G Hopf: Sanctuary

Nothing happened. The radio crackled and a voice came over, “Charlie Actual, the is Charlie Two, over.”

“Go, Charlie Two,” Simpson barked into the handset.

“We need a clarification of last command, over!”

Simpson gave Barone an uneasy stare.

Barone marched over to him, grabbed the handset, and yelled, “All units, this is Colonel Barone. Open fire on all the protestors, take no prisoners. I say again, kill all the protestors!”

There was a brief and uncomfortable pause but soon the roar of machine guns erupted outside, followed by screams.

Barone walked over to the large window and looked down on the street out front. The protestors were running in every direction in the hopes of escape. Some Marines were not firing, but others were. Clearly his commands were not universally being heeded. However, enough were obeying to ensure that not a soul would be left standing.

Barone was done with talking, done with politicians, done with democracy. He was now a dictator and would rule with an iron fist.

So many different scenarios had run through Samantha’s mind when Eric told her that Truman’s group had returned. Many of the scenarios had fighting breaking out between the groups. It was a probable outcome and this time she wasn’t going to have Haley anywhere close by. On their way to the front gate, she dropped Haley off at Eric’s house.

Pulling up to the gate, the first person Samantha saw was Nelson; he was badly beaten but alive. She closed her eyes and thanked God for answering her prayers.

If he was still alive, Truman and his group saw value in him and were here to negotiate for something.

When she took a rough count of the group she counted ten, seven men and three women. The one person missing in her count was Truman.

On her side of the gate, they had Eric, Mack, Frank, and Scott.

“Nelson! How are you?” Samantha asked.

He smiled and cracked a joke. “Oh my God, I’ve had the best time. I get a massage every morning, followed by filet mignon and lobster for dinner every night.”

She smiled. “Where’s Truman?” she asked.

A man she had never seen before stepped forward and spoke. “Truman’s dead. I killed him.”

Samantha was shocked to hear that.

“It’s true. They killed him last night,” Nelson confirmed.

“Truman was a smart guy, but he was too sentimental. We need someone in charge who thinks clearly. Your friend here is valuable. He’s not valuable to us dead so we’re here to bargain for his life,” the man said.

“What do you want?” Eric asked.

“We want a couple vehicles and food.”

Samantha was ready to take the deal without a second’s thought when Nelson blurted out, “Don’t do it, Sam. You need the food and the vehicles. If you give them two vehicles that will damage our ability to survive.”

“He’s right,” Eric agreed.

“This is a life. This is about Nelson’s life,” Samantha chided Eric.

“I’m talking about life too—yours, Haley’s, mine!” Eric snapped back.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the man chimed in. “We can give you your friend and you give us what we ask for or we will just take it.”

“Don’t give in to them. If you fight then you at least have a chance!” Nelson said.

The man walked over to Nelson and hit him with a closed fist.

“We’ll do it!” Samantha shouted.

“No, we won’t!” Eric countered.

The rumbling sound of a vehicle caught all of their attention. Truman’s group looked in the direction of the sound and they all began to spread apart in anticipation of fighting who was coming.

“Are you expecting someone?” the man asked.

Samantha and the others exchanged looks before she answered him. “No, everyone in our group is here.”

“Jesus Christ, Samantha, is there anything else you want to give away?” Eric lambasted her.

The sound of the engine rumbling grew louder. Truman’s group grew tenser when the vehicle came into their view. A few lifted their weapons and took aim.

“Shoot the vehicle!” the man ordered.

With their entire group focused on the vehicle, Eric took action. He aimed and shot the man who was speaking for the group.

Nelson, with his hands tied behind his back, ran toward the gate. Samantha sprinted toward him.

Eric aimed at a second person and shot him.

In an instant, some in Truman’s group turned their guns on Eric and the others.

Mack managed to get off a few shots before he was hit three times, once in the stomach, once in the hip, and a round in his left leg. He fell to the ground and grunted in pain.

Eric was calm and steady as he aimed at the woman who had just shot Mack. He was squeezing the trigger when he was hit in the shoulder.

Samantha opened the gate for Nelson but not in time.

Several bullets struck him in the back and he fell into her arms. The force caused her to fall backward with him on top of her.

Scott had a shotgun and was blasting away. He hit one of the men, but then several of them targeted him and let loose a volley of fire. One of the shots was fatal; he fell to the ground with a gasp.

Frank ran over to help Nelson but a barrage of bullets rained down on him. He too was hit several times, with one fatal shot to the head.

Mack yelled out in pain, and from a kneeling position he shot and killed the man who had delivered the fatal shot to Frank.

The group trained all of their guns on Mack and fired. He yelled out before falling over dead.

There were still six people from Truman’s group alive and unhurt. Seeing everyone on the other side down they stopped shooting.

“We got them all!” one of the women cheered.

A man in the group walked inside the gate and up to Samantha, who was struggling under an unconscious Nelson. He raised his rifle at her.

She tried to reach for her pistol but couldn’t. Resigned to what was about to happen, she closed her eyes.

A shot rang out.

She opened her eyes and the man fell over backward.

The shot had come from behind her; she looked back and saw Seneca. Having more time, she wiggled out from underneath Nelson and pulled out her pistol.

Truman’s group targeted Seneca but she ran away, disappearing as quickly as she had appeared. She ran from the gate toward a large boulder about fifteen feet away.

Samantha sat up and fatally shot two of them.

The ferocity of the gun battle had caused everyone to forget about the mysterious vehicle.

Without notice, a Humvee plowed into the remaining three, the force of the impact tossing their bodies like rag dolls.

Nelson had come to and was coughing. He cried out in pain and rolled onto his back, his hands still tied.

Seneca ran to him as Samantha tried to stop the bleeding from his wounds.

Eric stood up and yelled, “Who is that?” pointing to the truck.

The driver’s door opened, and out stepped Gordon.

When Pablo had finally called it a night, his bloodlust had taken the lives of thirteen people. With each new person he tortured, more information and names were divulged. The insurgency had managed to penetrate his ranks by buying some of his men. He had never given it any thought, but if he was able to buy an army, it only proved that his army could also be bought. A mercenary army is only as loyal as the highest bidder. These men weren’t fighting for their country, they weren’t fighting for honor, or for something they believed in. It was all about money. This new insight made him realize that going forward, he wouldn’t be able to demand loyalty; he had to pay for it.

When he walked into the dining room he expected to see Isabelle but she wasn’t there. He grabbed the decanter of wine and a glass and took his seat at the head of the table.