troy, are you sure?" The Intersexual buddy responded with nods... "Yeah man, it has been more than a month since they moved her." Since the standoff with the Jamaicans yesterday, Troy too felt their presence at Lake Huntington was nearing to insignificance. Their current mission was in jeopardy with the interference of the certain fraction of street gangsters in The One God''s Army who operated with their own self-serving interest which was opposed to the Preacher''s unity objective preached in his sermons. Reeves had beforehand discussed with Troy who was in charge of the team''s Intel and strategist of their mission in Lake Huntington¡ªthey both agreed that aborting the Cory assassination mission was the only option to stay alive, and everyone should go their separate way from then onwards as deserters¡ªbut right now, their first stumbling block was the ferocious Jamaicans watchdogs and Li Chi''s influence on them since the OGA''s major defeat in New Orleans. Troy now understood why Reeves wanted to take off and head east since they got their freedom from Tombscradle¡ªhe would have then gone off with Marlin to find for Laura Jensen in a hospital in Washington¡ªand Reeves would have met a dead-end because many events have changed since the last information Reeves had gained at Tombscradle''s infirmary¡ªand now Troy was setting his good friend at the right path; the path to Los Angeles... "Please double-check bro, it can be someone else." Troy browsed the files that he had recently hacked, and he showed another page on the laptop to Reeves... "I have run checked it a few times¡ªsee this, like the nurses who spoke last at TC infirmary that Mimi Jensen was transferred from St. Elizabeth''s hospital in DC¡ªbut now they have moved her again to Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulated treatment... "I even checked what TMS treatment is¡ªand it is related to brain injuries and coma patients, and see here, the transfer document was signed by someone with initials, A.W¡ªsounds familiar, bro?" "Agatha Wolfe?" Reeves uttered while he recollected seeing the photo of Agent Wolfe in the Council of 13''s ten recently. The Secret Service woman was also briefed once at the AOG camp as one of the most dangerous members in Cory''s staff; and even Reeves had a brief encounter with her at the age of twelve while at Wesleyan University, the day before the research facility was shut-down by the woman in the suit from Washington. He heard Troy reconfirming that his virtuoso discovery¡ªit snapped his reveries. "Yeah, do you remember that she is one that the Preacher himself told to keep a lookout for in one of his sermons in the desert?" Reeves recalled again of one of Doran''s current sermons in the Mojave Desert where he indirectly indicated that Wolfe had threatened to kill his monastery flock, and that action by Whitehouse Secret Service woman had him initiated his insurgency in the Tombscradle penitentiary. Reeves now grinned, grabbed Troy''s wrist. "Thank you very much, Troy." He further communed to Troy to keep Laura Jensen''s findings a secret between the both of them, like the rest of the cell-group members will oppose to the idea of going their separate ways¡ªbecause the Cory assassination mission was what has kept the group tight so far¡ªand he does not want any confrontation with them at this point which may then arouse the Jamaicans'' suspicion of them planning of deserting... "You know Joe, right?" Reeves humoured to Troy by makes a duck-mouth gesture with his fingers. They both laughed. Reeves stood up and sling his rifle on his shoulder and he heard Troy saying. "Okay, I will now work on the Jamaican''s conversations recording to see if there is anything more¡ªthey sure may have talked a lot of sweet nothings last night," Troy continued his listening in the role in his intelligence and surveillance designation to keep the team from any unseen danger. "Okay, you do that," Reeves went over and saw True Bob domiciled in the kitchen, turning some potatoes¡ªand the upset half-Cherokee asked him, stating the obvious mission routine... "Aren''t you supposed to be target practising out there with those blackies?" "Get your gear and come with me, Bob. This time, don''t forget your pistol." Reeves clearly remembered True Bob''s first kill when he put Head-bull Anderson down during the breakout in Tombscradle¡ªnow he expected trouble at the moment he stepped out of the lake-house front door... * Zinga watched Kujo crossbow accuracy in hitting a bulls-eye on the target-board. He looked at his watch again¡ªand for the first time Jensen was late for his practice, it brewed his agitation that Reeves was making his own rules since yesterday''s standoff incident...Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Reeves then stepped out of the lake-house with True Bob¡ª20 minutes late¡ªand they both walked past the target practice zone and were heading on to the dirt path towards forest. Zinga yelled out at him... "Hey Jensen, where you think you are going? Get back here!" "It is Sunday, I am taking the day off, Mon," Reeves replied in restive without looking back, with a teasing ersatz accent which infuriated Zinga even more in front of his regrouped team. All of the four Jamaicans were cursing in their own language. Joe who was peeking out of the kitchen window was laughing away. "He is the same bolshie guy I knew at the University¡ªno one can force Reeves to do anything¡ªeven the teachers back then cannot make him do his homework assignments." He then saw the pursuant Busta and Spooky Kujo hastily trailing after them towards the forest; leaving behind the invective fuming Zinga and Vishon who were cursing at the lakeside. * They both pliably hiked the uphill trail, Reeves pointed ahead, panting. "Hey Bob, let''s go there to that ridge there and see where it takes us. We will probably bag something interesting there." Bob nod in taciturn¡ªand hoped they find some red meat even if it was just a miserable rabbit. They both then ascended to the higher grounds where it was rocky with lesser shrubbery. "Two darkies are following us," Bob said casually¡ªand Reeves replied back in veracity without turning behind. "I know, let them." ** True Bob and Reeves started scaling on the rocks to ascend the terrain to reach the other side of the ridge. The two Jamaicans who were not skilled at rock-climbing begin to expletive obscenity at the duo''s precarious stint, before finding an alternate route to catch up with them... The two blacks reached the other side but can''t locate Reeves and True Bob, "Where are they?" asked the cross-bowed armed Kujo to Busta who was scanning the surrounding. He started insulting afoul seeing the thorny ridge... "Are those motherfuckers hiding? They must have known that we are following them!" They both were then jolted by a sudden high pitch growl¡ªa male pique cougar was standing on a perch above, it''s piercing eyes locked down at them before the beast leapt on a boulder and started descending below. The Jamaicans slowly backed away in reverse as the angry cat approached with sure steps¡ªKujo whispered... "I can kill it, Busta," but his mate held his forearm tightly and garbled. "No, don''t make any sudden moves or it will pounce¡ªlet''s just back off..." The tenacious big cat kept on with its snarling and was nearing towards them, the Jamaicans were now standing at the edge of the cliff¡ªand a couple of steps further would be a five hundred feet drop below to their definite death. Busta still perceived he can best the creature by not show any aggression. "Don''t show any fear, it can smell it on us, Kujo," Busta susurrated softly... "Then what do I do, Mon¡ªsmile at it?" The ferment Kujo was still determined to try killing it, reached for an arrow from his pouch with his vacillating hand coupled by the intense tension¡ªwith the cougar was only twenty feet apart from them¡ªthe edgy Kujo dropped the arrow while he tried to fit it on to his crossbow... The cougar sleekly stride up before the beast sprung its leap at the two helpless quarries¡ªReeves fired his silencer muzzled rifle at the big cat while it was volatile in midair, the animal dropped dead near at the Jamaicans'' feet. The Jamaicans have rung away from the edge of the cliff¡ªand both squatted down in respite, staring at the dead beast with its hollowed-out brains¡ªboth the blacks rake their sight up at a different ridge afar at Reeves and True Bob looking down at them. Tacitly the two Jamaicans resolved to not pursue them; the duo settled to return back to the camp at the lake. Reeves pointed at the dead animal below. "You got any recipes for cougars?" he ribbed his guide who snubbed back at him... "Fuck you, Reeves, I am not Chinese¡ªand I don''t eat any shit that moves." Reeves was laughing while he followed the annoyed half-Cherokee from the back. * Zinga was peeing near some bushes by the cabin and Vishon stride up to him and saying something while pointing towards the lake... The two white boys who were earlier swimming were now messing with one of the floatplanes. "What is di matter with dis cracker-ass sons of bitches, every hour they are getting to be a handful of nuisance fucks¡ªI am going over to chop their motherfucking hands now!" The tensed-up Zinga and Vishon set off to the dock where the three tied-up floatplanes were drifting stationary on the lake. Troy was in the cockpit of one of the floatplanes in the lake while Joe tried to crank the propeller blade to get it started. * Busta and Kujo were coming down in the steep slopes trek when they heard the sound of underbrush juddering ahead¡ªthey squat down and slowly crept up to sneak at the moose cow and her calf grazing below. * Two Bob strolled ahead and he stumbled upon a patch of vegetation at the edge of the ridge, and he went on exclaiming at the verdant, "oh-my, oh-my!" he crouched and he was plucking and he examined the terrestrial leaves. "You decided to have a salad tonight?" Reeves was still poking him at the choice of the provender... He was in a good mood all morning since Troy told that Laura Jensen was in Los Angeles¡ªand that was just a couple of hours away from the lake they were at... Bob passed the leaf to Reeves saying, "this is huasca." "What''s it?" replied Reeves back, jutting out an uncertain shoulder shrug. "Ayahuasca¡ªit can cause a high level of hallucination when consumed." "I pass, I am not a stoner...you go on ahead," Reeves said while he observing Bob pulling out his bow knife and cutting the vine of the plant while he elucidated more... "It is not for us¡ªbut for your groid-friends...I will do something out of it..." Reeves was baffled by True Bob''s last sentence... ''What was he up to?'' * Zinga and Vishon reached the float-planes where Troy and Joe were tampering with. Zinga armed with a machete spotted on the side of the plane has a painting of a nude smiling blond woman lying on her belly with the name of the plane tinted below¡ª''The Lady of the Lake.'' Zinga began shouting when he got nearer. "Hey you two, what are you doing?" Joe was speechless by both of their threatening presence with the big blade. Troy climbed out from the cockpit, chuckling and he responded back to the vociferous duo... "Its nothing dude, we are bored¡ªthe plane was lying here unwanted, we were just fooling around with it." "What if you get injured, Mon? If dat were to happens, I will shoot you like dogs because nobody leaves camp for any cock-shit medical attention. Now both of you get out of there¡ªand stay away from those fucking planes... that dead owners'' spirits from hell are in those planes, and it may want to harm us because you crazy white fools are still keeping those bones in that cursed house..." Zinga was distracted by Vishon exclaiming behind him... "Zinga, look what they have brought back!" Troy, Joe and Zinga glanced ahead to see the other two Rastafarians shouldering back their kill, perched on a wooden pole¡ªthe dead moose calf hung downside with three arrows impaled in its dangling neck and sides. Even Joe with the voracious appetite was rousing. "Wow! Look at that Troy, they are gonna have a feast tonight¡ªI hope our guys will damn bring back something as good as theirs¡ªdamn, I am already salivating!" Chapter 16 THE ANDROGYNOUS youth stood in front of the mirror, laved his tired-looking face with cold water¡ªhe slipped on a t-shirt that was provided to him over the pair of shorts that he wore. He then bonded his flowing blond hair into a ponytail. He stepped out, sojourned at the slightly ajar bedroom door where Joana was still asleep. He proceeding to the living room where he spotted Mrs Scott seated on one of the chairs, alone knitting... She looked up at the Intersexual coming in sight, she spoke to him for the first time since his arrival the day before¡ªshe even has forgotten to thank him for bringing her precious granddaughter home safely from the battlefield... "''Boy, there is some coffee on the table, if you want." Marlin thanked her and poured a mug of the brew¡ªa newly acquired taste he looked forward to along with beers since coming out of Tombscradle. He peeked out of the window where the sister-boy called Cynthia was removing the front two tires of his Toyota Camry and has placed bricks below¡ªa measure to prevent the prisoner from escaping. The other one, named Lee was in the porch with a shotgun. Marlin was brewing in agitation; he sat at his usual spot quietly in the living room and he sipped on his coffee... He was thinking of ways to overpower the two sister-boys if they were to assail¡ªand next was his exit strategy to escape¡ªbut his car was the only vehicle in the farm that he knew of¡ªbut there is a barn at the back¡ª maybe that is where the Aryans concealed their rides... His thoughts were interrupted by the knitting Mrs Scott who spoke up... "So you are part of the terrorist troop¡ªthat God''s Army rebels?" He silently sighed inwards; since his arrival after deserting the fighting in New Orleans and coming a long way to the xenophobic Mississippi, he has taken a load of insults from his house-arrest by the internecine sister-boy bodyguards and also from more affronts of both of her sharp-tongued granddaughters¡ªand now, was the old woman wanting the due of her fair share¡ªready to pick a bone on him for being part of the Preacher''s outfit? He kept quiet for a moment before he politely elucidated the actual situation about those who were adherents of the God''s Army front¡ªand at the same time she reminded him of his older guardian Dr Jane Morris¡ªso he maintained respect to the host, who herself had mulishly spurned at the terrorist activities from her acuity of the Aryans Sisterhood outfit where both her intractable granddaughters have taken up arms to defend the Brand. "Actually ma''am, we are not terrorists at all¡ªwe are just surviving from the genocide imposed by Madeline Cory''s government against our own species. We just want her removed from the presidency command¡ªand hoping the new government after her will be more forgiving to our kind." After he said those words, he pondered and realized that he had uttered the same message the Preacher had exuded in the Mojave Desert. But he had his own recalcitrant personal disagreement on how Doran wanted to achieve that goal with an eye-for-an-eye intention. This lack of belief in the Preacher''s dissident was also the cause of the reason of why he became a deserter of their mission after the AOG rebels fell defeated in New Orleans by the well and sophisticated President Cory''s paramilitary enforcers... The old woman''s responded in return; it staggered him as he heard her... "Cory is a bitch, a real evil bitch¡ªand I have known her personally but that was a long time ago. Her cursed husband was also the most corrupted human being that I have known¡ªand it is good how it all ended then when the bastard killed himself, and that brought justice to all the innocent young girls whom he had victimized." Marlin digested her words for a moment before he spoke up again¡ªhe was getting curious about why Edna Scott was bitter to both the Corys¡ªMr. and Mrs. ''What did she meant by ''victimized-young girls?'' "Mrs Scott, you said earlier that you knew Cory personally¡ªhow was that?" "It is a long story, boy, I don''t want to go there. Ever since the Medusa happened, I have made peace with myself and I promised myself to never get involved in anything that is detrimental which is based on hatred...it has drained me out empty in the past, and also robbed me of the gift of self-love in me," she spoke straight from her heart but her eyes were still focused on her weaving. "I understand ma''am," Marlin responded softly. He wanted not to pry because something was best left unspoken just like the suicidal thoughts that came often during his five depressing years of isolation in the prison cell. But there was something else that he had to know badly after the risk he took travelling the distance from New Orleans to Jackson to bring Mrs Scott''s gunshot wounded granddaughter home... "I have only one burning question to ask you," he paused for her approval to share¡ªand the old woman nodded but her eyes never left her knitting. "Joana looks very different from her older sister Roxy..." he said, and noticed Mrs Scott hands froze at that instance, Marlin continued to talk despite her reluctance... "I know they are not of the same parent¡ªwho is Joana''s actual mother?" The old man placed her knitting aside and picked up a photo frame that was taken back in the ''90s with two teenaged girls; she studied it, and found it hard to articulate¡ªbut she finally did it by looking at Marlin and saying ... "Now you have forced me to reopen my Pandora box on Cory, young man, but promise to keep it to yourself." Mrs Scott was now pointing at the photo, "this is my oldest girl, Sarah who is Roxy''s mother and this girl here, is my youngest daughter, Andrea." The old woman told the past disregarded story of the pre-Medusa days¡ªit was about her youngest, Andrea Scott who was ambitious and she wanted a career in fashion modelling despite her mother''s discouragement that a small-town girl from Mississippi had no place being in a pool of shark of the big city¡ªbut on the morning of the first day of the new millennium, the mother found a goodbye note from her fifteen-year-old progeny¡ªshe had run away to New York to pursue her immense career.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. During the same time, her oldest, Sarah had become pregnant at the age of sixteen with Roxy in her belly. A local boy named Lucas was the father¡ªLucas was also the son of a notorious rancher, Bruce Gailman who ran a hate group that was known as the Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi back then. Mrs Edna Scott was in her early thirties at that time, divorced from her husband Andrew Scott¡ªand she took the risk by going to New York because she did not want to lose Andrea after Sarah had married into the Brand. She then spent three years searching for Andrea without any luck in every fashion modelling and acting agencies in New York¡ªand later in the nearby towns and soon in the neighbouring states. Her personal savings soon exhausted and she finally gave up her search for Andrea temporarily¡ªand took up a job as a midwife nurse in Pennsylvania. Andrea in the meantime had changed her name to Annette Powell and was lured into empty promises by an uprising young politician in New York¡ªRichard Cory who had kept her as one of his of mistresses. Mrs Scott wiped her tears while Marlin looked on in solicitude¡ªhe stood up from his seat and sat cross-legged on the rug beside her feet and placed his palm on her hand before she continued... The politician''s wife then, Madeline Cory subsequent found out about her husband''s extramarital affairs with his kept women¡ªand instead, she framed Andrea for the murder of another model who actually died of suicide. Andrea spent the next seven years in prison for manslaughter charges, and she refused to see her mother during her incarceration¡ªbut she did write once to Mrs Scott stating that she felt ashamed to face her and the life she led and had then instructed her mother to return back to Mississippi. But instead, Edna Scott waited for that long seven years until her youngest daughter had completed her prison sentence so that she can bring her back home to the farm with her. She wrote three letters a week to her daughter so that Andrea would stay strong in jail¡ªand she gave the girl hope that life will be good once again when they both returned back to Mississippi. They were just hopes... On the day of her prison release¡ªAndrea slipped away from her again and went back into hiding. Mrs Scott desperately searched for her for another one and a half years thinking that her daughter had wanted a second chance in her modelling career. But Andrea did not pursue her ambition anymore¡ªinstead, she became a crack addict and lived in the streets. The mother was looking in the wrong places where else her youngest had become a hooker to feed her uncontainable drug addiction. The police then found her on March 25th, 2012, dead behind an alley of a flophouse. She had apparently died of blood poisoning from the bad homemade crack that she used¡ªa few years later, Richard Cory hung himself after a sexual scandal with a pop star that had ended his political career despite leading the race into the Whitehouse. Walter Rosewood was then sworn in and took the reign of the presidency. Those were devastating times for Mrs Scott back then which followed by the Medusa Virus attacks in the west coast¡ªand the latter pandemic breakouts were spreading in the east which had hospitals filling with lots of dead boys, babies and men¡ªit was too depressing for the bereaving Mrs Scott who finally came to terms with her loss of her youngest daughter after her long transposed twelve years of misery in Pennsylvania; she then decided to tender her resignation at the hospital with the intention of going back home to the sequestered farm life outside Jackson, Mississippi... "It was during my last days at work¡ªa great miracle happened when Richard Cory''s daughter Samantha was admitted in labour at the maternity ward. She gave birth to a set of twins¡ªa girl and one of your kind," she looked back at Marlin seated by her feet... "I took the baby girl and I came back home¡ªthat is Joana that you know of today." Marlin smiled back and spoke after listening to the second deepest secret he had known besides his own surreptitious past ¡ªas he was born and raised as the son of his other mother figure for her involvement with the Three Kings¡ªtheir surreptitious search for a cure of the pandemic that Mrs Scott just spoke of earlier. "Thanks for sharing Mrs Scott. The reason I asked about Joana was that I know someone who looks identically to her." "Oh, it is the other twin? Where is he now?" Edna Scott''s eyes lit up. "He name is Joe and he is a friend of mine, and he is now somewhere in California. He is also part of us in the same God''s Army cause, and he is also running away from Cory''s persecution." An amusing memory of their recent heist made him chuckle to himself¡ªone of Joe''s goofy antics of choking on a burger when he was the getaway car wheel-man... The old woman pondered, "what an irony that both the grandchildren of the President of the United States are also her own enemies¡ªboth of them who are serving the God''s Army and the Aryan Sisterhood." Mrs Scott also smiled feebly as she shook her head slowly in disbelief to the contrariety. Since he had initiated the icebreaker that stemmed the old woman to speak freely¡ªMarlin wanted to know more... "Mrs Scott, how did the Aryan Sisterhood get started?" He felt there were lots of dots he wanted to connect since his conversation the previous evening with her elder granddaughter, the Aryan general who had called him as fish. Mrs Scott scoffed back in disgust... "Hah! It was formally just a silly old wife''s club of widows of the Aryan Brotherhood¡ªjust a bunch of redneck miserable bitches who gathered around and spoke of the glorified White Supremacy days of their retarded dead husbands. My dumb-ass daughter Sarah is one of the pioneer members in the Brand." It was a non-militia group at that time but when Madeline Cory came into the Whitehouse¡ªshe was fighting street gang crimes nationwide at that time while the children of the Sisterhood who were into law-breaking were affected by the crackdowns¡ªand the new generation of the Brand started to stockpile arms ever since then... "So was Roxy one of those children back then?" Mrs Scott shook her head, "No, not quite so¡ªin fact, she came in later after living some years in Ohio but she rose up in ranks very quickly, and the next thing I know¡ªshe had become their leader." Roxanne Gailman was a rebellious child like her father Lucas Gailman¡ªa year after his death from the Medusa, the eleven-year-old ran away from her mother Sarah; she then headed to Ohio to live with her older cousins. She started a motorcycle gang a couple of years later in Columbus while her mother was back in Mississippi suffered from depression from her husband''s death¡ªduring that phase, Sarah came over and lived with Mrs Scott in the farm for five years. In the absence of Roxy, Sarah raised the toddler Joana as her own daughter¡ªand until one day, Roxy the prodigal child returned back to Jackson. In the matter of a year, she revamped the Aryan Sisterhood with her mother, Sarah¡ªand they fought against the authorities in their gang-related crimes and illegal schemes that the Brand was running previously¡ªmainly drugs and prostitution. Over the years, both Roxy and Sarah have influenced Joana with all their ideology of racial hatred¡ªand they both took her away by force from Mrs Scott to serve the Aryan Sisterhood Brand; like it was part of their organized family crime business... "Today my little girl is lying on her bed thereafter nearly getting herself killed with her foolish loyalty to them," her voice was choking again, looking at the photo frame on her lap of Sarah and Andrea... "My fear is that¡ªsomeday, once Cory comes hard on them, I will also lose Joana again, just like how I lost my Andrea years ago." Marlin held on to her trembling hands to comfort her... His questioning has now made him emphatically with the old woman''s personal family plight¡ªwhat could he do to get it right for Edna Scott before escaping from Roxy Gailman''s restraining grip in Mississippi? Chapter 17 ROBERTA WAS looking into a pile of files on her desk at the Police HQ in Washington. She was delighted to see the black bulky detective coming in¡ª she reminded Roberta of her older demised beat cop partner Manny Thompson who died in the line of duty many years ago in Columbus. "This is all we got," said Chief Detective Bernie Planter, dropping a slim file down. Roberta skimmed into it succinctly while Bernie tore half of Roberta''s sugarcoated doughnut and ate it. "Is that it? Is that all we have on the Aryan Sisterhood Brand from Mississippi?" asked Roberta in disbelief. "Yeah buddy, I don''t know what the big fuss on this outfit is all about¡ªthey are just minor players compared to the other street gangs. All we got here is that they are a White Supremacy spin-off from the male predecessors¡ªThe Aryan Brotherhood¡ªbut the white women here are nowhere as the notorious in the big league compared other shemale gangbangers like the Blacks, Latinos or the Asian triads are into crime and street wars," replied Bernie licking the confectionary sugar off her fingers. The e-SWAT captain responded. "But the FBI keeps briefing me that the Sisterhood is the future uprising in gang-wars threats." The puzzled Roberta recalled¡ªthe languish Aryans hardly lasted an hour in the warfare against the e-SWAT forces encounter back in New Orleans during their blitz attacks¡ªthey were poorly trained and were even badly equipped for combat compared to the Preacher''s One God''s Army.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Now how the hell can they be labelled as a fucking top national threat?" Bernie laughed at the non-satiated butch. "Beats me, ''bro'', it doesn''t add up, the FBI simply overrated them, I guess. The only major fracas on paper from the past was when they had caused a disturbance when they took the street 5 years ago during President Cory Inauguration. "They had come armed and were chanting anti-Cory slogans with shots fired in the air when they crashed into a Cory victory rally that happened in Rosewood''s Jackson, Mississippi¡ªsome arrest was made while most of the protesters dispersed after leaving behind a trail of damaged property¡ªand that''s all to it actually, to sum it up on the Aryans." A text message came on the detective''s cellphone. "Since the Jackson-ruckus, the Sisterhood was off the grid for some time with only some occasional drugs and vice arrests now and then¡ªnothing much happened until recently when old Cory declared them as allies to that Preacher feller¡ªand we made the purge on their camps; and you know the rest, you personally made the hits on them." Another text came on her phone. "Gotta run, Rob¡ªand by the way, there are some photos on their demonstration 5 years ago in Jackson in there," Bernie Planter walked to the door¡ªand Roberta''s voice stopped her before she exited out... "Wait for a sec, Bern, who is their leader?" "Nobody knows¡ªthe interrogation report in Mississippi recorded those members kept giving different names each time. It is all there¡ªlook it up." "Thanks, Bernie." Roberta pulled out a grey envelope from the sleeves of the thin file and spread some of the photos on her desk... One image caught her eye¡ªher wife Lilya who was thirteen back then was in the picture with a younger girl. Both the young teens were holding up anti-Cory posters... ''White cunt, Blackheart.'' Chapter 18 IN A DIMLY lit living room, Roberta slouched on the couch, drinking whiskey. She looked at the headlight of the arriving car outside that was brightening the walls inside ... Roberta remembered the perverted sexual fantasy games which she had with Lilya before¡ªwhere she was the naked stalker in a dark house and she would pounce on the albino girl and ''rape and tortured'' her. Since she was ten, Roberta had relived the mental pictures of the guilt of how her own sister, Laura who was violated during the Medusa days by a serial rapist in the hospital wardroom. The ''games'' begun when the albino girl who used to break into her house when Roberta was boozed up in a cataleptic state¡ªand Lilya would slip into her bed and pleasured her like a succubus in the dark. In their own ways, the similarity was that they both were two depraved sex addicts until they got married¡ªthese days the lovemaking drive had plateaued for Roberta; both of them led separate lives since Roberta''s demanding career as a captain had placed a toll on her. Seconds later, the gravid Lilya Devon walked in through the front door and turned the house light to find Roberta alone... "You are back early, baby, why are you sitting in the dark, dear?" There was no response. She lifted a couple of shopping bags up. "Ta-da! Look here, Rob, I got this great deal!" She took out a short maternity dress from a shopping bag, she unzipped herself and the outfit that she wore dropped on the floor... Standing in her lingerie in front of a full-length mirror in the hall, she placed her new dress on her bump and approved it, speaking nonchalantly... "Rob, do you think my belly got bigger with the twins in me? I can''t imagine I will be as big as a cow in months to come; I am so excited Rob. You made a great choice that we should start a family, and I am enjoying every day thinking about what I will do with those two naughty babies crying and will be competing for my attention. I want you to be part of it too, okay Daddy-O?" she looked at her significant other who was slouched, seemed distracted... "You have not said a word¡ªare you okay?" Roberta nodded back passively and she poured another drink from the single-malt bottle nearby. Lilya in her undies came over and crawled over her¡ªand started kissing and giggling... "I am pregnant but yet I am so horny, baby, wanna spoon me?" Lilya began kissing again and stopped when the reclined and unresponsive Roberta was taciturn towards her, and now Lilya was concerned... "What''s the matter, you are not here." Roberta fibbed with an excuse... "I am not in the mood, Snowie¡ªit is just work stress." Lilya Devon picked an electronic photo-album beside the couch and laid her head on Roberta''s flat chest¡ªafter the mastectomy surgery, the husband had gone a few months before their wedding. Lilya was flipping the images until she came to an ultra-sonography photo of the twins inside her womb¡ªand she compared it with Roberta''s dead twin brothers because they were going to name their neonatal daughters after them... "I noticed this the other day that one of the boys is bigger¡ªwho was bigger back at the farm, Johnny or Jimmy?" Roberta silently saw her swiping the frame to scan more photos of her departed brothers¡ªmostly taken when the toddlers were two years old. Roberta was little drunk, she has a brief reminiscence¡ªof when she was nine at the farm in Wellsville, Utah¡ªshe chased after the two annoying brats who ran away with the TV remote control screaming, ''Sponge Bob.'' "Johnny looks bigger sized to me but Jimmy is slightly taller," Lilya was still sniggering in her observations until Roberta concealed the screen with her open palm and told her... "Lilya, we need to talk." She took Roberta''s hand and kissed it before she sucked on Rob''s fingers. ''That is what I am doing, dear¡ªtalking ever since I got back but you are the one who is quiet, what''s the matter, dear?¡ªdid my pussy get your tongue?" She laughed seductively to get Roberta in the mood¡ªbut Roberta sat up before she got off the couch, leaving Lilya Devon behind... Roberta switched on the dining area lights on, and sat at the head of the table where Detective Bernie Planter''s envelope was in front of her¡ªthe awkward Lilya followed suit and stood at the other end of the table, but the siren was still in her playful mood. She unhooked her brassieres and got on the table on her fours¡ªthe topless tigress moved on her hand and knees towards Roberta who had a glimpse of the glint from Lilya''s gold nipple piercing¡ªbut the cop went back into the content in the envelope, the younger woman''s teasing voice was nearing her... "Hey Captain, how many times I told you not to bring your work back¡ªhome is play-time," Roberta revealed a photo towards her wife''s face, and that made Lilya arrest for a moment, and she was discerned by it... This was the second time Roberta had done this to her¡ªbut the last time, Lilya was in control when she had handcuffed Roberta to the bed. She then heard her husband''s firm voice probed... "Explain this to me!" "Why are you digging into my past again?" "You are a wife of a cop and this is what I do for a living¡ªand now you are going to answer what I am going to ask you now..." Lilya genuflected on the tabletop and looked down at Roberta and she replied, "Since when you are the Mike Hammer kind? You are Captain Jensen¡ªthe Dirty Harry who blows off brains of fucktard gangbangers." The albino girl was making reference to popular TV shows based on movies reboots of the past millennium with butch actors now in the main starring roles. She stepped off the table and was upset. She leaned at the edge of the table with her back facing Roberta¡ªwho looked up at her full-bodied tattoos. Roberta queried... "So, what now?¡ªyou were part of the Aryan Sisterhood back then, are you still with them now?" "That was a long time ago before I met you." Roberta was thwarted. "Why did you not tell me this, Lilya? You knew I was in New Orleans fighting the Aryans and you did not even say a word¡ªwhy all this secrecy even after our marriage?" Without turning her head she answered back Roberta, "well we both don''t support the same government, and I still have no love for Madeline Cory since back those days¡ªbut you, my dearest¡ªyou are her strong and happy trigger finger puppet, and she rewards you to become rich and famous with her politically motivated promotions." Roberta was too tired to argue; they both became quiet with reflections... Lilya Devon had a brief flashback of her past fantasy of shooting Cory during Roberta''s Police Combat Cross award ceremony for the heroic shootout against the four black pander gangsters¡ªhow she wished that image of Cory''s death was just as real as how she pulled the trigger on her nefarious pimp leader, Bing¡ªsending his brains wet on the tarmac in the back alley in Columbus, Ohio. "Anyways, that was in the past when I was around 12 or 13, growing up in Jackson and after that¡ªI ran away to Columbus to live a new life¡ªand I have no association with the Sisterhood ever since I left it all behind in Mississippi. Now, do you believe me, Captain Jensen?" Roberta placed her arm around her back and caressed Lilya''s swollen belly. She kissed the small of her back... "Yes sweetheart, I believe you¡ªyou need to be transparent with me from today onwards¡ªnow tell me, who is their leader?"You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Lilya gently peeled off Roberta''s arm, "wait here." She took her brassieres and walked away from the dining table, further saying... "Since you want an honest answer ¡ªI will let you know everything." She left the bedroom... Roberta looked puzzled for a moment, sitting alone at the dining table¡ªLilya has so much hidden dark past¡ªcan she be trusted? ''Now she has left the bedroom¡ªwill she be armed when she returns?'' Roberta''s hand reached to her ankle holster and she unbuttoned and took out her Cobra derringer¡ªshe cocked the gun and placed it nether¡ª she was still troubled, and did not want any surprises when her mystifying spouse comes back¡ªevery second, Roberta heard more noises of cabinet doors shutting from their bedroom... ''What was she rummaging?'' Roberta told herself that she will not hesitate for a moment if she sensed any form of danger¡ªand she should show no mercy when pulling the trigger on the ''enemy'' that may have been posing as her pretentious double-faced wife to spy for terrorists... As the domineering predator, she should not vacillate, she should not linger with the prey that she was up against who may counterattack any moment¡ªshe should not repeat the same mistake like she made that resulted in the Preacher to escape to Mexico¡ªshe should not be in two minds and hesitate to pull the trigger to kill... ''But¡ªLilya is pregnant...'' Lilya returned after a moment, wearing a gothic Marilyn Manson t-shirt and she sat across Roberta before placing a photo frame on the table¡ªRoberta picked it up and recognized the photo of herself when she was ten with her friends Roxy Gailman and Y.T. in it¡ªthey were all wearing the similar insignia patched black jackets back during her schooldays in Columbus. Roberta has still pointed the Cobra below the table at Lilya... She heard her wife speak out first... "Quid Pro Quo, Captain Jensen¡ªexplain to me about these 2 fellers¡ªand then I will tell you about the leader of the Sisterhood." "What does my past get to do here now, Snowie?" it baffled Roberta. "Actually, a lot¡ªCome on, quick, Captain Fury¡ªwho are they?" she hurried her. Roberta sighed and was the least enthusiastic to engage her past, and she mumbled. "They are just school friends." "Are they just friends, my dear? You all wear the same type of jacket with the same emblem¡ªyou even got a tattoo of it on your arm," now Lilya Devon''s inquiries went deep... Roberta knew from their past discussions that Lilya never arrived at the point which sometimes get them both into heated arguments because once Lilya got into her spiel¡ªshe will try to win every contention. "It is just some growing up silliness at that time, okay? We wanted to have a motorcycle gang back then like some Hell Angels jack-shit outfit." "Go on¡ªwhere are your gang members now?" "What gang members?" The super-cop laughed out at her absurd choice of words, "which part of it are you not understanding, Snowie? We were just bunch of stupid kids then¡ªI was 10 and they were a little older, around Laura''s age¡ªand we dreamed of riding big bikes but could not afford it then ¡ªor even real leather jackets; so we all went around wearing synthetic motorcycle jackets sold at Walmart instead¡ªthat was how dumb we were back then," now Roberta was amused quietly in embarrassment by her own inane adolescence years. "Okay, what happened to her?" Lilya pointed at the mulatto in the photo. "Hmm, Y.T. left for Detroit a year after I had known her¡ªand I was still with the rest of the boys." Next, Lilya pointed at Roxy in the photo and noticed that Roberta ceased to make eye contact when she spoke. "...but most of them dropped off from school¡ªand that was the last of my affiliation with my so-called gang members," Roberta laughed and mockingly replied her with a changing of her voice tone just as how she used to irritate Laura''s Mimi name when she was growing up. "Why can''t you say out her name? Did you have a fall out with Roxy?" Lilya questioning baffled Roberta¡ªhow did Lilya know Roxy''s name? It was the name of the past that she did not mention to Lilya even after they both lived together for six years. The Cobra derringer below the table steadied back at her... Roberta heaved a sigh again. "No, Gailman dropped out of school with many others, and what was left was only a handful of us behind. Then Aunt Flo was pressuring me to shape up my grades...well, the rest was photo-album history and I went to high school, go look up my yearbook¡ªit is somewhere in the fucking room." She wished Lilya would stop probing but immediately another question sprung out... "After Roxy dropped out, did you both still meet up?" Hesitantly, Roberta responded vaguely. "Yeah, occasionally¡ªbut everybody then got busy by then in life when our priorities changed. That year, Gailman was the only one in the group who at the age of 15 was riding a bike around in Columbus while the rest of us focused on our books. Then one fine day, that fucking dyke just took off and disappeared for good¡ªand that was the last I saw of her." "Where did she go?" "How the fuck would I know? She rode one-way into the sunset horizon and never came back¡ªprobably might have fallen off a cliff somewhere." Roberta chuckled; the thought of her father''s Buick which also had such a fall off the crag crossed her mind¡ªbut that charged her karma since. Roberta was back brooding in silence¡ªLilya smiled back with her eyes. "Despite how much you hated her, Aunt Flo really pushed you in your studies and today you are who you are; which makes the career promotions and medals that Cory bribes you seem secondary, don''t you think so, dear?" Roberta was discomfited for a second, and she hated it when Lilya switched into other unrelated mortifying topics. Roberta tossed the photo frame to the table centre. "Okay, enough about me, now you tell me what I wanna know, Snowie¡ªwho is the ringleader of the Aryan Sisterhood?" Roberta straightened herself on the seat, concealing the gun below. Now Lilya laughed out; she was back into her playful mood and pointed at mulatto in the photo-frame, "come on, can''t you guess, Mike Hammer¡ªcould this nigger be the head of the Aryans?" Roberta was at a complete lost on spotting it. "What? It can''t be¡ªthat moron, Roxy? Unbelievable! Fuck¡ªthat was why can''t I dig up any shit that associated with the Sisterhood group?" Roberta thought out loud, and she lowered the derringer from under the table. Lilya was amused by her husband''s looks of confusion. "That is one of our ''keep-it-white'' policies back then¡ªwe don''t rat on our own." The narcissist albino grinned wide and giggled while looking at her bamboozled cop-husband... Roberta nodded in silence while she mentally fitted the puzzle together¡ªshe had grown up all along thinking Roxy Gailman was an orphan living with her older cousins in Ohio, ''so the cunt descended from the swamp in Mississippi.'' She placed a cigarette on her lips while her fingers were now on the Jackson City demonstration photo, she reaching for her Zippo¡ªshe pointed at the photo of a red-haired girl while lighting her smoke up with the lighter. "What about her? Who is this girl?" "Her? Why you got the hots for her?" Lilya laughed delightfully, "okay, that is my best friend, Joana Gailman¡ªshe is Roxy''s sister." "Fuck me!" Roberta exclaimed once again while she flinted the Zippo that finally lit. She almost burnt the middle of her cigarette while lighting it... "Roxy has a sister?" Lilya reached over, wanting to take a drag of the smoke but Roberta refused to give the cigarette to her because she is with babies. Lilya kicked Roberta''s feet below the table in remonstration, "yeah, and she got a nice set of racks too and we had a great lesbianacious thingy on going back then¡ªdo you wanna know more?" Lilya was now reminiscing her own period of adolescence past in a jovial way, "the kind of shit we smoked up and the pills we popped until we got horny; hey baby, you remember the rim job I always give you, yeah? I practised and perfected it on Jo''s pooper¡ªshe is a big squirter too and sometimes she beaver juiced on me until she peed on my face at one time." Lilya Devon laughed out hard... "If we ever meet Jo again, we can have a threesome¡ªand she will bukkake all over you!" Roberta was not done with her inquiries, and she does not want Lilya to divert the topic with her trivial carnal repartees. "Okay I got it¡ªyou had your share of your fun¡ªnow tell me, why did you leave the Sisterhood?" Lilya pointed back at the photo of her and Joana in it... "We were in Jackson, just demonstrating for the rights of the whites-sisters on the day your darling president got elected¡ªbut Roxy and the Brand brought in guns and claimed that they want to be militia just like the old days of the Brotherhood. "I did not like how that shit was going down¡ªso I left the group and then I came to Ohio." Roberta sensed something did not add up and she questioned again. "You just left like that, Snowie? That is not like you...now tell me, how did you really end up in Columbus?" Lily countered the question with her own question, "Why did you leave Roxy? I learned you both were very close back then¡ªanswer me first, Rob!" Roberta took a drag of smoke and depicted an episode of her dark past in the gang, "she came up with a hare-brained idea and wanted to arm us all with guns¡ªand we were to robbing stores so that each of us can afford to buy our own motorcycles; but some of us, we did not like the idea and we avoided her ever since then¡ªQuid Pro Quo..." Lilya was unvoiced for a second and kept looking at the butch trio in Roberta''s childhood photograph frame. "Remember I was in the streets after running away from foster homes... I did once return back to Mississippi but later Roxy sold me to the niggers gang back in Columbus, and they made me a hooker¡ªdoes that ring a bell to you?" That was only half the story and she did not disclose that she was also in love with Roxy Gailman back then¡ªif she had told this, Roberta will have not taken it lightly¡ªand that it would strain their present married life. They both remained tacit, Roberta saw tears flowing from Lilya''s eyes ¡ªand the police captain gently rose and hugged her across the table, while her other hand furtively slipped the gun back into her ankle-holster. Roberta''s antagonism was building up, and now she wanted to get personal with Roxy Gailman and her Aryan Sisterhood group. She also regretted saving Roxy''s life when she was ten¡ªby cracking an assailant''s head with a rock in a butch gang clash, where Roxy was almost gored with a switchblade. Lilya who was embracing her husband, she shivered and she rejoined softly, "Rob, promise me one thing¡ªplease don''t hurt her sister; Joana is innocent in all of this." Roberta kissing her lustfully while stripping her wife naked¡ªthey both then made passionate love on the dining table, as they rolled... The photographs of their past lives fell on the floor. Chapter 19 REEVES WAS seated on the floorboard in the taper lit dining room; he was cleaning his sniper rifle, dismantled parts of his weapon were spread on black oilcloth. Troy yawned, removed his headphone and he turned off the translation voice software volume before he stood up stretching himself at the dining table. Reeves probed... "Anything new?" "Nah, it is just dope Rastafarian shit-talk, they can go all day talking about it¡ªand on how they miss smoking it," Reeves noticed that he looked a little pale... "You okay, Troy?" Troy nodded and yawned with chuckles. "I am fine, my mind had gone overdrive. I am gonna take a power nap and will be up for dinner," He excused himself and slumped on the old coach in the living room. On the table, the muted computer screen continued to show the text of the translation of Jamaican Patois to English¡ªwith more Rastafarian shit-talk... * Zinga was also taking a nap on a bunk while Kujo and Vishon repartee on hanging hammocks on the cabin porch. "You got some nerve defect, you moron!" Kujo burst out in laughter. Vishon replied. "It is true, Mon, that both dis weed and alcohol does not have any effect on me¡ªno matter how much I consume it I don''t get di high nor drunk. But I get them terrible migraines di next day morning though." "You are really some weird piece of work, Vishon¡ªand that is why you don''t get high on dis heaven-sent shits. Maybe your Mama doesn''t have a coochie and you must have been born out from her fart-hole! "You dog, you really are missing out on life''s greatest pleasures¡ªlike dis one time, I was inhaling the smoke of Mary-Jane''s red-hair yo, using di bitch''s big fat booty-ass¡ªwith di bong deep inside the woman''s butthole¡ªthat was total heaven, Mon¡ªgoing down on di bitch and getting high at di same time..." Kujo guffawed out and then sang a reggae song in their own native language, stroking his penis on the swaying hammock. * Joe was still keeping a lookout from the window that evening; he spotted in savoury at Busta who was using a machete to sliver the outer layer meat of the marinated barbecue leg of the baby stag¡ªwith the sebaceous dripping of fats sizzling on the flames¡ªit made Joe gulp up the spume of his own saliva... In contrast nearby him was True Bob, shallow frying some fish fillets in a pan on a butane stove fire¡ªJoe who had past his feeding-hour, he grumbled out piteously... "Look at them, they have been having good nom-nom-nom juicy red meat for the past 2 nights in a row¡ªand here I am having fish every day like Jesus." The annoyed Bob corrected him... "Hey ding, have you forgotten to take your ''brake-fluids?'' You had rabbit meat yesterday, remember?" "That shitty yucky stuff that tasted like a kiddie cat¡ªI wish I am invited over to their camp now. I bet I can finish that whole leg all alone. Yes sir, I can!" The turpitude greedy red-haired glutton was still marvelled, mesmerized by the roasting on the spit-fire at the cabins out by the lake. True Bob goaded back at him... "Go ahead Joe, open the front door and walk over there for dinner¡ªI bet you will come back with that groid''s crossbow arrow sticking out of your pooper." They both looked up to hear a sudden alarm signal coming out sharply loud from the laptop. Troy who was half-awakened when he scrambled over from the couch while the rest followed him... "Some incoming transmission for the Jamaicans," Troy said in a daze, and they all heard Zinga from the speakers... "It is Leach calling from Mexico." Reeves''s team listened to the audio transmission directly from the speakers without the need of the translation software... "Zinga, it has been almost a month there, how are things over there?" Li Chi inquired and Zinga immediately griped, "those white fuckers are a bunch of troublemaking idiots who can''t take orders¡ªespecially dis Jensen asshole... "By the way, how is the Preacher doing?" "It''s 50-50¡ªnot so good, he will go into another surgery tomorrow because his wounds are infected...the doctors here are more like a bunch of fucking veterinarians," the Chinese filled in the status from across the border. "Will he make it, Mon?" Busta''s voice then said back. "I don''t know, he is in terrible shape; most probably he will not." The reply from the Li Chi made everyone throes in silence in the cabin. Zinga slowly responded again... "Then what do we do here? Hajja called last week and told us to lie low and keep on with di training here at the lake." "I think before the Preacher dies, it is best for you all to return back to camp." The Chinese suggested. He had new gameplay to implement for the next fundraiser; even though his recalcitrant call may defy Hajja''s mandate... "What about di training here to take Cory out at di Los Angeles fundraiser?" The Jamaican leader questioned out of curiosity, after hearing the new edict... "It looks like Cory has postponed all her election campaigns dates with the current city riots happening everywhere¡ªand it is pointless to remain at the lake because no one knows when she will resuming her elections plans again in California; it will probably be weeks or months from now on." The plan brought bliss to the four black Intersexuals¡ªnow they can return back to civilization, and have their regular dosage of weed, booze and sex¡ªSimilarly, Joe was rejoicing at the lake-house. He too was bored at the placid life at the lake¡ªespecially when the food sucks. In the midst of the exultant Jamaicans, Zinga spoke up again to Li Chi... "Yo Mon, so I will go and tell dis news to Jensen that we are returning back to Hajja?" "Listen here Zinga, if he finds out, Jensen will definitely find a way to escape. They are all just a bunch of liabilities to our future cause¡ªit is for the best that you kill Jensen and the rest of those white fuckers¡ªand you dump them over there¡ªyou go do that tonight before you all return back to Hajja tomorrow morning; that is the order for now! "In the meantime, I will activate Wu Leong''s cell group in San Francisco. If there was a fundraiser coming up next in LA¡ªthen, Wu Leong is our best candidate to execute it. "He will take out the Snake-woman for us this time." * Troy slammed the laptop lid down heatedly and he cursed at the unwarranted discovery; Reeves observed that all of the members in his team were in a state of panic and were all speaking at the same time in nervous din voices. Troy expressed back to the ungrateful news... "Goddammit! This is not what I signed up for¡ªsince when do we kill each other after the entire Preacher''s effort was to unite us all together as one army?" "That fucking Ching-Chong Leach¡ªI will shoot the fucker if he was here," Joe was also enraged. True Bob uttered, "we need to work something fast¡ªwe don''t know when those darkies will hit us later tonight!" Reeves gestured them with open arms to get their attention... "Okay-okay guys, settle down! Sit, we have to discuss a strategy on how we are going to stay alive rather than panic." But Joe still panicked, interrupted him in high pitch trepidation voice, "Reeves, you are a sniper¡ªyou can take them all out," he said while they all seated down at the dining table with the two seated skeletal Howdys. True Bob who seems agitated and he picked on Joe. "What dumb shit is that fat bug¡ªwhen Reeves hits one guy, do you expect the next darkie to sit still and say, ''Me next, please''?" Troy burst in laughter, even though he seemed tensed, "fuck that! I noticed since they ran outta weed¡ªthey are looking sharper now compared to when we first arrived here a month ago." "Yeah, they can hunt and bring down an entire moose for dinner and yes¡ªthey are fucking good with their weapons too when compared to most of us. We are also no match to their guerrilla warfare attacks if we were to confront the blackies later, especially at night," the bad eye-sighted Bob seconded in agreement to Troy. Reeves understood that True Bob was implying to his own lacking of killer instincts to even kill for their food for their table. He turned to notice Joe whom he knew since his schooling days; the pusillanimous redhead was having with the looks of crippled calamity like he once had while facing the stumbling wall at Wesleyan during their escape, with police snipers targeting their rifle-scopes at them from the rooftops. Joe clasped the skeletal hand of Mrs Howdy for security... Reeves started thinking out loud... "What about the case of Capt. Howdy''s moonshine that we found in the basement¡ªthat hooch is really strong and if we offer it to them. We can get them drunk." Joe disregarded the thought... Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "That was the reason we agreed not to give it to them in the first place before, remember? What if they get violent after they are drunk? That shit in the basement is a total time-bomb, even we don''t dare drink it ourselves." Reeves ignored Joe''s alleged reasoning¡ªhe kind of agreed to his own idea... "Yeah, but if we give the moonshine to them some way¡ªwe will surely have an advantage, what you think, Bob?" True Bob adjoined after a pause... "Fatty is right here, they will get violent¡ªbut that will work even better to our benefit if we used the alcohol and spike it with the Hoasca." Now the chatty Joe was baffled. "The-whore-ask-what-car? What the fuck you talkin'' about, Chiefo?" Reeves straightaway remembered of the scheme True Bob had in mind when he was unearthing the shrub at the ridge a couple of days ago. "Are you sure about that, Bob; will it work?" Troy who was equally lost, he spoke up next... "Whoa, hold on, wait for a sec, Reeves¡ªwhat is going on here?" "Bob found this herb called Ayahuasca the other day which can cause severe hallucination," Reeves clarified to the others before reconfirming again with Bob... "Is it as good as the weed that these fuckers smoke up?" "Much stronger, and they will be in the state of helpless and will be crawling on the ground¡ªthen all we have to do is walk up from behind them and..." True Bob made his hand like a pistol and clicked his tongue, "...tock!" "Yeah-yeah, a very sexy idea, guys¡ªbut how on earth are we gonna convince them to drink it?" Troy was now apprehensive. True Bob patted Joe''s shoulder and poked him... "Big Joe here can go over and deliver them the case of the booze and make a trade¡ªhe has an eye on the spit-roast that they are having." "Fuck you Chief, I just lost my appetite, man¡ªand I rather eat fish if I were to die tonight like the Preacher," the tantalized red-haired youth retorted; they all were laughing nervously at his cowardice at the table... That internally reflected their own similar tantamount of fears of dying tonight. "I will go then," the spirited Reeves grinned. Joe contested the idea. "Are you''re crazy, man? Zinga hates you the most!" "All the better¡ªI will go over and make peace with Zinga because I have been pissing him off lately by not training for the past couple of days." Everyone was speechless and looked at each other''s expression until the maverick Reeves looked at the half-Cherokee... "Bob, go now and prepare that booze. We are gonna have a party tonight." ** True Bob was keeping a lookout from the kitchen window¡ªthe four Jamaicans were feasting on the meat roast on the spit outside their cabin¡ªthe meat that could have been theirs if only Reeves had taken a shot at Bambi. At the exterior to their own backdoor, there was a pot over the slow-burning wood¡ªthe Ayahuasca leaves and vine were brewing in it. Reeves watched Troy taking some medicine for his headaches. "So what are your plans, Reeves¡ªyou will be going off to LA tonight to find Mimi Jensen?" Reeves nodded. After another brief discussion earlier, the four of them unanimity were in agreement of deciding to call off the hit on Cory in LA¡ªand it was best that they all will concord to go their own separate ways, and live their lives as free-males... "Isn''t your mother''s name Laura?" Joe jumped into their chat, Reeves nodded to him before continuing his conversation with Troy Norton... "How about you; where are you heading off to, Troy?" "Chief and I are both are going the same direction. He is off to the Cherokee Reservations village in North Dakota and I will then take off from there to my sister''s place in Chicago." There was some sadness in Reeves that he will be departing with his close friends from Tombscradle, just like the moment he went through with Marlin before they went their separate ways from the Mojave Desert. Troy too felt the same wistfulness, saying farewells were always hard¡ªhe looked at the secluded fat guy beside him... "What about you, Big Joe? Where are you going? MacDonald''s-land?" Joe was clueless and was tongue-tied... "I-I-I am tagging along with you, right Reeves?" Reeves smiled and nodded to the red-haired buddy''s vagary. The brazen Joe then started to swank loudly to Troy with vaunts... "We made a pact back then when at Wesleyan that we are gonna stick together to find his mother, yeah man¡ªand the time is finally here!" Reeves smiled politely to Joe''s imaginary concordat while he recalled backed-off Joe''s reluctance to run away from Wesleyan some years ago because he strongly believed they were all orphans who have no place in ''civilization.'' Reeves in return did not abandon him when he had the chance to escape alone at the Wesleyan wall because Joe was the closest person as a brother to him, just like the Preacher with his monks. The ''alone-time'' on the prison bleachers also had taught him to be venial to all of Joe''s annoying flaws and mistakes he had committed in the past. But it has always been Joe since day one¡ªhearing to all of his ''escape plans'' in Wesleyan University; wishing and hoping that the both of them can escape, and together they make it out there and find Laura Jensen. That was also why Reeves has been focused to be out in the road ever since they broke out of prison¡ªto taste his libertarian freedom as a free-male that he had reveries while looking out above from the Wesleyan campus wall. That was the reasons why he had rejected the offer of the Caucasians leadership position as Doran''s general to lead the white rebels in the Council of 13 nor he was too keen to be a sniper for them¡ªhe also hated taking orders and was even worse in giving any too. He just did not want any of those obligations but instead longed the freedom for himself¡ªand now, with Joe... Joe, on the other hand, has his medical problems with his ADHD¡ªhe has been off his meds since his ''med-line'' in Tombscradle¡ªand he cannot control his puerile ''bug'' behaviour which had worsened with his association with his other classmates in TC. The borderline ''illing'' condition he is in, he cannot make it alone out in the real world¡ªJoe was also getting too callous in his actions and maybe dangerous¡ªhe was given a pistol for self-defence which he nearly used and nearly blew Spooky Kujo''s brains out the other day at the lake. Reeves needed to be there to control Joe, and it was now his responsibility to do so... His mind was on overdrive all the thinking and possibilities, and making those last-minute decisions of dealing with the present death risks before hitting the road later tonight. ** A couple of hours later, everyone gathered near the kitchen sink, witnessing True Bob carefully pouring the psychoactive potion into one of the grey moonshine clay jars. He then sealed the cork and placed the jar in a small wooden crate of six single gallon jars. True Bob turned towards Reeves. "I only have enough Hoasca to only spike 3 jars¡ªso Reeves, you wanna give them the whole case?" Reeves thought for a second, "hmm, yeah, we give them all the 6 jars." Joe countered immediately, "but Reeves, what if they drink the moonshine that is not spiked¡ªthen we are fucked, am I right, guys?" No one could justify that except Reeves... "No worries¡ªI will find a way." Reeves noticed some moonshine in a bowl that was removed from the jars so the Hoasca was substituted, he asked. "Is this hooch?" True Bob nodded, thinking Reeves wanted some to calm his nerves and mantle his courage, "one for the road, partner?" Reeves instead splashed the moonshine on to his shirt and dapped some on his neck. He then picked up the small wooden case and walked to the front door while everyone followed him. The caitiff Joe was now worried-sick and he reached and gripped his buddy''s arm... "Don''t go, Reeves! There are four of them out there, this is suicide! At least, tell us what is your play, man?" "Okay¡ªonce I am out there, I just want to be a complete goof-ball like you, Fat-boy!" They were all puzzled by his reply, the team now observed the chuckling enigmatic Reeves walking out alone into the dark towards the Jamaican campfire; in temerity for an ado-fuss with his death... He has a pistol tugged at his back. * He gazed at the pale full moon above him that was swathed by clouds when he headed towards the Jamaican campfire in the darkness. They lazed around on the sand, jousting out aloud until Busta saw a wraith silhouetted figure approaching¡ªand he alerted the rest around him... "Hey, see there¡ªsomeone is approaching!" All of them stood up transfixed into the gloom with their guns pointed up at the stature walking unsteadily before they heard a familiar laughing vivacious voice calling out... "Hey Mon! Hey Monnn... don''t shoot me, yo, you motherfuckers!" "It is Jensen¡ªwhat dat white damn shit wants?" uttered Kujo in surprise when they saw a transfigured dusky visual of Reeves stepping into the campfire luminosity. "Jensen, dat is far enough," Zinga voiced out and seeing him trying to sit on a boulder nearby but slipped sideways; Reeves was knockdown on to his butt in his drunken thespian act while he hugged the case of jars closely to his chest like he was cradling a child. "Guess what we found, Mon¡ªbooze¡ªwe are having a fucking party over there and I thought why not share some of this good piss with you guys¡ªain''t we, not the God''s Army, am I right, fellers ?" he slurred and he chuckled. "You are drunk Jensen!" Zinga indicted but the sportive Reeves responded back. "Nope, I will be once we all start celebrating together." Zinga was not swayed and he still held bitterness. "I don''t trust you, Jensen¡ªyou have been the biggest asshole ever since we got here." "That why I wanna make it up to you guys, okay? Yeah, I swear and I agree that I''ve been a dick and all¡ªand I did not show up for target practice, right? So I promise, yeah, if can wake up in the morning, I will come and practice," Reeves said and picked one of the un-spiked jars by its ear handle... "Come, let celebrate. Mon!" Reeves bit off the cork off¡ªand uttered more tantalizing babble... "Very soon we will celebrate bigger success when we kill the fuckin'' Snake-woman." He stumbled backwards and accidentally hurtled the clay jar on the boulder and it broke¡ªand that made Vishon laugh out at him, and Reeves joined the laughter... "Oops! The party has not begun and I am blotto." He picked up the second jar and uncorked it... "Zinga, dis whitie is trying to poison us?" the tempestuous Busta spoke up with his eyes widen, pointing his pistol. "Don''t trust him!" said the Jamaican whom Reeves saved from the cougar attack two days earlier... Reeves laughed again when he heard the accusation¡ªhe has to prove to them to get his specious act to work. "Hey okay, I will drink it, now what shall we drink to, Mon?" Reeves sway unsteadily and nattering in wry... "Let''s drink to that kill the Snake-woman before she turns into a dragon." Reeves choked while he took a mouthful of strong moonshine¡ªthe piquant tang shot up to flare his nostrils and flamed up his throat. He instantly spewed out the hooch vomit into the campfire¡ªit emitted fire-spitting flames like a dragon. He was whooping coughs out, and then tossed the jar of hooch high up in the air and pulled his pistol to shoot... His shot was off target, but he remained amused when the jar fell and broke on the ground. "I missed it like a motherfucker, I am drunk, yo. Let me try again." The transfixed Jamaican saw him reaching for the crate, Reeves picked the third un-spiked moonshine jar by its ear¡ªhe tossed it high in the air and shot it in midair. This time the potshot sent it to explode into a blue fireball. The spirited Reeves celebrated with a little crazy jig... "Woo-hoo-hoo, I hit it, Mon. You sure you guys don''t want it? It is fun to target practice at night; it makes blue fucking flames like a shitty blue moon." The wily Reeves next bend to pick the next crock from the crate¡ªwhich was the Hoasca spiked jar¡ªBusta and Kujo looked at Zinga for his consent, Zinga pointed his gun at the idiotically behaved Reeves... "Enough of your shit-face nonsense, Jensen¡ªwe accept di booze¡ªI am ordering you now to get back to di house and sleep it off!" "Okay, Mon, fine, I think I had drunk enough, and I guess I go back now¡ªhey yo, hook me up if you want some more, okay? See you at sunrise, yo Mon, peace out!" Reeves maintained his souse thespian act¡ªknowing for a fact that the nonpareil Jamaican bodyguards were given orders to kill them all tonight. They witnessed Reeves staggering as he walked away from the cabins by the tarn towards the lake-house in the gloomy overcast; he was singing out Marley''s ''No Woman, No Cry.'' The chuckling Jamaicans each unsuspectingly grabbed the last three remaining jars that were spiked with the Ayahuasca¡ªthe hooch was a good wean substitute for their out of stock of weed-smoking urges. They heckled back at Reeve''s bad drunken singing in the dark. Chapter 20 The rest of the guys looked from behind the curtains into the murk¡ªand they spotted the silhouette figure of Reeves returning back alive after his daredevilry attempt to deliver the moonshine to the enemy. When he stepped inside the door, they surrounded him with their weapons in arm. Joe babbled out... "We heard gunshots, what happened?" "That was me shooting," Reeves turned to True Bob with a grin... "They got the 3 spiked jars and they are drinking it now." "Excellent," the chuckling half-breed Indian replied, he started to do his own native jig while the rest of the team wondered if the mysterious herb was as potent as the Chief claimed to be¡ªor else, they are all ''fucked.'' Reeves removed his shirt and smelling it before he tossed it away. He washed up the stench on his body at the kitchen sink, looking out the window at the Jamaican campfire... "Joe, pack our gear, we are leaving soon." He glanced with the rest of them looking out of the window of the Jamaicans drinking the spiked moonshine at their campfire. "Bob, what will happen to them now?" "Well, the effect is not immediate but once it hits the bloodstream¡ªthey will either see heaven or hell." * The Jamaicans drank away at the campfire, Kujo invited Vishon... "Mon, dis is strong stuff and it tastes like an awful buffalo piss¡ªhey come, try some, Vishon." The big-haired Jamaican reciprocated... "No Kujo, don''t waste your mountain dew on me coz I will not feel di high¡ªI pass." "No-no, shut up, you must try it, you pooper-childbirth of a Rasta-brother!" Vishon took the clay jar and drank it with disgust, the amused Kujo chuckled away. Nearby, Zinga swigged the moonshine from his jar, pointed at the main house with his machete... "We finish di booze and we go over¡ªdi whities are all now drunk over there like Jensen, and then we do them really bad¡ªthen we throw their chopped off heads into di lake and we go and have a good night sleep after that... "We head back to Hajja''s camp at daybreak." Busta clinked his homebrew jar with Zinga''s for the good favourable air-tight plan¡ªthey both laughed out loud saying that they will be soon leaving this cursed place at the lake for good. * The shirtless Reeves entered into Capt. Howdy''s bedroom and grabbed an empty duffel bag from the top of a cupboard, and he dusted the cobwebs off. He spotted a tandem of Mrs Howdy''s hair wigs and cosmetics on the dressing table¡ªhe threw the miscellany into the bag. * True Bob drank up and dropped the mug into the kitchen sink with his eyes locked outside at the Jamaicans'' campfire¡ªhearing them getting loud at the cabin. Reeves came over to him wearing a corduroy jacket and noticed Bob was in a zombie-like state while he spoke... "The effect will start any time now, they will all be docile soon¡ªnow feel free to leave to Los Angeles, I will take care of the rest" "Are you sure, Bob?" Reeves was troubled about his hasty departure but True Bob remained silent while his mind was slipping further into his kill-zone¡ªhe tugged a pistol into his belt and he picked up his pass¨¦ six gauge Benelli shotgun¡ªand he was loading Foster type shells into the chambers. Reeves felt shoddy that he had disappointed True Bob the most in the team. Bob had taught him most survival skills since their Tombscradle days and right up to their present whereabouts at Lake Huntington¡ªthe half Cherokee had been the most supportive, and he even believed that Reeves will be the one who will someday assassinate Cory to end her supremacy reign of power... But tonight, Reeves has abandoned the mission¡ªand he was the first to be leaving the group to go his separate way... "There are four of them¡ªdo you want backup?" Reeves offered help but the sullen half-Cherokee snubbed back instead of in fleering laughter... "No thank you, I can take it from here. We are not going out there to shoot a fucking Bambi¡ªI think I can do it on my own by wasting those stoned groids bastards sitting out there¡ªbut not you, Reeves¡ªyou can''t do it because your heart is still soft." Reeves sighed inwards before reaching his hand out to squeeze Bob''s shoulder¡ªhe felt that True Bob had somehow seen right through into him, and knew the fact that the real Reeves was more of a pacifist¡ªit was just like how he told off the Preacher at the desert that he wanted no part in any more killing¡ªand it was time for him to be more of his libertarian-self and move on, and focus instead on finding his mother, Laura Jensen. "See you, Bob...thanks for everything, bro." He looked at True Bob opening the backdoor and stride into the shadows, bidding his farewell in the dark.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "Be safe out there, Reeves Jensen¡ªand take care of the fat-fuck, although he was such a lousy customer." Earlier, True Bob has volunteered to extricate the team''s freedom for all¡ªReeves recalled back again of the temerity of True Bob''s first kill¡ªchasing after Headbull Anderson before blowing her brains away, crying out to all, ''One bullet, one bitch." Now there will be four more body counts out there tonight. Reeves paced towards the front door where Troy and Joe were in the porch, both saying goodbyes to each. Troy gave a GPS device to Joe that he had hacked¡ªso that it will give safe passage for the Mustang to avoiding roadblocks ahead. "Here you go, I have set it to the Cedar-Sinai Medical Center as the final destination in LA." Troy Norton turned around and hugged Reeves; departing after their five over years of friendship since TC. "Thanks for everything, Troy." "The pleasure is all mine and it was a great honour serving you, Commander Reeves. Now go find Mimi Jensen and drop me a postcard once you all get to Canada," Troy responded with laughter while he wiped a tear with his back of his fist. "You too Troy, and be safe out there with Bob, bro." Reeves sank into the passenger side seat of the Mustang with heavy despondency. * The half-Cherokee walked alone under the clear full moon with night clouds passing away, True Bob chanted a prayer and in his Native language to the spirit world¡ªseeking for guidance and for his safety. He has bad eyesight, especially in the dark¡ªin his blurry perception ahead, he witnessed the effect of the Hoasca on the ternary of the Jamaicans at the campfire... Kujo was crying, standing naked while he was masturbating his elongated phallic. The swarthy Zinga stood zombie-like, transfixed at the three floatplanes in the dark nebula lake as he held the stake with the remaining moose meat leg attached on¡ªhe bit chunks off the fleshy roasted meat to the bone and spat it into the campfire. Busta was talking in his native Patois to the empty moonshine jar that he held¡ªand kept hitting it on his forehead and was cursing the name of his father... Two Bob realized that one of black Jamaican was missing¡ªthe one with the biggest blond hairdo among the four, that looked like a ferocious male lion that was vigilant to kill. Bob trained the Benelli shotgun around into the dark surroundings before turning and stepping forward towards the cabin''s closed-door... * Reeves stretched his neck back for a final peek at the campfire while Joe drove a bit before he switched on the headlight of the Mustang onto the dark gravel path. He heard Reeves was disclosing his troubles... "I don''t feel right with True Bob going in all alone." Joe appeased back, "no Reeves, let him at it¡ªthe Chief knows what he is doing. I saw him looked very weird a moment ago like he was fucking possessed." "Yeah, I saw that in his eyes too; he may have taken the Ayahuasca for his own courage¡ªso to go out there to kill them all," Reeves substantiated. "I am glad we are going away now, bro because I can''t bear to see any more killing¡ªI have seen enough death for a lifetime in TC¡ªespecially what those fuckin'' Jamaicans did on Capt. Olsen¡ªthat Swastika bit under that ceiling fan using her chopped off hands and legs¡ªthat was really horrid and a total nightmare." Reeves too remembered a similar horrid like the image of the nefarious grinning Busta inflicting slow vivisection by sadistically slitting up the throat of Nurse Heller in the prison projector room¡ªReese also thought back to all the death that he too had seen and had committed in the name of liberty to survive in the Preacher''s prison uprising... He now felt really sick inside. * Bob put his boot hard on the cabin door and he charged in after the kick-in¡ªhe pointed the shotgun around to find it empty. He stepped out in search for the swarthy subterfuge Negro¡ªhe paced a few steps out of the cabin and resumed his searching in the dark. The three deliriously drugged Jamaicans were ahead¡ªcaged into their abstract cerebral fantasies... The half-Cherokee raised up the shotgun¡ªdeciding to kill the docile mentally displaced trio first... The volant Vishon leapt down from the other cabin''s roof onto True Bob''s back¡ªthey both were rolling on the sand, knocking off the Benelli from his hand as they both tussled and struggled when they sparred. The bigger framed Bob pulled out his pistol next from his belt but once again the Jamaican skillfully writhes and wrested to disarm the weapon. They both were on their feet, ready to engage in unarmed combat. Vishon who was trained in Brazilian Capoeira martial art discipline¡ªhe performed the fluid Ginga-move while he circled around the twice thwarted half-Cherokee; humming out the tune of the berimbau-instrument to psyche True Bob out... Vishon released a skilful series of quick lightning ''rasteira'' leg sweeps¡ªand he floored the challenger on his back, while still dancing around on the move, he was chuckling back... "Not tonight, John Wayne!" Two Bob pulled out his trusted bow knife¡ªhis final weapon in hand for his final assault; seeing the grinning dusky opponent with the big lion-like dreadlocks slipped on his own weapon of choice¡ªa brass knuckle-duster... He got up on his feet and again stepped up and faced the underrated Vishon¡ªthe sober Intersexual who cannot be inebriated by alcohol nor drugs. The Jamaican was still looking sharp on his toes. True Bob lunged forward taurine-like in his attempt to slash and stab the nimble moving adversary who steered clear from the blade¡ªthe black finally closed in to land a ''tesouras'' knee-strike into True Bob''s chest that reeled him back in twinge... The Jamaican moved in fast and brass-knuckled True Bob in the cheek that speckled out blood¡ªthe half-Cherokee dropped on his knees and Vishon struck the brass again into his temple which knocked the haemorrhaging True Bob out unconscious. Vishon did not finish him off with a kill¡ªbut instead, he begins to tie the half Cherokee Indian up¡ªhe needed hostages after sighting the red Mustang taking off a few minutes ago; just as how Zinga always said to them to be always alert¡ªbecause Reeves Jensen was the cunning escape-artist sort among the whities. ** A bucket of water was splashed on Zinga''s face, with Vishon hollering his name up close. "Can you hear me, Mon?" "Busta," the leader looked at him in a daze; Vishon corrected him... "No, I am not Busta, it is Vishon! Hear dis, Mon¡ªJensen has escaped." "No it can''t be¡ªhis singing head is thrown into di lake towards the giant in di water." "No Zinga, he is not dead yet! Their car is gone¡ªhe has escaped!" "We must ask di giant...Busta is over there too, I ordered him to throw di singing head to di giant," responded Zinga who cannot seem to notice that Busta who was seated nearby them, talking to the empty moonshine jar... Vishon looked terrified that his three comrades who all possess the deep looks of death inside their haunted eyes. Vishon was both thwarted and aggravated at the moment. He hurriedly left the trio behind¡ªrunning towards the lake-house with a vengeance... ** Troy Norton was packing both his and True Bob''s gear up before they hit the road¡ªhe was mentally anticipating the Chief''s gunshot blasts but he had not heard any firing yet... Troy fell trashing next on the furniture ahead when the Jamaican surprise attacked him from the rear¡ªbut Troy lunged back as he kept trying to tensile his reach for his rifle. Vishon head-locked him from the back¡ªand he plugged in his two fingers into Troy''s nostrils, hooking it upwards as he yelled into his ear... "Where dis Jensen has gone to, you motherfucker?" "Arrr¡ªfuck you, groid..." Vishon used Two Bob''s bow knife tip and scourged up Troy''s chest¡ªhe screamed out and flinched in distress with crimson pearls of blood droplets trickling on the wooden floor... "Tell me now!" Chapter 21 JOE DROVE on a lonely highway, he kept on glancing at the GPS, anticipating for the female recorded-voice to alert in case there were any police roadblocks ahead. Reeves was in the passenger''s seat, fast asleep¡ªhe was mumbling gibberish in his sleep and his teeth were grinding... Some of the choking moonshines that he had swallowed earlier in his dragon-fire act at the campfire has taken some inebriated effect... * Reeves was in a dream-state, back at Wesleyan University¡ªbut this time, he was in his present age of eighteen. He was walking down the University corridor taking a swig from a jar of moonshine in his hand, seeing the despised Science assignment papers on Marie Curie scattered along the floor¡ªhe spat out the booze and he flamed out like a Godzilla¡ªburning the trail of papers. He then noticed there were red dots beamed on his body, he peeked out the broken French window and saw policewomen on the roof, aiming their sniper rifles straight at him ''Snipers!'' The grey jar of the poteen slipped off his fingers, dropped down and shattered on the floor when he tried to run... "You will not escape this time, boy!" he heard Farrah the obese Wesleyan black security guard behind him; she pinned his pint-sized frame down. The big woman grabbed and slipped a straitjacket over his overpowered body before securing the harness. Reeves thrashed about and he managed to head-butt the fat woman''s jaw before he broke free¡ªand he dashed towards an exit door¡ªhe kept running into a maze of repeating multiple doors until he finally ended in a dark room with a light shining down in the centre of the floor... He ran up alone, aimlessly in the constrained jacket towards the light¡ªhe saw a sex doll illuminated in the middle of the room with legs apart...Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The iniquitous Agent Wolfe surprised him and jumped on him from his back¡ªshe pinning the straitjacketed youth down to the floor again. Reeves was then thrown on top of the synthetic doll which came to life¡ªthe nymphomaniac doll locked its knees on Reeves''s pelvis when it then moved on top and it straddled on him¡ªit began to caress him roughly in an arousal and provocation hardcore manner¡ªReeves in the jacket below yanked his face away from the doll''s eight inched flicking tongue... Reeves saw another door at the far end, it was opening¡ªhe broke free off from synthetic nymphet and he hastened towards the door¡ªhe spotted Kiki-boy behind the entrance, crying out to him... "Reeves, quick this way!" Agent Agatha Wolfe pulled out her pistol, aiming at the escaping Reeves. Below at the agent''s feet, the naked doll''s face has transformed into Cory''s heinous visage¡ªand spat fire out like a dragon. Reeves was almost reaching the door when the grinning deceitful Kiki-boy slammed it close on his face, laughing out crazy... "Fuck you, Eve!" Reeves was in deep anguish, he kept slamming his body at the door desperately. Wolfe then shot him several times from the back, Reeves crumbled down. The Cory-doll came running on its fours like a mutt towards the fallen Reeves who was fastened in the straitjacket as he laid dying from the gunshots. The Cory beast''s hot breath of hysterical laughing was now tepid on his face... * Reeves awoke and gasped hard in a cold sweat after Joe jolted him off from his bruxism and nightmares, "you okay dude?" Reeves was still in-between both worlds when he responded back to Joe, "huh, yeah..." He was taking some time to compose himself off the lurid bad dreams that have his heartbeats still drumming. He saw the Mustang''s streaking headlights into the dark desert road ahead... "How far away are we now, Joe?" "We are halfway there, bro; now go back to sleep." Reeves was too afraid to close his eyes again¡ªafter feeling he had foreshadowed facing his own portent death a moment ago... ** Roberta disembarked at the LAX Airport, dressed in her civilian black bomber-leather jacket. She walked up to a uniformed elite soldier who saluted before passing her the key to a parked car outside. The arriving Capt. Roberta Jensen from Washington nodded to the e-SWAT trooper from Los Angeles PD before stepping into the vehicle and she drove away into the night to the Cedar-Sinai Medical Center. Chapter 22 VISHON HAD has connected Li Chi in Mexico through the communication laptop¡ªand the Chinese was furious... "Jensen had escaped? He was supposed to die tonight!" Vishon compensated. "Yes General Li Chi, he has now run off to LA¡ªbut I manage to take two of his team members as hostages." The remnant counterparts of the Reeve''s team¡ªTroy and True Bob were both cataleptics in tether, tied on the posts outside the cabin''s porch. "Where is Zinga?" "He along with di rest are possessed by dis white-man''s voodoo¡ªsee dis for yourself, Mon." Vishon turned the webcam of the laptop, and Li Chi saw the Jamaican leader and the rest were all docile and in weird states... Busta was talking to the moonshine jar in his hand while Kujo was skittish, crying to everyone near him, saying out that his penis was missing. Zinga was staring blankly at the black lake from the cabin window¡ªseeing the naked woman¡ªThe Lady of the Lake was dancing on the water surface while the giant submerged chest-deep in the water, smiling pleased at the dancer. Reeves'' severed head that was placed at the lakeshore¡ªand it was singing an off-tuned verse of ''No Woman, No Cry.'' Li Chi suspected that they were under the stimulus of some kind of mind-altering substances abuse¡ªand he kept on debunking Vishon''s voodoo superstitious explanations. The Chinese then asked of Reeves Jensen''s whereabouts after the Jamaican''s interrogation; Vishon replied...Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Yes, after I beat di shit out on one of his people; he confessed dis Jensen has gone to rescue a woman in a hospital in LA." "Fuck! If the authorities find that we are responsible for any attacks at that hospital, they will definitely beef up tighter security and will also increase the roadblocks in California¡ªand that will make it difficult to our access if ever Cory holds her future fundraiser over there." Li Chi rationalized by foreseeing his other cell-group led by Wu Leong who was to implement their forthcoming strike. "Soldier, you take the lead now¡ªyou must go and stop Jensen at all cost in LA¡ªleave now!" The Chinese reinstated orders to the susceptible low ranked foot-soldier Vishon to head the deserters'' assassination mission. ** Wu Leong was eating at a noodle shop with a few of his triad Intersexual members at the streets of Chinatown in San Francisco. His cell phone buzzed and he got a video-feed with Li Chi speaking in Chinese... "Jensen has deserted from the operation¡ªI have reactivated your cell-group¡ªbe prepared! "You will now proceed in taking the Snake-woman out in LA!" ** At the backseat of the SUV were the three wide-eyed stoned surviving Jamaicans. The now acting new-leader, Vishon yanked Troy forward, whose tied up wrists were bounded to his back; Vishon sat him in the passenger seat before slamming the car''s door shut. Vishon got into the driver''s seat and pointed a gun at the weakened Troy Norton who was still shedding blood after from the laceration tortures made on his chest... "You are going to guide me to dis hospital, Mon¡ªif you trick me, first, I shoot di John Wayne in di head; and then shoot you at every joint in your body until you scream to beg for your own quick death, do you fucking understand?" The SUV drove away from the misty lakes¡ªthe other hostage, the bleeding True Bob was tied up at the back in the baggage compartment of the vehicle was out cold. Their Range Rover SUV was now forty-five minutes behind the Mustang. Chapter 23 THE RED Mustang GT cruised inside the open car park compound of the Cedar-Sinai Medical Center. Reeves scrutinized over at the two security guards who were patrolling in the compound in that slight drizzling night¡ªand further down, he spotted a few more armed guards at the main door entrance. Joe spoke up, "should we park in or out?" Reeves looked above at the thunder rumbling in the inclement skies. "Let''s park in." The car passed into an underground car park. The Wesleyan duo then headed to the elevator. Reeves was carrying an old duffel bag. They both got off the elevator, Reeves spotted an electronic clock in the hospital ER lobby, displaying its digital numbers¡ª9:57 p.m. The two slovenly dressed Intersexuals walked among the busy stream of civilians, staff and security officers in the emergency area. Reeves reminded his accomplice buddy. "Joe, don''t be jumpy, just act normal¡ªwe gotta now find where the coma wards are." "Let''s ask the reception," Joe responded nonchalantly, turning over and looking at the pretty nurses passing. "Bad idea, it is now after visiting hours and it will arouse suspicion." Reeves pointed at the CCTV camera above... "We have to avoid that too." It was just like he how had done many times in the past at the old wing of Wesleyan¡ªto reach the old wall undetected to come to his secret place¡ªso to be alone to do his thinking. ** They both wandered outside the nurses'' locker room, Reeves noticed two laundry trolleys¡ªa group of female nurses dropped their dirty uniform into it after their ward duties¡ªthey were now wearing their civilian clothing on their way home. Reeves pushed one of the trolleys into a maintenance storeroom while Joe kept a look-out... Inside the broom closet, Reeves rummage into the uniforms bin. "Joe, quick now find something your size." The red-haired youth vacillated. "You got to be kidding me, I got to fucking wear those? Why?" "Just do it, Joe¡ªand be fast!" Joe picked a nurse''s uniform and sniffed it in disgust, making funny faces. "Even their sweat smells like medicine." Reeves was now dressed as a nurse and turned to Joe who fitted into one. "It is tight, Reeves. I can''t find my size, is it okay? I feel my man-boobs are showing, dude." The red-headed was being over-conscious, and it nettled Reeves... "It is fine¡ªjust hurry up, man!" Reeves unzipped the old duffel bag and pulled out Mrs Howdy''s wigs and tossed one towards Joe. "You be the brunette." The dark-haired Reeves placed on a blond wig on his crown and tied it back into a ponytail like how Marlin does. Joe who was observing him, he started tantalizing... "Damn bitch, you look hot, Eve¡ªcome over and swish around a little for me!" "Fuck you!" ** A moment later, the broom closet door opened with Joe peeked out. The two Intersexuals posed as female nurses stepped out and blended among the crowd in the lobby; Reeves and Joe wore light cosmetic makeup to make their Intersexual faces presentable. Unsuspicious to the crowd, the duo then secretly disappeared behind a fire escape door, heading one floor up into and reached the administration department. The floor was deserted and dark after office hours. They explore the corridor and saw a lighted office room, read an engraved sign was on the door¡ª''night auditor.'' An older woman was working alone on a laptop in the office room. Both the Wesleyans were crouching outside and Reeves whispered instructions to Joe, "stay here and you be quiet..." After Reeves left, Joe the ''bug'' spotted a snack vending machine and he crept over to it... Reeves sneaked inside from the door and he rushed and struck the woman''s neck; she dropped sprawled on the floor. Joe then entered the room with a with half-peeled wrapper candy bar protruding off his mouth. Immediately, Reeves searched into the woman''s laptop... "Joe, tie her up!" Joe lifted both her woman''s legs and dragged her away like a horse-cart¡ªthe one-piece dress that the cataleptic woman wore peeled off her body from the opposite friction of the flooring carpet¡ªended up with the night auditor now in her underclothing. Joe began chuckling out at his own unanticipated antics and Reeves turned to shush him. Joe spotted his whimsical effort with the half-naked woman behind, he laughed aloud... "Bro, check out the MILF!" "Joe, what the fuck are you doing?" Reeves regretted bringing his infantile buddy along; who was someone who cannot follow simple instructions¡ªhe regretted for not leaving Joe behind the wheels of the Mustang alone in the car park basement¡ªany fuckups at this point may get both of them either captured or killed... Joe then ripped the woman''s dress into shreds with office scissors and he used the strips of the clothing, he bounded her arms and feet and also gagged her. Reeves finally stumbled upon the hospital floor plan on the laptop... He located the coma ward which was on the eighth floor... * In one of the private wardrooms on the 8th floor, Roberta sat beside her sister. She was testing the tracker transmitter in the Mimi pendent¡ªthe transponder beeped with a static ''green dot'' on the tiny screen. Roberta stood up and kissed Laura''s forehead and left the isolated coma ward. * Reeves and Joe stepped out an elevator on the eighth floor and walked past the hospice that shared the same floor with the coma wards. He noticed something was not right with Joe''s ambulatory movement beside him. "Hey, stop walking like a Sasquatch! Walk normal, will you?" "How do I walk like a chic, dude¡ªmy nuts are getting in the way?" Reeves looked up and noticed some staff coming over from the opposite direction¡ªhe mumbled some precaution so that Joe will not act whimsically which can blow their cover... "There are some people coming, Joe¡ªjust act normal for once, please..." Two women doctors were reaching¡ªthey passed by and saw Joe walking with a sway like of a catwalk model in the flesh-tight uniform. A butch doctor turned back, blew a wolf whistle and said. "She is quite a big girl," before the doctors both laughed. Nearing the corner of the hall, the vexed Reeves punched Joe''s arm... "Ouch! Hey!" "Stop with your overacting, you moron! You are drawing attention, and we will get busted!" He had given him black eyes on a few occasions in the past¡ªbut was controlling himself from not strike the fat glib today¡ªhe has to stay focused for both of them... * Roberta Jensen stepped into a waiting elevator that took her down to the lower ground¡ªwhile the door closed, Reeves and Joe came from the bend into the coma patient ward. Joe asked in levity... "What are we looking for, bro?" "Any woman, aged between her late 20''s or maybe 30''s who goes by the first name of either Laura or Mimi Jensen in their bedside file?" "Why Mimi?" That was the same name again that he had heard in Reeves'' conversation earlier with Troy¡ªbut Joe did not get an answer than when he asked about it at the lake-house... Joe knew that Reeves had become a private person the moment the Wesleyan boys ended up in Tombscradle¡ªever since their schism, they both then lived separate lives and their friendship further strained while in prison. Reeves does not share information as he used to from the old days in school¡ªeven at the lake-house, he felt Reeves has still held mistrust and shown some resentments on him for not agreeing in the past for not escaping from the University. Reeves was getting tensed at that moment but finally, he shared the details with Joe with some irritation¡ªrecalling the mnemonics he had to employ to remember details when he was admitted for chicken-pox... "Yeah, I too first heard that from the nurses mentioning that name Mimi in the infirmary in Tombscradle¡ªand when Troy hacked the database in the Washington hospital, he found out that Laura was now registered as Mimi Jensen who was then transferred for some treatment here in LA¡ªnow, don''t ask me why that name, I seriously don''t know... "Now will you just shut the fuck up and follow me!" They opened the first coma wardroom door; it was a woman in her sixties. Joe peeked over Reeves'' shoulder and he went back to his normal flippant self and he bantered with drivels. "Could your grandma be in a coma too?" "Just wait and see, you fat-ass; someday when we go searching for your own family members, I will have the last laugh then after finding some redneck fucktards-inbreeds who are related to you." He heard Joe retort in hilarity¡ªmentioning the same response he had heard years ago than at the Stuyvesant Hall balcony, facing the Wesleyan University''s wall... "Nah, that can be; have you forgotten, bro¡ªthat I am just an orphan?" * Roberta stood at the lobby gazing out the glass panels at the heavy pelting rainstorm outside at the open car park. She did not want to get wet in the tempest¡ªso she sat at the waiting area in the concourse and picked up a magazine. She glanced up to a loud thunder outside the glassed panels¡ªand then saw the digital clock at the reception area, reminding herself¡ª10:28p.m. She has some time to linger until the rain ceased, before driving back to LAX to check into her flight back to Washington at 1:00 a.m. * The Intersexual duo in the nurses'' uniforms continued to check room by room¡ªthey entered a room of a thirty-year-old coma patient¡ªJoe looked at her name in the flip chart and called out. "It says Denise Baker¡ªlet''s go, man" ¡ªbut Reeves hesitated... "She got dark hair like me¡ªwho knows Mimi Jensen might be registered by that name? We have to be sure before we pass her up..." "Look at her, man, it is not her¡ªshe is too good looking for being a coma salad¡ªlet''s go, Reeves, we got dozens of other rooms to cover." Reeves realized that he was growing to be distrustful of his own instincts¡ªJoe was correct about the woman in front of him¡ªDenise Baker looked like she has recently gone into a coma, while Mimi/Laura have been in a coma for a very long time after a car crash during the Medusa migration; according to her report that Troy dug up... Reeves now felt relieved that daffy Joe''s presence was someway helping him to think straight... * The elevator door opened on the first floor and a female security guard started to do her night rounds on the dark corridor¡ªshe then investigated a muffled sound before she stumbled into the half-naked night auditor being tied up. The guard alerted the control-room on her radio... * Joe opened the next door and saw a black coma patient and resorted to scorn... "Wrong colour¡ªhey, by the way, she looks like our thick lips Zinga, it is probably his sister!" he chuckled aloud and started to put on a nonsensical wigger act... "Hey yo, Boo-sister, you want some ganja?" Joe was laughing hard at his own ersatz accent¡ªand he noticed that Reeves was looking more troubled, and was not amused by his hilarity like he sometimes does... "You okay, Mon?" "Joe, we are approaching the last few rooms; and what if Laura is not in any of them?" Joe tapped the harrowing Reeves''s back. "Let''s look around first¡ªand worry about that later, come on, bro." They open another room door and stepped in; there on the bed was Laura, there isno flip chartby the bed and Joe searched around... "Where is her file, man?" Reeves moved closer to the patient, quietly scrutinizing her sleeping visage. Joe approached the side table and spotted a photo frame of the twelve-year-old Laura and her nine-year-old sister. Joe picked up the frame, and his face lit up into old verisimilitude memories... "She looks just like you when you were in the Wesleyan." Reeve''s eyes have welled with tears... "Yeah...see this, Joe," Reeves held the pendant that was engraved ''Mimi'' on the emaciated patient''s neck... "Yes Joe, this is really my mother." Joe came and bear-hugged Reeves from the back, they both were laughing joyously, looking down at the sleeping Laura Jensen. Joe uttered nonsense while laughing out at the semblance of Reeves'' kindred... "Look at her, man¡ªit is good to know that she is not a spic after all!" At times, Joe unthinkingly blurted out insensible matters that were gossiped among the idle minded Wesleyans in the prison yard who loved to slag¡ªthings like how the white-looking Reeves was segregated from the rest of them as a half-Hispanic in the school gym¡ªand one of their frivolous testosterone-driven sex-topics was on who was his Hispanic parents¡ªand they also bantered about his mother''s alleged sex partners that spawned other ''Mexi-cracker'' like Reeves during the Medusa days. Back then also, the Wesleyans white-gang hated the unjust in Tombscradle with Warden Graves always siding the Latinos faction¡ªso technically, they hated Reeves too¡ªespecially the badmouthing Kiki-boy. * The heavy rain was still pouring hard; Roberta was still in the sitting area, flipping pages of an auto magazine. She glanced up at the clock again¡ª10:51p.m. She had her nicotine urges again despite she just smoked a few minutes ago. There was a tumult up ahead at the ER reception area near the lobby; Roberta spotted a group of guards gathering up and they looked troubled. She dropped the magazine on the couch and went over and intercepted them¡ªflashed her authority badge to the head of the guard and she broached... "What is going on here?" "Sir, someone attacked our night auditor. The security cameras footages showed two nurses have robbed her and they tied her up." Roberta was slightly amused when she heard that, and gave a sequacious order to the uniformed guard. "Unbelievable, the things you people do these days when the economy goes sideways...quick, go and call the local PD now." The off duty e-SWAT captain sighed, and she walked away back to the segregated smoking room and took out her transponder and she switched it on to double-check¡ªafter obediently following the hospital rules of turning off all communication devices while visiting the vicinity¡ªthe small device was now beeped frantically¡ªthe green dot was moving on the display screen, the cigarette fell off her lips... "Oh fuck!" She scurried in panic towards the lobby elevators and hit the up button... * Reeves carted the comatose Laura on a wheelchair in the corridor while Joe who was ahead, and he suppressed the down-button of the elevator... Reeves saw an elevator ascending by the blinking number display above the door... * Roberta''s tracker concocting device was still beeped out when she passed through floors in the moving elevator. She pulled out her trusted .44 Magnum from her black leather jacket and removed the safety. * The two ex-Wesleyans waited for the elevator car on the eighth floor. Reeves nervously looked at the ascending numbers on the display while his quivering fingers stroked Laura''s hair. The car was on the fifth floor and kept soaring¡ªReeves felt not at ease and saw his own hands were now slightly trembling, his gut feeling was alarming hard... ''It is too easy...'' He turned towards Joe... "Let''s not take the elevator." "How then?" Joe glanced at the stationary wheelchair with Laura, and he then heard Reeves shaky voice giving him a new instruction... "We take the stairs!" The fire escape door closed up concurrently with the elevator door gaping open with a ding chime. Roberta rushed out training the hand-cannon around left to right on the eighth floor before dashing into the isolated coma ward corridor¡ªthe cop ran passed as the stairwell emergency door closed completely... * Joe came down ahead with the foldable wheelchair, Reeves followed, cradling Laura in his arms, taking careful steps down the stairs. They have six floors to descend to reach the lobby.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. * Roberta kicked the door open, rushed in with her pointing gun to face her worst awaken nightmare, a gut feeling which she had anticipated since her last career promotion¡ªtoday, she finally conceded the reality of an empty bed with her sister being abducted¡ªshe recalled to something her wife had accused some months ago and calling her being paranoid then. It made her shriek in seismic rage and she kicked the footboard of the bed; Roberta kept peering at the beeping tracking device in her other hand¡ªthe green dot was still moving, Roberta raced out of the room... The abductor had even taken Laura''s photo-frame¡ªleaving no trace of any fingerprints of the perpetrator if they had touched it¡ªbut Roberta felt a sense of respite during that imperil moment that Laura was still alive, and the perpetrator was still moving her around in the vicinity. Roberta needed to be critically temporal to anticipate the situation fast¡ªand get Laura out of harm''s way¡ªbefore obliterating whoever responsible mercilessly... ''Whoever they are¡ªthey are definitely going to die tonight!'' ** A parked Range Rover SUV was dripping wet on the dry floor of the underground car park of Cedar-Sinai Medical Center¡ªVishon dragged the tied up Troy out of the passenger''s door side of the vehicle and he hauled him to the back of the car where the still unconscious True Bob was reclined with a bleeding turgid face in the baggage compartment. Vishon struck Troy insensible with the butt of his pistol and hurled him towards True Bob before shutting the door lock. Vishon noticed that only Zinga and Busta were the ones with their eyes wide open but still locked in their state of mental mirage¡ªwhile the intoxicated Kujo had cried himself the sleep. Vishon opened the passenger''s door towards Zinga and got his attention... "Zinga, come, Mon¡ªwe have to find Jensen!" The Jamaican leader placed his palm on him, feeling Vishon''s big lion-like dreadlocks... "Busta, why is your head so small?" "It is me Vishon. Come, Zinga, take your gun," he placed a sub-machine gun onto his hand¡ªand next he called his other cohort buddy... "You too, Busta, come now!" Zinga was pointing at the rain falling hard outside the building exit... "The Lady of the Lake¡ªshe is here, she followed us here..." * The duo descended to the third floor down the fire stairs, bringing Laura with them. Reeves turned to Joe and saw him panting behind him... The disorientated Roberta rushed out of the elevator at the lobby, holding her gun out which frightened the waiting janitor outside¡ªalmost pulling the trigger on the Latina because she vaguely resembled Javier Munroe-Diaz¡ªthe perpetrator who had raped Laura many years ago... Roberta kept her gun back into her leather jacket; running towards a small group of security guards at the main lobby¡ªshe wanted to see the hospital security CCTV feed at their surveillance room. * Joe came out of the fire escape door and he saw a security woman running pass. Reeves followed him, pushing Laura on a wheelchair in the lobby and they both overheard the security guard calling into her walkie-talkie... "Seal all entrance and elevators especially the car park below." The duo then saw Roberta talking with the head-guard ahead; Reeves heard Joe''s remark... "Oh shit! It is your uncle; we are dead..." Reeves was wheeling the chair, he turned for a sentient peek at Roberta Jensenin person for the first timefrom a safe distance¡ªhe had seen Roberta once in the 9 o''clock news reportsat a hospital bedside interview before she was hailed as the national hero by the media¡ªand also through Kiki-boy''s newspaper in Tombscradle. He now understood better of theinsider-jokes told behind his back by the Wesleyan boys while in Tombscradle¡ªof them calling Roberta as his ''uncle'' who was a butch with a dick-sized clit. Reeves had always refused to believe that he was a kinfolk from that same Jensen family tree despite all the rumours that have spread on¡ªand many other accusations pointed at him since Tombscradle and right up to the Mojave Desert. The circumstance of discovering the truth that now his mother was related to that killer cop was driving Reeves to the current state of trepidation... He has nowhere to run neither from the truth nor safety¡ªhe has come this far out and cannot abandon his well-thought abduction mastermind plannow. He then also thought back of the unsettling dream he had earlier on the journey to LA from the lakes¡ªthe omen of his own death... He glanced unsettled at Joe who was walking in similar consternation beside him, "just act normal, Joe; let''s find the nearest side exit out." Another security guard was seen distributing photocopies to her colleagues¡ªimprints of images of Reeves and Joe in nurses'' uniforms that were captured from the CCTV footage at the admin floor that was on earlier¡ªalso on the flier was the image of the sweet-tooth Joe taken while he was stealing candy bars at the vending machine. * Vishon has now seated the half awaken Kujo into the driver''s side of the SUV, "Kujo, you be here and guard the hostages," he gave him a pistol, "here Mon, hold this¡ªif they try to escape, you kill them." Kujo was still imbibed¡ªhe broke down into tears again... "Find my penis, Vishon¡ªI don''t want to lose my manhood¡ª please find it!" The baffled Vishon nodded back before he led the slavish Zinga and Busta to the car-park building exit. Busta was calm as he fantasized that he was strolling in the banana plantation belonging to his father back in his village in Jamaica ¡ªhe looked up to gaze at the azure blue skies with along-tailed black spiral cloud approaching from above... At the entrance of the sheltered car-park, Vishon looking out at the pouring rain, Zinga was the first to rush out and got himself wet; he was still in deep hallucination and marked a shape of water bodied transparent woman in nude calling him to follow with her hand gesture... Zinga grinned widely before prancing in the rain... "She is here! My woman is here!" The sober Vishon was astounded by his leader''s weird and bleary demeanour ¡ªhe also realized that Busta behind them was afraid of the pouring rain with his apprehensive eyes fixed on the black rain-clouds above. Vishon called out to him... "Busta¡ªcome quick, Mon!" * The duo''s luck thrived and found one deserted exit out from the concourse. They approached it; Joe''s shaking voice bleated out soft cries of guilt and remorse, "of all the sick-fuck jokes I have told, man, I feel really bad and sorry to say that¡ªofall the Jensens in the world¡ªwhy are you related to that bitch-cop over there? That cunt is gonna kill you and me now for taking her sister¡ªmy million dollar question is that is this worth it, man?" Reeves did not know what to reply back to the denunciation¡ªbecause he himself was now in a semi-stoic stateof fight-or-flight. He pushed his mother on the wheelchair towards the exit door; at the same time, his darting eyes searched for a safe passage out of danger... The Wesleyans noticed a lone female security guard outside in the sheltered side-exit that faced the pelting rain from above. Joe passed her, shivering more from fear than of the cold blowing wind. Hewalked into the pouring rain without an umbrella; Reeves followed him¡ªtheir nurses'' uniforms were soaked. The guard was eccentric when seeing the oblivion woman on the wheelchair getting drenched with the two hospital staffs¡ªthen; another guard came hollering at that exit... "It is those 2 nurses¡ªstop them!" Reeves studied the ramp path was sloping downwards¡ªhe let the wheelchair handles go, and it rolled down. He yelled out... "Joe¡ªtake over!" Reeves turned back and he attacked both of the incoming security guards¡ªhis wig was knocked off. The second female guard tried to grab him from the back, the struggle ripped off the Reeves'' nurse uniform top. Reeves brought down both the female guards by slamming their heads hard at the concrete wall. The shirtless Reeves noticed that two more armed guards were running towards him from the rear, firing shots¡ªand he raced towards Joe who was scrambling ahead with Laura''s wheelchair in the pouring rain. Reeves pulled out his pistol from the back of his pants, the guards and Reeves exchanged fire in the downpour. The female guards backed off and took cover from the Intersexuals'' sure hit comeback shots. Joe scurried the wheelchair further into the open car park and heard Reeves'' timbre voice bellowing from behind in the tempest... "Keep going, Joe¡ªI will cover you!" Roberta Jensen heeded to the gunshots blasted outside the lobby, she rushed out into the heavy flurry with her big Magnum pistol in hand¡ªand spotted Reeves and Joe carting Laura away into the open car-park in the windstorm. Roberta open fire¡ªpursued and started shooting in rage at the armed Reeves. * Vishon heard more gunshots up ahead; he turned back to Busta who was still stationary under the shelter of the car park entrance, staring at the dark clouds. The intolerant Vishon yelled at him. "Come now, Mon!" Busta placed a few hesitant steps into the precipitation but his sight locked nervously at the skies; but in the current state of his mind''s eyes, it has disguised the rainy surroundings into blue clear skies where a huge black swamp of the locust was flooding down... Busta felt that the ''hard raindrops'' that struck on his face as pricking stings of the vicious bugs that have now have plastered all over his body¡ªhe shrieked out, used his machine gun and was shooting aimlessly above at the imaginary predator bugs... * Reeves covered Joe''s safety passage by blasting shots at Roberta Jensen¡ª they were halfway across the parking lot, running and passing rows of cars parked in the driving rain heading towards the entrance of the underground car park; unknowing that it was where the Jamaicans were¡ªalso wanting to take them out... Vishon spotted the duel shooters impending forward in the heavy storm... "It is the two fucking Jensens over there! The fucking killer-cop is here too!" He alerted Zinga of Roberta Jensen''s presence before he sprayed lead from his machine gun at the advancing adversaries; Roberta took cover behind a vehicle and she returned fire... Reeves, Joe and Laura who were caught in the crossfire¡ªthey dived down and the wheelchair toppled; Laura was plunged sideways and she thudded her head on the tarmac¡ªher forehead began bleeding. Joe reached out and pulled both her legs just like he did to the night auditor earlier... Roberta fired back at the Jamaicans¡ªZinga who stood out in the open, he saw that Roberta''s bullets were hitting the Lady of the Lake... The translucent aquatic Lady looked for one last time with her helpless eyes at Zinga before she ruptured into a splashing puddle in the heavy rain. Zinga was maddened with taurine rage, and he charged forward shooting his SMG towards Roberta while screaming out loud... "You Motherfucker¡ªI am going to kill you, bitch!" Reeves concealed nearby from the blasting Jamaicans, he held on to the bleeding Laura on the ground with her blood sluiced on her face in the rain, Joe crept and reached closer to cohere. The duo was looking petrified of the imminent Jamaican''s wrath that was closing in to hunt the cop... Roberta knew that her Magnum was no match to both Zinga and Vishon''s sub-machine guns assault. The butch started crawling in-between the parked cars, windshield glasses shards were dropping along with the pouring rain on to her path... The crouching Roberta pop opened the trunk of her parked car¡ªand she pulled out two loaded sawn-off 12 gauge shotguns; she clutched a handful of Brenneke red shells and stuffed it into her jacket pocket. She bit on two shells between her teeth like she used to bite on pebbles when she used to slingshot out of her school bus when she was a revenging child... It was action time! Vishon and Zinga went out hunting for the hidden Roberta. The Wesleyan duo too secreted behind a parked vehicle and they viewed the legs of the blacks who were on their stalking pursuit to waste Roberta Jensen¡ªthe number one most wanted and hated cop¡ªwhom any gangbanger from Tombscradle would want the glory of bagging the decorated prized pig. Reeves glimpsed at the soaking Laura lying on him and he whispered to his buddy... "Joe, you got to take Laura back to the car park¡ªI will cover your back..." "Come on, what are you thinking? They are out there, Reeves!" responded the red-haired who was calcified in terror by the deafening shootings in the cold pouring rain... Reeves realized that they will be dead next if they remained there... "Is that the best plan right now, Reeves, to die out here?" "It is the only one, bro¡ªplease trust me, and do it for me." * Roberta came out fast and furious from her hiding to counter assault¡ªshe fired rounds at the Jamaicans who were nearing close¡ªthey retreated behind a parked mini-van¡ªit was a perfect break for Joe who cradled Laura and scuttled away, while Reeves reloaded his pistol while on the run¡ªlooking out for Joe, following him from the rear. Zinga the Bob Marley votary went head-on towards Roberta, blasting his SMG while ululating the lyric repetitiously... "No woman, no cry, no woman, no cry!" The cop aimed directly and pumped some vicious bullet hits into him... The black Intersexual was thrown back with multiple median abdominal bloody punctures¡ªthe Jamaican sprawled, sanguinary dead nearby. Vishon stared in disbelief to catch the sight of his leader''s bloodied visceral bits, swamping red on the rain puddles. Roberta grinned ferociously with the two Brenneke slug ammo sticking out from her mouth like a boar. She reloaded more red shells into both the shotguns, she now spry out into action and hunted for the hiding Vishon¡ª the Wesleyan duo escaped with Laura from behind... The big blond lion-king dreadlocked shemale next came out firing at her¡ªbut Roberta was accurate with her blasts towards his head¡ªVishon was thrown on to a stationary Mazda. He was now a faceless stiff with every structure missing above from his jawbone¡ªbroken tresses of his hair locks and fragmented brains were spattered on the car''s shattered windscreen. Roberta took notice of machine-gun shots ahead¡ªshe viewed another Jamaican firing into the air¡ªBusta was still combating at his imaginary swarm of locusts. Roberta then spotted Reeves running in between the cars with Joe who lugging Laura on his shoulder; they were heading towards the underground car park. Roberta was back infuriated and she chased after them. Roberta shot the docile Busta at point-blank when she ran past him. * Kujo who was asleep on the wheel stirred awaken to look up and to the clear gunshots¡ªhe turned the Range Rover SUV''s ignition key and drove the vehicle with vulnerable Troy and True Bob; both tied up in the baggage compartment... Reeves fired back at the trailing Roberta¡ªallowing Joe to enter safely into the covered underground car park. Roberta reloaded her last remaining shells into the shotguns while on the run. She saw Reeves halting to guard the exit tunnel and was firing back... * Joe saw a fully accelerating SUV coming towards him¡ªhe pinned himself to the wall with Laura in his arms, and the vehicle sped past. Reeves lunged forward on a puddle on the ground and rolled away to avoid the rushing vehicle exiting from the parking entrance¡ªhe peeked over his shoulders at the SUV going head-on towards Roberta who raised both of her shotguns... Kujo was still in his Hoasca induced hallucination when he was steering the SUV wheel¡ªand he saw Roberta holding his crossbow. He cried out... "That is my crossbow!" Kujo further envisioned Roberta loading the bow with his erected penis as an arrow... "You bitch! You stole my penis!"he bellowed aloud; he next eyed Roberta aiming the crossbow straight-up... Roberta raised both her shotguns and discharged bullets at the oncoming Range Rover SUV¡ªthe big-game hunting slugs shattered the windscreen killing Kujo instantly. The SUV went out of control and rammed on a stationary car¡ªgoing on top of it in a humping-position. Roberta glimpsed at gasoline seeping off the lower parked smashed-up car¡ªand she fired her last shell of the 12 gauge; it caused an explosion that blasted up the Range Rover SUV in elevation, landing the Jamaicans'' ride on its side on the ground. Roberta dropped down both of her empty shotguns. She peered up ahead at the tan-skinned shirtless Intersexual who was now hobbling into the underground car park entrance. Roberta pulled out her oversized hand-cannon from her sodden jacket¡ªshe was still ''game'' for more kills with her adrenaline pumping hard inside her veins for more action¡ªshe pursued after the limping Reeves with infernal giggles... "Where do you think you are going, monkey-boy?" * The toppled SUV was burning from the explosion¡ªthe zip-tie cuffed Troy and True Bob crawled out to safety from the back from its broken window¡ªthey both lay on their back outside, sluiced in the falling rain that relieved their minor skin scorches all over their bodies. * Joe reached the Mustang and he placed Laura on the hood of the car¡ªhe wheezed hard in the exhaustion from the run and fear¡ªhis head turned and hearing some gunshots echoing from the tunnel. Reeves and Roberta were at a floor below, exchanging fires while they ascended the spiral driveway. Joe noticed the shooting Reeves was coming over fast, the red-haired picked Laura up from the hood¡ªhe heard Reeves yelling out... "Joe, start the car!" Reeves turned back and discovered that Roberta was not there behind. He limped backwards with his gun trained at the remote driveway path¡ªhis eyes were darting left and right in total anticipationof the exit... Out of nowhere between the parked cars, Roberta lunged forward at the unmindful Reeves¡ªthey both landed on the concrete ground. Roberta knocking his pistol that slid away. The dazed Reeves heard Joe''s voice calling out his name before he was aware of the presence of the large built woman on top of him¡ªfeeling the sharp pains from a series of hard punches, with her shirking rage screaming directly at him... "You fucking son of a bitch, you think you and these niggers can get away?" Roberta pulled out her .44 Magnum and removed the gun''s safety. Joe gasped in fear when he saw Roberta was about to blow Reeves'' brains away¡ªthe fat Wesleyan countered her... "Hey, Jensen! Look here before you pull that damn trigger ¡ªlook at me, bitch!" Roberta was distracted by the call and looked up, seeing the plump figured Intersexual in drenched nurse uniform with a gun on Laura''s temple¡ªRoberta delicately took her gun piece off Reeves and slowly backed off with fear growing in her own eyes¡ªseeing her sister Laura with a fresh contusion on her forehead, looking vulnerable in the tubby arm of the Intersexual. Roberta was not going to give up that easily either¡ªshe too has a pawn for her current hostage negotiation. She pulled the dazed Reeves along as they both stood up¡ªshe planted the hand-cannon on to Reeves''s cheek just like to ''the Cambodian monkey-boy'' whom she once held before¡ªRoberta demanded aloud... "Give me back my sister, you, she-fuck, or he dies too!" "No, you drop your gun, Jensen¡ªor I will blow her head off!" Joe replied back in the tensed hostage situation. Reeves was back alert into his senses, noting the jeopardy and he intervened despite his throat was hurt from one of the killer cop''s punches thrown over there earlier... "Joe, listen to her¡ªit is all over, now give Laura back to her!" "Shut the fuck up, Reeves¡ªI know what I am doing!" Joe''s voice shook... Roberta had a brief recollection by somehow identifying Joe in the wet wig¡ªhe looked like her wife''s red-headed best friend in the photo taken from the anti-Cory demonstration in the Mississippi from the Aryan Sisterhood investigation file. She then thought back of the earlier shootout¡ª''this must be part of the cohort of both the Preacher''s AOG and Aryan rebel members who were trying to get even for the recent e-SWAT attacks on the Sisterhood''s base¡ªand also for their loss at the Battle of New Orleans... Now they have got Laura... Capt. Roberta Jensen had all along feared of the possible assumptions that either the Russian Oligarch mob or the Cartel were after her for pilfering and thriving from part of the confiscated cocaine from the drug haul in Columbus¡ªand as always she feared constantly that they might abduct Laura to get back at her. The former strike-force enforcer police job that she held before had created more enemies in her Columbus backyard¡ªbut she had least expected that the Aryans Sisterhood headed by Roxy Gillman have also plotted and have taken her sister as their hostage in LA... Roberta heard the dark-haired Intersexual ragdoll in her arms was still pleading out firmly on her behalf... "Joe, you fat-fuck, you don''t know what you are doing¡ªput the gun down before you hurt someone!" "I have got this one! I know what I am doing¡ªyou stay out of this, Reeves!" Joe was breathing hard, his eyes were still locked on Roberta¡ªJoe knew if he kept the gun long enough, the killer-cop will succumb and surrender¡ªJoe too now made his demands... "Hey Jensen, let him go, and you drop your gun!" Roberta did not respond until she heard Joe''s removing the safety lock of his pistol¡ªher eyes widened looking the gun held by the stubby fingers pointed the 9mm at Laura''s temple ... "No!" cried out the woman back¡ªbut she was still not releasing her bargaining chip at hand. Reeves spoke out again with terrors in his eyes, seeing Joe''s trembling hand¡ªhe saw the panic-rush in Joe''s physics... Joe has been off his med for his ADHD for some time¡ªand at this current tensed situation, it may lead him to do something irrational¡ªjust like when he almost pulled the trigger to shoot Spooky Kujo''s head a week ago during the standoff with the Jamaicans at Huntington Lake. "Listen to me Joe, you are getting nervous, that is not good¡ªjust let her go, man¡ªplease, don''t hurt my mother, Joe¡ªplease..." Roberta looked in disbelief, it felt like a boulder has crashed on her head¡ª everything was still bewildering at the moment in her mind; she comprehending slowly that she was presently holding Laura''s fully grownup consanguine bastard in her hand... ''The offspring of the spic-rapist was given away since birth¡ªhow could the scion found the whereabouts of the anonymity Laura after all these years?'' They all saw Laura with a gashed head was now in sentient movement, she was stirring to regain her consciousness. Roberta called out loudly after seeing it... "Laura!" "Jensen, drop your gun now!" Joe said firmly, he pulled Laura back a step... Roberta released the choke-hold on the shirtless Reeves¡ªa second later, she dropped the Magnum hand-cannon down and kicked it forward, it slid toward under the Mustang car. Reeves staggered forward and he took his natal mother away from Joe''s arms... The red-headed fat youth then approached Roberta and he held his gun nervously with both hands¡ªhe blabbered out some orders... "Take out your handcuffs and cuff your wrist to that!" Joe was pointing at a nearby metal conduit... Roberta complied with the demands and in the meantime, Reeves placed Laura in the passenger''s seat of the Mustang and buckled her up. Laura has now slipped back into her state of coma. Reeves got into the driver''s side and started the car... Reeves noticing that Joe had forgotten his training routine given to rebels in the desert... "Is that all, you goofy-shit?" "Huh, what else is there?" Joe replied stupefied without turning his back. "What about the keys to the handcuffs? And what about that; she has got another gun strapped at her ankle? And for fuck sake, take that ridiculous wig off, you moron!" Joe dropped the wig down, chuckling nervously at his own heedlessness. "Okay, you heard your nephew, Uncle J¡ªpass it over!" The disgruntled Roberta obeyed in defeat and tossed the keys and then she slid her Cobra derringer over, but her eyes were transfixed straight onto Reeves... Two Lauras... Roberta voiced out finally, "You Reeves, where are you taking Laura?" "Away...she is my mother¡ªshe is coming with me." The woman protested back... "You fool! She is in no condition to travel, she has a weak heart¡ªyou will kill her!" Those were the same words her own Aunt Flo had told her when she wanted to take her sister away from Columbus to Washington after her promotion and transfer. Reeves revved the pedal while Joe got into the back seat. Roberta cried out while yanking her handcuffed wrist harder... "You can''t do this to me¡ªshe is my sister. She is all I have and you can''t take her away from me!" Reeves looked out from the driver''s side of the window and he replied softly... "Watch me..." The Mustang drove away, Roberta kicked the rear of the passing car and she yelled out in rage... "Come back here, you bastard! Give me back my sister!" The car headed to the exit, the echoes were still audible from behind... "No! Come back! Laura!" * The dry bodied vehicle was pelted by the rain and Reeves switched the wiper on before he sped towards the hospital''s main entrance. There were lots of cars leaving out since the shooting incident. Reeves braked when two drenched figures came in front of the car in the rain¡ªit was True Bob and Troy¡ªthey got in, squeezed themselves in the backstreet with Joe in between. The Mustang hit the main road before the siren of a dozen responding LAPD patrol cars'' arrived on the crime scene. Chapter 24 PRESIDENT EMMANUEL Garcia stood in the balcony of his presidential palace that overlooked at the well-lighted compound grounds. An anxious older female general was speaking on a cordless phone behind her; she then came over and spoke in Spanish... "Your Excellency, You have to evacuate now¡ªthe Americans have already begun bombing the Mexican border. We fear for your safety because our Intel has predicted that they will be using long guided missiles to strike this very palace next... "Please come now, it is time to go." The newly elected teen president refused. "No, I am not leaving but you can go¡ªand I understand." The general protested back. "But Senior President..." "I will not be labelled as a coward president and I will make a stand against my aggressors, and if that woman wants to blow up this palace¡ªso be it!" Another Mexican brass came running to them and the colonel spoke out... "Senior President, it is confirmed that an American missile is heading this way¡ªwe have to evacuate, Sir!" Garcia was still firm with his decision to stay... "You both can leave now¡ªbut if you were to survive this ordeal tonight, I want you to convey a message to my beloved people that I am grateful for their trust and confidences that they have to make me be their President¡ªnow go, leave me alone!" The three of them saw a bright star glowing in the dark skies¡ªthey stared for a beat before the two female Mexican officers started fleeing away to safety, leaving the androgynous president alone in the balcony... The palace guards in the compound panicked to see the nova getting brighter by the seconds¡ªthey all dispersed helter-skelter. A gigantic missile soon crashed in the orchard that was outside the walls of the palace, it burrowed the ground and crashing the wall before it cartwheeled and it destructed the palace ground pavements and the majestic water fountain.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The dust settled and the shaken epicene President Garcia discovered that the bomb did not explode¡ªthe mangled dud missile smoked in front of his defeatist eyes from the balcony he stood... The sound of a ringing phone was then audible nearby ... The President walked over and picked the cordless phone that the general had earlier dropped; Madeline Cory spoke magisterial from the other end from Washington. She was seated domineering in the Oval Office, looking at a screen of multiple windows of the fighting at the Mexican border. The dud missile also has a video feed attached, and she spotted President Garcia vulnerably alone on the balcony... "I am glad you picked up my call and did not run away with your shemale dog''s tail between your legs because I hate to be put on hold," mocked the leader of the free world. President Garcia scorned back at her in return... "Now I know why your own people call you the Snake-woman¡ªyou are the most depraved and evil living person I have ever known!" Cory chuckled and laid her provisory... "Sticks and stones don''t break my bones, my boy-President¡ªbut a full-scale carpet bombing will definitely be devastating and detrimental to your beloved country and its peasants... The peremptory Cory admired the TV screen at the transmission from her aerial drone satellite feed of the destructed presidential grounds¡ªshe seemed pleased on the war effort that she has orchestrated at the neighbouring border so far... "You have seen my warnings predictions, now take heed, you burrito piece of turd¡ªyou now have 24 hours to hand me the Preacher¡ªor else¡ªI will bury you in a pet cemetery plot tomorrow night¡ªright in between a Chihuahua and a flea-bag mule... "These are your last 24 hours to stay alive, Emmanuel-fucking-Garcia; now go, move your Mexi-ass fast, and you deliver that bastard Preacher to me before the next sundown!" <><><>oOo<><><> End Of Part 2 Of 5 NEXT: THE RESSURECTION <><><>oOo<><><> THE RESURRECTION [Part 3 Of 5] ALARMING BEEPS disrupted the placid tranquillity at the serene lake with the three floatplanes. The echoing din scared the birds sitting on the planes'' wings; one of the planes was the nude artwork image of The Lady of the Lake. A pale-looking Laura Jensen was in the main lake-house, on the king-sized bed, in her deep sleep¡ªshe was not affected by the distressing sound happening outside the bedroom of the Howdys. The four Intersexuals were seated around at the dining table with the two Howdy skeletons¡ªall of them stared at the source of the beeps coming from the laptop, with its rococo of peeling stickers of Pakalolo images that once belonged to the now-dead Jamaicans... Everyone except for Joe had a bruised face on the table, but True Bob''s and Troy''s swollen countenances were in pain, in bandage wraps, sustained from the Jamaican beatings and by secondary burns¡ªwhile Reeve''s black eye was inflicted by his ''butch-uncle'' at the hospital underground car park last night encounter in LA. Joe chuckled, looking at the screen with the constant blinking Skype icon... "A moment ago it was Hajja, now it is Li Chi the fucking Leach calling again¡ªI guess they will soon be trying for us because they can''t get through to those Rasta-fuckarians!" The Wesleyan uttered out with no respect for the dead. He was acting skittish and safe with that aspect of last night''s threats had gone¡ªbut only Reeves knew that the danger was far from over... Reeves was deciding, looked defiantly at Troy beside him, who was in charge of communication... "We don''t answer it¡ªlet them presume that we are all are dead." True Bob sighed and addressed the consequences when the beeping suddenly stopped... "Yeah, for how long, Reeves? Sooner or later, Hajja or the fucking Leach is gonna figure out what is going on; and they will send spies over only, to find us with a woman in a coma in that room... "I was against this idea all along of you going for your mother in LA but you went out walking the walk, yakking the yak, and you did it anyway¡ªnow how are you going to take care of her? "Tell me, do you know how to feed a patient who is in a coma? What, are you going to starve her to death? Maybe she is also dependent on some medication, have you ever thought of all those things before you took off to LA last night?" Reeves was now pressured by the incoming blames. He ran his fingers into his dark hair... "Okay fellers, I made a bad choice when I took that decision and I am fully responsible for it. I had used my heart to think not my head; Laura Jensen is my responsibility and I will deal with it, Bob." True Bob was not finished yet, and he went on ranting... "What shit are you trying to slide away with this time, Reeves¡ªso you decided to starve her to death? You even got her killer-cop sister pissed mad and she is gonna retaliate big-time like last night; now we got to run away from her and top of our very our own army with Li Chi putting a hit on us¡ªand that fucking Snake-woman Cory too wants us dead! Fuck us all here, everybody wants us dead!" The half-Cherokee chuckled nervously after his rant. Joe, the presumed weakest link in the team was surprisingly the only one being amiable, giving his view on Reeve''s behalf... "Hey Chief, have we forgotten that we all were supposed to be dead last night in the hand of those niggers¡ªyou said it so yourself that we don''t stand a fighting chance against their expert guerilla warfare skills¡ªbut Reeves here diverted those fucking Jamaicans to L.A. and Roberta Jensen did the clean-up job for us, man. "I say, ''let''s be grateful, dude, that we are still breathing and walking another day,'' and those were the same words the fuckin'' Preacher used to say to us in his sermons back in the desert, right? Do I hear an Amen?" Troy then spoke, "that is true; let''s pay the price for surviving last night by deciding together about what we do with Laura Jensen for now¡ªso let all the 4 of us share the responsibilities and the consequences on this one; so are you with us, Chief?" Troy requested but Bob looked away, still disgruntled.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Reeves appreciated the offer but it was not fair for any of them because Laura was his mother¡ªshe was his accountability and he was also wary of his own haste actions... "Let me speak guys, let''s all vote on it. All I can say is that I made a stupid blunder¡ªand now I want to return Laura back to the hospital." Joe was now vexed. "What? Are you going back to the store to return her like she is some broken goods, is that what you are saying, Reeves? Damn you man, after all those hairy situations we gone through last night!" The fat Wesleyan looked back at Troy, "I say, we now find a quick way to Canada, and get her treated over there¡ªshe will survive!" Reeves intervened after a long sigh. "Hey Joe, you are not being your rational self here¡ªyou clearly heard Roberta Jensen yelling that Laura has a heart condition, and maybe that is why I don''t think she can make it¡ªit is gonna be a rough shitty ride north on the road to Canada." "No, but I still feel we have a chance, guys!" Joe stood his stubborn ground. He wanted one of the other two guys to back him up, but they both were either hesitant or disagreed now. Even Reeves still thought it was a bad idea... "No, she will die on the journey, Joe! We don''t know what lies on the road ahead too, and furthermore, it is the time-frame¡ªit may take either days or several weeks or maybe a month depending on ducking the roadblocks in Cory''s cracking down operation on rebels travelling on the roads¡ªit will surely kill her..." True Bob spoke again in accord. "I am with Reeves. We give her back or else that poor woman will die¡ªit is 2 votes now." "2-1, I am still against it¡ªYo Troy, what''s your vote, man?" Joe now placed him now in the spotlight for the deciding vote but Troy responded back with hesitation... "Give me more time, fellers; I need to think this one out." His reply chafed True Bob who spoke back aloud... "What, you, moron? Are you going to find a DIY website online on how to treat a coma patient? This, not the same as fixing damn fucking planes, man!" Reeves knew that Bob was the most eager to hit the road. Bob was supposed to take off with Troy last night to return to his home in the Biesterfeldt Village, the Cherokee reservations in North Dakota. That was before the bungle with the teetotaler Jamaican; the one who was immune to the hooch spiked with Ayahuasca¡ªwho then fought back and took both him and Troy as hostages. "Come on, chill Bob," Reeves said, but his eyes were focused on Troy, "it is just a simple decision now, Troy¡ªshould she stay or go?" Troy gazed at all seated and responded. "She stays with us." Joe laughed and rejoiced. "It is 2 against 2, and it is a tie, Chiefo!" True Bob slammed his fist on the table¡ªboth the Howdys'' skeletal hands on the table jumped. "Shut up or I will beat you blink, you fat ding! Do you think this is a joke?" he barked at Joe before he turned to Troy... "What''s wrong with you, Troy; you are making no sense like this nut case? "Come on, that woman is sick out there, and she needs attention!" Even Reeves who was also taken by surprise by Troy''s vote¡ªhe was curious to know... "Why Troy, why should she stay?" Troy cleared his throat and opined... "Why I am saying is that we still have a chance if we use The Exodus Trail." Now everyone gave Troy a confused look. Joe gawked and asked back like it was an unfamiliar dish on a restaurant menu card... "I am a little lost here, bro¡ªwhat''s this Exodus trail?" Troy shed light on the ambivalence; of what he had been researching before on his exit route options to get back to his hometown in Chicago... "When the Medusa Virus attack first started less than 20 years ago, this was the trail the government then used to evacuate victims from the west coast to the east and the north; practically, it is just a network of old roads passing in a few states up North. I have also learned that the trail is currently is the least populated-belt with low regimen activities... Many of it is going through deserted ghost towns and abandoned cities¡ªwell, we can take that trail to Canada because there will be fewer roadblocks by the army¡ªwhich is my also main concern, with now that we are taking Laura along with us." True Bob intervened quickly while Reeves was digesting the thought... "Back off a little here, this is a no-zone area with radioactive fallout¡ªwe don''t know things like radioactive levels and what not?" Troy was now grinning back... "Wake up, Chief, the Medusa attack was bio-viral warfare; and we all know that because we are the product of it¡ªthe new breed species." Joe laughed out aloud and he bantered further. "Are you afraid you will end up as Freak-kin-stein?" Even True Bob joined in and chuckled at his mistake. It has been a long time and even the Intersexuals have elapsed and have forgotten the root cause of their specie origins that the reproduction new-breeds by nature were not analogous to the contaminated Y chromosome males that were currently extinct. "How long will we be on the road, Troy?" asked Reeves, still serious-faced among the jocular laughing guys. "All we gotta do is to keep Laura alive and we will be at the Canadian border in a week or less," replied Troy. "That sounds like a plan. Let''s do it, guys!" Joe cried out and he hugged Troy''s back; while Reeves and Two Bob looked at each other, the half-Cherokee nodded favourably that he was in¡ªand they both shook hands to the armistice plan to keep the team together for a higher chance of survival. Chapter 2 KIKI-BOY WAS assisting the three women detectives and a CIA agent. They were located in a federal building in Los Angeles because Cory''s further election campaigns will be held there. The interrogation room was turned into a terrorist research and inquest station¡ªwhere the nonentity Wesleyan Intersexual was identifying the key members of God''s Army from the photo blowups captured by CCTV during The Battle of New Orleans... The Preacher''s group was branched as a tree-chart on a cork-board¡ªwith the rest of the members of the Council of 13 below their leader. The key members of Doran''s ring were Ramirez, Hajja, Li Chi and the others who were rung at the top. Another lower-tier showed the generals; and below were the Commanders of different cell-groups with Reeves and Wu Leong who were part of the sniper teams, assigned to execute the president in LA. Kiki was seated behind a table looking at batches of mug photos spread on the table. Agent Tabitha Kinsley from the CIA viewed the photo of a black shemale that Kiki handed her. She asked him... "Are you positive, Kirk?" Kiki-boy was addressed by his real name and that to him was a turgid sign of his importance that now he was a valuable resource in the research and investigation in the Federal investigation. He always dreamed to be being some sort of law enforcer during his days in Wesleyan. But unwary, the purported Kiki there was just to play his role as a snitch after his life was spared from the POW execution by the president herself¡ªlittle does the morosoph from Wesleyan knew that once the investigation was over, he will be slapped with a life sentence in prison with no acquittal for his past criminal involvement in treason¡ªwhich will happen after his Preacher''s terrorist militia has been reduced and defeated by the CIA and the US Army. He drank a can of Coke while he replied haughtily buncombe to the agent. "Yes Sir, pin it up¡ªhe is one of Hajja''s lapdog, and also the member of The Council as some hocus pocus general of some sort." Kinsley handed the photo to Head Detective Bernie Palmer who pinned it on the board¡ªand the black detective from Washington who was in the joint task investigation with the CIA noticed some alterations that need to be made... "So Agent Kinsley, can I remove the photos of these 2 fellers? They were Hajja''s henchmen¡ªZinga and Busta. Roberta Jensen bumped them off dead with another 2 others Jamaicans at the hospital parking lot last night." Kiki-boy exclaimed out, looking at the board. "You mean¡ªZinga is dead!" He laughed and continued to say, "did you know that Zinga executed the TC prison Head Captain Olsen by chopping off her limbs and hanged her on a ceiling fan to bled her to death¡ªhe was one hardcore bad-assed fuckin'' nigger back in Tombscradle!" Agent Kinsley stared at Kiki who looked down in guilt, "sorry¡ªnegro." In his excitement of spouting, he had overlooked the black Detective Palmer''s presence. "Okay, quick now; look again into those photos and identify more faces¡ªI want this board filled up by today, okay?" demanded the senior CIA Agent. The door opened and Captain Roberta Jensen entered in her e-SWAT uniform, and everyone looked up at her except for Kiki¡ªwho avoided eye contact because he was still terrified of the brutal Roberta presence. He wished his best buddy Hank was here to protect him¡ªbut he abandoned Hank to die in New Orleans; pinned in the driver''s seat of the belly-up assault pickup truck before an e-SWAT Hummer trooper had a target practice on Hank who hung upside-down, Kiki ran away scared from the grisly sight. Roberta was acknowledged by Bernie Palmer and the rest. They all could identify with the anguish that the captain was going through now for having her sister taken by the rebels yesterday, but Bernie''s hands were also tied as the Head of Detectives of Washington gang task force¡ªeven though she wished to be there to personally to assist Roberta on her investigation in Laura''s abduction. Bernie''s work obligation with the CIA has taken all of her time and energy to fly over to California from DC each week before Cory''s rescheduled election campaigning resumed in LA. The e-SWAT captain stepped up to the recceing Agent Kinsley looking back at the photos on the board; Roberta pointed at Kiki... "Agent Kinsley, I need a word with this suspect for my own personal investigation." "But he is helping us with the Preacher''s AOG group probe right, for now, Jensen," replied Kinsley who was temporal behind schedule in her postmortem research on the God''s Army identification but Roberta persisted... "I know, this will take only 10 minutes¡ªplease, I need to ask some personal questions in private¡ªten minutes are all I ask, Sir." Kiki dreaded and hoped the request will be denied, and the killer-cop would be steered out from the inquest room, but the rest of her superiors looked at each other. They understood the ordeal Roberta was facing with her sister abducted less than 24 hours ago. Agent Kinsley told the rest that they will take a short break. They all step out of the room leaving Kiki at the table in a susceptible state. Bernie who was the last one out of the door, she whispered to Roberta. "Rob, whatever it is¡ªdon''t kill the snitch, he is the key to this CIA investigation." Bernie has to warn her since knowing about Roberta''s loose cannon personality¡ªand presently, impulsive and stressed-out after Laura''s kidnapping. It was also not her place to demand the Captain''s pistol but instead, Bernie prayed that her friend will make a good call of judgment in her given ten minutes. The door closed with only Roberta and Kiki-boy left in the room... Kiki finally made eye contact and tried to impress Roberta¡ªeven though it was a tough task after witnessing the POWs machine-gunned by the ruthless cop in New Orleans more than a week ago, "Capt. Jensen Sir, I have identified most of the Preacher''s council members¡ªit will be very useful for your investigation on his rebel activities." "Good work, freak¡ªcome now, you deserve a drink." Roberta knocked down Kiki''s coke. It fell and ebbed to create a pool on the floor¡ªRoberta yanked Kiki off the chair and slumped him on the floor beside the spill... "Now, lap it up, my she-fuck bitch! So you thought I kept you alive since New Orleans just for the entertainment around here, is that it, freak?" Roberta growled. *Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Bernie, two other detectives with Agent Kinsley glanced at a monitor in the next room that gave a feed of Roberta in the interrogation room. They saw Kiki drinking from the floor. One of the junior detectives felt disgusted by the sight. "This is so unnecessary." But Agent King did not intervene to Roberta''s method of cross-examination¡ªeven the master CIA investigator like herself can learn a trick or two from the ''dog-handler'' who was more experienced dealing with the inferior species. The CIA agent knew that the witness was an aspersive snitch with deceits¡ªhe will not reveal the whole truth¡ªso a different kind of motivation was needed, which was what the handler Roberta Jensen was doing. Roberta watched Kiki slurping from the floor, her foot lifted off from the Intersexual''s neck. "Okay, break time over¡ªnow go sit your freak-ass over there." Kiki was in tears when he obediently sat back on his chair. Roberta''s hand swiped the blowup photographs in front to make space. Some photos fall on the floor¡ªone of it was Marlin carrying Joana in his arm. Roberta pulled up a photograph from her own personal file. It is of Lilya in her teens with the twelve-year-old Joana Gilman. They both were protesting on the street of Jackson, Mississippi some years ago. Roberta finger quickly jabbed the photo at Joana Gilman and she asked... "Who is this girl? "Who Sir? This ghost girl?" Kiki thought Roberta had pointed at Lilya. Roberta stared at him for a second. She slapped Kiki hard in the face in antagonism; unknowingly, Kiki had just insulted Roberta''s albino wife... "No, the other girl!" barked Roberta. Kiki was more terrified. He held his trembling palm to his stinging cheek, more hot tears rolled from his fearful eyes. His other shivering hand picked up the photo and he took a closer look... "That¡ªthat looks like Joe when he was back in Wesleyan in Ohio, Sir." Roberta has heard of that name ''Joe'' mentioned before when Reeves addressed the fat-one who held a gun at her sister''s face at the hospital car park last night. "So he too part of your fucking God''s Army?" Kiki now felt that he was put in indispensable place so that Roberta will back off without causing him any further physical pain... "Yes Sir, but-but he is a-a nobody¡ªhe just a foot-soldier but-but his friend is..." Kiki stammered. "Is that the other she-fuck that goes by the named Reeves?" Roberta felt disgusted that her sister gave birth to that filth which was now her nephew... "Yes, Reeves¡ªthey both are-are close buddies!" Kiki pointed at cork-board, replied, at the same time as he displayed his facade patriotism voice... "Look there, Sir¡ªReeves, he-he is the leader of one of the Preacher''s cell groups that want to-to assassinate our President Cory¡ªthey need to be stopped, Sir." "Now where is this cell group?" "I don''t know where exactly, Sir¡ªbut-but it is somewhere here in California!" Roberta grabbed the screaming Kiki up and dragged him over, slammed the scrawny youth to the cork-board¡ªand poked her trusted Magnum hand-cannon onto his lips, Roberta incriminated aloud... "Don''t lie to me, you faggot! Tell me the truth¡ªwhere is this cell group now?" In the other room, Bernie and the rest rush out, fearing for the snitch''s life. The door opened and the detectives scrambled in. Detective Bernie Palmer exclaimed. "Rob, enough!" The detective looked at the case agent Kinsley, so to put a stop to Roberta''s tormenting but the investigating agent stared speechless at the quavering Kiki. Kinsley was certain that Roberta was smart enough and would not pull the trigger to defy her high-ranking presence. Maybe under some tremendous pressure, the snitch will regurgitate more hidden truth on the CIA''s terrorist investigation... Kiki was staring out in tears at the Magnum barrel now at his forehead¡ªand he started to stammer badly and pointed his cadge finger out... "Please Capt. Jensen, I am telling the truth, Sir...I-I am also a nobody in The God''s Army¡ªI have no knowledge on the cell groups'' whereabouts¡ªand-and only members of The Preacher''s Council know their hideout¡ªI am a-a nobody, Sir, please¡ªThe Preacher took us-us out of prison and forced us to be in his army. If we refused to obey, they-they will kill us then!" "You are still lying to me, freak!" The e-SWAT captain now pinned her gun barrel at Kiki''s crouch. "You want me to blow your dick off? You are just a faggot¡ªyou freaks don''t need a dick, right?" The terrified Kiki sobbed louder in terror before he started peeing in his pants. Urine trickled and formed a pool at the spot he was standing. Roberta stepped back... Roberta heard more of his confessions that she regretted that ware made aware in the presence of the superiors. It was when Kiki beseeched more and he blurted out... "I only know one-one thing about Reeves. He claimed to be related to-to you¡ªhe keeps telling everyone in prison that he-he is Reeves Jensen!" Roberta did not see that coming¡ªthose in the room now knew of her family background that her sister had given birth to this shemale¡ªwho was now part of the Preacher''s rebels. She lowered her weapon. Looked and the urine that was spreading to join the cola pool on the floor. Roberta digressed everyone''s attention from suspicion of her own family circumstantial by growling at the frightened Kiki instead... "See that there¡ªyou will be drinking that later!" Roberta slapped Kiki''s head. "Go and sit!" All of them saw the obedient Kirk sitting in his soiled pants. He still was looking petrified with Roberta staring at him without batting her eyelids. Kinsley finally spoke up... "Are you done, Capt. Jensen?" Roberta replied without looking at Tabitha Kinsley, "one more minute, Sir." She pointed back at the photo with Lilya and Joana. "Now tell me about the Aryan Sisterhood? Tell me about the name Roxy Gilman? Was she in New Orleans?" "No, I don''t know anyone by that name¡ªwe-we were fighting in New Orleans¡ªand the-the Sisterhood just turned up out of nowhere, I-I swear, Sir!" Roberta pointed again at Joana on the photo. "This girl here, do you know her? Do you know Joana Gilman?" "No, I don''t know her too. I am sorry, Sir". Detective Palmer intervened now. "Enough, back off Rob, he does not know!" Roberta paused and she took a deep breath. She grabbed her photo from the tabletop and left the room... Bernie Palmer still can''t figure where Roberta''s investigation was heading to and how it will finally relate to her abducted sister¡ªBernie glanced once again at the silent CIA Agent Kinsley¡ªknowing of the limited information they had in the militia Sisterhood''s past activities in their investigation database¡ªbut now it has new findings which were coming out from Roberta Jensen, the decorated and a dedicated cop herself¡ªand it was a legit find. The black detective espoused to the CIA agent. "Roxy and Joana Gilman¡ªthat is something that we can start off with on those Aryans." The conjecturing CIA agent nodded back... "Yes, we have a shooter too¡ªthe nephew, Reeves Jensen who is heading the cell-group¡ªcheck on Capt. Roberta''s background and find more about how those two are related." ** Roberta was behind a temporary work station LA¡ªshe was chain-smoking and was looking at her own assembled photos that were spread on the desk of her personal investigation on Laura''s abduction... There was a blowup CCTV photos of Reeves putting Laura in the Mustang while Joe holding a gun at Roberta in the hospital''s underground car park. Roberta studied the other photos of¡ªReeves the bastard¡ªwho stole her sister from under her nose... She now wanted to settle the score as soon as possible¡ªthinking of strategies of taking charge of the situation into her own personal clout beyond the CIA red tapes¡ªshe burned her cigarette onto Reeves''s face in the photo¡ªand grunted inwards with hatred... ''Fuck you, freak¡ªyou were never related to me!'' ** Hours later, after her investigation findings were heading to a dead-end, Roberta was on the next flight back to Washington. She poured the double miniature bourbon bottles into a plastic cup and downed it; looking at the Lilya-Joana photo for a long moment. Her other hand that held the ''Mimi'' transponder device. She clicked it on¡ªthe little display has the text¡ª ''NO SIGNAL'' She kept repeatedly clicking it on and off... ''Where would the shemales have taken Laura to?'' The plane flew above the vast farmlands below in the state of Mississippi¡ªwherein one of the farmhouses was Joana Gilman, healing from her gunshot wound sustained at the street battle in New Orleans. Chapter 3 THE BARE BODIED Marlin was doing a series of graceful martial movements in the open ground field under the watchful eyes of the two women under a tree who were mindful of their house-arrest prisoner. Lee who was on guard was holding a rifle, she spat tobacco on the grass with animosity. "Fucking show off¡ªlet''s see, if he can use his Kung Fu to dodge my bullets." She pointed her AK-47 at him and mimicked gunshots sounds. Both of the sister-boys then guffawed out after Lee did an impersonation of a dying Chinese. Mrs Scott gazed out of her kitchen window and noticed Marlin outside doing his morning routine. She turned to peek at Joana sitting in her bathrobe and called out to her... "Jo, don''t just sit around¡ªgo and use those crutches and walk more to exercise that leg." Mrs Scott guided Joana out from the front door into the porch. Joana saw Marlin doing his movements, "Grandma, what''s that is he doing?" "If you are curious, go ask him yourself." Joana in bathrobe and flip-flops trudged with a single aluminium crutch and gaited towards the field. She reached Cynthia who was repairing a side-fence door while keeping an eye on their prisoner. The woman acknowledged, "Commander Gilman how is your leg?" "Grandma told me to exercise it." She noticed Cynthia''s eyes were on Marlin while her hands were busy at work, "Whatcha doing?" The sister-boy replied. "Whatcha think I am doing? I am fixing on this darn fence gate." Joana teased her, "no, you are not, you are staring and ogling at his buns." They both laughed. "Open the gate, I am going out," Joana requested. Cynthia hesitated before she unbolted it. She cautioned the younger girl, "a bit of personal sisterly advice¡ªhe is an outsider, Jo, don''t get too close to him." Joana snuffled nearer towards Marlin on the bumpy field on her crutches. He stopped when she approached, he began wiping his face with a small towel. "Hi Marlin, is that some kind of Asian exercise¡ªwhere cha learn it?" He replied, "I grew up in a boarding school since I was young. Yeah, I learned it there. We used to do this exercise before we started our classes." Joana listened with interest, and she also shared, "Is it? I never went to a real school, Grandma home-schooled me here. So you can speak Asian?" Marlin smiled to the thought that people still perceive Asians as only Orientals while ignoring the other races in other countries, but he did not correct her. "Yeah, I know Japanese, and also some Mandarin." She shambled closer and touched Marlin''s tattoo on his arm, "Is that Japanese? What does it say?" "Eat sushi." That was what her sister Roxy said to amuse the sister-boys during her visit to the farmhouse some evenings ago. He then walked away to a shrub where his t-shirt hung. He slipped it on and the laughing girl approached him again... "You are shitting me, I have seen sushi on the You-tube, and I know what it is¡ªsome kind of rice thingy food wrapped in some leaf¡ªand eaten with soy sauce, right?" She sensed that Marlin mistook her as gullible about worldly things because she had mentioned that she was home-schooled. She persisted. "Marlin come on, what it says on your tattoo?" He paused a second and finally revealed... "It is my girlfriend''s name¡ªSuki." Joana responded in an excited tone of voice. "Oh, you got an Asian girlfriend too like John Lennon¡ªCool!" There was one name that he has not heard for a long time. He knew a friend back in schooling at Matsuda in DC who was a big Lennon-Ono fan. He heard Joana speaking again. "I heard you want to travel east soon, is Suki waiting for you there?" "No, she is gone. She was sent back to Japan 5 years ago." "Are you still in contact with her?" "No..." He was not in the mood to speak of his past, but he noticed that Joana was still persistent. She asked again. "Why not? You got a new girlfriend after that?" She was getting playful and tapped his bottoms with her crutches. "Now, where is the other girl''s tattoo? Is it on your butt? Let me see it!" she laughed. ''Why is she asking me this?'' Marlin was feeling crestfallen thinking of his past. He replied her forthrightly of his past for falling for a girl who was ''over-protected'' by her diplomatic-clan that happened in Washington DC¡ªthat followed by an animus brawl in the mall which led to his arrest. He concluded by disclosing his story that he spent five years in an isolated cell in Block F until the Preacher liberated everyone in Tombscradle¡ªand started God''s Army to wage war against the Snake-woman Cory. She grabbed his arm and dragged the bleak vapid eyed Marlin. "Come on, Marlin, cheer up¡ªlet me take you to my secret place!" Cynthia looked up at them both walking away. Mrs Scott also spied on her granddaughter walking with Marlin from her kitchen. She smiled to herself noticing they were holding hands. She knew it was because of the uneven field ground for a girl in crutches, but yet they looked like a nice perfect romantic couple. She also discerned to where they are going to¡ªthe girl''s secret place¡ªwhere Joana used to go with her best friend Lilya Devon at one time ago; and the two girls will get lost over there spending hours there during their growing up years¡ªthe memories of her Andrea will be kept alive... They came to a barn with a closed door. Joana kept on talking. "It has been so long since I last went there since moving to my mother''s house, and then to Roxy''s Sisterhood training camp. But when I was growing up, my best friend Lilya and I found this place that filled with wonderful old things¡ªand ever since that day it has been our secret place." Marlin replied sardonically after the inhospitable treatment he experienced from the animus sister-boys since he rang the steps into the farmhouse... "You sure about this, you sharing this place with me? Just a few days ago, you had put a gun on my face and called me a freak!" The red-haired girl laughed aloud. "If that turns you on, then, I will call you that again¡ªcome, Marlin, open that door." Marlin was the first to enter inside the old barn. His eyes immediately searched the surroundings of the big interior and saw some milking cows and piles of hay bales. Some farm tools hung on the wall; nothing small to conceal as a weapon... He finally saw what he was curious of in that few days staying over at the farm¡ªthere were two motorbikes covered under a canopy and a drum of gasoline. This will be a good escape alternative after seeing the car that he had driven in had been stripped of its tires. His bent mind went on strategizing an escape plan which he wanted to execute tonight... His thoughts were interrupted when Joana poked his bottoms with the end of her crutches... "I am showing you around because my grandma likes you." "Yeah, she is a very nice lady, we spoke quite a lot in these last few days." Edna Scott has told Marlin some of her darkest secrets; things that even her granddaughter does not know¡ªlike who her actual mother was¡ªbut he promised the old lady that he would not expose the truth to Joana. "Grandma said that you could have abandoned me in New Orleans but you brought me back to her¡ªshe told me that I should trust you too. That is why I want to show you my secret place." Joana looked up and pointed with her crutches at a twenty-five-foot ladder that led to the attic alcove on top... "We have to go up there now." After seeing his ride to escape later at the wee hours, Marlin was now finding an excuse... "Whoa, maybe some other time¡ªyour leg is busted and there is no way you can climb up over there." Joana placed her palm on his hard chest, her eyes were still fixated to the attic above, she alluded... "Come on, you are strong¡ªyou can carry me up like how you did in New Orleans. Come, Marlin, you will love it once we get up there...please take me there."The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He was always the sucker who cannot say no to a girl... She was awestruck by her trice of being alone with the opposite sex for her first time, amazed at how his bicep muscles flexed when his arm went to hold the next rung of the ladder; she had a closer look at his Japanese motif tattoo¡ªshe now wished at that moment that she was his Suki instead... Marlin climbed halfway on the rickety ladder with Joana in her bathrobe clinging tightly on his back. He cautioned her, "Jo, don''t ever let go, you will break your back if you fall." "Don''t worry¡ªI will never let you go." At the attic top, Marlin began sneezing, seeing cobwebs over many old dusty crates and junks from the turn of the century. He followed the barefooted Joana who was hobbling and holding on anything sturdy for support. She had left her aluminium crutches and footwear below. She gave him a tour comment on the attic. "Most of the stuff is my grandpa''s, he died here during the Medusa." ''Yes and no.'' He died alright, but not at the farm¡ªyour grandma divorced Franklin Scott back then because he was a reckless alcoholic. But Marlin could not tell these to Joana because he made a promise with Edna Scott to not divulge. They moved through more antiques and junks which Marlin thought were a fire-hazard¡ªthe two teens finally reached the far end of the boarded platform of the attic. There were two large wooden chests were there. The spot was a more cosy setting where two best girlfriends had once rearranged the place some years ago. Marlin discovered a stereo system with lots of CD collection. A dust-covered CD of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the nude on the oyster case cover caught his attention. He smiled to himself recalling back seeing his school friend having that similar ''Two Virgins,'' but in a vinyl album. "Marlin, this is my secret place¡ªin there are things that belong to my Aunt Andrea." Joana told while pointing at the wooden chests on the floorboard. "She was a fashion model back then in New York before the Medusa Virus came." She reached and opened the lid of the chest. "Look here, all her expensive fashion clothes, the other chest is all her shoes and her other stuff¡ªher photographs mainly." Marlin saw the dresses were wrapped in plastic see-through covers. Lots of neatly packed shoes were on the other chest. He retreated on a two-seater couch and he observed the child in Joana at play. She turned around and passed him a stack of photo albums and sat beside Marlin. He flipped to see Andrea''s modelling pictures while Joana said. "She was a very beautiful woman and I always wished I was beautiful like her." Joana stood up by supporting onto Marlin''s knee. She hobbled towards the chest with the dresses. She picked her favourite ardent black one and removed the plastic cover. She placed it in front of herself, looking into a full-length mirror and she continued saying. "These dresses are more than 20 years old but yet they are still so elegant¡ªI like this one the best, it is a Gucci." She waited for Marlin to speak but he was focused on the photo album. "You are so quiet¡ªare you familiar with the label Gucci?" "Yeah, Suki likes Gucci too," he replied nonchalantly. "She has got good taste," Joana giggled and looked back at the mirror... ''Yeah, very expensive in taste,'' thought Marlin; she was the daughter of one of the wealthiest family in Tokyo and her aunt was the Japanese Ambassador in Washington back then and even now. He recalled Suki receiving huge allowances to party with her rich circle of friends in school but instead she wanted to be with him. She even dyed her hair blond like his. While in isolation, he amorously thought a lot about Suki and how he doesn''t deserve her because of his secret double-life as the son of a Russian research scientist who became a fugitive. His mother was accused of being partially responsible for the group that creating the deadly Medusa virus pandemic and was now still in hiding. He needed to focus now into finding her¡ªso tonight, he has to escape from Mississippi and head to Washington D.C. Joana''s voice snapped him out from his reveries. "Hey, I am going to put on this dress on for you and you tell me how I look, okay?" Marlin closed the photo-album. "Some other time Jo lets go down before your Sisterhood buddies start looking for us." Joana giggled and teased... "Just ignore them. I am going to wear it anyway; so you turn away¡ªI am changing now." Marlin modestly looked down, he picked another photo album¡ªit was filled with artistic nude shots of Andrea Scott. He peeked up when Joana dropped down her bathrobe and she was only wearing her panties beneath. She slipped the Gucci dress over her head¡ªhe admired her rounded butts a few seconds and at her full breasts with puffy pink nipples that reflected on the mirror. He turned the next page, see more of her aunt''s naked photos. She tried to match high heeled shoes for the dress. She almost tripped before she chose a pair of flats. Joana came over and sat on Marlin''s lap and he fastened the zipper behind for her. "How do I look?" while parading herself. "It looks really beautiful on you, Joana." He saw her giggly in embarrassment and she turned back looking at herself again on the mirror. Marlin remembered Roxy had hinting sarcastically that her grandmother had raised her as a girl and not as a sister-boy... "My best friend Lilya and I used to dress up in all of these dresses and we talk about our modelling careers when we were growing up¡ªshe was about 14 and I was 12 then. I was a little scrawny back then but I am so glad the dress fits me so well now," admiring her now developed boobs in the mirror. She went on talking about Lilya who she felt was a talented sculptor and now having her own small art gallery business. She pointed at one of her mesh wirework which was one foot by one cube at a side table¡ªMarlin observed the meshwork on a closer look and finally made it out the kitsch sculpture as two figures of women with their limbs stretched into a shape of a cube¡ªand was engaged in a 69 position... He couldn''t help fantasizing about the ''Two Virgins'' back then¡ªLilya and Joana engaging the similar licentious act on the couch that he was now sitting on... "Marlin, do you think I can have a modelling career like my Aunt Andrea?" He smiled at her, "Sure why not, you are a woman now, the world is your oyster Jo¡ªif you wanna model, just go for it.'' The smile on her face vanished, "but my mother and sister will definitely not let me go, they want me here to serve the Sisterhood." Marlin pried even he knew her response will be like. "How about your grandmother¡ªshe will surely approve your ambition like your Aunt Andrea, right?" "She does not know about my ambitions, nobody does except Lilya¡ª I doubt my grandmother will let me go too. My mother said that my aunt ran away from here to New York, she then fell in love with the wrong man¡ªand finally, she died of a broken heart when he left her." Marlin listened to Joana''s side of her spoon-fed truth... She alluded more about herself. "That is why in the Sisterhood, we are warned about falling in love with anyone, especially to your kind, Marlin¡ªthe new breed. We are told to focus our ambition on the Aryan cause¡ªand we have to serve the Sisterhood from the age of 15 to 30 years; then we are given an option to get pregnant and raise our daughters for the next generation of the Sisterhood." Marlin nodded tacitly before he asked her back, "was this the reason Aryan girls were home studied and did not go to regular school?" She laughed out and shook her head. "No, it is not like that¡ªmost girls went to school but my silly grandma home-studied me because she feared that some government people will come here and take me away!" She was humoured by her grandmother''s peculiar ways and even inadvertently called her silly. ''Of course, you are the granddaughter of the President of America¡ªthe Snake-woman, ''Marlin thought without saying out... "So I was hiding in this farmhouse all my life until one day my mother took me away. Roxy then trained me to be a Sisterhood soldier to serve our cause." She now envied the opportunities that Lilya was enjoying a better life after she ran away from Mississippi¡ªand she ended by saying casually... "I am stuck over here and she is now married to that famous hero cop Roberta Jensen whom we fought hard within New Orleans." Marlin''s jaw dropped when he heard that... He sat up and before he can speak, Joana put his mind to ease, "don''t worry Marlin, I am very close to Lil and our secret is safe¡ªeven Jensen does not know that I exist." Marlin got into the debate. "Look here, both Roxy and Jensen knew each other from their Ohio days¡ªand some bad blood may have happened along the way back then, and that was why Jensen has attacked your Sisterhood camps. Sooner or later she will fucking come back again with her e-SWAT to hunt for Roxy¡ªand you too, Jo¡ªbecause you are an Aryan Commander!" He was contemplating to take her away tonight with him after he purloined one of the bikes¡ªbut will she agree to follow? He weighs it up¡ªit was best if he escaped alone because it is more dangerous heading east to Cory''s military playground in the capital¡ªfurthermore, Roxy Gilman will definitely find a way to protect Jo and her grandma... That what families always do. "Stop worrying." Joana came and sat beside Marlin and she was holding his hands before she can voice anything, Marlin alluded anxiously... "I am now a inhouse prisoner here, Jo. What if Jensen comes in now and ambushed us all here, we will all be killed including your grandma. It is really not as safe as you think." "Relax Marlin. If Roberta Jensen knew, she''d have come here a long time ago, don''t you think so?" He still felt edgy with the present danger in being in the farm after the Battle of New Orleans'' rebel assaults. He then asked how she communicated with Lilya. She responded... "Lilya and I share the same email account with the secret password that we only both know. We post messages in it and correspond from within¡ªLilya is like my other half, and she will never sell me out..." Marlin noticed that she was failing to see that IP addresses can be tracked and hacked by the authorities. This was nowhere near to the high-tech government-issued cell phones that he once had in possession, and even having those untraceable phones had landed him in Tombscradle when he took things for granted¡ªby arrogantly thinking before that he was a ''slippery as a fish'' and can get away with anything... "Does Roxy know that you are corresponding with Lilya?" "No, she cannot know, or I else am in deep trouble," her voice shuddered. They both jolted, looking up at towards the roof¡ªthere were sound coming from the skies above. Joana scurried off the couch in panic... "Oh my god, that is Roxy¡ª she is coming here now!" She lurched towards the mirror and slipped off from the Gucci in front of Marlin. He stepped up to open the small dusty attic window... He peered at the horizon at some crop duster-planes approaching... "There are 4 planes coming!" The topless Joana slipped back into her bathrobe. She hurried the Intersexual in an unnerved voice... "Come help me down, Marlin. I think my mother is here too!" Marlin anticipated more trouble. .. Mrs Scott despised both her seditious daughter Sarah and granddaughter Roxy who was the current leader general of the Aryan Sisterhood. Chapter 4 REEVES AND Troy were placing a mattress on the backseat of the Mustang for Laura''s comfort during the Exodus Trail journey that they tend to pursue after lunch. Reeves was concerned, "will she roll and drop off?" Troy laughed. "We just have got to warn fatso to stop monkeying around with his drift-driving then." They left the garage to collect more of their gears. * Laura was stretched out on the king-sized bed in Capt. Howdy''s bedroom. Her index finger moved slightly while she was in a dream¡ªin it, a twelve-year-old Laura was running in a forest. She peered up ahead at the toddler in the red dress walking alone ahead... "Hey, little girl¡ªwait!" Behind Laura was a descending Boeing plane in the skies with yellow smoke streaking from its tail. It nosedived into the forest from her rear. Laura started running after the little girl but she stopped a second to look behind to the rumbling sound. The Boeing had crash-landed with its wingspan breaking small trees like splinters. It approached fast towards her. Laura screamed and raced faster while cautioning the girl... "Run! Run!" She now noticed ahead¡ªthe nine-year-old plump Roberta was standing beside the little girl in red. Roberta grabbed the infantile girl''s hand and they both started running to safety. Laura was now being pursued by the fast-approaching plane. She kept yelling ahead to them... "Faster, Robbie¡ªrun faster!" The plane was only yards away behind Laura. She shrilled even louder before she fell down on her face. The gargantuan plane passed over without crushing her. Laura froze and gazed up to see the colossal metal bird was now heading after Roberta and the girl... Laura got up on her feet and now chased the plane that went like a bull elephant on the rampage, wreaking the forestry. She kept hollering at the escaping youngsters ."Go, Robbie¡ªrun faster!" The plane was now far ahead and it halted at the edge of the forest. Laura drew nearer and noticed that the plane''s end was tilting downwards. It was about to plunge down a canyon. She looked up to see Roberta and the girl in red was now on top of the plane roof. The plane tilted further, and the jolting cries of the little girl in red were audible... Robbie and the girl drop down on the sliding roof towards the plane''s nose. Robbie grabbed on a groove on the surface on the roof of the cockpit. The screaming child clutched and hung on Robbie''s ankle. The plane was now gradually moving to almost ninety degrees downwards, ready to plunge down into the canyon. Laura reached the plane and she hollered instructions... "Save her Robbie¡ªdon''t let her fall! Robbie looked down at the girl clinging on to her leg, Robbie started to kick the young girl''s hand. The astounded elder sister screamed back... "Robbie¡ªNo!" The girl''s grip released and she dropped down into the bowel of the deep canyon. Robbie rolled away from the massive bodied metal, falling off from the Boeing''s side. The plane slowly plunged behind moving towards the same direction of the falling girl in red... "No!" shrieked Laura seeing the end to the girl''s fate. Roberta was on the grassy ground, witnessing the plane''s tail disappearing as it fell off from her view. Laura dashed ahead to edge and viewed the falling plane falling to crash below. She sobbed, slowly turned to find Roberta sitting on the ground... "She is gone¡ªwhy, Robbie why did you do that?" Roberta picked her portly-self up and stood beside. Holding her older sister''s hand and looked down at the burning pit below... "We don''t need her, we both have ourselves, Mimi¡ªthat''s what that matters." Laura looked in ache at the evil grin on Roberta''s face shown enjoying the sight of the collective suffering below. Laura was now afraid of what has become of her sister. * Laura was sweaty, lying on the bed in Capt. Howdy''s bedroom. Her eyes were open and staring a twirling suspended model Boeing plane above on the ceiling¡ªa tiny wind-chimes was attached to it. Her body was taut with her eyes rolling back and forth, observing the new surrounding she was in. She tried to move but she could not. Her mind was awake¡ªbut the body was stiff as a corpse; Laura laid flat, stared at the chiming Boeing plane ornament above... She heard laughter in the hall outside the bedroom. Laura thought it was her father. She called out in a soft low cracking voice... "Dad...Dad...Mum..." Her fingers moved a little. She managed to turn her palms towards the bed-sheet. She gripped the linen sheet and used her strength to move upwards, a few inches at a time. She slowly has gained her partial strength to lift her left hand up. She looped her arm over and snatched the headboard. She next tried to sit up while slowly stretched her legs aside. The feet roll off toward the side of the bed... ''You can do it!'' Her swim Coach Kiernan always said that she has strong kicks... One of her hand was still clutched to the sheet. The other hand was dragging onto the headboard for leverage. She managed to wobblingly sit upright, but only to plop over off the bed. She landed hard on the side of her face¡ªthe pain distressed sharply. Laura lolled stiff and was panting hard in anguish on the dusty floor. She can''t move nor shout out for help... Laura crawled towards the open door using one of her shoulder and an arm. She peeked out to glimpse at Joe and Two Bob laughing outside¡ªthey both were carrying guns... She was screamed internally with terror, ''oh no, terrorist!'' Her memory evoked images of terrorist broadcasted on TV of the Medusa attacks on the day she hurt her knee after falling off her bike. She recalled her mum excusing her from going to school for a couple of days. She now remembered the plane with the yellow fumes... ''Was the girl in red in the plane?'' She can''t remember who the child was¡ªbut Laura''s emotions attachment towards her were immense just like the dead robin which she buried that same day. ''Did the girl die in her dream that she just had?'' ''Where is Robbie?'' Laura with a great effort forced her neck to turn over her shoulder. She distinguished an open window from the corner of her eyes... She started to crawl backwards towards it... She had to escape... * Reeves and Troy joined the guys in the hall. They carried their gears out the front door of the lake-house to the garage, while loading it into the trunk of the Mustang. They both overheard True Bob''s directions, "hey, arrange it well, Troy, we got more cooking utensils over here." * Laura upper body was hanging on the bedroom window sill¡ªshe slumped further using her rigid torso to wriggle until she finally plummeted down on the damp grass outside the window, hitting her head again. She laid on her side, called out softly for help in a raspy croak... "Mum... Dad...Mum...Robbie..." She was dazed while she tried to stand but she kept falling. She noticed a wooden rowboat oar and crept towards it. A minute later after several trying attempts, Laura managed to stand up on her feet using the oar as support... She viewed elusively at the lake ahead and the three floatplanes¡ªshe was still in-between her vivid indefinable dream realm and the ecosphere of reality¡ªshe saw the child in the red dress walking towards the planes... She felt glad that the child did not die ... "Wait..." Laura called out to the toddler, staggered to take the first few steps¡ªand it was a difficult feat after eighteen years dormant on the ward-bed. She used the tall oar pole like a biblical Moses walking stick to gait. She realized the girl in red has walked further away to the lake... She kept the race, she was told that she has strong kicks. Her feet moved a little faster... ''You can do it!'' Her swim Coach Kiernan always told her so. "You can do it!" * Troy walked past Capt. Howdy''s bedroom to collect more things for the journey. He noticed the bed empty... He rushed in and hollering out to alert the others, his head was out of the window, "Reeves! Come here quick!" Reeves scurried inside to catch the sight of Troy jumping out of the window. Laura was gone too. He raised an alarm to the rest...Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. * She was closing towards the floatplanes. Laura turned to see over a shoulder when her name was called. One of the terrorists was coming from behind, calling out her name... "Laura!" She perceived that she has been abducted¡ªand next, the kidnappers will demand a ransom from her father who was struggling to keep his farm running from being taken over by the bank... She needed to escape. Laura looked up to see the girl in red standing on a thirty-foot narrow boardwalk. It was built on stills across the water towards the lake... "Laura! Laura!" cried Troy. He raced over towards the lake. She further dreaded and moved even faster after more voices calling her from afar. They were also pursuing her... "Mum...help!" Laura stepped on the boardwalk where the girl-child in red stood at the far edge¡ªLaura needed to jump into the water with her and swim away¡ª''what about the little girl?'' If the kid slowed her down, the terrorist will shoot them both in the water... Laura turned her neck back in a hurry and saw Troy nearing... "Laura, stop!" She looked forward again and was astounded that the girl was gone. ''Has she fallen off?'' But the water was still without any signs of ripples. She dropped on her knees and looked closer into the mirroring water surface... Her eyes were searching for the lost girl¡ªbut instead, she saw her reflection as an older woman... Laura started to cry in both fear and mystification... "Oh God, what has happened to me? Mum, what happened to me?" Troy stopped halfway on the boardwalk. He signalled to the rest of the guys from not approaching Laura. They all stood from afar and watch her crying aloud¡ªshe kept touching her own face. ** The rest of the Intersexuals sat under a shady tree, watching ahead at Troy with Laura by the lake. Both were seated on the boardwalk for the past fifteen minutes while Reeves and True Bob were discussing the ''dos.'' The anxiety-filled Reeves turned occasionally to Joe and alluded to him the ''don''ts.'' "We can''t shock her with too many details¡ªthat will be information overload, understand? She just snapped out after twenty-something years, man¡ªyou hear me, Joe? Don''t go confusing her¡ªand try to talk less to her, and just only answer the questions she asks you¡ªlet her fit the puzzle at her own pace, is that clear, Joe?" This was getting to annoy Joe. "Hey yo, why pin-point at me, dude?" Bob responded back chaffing. "Cos you have a flapping mouth like a dumb duck''s ass¡ªyou say half the shit here without thinking, and half the time you confuse me too. I am afraid the longer I listen to you every day, I might get a brain tumour." * Troy and Laura sat at the end of the boardwalk with their feet wading in the water under the noon sun. Beside them was the floatplane, The Lady of the Lake. Troy was very gentle with her, so to gain her trust. "What else can you remember, Laura?" She was trying hard and regained bits of her past memory. "It was a long journey on the road¡ªdays I think. We saw lots of awful things happening¡ªlots of accidents and people killing each other. Dead bodies were burnt by the roadside," She educed even more of the emotional incidents from her juxtaposed experience... "Then there was this little baby girl left on the roadside¡ªshe was crying all alone and we did not stop¡ªwe just drove away." She finally knew who the kid dressed in red was¡ªher little robin that she could not safe. Troy saw her crying again. He instilled some pleasant positive thoughts, "don''t be upset, Laura¡ªthat happened a long time ago, and this little girl must have grown up by now. She must be more than 20 years old now, living happily somewhere, don''t you think so?" Laura then recalled seeing the laughing child in the arms of a woman behind a Mexican truck. "Yes, I guess so," she softly responded and became quiet. Troy realized that Laura was a confused thirty-year-old woman with a mentality and the understandings of a twelve-year-old girl since her awakening. Troy''s eyes searched for Reeves over his shoulder. They were seated under the tree, eagerly waiting to be called over after Troy broke-the-ice. "Laura, can I introduce you to my friends over there? They are good guys and they mean you no harm." She was now flustered... "But I saw them with guns¡ªand that is why I ran. Are they terrorists?" In her lost era after eighteen years, Troy was caught in a position where he did not know what Laura''s definition of a terrorist was coming from. In his own views, he hated guns too and will only pick up one for self-defence situation of trepidation just like the time on the roof of Tombscradle when they faced the storming Elite soldiers who came with a command to kill the prisoners. It was the same reason why he took the task of Intel and Communication in God''s Army outfit so that he will not have to carry and exploit a loaded weapon... "You don''t like guns, Laura?" She slowly shook her head, "they are so loud and scary. My dad has a shotgun back on the farm and I saw him use it once. He shot at a fox but did not kill it though. He just scared it away." she replied innocently and Troy nodded. "So, would you like to meet my friends?" he asked again. She shook her head staring at her feet in the water. He assumed that she was afraid of trusting strangers. "Are you afraid of them?" Troy then saw her smiling and even blushing when she nervously responded back in a whisper. "No Troy, I am actually shy to meet boys¡ªI am not like Robbie, she is my tomboy sister." They both were laughing now. "They are friendly boys, Laura¡ªthey just want to say hi to you," Troy said with his neck turning again to the guys behind in the shade. Her hand tugged the sleeves of his t-shirt; Laura was still confused about their gender because of their androgyny looks... "Troy wait, I want to ask you something¡ªwhy do you all look different? Are you all boys or girls?" Troy now laughed aloud by himself. He then clarified... "We are boys¡ªremember when you said just now that you saw the plane that had yellow smoke coming from it?" Laura nodded with wide eyes, listening closely to Russian terrorist attack information that was lost after her long absence... "It made us this way¡ªour genders got mixed up a little genetically as babies, and our faces are like girls¡ªbut other than that, we are regular guys...err, boys." Laura now pried even more. "So, it is only your face then?" She stopped to put some thought on her query¡ªif they were hermaphroditic species like she learnt in school. Troy saw that she had stuck out her index finger¡ª "...then as boys, you have that...?" Troy realized that she was embarrassed to say out ''penis.'' He nodded, "yes, we have that too." Laura blushed even more and covered her mouth and laughed that he had read her mind; Troy joined her laughing, to mirror the actions and emotions of the ''twelve-year old-woman.'' He was pleased that she was inquisitive and was opening up, and gaining his trust. "I am going to call them over, okay Laura?" Troy whistled and signalled Reeves and the rest at the back. They started coming over with Bob and Joe walking ahead, while the hesitative Reeves follow from the back... Laura viewed the Intersexual trio stepping on the boardwalk and they were coming over. More shyness crept into Laura. She shifted from foot to foot and she grabbed Troy''s arm tighter. She was demure, avoided eye contact and she whispered to him. "Oh, I am so shy, Troy." "Then keep holding my hand." Troy first introduced Truman Robert to her; he was the one who gave the most resistance in the earlier group-discussion that morning. Then, he introduced Joe¡ªwho by nature, needed no introduction in creating embarrassing moments, the red-haired blurted out... "Who are you actually, Mimi or Laura?" Laura froze a little¡ªthe only person who had called her Mimi in the whole wide world was her mother Martha. Reeves stepped up slowly from behind¡ªand Troy finally presented him, "Laura, this is Reeves." They both shook hands and Reeves nodded and smiled weakly; Laura peered up into his eyes and blatantly responded... "You look familiar from back home but I can''t recall¡ªdo I know you?" Joe laughed aloud and he announced openly. "What a family reunion!" Reeves was bowled over by Joe again. Even True Bob felt that the ''fat-fuck'' had disremembered the ''don''ts'' discussion which they had earlier minutes ago under the tree shade. Joe was standing close to the edge of the boardwalk; Bob nudged him in the ribcage causing Joe to fall backwards into the water. Everyone was taken by surprise for a second before they joined the laughing True Bob... Troy then got Laura''s attention... "Come let''s go to the house, Bob has made us lunch and you must be very hungry?" Laura''s eyes were still on Joe splashing in the water, cursing back at True Bob. She nodded back at Troy and made a quick request. "I love swimming a lot¡ªI am in the school team, you know? Troy, can we come to swim later?" "Sure we can -- let''s eat first. I want you to meet ''some nice friends'' at the house, Mr and Mrs Howdy." They all stepped out from the wooden planked walk while Joe struggled to climb up behind them. "Hey fellers, wait for me!" They walked towards the lake-house, Laura was still holding Troy''s hand and she kept on looking at Reeves. She was not reticent and she boldly spoke up. "Can I say something?" They looked at her and she stopped walking and she signified... "Reeves, you look a little like my dad¡ªwho are you, are we related?" The Intersexuals all look at each other in nervous silence¡ªTroy said softly, "Laura, something happened..." The perturbed Reeves intruded quickly. "Troy, no!" He felt it was premature to relay such information after she had barely recovered less than an hour ago. All of the Intersexual were back silent again; Laura searched their vacant faces... "Troy, tell me, what things happened?" she demanded. Troy stooped closer to her ear and he told her delicately, "Reeves here, is your son..." Laura in return exclaimed... "I got married? When was that?" "We don''t know the details but you have been in a coma for a very long time¡ªbut this happened 18 years ago; where somehow during that period of time, you gave birth to him in Columbus, Ohio." Laura recalled memories of her family travelling east during the Medusa evacuation¡ªand her mother had told that they will be going to stay temporarily with their Aunt Flo in Columbus. Maybe her aunt will probably know the details. While she processed the thought, her hand was on her neck¡ªand her fingers ran on the chain that she wore¡ªshe saw the Mimi-pendant... "This belongs to my mother''s¡ªwhy am I wearing it?" Troy asked her again... "Can you remember where is your mother now, Laura?" She gazed back into Reeve''s eyes¡ªshe saw her father''s dead eyes staring back in the Buick''s rearview mirror; she spoke out from her memory of the tragic accident... "Robbie got off the car, then I got off too but Mum¡ªand the car was rocking." Her terrified eyes jumped on each of the Intersexual standings in front of her, "it then plunged down with Mum and my Dad!" Laura went forward and hugged Reeves and started to cry. Joe who was soaking wet came from behind and looked at them. He was wise enough to keep his mouth shut and he listened to her sobbing. "Mum and Dad are dead..." She looked up to Reeves... "Do you know where Robbie is, Reeves? She is a little girl¡ªshe is out there somewhere alone." The younger Jensen held her firmly, "Laura, look here¡ªlisten to me, Robbie is safe! Whatever happened, happened a long time ago, and even Robbie has grown up too¡ªand she is about your age now." Laura now remembered the reflection in the lake a moment ago¡ªshe has begun to come with terms that she was no longer a twelve-year-old any more... "What year is this?" She asked as she wiped her tears on her back of her palm¡ªnone of the other Intersexual had a hankie to offer her. "It is November 16th¡ªit is now the year 2033," Reeves told her gently. "It is been a long time ago," she replied back with a cheerless smile at them. "Yes, you been in a coma for a very long time," Reeves reconfirmed. Knowing that she will never get the loss of both her parents and the lost epoch where she was in the state of dark sleep; Laura was now slightly humoured... "Now I am awake, and tomorrow happens to be my birthday." Troy in delight echo said, "your birthday, is it?" "Yes, I was born on November 17th." The dulcet situation was interrupted by the vigorous Joe, "hey we should celebrate it then!" He went over and tapped Reeve''s back, "what''s say you Sonny-boy, we are gonna celebrate your Mummy''s birthday yo!" Laura blushed in between her tears... "Hey, don''t call me that, I am embarrassed." "See here, how he has outgrown from his wet diapers days since Wesleyan" Joe ribbed and not only Reeves but the rest of the team also felt like punching his loud-mouth, and put him in the bandaged-situation like how the rest of them were in. She then laughed to the ironic thought that she now has a grown-up son... She turned towards Reeves beside her... "But Reeves, you can call me Mimi¡ªyour grandmother calls me Mimi." Laura went forward hugging and kissed Reeve''s cheeks... Reeves was finally gratified that he had finally found his consanguineous family after all those years of waiting and searching... Chapter 5 A TAXI STOPPED at a suburb address. Roberta got off with a duffel bag and walked towards her house. She noticed harsh lights and music coming from the open garage door where Lilya used it as a workshop in-between running her art gallery business. The albino pregnant woman wore protective eye goggles¡ªshe was welding a wire-framed life-sized sculpture of The Happy Family¡ªa resemblance of her and Roberta kissing while in their arms, each holding their twin babies. Electronic punk-rock music by a British group The Daughters of None blared on a stereo; and Lilya did not notice that Roberta was standing behind, observing her with the sculpture with gloomy eyes. Roberta then switched off the music; Lilya turned around immediately and saw her husband. She removed the goggles and ran over and hugged Roberta ¡ªand started rattling her heart out... "When did you come? Why did you not call? Rob, I would have come to the airport." She kept hugged Roberta even tighter with tears flowing; sobbed and continued ranting in a troubled tone... "I am so sorry dear, so sorry of what happened to Mimi¡ªhow they could have taken her?" She gazed at the indifferent Roberta who was quiet and still. She spoke out again. "Why won''t you allow me to come to LA? I wanted so badly to be with you¡ªand I was so worried for the past couple of nights thinking about you¡ªyou never called nor answered my call and... "...Aunt Flo called me several times from Columbus asking about Mimi. I could not tell her anything¡ªshe is worried sick there too..." Roberta pushed Lilya away. "Don''t ever mention that old bitch''s name to me¡ªI feel like killing her!" "Why are you angry, dear? What happened?" Roberta walked up and slammed the duffle bag hard on the worktable, "that dumb-ass aunt of mine registered the she-fuck that Laura gave birth under Laura''s name!" Roberta''s voice was getting frightening loud for Lilya. Yet she approached nearer to hear Roberta continuing to carp, "that is how my enemies got the information, and they took away my sister just to get back at me!" Lilya gently touched Roberta''s back. "Calm down Rob, it is the hospital procedure to register the name of the mother even it is for adoption¡ªyou can''t blame it on Aunt Flo, dear..." Roberta grabbed Lilya''s hand and stared back intensely... "You shut up and sit down¡ªI got some questions for you!" Roberta seized her duffel bag on the worktable. She went to unzips and pulled a file out¡ªslapped the Lilya-Joana in-street demonstration photo flat on the table¡ª "Now you tell me about this girl''s brother¡ªJoe!"Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Roberta has researched intensively on Joe/Joseph Gailman and found nothing on the piecemeal CIA investigation database since yesterday¡ªeven Joana Gailman was non-existence; and even her nemesis of her past, Roxy was also a ghost in her finding. Lilya''s voice shook when she replied... "Joana does not have a brother. She lived and grew up with her grandmother and her mother. They lived in the next farmhouse from I came from¡ªthen one day, Roxy came back from Columbus and she took her away¡ªthat is the whole truth, Rob, I swear!" "Don''t you lie to cover up for your friend, Lilya! My own flesh and blood have been abducted now, and I only want the truth from you¡ªnow tell me about her shemale fucking brother!" Lilya pleaded back, "you are mistaken, dear¡ªJo doesn''t have a brother!" Roberta pulled out another photo from the file¡ªit was a blowup from the CCTV car park footage of Joe in a brunette wig¡ªthere was some facial resemblance to Joana. Roberta smacked Lilya''s head and snatched her by her hair; the photo was held close towards her face... "Then who the fuck is this? Tell me, who the fuck is this?" "I don''t know, it could be anyone... let me go, Rob!" Roberta slammed Lilya''s forehead on the worktable before releasing her. The four-month pregnant woman slumped below in pain on the garage floor while the superior Roberta screeched menacingly at her... "Enough of the lying, bitch! Now, where is this farmhouse? The kidnappers might have taken Laura there¡ªnow tell me where?" Lilya was now enraged for being both accused and the maltreatment... "No, only her grandmother lives there alone; and she is a sweet and innocent lady. You are not in the right mind now, and you might do something horrible when you get there¡ªthat old woman knows nothing¡ªand you are not going to go there to harm her too, Roberta!" The incense in the air built on with more accusations... "I just don''t understand you, Lilya! You were never honest to me with anything at all¡ª you fucking live a pretentious and deceitful double-life even after we are married. First, you kept the Aryan Sisterhood a secret, then about Roxy and now this bitch Joana who has a fucking brother! Why do you tell so much lies, you bitch? My sister is dying out there and you don''t fucking care, and now you bullshitting me with excuses to protect my enemies instead! "You don''t care about the amount of shit that I am going through now¡ªI am out there hunting them to get my Laura back, while you-you are here in your pretentious happy-life-of-your-happy-fucking-world..." Roberta pointed at the sculpture that Lilya had just erected, "...and you even dare to create an insensitive happy-piece-of-shit like this in my moment of loss and sadness!" Roberta grabbed a crowbar and wreaked the wired sculpture; it dropped down and she continued to trample it with her feet in abhorrence. She turned and looked at her crying wife who was staggering on her feet to escape out. Roberta trudged forward and snatched her by the shoulder when she almost reaching the garage door... She punched Lilya in the face. The albino teen dipped on the floor again with a broken lower lip; The pregnant Lilya was dazed and was too numbed to holler out for help. Roberta took out her handcuffs and slapped it on Lilya wrists to her back. She then proceeded to shut the garage door from any prying neighbours... The terrified Lilya who was beseeching for Roberta to end her physical abuses, but she was dragged instead on the floor¡ªthe raging cop hauled her by the left leg, back to the cataclysm worktable area where the argument earlier started. Roberta brandished the blow-torch and turned the knob of the blue flame on. She growled at the screaming at the albino in a deep odium voice... "Bitch, you are gonna tell me now where this fucking farmhouse is!" Chapter 6 ROARING BLARE from the engines of four crop-buster planes just landed nearby Mrs Scott''s farmhouse. The two sister-boys¡ªCynthia and Lee stepped up to welcomed their leaders in the open field. Roxy and her mother Sarah Gailman alight from the planes with a few other armed Aryans women in their Brand uniforms. Bigfoot the tall Aryan bodyguard towered them. Coming from the barn, Marlin and Joana entered the backdoor of the farmhouse without being spotted; Joana hurried ahead in her crutches with the blonde Intersexual guiding from her rear, keeping a lookout... Sarah Gailman was in her early fifties¡ªand does not resemble her slender teen physique photos in besides from Mrs Scott''s photo-frames display. Over the years, she has turned corpulent, bearing lots of badly designed tattoos of The Aryan Brotherhood and death-metal rock bands of the pre-Medusa days on both her chubby arms¡ªthe tattoos were inked from her hands and right up to her neck. A single curvy tear-drop tattoo marked on her left cheek. A nose ring and facial studs were also observable. Sarah and Roxy led the rest of the Aryan soldiers, approaching the farmhouse porch... * Joana dropped her bathrobe and slipped on a simple house dress over her head in a hurry in her bedroom. In the hall, Marlin spotted Mrs Edna Scott picking up a shotgun and she stormed to the front door¡ªhe followed from the back to the porch and caught the sight of Mrs Scott pointing the shotgun at the approaching women, and saying out to them loudly... "That is far enough all of you!" "What now, grandma? We came to see Jo," sighed Roxy Gilman detecting the loaded weapon. The older woman responded immediately... "She is fine; now turn around and leave my property¡ªyou are all not welcome here!" Her agitated tattooed daughter Sarah hollered back... "What do you mean¡ªthis is my father''s property and I got every right to be here because when someday you fucking croak¡ªthis place is all mine, you hear me?" She stepped a few paces forward and Mrs Scott then trained the gun at her. Even the inconspicuous Marlin learned that there was no love among both... Sarah spat with censure... "You have turned the place into an animal shelter¡ªhow can you allow filth like that freak inside my father''s house?" Marlin was astounded in aphasia to see her hatred finger pointing at him... "He should be staying in the barn like a nigger and chained up because he is dangerous!" Roxy stepped up from behind and calmed her fuming mother down, "come on Ma¡ªhe is that feller I said who saved Jo in New Orleans, and he brought her back here. What''s his name?¡ªFisher, yeah..."If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The obese woman calmed down while Roxy added more assuring words, "Lee and Cynthia are keeping an eye on him¡ªhe is no threat to anyone, Ma." Everyone was then distracted when Joana came out from the front door and stood beside her grandmother. "Grandma, please put the gun away." Sarah called out with her arms wide open. "Jo, you alright, my pumpkin?" "Yeah Ma, I am fine," Joana staggered to come down the stairs with her aluminium crutches. Mrs Scott released the safety of the gun, cautioning aloud in acrid... "Jo, you get your pumpkin butt back into the house now! You take one more step down, I will shoot the very leg that I had fixed!" "Grandma?" Joana was agape in disbelief to hear grandma speaking in the manner for the first time in her life; Joana now slowly retreated back to the porch. Sarah tried to reach for her and she demanded. "Jo, we came to take you back, baby¡ªyou are coming back with us now!" Mrs Scott grabbed Joana''s arm and tugged her up on the porch while training the shotgun specifically at Sarah and altercated... "No, she is not going anywhere, Sarah! I had enough of your stupid cause and all of its nonsense. You are sending innocent women and children to the battlefield to be shot at and killed¡ªwhat kind of parenting is that to send a 17-year-old girl like Jo out there to die?" "You don''t talk about bad parenting, you old fool. You were a control freak and that is why my sister ran away from home and she died in New York. She could have succeeded over there but you made it your personal mission and went all the way there after her, just to put a stop her dreams! I blame you for Andrea''s death, you bitch!" the cantankerous menacing Sarah defied boldly with her finger now pointing at Edna Scott. Roxy came once again from the back and grabbed her oversized mother from walking towards the pointed shotgun barrel... Roxy exclaimed out to them, "Jesus on a stick! Okay Ma, okay! Enough, both of you!" She tried to appease and diffuse the bane situation... "This is the reason I never got married and have children issues like the both of you, warring hags¡ªit is freakin'' messy!" Roxy was doing a bad job as the family''s arbitrator. After today''s confrontation, she was certain her grandma will certainly pull the trigger of the shotgun after the recent Aryan massacre in New Orleans, with her granddaughter Joana who was almost left behind over there to die. Sarah now turned and she pushed the clutching Roxy away. Venting at her oldest daughter in return... "Oh yeah, you moron¡ªyou almost did hitch with that albino cunt, have you forgotten that chapter in your motorcycle diaries?" "Shut up Ma, now don''t you go digging up my dirt!" True enough, Edna Scott fired a warning shot in the air to everybody''s surprise¡ªand hollered at the Aryans cabal on her lawn... "Go, get out off my property all of you¡ªyou redneck pile of trash!" Marlin noticed Sarah giving back a hard stare before walked away to the rest of the Aryans sister-boys behind¡ªleaving Roxy standing alone with her bodyguard Bigfoot facing her grandmother. Roxy noticed that Joana was in distressed tears over the family squabble, slightly bleeding in her bandages ¡ªand don''t look fit enough to travel back... "Hey Grandma, listen here¡ªI will be back in 2 days on Friday, okay? Jo should be okay by then¡ªand this time she is following me back!" Edna Scott silently took her granddaughter inside and slammed the front door. Marlin was left alone outside¡ª the rubbernecking Roxy looked at the house-arrest captive and cautioned... "See you around, Fish¡ªremember what I told you about my sister¡ªdon''t you go breeding any fries." He gaped at Roxy turning away, trailing with the rest of the Aryans from the back with Bigfoot beside her. The others walked ahead following the fuming Sarah Gilman back to their planes. Chapter 7 THE NEWS on the television played while Gates buttered her toast at her residence that morning; Lucinda overheard the newscaster reporting... "The shooting incident that happened 2 days ago between the highly decorated Elite-SWAT police officer Capt. Roberta Jensen with the members of the terrorist group of One God''s Army, which had left 4 of its black Jamaican origin members shot dead. "Unfortunately, two white accomplice members of the maliciously OGA terrorist group had managed to abduct the sister of Capt. Jensen. The victim, Laura Jensen, 29, who is a coma patient seeking treatment at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, was kidnapped and then driven away by the 2 Intersexual terrorists in a red Ford Mustang..." Lucinda Gates gasped at the screen displaying of a blow-up photo image of Reeves and Joe in a wig¡ªshe dropped the bread on a plate, and came closer to the TV, listening to the updates broadcasted... "In an interview last night, Capt. Roberta Jensen has offered a personal reward of $100,000 for anyone who can assist in the abduction investigation that can lead to the recovery of her missing sister, Laura Jensen... if you have any information of these 2 individuals please call the number on the screen..." Gates presumed that Joe was deep into the devastations of the Preacher''s movements; and if she interfered, then the CIA''s spotlight will be on her¡ª Madeline Cory will then know of her surreptitious involvement...You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Maybe it is best if she focused her effort on saving the twin-girl instead. Gates had read the current classified reports that she went by the name of Joana Gailman¡ªGates needed now to find this daughter of Samantha Cory before she too gets caught in the crossfire with the CIA''s assault-teams that was now closing nearer into every terrorist lair each day. * Roberta''s TV interview footage was broadcasted with reporters in the rain¡ª with her holding an umbrella, looking sombre with eye-bags resulting from sleepless nights worrying, and investigating with her department Intel in DC. A split-image then appeared on side of the screen with a close-up photo of Laura in a coma; Roberta spoke to the TV camera... "It has been more than 48 hours since my sister has been kidnapped by that terrorist Preacher''s group¡ªand they drove my frail comatose sister away at gunpoint." She did not mention anything about Reeves¡ªLaura''s son as the abductor. "Laura also has a heart condition, and is in need of her meds consistently¡ªthe longer she is out there unattended¡ªthat decreases her rate of survival. "That is why I am offering my entire life-savings as a reward to anyone out there¡ªto both women and Intersexuals¡ªto come forward to give me the right information to Laura''s whereabouts, which will then assist my investigations into finding her. "Please I urge you to act now, and please be fast¡ªbecause I want you out there to save my sister''s life... "Please help me!" Chapter 8 "HELP ME PLEASE!" Sanchez mocked and cursed vulgarities in Spanish. The other Hispanic who was watching the news online on the Mexican TV station busted in laughter seeing the vulnerable side of Roberta Jensen; who was one of their arch-rivals to the God''s Army, who had shot their leader¡ªThe Preacher. They turned to notice the frustrated and piqued Li Chi punching the wall... "I should have killed that bastard when we were in Tombscradle¡ªnow that fucker Reeves Jensen has got 4 of Hajja''s best men killed!" The Hispanic ignored the nettled Chinese and went on humouring themselves; the epicurean Sanchez was on the roll, "nice soap opera we got here¡ªboy rescues mother in coma and mother''s sister is a big bitch cop who hates nephew¡ªthings are gonna get nasty from now on." Li Chi was growing restless of waiting for Doran to recover in Mexico even though Ramirez and his boys felt at home with their overstayed R&R with their hedonistic nature of drinking and whoring all day¡ªwith no worries that they were the cause for that country which was now being bombarded by the Snake-woman''s army at its border. They have limited contacts inside Mexico¡ªbut it was their war fund of US Dollars from the Middle East that was buying them their safety and the misused comfort in that temporary haven. But if a similar reward like of Roberta Jensen''s was placed on Doran''s head¡ªLi Chi felt that any Mexicans on the street will sell them out for the remuneration¡ªwithout caring a fuck of some distant Chicanos kin from LA, and with a Chinaman smacked in the middle of the slack group. The disgruntled Li Chi left the carefree room of inclement laughers and badinages. Outside in the long corridor of the rented old countryside villa, he opened a bedroom door where the debilitated Doran laid asleep on a bed. Li Chi took of his cell phone and called an underground cell-group situated back in Los Angeles¡ªhe needed to take some actions to continue the efforts for the AOG cause... * The roller sliding doors of an auto-chop shop was down. Inside, an AOG Council named Commander Gomez was with his men mounting high calibre machine guns bequeathed from the Middle East to the back of pickup trucks. He received a call from Mexico...This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Li Chi here¡ªHi there, Gomez, are you still in LA?" "Yeah Leach, good to hear¡ªhow is our Preacher in Mexico?" The anguished-filled Chinese spoke... "He is recovering well. Listen, Gomez, we got a situation, and Ramirez told me to inform you to go and check on Reeve''s cell group at Lake Huntington. The bastard apparently is in the verge of deserting his mission after getting Hajja''s men killed¡ªyou should know by now the penalty of deserting the Army of God?" The Chinese triad leader grasped that his presence as the battlefield strategist in the God''s Army group, on the whole, was not respected by the majority of the cantankerous Latinos¡ªwho outnumbered the Asians vastly¡ªso he had to drop in Ramirez''s name to move Gomez into taking action... "Yeah, I heard that he abducted that fucking cop''s sister," but Gomez was in an inclement deadline by his present commitments... "But Leech, Hajja has given me a shit load of stuff to do here and my fucking hands are tied¡ªgo and bug your "Jake''country-men in Frisco, dude!" "But you are closer to the lakes than Wu Leong; he is in San Francisco and is now focused as the substitute to assassinate Cory¡ªbut this is the top priority for now. So, Gomez, there is a big possibility that Reeves Jensen is still hiding there with that kidnapped woman¡ªso you need to go to the Lakeshore as quick as possible before he runs off!" "What if we find them there?" Li Chi was glad that he got through the earlier reluctant Chicano. The Chinese gave his instruction as one of the commanders of the existing Council... "Spare the woman''s life, Gomez¡ªbut kill the rest of the deserters over there. We can then use the woman as leverage against that bastard cop Jensen. Imagine if we had this advantage while we fought Jensen in New Orleans, we would have won over there... "Now go get Laura Jensen; she is our trump card for our next victory in LA!" Gomez okayed and grinned as he hung up¡ª He has seen the news broadcasted about Jensen''s sister''s abduction¡ªand he was calculating mentally of the huge reward of money offered by Roberta Jensen for the woman''s recovery... * A moment after making his call, Li Chi was baffled to the arcane of gunshots coming from behind him; he drew out his pistol and ran ahead towards sounds of the firing machine guns. He spotted Sanchez firing out of the window... The Mexican Federalists have found their hideout, and have surrounded it. Chapter 9 THE SUN was setting at the lake. Laura was in the water by the floatplanes after she found one of Mrs Howdy''s swimsuit in the house; it was also when she noticed the abstruse surgical scars on her chest, she kept it to herself and hid the detection by not ask about its gravity out of her embarrassment because she also noticed that she had grown a full pair of breasts since then¡ªanother reminder that she no longer twelve years old. Joe was in one of his farcical showings off antics mode at the lakeshore, running on the stilted boardwalk and diving into the water, forming a huge splash. Laura ribbed that he might create a tsunami. The rest of the Intersexuals were lazing in the porch of the lake-house. Troy looked over at the fun that Joe and Laura were having swimming at the lake. He can''t join because of the head bandage-dressing that he sustained from the Jamaican''s drubbing. He was instead happy lazing, reading an old battered Stephen King paperback which he found in the house. Two Bob was lying down napping on the boarded porch floor; while Reeves looked listless and was softly cursing under his breath. They found his presence annoying. "What''s the matter, man?" "We are all packed to hit the road, then why are we sitting around here? It is really not safe to stay put after those Jamaican got bumped in LA." They had this discussion earlier after accessing the situation of Laura''s hearty recovery of coming back from her coma. Reeves was persistent that they should leave at dusk while the others were unresponsive. They were willing to take the risk by staying at the lake for a day or two since there were no Jamaicans breathing down on their necks with their death threats. "Chill out, will you, It has only been 6 hours since Laura came out of an 18 year in a coma¡ªjust let her recuperate a day before we hit the road, man!" Even True Bob with his eyes closed spoke after Troy. "We promised her inner-child that we are celebrating her birthday tomorrow." He has plans to cook a feast with the balance from the Jamaican''s moose meat¡ªwhich he always felt it was rightfully theirs if only Reeves had taken the courageous shot at the creek. "Come on, we can always celebrate whatever on the road at that Exodus Trail. But by staying put here, it is just an invitation for trouble."This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. True Bob chuckled with his eyes still closed. "Look, Reeves, let things cool off a bit¡ªit is also much more dangerous to be out in the road with your Uncle Jensen setting up roadblocks everywhere." Now everyone has caught up with Joe''s butch-uncle banter. Reeves stood up, facing them and giving them his prudence... "I doubt it¡ªCory''s attention is currently focused on deploying her forces on the city lockdowns by the riots, and also now at the Mexican border bombing. Hey guys, we can dodge them while they are busy over there¡ªand we can cover more distance rather than being sitting ducks here." Troy Norton hindered with absurdity. "How do you know, man, all we know, we might walk into a trap set by Roberta herself? Lets rather be sitting ducks here for a day or two¡ªand you Reeves, will you stop acting like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs for once, yeah¡ªand try to chillax, man!" Both Bob and Troy burst into laughter. It maddened Reeves to see Joe''s cockiness had grown into them. "Fuck you! You too, Bob, fuck you too!" Reeves berated, walked away alone with his rifle sling on his shoulder. He undertook the feelings that he has put up his team where no one listened to him anymore. To them, Reeves was just a fallow marksman with no killer instinct¡ªnow everyone was for themselves with no consensus in decisions. Once Reeves had left, True Bob spoke in wit, "Big Joe was right about him¡ªhe overthinks matters and even worries too much on our behalf." * Laura had the inclination urge to climb on top of The Lady of the Lake float plane¡ªjust like the ''kids'' did from the dream that she had awoken from. She stood on the roof and made out the rest of the ''boys'' at the lake-house porch, seeing Reeves leaving the pack alone. She nonchalantly asked Joe. "Is Reeves a good swimmer?" Joe laughed and narrated from his memory of his buddy nearly drowning in the far end of the Wesleyan campus pool when he was eight¡ªand ever since the incident he became a hydrophobic-cat and does not go anywhere near to any water surface. She walked towards the tail on the floatplane and stood on the tail flap before the fat boy tried to caution her as late Zinga had once done¡ªin case of injury, Laura did a complete back-flip and landed into the water which made the fat Intersexual gasp to mutter out... "Show-off!" Laura resurfaced and was delightfully giggling. "Good, I can still do that after all these years!" She started reeling further into the sunset lake and calling out. "Come, Joe, come swim with me!" Joe held the side of the floatplane. "Sorry, I don''t swim that good either. You go ahead, but not too far, please." He may be their best driver behind the wheels compared to the rest in the group, but in the water¡ªLaura Jensen was a bona fide mermaid. Chapter 10 A FORKLIFT hauled the wreaked dud missile onto a long truck. A platoon of the presidential palace guards, the bomb-squad and army soldiers surrounded the operation. President Emmanuel Garcia stood watching as a defeatist from the balcony¡ªand he gazed beyond the horizon where there were bellowing clustered clouds of black smoke, followed with low echoes of explosions. The Americans'' prolonging bombarding at the border was a painful sight to bear for the leader. The voice of a female Mexican colonel interrupted him in Spanish. "Signor President, the van will arrive any time now." "Prepare the table for my guests." Emmanuel Garcia nodded while his fingers feeling the smooth skin of his androgyny chin. He wished he had a Vandyke hirsute like the photos of his late father, Sexso Garcia, the millionaire entrepreneur and politician¡ªa candidate who did not make the presidency like his own son. His father was also a figure he modelled his life on even though he has not known him; Sesco was succumbed by the cursed Medusa virus a month after his mother had conceived him. The Intersexual President of Mexico saw the truck rolling away from the palace ground with the burnt green metallic dud missile carcass on top, that bore the US Army emblem... It was a reminder from his intimidating neighbour that he has less than ten hours to deliver the Preacher in his given cognizant deadline¡ªor else there will be the consequences of massive airstrikes and followed by a military invasion into his country by President Cory. The cleanup crew worked laboriously to restore the damaged ground in the approaching sunset. He distinguished from the balcony of the view of a black van driving in through an alternate palace entrance. President Garcia then proceeded to the banquet hall. ** Armed palace guards and soldiers surrounded the black van. The door was slide open¡ªthree men were with black hoods and hands bound in heavy-duty flexi-cuffs were retrieved out by the Federalists. The Mexican General Miranda instructed the soldiers to cut them loose; the hoods were removed off the clammy Ramirez, Li Chi and Sanchez. They stood looking disorientated and squinting to the bright evening sun. Doran the fourth prisoner, and was the last to be carried out from the black van. He looked weary and haggard in an unbuttoned shirt with bandages strapped on his belly. He was gently placed on the wheelchair. The four members of One God''s Army beheld the sight of the magnificent palace front. The banquet door opened moments later¡ªand the three able prisoners walked in. The wheelchaired Doran was trundled in by General Miranda herself to a long table with lots of succulent dishes, deserts and fruits. The President was seated at the head of the table. Three Mariachi violinists were playing some light melodies in the background. Emmanuel Garcia invited... "Welcome my American friends!" Ramirez and Sanchez then bowed to the President in respect despite being American nationals. Doran was the personage who was wheeled forward and they all heard the Mexican leader who was in good spirits, calling out again. "Come join the banquet¡ªI would be honoured if the Preacher sat on my right and dine with me." He raised an open hand, "yes, the rest of you too, please join me¡ªwe have lots to discuss." A chair was removed by one of the butlers, and the Preacher''s wheelchair was moved close to the table on the President''s right, Li Chi sat beside Doran. Across the table, Ramirez and Sanchez were on the President''s left. Several female butlers begin to serve food on to their plates while their host carried on speaking¡ªas he broached... "Gentlemen and Padre Doran¡ªyou all know why you are here?" Everyone stared speechless before Ramirez predicated with a response in humour but in a slight piqued tone... "Signor President, is this you are giving the feast of the Last Supper before we are handed to the Snake-woman?" Garcia busted out laughing and tapped the upset Ramirez''s shoulder, "I am no Judas either, hombre." As the Intersexual President spoke; Doran was struggling to retain his concentration; it was the shot of morphine the Mexican army medic had administered before transporting them to the palace¡ªnow taking full-effect... His mind floated and he was back to somewhere he had been before during his isolation periods in the dark prison''s hole of Tombscradle¡ªwhere he had opened the secret gated doorway and following the surreal angelic voices that summoned him to join the Lord at his own banquet table in the heavenly garden with His friends¡ªthe apostles. Doran was seated there beside the one named Thomas who used to poke his finger into the side of the roasted lamb in doubt¡ªto see if the flesh was well-cooked or bloody. Emmanuel Garcia never spoke to the point, and was long-winded prolix with his polity and academic standpoints¡ªhe wanted those present on the table to understand where he was coming from. But he was also in full admiration of Doran''s achievements¡ªboth by the priest-monk''s struggles and victories... "You all were some nobodies in prison in Texas; and you Preacher, you created this monumental revolution from stopping your President from persecuting with her genocide attempts targeted on our New Breed species¡ªwhom she has later labelled you all as terrorist outcasts; but yes, the world outside is not blind as she thinks it seems, not noticing her malicious plots and actions!" He laughed with delight. Doran''s rebels present were beaming in their underdog pride discerning of their endeavours in fighting the high-tech US military at their last battlefield... "When you broke out of that prison in Texas...what''s its name?" Li Chi was the first to voice the correct answer. "Tombscradle." Emmanuel Garcia laughed aloud again... "What a fitting name for Cory who is the type that kills babies in cradles¡ª especially our kind¡ªthe Sirrah-children of a single generation¡ªfor we cannot breed our own future male-species because of what the damned virus did to us." He raised his wine glass... "But we will prevail and will leave our legacy behind as good men of dignity. By the grace of God Almighty, we will be victorious against the extremist¡ªsalute!" Everyone raised their glass except Doran who remained stoic in silence, looking at his plate. The President clinked his glass onto Doran''s before drinking his Tempranillo wine. The drug was then taking deep effect on him¡ªand Doran was not in the appetite for any of the good food, but he was constantly digesting every sentence that the President was uttering... "Yes, I salute you as I was saying, you broke out of ''Cradle''s-tomb'' ¡ªand later you broke into other prisons to rescue the other fellow-species whom then grew in numbers into your renown God''s Army!" The Intersexual politician glanced at the rebel monk and complimented... "And Padre Doran, yes, I really admire your spiritual leadership in bringing these many people of races and religions in unity, to stand against the peremptory Cory''s evil army of godless killers. May you precede her someday and you will be the next President of the United States!" All of the surprising rebels in the table laughed out in accord, and they toasted again for that glorious day to come true¡ªexcept for Doran¡ªhe saw Sister Lisa Marie standing behind Ramirez and Sanchez¡ªlooking back at him with loving and understanding eyes before her voice spoke only to him... "You are special, Doran¡ªyou will be The Pope someday." "No!" Doran''s firm reply interrupted and answering to both¡ªthose who were gathered at the table and also to the apparition of the nun that just vanished. Emmanuel Garcia and the others became quiet, listening to the Preacher... "I have no such ambition to be sitting in such position of authority¡ªI am just a simple soldier of God..." They all waited for him to say more but the dazed Preacher withdrew and he then remained speechless momentarily. President Garcia nodded to the Preacher''s ''modesty.'' Garcia then elaborated his own personal road to his presidency... "Yes, I am too walking on the same road as you, Padre Doran¡ªbut in the capacity of a President. I want to banish the old political system that was sowed with the seeds of crime and corruption; so to let my proletariat people of the future, who will see that we can indeed progress as a nation with a clean government... That is why I am so unpopular to many here in my own beloved country because I am fighting and eliminating crimes at every level¡ªright from the platforms of our dirty politicians, even to the criminally syndicated churches and right into the path of the Cartel drug-lords¡ªand even right to the lesser criminals on the street whom they for generations, this disease of corruption have made my people weak by immunizing them into their old ways of decadence¡ªand these corrupted systems of the past have fed deep into their spiral addictions... "Even in the International political arena, I am forced into the corner because they don''t approve how I do things differently¡ªand they all keep ostracizing me because I am the first," the young teenaged President paused and laughed... "...shemale President in the world!"Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Everyone laughed at what was said and they toasted with more wine. When the merry moment ended, Garcia now spoke in a lower troubled tone. "Now I am in a tight spot where this Snake-woman has twisted my arm and she is strangling me at the same time. She has been bombarding the Mexican border for the last 16 hours." Doran looked up and he decisively said... "Mr President, Madeline Cory only wants me¡ªlet my men present here walk away free¡ªand you can then hand me to her." Ramirez who was inebriated immediately responded his detractor... "What? No, Doran, we will not abandon you¡ªwe will go down together with you!" Even the self-centred Li Chi who sat beside him, face reddened by the wine, he bolstered and espoused... "Ramirez is right, we are behind you as our leader¡ªwe will all surrender later to that Snake-woman bitch!" Emmanuel Garcia spoke again to the tight group at the table... "That will not necessary, and nobody is going down. This impolitic Snake-woman has tested my patience and I have made a stand in this matter. She thinks as a super-power aggressor, she can push the limits of this country¡ªthe limits of our people and our Intersexual species¡ªbut now I have a plan... "...a plan where the four of you will walk away free tomorrow!" Everyone stared in awe at the smiling President Garcia, trying to figure him out. The impetuous Ramirez was again the first to speak as always... "You have a plan for us, Signor President? Let''s hear it, Sir." Garcia nodded but went back to his long-winded manner... "Well as I was saying, my road to my Presidency was short but really sweet. I campaigned that we the people of Mexico will have equality and live under a corrupt-free government¡ªand then since I came into office, I had used my full capacity to fight crime, especially against the drug-lords... "I have defeated most of them¡ªand I even have managed to capture their head-of-heads of the present Cartel organization¡ªhe is the great and notorious drug lord and bandit from the mountains who is known to many here as The Mad-dog Jesus Salazar!" The Mexican General Miranda who hardly spoke English, but she stood upright when she heard the bandit''s reputed handle... "I have seized all his wealth and paid forward by distributing it to the people to improve their proletarian lives..." the Mexican President turned his attention back towards Doran... "...temporarily¡ªas I believe in what you preach, Padre¡ªa good citizen of the faith should be taught how to fish rather than be fed¡ªso he or she can go out in life and catch bigger fish of their own. "So right now I have about 3000 of the Mad Dog''s followers with his loyalist''s generals in my prisons system¡ªthose criminals who have committed unimaginable crimes for him... "My Mexican CISEN division is consistently watchful over the tens of thousands of others who are outside prison¡ªthose who are waiting to bring this Salazar back to his celebrated dominant days. "But those 3000 Intersexuals and women whom I have in prison are waiting for trial¡ªmost of them deserve the death penalty¡ªbut I have kept them alive so far for a purpose." The four OGA rebels hung into the story¡ªbut did not get the point of how it related to them walking away free from Cory at the border the next day... "Aren''t you afraid Signor President that his people will break him out of prison and later create a revolution and overthrow your government?" Ramirez quizzed him back. It is the same quandary that the Preacher and his OGA rebels were currently doing by wreaking Madeline Cory''s administration¡ªbut the few on the table wanted to know Emmanuel Garcia''s stand as the leader of his country if such a similar situation ascended in Mexico... Garcia finished his wine and replied evenly... "Very true¡ªbut only if they can find his whereabouts¡ªwell in actual fact¡ªhe is right here in this palace..." "You have this Mad Dog in this palace?" Li Chi''s jaw dropped. President Garcia nodded to General Miranda who walked to the closed door. "Yes, I believe in the saying to keep my enemies closer¡ªand yes, I have specially built a prison for him right under this very grand and magnificent palace. The civilized ones will inhabit up above the ground¡ªand there in a dungeon right below these very floors is where that Dog dwells with his top generals." Garcia was pointing down at the marble flooring... The president was the only one enjoying his last laugh at the table. The rest peered towards General Miranda who signalled two armed guards to open the door¡ªin walked a lean and lanky Intersexual with dark hair, lengthen to his back like a Danny Trejo look-alike. A Mexican Colonel and a few armed guards escorted in the Mad Dog whose hands and legs that were bounded in chains... The morphine-induced Doran saw his mutilated mother apparition following from the back of the walking prisoner. Her movement was ethereal, seemed like she was gliding. Dressed in her tattered burnt nightgown in which she died wearing on a fiery night when he was her child-prisoner in her cellar. The ghoul woman was laughing in abhor and giving a drum roll introduction of The Mad Dog to her despised son, Doran... "Meet your match, my abomination son!" Even Doran quivered a little when he saw the brutal-looking Salazar¡ªrecalling one of the demons of underworlds which his mother lucidly described to him as a child, but he can''t evoke which one of the demonic fiends¡ªit was her discernment of a biblical bedtime story of Hades that gave him profane nightmares when he had been locked up alone since birth. The Mariachis stopped fiddling their music; everyone was transfixed to the utterly bloodcurdling sight of the Dog''s fear-provoking face. He has darkened tattooed face like the Mask of Zorro¡ªhis snake-like piercing eyeballs darted omnipresence at everyone in the banquet... If it was not for his collar shackle, the lupine-like prisoner would have jumped on the table and sprung to the other end to where Garcia sat¡ªand probably would have snapped his neck with his bare hands. Jesus Salazar was seated on the head of the table at the other end of the long table, away from Garcia and his guests, with no metal cutleries. A female butler built up her courage to serve food on his plate¡ªand Salazar pruriently grabbed both her breasts. She screamed, causing her to drop the serving dish. The Mexican Colonel who held the end of the collar shackle chain tugged to keep the Dog in its place. Salazar then laughed at the restraining manacle imposed on him, based on the definitive terror of these Sirrah-Intersexuals and women that were present were around of him. He snatched an entire Jalapeno roasted chicken in the front, and dropped it on his plate¡ªand like the making of a typical inelegant movie villain, he ripped off the drumstick and sank his teeth into it, washing it down by drinking the wine from the bottle¡ªthe others watched the noshing in disquiet. "The legions of demons inside him are hungry for chaos and destruction. Are your demons hungry too, Doran?" His disfigured mother spoke only to him, but he needed to silent her¡ªbowing his head down, the priest-monk prayed in silence... "Sorry about that, gentlemen¡ªI have been busy campaigning against crimes and corruptions; now my future campaign is to teach my people proper table manners." The genteel President was candid and yet blunt... Jesus Salazar''s tattooed eyes peered up sharply at him and he spoke out insults in Spanish... "Hey you Emmanuel, you sissy-fuck President¡ªspeak Spanish, not some gringo monkey language!" General Miranda stepped up and was about to strike the Dog with a baton for his disrespectfulness, but Garcia signalled her to back off. Salazar picked up the whole chicken and bit off the pointy rump¡ªand spat the ''bishop''s nose'' at the retreating General''s uniform as a mocking retaliation... The Mad Dog laughed aloud and he turned, looking at Doran, sizing him while he devoured on the whole chicken again. He again spoke Spanish... "So this is the talk about gringo¡ªwell, I see nothing special about this Made-in-America false prophet, other than the fact that he is uglier than me! Now, why is this faggot hiding here in Mexico instead of fighting back against his own bitch-witch President? "Emmanuel, you are harbouring fugitives into this country while the enemies are out there hitting the Mexican people hard with bombshells at the border. I hope it is worth your while, to see the blood of the innocent citizen in your little girly hands. "You are going down soon, you coward, you mark my word!" Garcia and even his Hispanic Chicano guests were silent to his inure accusations¡ªlistening to him was like the Devil himself being invited of its presence to give the keynote speech at the Last Supper... "Now you are planning to throw 3000 of my followers across the US border to be slaughtered too? You think you are cunning monkey but all I see the weakest and the most disgusted President in the entire history of Mexico?" Salazar threw a half-eaten drumstick bone across the table¡ªand it landed near the President''s plate¡ªMiranda had her revenge by clubbing the Dog once at his arm with the baton. President Garcia covered the drumstick scrap with his table napkin before he admonished out in Spanish... "Stop, General Miranda! I don''t want any violence on the table, not in front of my guests!" He looked over at the Dog... "Salazar, I am offering your 3000 followers a second chance in life¡ªeither they fight the enemy across the border or they face the death penalty in prison here¡ªso what is your choice?" "Either way they are all going to burn in hell in serving your cause, aren''t they, my charlatan Preacher-boy?" Doran heard his own wraithlike mother again, in mocking laughter behind him. He remained calm, just like his Master had taught him when they fasted together and prayed in the wilderness... ''...to silence the noise from the true voice.'' The feral bandito grew belligerent in vocal... "You coward! Why don''t you send your own cockless female army across the border to fight those Americans instead of sending my followers to getting them slaughtered by the gringo army¡ªwhy? So that this bastard Preacher can escape? Where are his own followers¡ªhis God''s Army of sissy-boys? Why don''t they come over here and rescue him? Have they also cut off their puny little balls like how this cock-sucker Preacher did when he was in prison before?" Ramirez half stood from his seat and he countered back in Spanish... "Damn you, ugly dog! How dare you insult our leader? We don''t need your help because we are capable to handle our own battles!" Although the Li Chi doesn''t speak Spanish other than the insults hurled by the Hispanics at his triad''s outnumbered presence¡ªhe recognized that Ramirez was standing up for the God''s Army¡ªhe has come a long way from the once insulting Hispanic leader across the fence in prison. Where in the past, he condemned and abetted with Warden Graves to stop the Preacher''s teaching in uniting the denizens to create a revolution within the prison walls. Garcia grabbed and shook the agitated Ramirez''s shoulder and responded back to him in English... "Calm down my friend; whether the Mad Dog agrees or not¡ª I have made it final that his people are still going to cross that US-Mexican border tomorrow!" Salazar in return punched the table again... "Speak Spanish, you motherfucker! "You got into this position of Presidency and into this palace without any real struggle. You fucking educated scholar who manipulated the hearts of my people with emotional words of deceit were you tricked them all, and you cheated and got their votes. "You never held a gun in your life¡ªbut here you are now sending 3000 Mexicans over there to their death¡ªyou coward rich son of a business woman-whore! You are a girlie-boy son who got everything in life without struggling¡ªyes, everything is handed into your soft tiny girly hands¡ªwhy don''t you come by tonight to my prison cell and use your soft hands and give me and my boys hand-jobs¡ªyou can even blow us all too before we do you in your ass!" President Garcia realized that the now drunk Mad Dog''s insulting crude rantings were never-ending; he nodded to General Miranda who immediately delivered a hard blow at Salazar''s neck with the baton¡ªknocked him out unconscious. His face fell on the plate in front of him, bumping down the whole chicken carcass that rolled on the floor. Two Mexican soldiers heaved the out-cold Dog by his elbows, leading him out back to his dungeon cell. President Emmanuel Garcia picked up his glass of wine and noticed the startled looks of his dumbfounded guests on the table... "Well gentlemen, it is settled¡ªboth the God''s Army and the Army of the Mad Dog will create a diversion at the Mexican border tomorrow so that the Preacher will get to escape, and continue his mission again in America." He drank again and laughed... "Madeline Cory will not know what hit her tomorrow¡ªand may it finally teach her some lessons of Mexican humility when she goes down soon! "Salute!" Chapter 11 ROBERTA SAT in the bright side of a small lockup cell. She looked at her crestfallen wife Lilya in the dark corner in a tattered blouse that she wore. Her face and arms were bruised from the torture. A rag was bandaged onto her foot from the burns by the blowtorch. After sixteen hours of trying to get the albino woman to confess; Roberta has no choice but to turn her in to the police ever since the snitch Kiki had made known to the CIA about the existence of ''Reeves Jensen'' of being her kin, and of Lilya who was now too associated with the terrorist Aryans Sisterhood group. Roberta wanted to get out of this mess clean for the sake of her career¡ªthat left her own wife to take the fall... Roberta had repeated the same question for the hundredth time... "Now tell me, where have the rebels taken Laura to? Where is this farm?" "No," a soft snivelling voice came from the dark corner... "Never!" She wanted to protect the innocent people whom she cared for back in Mississippi from the brutal cop whom she was married to. Roberta stood up from the wooden stool... "You are gonna talk before the next level of pain that you are gonna endure is going to be more intense, bitch! I am warning you, you are going to die now if you don''t tell me!" Lilya began to sob even louder and she crawled to the far end of the wall. Roberta picked up the stool by its leg and stepped forward to bash her. Lilya curled into a ball¡ªhaving one trembling hand covering her head and the other on her belly, to protect her unborn babies... The menacing footsteps were nearing close to her sight towards her dark demise¡ªRoberta''s huge shadowy silhouette figure in the black leather jacket covered the glare of the ceiling lamp at the rear... The cell door opened in the nick of time with two policewomen barged inside, pointing their guns that trained at Roberta. One of them was of her own; Sergeant Jakubowski who was in the Elite SWAT uniformed cried out... "Drop it, Capt. Jensen!" Roberta turned to glance at more cops coming in¡ªand found Det. Capt. Bernie Palmer was approaching from behind them with her gun also drawn out. Roberta''s hand was on her own weapon holster, and she cried out... "Bernie, what is the meaning of this?" "Stand down, Rob! Do what we say and don''t make it any uglier than this¡ªand get your hands off your pistol!" Bernie had returned from LA hours earlier after assisting with the CIA''s terrorist investigation. She discovered once back in Washington DC, Roberta has already arrested her own wife after hours of physically torturing her. Capt. Bernie Palmer immediately lodged a report with her superiors to inform about the situation¡ªthe mandated word came back that Roberta should be apprehended. "She is my prisoner and I have the right to interrogate her in any way I want!" Roberta''s hand was still on the gun holster. Det. Bernie Palmer thumbed the safety off her pistol and she responded... "Then your wife will be the only one who will walk out of this cell alive as a widow¡ªyou decide that now, Rob!" Roberta dropped the stool on the floor, still enraged and saw Bernie instructing the other policewoman... "Davis, get an ambulance for Mrs Jensen¡ªand Sergeant Jakubowski, you escort Capt. Jensen out from here, and take her gun away!" Jakubowski touched Roberta''s arm but was pushed away in spite while they both walked out of the lockup cell. Roberta glanced in disgust at half a dozen e-SWAT uniforms staring at her outside the door at their Commanding Officer¡ªwith their guns held out in their hands.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Bernie had setup a contingency team, using Roberta''s very own elite force¡ªin case things got out of hand to bringing the berserk super-cop down. * Roberta looked ahead at two Secret Service agents standing at the end of the hallway where she was escorted to. An agent opened a door and Roberta stepped into the interrogation room where Agent Wolfe sat alone. Even Wolfe looked at Roberta with an antipathy sigh, shaking her head subtly... "Sit, Rob." Wolfe took out a flat metal flask of whiskey from her suit jacket and placed in front of Roberta and threw a pack of cigarette to compliment it... "We need to talk." Wolfe got the pressing account from Bernie and she came over instantly to look into the imperative matter; since Roberta was under her wings in the ''big boys'' club.'' Roberta drained the whiskey in a single go and palmed the metal flask on the table before she lit up a smoke while the Agent Wolfe spoke up, "am I right to say that since that God''s Army got your sister¡ªit is really clouding your judgement, and you know that too." Roberta denied out loudly. "No Sir, I know what I am doing. I am holding a key witness in there to locating Laura; now let me go there and finish my job!" Instead of getting the support, Roberta only heard deriding laughter from the visiting Agent Wolfe... "Who? Lilya Devon? Yes, I have gone through the CIA files that Lilya was part of the Aryan some 5 or 6 years ago. Now, she is your wife of a few months¡ªthe same wedding I crashed into, do you remember that night? But beyond that..." Roberta intervened to the prolix by punching hard on the metal table and stood... "Beyond that, she is full of shitty lies and deceits!" She is covering her tracks for her Aryan members and I feel they have my sister, Laura! They have kidnapped my sister to get back at me somehow¡ªand they will all pay soon!" "Rob, calm down and sit..." Agatha Wolfe spoke calmly in a paternal voice after lighting up her own cigarette. "There is a fine line of how we do things here¡ªyes, you go out there blowing shemales'' in the heads, that is your job and you are fucking paid for that. But to torture your wife, now that is not acceptable, son! "That line is drawn there, Rob¡ªhey, why you wanna ruin your reputation for?" "Right now, I don''t give a shit about any reputation¡ªthat woman over there is more of a criminal suspect to me than as a wife!" the pugnacious cop replied. "Oh yeah, you are one tough cop, are you? You have beaten every part of her body except her belly¡ªI know she is carrying your twins¡ªso Rob, now listen here, buddy¡ªthis has gotta stop! You are not in the right frame of mind in further conducting this investigation¡ªnow step back, and let Det. Palmer takes over from you." "No Sir, I know what I am doing!" The haughty Roberta hollered in protest. "Once I break that cunting bitch¡ªshe will tell me the location and I can then go and find Laura¡ªI am so close now in solving this than passing the buck now to Palmer; she knows jack-shit about Laura''s abduction case that I am handling now!" Wolfe got insolent now... "You are far from close, you moron! Look at you¡ªyou are making some many bad choices and mistakes¡ªhow can a prominent cop like you go on TV and beg to the public for information and then offering a reward? What would people out there say then? And what will their level of confidence be in the enforcement department of the future where their best cops go begging on-air on National TV¡ªand right now, even the fucking Internal Affairs are investigating on your $100,000 reward that you placed out there!" "But that is my life savings!" She bitterly went on to justify. "Yeah Rob, you have been a Lieutenant for 4 months and now a just a couple of months as a Captain¡ªand yet you have saved aside a 100K as a regular cop back when you were in Columbus? Come on Rob, this is already your poor discreet judgment showing your carelessness¡ªI don''t care a fuck-shit where that money came from, and how much more you have¡ªand I even told IA to back off for now!" Agent Wolfe pulled out a paper from her suit pocket and dropped in on the table... "This is the end of this conversation; here is a letter from your Head of Police¡ªyou will be relieved from your duties for a month..." "What? No!" Roberta yelled back in retaliation after seeing the unforeseen paper. "Take a break now Rob¡ªand let the rest of Palmer''s team handle the investigation. You will see things clearer when you get back later!" Wolfe replied back in washout while she started to walk to the door. "Agent Wolfe, you can''t do this to me. If I can''t find Laura now¡ªshe will be dead in their hands!" Roberta beseeched loudly... Before closing the door, Wolfe added firmly. "I am sorry Rob, that''s how things go on from now on." Roberta grabbed the metal chair and slammed the table. "You all don''t understand. They have my sister! She will be dead soon! Dead! You hear me, Agent Wolfe, she will be dead soon!" Chapter 12 PEARL JAM''S ''Black'' played; the pre-Medusa classic with the male singer crooning of despondent lost love was on the speakers in the bar¡ªRoberta was reflecting on the words. She seated on a barstool and drowning deep into the lyrics. She downed another double and reordered the next drink rudely from the Intersexual junior bartender¡ªwho was aware of the temperamental captain presence; also was aware of what she did to his own kind for a living. She brooded while waiting for the refill. Her thumb rolled her wedding band on her finger. Roberta saw countless dating couples at tables and the booths behind, observing them all from the reflection of the beverage display bar mirror¡ªshe now missed her wife badly after sixty hours since her own sister''s abduction in LA... There was some sense of regret in her eyes for the blunders and bad judgments she has inflicted on Lilya¡ªwho was only trying to protecting the flowers whom she cared among the Aryan vines of thorns, planted by her old rival Roxanne Gilman. Despite Lilya''s crying and pleading in between the pain and anguish protesting that Joana does not have a brother, and knowing there were no records on any possible ''Joe Gilman'' in the database; Roberta''s harsh abusive actions have physically harmed the future mother of her twins. This has now slapped a restraining order to stay a clear distance from her wife, or else Roberta may be reprimanded from her illustrious career as the once ago hero-cop now turned wife-beater. She also realized that she had been barking at the wrong tree¡ªJoe was a nobody; Kiki the snitch has told him that recently¡ªbut yet she disbelieved. It was Reeves that she should have focused on instead¡ªLaura''s bastard son. It was also more compelling that he was now a leader of one of the Preacher covert underground cell groups which were planning to assassinate President Cory. He had abducted Laura now, his biological mother¡ªwhere there was something ensuring telling that he will not harm her when Roberta saw that in his eyes when he drove that Mustang away that night; that was some comforting reassurance for now that Laura will not be dead yet in this search. Roberta realized she was caught up deep in own emotions of rage and insecurity that she has always overlooked Reeves¡ªit was now entirely her fault because she had blanked Reeves off her mind since the bastard was born eighteen years ago. She has always felt deeply more by the rage of Reeves'' rapist janitor father whom she had bludgeoned then into a pulp when she was nine for hurting Laura ¡ªbut Reeves'' birth after that was more of a shame to her. Since his birth, the ''trash'' was disposed out for adoption¡ªfrom that day, Roberta had erased the existence of the bastard-child and she blanked her own mind. Even now, she kept seeing the Intersexual as someone who was ''faceless'' of non-existence¡ªuntil her encountering him at the hospital''s carpark 3 days ago; it exasperated her that the shemale looked a lot like Laura when she was his age. The ''faceless'' now has a face... Two Lauras. It then reminded herself when she was ten again; Roberta was once into social media networking, it was in Facebook, she recalled¡ªand she did not put up a profile photo into her wall so to remain anonymous. Her friends who added her then nicknamed her as ''faceless''. Now Reeves was playing the ''faceless'' game by blurring her judgments and the torturing anguish¡ªthat shemale had beaten her and that was distorting her mind into the insanity of personal police work blunders... She had wanted to kill him with the Cobra derringer while being cuffed at the hospital underground parking lot in LA¡ªbut the sneaky smart-bastard was a step ahead and somehow knew about her hidden second pistol which was strapped in her ankle holster¡ªnow Laura has taken away by him after her years of protection from Columbus to Washington DC. All Roberta had been doing since her suspension was to get into the thought pattern of her ''she-fuck'' nephew¡ª''Where could have the bastard taken Laura to?'' It has been almost 3 days since the shootout at in LA... ''...where will he have taken her sister who was in a coma?'' She was wrong for the assumption of him heading to Mississippi. There was a huge shakedown in that state to extirpate the hiding Aryans Sisterhood populace. The cunning ''faceless'' will not be stupid to leave California with Laura with the roadblocks ahead over there. But if it was out of the country¡ªthe runaways can''t be routing south to Mexico¡ªall the boarders'' entries were closed with the bombing by the US armed forces on that country to capitulate the terrorist Preacher... ''Canada? ¡ªnow that was a possibility...'' But there were massive police checkpoints and roadblocks since the city riot lockdown. Most of the states in the west coast were under Cory''s party flagship which also played to Roberta''s advantage¡ªhoping that ''faceless'' will soon get sloppy and taken into custody while in the road incursion... The desperate Roberta was impatient too... But the snitch Kiki said that he was still somewhere now in California¡ªbut where exactly? ''Has he been on the move or has he stayed put?'' Even either to both the borders, the word was out now, and someone will eventually identify him with the $100,000 bounty that she had placed on his head... She swore to herself that she would literally skin his face off¡ªso that that nickname ''faceless'' will stick permanently to the bastard... No one else should like Laura in her eyes. * Roberta''s rumination was distracted by her police-observation, peeking into the bar display mirror¡ªshe recognizes a butch who was kissing a woman at a dark booth corner... It was Det. Wanda Callahan''s boyfriend whom she met some months ago at her own wedding reception...Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ''What is the botanist-pubic-hair-shaving, dickless cunt doing in D.C.? Did Wanda break up with her?'' Today, Roberta was preoccupied and doesn''t give a fuck about any Lotharios. She finished up her double bourbon and paid the tab without bothering to tip the serving Intersexual junior bartender. Roberta walked pass the booth with the couple making out in the dark¡ªshe left through the front door feeling sorry for Wanda back in Columbus. But the bitch made her choice and chose the botanist over her when at the time she badly wanted Wanda to be her girlfriend back then¡ªthe jilted Roberta decided to surrender her broken heart to the stowaway teen Lilya; who was deeply in love for who she really was¡ªthe ruthless and brutal super-cop who will stop at nothing to serve, protect and profit with her brand of justice. But the enigmatic Lilya Devon too had deceived with the secretive life of her Aryan-Mississippi past¡ªshe obstinately gambolled a lot her past life for her own personal greater-good... ''Has Lilya been also unfaithful to her too? Had she had any unfaithful relationships during their marriage?'' Lilya was a hooker once who went by her street-name Snow White when she picked her off from the street¡ªnow Roberta badly wanted another drink. Minutes later, she came out of the liquor store with a bottle in a paper bag. She kick-started her bike and rode off. ** Waves were crashing on Dewey Beach, Roberta laid on the white sand with an empty bottle on her chest. Her mind was growing weary by the scrambled thoughts between her missing sister investigation and Lilya¡ªher lost the love of her life which reenacted just like the Pearl Jam song lyrics... Her eyes closed, she drifted inwards by the sound of the waves to a night of restless sleep, tunnelling back in time into the passage of events of her past pleasurable connection with Laura¡ªtheir father once took the family to a carnival where Roberta was adamant to ride in the Ferris wheel¡ªLaura was afraid of heights except her, and Roberta rode the ride alone... Her twenty-eight-year-old self was seated alone in a Ferris wheel looking at the crowd in the carnival below¡ªshe saw the youth Reeves holding the twelve-year-old Laura''s hand. Reeves looked up at her and gave a sinister smile before he lured Laura away. Roberta started rattling the caged ride-car which was locked. Screaming below at them... "Laura, get back here! Laura!" The lucid dream followed where Roberta was speeding on her motorbike¡ªgoing neck-breaking fast zigzagging on the curving roads towards a highway with hundreds of abandon cars by the road. She then slowed down and stopped among the rotting rusted cars, calling out... "Laura! Laura, where are you?" A male voice replied from behind. "She went that way." Roberta turned to see a skeleton in a car''s driver seat with a finger pointing out; somehow in her dream, she knew his name and replied to the bones. "Thank you, Howdy." Roberta rode again even faster, and she soon saw her mother Martha standing at the roadside with her hand raised. "Turn back, Robbie¡ªleave Mimi alone!" Roberta screamed back. "No, I must find her!" She was not going to heed today, after being disobedient to her mother most of her life... She sped away on full throttle and up ahead were four dark figures fanned out in the middle of the road¡ªit was Zinga, Busta, Kujo and Vishon¡ªthe OGA Rastafarians compatriots whom she had killed in LA. They were pointing their weapons and started to fusillade their pump action of leads in rapid succession. Roberta rode into their line of fire to run them down; she broke pass through her dangerous past, shattering into the-one-way-mirror¡ªwhich now transported into the other side¡ªto Wellsville, Utah¡ªher tranquil forgotten hometown of her past... She slowed down in the sunny daylight that blinded her. Roberta saw fields of corn on both sides of the road just like her Daddy''s crop¡ªshe peered up back into the brightness and saw her yellow school bus from her childhood coming towards her. She stopped her bike and heard chanting getting louder... "Robbie! Robbie! Robbie!" The bus approached, and each window has a skeletal boy waving to her; some of them were her school friends of boys who fell sick from the virus. They were frantically pointing back from where they came... "Laura is over there! Laura is over there!" Robbie sped again towards the road and viewed a hanging mist ahead; she rode into the murky fog¡ªthe visibility was low just as nighttime but she saw a figure of a lone cyclist ahead. Roberta cried out. "Laura! Laura!" The cyclist peddled faster to escape but Roberta came from behind and grabbed the ''faceless'' cyclist shoulder¡ªthey both emanated out of the mist but lose their balance. Both of them then fell on the grass patch by the road. Roberta was now ten years old, and she pulled the fallen cyclist over to discover it to be the twelve-year-old Reeves¡ªwho looked like her sister when she was that age. "Where is Laura? Where is my sister?" "I will not tell you!" Reeves hollered back before his face transformed back to ''faceless,'' and then into the nineteen-year-old face of Lilya Devon who screamed... "No Rob, I will not tell you! You will kill the girl-in-red!" Roberta started to punch her bloody¡ªand the visage finally malformed to the eighteen years Reeve''s face¡ªthey were both were now tussling in the hospital''s underground car park in LA. Roberta was back in her mid-twenties self, striking Reeves with hard blows... "Where is Laura?" "No, I will not tell you!" Roberta realized that someone was standing behind her with dozens of buzzing flies swarming around¡ªit was her dead beat-cop partner with bullet holes in her bleeding belly. The decomposing Manny Thompson spoke as she stood by a Korean hotdog stand¡ªparts of a dog head and paws were hanging on hooks from the cart... "Rob, you already know where Laura is." "Why are you here, Manny? What do you mean I know?" Roberta then reclined to the reminisce of her dream-in-a-dream that she once had while recovering from the gunshot wounds from the street battle with the black street pimps in Columbia, Ohio. She stood by at the bedside looking at her own slightly younger self in IV drips, struggling to recover from the shooting injuries in the hospital... The older Roberta tried hard to recall with Manny at her bedside, holding a half-eaten hotdog that was infested with inching maggots. Manny took a bite and smacking her fat oily lips and belly laughed¡ªthe eaten decomposed food seeped out from the two bullet holes on her stomach like from a meat-grinder, dropping on the floor of the hospital ward with broken half-chewed maggots wriggling in it... "She told you where she is going the last time¡ªcan''t you remember, Rob?" Then the fruition came to her¡ªthe nine-year-old Roberta had once ridden her bicycle in the foggy road, and she saw the Two Lauras cycling a few feet ahead of her. Roberta had cried out in her excitement in that other dream... "Laura! I caught up with you!" Both the twelve years old grinning Lauras had half-turned their head; they replied back in amalgamated echoes... "Hey Robbie, we are going to the lake, do you want to follow us?" * Roberta sat up panting long breathes and was now wide awake from her unsettled sleep on Dewey Beach. She gazed blankly at the crashing waves but her mind was getting clearer of the portent revelation; she spoke to herself... "Laura¡ªthe Lake! Laura is at the lake!" Chapter 13 CALM MIST danced slowly in panoramic Huntington Lake with three floatplanes in the edge of the dark water. The dinner table was placed in the front lawn with both Capt. and Mrs Howdy at both ends; Troy had even dressed them up earlier for the occasion in loud coloured clothes. The candlelit table was filled with cooked food¡ªthe baby-moose meat in various dishes. Reeves and True Bob sat at one end and across was Troy beside two empty seats. The front door of the house opened¡ªJoe led a blindfolded giggling Laura out. Troy lighted the candles on a simple fruit cake with thirteen candles on it. After the night they had rescued the comatose Laura from LA, they had stopped at a drug store and a mart and bought some medical supplies for their injuries, groceries and beers with the money Joe robbed from the hospital''s night auditor before their returning to their lake-house hideout. Laura reached the table and Joe removed her blindfold and she laughed while everyone sang her a birthday song. "Mimi, make a wish and blow the candles!" Joe hurried her. She smiled at everyone present. "I''ve got everything that I can wish for¡ªnow guys, I am going to wish that all of your own wishes come true!" She blew the candles, they clapped. Laura sat and commented shamefacedly... "I am 30 today, why so few candles?" It was Troy''s idea and he told her, "we decided to celebrate your 13th birthday tonight and we will celebrate your 14th when we get you into Canada." She laughed in delight and Joe then added in gusto. "Then a birthday every weekend until we hit your 30th ¡ªafter that Mimi, you are on your own¡ªand we have to follow the calendar and wait for your own 31st" Joe also has decided to call her Mimi so that he can be compeer to Reeve¡ªbecause they both know each other for the longest time since their Wesleyan days. Laura stood up. "You are all so sweet, thank you so much," she went around the table hugging and kissing everyone except True Bob who doesn''t like to be hugged¡ªhe shook her hand instead. True Bob took a six-pack of beers hidden under the table and joined the merry, "Here is something I saved for the occasion!" Everyone cheered. "You are awesome Chief," said Joe before he turned to Laura, "by the way, the cake was mine." True Bob mocked back, "but I hid it or else we would not have a birthday cake, right Fat-boy?" Reeves was silently observing the group. Laura''s easing presence has made them all less tensed¡ªand more coddled and jovial¡ªbut he still felt they should hit the road and start moving at first-light once the party had ended¡ªFor the moment, he too wanted to kick back and enjoy Laura''s birthday¡ª but more as the silent observer sort, which was of his nature. True Bob was laughing as he placed a beer in front of each guy and he heard Laura. "I want a beer too, Truman¡ªI am now old enough to drink, am I not?" Troy intervened, chuckling. "No, not yet, you are just 13, remember? Furthermore, we don''t know what meds you have been on so far and whether alcohol will affect you. But you can steal a sip or two from us. Laura looked at Reeves who was in thoughts, she reached across the table and held his hand... "Reeves, why are you so quiet?" Joe decided to answer on his behalf. "That is Reeves¡ªhe doesn''t say much, but when he does¡ªeverybody better listen!" Everyone laughed. Laura noticed some similarity, "That is so like my Dad¡ªhe does not say much too and he hardly spoke to any of us at home," she squeezed Reeves'' palm, "Come on dear, talk to me, tell me about your school days. I heard you studied in a research facility called ...err, something University". Reeves was unenthusiastic about his old school but he shared, knowing that Laura too had stopped schooling at the age of twelve after her accident... "Yeah, Wesleyan, Joe and I grew up there too¡ªthey researched on us like some orphaned Rhesus monkeys." "That is Mighty Joe Young!" True Bob persiflage while pointing at Joe and pounding his own chest like Kong. After the laughs, Joe looked up and he corrected his fellow Wesleyan ilk... "Come on, things were not bad over there compared to Tombscradle, okay. In fact, the director of Wesleyan, Ms Tina Martin, she likes Reeves a lot¡ªthat MILF has got the hots for him too¡ªand she winks at Reeves each time she passed by him." The tubby droll laughed aloud alone. "Anything that comes out of your fat mouth is always bullshit," True Bob said in disbelief, and Reeves seconded, "yeah, shut up, Joe¡ªeat your cake!" Joe was back into his storytelling mood, recollecting the good old days... "Hey all was good at the Wesleyan but Reeves here wanted to follow his heart¡ªthere was this freakin'' tall-assed 12-foot wall behind the school, and he wanted to always jump over and run away¡ªbecause he always felt that there was a family waiting for him outside." Joe turned to Laura, "Mimi, Reeves always believed you existed somewhere out there, and refused to accept the fact that we were orphans in that place." Laura''s grip got tighter on Reeve''s hand¡ªshe wiped her tear, hearing the overweight boy narrate more. "Now after all these years, he found you in LA¡ªbut now¡ªwe have his uncle on our tail." He was self-humoured again. "You mean Roberta?" said Laura¡ªonly her tomboy sister could fit that description. "What was your sister Roberta like when she was growing up?" Troy Norton was curious and so were the rest in the OGA cell group... "She always wanted to be a boy in the family and she hated girls in school. Even the boys were afraid of her and she beats up anyone who bullied her," she told in between giggles. "Here is the evidence, guys," Joe pointed at the black eye on Reeves, and guffawed. "Shut up, Fat-boy, let Laura speak here!" Troy interrupted him, and Laura recollected her thoughts and said, "hmm. She was quite rebellious at home and fearless in school¡ªyes, my Mum had a tough time with her, same with the teachers in school too. "But the only time I saw her really afraid was when in the car¡ªour car was at the edge and was about to plunge down and Robbie was so afraid to get out. I had to force her out before the car dropped, I think¡ªafter that, I can''t remember much. Now after realizing that I was in a coma for almost 20 years but deep inside me, I always felt Robbie was with me all the while." ''Someone paid her medical bill all those years in Columbus when she was in a coma¡ªand it had to be Roberta and that other person whom Laura referred in other conversations as her Aunt Flo,'' Reeves thought. "We only wish that she was compassionate to ''others'' in that same way," said Troy and Laura nodded and added, "Yes, it seems that she had changed since you told me that she is now a ruthless cop." Reeves was upset that now that Troy has put thoughts into her at such a preamble stage. He knew that Laura has been closest with Troy since her coming back out of her coma. They were together talking for hours while he was helping True Bob in preparing the birthday dinner¡ªthey might have been privy and talked more than they should. Reeves raised his voice to Troy, "did you tell her that, Troy?" "She needs to know both sides of her sister, Reeves." Reeves grew more agitated and argued. "She just got out of the coma¡ªwhy tell her all this, man?" Laura hindered back... "Reeves, it is okay¡ªI wanted to know it too." Reeves still felt it was not right¡ªbut it was pointless talking anything to them because they will not understand the things like him. He stood up and tossed his sniper rifle over his shoulder and walked into the dark, heading to the forest. Joe echoed after sighing to Laura... "This is the part of him that always confuses us¡ªhe gets angry for no good reason." Troy too was baffled in wonderment of his action that short-lived the celebration. She nodded back with worried eyes. "Let me go and talk to him." The rest of the team saw Laura running after Reeves. Joe shrugged his shoulders with platitude... "Mother knows best. Chief, you know me better, right? Now give me another beer." ** Reeves left the table because he wanted some alone time now. His emotions were overwhelming with the guilt of snatching her undeserving from the killer-cop Roberta Jensen. The latent thought of encountering the killer cop in LA was finally deranging him¡ªand felt more fear which made his hands slightly trembling. He also left because he did not want the guys seeing him shedding some tears. He felt like an ostracized orphan once again because of his inscrutable nature of a loner¡ªwho in the past used to sit and contemplate his decisions to jump over the wall to pursue freedom¡ªwhich now has a price tag to pay¡ªRoberta Jensen will definitely kill him the next time they meet. He was not alone now after seeing Laura calling him, and coming from the rear in the dark. He decided to not walk the uphill path into the forest¡ªinstead, they walk at the edge on the hillock by the lake coastline... "Reeves, don''t be angry with Troy. He told me because I was the one who asked him about Robbie." Reeves kept pacing without responding until she dragged on his elbow. "Come on, stop! I can handle it, Reeves. I know you made a tough decision to get me in LA before you brought me here!"The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Yes, but you knew your sister all your life, Laura¡ªshe took care of you and all for the last 20 years while you were in the coma¡ªbut you just knew that I existed for the past 24 hours!" Reeves decided not to call her Mimi because he felt the undeserving guilt... He continued saying. "Did you know that when we brought you here two nights ago, you were still in a coma and the next day, I wanted to send you back because I keep hearing Roberta''s voice in my head screaming that I might kill you because of your medical conditions." He was still undecided if that was the right choice when he abducted her; more tears welled... Laura grabbed on Reeves both upper arms and she rambled back affectingly... "Stop now, listen to me, Reeves¡ªI am so glad that I am out of the coma and I am grateful that you took me away from that hospital so that now I can meet you¡ªthe son whom I never knew I had... "I am sorry dear, I don''t know anything about motherhood¡ªbut I am so glad to be here with you and knowing what a great man you had turned out to be¡ªyour friends over there love you too and I love you even more." Laura hugged him briefly... "If your grandmother was here, she would love you even more than me." After hearing Joe saying earlier that Reeves has wanted to escape from Wesleyan so that he can search for her, Laura now understood what it was like to be an orphan to him¡ªtorn by the circumstances that he was born as an Intersexual and coupled by the hardship he had endured with the rest of his friends to come this far to rescue her. Laura was in tears of gratitude... "I don''t know what happened to me while in the coma in Ohio¡ªbut I feel my Aunt Flo should not have given you away for adoption. So don''t feel bad about your past, Reeves¡ªand please, for once I want to hear you call me ''Mum,'' do it for me, and say that you love me too." It was hard but he finally uttered softly. "Mum...I love you." Laura hugged him tighter and then kissed both his cheeks¡ªthey both cried... Reeves wiped his tears away... "But Mimi, you still have an option before we all hit the road tomorrow¡ªif you ever want to change your mind, you can always go back to your sister Roberta because the road that we are going to take to Canada is highly risky and dangerous." "Robbie can only have me either in coma or dead¡ªand now I want to be with you, Reeves! Take me where ever you go. Let''s start our lives fresh once we get to Canada!" Still remembering the dream that woke her up from her deep sleep which told it all as an omen. Her once obstinate sister has now grown into a selfish and ruthless monster-cop who will stop at nothing to get things her mulish way, regardless of the needs and wants of others They both hugged once again before some deviating sounds descended from the moonless skies. They looked up at two Apache choppers coming from a distance. Reeves throat closed-in to the building panic from within, and he forced himself to say... "She has found us; your sister is here..." * They looked up terrified at the approaching helicopters from the lawn of the lake-house. Joe was hollering out. "Fuck! Choppers!" They started to put off the candles on the table. True Bob cleared the plates of food, tossing them into a nearby shrub while Troy knocked the empty beer cans off the table... "Quick, let''s get into the house!" cried Joe next but Troy was at odds with Joe''s suggestion. "No, they can detect us!" Troy had learned about the sophisticated heat detector scanning device in those choppers that can register the heat radiated even if it was from a tiny kitten under a roof. True Bob hollered to them. "The cellar!" His only regret was that his rifle was inside the house. "Not there, I hate that place!" Joe disputed. Bob gripped the protesting Joe''s collar and he dragged him to the underground door of the cellar. "We have no choice. Come in, Joe!" True Bob looked around and knew that their rides were safe¡ªout of aerial sight and the engines were stone-cold to any heat sensor detection. It was also a wise decision by Reeves earlier that they did not set up a bonfire like the Jamaicans did, as suggested by Joe¡ªTroy then opted to a candlelight setting for that celebration. "What about Reeves and Laura?" asked the concerned Troy Norton gaping at the dark lake. He heard the half-Cherokee''s intense response from behind... "Reeves will know what to do¡ªyou too, come in, Troy!" * The two helicopters with high beamed searchlights swept the lake on that dark moonless night. One of the choppers then separated and emitted the light beam into the forest. Reeves and Laura ran between the forest trees by the lake coast with the searchlight trailing behind them. The other chopper strafed above the three floatplanes¡ªit salvo a rocket missile that destroyed the planes. Outside at the lake-house, True Bob opened the storm cellar door and stepped in. Joe and Troy stood fixated at the explosion at the lake. "There goes The Lady of the Lake," Joe cried out and Troy Norton had both palms on his head. He still has some emotional attachment to that sexy-plane which he had intended to someday learn to fly. "Come on, the two of you!" Two Bob yelled back before landing into more than two feet of murky water that flooded the cellar¡ªwhere underground water of the lake has seeped in from the cracks on the cellar''s concrete floor. Joe followed next while he swiped his hand over his apprehensive face. "Fucking mosquitoes! Don''t tell me that there are rats down here too!" "Shut up, Fat fuck! Troy, get in quick!" hollered Bob, and Troy jumped in next and shut close the cellar door. * The chopper flew over and it fired another missile that destroyed both the cabins where the Jamaican once occupied. The abrasive searchlight then covered the main lake-house compound¡ªit shone on the dinner table with the Howdys at both the table ends. The pilot gazed at the skeletons below, she made a mental-movie from her own imagination... "That is one freaky sight¡ªI presume they were having dinner before they died during the last days of the Medusa...I wonder what were their last words?" The co-pilot responded back, "Yeah, a really sad ''Kathryn Bigelow'' story, now go over now to the main house, Betty, I wanna use the thermo-heat scan!" The chopper hovered on top of the house with the harsh light-beam dropping on the roof. The co-pilot checked her tablet with terminal heat sensors to detect for any human activity beneath... * The rotor sounds were deafening; True Bob glanced at the searchlight coming through the cracks of the cellar door, he alerted them on what was taught in the Mojave Desert a couple of months ago on how to avoid the heat detection scans... "Everyone, now you need to go underwater and hold your breath as long as you can!" The trio followed their textbook procedure by taking a deep breath¡ªand submerged into the filthy water with floating debris and coal pieces. * Reeves and Laura ran among the trees in the coastal forest. The terrains were tougher to move fast with the uphill gradient. The ominous chopper was above¡ªclosing in on them with the beam of the bright light above the treetops. The co-pilot got some reading on her tablet¡ªshe briefly glimpsed at two red-dots moving beneath... "Hey look, I am getting some reading¡ªsomething''s moving down there!" The lethargic pilot flew past the trees, remarking. "Probably some wild furry animal running scared!" But the co-pilot persisted... "Turn back Rita, let me reconfirm!" Reeves glanced up at the chopper that begun to circle back. He was panting, "Mimi, we gotta get to the lake now!" Reeves pointed at a long slope that was inclining downwards... "We got to slide down through there¡ªit is the fastest way below. We can''t let them heat scan us!" Reeves was the first to slid downhill on the slope on his butts. Laura followed slanting from the back. Both the mother and son landed, plunging into a foot deep of sludge. They then held hands and ran towards the dark lake. Reeves kept cranking his neck back at the chopper that returned back and begun scanning the forest top... It was unfortunate that they were at the side of the lake where there were hundreds of logged timbers floating on the water shore. Reeves dropped his sniper rifle down near a boulder, hopped on a nearby floating log. He reached his muddy hand out to Laura; she grasped to join him on the unstable log. They have to cross about a dozen hewed floating trees before they can get to the lake water. They both skipped from one drifting wood to the next... * The Apache was still scanning the main lake-house. The three rebels in the cellar resurfaced for a quick deep breath. They plunged back underwater again. Joe got terrified by seeing rats swimming on the water surface above his face. He panicked but Two Bob and Troy pinned him down underwater. The co-pilot looked at blank x-ray result of the house with no heat signatures on her tablet. She wrapped up the search and destroy task at the lakes... "It''s a negative¡ªblow it up, Betty, we don''t it to be a hideout for the terrorists. Let''s go, we got other places to cover!" The pilot depressed a button and a missile rocked and exploded the house. The impact of the blast erupted the surroundings¡ªthe fancy-dressed Howdy skeletons were scattered away into broken up bits by the effect. The chopper flew over to join with the other Apache that was still searching the forest... * He peeked at the second chopper heading towards them. Both the mother and son were a few logs away from the lake water. Reeves moved in caution, his eyes peered at the body of water ahead¡ªhe released Laura''s hand go so that she can have better control of balance on her own. She was now on the log ahead of him while instantly, he slowed down. He then jumped on the next timber in a scurry, he missed his footing... Reeves lost his balance¡ªhe plunged in between two logs. Laura shrilled out his name when both the logs converged. Reeves could not struggle with the mass weight of the emerging timbers. Picking up her courage alone, Laura hopped on the last few logs; she stood on the last timber and looked up at the approaching chopper''s stark searchlight flaring behind her. She dove into the cold water a split second before the light reached to sweep on her... Laura was now underwater, and swam in the murky beneath the floating logs¡ªshe spotted Reeves who was in his last moments of struggling in his panic-fright, trying desperately to find any gap between the compacted rowed of woods¡ª he hopelessly sank under the black water because he can''t swim... He was out of the air and began to lose consciousness. He sank down towards the bed like a heavy sponge. Laura dropped below and clenched onto his shirt collar. She kicked hard towards the surface while dragging Reeves up with her. Their splashing heads emerged above the lake surface. Laura looked up in precaution and saw both the helicopters soaring away after completing their rebel search mission. She swam to the shore hauling her unconscious son while assuring him in between gasping out at him... "Oh, my baby¡ªhang on, Reeves!" * The storm cellar door unbolted, Troy was the first to rung out adroit with burning shingle bits falling from above. The maladroit Joe followed out slowly, he exclaimed in high pitch voice. "Fuckin'' A! You saw the size of the rats on the water¡ªthey were as fat as cats!" True Bob the last one out, pushed him to step out of the burning cellar. "Okay-okay, you finally saw another fat pussy like you¡ªnow get the fuck moving!" They agape at the fiery inferno¡ªand the old lake-house structure tilted to the side. Burning tiles crashed into the garage roof; Joe''s heart was in his throat for a second before he squealed out again. "Oh no! My wife! My baby!" He ran ahead and opened the garage door with True Bob following behind him. Troy began running alone towards the lake, he was concerned about Laura and Reeves out there. True Bob noticed more burning debris falling into the caved-in garage roof. It had landed on the backseat of Joe''s ''wife''¡ªthe Mustang GT convertible. It burned the mattress on the backseat placed a day earlier. Bob rushed in to help remove the flaming mattress. Joe released the hand brake and with Bob, they rolled the car out fast before the whole house crumbled like a deck of cards onto the garage behind them. Joe laughed out delighted that his car was saved. True Bob squinted, feeling the alacrity of the inferno''s swiftness¡ªthe blazing house structures rapidly was reduced to ground level in front of them. * Troy raced by the lakeshore, and he found Laura giving mouth to mouth CPR to revive Reeves. She was pumping his diaphragm. "Come on, baby, come on..." Reeves eventually threw up a mouthful of the choking water and he coughed violently. She cradled his head, kept slapping his back. "You are okay, darling¡ªtake a deep breath through your mouth, you will be fine." Troy stood beside them speechless¡ªReeves was right all along by his verisimilitude instinct that by remaining in the lake was just an invitation to danger for all of them¡ªand he too nearly drowned and died. Troy squinted at the two choppers flying far away after their incursion. Both the whirlybirds were reduced to glowing red blinking dots in the dark night. He turned back to see the burning houses, then at the sinking floatplanes in the lake. One of it with the nude artwork on the side of the plane¡ªThe Lady of the Lake, smiled the last time at him before she submerged below water. Chapter 14 CORY WAS DINING with her both US Army generals at one end of the long table. Her stepdaughter Samantha and her ''son'' Gillian were at the other end having their own hush private conversation. Samantha peered at the President in front and placed her hand on Gillian''s. "When the time is right, I am going to ask her." The halfhearted Intersexual replied without lifting his head... "Forget it, Mother, she is never supportive of me." "We''ll wait and see." Cory sliced the bloody rare steak on her plate with her knife and fork; listening to General Gloria Fields. "The Mexican Intelligence had confirmed that they have the Preacher and they will hand him over after questioning. They also have requested that we should stop the bombarding their boarder, Madam President." "No! Not until I see that fucker across on our side of the border¡ªyou will keep continuing shelling them!" Cory responded pompously in between chewing while she sliced her meat again. The other younger Army officer present, General Priscilla McClain clarified... "But Madam President, you gave them a 24 hours mandate, and they have managed to apprehend the Preacher, don''t you think..." Pointing the dripping fork back, Cory disrupted by raised her voice¡ªshe distrusted the misconstruing general and has an instant disliking to her name McClain¡ªit sounded like her ex-Chief of Police Macready who was a total screw-up in New Orleans... "That is the point, you dummy¡ªwhy don''t they hand him back to me now this instance¡ªunless those chipotle shitting Frijoleros are up to something! "Double the security when you escort that Jesus-fucker back to me; make sure that is on top of the list¡ªand he should not escape this time!" General Field covered up for her colleague''s bad judgment that has momentarily provoked their churlish leader, she patronized... "Okay Madam President, we will keep on bombarding them until the Preacher is delivered over." "Good and yes, and this time¡ªgo a little deeper and augment some hits on some of their nearby towns and villages¡ªlet those beaners over there suffer the price for electing that she-fuck yellow-dog President¡ªby tomorrow, he should be seen as a totally incompetent fool!" It was her pernicious command. * Lucinda Gates paced towards the Oval office entrance that was guarded by two Secret Service agents. She recognized one of them who was mentioned earlier by Agent Harrison¡ªthat would let her inside the office despite the president''s absence¡ªLucinda casually asked them... "Is the President back?" "No, Ms Gates, she is still having dinner with the family and the Generals." "Well, I wait for her inside then." The door was opened and Chief of Staff Gates stepped into the Oval Office. * A messenger came over and she whispered to the scathing Cory. "Madam President, Ms Gates is waiting at the office." Madeline Cory nodded and dabbed her mouth on a napkin. She dropped it on the half-finished steak and finished her wine. She got up saying to the also standing Generals...Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Excuse me, I have got a country to run¡ªand you two; I want to see the Preacher delivered alive at my doorstep tomorrow¡ªdon''t fucking screw this one up!" Cory left the dining table. Samantha too got off her chair and nodded to Gillian. She followed the president out of the door. * Lucinda Gates walked over to Cory''s side of the desk and viewed around at the surrounding before going behind the desk. Unlocked a drawer and she took out a leather folder. She unzipped it and seeing some photos in it¡ªthe first one was of President Garcia with a red-inked marker circled over his head and crossed... Doran the Preacher was also crossed in red... She presumed that these were targets that should be dead in Madeline Cory''s hit-list. There were more photos in it¡ªand what caught her attention was the one with Marlin hoisting Joana in the recent street battlefield in New Orleans. She had seen a similar copy in the CIA''s database. Gates was confounded for a moment... ''So now Cory knew the identity of ''Joana Gilman''¡ªuncovered as one of Samantha''s twins with a similar resemblance to Joseph Edward Cory. Joana was also part of the Aryan Sisterhood¡ªbut the photo was not marked in red... ''So is the girl also scheduled to be in the execution-list?'' * Cory paced over to her Oval Office, escorted by her two Secret Service Agents. Samantha called her from behind before joining beside her. "Madeline, can I have a minute?" "Yes, Samantha, what is it?" Gillian followed them from a distance, he hid in the corner. The youth peeked at Samantha speaking to the most hideous person known to him... She kept him as a prisoner in the White House to impersonate as Samantha''s son for the last five years. If he tried to escape, the obtrusive Agent Wolfe had assured that she will hunt him down and then give him the most painful slow-death imaginable. He has been living in fear ever since. "I learned that during your fundraiser campaign in LA, you are also running a rock concert benefit for the party?" Samantha enquired. "Yes, what about it?" Cory asked back in return. "Please, can I ask a huge favour¡ªcan you include Gillian''s band in the benefit? It will mean a lot to him if he can perform a song or two. Please, Madeline, just for one time, please ''say yes'' ¡ªand it will make him very happy." Cory was amused to observe the sight of Samantha clasped her hand together like in prayer to a religious figure. That made her laugh before she responded back, "he is just average in his studies and now you are encouraging him to his musical career¡ªdo you think that is wise, Sam?" Cory was being captious. Samantha crabbed along her side, still seeking leniency by Madeline Cory''s approval. Her every gesture and body language were pleading out... "But he is an awesome musician, Madeline¡ªjust give him a chance, please!" After deliberately walking, with some notch of cogitation, Cory nodded. "Okay, I will give in on this one; well, at the least, I will get some shemale votes in the coming election. Go speak to my secretary tomorrow." Samantha was both excited and alleviated "Thank you very much, Madeline!" Too busy to reply back, Cory walked away, waving her hand to dismiss her. Samantha looked up behind at the keyed up Gillian with a bug-eyed stare. The woman whom he had deceived by thinking that he was her son ran up to him with arms open. Samantha Cory hugged and kissed him. "She said ''yes,'' Gillian¡ªshe said ''yes''!" He was still in a state of disbelieve¡ªnow he can finally escape like a vermin from this tangled web of conspiracy and betrayal that he had lived by deceiving on this poor woman. His conscious could not do it anymore, and he wished not to stay on with this equally suffering woman any longer. He planned for both of them to escape from the Whitehouse. * President Cory entered the Oval Office and found Lucinda Gates seated on a couch away from her desk. Gates was pretending to look into some reports from her personal file. She looked up and acknowledged her. "Maddie, how did it go with the generals go?" "Lu, it is confirmed¡ªthe Preacher has been captured and those Mexicans will be handing him over tomorrow morning¡ªand it will be followed by his execution once he is brought back to Washington for all of his treacherous crimes." Cory celebrated the moment by fixing her own stronger-than-the-regular gin and tonic. "Now we can prepare to go on full scale with the LA Fundraiser¡ªit is time to give another victory speech¡ªyes, we are gonna win it big in my re-election!" Cory laughed self-assuredly and Gates mirrored with a pretentious grin in response to mark the party''s upcoming triumph. Her swift mind was still in finding the whereabouts of this girl who has grown up as Joana Gailman¡ªbefore it is too-late and served the same fate as a traitor. Chapter 15 JOANA CHECKED her emails on her iPad that late evening. There were no replies from Lilya Devon Jensen in their secret email account which they both shared. Joana had consistently for the past few days placed daily entries by writing in detail about a guy she met and interested in, along with other girlie stuffs since her return from New Orleans. Mrs Scott was seated at her favourite chair nearby with her usual knitting ¡ªbut at the same time she noticing her granddaughter was in her own space on the sofa while resting her injured foot¡ªthe red-headed was occasionally blushing and sometimes smiling to herself. Frequently, her toes were curling. Marlin was lying on the bed in his room, staring at the ceiling. He had excused himself after dinner and turned in early. He needed some alone time to think through his escape in the early wee hours in the morning on one of the motorbikes in the barn. He has been there at the farm for days and has not seen any of the Aryan sister-boys using any of the bikes. He was wondering if the vehicles were in a travelling condition because the journey to Washington was a long ride east. He needed to find Dr Jane Morris once he was there¡ªafter his prison break, she was the only one who knew the specific location where his mother and the rest of the Russian scientists were in hiding. Part of him was already missing Joana whom he has grown fond of since coming over here. Her caring and sharing nature were positively instilled by her grandmother Edna when raising her. He was also aware that Roxy Gilman will take her away soon on Friday but he felt Jo would be safer there in the Aryan camp¡ªwherever that was located¡ªin case, if it was hit by Jensen''s elite troop, they will have a better fighting chance rather than Jo getting ambushed here in her grandmother''s farmhouse... He was going to sorely miss her. What if both the bikes were broken? Then he will be left behind when Joana followed Roxy away¡ªwhat will happen to him then? Will the Aryans keep their word to let him live or will the sister-boys put a bullet in his head and bury him in the backyard¡ªjust like the animus Lee has said before? Now he was contemplating to kill both the armed sister-boys before stealing the motorbike tonight... Lee and Cynthia were drinking beers and were laughing outside in the porch. Then Lee glanced at her watch and stood up¡ªand opened the front door. She saw the old woman and her Aryan Commander seated. Lee notified that she will be shutting down the generator in ten minutes¡ªMrs. Scott placed her knitting aside when the front door closed. "Jo, you better turn in, I left your antibiotics by the bedside. Take it before you sleep, dear." Obediently, Joana got off from the couch and used her crutches and gaited towards the old woman; she bent over and kissed her forehead. "Good night, Grandma." She went to her bedroom and positioned the single crutches aside and saw the antibiotic capsules and a glass of water. She turned to notice a bright small box on her pillow¡ªshe picked it and discovered half a dozen condoms in it. Joana blushed and giggled softly to herself¡ªher sweet old silly grandma has something naughty planned with a seal of her blessings. Marlin ascertained the houselights going off to total darkness¡ªhe discerned it was 9 p.m. It was similar routine like when he was in Tombscradle where lights-out was at ten during his five years of isolation on the top floor in Block F. He used to lie in his cot back then, thinking of his Suki Takahashi quixotic fling before he drifted to sleep¡ªeven though Suki was not coming back to his life again nor into his dreams¡ªbut that routine had kept him sane in those lonely Tombscradle years. But tonight, his mind has been going through the ins and outs of his escape plan instead... He has made up his mind that once he awoke later as clockwork at three-ish to take a leak¡ªhe will then plan his escape by jumping out of the window; and in silent furtiveness, he would take out the Aryan sister-boy who would normally rotate to keep the night-watch on the rocking chair at the porch¡ªwhere he will kill her by strangulation without any gunshots fired. He will then will use her rifle to crack the skull of the other butch who will be asleep in her room that can be accessed inside by the backdoor; and with that done, he can then work the bike at the barn for his getaway... Once he had reached Washington D.C., he will send a letter to thank Edna Scott for her kindness and warm hospitality¡ªand at the same time apologize for the two dead bodies he had left behind¡ªEdna will understand because she too hated the Aryans sister-boys who were also actually keeping her as a hostage in her own farmhouse. Then he will tell her to send his regards to Joana at their Aryan camp and apologize for his sudden departure without saying goodbye¡ªeven though Jo will be still mad at him and would curse him as a ''freak'' ¡ªbut she will eventually understand that his urgency to head back east... He was satisfied with his plan and he pulled up the covers and tried to sleep ¡ªbut he could not with the angst of what has to be done later tonight¡ªhe then kept fanaticizing of Joana''s puffy pink nipples... * She first thought that Joana would hesitate to act¡ªbeing too mortified. She waited for twenty minutes before she finally heard her granddaughter''s headway in the darkened house. The sound of the tip of her crutches thwacking the marble floor echoed softly. Edna knew that the girl was a little clumsy.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. True enough, she heard her bumping on the side-table with the photo frames were, while she made her way to the boy''s room in the gloomy hallway... Roxy will be coming over to take her away in two days and there was no stopping her then; it will be a long time before she can see her granddaughter again where Joana will be then back in with the all-female militia army camp life. Edna despised the Aryans'' cause and their unhealthy licentious lesbian lifestyle over there, based on what she overheard from the conversations of the two sister-boys at her place. She knew that the girls there could only be allowed to have a normal life after the age of thirty¡ªafter serving fifteen years to the Sisterhood cause. She felt those girls in the campsite were missing out a lot from both their teens and twenties phases in their lives¡ªshe regretted indignantly that Joana was also forced into it... Edna recalled when she first popped-her-cherry way back in the 80''s when Bernard Rudder took her out for dinner and to a movie¡ªshe remembered it was a rom-com that Meg Ryan-Tom Hank starred. She can''t bear in mind the movie title¡ªbut she remembered laughed a lot that evening. She recollected Bernard taking her to his new rented apartment that he moved in after leaving his parent''s house. They had some beers and she smoked a joint for the first time. Bernard then surprised her by switching on all twenty lava-lamps that he had collected in his darkened bedroom¡ªher first-time sex with the weed and those freaky lamps¡ªit was a really trippy and memorable sensuous exploration... She was eighteen back then, and Bernard Rudder was her first love of her other liaisons. Now Joana was in that age gap¡ªbut the world had changed ever since the Medusa, and Edna suspected Jo was still a virgin. It was not she wanted to encourage the girl to sleep around¡ªbut she wanted her to have more going with that trustworthy boy who rescued her at the battlefield in New Orleans and brought her back home safely. Edna wished that Joana''s last two days under her roof would be equally memorable¡ªas that esthetic night, she had in Bernard Rudder''s new apartment. * He turned over to notice the door creaking open, instantly he sat up and reached to switch on a battery-operated lamp beside¡ªhis initial thoughts were the antipathy sister-boys has come in to ace him¡ªand then bury him in a shallow grave in the fields outside. Marlin peered instead at Joana in the dim, standing by the door wearing her same bathrobe from that morning. He smelled the reek of bourbon¡ªJo must have been drinking the balance booze left behind by Roxy''s last visit ... The blond boy whispered out. "Hey, what are you doing here, Jo?" He heard her drunken giggles and the door closing. Joana whispered back, "I am spending the night with you." He was taken aback and still in an undertone, he protested "What? But Mrs. Scott is in the next room!" "Yes, I know my grandmother lives here," she teased back before he had a full nude view of Joana dropping the bathrobe. She came naked towards him¡ª a beholding sight but he was distracted by her bush... She might not have shaven since she had it¡ªunlike Suki. Why does he keep on comparing everything with his vacuumed past? He should stop that, he thought again. She got her good knee on the bed. He somehow still objected with Roxy''s invective double warning playbacks clearly going in his head during her two meetings the fish. ''Don''t breed fries,'' he was cautioned... "Jo, you are going to get me in trouble!" He saw her tossing something onto his chest. He picked up the small box of condoms and heard her say. "Not unless if we use these." Once again, his recollection was of Suki''s magical backpack with her constant supplies of tropical fruit flavoured conceptive rubbers and other kinky Japanese toys, lubricants and erotic literature¡ªwhich she shopped at the adult-store while they used to hang out with the others rich kids at Kenzo Plaza in DC. "No, I don''t want to be disrespectful to Mrs Scott when I am in her house, now get back to your room, Jo." It was a good thing the room was gloomy because he was speaking with his eyes staring at her full breasts. "Hey relax, silly, this is grandma''s idea¡ªshe likes you a lot and she trusts you, Marlin¡ªand I like you a lot too." The sloshed Joana ignored his word of warning and she laid beside him, her hands began caressing his shoulder-length blond hair... ''Why is she doing this now?'' They had spent a good inadvertent half-hour at barn''s attic that morning when they were in her secret place¡ªthe couch was there, and she was also half-naked under that same bathrobe that she wore at that time¡ªshe even changed in front of him into the Gucci dress¡ªshe had then intentionally shown him photo albums of her naked Aunt Andrea and the loutish sculpture in the 69 positions; he was turned on then while playing along with her wiles¡ªbut she did not come strong on him like how she was doing now... She had treated him like a ''girlfriend'' that morning. Joana started kissing him¡ªhe enjoyed the touch of her soft lips for a moment¡ªbut he felt he was going to complicate matters like his past with Suki; her cousin then hounded him ever since he had his impracticable relationship... He was to wrought his own escape in the next a few hours from now but now Joana is intending to sleep in his room¡ªwith him sneaked out later, hunting for the sister-boys to kill which will not go well when Roxy Gilman happened to find out about Joana''s whereabouts during the event of his getaway... Marlin slowly away broke away from her embracement¡ªJoana stared in disbelief for a moment, looking at his half lighted face from the weak luminous bulb from the side... "What''s the matter¡ªyou don''t want me?" Marlin did not respond and he turned his body slightly away to conceal the shame-erection that he has built under the covers¡ªhe heard her commune further... "Is it because I am not a city girl like your girlfriend Suki who wears fancy and expensive clothes to turn you on?" Now she was getting it all wrong but he was tongue-tied, and cannot explain his intention of escape after some messy killings that were about to happen later... She is also an Aryan Commander¡ªwould he have to kill her too if she choose to arm herself to stand up and protect her Sisterhood clan? Marlin was paralyzed by his confusions, yet remained all ears... "If I had a choice, I don''t want to be a farm-girl; I would rather run away like Lilya or my Aunt Andrea¡ªso I can live a better life somewhere else." There were sobs in the dark... "But I really don''t have a choice, okay? And it is not fair to me that you look down on me like this." She began to crawl off the bed and bent to pick her bathrobe from the floor. Marlin blew a breath of rueful hiss and he too stepped off the mattress with his prodding shame-boner... The blond Adonis came from behind and hoisted the naked girl up as he did in New Orleans. He laid Joana back on the bed and progressed on top and started to kiss her hard... Chapter 16 THE SENIOR TURNKEY GUARD marched ahead. It was an unusual request that the officials from White House would visit this late at night. The guard accommodated Lucinda Gates and Secret Service Agent Harrison, who followed her in the narrow corridor of the Psychiatric Unit of Washington DC Correction Facility. Agent Sian Harrison was one of the senior White House Secret Service members ¡ª a retired FBI field agent who came to serve as Madeline Cory''s security detail when she was still the Senator for Pennsylvania. Lucinda Gates had personally interviewed her to be in the Secret Service Division ¡ª alongside with her other colleague Agatha Wolfe when Cory later became the president. Harrison was very loyal to Gates... Today, she was collaborating with Lucinda Gates in a personal clandestine quest ¡ª of saving the children of Samantha Cory, ever since the President had put a hit on both of them, for being involved in various confabulated cover-ups, which labelled both the twins as terrorists. Harrison had a handful of furtive agents at the White House who secretly disapproved the unlawful precept plots of Madeline Cory and their superior Agent Wolfe ¡ª ever since the conspiracy behind the murder of the former president Ann Rosewood. The turnkey guard gave some assisting insights to the two visitors ¡ª who insisted on going in person to the cell of the prisoner rather than meeting at the visitation room... "She is eating very little, Ma''am. She keeps requesting for the newspapers every day ¡ª and that she digests well daily... "But, not her proper meals ¡ª or even her medications." The guard turned one of her key in the jangling bunch. It opened a cell door. Harrison came in-between the door entrance... "Do you want me to follow you, Ms Gates ¡ª there is a possibility that she may get violent." "No, that will not be necessary Agent Harrison ¡ª please wait outside." If it was not for the photograph findings in the President''s Oval Office, Lucinda Gates would not be here. After further investigation, she found the identity of the nameless Intersexual suspect in the CIA database ¡ª the God''s Army suspect rebel in uniform, who was carrying a probably injured daughter of Samantha Cory was Marlin... What a coincidence it was ¡ª that the adopted son of a woman, whom Gates had malfeasance, by sending her to this prison here... Now, that boy had now located one of the twins... Lucinda Gates took a deep breath before she took heavy steps and entered alone into the dim cell. There were piles of old newspapers on the floor ¡ª and lots of cuttings posted on the wall on headlines ¡ª mostly pertaining to President Cory, the late Ann Rosewood, the Medusa Virus and ongoing of the new breed studies. She saw the figure of the woman sitting on her single cot. Gates had totally forgotten of her existence since she had cast her away, with the authority given by her serving president, more than six years ago. Today, Dr Jane Morris was someone the world had long forgotten ¡ª and was left locked up alone in a stone-cold Psychiatric Unit prison cell. She used to be a vanguard during the Rosewood''s administration ¡ª Dr Morris was the head of W.H.O. then and had overseen the Disease Control and Prevention department when the Medusa Virus first outbreak happened eighteen years ago in America, before spreading rapidly to shroud the rest of the world in demise. She had boldly gone on air and spoken in clarity to the world that was then baffled in the dark about the virus threat like a Dr Anthony Fauci did to a time in the past with the COVID-19 ¡ª that had later, the latter Medusa had wiped out the entire three billion of the male species on the planet, in less than a year. The epidemiologist then championed the research for new hope for the existing surviving women population from further extinction with the gift of the world ¡ª the reality and potential of the single-generation New Breeds'' semen ¡ª for the future of the female propagation. Lucinda Gates was fighting hard with her emotions of blameworthiness when she looked at the woman ¡ª whose glorious career that she personally had a hand to ruin. Dr Morris was arrested with outlandish charges of being a national threat and was imposed in life imprisonment sentence without a trial ¡ª with charges for a common citizen in possessions of classified CIA issued top-secret cell phones which she used to communicate with her adopted son.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Cory had punished the scapegoat doctor when she stepped into the White House to humiliate, the then fallen out of grace Rosewood''s presidency ¡ª so it served as a warning that she was now in total power. Lucinda Gates had then played a big role in scheming the arrest of both the ''mother and son'' ¡ª and then damned them both behind bars ¡ª the younger one was thrown far-flung into a prison in a desert in Texas, several states away from the national capital ¡ª but they kept the woman closer to Washington, as an act of reminder to any political and business oppositions, to not to mess with the newly elected President and her New Order policies... Unknown to them all ¡ª Dr Jane Morris held some much deeper secrets during her former days in the Rosewood''s administration ¡ª in finding for the vaccine cure for the Medusa virus ''outside'' the CDC. She could barely recognize the doctor after those long years, and Gates stood nearby maladjusted ¡ª staring at the woman who had lost almost half of her body weight. There was also something in Morris''s blank eyes, staring at the newspaper headlines on the wall ¡ª she had seen it in Samantha''s eyes before when her stepmother Madeline Cory had her locked for years in a private mental rehab institution ¡ª Dr Morris had them too in her eyes ¡ª the psychosomatic state of loss and misery, after years inside the enclosed walls. Gates was sentient that the woman was unaware of her presence standing ¡ª so she softly called out her name. Dr Morris turned slowly and gazed back at Gates before she turned back to the newspaper cuttings of headlines attached on the wall in front of her... Lucinda Gates sat beside her on the cot and spent a moment also peering at the cuttings on the wall. The one on Rosewood''s assassination leapt out to her preparedness... ''Rosewood slain by God''s Army'' Gates was dumbfounded when the doctor suddenly spoke, which seemed like she had read her mind when she asked her... "Did Madeline Cory kill Ann Rosewood?" "Yes." Gates was honest and said softly with a subtle nod. "Where is Marlin now? Is he alive ¡ª or has your President killed him too?" Gates could not answer about the boy''s whereabouts. She just shook her head and asked her the same question back contrarily... "Jane, have you heard from Marlin? Do you know where Marlin is now?" "I thought you arrested him." "But, he escaped from prison 3 months ago. He is now part of the God''s Army ¡ª you may have read about the one called the Preacher and his God''s Army ¡ª Marlin now serves under them." She refreshed the doctor''s memory, by pointing to the paper-cuttings collage on the stained wall. "So my Marlin is a terrorist now ¡ª and you want the information to capture him again." Lucinda Gates touched the doctor''s wrist, replied with indignant... "No Jane, I don''t believe Marlin, the Preacher or anyone for the matter is a terrorist ¡ª these are just deceits by Cory tell to keep herself in the White House ¡ª but I desperately need Marlin''s help right now, tell me if you know where he is?" Lucinda Gates took out a photo from her leather file-folder ¡ª the picture of Marlin carrying Joana in his arms in the burning streets of New Orleans. It just dawned to Gates that she was in that cell now with the doctor, because of Marlin''s arrest ¡ª today, he had somehow become acquitted to the girl in the photo. It still seemed like a real baffling coincidence for her. Maybe there was a possibility that Marlin knew both of the twins. He was now her key to save both of Samantha''s children from their executions... "It is only through Marlin, I can get to find this girl here." Dr Morris took the photo from Gates, and her tears fell. "Is that Marlin? He is all grown up." Gates nodded subtly back, "Yes Jane, it has been 6 years, and Marlin is 18 now ¡ª do you know where I can find him?" "No..." the doctor refusing to depart from it, "Can I please have this photo?" "You better not have it ¡ª it will be too dangerous for everyone if Cory''s people find this photo with you." Gates placed the returned photo back into her folder. It was another dead-end again for her in finding either one of the twins ¡ª Gates now had to rely only on the current NSA database information which she could access through Agent Sian Harrison. She stood up and heard the febrile woman still in soft conciliation... "If he is captured, please bring him to me ¡ª show him once to me before you execute him ¡ª that is my only request as his mother." "I hope it will not come to that, Dr Morris, but I will bring him to you." She went back to the cell-door and rapped it while calling for Agent Harrison ¡ª the turnkey released Lucinda Gates out, before locking up Dr Morris alone. *** Agent Sian Harrison walked beside her on the way out. She observed that Gates was distressed and emotionally disturbed. She has not seen her cry before... "I must find a way to get Dr Morris released. She had suffered enough all these years ¡ª for my foolish mistakes of being Maddie''s puppet. Why should a good person like her, pay the price for it?" responded Gates in contrition, with a tone of deep aggravation of her dark past. "Ms Gates, it''s too late to cut the strings now. It will just draw attention to you if she is released ¡ª these are some of the things that cannot be undone, and such actions will drag you and the rest of us down with it." She listened to Harrison''s reasoning more, while she wiped her tears... "When Dr Morris was first arrested, Agent Wolfe was also involved in the incarceration ¡ª and if Wolfe finds out that the doctor is released, it is either she will come after you ¡ª or even may inform the President." The Secret Service agent opened the door for Gates to enter into the town car. "Please let things be status quo for now, until the election." The car left the prison driveway ¡ª but another vehicle across the street was doing a stake-out ¡ª where Agent Iris Green placed the long lensed camera down on the passenger seat before making a call, seeing the Lincoln town-car steering away... "Yes, it is confirmed that Ms Gates visited Dr Morris in prison. Should I go in, and question the doctor about their conversation, Sir?" From the White House, Wolfe''s voice amplified on the cell phone speaker to the operative... "That would not be necessary, Agent Green ¡ª I will take it from here." Chapter 17 REEVES AND TRUE BOB raced on bikes on a long highway, while the Mustang convertible with the rest of the team followed. They have been travelling for the past nine hours since the choppers extirpated attacks ¡ª leaving behind Huntington Lake to reach the Exodus Trail. Luck was with them, there were no inimical roadblocks ¡ª so far ¡ª just the welcoming pulchritude sights, along the open road. The group soon stopped over to eat some canned food for lunch. Troy was now in charge, to cook the quick meals on the journey. He picked the cans of baked beans and green peas and hardboiled eggs with a long tong from a metal bucket of boiling water heated on a portable stove with mini butane cylinders ¡ª the insatiable Joe the gourmand was as always displeased, with the ¡®lame¡¯ choice of food served. After lunch, Reeves trained his sniper target practice, on the empty food cans. The team was still buoyant in mingling with the woman figure ¡ª now present in the shemale group. Troy taught Laura the basics on how to handle a gun ¡ª she missed all her aims on the empty cans. Joe paraded, by firing his pistol skills at the same targets and he too missed ¡ª Reeves came over, and shot all the remaining empty cans with ease with his own pistol.Stolen novel; please report. Laura clapped before she heard him say... ¡°Okay people, let¡¯s move!¡± Everyone arrayed and got onto their vehicles ¡ª Reeves turned to see Laura putting on his helmet, and she sat on his bike. ¡°Mimi, what are you doing?¡± ¡°My mother taught me how to ride the bicycle when I was little ¡ª and now my son is going to teach me, how to ride a motorcycle.¡± She laughed out. ¡°That is the inner-child speaking, man!¡± Bob laughed along, tapping the startled Reeves¡¯ back before he got on his own Harley chopper. They continued their journey towards the Exodus Trail with Laura riding the bike, Reeves was seated at the pillion and instructing her ¡ª while True Bob and the Mustang were far ahead of them. The tractable skills learned made Laura cranked the throttle finally, and the bike then sped over, to leave the rest of them behind. The jubilant Laura laughed and celebrated aloud of her newly taught knack ¡ª Reeves joined cheering with his mother. Chapter 18 THE SHELLING HAD STOPPED, a couple of hours ago... Thousands of Mexican soldiers both women and Intersexuals stood defeated, at their side of the border ¡ª after the two days of arbitrary fighting with the enemy from the north... The eyes of the world were on them ¡ª where occident TV networks reportage were in full preparation for the commemorative broadcast the live coverage to the world ¡ª of the US victory, with the handing over of the captured Army of God''s leader named Doran the Preacher ¡ª surrendered into the American soil from Mexico... The Americans troops were gathering on their side of the border and were having a blithe, victory military parade for the TV crew. Two combat helicopters in the air flew bearing the huge American flags flew across ¡ª and some TV crew choppers were doing aerial coverage of Cory''s acceded triumph against terrorism ¡ª with the capture of the enigmatic AOG leader. An American Army jeep approached fast towards the Mexican border ¡ª US army General Gloria Fields and CIA Senior Agent Tabitha Kinsley were seated at the backseat. They were crossing the border to seal the historical event... *** At the Oval Office, Madeline Cory, Agent Wolfe and Lucinda Gates were viewing the momentous event on a big screen with split-windows, of live simultaneous coverage ¡ª from the several news network stations. *** The defeated Mexican soldiers turned their back to see a military pickup truck advancing from behind them. Behind the vehicle was an egg-like shaped plexiglass bubble with a metal roof ¡ª in it sat the Preacher. Doran was transported and delivered ¡ª like the turn of the century religious figure, in a bulletproof plexiglass pod. He glanced at the subjugated Mexican soldiers gathered outside, along the roadside. Some of them were crossing themselves seeing the piteous, spiritual leader ¡ª passing over towards the border in the bulletproof containment. Some Mexican soldiers whispered among themselves in Spanish... "He is like ''The Pope'' in there." The US army jeep entered the Mexican territory and it halted in front. An armed Marine soldier, General Fields and Agent Kinsley then alighted. The Mexican pickup truck too stopped in front of the jeep ¡ª and General Miranda alighted with a Mexican diplomatic translator. They both stepped forward to the Americans ¡ª and both the brass saluted to each other. The female translator acknowledged them... "Greetings! Our Honorary President Garcia has delivered the Preacher as promised. Please sign here." The Mexican pointed the dotted line on an official government release form... General Fields ignored and brushing the translator aside. She walked to the plexiglass ¡ª and glanced curiously at Doran inside it. The General placed on a face recognition goggle and peered again at Doran, who stared intensively back at her ¡ª the built-in software configured his face structure... It gave a positive confirmation ¡ª that the definite scar-faced prisoner was the Preacher. General Fields suppressed a button on an intercom communication earpiece and spoke into it... "Madame President, it''s him ¡ª we have confirmation that it is the Preacher!" Cory delightfully responded from the Whitehouse in Washington... "Great! We finally have the fucker ¡ª now go sign the toilet roll release-form ¡ª and get him across." Cory started celebrating with her early morning glass of gin. She witnessed the live TV coverage of General Fields signing the form held by the translator, with the coverage by the world news networks. The Mexican Army driver alighted from the pickup truck ¡ª and the Marine soldier now sat behind the wheels. The general and the CIA agent climbed into their open Willys-Overland jeep. They led the way back into the American border ¡ª Doran was in the see-through glass bubble in the Mexican truck, which trailed behind the army jeep. General Priscilla McClain, who was on the American soil, looked ahead into her field-glass, while the rest of the ecstatic female American troops clapped and cheered to celebrate their victory. An army Captain approached and interrupted McClain by pointing behind them. The general peered into her glasses and saw three more US army trucks approaching ¡ª with another combat transport chopper flying ahead... The Army captain enquired... "General McClain, look! Did we request for additional troops?"Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "It must be the old lady ¡ª she is a real paranoid nut-case ¡ª and must have sent for more troops. Anyway, the more the merrier!" McClain was humoured thinking of the mistrustful Cory, whom she had dinner with last night at the White House. Doran observed the advancing trucks and the Chinook chopper coming in perfect timing as promised, while the Mexican pickup truck he was in, rolled on American soil. The Chinook first started to fire missiles, and it directly blasted the other two Army parading choppers off the air. Everyone looked in horror to see both the whirly-birds crashing with the alliteration of explosions ¡ª the screaming ground troops were running in helter-skelter... General Fields yelled out in the jeep, "It''s an ambush! We are being attacked!" The CIA Agent Kinsley who was with her glanced quickly at the glass-bubble... "We have to secure the prisoner!" General Fields and Agent Kinsley pulled out their service pistols ¡ª and they both joined the ground troops, firing at the rebel chopper... The three speeding US Army trucks braked nearby and rebel soldiers jumped out ¡ª compromising of the Army of God and the Mad Dog''s rebels ¡ª the Salazar''s bellicose guerrilla insurgents have painted their eyes like Zorro ¡ª everyone charged forward, firing at Cory''s US army of women soldiers... *** Cory looked with fiery eyes, at the now intense battle at the US-Mexican border that was televised worldwide. She kept repeating the word ''fuck'' in a disappointing, infamy tone to herself... She slammed the empty glass of gin, hard on the table ¡ª it shattered and she was still holding it ¡ªwhile her palm was bleeding. Wolfe and Lucinda Gates came forward to her aid ¡ª she pealed, yelling at them... "Get away from me, all you incompetent fools!" *** Doran thought of President Garcia''s magnum opus element of surprise, which seemed to be working well so far ¡ª witnessing the American troops caught in the bombshell, as they dropped into the rebels'' line of fire ¡ª but the cognoscenti Garcia had more surprises installed... Doran stood up and pulled down a lever on the metal ceiling of the oval-glass bubble that he was in. On top of its roof, a metal circular ring then prodded ¡ª the Chinook lowered a cable line, with a hook ¡ª which clamped onto the armillary ring below... The chopper hauled the Mexican pickup truck vertically upwards ¡ª while the American soldiers kept firing at both the truck and the Chinook helicopter. The pickup was now five feet off the ground ¡ª and the chopper struggled because of its weight ¡ª Doran had both his palms at the bulletproof plexiglass while he made a mental estimation, as the vehicle was now hauled twenty feet up in the air... Two of Hajja''s Black rebels were piloting the Chinook. They look worried ¡ª staring at the gauge meters on the control panel going haywire. The rebel pilot exclaimed... "What is the Preacher waiting for ¡ª Christmas? Quick man, it is getting heavy!" Doran projected that the pickup truck was now about thirty feet in elevation. The panicky Marine driver finally opened the door, and she jumped out of the pickup truck. She died in midair in the hailing bullets, from the ground troops'' friendly fires. Her bullet-ridden body thudded face down, on the concrete tarmac road. The distressed, Black pilot began to panic when alarms went off inside the chopper. He struggled with the control stick... "We are over-heating ¡ª we may all go down!" Doran gauged the cluster of soldiers firing from below ¡ª some armed with RPG joined the rifle firing troops, readying to launch. The Preacher finally reacted by reaching out below ¡ª and he pulled the second lever on the floor of the glass bubble... It detached the clamps that had secured the bubble to the body of the Mexican pickup truck. The truck hurled forty feet down towards the ground ¡ª coming straight to the cluster of shooting US army troop below. They now scattered banshee-like screaming towards their safety. The Chinook survived the bravura discharge, and it was catapulted in the release momentum ¡ª the pilot tried to regain control ¡ª while the egg-shaped glass bubble rocked under it like a pendulum. Below, the pickup truck wrecked the roadway ¡ª and it rolled before it was bellied-up ¡ª its false bottom had slid off. Beneath the truck which had been rigged by gossamer of wires linked to rigged auburn-bricks of Semtex engineered-explosives, with multiple timers that were on simultaneous countdowns... 00:03 ¡ª 00:02 ¡ª 00:01 ¡ª 00:00... A series of mass explosions ripped off the American military troops on the ground ¡ª the Chinook now manures higher up vertically, with the swaying bubble on the hook below. Doran covered his face when he saw flames skyrocketing upwards, streaming towards the plexiglass. The chopper then soared forward ¡ª with the bubble passing through the black thick smoke... The rebels foot soldiers of both the God''s Army and their Mad Dog''s allies had defeated the rest of US troops with their swift artillery battery. They were cheering in victorious jubilation seeing Doran has transported away towards the nearby hills. Worldwide TV crews were covering the mastermind escaping moment. Even the trounced Mexican soldiers had joined into the euphoria celebration from their side of the border, seeing it as a devious victory. Their cheering subdued to the alliteration whistling sounds in the skies ¡ª dozens of mortars were wafted over. Explosions by the plummeting discharge hit in the American soil. The bearing blasted the ground rebels, and the trucks that transported them were destroyed too. Both the allies'' rebel guerrilla armies took severe fatality from the aerial attack. The surviving groups started running on foot, trying to escape towards the hills... General Fields had behest for the air missile attack... She had moments earlier survived the Preacher''s Semtex blast attack ¡ª beside her laid the severely injured Senior Agent Kinsley, who had lost an arm by that attack. They both were hiding behind their overturned Army jeep that had crushed their driver to death. General Gloria Fields peeked over and shouted on a walkie-talkie... "Fire at the hills ¡ª they are escaping there!" More bombs were triangulated and were dropping into the hills ¡ª killing more of the fleeing rebels... Doran in the take-flight glass-bubble glanced below, at the plight of his lament rebel God''s soldiers who were scattering for their lives, among the falling mortar explosions ¡ª their hands were reaching out to Doran above, to save them... The Preacher shuddered helplessly ¡ª with tears rolling down his face... He prayed for their safe passage of the survivors in the attack ¡ª and followed by an orison, for the newly departed souls of those fallen in the pogrom below. Chapter 19 AFTER ALMOST HALF HOUR, THE CHOPPER flew over the sea in the Gulf of Mexico. Doran in the plexiglass bubble gazed at the blue waters below. The Chinook now hovered lower, and Doran smiled to see a school of dolphins, racing after the bubble. His eyes widened when the chopper released the cable. The oval-glass crashed from ten feet into the sea... The oblong glass weighty bubble, sank underwater, he saw the dolphins swimming around it ¡ª it slowly resurfaced, and floated on the glass surface with the metal ends on his left and right. Doran noticed water began seeping into the gaps. He opened the hatch at the floor side of the metal base ¡ª and he climbed out cautiously, with his bullet shrapnel excision injuries in mind... There were twenty dolphins reeling around, and calling out playfully. Doran scaled on the top and laid flat, with his facial cheek pressing on the floating glass bubble. His hand hung down, a bottle-nosed dolphin nudged it. He shut his tired eyes. He was exhausted under the baking sun as he held onto his blood clot bandages, tied over his belly ¡ª then the dolphin¡¯s nudging touch ¡ª was replaced by a human-touch... His eyes fluttered to some impending manifestation of movements ¡ª and he reopened his eyes to see Sister Lisa Marie. She was with the dead nuns and monk boys from the monastery, were close to the plexiglass bubble ¡ª they all stood afloat on the sea surface...Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The old nun walked forward on the ethereal water surface, towards the delusional Doran. She reached out her hand... ¡°Doran, come join us ¡ª Jesus is waiting¡­¡± His parched, salty cracked-lips whispered back to her, ¡°Water¡­¡± Doran was distracted by the blaring fog honks from behind him. He half-turned to spot a huge-sized, overcrowded barge coming towards him with Hajja, Ramirez and Li Chi onboard ¡ª their voices were calling out to him. He turned back again over his shoulder ¡ª and the nuns and monks presences were gone. The barge neared ¡ª and they reached the bubble to bouse-it-over ¡ª with another over two thousands of coalescing Mexican rebels, chanting out for the Preacher... The languid Preacher had been floating at sea for the past two hours before he was lifted onboard into the welcoming arms of his blithe well-wishers of Mexicans ¡ª who the exile Mad Dog Salazar¡¯s troops, the newcomers of the gratis contribution from the intelligentsia Mexican president, into the Preacher¡¯s future war effort. Hajja instructed the barge captain, in his walkie-talkie... ¡°Capt. Castell, before the coast guards catch on to us ¡ª take us all now to California!¡± Doran peered up over to spot Sister Lisa Marie again with the rest from the otherworld chis ¡ª waving woefully at him from the waters behind before they all vanished once more from afar... The barge then sailed into the American waters. <><><>oOo<><><> End of Part 3 Of 5 NEXT: The Second Coming <><><>oOo<><><> THE SECOND COMING [Part 4 Of 5] HE HAD LIT HIS THIRD CIGARETTE since arriving at Lake Huntington that morning. Gomez stood on the burnt stilled boardwalk dock, looking below at the sunken floatplanes. He discerned that the place was attacked by the authorities, less than 8 hours ago, at night... Reeves must have escaped when that happened or before ¡ª or at least ¡ª there would be blood trails. Gomez delayed coming over after Li Chi''s call from Mexico, for a reason ¡ª he had furtively rounded up some old acquaintances outside the AOG so that they could find the woman in a coma and demand their Jensen''s ransom ¡ª and furthermore, he needed this gig which would get him back into his feet ¡ª to fund the capital, to revive his former crystal-meth business. Gomez was in Tombscradle since he was eleven ¡ª arrested for couriering crystal-meth from LA to Texas ¡ª but was caught on the road during a shootout at a boarder-police roadblock. He was later thrown into the other side of the fence with Ramirez''s Hispanics gang clan in prison, where he spent most of his days playing soccer. He could not put a face to Reeves, who came in with the White orphans a year later to Tombscradle, for Cory''s semen milking program. He also learnt Reeves had his heroic fame during the Preacher''s insurgence by taking down a SWAT Blackhawk ¡ª it was later rumoured too in the Mojave Desert, that he was also related to the infamous Killer-Cop Jensen. But, Gomez was acquainted seeing the fat one ¡ª Big Joe from the mug-shot on Jensen''s reward TV announcements... Big Joe used to move with another nonentity all-White group in prison, who wanted to be known in TC as the Wesleyans. They were some learned morosoph who thought they were different than the rest because they were the educated ones. They also did things that defied the Latinos too, like deliberately playing football on their own turf, while the rest of the Hispanics played soccer ¡ª Gomez hated them and their ways, reverberated their slurs while they gathered on their side of the fenced enclosure... ''...some carousing faggots that act like wiggers, to be cool in prison.'' If it was not for the warden''s fences of ''divide and conquer'' ¡ª he would have killed some of those White bastards ¡ª then, along with Hajja''s Niggers at the further end, who were also separated by another balustrade. Then the revolutionary riot broke later at Tombscradle, in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert ¡ª the Preacher liberated them all out of the detested prison walls and took them to the wilderness. Gomez was then a nonentity foot soldier for God''s Army when they later fought and lost The Battle of New Orleans against Cory''s army. He then escaped back to LA ¡ª with the rest of the surviving Hispanics. Gomez had since been in hapless hiding, still taking orders from the remaining of the surviving members of the Council of 13, who were preparing for a new battle ¡ª this time around, it would be in his own turf in LA. In times of war, the demand was greater when the meth supplies, in the pipelines were cut ¡ª in which, he wanted to profit from... Now as a free-male Chicano, he felt disappointed that despite the New Orleans defeat, their leader Ramirez had remained in the AOG legion ¡ª instead of linking with the street drug-market like they once did for the Cartel. Gomez felt it was futile to remain any longer in the Preacher''s army, and fighting an inane cause against the superior armed dominatrix ¡ª in the name of an imaginary god that he did not believe in any more.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He wanted to get back into the lucrative crystal meth-business with his vato ¡ª Santiago Isidro ¡ª where they both once ran a meth-lab in LA, before Gomes''s own distribution run had gone bust, after his arrest in Texas. Their former lab in LA was later raided by the DEA after that ¡ª but Santiago Isidro managed to escape the incursion, and he stayed in the dark ever since... After losing the Battle of New Orleans, Gomez had secretly hooked up with Isidro and some of his pandilleros since returning back to L.A. He had discussed his big aspirations and the possibility of using the Jensen''s huge reward money, as his investment to get back into the LA drug dealing business. His cousin sister, the chemist grad was also keen to start cooking again. There would be big bucks to be made, once their product start hitting the streets again ¡ª and he longed to be an ambitious player once again in L.A., competing with the current Russians mobs, who were dealing the drug monopoly in major cities. *** He caught the sight of the boys coming over from the smoking ruins, of the cabins ¡ª that was once occupied by the late Jamaicans. The three of them looked more bored than disappointed, after their two hours'' drive from L.A. ¡ª Santiago Isidro spoke in Spanish... "Nothing Gomez, no bodies anywhere." Gomez lit up a fat Burrito and passed the joint to him. He laughed at their thwarted faces looking back at him, and he replied in fey to them in English. "That means to say that they are still alive, vato!" But Isidro responded back in disgruntlement to him... "My Cholos think your big-dreams are a waste of time ¡ª and you must be loco ever since springing out of prison! Hey! you are a Preacher''s AOG rebel, but now, you want to extort from that killer-cop Jensen ¡ª come on, Gomez, this can be another trap by those cops ¡ª let''s call it off now, let''s all head back to L.A." Gomez comprehended their hesitation ¡ª the boys ¡ª probably had their private calumny discussion behind his back... He also understood that it had been six years that they had been out of the drug game ¡ª and now his homies were reluctant to jump on the wagon since the incursion on their lab, by Agent Renee Osborne from the DEA many years ago ¡ªand Osborne was the same daredevil woman ¡ª who had single-handedly crippled the entire drug-running families across America, with her daring Federal raids, in many Cartel operating territories. The high profiled Special Agent Renee Osborne was later featured ¡ª on the TV program ''Guinness Book of Records ¡ª the Medusa edition'' in the History Channel ¡ª for her daring feats, with the most successful raids by any DEA agent in departmental history. It was until months ago, when Osborne finally met her own fate ¡ª in the hands of the equally daring, and perilous Chako Hernandez ¡ª who had grown and bred, by the LA''s old school street OG laws ¡ª with the L.A. Chicanos. He had heroically used a grenade launcher to kill the legendary Osborne and her DEA agents ¡ª during a hair-raising pursuit in the infamous drug street Battle of Columbus, Ohio. Gomez bore two tattoos on his chest, inked in Tombscradle ¡ª one was his die-hard Hollywood iconic character named Machete ¡ª and the other tattoo inked closer to his heart, was his real-life hero ¡ª Chako Hernandez of the LA Chicanos ¡ª whose notorious exploits would never be featured in any of the female propaganda TV shows ¡ª such as on ''The Guinness Book of Records'' series. But it was sad where, the legendary LA Chicano''s gun-for-hire gangster was too killed that very same day ¡ª Hernandez was shot down by the super-cop Roberta Jensen ¡ª who later become an overnight sensation, for recovering one of the biggest hauls of cocaine to date ¡ª with street worth in the millions. It was also rumoured in the drug circle that a diminutive part of the millions of dollar worth of the coke, belonging to the Russian gangland, The Oligarch Daughters of America that had gone missing ¡ª which only meant that ¡ª Roberta Jensen had pilfered part of that stash ¡ª and probably would have sold it in the black-market... "Hey Santi, this is money on the floor if we find that woman in a coma! So why the fuck go back to LA empty-handed ¡ª when we can and will demand double, or even triple ¡ª the amount of the ransom offered? That fucking Jensen will have to pay us ¡ª or else her bitch-sister dies! "Come on hombres, we can be back in the business ¡ª if we stick to the plan. The trail is still hot here... "We can find those rogue deserters ¡ª with that vegetable-brained sister of that God-fucking-damn cop out there if we move in now!" The adamant, loquacious and stoned Gomez ¡ª hollered out at them ¡ª to pursue the lead given by Li Chi, for their own personal gains. The two battered cars soon backed ¡ª one of the tires crushed the scattered skull of Capt. Howdy on its path ¡ª forthwith heading off, to search for Laura Jensen. Chapter 2 "YOU SURE IT IS SAFE MADELINE? Do we really need to go to LA!!?" the vice president faltered. Vice president Mary Freeman was video-conferencing with Madeline Cory ¡ª from her ranch in Kansas. Both Lucinda Gates and Agent Wolfe were present with Cory, at the Oval Office... This made Cory sigh... "Yes Mary, we have to move on." Her Vice President was finding excuses on the eve of the fundraiser. "That is simple to say ¡ª you really don''t know how traumatizing it has been for me since the New Orleans attack ¡ª because you were not there! "The gunshots, the explosions over there ¡ª it was a total war-zone ¡ª and I nearly died that day!" Mary''s voice was high in pitch with trepidation. The looks on Mary Freeman showed that she was still not convinced of the abysmal safety issues, with nothing ameliorable done since the last encounter. "Yes-yes, for the hundredth time, I am telling you once again ¡ª that it will be safe in LA this time. Furthermore, let me specifically remind you that ¡ª I was not in New Orleans on that day the last time, because I was at Ann Rosewood''s funeral, do remember that, Mary? So, this time around, we have been tripling the security in LA ¡ª and there is no Intel from Homeland to date about any future attack by those insurgents. These are my reasons ¡ª that it will be safe for us all, at the Fundraiser in LA." "You should have left alone him back in Mexico, Madeline ¡ª but you had to stir the mess pot up, didn''t you? ¡ª and now the Preacher has made a damn Hollywood action-hero fiasco, with his helicopter ride-back stunt ¡ª back into our American soil again, and he escaped ¡ª with everyone around the world was cheering his grand entrance back, and ¡ª they were all rooting too for him! "If he is still alive ¡ª we are losing our own civil war against local radical terrorism ¡ª So what are you going to do about it?" Freeman reproached... Cory now felt more of that opprobrium with the misgiving VP, who was still blaming her ¡ª despite of her indemnity safety offer to protect her. Cory too had endured the loss of face in the eyes of the world that same day ¡ª she had totally underestimated the rebel leader''s cunningness, and with the external invisible-hand of support from his fellow species ¡ª namely, President Emmanuel Garcia ¡ª who got his revenge on her ¡ª by aiding in the Preacher''s getaway, that was telecasted live, worldwide... But right now, Cory had expected her VP to be more supportive of their administration... "Yes, I admit to the fact that the sneaky scar-faced bastard got away ¡ª but look here, Mary ¡ª we had defeated his God''s Army severely in New Orleans, and now that fucker has been reduced without a proper army. He is definitely not a threat at all any more. It takes big balls, to set his foot again in L.A.!" "You seem to be ignorant to gravamen around, Madeline ¡ª the Preacher has gained numerous supports, from the free-males and now even women here in America, who are now willing to pick up arms and fight for him ¡ª ever since you locked down ''Rosewood''s influenced cities''!" The VP was not swayed after the current faux pas in Cory''s New Order strategy executions, which are facing more daily setbacks. Freeman added... "He has even grown popular in other parts of the world ¡ª and they are now antagonistically watching us since you have attacked Mexico! Madeline, everyone knows that the avenging Preacher is going to make a comeback soon, to create another major insurrection in the country ¡ª and he is going to attack us massively, this time around... "...and I still can''t damn believe ¡ª that you still want us all to be there in L.A.!" "You have to stop believing in every damn glorifying rumour that is out there. Mary ¡ª I know what I am doing ¡ª because I am in control of the situation, in orchestrating this coming election. "And so what, if he attacks us again ¡ª I don''t give a damn too because I am more prepared than ever this time. And I can rest be assured that he cannot touch a single hair on our heads this time ¡ª so Mary ¡ª are you in or out?"Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "No, Madeline! No! As long as the terrorist Preacher is still around out there ¡ª kicking and alive ¡ª I am never stepping into that L.A. Fundraiser event!" Both the leaders went silent for a moment, and they stared at the big-screens that distanced them. Finally, President Madeline Cory spoke in a calm tone ¡ª but ¡ª with an underline of suppressed anger... "Fine Mary, I am going to be in L.A. alone ¡ª so, if I don''t see you in the Air Force One this Saturday evening ¡ª I am expecting your resignation ¡ª once I get back later to the White House." Mary Freeman staggered to find a reply ¡ª but unfortunately found none ¡ª then hearing Cory sealing her reply, with her usual merge of disparage... "So you can run along now, Mary ¡ª back to listening and clapping along with your Gospel music, for some catchy motivating inspiration ¡ª and then make up your fucking mind, about your future career in the Oval Office!" Madeline Cory switched off ¡ª the video conferencing button on the remote control. She stood up on her feet, still haranguing... "That damn spook right there is holing up in her ranch in Kansas ¡ª and so afraid of the darkness of her own damn shadow, even under broad daylight. ¡ªwhat a fucking liability, I have to put up at my party... "Good riddance, I am hoping the bitch resigns!" The suppressed agitation was stressing her out, and she badly needed her to fix of alcohol ¡ª even though her physicians have warned that it was exacerbating with her medications. She was told that she needed her willpower to control her drinking limits, which had now excessed since the weeks approaching the elections... ''...but what do physicians know ¡ª about the stress of running a country?'' Some days she realized too that she had a drinking problem, by watching the recordings of her slurred speeches on air ¡ª but she kept mentally repeating the same excuses to herself ¡ª that if all her administration problems were solved, and so would her drinking. Her greatest fear was of her own death ¡ª after watching the now pulled-down videos from YouTube of the charismatic Preacher''s sermons, the day before he attacked New Orleans ¡ª where he had vowed that the day would come soon, where the AOG would storm into the West Wing and overthrow her. He later broadcasted of Cory''s future public execution to the eyes of the world ¡ª this brought to her mind of the barbaric bathos images of Queen Marie Antoinette''s historical death ¡ª at her own fucking palace raid ¡ª in the hands of a blood-thirsting mob, of her own French-fucking citizens. She downed the drink ¡ª and was now more composed ¡ª she got down to business... "Lucinda, so you are on the way later to make the gala dinner arrangements?" "Yes, I will leave to L.A. this evening. Excuse me ¡ª I have lots of catching up to do ¡ª call me in my office Maddie, if you need anything," Gates subterfuge to dodge ¡ª and scuttled out of the Oval Office... Lucinda Gates had been in a similar situation like Mary Freeman before ¡ª when she confronted Cory''s involvement in the death of the former President Rosewood ¡ª and Cory also demanded her resignation ¡ª that was just Cory''s first step, which was her threats ¡ª then it would be followed by her next treacherous moves by red-X-ing those who opposed her ¡ª so to keep her sacred diabolical secrets in her circle safe, from mass public discernment... Agatha Wolfe was her perfect ¡ª acquiesce henchman too ¡ª to execute it. Cory returned to the bar for a second ¡ª and was conscious of the prying eyes in the room ¡ª that judged her each time when she poured herself a drink. She turned around and spotted Wolfe''s presence there ¡ª and that made her snap instantly... "What do you want!!?" "Madame President, here is the list of candidate choices, who will be the head of the task force ¡ª in charge of the LA Fundraiser''s security ¡ª I have personally handpicked them for you." Madeline glanced into the file laid on her desk. Flipping the pages ¡ª before she picked it up, to slam it down ¡ª and spurned... "Who are these cunts? I never heard of these bitches ¡ª nor do I know, if they are capable!" "But Madame ¡ª they are the best of the best ¡ª that we have in the country." "Where is Jensen in the list? She had single-handedly crushed ¡ª the fucking God''s Army, in New Orleans the last time ¡ª why is she not here?" The nepotistic Cory demanded to know ¡ª Roberta Jensen ¡ª was the only one who was trustworthy in her good side ¡ª the super-cop who pulled the trigger, when ordered without questioning in New Orleans. "I don''t think she is fit to strategize anything at this point of time, Madame President ¡ª Roberta Jensen is certainly not currently in the right frame of mind ever since her sister had been kidnapped ¡ª I met her recently, and she was totally disorientated ¡ª and she is probably having a nervous breakdown." "What''s wrong with you goddamn bitches!!? You lack the understanding of the word ''priority'' ¡ª when it fucking comes to serving your careers, and your country! "Your goddamn worlds fall apart when simplest of situations ¡ª like if your cat dies ¡ª or your bitch-spouse goes next door to blow your neighbour''s dick ¡ª and then you all immediately lose all your fucking focus, in what you want in life. You, damn bitches, are all so disgustingly pathetic!" The captious Cory grabbed the file and threw it at Wolfe ¡ª who caught it when it hit her chest... "I am not satisfied with this list, Wolfe ¡ª I want someone fucking capable, right now and this instance ¡ª or else, you can also go and take a hike in your career too ¡ª like that mossback, Conservative Nigger-cunting Mary Freeman!" She noticed Wolfe stepping forward ¡ª to propitiate... "Let me personally do it then! "My Secret Service team is very capable to protect you, and the Vice President ¡ª where I can then, oversee the overall security details ¡ª at the L.A. Fundraiser." Cory did not counter this time ¡ª but was quietly looking at Wolfe rigorously ¡ª before she finished her drink. Chapter 3 THE HIGHWAY WAS SCATTERED WITH THE SPREAD OUT of corroding and abandoned cars along its side ¡ª some broke down in their travel, others have crashed and overturned in probable pileups that happened in the past, during the Exodus'' passage to the east. It was the long-forgotten evacuation trail where the survivors journeyed, during the first virus outbreak almost two decades ago. Having a five-hour head start crossing the state of Nevada, the two bikes with Reeves and True Bob took the lead ¡ª with the Mustang driven by Troy tailed from behind. Troy overheard Joe''s stomach rumbling, even while he was in the middle of his nap in the passenger''s seat. He realized that Joe had lost some weight too ¡ª since they left the lakes in California. Lately, he had not been much of his gourmand craving-self nor did he talk much about food like he used to. The recent defeat of God''s Army in New Orleans had a lot of effect on everyone''s psychology ¡ª on their day-to-day personal lives and unknown futures of survival. Now with the team''s escape plan for political immunity in Canada ¡ª in every moment, each of them used to ponder if they could successfully cross the fortified US border unharmed ¡ª or, would they die trying?This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Laura was in the back seat, and staring out with her dreamy eyes. She then turned to look at the Mustang''s rearview mirror ¡ª and she recalled her parents sitting in front ¡ª her mother was gently rubbing his back to ease the whooping cough of her father, who persevered in his three days of driving in the Exodus-convoy ¡ª but he died in that dreadful accident ¡ª and not the viral infection of the immune system like her younger brothers did. She felt too of her nine-year-old sister Roberta''s sleeping head, resting on her shoulder in that journey... Looking back outside the window ¡ª were the chimerical moving phantasm cars driving the opposite direction, where everyone was heading east ¡ª while Laura, her son and his friends, were now ¡ª heading north towards Canada. Passing faces of people in those ethereal vehicles were staring back at Laura ineptly ¡ª the looks of why-are-you-going-back when we are escaping from the perils of the virus. Among them was the small blonde girl, in the red dress. Chapter 4 THE BACKDOOR OF A BATTERED VAN OPENED. Doran was carried out in a stretcher with hundreds of Intersexual rebels cheering his name in continuous chants. Li Chi alighted off from the front seat of the vehicle and hugged the awaiting Wu Leong and the Chinese triad''s members. They joined Doran who was getting a beatitude hero''s homecoming welcome ¡ª after his struggles and daring escape, from the Mexican border battle. The Preacher waved weakly back to them... The Preacher noticed the One God''s Army had proliferated with new proponents which swelled many with the inclusion of armed free-males and women ¡ª and together also with the overt darken, Zorro-eyed war-paint trademarked Salazar''s rebels confederacy with his own surviving AOG members ¡ª where the 2 isosceles would be one joint-force to face Cory''s army soon. Li Chi adjudicated at the small ghost town off Cory''s search grid, east at Mano County ¡ª where the God''s Army had now occupied for their cantonment and combat training preparation ground. He gazed up to the clouds, on a brilliant radiant day, and asked... "You have centralized all our operation in here, Hajja ¡ª is security fucking safe at all here ¡ª with Cory looking down on us, and initiate a possible drone attack?" The towering Black Intersexual laughed, "We have outfoxed the Snake-woman''s surveillance technologies in every way, Leach ¡ª and she doesn''t know we exist here for now. Our hackers too, have managed to jam her operating satellite systems." *** There was a Red Cross medical setup occupying one of the warehouses, used as an infirmary ¡ª where Michael, Peter and the rest of the surviving monastery monks ¡ª served in nursing back the wounded AOG rebel soldiers to health. The elation roared inside the infirmary and even the monks joined in the jubilation of their brother''s returning from the dead ¡ª Doran''s stretcher was brought and placed among his AOG soldiers, who were screaming in passion despite the miseries of missing body limbs, after facing Cory''s assault in New Orleans. The euphoric blind ones too rejoiced ¡ª despite their own sightlessness, but sensing their enigmatic and eminent leader''s presence, there amongst them. Michael silenced the plaudit so that Doran could recuperate peacefully along with the rest. Doran was laid on a waiting bunk. He observed the notable women volunteer doctors and nurses, with other free-male helpers at work in the building ¡ª everyone in salutary caring for the enduring wounded Intersexuals who stood up for his cause, in the battle in New Orleans. There were also few Catholic nuns from the Red Cross in the midst... It had been a while since he saw those in the habits that they wore. He turned away to the ceiling and sighed hard. His chest was choking by the commiserated burdens of everyone''s sufferings around him ¡ª and their unconditional blood sacrifices, so that he lived another day ¡ª to lead them into the next fight against the Snake-woman.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Michael sat beside on a stool, looking compassionately with tears swelling in his eyes. "We will get your bandages changed in a while. How are you, brother?" Doran nodded and clasped Michael''s wrist ¡ª and commended weakly... "You are serving the Lord well here, Michael ¡ª I see my soldiers are well taken care of." "Yes Doran, we have been getting lots of outside help, mainly from Europe. There is this humanitarian group of doctors ¡ª who came in illegally with the Red Cross. The leader of the group is Dr Grozini and her daughter Claudia. They were doing some work in South America, and now they have a ship docked at our Californian coast. They have agreed to transport all the disabled victims here to Italy ¡ª where the Government is granting them immunity." "What? Why leave, Michael?" Doran believed the fight ¡ª was not over yet. "Doran, they have lost their arms and legs in New Orleans ¡ª and some are even blinded in battle. They are done here, they cannot fight any more, and neither can they fend for themselves if Cory comes again after them. The ship is leaving soon, with the disabled abroad for a safe passage to Italy... "We, the rest of the monks ¡ª we too have also decided to leave with them." It was a double blow for him. The Preacher listened carefully to the overwrought Michael ¡ª who was now wholeheartedly and passionately relaying his church-related updates, since his absence... "The Good Lord has also had answered our little prayers and has opened a path for us to Italy ¡ª where over there, is a massive revival movement happening now in the Roman Catholic churches in Europe... "Yes, Doran my brother ¡ªthey will be choosing an Intersexual candidate, to be the next Pope!" Michael laughed in delight and he enlightened more... "Dr Grozini has strong ties with the Vatican City ¡ª and it had been suggested that you are one of the suitable candidate ¡ª who would be our next Holy Father ¡ª where you would be soon leading the Catholic churches worldwide. "God has answered your prayers, Doran ¡ª you are called to fulfil and serve Him now!" Doran slowly looked away apathetically... It was true he had aspired to be the pope, when he was twelve at the monastery ¡ª it was just drivel to impress Sister Lisa Marie so that he could gain more of her attention because the other monks had detested him when he was growing up there. Today, he had transformed into a rebel Christian leader, who brought trepidation to the land ¡ª as God''s very own scar-faced demonic Angel of Death that walked upon the earth ¡ª who then brought terror to its godless citizens ¡ª and mainly to the president, of his own country... The Preacher saw one of the nuns turning back, to glance at him... He anticipated detecting the apparition of the departed Sister Lisa Marie ¡ª who finally had her own wishes come true ¡ª that the Church would have him as the first Intersexual pontiff... But instead, he saw his blight faced mother wearing the habit. Her wicked grin teased him ¡ª a reminder that he would suffer in hell for his sins soon. He was backfilled with onus guilt and remorse for his shortcomings and failures ¡ª into not saving both the women who had moulded his life ¡ª the nun and his mother ¡ª along with the other thousands, who recently died for him, in battlefields. He began to roll his rosary beads in silence, praying for the dead. Chapter 5 THREE PATROLLING US ARMY drivers were cruising. The convoy travelled on a highway on desert patrol buggies, mounted in its rear were heavy guns with a gunner soldier, each respectively manning them in their patrol. They spotted two peculiar cars on another road driving at high speed. The troop turned around and pursued them. Gomez cursed, and their cars kept on course. The LA Chicano she-male gangsters started shooting back, at the trailing army vehicles. The military buggies responded back ¡ª their gunners began to fire with their fulminating high calibre M60 machine guns, mounted in the vehicle''s back. The Cholo who was driving the classic ''96 Impala, made a turn into a dirt road, to avoid bullet hits on his low-rider. He left a trail of high clouds of dust. Santiago Isidro''s Dodge too followed behind... It was a bad move, the dune buggies were made for that terrain ¡ª and they caught up fast in the high-speed chase... The flaunting Gomez had a live C4 in hand. He activated the timer and tossed it out from the Dodge, driven by Isidro...Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Watch this, Santi! Something I learnt in my Mojave boot camp!" He was taught in the God''s Army weapons training camp to not leave home without a C4 just like an American Express card ¡ª because it would come in handy, in many tight situations. Two combat patrol buggies that were trailing the closest avoided the bomb ¡ª but the unfortunate third one at the rear was caught by the explosion. It ripped the patrol vehicle and tossed it off the ground. The mangled flaming wreckage flipped and crashed, with both the screaming human torch female soldiers plummeting down ¡ª rolling on the desert sands in their fiery agony. "BURN YOU BITCHES -- BURN!!!" The laughing Gomez then saw a barricade of empty oil drums that were blocking the trail ahead, leading away into an old deserted exit road. The Chevrolet Impala was the first to crash straight into it, and Isidro''s Dodge went following from behind ¡ª both the vehicles got on the abandoned road. They sped off to escape the two firing inimical army buggies, still on pursuit... Unknowingly, Gomez and the rest of the LA Chicanos had driven into the shortcut ¡ª of the restricted Exodus Trail Highway that was headed to Nevada. Chapter 6 ¡°COME ON, BERNIE, don''t do this to me!¡± Roberta was abject while she was pleading out ¡ª to Head Det. Palmer, in her glass-panelled office at the Police HQ in DC. There were several agents in their Kevlar jacket with imprinted FBI initials, conducting a briefing outside ¡ª with the e-SWAT force. They were about to leave soon to Mississippi for a ¡®search and destroy¡¯ mission... ¡°You are suspended, just go home, Rob!¡± Bernie Palmer replied firmly but Roberta arrogantly made her point... ¡°Come on, if it was not for my investigation, you would not have known shit about that farmhouse. I got that info 3 days ago but none of you geniuses acted on it until now ¡ª everyone here was wasting time by over-analyzing some turd-brained CIA info all along ¡ª and then, you damn put a lid into my own investigation!¡± Roberta censured. ¡°Shut up you, crazy fuck, I don¡¯t approve the way you do things around here and that is why I had to stop you from torturing your missus ( and yes ) Lilya Devon may have confessed lots of things to us ¡ª but we have to make sure if the info was valid before we put the manpower into it!¡± This was a similar situation when Roberta approached Det. Palmer recently with her gut feeling theory that her abducted sister was held hostage at one of the lakes in California ¡ª Palmer then sanctioned an immediate ¡®search and destroy¡¯ mission ¡ª where the chopper teams went out and plastered many of abandoned abodes at the 337 lakes in the state in those two days ¡ª without any results of finding the OGA¡¯s sleeper-cell lair...Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. But, the NSA commended the futile effort ¡ª as part of extra security and precaution, with the coming soon fundraiser in the State of California. Roberta was now silenced and then apologizing to allay... ¡°Okay sorry Bern, let¡¯s put all our women issues aside. Now that you know the leader of the Aryans is Roxy Gailman ¡ª and there is a possibility that she may be hiding my sister in that Mississippi farmhouse with those Preacher''s AOG abductors ¡ª both of those terrorist groups are allies, right? Now please, Bernie, let me ride with the FBI when they raid that place ¡ª so that I can bring Laura back home to me.¡± Bernie Palmer was really in a quagmire ¡ª being tied up with the sorting out of the terrorist¡¯s database since the CIA negotiator Agent Tabitha Kinsley had been badly injured ¡ª with one of her arm blown off ¡ª at the recent attack at the US-Mexican border... Bernie Palmer then figured... ¡®Rob is a smart-cop ¡ª she will still be a valuable asset in the AOG-Aryan investigation ¡ª in the Southern state of Mississippi, whether or not she managed to find her sister.¡¯ Palmer could now only assist Roberta as a friend, by giving in to this request... ¡°Okay, FBI Agent Carrefour is the superior in-commanding this op ¡ª and you will follow her everywhere, only under the capacity as an observer. You are still under suspension, Rob ¡ª and please remember that! ¡°You will not be allowed to possess any sort of firearm in this operation ¡ª and if any of the agents see you with a gun ¡ª they will shoot you first at sight, for interfering in their investigation. ¡°Is that clear, Rob?¡± Roberta thanked her and left the office to join the FBI task force. Chapter 7 REEVES AND TRUE BOB RODE in front in the desert road. They were making good timing and they would be out of Nevada in less than an hour. Then, something ahead made them decelerate. They saw some people beside a parked blue Audi SUV, in a distance ahead... The strangers were frantically waving for them to stop. Both the bikers slowed to sojourn a hundred yards away. Reeves signalled the Mustang convertible driven by Joe to halt too. He turned to Bob beside him on his chopper. ¡°Who the hell are those people?¡± ¡°Looks like civilians to me, but it is better to be watchful. It might be a trap.¡± Bob precaution as he canvassed from afar. Joe who was wearing a mirrored aviator shades looked out clueless from his car. ¡°What''s going on, yo?¡± Reeves shrugged and addressed them all in the car. ¡°You guys wait here ¡ª and I am going in alone.¡± He passed his sniper rifle that slung from his shoulder to Bob ¡ª and he checked the ammo in his pistol, before riding ahead. Laura spotted two adults and three children ¡ª waiting for the lone bike to reach them. Reeves alighted from the bike. He approached the two troubled looking women, with the young girls under the age of ten. Reeves noticed the portly butch among them with a gun tucked to her belt, she was the first to greet Reeves... ¡°Hi there, I am Kim Slater. My family and I are stranded here. We are heading for Cali and we ran outta gas ¡ª and now we are stranded here for the past few hours.¡± The butch half turned her back and then pointed behind... ¡°We went to one of the small towns some miles back there to look for some ¡ª and we ran into trouble.¡± ¡°What kind of trouble?¡± Reeves questioned her back. He was vigilant to know if there might be any precursor of army roadblock surprises ahead ¡ª so that he and the team could avoid any ambush or confrontation. But instead, he heard a bizarre account from the stranger... ¡°We were jumped by more than a dozen civilians over there in that town ¡ª and they got my sister Mitchell, and her girlfriend.¡± Kim now seemed distressed, pointed at the Beretta on her belt and she went on... ¡°I have a gun but there were too many of them ¡ª I left my car back there, and I took my family and drove away like hell from there ¡ª and now we are out of gas.¡± *** Back in the Mustang, Laura was curious, of the discussion between Reeves and the strangers with the children. She was odd on what was a family with kids doing in the prohibited Exodus Trail wasteland. After a few minutes, the impatient Laura spoke up... ¡°What is going on there?¡± But, Joe teased her instead... ¡°You are in a hurry to get somewhere, Mimi?¡± ¡°No.¡± Laura replied without thinking ¡ª she kneeled forward at the backseat and hopped out the convertible, to the surprise of the 2 Intersexuals at the front seat... ¡°Hey Laura, get back in!¡± Troy called out to her. True Bob grinned, shaking his head seeing Laura ignoring them. She started running onward towards the people gathered ahead. Joe blared out the horn ¡ª and Reeves turned to notice Laura coming over. Laura overheard the butch pleading her contend aloud to Reeves...This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I have lost a sister and a friend. Please, you can''t abandon us. I have three young ones here¡­¡± ¡°What is happening Reeves?¡± Before he could explain the situation to her, Laura intervened and began to amiably introduce herself to the women. ¡°I am Laura Jensen, I am his mother.¡± Kim Slater now diverted her beseech at Laura... ¡°We are out of gas ¡®Mrs. Jensen,¡¯ and we were ambushed when we went out to get some ¡ª and my sister and friend were abducted!¡± Reeves stepped in between them ¡ª and he firmly interrupted... ¡°... as I said, I am sorry that we cannot spare you any, nor can we help you folks ¡ª we are heading up north, and you are going west. We need fuel much like you to get there ¡ª and we are really sorry!¡± He grabbed Laura¡¯s wrist. ¡°Come, Mimi, let¡¯s go!¡± Reeves turned and caught Troy, Joe and True Bob getting off their vehicles and came over. Reeves sighed and briefed the pr¨¦cis of the situation to them too... ¡°They want gas, and I told them we can''t spare any.¡± ¡°Why in the world are you trespassing in this wasteland highway?¡± Joe then spoke up. ¡°Yeah right, this entire stretch is a prohibited zone ¡ª cordoned by the US Army ¡ª and they will shoot to kill trespassers. But yet you brought your family with your kids through it ¡ª are you all in some kind of trouble?¡± Troy fastened together his explanation in platitude. The butch elucidated... ¡°Yes, I am in trouble; I run a business in Idaho. I have lots of debts back there, and so I left Twin Fall and I want to start life fresh in California. But now I am stranded here with my family, in the middle of nowhere!¡± Kim looked at the faces of the gathered Intersexuals... ¡°Please help me and my family, I beg of you. I am willing to pay you lots of money for it! Help us to get us out of here!¡± Troy spoke up again... ¡°You just said that you have debts, and now you wanna pay us lots of money? What is going on here?¡± Reeves was getting annoyed that Troy was fomented and was prying into their personal affairs ¡ª like he once did with his, at the lakes. Reeves was totally the opposite, he was just an ardent scheduled person, who wanted to hit the road ¡ª and stick to their agenda, till the five of them hit the northern border. Troy had now silenced Kim, who stared densely to hide her enigmatic past. The other woman stepped up from behind, and she grabbed Kim¡¯s arm... ¡°Tell them the truth Kim, then they will probably help us ¡ª or else we will be stuck in this god-forsaken fucking desert forever!¡± There was still no response from the butch-spouse, and the strained woman now explicated aloud to them all... ¡°It is like this ¡ª my husband cheated her business partner! And now, they have sent the mob to kill her ¡ª so, that¡¯s the reason we are running away to start a new life in Bakersfield, that¡¯s where I grew up in California.¡± She looked at Troy. ¡°We ran out of gas on the way ¡ª and we stopped, at a small town nearby but we were attacked by some crazy wild people. We escaped, but Mitchell and Irene were taken by them!¡± The woman now begged, and next cried to Laura... ¡°Please I have my daughters ¡ª I beg you, from one mother to another, please don''t abandon us here!¡± ¡®This was not our problem,¡¯ Reeves thought ¡ª Reeves disseminated the situation by standing firm, to the team¡¯s priorities... ¡°Like I said lady, we cannot spare any fuel because we don''t have much of it. We are also trying our best to not to go into these towns because we might run into any army troops who might shoot at us!¡± Laura clasped his arm... ¡°Reeves, spare them some gas.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It is the right thing to do, please give it to them.¡± That was what her mother Martha would have done too ¡ª Laura was trying to make up for her lost years in her obscure state of coma, by emulating her mother¡¯s virtues as examples. The chafed Reeves looked over towards Troy, ¡°Hey Troy, back me up for once!¡± Troy loomed closer to her... ¡°Laura, Reeves is right ¡ª we are short of gas too, let¡¯s move on.¡± But the parochial Laura was now adamant and raised her voice at the four shemales... ¡°Then, if that¡¯s the case, I am not following you all. If you are not compassionate to those who are really in need ¡ª then you can leave me behind too ¡ª and the four you can go, wherever up north yourselves!¡± ¡°Now what?¡± Joe rolled his eyes. Reeves was rendered speechless, observing the gullible Laura who was on her knees, stroking the blond hair of the three small girls. Troy looked defeated too and said... ¡°It¡¯s your call, Reeves.¡± It was always his call when it came to complicated decision making ¡ª where he would always end up as Mr Bad-guy, whenever he did the right thing for them. Laura had now ¡ª complicated their escape journey by being the sympathetic Good Samaritan ¡ª very soon they would be low on fuel too ¡ª and their objective to reach the border would be nugatory. He also predicted that they would also be low, on their food supplies next ¡ª if they were to be stranded Reeves sighed inwards, shook his head in frustration and he turned away. He stamped out, controlling his fuming temper ¡ª and kicked a rock on the ground instead. He composed himself before nodding back to Joe ¡ª who was waiting for his instructions ¡ª to refuel the Audi SUV. Chapter 8 REEVES SPED AHEAD, True Bob kept up by riding neck to neck. He knew Reeves was quite upset with his mother, for giving away their precious commodity ¡ª their limited fuel to get to the border ¡ª when they had only covered less than half the distance of their journey so far. While Joe was helping to fill the strangers¡¯ SUV with gas, a moment ago ¡ª Kim Slater claimed seeing an abandoned eighteen-wheeler oil delivery truck in the nearby ghost town ¡ª the same vicinity where they claimed to be attacked, by a group of crazies in that town. The four Intersexuals and Laura ¡ª were headed towards that new direction, to check it out... The bikers stopped to stare in vacillation, at a rusted signboard that de-toured them to a side road... The board was whitewashed, expunging the town¡¯s name. It now read ¡ª ''Gasoline available''¡ª in badly hand-painted words with a crooked arrow drawn pointing to a side road. The Mustang caught up, and all the three vehicles ¡ª took the road to follow the arrow sign. They arrived minutes later into a present-day ruin of a once small town ¡ª abandoned after the Medusa Virus outbreak. The single road ran in between the small rows of decaying establishments, which were all rundown. The deserted buildings of the ghost small town that might once have a population of about less than a thousand, stood ahead ¡ª with some vandalized and with rusting cars abandoned on the roadsides. Some were overturned, similarly to those on the Exodus Trail highways. It was not a welcoming sight for the bikers when they rode through. Reeves looked warily around but could not find a living soul at sight... ¡®Fuck! We¡¯ve been made...¡¯ A crappy feeling built in his guts that the butch Kim had fleeced their limited fuel supply with a tall tale about crazies that attacked them. Her bitch-wife¡¯s sob, crocodile teared story about her abandoned kids in the desert road had also softened Mimi¡¯s heart, to comply to help... His internal suppressed indignation subsided when True Bob pointed ahead at ¡ª a new black Firebird that was not rusted like the rest of the vehicles ¡ª it bore an Idaho license plate, but the tires were slashed... ¡®Where are the crazies then?¡¯ he thought, while still half-convinced. On the right of the main road, there was a short road that led to a dead end. It had some rudimentary business offices. It was there was where Reeves caught the sight of the eighteen-wheeler oil truck ¡ª tilting on its side at the far end of the road ¡ª some of its tires were either flat or have gone missing... Reeves signalled the Mustang to stop. As a safety routine, the group leader rode ahead alone towards the truck with a pistol in hand. He studied a Ford Taurus police blacktop-cruiser along the way, with a smashed up windshield. Its peeled paint was oxidized over time, by the harsh desert elements. Nearby to it was an overturned army desert dune buggy ¡ª some fighting might have happened here a long time back... ¡®Who survived? Where is everyone?¡¯ Laura looked out, and she remembered her small town Wellsville ¡ª where she cycled to go to school with her friends from their farms while growing up out in Utah. Joe wondered out aloud saying, after seeing the oil truck... ¡°Do you think there is gasoline in there?¡± Troy now looked worried as their intel-guy ¡ª who had strategized their entire ride up to Canada since leaving the lake. ¡°I hope so man ¡ª or else, we will be stranded on the highway by tomorrow.¡± Joe then spotted Reeves ahead, waving to them. Joe gave back a slight toot on his horn as an acknowledgement ¡ª and followed behind True Bob''s bike. *** It had been almost two wasted hours ¡ª since they bumped into those stranded strangers on the road, Reeves was keeping watch of the fleeing time since they arrived, and also at the purlieus for inhabiting, in the nameless ghost town. True Bob and Troy managed to open the rusted hatch on top of the wheeled tanker with makeshift-tools lying around. Troy tied a handkerchief to mask himself from fumes ¡ª and he looked into the dark void of the hatch. He then called down to Joe, "Throw me a flashlight! I can''t see shit in here!" A moment later, Troy shone the light beam at the base of the tanker belly. He looked over at Reeves. "Yeah dude, there is very little in the base. I need a bucket with a rope to scoop it." He then stood up and instructed those below. "Joe, I am gonna dip it out ¡ª and you filter the sediments out, and fill it up in the plastic tanks." Reeves was glad that there was some fuel now. The process would take another couple of hours before they could get out from there. But he still had this bugging and jumpy feeling about desolated places, which reminded him of the abandoned wing at Wesleyan. It had now been forty minutes since the rest of them observed Troy alone on top of the truck, labouring and hauling up less than a few inches of the content, in the bucket with each effort. It was soiled with brown sediments of sand and muddy grunge. Joe carefully dripped it in a cloth layered below the funnel, separating the oil from the impurities ¡ª while Troy laboured on scooping with a second bucket. True Bob looked around bored and stepped up to Reeves. ¡°We are running short of food supplies ¡ª let me go window shopping around, and salvage anything possible." Laura overheard him from the backseat of the car, "Truman, I am coming with you.¡± Laura turned to Reeves for his approval. True Bob shook his head to Reeves so that he wanted to go in alone... "No, Mimi, you stay here!" Reeves spoke out firmly. He had been cold to her since their encounter with the Idaho strangers some hours ago ¡ª where she had disdained his direct orders. Laura had felt it too, and she had remained in the car since they arrived. She now needed to pee and found an excuse to follow Bob... They both noticed True Bob walking away. ¡°Let me be helpful, Reeves. We both can cover the place faster ¡ª and boy, I need to go to the bathroom ." Laura requested. After a second of vacillating thought, Reeves placed his pistol in her hand and admonished... "Here take this, and stay close to Bob." He had a change of mind, now that they had found some fuel to continue the journey ¡ª and all they had lost so far were a few hours of time. Laura grinned back like a thirteen-year-old girl on a road trip. She kissed Reeves in the cheek, before running after True Bob. Reeves stepped out, passing by the cursing Joe, working the filtering of the impurities. He informed Joe that he would perch on the rooftop of a building, for a bird''s eye view of the surrounding... He only felt at ease if he knew Laura and Bob¡¯s whereabouts from a vantage point. The bugging feeling was still in his guts that some authorities might ambush them, after seeing their wrecked patrol vehicles earlier... ¡®But who were the cops fighting? ¡®What about the recent abandoned Idaho-plated Firebird ¡ª where did that butch¡¯s what-ever-her-name-was¡¯ sister had gone to?¡¯ *** Laura walked beside True Bob. They were heading to a store mart ahead. Eyes of hiding unkempt children, watched the two strangers wandering in their sleepy small town. Their stealth scrawny limbs slink along the hidden side of the buildings. The veneer of those youngsters seemed if those who had not taken a bath in their entire lives. True Bob and Laura had stepped into the door that worked a bell ¡ª the kids peeking into the side windows of the store, observing the strangers inside... Reeves was now at the rooftop of a three-storied Insurance agency building, looking down at Troy and Joe with their tasks. He was drowning back into his petty thoughts that the butch Kim had conned them of their fuel... He thought about the possibility ¡ª that the strangers from Idaho were travelling in two cars ¡ª the Firebird and the Audi SUV. Maybe there was no such sister and friend who was abducted, and it was the scammer Kim herself ¡ª who was driving the brand new Firebird. When they ran out of gas and were too lazy of a hassle to scoop it from the oil truck ¡ª so, Kim decided to drive the wife¡¯s SUV to conserve gas, and abandoned the Firebird behind ¡ª she might have even slashed the tires so that no one would drive her fancy new car away even if anyone had the spare fuel... They then had made up the bizarre story about a group of crazies attacking them. ¡®What a bitch!¡¯ He detached the rifle''s telescopic scope and he scanned the encompassing of the entire town¡¯s perimeter. No movements ¡ª not a living soul below nor a bird in sight in the sky. He looked behind him and was amazed ¡ª when he saw about more than a hundred cars abandoned in the desert. It was not a metal scape-yard, but numerous cars were junked away ¡ª cast out from sight in that nameless town. He scoped, and then studied the rusting license plates ¡ª and they were of different neighbouring states... ¡®Whose cars are those? Why are they there? Where is everybody?¡¯ *** Laura foraged through the bare commissary racks and shelves ¡ª and she crossed the aisles of the dilapidated mercantile establishment. It reeked, littered with damp garbage and broken glass bottle bits on the floor. True Bob walked to the bare shelved of the fresh food section before he came to the fungal walled meat section ¡ª and he smelled fresh blood, and buzzing flies behind a counter...This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He backed away cautiously seeing parts of the carrion ¡ª he was removing the safety of his .22 ¡ª and his eyes searched for Laura, who was not behind him... Laura was standing behind the last checkout cash register counter, looking at the empty till drawers and at the display counters with sun-bleached discount signs, peeling off the wall. She was about to discreetly undo her jeans to urinate ¡ª but she kicked on something small on the floor, it rolled in front of her... It was something familiar that immersed her attention and made her pick it up. It was a rusty key chain, aged over the years with a colourless rubber toy ¡ª that was once a bright yellow Sponged Bob figurine. It reminded of her deceased twin brothers, Johnny and Jimmy who loved that cartoon show... A movement in her blind spot snapped her back from her thoughts of Utah. Laura gaped at a woman rushing at her with a blunt rusty kitchen knife. She looked bestial in tattered defiled clothes, made a throaty growl, baring a mouthful of brownish-orange stained rotting incisors. Laura instinctively ran a few paces towards an aisle. She lunged to dive away from the woman''s fast swinging arm ¡ª the knife slashing the space behind her... True Bob''s gun rang, and it splattered the woman''s head... Laura finally shrieked, to find the body with a half blown-away skull of that woman slumping hard beside her, spilling out a lump of the cerebrum. Laura¡¯s screeching got even higher when she saw more women wielding sharp metals and weapons rushing, from both ends of the aisles. True Bob''s hollering voice echoed along, with his blasting gunshots... ¡°Laura, shoot them!" But Laura peed in her jeans instead... *** "You see anything?" Joe yelled from below while Reeves peered into the scope, with rapid gasps of terror. He was focusing on the food store fa?ade¡¯s roof as it was blocked by another taller store, in front ¡ª more shots and shrills were heard. His heart thumped hard, hearing Joe annoyingly crying out again... "Reeves, are they not out of the store?" *** True Bob¡¯s back turned ¡ª as he dropped the third woman, with another shot. Laura was lying on her back frozen with her chokes from crying. She saw a shrilling woman coming at her with a red fireman''s axe raised up. Laura upstretched her shoulders off the floor, to hold up her gun steady with both hands. She pulled the trigger in-between her arched knees. The axe-woman took it on the chest, and she dropped backwards. Laura¡¯s hands shook very badly, she dropped the gun down... Laura sat up against a rack, her trembling palms and her fingers that were literally drumming on her own head. She sensed another movement on the opposite top rack. A pint-sized, naked Chinese woman was crawling on top ¡ª clenched with a cleaver in hand, ready to lunge forward at her, contorted on the floor. Laura shut her eyes and blanked her mind... True Bob shot the diving cleaver armed Asian-woman in midair ¡ª and the dead woman fell at Laura''s feet. Laura was still in shock ¡ª opened her eyes and was in the verge of passing out, from the red blood that had disgorged all over her own face. Bob came over, smacked her grimy cheeks, yelling out... ¡°Don¡¯t pass out, Laura ¡ª Come on, let¡¯s get out of here!¡± He grabbed her up on her wobbly feet and dragged the disarray Laura along to the next aisle. True Bob observed some developments out the fa?ade, of the front store¡¯s tall windows ¡ª they both ducked away after noticing more crazies running into the street... *** Reeves witnessed them coming out of the vacant buildings. He clipped the scope back to his sniper rifle, seeing a score of women with sharp weapons rushing towards them, sprinting for an attack. Joe tossed Troy''s Rutger over to him. Troy remained in his position on-top of the eighteen-wheeler for vantage. Reeve¡¯s hand was steady from the earlier jitters, he started to fire rapidly ¡ª and his piecemealed shots dropped the women with headshots ¡ª targeting from the furthest, like his bullseye practice... Joe was in spasmodic panic-mode, heaved the two large red containers of the fuel back in a hurry into the trunk of the Mustang ¡ª he then pulled out a 12 gauge shotgun and a half box of Foster shells. He had great respect for shotguns ¡ª after seeing ¡®Uncle Jensen¡¯ blasting the Jamaicans away in LA... More women were appearing fast from the alleys ahead, their numbers doubled to fifty ¡ª their war cries were at the peak of their lungs. Troy too yelled out. "One bullet..." and Joe responded back, ¡°for one bitch!" They fired at will to the chant they all used to egg-on, while they were briefly target-training in the Mojave Desert with the rest of the God¡¯s Army... The three Intersexuals stood their ground and they fired ahead at the swarming enemy. Their guns transfixed to anything that moved forward. Their trigger-fingers were consistent ¡ª even though sometimes they both had to hit the same target twice due to lack of coordination ¡ª and also, the number of misses from their panic state, and lack of target-hitting accuracy. But they did not feel human at that moment. They had to be insensate to the killing, of the charging armed women ¡ª for the sake of their own group to stay alive. *** True Bob and Laura hid behind a shelf-rack, while he reloaded both their pistols. He reminded her that they could not use the front door ¡ª he told Laura to keep a lookout for anyone, entering through the storefront. Laura looked over at a subtle movement, at one of the five killed corpses in the next aisle. The legs of one of the bodies were slowly dragged, on the floor... "Truman, someone is already here,¡± her overwrought voice shook... Bob looked back to where her pointing finger was directed... He saw the moving, dragged feet that left a short trail of blood. True Bob and Laura guardedly crept up, between the racks to the approach to the other side. They both discovered a small, half-naked group of scrawny female children cutting up a dead woman, with small Swiss-knives. They were devouring a handful of chunks of blood dripping, warm flesh. Laura threw up beside. The hostile little, grimy naked-girls stared back in threat. They began to bare their teeth like wild beasts ¡ª and growled, to scare the strangers away from the kill. True Bob comprehended, whispered in low swallowing words... "Oh my shit, this is a cannibal town¡­" It explained the blood at the meat section earlier. It could have been the dead sister and friend of Kim Slater butchered. It also explained the slashed tires of the Firebird that he saw earlier outside. The adult crazies fed on those who came to town, searching for fuel... The progenies that Bob was facing now, were the children of the victims ¡ª that came and never left that town ¡ª the young hungry scavengers were in the lower rung in the food chain ¡ª the monkey-see-monkey-do faction... They foraged around in pacts for paltry victuals, for their own survival in that nameless town. Sometimes they too were hunted as food ¡ª by the dominant adult females, who set out traps to snare for young meat... *** Outside in the streets, Reeves reloaded his rifle on the roof, before he fired again ¡ª but more women kept appearing from the many derelict buildings, some awaken from their slumber. He heard Joe calling from below. ¡°Reeves, there are too many of them!¡± ¡°Hold your position, and keep shooting!¡± Troy next exclaimed, ¡°I am running out of ammo, what do I do!!?¡± Reeves knew that they were doomed to failure because he too had limited bullet supplies ¡ª and he could not snipe them all. They were also trapped with nowhere to run ¡ª as the purlieu was bottlenecked in the dead-end of the road... Reeves figured out that this was how the women had faux pas the cops and army ¡ª and anyone, who set foot into their town. They had used the oil truck as their bait to lure them into the dead-end ¡ª before they ambushed and scupper. The victims¡¯ vehicles were then discarded, in the forsaken wasteland behind the town. A brilliant strategy for them ¡ª and now Reeves had ensnared his team in the middle of it, by deciding into coming here. He gazed up ahead from the rooftop ¡ª riveted by the sight of two cars racing up, from the end of the road. Some of the dishevelled women were equally enthralled by the new development, as they stopped to see the approaching vehicles from their rear. Next, came two Army buggies pursuing at both the battered cars. Half of the regressive women now charged to attack the four looming vehicles. The Army opened fire with their high-calibrated machine guns mounted, on the buggy¡¯s rear. Gomez and Santiago Isidro were mystified by the breed of feral women running towards their Dodge, most were half-naked. The last time Gomez had seen this many bipeds of nudes on the streets was during the parade in New Orleans a month ago ¡ª on the night, the One God¡¯s Army attacked Cory¡¯s fundraiser. He heard Isidro exclaiming aback... ¡°Who the fuck are they!!?¡± Gomez was equally lost, ¡°No idea Santi, do they also celebrate Mardi Gras in Nevada?¡± The two Chicanos¡¯ fast cars burrowed, into the onrushing women. They were thrown over like bowling pins when their bodies slammed onto the vehicles¡¯ metal hoods and roofs. The windscreen shattered, but Isidro was not slowing down, with the army buggies firing their machine guns from behind. The other pimped car, the low-rider Impala was hit at the fuel tank section and it exploded. The impact killed some of the savage women, who were clinging on the vehicle. Reeves spotted the nub moment of Laura and True Bob coming out of the store, in the middle of the chaos. He now saw a fortuitous window of opportunity to escape away, from the escalating madness. He grabbed the handful of his bullets from the bulwark, pocketed it before he descended fast down the building, hollering to the rest... "Let¡¯s go, Troy!" Reeves needed Troy to ride True Bob¡¯s chopper, while they made their getaway. True Bob came out into the open streets, shooting at some swarming women, with the two guns in his hands. Laura was clinging fearfully onto his jacket from behind. *** Santiago Isidro lost visibility, by the spider-web cracks on the Dodge¡¯s smashed-up windshield. He crashed head-on into the stationary dilapidated police blacktop. The woman who was lying on the windshield was not dead yet ¡ª she punched through the glass and grabbed Isidro¡¯s greasy hair. Cursing ¡®puta¡¯ in Spanish, Isidro pumped a few bullets, into her face at point-blank... The logy Gomez staggered out from the opened side-door, his arm held out, firing his Uzi at close range. Another woman with an axe rushed from his blind spot and dismembered his arm that held the Uzi. Gomez hollered in agony and dropped on his knees, beside his wriggling severed arm. He could hear Isidro screaming out his name for help from inside the car. Two oily, naked Black women stood on the Dodge¡¯s hood ¡ª impaling him with spears, stabbing his friend through the broken windshield. Reeves and Troy rode the bikes and the Mustang with Joe following close by. A woman with garden sears stabbed next the genuflecting Gomez in his back. He was waning, looking up at the oncoming bikes, seeking to be rescued even at his dying moment... Gomez finally recognized the one named Reeves Jensen, from the other side of the fence in Tombscradle ¡ª he had seen him while picking up the stray soccer ball at the edge of the fence ¡ª where the austere loner who usually sat at the far end of the bleaches ¡ª and had very few friends inside the empty walls. He was also the one named Jensen that Li Chi despised ¡ª and had sent him over to kill ¡ª while he had the motif to lucre from the situation, by claiming Roberta Jensen¡¯s ransom instead. Reeves¡¯s anonymity face was the last visual depictions in his mind, when another one of the vicious women severed Gomez¡¯s head with a machete, with a single clean hew. She held up the decapitated head high by the hair, screaming victoriously. Reeves rode pass her and shot her dead with his pistol. The open-top desert patrolling Army buggy was jumped by several women. They dragged the driver and gunner to the tarmac before hacking them both to death. The second buggy came over to aid by opening fire ¡ª with the army gunner pounding out lead at the attacking females. Some women jumped down from the top floor of a building into the buggy ¡ª and they took out all of the fighting soldiers. Joe filched the lead, by overtaking the bikes, and he was bumping down the fierce women in front. A woman bit on to a blade, she ran and jumped off the single-storied building roof, before landing inside the convertible Mustang¡¯s backseat. She then grabbed Joe by the hair ¡ª while he held her hand, with the cutthroat blade that was inches from slitting his throat... The Mustang lurched out of control ¡ª and the fender scraped the sides of stationary, abandoned vehicles. Reeves rode beside the zigzagging car ¡ª and he fired, killing the attacker instantaneously. ¡°Get in, Laura!¡± True Bob and Laura ran beside and dove, into the backseat of the slowing Mustang with the, slumped dead body inside. Joe then floored the gas pedal, turned the wheel, streaking into the main road ¡ª to avoid more advancing brutal women... The two bikes followed the Mustang rear, shooting at will, at the women chasing on foot ¡ª and at others who were barricading their exit out... True Bob rolled the bleeding corpse from the back, on to the car¡¯s trunk top. It sounded like a smashed watermelon, thudding hard onto the concrete tarmac and rolled off. The entire backseat¡¯s pale leather cover of the Mustang was stained with flowing fresh blood. They accelerated and left the bloody nameless cannibal town in a hustle. A sense of gladness and relief at once sank deep into everyone that they had all escaped ¡ª with no fatal casualties in the group. They sped away, and never to turn back to even glance again behind to that road of atrocity, The instinctive Reeves who once again, leading them away from danger. Chapter 9 LUCINDA GATES PACED in the hallway, and she was greeted by a passing White House staff. Samantha Cory was stalking her from behind. Gates opened her office door and almost stepped in when a voice called her. Samantha saw Agent Agatha Wolfe intercepting her at the door. Samantha was obscured behind a large potted bushy palm, seeing Wolfe handing a file... ¡°Ms Gates, Madam President has instructed me to pass this to you personally ¡ª and also, there are some LA securities details that I want to run with you.¡± ¡°Come, step inside, Agent Wolfe.¡± Gates replied nonchalantly while perusing into the pages of the received file. The agent was now looking towards her left at a potted palm leaf ¡ª Wolfe called out... ¡°You can come on out from there¡­¡± There was no response when Wolfe summoned at first ¡ª that it even startled Gates. Wolfe then spoke up again, in a lower tone... ¡°Ms Cory, please, you don''t have to hide.¡± Samantha blushed in embarrassment, and she came out from behind the preserved foliage. Gates immediately responded in amenity, ¡°Sam, what is it, dear?¡± Samantha Cory hesitated to speak but, smiled sheepishly and she came over. ¡°Ms Gates, if you are not busy, can I have a word with you?¡± Agent Wolfe stepped a few paces away, and half turned her back. Samantha was still uncomfortable with the agent¡¯s presence ¡ª Gillian used to say lots of pessimistic things about how this Secret Service, who used to stalk him at times ¡ª but Wolfe had not hassled her so far since her stay in the White House. So Samantha spoke out anyway... ¡°So you will be leaving to LA this afternoon?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Yes, I am looking into the final details, for the gala dinner tomorrow night. Is there anything, Sam?¡± ¡°I will be there too with Madeline. Ms Gates ¡ª as I too will attend the gala dinner, but my heart would not be there while Gillian is performing in the charity benefit concert, which will happen at the same time.¡± She stopped, fearing that Wolfe might know her intentions and conveyed it to her boss, the President ¡ª who had a low opinion on her son. Gates was nodding back with interest, ¡°Yes, my dear, I was delighted when I heard that he got a spot to play with his band.¡± Samantha''s voice shook, it was the few opportunities she had with the ever-busy, White House workaholic Chief of Staff Lucinda Gates ¡ª and Samantha was not reticent now on speaking on behalf of her primogeniture... ¡°But I want to be there for his show performance, Ms Gates ¡ª so could you arrange that I can be at the concert backstage when Gillian is playing? I want to be over there to give him moral support. Please, Ms. Gates, it will mean the world to us both.¡± The older woman smiled and amenably touched her arm, ¡°Okay no worries, Samantha, I will make those arrangements ¡ª once I get there in LA.¡± Samantha went forward, delighted and surprisingly hugged her. ¡°Thank you so very much. I am so very excited that he will be on stage.¡± She scuttled away voicing cheerfully... ¡°Thank you again, Ms Gates!¡± Gates caught Wolfe turning towards her, with an inkling smile. ¡°What¡¯s with the smirk? Let her have it her way for once, she just wants to see her son perform.¡± ¡°Ms Gates, you mean ¡®the freak-actor¡¯ ¡ª who is playing the role of her son.¡± Wolfe chucked now. ¡°Don¡¯t you think I don¡¯t know that? I was in that disingenuous scheme since day one. But poor Samantha has gone through enough of hell ¡ª and I just want to keep the girl sane as long as possible,¡± retorted Gates before she entered the office. Wolfe was still amused... She knew of lots of things that had been going on ¡ª she even had Gates herself followed, by one of her secret service staff ¡ª Gates had been visiting members who were associated with the former Rosewood¡¯s administration. But Lucinda Gates was now the Chief of Staff and is the President Cory¡¯s oldest friend ¡ª it would be out of line for Wolfe to brazen out her suspicion on the influential woman... But if the situation was perilous and critical, she would then confront Lucinda Gates, and put her in the hot seat ¡ª about her personal clandestine agendas outside the White House. Agatha Wolfe entered her office and closed the door. Chapter 10 LI CHI, HAJJA AND RAMIREZ were overseeing the training by the surviving God¡¯s Army rebels ¡ª with their new inclusion of Salazar''s exile Mexican prisoners ¡ª and the hundreds of volunteering, inexperienced free-males and women of war-torn drug-cities, in the mix. They were planning to seize Los Angeles by hitting various strategic points ¡ª to cripple the city soon. Their cardinal attack would be centred at the Fundraiser premise ¡ª with the presences of the US Army¡¯s buttress ¡ª in protecting their Snake-woman president. He looked out at those gathered from the window, from the top floor of the abandoned office that Michael was utilizing as his office and meeting place with the monks. Doran was saying his mental prayers with rolling rosary beads in hand ¡ª as watching below at his soldiers in their activities. His mind was not there, with his circa of going to war. He turned back towards seeing Michael piously reading the bible at a round table. He came over and sat beside him to confide. ¡°I still get those visions of my past, Michael. My Mother is always still taunting me ¡ª and saying that I will go to hell. Even Sister Lisa Marie too appears with the other dead nuns and monks from the Convent. They all keep also repeating that my time is up ¡ª that I will die soon.¡± Michael closed the Bible, kissed it in devout ¡ª and crossed himself before replying him... ¡°We have spoken of this many times while in prison, Doran ¡ª that you have spent a lot of time, even for several months in the isolation hole ¡ª and that has impaired your reality... ¡°But, you will be fine, my brother ¡ª and you are not going to die ¡ª and even God, will not permit that for now.¡± ¡°Then, am I losing my mind, Michael? Sister Lisa was there...and so was Matthew too...the visions ¡ªare getting very real every day...¡± Michael¡¯s face tightened when he heard of the dead monk¡¯s name, even after years of lamentation since. ¡°No Doran, you just have to let go of the burden of your past failures ¡ª and you should move on. You were only 12 then ¡ª when the Snake-woman had ordered the attack on us at the Convent ¡ª but even till today, you are still clinging to the guilt ¡ª for not saving every nun and monk, who died that day.¡± Michael also recalled his own futile attempt to save the drowning Matthew underwater, in the flooded sewer... ¡°Even I failed that day¡­¡± They both turned to a knock on the door, and Peter opened to look in. He spotted Michael who was closest to the door... ¡°Dr Sofia Grozini is here.¡± Two women stepped into the room ¡ª a mother and daughter ¡ª and they introduced themselves to Doran. Only Claudia Grozini spoke English with a heavy Italian accent. They sat across the round table facing the three monks... ¡°It is a great honour to finally meet you, Padre Doran. Your influence is really felt in such a big way, in Europe. People are talking highly about you over there of your bravery ¡ª of how a simple Catholic monk has put a resistance, on the greatest Government on earth. ¡°They even mention your name in churches as the new future ¡ª that the world had waited, for eighteen years since the outbreak of The Medusa. You are even mentioned and discussed intensively all over the social media.¡± ¡°Sorry, I don''t Facebook,¡± the uneasy Doran said softly without ¡ª thinking everyone present on the table were humoured and laughed delightfully. It was something he heard people around him talk about online social networking ¡ª but that coming out from a conservative, archaic monastery upbringing, who never touched a computer or owned a cellphone in his entire religious life ¡ª he did not know what the joke was about at the table.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Claudia spoke again in candour... ¡°Yes, then you have heard of our proposition that we told Padre Michael, of you coming to St. Peters, Vatican ¡ª and lead the dying church as the Holy Father to a New Era in Roman Catholic faith. You are the most favoured among the listed few, Padre Doran ¡ª the Vatican really needs you now.¡± Peter grinning proudly interjected, ¡°Our very own first American Pontiff.¡± Michael, who was sitting beside him, gave him a stern look as to not to participate in the conversation. Dr Sofia Grozini spoke urgently in Italian to her daughter, ¡°Tell him, Claudia, that we have to leave soon, or the President will get suspicious about the wounded human-cargo aboard ¡ª and attack our vessel in the water when we sail home.¡± Claudia nodded to her and turned back to Doran. ¡°So what have you decided, Padre? The whole Christian world now awaits the good news, of your coming to Europe.¡± Instead, Doran turned to Michael beside him ¡ª and held his shoulder with a dissident suggestion... ¡°This is your man, Ms Grozini. He is the true servant of God. He is the rightful person and not me ¡ª to be the Holy Father.¡± Michael knew this was not the interest of what the Grozinis had in mind. But he too could not understand why Doran still kept turning down the divine opportunity, that was laid in front of him to be a spiritual leader of the world ¡ª but rather be a hunted fugitive in exile, in his own homeland. Both the women were left speechless momentarily before Claudia spoke out again to cajole... ¡°Why not yourself, Padre Doran, you served God well too... ¡°...and you are the reason the bleak ones, and even the non-believers, have regained their hope to return back in churches in Europe ¡ª so that they can hear the same sermons of hope that you had preached, while you were in prison. Padre ¡ª you have really inspired millions of them, to return back to God.¡± Doran laughed nervously, shaking his head... ¡°But I don''t deserve this God¡¯s glory because I am just a simple soldier of God ¡ª I have killed my enemies in cold blood in the battlefields ¡ª and a murderous sinner like me, should not be a leader of something, so sacred as the Holy Church. ¡°Even if I do accept ¡ª then, I would be no different than that serpent Snake-woman and her army of whores, who are butchering my specie ¡ª and even if I am given a second chance to do it all over again ¡ª I will still go out and kill those wicked women, until my freak-looking people have an equal platform, to coexist in this world created by my God!¡± Michael interrupted when he saw Claudia Grozini seemed to have given up any hope in convincing him. The two women alleged that the vengeful and insular Preacher ¡ª was also a bitter misogynist, in real life. Michael mooted at Doran¡¯s ludicrous decisions, to fight a losing battle with Cory¡¯s high-tech legion... ¡°But, Doran ¡ª what about Paul the Apostle, who was once Saul of Tarsus? He too was a cruel soldier of the enemy and a brutal murderer? He persecuted the early Christians back then ¡ª but yet our God chose him ¡ª to be a leader to lead the Holy Church later. ¡°Brother, why can¡¯t you walk in his footsteps, and serve Our Lord better!¡± Doran looked down, shook his head slowly ¡ª and refused to accept what was said ¡ª he then stood up ¡ª but Michael kept reasoning, and rationalizing to him... ¡°Now the full circle has come around, to choose an Intersexual to lead the Church ¡ª and it is you, Doran. Let go of your past, and embrace your true calling now... ¡°Come to holy city with us, my Brother!¡± Doran raised his bitter voice... ¡°No! My calling is for my people here! The army that fights in the Name of God ¡ª they who had washed my feet with their blood and tears, where in return ¡ª I will continue to wash their feet in with my leadership. My place is rightfully here, and I will not forsake the hope of freedom in them... ¡°...and just like the Good Shepherd, I will not abandon my flock! ¡°The God¡¯s Army will capture every last of the Snake-woman¡¯s stronghold cities now, and we will march over to White House soon ¡ª and execute that woman for her sins and crimes, against God created humanity! Once that justice is served in the Name of God, and only then ¡ª the Fallen Sun will set on His throne... ¡°Until then, every one of you ¡ª please do not distract me from serving my God!¡± Doran left the round table, and he walked out the door. Michael rushed after him, trying to stop Doran, who had now descended in a hurry down the stairs. ¡°Doran, wait!¡± Doran was out of the building, into the street, crowded with his God¡¯s combatants. He heeded Michael calling him from behind... ¡°Doran, wait! ¡°If you truly believe that it is the Will of God to be here at war ¡ª then we all too will not go to Italy. The monks and I will pledge to remain back here ¡ª and we will not leave your side. ¡°We will all fight and die alongside with you, in the next battlefield, Doran!¡± The Preacher did not acknowledge him ¡ª now, he had the future blood of his benign brothers soiled again in his hands, with this ongoing civil-war insurrection ¡ª since he last saved them in Tombscradle, from Wolfe¡¯s monk-prisoners execution threats... He kept on walking away, with his hot tears flowing down his face of guilt. Chapter 11 THE SUN WAS UP BUT BOTH MARLIN AND JOANA were still in bed, asleep in his bedroom. It was Friday today, the day when Roxy Gailman would return to take her little sister away back to the Aryan Sisterhood camp. They both spent the whole night talking, with lots of in-between goodbye sex. Once Joana left, Marlin had intended to kill the two sister-boy bodyguards, and ¡®plan¡¯ route his escape ¡ª that was his finalized procrastinated strategy that he would tend to follow through soon. Outside the window, two black sedans were approaching the front gate. Marlin was awakened by Cynthia''s panicking loud shouts, which were then followed by the exploding firing of an AK47. He jumped out off the bed naked... He rushed out of the window and spotted Lee firing her rifle ahead. Joana jolted off from the covers, stood still calcified. ¡°Marlin! What''s going on?¡± ¡°We have been attacked, you got any weapon here?¡± ¡°No, grandma does not approve of me having one when I am here. Cynthia usually keeps my pistol.¡± Marlin slipped into his jeans and he turned to Joana. ¡°Jo! Your grandma''s shotgun! Where does she keep it?¡± The naked girl was still in a state of panic to answer him ¡ª and she could not find her pants. Outside at the front yard, Cynthia was killed when the Secret Service agent returned fire. Lee was shot in the leg and she hobbled to the side of the house. She rested her back to the wall and pulled out her phone. The gunshots seized, Lee was shouting into her cell phone... ¡°Yeah, we are being attacked. Yes, General, 2 cars are here!¡± Agent Fowler came in view and Lee raised her rifle, but Fowler was faster ¡ª three shots were fired ¡ªand Lee crumbled on the dirt. The sister-boy was fatally wounded. The bedroom door was kicked open, and Agent Kardon pointed a gun at Marlin. The agent saw the topless Joana with her hands raised. ¡°Get dressed, and step out now!¡± *** Outside, Mrs Scott was sitting on a chair at the dining table. Agent Sian Harrison walked over to her, looking into her small black notebook and interrogating her. ¡°So, Edna Scott, how about Sarah and Roxanne Gailman ¡ª do they live here too?¡± Mrs Scott replied calmly... ¡°No, just me in here ¡ª with my other granddaughter Jo, and her boyfriend.¡± They all looked up at Kardon escorting Marlin and Joana at gunpoint. Kardon pushed Marlin forward to sit beside the old woman. The older Harrison smiled... ¡°Oh the boyfriend ¡ª hi Marlin, Dr Judy Morris sends her regards¡± The reply made Marlin fluster. Agent Fowler was on her laptop... ¡°We are online on the secured frequency, Agent Harrison.¡± ¡°Great, bring it over.¡± The laptop was placed in front of both seated Mrs Scott and Marlin ¡ª while Joana stood behind her grandmother. The screen flickered before Lucinda Gates appeared on the display... ¡°Hi Marlin, I am glad to see you again.¡± Marlin recognized the woman who interrogated him six years ago before his incarceration to Tombscradle. He digested the present hostile situation...Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡®Now they have got Dr Morris too.¡¯ Gates diverted her gracious attention to the older woman. ¡°So Mrs Edna Scott, can I call you, Edna? I am Lucinda Gates, the President''s Confidential Assistant. I went through your records that stated that you were employed in Hahnemann University Hospital in Pennsylvania back in 2003. You then resigned abruptly the very next day after a certain teenage girl back then, by the name of Samantha Cory delivered a set of twins ¡ªam I correct?¡± Joana''s palm was on her grandmother¡¯s shoulder, and Mrs Scott led the girl forward to the screen. She calmly replied back... ¡°Yes, I know where this is going, Ms Gates ¡ª I will cut to the chase here, yes, this is Joana Cory ¡ª the granddaughter of your President. I took her away from that hospital 18 years ago.¡± ¡°Grandma, but¡­¡± Joana was dumbfounded by the ascertained information. ¡°Thanks for being honest. I thought you will be going into denial, Edna.¡± ¡°No, Ms Gates ¡ª I always knew that this day will eventually happen ¡ª when Joana will be found out and will be taken away from me.¡± There was now a little sense of urgency, Lucinda Gate¡¯s voice tone picked up the pace... ¡°It is good that we have come to a good understanding so soon because any moment from now ¡ª your farmhouse will soon be swarmed with the FBI and the local authorities ¡ª who are investigating on the Aryan Sisterhood militia activities. ¡°But, I am going to help you all escape, before things get heated up over there.¡± Marlin was disgruntled now ¡ª knowing that Dr Morris was in their custody. He voiced out... ¡°What do you mean help us escape? You put me in prison the last time!¡± ¡°Yes Marlin, that was a regrettable mistake back then ¡ª but I have no time to explain anything now. Time is not on your side, even for all of you... ¡°You need to escape before it gets ugly over there!¡± Gates mitigated abruptly. Everyone stared at the screen especially Marlin who was still peeved. Gates spoke to him again, ¡°Marlin and Joana, you both will be coming to Washington, and I will keep you both safe from Cory''s intended obliteration path to both the God¡¯s Army and the Aryans rebels. Once you are here, I will explain everything ¡ª and ¡®your mother Dr Morris¡¯ ¡ª is eager to see you too.¡± Marlin assessed the situation ¡ª if Gates had wanted him shot dead like the two sister-boys, the agents could have already done that. Anyway, he would be transported to Washington to Dr Morris ¡ª that was where he had intended to go to in the first place, before his house-arrest in the Aryan farmhouse. ¡°Agent Harrison, give it to him.¡± Marlin received a cell phone from the senior agent. It was the same FBI covert-kind which he misused, and had landed him in trouble in the first place ¡ª but this was of the latest model. Even after the five years sentence, his enthusiastic fingers were running the keypad functions ¡ª while Gates spoke back on the laptop screen... ¡°Take this phone, it is my direct contact to you in case we get separated again, Marlin. Please don''t resist nor try to escape. It will be safer if you travel with these agents. They will fly you all back, to Washington in a while.¡± Gates had a last word with the Secret Service supervisor... ¡°Agent Harrison, please escort them safely back to me.¡± *** Outside in the porch, the three agents stood by the two black sedans. Joana stepped out with a medium-sized luggage bag of miscellany and Marlin followed her, empty-handed. They both turned to notice Mrs Scott shaking hands with the senior agent. ¡°Take good care of the kids, Agent Harrison.¡± Joana dropped her luggage bag and she ran over ¡ª questioning fanatically at Mrs Scott, ¡°Grandma, are you not coming with us?¡± The old woman slowly shook her head... ¡°This is my house and farm, dear ¡ª and there is no reason for me to go anywhere.¡± ¡°They are coming, Grandma, it is not safe to be here!¡± the girl¡¯s voice trembled, and Edna Scott held both of her quivering arms... ¡°Yes my sweet dearest, to hunt for you and Marlin. They don''t want me, Jo ¡ª it will still be safe for me to stay back,¡± replied her grandmother. This made Joana to shudder more and cry... ¡°Why all the secrets from me, Grandma? Why did you not tell me all of these, that I am not a ¡ª Gailman? ¡°Now they are taking me away ¡ª I don''t want to leave you, grandma!¡± ¡°Don''t cry, Jo. I took you from that hospital as a baby because, at that time, I had failed as a mother to both of my daughters ¡ª and that is why I brought you here ¡ª and seeing you grow up since then, has been the proudest moment of my entire life, Jo ¡ª I love you... ¡°Now go and be safe.¡± Edna turned to Marlin who stared blankly at her ¡ª not knowing what to expect, ¡°Marlin, she is all I got ¡ª take care of her for me.¡± Marlin came forward ¡ª he understood her by his empathy that he had ¡ª the storytelling of the wretched and misfortune of her past, in chasing a lost ghost. He hugged and kissed the old woman farewell ¡ª then separated the girl from gripping harder to her grandmother ¡ª he led the weeping Joana into the car. Mrs Scott stood alone in the front yard ¡ª and saw the two black cars drive away. Joana in tears waved to her from the backseat¡¯s rear windshield... Chapter 12 BESIDE A SMALL OPEN HANGER was a private jet ¡ª scheduled to leave soon to Washington D.C. A Black woman in suit, Agent Jones ¡ª peered into her field glass. The two Secret Agent sedans were coming from afar, towards the esoteric private airstrip. Behind her were the two butch pilots, smoking by the hanger while some workers were refueling the jet. Marlin and Joana were in the backseat of the car while Kardon drove. The older Harrison was in the front passenger seat. Joana was holding Marlin''s hand and spoke softly... ¡°So you knew about all these?¡± ¡°Yes, Edna told me.¡± ¡°They spoke about the twins just now, so this Joe ¡ª is he my brother? Marlin nodded, and it somehow made him smile to inveigle... ¡°Yes, I guess so ¡ª when I first saw you in New Orleans, I followed you ¡ª because you looked just like Joe, not by size, though ¡ª but as a red-headed, most definitely. ¡°I bet Joe will be surprised too ¡ª knowing that you exist because he grew up all his life thinking he was an orphan in Ohio ¡ª with along with another friend of mine, Reeves ¡ª I met those two guys when I was in prison.¡± Joana started running her fingers into his long hair, enquiring more. ¡°Hey, you are a mysterious guy yourself, you freak¡­why you never talked much about yourself or about your mother ¡ª the doctor ¡ª why is that so, Marlin?¡± Marlin glanced at the two agents in the front seats ¡ª he went to whisper into her ears... ¡°It is not safe.¡± Just as how he had hidden his complex background ¡ª even with his former girlfriend Suki. He could not tell Joana yet that Dr Morris was just his guardian, who had posed as his mother since his birth ¡ª while his real mother was Sonia Petroff ¡ª the macrobiotic scientist, who was in the hiding after being accused of her association with the scientific group that was answerable for the gendercide, of the entire male species on the world. ¡°Promise you will tell me everything from today onwards, okay?¡± She held his neck and kissed Marlin. Agent Harrison turned her head. ¡°Hey cut it out back there. This is a US Government authorized vehicle ¡ª not a taxi cab.¡± Both the female agents laughed despite the recalcitrant teens ignoring them. The agents were shifting in their seats seconds later ¡ª not by the excitement inside but towards outside the car ¡ª after hearing loud noisome soaring above. ¡°Oh no! She has found me,¡± exclaimed the vexed Joana... It was Friday ¡ª it was time for her to return back to her second home. *** Three single-engine crop-duster planes were in the skyline, flying low and approaching the hanger. Roxy Gailman was flying one of them with her giant woman-bodyguard sitting behind in the passenger holding seat ¡ª Bigfoot betrothed out an RPG and aimed below... The plummeting rocket blasted into the drums of kerosene, while the female workers filling the propellant into the jet fled. An impactful explosion raptured next, and that hurled the Secret Service Agents¡¯ jet plane off the ground before landing its belly up. Marlin looked in horror at the inferno up ahead, before the jet¡¯s ensuing explosion... He grabbed Agent Harris¡¯s shoulder and exclaimed... ¡°Agent Harrison, turn back ¡ª Roxy Gailman is attacking us!¡± ¡°Kardon, listen to the kid ¡ª turn back!¡± The other car driven by Agent Fowler halted ¡ª and she alighted with another agent. They fired their pistols at the circling planes above. Agent Fowler then popped opened the sedan¡¯s trunk ¡ª and pulled out two high powered machine guns. Another plane strafed low at the hanger, firing and killing both the running pilots... Agent Jones was dashing out from the burning hanger. She then turned back and fired back at the plane. But Agent Jones fell after she was consequently struck by the hail of bullets. The gunner who killed Jones had a short moment of triumph ¡ª she was now aware that her pilot was also dead, with a bullet hole hollowed into her right eyeball socket. The crop buster plane crashed into the roof of the hanger. On the runaway, the second plane flew low towards the two firing Secret Service Agents... Agent Fowler had taken cover behind their car. She spotted something shattering near the sedan. The smashed Mason jars with live grenades, thrown off from the plane ¡ª ripped their vehicle, but both the agents leapt away to safety. They mustered with injuries ¡ª and stood back on their feet to reload ammo magazines into their machine guns, while the plane turned around from above. It then flew low firing again towards them... Both the agents replied back with accurate on-target shots. The plane¡¯s single propeller was damaged, and the smoking aircraft smashed into the runway tarmac. It vaulted at high speed towards the agents¡¯ direction, hurling kamikaze into them ¡ª and the metal wreckage bequeathed behind with a long hundred yards trail of blood, bones and flesh of the two agents ¡ª before it exploded on the runaway ground ahead.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Roxy Gilman realized that two of her backup planes were down in flames, and she cursed back. The giant-woman started pointing at a black sedan driving away... ¡°General, The Commander must be in that car!¡± Roxy turned the plane around, and she pursued toward the escaping car ¡ª with her little-sister in it... ¡®Nobody is taking Jo away.¡¯ Marlin spotted Roxy¡¯s plane coming... The sedan was out of the runaway and it sped on the countryside road. He held on Harrison¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°Give me a gun ¡ª come on, agent, I can help!¡± Agent Harrison opened the glove compartment and passed him a pistol. ¡°Me too,¡± Joana requested. Harrison assessed the morass and concerted ¡ª she could use any help at this moment... Both the teens in her custody were trained, militia soldiers. But Harrison¡¯s priority was still to get them to Washington alive to Gates. She took a Dillinger from her ankle strap and gave it to Joana ¡ª before turning towards Kardon... ¡°We can''t outrun a plane. We got to stop and fight!¡± The giant-woman then shot a rocket and it impacted a blast on the road, causing the moving car to swerve for a hard stop. All four of them got out of the vehicle. They started to fire at the oncoming plane. Roxy Gailman was confounded when she pulled the plane up ¡ª but she spotted Joana shooting from below, when the plane was passing over them... ¡°What the fuck! Why is Jo shooting at me?¡± Agent Harrison opened the trunk to get the cache of weapons. She picked up a machine guns while Marlin eyed the RPG ¡ª but that was soon taken by Agent Kardon. Agent Harrison instructed the blond Intersexual and the girl beside her... ¡°Both of you ¡ª don''t stand in the open. Go take cover. We will fight the plane!¡± The two agents remained behind ¡ª while Marlin grabbed Joana''s hand and ran. The girl hobbled fast towards a tall pine on the nearby field ¡ª while Roxy¡¯s plane turned back. From under the tree, Marlin peered at the duo in the black suits pointing their aims for the plane ¡ª waiting for it to approach closer. Roxy turned her back and saw her oversized bodyguard ¡ª loading another mortar, yelling to her... ¡°Hey Bigfoot you asshole ¡ª put that away. I need Jo alive. My mother will kill me if she is dead!¡± The big woman took out her Uzi instead ¡ª and fired below at the agents who responded back with their rapid firing. Marlin also blazed from below the tree, until his gun clicked empty. The plane flew away to re-circle back again. Agent Harrison turned back to assess the damage ¡ªKardon had collapsed on the road, and was dying ¡ª and she did not trigger the RPG... Harrison was alone in the quandary ¡ª she reloaded a new magazine into the rifle and shouted out... ¡°Marlin, keep the girl over there!¡± The defenceless Marlin eyed the RPG beside the dead Agent Kardon. He saw Roxy coming back fast. Marlin grabbed Joana and gave her a quick kiss, and instructed her loudly... ¡°Stay here, Jo, don''t follow me!¡± But Marlin anticipated her well enough ¡ª just like the rebellious Suki who defied her close-clan to have a relationship with him ¡ª this stubborn Aryan followed him running ¡ª he now feared that Joana Cory would get caught in the crossfire. He turned around and kicked her leg ¡ª that was healing from the gunshot wound of New Orleans. Joana dropped forward on the grass, with a loud and acute hollering cry of pain. Marlin raced ahead, towards Kardon¡¯s unfired weapon on the ground... The plane blasted from above, firing a rain of lead at Harrison, and at the approaching Marlin. Harrison took a hit and she yielded ¡ª more bullets were hitting the road with Marlin still running forward. The plane passed above him, and Marlin dove down at the RPG ¡ª he clutched it up quick, turned to see a golden sun reflecting at the passing plane ¡ª and Marlin fired the thumper... It was not a first-rate exceptional shot ¡ª but it was enough to blow off the tip end of one of the plane''s win ¡ª in fact, it was another fluke shot ¡ª like how he sniped at the golden-glittering medal, and killed the 2012 trap-shooter Olympian gold medalist on-duty guard at the watchtower, back in Tombscradle. The crop-buster plane went out of control ¡ª and Roxy struggled to keep it afloat. Marlin viewed it flying sideways over the tall trees ahead. He stood up and heard it crashing about a mile away, in the dense woods. He walked over to Harrison holding her bleeding wounded shoulder. He helped the older agent to her feet. Joana was standing on her own with her back leaning onto the tree, screaming back at him from afar... ¡°Fuck you, freak, why did you kick me there!!? It hurts like a motherfucker!¡± Marlin mumbled softly to himself to see Joana there, ¡°yea, I love you too...¡± Harrison was slightly amused... ¡°Love hurts ¡ª and you sure have a funny way of showing that, kid.¡± Marlin grinned back... ¡°Let¡¯s go to D.C., Agent Harrison ¡ª and I am driving.¡± *** The wreckage chunks of Roxy''s farm plane were scattered and was burning, on the forest ground. Roxy lay holding her bleeding left thigh, grimacing in pain. She took out her cell phone from her pants ¡ª but it was broken. She tossed it away, and crying out in pain and frustration... ¡°Fuck you, Fish!¡± The giant-woman appeared out from the shrubs, her clothes were in tatters. She walked over confused, and was bleeding from cuts and scrapes ¡ª and a fractured arm... ¡°General, are you okay?¡± ¡°Do I look okay to you, you Nephilim-moron!!?¡± Roxy yelled back in mordant pain, ¡°I think I broke my leg. Call up the camp for help!¡± ¡°I lost my phone,¡± the befuddled tall woman said, looking over her shoulder... ¡°It is a long way to go back to camp ¡ª and get help.¡± ¡°Are you are thinking of a fucking revenant, by leaving me behind to die, Bigfoot? No, you are gonna fucking carry me ¡ª all the fucking way back to camp, you hear me!!?¡± *** Marlin drove the black sedan with Joana in front, her back rested on the passenger door ¡ª and her legs were stretched on Marlin''s lap. Agent Harrison was lying asleep on the backseat with bandages, strapped over her gunshot shoulder. The body of the deceased Kardon was in the trunk. Joana was still irked, and she kicked Marlin¡¯s thigh... ¡°I just don''t understand you sometimes, you fucking freak-show ¡ª why did you kick me there? I have to thank grandma ¡ª for giving me this bottle of painkillers, or else it will be a living hell, as the last time!¡± Marlin was glad that Joana was still alive ¡ª after the close call attack by her own Aryans Sisterhood faction. It was a gut feeling that worked for the best to favour the Adonis ¡ª but she would not understand it... Marlin hoped that this would be the last of Roxy Gailman too ¡ª and she would never have to return again, to take her sister away from the one ¡ª whom she had nicknamed as Fish. Chapter 13 HER BAREFOOTED FEET paced on the pavement of the empty, in the nameless town. The girl stepped into the front door of the mercantile store with empty racks and shelves, the belled door chimed. She was in a dirty threadbare dress and had not washed herself in years. The twelve-year-old Laura searched around before she eventually stumbled upon them ¡ª the hunted children ¡ª who grouped together, and foraged for food to survive in that hellhole municipality... Her entire body trembled when she approached inconspicuously towards the pack of hungry spawns, who were feeding on a corpse. Her knees buckled slightly after seeing the victim was Reeves ¡ª she stood horrified behind them ¡ª gazing into his half-opened dead eyes that stared into her... His stomach was cut open ¡ª and the children were feeding on his red viscera. The leader turned her head and looked up at her ¡ª it was her own ten-year-old sister Roberta. She held out Reeve¡¯s cut off heart clenched in her palm ¡ª and she spoke in an adult¡¯s voice... ¡°Laura, come ¡ª feed on his heart.¡± Laura turned away queasy, holding on the rack for support, and threw up. She felt like fainting but, staggered and walked away from the feeding of her own progeny. Her sister¡¯s voice called back... ¡°Where are you going, Laura?¡± ¡°I am going home¡­¡± ¡°No, you are not, you stay put here with me,¡± the adult voice echoed. Laura ignored it and gained the strength ¡ª to finally run out the store¡¯s front door. She saw the clusters of the wild women, squatting in groups in the street. She passed them, running and seeing that they were feeding on several headless corpses. She hollered in fear and reached the post office front ¡ª where there were pikes with petrifying human heads displayed up-high of ¡ª Troy, Joe and True Bob. She stood speechless staring at them, backing away slowly in consternation. The ten-year-old Roberta came over and held her trembling hand and smiled. Laura shook her hand off to release the grip. She ran again into the main road of the nameless town. She heard the grown-up voice ringing behind her... ¡°You are mine, Laura. You are not going anywhere!¡± Her bare feet pounded hard on the concrete road ¡ª when the terrified Laura ran. Something loud descended from above... The vast Boeing plane dropped on in the middle of the town and used the main road as its runaway. Its wide wingspan was traversing forward ¡ª hitting and crumbling the ageing ramshackle establishments, on both the left and right sides. She ran faster, the enormous plane was catching up from her rear... Laura dropped down to let the gargantuan plane pass. She peeked up to see her parents ¡ª Martha and Herbert looking out of the oval window of the Boeing. Her hand reached out, calling them... ¡°Mum! Dad!¡± ¡°Come home, Mimi!¡± Martha called back, from inside the plane. Laura hoisted herself up and now chased after the tail of the enormous plane. It left a trail of fissures on the tarmac. The Boeing then turned meteoric right to the road ¡ªwhere the dead-end was with the tilted eighteen-wheeler oil tanker. The plane was far ahead but the young girl pursued from the back... The massive plane approached towards the fuel tanker and the ground shook by its hefty weight. A huge crater formed and that swallowed the eighteen-wheeler and the surrounding edifices. The gigantic Boeing then nosedived into the dark-hole ¡ª creating an enormous storm of sand and dirt that knocked back towards Laura ¡ª she was thrown off her feet. The dust settled down and she peered ahead at a blurry mirage of a small figure standing at the edge of the crater. Laura staggered forward in the sprinkling shower of the settling dust ¡ª to attain that the cherubic little girl in red standing over, with one of her hand pointing at the bowel of the black-hole in the ground... Laura saw the pointing finger of her trembling tiny hand while the child was holding her own throat with her other palm. Her eyes rolled up, her pupils disappeared, exposing the white of her eyeballs. The girl in red was choking before she managed to puke out. Something dropped nearby Laura¡¯s feet... It was the dead, red Robin. The small girl collapsed backwards ¡ª and she fell into the deep pitched black crater ¡ª Laura screamed after her... ¡°No!