Justice (14 page)

“Rebel, I want you in this chair and don’t even think about moving.” I pushed a dining room chair up against the wall and gestured for him to sit down.
 

He was obedient and he wasn’t even glaring anymore. He looked back and forth between me and Murphey.
 

“Is she military too?” Pete asked.
 

“Yup, anyone with me is military, well, most. We have a doctor and one of the women the bikers were keeping locked up. She wanted a little bit of payback.” I made a point of looking at Rebel, who looked at his lap in response.
 

“What kind of military are you two? Is it like some kind of beauty pageant military?” I counted to ten, and turned it to twenty when I heard Rebel snicker.
 

“Trust me, kid,” Murphey said in her toughest voice, which was much better than mine, at least she wasn’t squeaky. “Don’t say anything like that again.”
 

TWENTY FIVE | Not in front of the kids

It was hard to see their facial expressions from my position and the lantern light that threw shadows back and forth but I could gauge from the women’s responses that Pete needed to shut up quick. He wasn’t far off, though. The two female soldiers were attractive. The one that had been upstairs was tall and well-built, but she had soft features with big eyes and pretty honey-colored hair that fell down her back in a pony-tail.
 

Her counter-part, the prickly one that had tied me up, was the opposite. She was short, could be mistaken for a teen herself, with the whitest of blonde hair that’s usually only seen on children. The only way I could describe her was cute, even though everything that came out of her mouth was the furthest from cute.
 

“How about you come sit by me, Pete,” I said to stop the conversation before he put his foot in his mouth. I wasn’t used to females like this. The ones that flocked around the MC were flaky and loose and willing to do about anything to get you to like them.
 

The blonde touched her ear again and tersely said, “Roger.”
 

She looked at me and said, “I’m Hannah Klink, this is Heather Murphey,” she motioned to her counterpart, “We’re commandeering your camp for the United States Army National Guard and the Louisiana State Troopers. You’re now under arrest for human trafficking and multiple counts of assault, rape and the exploitation of juveniles. You will be remanded and placed in confinement until the Army figures out what to do with you. You do not have any rights, since we are still under Marshall Law. If we still had a Homeland Security, you would be thrown in a hole and never seen again.” She sounded like she was reciting something she was told to say.
 

“What does that mean?” I asked. Was there still Marshall Law because there was a functioning government?
 

“It means, you do what we say,” Heather Murphey cut in.
 

“No, I mean, yes, I will do as you say, but does that mean there’s still a government? That I’m going to be held until we get the local government back up and running? Whose orders are you taking?”
 

“We’re trying to establish contact with command,” Heather Murphey said tersely and I felt the wash of disappointment fall over me. So, they were as clueless as we were. Just wandering around looking for guidance in this terrible world.
 

“So, you decided in the meantime to take over our base,” it would be a good time to put my filter in effect, but it wasn’t something I knew how to do.
 

“Yes, actually we did. We might have left you guys alone if you had laid off the kidnapping. You know that human trafficking thing I mentioned? And even then we were thinking about leaving you guys alone, until you decided to grab one of ours,” the blonde, Hannah, spit back.
 

“Hey, Rebel had nothing to do with that, he’s one of the good guys,” Pete spoke up and I could have kissed the kid.
 

“Bullshit.” Heather Murphey pointed at my chest. “Last time I checked those pretty, racist patches all over his jacket make him one of them. Men like you make me sick.” She turned and strode to the front door, leaving me with a glaring, micro-Barbie who wanted to shoot me.
 

“I really…”
I deserved that.
 

“Like, I said, I wouldn’t mind shooting you, but I think it might upset the kids. So, sit back, relax and zip it up. In about an hour, we’ll get you back to the base.”
 

“I’m yours to command,” I said and it came out a bit more flirty or sarcastic, than I intended. She frowned at me and looked at Pete who was staring at us not quite understanding what was going on.
 

