D. Wearmouth - First Activation

“We’ll keep watch from the upstairs front window,” Lea said.

She disappeared with Bernie through the back door.

Jack and I moved off quickly and went straight into the fields on the other side of the road, turning right towards Jerry’s farm. We kept low as we hurried along, jumping over fences and trying to remain hidden until we reached the outskirts of Jerry’s property.

“Let’s sneak around the far side of the barn instead of just walking in,” I said to Jack. “For all we know, the Range Rover might already be there.”

“You lead the way.”

Once we reached the back of Jerry’s barn, we slowly edged our way around the side of it to give us a view of the front of Jerry’s house. Parked outside the window we had first seen Jerry through, was the black Range Rover.

“They’re already here,” I whispered.

“Can you see any movement?”

I looked around the front edge of the barn.

“I can see some figures through the window,” I said.

“Can you see what they’re doing? Are they threatening him?”

“I don’t know, it looks like they’re just talking.”

“Shall we go in and surprise them?”

If we managed to catch them off guard, then we could disarm them at gunpoint. But if things didn’t go according to plan, and they gained the upper hand in a shootout, we would be in big trouble. The bearded man has a rifle.

“Let’s just wait. They didn’t mess about before.”

“What about Jerry?” Jack said.

“We hardly know him,” I said, surprising myself with my detachment.

We barely knew Bernie and Lea, but they were now the closest thing we had to a family. Keeping that family safe was the priority for me. If we did take on these people, then I wanted to make sure we had the upper hand.

We carried on waiting, as the conversation continued inside. Five minutes later, there was movement.

“Jack, they’re leaving the room.”

My heart was pounding against my chest now, and I felt a trickle of sweat run down the side of my face.

The two men in black left the house with Jerry and they all climbed into the Range Rover.

“Jerry didn’t look under pressure or frightened. They were all just talking, he went with them willingly,” I said to Jack, as the Range Rover pulled away.

Jack’s eyes widened. He started opening and closing his mouth, but no words were coming out.

“Spit it out, quickly.”

“We told Jerry about Greg in Maybrook last night.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“What if the fat fucker told them about him? What if they are now coming for us?”

“He knows where we are staying,” I said.

“Let’s go, now.”

“Wait two seconds.”

I pointed the flare gun into the sky towards our house and fired. The red projectile arced through the air and I hoped that Bernie and Lea would understand the warning.

We ran as fast as our legs could carry us along the road until we saw the Range Rover. It was parked thirty yards in front of our house and seemed empty. Using the cover of the trees around the driveway, we snuck up behind it. Through the glass, we could see some figures standing roughly in front of the house. Bernie was kneeling on the edge of the lawn; the overweight man in black was pointing his revolver at the back of his head. The bearded man was pointing his rifle towards the house, and Jerry was standing next to him.

We ducked back behind the Range Rover.

“Christ, what the fuck do we do now?” Jack said.

“I’m not sure. But whatever we decide, we need to do it quickly.”

Jack nodded.

We were both squatting and breathing heavily.

“You aim for the man with the rifle,” I said hurriedly. “He’s probably the most dangerous. Can you hit him from here? At this range I could easily hit Bernie.”

“Yes. Then what?”

“Then take out the one with the revolver trained on Bernie. Hopefully, they’ll freeze.”

“Right, let’s do it now.”

We didn’t have time for any intricate planning. The situation could have escalated at any second and we had to intervene.

Jack lay down by the side of the Range Rover to make himself a smaller target for any return fire. He looked up at me.

“Ready?”

I nodded, Jack took aim and fired.

The bearded man staggered back clear of Bernie, he dropped to his knees and clutched his chest. I fired three more shots in his direction. One of them hit him in the neck, and he dropped to the ground with a gurgled scream.

Jerry and the other man spun to face us as we trained our weapons on them. Bernie tried to get up, but Jerry put his arm on Bernie’s shoulder and forced him back down saying, “Back on your fucking knees.”

The other man mouthed obscenities at us, but kept his pistol aimed at Bernie’s head.

“You said there were only two of you?” Jerry shouted.

“I lied. Just like you did, you snake,” I yelled back.

“You two were the gullible ones who fell for my story. Hit on the head and waking up next to a corpse? You pair of stupid fucks,” he laughed. “We just want to talk.”

“Yeah, it looks like it,” Jack called back. “We saw what happened to Greg in Maybrook as well. I take it you gave away his location?”

Jerry’s face turned into a foul expression.

“If you fire one more shot, your friend gets it in the back of the head.”

“You’ve one revolver, and we’re both aiming straight at you. You are in no position to negotiate,” I shouted.

Bernie stared at us with frightened expression.

“Guys, I’m sorry. He came to the house and shouted, ‘It’s Jerry, come out.’ I came to the door and then saw the flare. As I was looking up, they smashed me in the face and dragged me out.”

Jerry glared at us.

“There are more people coming this way. If you don’t drop your weapons and give yourselves up now, you’re dead. We just want the bitch in the house.”

“Do you think you can hit the other man in black?” I whispered to Jack.

If we could get rid of him, he wouldn’t have a chance to exact revenge for his fallen partner. Then we’d only be left with Jerry.

Jack nodded and quietly reloaded his bolt-action rifle.

“This is your last chance to let him go, Jerry. You seem to be in charge, so we’re going to shoot you next,” I shouted.

“You haven’t the guts. You’re too worried about your friend,” Jerry laughed.

“And you’d have killed him already if you thought you could,” I replied. “He’s your last bargaining chip. Use it wisely.”

“We can just wait here until the others arrive. They’re heavily armed and already know this location. You, however, might not like that option.”

“What do you want out of this? Let Bernie go and you can both walk away,” I said.

“No, this prick is our insurance. We’ll let him go if you give us the bitch whose at the first floor window. Then we will take her in the Range Rover and leave you two alone.”

They must have seen Lea through a window. There was no way any man would give up a woman to a person as disgusting as Jerry. I guessed his intentions for Lea would be far from honourable.

“Not a chance,” I replied. “Let Bernie go now, or we’ll shoot.”

Jerry said something quietly to the man who nodded with a smile.

“No!” Bernie shouted.

The overweight man aiming at the back of Bernie’s head pulled the trigger and a puff of red mist appeared in front of Bernie’s face, before he quickly sank to the ground. I stood in shock as Jerry and the assassin used our hesitation to run towards the fields.

Jack and I started firing. One of us hit the shooter in the thigh, and he dropped to his knees. I ran out of ammunition just as Jerry made it over the fence and started running through the field in the direction of his farm. Jack quickly reloaded and shot the fallen man before he could turn his pistol on us. The force of the impact ripped the jawbone from the right side of his face. He slumped lifelessly against a fence post.