¡± *** Laura was rudely awakened from her horrendous sleep, with signs of a premonition still alarming all her senses ¡ª indicating her presentiment of something ahead...If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She sat up dazed for a moment in recollection, of her macabre thoughts in the backseat. The Mustang GT was cleaned ¡ª but the pale leather seat was now slightly pinkish with the stained memories of the bloodbath in the nameless cannibal town that happened hours ago ¡ª but it still stank of the dead woman¡¯s blood... It was late afternoon and was raining hard ¡ª with flashes of lightning on the darkened road. Joe was driving with the tired True Bob asleep beside him. The wipers were sweeping the rain pellets teeming on the windscreen. The morbid images of death were still spinning in her head when Laura reached out and clenched Joe¡¯s chubby bicep... ¡°Stop the car! Joe ¡ª stop the car!¡± ¡°Why?¡± Joe panicked but still kept the gas pedal going. Laura started to tug his jacket collar hard in the moving car. This forced Joe to be alarmed ¡ª and he jammed the brakes. True Bob was roused up from the jounce, cranked his neck in confusion... ¡°Laura, what''s wrong?¡± The bikes were ahead with Reeves and Troy, who rode in Bob¡¯s place on the chopper bike. The murky Nimbus in the skies was brightened by streaks of lightning. They were not aware that the Mustang had stalled behind. Laura started to run back with True Bob chasing her in the cold shower. Joe was now driving in reverse, blaring the horn. Reeves and Troy in rain capes then double-backed their bike ¡ª they raced towards the car that was moving backwards... Laura stopped to look down on the steep canyon below, her both hands gripping on the mangled railing. True Bob reached her first before the rest of the Intersexuals scuttled behind her... ¡°What''s wrong, Laura?¡± She stood and stared senselessly below. Reeves came over and held her from behind, with concerned looks... ¡°Mimi, are you okay?¡± She then recalled holding the lurching Buick¡¯s door. The car plunged down with her shrieking mother inside. She was thrown off halfway on the ledge while her parents in the vehicle were jarred towards the base of the cliff. ¡°Reeves ¡ª it happened here. My dad''s car dropped off from here.¡± Everyone saw the lugubrious Laura bending down slowly ¡ª and was crying... Reeves genuflected and hugged her while the rain teemed down on them. She turned to Reeves ¡ª with her pensive and pleading eyes, and hugged him hard... ¡°Please Reeves, I only ask this one favour from you. I want to give my parents a proper burial. Please, Reeves, help me...¡± ¡°Okay, Mimi ¡ª we will do it.¡± Reeves stood Laura up on her feet. Troy then took her away to the Mustang. Reeves peeked down at the deluged, dark terrains ¡ª and thunder flashed above, illuminating the proximate ¡ª he saw the metal wreckage below at the bottom of the cliff. True Bob stood beside him, he too was gazing below. Joe approached with an umbrella and remarked... ¡°Are you serious, Reeves? It is way below there ¡ª and you want to risk your life and go down?¡± Joe had warned, and Reeves did not respond. He had to do it ¡ª it was Laura¡¯s parents ¡ª and his own deceased grandparents who were below there ¡ª the family kin that he was hoping to discover ¡ª ever since he grew up as an orphan in Wesleyan... He was then into much deeper discerning ¡ª this was where it all happened, the place his mother went into a coma before he was born. Those were the few other things which he pondered along with the identity of who his father really was. The only sketchy information he had known was during the Wesleyan¡¯s racial segregation in the auditorium ¡ª was that, he was half-Hispanic. He never asked Laura about this ¡ª because she was in a coma back then, and she would not have known. True Bob spoke up, ¡°I am coming with you.¡± ¡°No, you stay back, Bob.¡± ¡°I am coming, I will grab the gear.¡± *** The patchy clouds cleared, the rain had subsided to a drizzle, Troy was in the poncho, and Joe was still holding an umbrella ¡ª both looking down at Reeves and True Bob cautiously scaling down the steep rocky walls without any use of ropes. Laura sat now in the car ¡ª now fearing for their lives, and the danger she had put the two of them into. The old Buick had not actually totally plunged to the cliff base, it nestled among the boulders. Reeves was the first to reach the turn-turtle wreckage, with the four flat tires, baring the rusted rims. Reeves came to the driver''s side interior and he discovered the cracked skull male skeletal remains, sprawled on the car''s ceiling filled with a pool of rainwater. The inside of the car had also been weathered by the elements in those eighteen years. The passenger''s seat was empty... Martha Jensen remains were not there. He saw a weather-beaten photo frame with badly faded images of two small children beside the male skeleton. True Bob reached over the other side of the window, and he looked in into the deteriorated interior. Reeves notified him, ¡°Martha''s missing.¡± Bob looked over his shoulder ¡ª to beyond the boulders that had wedged the car from plunging further down. He made an assumption... ¡°She may have probably been thrown out of the car ¡ª I will go further down, and look.¡± *** Reeves climbed back with a bulging rolled blanket tied to his back, and True Bob was keeping up the pace to his friend who was a more agile rock climber. Reeves waited for Bob to catch up halfway. ¡°We have searched till the base ¡ª where could she have gone, Bob?¡± ¡°Maybe some wild animal could have dragged her somewhere ¡ª wolves can do that in a pack.¡± True Bob made another postulation ¡ª but Reeves was not very convinced... ¡®Why didn¡¯t those wild beasts drag and devour Herbert too?¡¯ The rain stopped, Joe was abeyance with boredom and decided to make coffee near the Mustang. Troy stood alone at the mangled railing. He saw them ascending, and he called out for Laura. Joe ran over too. They saw Reeves with a load on his back. The insensitive Joe mumbled... ¡°Oh shit, bones again.¡± Troy nudged his side. ¡°Shut up, Fat fuck.¡± Laura came from behind while Reeves was helped up by outreaching hands. He collapsed in exhaustion on his sides while he removed the load off from his back. True Bob came up next and rested his tired back on the railing post. *** True Bob''s hands began to untie the string knotted on the rolled blanket. Laura kneeled beside him and started to sob. True Bob commenced chanting a Native Indian prayer for the Dead... The load was unfolded, and Laura was crying aloud, saddened to see her father''s fractured skeleton bones. Reeves pacified her by holding her close, True Bob continued his chants ¡ª and he began to wrap the bones back onto the cerement blanket. He lifted the bundle and took it to the car¡¯s open trunk. Laura looked at Reeves in the eyes. ¡°Where is my mother?¡± Reeves looked at the hushed True Bob staring back at him. ¡°We searched around, we could not find her.¡± ¡°Can there be a possibility that she may have survived ¡ª and she wandered off, don''t you think so, Reeves?¡± Laura responded back with a child-like optimism. ¡°Yes, Mimi ¡ª she may have survived.¡± He did not want to dash her hopefulness ¡ª with any wild beast theories. Reeves kissed her forehead before they walked towards to their vehicles ¡ª and they continued their journey, minutes later after the coffee break. Chapter 14 LUCINDA GATES¡¯S FLIGHT TO Los Angeles had been delayed by bad weather, but when it was ready to leave, there was another delay ¡ª Agent Wolfe was not there in the group for the takeoff; so everyone waited... To make it up for the delay, the scheduled-driven Gates was inside the private jet, discussing the Fundraiser program with her three key female staff. She stopped to read an ambiguous text message ¡ª from Agent Harrison on her cell phone... ''We have been compromised ¡ª but the kids are alright.'' She excused herself and went out to the jet¡¯s exit door, and called out to one of the Secret Service agents from a group waiting outside. Wachowski ran up the stairs to meet her... ¡°Agent Wachowski, where is Wolfe? We have waited for the past forty minutes, why are we not taking off? We need to be in LA ¡ª there is a lot of pressing matters to attend to there.¡± ¡°I am sorry, Ms Gates, there is no confirmation yet ¡ª we are all still waiting for Agent Wolfe.¡± ¡°Has she called?¡± They turned to glance at an approaching Secret Service vehicle. Lucinda Gates sighed. ¡°Speak of the devil.¡± She went back into the jet. Wachowski descended fast down the stairs, went to the car. Wolfe alighted ¡ª and the junior agent spoke... ¡°Agent Wolfe, Ms Gates just asked ¡ª when we are taking off?¡± ¡°There is no takeoff!¡± The stern-looking Head of the Secret Service snapped back. She then looked at all the agents gathered. ¡°All of you wait here!¡± Wolfe paced up the stairs leading to the plane and found Gates with her staff inside. Wolfe was internally calming herself down, she walked up to the minibar ¡ª and poured two drinks in shot glasses, picked them along with the bottle of the aged McCallan scotch. Lucinda Gates was noticing her ¡ª she had not seen Wolfe drinking before in the White House, or neither in front of her. Gates anticipated that it must be regarding Agent Harrison¡¯s text ¡ª that she just received earlier... ¡®Wolfe knows something.¡¯ ¡°Excuse me, ladies, please step out off the plane, I need to speak to Ms Gates in private.¡± The staffs left and Wolfe looked over at the two female flight attendants ¡ª and shooed them away too. She sat across Gates and slipped a glass towards her while she heard, ¡°I don''t drink when I am working.¡± Wolfe smiled in derision. ¡°You might need it.¡± Wolfe next took out an envelope from her breast pocket of her suit, pulled out three photos. She turned two photos face-down in front of her ¡ª and revealed the third to Gates like a game of cards... The agent finally found a loop to confront the president¡¯s Confidential Assistant ¡ª with a photo of Gates and Agent Sian Harrison stepping out of the women''s prison ¡ª that was secretly taken by Agent Iris Green... ¡°Were you spying on me, Wolfe?¡± ¡°Just explain this, Ms Gates.¡± The older woman¡¯s voice shook slightly. ¡°Yes, I went to see Dr Morris.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Gates bit her tongue, thinking of an excuse ¡ª but soon Wolfe turned up the other two photos face-up ¡ª the first was Big Joe''s. The other photo was of the injured Joana, cradled by Marlin in his arms in the street battle of New Orleans... ¡°Does it have to do with them?¡± Gates clenched her own fist hard until it was pale while staring down aghast and speechless at the three photos. Wolfe pointed at Marlin''s image, speaking in a simpleton manner...Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°This feller and that Dr Morris, I know. We had put them both behind bars, remember? But now, he is on the loose. The other two are also rebel terrorists. They are all involved in terrorist groups ¡ª conspiring to overthrow the government. ¡°So Ms Gates ¡ª where do you fit into all of this?¡± Gates spoke out louder. ¡°Stop pretending, Wolfe ¡ª you know who those twins are?¡± ¡°Hmm yes, I supposed that they both are Samantha Cory''s suckers ¡ª but too bad ¡ª the President has issued an order that they are also treacherous terrorists. Madam President too has not given me any direct orders yet, nor has told me personally to isolate those twins ¡ª from the rest of the rotten eggs.¡± ¡°My command still stands to kill off ¡ª whomever that endangers both the President and is a threat to National Security!¡± Gates trembled slightly when she heard that ¡ª and she rambled out a response... ¡°Please don''t do that, Agent Wolfe ¡ª not to Sam and not to me ¡ª Madeline Cory had a problem dealing with her cheating husband long ago ¡ª and since then, she had punished Samantha instead, by discarding the twins the moment they were born. ¡°Those two siblings were separated from birth and through circumstances of fate and false blame ¡ª they have both ended up as so-called terrorist groups, confabulated to the mass media by Madeline Cory herself! ¡°You know that very well enough ¡ª that it is her aspiration ploy of power-play to stay in office ¡ª come on, don''t you know that by now, Wolfe!!?¡± Lucinda downed her drink ¡ª and poured another single malt scotch by herself. Wolfe now allowed her to speak. ¡°There is a big gap of difference between blind loyalties, and using one¡¯s commonsense ¡ª but Agatha, I want you to do the right thing now!¡± The agent felt insulted by her mordant remark... ¡°Look here Ms Gates ¡ª I am not authorized to rationalize my orders ¡ª especially when it was given by the President herself.¡± ¡°Good ¡ª then do the sensible thing like I have been doing this time around ¡ª no one here is overthrowing the Government (or what so ever) ¡ª and, why I visited Dr Morris, was to find the twins¡¯ whereabouts ¡ª I just want to protect the children of Samantha Cory from further harm, that''s all!¡± Wolfe was made silent momentarily. Her hauteur attempts to ambush Gates was diminishing with the militating woman, now dominating the argument ¡ª while sipping the scotch Gates further elaborated to her yet to come importance... ¡°One day, I will reunite the mother with her two grown-up children ¡ª and I will take them far away, from Madeline''s reach.¡± Agatha Wolfe then poured herself another drink and mumbled the quandary... ¡°Fuck, because of you, I now got four dead agents ¡ª killed two hours ago in Mississippi, by the Aryans Sisterhood! Agent Harrison is now on the way back to Washington with the two suspects!¡± Wolfe tapped her fingers on the photo of Joana and Marlin for Gates to see ¡ª Gates finally had the acumen of what the misconstrue text message from Harrison was all about... But she was also relieved the girl ¡ª was still alive. ¡°What are you going to do about it, Wolfe ¡ª hand them over to Cory?¡± ¡°Yes, that is what I am going to do ¡ª and also, I am going to retire Agent Harrison, her time is up ¡ª and next is you ¡ª Ms Gates... ¡°...you will not have any further clearance access to my Secret Agents personnel to do your errands ¡ª nor will you get any first hand classified information on the DHS and NSA database pertaining to National Security,¡± Wolfe said, baring her teeth with her authority. Lucinda Gates had created a mole in the Secret Service ¡ª and Wolfe had to contain the situation before it blew over. ¡°What happens after that Wolfe, you will still go and exterminate Cory''s own grandchildren for her like a grunt you were once before ¡ª shooting children up in the Middle East, as human target practice?¡± Gates had stumped her again. ¡°Fuck you. Ms Gates ¡ª look at the situation you have put me in! You are in concordance to be the next Vice President ¡ª but see what you have done behind our backs!¡± Wolfe declaimed with perturbation... Wolfe was upset, and she was about to drink her glass of McCallan, but Lucinda Gates clasped Wolfe''s wrist that was holding the shot glass ¡ª looking into her eyes with an intense stare ¡ª and articulated an importuned suggestion... ¡°Then take the moral high ground by keeping the girl always in your custody, Wolfe ¡ª and never let Cory know that you have her. Go ¡ª lock her up in one of your safe-houses and throw away the keys! But, keep her alive because when someday soon, when Cory falls over ¡ª and if I become President ¡ª and I am going to make things right... ¡°Now listen to me here carefully, I can groom you into politics, Wolfe ¡ª only if you stop thinking like a jar-head war veteran, and start getting a little ambitious ¡ª from this day onwards!¡± She clinked Wolfe''s glass with hers ¡ª before releasing her wrist... ¡°Cheers!¡± Gates drank up ¡ª and the agape Wolfe was looking at her leaving her seat, to continue her agenda for the tomorrow¡¯s fundraiser in LA. *** The jet flew in LA airspace a few minutes later. Lucinda Gates sat alone since the takeoff ¡ª still in deep thoughts, staring out of the window. She had typed a text message into her phone and was contemplating. She looked at it again ¡ª and pressed the ¡®send¡¯ button... She still distrusted the askew Wolfe¡¯s allegiance to President Cory ¡ª and she could not take the chance, with the capture and execution of either of Samantha¡¯s twins... Two thousands of miles away at the border of Mississippi, Marlin was driving ¡ª with two sleeping passengers in the Secret Service black sedan. The phone in his pocket vibrated. He saw a text message... ''Once in D.C., You take the girl and run.'' Chapter 15 OUT IN THE OPEN FIELD, Mrs Scott was dropping dirt with a shovel. She looked ahead at the approaching siren of the two local sheriff cruisers. She peered up also at two helicopters coming from the East and Northwest. She pushed a wheelbarrow of dirt ¡ª and dropped it over to cover up her trail of evidence quickly ¡ª a shallow grave dug, with the piled up of the dead Cynthia and Lee, with theirs AK forty-sevens. * Inside the Blackhawk helicopter was Roberta smoking a cigarette alone. Roberta was the only one among the team, in her civilian clothes ¡ª wearing her motorcycle leather jacket. Suspended from duty ¡ª and now she was there in observer status while following in the FBI''s¡¯ investigation mission. Roberta missed Lilya even more, as the whirlybird got closer to the farmhouse in Mississippi ¡ª looking out at an oak tree at afar that reminded of the graves of her male siblings, from a similar farm in Wellsville, Ohio. The tortures she had inflicted on her wife ¡ª who was protecting the ones she cared were in that house... ¡®Will Laura be there too?¡¯ FBI Agent Carrefour was engaged in strategizing the mission with an Elite force trainee Commander, Terri Smith from the Pennsylvanian PD division ¡ª she was roped in to lead Roberta¡¯s own ten Elite-soldiers there, for the farmhouse raid. They held a short briefing while they checked their weapons. *** Mrs Scott pushed the empty wheelbarrow to the front yard when the two Sheriff cruisers parked ahead. Some uniformed women deputies headed by the Sheriff alighted from their vehicles... ¡°Are you Mrs Edna Scott? I am Sheriff Newman¡ª and we have a warrant to search your premise.¡± ¡°Yes, I am Edna and I live here alone ¡ª and just what are you expecting to find, Sheriff Newman?¡± The Sheriff looked at the executive warrant in her hand and replied. ¡°There have been reports that this premise is part of terrorist activities of the militia Aryan Sisterhood, Ma¡¯am¡­.¡± They were all distracted by the loud clattering of the two hovering helicopters ¡ª the Blackhawk and an FBI¡¯s Bell was landing ¡ª it was creating mass curling dust winds on the fields, snaking towards the farmhouse... ¡°Did those city cops got you, girls, into believing that I am housing terrorist on my farm? Then go ahead. Sheriff ¡ª search all you want, and you will find nothing of that sort under my roof ¡ª and also, don¡¯t make a mess, like a TV show police-search ¡ª this is not Hollywood.¡± She replied graciously with sureness ¡ª after covering her tracks ¡ª by disposing of the bodies of the sister-boys earlier. ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am,¡± replied Newman amiably and the rest of the armed local authorities stepped into the house, while Mrs Scott sat on her quaint rocking chair on her porch, after a long time. She noticed the empty beer bottles, tobacco spit stains and cigarette butts, littered on the floorboard, nearby her feet. It was good riddance that those agents in black suits had arrived earlier, and took out the trash by acing the inimical sister-boys ¡ª and now she could have back her farmhouse, from those unwelcoming Aryans. FBI Agent Carrefour alighted off the Blackhawk, ¡ª and saw the Sheriff and the deputies entering the house. She was disgruntled and turned to the elite-Force Commander Smith... ¡°Look at those hick-hillbillies daughters there ¡ª and now where did their so-called charming Southern hospitality go to these days? Those inbreed deputies were supposed to be our backup ¡ª but now look at them, rushing into the crime scene like it is a catfish catching contest. If they get jumped by any Aryan rebel bitches in there ¡ª it will be their own flabby asses, with bullet holes... ¡°Commander Smith, you move in now!¡± Roberta Jensen instinctively followed behind Smith and the elite-force soldiers ¡ª but she was stopped by Carrefour. ¡°Hey Jensen, you are unarmed. You better stick with me!¡± They both entered through the backdoor of the house ¡ª while Smith faced the Sheriff''s team back at the front porch, where the calm Mrs Scott was on her rocking chair. Sheriff Newman spoke out to the Elite team... ¡°We have checked ¡ª the place is empty ¡ª there is no one in there!¡± ¡°We will double-check now,¡± replied Smith. Her advancing soldiers used their X-ray tech-devices to scan the interior floorboards ¡ª while Roberta Jensen and Carrefour, stood and watched from the side. Outside, some e-soldiers and the FBI''s headed by Agent Maxine Harvest entered the large barn. The Elite-soldiers were also utilizing their scanner around the milieu, among the few cows in the stalls. Both the FBI agents climbed up the rickety ladder ¡ª to Joana''s secret place ¡ª and searched through the junks in the attic. They heard an e-SWAT calling from below... ¡°Agent Harvest, we found a cache here!¡± Both the FBI agents at the attic looked down to see the soldiers had located a few rifles, ammo and pistols behind the bales of hay ¡ª which Edna Scott had no knowledge of, while she covered her tracks earlier. *** Inside the farmhouse, Roberta and Carrefour stepped into the room ¡ª that was once occupied by Marlin ¡ª after a soldier had finished scanning the floor and found nothing. Roberta mulled over and controlled her angered frustrations... ¡®Laura was not brought to the farm ¡ª she was not at the lakes-searches in California nor here in Mississippi ¡ª where the hell is she?¡¯ Roberta''s keen police eyes spotted something anomalous in the trash basket. She used two ballpoints like chopsticks ¡ª and picked out a used condom. ¡°Good police work, Jensen.¡± Carrefour laughed, it was more of a mockery than a compliment, seeing Roberta dropped it into a forensic evidence bag.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Roberta next stepped to the untidy bed and pulled the sheet cover. She used her fingertip to hookup and lift up Joana''s G-string thong ¡ª the butch Carrefour chortled again... ¡°I heard that these Mississippi pussies smell like catfish too!¡± Roberta sensed that Joana Gailman and the shemale named Marlin from the CIA evidence photo were here ¡ª but they both too were also missing from the farmhouse... ¡®Where has everybody gone?¡¯ Roberta left the room and stopped in the living room ¡ª picked up a photo of someone she had known from her past ¡ª the twelve-year-old Roxy Gailman... She recalled the gang fight against other butch rival groups ¡ª where she fought alongside with Roxy''s ¡®boys¡¯ when she was ten. She had once saved Roxy''s life from being stabbed ¡ª by smashing a rock onto an older teenager, giving the rival dyke a concussion. She was then initiated as an official member of Roxy¡¯s puerile childhood-fantasy gang since. When Roberta was thirteen, they both then had fallen out ¡ª and they both went their own separate ways ¡ª and never crossed path again, face to face ever since. The FBI Commander Carrefour stepped out of the front door ¡ª to find e-SWAT Commander Terri Smith and Sheriff Newman in front of the porch questioning Mrs Scott. Roberta tagged along, looked at eight firearms laid on the wooden plank floor. Roberta remembered Lilya mentioning the old woman seated, as Joana''s grandmother ¡ª she studied with perspicacious after discerning Edna Scott for the first time in person ¡ª there was something about her leery eyes, were shrewd as her Aunt Flo¡¯s... ¡°Mrs Scott, give us the truth ¡ª where are they ¡ª the Aryan group members?¡± Agent Carrefour questioned her. ¡°Gone I guess, they left back to their base,¡± the old woman replied. ¡°So where is their base?¡± ¡°How do I know, I am not part of them ¡ª and also, I don¡¯t wanna know too. They come and go in here, as they please, and how can I stop them. They are all armed ¡ª what can I do about it?¡± Roberta cut into the conversation with cynicism... ¡°O yeah, what can you do, grandma? You are just a defenceless and sweet, Southern old lady. Okay now, where is this Joana Gailman? I believe this belongs to her.¡± Roberta tossed the G-string to the woman¡¯s lap and continued speaking... ¡°I have a young wife too, with a similar fashion taste ¡ª and you probably know her too ¡ª little Joana''s good friend, who grew up around here and both probably playing on that swing over there, under that tall oak tree when they were little... ¡°Of course ¡ª you must have known Lilya Devon?¡± ¡°So you are that filthy cop Jensen, who kills mercilessly at-sight ¡ª I don''t know what that albino girl saw in you ¡ª and why the hell, she married you for?¡± Edna scorned back. ¡°Looks like your reputation precede you, Jensen ¡ª even grandma is here, is in your loyal fan club.¡± Carrefour laughed. Roberta was enjoying it and was also humoured ¡ª and she replied to her... ¡°I just like to keep my bedroom affairs with the wife private, so for now, grandma ¡ª tell me where that Aryan base camp is ¡ª because I want to say hello to my-very-old-friend-Roxy-Gailman?¡± Roberta had a score to settle with her ¡ª it was personal ¡ª Lilya who was sold by Roxy, and ended up as a street hooker named Snow White, once upon a time ago in Ohio ¡ª but yet the ungrateful bitch was still loyal to those inbreeds here, like a Southern yellow-dog ¡ª and because of that ¡ª it had schism their own marriage. ¡°I don''t know, I have cut my family ties with them all ¡ª and I now live here alone ¡ª yes, my other granddaughter Joana and her boyfriend visited me recently, and they are gone now,¡± Edna made it clear to all of them, to shake off more suspicion... FBI Agent Carrefour noticed that Jensen¡¯s beset was now dominating the questioning, Carrefour stepped up and accosted... ¡°Looks like you are not going to talk, Mrs Scott, neither have you made any prior police-report about any terrorist activities here ¡ª now that makes you a prime suspect and abettor ¡ª for harbouring those Aryans kin of yours in your premise. We are now charging you, and will be taking you back to Washington ¡ª for furthering our federal investigations.¡± ¡°I am not going anywhere. This is my farm! ¡ª Sheriff Newman, do something!¡± Edna was expecting the local hometown authorities to come in defence, from the intimidating conurbation bullies ¡ª but Sheriff Newman was parried away saying... ¡°Sorry Ma¡¯am, we wash our hands because this is now a federal case ¡ª these weapons belong to the terrorist Aryans ¡ª and they were found on your property.¡± ¡°Commander Smith, take her to the chopper!¡± Carrefour ordered the chain of command. Elite soldiers muzzled the screaming Mrs Scott, out of her rocking chair. Roberta stood alone in the porch, frustrated that the search for Laura had come to another dead-end ¡ª it was until Agent Harvest came running over to her commanding FBI superior ¡ª Roberta overheard their conversation ... ¡°Sir, I got some updates on two incidents that happened in a span of a couple of hours. Some Washington Secret Service cars were attacked by the Aryans ¡ª and some of those agents were killed just 30 miles from here ¡ª and the other is in the state of Nevada ¡ª where army troops had a gun battle, with some she-freaks, most likely they were AOG rebels ¡ª who were trespassing on the Exodus Trail.¡± A male voice in Roberta¡¯s head said, ¡°She went that way.¡± Roberta recalled those were the words that a skeleton in her dream omened. She called to mind seeing the gaunt remains seated in a rusted car, pointing its bony finger out to a direction. Roberta¡¯s instincts now summoned from her gut... It was definitely a sign ¡ª the long and forgotten Exodus Trail of her childhood past... ¡°Okay Harvest, I will look into the Secret Service deaths ¡ª and you take the Bell, and check on the other incident at the Exodus Trail ¡ª and keep me informed at all times.¡± Carrefour cherry-picked her high profiled assignment... She wanted the publicity of crashing into the investigating party of the local Mississippian authorities, with her feds¡¯ jurisdiction credence ¡ª that had now the involvement of White House agents found dead, outside Jackson... Roberta had no intention to tag along with Carrefour ¡ª because her priority was to find Laura who had been abducted for close to a week. Would her coma-stricken sister survive that long? That was her main concern ¡ª along with killing the ¡®faceless¡¯ one ¡ª who had abducted her... That bastard who abducted Laura from the hospital was going to pay back in blood, once she cornered him. Harvest left ¡ª and Roberta approached with caution... ¡°Agent Carrefour, I wanna check on the Exodus Trail with them. I have a strong feeling those freaks, who took my sister ¡ª are heading on that path.¡± Carrefour had no need for Jensen... She owed Captain Bernie Palmer some favours in the past and had repaid by letting Jensen follow in the investigation so far ¡ª even was aloof, and she did not give a damn if Jensen found her sister or not. Furthermore, Jensen was a celebrity-cop and a national hero ¡ª the ambitious Carrefour did not want to share the merit ¡ª when she solved the Secret Agents killing case by the Aryans, that she was about to sink her teeth into. ¡°Okay, Jensen ¡ª you are supposed to be with me, but I am closing an eye here ¡ª but, the same drill applies, you don¡¯t intervene in our investigation and strictly, no guns for you ¡ª that¡¯s an order!¡± Carrefour aggrandized. ¡°Thanks, Sir.¡± Carrefour saw Jensen expressed her gratitude ¡ª before running after Maxine Harvest towards the Bell. Commander Smith from behind instructed her Elite soldiers... ¡°Burn the place down. We don''t want any more rebel activities in here!¡± An e-SWAT flamethrower started torching the farmhouse... *** Both the choppers lifted off. Roberta¡¯s curled a razor-thin smile, looking down from the FBI chopper ¡ª and spotting the cows running out of the flaming barn. Mrs Scott was in handcuff and was in tears in the hovering Blackhawk ¡ª having an aerial view of her burning farm... Below in the barn attic, Andrea¡¯s wooden chests of clothing, shoes and photo albums were now blazing. The Gucci dress that Joana last tried on was ¡®literally smoking¡¯ ¡ª just like Marlin¡¯s ¡®compliment¡¯ to Joana two days ago. In the main house, the inferno licked the living room. Mrs Scotts¡¯ family photographs of Roxy, Joana, Sarah and Andrea burned up, with crackling sounds of the glass frames splintering... Despite the alleged FBI charges, Edna Scott was prepared for her loss of everything that was going up in smoke below ¡ª knowing that her precious Joana had escaped... Marlin was trustworthy enough, and he would keep her safe. Chapter 16 A HAND PLACED DOWN A PHOTOGRAPH of a twelve-year-old Laura and Robbie, nine ¡ª both the Jensen sisters were grinning. Each girl was carrying one of their twin brothers... It reminded her of her recent sculpture that she made as succor for her future ¡ª Lilya Devon-Jensen placed the photo frame face down on the bedside dresser, after recalling the fate of her masterwork that was trampled unequivocal on the ground by her bilious husband. Lilya was four months pregnant, resting in the room that was once occupied by Roberta while she grew up on Aunt Flo''s house in Columbus, Ohio. Outside the window, it was snowing. Her foot was heavily bandaged from the physical torture she suffered in Washington. She looked up across the wall at her own wedding photo and the photo of Roberta receiving the Combat cross medal from the then-Senator Cory ¡ª which Roberta¡¯s aunt had put up with veneration of her Jensen clan in the later years. The door knocked softly ¡ª and Aunt Flo came in with a steaming cup of infused herbal beverage. She was concerned... ¡°Why are you up, can''t you sleep, Lil?¡± ¡°I slept well, Aunt Flo, how is Emma?¡± ¡°She is resting now. I brought you some green tea.¡± Florence passed her the cup before sitting on a chair by the bed. Lilya spoke with misbegotten guiltiness... ¡°I feel so bad to trouble you by coming here. Now you have another person to look after.¡± ¡°That is totally nonsense and don''t say that, Lilya. We are family ¡ª and where else would you go? You did the right thing by coming to us. Come, drink your tea.¡± Florence responded back in fulsome ¡ª she then glanced at the turned over photo frame at the bureau top when Lilya placed the teacup on the side table. The older woman placed her hand on her own forehead and exclaimed out...Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Oh what was I thinking, I am getting insensible with my age. Sorry dear, this is not the right room for you, to be in to recuperate. It has bad vibes and bitter memories for you ¡ª after what you had gone through, you can''t rest well in here. Just give me an hour, I will prepare the guest room.¡± Lilya reached out and held her arm when Florence rose from the chair... ¡°No, please don''t ¡ª this room is fine, Aunt Flo. I want to be in this room ¡ª and I want to see the memories of Rob when she was happy... ¡°But I have made her unhappy and my damaged past that was the cause of her unhappiness.¡± Florence Jensen-Rickman moved and sat on the bed, and hugged her while Lilya cried louder... ¡°I miss Rob so much, I feel like I should take the next flight to Washington ¡ª and go and tell her that I am sorry.¡± The older woman was stern... ¡°No Lilya ¡ª you have nothing to apologize to her. As long as Laura has been taken away, Robbie will always blame you. Be patient, my dear ¡ª and things will get better, once they find Laura.¡± ¡°Do you think Rob will accept me someday, Aunt Flo?¡± ¡°Even if she does ¡ª she should first go and see a shrink, and straighten her life ¡ª after all the terrible things she had inflicted to you.¡± Lilya stopped crying and Florence stroked her hair. ¡°Come and drink more tea. I will come back in a couple of hours ¡ª so you better get some more rest, dear... ¡°And Lilya stopped worrying ¡ª because you are at home with us. However things turn out, you are always welcome to stay here as long as you want.¡± Florence kissed her forehead and left the bedroom. *** She walked in the hallway to the master bedroom. She took a syringe from the dressing table and sat beside, to medicate her baldheaded, wan, husband Emma ¡ª who was looking frail and tired. Florence pierced the needle of morphine, into her spouse¡¯s arm while casually conversing... ¡°Lilya is still upset. She needs to rest more. Let¡¯s hope she will be well before her due delivery date. We will not make the same mistake as we did with Laura ¡ª by giving her baby-boy away for adoption. Once Lilya¡¯s twins are born ¡ª all the five of us will be living under this roof, as a family soon. ¡°You too rest, dear. I need to go now and cook dinner.¡± She kissed her husband after covering her with a blanket and left the bedroom. Tears flowed from the once Dr Emma Rickman''s eyes ¡ª the doctor who treated Laura for years when she was in a coma. Today, Emma Rickman was dying at home, in her final stage of the battle with colorectal cancer. Chapter 17 SNOWFLAKES DROPPED when Reeves and True Bob rode up to the farmhouse in Wellsville. Laura got down the moment the Mustang stopped. There was both feeling of felicity and sadness to her arrival at the house that she grew up during her childhood ¡ª and now returning back after all the years in the state of coma. The house at the hinterland had gracefully deteriorated ¡ª and was weather-beaten over those abandonment years ¡ª but it welcomed them inside, away from the coldness outside wind, after more than a week on the road. Reeves and Joe were the first to step inside with guns pointing in hands ¡ª to find its dusty interior with hanging cobwebs. Troy followed behind Laura who looked around, smiling to herself... She remembered her mother Martha during those memorable evenings at home ¡ª the thoughts of seeing her back turned, cooking at the stove while Herbert would be having coffee at the table. The nine-year-old Robbie used to read a comic book at her favourite spot on the couch, while her twin brothers toddled around with baby talks... Her mother turned around ¡ª and looking surprised, to see the twelve-year-old eldest daughter present. "Mimi, you have brought some guests." Today, she had also brought Martha¡¯s grandson back home... Laura was grinning, and she replied softly to herself. ¡°Yes, Mum.¡± Troy heard that ¡ª and now Laura became conscious of herself saying it ¡ª the small-town-girl turned back to the 4 Intersexuals standing behind her, covering her mouth while grinning sheepishly to her last thoughts ¡ª that she too was a mother now... ¡°Guys, make yourselves at home.¡± *** Some hours had passed ¡ª and two figures were in the open field, by the deciduous big oak tree which was the burial ground for the Jensen linage. Laura stood by, watching Reeves ¡ª who had just buried Hebert''s remains in the hard frozen ground. He was hitting a cross into the ground with the back of the same shovel. Laura was calm and at peace with herself. She did not cry ¡ª as to how she had been lachrymose when Reeves first brought up her father¡¯s remains from the fallen Buick. She then held Reeves¡¯s hand close to her face, and turned her son from Herbert''s grave, towards a smaller grave beside with a sagging cross... ¡°That¡¯s my twin brothers'' graves. Your uncles were the first to die of the virus. Johnny and Jimmy would have been about twenty-one if they were alive today. Robbie adored them like crazy ¡ª like she was their big elder brother.¡± Reeves hugged her with one arm. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go in.¡± Laura then took out the faded old plastic Sponge Bob keychain from her jacket pocket ¡ª it was the one that she found in the cannibal town. She placed it on the snow-covered grave, before walking arm-in-arm with Reeves back to the house. True Bob was using a leg pump to inflate his motorbike tire, and Reeves walked to him ¡ª Laura stepped into the house. Bob looked up to Reeves. ¡°Winter is a real bitch, but I found some frozen dried corn in the field and made some hot soup inside ¡ª that will be our dinner for tonight with some coffee.¡± ¡°We have to go hunting later, Bob ¡ª who knows we might get a small kill or something ¡ª or else we will be starving by tomorrow,¡± Reeves replied doubtfully after judging the paucity of anything to hunt as provender, due to the cold season. ¡°When are we heading next to the border?¡± ¡°Hopefully it stops snowing¡¯ then ¡ª we can go off by noon tomorrow,¡± Reeves replied wearily before he walked unsteadily into the house. He was extremely worn out, he was the only one who rode on the whole journey without taking a nap in the Mustang, in those past weeks ¡ªright now, he just wanted to grab something to eat and find a spot and sleep it off. He intended to later wake up fresh at the crack of dawn, and go out hunting. Laura was scooping soup from the pot for Reeves and herself. She looked up at the other two guys. ¡°Joe, are you still hungry? You can have some of mine if you want.¡± Troy instantly nudged into her benevolent nature of sharing. ¡°Forget about him, Joe had a double portion just now. Please eat well Laura ¡ª you will need the strength once we hit the road again.¡± Reeves washed his gaunt face, in a water bucket near the sink ¡ª and he heard the door opening wide, shut again with a slam... True Bob stepped in, with his arms in the air... Two armed women shielded behind Bob. The older woman was about thirty, pointed the rifle at all of them. She pushed Bob towards the rest. True Bob looked at Reeves, with guilt for his lax... ¡°Sorry Reeves ¡ª they skulked from behind me.¡± ¡°Shut up! All of you, hands up ¡ª where I can see them!¡± The older woman mien in furry duster-overcoat then trained her rifle closer at them that made everyone raised up their hands. She also had a big vociferous voice ¡ª when she spoke out more... ¡°Who are you, people? What is your business here, on the Jensen property?¡± ¡°I am Laura Jensen ¡ª this is my father''s house.¡± The woman lowered her rifle and exclaimed, ¡°Laura? Oh my God ¡ª is that you? Laura ¡ª it is me, Haley Eastman!¡± Laura hurried over and hugged her amiably and repeated her name twice ¡ª they both laughed out in delight. Reeves as the team-leader stepped forward but the younger girl with a floppy hat that hid her face, had pointed her Winchester up at him ¡ª it made Reeves retreat back with the rest of the other Intersexuals. ¡°Never in a million years had I expected to see you back in Wellsville, Laura ¡ª I wish Connie Pearlman was here, to see you too,¡± said Haley ¡ª and Laura inquired... ¡°Where is Connie? Did she leave during the virus outbreak?¡± ¡°No, her pappy did not want to go east like your folks.¡± She lowered her voice ¡ª and looked into Laura¡¯s eyes, ¡°Laura, Connie passed away ten years ago.¡± Laura instantly commiserated... ¡°How? What happened?¡± The younger girl in the floppy hat replied from behind. ¡°Tornado.¡± Haley Eastman finished her sentence. ¡°Yes, the freak weather that year ¡ª a tornado hit their farm and it killed Connie and her Mama ¡ª but Carrie here survived.¡± Haley led the younger girl Carrie to her side. ¡°Laura, you remember Carrie, don¡¯t you? Connie¡¯s baby sister ¡ª whom we used to tease which one of your twin brothers will marry her someday.¡± Carrie removed her hat and was blushing. Laura went over and hugged her. The Intersexuals gazed at the attractive and stunning looking blond-haired girl ¡ª that was good enough to be a magazine model. Haley continued, ¡°She was the only survivor when the twister hit the Pearlman household ¡ª and I have been taking care of her since she was little.¡± Haley then hugged Carrie, before looking back at Laura...This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°She is now my woman, Laura ¡ª I made it legal and married her in town, on her 18th birthday.¡± Joe mumbled softly, ¡°Damn, what a waste of ass.¡± Troy smiled while pinching his own nose, to avoid laughing out. ¡°Who are these people with you, Laura?¡± Haley Eastman soon asked. Laura introduced them. ¡°This is my boy, Reeves ¡ª and those are his friends Truman Roberts, Troy Norton and ¡ª Joe ¡ª he does not have a last name.¡± Bob humoured from behind. ¡°Mighty Joe Young.¡± Haley teased Laura, after looking at Reeves... ¡°It must be nice to have a fine young boyfriend from the city.¡± She presumed they were from the city ¡ª after checking out their vehicles outside. ¡°Haley, actually Reeves is my son.¡± Laura was laughing now ¡ª after looking at Haley who was lost of words that her son was grown up ¡ª and was almost the same age as her own wife. ¡°You have a son, Laura?¡± Both Laura and Reeves blushed, and others laughed... Haley Eastman looked at the Intersexuals standing nearby, she then shook their hands and said. ¡°I have seen your kind once ¡ª Rosemary Wilson in town had a son like yours ¡ª but the boy died of scarlet fever when he was still little.¡± Joe then encroached. ¡°Hi Haley, I just want to ask, how the people in town are ¡ª are they the kind of wild cannibals, who eat human flesh?¡± Haley laughed out aloud... ¡°Gross! Is this kid crazy or what? Is that what you people from the city think that is happening over here in these parts? I have never heard or seen anyone being cannibal ¡ª and I don''t even believe that alien crop circles either, or to that end of the world zombie-apocalypse attack shit ever existed... ¡°Our realities are that we are farmers here, boy ¡ª we grow crops like our parents before us did ¡ª but now, we barter it in town for the supplies they have.¡± Joe did not pursue any further. Haley would not believe what they had encountered cannibals recently, in the nameless town in Nevada they had trespassed. They heard Laura inviting them over... ¡°Come, let¡¯s sit Haley ¡ª we can have some coffee and catch up.¡± *** True Bob made more fresh coffee. Laura and Haley were doing most of the talking at the table. The Intersexuals listened attentively to gather local information. Haley shook her head in disbelief after hearing Laura¡¯s story, and also about Roberta... ¡°That is really unbelievable Laura! Eighteen years in a coma and you just got out of it a week ago. Praise the baby Jesus ¡ª it is truly a miracle!¡± After ten minutes of listening to Laura, Haley dominated the conversation again, reminiscing their past... ¡°We have heard of this famous cop named Jensen ¡ª and I never knew it all along that it was our little tomboy Robbie. ¡°Remember, she hated us so much when your mother refused to let her follow you, me and Connie when we went out on our weekend biking trips. I do also remember Robbie spitting at us from the school bus window and sometimes hit us with pebbles. She was such a nasty brat back then.¡± While Haley was talking, Joe was lasciviously noticing the attractive Carrie ¡ª who was helping to pour the hot coffee into their mugs. Laura replied back... ¡°Yes, she is a police captain now in Washington. They go out and arrest a lot of the Intersexuals for crimes ¡ª sometimes for things that they did not commit. That is why we are all on the run ¡ª because Robbie is now finding for me.¡± Haley supportively nodded ¡ª and then asked out of curiosity for the latest gossips in the cities¡¯ prevalent riots... ¡°What about this trouble-maker back over there ¡ª the one who calls himself the Preacher? I heard that he is responsible for killing the good lady President Rosewood.¡± Troy imposed an explanation from her on the polemic topic ¡ª which was a mendacity dose of the government¡¯s propaganda. ¡°Haley, hold on a sec ¡ª who is telling you all these stories?¡± ¡°Yeah, we don''t have TV, radios or the Internet in farms like we used to, in the good old days of electricity ¡ª so when we go over to trade our crops for supplies in town, we get our news there ¡ª mainly from the army patrol who come in, and give the town folks the information of what is going on in other places.¡± ¡°The US Army? Are they based in Wellsville?¡± Reeves instigated back to her. So far, they had been lucky with Troy¡¯s GPS coordinates that they had not encountered any roadblocks ¡ª with the exception to the two military patrol buggies that drove into the cannibal town and met their own fate over there in Nevada. ¡°No, they just come and go. Five or six of them come patrolling into town every fortnight. They give us the news of what is going on in the cities. The last I heard is that the Preacher feller ran away to Mexico.¡± ¡°Bad news, ladies, he is back in the States again,¡± Joe spoke again with hilarity. Haley was astounded to hear that. ¡°Oh my god, then there will be more chaos and murders in cities. He has an army of Muslim barbarian convicts from prisons breakouts ¡ª and I heard that they are planning to take over the country, am I right Laura?¡± Joe replied on behalf of Laura, he exaggerated, ¡°Yeah, you are right about one thing there that they are savage barbarians ¡ª so go and tell the town folks to hide their pretty wives, because they will be taken away from them.¡± Joe expected Carrie to laugh ¡ª but she was not paying any notice to the talks on the table. She was boldly staring at the other seated Intersexuals ¡ª because she was intrigued by her first encounter being up close to the androgenic breed. Neither did Haley understood what Joe had meant ¡ª but the rest of the guys were hoping that the inane Joe would shut-the-fuck-up ¡ª from being any more annoying and mortifying. Troy too was humorously hoping that Haley Eastman would shoot him in the foot or nuts, for hitting at her nubile partner. ¡°Laura, so are you planning to be back here, and staying for good in your daddy''s house?¡± Haley next asked. ¡°No Haley, it is not safe here ¡ª we are leaving tomorrow. The reason we stopped here, is to bury my daddy in the fields next to the twins.¡± ¡°A wise choice you made there ¡ª a Wellsville man is always proud of his land ¡ª and deserves to be buried here.¡± Haley Eastman spoke in pride before adding. ¡°Come on Laura, just stay a day longer. I will take you over to the town and show you all around to the folks there. Do you remember Tiffany Lawrence, our senior in school? She is now the town-leader over there ¡ª and everyone calls her The Sheriff, and she is the law.¡± Laura reached and clasped the woman¡¯s wrist... ¡°Haley listens, please don''t tell anyone that I came back ¡ª because the news will get to the Army ¡ª and Robbie will also find out about me soon. Then, they will come in fast to track us down, and probably shoot and kill these boys. ¡°I beg you Haley ¡ª can you keep our visit a secret?¡± Reeves was in full admiration of Laura¡¯s tactfulness and purview, where she knew how to cover her tracks ¡ª his mother was now a team-player. ¡°Sure Laura, it is really good to see you after all these years. I know Connie too will be happy that you came by if she was still alive. We were really tight back then, were we not? The other kids used to tease us in school by calling us The Three Farmer-Sisters.¡± Laura grinned, ¡°Yes Haley ¡ª we were like sisters back then in school.¡± Reeves then spoke up. ¡°Haley, we need a big favour ¡ª we need food supplies for our trip ¡ª can you spare us some? It is winter now, and I bet there isn''t many games out there to hunt. But we don''t have much to trade either ¡ª and what we cannot offer you are ¡ª gasoline and our guns, or even our ammo ¡ª which are really limited.¡± ¡°Or do you want cash? What¡¯s your price for four days¡¯ worth of ration? How about hundred bucks? 200, name it?¡± Joe was now at the negotiating on the table like a nouveau riche, on their behalf... Reeves was stumped by him ¡ª because they had less than fifty dollars in their kitty ¡ª and ¡®what if¡¯ Haley wanted more? True Bob and Troy now felt like shooting the purblind Joe themselves ¡ª the nettling fat-fuck was talking like some tycoon, to impress the young voluptuous blond Carrie Eastman in front. Haley finally laughed ¡ª judging that Joe was farcical blabber of the group... ¡°Cash? No, it is not of use here ¡ª over here we trade everything among our neighbours ¡ª not to profit, but to survive over here. ¡°We don''t need gasoline either, because no one drives in Wellsville ever since we ran out of gas fifteen years back. We walk mostly, and some folks have cattle wagons. Our Sheriff Lawrence is the only one, who goes on a horseback.¡± Reeves was wondering what he can offer as a trade ¡ª but, Haley then spoke up again... ¡°Sure, you want food, yes, we will spare you some ration of grains and dried meat. I will do anything ¡ª for my sister of Wellsville!¡± Haley stood up and picked up her rifle, and Carrie went to her side... ¡°It is a long walk back to the farm ¡ª so give us a couple of hours and we will come back at nightfall, with the ration.¡± ¡°We can give you a ride back and save the trouble ¡ª and collect it ourselves,¡± Reeves suggested. He was glad that things were turning to their favour ¡ª and they could hit the road to the border again, with one lesser worries. ¡°Yes Haley, let Reeves take the two of you back.¡± Laura said back. ¡°Goodbye, Laura. I hope someday you will come back again ¡ª and decide to stay with us for good.¡± Both the women hugged for a long time. *** Outside, True Bob and Reeves started their bikes. Haley exclaimed in hesitance when she approached... ¡°Oh, motorcycles, I never sat on one before.¡± Laura called back from the porch. ¡°Go on, it will be fun, Haley. Guess what, I can ride one those too.¡± Carrie got on Reeves'' pillion seat, and he reached behind and placed her hand, to strap onto his waist. Haley got on with True Bob, on the chopper and they rode off, waving. Laura went into the house, leaving Troy and Joe behind... Joe had lots to say to Troy about the blond-haired Carrie. Troy had not seen Joe this virile and horny, since their Tombscradle days ¡ª where he gave pet names for the sex-dolls, he had mounted then... ¡°Damn dude, the botty-licious blond got a real nice set of racks too ¡ª and some great spanking ass there. Did you saw the way she was staring and checking me out, all the while in there just now? She¡¯s one hot lesbo who had not seen a cock for eighteen years, am I right yo? ¡°...and I bet she got wet below ¡ª and was mentally, stripping me away naked just now.¡± ¡°Yeah, you are right, Big Joe ¡ª she wanted to compare if your man-boobs were bigger than hers.¡± Troy laughed out to ridicule and went inside the house. Chapter 18 IT HAD TURNED DARK when the bikes reached the Eastman agrarian farm. The snowfall was getting heavier. Haley got off the chopper and True Bob noticed that it was a bigger house than the Jensen¡¯s, with a barn behind it. They all stepped inside and into the living room. It was like a food storage store, with sacks of grains stacked... ¡°Sorry about the big mess. We both work in the fields all day ¡ª and no one does much housekeeping around.¡± Haley said in embarrassment. Carrie used a broom to chase a couple of mice that scuttled off, despite there were two fat, overfed, tomcats that were asleep on the table. True Bob noticed the whiff of cured dried meat that was hanging on hooks near the kitchen area ¡ª Reeves too got the odoriferous smell, and his stomach rumbled ¡ª realizing that he had skipped his dinner since the unexpected visit by the Eastmans. ¡°What about the barn behind?¡± Reeves said when he saw the many sacks of grain in the artless house. ¡°The roof was blown away when the tornado came before, it went on its path to then hit the Pearlman¡¯s farm ¡ª and since there was no one around to fix the roof, which is why we have stocked every grain in the house,¡± replied the woman, before turning to her wife... ¡°Carrie, get us coffee, it is freezing in here.¡± *** True Bob helped to set up the fireplace while Carrie poured hot coffee into metal cups. Haley took a bottle of bourbon from a cabinet. ¡°Come, boys, let¡¯s have a drink. We normally take it in our coffee, especially on cold nights like these.¡± Haley poured the booze into the steaming coffee cups. ¡°These are the few things we trade for it ¡ª without our grain supply, the town folks would starve.¡± ¡°That is very noble of you to do that,¡± Bob replied. They all clank the coffee cups to toast before sipping the warmed brew. ¡°It is good to see Laura after all these years. I am so sad she is leaving tomorrow.¡± Both the Intersexuals saw Carrie bringing a ten-pound small sack, of the ration of grain with dried meat and ¡ªbestowed it on the table. Reeves and Bob finished their fortified-coffee and stood up ¡ª Reeves excused on their behalf... ¡°I think we got to get going, the snow is getting heavy outside. Thanks for the ration, Haley.¡± ¡°Please, please have more whiskey.¡± Haley picked up the bottle, and the Reeves declined with a smile and stood up wearily. ¡°It is okay, save it for a colder night. We have to leave now.¡± Haley laughed, ¡°I insist, come on and drink more. No worries, I have a few bottles stashed for winter.¡± Haley refilled their cups, and the guys drank up. ¡°This is good stuff,¡± True Bob said and placed the cup down. Reeves''s hand reached out to beckon the ration sack ¡ª but Haley pulled it away towards her... ¡°Reeves listen, I have changed my mind ¡ª we need to make a trade for the ration ¡ª now sit down, both of you.¡± Only Bob, the curious one sat back again across her, at the table ¡ª Reeves was still standing, he was lost of words... He was figuring what conundrum was she coercing after moments ago she was so prepossessing, and obliging her munificent in front of Laura ¡ª her sorority Wellsville-farmer-sister-buddy. He noticed that even Carrie looked confused, by Haley¡¯s necessitated decision... Reeves finally spoke up. ¡°But I have told you earlier, we are low on everything we got ¡ª and we have nothing much to offer... ¡°So Haley, what do you want?¡± ¡°Seed.¡± Haley said, and bottoms up her drink, then pouring her third. Reeves was puzzled. ¡°What seed? I am not a farmer.¡± Haley Eastman looked into his eyes for two seconds in silence, before she spoke again... ¡°I want the seed of Laura''s son ¡ª in Carrie''s womb.¡± Carrie protested aloud. ¡°What is the meaning of this, Haley, I am your wife?¡± Haley looked at her and reasoned... ¡°Carrie my dearest, I can love you with all my heart ¡ª but I can''t give you a child ¡ª but he can.¡± Haley looked at the dumbfounded Intersexual, standing gauche... ¡°Reeves, please understand this ¡ª twelve years ago we counted, and there were 248 people in Wellsville ¡ª mostly older women. Today there are only 74 of us left. Year by year the Wellsville community is shrinking. The government has neglected us totally in this part of the world ¡ª since the virus first struck. We cannot travel far on foot to cities to get our women pregnant. We are all doomed here ¡ª to grow old and die.¡± Reeves analyzed fast on his feet to what she had harped. If that girl became pregnant ¡ª the whole of small Wellsville community would find out that Laura came with him ¡ª and so would the patrolling army. The news of his group heading to Canada would trail back to Roberta Jensen later ¡ª she would then hunt their whereabouts over the border. ¡°I don''t think it is a good idea.¡± Reeves replied her ¡ª and wanted to elaborate his thoughts out ¡ª but Haley Easton raised a pistol from under the table, and pointed at True Bob''s head.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. It was afoul to everyone present there... ¡°It is not an option Reeves, I insist that you oblige ¡ª or else your friend Bob here, takes it in the face.¡± Both the Intersexuals remained silent ¡ª having also the similar contemplating thoughts of whether they too should each attack her by drawing their pistols. The only sound clear was Carrie sobbing softly in fear of bloodshed in her house. Reeves did not want to make the young woman a widow ¡ª nor did he want to lose his confidant Bob in case the older woman pulled the trigger first ¡ª so he stood down... Haley spoke again after finishing her drink... ¡°People like us in Wellsville, we don''t have much choice around here ¡ª and when a given opportunity presents itself, and we sure would take it.¡± Haley turned to her wife... ¡°Carrie, the time of the month is right for you. Now take him to the bedroom ¡ª while Bob and I will wait over here.¡± She refilled True Bob''s cup and passed it across the table before she placed the gun down, ¡°Come, Bob, have some more.¡± True Bob looked at Reeves and gave a tacit nod. Reeves slowly followed Carrie to the bedroom ¡ª the door closed. *** Carrie sat at the foot of the bed, and he stood behind the closed door, began to kick off his sneakers. Reeves heard the girl talk ¡ª she was nervous and nattered... ¡°Mister, I have never been with anyone except Haley, so I have not seen a naked man before except ¡ª except, except for seeing it in the old magazines when in town. It has lots of pictures of men with big cocks ¡ª doing the girls.¡± ¡®Big cocks?¡¯ Maybe that is how the callow girls speak in that town, ¡ª inhabited solely by women, he mused... ¡°Just spare me the details ¡ª and don''t expect much ¡ª I am not a porn star.¡± He turned away from her and began to undo his pants. Similarly, Carrie turned away ¡ª and dimmed the oil lamp, before unbuttoning her shirt... She thought of the bike ride back to the farm, holding tight onto him ¡ª she was quietly roused again. While, Reeves too had never been with a woman before ¡ª except for the quotidian semen collection with the Fifi-sex-dolls in Tombscradle. He felt abysmal that his first time ¡ª had to be with his mum¡¯s best friend¡¯s wife ¡ª at gunpoint. *** At the table, Haley hand-rolled some cigarettes and True Bob took one. She lighted it for him. She then refilled their cups. They tried to engage in a casual conversation. ¡°So Bob, where are you from?¡± True Bob rarely shared about his past with anyone ¡ª but this woman had a gun. So he spoke... ¡°My mother was from the Qualla in North Carolina ¡ª it is a Cherokee Eastern band Reservation, but back then, as a college student, she moved to study in Chicago before the virus-attack. There in Chicago was where she met my father. He was a White man. ¡°...and after the virus killed him and all, my mother brought me back to the Reservation when I was seven. I was there for a while but I did not like it there. Having a name like Truman Robert made everyone at the Qualla look down on me, because I was not a true native. Being an Intersexual and not pure, I was treated more like their dogs. After some years, my mother too died of Hepatitis, and I had to live with some relatives, but I felt unwelcomed ¡ª so I ran away from the Reservation when I was ten...¡± They both turned to a Carrie''s high pitched scream, she was calling out... ¡°Haley, I don''t wanna do it ¡ª it hurts!¡± Haley hollered back at the closed-door... ¡°Reeves, shut her up. You both are not leaving that room until you are done ¡ª you hear me, Carrie!¡± She then turned back to True Bob, ¡°Then what happened, Bob? Yes, do continue your story.¡± They both heard Carrie carried on to cry ¡ª repeating the word ¡®no.¡¯ True Bob did not wish to remain at the table, ¡°Haley, can I wait outside? I don¡¯t feel comfortable here.¡± She looked back capricious and nodded ¡ª True Bob stood up, and walked out of the front door. Outside, he smoked the remaining cigarette with the upwind blowing. The front door opened ¡ª and Haley stepped out, and saw True Bob pulling his collar to the blowing wind, he turned to her... ¡°You thought I will run away?¡± ¡°No, I felt uneasy too sitting there. Here, this will help.¡± She passed the quarter remaining bottle of the whiskey to him ¡ª and he took a swig, and returned it back. They both now drank from the bottle... ¡°I was still in grade school when the virus first came. After less than a year, all the boys and men ¡ª my father and older brothers around here died ¡ª and since then, it has been a daily struggle for survival out here. ¡°I was only twelve when all of those people I ever loved were taken away. That damned virus has really robbed me of my youth too ¡ª and I never had a boyfriend ¡ª and never knew what it was like to be kissed by a boy. I never experienced what was a real marriage, pregnancy, motherhood and all. Today, I am thirty years old, and I am an old virgin.¡± Haley laughed, shaking her drunken head with sadness. *** On the bed, Carrie began liking it ¡ª her moaning was equally loud with Reeves growling and pounding his hips expeditiously onto her. Carrie''s legs rose up in the air ¡ª Reeves groaned out before he ejaculated inside. He then rolled over and dropped ligneous on his side, catching up with his tired breath. Carrie turned facing him and fondled his arm ¡ª looking at all the raw scrape marks on his arms and back... ¡°I scratched you a lot, I am sorry, Mister.¡± Reeves did not reply to her. He felt gauche lying in the bed with Haley¡¯s wife after he had just cream-pied her. He got off the bed and grabbed his pants. He heard her from behind... ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I am done ¡ª I am going back.¡± Just like after a Tombscradle semen collection routine. He walked lethargically out of the room bare-bodied, holding his jacket, his skin now smart from all of Carrie''s nail-digging. No one was at the table. He turned to notice the blond Carrie standing naked, unashamedly behind him. ¡°Hey, go put something on.¡± She left back inside ¡ª and Reeves heard something solid drop on the floorboard ahead. He explored towards the next room of the unfamiliar locale. The door was slightly ajar ¡ª and the empty quaffed bourbon bottle rolled on the floor towards his feet. The room was also filled with low stacked sacks of grains. True Bob was on top of Haley, on the heap of sacks ¡ª and they both were naked from the waist below. Their lips were passionately locked... Carrie came over draped in a little towel ¡ª and she peeked from Reeve''s back. She smiled at Reeves, who then gently closed the door. Carrie cavorted as she dragged his limping hands ¡ª to precipitate into following her. ¡°Let¡¯s do it again, Mister.¡± Her promiscuous eyes danced to the rhyme of her own voice ¡ª whispering into his tired asinine look... ¡°But we just did it,¡± he responded drowsily. Just like only once a day as in his Tombscradle routine ¡ª his magnanimous contribution for the future of female specie¡¯s preservation. ¡°Come Mister ¡ª I will show you how they do it ¡ª in the dirty magazine.¡± *** Reeves later found out from the blond that the noncommittal Wellsville town¡¯s barbershop, was where they had compiled porno magazines and erotica books like a mini library ¡ª and the Wellsville women ¡ª went over there when they got lonely. Chapter 19 DORAN STEPPED UP ON THE ROOF of a storied building ¡ª as the sunsets in the ramshackle ghost-town at the Mano County. The monk-priest stood on the edge of the edifice with the seven other surviving members of The Council of 13 behind him ¡ª Hajja, Ramirez, Li Chi and four others ¡ª including a new council member named Torres, who was known to many as the Chupacabra... He was to lead the exile followers of the Mad Dog Salazar ¡ª the notorious rebel Cartel warlord, who was kept alive as an extorted prisoner ¡ª currently living obscured in the President of Mexico¡¯s palace dungeon. Doran removed his hood to reveal his clean-shaven head to the thousands of his followers, who were hyped up and chanting aloud ¡ª for the sun-like, a phoenix risen Preacher ¡ª along with his AOG army from the ashes in New Orleans ¡ª that wrought everyone present, like they too have resurrected back from their own deaths ¡ª and were game-ready for the upcoming battle. They comprised of the surviving God¡¯s Army¡¯s ex-convicts and newly included Salazar¡¯s Army of Dogs ¡ª and also the persecuted free-males from major shutdown cities ¡ª and even women, who were anti-Cory... The unity of all polychromic skins, sexes and beliefs ¡ª the proselytized, and even the atheists ¡ª who had all come forward and bonded together as one amalgamate divine force ¡ª impassioned to listen to their risen Preacher once again ¡ª speaking about hope since their last holy battle in New Orleans. ¡°LISTEN TO ME, MY PEOPLE ¡ª I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE DEAD, BECAUSE THE VOICES INSIDE ME HAVE TOLD THAT MY TIME HAS NOT COME YET ¡ª EVEN THOUGH AFTER THEY SHOT AND LEFT ME TO DIE IN NEW ORLEANS. BUT THE VOICES HAVE TOLD ME THAT ¡ª THE HEAVENLY FATHER DOES NOT WANT ME TO WALK INTO HIS HEAVENLY KINGDOM YET, IT IS BECAUSE MY MISSION TO SERVE HIM HAS NOT BEEN FULFILLED HERE ON EARTH ¡ª AS HIS HUMBLE SERVENT-SOLDIER...¡± ¡°HE ALSO SAID THAT THE JUSTICE ON THIS LAND WILL NOT HAVE BEEN SERVED, AS LONG THE EVIL ONE IS STILL IN POWER ¡ª STILL BREATHING OUT HER STENCH OF DECEPTION, AND RULING THIS LAND ¡ª BESTOWED BY OUR RIGHTFUL GOD HIMSELF ¡ª SO TO BE INHABITED BY EVERY OF HIS CREATED SPECIES... ¡°YES, I AM NOW SEEN BY THIS PRESIDENT CORY AS THE PRODIGAL SON OF AMERICA ¡ª WHO HAS NOW RETURNED BACK HOME ¡ª BACK INTO THIS SAME LAND THAT HATES ME, DESPISES ME AND HUNTS ME LIKE I AM A DANGEROUS WILD BEAST. EVEN YOU ALL, STANDING AND GATHERED HERE ¡ª YOU HAVE ALSO SUFFERED THE SAME FATE AS I ¡ª OF BEING PERSECUTED AND CONDEMNED TO DEATH ¡ª SUBJECTED BY THE GIVEN ORDERS, FROM THAT SAME EVIL SNAKE-WOMAN... ¡°BUT THE HEAVENLY VOICES HAVE ASSURED ME ONE OF THE MANY REVELATION ¡ª THAT ONCE TONIGHT WHEN WE BATTLE THE INFIDEL SNAKE-WOMAN AND HER HORDES OF DEMONIC SWINES, IN THEIR DARK UNIFORMS ¡ª THAT WE SHOULD NOT SHOW THEM EVEN AN OUNCE OF MERCY WHEN WE GO OUT FORTH TO SLAUGHTER AND DECAPITATE EVERY ONE OF THE HEADS OF OUR ENEMIES THAT WE FACE ¡ª AND WE THEN LAY THEM IN A ROW, TO CREATE A PATH FROM THE WEST COAST IN LOS ANGELES, STRAIGHT UPTO THE EAST ¡ªWHERE THE MOTHER OF ALL THESE DEMONS RESIDES...¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°ONCE THIS BLASTED CITY OF LOS ANGELES HAS FALLEN TONIGHT, WE WILL MARCH ON ¡ª STEPPING ON THOSE HEADS OF HER FALLEN ONES ¡ª AND WE WILL THEN MARCH OVER THERE ¡ª AND WE WILL TAKE OVER WASHINGTON NEXT!¡± ¡°YES MY PEOPLE, TONIGHT MY MISSION AS GOD¡¯S SOLDIER IS TO LEAD THE ONE GOD''S ARMY ¡ª WITH YOU ALL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS BY MY SIDE ¡ª WE WILL ALL GO IN THERE TOGETHER TO TAKE THAT REIGN OF POWER ¡ª FROM THE SNAKE-WOMAN, IN THE NAME OF OUR GOD!¡± ¡°YES, YOU TOO ARE ALSO MARKED AND BE CONDEMNED TO YOUR DEATH AS THE PRODIGAL CHILDREN OF THIS FAILED COUNTRY AND SYSTEMS ¡ª BUT TONIGHT ¡ªYOU WILL BE REDEEMED! I ASSURE EVERY ONE OF YOU THAT YOU WILL GET THIS COUNTRY BACK FOR YOURSELVES, AND RECLAIM WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY YOURS ¡ª WHICH IS YOUR ULTIMATE TRUE FREEDOM!¡± ¡°FREEDOM FOR ALL! REDEMPTION IN THE NAME OF OUR TRUSTED GOD!¡± The denied nonesuch monastery monks were in the furthest back of the engorged assembled rebels ¡ªin their multitude of thousands of the AOG militia who were paying heed to the fervent Preacher¡¯s misanthropic and caustic sermon... Peter noticed Michael beside him was in tears ¡ª learning that Doran¡¯s inscrutable choice of his calling, was the pit in a self-righteous messianic suicide nature ¡ª rather than the invocation choice of being the future pontiff ¡ª leading and liberating the ailing Holy Church for the next coming generation. The roar of the armed mobocracy pitched fervently when he ended his pontificated and Promethean sermon. The Preacher looked down from the rooftop at the throng of the captivated hearts who were ready for the next insurrection ¡ª ready to execute the next attack that was painstakingly planned by his Council generals ¡ª for tonight¡¯s coup-de-tat of Cory¡¯s administration. Among their sanguinary incantations ¡ªDoran then heard a burst of sole laughter ¡ª he was blinded as he peered at the sunset at the horizon from where he stood ¡ª and saw a lone, humoured figure, standing at another building far across... The silhouette of his mother was dressed in a nun¡¯s habit ¡ª stood high on top of the cross¡¯ shoulders of a Baptist church in that decrepit ghost town. She was laughing back at him ¡ª the spectre then imploding into the combustion of flames before his very teary eyes. With her arms wide open ¡ª she then spoke in tongues... She baptized him and his jingoistic followers ¡ª with the fires of Hades. In a matter of hours, he would obstinately lead his army of thousands into another civil war battlefield, to face the dominatrix enemy ¡ª just like the early Holy Crusaders, who fought and they died for their God across the continent... The hubris soldier of God was their sacrificial lamb tonight ¡ª who held his fire, this length of the hour ¡ª for his own inalienable, oblation death, in the City of Angels. Chapter 20 IN THE WHITEHOUSE, CORY HAD JUST ENDED her brief press conference oration about the LA fundraiser ¡ª and she answered some questions to the reporters, who were gathered in around the podium. She finished her agenda by saying... ¡°The answer to more of that ¡ª it will all be revealed in full detail at the fundraiser tonight ¡ª so please be there!¡± The reporters were still hounding her when she was about to step off the podium... ¡°Madam President, is LA under the threat by the Preacher''s attack tonight ¡ª just like the previous devastation of New Orleans?¡± Another older reporter adjoined mordantly... ¡°Is it wise to hold this fundraiser event at all ¡ª when that terrorist Preacher, who has defiled every ordinance in the book that is out there ¡ª and he is waiting to strike back at the authorities and he will destroy Los Angeles with his army of coercing warmongering AOG rebels?¡± Cory stopped and looked back piercingly at the scores of the press journalists ¡ª who were anticipating for her response ¡ª she punched her fist at them, ridiculing out at them... ¡°I don¡¯t believe in any moratorium in my timetable ¡ª so you all can go now and make an official announcement ¡ª that the ugly, bloodthirsting Preacher himself is always invited to attend the gala dinner tonight ¡ª because this fundraiser event in L.A. would precede on as scheduled, whether or not he accepts the invitation!¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Whether also, he comes in friendly or in a bloodthirsting hostile manner ¡ª I am always prepared for him ¡ª and I will face him eye-to-eye, once I am over there in L.A.!¡± Cory laughed and waved back to all present, before being escorted by Secret Service agents behind the curtain. They were heading to the hallway towards the Oval Office ¡ª and Agent Iris Green intercepted them. ¡°Madame President, your transportation is ready ¡ª to take you and the delegates to Air Force One.¡± Cory nodded back. ¡°Excellent, Agent Green ¡ª just a moment, I need to get something from the office.¡± The team of Secret Service followed her until Cory reached the Oval Office door, where another two agents stood guard. Cory turned to all the black-suits behind her. ¡°Wait here.¡± She stepped alone, inside the nation¡¯s administrative centre in the West wing ¡ª where ahead of her, a small group of people were surrounding someone who was seated on a high stool. They stepped aside when they saw President Cory approaching to have a glance ¡ª at ¡®her double¡¯ ¡ª who was receiving her final minute makeup-touch. The double was identically dressed ¡ª right to the bandaged palm where Cory injured days ago, by the broken shot glass ¡ª the double stood up, and greeted her president. Cory forced a razor-thin smile to see an exact replica image of herself, in front of her very eyes... ¡°Go out there ¡ª and do a good job.¡± The Cory-double stepped out of the Oval Office with a leatherette folder in her hand ¡ª with tonight¡¯s speech script in it... The unsuspicious Secret Service team outside then led her away to her waiting plane. THE LA INSURRECTION [Part 5 Of 5] MADELINE CORY WAS ALONE, in the Oval Office ¡ª she eagle-eyed at the big screen, with multiple news broadcast coverage windows. She checked to see that her compelling double with Samantha, arriving at the airstrip, before they ascended on the stairs of The Air Force One, waving at the avid press reporters, swamping from below. Other entourage of delegates and envoys were also making their way, into the plane to go for the Fundraiser in L.A. Another last limousine drove up to the plane ¡ª and it made a grand entrance. The Vice President alighted out ¡ª and she was swarmed by rushing camera flashes... The younger Mary Freeman had always been the darling of the press. Her gregarious people''s quality of obliging the media, who even had voted her editorialized spoken-words and quotes ¡ª to be more popular, compared to Cory''s New Order policies speeches. Freeman made it to be more palatable to the public, even though they were secondhand endorsement to what Cory had said earlier. She had also been seen lately by the supporters as a political hero too ¡ª who had survived and returned back to the office, after the AOG¡¯s sniper attempt on her life in New Orleans... Cory hated and begrudged her growing popularity. * The entrance hatch doors were sealed, and the plane then took off. The Cory-double sat with Samantha while Freeman was seated across when the Air Force One lifted off on the runaway... They made small talks ¡ª despite Mary Freeman being a little cold towards ¡®Cory¡¯ and was avoiding making much eye contact ¡ª after yesterday¡¯s invective confrontation with the president who had threatened for her resignation, so Freeman focused her conversation on the younger Cory instead...Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Samantha, I heard that Gillian will be performing at the benefit concert tonight,¡± Mary Freeman asked. Samantha giggled proudly to the thought of her filial... ¡°Yes, Ms Freeman, I am so excited that he finally has an opportunity to show off his talent. He is really good, you know ¡ª for a closet musician who only made viral videos for his online musical fans, they are now in the millions worldwide.¡± Samantha turned towards the Cory-double... ¡°I would really like to thank Madeline too, for giving him this opportunity to shine.¡± The double smiled and nodded in obligation... ¡°Sure Sam ¡ª anything to make you, and ¡®my grandson¡¯ happy.¡± The captious President in Washington had her double ''bugged ''¡ª she was ''listening'' to their conversation ¡ª and she could also relay her voice, onto a tiny micro ''earpiece'' in the Cory-double''s ear... ¡°You fool! Why did you say that you, dumbass! Go to the office now!¡± * The plane was in midair. The quiescence Cory''s double then unbuckled her seatbelt ¡ª and she excused herself to Samantha and the VP and she left her seat... ¡°I got lots of work to do.¡± She was accompanied by Agent Green to her plane''s presidential office. She kept hearing berating screeches ¡ª in her earpiece... ¡°Never in my entire life have I acknowledged that she-fuck as my grandson. It is better if you have less conversation on my private life ¡ª and stay focus on tonight''s agenda like my speech and presentation. Now go get started in your rehearsing, you moron ¡ª and I don¡¯t want any damn screw-up tonight!¡± Samantha watched the Vice President also excusing herself, to commence her own work. Samantha took out her cell phone ¡ª and called Gillian in L.A... Chapter 2 GILLIAN WAS WITH TWO of his Intersexual band members at a luxury penthouse, with a view of the rooftop pool at the Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles. They were taking blows of cocaine in the suite room ¡ª Gillian¡¯s cellphone buzzed ¡ª and he saw the display, his mother was calling... He stepped out from the tinted glass door. A Secret Service agent outside then tailed him. He walked by the swimming pool where there were Playboy models doing a nude lesbian photo shooting by the pool. Gillian passed by a few topless models sunbathing, and they recognized him only as ¡ª the President''s grandson ¡ª and they foist out radars of seductive attentions to lure him ¡ª but he turned away... In the limelight ¡ª with the hounding paparazzi, along with his first-time secret experimentation with various illegal drugs and the constant sexual advancements thrown at him ¡ª during the two full nights of partying were distressing to him, ever since coming out of the White House ¡ª he was losing focus in his escape plan. The longer he remained exposed out in this reality highway ¡ª the world would soon see and know him ¡ª for who he really was... The President¡¯s imposter grandson... ¡°Yeah hi...Mother.¡± Samantha spoke with concern, from aboard the presidential plane... ¡°Gillian, I finally got you. You did not pick up your phone the whole day yesterday and you did not even reply my WhatsApp messages, I was so worried ¡ª with you out there the first time in Los Angeles¡± Gillian was annoyed by the following Secret Service detail, who was close by. He channelled his chagrin on her. ¡°This is one thing I don''t want from you, Mother ¡ª which is to check on me every hour. Listen, I am eighteen, just give me some space, will you? I got my own shit to focus, like my band practice! I can''t be damn picking up the phone when you call each time!¡± ¡°Okay dear, I understand. So how was the practice with the boys, dear? Are you all set ¡ª for a grand show tonight?¡± He felt bad for his outburst and lowered his tone... ¡°Yeah, we are doing well. You are coming tonight, right? Or will the old bitch keep you busy at the Fundraiser?¡± He heard her laughing at the other end before she replied... ¡°I will be there, darling ¡ª I am your number one fan, remember? I will never miss it for the world to see you on stage later. Even Madeline has been supportive. A moment ago, she mentioned you in front of all of us, saying that you are her grandson ¡ª I guess she is finally realizing ¡ª that you are her family too.¡± Samantha teased him ¡ª so he growled back irresolute, in a lower tone... ¡°Don¡¯t fucking count on that ¡ª and please don''t trust her, Mother, that Snake-woman is a sly politician, and she will say anything to deceive anyone around her.¡± Gillian looked at his wristwatch, ¡°I gotta go, Mother. I have to be at the venue for soundcheck...Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Be sure you are here tonight, okay Mother? Bye...¡± Gillian walked back to the suite, and he gave an acrimonious cold stare at the black-suited woman agent outside ¡ª who had hounded around him the entire time. He was back inside the dimmed penthouse. The bassist, Jeff took a blow of the coke ¡ª he looked up, seeing Gillian''s silhouette of rainbow auras ¡ª when he entered in, from the sun outside. Jeff said out... ¡°Hey Gill, Lana just called while you stepped out, dude ¡ª she is offering us a ride with her band when we go to the venue later.¡± ¡°Fuck the bitch off¡­¡± Gillian mumbled his affronted thoughts, stretched himself flat on the floor rug ¡ª with his feet on the couch, looking at the rotating antique fan above, spinning slowly... ¡°What do you mean fuck her off? She is Lana Rickett, man ¡ª the lead freakin'' singer of The Daughters of None. She is starting to take a genuine interest in you, Gill ¡ª you better be nice to her, man ¡ª because she is our meal ticket outta here if you wanna see a future in our band.¡± But Gillian was not impressed at all. A lot of things were going on his jumbled mind, at that moment... ¡°The reason she is nice to us is that I am from the fucking White House ¡ª and she is just riding on the tail just for some cheap fucking Instagram publicity. But, I am always a musician first ¡ª and I wanna be known for that, and not for being some cunting President''s grandson.¡± Roger the drummer was laughing after he fathomed his esteemed problems... ¡°Fuck you dude, you got it all wrong ¡ª do you know who she really is? She has got two platinum albums ¡ª and right now she is going on sellout concerts tours in Europe and Asia... ¡°Hey, do you remember the offer she and her manager made to us at the private party last night? You were not drunk or high at last night¡¯s meet, (were you not, right?) She even wants us to follow her back to London ¡ª to meet her recording producers to cut our demos, and then tour with her band in Europe... ¡°This one is one big one, for us, man ¡ª The Kabuki Gods doing the opening acts, for The Daughters of None ¡ª in Europe and Asia!¡± The enthralled Jeff seconded by saying... ¡°Be prepared, yo! Chances are we will have to go to the UK with her tonight, after this benefit gig in LA!¡± ¡°I can''t go ¡ª I don''t have a passport ¡ª and I also, I can''t leave my mother behind.¡± He replied without thinking. Gillian now had cold feet ¡ª Wolfe had also warned him before ¡ª that she would hunt to kill him where ever he was if he ever escaped. Samantha who vouched for him would also be in deep trouble with Madeline Cory if he absconded ¡ª he couldn¡¯t let anything to happen to the woman ¡ª who had always been supportive of his musical ambition since he first met her ¡ª and, she was also his number one fan. His band members were made quiet, by his continuous excuses. Jeff spoke up again farcically... ¡°Come on, you are the grandkid of the President. You don''t need a fuckin'' passport, man!¡± Roger also was inkling back... ¡°Your mother can come to visit us, once we make it big in Europe. (Hey, are you with me, Gill?) You are our bandleader, okay dude? ¡ª And this here now, is our big break, okay? Let¡¯s go and take this huge leap ¡ª and let¡¯s make some serious music out there.¡± Gillian closed his eyes ¡ª he felt the pressures of his debut performance that evening ¡ª and of their encouragements of escaping later tonight... Should he let them know now ¡ª that he was actually a hostage ¡ª for five years? A mendacity sham ¡ª living in the White House ¡ª who was pretending to be someone, whom he was really not. Chapter 3 FIFTY THOUSAND FANS WERE IN A STADIUM watching a techno-funk band perform. From a mile away, was the LA Convention Center ¡ª where the Fundraiser evening gala event was to be held. Behind the hotel building, were hills, where ordnance of the US army troops was stationed high ¡ª having a top view down advantage of the magnificently illuminated structure, and parameter that was gleaming brilliantly, like as in daylight. At the side of the hotel premise, hung a giant banner of Madeline Cory''s smiling face that occupied the entire eleventh floor, from top to bottom ¡ª endorsing the party¡¯s self-proclaiming victory in the upcoming election. At the mezzanine floor inside, were a team of Secret Service agents and the local e-SWAT police ¡ª in their tight routine security of body searching, the seven hundred arriving guests ¡ª checking for any hazardous items on them in batches, before they were allowed to take the elevators ¡ª to the gala dinner that was to be held at grand ballroom, at the eighth floor. Agent Wolfe was overseeing from a top floor foyer, witnessing the K-9 dogs sniffing out for possible hidden-bombs. She had ordered another bomb sweep after getting the report from the FBI investigation that some of her Secret Service members who had gone behind her back doing unauthorized extraction-play ¡ª which ended up with the killing of four her agents, in Mississippi by the Aryan Sisterhood. Wolfe was still really stirred up with Lucinda Gates¡¯ reticent actions ¡ª but she had to stay focused with the ordained task at hand ¡ª which was to overseer the overall security at tonight¡¯s Fundraiser... It was Wolfe ¡ª who had initiated the collusion use of a Cory-double ¡ª if Cory was ¡®to attend¡¯ the LA¡¯s Fundraiser ¡ª just like the ace of spades Saddam Hussein did in Iraq, using decoys for many long years ago ¡ª but it had to be in the highest level of secrecy too... Even her step-daughter Samantha, Gates herself, the VP Mary Freeman ¡ª and even, many of her own Secret Service agents would never know about the switch, for the masterplan to lay the trap to work... She now feared the signs of breaches in the recent West-wing¡¯s trust and loyalty matters. She intended to sort it out soon with a major revamp after discovering certain moles ¡ª some heads would roll soon ¡ª starting with the senior Agent Sian Harrison and other rogue agents, roped in by the authority of Lucinda Gates ¡ª in their partially failed clandestine mission in Mississippi, to rescue one of the Cory-twin. Wolfe¡¯s other anticipation was, whether the Preacher would take the pursuant bait ¡ª and boldly attacks LA tonight ¡ª despite the White House¡¯s fraudulent press releases to the media that he would probably back off since his last defeat in New Orleans. But, Wolfe knew he would come. His entry would finally fulfil her promise for their definite showdown ¡ª like she had told him months ago, while Doran was still in Tombscradle... Tonight, the bait is set ¡ª and she would take the Preacher out for good. Wolfe privately communicated via a Bluetooth device, and it was received by Lucinda Gates on the eighth floor, of the gala event grand ballroom... ¡°Yes, Agent Wolfe.¡± ¡°Ms Gates, ¡®the President¡¯ is arriving in less than 5 minutes.