Adrift: The Complete Novel (16 page)

The loose band of men had met through the years, some dying off, others moving to the area and taking their place. Most were bachelors, seeking the camaraderie of men with similar values, hard-working men who believed in an honest day’s work and helping your neighbor. All were veterans of the military, a smaller number having served in World War II, some in Korea and others in Vietnam.

They spent summer nights together, toasting to friends dead and gone. When one of their number was too feeble to leave home, the others would bring the food and drink, never leaving their sick friend alone. Goodbyes were never said. Their favored farewell a solemn, “See you soon.”

They came from all over, but had settled in the Pandhandle, seeking warmer weather and a quiet place to live out their remaining days. They found each other through service clubs, the VA and the VFW. Most importantly, they came when called.

Seven had braved the weather and sat chatting in Eli’s cluttered living room.

Hollie and Eli stood to the side. “Are you sure about this?” asked Hollie.

“I trust these men with my life, and you know that’s a lot for me to admit.”

“Okay. Let’s talk to them.”

Eli hadn’t told his friends a thing, only that he needed their help. He’d thought about what to say, not wanting to mince words. He coughed into his hand silencing the veterans. “First, thanks for coming. You know I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t important.” Nods around the room. “Second, some of you know Hollie Herndon. Good man. I’m proud to call him my friend. We won’t talk about the fact that he was an Army doggie.” More nods, and a couple wry grins. There was more than one former soldier in the group. “Here’s the deal, I’m not gonna lie, what we’re about to do it damn dangerous. I don’t want anyone in it if they don’t want to be. Now’s your chance. If you want out, feel free to leave. No hard feelings.”

He waited. Not a man moved. Good men.

Eli nodded. “Okay, now that we’re all in, let’s talk business.”

Chapter 36

Max Laney’s troops were deployed. He hadn’t heard from the group with the hounds, but he felt the plan coming together. The rest of his men were in place. It helped that Laney owned or controlled most of the land in the surrounding vicinity. He knew it well.

Still no word from the police, but he was sure that the Marine had gotten Knox as well. It would’ve been good to have the chief on his side. without him Laney couldn’t use the police department, and he didn’t dare try. Too many possible complications.

He was on his own to wage the battle on his home turf. Laney was confident in his resources. They’d never failed him before. It had never been a Marine sniper he’d hunted down, but there was always time for a first.

No, Laney trusted his instincts, and they told him that as long as he threw the full weight of his influence into finding and killing Briggs, it would happen.

Max Laney puffed on a pudgy cigar wondering how Gen. Douglas McArthur had felt before sending troops into battle. He’d have to read about it after the war was won.

+++

Hollie and Eli divided their men into two teams. Eli would take the less mobile in two trucks, and Hollie would command the rest.

With marching orders in hand, the years melted away from their grizzled appearance. The spark of youth and the bond of brotherhood reignited something in them that could only come in times of need. It was like a platoon getting ready to step off on a patrol, joking to calm the nerves.

Watching the men from a distance, Hollie’s memories floated back to his days in the Army, when he’d been a cocky Lieutenant ready for anything. He was far from that now, but being amongst fellow warriors brought a similar feeling of fraternity. He wasn’t as reckless as he’d once been, but he had years of experience on his side.

Eli looked up from the conversation he was having with a tiny man with jaundiced features. “You ready, Hollie?”

“Let’s go.”

Grabbing the weapons they’d been issued from Eli’s armory, the men walked out into the strong wind and rain, warriors once again.

+++

They’d been at it for hours, their energy draining as the last remnants of daylight faded. The dogs had slowed too, eagerly taking the tidbits of food from their master.

“How long do we have to be out here?” asked one of the hired guns, pistol stowed carelessly in his pocket.

“Let me call Mr. Laney and see if the guy turned up,” suggested another man. A minute later he shook his head. “He said to keep going. Hey, dog man, how come your bitches haven’t found the guy?”

Everette Turner, a sturdy man in his mid-forties, looked around. “Have you seen what we’re walking through?” In response the woods shook with a rattle of thunder. “My dogs are good, but this could take a while.”

By the look on his face it was obvious that Turner was a patient man and in no hurry. They were the opposite, men of action who’d sooner throw a sucker punch in the back of an unsuspecting man’s head than to wait for anything.

“Feels like we’ve been going in circles,” said the first man, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. “How much is Mr. Laney paying you anyways?”

“That’s my business. You better stick to yours if you want to get paid.” The trainer barked an order to his dogs and they jumped off in pursuit.

Silently, Turner wondered if he should’ve taken the job. Max Laney had told him that a criminal was on the loose and he’d taken him for his word. Why wouldn’t he? Turner wasn’t from Defuniak Springs, but he’d heard of the wealthy family. Plus, it had been a slow month and he’d welcomed the chance to make up for it.

After searching the wilderness for hours with men who were obviously thugs, the trainer, a former military policeman, had his doubts about Laney’s true purpose. The description of the man they were looking for was vague. The reason even more so.

“A thieving bum,” was what Laney had said. “Gave him some work around the house and he stole my equipment from the shed.” He’d produced a shirt he said belonged to the thief. Turner now wondered how Laney had it in his possession.

All these thoughts sifted through Turner mind as he followed the pack, Laney’s goons complaining every step of the way.