“I’m sure you’ll come to regret that statement,” she said coldly and smirked at me. My gut tightened and suddenly I had a feeling that I really would. I was being held by the last remnants of the Army and they thought I was the big bad. Nothing good could come out of this.
 

TWENTY SIX | Monsters Among Us

I didn’t know what to think about our captive. After our initial interaction, he quieted up and leaned his head back and feigned sleep. I knew he was faking it because every now and again he would look up and check his surroundings.
 

He didn’t strike me as a predator either, more of a victim than anything. He looked freaked out and he had shown real concern for the children, and Pete in particular. Pete didn’t leave his side, like he also had an attachment to the young biker.
 

I didn’t want to feel empathetic for this loser, but I felt like I was keeping a civilian captive, not an enemy combatant. And that didn’t sit well with me.
 

When the sky began to lighten and the sun rose over the deserted neighborhood, I knew it was time to move.

“Poche, this is Klink, we’re ready to move.”

“Roger, Klink, there is no sign of any movement your way, bring them in. We’re placing the children in their former sleeping area.” It was Tammi Ryan who gave the orders, instead of Poche. The dynamic duo.
 

“Got it,” I said and walked to Pete and Rebel.
 

“We’re moving. We’re putting the kids back in their former sleeping area. Pete, can you run upstairs and get everyone ready to go?” Pete nodded and stood, stretching his tight muscles.
 

“What are you going to do with Rebel?” he asked, unafraid of pissing me off again.
 

“He’ll be held in confinement indefinitely,” I said coldly.
 

“Us too, are we going to be held?”
 

“No, you’ll be reunited with your parents and then your parents will decide if they would like to stay or move on. No one but the men that controlled the camp will be held against their will.”

Pete nodded and looked at Rebel with regret obvious in his eyes. Rebel shook his head at the boy and tilted it to the side, indicating for him to go upstairs. Again the feeling that he really did care for the kid took surface. But what did that matter? That didn’t make him less of a rapist or less of an opportunist. Just another man looking to take advantage of the weak. It didn’t matter if he was protective of the kids, that just made him less of a monster.
 

But, still a monster.
 

TWENTY SEVEN | Blood Stains

Heather Murphey and Hannah Klink moved everyone out of the house with stark efficiency. The women were rigid and had a take-charge persona the kids fell into step with.
 

Hannah escorted me, while Heather led the group back to the base.
 

“Take the kids through the back door. I’ll bring this one to the holding area,” Hannah called to Heather. Heather nodded her head and we split off from the group.
 

“Where are you holding the prisoners?” I asked
 

“In the office space above the grocery,” she said. The grocery my brothers had been using as the main area was located on the first floor of a small office building. It was only four stories high and made up of mostly reflective glass windows on the upper floors.
 

The National Guard had been using it as storage when we joined the camp, but not much more. You couldn’t open the windows, so there was little ventilation and it had been extremely hot in the summer when we had taken over. From what I know, our group hadn’t even given the space much thought since.

Hannah led me through the main area and I tried not to look at the blood splatters that were everywhere. It was a war zone. Bodies were being dragged out of the room as we walked in and I winced when I saw the body of my father being unceremoniously dragged out by a guy in fatigues.
 

I didn’t have a lot of love for the man, but he was still my only relative. I halted abruptly, turning around to watch my father leave a red stain of blood on the terrazzo floor.
 

“Come on,” Hannah said to me and pulled on my arm, but stopped short when she got a look at my face. I wonder what she saw there.
 

Did I look like I was in pain? Maybe grieving? I didn’t know what I was feeling. Regret?
 

“Friend of yours?”
 

“My father,” I said quietly.
 

“I’m–,” she began as if to say the compulsory, I’m sorry. But she stopped herself short and shook her head.
 
“C’mon Rebel, let’s get you situated so I can get the fuck out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”
 

“My name’s Reid.” For some reason, I didn’t want her to call me Rebel anymore.
 

“I like that better,” she said quietly.
 

“Yeah, so do I.”
 

TWENTY-EIGHT | Left to Rot