¡± The ballroom doors were soon opened by the guarded Elite soldiers ¡ª and the guests were ushered inside by a stream of hurried hostesses. Above at the high gala dinner ballroom ceilings was a network of horizontal steel cables that ran across zigzagged ¡ª constructed for a surprise performance that was scheduled for the gala dinner guests, later that night. *** The Presidential fleets of limousines were minutes away, passing the stadium of the roaring crowd with blaring music inside its vicinity. Samantha was mesmerized at the rah-rah actions that were going around, the packed concert stadium ¡ª where in less than two hours, her son Gillian was scheduled to perform with his band, The Kabuki Gods. Uniformed police and the infantry of Elite Force soldiers were manning the crowd control of the Cory supporters cheering along the roadsides, at the passing vehicles that were headed to the LA Convention Center vicinity. Samantha was in the same limo as the nervy Cory-double, who was still diligently mastering her speech notes ¡ª Samantha wondered why isn¡¯t she holding a gin and tonic, on the other hand? *** In the back area of the grand ballroom, banquet kitchens were in operational, where various international cuisines were prepared for the gala dinner. Busy chefs were in motion, while the waiters stood idle in a line holding large trays, for the subsequent courses of food pickup. In the Chinese kitchen, dim sums were steaming in stacks of rattan baskets that were inspected by a female MasterChef ¡ª who was overseeing its quality to perfection. A group of infiltrated God¡¯s Army¡¯s Chinese triad was posing as female junior chefs, in white kitchen jackets. Their hands were busy chopping up, the a la minute Mise-en-Place garnishes, to accompany the food course... The alert Oswald-Wu Leong''s eyes were peeking over, at the two Elite soldiers guarding outside the kitchen door... *** The fleets of limos soon arrived. Samantha alighted with Cory''s double on the red carpet, shielded by Secret Service agents who kept the oncoming TV crew at bay. At the same moment, a three-dimension hologram projection display came on ¡ª using the dark sky to pitch gigantic images of both Cory and her Vice President waving back. The crowd gathered behind the cordon and barricades a block away, became frantic and they cheered louder. Hajja and Ramirez led their circumspect cadre of commando rebels into the hills ¡ª and they spied on their night-vision goggles at the purlieus of heavily armed army troops, stationed at the vantage points on the knolls which overlooked the hotel. In an underground squalor sewer system which ran beneath the Convention Center ¡ª the picaresque Torres, who was also known as the Chupacabra ¡ª was leading the armed to the tooth, Army of Dogs cohort rebels ¡ª they were wading forward in the waist-deep of foul water, to circumvent detection. *** The crowds in the gala banquet ballroom cheered and were in a standing ovation to the arrival of the waving President and her VP ¡ª who both made a grand entrance onto the main stage. Patriotic music blared on the sound system ¡ª and the lights dimmed for some pyros display that flared up. The distinguished guests roared louder when laser lights now displayed with the coming election slogans, sliding around, zig-zagging in the background stage walls... The President and the VP held hands and raised it up to the applauding distinguished attendees ¡ª and the entire event niceties were watched ¡ª by Madeline Cory in her big screen, broadcasted back in Washington DC... Agent Nolan the officiated security detail stepped inside the Oval Room... ¡°Madam President your transportation is ready, Ma¡¯am.¡± *** The roaring cheers in the ballroom were heard in the kitchens, at the service back-area. Female waitresses were picking up the dim sums trays as the first-course appetizers. Wu Leong and the rest were moving in a frantic pace, filling up the platting of the dumplings ¡ª while the Master Chef in front, hurried them by oaring aloud in Cantonese. The last waiter left the pickup point, and the kitchen crew celebrated their arduous payoff with cold beers, with their satisfied Master Chef. Wu Leong then slipped out by the door ¡ª and he walked in the corridor to the washroom. He meandered along with the racks of utensils and canned food along the passage. A stationed Elite SWAT soldier soon followed him, and the other uniformed female walked a few paces, behind her partner. In the washroom, Wu Leong removed his white chef jacket. He was wearing a black singlet beneath, revealing the full-bodied dragon and phoenix tattoos on each arm. He removed the phoney brassieres he had worn under his singlet ¡ª and tossed into the trash-bin.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The door opened and the female soldier stepped in, and she instantly pointed her rifle at him. Her soldier-partner sneaked from the back and slit her throat ¡ª blood squirted ¡ª and the Elite-soldier fell down dead. The Caucasian female soldier who killed her spoke up in Mandarin... ¡°You are late ¡ª the target is already in the ballroom!¡± Oswald Wu Leong glanced at the dead soldier on the floor... ¡°I know, clean up your mess.¡± Wu Leong threw his white jacket on the growing crimson pool of blood of the corpse. He hopped on the tiled washbasin, opened the trap door at the ceiling, and heaved himself into the dark void. He started crawling in the dark passage ¡ª where a black sling bag had been placed ready for him... It was his sniper-rifle ¡ª to assassinate the Snake-woman. *** The master of ceremony, a famous standup comedienne was on stage ¡ª she was cracking everyone up with a list of things-to-do in case there was a terrorist attack. The Cory''s double was laughing hard at the main table with a few prominent and prestigious captains of industrialists, who would be funding the coming election campaign. The VP was seated with another group of laughing notable philanthropists ¡ª Mary Freeman did not find the humour funny at all ¡ª after the close call threats to her own life that she faced in New Orleans. Samantha was among some of the eminent guests at another table but ¡ª ¡®she is not there¡¯¡ª her mind was at the concert, sent numerous text messages over to Gillian that she would be arriving soon. *** The five-piece trash-punk group ¡ª The Daughters of None ¡ª were doing their final song on stage. Their vocalist Lana Rickett was screeching her high notes to the rocking audience. She ran on stage, trashing props with the mic stand, the crowd went wild by her notorious act. Gillian stood at the backstage ¡ª he was intrigued by her eccentric behaviour of destruction. The lead guitarist jumped into a solo ¡ª and Lana ran up to the side to the monster speakers, where a bottle of bourbon was waiting for her, she downed it. Lana saw Gillian looking from the top floor of the back-stage. She waved to him and blew a kiss. He then got a glimpse of something handed to her by a roadie ¡ª she hurled it up and ran back to the centre of the stage... Gillian laughed out to see the antiques of the ¡®crazy-bitch from Cardiff,¡¯ her self-proclaimed stage-name. She was holding a chainsaw and pulled the cord, and the power tool roared ¡ª while her guitarist did an equal explosive cacophony sounds with her shredding guitaring... The stage lights dimmed off, Lana approached to a row of set-up metal pipes props ¡ª she grinded the metal-teeth of the chainsaw along the metal pipes to create the rhythm, to accompany the lead guitar''s solo rifts. A hollow metallic sound with sparks was displayed out distinctively at the darkened stage. Gillian was fascinated by her creative showmanship, and so did the adrenaline hyped up a roaring crowd in front... An event coordinator came from behind Gillian. ¡°Mr Cory, you will be late for your makeup session, you are coming on soon.¡± Gillian looked around ¡ª Samantha had not arrived from the Fundraiser. Gillian stepped into the changing room ¡ª and his two band members had their faces painted into Japanese Kabuki demons. They looked like the twentieth century''s band KISS in make-ups, but only much fiercer in looks. Jeff the bassist called out... ¡°Yo Gillian, where did you go, man?¡± Gillian sat on the chair looking at a TV monitor on the dresser that had a video-feed of Lana spinning in circles with the live chainsaw in her hand ¡ª before tossing it up in the midair. It fell into a huge wooden crate ¡ª resulting coloured bits of confetti spewed high out from the crate. The Daughters of None ended their set with pyrotechnics display ¡ª with the crowd deafening out, for an encore demand. ¡°Damn, she is wild when she is high!¡± the drummer Roger remarked. Jeff chuckling and next started teasing... ¡°You make great music-videos, Gill ¡ª but if you ever make a sex tape with her ¡ª make sure that ¡®crazy-bitch¡¯ does not have a chainsaw in the bedroom.¡± *** Wu Leong started to assemble his rifle parts in the narrow duct end, looking out of a grilled ventilation panel perched, slightly above the ballroom. He noticed the lights turned dim ¡ª and a video presentation began in the ballroom... A video recording of Madeline Cory appearing on the big 3-D screen, and she gave a commentary ¡ª with video images of ageing high-rise American city buildings that were deteriorating from lack of maintenance ¡ª because building construction was once a male-dominated industry ¡ª that was labour-intensive before the virus wiped them off... The 3-D video further elaborated that after the post-Medusa outbreak ¡ª Japan had used ¡®robotic workers¡¯ in their construction industry to do manual labour ¡ª to rebuild and restored ¡ª their own cities and heritages in Metro Tokyo and in other many major cities. The video showed dozens of three feet-tall robots teams ¡ª working in precise coordination. Some were scaling walls with construction material loads without any scaffolding but on attached suspended cables. Others were doing manual labour of lifting mixed concrete to a top floor which was used by other teams of robots to plaster walls at a swift pace. More of the similar exported robots were shown ¡ª building highways and bridges in Europe¡¯s Germany and France. The video presentation ended with Cory''s double walking up to the stage, with a standing ovation from the dinner guests ¡ª Wu Leong was looking into the rifle scope but he could not get a clear-lock on the target, with too many movements of the standing guests... He was given instructions to only shoot once the Preacher creates a diversion ¡ª but his trigger-finger itched... The sniper had only one or maybe two opportunities to pull the trigger too ¡ª or else ¡ª his concealing position would be compromised by the tight security present around the President. The Cory-double now stood on the stage ¡ª but the crowd was still on their feet while listening to her, propagating her censorious, dominatrix speech. ¡°This is the future, ladies ¡ª to rebuild back our ageing cities. We cannot rely on anyone for any accomplishment anymore, but us, all here present here in this very ballroom for this great future plan ¡ª to restructure the society soon. With the majority of the youth today ¡ª those menacing free-males of this country, are now turning just into society¡¯s future terrorist rebels, and they too cannot be relied upon ¡ª nor to be trusted in anything worthwhile, for our womanhood future...¡± ¡°Instead, we the female race of all economic industries will have come together ¡ª and to empower collectively into rebuilding this country back to the glorious pinnacle that it once was ¡ª we will all come together to pioneer and embrace this robotic technology ¡ª which will execute our future reconstitution in our New Order¡¯s economic growth, in our future dominatrix universe... ¡°So here, with us tonight, we have some talented young scientists from Micha-Star Kimura Corporation ¡ª who are here to demonstrate a live-presentation on the precision of this technology now. Everyone, please now enjoy the show!¡± Wu Leong was frustrated when Cory stepped out from the spotlight into the dark side of the stage again. The lights then dimmed to total darkness, the audience murmured. Laser lights cast, coloured 3D projection of the upcoming election hologram logos floated around the walls, while the music played ¡ª the strobe lights came on next... It shone into the rifle-scope and the cursing Wu Leong was blinded by it ¡ª and could not take the shot when Cory stepped off the stage. Everyone then clapped when a solo searchlight from below sheened to the ceiling ¡ª to reveal the lines of zigzag steel cables suspended on top... Two Japanese youth came on stage ¡ª an Intersexual and a young woman ¡ª both holding consoles that looked more like video-game controls. They nodded to each other before their fingers frantically worked on the buttons. Everyone from their tables witnessed a blue-robot controlled by the Japanese woman gliding on the cables above ¡ª they began to clap and cameras flashed. It started to do acrobatic solo moves like a Cirque du Soleil trapeze, hopping from one cable to the other with accurate precision. A red searchlight next illuminated ¡ª and a second robot that was controlled ¡ª by the youthful, Japanese Intersexual scientist who was on stage ¡ª his bot then come into sight with sinister music overplayed, to the claps below. It was nerve-wracking to see the moving heavy load, which the red-robot carried, above the heads of the guest who were seated below. The sinister robot hurled ¡ªthe H-beam across the ballroom... The bulky metal beam cart-wheeled in the midair, for a distance of a hundred feet across. Some guests below screamed, and scrambled off their seats. The first robot controlled by the Asian woman caught the H-beam, with its three-fingered clamp in perfect precision. It then tossed the beam back to the sinister red-robot ¡ª which seized it, equally well with ease ¡ª despite the panic and screams, most were clapping and cheering from down below. The robots started to display even more dangerous moves ¡ª and the crowd was now mesmerized by the gallant show. The house light kicked in, the juggling robots above were still hurling the H-beam to each other... The sinister red robot was now just above the POTUS¡¯ main table... It was still doing its dangerous stunts, with Cory''s double laughing, in the self-assurance of safety ¡ª while the captains of the industries were looking very nervous from their seat. The sinister robot''s tried grasping the hurled H-beam ¡ª but the robot slipped the load from its clasp. Everyone in the ballroom screamed when they witnessed the H-beam falling down below ¡ª plummeting down like a gigantic knife ¡ª ready to spear into the presidential main table... Some terrified women at the table scrambled fast, one of the waitresses fell on the ground screaming at the dropping beam from above. The blue-robot acrobatically dived to the lowest suspended cable ¡ª it clamped the other end of the beam at its tip ¡ª a near-miss ¡ª from crashing into the main table. The blue-robot slowly rolled up ¡ª along with the swinging cable ¡ª with the H-beam secured in its clasped clamps... Another standing ovation from the overwhelmed crowd broke out in accord, ¡ª witnessing the skilful and daring moves of the preeminent robot, to avoid the fatality down below at the president¡¯s main table. Wu Leong was cursing to himself in Chinese that he still could not get a clear shot on the Snake-woman with the spotlights now running on the rotating mode at the ceiling. The glare was blinding the rifle¡¯s scope, which he was looking into. Cory¡¯s double was now back holding a mic again on the floor and was making an announcement, walking among the tables... ¡°Ladies, let me introduce you to the genius young billionaire, technological industrialist, and the scientist from Mecha-Star Kimura Corporation ¡ª who has envisioned this brilliant robotic technology invention ¡ª Dr Kenaki Kimura ¡ª and his lovely cousin and fellow inventor ¡ª Dr Suki Takahashi!¡± The two Japanese youth walked on the centre stage and three other Japanese scientists in white robe followed from behind. They waved back to the entire roaring guests in the grand ballroom... They were among the five students who were expelled from Masuda School of Technology in Washington DC ¡ª and were deported to Tokyo back in 2027 ¡ª after the fighting incident with dangerous weapons in the mall ¡ª with a fellow student, Marlin Petroff. Tonight, they were feted and hailed ¡ª as industrial celebrities in Cory''s fundraiser event ¡ª for their robotic technology invention, that would rebuild the American cities. Chapter 4 THE NEXT BAND WAS ANNOUNCED ON STAGE. They walked in with greasepaint makeup ¡ª and the trio wore Star Wars Jedi like personalized Shitagi costumes. Gillian presided forward, lugging his strapped-on guitar. He glanced to look at the backstage ¡ª and he did not see Samantha. Even by hiding his low self-esteem self behind his feign makeup, it could not stop the crowds¡¯ chanting of ¡®Cory¡¯ repeatedly at him ¡ª which was also another false-side of him. He hated that last-name of being the president''s grandson ¡ª but rather want to be recognized as his true fealty self, with his given talents in his band ¡ª The Kabuki Gods. After swallowing seconds of stage fright, they went on and played their first song in their list, in their debut, on-stage performance. The limousine stopped outside the VIP entrance. Samantha ran into the tunnel passage, accompanied by a Secret Service Agent Forest who was chasing her from behind. Samantha reached the backstage and saw Gillian performing with his band in front of the fervent crowd of thousands. She started to cheer from the secluded VIP backstage. *** Agent Wolfe was monitoring the dining crowd from the back of the ballroom when her Bluetooth-comm crackled on with updates ¡ª from the Secret Service agents from the hotel rooftop. Wolfe replied. ¡°Driscoll, what is it?¡± A Blackhawk chopper flew over ¡ª and was about to alight on the convention centre¡¯s helipad. Its arrival was unscheduled ¡ª and created some uncertainty in security, at those guarding the rooftop... ¡°Sir, there is an Elite Force chopper that is requesting for landing. What do I do, Sir?¡± Driscoll waited for orders ¡ª with all weapons pointed at the hovering helicopter... Wolfe pondered a second... ¡®Is this it?¡¯ The anticipated, public enemy had finally landed? Wolfe quickly switched the channel ¡ª and she contacted Agent Green who was nearby the President''s main table, officiated as the POTUS¡¯s security detail. ¡°Green ¡ª there is an Elite chopper on the rooftop now ¡ª you go fast, and check it out.¡± ¡°What about POTUS ¡ª at the main table, Sir?¡± Green responded back subtly. ¡°You go now ¡ª I will cover you here.¡± Agent Iris Green picked two other agents ¡ª and they headed into the service elevator at the back area. Wolfe stood now by the President''s table, watching over ¡ª Cory¡¯s double conversing with her guests. It was still Wolfe¡¯s duty to protect the Cory-double who was the bait ¡ª and for her own surreptitious plan to work tonight ¡ª where the cameras and other electronic eyes present at the ballroom, should not capture any of her fatality footage. There should not be any room for any suspicious shreds of evidence either ¡ª to later create a nationwide panic and hatching conspiracy theories even if it was the case of the enemy posing an imminent attack on LA ¡ª and on the facsimile POTUS ¡ª as they had boldly promised that they would, in the social media. ** At the rooftop, Agent Green alighted out of the elevator, with a pistol in her hand ¡ª and saw a score of Elite soldiers on guard-duty assembled. Agent Driscoll and two other agents were standing around, with their weapons drawn at the landed helicopter. The co-pilot stepped out in full uniform with helmet and dark visor. She handed a document to Driscoll. Two other soldiers in full gear helmets next descended off the chopper. The woman co-pilot spoke out. ¡°Vice President Mary Freeman had requested for the chopper. She requested extra security, in case there was an attack!¡± Agent Iris Green approached, and Driscoll passed her the paper ¡ª Green glanced at it, stared at the co-pilot... ¡°Remove your helmet.¡± Iris Green wore her face recognition goggle ¡ª and repeated the instruction again with her gun pointed, at the other two soldiers. The co-pilot was a blond, middle-aged woman ¡ª and the software app did not alert. Green glanced next at the other two soldiers behind the woman ¡ª and gave them the same command the third time, to remove their visor helmets. The duo hesitated a second... Agent Green''s finger removed the safety of her pistol. The helmets were slowly removed ¡ª and Green''s facial recognition goggles alerted that the two ¡ª were Li Chi and Sanchez. Agent Green exclaimed... ¡°God¡¯s Army!¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. All of the agents and Elite-soldiers'' guns were pointed at the surrounded, two rebels. The nervous co-pilot confessed ¡ª that she was their hostage. Agent Green next saw, the chopper''s door sliding open... A monk robed figure stepped out with a rifle ¡ª Green took two steps back after seeing that the monk, was strapped with heavy bricks of explosives on a belt ¡ªwhich he was wearing... He was followed by two other AOG rebel commandos armed with RPGs. The last to alight were two other monks in robes ¡ª Michael and Peter ¡ª with pistols in hand, where the inchoate monastery duo had insisted strongly that they followed their leader, in the suicide mission. Driscoll cried in terror ¡ª when seeing the scar-faced Doran, in-person ¡ª slipping the robe¡¯s hood, down to reveal himself to everyone. ¡°Holy shit, it is the Preacher!¡± All trembling hands with guns and rifles ¡ª were now pointed at him. *** Wolfe followed the President, with Agent Knight ¡ª when the Cory-double went from table to table, shaking hands and making small talks with the distinguished VIPs. Wolfe communicated with the rooftop ¡ª by whispering into the communication device... ¡°Agent Green, what is the status up there?¡± Agents Green, Driscoll and others SWAT troopers stepped back ¡ª for each slow pace that Doran made forward. They heard Wolfe¡¯s vexed voice, on the Secret Service walkie-talkie... ¡°Agent Green, do you read me?" Sanchez howled like a wolf ¡ª and some of the rebels that walked behind him laughed ¡ª even Doran smiled, as he turned to the terrified agents... ¡°That is Wolfe ¡ª the voice which I will take to the grave today ¡ª and also your President... ¡°Did she not make an open invitation to me to come to join her banquet tonight? I am here now ¡ª and, I have accepted the Snake-woman¡¯s invitation!¡± The AOG rebels walked over, eager to meet those ¡ª who turned up to at the fundraiser event that night. While, Green and Driscoll¡¯s eyes were fixated on the dead man''s trigger mechanism that Doran held forward to them ¡ª like a crucifix in the exorcism of demons. His thumb was firmly suppressed onto the trigger to click. Some of the terrified Elite soldiers started to run away to the far end of the building. Li Chi and Sanchez began to fire their pistols with silencers ¡ªat those who attempted to use the elevator, as their escape-way from the divination clear and present danger that waited. ¡°We are taking the elevator. If any of you demonic-bitches in black, get in my way, I will fry you all on this roof, is that understood?¡± the Preacher next spoke out to the agents, raising the trigger... The government agents tacitly nodded in dread ¡ª and they gave passage to the seven-man suicide squad ¡ª who crossed over the bodies of two dead women soldiers in their path ¡ª before entering the elevator on the rooftop. Li Chi pressed the eighth-floor button, and the door closed. Green barked out instructions to Driscoll to wait for the returning elevator ¡ª while she and two other agents ¡ª used the stairwell down, descending back to the ballroom. *** The Vice President had joined the Cory-double ¡ª while they went to the tables, thanking the guests for their contribution to the coming presidential election. Wolfe followed them from the side, she grabbed Agent Knight''s arm and alerted subtly... ¡°Something is going wrong ¡ª on the roof. Be prepared.¡± Inside the moving elevator car, two rebels were helping to detach ¡ª the kill-switch to Semtex-belt off Doran. They were being very cautious with its complex wirings ¡ª that delicately ran from the trigger mechanism to the bricks of the explosive device strapped-belt. The jittery Michael and Peter observed them removing it, with beads of perspiration on their every faces. Two floors above, Agent Green was still running down the stairwell ¡ª to anticipate and counterstrike the rebel assassins¡¯ breach into the convention centre. The elevator door opened at the eighth floor ¡ª Sanchez and Li Chi fired their silencer pistols ¡ª killing the two guarding Elite soldiers at close range. They wanted to surprise Cory ¡ª with their grand entrance ¡ª without much initial gunshot noises. They walked into the ballroom in the side exit and ignored the frightened-looking waitresses who were regressing ¡ª but the guests ahead were shot at will ¡ª because in his YouTube sermons, Doran had labelled that those who were supporting and funding the Snake-woman in her upcoming election ¡ª were also an enemy of God''s Army ¡ª and to God Himself. *** The elevator door reopened at the rooftop, and the armed, Agent Driscoll ¡ª found it empty... Six armed Elite soldiers followed her in ¡ª and the lift door closed ¡ª they all then looked stupefied at the elevator ceiling ¡ª the Semtex explosives was plastered above them... 00:02, 00:01, 00:00... The massive explosion rock-and-blew a crater on the rooftop ¡ª regurgitating of burning flesh and body part limbs, with the thrown up concrete debris... The impact of the blasting heat wave lifted the rebel¡¯s Blackhawk, off the top of the building¡¯s helipad ¡ª it then fell eleven floors, to crash below on the garden front. Panic aroused in the ballroom when everyone sensed the tremor of the external explosion. The frenetic VP Mary Freeman screamed when her horrendous nightmare had come true in coming to LA. She cried out blames ¡ª at the numb Cory-double across her... ¡°Madeline, you fool! I told you clearly that we will be attacked tonight!¡± This was his cue... Oswald-Wu Leong locked his target on the president, to take a headshot ¡ª but VP came in between when she attacked by choking the ¡®Cory-double¡¯ out of spite ¡ª Mary Freeman was shot instead. Her side of her skull was blown away, by the hollow point bullet... The Cory-double was jumped by Agent Knight ¡ª who shielded the POTUS from further assail. Wu Leong cursed himself for missing his target ¡ª and he fired more shots at the invariable direction, hoping by some second chance, in hitting the Snake-woman ¡ª but the target was obstructed by more dreading people running across in helter-skelter ¡ª they were instead dropping dead in the target zone... Wolfe drew out her SIG Sauer pistol ¡ª and spotted Doran in the monk robe, at the far end of the ballroom. The AOG rebels opened fire ¡ª with their machine guns in the breakout... The rebels were killing everyone at sight, both the avarice billionaire personages and to the salaried uniforms bodyguard agents in the ballroom. The CNN media crew present, who were covering the chaos, was next blasted with RPG ¡ª for their sins ¡ª of spreading the Snake-woman¡¯s propaganda and deceits against the Army of God. Wolfe grinned while seeing the mayhem of the on slaughter unfolding ¡ª she had planned it to a tee. Her stratagem was falling into place ¡ª and she was ready for her long-awaited showdown, with the scar-faced Preacher. The ensnare bait had been set... She was going to take him out now, at all cost ¡ª on this special night to reclaim her forswear, belated 38th birthday gift ¡ª since her last Tombscradle visit... Chapter 5 AT THE NEARBY HILLS, the US army witnessed the explosion on the hotel rooftop. Hajja led his BGF rebel commandos, commencing a sneak attack initiation from the rear of the higher ground to assault the army¡¯s battle stations below. Ramirez and his Chicano rebels were at the periphery of the encampment, armed with rocket launchers ¡ª and they aimed at the gigantic banner of Cory, draped on the side of the building. They triggered and shot rapidly at the ¡ª Cory''s ¡®eyes¡¯ on the banner ¡ª behind it which was the eighth floor, where the gala dinner banquet grand ballroom was... The crumbling walls by the incisive missile rockets that followed by more explosion inside the grand ballroom that killed more dignitary guests inside. Wolfe dove down to take cover, shielding behind fallen flailed, round tables. Doran and the AOG suicide-squad rebels hid behind the obelisk pillars near the main stage, with more explosions ripping the banquet oval tables ¡ª and obliterating everything away. Wolfe turned over ¡ª to find Cory-double crying in total trepidation, with her face sunk onto the carpeted floor... ¡°Help me, somebody please help me!" Wolfe respected the bait-lookalike ¡ª more than her despicable browbeat President back at in D.C. ¡ª the recreant in the White House was just an armchair leader, who was not even audacious enough to be in New Orleans the last time... A total coward leader. Wolfe then looked at ¡ª the grisly dead Mary Freeman sprawled ahead. It was too bad that she could not save the VP from the sharpshooter ¡ª but, her death as collateral damage was a necessary death ¡ª which would later please the real Madeline Cory ¡ª who succeeded in waiting for an opportunity to sweep her VP millstone, under her party¡¯s carpet. *** The five Chinese God¡¯s Army rebels who had posed as chefs were in drunken laughter ¡ª they pulled out their weapons from dim-sum rattan baskets. They started shooting at the exotic Oriental food presentations they had laboured in preparation earlier. The Cantonese Master Chef was looking terrified. She hid crouching, at the corner of an oven. The Asian triad then ran out to face the ingress of Elite-soldiers, outside in the hotel¡¯s corridor... *** The manhole covers opened around the hotel vicinity ground ¡ª and the belligerent, Mexican Army of Dogs militants emerged out from the subterranean sewers. They struck the cordoning police and the Elite soldiers in the breakout with their fire-power. Their monocratic leader known as the Chupacabra was laughing out aloud, sighting the massive banner of Cory that covered the side of the building ¡ªwhich was now defaced with huge holes into the burning ¡®eyes¡¯ of the Snake-woman ¡ª in the hanging political party¡¯s streamer. *** The deafening music did not make those rocking crowd, enclosed at the high walled stadium ¡ª to realize that LA was besieged ¡ª with the burning convention centre bedlam, happening less than a mile away. Gillian sang a verse before improvising the rest of the chorus ¡ª into an Anti-Cory song, followed by interchanging fast, into his guitar solo... The crowd were jumping wild, singing the chorus along ¡ª punching their fists up, fingering the Corna-horns ¡ª chanting out... ¡°Kill the Snake-woman! ¡°Kill the Snake-woman!¡± Samantha was cheering along at the VIP backstage, and drunken members of Daughters of None then came over to the railing ¡ª they were not aware that Gillian was her son. They passed a bottle of Jack Daniels around ¡ª the guitarist teased Lana Rickett... ¡°Your boyfriend is playing his heart out for you, bitch!¡± ¡°We should get his attention!¡± The female drummer said before lifting up her T-shirt and exposed her breasts. The others followed her crazy antics ¡ª and they cried out with their exposed jublees... ¡°Hey Gillian, look over here!¡± Lana was laughing hard and started slapping their breasts... ¡°Bloody fucking cunts!¡± Samantha tittered at the crazy brash band-girls ¡ª who were grabbing Lana, they poured the booze on her ocean blue dyed hair. They were tantalizing their lead singer... ¡°She is in love. Lana is in fuckin'' love with a dick, a white D.C. dick!¡± Samantha laughed, ingratiated to herself. Back in her days ¡ª she was known to have been a wild-child herself ¡ª with booze, sex and drugs, just like them. *** Inside the hotel, Li Chi communicated on his walkie with Ramirez outside on the hilltop ¡ª ordering to cease the thumping of missiles at the grand ballroom. Doran checked out about ten remaining Secret Service agents ¡ª who were there helping some of the guests, to escape through the exits. Many of the other VIPs were still face-down on the smoking ground ¡ª too afraid to move, and they were in the state of helplessly ¡ª with their crying and prayers. A big fire began to raze the furnishings in the middle of the grand ballroom. The alcohol served was fueling the combustion¡¯s impetus growth. But what was unanticipated by the AOGs was, the water sprinkler system of the building that has been knocked out by the artillery thumping ¡ª and nothing was stopping the burgeon inferno ¡ª from furiously spreading, and licking everything at sight. The massive flames had also separated the rebels from the advancing Secret Service agents and elite-soldiers ¡ª who were all on both sides, choking from the acrid black smoke.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Doran spotted Wolfe ¡ª at the back of the hall, giving out instructions to her posse. The hatred inside the Preacher distended ¡ª he wanted to avenge for the luminary souls who perished in the Convent five years ago ¡ª by Wolfe¡¯s death-squad massacre. His abhorrence was more on Wolfe than with the president ¡ª because Wolfe murdered Sister Lisa Marie, in front of his very eyes ¡ª and then she came years later to incite death threats on his flock of the monks, when he was in prison... That was catalytically what the Snake-woman¡¯s New Order needed for him to create his uprising ¡ª so that Cory could have her justification to wager her campaign¡¯s orchestration against domestic terrorism nationwide, to gain her popularity votes ¡ª and to maintain her political position as her nation¡¯s president, term after term. Doran called out Wolfe''s name ¡ª when he rushed forward shooting. The other four AOG rebels reinforced his assault, by shooting across at the other secret service agents. Michael and Peter stayed behind, as they detected that Wolfe was also armed with a machine gun ¡ª and she fired the approaching rebels ¡ª but the raging flames, smoke and the intense heat in the middle separated both the sides... It had impaired their visibility and functions ¡ª but both Doran and Wolfe kept shooting erratically at each other, with their machine guns through the inferno. Wolfe took two bullets in both in the hip and her thigh ¡ª Doran too was hit in the left shoulder ¡ª with Wolfe missing her signature face-shots... They both fell down on their backs. Wolfe cried out in pain. A bravado rebel soldier dragged the injured, fallen Doran, to retreat back. The rebels withdrew to the corner at the main stage ¡ª when a door was next blasted open with door-bombs, with a squad of storming Elite Force troopers infiltrating inside, blasting their weapons. Sanchez ran forward and tossed grenades at them ¡ª after the first explosion, most of the surviving soldiers ¡ª recoiled back out of the door for cover. *** Hajja and Ramirez were on a frenzy killing spree, with their guerilla trained AOG commandos ¡ª taking out the diminishing US Army survivors who were still securing the hill. Hajja looked to rotor sounds coming beyond ¡ª where six Army Apaches were approaching over at high-speed. Long-range missiles were fired at the hill and both the AOG rebels and even their own US army troops ¡ª who were killed in friendly fires. Ramirez shouted out orders to gun down the approaching helicopters ¡ª with their anti-aircraft missiles. The Chupacabra turned the attention of his Dogs from the fighting with LAPD ¡ª and were on the verge to nullification all around them in enormity. He then spotted an influx battalion of US Army Abram tanks and Hummers closing in, the front of the convention centre grounds for the police backup. The US Army¡¯s heavy artilleries had come as a last option ¡ª to minimize damages in LA ¡ª after the media backlashes from the former annihilation of New Orleans. Then out of nowhere ¡ª came the periphery, the God¡¯s Army pickup trucks assault unit ¡ª with rebels intercepting with enfilade attacks on the army. Both sides were blowing each other away to smithereens. The Chupacabra chuckled in mirth and responded in Spanish... ¡°It is fun fighting in this country ¡ª so many fancy toys to use!¡± The Army of Dogs infantry were now using anti-tank warheads on their rocket launchers ¡ª to blast at the oncoming monstrous tanks ¡ª the Soviet weaponries were provisioned by arms-dealer, Bani Ibnu from the Middle East, in the war efforts to leverage in their defence, in their guerilla street warfare of the God¡¯s Army ¡ª but the advancing juggernaut of the Abrams was retrofitted with Chobham armours ¡ª and they kept on with their minatory advancing... The Abrams counter-attacked... But the OGA¡¯s allied Frijoleros stood their ground and were pertinacious ¡ª they grudgingly fought back to their death ¡ª to retaliate the devastations of Cory¡¯s earlier attacks on the Mexico border. *** Agent Knight dragged the Cory-double, out of the ballroom. Out in the side exit-door, they ran out with Green and another Secret Service agent with machine guns covering their rear. They were on the verge of finding a safe passage to take POTUS to the car park ¡ª and escape the assassination. Agent Green was also shooting at the CCTV cameras ¡ª to disable them as an evacuation protocol, and not leaving any of the POTUS extraction footages behind. The ominous Chinese trait intercepted them. They opened fire from the flanks. Agent Knight and the Cory-double interspersed the hailing crossfire, ¡ª and escaped through a nearby exit door... Oswald Wu Leong ran solo, with his sniper rifle into the corridor ¡ª and he was intercepted by the Chinese triad who was engaged with the shoot out with Agent Green. He joined his clan ¡ª and they informed that they saw the President with the agents, moving ahead... The Chinese-sniper wanted a second chance tonight to get it right ¡ª and finally nail ¡®Cory¡¯ for good. His commander Li Chi had entrusted him to bring pride and glory to the minority triad fraction, within God¡¯s Army ¡ª with this prized kill... Oswald-Wu Leong pursued forward feverishly ¡ª to gain the triumph... *** Torres the Chupacabra was firing armour-piercing HEAT-missiles at the hegemony MIA3 tanks squad after they were crippled by IEDs laid on the grounds. Above in the night skies, Blackhawk choppers piloted by God¡¯s Army rebel pilots were fighting the combat Apaches. Down below, Hajja and Ramirez had descended the burning hills ¡ª to merge forces with the ground-assault AOG militants ¡ª in the coagulating battle to siege LA. *** Gillian sang his heart out with the Kabuki Gods ¡ª at the concert stadium. At the VIP backstage, the kitschy Daughter of None guitarist was high on liquor and substances ¡ª she took off her clothes and played the air-guitar in the nude. The event organizers and two security guards approached to stop the spiky coiffured girl displaying her shocking and licentious behaviour in public ¡ª but the rest of the band ward them and warned them to ''bugger-off'' ¡ª and to leave her alone to have her fun. Samantha noticed that the crowds ¡ª at the back of the stadium had stopped partying... They averted and were looking and pointing at the skies where there was an aerial battle occurring between choppers. They began to disperse outside the venue, when an Apache that was on flames, was heading with a spin towards the stadium. Gillian was in the middle of his guitar solo, Jeff his bassist stopped plucking, too awed by the chopper wreckage, loudly crashing at the open stadium car park. The drummer Roger stopped pounding next ¡ª with only Gillian mesmerized, with his eyes shut ¡ª to the mellifluous rhythm flow of his guitaring. He was unaware of what was happening around him because of the over blasting loud amps, which he was closest to. Gillian was soon shaken back to reality ¡ª when the organizers cut off the power of all the amplifiers, as a safety measure. His eardrums were still buzzing before hearing the clamouring sound of the furore audience ¡ª who were pointing at the smoke and flames, over the high walls of the stadium... He was now agitated by the disruption of his performance ¡ª and smashed his guitar, at the nearby silenced Marshall amp. Samantha ran to the other side of the private backstage area ¡ª and joined the stadium staffs and band roadies who were looking out of the row of windows. She saw the blazing convention centre afar, and her first thought was of Madeline. Her Secret Service bodyguard Forest had left Samantha behind when she got a distress call that some members of the crowd were attacking their parked limousine. That was the last of Agent Forest, she never returned back alive. The rest of the Brit band, The Daughters of None moved towards where Samantha was ¡ª they too witnessed the smouldering building ahead. The intoxicated, naked, tattooed guitarist was the only one cheering out in glee ¡ª while the troubled rest of the band, kept saying about Islamic-terrorist attack ¡ª and the need to pack up and leave back to the UK, as quick as possible... The crowd stormed out of the stadium exit in thousands, to have a closer look at the burning helicopter wreckage at the car park ¡ª the earlier ground explosion had set off scores of car alarms. The keyed-up tumult of hundreds of teenagers was also pointing at the battle ¡ª occurring at the building grounds further down the road, with the hills that were also ablaze behind it... The posthaste mob began to rally over ¡ª to the burning site, chanting out... ¡°Kill the Snake-woman! Kill the Snake-woman!¡± Chapter 6 COMMANDER LI CHI WAS STILL WITH the rest of the suicide-squad rebels, who were trapped in a morass, with the blazing miasmic ballroom that separated them ¡ª from the advancing Secret Service agents. The conflagration was uncontrollable with building¡¯s water-sprinkles down, by the earlier AOG mortar strikes ¡ª leaving the rebels and their injured Preacher now, cornered in the ballroom... The exits were well covered by the firing Elite-soldiers, trapping them inside. Li Chi crawled over and obtained the RPG from the hand of a dead rebel. He fired it at the nearest door, and the blast killed some of the machine gun firing Elite soldiers. Li Chi knew ¡ª that they were running low on bullets ¡ª and called for his retreated side to save their ammo... ¡®One bullet, for One bitch.¡¯ A rebel soldier was tending ¡ª to stop the bleeding of Doran''s gunshot shoulder wound. Doran was feeling light-headed with the loss of blood ¡ª and dehydrated in the fervour blazing ballroom. He sensed something was wrong ¡ª with both himself and the surrounding... He felt that half of his body was numbing fast ¡ª and also, there was something above, that was casting shadows ¡ª that was distracting his blurry vision. He finally realized that the two bots were reactivated... The two red and blue robots were sliding down the cables. Each was carrying an H-beam steel between their three clamped fingers. Somewhere nearby, Ken and Suki were operating them... The Japanese entrepreneur business partners were seeking to deliver the dead Preacher to President Cory ¡ª as a sign of goodwill ¡ª so that they could secure further contracts for their robotic technology. Kenaki had plans for his next business proposal of devising archetype enforcer robots ¡ª for Cory¡¯s military to fight her future adversaries. Before the medic-rebel could react ¡ª the blue-robot first struck by hurling the H-beam, like a spear towards where Doran was lying wounded. It missed the Preacher ¡ª but it incised the medic in half, in the midsection. Ken laughed at Suki''s bad throw ¡ª and now he moved in with the red-robot for the kill... Li Chi thumped a mortar ¡ª but the blue-robot avoided it, with its acrobatic skills. Below, the injured and appalled Doran started crawling away ¡ª from the grievous spot, leaving behind the blooded cadaver remains of the medic, who tended him earlier... Ken who was controlling the red-robot, moved in on the target, to terminate the mired Preacher... Li Chi was loading his last RPG grenade... He knew that the crafty robots were too agile to be shot down, as they were skillfully monkeying on the cables above ¡ª the cables ¡ª Li Chi noticed a support point in the ceiling that was converging all the cables together... Ken wore a goggle device that scanned ¡ª and calibrated for an accurate throw, to eliminate his ineluctable target. Both the Asians ¡ª Li Chi and Ken were now like two Western quick-draw gunslingers ¡ª the fastest finger on the triggerwill put the other''s scheme out... ¡°Backblast ¡ª area clear!¡± Li Chi fired first and the explosion crippled the support point at the ceiling. Simultaneously, Ken suppressed his trigger button ¡ª but the slacking cables caused the falling red robot''s throw, to miss by a few degrees. The zigzagging web of cables soon looped down fast ¡ª with both the Japanese robots, crashed on the ground into the inferno, below in the centre of the ballroom.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The hurled H-beam thrown had missed Doran ¡ª but it spear-broke a hole, in the wall behind. The Preacher crawled to safety behind a pillar, and he then passed out from the gunshot wound ¡ª nearby, Li Chi celebrated with Sanchez with high-fives. Across the room, Ken threw the remote control down in anger and trampled it. Suki too was now laughing ¡ª at her overconfident cousin¡¯s fiasco. *** Ramirez and Hajja and the God¡¯s Army commandos descended to the foot of the burning hill ¡ª to team-up with the Chupacabra and the Army of Dogs, who were fighting the behemoth tanks and Hummers, with their perennial counterattacks. They heard chanting down the road, with an imponderable number of youth rallying over from the stadium, destructing public property as they advanced, chanting the chorus of Gillian''s anti-Cory song... ¡°Kill the Snake-woman¡± ¡ª just like British soccer hooligans, heading to a match-darby. *** Cory''s double was panting hard, but she kept running down barefooted, on the exit stairs ¡ª which led towards the car park in the basement. The three Secret Service agents were covering her ¡ª from the baleful Oswald Wu Leong and a few pursuing triad members, who were shooting at them from above... Wu Leong was trying to snipe the President ¡ª but Agents Green and Knight kept the Chinese at bay by counter firing up at the spiral passage... The Secret Service agents reached to the corridor that opened to the car park. A rifle shot rang from the rear ¡ª the Cory''s double flopped forward ¡ª with a shot above the shoulder blade near to her neck ¡ªWu Leong had finally got his clean shot... Agent Knight grabbed her fallen POTUS, and both exited out of the door... The intrepid Agent Green remained back ¡ª she lobbed a hand grenade back, while the other Secret Service agent with her fell dead, with hits from the enemies¡¯ machine gunshots. The sight of grenade caught the Chinese by surprise ¡ª and they turned to scramble for safety... The grenade rolled lengthways on the concreted floor, along their escaping feet... Outside the door, Knight had the Cory-double on her shoulder, and she ran into the sheltered car park. Agent Knight heard the explosion ¡ª and she stopped to notice that Agent Green was separated, and was not behind her. Inside, Agent Iris Green spotted a sole Chinese ahead, who had survived the blast. He was injured and was trying limping away, but she shot him down with her pistol. Green moved forward with vigilance, towards the fallen shemales at the blast site... Oswald-Wu Leong was barely alive ¡ª his left arm torn-off and leg had been mutilated. He was lying face-up, with blood bubbles, forming in his misshapen mouth. Green pointed her pistol down, at maimed Wu Leong''s sputtered face... The dying Chinese was seen using his phantom-limb of his stumped arm, to shield his face ¡ª Iris Green fired at point-blank. *** Gillian was the only one, on the empty stage. He wiped off the makeup with a towel. He noticed that Samantha was still looking down from the top floor of the backstage. He walked up towards her ¡ª but Lana came from behind, and grabbed him and they kissed. Samantha saw him telling Lana to wait below ¡ª and he proceeded, walking over the metal stairs to the woman... ¡°Mother, I am going to Europe,¡± he told her ¡ª and her immediate response was, ¡°How?¡± Gillian extended his hand to point... ¡°Lana has her own private plane. The rest of my band will be leaving with her. Come to London with me now, and we can live our lives over there!¡± ¡°No dear, I can''t go ¡ª even if I do ¡ª Madeline will come after the both of us.¡± ¡°Why Mother? But I want you to be with me? I know you are not happy, living in the White House.¡± Samantha Cory then smiled weakly back at the boy... ¡°I don''t have a choice but you do. I watched you just now, and you were so happy and alive ¡ª playing your music on stage. This is your life, Gillian ¡ª you go for it ¡ª and please, never come back...¡± The tearful Gillian came over and hugged her... ¡°You must come and visit me, Mother ¡ª and promise me from today onwards, that you will call me every hour.¡± ¡°Yes Gill, I will ¡ª I am your number one fan...¡± He kissed her a few times before he ran down the stairs. Lana grabbed his hand ¡ª and they both ran down the tunnel. Samantha stood alone and heard the chanting in a distance outside the stadium. The long throng marched away from the venue to storm the battlefield ¡ª they chanted the chorus of her Gillian¡¯s song... ¡°Kill the Snake-woman! O, Kill the Snake-woman!¡± Chapter 7 A JET FLEW FROM WASHINGTON TO LA. The real Madeline Cory ¡ª the President of America was in it, seated in thoughts and drinking a glass of gin. Agent Nolan approached her tactfully... ¡°Madam President, I got some bad news from the CIA ¡ª The Vice President is dead, and also, the Preacher¡¯s rebels are winning ¡ª and they said, in a matter of hours ¡ª the whole city of Los Angeles will cede, and fall into the enemy hands.¡± She nodded passively to Nolan, who left her alone to finish her drink. The president was pleased that everything was going as planned ¡ª with the other earlier update intel, she received a moment ago, informing that the injured Preacher was cornered, and also, most of her invited millionaire guests from The Daughters of Oligarch, the new drug kingpin of drugs distribution into the major cities, had also been eliminated... Cory picked up her cell phone and made the next stratagem call... ¡°General Fields, I am authorizing Code Thunderbolt... ¡°Unleash the Kraken!¡± *** The flames were subsiding to non-threatening nature ¡ª after half-hour of razing in the ballroom. Michael and Peter were still shrouding behind the main stage, in the heavy smoke. The duo mettle from their hiding and stalked at the injured Doran, who ceded behind a pillar ¡ª that spot was also a firing distance of the government agents and Elite force... ¡°Peter, it has to be done. The future of the Holy Church depends on him.¡± Peter took a deep breath ¡ª he closed his teary eyes and nodded reluctantly. Michael placed his hand on his fellow monk¡¯s shoulder and said... ¡°Come, Peter, let¡¯s go.¡± Agent Wolfe was tended by an Elite soldier-paramedic for her hip and thigh gunshot wounds, sustained during the impasse moment. A Secret Service agent was with them, Wolfe bared her teeth to the shooting pain, while she spoke out to her... ¡°The Preacher ¡ª is he still fucking out there?¡± Agent Wachowski responded observantly. ¡°Yes Sir, he is hiding somewhere ahead behind the fire, but he is wounded ¡ª and maybe bleeding to his death.¡± Wolfe lying on her sideloaded a new clip into her pistol ¡ª and commands to her posse, gritting her teeth bearing to her own injuries... ¡°Good, the fucker should not escape ¡ª as he did in New Orleans. The Preacher must die tonight!¡± Doran was in a seated position behind the pillar, in pang, bleeding profusely from his shoulder ¡ª staring at the exit door¡¯s emergency red-light. He gazed a blurry focus of a brilliant ball of pinkish brightness ¡ª with Sister Lisa Marie, Mother Superior and the dead nun and monk-boys¡¯ presences, coming beside him. Everyone was smiling dearly down at him, as he faded to his death ¡ª staring at another brighter, glow within. The delusional Preacher spoke to those faces... ¡°I have commanded my spirit unto you, my Heavenly Father ¡ª I will join you all in Paradise, by the end of this day, my Lord and Master...¡± He heard Sister Lisa Marie mellifluously saying into his ear. ¡°Our Father waits for you in Heaven, Doran ¡ª you are His noble and a great soldier of God. You are always so special to us all.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Doran smiled ¡ª and nodded back to her sadly, tears were filling his eyes. A hand touched his arm and Doran turned over, to see Michael and Peter beside him... Coming back to reality, he now could not understand why both of his brothers insisted hard to come along with him, on his suicide mission. He was in pathos, regretted also that he was in no position to protect them both ¡ª but he was glad ¡ª that he could say his last confessions before he died shortly. ¡°Doran, are you okay?¡± ¡°My body is numb, I can''t...move my arm,¡± Doran whispered back, with his half-closed eyes. Peter who had some recent medical familiarity, since helping out the humanitarian Red Cross¡¯ doctors without borders, and he had seen similar situations with the wounded from New Orleans ¡ª he jabbed morphine into Doran¡¯s arm... ¡°Michael, maybe some of his nerves may have been damaged by the gunshot ¡ª and he is going into a shock. We have to get him real medical treatment now, or else he dies.¡± The three of them heard a bellowing, at the far end of the ballroom... It was Agent Wolfe... ¡°Doran, do you hear me, you she-fuck ¡ª come out and face me, you coward!¡± ¡°Wolfe...is calling me.¡± His eyes opened again, and Doran heard more beckoning calls... ¡°Yes Doran, let us finish this right-here-right-now, Son ¡ª come out and face me!¡± ¡°My...hand, I can''t move it. I can¡¯t feel...my fingers, Michael ¡ª but I need to...fight her.¡± The Preacher whispered back... Doran saw his dead mother standing behind Michael, dressed in burnt nun¡¯s black habit. The heinous apparition spoke while he was in his delirious state from the analgesics... ¡°Yes, you abomination ¡ª go now, and sacrifice yourself ¡ª for all your unforgivable sins that you have brought on this earth ¡ª then come to Hell, where I will await you...¡± He was feverish from the massive loss of blood. He further hallucinated that Michael was completing the spoken sentences of his mother... ¡°...yes, Doran, you have to finish what you have started ¡ª you must avenge the death of all those who have perished at the Convent. You still remember that don''t you ¡ª Wolfe killed Sister Lisa Marie and the others!!?¡± ¡°Kill the beast! Go now, kill the wolf!¡± Doran heard his mother howled out like a wolf ¡ª while he struggled to stay conscious... ¡°Yes Mother, I...remember, I must go and...face the bad Wolfe.¡± He clanged, held on to Peter¡¯s robe and mustered his last vigour of strength, ¡°Peter, help me up...¡± The monk stood him on his feet with his back resting against the pillar. Doran panted hard ¡ª and grimaced in pain. Michael nodded to Peter... He obediently took out another medical syringe. He bit the cap off and exposed the needle... Peter stabbed the sedative into Doran''s open neck... Doran was staggered to realize that the monks ¡ª had betrayed him in his suicide mission ¡ª and denying the honour for him to die tonight ¡ª as a sacrificial martyr, alongside with his resurgence AOG soldiers... ¡°Peter, why ¡ª have you...forsaken me?¡± He was losing his consciousness fast ¡ª the voice of his mother¡¯s lamentation bewailing was swirling around his head... ¡°No! What have you done? You are meant to die tonight! ¡°The Beast was meant to die tonight!¡± The Preacher gaped powerlessly back at Peter and Michael before he slowly closed his eyes ¡ª dropping in a limp forward towards Peter''s waiting arms. Michael picked up Doran''s rifle ¡ª and he pulled up the hood of his robe, to conceal his identity. Peter heard the last words of Michael saying... ¡°God¡¯s Will be done, Peter ¡ª now take good care of our brother.¡± Michael soon dashed out into the open. Li Chi and Sanchez noticed a silhouette profile running forward, crying out Wolfe''s name. They both assumed it was Doran moving ahead ¡ª and they counter-fired at the shooting agents. Wolfe and the Secret Service anticipated the monk robed-figure running forward, into the burning flames in the middle of the ballroom hall... All the agents opened fire. The robe conflagrated, but the monk continued to trigger the automatic rifle when he advanced... Wolfe shrieked out... ¡°Die! Die, you filthy dog of god!¡± The fusillade of bullets assailed the monk ¡ª and the storming figure then collapsed, into the burning flames and his fallen body was consumed ¡ª immolated beyond recognition. Li Chi and Sanchez were distressed deeply by the plight ¡ª as the two surviving AOG rebels witnessed, ¡®the Preacher¡¯s death¡¯ in the inferno, in front of their eyes... Agatha Wolfe was heard laughing nefariously out aloud. Chapter 8 OUTSIDE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER, the influxes of the chanting youth had reached the convention centre grounds. They picked up the weapons of the dead from the ground ¡ª and stood echelon along with the One God¡¯s Army and Salazar''s rebels ¡ª and they fought the remaining Elite Force, in-between vehicle-battle of the pimped pickup trucks with the Army troops in their AFVs. Hajja then saw a dozen Chinook helicopters coming in ¡ª and descending to the street grounds outside. Ramirez laughed with the Hispanic''s comrade Torres the Chupacabra, as he pointed over... ¡°Hey guys, the Snake-woman has sent more of her bitch-Calvary to fight us ¡ª looks like we have to clock in some overtime tonight.¡± Out of the Chinook, troops of a different set of uniform descended, they were wearing maroon fatigue. The monolithic figures moved in a more orderly and in a celerity manner. Ramirez choked ¡ª and was apprehensive of the sudden... ¡°Who are they? Those are not fucking women ¡ª but shemales, just like us!¡± Hajja who was near him nodded in fathoming... ¡°They are those super-soldiers ¡ª that Bani Ibnu¡¯s Intel had warned us about ¡ª they are Cory''s secret warfare army of the future, for her world military dominance... ¡°Tonight, she is testing them ¡ª pitting them against us.¡± The oppressive Kraken troops blitzed into the battleground to massacre all the rebels and rioters at close contact ¡ª there was no languish to the ultimate killing machines of the future, from their war-trained advancement. They were like the angels of death, who were artificially bred by Cory ¡ª and were piling enormity numbers of rebel bodies on the bloodstained tarmac, with their frenzy attacks... Hajja optioned the end-game ¡ª that the surviving rebels cannot rout from the oncoming defeat and neither there would be any clemency if they were to surrender ¡ª where they would be executed without a trial once captured. The situation was now an intransigent mire where every Intersexual was for himself, while they stood united, one last time together ¡ª to face the oncoming minacious death squad.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The allied rebels of the Preacher¡¯s One God¡¯s Army then rallied out, with a final offensive attack at Cory¡¯s death squad of super-soldiers ¡ª they charged over ¡ª and fought the assailing enemy to their death. *** The limousine sped to reach The Air Force One. Another newly arrived jet plane was beside it. A few agents on guard spotted the sedan, braking to halt with screeching tires. Agent Green stepped out ¡ª and cried to the guarding Secret Service outside... ¡°We need help ¡ª the President has been shot, and is bleeding to death!¡± Agent Nolan stepped forward to her. ¡°Calm down Agent Green!¡± Iris Green ignored Nolan ¡ª and she went to open the back door, where Agent Knight was cradling the wounded Cory''s double''s head on her lap at the backseat. Knight next checked the mortally wounded woman¡¯s pulse and exclaimed aloud... ¡°The President is dead ¡ª both the President and the Vice President are dead now!¡± Everyone beheld with the real Madeline Cory ¡ª coming dominantly from behind the other Secret Service who were assembled as her security details. She walked to the limousine and saw the dead stand-in of herself, in the backseat. Now both Green and Knight were in consternation ¡ª and they could not believe their eyes when witnessing the doppelganger with a glass of gin in her hand... ¡°It is disrespectful to address the living as deceased ¡ª but I forgive both of you fools, because it was part of my momentous masterplan to lure The God¡¯s Army rebels out to me tonight and ¡ª it fucking worked.¡± Cory saw her double''s hand dangling lifelessly out of the backseat of the car. She grinned back at the phizog of mystification of both the still staring agents ¡ª who had just returned from the LA Convention Center with the corpse. She was taking credit for Agent Wolfe¡¯s machination to bait the Preacher with a decoy ¡ª but it was her force majure, of deploying the Kraken decision ¡ª that determined her final Pyrrhic victory against the enemy in LA. She took a sip of her gin... ¡°I just also received confirmation from Agent Wolfe that the Preacher has also been killed ¡ª and the rest of his pathetic followers are also dying, by the hundreds as we speak here.¡± ¡°This is a testimony of a female victory for this grand evening ¡ª and I am looking for a walk-in-the-park victory, in the next coming elections!¡± The remaining sycophant agents who were around her ¡ª started to clap... Cory finished her drink. She flung the glass near the tire of the limo. It shattered, where a small pool of the double''s blood that was worming below on the asphalt road. Cory turned her back ¡ª and walked prodigiously proud, towards the Air Force One. Feeling the gratitude that the dead double had served her purpose in her own place ¡ª or else she would have been another historical dead Marie Antoinette ¡ª in the Preacher¡¯s resurgence attempts, in overthrowing her. Chapter 9 HEAVY SNOWFALL DECKED OUTSIDE the closed window, True Bob looking out at a road ahead, from the upstairs room of a deserted mansion on a hill. He was alone there and biting on an insipid piece of dried cured meat ¡ª looking out at the empty white road buried in snow. They were low on fuel again, for either one of the two bikes ¡ª so Reeves wanted to ditch his bike, and had decided to get offensive with an attack strategy rather than eschew ¡ª to first get the needed gas for the rest of his team, and to enable them to proceed their maladjusted journey ¡ª which was infested by tighter securities, for them to reach the Canadian border. The rest of the cell-group were downstairs, huddling together in lassitude to keep themselves warm. Their eyes were glued to the network news on Troy''s laptop, which featured last night''s God¡¯s Army defeat at Cory''s Fundraiser in LA. Despondency set inside to all of them when they witnessed the dire CCTV recorded footage ¡ª of the charging ¡®Preacher¡¯ in his blazing robe ¡ª executed by the firing Secret Service squad before he succumbed in the immolating fire. Tears flowed out of the morose Big Joe and he wiped it, Laura consoled him by hugging his oversized back. Reeves stood up and Troy switched off the laptop ¡ª because, beyond that, it is just repeats of Cory''s victory hegemony propaganda speeches. Everybody was silent except for small sobs from Joe, drowned by the howling winds outside. Reeves looked at Troy, and he refilled his coffee mug... ¡°It was brave of him too, he came back from Mexico ¡ª to lead the people the second time, and confronted Cory head-on. At least he died for his own principles, despite knowing the consequences ¡ª that his followers would not have a chance against the Snake-woman''s army. The Preacher had no other option, but to die along with them. Brave? Yeah ¡ª we know he is a fighter that is my own definition of someone a hero is ¡ª he or she who dies for their principles, but yet still chooses in trying hard to the last breath.¡± They all listened to him rambling like he was telling a boogieman story at a campfire. Reeves¡¯ strategies and ruses had worked so far since they left the Mojave Desert ¡ª by keeping those around him alive... But yet in their eyes, they also wanted guarantees in continuing their journey north ¡ª that was an indemnity that he could not warrant, but he always hoped that it was him and not them who took the first bullet once facing the skirmish at the border ¡ª just like the precedent Preacher¡¯s forlorn legacy in LA. ¡°So are we going to die too?¡± The timorous Joe asked out, and he sobbed even more. Laura hugged the trembling big boy and stroked his hair. Reeves smiled back... ¡°Yeah Joe, if they find us, they will kill us ¡ª it¡¯s simple as that. ¡°That is why we cannot afford to make any mistakes from now onwards, if we were to keep surviving ¡ª the slightest mistake at this point now, will either get us captured, or shot dead.¡± Reeves turned to Laura with the bleak eye and gave an obscure submission... ¡°But Mimi, you have a choice to save yourself ¡ª you can always return back to Roberta.¡± Laura stood up to his narrowing suggestion. ¡°We still have a plan, Reeves ¡ª we should stick to it, and we are only a day''s journey to the Canadian border. We have a good chance to cross over ¡ª if we keep our spirits and hope high.¡± Troy spoke up in dissension from behind her... ¡°Think again Laura ¡ª Reeves is right, we don''t know what dangers lie ahead at the border ¡ª there will be lots of e-SWAT bullets and even US army¡¯s mortars to dodge ¡ª and we don''t want you to get hurt, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Hey listen the two of you ¡ª let me decide that.¡± Laura stared back at them all... ¡°I was literally dying for the last 18 years on a hospital bed ¡ª and now I am awake ¡ª I am not going to live a moment longer like a coma patient, with my eyes wide open.¡± It had also always been a noncommittal fear in her since, that she felt during some sleepless nights ¡ª the dread that she would drift back into the internment of her coma once more ¡ª and never wake up again.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Laura was still slightly irascible at the factious conversation ¡ª instead, she turned around and smacked Joe in the head, responded with audacity... ¡°You too Big Joe ¡ª stop crying like a small baby. We all are going to cross to Canada soon. Let¡¯s concentrate on staying together with the plan, guys.¡± Everyone looked up to True Bob¡¯s abrupt voice ¡ª calling from upstairs... ¡°Reeves, I got one! Come now!¡± Reeves dashed upstairs, Laura was about to follow after him, but Troy grabbed her arm... ¡°Laura no, you don''t want to see that.¡± *** Reeves pushed open the window ¡ª and strong freezing wind gushed in when he peered into the scope of his sniper rifle set on a bipod. Bob was at the other window ¡ª viewing out in a field-glass... ¡°You got about 20 seconds tops and only one clear shot.¡± Bob¡¯s foreboding voice said, without hurrying his partner on the trigger. Reeves was breathing shallow, and his fingers adjusted the scope ¡ª and the focus cleared to an open-top fast-attack terrain buggy, patrolling on the road ahead, with two female soldiers ¡ª the driver and the gunner. Both the army troopers were braving the cold weather outside. Reeves was relieved that the gunner was not behind the mounted high calibre machine gun, but she was sitting on the passenger seat beside the driver. Most gunners let their guard down for their own comfort in the harsh weather ¡ª where it was unbearably cold, to be behind on the mounted M240 gun in the moving vehicle ¡ª this worked to Reeve''s advantage. True Bob acted as the spotter, still peering into the binoculars ¡ª and cued him. ¡°The wind is coming strong, not too soon.¡± The driver was locked into the scope. Reeves mentally estimated the speed ¡ª of the moving vehicle that was closing in... ¡°8 seconds or less...¡± Bob''s officious voice ¡ª was now a distraction to his equanimity... Reeves backheeled to kick the chair away, in his way ¡ª before he positioned and balanced himself with his knee on the floor. His body perched partially out ¡ª of the window sill, with the rifle butt on his shoulder. He had assiduously trained hard too, for such similar situation at practice at Lake Huntington on moving targets ¡ª and it should now be ancillary by instinct. But he could not afford any infinitesimal miss in his shot ¡ª with the consequences of the two soldiers escaping. They would then return by the dozens to hunt them down, in their ¡®search and destroy¡¯ mission. It was also a relief that his hands had stopped shaking. He recalled back a second to the time when he did not have the guts to even shoot for the desired food to put on the table when he was at the lakes, some time ago¡ª but the carnage with close encounter in the recent cannibal town incident ¡ª having over 30-headshots back there, had given him the killer instinct ¡ª as a sharp-shooter on live targets. Today, he could not afford to have a soft heart, or else those who were dependent on him to stay alive would be sacrificed instead ¡ª they were all both his family and close friends. Reeves mentally shushed his partner beside him, closed his eyes for two sec, to centre himself into the zone of mental quietness ¡ª he then reopened his imperturbable eyes again, to focus... Looking into the scope¡¯s cross-hair that was on the fuzzy driver''s face, in the vehicle ¡ª that was emerging from the tempest. *** Standing at the foot of the staircase bannister, Laura was in between Troy and Joe. They all looked up at the open room door upstairs with the gushing cold air blowing ¡ª she clenched onto both of their hands tightly. They too took shallow breaths and anticipated... Reeves had his finger ready on the trigger ¡ª while downstairs, Joe was biting his own wrist with his eyes half-shut. All three of them took a step back in reaction, to an exploding gunshot from upstairs... Out in the road, the enfilade shot shattered the buggy¡¯s windscreen ¡ª it hollowed the driver''s cheek, and exited out from her other side of her neck, throwing the driver out of the vehicle. The buggy swayed uncontrollably, trepidation struck the lone gunner beside ¡ª she grabbed the wheel by instinct... Two subsequent shots then rang ¡ª hitting the passenger¡¯s chest twice. *** Reeves sat on the pillion of Bob''s chopper in the wintry exterior, approaching the stationary buggy, with the engine still purring on the side of the road. They came over to check on their fruition kills. True Bob was grinning to himself and joked at Reeves¡¯ accomplishment... ¡°...two dead Bambis, bro!¡± He then looked at the fuel gauge meter. ¡°We got more than half a tank.¡± Reeves hopped into the buggy¡¯s rear, toying with the mounted machine gun. Reeves then jumped next into the driver¡¯s seat ¡ª and kicked off the bullet shattered windscreen, before he sat on... He tampered with the remote-controlled knobs on the steering wheel ¡ª it manoeuvred the M240 machine gun barrel on automatic ¡ª and had a monitor come on the dashboard, to view the rear-attacks, a valuable feature that in case the gunner was killed ¡ª and the driver could still operate the M240. Reeves spoke up his mind... ¡°Change of plan, Bob ¡ª I am ditching my bike, and I will drive this.¡± ¡°Why so? Are bikes not faster?¡± ¡°Yeah agreed, but we are also low on ammo too ¡ª well on the road, with this baby here, it could play things towards our advantage.¡± Reeves glanced back at the two mottle bodies sprawled still nearby, in the tire track, white road ¡ª gradually creating crimson blotting pools, on the snowy white canvas. "Hey Bob, we take their uniforms too." Chapter 10 THE FBI¡¯S BELL CHOPPER WAS ON THE FIELD of the Jensen property in Wellsville, Utah. Roberta who was on suspension from duty was observing FBI Agent Maxim Harvest with the forensic expert setting up her X-ray equipment ¡ª on the recently dug grave. Another two agents, led by Agent Ruby Dillon were inside the ramshackle Jensen farmhouse. She refused to step into the house with those agents... Roberta felt embarrassed by the city-bred FBI agents who were now snooping around and prying into her humble indigent past. Even though she was raised and lived in the city of Columbus, Ohio for the last eighteen years ¡ª but she still hated every day thinking of why her father did not decide to move to a city like her Aunt Flo after his education ¡ª even by labouring in the crappiest job in any of the city, it would have provided better remuneration compared to the scarcity, which her parents fought and argued over daily ¡ª during her growing up years in that farmhouse. Instead of crossing over towards greener pastures, her paternal father Herbert ¡ª had remained behind to become a ¡®nobody¡¯ small-time farmer, on his own father''s heritage land. This made Roberta hate this farmhouse even more with, the cornfields, the town of Wellsville ¡ª with the school she went to, and where she was bullied for being a tomboy ¡ª and everything of her hinterland childhood hatred reminiscences that was now playing on her mind... She saw her father Herbert as a whiny man of yesterday, ever since Agent Agatha Wolfe had stepped in into her life ¡ª as a new resourceful, paternal figure. It was until recently when Laura¡¯s abduction, in front of her very eyes ¡ª which had forced her to step back into her past, to find leads on the whereabouts of her missing sister. It had been three days since Roberta was moving with the FBI team since Edna Scott¡¯s farm was torched in Mississippi. Everyone except Roberta was in good spirits ¡ª after learning that the Preacher and his rebel group annihilated two days ago in LA... Roberta too even had a chance, to kill the Preacher herself ¡ª in New Orleans ¡ª but disappointingly, she blew it too. She was clueless that every hint to finding Laura ¡ª had always ended into a dead-end. She was so sure that the Apache search party would find something fruition at the lakes in California some days ago ¡ª but they returned empty-handed. But Roberta was grateful that Agent Harvest had been lenient with her ¡ª with her FBI team volunteering to stay back an extra 24 hours, specifically to investigate on the missing Laura Jensen case ¡ª tracking the abductors who might have used the Exodus trail as their route out. The FBI had decided to come to Wellsville ¡ª to both Laura and Roberta¡¯s former hometown in Utah ¡ª as the last stopover ¡ª although it would impossibly and might take months to go combing through every town, in those five states that stretched, in the uninhabited Exodus Trail. Agent Harvest too had also used her resources in getting an FBI forensic team over ¡ª to examine a mysterious newly buried grave on the Jensen property. Harvest thought that what lay beneath the ground would finally give closure to Roberta. Roberta stepped away ¡ª and was wandering aimlessly on the frozen field with mixed feelings, she was chain-smoking ¡ª she walked over to see her twin brother''s grave ¡ª and spotted the Sponge Bob keychain... Was it a rubber toy ¡ª or this key chain that she left many years ago after their funeral? The memories were fuzzy; she could not remember ¡ª everything was long forgotten about her dead brothers ¡ª Johnny and Jimmy ¡ª except that Lilya wanted to call their soon to be born girls, by those names as veneration. Now Roberta missed her wife more... But, Lilya Devon had betrayed her with deceits. Roberta also felt the contrite guilt of remembering herself smiling at the recent ¡®scorched to the earth¡¯ method deployed on Scott¡¯s farmhouse ¡ª her mental revenge on her own wife ¡ª by burning her secretive past to the ground. Her mind was going into several directions ¡ª except for her refusal to think of ¡ª who was actually buried in that newly dug grave... She had blanked the dreadful thoughts that occasionally surfaced that it could be Laura herself ¡ª killed by the rebels ¡ª and maybe Karma had just fucked her in the ass, with those rebels who were now trying to get even with her ¡ª for pumping the bullets into the belly of their Preacher in New Orleans, and followed by Cory¡¯s orders to execute the POWs in captivity. But it could not be ¡ª it did not make sense ¡ª because the one who had abducted her was Laura¡¯s own bastard son ¡ª Reeves... ¡®What kind of bastard she-fuck specie would he turn out to be ¡ª if he did kill his own mother?¡¯ The forensic agent was adjusting a portable X-ray scanner device that she had set up, which had the capability of taking images of the grave depth, without the need of disinterring.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. New fears now entered Roberta''s conscious ¡ª that the coma stricken Laura might have died during the journey, and probably Reeves buried her here... ¡®How would the bastard know ¡ª where to bury her?¡¯ ¡®But those rebels have so much of information on Laura¡¯s background ¡ª tracking her from Columbus to D.C. ¡ª and from LA to back here in Wellsville now?¡¯ The other FBI agent, Dillon was seen coming towards them, from the dilapidated farmhouse ¡ª which Roberta was too ashamed to step into. The FBI forensic agent instructed everyone to step away from the X-ray equipment ¡ª for radiation discharge danger. They stood behind the oak tree, a distance away when the forensics geek suppressed a trigger on a remote-controlled mechanism that she held ¡ª and the equipment on the grave top, making beeping sounds. The CSI woman calibrated the results from where she stood, on her hand-held tablet screen ¡ª where the images of what was beneath the soil, were beginning to decipher... Agent Ruby Dillon was then showing some fuzzy Polaroid photos to Maxim Harvest, who asked for clarification. ¡°What''s this?¡± Dillon responded. ¡°Recent footprints of different shoe sizes on the dusty floorboard ¡ª there is a possibility of four or five people who came into this farmhouse recently. Three or four were males ¡ª and some smaller ones of women.¡± Harvest passed what she saw to Roberta, and she remarked back to Dillon... ¡°Could it be, Laura?¡± ¡°That is impossible ¡ª Laura is in bed-ridden coma. My guess, it could be someone of their bed-buddies, those fucking Aryan Sisterhood bitches ¡ª who might have been following them!¡± The disbelieving Roberta surmised instantly... Despite more than a couple of weeks ago, she had personally witnessed Laura almost snapped out from her oblivion ¡ª when she spoke out in her dream state ¡ª about some girl-in-red, during her experimental TMS treatment in Los Angeles. Everyone looked over at the forensic woman coming over and started showing her tablet to Agent Harvest. Roberta and Ruby Dillon were looking over her shoulder, hearing forensic expert¡¯s findings... ¡°Judging by the size structure, the corpse ¡ª must have been about six feet tall. It is either a shemale or, it could be ¡ª the remains of a male.¡± Roberta was relieved ¡ª that it was not Laura buried inside there... ¡°Possibility of these rebels buried someone here ¡ª someone among them may have died.¡± Agent Dillon gave her a quick profiling assumption. The FBI Forensics personnel shook her head ¡ª and she differed... ¡°It looks more like bones to me ¡ª because the flesh would not have decomposed that fast if it were to be Laura Jensen like we had earlier assumed. See this, the bones too had lots of fractures ¡ª like a cracked skull, broken ribs and shattered forearm and leg bones ¡ª all broken in many places... ¡°This looks to me like something similar ¡ª that an automobile crash victim had suffered.¡± Everyone was hushed, thinking of the mysterious identity of the one buried beneath. The lab-coated geek spoke again to the superior officer... ¡°Do you want to exhume the remains ¡ª so that we can learn more, Agent Harvest?¡± ¡°It is your call, Rob,¡± said Maxine Harvest and the others looked at her. Roberta surmised again... ¡°Forget it Agent Harvest, if it is not Laura in there ¡ª then we are wasting our time ¡ª probing into some heap of bones over here. Those rebels are still having my sister as hostage out there ¡ª and I need to find her.¡± The idea to disinter the grave was called off ¡ª and Harvest instructed her FBI team to wrap it up. She walked to Roberta who was lighting another cigarette near the Bell chopper. Maxine Harvest asked out straight... ¡°Hey Rob, level with me, will you? I have yet read the initial CIA report about this ''suspect'' Reeves Jensen. Who ¡ª and how is he related to Laura?¡± Roberta was silent a moment before she replied... ¡°Laura was raped during the Medusa outbreak while she was in a coma. We had no choice but to let the bastard child grow in her womb then, because of her heart medical condition. She then gave birth to ¡ª that-thing ¡ª but we trashed it away for adoption when the shit was born... ¡°Now years later, that fucking shemale mongrel has come back ¡ª and he kidnapped my sister.¡± Roberta shared bitterly of her past ¡ª before she laid down more of her concatenated methodological theories... ¡°Maxine, what if they came all the way north after the defeat of the AOG rebels in L.A. ¡ª this means they are still using the Exodus Trail ¡ª and the only way those fugitives can get out of the country is to keep on heading up further north to Canada.¡± ¡°Canada? Why do you think Canada, America too has a vast landscape ¡ª they can be holed up anywhere, in the Exodus Trail, am I right?¡± Agent Harvest was thinking of the remaining time that she had allocated to Laura¡¯s search and rescue mission ¡ª the clock showed they had less than twelve hours left ¡ª before they called it off and classify Laura¡¯s abduction, among ¡®unsolved¡¯ case in the FBI files. Roberta was rattling even more obstinate possibilities... ¡°Maybe yes, but now with that Preacher dead and gone ¡ª all of his followers are on the run from our stringent ¡®search and destroy¡¯ missions and martial law we are imposing...¡± ¡°...so to stay alive and to live free, they have to run out of the country ¡ª just as how that dead Preacher had escaped once before to Mexico. This group of rebels is definitely heading up north ¡ª to Canada with Laura ¡ª and I know it!¡± The FBI agent sighed and diverged audibly to the oblivious presumptions... ¡°Rob, this is futile! You have now broadened the search grid here ¡ª and with our limited manpower, we cannot possibly cover every exit out to Canada. Enough! I am calling it off!¡± Harvest turned her back ¡ª and walked but Roberta followed her, saying... ¡°Wait a minute Maxine, this can help!¡± Roberta took out her mini transponder device from her leather jacket and handed it to Maxine Harvest with encroached despair... ¡°I know it is so much to ask, Maxine ¡ª but use this ¡ª I have placed a tracker in the pendant that my sister is wearing. It is only of a half-mile radius range in its detection. Just find the frequency to this transponder ¡ª and you pass it to every Immigration, Custom and border army base that is out there... ¡°Anyone who intercepts it first ¡ª they then would have found my sister, Laura!¡± Chapter 11 LAURA WAS NERVOUS ¡ª HER FINGERS WERE TWIDDLING WITH THE MIMI PENDANT that she wore on her neck. Her other hand stirred the stew in the pot. Big Joe was beside her, pusillanimously watching at the rest of the guys ¡ª who were looking down from a perch of a hill. Reeves was looking into his detached rifle scope ¡ª while Troy and True Bob exchanged their sightings into the field-glass ¡ª the three Intersexuals were spying below at the small US Army base in Montana ¡ª that blocked the road, leading to the US-Canadian border Immigration. Troy checked on his laptop and positioned the location out as in a diagram. ¡°Reeves, that is 10 miles beyond this base right to the US-Canada border. Even if we slip by these US Army bitches here ¡ª we still we have to face more guns, at the US Immigration at the end of the road.¡± Reeves peered into the scope at a water tower and a satellite radar tower in the Army base compound... ¡°Let¡¯s worry about getting outta here first. Looks like it a small base ¡ª with probably, say about 20 soldiers.¡± True Bob differed and gave his observation, after looking at the base¡¯s empty parking bay... ¡°More soldiers will return later after patrolling, even if we were to make our break at night. Their number ¡ª will be up to 30 or even 40 by then.¡± The sun was setting when they all stood up and headed back towards the Mustang. Big Joe who was listening to them, he then spoke up nebulously... ¡°We are outnumbered ¡ª whether we make a run, day or night, yeah?¡± Reeves laughed ¡ª and tapped Joe¡¯s back playfully. ¡°Yeah, you are rationally downright, Joe ¡ª even without your meds. That is some dinner table conversation where we ought to do the math now. Come on, let¡¯s go eat, Big-man ¡ª I am hungry.¡± He knew Joe was still mortified also for being the butt of the jokes that Troy had cloyed ever since they left Wellsville, where he was constantly ridiculed for having more than an eye for Carrie Eastman ¡ª it even humoured Laura listening to their bawdy coital jokes, especially learning more about the sex dolls ¡®daily routine¡¯ in Tombscradle. But both Reeves and True Bob kept their lips sealed from the rest, about their intimate carnal exploits, that happened at the Eastmans¡¯ farm some nights ago ¡ª in the food trade they made for the team. A pot of beef stew with potatoes and corn was warming to reduction, on a portable butane gas stove. Reeves was the first to dig in, and he got a plate of the thick chunky slop. True Bob served the rest of them. Everyone was morose ¡ª they all ate quietly, sitting on the frozen rocks. Bob looked at the leftover in the pot. ¡°Come on guys, there is more. I have cooked our entire ration ¡ª and how come, no one is hungry now?¡± ¡°I will finish the rest of the stew in your pot. I read it somewhere once that, it is good to die with a full belly rather than on empty, coz the chef in hell, only serves vegetarian.¡± Reeves replied in a cheery voice ¡ª and only Bob laughed and teased... ¡°Now we already got our Big Joe¡¯s cog-wheels turning here ¡ª to eat every burger and Wellsville pussy ¡ª before heading to red paradise.¡± Everyone else was discomfited of Reeve''s jovial blithe mood ¡ª in their presence. Troy too read somewhere that people who were about to die ¡ª supposedly would behave refute, and erratically ¡ª and sometimes were cloyed in extremely good spirits ¡ª it explained Reeves¡¯ comport that was usually the quiet, stolid person ¡ª who was hardly the ebullient sort, like the rest of the team... It was like how he had recently gone into a sudden eccentric mood while posing as a drunk at the Jamaicans campfire at the lakes, and managed to deceive the enemy with the hallucinogen Ayahuasca spiked moonshine offering ¡ª Troy then dismissed the thought of death ¡ª maybe Reeves was probably nervous himself about tonight¡¯s mission ¡ª or maybe was clueless too, on how to reach the Canadian border like the rest of them, and maybe humour ¡ª was a device to mask his incompetence. But Reeves was their innate and precocious leader ¡ª he would eventually patent an inexplicable way ¡ª and he would eventually get them all alive into Canada. Joe lost his appetite and did not go for his usual seconds. Laura too hardly touched her food, and she occasionally wiped her tears. Troy placed his hand on her back and whispered... ¡°You okay, Laura?¡± Reeves overheard that ¡ª and he grinned, observing her fretting... ¡°Hey Mimi, why the long face? Get excited, will you? Are we not finally getting crossing the border tonight, as planned? I wish I had some beers here, to celebrate this occasion now ¡ª I hope the beers in Canada are as good too.¡± True Bob laughed out. ¡°Yeah, that will be awesome, right Joe?¡± Bob too was antipodal of what Canada had to offer them ¡ª once they had made the successful hegira ¡ª and most importantly, they didn¡¯t hunt shemales as terrorists over there. But, the docile, red-haired, fat youth did not respond back to them, in his usual self. Laura stood up, and looked at them seated on the ground, laughing, she raised her voice... ¡°Stop it both of you ¡ª I cannot do it, Reeves!¡± ¡°Cannot do what? We are following the plan to cross over to Canada ¡ª so what¡¯s wrong with it today? You have cold feet now, Mimi?¡± Reeves then glanced towards at the equally scared and submissive Troy and Joe ¡ª he was laughing at their present effeminate weakness... ¡°So you are all fag-chickens now, too afraid of dying too. What happened to all that bragging back at the lake ¡ª about celebrating Laura¡¯s ¡®14th birthday¡¯ once we hit Canada then?¡± All of them looked distressed after Reeves had said that distraught remark. Laura raised her voice again... ¡°Dammit! Stop acting like an asshole, Reeves!¡± ¡°Yes, I know ¡ª farcical is usually Big Joe¡¯s department, now I am stepping into it, and doing a shitty job,¡± Reeves was back humouring again with scorn. Laura spoke out again... ¡°Look, I am not afraid of dying, Reeves ¡ª I have cheated death by jumping out of a cliff to save my mother ¡ª but now ¡ª I cannot bear to see any of you boys get hurt ¡ª or even killed, when we attempt to cross later.