+++

The fires still burned when Hollie pulled up to his property. Both the house and the barn. More than anything, the memories were lost. His wife calling for dinner from the front porch. His young son dangling from the tire swing Hollie had put up on his fifth birthday. All gone. Swept away once, now gone forever.

“You still want to go in?” asked one of his companions.

“No use now. Let’s stick to the plan. We have everything we need.”

Hollie turned away from the home he’d known since birth, the taste of revenge on his tongue, metallic, harsh, yet enticing.

Chapter 37

First one then all of the dogs bayed. Everette Turner sped into a trot, the men behind him perking up and following. The rays from their flashlights led the way, eventually shining on the dogs who had arrayed around a large tree. The trainer followed their gazes, approaching with gun drawn.

“Is it him?” asked one of the mercenaries.

Turner ignored the question, still trying to see into the heavily vegetated tree, rain and darkness making it nearly impossible to see past the first level of branches.

Moving around the behemoth cautiously, Turner spied an opening in the canopy, squinting through the downpour.

“You can point your guns at the ground,” he announced to the men who’d constantly maintained poor muzzle awareness, repeatedly pointing their weapons at him.

“What is it?”

“Dead deer. Strung up there.” Turner pointed, up to where a doe had been wedged in between branches, entrails hanging, dripping blood to the ground.

“Why in the hell would someone want to do that?”

The trainer moved to his dogs, trying to get them to move away from the carcass. Even well-trained dogs could go astray at the smell of that much food. It didn’t help that they were tired and hungry. It was all he could do to get them to listen and stop their howling.

To make matters worse, one of the Laney’s idiots decided to climb up into the tree and try to dislodge the animal. This sent the dogs into a frenzy.

“I think I got…” The man in the tree was cut off with a muffled
THUMP
, followed by the deer falling to the ground. Every dog except the one Turner held by the collar jumped to retrieve the prize.

So enthralled were the men with the scene of the ravenous dogs attacking the carcass on the ground that no one remembered the man in the tree, except Everette Turner. Letting the last dog join the feast, Turner pointed his flashlight into the tree.

“I think one of you better help your friend,” he commented nonchalantly.

A ruddy faced hire looked at him questioningly. “What are you talking about?”

Turner simply pointed up. The man’s gaze lifted along with his flashlight beam. It took him a moment to make out. “Holy shit.”

More beams, more curses. The man in the tree sat with his back to the trunk, legs straddling a large branch, blood running from his mouth from the large stake impaled through his chest.

Bum my ass
, thought Turner.

+++

Two blasts rattled the thick glass, making Max Laney turn from the kitchen table where he’d been monitoring the progress from his teams. The power still wasn’t on, but Laney could see where the blast had come from. The double garage that sat detached from the main house lay in a heap, wisps of smoke barely visible.

“What the…?”

One of the men who’d stayed behind to guard the main house ran into the room. “Mr. Laney, two rockets or something from the road. Whoever it was raced off before we could follow.”

“Rockets?”

“Yes, sir. That’s what it looked like.”

What was the purpose? Why not target the house instead? And more importantly, who the hell was helping Hollie? Laney had made sure Herndon’s farm was burnt to the ground. Another wrench thrown into this plans.

“Did you see what the car looked like?”

“No, sir. We couldn’t see that far. I don’t know how they shot the garage from so far away.”

The man was right. With the limited visibility surely it would have been impossible to take one shot, let alone two, unless…

The only people he knew that had that type of weaponry, possibly with night vision or infrared capability was the military. Laney wondered if maybe Briggs had called in the Marines, but that was impossible. It had to be someone local, someone with access, or maybe even a stockpile of military-grade weaponry.

Laney’s searched his mental database, sifting through the all the locals he knew. His breath caught as his brain lingered on one name: Eli Henderson.

+++

Eli Henderson couldn’t stop laughing. “I wish I could see the look on Max’s face. I hope his Lexus was in the garage.”

They sped along the flooded roadway, headed to their next task, every man smiling, reliving the days when they would have charged the objective on foot. That wasn’t their job this night. They had more important things to take care of.

+++

Once the dogs had satisfied their appetites, Turner was able to coral them and work on finding the trail. As he reached into his pack a prickle ran up his spine. Someone was watching. Turner could feel it even though the dogs didn’t notice.

Pivoting slowly, the experienced woodsman faced the opposite direction, away from the rest of the men. Frozen in place, eyes focused into the darkness, Turner swept his right hand from left to right, only visible to someone in the distance. He repeated the motion hoping someone was actually watching  and that it wasn’t just his nerves playing tricks on him.

Chapter 38

Wally looked up at the sound of the front door opening. Business had been slow because of the storm and he was anxious to make any money he could. The place was empty. After the scuffle with the Laneys, he wondered more than once why he stayed.

Hollie stomped his feet on the door mat. “Good evening, Wally.”

Wally groaned, his stomach twisting in knots. “Now, I don’t want any trouble, Mr. Herndon. I’m just trying…”

The old man held up his good hand. “I’m not here to make trouble, son. I just want to ask you a few questions.”

Thinking of the warning he’d gotten from Max Laney, the bar owner hesitated. All he wanted to do was close up, go home, and ride out the storm. “I don’t know if I should.”

“Worried about Laney?”

“Of course. You saw what he did to my place. Johnny’s as crazy as they come, but Mr. Laney will tear my life apart if he wants to.”