Paul Kirk - Devastation Point

“’Kay. But—”

“And I want you to run to stay with Johnny Dunlop if I go and say ‘Run Gabby!’ okay ?”

“Nully?”

“What?”

“I don’t wanna leave you!” Visibly upset, Gabriella’s whole body shook; she repeatedly curled the top of the bag into a tight bunch with her hands, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Listen! Okay?” Renaldo touched her shoulder, tilting her head to better see her eyes.

“I’m taking a risk here, Gabby, I think a small one, but I hope we’re gonna be okay. You see?”

“Umm…”

“Listen. I wanna have a backup plan for you to run to Johnny if I’m wrong. Okay?”

“I don’t wanna. I really, really don’t wanna!”

“We could end up being with real good people, Gabby. Maybe. Besides, we got caught up in a bad mess back there. To get out of it, we hafta to take some risks.”

“Would Papa say so?”

“Papa ain’t here no more, Gabby. It’s only you and me.”

“Would Papa—”

“Stop it, Gabby! I’m thinkin’ what Papa taught me!”

“’Kay.”

“Stay here and hide. Keep the Colt in your hands if you have to run, okay?”

“’Kay.”

“Shoot at anyone that’s comin’ after you, but take good aim, okay? And, put that big piece of meat in your pocket right now. Leave the bag right where it sits. If I say run, got it?”

“Yeah.”

“Now—I might be a few minutes. Hide until I tell you to come out or run.”

“Oh…”

“Game face, Gabby!”

‘’Kay.”

“Top, You copy? The boy’s made us. Over.”

Mickey was listening to the strategy session when the radio alerted him. “Copy. Say again? Over.”

“The black-haired boy’s coming right at us. We’ve been made. Orders? Over.”

Mickey filled in the team at the KFC, Connor quickly asking for the radio. Mickey handed it over with some concern.

“Stretch, this is Colonel Mac, why’s this boy approaching your position? Over.”

“Not sure. Over.”

“He have a weapon in his hand? Over.”

Stretch ignored the fact that he was now speaking to the man they’d sought for nearly a year. It was surreal, but he ignored the legend behind the man, answering simply.

“Yes, sir. Over.”

“How’s he approaching? Over.”

“Not very cautious. Handgun in his hands. Over.”

“How’s he holding the gun? Over.”

“Sir? I’m not sure what you mean. Over.”

“Is he nervous ready to shoot, or is the gun more in front of him like ‘just in case’? Over.”

“Um, more just in case, I would say. Over.”

“Alert him to your presence immediately. Weapon neutral. Over.”

“Say again, sir? Over.”

“Now, sergeant! Alert him to your presence. Over.”

Stretch nodded to the two men nearby, radioing the men in the house. “Hold fire. Repeat. Hold all fire. I am engaging the Tango. Over.” Stretch stood to his full height, six feet and six inches, much taller than the grass in which he had hidden. The boy noticed right away, also recognizing that the automatic rifle in Stretch’s hands was pointed away and non-threatening. The boy lowered the Taurus further, and stopped twenty yards away. Stretch lifted his radio slowly to his lips. “We’ve met, sir. He’s standing twenty yards from me with a loaded handgun. Over.”

“How do you know it’s loaded? Over.”

Stretch smiled at the question. He’d made the assumption. “Good point. Over.”

“Ask him specifically how he knew you were there. Over.”

“Yes, sir. Hold for one.”

“Holding for one. Over.” Connor ignored the entire team gathered around him. He held the radio in a tight grip. For some reason, he sensed this child had some value at the moment, but was not sure why. Maybe simply because he was heading from the same direction they’d been coming from and had seen Phoenix’s advancing army. Granted, Connor knew he was pushing the envelope of engagement rules in wasting his time on a child, but his gut was telling him the decision was the right one.

Mickey was listening and had some serious concern for his men in the field. Captain Daubney was about to question the loose way the situation was going down, but noticed that John McLeod, BB and Marty simply smiled. Perhaps, they knew Connor was picking up on something that would come to light. All heads turned to the radio when Stretch responded.

“Approaching him, sir. Hold.” Bewildered and wondering what he had got himself into, Stretch held up his hand for the boy to stop, even though it was clear the boy would not move forward without some reason. Stretch raised his voice. “Hey boy, how’d you know we were here?”

“Say what?”

“How’d you know we were here?”

“Right. Your team was sloppy on entry. Left a trail. One of your men swiped the car window there to see inside. Fresh clean swipe on a dirty car tells me someone’s near.”

“Anything else?”

“The grass was trampled. In several places heading to the gate. Cigarettes and meat cooking tells me someone’s around here somewhere. And them windows up there were closed last time I came through.”

Stretch filled Connor in on the reasons. Connor laughed and radioed Stretch. “Stretch, I know I just busted into your command chain, but do me a favor? Over.”

“Sir? Yes, sir. Over.” Stretch found it strange to be asked for permission.

“Tell the boy detective that he’s safe. Ask him to come in and talk to the commander, me, on the radio. Show him we’re serious, set your weapon down and make sure the men around you do the same. But, tell him if he does anything stupid, the guys in the window will take out his friend. You understand? Over.”

“Yes, sir. Roger that.”

“Make it clear to the men in the windows to shoot only on your orders. Over.”

“Yes, sir. Over and out.” The men near Stretch overheard the verbal exchange and were aghast. Stretch, himself, was wondering what good would come out of this. But, he looked to his men, nodding. “You heard the man. Set ’im down and stand up.”

Renaldo stared at the fierce men rising above the weeds in the yard. Reflexively, he flinched, his right hand starting to raise the Taurus, but stopping when he knew the men were unarmed and would not shoot. Lowering the Taurus, he walked a few feet closer. Studying the tall man, he waited, watching him speak again into a radio. Several other men stood near him, glancing at the tall man. Nearly fainting with relief, Renaldo slipped the Taurus into his belt, smiling his best ‘meeting new strangers’ smile. A few seconds later, he was waved in by the tall man. Calculating the potential for capture, Renaldo tried to figure out what had just happened. Pleased, he gained some confidence.

“My commander wants to speak with you.”

“Yeah?”

“To show you we’re serious in not shooting you, we’ve set our weapons down. My commander only wants to talk.

“And that’s all?”

“Yeah. Those are my orders.”

“Wow. For real?”

“But, just so you understand, you do anything stupid, my guys in the window will take out your friend hiding behind that Buick. You got it?”

Renaldo lost a good bit of his building confidence, but held hope that he’d made the right decision approaching this team.

“Okay. I understand.”

“Your name?”

“Renaldo Miguel.”

“Got it. You can call me Stretch.”

“I wonder why—”

“C’mon over here, Renaldo Miguel. Talk to my Colonel.”

“Okay.”

“What time is it?”

“10:30.”

“Crap! Why’d you let me sleep so long?”