¡± Reeves knew that Laura¡¯s valiant personality would take a bullet for any one of them in the team but ¡ªshe had to stop playing the protective adverse mother-hen to her chicks ¡ª and dissenter on their agreed plan, to gain their freedom. At this encroach adversity point of no return ¡ª everyone would have to work together, and look out for each other ¡ª so that all of them, could cohere and survive the onerous ordeal, during their attempt crossing the border later.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Reeves placed his plate down ¡ª and stood up to Laura... ¡°Okay, look here everyone, let me put this straight ¡ª I am not the Preacher to give you a divine justified sermon ¡ª saying that the voices of angels are going to help us, to get over to Canada, okay? The late-Preacher so to speak, sold them a promise ¡ª and everyone stood by it, and they all went to his holy-war with the Snake-bitch and her army. Well tragically, in the end, he died ¡ª and many others went down with him too ¡ª now that same fucking scenario here...¡± ¡°We all made pact to go to Canada together ¡ª and tonight is the end-game ¡ª let''s grow some balls to fucking go out there, to finish the race ¡ª and start a new life over there.¡± He looked at the seated guys. There was still no response from any of them... To them, his plan seemed equally suicidal as the Preacher¡¯s encroach cause ¡ª to fight against Cory¡¯s high-tech military Army that something deathly as they too would be facing, once they made their present run to the border. Another half-baked strategy option was still cooking in Reeves¡¯ mind at that nadir moment ¡ª when Laura spoke up again... ¡°But I love you all, so let¡¯s not cross over there. We all can keep on moving, and we can keep hiding ¡ª we can even go back, and stay in Wellsville or somewhere far away ¡ª we can survive this, boys.¡± Reeves saw the insensate Joe and Troy nodding back slowly to her. Reeves laughed again ¡ª and shook his head in cynicism at her itinerant suggestion, based on her maternal instincts... ¡°Hey, Laura, where else can we run and hide in this country? Our enemies are everywhere. Where ever we go, they will be just one step behind ¡ª to hunt us down!¡± Reeves pointed his finger towards, the army base ¡ª and at Canada beyond... ¡°But once we cross that border, everything changes ¡ª because the Snake-woman cannot touch us, once we are there!¡± Laura raised her voice to his response. ¡°Please Troy, you go and tell him, and make him understand ¡ª that you all can be dead by tonight!¡± Instead, Troy went to her side... ¡°Then give yourself up Laura. President Cory just wants us ¡ª all she wants are the Preacher''s rebels ¡ª and not you. Go back to Roberta Jensen ¡ª and she will take care of you.¡± Laura pushed Troy''s hand away... ¡°How will anyone of you sleep well at night, once we are in Canada ¡ª if one or two of you get killed tonight? I would not ¡ª O God, I really would not...¡± Everyone was back quiet, in loathing thoughts of being fugitives in their birth land... The motley thinking Reeves was not particularly religious ¡ª but he had once heard ¡®the late Doran the Preacher¡¯ ¡ª telling this exact unity-story ¡ª in his perorated sermons one Sunday morning, back in Tombscradle. He could not remember names or exact details but the gist of it was about ¡ª this-holy-dude who promised to lead his tribe to the land of milk and honey ¡ª but his people got off track ¡ª and divided among themselves during the passage... In the end, not every one of them reached their final destination of the promised-land. It was because ¡ªmidway in their journey, they had lost their faith in their holy-fucking leader... Reeves was now walking in that same holy-fucking guy¡¯s shoes of anguish ¡ª maybe it is best again that they all went their own separate ways like they almost disband at the lakes. He was saddened by the thoughts that Laura ¡ª would not be with him, once they made the vote later. Reeves looked perturbed at them, turning away ¡ª he distanced himself, and clout his fist on the car before he sat on the hood of the Mustang ¡ª but he could not shut-up ¡ª he rattled out the gamut of his heart content, on his lost hopes and reality¡¯s letdowns of his past... ¡°Okay everyone makes up your own mind ¡ª and come up with a decision if you are coming. Well me, I have made mine up a long time ago, when I was growing up in that screwed-up, Wesleyan University shit-hole. Even back then my timer was ticking, when I knew very well that I am a freak ¡ª of this fucking new-breed species that will only survive for a single generation ¡ª I very well cannot have a male shemale son too, and neither can any of you guys here ¡ª coz the fucking Medusa has cursed us all, with another way to die, without a trace...¡± ¡°...the truth is that ¡ª we will eventually die anyway ¡ª either tonight or at our old age ¡ª and with that said folks, it is the end of the irony freak-show, by your every decision of who¡¯s going and who¡¯s not... ¡°That was the same fucking reason too, I keep on jumping over walls to escape and to survive out there, whether I was in school or in prison, and now with that screwing border over there. Yeah, maybe that is my half-Hispanic fence-jumping nature, is at play here. Go ahead and laugh, all you fuckers¡­¡± No one laughed... Reeves also had thoughts of the regrets that he could not achieve some greatness as the last new specie ¡ª he had this short aspiration after he first met the now incommunicado Marlin ¡ª who lived in isolation in F-Block ¡ª where Reaves heard the weird and dark secret stories that Marlin told about some male scientists had survived the Medusa ¡ª and they were working towards a posterity cure in clandestine somewhere in New York ¡ª Reeves wanted to be part of that too... He then thought of his recent exploits days ago, in Wellsville ¡ªwhere he was forced at gunpoint to impregnate a young woman ¡ª he hoped that she would bear that female child in his likeness ¡ª if in the case that he died tonight. The misanthropist presaged again ¡ª to the unspeaking few, who were seated to his own sermons ¡ª voicing his allegories of the precipice bleak future ahead, as the fugitive species that they were enslaved now... ¡°Yeah, hail to the new-breed who will never surpass the single generation, even with that bitch Madeline Cory ¡ª who can go on about milking our semen like slaves-cattle in her prison-farms ¡ª so that they can reproduce more daughters on this earth ¡ª but mind you, there is no successful scientific breakthrough to preserve and extend the life beyond that ¡ª and my fucking guess is that ¡ª after a 100 years, once all shemales die ¡ª the last of all of the women will also die too next!¡± Someone in the group snickered, Reeves was distracted ¡ª and sighed at Bob. ¡°...but I selfishly admit that ¡ª I don¡¯t give a shit about that too, because to me ¡ª my time is now ¡ª I just want to live my rest of my short, simple and little life peacefully, for what that is remaining -- of my cursed single generation existence ¡ª hey, without the thought of looking over my shoulder while being hunted like a fucking rabbit, or going to sleep at night with an open eye for the rest of my life... ¡°Shit, I can¡¯t live like that ¡ª that is the sole reason that I am going to fucking cross that borders tonight, and be a free-male over there ¡ª so, who is coming with me, and who is staying back?¡± ¡°Hell yeah, I am with you, Reeves!¡± The vigour True Bob abetted, he stood up and went over to slap hard his back. Troy also nodded back at him... ¡°Let¡¯s do it then.¡± Big Joe replied next, softly. ¡°I am with you, bro.¡± They all looked at Laura ¡ª who came forward ¡ª and she hugged Reeves, and kissed his cheeks. Reeves asked her... ¡°What is this ¡ª your goodbye kisses, Mimi?¡± ¡°I love you all too much, and I will never abandon you, Reeves ¡ª and yes ¡ª we shall all cross that fishing-border tonight.¡± Everyone coalesced ¡ª they came over and hugged Laura ¡ª and their maverick libertarian leader, with fervency. *** It was now late in the evening ¡ª it had started snowing again. They were all back looking down at the lighted-up US army base ahead, Reeves gathered them all again... ¡°Guys listen, here is the plan ¡ª Bob and I will pose as soldiers, and we will go into their camp ¡ª when it is dark, to avoid detection. We will set up some C4 explosives, and we wreck the place up ¡ª to create a diversion, for the rest of you.¡± Reeves pointed ¡ªat his quiet red-headed buddy... ¡°Hey Joe listen up, the moment you see that place blowing up ¡ª you drive like the crazy ding that you are, and you get past the guard barrier, into the border road ¡ª and listen to you fat-fuck, don¡¯t stall as you did at the school wall! Remember this, you don''t stop ¡ª till you get to Canada, okay?¡± True Bob derided, ¡°Joe will do fine, and bullets can¡¯t penetrate the amount of fats he is storing there.¡± ¡°You Troy, you have to shoot your way up into the US Immigration. Once you three get to Canada ¡ªyou all then surrender all your weapons to the Canadian authorities, and you get your own immunity.¡± Laura interrupted Reeves... ¡°What about the both of you then?¡± ¡°Yeah Mimi, we will be following from behind alright ¡ª but we will try our best to hold the army back ¡ª as long as possible, so you three would reach to the border first.¡± ¡°That is suicide Reeves, how are you going to fight more than 30 soldiers that are pursuing us all?¡± The concerned mother spoke out again ¡ª and was followed by the tensed looking Troy who acceded next... ¡°She is right. You both set up the explosives as planned, and you both get outta there. When the soldiers get astray by the attack, we all leave out at the same time.¡± Reeves looked at True Bob, who nodded at him... ¡°Okay, Troy ¡ª and Mimi too ¡ª both your suggestions are taken.¡± Reeves pretended to agree, and did not want to argue at this point ¡ª because ¡®to suggest was easier said than done.¡¯ In the tentative situation, many things could go sideways in the execution ¡ª and some tactical delays and improvisations would be needed, to stay on course... It was also best not to complicate the plan too, with too many cocksucking-what-ifs... Reeves discerned that everyone in the team had now got the bigger picture, of what to do for now ¡ª once the explosion-cue was given ¡ª and also they should try their best to look out for each other, to survive alive during the getaway. Chapter 12 IT WAS DARK AND IT DRIZZLED. Joe stood alone looking at the army base below from the knoll with the field glass. The sector was lucid with yellow-sodium floodlights that reminded him of his time ¡ª when he looked out the barred window of his prison-cell in Tombscradle before. He turned and returned to the rest, who were getting ready to execute the mission. Reeves and True Bob were wearing the army uniforms of the two dead soldiers that they had sniped. Reeves wore the fatigue shirt of the gunner woman-soldier ¡ª who was shot twice in the chest. It had patches of blood clots, with two bullet holes... Laura too was disquieted ¡ª to see the bloodstained uniform that he wore. She heard him calling out... ¡°You got the C4s, Bob? ¡°Got it, all four ¡ª it is enough to bring the whole place down to ground zero.¡± ¡°Troy, you still got the flare guns that you took from the float planes at the lake? You will fire it, the moment you get on the Canadian side, and then we will catch up fast after that.¡± ¡°Sure Reeves,¡± Troy replied. Reeves checked his sniper rifle chambers... ¡°Okay guys, this is it. Stick to the plan.¡± He hugged Troy and Joe farewell and good luck. Laura came from behind, and held Reeve''s arm ¡ª and led him away from the rest of the Intersexuals. ¡°Reeves, promise me that you will get out of the base once you are done.¡± Reeves nodded and she embraced him even tightly... ¡°I still am so afraid for you, dear.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, Mimi, stick to the plan ¡ª everything will be fine.¡± ¡°I want to hear you say, ''Mum, I will come back to you.''¡¯ ¡°Mum, I will come back to you.¡± Reeves repeated her words knowing that was no assurance ¡ª as she was back again into her frightened thirteen-year-old-child mode. She released hugging ¡ª and looked at Reeves in the eyes, while she unhooked her chain with the Mimi pendant... She fastened it onto Reeve''s neck... ¡°Wear this ¡ª it belongs to your grandmother. It will bring you back to me.¡± ¡°Thanks, Mum, I will return it back to you ¡ª once I see you at the border.¡± ¡°No darling, keep it...¡± Laura kissed him a few times before Reeves walked over to the jeep with a heavy heart. In the ten days on the road, he was cold towards her and did not have the opportunity to get to know his mother, as a person, whom he had longed to meet since he was small ¡ª now, they were to be separated again. There is so much he yearned to talk to her, but... Quietly, he sat on the passenger¡¯s side in the terrain-assault-buggy. Bob started the ignition. Troy came over to True Bob... ¡°Chief, here is the second flare gun ¡ª it is from ''The Lady of The Lake,¡¯ it will bring you good luck. Fire it once we had fired ours ¡ª so we will know that you are right behind us.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. It started to drizzle heavily when the buggy drove away towards the icy road. Both Troy and Joe accompanied Laura into the Mustang ¡ª where they had to wait for their clarion call to escape, to the border. They peered at the terrain buggy ¡ª driving downhill in the rain. *** Both of them were in their Army ponchos ¡ª Reeves looked again at his sniper rifle and spoke to Bob, pointing at the water tower. ¡°The moment we are in, I will perch up there and keep a lookout for you. You go set up the charges ¡ª and we get out in an hour.¡± They saw two sentry posts ahead ¡ª one was into the army base camp, and the other was a checkpoint to the road to the Canadian border ¡ª which the Mustang would later take ¡ª once the team got the explosion-cue to make a run. The female sentry soldier was discharging her duty in the rain ¡ª both the Intersexuals anticipated her to notice that the buggy was without a windshield ¡ª but the feckless soldier released the rope anyway ¡ª and the boom-gate barrier pole went up... True Bob drove in surreptitiously into the base, the vehicle cruised slowly towards the parking bay ahead ¡ª with more stationary patrol buggies, a Humvee and a wheeled Mowag Shark combat tank, which were all parked. Reeves have cloven to his role in the recon-mission ¡ª by jumping off near the drums of gasoline fuels ¡ª and he then gaited swiftly in the dark with great celerity, towards the elevated water tower. True Bob parked his buggy and he alighted off ¡ª he had a sling-bag with the explosives under his poncho. He walked away in the rain, passing another guardhouse at the vehicle bay... Someone called him... ¡°Hey, you private, come here!¡± He walked up slowly to the windowed booth, where a female soldier was inside. She was watching the network news on her tablet ¡ª that repeated the incantation of a pontificated female unctuous victory, by the combined armed forces of the Police and the US army, who brought the carnage of the Preacher and his God¡¯s Army rebels, recently in LA. True Bob approached with his hand on his pistol prodding under the rain cape. The booth was well-lighted ¡ª and the soldier could identify that he was not a female ¡ª so, Bob tilted his helmet down, so he would not reveal much of his face. The soldier¡¯s attention was still engrossed, in the news coverage ¡ª she pointed at a record book... ¡°Sign out and leave the key ¡ª Capt. Farrer¡¯s order.¡± Bob noticed nail pegs outside by the window, with dozens of keys itemized by the vehicle numbers. He copied a vehicle number in random, from the earlier entries. He then scribbled his initials as ''fuck you,'' before he stepped back into the cold rain ¡ª clinching to the sling-bag of explosives, under his poncho. He had also pocketed the buggy¡¯s key ¡ª instead of returning it... He walked nearby, to set up his first explosive charge ¡ª at the fuel storage area. *** Captain Jacintha Farrer was the person in charge of the base ¡ª formerly from the tank division serving a few tours in the Iraqi Desert Storm Gulf War, during the pre-Medusa days. These days, there was not much action going on the Canadian border except for occasionally seizure and detention of drugs, firearms and contrabands from smugglers into Canada ¡ª and also the security, of keeping all sorts of gangbangers and hardcore criminals from trying to head in and out of the country. After the recent Battle of LA civil war victory ¡ª Pentagon had given orders to be on a stringent lookout, for escaping AOG militia rebels, who might flee the country at the checkpoints. Tonight she was working late on her year-end budget reports in her office. The door rapped, a drenched Corporal Hilly in a dripping poncho saluted... "Sir, this is urgent ¡ª you have to come, and see this." They both stepped in, slightly wet in the communications-room ¡ª where a team of three was working at their work-stations. They stood up and saluted, Farrer nodded while she folded her wet umbrella. One of them looked up with urgency... "Sir, the FBI transponder frequency that you gave this afternoon ¡ª we have intercepted it." ¡°How close?¡± The eager communication officer replied, in a high tone... ¡°Very close, Sir ¡ª in fact, it is zeroing into this base itself.¡± Farrer mistrusted her... ¡°What!!? Insurgents had penetrated into our base camp ¡ª that is impossible!¡± The captain turned to the ten monitors mounted on the wall ¡ª with the base¡¯s CCTV video-feeds. She saw two uniforms of the canine-unit patrolling outside in the rain. The rest of her women soldiers were cosy indoors in their barracks. ¡°Should I sound the alarm, Sir?¡± Corporal Hilly suggested. ¡°No, they will escape if we do that ¡ª Hilly, you go and get Royle and Piccirilli at their bunks, and you all form 3 small search parties. Use the hounds to track ¡ª and you go out there, and ¡®shufti¡¯ every corner of the ground.¡± ¡°Should we kill them, Sir? ¡°No, they are of worth some shit to the FBI ¡ª capture them alive, if possible.¡± Captain Farrer picked the FBI fax with the picture CCTV photo of Reeves and Joe taken at the LA hospital car-park. It had Agent Maxine Harvest''s phone number scribbled on it. Farrer called the FBI. Chapter 13 BACK IN A FBI FACILITY in Denver, the Bell had stopped over for refuelling, before flying back to Washington. Roberta was having a smoke after coming closely finish eating a boring turkey sandwich. Agent Harvest paced in with ebullience into the cafeteria, with the good news... ¡°Capt. Roberta Jensen, you are absolutely right, my dear ¡ª an Army base at one of the Canadian border in Montana, has intercepted your tracker. Let¡¯s go check it out, dog!¡± Roberta grinned back at Harvest¡¯s suffused face of bliss. The super-cop stuck her cigarette into her half-eaten sandwich and strode out with her... Roberta was back in the game ¡ª her instincts had finally been right with her assumptions ¡ª that the rebels who abducted Laura, were desperately trying to cross to the Canadian border to escape. *** Reeves was on top of the water-tower that stood fifty foot tall, on steel pillars and concrete foundation. The wind was blowing hard despite the rain had ceased. He looked into the scope of his rifle ¡ª and spied True Bob placing the next C4 below the soldiers¡¯ barracks. He trained his scope at Bob who was now running ahead, to set the third explosive charge. Unguarded to Reeves, two US Army commandos were in stealth mode, climbing up on the ladder of the water tower from his rear. Out of her darken office window, Captain Farrer was wearing a pair of night-vision goggles ¡ª raking at her two female soldiers ¡ª who were going to surprise-attack the rebel trespasser in her army base. *** On the windy hill, Laura stood vigil at the slope, worried, she stared at the military base down below ¡ª it was too distant for her to figure out what was transpiring in the vicinity. Troy descended from the Mustang, he walked up to her. She reminded him... ¡°It has been more than a half-hour, Troy.¡± ¡°Reeves said that he will give us the signal. Come on Laura, let¡¯s wait in the car ¡ª it is too chilly out here.¡± *** True Bob deposited the last explosive at the base of a communication tower with a satellite dish ¡ª he had set the timer to twenty minutes. He glanced at his watch before he disappeared again into the dark. * Captain Farrer opened the door of the officer''s barrack ¡ª Royle and Piccirilli dragged the bereaved Reeves ¡ª and dropped him in the centre of the room. Corporal Hilly passed Reeve''s Savage 110 FP rifle, to the Farrer and made her assumption... ¡°Sir, this bastard is a God¡¯s Army sniper who was slipping into our base ¡ª with the probable intension, to kills us all.¡± ¡°String him up!¡± Farrer said while she looked out the window at the main entrance, mumbling seeing the precarious breach of the base¡¯s security. ¡°That idiot at the sentry, who let the vehicle pass in, is going to pay for this too!¡± She then turned seeing the insentient Intersexual who was now being raised in suspension, above to a horizontal beam. Farrer walked up to him and poked her fingertip into one of the two holes on the army shirt worn by Reeves, which was covered with dried bloodstains ¡ª the army captain then recapitulated and pieced the possible modus operandi at play... ¡°So he shot one of ours to get the uniform, which means there is another perpetrator, who drove the buggy in. Hilly, go out and find the sleeper now before he strikes anyone of us again!¡± Corporal Hilly and Piccirilli stepped out of the barrack door into the windy proximate ¡ª with a portend blizzard brewing ahead. *** Across at the end of the base, True Bob reached the water tower, with the howling wind and thunder roaring above. He signalled out at Reeves from below, he got no response. Bob began scaling up the ladder to reach the top... He detected that his partner was not there... He found a couple of Reeve¡¯s live bullets, scattered on the floor-top... He agonized at the prognosticated anomaly that something had gone wrong ¡ª because Reeves was prudent and was hardly the careless type when it came to his limited supply of ammo. He pocketed the bullets, and he descended down fast from the water tower. It had started to snow... The short-sighted, True Bob looked fretfully at his watch ¡ª it was 8:47 p.m. Without any delay, he had to race back to defuse all the bombs timers from exploding ¡ª before he set out finding for the missing Reeves. He first ran to the satellite tower to defuse the timer ¡ª he straightway sprinted over in the dark to the vehicle parking bay next, to kill off the charger that he had set behind the fuel drums. The precipitation was getting heavier ¡ª and he had to keep moving to keep himself warm, before shutting off the last bomb timer at the soldiers¡¯ barrack. He took a few steps into the open floodlights to crossover ¡ª and saw two soldiers coming over towards his way, one of them called out... ¡°Hey you Private, come here!¡± It was Corporal Hilly calling him... It was the second time he was spotted since he got here ¡ª could he be as lucky like before? His finger removed the safety of the rifle, Bob walked unhurriedly against the upwind breeze, towards the approaching female soldiers. He stopped in the darkened area of the barrack so that shadows cast the gloom to concealed his nature. The only fear he had now is his deeper baritone voice if in case the women questioned him. But Hilly spoke to a soldier beside her instead... ¡°Flinch, brief her ¡ª I am going to check on Piccirilli. Now, both of you ¡ª keep your eyes peeled!¡± Hilly paced away from them. True Bob was now stuck with this woman named Flinch ¡ª and the bomb under the soldiers'' barrack, was about to go off in less than two minutes. They walked, and Private Flinch spoke up... ¡°We have captured a God¡¯s Army rebel sniper on the base, posing as one of ours. There is a second shooter somewhere, keep a lookout.¡± True Bob realized the gravity that he was in, with his buddy now apprehended by the enemy ¡ª the half-Cherokee walked along the murky side of the base, while Flinch kept looking upwards at the barrack roofs. True Bob maintained in concealing his identity with his head down, to avoid the flashes of lightning above ¡ª to obscure his Intersexual looks... This annoyed Flinch... ¡°It is a sniper, goddammit! Keep a lookout above. Who are you anyway? I have not seen you around ¡ª are you one of the new guys?¡± True Bob remained silent, walking a step ahead ¡ª and lightning flashed again, and Private Flinch caught the sight of bloodstain spots on the poncho ¡ª the blood of the definite owner of that uniform. Private Flinch also realized that it was not an army-issued boot worn by the stranger ¡ª instead, was a black Nike. The female soldier slowly raised her rifle, to point at the lanky rebel walking a step before her... True Bob turned back swiftly and trusted a bowing knife sharply into her throat. The soldier with the lodged blade gave a last effort of struggle, and she scratched his face ¡ª before Bob forcefully kicked her calf, to drop her down. He retrieved the blade out, and blood gushed out ¡ª from Flinch¡¯s punctured oesophagus. He pushed her dying body below the elevated barrack, that sat on wooden blocks ¡ª and then used his foot to cover-up the track of blotted blood on the snowed sleet ground fast ¡ª kicking frantically like it was some dog¡¯s poop. With his tracks covered, he started to run against the snowstorm to defuse the last C4 that would blow up ¡ª in less than forty-five seconds. *** The snowstorm began thumping the Mustang¡¯s foldable roof hood ¡ª Joe was concerned that it would be blown off by the strong winds. Laura huddled in-between Joe and Troy in the front seat, covered themselves within thick blankets. The temperature was dropping fast ¡ª Laura¡¯s teeth clattered when she asked them... ¡°It is way more than an hour, why the explosions have not gone up yet there? Is something wrong?¡± Troy replied after comprehending... ¡°It must be the blizzard...the guys might have delayed the attack.¡± ¡°Are you sure Troy?¡± The probing, thirteen-year-old child in her asked... Joe now responded back. ¡°Yeah Mimi, I am sure too, Reeves is a master of timing ¡ª he knows what he is doing out there.¡± Troy hugged her closer to give her warmth. ¡°Yeah Laura, don¡¯t worry ¡ª they are fine.¡± Both of the Intersexuals acquiesced so far ¡ª Reeves¡¯ instincts and his leadership had kept them all breathing to date since they stepped out of the Mojave Desert ¡ª with their first-encounter with the ruthless Jamaicans ¡ª and recently, in extracting them out alive without a scratch, from the equally precarious Cannibal-town ¡ª even ¡®the Desert Preacher¡¯ as their leader, did not survive that long... Now they hoped and trusted ¡ª that Reeves would all get them all into Canada alive. *** Reeves was strung by his wrists, he hung from the beam above. He had regained his consciousness and was now in pain ¡ª Sargent Royle had used Reeve''s abdomen like a punching bag. Reeves gasped for air, responded curses with a throaty growl ¡ª with each blow. Captain Farrer had her arms folded, and she questioned... ¡°Where is the other sniper? Speak up, you tranny-fuck!¡± Royle threw angrier punches, on both sides of his ribs ¡ª heated more by the death of the two female soldiers from their base ¡ª Reeves almost passing out again... ¡°Answer me ¡ª you son of a bitch!¡± Farrer then held the soldier''s shoulder to stop... ¡°Enough, Royle ¡ª the FBI wants the scumbag alive.¡± *** In the dark, True Bob ran in the high winds, and he came to defuse the last explosive that was on its last seven seconds to set-off. He saw a troubled soldier ahead, walking and calming her irrepressible Alsatian dog that was jumping uncontrollably around, to the uncomfortably harsh beating wind conditions. True Bob moved away to find a dark spot, to take refuge ¡ª both from the hound¡¯s scent detection and to the thrashing cold winds. He heard some roaring engine sounds behind... A generator-room that was powering the army base was operational. An armed soldier was discharged inside and was on guard. It would be too risky to attack her, and gunshots might transpire. True Bob scaled on the side, to climb the roof of the generator room... He was also relieved that the base did not have watchtowers like Tombscradle that utilized searchlights ¡ª to spot movements below. It was slightly warmer up on the roof, from the heat from the running generators despite the whipping winds thumping on his back. Bob perched to keep a lookout, for the guard-dog that was still patrolling below. *** The three of them were freezing in the Mustang¡¯s front seat. Laura fought hard to stay wide awake ¡ª looking out hard at the snow-filled windscreen ¡ª and the lights of the Army base were visibly diminishing. Soon she too sunk into the blankets ¡ª and dozed off with the other two Intersexuals, hugging tight to huddle into their warmth. *** More than six hours had passed during the lowest ebb ¡ª a rotor sound was heard from afar. The sole quarry True Bob was curled up in hiding ¡ª he too had dozed off in the dark, with both of his arms hugging tight onto himself. He was snow-covered, until he cranked to straighten his neck up, to the oncoming sound. His eyes were smarting with his own frozen tears ¡ª coming to his senses soon that the tempest had passed... He staggered disoriented to stand up on the roof. Snowflakes dropped off his poncho, but he was still shivering badly to the nippy breeze. He descended from the generator room''s roof while looking up at blinking light of a chopper coming over from the dark skies. True Bob panted in a panic ¡ª checked his watch when he landed below on ground ¡ª 3:24 a.m. He picked up his rifle and tottered ahead, to find for Reeves who was captured somewhere in the base. *** Troy''s eyes were the first to open. He glimpsed around at Laura and Joe, sleeping beside him. A chopper was coming fast. He picked up the field-glass from the dashboard and exited off the Mustang... He sloshed ahead, on the melted sleet to the edge of the high ground. He heard Laura calling his name from behind but he did not stop, she followed... He peered into the binoculars at the knoll, and he spotted the FBI Bell that had landed ¡ª some soldiers were gathering around the whirlybird in the army base. Joe who wrapped in a blanket came standing beside him ¡ª the trio looked out at in the darken army base ahead that was lighted in a few strategic areas. ¡°Is it Reeves? What is happening, Troy?¡± Laura asked very anxiously. Troy spotted the military servicewomen welcoming three people ¡ª who had descended from the FBI chopper ¡ª Agents Maxine Harvest, Agent Ruby Dillon and... Roberta Jensen...If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Troy said softly, "oh no¡­" Laura kept asking him. "Troy, what is happening?" He passed the field glasses next to Joe ¡ª who focused to identify the super-cop who made her career as an enforcer by torturing and killing countless Intersexual rebels, gangbangers, and even free-males. Joe contritely muttered in a scared voice... "Oh shit, oh fuck ¡ª it¡¯s her again," Joe finally handed the binoculars to Laura, and she looked into it ¡ª Joe shook his wretched head before responding in despair... "It''s your sister ¡ª what are the fucking odds of her being here right now? O no... she almost killed us the last time in L.A. ¡ª oh me, oh fuck ¡ª she has found us again!" Laura saw the adult self ¡ª of her younger sister Roberta physically, for the first time. She remembered the contumacy of her younger sister¡¯s way of walking which was slightly swaggering back then ¡ª today, she walked the same manner but was viler as a grownup ¡ª after the browsing into the rebels¡¯ underground intranet forum sites that Troy had shown her, on the Dark-net at the lakes ¡ª where she had learned more about the nefarious side of her sister. *** True Bob moved in the dark, reaching a safe distance from the chopper ¡ª the poor eye-sighted, half-Cherokee recognized ¡ª and was surprised to Roberta¡¯s arrival too. He saw her accompanied by the base superior-office Capt. Farrer ¡ª leading the visitors away to the direction where Reeves was held captive. He shadowed them... They all entered the officer''s barrack. True Bob peeked from outside into the frosty windowpane at the few women surrounding the hanging semi-conscious Reeves who was strung to a high beam. It reminded Bob of how the ''flogged'' Preacher ¡ª who was hung by the wrist, at the goalpost in Tombscradle... True Bob was distracted by sounds of barking dogs, and he started to move again. * Shining their flashlights, Corporal Hilly, Piccirilli and another soldier with a guard dog were horrified to the discovery of the dead Private Flinch, with a cut-out throat ¡ª hidden under the elevated barrack. The distressed dog was out barking at the stiff corpse, covered in snow. True Bob spied on them from the dark, while hiding away nearby. His fingers also reactivated the timer on the C4 charge ¡ª carefully placed it under the soldiers¡¯ barracks. He started to run fast in the slush grounds, to the other spots, to trigger the other remaining charges. He was really hoping that the dogs, would not sniff them out first. *** Agent Dillon held up the out-cold Reeve''s face with contusions ¡ª while Agent Harvest used her face recognition goggle, to identify the God¡¯s Army rebel in the NSA software''s database profile. Roberta looked petulantly blas¨¦ at the mundane procedure, as she was eager to begin interrogating the captured rebel... She recalled recently how the mutinous Reeves had her handcuffed in the car park in L.A. before the coma endured Laura was driven away. He was really cunning ¡ª and knew about Roberta¡¯s second pistol, tugged away in her ankle-holster that night ¡ª or else it would have been a ¡®sweet kill,¡¯ to put a bullet each into Reeves and Joe in the back of their heads when they turned and tried to escape from the hospital car park... But they got away the last time ¡ª just like what the wounded Preacher did, in the burning hotel in New Orleans. She could not afford to repeat those similar kinds of mistakes today ¡ª or else the tied up quarry who has her sister, might escape again. But it was now in reverse occurrences ¡ª with Reeves who was the one captured in the hold... ¡®...but where is Laura?¡¯ The wait was agitating for Roberta, and she voiced out hastily... ¡°It is him alright, Maxine ¡ª I can never forget the face of the bastard, who got my sister.¡± Agent Harvest gave a hard stare, then ignored Roberta Jensen ¡ª and continued her standard routine procedures. Exasperated, the iniquitous Roberta turned to Captain Farrer beside... ¡°Captain Farrer, what about the rest of the fucking rebels with him? There were supposed to be three or four she-males ¡ª and maybe with some Aryan Sisterhood bitches ¡ª was there also a hostage woman, in a coma with them ¡ª she¡¯s my sister, did you find her too?¡± ¡°No ¡ª we just got only him so far. But my search-teams have resumed searching the grounds since the blizzard stopped ¡ª for his accomplice.¡± They finally heard Agent Maxine Harvest, speaking out as she inferred... ¡°Yes, for the record, it is confirmed that this is Reeves Jensen.¡± Roberta did not like the acrimonious sound of the mentioned cognomen ¡ª that this ¡®Mexican-bastard¡¯ shared the same last name as her. Roberta requested permission. ¡°Excuse me. I need to question the prisoner now.¡± Capt. Farrer looked at Royle, before smiling back at the cynosure, reputed super-cop... ¡°Knock yourself out ¡ª we tried ¡ª but got nada.¡± Roberta grabbed the catalepsy Reeve''s by his hair, and slapped him hard ¡ª Reeve''s eye half opened ¡ªto see his aversion staring back, with an iniquitous grin... ¡°Wake the fuck up, Jose! The mountain had come to Mohamed... ¡°...now, where is Laura? Where are you keeping her?¡± ¡°Fuck you!¡± Reeves spat at her ¡ª and Roberta instantly punched back... His head fell backwards... He hung flaccid as the rope that swung him, to a full slow circle. The Intersexual tried to retaliate, with a head-butt as the rope veering him closer towards Roberta, but the effort was an ungainly missed in breaking her nose. Roberta parried, ruptured his instead with a jab ¡ª and Reeves fell backwards again, swaying on the rope with a bleeding nose... ¡°It is the end of the road, Reeves ¡ª you give her back to me!¡± Mentally, the trapped Reeves agreed ¡ª that it was the end of the road. This was the final wall that he could not jump to cross over ¡ª Hanging at the end of the rope, with every ticking second, he anticipated that True Bob¡¯s C4s would explode any time now, and the rest of the team with Laura would start racing to the Canadian border, with True Bob following them... Everyone would leave him behind ¡ª as a decoy diversion for his quietus death... Roberta saw the Mimi pendant chain around his neck ¡ª she snatched it off ¡ª Reeves right foot went up, swung over to kick. But Roberta secured his ankle under her clenched arm ¡ª and punched his groin. Reeves screamed in agony, but she clasped his throat ¡ª to chock and reticent him... She hollered at his face while she throttled him... ¡°Where the fuck is she? Tell me and I will grant you a quick death, like the fucking Preacher of yours!¡± She released the grip choke, Reeves coughed out, squealed out back in bitter anguish... ¡°Go ahead, kill me, bitch ¡ª yes, I have killed your Mimi ¡ªand I buried her in the Nevada desert so that you can never find her again. Now go back to Washington, Uncle Jensen¡ªand go mourn for her death over there... ¡°Yeah you Jensen bitch, I have killed your fucking sister!¡± ¡®It can¡¯t be true.¡¯ For a second, Roberta thought it out if he would have killed someone who was cognate... ¡®He is bluffing.¡¯ But nobody had called Laura as Mimi ¡ª except for their mother Martha ¡ª it irked her further... Everyone present at the officers barrack too believed in Reeves¡¯ homicidal confession ¡ª that defied Roberta¡¯s incredulous theories that Laura was still alive ¡ª they stepped back to witness Roberta¡¯s sudden outburst of torture... Roberta saw the Savage 110FP sniper rifle on the table ¡ª and she grabbed it. She swung the rifle¡¯s butt and rammed it hard into Reeve''s midsection... Reeves coughed out blood. ¡°You are lying, where is she?¡± ¡°She is dead...you dumb cunt ¡ª now shoot...kill me and be done, you bitch!¡± Roberta slammed the rifle butt again, squarely into his chest ¡ª Reeves made grasping sounds, with difficulty to breathe... ¡°I know you are a liar ¡ª you will not kill her!¡± Roberta stared at him, grimacing in pain ¡ª he looked like Laura ¡ª when she was his age, but his contumacy eyes were more like Martha¡¯s ¡ª glowering back at all the flaws, deep inside Roberta¡¯s tottering being... ¡°Laura is mine, you hear me, you freak! Where is she, you piece of shit?¡± Reeves seized up a mouthful of air ¡ª before he spoke again... ¡°Yes, Roberta Jensen ¡ª I am the piece of shit that your sister gave birth to, you hear me? If you hate my kind so much ¡ª why are you keeping me alive? ¡°Kill me now, my fucking Uncle Rob ¡ª grow half a ball in your girlie pants, and shoot me!¡± Even though he was gassed out, but he tried hard to laugh ¡ª Roberta paused to stare a sec longer ¡ªbefore she too joined her nephew with his laughter. ¡°I will be glad to ¡ª oh yeah ¡ª I will be really glad to put some lead, in your cunting faggot mouth... ¡°But, before I do that ¡ª let me humour you, of my first-kill...¡± Roberta dugout and took something out of her wallet ¡ª a small old newspaper cutting the size of a dollar bill, laminated in hard durable plastic with the picture of a certain Monroe. She placed it towards Reeves¡¯s face ¡ª and bragged to challenge him back with sarcasm... ¡°See this, freak ¡ª I was nine years old then when I got my first kill¡ª it was Laura''s rapist, yes, Reeves my boy ¡ª your lowlife tacos brick-shitting beaner Pappi, who was a dirty cleaner at that hospital! Yes boy, I killed your filthy, toilet-bowl licking hog of your father ¡ª and now, I don¡¯t mind killing his fucking son too ¡ª yeah because you have the same, beaner shit-stench like him!¡± Reeves glimpsed at the photo in the plastic-coated old newspaper cutting ¡ª he discovered the agnate Hispanic who had fathered him during the Medusa chaotic period. But he was insensate at that moment, because being in cognomen as a Jensen ¡ª which was a real loathed malediction that always got him in complicity and danger from his Tombscradle days, right to the captive situation, which he was now in. Roberta laughed hysterically, turning to the table where there were a few bullets ¡ª and she unwarily started to ¡®lock and load¡¯ the Savage 110 FP rifle ¡ª but Maxine Harvest came up ¡ª and grabbed hold of the rifle¡¯s barrel, with her own pistol prodded into Roberta¡¯s belly... ¡°Rob put your personal vengeance aside. He is a federal prisoner now ¡ª and we intend to take him back alive. ¡± Roberta ignored her... Agent Dillon pursued next from the side, gun pointed too... ¡°Stand down! Reeves Jensen is in the custody of the FBI ¡ª for our remaining investigations of God¡¯s Army trained assassins cell-groups ¡ª and for their threat on the life of the President of the United States. So if you ever make any attempt to his life ¡ª we both will not hesitate to shoot you too!¡± Ruby Dillon pointed her pistol at volatile Roberta¡¯s head, aiming at her temple ¡ª which made the contumacy Roberta to release the rifle back, into Agent Harvest¡¯s grip... Before the mitigated Roberta could reply that she wanted to continue on further into the interrogation ¡ª the door opened hastily ¡ª Corporal Hilly came barging to her superior¡¯s side... ¡°Captain Farrer, we found a body, Sir ¡ª one of ours ¡ª Private Flinch is dead!" The livid Farrer left the barrack immediately, with Corporal Hilly and Royle ¡ª to investigate further into the third death, among her soldiers on that day. Agent Dillon followed them out... *** True Bob dodged the dogs and he crouched in the dark, near the parking area. He looked at his watch ¡ª it was 4:07 a.m. He spotted the soldier with the Alsatian, sniffing at the grounds at the vehicle parking bay. True Bob plugged both index fingers into to his ears, spotting the alerted dog barked at the stacked barrels of fuel drums. The soldier went forward to investigate ¡ª she stumbled to catch a glimpse of the live C4 explosive ¡ª with a countdown timer... ...00:05 ¡ª 00:04... She dropped the dog''s leash ¡ª and ran scared, yelling out, ¡°Bomb!" A major explosion ripped the base ¡ª with subsequent multiple blasts, of the staked gasoline drums, now ripped sky-high ¡ª and the barking Alsatian was not lucky... Raining suffused of flaming debris, which fell on half a dozen parked terrain buggies nearby, soon were now engulfed in flames... *** Laura despaired in morose tears at the backseat of the Mustang. She then looked up ¡ª to the fiery blasts ahead which brighten the dark skies. She saw Joe and Troy running frantically over to the car... "It is the cue, we are good to go!¡± Captain Farrer saw the thick black smokes on the fiery sky and called to her women soldiers to prepare for more possible attacks. FBI Agent Dillon rushed back into the officer''s barrack and informed of the rebel attack situation ¡ª Agent Harvest pocketed all the rifle bullets on the table ¡ª before she grabbed Roberta¡¯s arm... "You are going to stay here, and guard my prisoner ¡ª and make sure he is alive when I get back ¡ª or I will string your ass up there, Roberta Jensen!" Harvest and Dillon pulled out their side weapons, and both left out of the door. Roberta glanced back at the unconscious Reeves overhanging, with his neck hung down. Nearby, soldiers who were half asleep minutes ago were now scurrying into their uniforms, after anticipating the major blast outside ¡ª a second C4 from below the soldiers'' barracks then set off ¡ª killing most of them indoor. Roberta looked out of the window at the chaotic commotion outside the base ¡ª realizing her disadvantage of being suspended from duty and placed under the prerogative FBI¡¯s jurisdiction ¡ª she could not get involved into the current action without the authorization nor would be allowed to use any firearm, face the rebels out there ¡ª which was something she had trained intensively in and was very good at. She stepped out the door ¡ª and observed the confusion with the two sectors of the base that was blazing brightly in inferno. She peered at the two FBI agents running at the far end, towards the black smoked base... They both loped forward, unaware towards the direction ¡ª of the third explosion that set off... Roberta¡¯s heart palpitated fast ¡ª and she exclaimed... "Oh fuck! Maxine!" Roberta ran over to rescue them... Both Agent Harvest and Dillon survived the blast with minor burns. Both sprawled on the muddy ground, with buzzing eardrums. Dillon was looking up at the half-blown metal stills, which fastened the communication satellite dish. It began to buckle ¡ª by its weight and was creaking aloud... Roberta cried out Agent Harvest''s name before the massive dish plummeted below ¡ª onto both the dazed FBI agents, who were getting up on their feet to escape ¡ª making it an inevitable instant death, to crash on to both of the FBI agents... Roberta finally reached near to recognize Maxine¡¯s arm visible with the silver bangle, under the mass wreckage ¡ª Roberta began to break apart emotionally, seeing her dead beneath. Roberta bent down to touch the palm and fingers of the lifeless hand for a second. Hot tears streamed on her cheeks, and a deep rage leapt inside Roberta... ¡®The rebels will have to pay for this!¡¯ The super-cop then focused on her task-at-hand, in her investigation ¡ª which was to find her Laura... ¡®...the bastard was wearing the Mimi-pendent ¡ª where is he hiding Laura?¡¯ Roberta picked up the dead FBI''s pistol on the soggy sleet ¡ª and she paced back hastening to the officers¡¯ barrack to get the answers ¡ª if he refused to cooperate ¡ª she is going to blow Reeve''s brains out anyway ¡ª as a sign to regain control of her own-self, which had crippled her emotionally weak, ever since Laura¡¯s abduction... Blowing his brains out would be a good place to start... She glanced over at some alarmed and vocal female surviving soldiers pointing outside the base, which transpired with gunshot explosions ¡ª a red Mustang was heading to the second boom-gate barrier that the army set up for vehicle checks, heading to the border. An Intersexual was seen from inside, pushing over the rooftop, off the moving car ¡ª it dropped, cartwheeled and was bouncing off, on the icy tarmacadam road... The soldiers were shooting at the red car and the standing shemale held two machine guns in the passenger seat of the Mustang, and he fired back ¡ª but the fumed Roberta ignored the commotion ahead... She should not get distracted but focused on heading back into the officers¡¯ barrack ¡ª to terminate her Mexi-fuck nephew... *** Laura ducked low on the backseat floor, of the speeding car. She peeked up to see Troy with one of his knees on the seat balancing himself, in the front passenger seat ¡ª he was firing the two machine guns. Blistering hot bullet shells dropped on Laura¡¯s back. Troy killed the three soldiers at the second sentry, before jumping out of the car ¡ª to lift the boom-gate pole up. Joe drove through with Troy chasing the car from behind, still firing ¡ª at more oncoming foot soldiers... Captain Farrer commanded the troops to their vehicles ¡ª to pursue the escaping rebels ahead. The running Troy dove back into the moving car, and the Mustang sped off. Farrer saw the escaping rebels... She climbed into the Mowag¡¯s hatch ¡ª the army tank roared alive. *** Roberta stepped into the officers¡¯ barrack, to discover the rope was cut off ¡ª and Reeves was missing. ¡®He has got Laura in the car.¡¯ The enraged Roberta cursed loudly and stepped out ¡ª she was assuming that Reeves too had escaped in that fleeting car. Three patrol buggies were driving out fitfully from the blazing vehicle parking bay, speeding by in front of Roberta, to the road heading to the Canadian border... Roberta ran towards the direction of the FBI''s Bell chopper ¡ª armed with the dead FBI Agent Maxine Harvest¡¯s pistol in her hand... She passed by the upheaval women soldiers carrying their wounded away, from the blast sites ¡ª unknown to her ¡ª one of the soldiers was True Bob with the out cold Reeves, sagging on his shoulder ¡ª and with the sniper rifle in Bob¡¯s other hand. As the dawning daylight suffused, Bob grinned craftily to himself that he had outfoxed the super-cop, while he walked like a ghost towards the parking bay, camouflaged among the chaos on all sides. He peered across at a female soldier dragging a disorderly guard dog that was whining in distress, after scenting the blood of the other canine that was blown away minutes earlier. True Bob sat the cataleptic Reeves at the assault buggy''s passenger seat, buckled his belt ¡ª before he used the key which he kept earlier, to start the ignition. The half-Cherokee had a lot of catching up to do, to reach Joe¡¯s Mustang ¡ª that was estimated to be two miles ahead of him ¡ª now being pursued by the army base Captain Farrer in a tank... He drove out of the camp, chuckling, looking back at the inferno in his rearview mirror, shaking his head ¡ª while still in a state of disbelief and then pride, after he had single-handedly destroyed an entire army base... ... with three of his four explosives... Not bad for an overnight achievement, for a poor eye-sighted outcaste John Wayne ¡ª coming out from his Cherokee reservation. *** Roberta reached the FBI chopper and saw the pilot taking photos, of the blaze and the devastation happening around her on her phone camera. Roberta tapped her... ¡°Hey you there, get the chopper ¡ª the rebels are getting away to Canada!" The female pilot baulked out loudly ¡ª looking at ¡®outsider¡¯ Roberta ¡ª who was not sanctified in any form of ratification, in their ¡®search and rescue¡¯ mission... "Back off ¡ª this is an FBI authorized property! I only take orders from Agent Harvest, not from any civilians!" Roberta pointed the gun straight in between the pilot''s eyes ¡ª and yelled back... ¡®Fuck you, dumb cunt! Both the agents are already dead, you fool ¡ª and I am fuckin'' in charge now! ¡°Now shut your goddam labia lips ¡ª and get your shitty bird-ride moving now!" Chapter 14 THE SUN WAS RISING AND THE RED MUSTANG was on the third of ten miles distance to the Canadian border. Troy was still kneeling on the front seat, looking back. He then checked on Laura whose face was down in the backseat, and he instructed her to stay down at all times. She looked up ¡ªstill worried and, the maternal ilk in her probed out... "Troy, is Reeves coming?" "Don''t worry, they will come, Laura." Joe drove along a stretch of hills with icecaps ¡ª the roads were slippery but the red-haired Intersexual was in total control ¡ª his fooling around making doughnuts in the Mojave Desert back then, gave him the expert confidence on the steering wheel. He was limpid in mind of his role in their escape mission ¡ª after the final-instructions given last by Reeves hours ago ¡ª which was to race to the border on the dangerous landscape ¡ª this was his second chance, and he could not let Reeves and the others down just as how he once surrendered himself in defeat, like when he was at the Wesleyan wall ¡ª when he too had the opportunity to escape a long time ago. Troy noticed three fast, assault buggies were coming half-mile away behind them ¡ª he alerted Joe to step on it... One of the buggies had the Commando Piccirilli on the wheels, she was driving solo. The next buggy behind had Corporal Hilly ¡ª standing in as the gunner. They too were making good speed on the icy terrain. *** True Bob was accelerating his buggy from afar behind ¡ª and he noticed that Reeves was stirring back to consciousness with his both palms clenching on his chest. He was worn to a shadow, after the torture at the base. Reeves opened his eyes, and he was breathing hard... "You okay Reeves?" He nodded back ¡ª and Bob comforted him in gaiety... "Hang on there, buddy ¡ª we are going to Canada!" *** The Bell flew over the hills and Roberta hung out the passenger¡¯s holding to strain to look into the field-glass ¡ª gazing at the three Army buggies that were in hot pursuit after the red car that was ahead, taking sharp turns in a winding frosty road. The army buggies then opened fire, when they closed in... Piccirilli was using the remote-controlled gunner-mode, on her steering wheel to shoot. Corporal Hilly was triggering manually while standing behind the M240 machine gun mounted on the buggy''s rear. Joe drove along the curves, with Troy firing both his machine guns at the nearing enemies¡¯ vehicles ¡ª more hot shells continued to spit into the backseat floor, where a terrified Laura crouched and prayed. *** True Bob was coming from the back and had caught up with the first army vehicle ¡ª it was the slowest ¡ª bulky Mowag Shark tank, with road tires. Captain Farrer was looking out from the rooftop hatch ¡ª she used to be an invict gunner while in the Iraq War, decades ago. True Bob felt it would be futile to shoot on automatic at a heavily armoured tank, from the control on his steering-wheels ¡ª so he overtook it ¡ª but kept away from its minatory turret range. There was also a Hummer ahead, with Royle in it ¡ª Bob chased it instead. *** Roberta peered down from the chopper at the gun-battle ahead ¡ª in the sinuous roads, with the Army buggies responding to the rebel attacks in the fleeting Mustang. Roberta looked for Reeves in the car, but instead, she discovered a dark-haired female lying still, face down on the backseat. She exclaimed. "Laura!" Fear now grew inside Roberta¡¯s guts that her sister was being ¡®in the state of coma¡¯ ¡ª and she was transported in the rebel''s Mustang to the Canadian border... Now, she would likely to be killed in the crossfire shooting, with the Army buggies that were rapidly closing in. *** True Bob was trailing fifty yards behind the Hummer in the winding section of the road, with hills on his right-side ¡ª and steep ravines on its left. Reeves turned over to see the Mowag tank, getting left behind, but still keeping up in pace... He felt the need to do something. He unbuckled the seat belt ¡ª Reeves crawled to the rear. True Bob was now concerned of his buddy¡¯s injuries... "Hey get back here, where are you going? I got this You stay put and rest ¡ª I got this! " Reeves ignored and was manning as the gunner, in the rear of the assault buggy. True Bob drove close to the side of the Hummer and Reeves fired the side ¡ª it created hollowed dents but did not penetrate the bullet-proofed mass. Reeves then recalled in the moment of how the Preacher had single-handedly defeated one of these Humvees, back in Tombscradle... Now, he next figured out ways to equal that feat... Captain Farrer was puzzled on why an army patrol buggy was attacking one of her Humvee. She looked into her field-glass and spotted Reeves on the gun. ¡°Good Lord, the fag bastard had escaped from the FBI custody!" She ordered the coordination for the tank''s turret ¡ª and the trajectory zeroed into the renegade terrain buggy moving ahead. True Bob noticed the menacing Mowag''s turret¡¯s movement in the rearview mirror ¡ª he stepped on the peddle to speed up, and approached closer distance to the Humvee ¡ª it startled Sargent Royle looking out of the bullet-proofed window, she screamed out... "Fuck! It¡¯s the rebel, Reeves Jensen!" The Humvee tried to run the buggy off the road, into the dropping ravine ¡ª but True Bob hit the gas hard, overtook and the buggy got ahead of the armoured car. Captain Farrer was cursing now ¡ª she could not get a clear shot at the escaping rebels.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Reeves and the chasing Hummer now opened fire, at each other. *** The signboard stated ¡ª''5 Miles to Canada.¡¯ Joe reached the halfway mark ¡ª and he was still accelerating. Troy reloaded both his AK47s when he heard Joe beside him, exclaiming out aloud... "What the fuck!!?" Troy was startled to discover cars and caravans that were heading on the other side of the road. ¡°Damn those fucking Canadian tourists!" Piccirilli caught up and fired on automatic-mode, hitting the slowing Mustang¡¯s trunk from the rear... *** The Mowag''s cannon turret was raised skywards ¡ª and Farrer fired the shell that lobbed and dropped to devastate the path ahead of the rebel¡¯s buggy ¡ª creating a small, shallow crater on the road, and Bob dexterously avoided it... "Is that senile Farrer crazy?" Sargent Royle too was fuming, at her superior¡¯s attack from the Mowag ¡ª and the pursuing Hummer also eluded the crater ¡ª but True Bob sped away in the winding roads... Joe zigzagged onto the Canadian caravan convoy. The fretful Roberta from the chopper saw an Army buggy shooting at one of the minivans in the caravan, which was in their way. It exploded ¡ª but the uncontrollable military buggy on the glacial road crashed head-on into the eruption... Piccirilli and Hilly detected their third Army buggy was in flames ahead of them, spinning irrepressibly on the icy road and a Canadian car next crashed onto it ¡ª and the human torch Army driver and gunner were thrown in midair. A pileup occurred ensued, but the other two army buggies managed to manoeuvre past ¡ª they continued the pursuit after Joe¡¯s Mustang. Roberta observed the burning vehicles below on the winding roads, from the chopper. She was glad ¡ªthat Laura was away from the danger in the fleeing Mustang GT. *** Reeves fired at the bulletproofed windshield of the Hummer with the M240 in his rear... The vehicle was impenetrable. Something caught his attention from True Bob''s sling bag ¡ª Reeves reached and grabbed a C4. True Bob looked ahead at the burning Canadian convoy from a mile beyond. Reeves¡¯ tapping on his arm which jolted him ¡ª seeing the C4 in his buddy¡¯s hand... "Where did this come from?" Reeves asked. Bob replied back that he only managed to let off three of the charges at the army base earlier. Reeves calibrated the timer to five seconds, before tossing it towards the shooting Hummer coming from their rear. The bomb smacked the tarmac and bounced on the road... ...00:02 ¡ª 00:01 ¡ª 00:00... The Hummer drove over it and the explosion rocked from below the vehicle ¡ª throwing the three-ton metal heap in midair before it rolled, and skidded sideways on the icy road ¡ª stopping still in the middle of the road. Reeves and True Bob were laughing, and they both rejoiced... "I wish I had some more of that now!" Bob said back. Reeves knew what he meant after sighting the Mowag ramming into the fallen Humvee ¡ª to clear it out of its path. The pissed-off Farrer was determined to get Reeves, for killing most of her best soldiers... The turret cannon was pointing at the rebel¡¯s fleeing buggy... *** At the US Immigration, the night shift border officers and a US Army sergeant were looking into their binoculars, at the fiery action along the winding roads by the hillside just three miles ahead. The Army sergeant¡¯s troops were armed to their teeth, with grenade launchers and machine guns, to anticipate the oncoming insurgents. True Bob was passing into the area of the burning Canadian tourists¡¯ vehicles pileup ¡ª he spotted half a mile ahead were the two other terrain military buggies chasing the red Mustang. He stepped on it and got closer ¡ª Reeves fired at them. Piccirilli and Corporal Hilly noticed that they were attacked from the rear... Hilly turned her gun at Reeve''s buggy ¡ª both were trying to outshoot the other out. Roberta from above spied on her glasses, on why two Army buggies were shooting at each other. Her eyes bulged out in rage ¡ª to discover Reeves as the gunner. ¡°Fuck, there you are!¡± At a bend, Reeves blasted Hilly with direct shots, and she was cut into half. The flipping army¡¯s buggy rammed the railing and was thrown off down the precipice cliff ¡ª plunging down hundreds of feet into the ravine beneath. One of Troy''s rifles was empty, and he dropped it and used his last remaining round ¡ª firing just around the corner at Commando Piccalillis¡¯ solo chasing vehicle. Piccirilli who was on auto with the M240 ¡ª in trigger-happy firing mode during the entire chase ¡ª before she too ran out of ammo. Troy took a few direct shots and killed Piccirilli with bullets hitting her face and chest... The chopper flew above. Roberta peered into the field-glass to see the rebels had defeated the two hunting Army buggies. She yelled instructions to the pilot... "Take me low ¡ª I want to shoot those dogs!" The chopper approached Reeve''s buggy... True Bob accelerated ¡ª as he did not know what to anticipate from the aerial strafing attack. Roberta blasted her pistol ¡ª bullets pierced directly onto the buggy''s hood... Reeves peered up and detected the hounding Roberta ¡ª he trained the mounted gun barrel and fired above. Bullets punctured the lower section of the FBI¡¯s whirlybird ¡ªand the pilot pulled away, fearing hits on the rotor. Roberta nearly fell off from the passenger holding door, but she secured her grip back to her safely... The super-cop then fired the entire clip ¡ª till her pistol was empty. She screamed out in frustration and threw the pistol out at the escaping rebels. *** The oncoming vehicles ¡ª were less than two miles away from the US Immigration. The Army soldiers were laying spikes on the ground to deflate the rebel''s approaching vehicles tires ¡ª the orders were to shoot to kill them all... Troy checked his rifle, and he sensed that he was running low on bullets ¡ª and noticed an Army patrol buggy was picking up speed at their tail. He then caught the odd sight of someone, waving a white cloth frantically from the pursuing buggy... "Holy mother of God! Laura, look over there ¡ª look, it is Reeves!" Laura finally turtle-necked after lying low during the entire ordeal ¡ª squinted over the bullet-holes ridden Mustang trunk, and she saw her son ¡ª everyone laughed in delight from both the vehicles, which was just half a mile apart. True Bob detected some problem ¡ª smoke was coming out of the buggy¡¯s hood after Roberta¡¯s gunshot hits earlier. The vehicle was also losing speed, he cried to his partner behind him... "Reeves, we got problems!" Reeves saw the smoke and turned back to notice that the Mowag tank, was also nearing from behind, catching up fast, in full speed... Joe started slowing down to Troy''s instruction ¡ª when he too saw the smoking buggy''s hood, in the rearview mirror... "No! Go! Go!" Reeves yelled out to the Mustang ¡ª he didn¡¯t want them to stop ¡ª because of the tank that was advancing fast from the rear... "Push on, Bob, we can make it!" The cranking Mustang too picked up speed again ¡ª and Laura noticed the buggy, with Reeves and True Bob was gradually left behind... ¡°Troy, they are in trouble! Stop the car!" she cried out... *** The FBI helicopter hovered over the US Immigration checkpoint ¡ª and the confused officers and the Army soldiers gathered beneath to peer at it. Roberta was sitting beside the pilot, and she spoke from the chopper¡¯s speaker to those enforcers, who marshalled the sector below... ¡°THIS IS THE FBI. THERE IS A CIVILIAN VEHICLE APPROACHING, WITH THE GOD¡¯S ARMY REBELS IN IT. DO NOT SHOOT AT THEM, THEY HAVE GOT A HOSTAGE ¡ª I REPEAT ¡ª DO NOT SHOOT, THEY HAVE GOT A HOSTAGE! ¡°LET THEM PASS THROUGH. THE REBELS WOULD BE APPREHENDED ONCE THEY GET INTO THE CANADIAN BORDER. LET THEM PASS-THROUGH ¡ª DO NOT SHOOT AT THEM!" Roberta turned next to the pilot... ¡°Now fly over into the Canadian Immigration!" The pilot refused ¡ª saying that she is not authorized to cross borders. Roberta grabbed the pilot''s uniform collar, making a striking fist with her other hand, and barked out... "Do it, bitch! That¡¯s an order!" Roberta knew that the rebels would get more hostile if aggressive attempts were made to take them down in US soil ¡ª during their end-game bid to run and escape... Canada was considered a better neutral ground option ¡ª to lay her trap to extract her hostage sister. Chapter 15 REEVES PASSED THE ROAD SIGN ¡ª ''1 mile to US Immigration.'' He turned to see the Mowag tank was again left far behind. He felt a sense of relief for that moment. Captain Farrer on the other end was still bitter for her revenge ¡ª for the destruction of her army base, along with the deaths of her soldiers. She knew that her tank could not catch up. She was fuming mad and now directed the cannon turret upwards ¡ª and fired multiple shells towards the hills ahead... Reeves heard the blasts from behind him ¡ª he turned back to the right and detected explosions on the icecaps tops ¡ª creating an avalanche of sliding snow, boulders and rocks which were now crumbling down towards the winding roads below... Reeves panicked for the safety of Laura and others in the Mustang ahead ¡ª he cried out to True Bob... ¡°Step on it, Bob! Quick!" Troy gave similar instructions to Joe to drive faster, with piling snow and rocks that now hurling, and were hitting the side of the Mustang. Laura gaped, seeing at a huge hill-sized boulder rolling downhill, heading towards the buggy behind them ¡ª she was screaming out to warn... ¡°Reeves!" Reeves and True Bob estimated that the huge boulder was progressing down at high-speed, and there was no way the terrain buggy could outrun, and neither avoid the plunging debris ¡ª they both dived out of the moving vehicle. The plummeting boulder crashed into and flattened their winding buggy ahead... Laura sighted from afar, where Reeves and Bob were back on their feet ¡ª and they both were then running to avoid from being buried under the mass descending avalanche ¡ª enormous slush and rocks fell onto their path. Reeves turned to discover that the Mowag, was still advancing behind them... The avenging Captain Farrer was aiming to blast another shell at the two rebels, escaping on foot ¡ªwith the shower-pile of snow descending from above. The final massive drop of the sliding avalanche discharged spill onto the road ¡ª Captain Farrer screamed in trepidation when her tank was swept aside ¡ª and the heaping snow was forcing the tank over the railing. The Mowag soon plunged down the cliff with the overspill... Laura screamed out.¡± No!" She saw the running Reeves and Bob were next buried alive under the heavy dropping heap of snow.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Troy dived behind to the backseat to grab Laura ¡ª who tried to jump out from the moving car, by climbing towards the Mustang''s trunk. Her hysterical shriek continued... ¡°Reeves! We have to go back ¡ª and get them!" Troy held her tightly to his chest... ¡°We can''t Laura ¡ª or we will all be buried alive like them!" As much as they wanted to rescue Reeves and True Bob ¡ª yet it was impossible, without all of them sacrificing their own lives too, being buried alive ¡ª which was the last thing that Reeves himself would want them to do... Laura hugged Troy and cried out bitterly. Joe was also maudlin in tear, pounding his fist on the steering wheel to see the demise of his friends, who were left behind to die ¡ª he then drove the survivors out of the danger zone. *** The FBI Bell helicopter landed on the Canadian border. Roberta descended to see the night-shift Canadian troops and Immigration officers, of both women and Intersexuals ¡ª staring at her arrival. Roberta spoke up urgently to them... "I am here on behalf of the FBI ¡ª can I speak to someone in charge here?¡± A lanky Intersexual in uniform stepped out from the troop ¡ª who also happened to recognize the illustrious visitor... ¡°I am Captain John Halen ¡ª yes, what do you want, Miss Roberta Jensen? But firstly, may I ask ¡ª do you have the proper authorization, to land here in our Canadian soil?" *** Joe and Troy observed that the US soldiers were removing the spikes from the road when they drove closer to the US Immigration checkpoint. The Mustang halted at a near distance. They noticed the six soldiers with a group of armed Immigration officers amassed ¡ª they seemed like they were waiting for their arrival... Troy had only a few remaining bullets in the rifle and was pondering ways to go pass the armed military guards ahead. He noticed that the army soldiers had not drawn nor pointed their arsenal of guns and rifles at the Mustang. There were neither in resistances nor aggression ¡ª but only staring eyes from across... Joe passed over his favourite pistol to Troy. It was Roberta¡¯s Magnum hand-cannon, with 3 remaining bullets... Both looked at each other with a mutual tacit understanding ¡ª that Troy would shoot his way through, to protect the three of them ¡ª while he the ADHD-ding, whom Reeves trusted, on the other hand, would drive like the wind into the Canadian checkpoint ¡ª and he would not stop, at all cost¡ª no matter how many bullets succumbed him, just as how True Bob had joked, during their final supper, last evening. Troy climbed behind to the backseat to shield Laura ¡ª and Joe stepped slowly on the accelerator pedal ¡ª and the Mustang approached gradually towards the US checkpoint... Troy looked at the compliant Army and Immigration staff, while he held his own machine gun close to his chest ¡ª his eyes peeled around to detect for any hiding snipers, targeting their locks on them. Joe too was surprised when the Immigration officer, even had lifted the boom-gate barrier pole to let them pass in. Joe nervously thanked the guard and he cruised on. Troy was on-guard, still standing at the back, with a knee resting on the backseat. Laura lamented in tears, as she glanced at the faces of the female officers standing aside. The women soldiers outside were looking glumly at her too ¡ª seeing the pine Laura, as the AOG rebels¡¯ ¡®hostage.¡¯ The red Mustang drove into the Canadian side. Chapter 16 AT THE ROAD OF THE AVALANCHE DROP, a lifeless hand stuck out from beneath the snow. The other arm burrowed out next, Reeves¡¯ head with oozing bloody from cuts and scrapes delving out. He gasped to breathe before he forced his upper body out of the sepulchre icy, white grave. He gasped for his breath again before both of his arms went back beneath ¡ª and heaved the bigger True Bob out... ¡°You okay, Bob?" True Bob gasped with hard coughs, and he nodded back in a daze. Their blood was dripping red, on the pale snow. The half-Cherokee then pulled something from beneath... ¡°I think this is yours,¡± he said ¡ª passing over the Savage 110FP sniper rifle. They both started laughing in relief that they had survived the mad ordeal run ¡ª they started to scrabble their buried bodies, out from the snow pit. *** The Mustang sojourned twenty yards away from the Canadian armed authorities, the Intersexual rebels threw their rifles and pistols out of the vehicle. Troy was the first to step out of the bullet-ridden convertible ¡ª he dropped on his knees, and capitulated with raised arms... "We all surrender, please don''t shoot." Joe mirrored his actions, with his hands also raised. Laura got off the Mustang, and she stood beside Troy. She saw... ... two figures coming from behind the armed Canadian soldiers ¡ª a Black Intersexual Immigration officer, named Capt. John Halen ¡ª and, with him was her sister Roberta. Dreadful gripping thoughts flashed in the two kneeling AOG rebels¡¯ minds ¡ª Troy and Joe ¡ªthat the brutal Jensen would attack them or even worst, shoot them dead at point-blank ¡ª but instead saw Roberta choking in tears, after seeing Laura who had come out of her eighteen years in a coma... "Laura!" Roberta called out. Laura took a few steps back ¡ª and crouched, shielded herself behind the kneeling Troy ¡ª she was afraid to see the grown-up Roberta in person, after learning about her ruthless reputation. She was evil in her dreams too... Roberta stepped up, calling... "Laura, it is me, Robbie," and Laura instantly became defensive... "I know who you are ¡ª stay away from me!" "Laura, I am your sister, Robbie ¡ª I have come to take you home." "No, you get away from me, you murderer!" She was clinging on Troy''s back, begging him. ¡°Troy, don''t let her take me away, please!" Roberta suspected that she was either suffering memory loss ¡ª or experiencing Stockholm syndrome with her deep empathy towards her captors ¡ª especially if she was brainwashed by her freak-son Reeves. Roberta reasoned out aloud... "No, listen, Laura, they are ones who are the murderers ¡ª and those damned shemale rebels ¡ª have killed lots of women!¡± Capt. John Halen, who was also an Intersexual stood behind Jensen ¡ª he felt insulted when he heard the word ¡®shemale¡¯¡ª it seemed like being called an N-word at that moment. "You have murdered my son Reeves ¡ª and Truman too!" Laura crawled over to quickly, picking up Magnum pistol and pointed it up ¡ª every armed soldier trained their rifles up, a soldier called out nervously ¡ª at her pointing the devastating hand-cannon at them... ¡°Lady, put the weapon down ¡ª now!" A Canadian soldier intervened... Even Roberta froze a moment. She had waited for years for Laura¡¯s index-finger to move while she was hospitalized in coma ¡ª now, out of coma ¡ª that index-finger was the trigger finger... Roberta soon moved ¡ª and went in-between the soldiers and Laura, to shield her... "Don''t shoot her! I am taking my sister back across the border with me!¡± Laura was angry. ¡°No, I am not going back!" Capt. Halen finally stepped into the commotion... ¡°Looks like your sister don¡¯t wish to follow you, Miss Jensen ¡ª so I may suggest you get on that chopper of yours, and go back to where you came from.¡± The furious Roberta barked back... ¡°What do you mean? She is following me back now ¡ª and so are these AOG rebel prisoners, who are under FBI¡¯s jurisdiction. They killed 2 Federal agents back there, just now! They will have to go on trial for their terrorist crimes ¡ª and for their recent attempt on the life of the President of the United States in Los Angeles.¡± The suspended Roberta was sounding like the by-the-book, recently deceased FBI Agent Maxine Harvest. ¡°Where is Reeves?¡¯ Roberta did not see him, at the Canadian border with the others...The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Pardon me, Jensen ¡ª you are not FBI!¡± Capt. Halen intervened... ¡°It¡¯s best for you to leave now ¡ª and you will only come back with proper written authorization ¡ª as for the current situation now ¡ª and, these people are under the immunity of the Canadian authority, and I don''t want you to further threaten nor harass anyone in here, during my watch... ¡°...now beat, Jensen!¡± The Canadian officer knew of Roberta Jensen¡¯s repute across the US border ¡ª and how she brutally massacred his kind over there ¡ª with the authority of her jingoistic president, who was popularly worldwide known as the despotic Snake-woman. But, Roberta pointed back at the officer ¡ª and disputed acrimoniously... ¡°You listen here, Haley ¡ª now you get me your damn superior to talk to me because you don¡¯t seem to understand the gravity of the situation here ¡ª it is all because, your laidback country may not be going through the shit, of what we are facing over there!¡± The butch pointed at the two kneeling rebels ¡ª and continued to be indignant... ¡°Look, these two AOG radical fuckers have kidnapped my sister, and all poisoned her mind ¡ª till to the point that she does not know who the bad guys are ¡ª so listen, I am not leaving here, without the three of them in my custody ¡ª do you get me, Capt. Halen?¡± ¡°I don''t give a jack-shit to what you say and demand over here, Jensen ¡ª because over here it is my call (you can quote me too, in your CNN TV interviews) ¡ª that I am ordering you now, to get on your chopper and go the hell home ¡ª or else ¡ª I will throw your decorated ass in the Canadian prison!¡¯ The angry, unarmed Roberta looked around in desperation at the pressuring Intersexual in uniform ¡ª and then eyed her sister, before barking... ¡°Laura, you are coming with me, right now!¡± Laura looked back in disgust and loathed... ¡°No, Robbie, get lost! I never going anywhere near you ever ¡ª I would rather kill myself than go back with you!¡± Roberta really felt her sister¡¯s bitter umbrage. She glowered deeply back at her older sister, before taking something out of her pocket ¡ª and she tossed it at Laura''s chest... Laura saw the Mimi pendent in the chain, dropping on the tarmac. Laura placed the Magnum down, and picked up her pendant and palmed it ¡ª crying again in thoughts, of giving it earlier to Reeves for good-luck. Roberta turned her head to the kneeling Big Joe ¡ª he froze when she stared... These were the lowlifes her wife Lilya too was protecting. Roberta snatched up her Magnum from the road... ¡°This is mine, you fat-fucking bitch!¡± Everyone witnessed Roberta storming away towards the FBI chopper. Troy saw Laura crying alone, and he hugged her. Everyone looked at the Bell helicopter lifting off, blowing the snow off the ground. Roberta looked out at Laura from the chopper, for one last time... It was now to her advantage that Laura was unaware that the pendant had a tracker in it ¡ª and Roberta would return back ¡ª someday soon and surreptitiously abduct her. The chopper flew away towards the US border. Capt. John Halen walked towards Joe, who was still on his knees ¡ª beside Troy and the crying Laura... ¡°You all are the Preacher''s followers?¡± ¡°We used to be ¡ª but the Preacher is now dead,¡± Joe replied to him forthright. ¡°Well ¡ª the mess has ended, now go in peace,¡± the Canadian said. ¡°What Sir? We are free to go?¡± It surprised all of the three Americans. ¡°Yes, but just one simple rule to abide ¡ª no more guns for you all when you are here in Canada. Other than that, I don''t see any reasons to hold you.¡± John Halen looked at his watch ¡ª and then pointed at the hills ahead... ¡°I got a ton of paperwork to do about that shit that happened over there. Now the three of you ¡ª get lost from here, before I change my mind.¡± Troy stood and noticed a female Immigration officer searching the Mustang ¡ª opening the dashboard compartment ¡ª and confiscating the flare gun. Troy turned to Capt. Halen... ¡°Captain Sir, you can have the flare gun after I fire it one last time ¡ª it will be in memory, of my two other friends who one of them is Laura¡¯s own son ¡ª both of them, buried in the avalanche out there.¡± The Canadian captain paused briefly, looking at Laura ¡ª before he nodded... Troy was given the flare gun by the other officer ¡ª he raised it up ¡ª and shot it in the air above... The burst flashed splaying into the dawning sky. He then handed the gun back to Capt. Haley and thanked him. Laura got into the backseat, and Joe started the car and drove ahead ¡ª he detected lots of clanking and creaking sound from the Mustang. Joe turned towards Troy beside him ¡ª whispering something incongruous, to break the silence with everyone ¡ª still lamenting even after entering Canada... ¡°Seriously, it is time to change our car.¡± ¡°Now how on earth are we going to afford that, Fat-boy?¡± Joe lifted his T-shirt up ¡ª and revealed four fat stacks of US dollars strapped on his tubby belly ¡ª Troy was surprised and he asked, where he got it from... ¡°How on god¡¯s earth, did you ¡®hit a lick¡¯ like that?¡± Joe giggled with a teasing tone ¡ª as he had almost kept a secret hidden from them, for almost a week... ¡°I got that from that woman ¡ª whom we gave the gasoline to before we went into the cannibal town. She gave it to me, and I know that Reeves was really mad at her back at that time ¡ª and he may have refused in accepting it ¡ª but seriously dude, this is lots of money to pass up ¡ª so I held on to it ¡ª for us.¡± Troy laughed at the good fortune in this new country, which they would be living in for now. He finally too understood why Joe acted as a ¡®tycoon¡¯ and had wanted to pay in cash ¡ª for Haley Eastman¡¯s ration in Wellsville back then, while they were low on food ration. Troy glanced over at the disconsolate Laura ¡ª seated detached in the backseat, with deep thoughts ¡ª her fingers were twisting her mother¡¯s pendant chain, which she had worn back on her neck... Something then caught Troy¡¯s eyes, from behind her... ¡°Joe, stop the car, hey look! Laura ¡ª look over there!¡± They all looked over towards the US border... They beheld another flare that was shot in the sky over the hills ¡ª where the avalanche had hit them earlier.... Joe was laughing aloud now, totally overjoyed... ¡°It is Reeves and the Chief ¡ª they survived!¡± Hesitantly, Laura reacted... ¡°Are you sure, Joe ¡ª are they both, really alive?¡± ¡°Yes Mimi, I grew up with that stubborn douchebag all my life ¡ª and my bro-instincts are pinging strong, to say that ¡ª Reeves is really-really alive over there!¡± The three hugged each other in exult. *** Over at the US soil, Reeves saw True Bob dropping the flare gun, on the snow ¡ª after he had fired it. Judging by the flare that was shot after the FBI chopper that flew past them earlier, Reeves assumed that the three detached team-members ¡ª had not been taken over the US border... ¡°It is good to know that they managed to make it into Canada,¡± Bob said out ¡ª and Reeves nodded subtly in agreement... ¡°Yeah, Mimi is in good hands with Troy and Joe ¡ª the three of them will be safe over there for now.¡± ¡°So are we going to find our way into Canada?¡± Bob asked nonchalantly ¡ª even though he knew the high possibilities of them being gunned down, the minute they could reach the US Immigration border ahead. Reeves was looking at his sniper rifle in his hands ¡ª which was given to him by the ¡®late-Preacher¡¯ at the Mojave Desert for an infuse mission ¡ª that he had always sidestepped... ¡°No Bob, not yet ¡ª I still have got a lot of unfinished business here.¡± ¡°Okay then Commander Reeves, I will tag along with you ¡ª the Universe is saying that it will be a while before I can catch up with Troy ¡ª and get my hundred and thirty bucks back, which he owed me in prison. He better pay me back, with interest this time.¡± True Bob humoured, and patted the stolid looking Reeves¡¯ shoulder. The two of them started to scale along the snowy terrain. They intended to walk ten miles back undetected ¡ª towards the destructed Army base ¡ª where nearby at the higher ground, was True Bob''s chopper bike... It would be their temporary ride back, on to their next destination ¡ª to Washington DC. Chapter 17 AMONG THE VESSELS THAT TRAVELED into the Suez Canal to sail to Europe ¡ª was the humanitarian ship, returning from the Americas. Dr Grozini and her daughter watched from the top deck at the ship''s woman captain, who was speaking to female Egyptian Immigration officers, looking at some cargo documents. They immediately sanction it without searching for stowaways, because of the good effort cause done by the doctors-without-borders of the Red Cross ¡ª to the many parts of the world. The Egyptians authorities got off from the ship, and the captain looked up and nodded to both of the Grozinis. The two women came down by a spiralling stairway to the lower deck, with volunteer doctors and nurses who were checking on the loaded medical supplies crates, which they had received from the docks. The radio was tuned into an Italian news station that announced ¡ª that President Madeline Cory had won the recent elections in America for the second term ¡ª and she had appointed Lucinda Gates as her acting new vice president. The Red Cross vessel sailed into the Mediterranean Sea ¡ª and was heading to Italy... *** Peter was among the six surviving stowaway monks in robes, on that same vessel ¡ª reciting the rosary softly together beside Doran''s bed. The shirtless Preacher was fast asleep, a bandaged shoulder from Wolfe''s gunshot in the recent L.A. battle ¡ª and other old injuries were in the binding on his belly ¡ª from his earlier battle, with Roberta Jensen in New Orleans. A young Intersexual trainee doctor was using his statoscope, on his cataleptic patient. ¡°Don''t pray too hard, Brothers ¡ª for The Lord has answered your prayers. He is stable now and will be better once we reach Italy. Now let him take some rest, preferably in peace and quiet.¡± Peter thanked Dr Del Marco. The other monks followed the doctor out of the door. Peter remained beside the sound asleep leader, of the once God¡¯s Army notoriety... The insentient rebel leader has now transported secretly away from his cause ¡ª that left behind much devastation in America. *** Peter was in silence ¡ª he then recalled his last moments with the now lamented Michael, in the blazing grand ballroom in LA ¡ª which was under siege by the Preacher¡¯s rebels, a week ago. He was holding the incapacitated Doran after he was debilitated, with a dose of sedative to knock him out... He saw Michael picking up Doran¡¯s rifle...The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°You don''t have to do this ¡ª the three of us can still escape from here, Michael!¡± ¡°But Peter, he came here to die for the future of our kind ¡ª and we all too did promise, to fight along with him to the very end. But if his enemies want to bleed the sacrificial lamb tonight ¡ª then it will surely not be Doran.¡± ¡°So you are going to sacrifice yourself in his place? No, please Michael ¡ª don''t do it!¡± Michael held Peter''s preventing arm firmly ¡ª and looked him in the eyes... ¡°It has to be done ¡ª the future of our Holy Church depends on him. Peter ¡ª please help me, to do the Will of God.¡± Peter closed his eyes ¡ª and took a deep breath before nodding, with tears flowing down his face... Seconds later, Michael was shot dead in the blazing inferno. Peter escaped carrying the insentient Preacher through a hole in the wall ¡ª which was broken by the exhibition robot ¡ª that hurled a metal beam in an attack earlier. He then disguised themselves in the uniforms of dead Elite-soldiers ¡ª and he burnt ''the'' evidence of their monk robes, before leaving the LA Convention Center undetected ¡ª fleeing far away, from the obliterations behind him. *** Peter was in the cabin, with the motionless scar-faced Doran ¡ª it had been a week on the sea, since the LA Battle. He was with the same teary eyes looking intently, at their fallen Soldier of God leader, lying inert on a bunk. He had also discovered a lot of medical truth in that short period, by helping the Red Cross medical team ¡ª where some of the physicians whom he met had diagnosed Doran suffering from schizophrenia for some time, by his delirium he displayed... But they established that there was a possibility ¡ª that he could be cured over time. Peter grasped back to rationalize the mental symptoms the doctors had told him, with the divine ¡®visions¡¯ that Doran often spoke extensively of while in prison and also in his sermons preached in the desert... Michael too was among the thousands of others followers, who had sacrificed their lives for him, in believing in his deluded visions ¡ª of a new promised land, promised by God Himself... Peter prayed to the departed... ¡°Michael, I will keep the end of my promise, I will implore that every day ¡ª that the Will of The Lord will be done.¡± But he still could not understand the Vatican¡¯s interest, in wanting an unsound candidate ¡ª as one of the papal nominees ¡ª but Peter did not want to question their intentions either ¡ª it was not his place, to judge the Will of God... Instead, he said another short prayer now, to justify his growing doubts ¡ª on Doran¡¯s past actions ¡ªthat actually prophesized in accordance to his creator¡¯s plan. He made the sign of the cross and left the cabin. The door closed with a click sound, which caused Doran''s eyes to half-open ¡ª awakened now, he stared in a daze, into the dark corner of the unknown surrounding... A hideous figure stepped out into the half-light ¡ª it was his mother hissing at him... ¡°So you survived, you abomination... ¡®The blood of thousands are already upon your hands ¡ª and soon it will be million! ¡°You are going to burn in hell, my demon-son ¡ª you will burn for eternity!¡± Her nightgown began to combust brightly ¡ª Doran feebly reached out, trying to touch the ocher flame, with his begging fingers... ¡°Mother, please take this cup of sufferings away from me...¡± <><><>oOo<><><> END Of PART 5 Of 5 <><><>oOo<><><>