Jeff Brackett - Half Past Midnight

I appreciated her confidence, but I hadn’t told her what I had in mind for this meeting.

Jim and I stepped onto the bridge and away from the grim faces of the people that had come with us to meet Larry. The folks of Rejas brandished a variety of weapons, from machine guns taken off of the bodies of Larry’s so-called soldiers to homemade bows and arrows. Each of them had come with whatever they could get their hands on and, though they were outnumbered, outgunned, and quite possibly outmaneuvered, there wasn’t the slightest hint of hesitation. Everyone appeared ready to make their stand.

The bridge stretched over the reservoir for about two hundred yards, and I saw two figures approaching us from the other side. As we walked out to meet them, I examined our opposition. Out front, partly on the bridge itself, sat one of Larry’s tanks. Just behind it, I could see a few hundred troops. Just past the bridge, the road veered sharply to the right and into the thicket, blocking any further observations, although just at the edge of the bend, I spotted the front of a second tank.

“You call this a plan?” I said through the side of my mouth. We were under the supposed protection of a white flag, but my confidence in Larry’s willingness to honor the truce was limited. The whole thing was iffy, at best. Too many things had to go just right.

If Jim had similar thoughts, he kept them well hidden. “Just keep walkin’.”

I recognized the two people approaching as Larry and Han. “Larry’s leg seems to have healed well. There’s no limp at all.”

Jim grunted. “Maybe next time.”

“One can only hope.”

We stopped a few feet away in the middle of the bridge, twenty feet above the murky waters of the reservoir. I was surprised at the hulking leviathan beside Larry. I had forgotten just how huge Han was, or perhaps the rough lifestyle had bulked him up. Whatever the reason, I had to work to keep my jaw from dropping.

“Hello again, Leeland.” Larry smirked. “I see your townspeople have determined to do the sensible thing and turn you over to me.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice, a wicked gleam in his eye. “Doesn’t it frustrate you to find just how little you mean to them? Or that you’ve wasted your time with a group of people that just don’t care much what happens to anyone else, as long as they are left alone to meek out their miserable existences?”

“You haven’t changed a bit, Larry. Still a big-headed windbag with delusions of grandeur, eh? You even had to put on a uniform and call yourself a general to appease that ego, didn’t you?”

His eyes narrowed, and he turned to address Jim. “I’m gratified that you decided to do the right thing, Mayor. I’m truly sorry that we had to use such drastic measures to recapture Mr. Dawcett, but this is a martial law situation. You understand, I’m sure.”

“Han, bring him.” Han stepped forward.

“Oh no, you don’t!” I whipped out the pistols I had hidden under my jacket, planted the first one firmly in Larry’s ribs, and jammed the second under his chin. “Tell your dog to stay put, or I’ll do what I should have done two years ago.”

Larry froze.

Han froze.

Jim froze.

“What are you doing, Lee?” Jim yelled. “This ain’t what we agreed on!”

“Change in plans. I’m not about to trust this scum to turn our people loose unless he has to.”

I dug the pistol into Larry’s side. “This is to make sure he has to.”

“What makes you think I’ll do it now?” Larry’s words were laced with disdain, but I could see the way his Adam’s apple bobbed beneath the muzzle of the pistol.

“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t. It’s as simple as that.”

“And why should I believe you won’t if I release them?”

“Because one of your hostages is my mother-in-law. And if you’ll recall, I went through hell and back for my family, even went so far as to take a beating from your pet gorilla to buy them time.”

“Leeland, I assure you-”

“Shut up! Your word doesn’t mean dick! You’ll let those hostages go only as long as I force you to. So get on your radio and send them out. Now!”

I pulled the second pistol from under his chin and tucked it back under my jacket. As I did, I saw Han at the edge of my sight trying to inch closer. Without turning away from Larry, I said, “Go ahead and try it, Han. I’d love an excuse to ruin this pretty uniform your boss is wearing.”

He stopped and moved his hands out to the side where they could be easily seen.

“You might be smarter than I gave you credit for. Now pull open your jacket and drop your gun belt. Make it slow. Jim, take his gun and toss it into the water.”

Jim jumped, apparently startled. “This ain’t right, Leeland. It ain’t what we agreed to.”

I stole glimpses at the crowds on either side of the bridge. On both sides, people had weapons raised, some aimed at me, some at Larry and Han. Still others aimed at the opposing army. Everywhere though, people appeared uncertain as to what exactly was going on.

“Do it, Mayor!”

He hastened to grab the pistol from the ground, but seemed to hesitate at throwing it into the reservoir. I understood. Firearms and ammunition were valued commodities, rapidly diminishing resources. Nevertheless, it was vital that Larry and Han be unarmed if this was going to work.

“Don’t worry, Mayor. I’ll still go with them. You’ll get to save your precious town. I just want to make sure my family is safe first.” I turned back to Larry and frisked him with my free hand. I left the radio on his belt and threw his pistol out to join Han’s. The splash told me that it wouldn’t be easily recovered.

Jim started to step toward me. “Leeland-”

Whipping my second handgun out again, I pointed it directly at Jim. “Sorry, Mayor, I need you to come over here where I can see you.”

Jim looked at me as if he had never seen me before. “What the…?”

“Get over here with these two where I can keep an eye on you.”

“Dammit, Leeland!”

“Now!” Jim scrambled to do as I said.

“Now reach into Larry’s jacket here and pull out his radio.” When he did, I ordered, “Take it, Larry. Tell your troops to release those hostages or, so help me, I’ll drop you where you stand, and to hell with what happens after.”

He swallowed and keyed the radio. “General Troutman here.” He looked up at me and, for a moment, I thought he was going to resist. “Release the prisoners.”

I snatched the radio from his hand before he could say anything else. “Now, as soon as I see our people back on this side of the bridge, we can settle things between ourselves.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I want to see people moving over here in thirty seconds, or I swear I’m going to ruin your day!” I shoved the barrel of my pistol down the front of his pants. “One. Two. Three-”

Larry snatched the radio back. “Get those prisoners over here! Get them over here now!”

“Seven, eight, nine…” I had reached seventeen when I saw the first of them running across the bridge. Amber was the tenth.

When the last one had filtered through the crowd on our side of the reservoir, I turned back to Larry. Pulling the pistol out of his pants, I shoved it back into his ribs. “We did have an understanding about this meeting, didn’t we, Larry? The next time we met?”

“Leeland, no!”

“This is between me and Larry, Mayor. You can go back to the factory now. This will all be over in a few minutes. I’ll kill him, his thugs will kill me, and everyone else gets to go home happy.”

Jim looked at me with wonder in his expression. “You’re just as crazy as he is.”