After stopping his vehicle, Jackson climbed off his ATV and walked toward Holmes, who was impatiently sitting on his steed. “Sorry we took so long. Right after you left, we got a phone call that we had to deal with.”
“Is everything all right?” Holmes asked.
Jackson nodded. “It seems that we’re going to be getting a few more captives, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
Even though he wanted to hear about the new arrivals, Holmes realized this wasn’t the time or place. He had more important things to deal with, like his announcement. “People, you have already met Master Jackson and myself. Now, it’s time to meet the real brains of the Plantation. I want you to say hello to Master Webster.”
Despite their hatred of the man, the group screamed in unison. “Hello, Master Webster!”
Webster laughed under his hood. When he’d started this mission of revenge, he had dreamed of this moment, but now that it was here, he no longer knew how to react. His reality had somehow intersected with his dream world, and he could no longer discern which was which.
“Soon the sun will rise on the Fourth of July. Independence Day. A day to celebrate the freedom of this great nation.” Webster took a deep breath while staring at the attentive crowd, wondering if they would understand the irony of their situation. “Unfortunately, some Americans weren’t given their freedom in 1776. In fact, thousands of men and women from the United States weren’t given their emancipation until after the Civil War had concluded. Yet we as a nation celebrate our independence on this day and this day alone. Ironic, isn’t it? A country celebrates its freedom on a day when only half of us were freed!”
He cleared his throat as the prisoners thought about his words.
“Wait! You want irony? Independence means freedom from control and restrictions. That’s the basic concept, right? So what’s the opposite of independence? Slavery! Back in the days, white people used to refer to slaves as indentured servants. Did you know that? That was the politically correct way to say
slaves
!
Indentured servants.
Has a nice ring to it, huh? Well, what does that term mean? If you’re indentured, it means that you’re bound to work for someone, literally forced to be a servant.
Forced.
In other words, slavery!”
Webster could tell that his guests were getting confused, so he simplified things for their benefit. “I’m sure you’re wondering, what’s so ironic about that? Well, look the two terms up in the dictionary, and guess what you’ll find? The two words sit next to each other. First, you’ll see indenture, then you’ll see independence! Side by side, one after the other! Two words with completely different meanings, yet they’re neighbors in the English language. Pretty damn amazing!” He shook his head at the irony. “And if you think about it, it’s kind of like us. We’re independent, but all of you are indentured!”
Holmes laughed loudly. He had never seen Webster so animated.
“And that brings us to the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The answer to the number one question on each of your minds . . . Why are you here?”
Under his dark hood, Webster smiled at the prisoners.
“That’s what you’re wondering, isn’t it? Why you’ve been selected to join us at the Plantation? Why, out of all of the people in America, did we bring you unlucky bastards here?”
He smiled again, loving the tension in the slaves’ faces.
“Why, you ask? We did it because of your past!”
CHAPTER 31
THE
boat inched from the private dock, slowly making its way through the dark water that surrounded Plantation Isle. Dressed in a black robe, the muscular figure tied a rope around the white man’s wrist, making sure that the knot was tight enough to pass inspection. He tested it twice just to be sure, and each time his handiwork held in place. Then, sliding toward the back of the boat, the black man repeated the process. After wrapping the thick cord around the next prisoner’s arms, he completed his knot with a series of quick jerks, pulling the extra slack from the restraint with a firm tug.
“Watch it! That hurts!”
Levon Greene sneered at Jones, then yanked the rope even harder. “We’re playing for keeps, D.J., and if that means you have to suffer a little bit, then so be it.”
“Yeah,” Payne seconded over the rumble of the boat’s motor. “You didn’t hear me complain when Levon tied me up, did you?”
“No,” Jones cracked, “but you’ve always liked that kinky stuff.”
After his comment, the joking stopped, giving everyone a chance to think about their duties. Since so much of the plan revolved around Blount, a simpleminded twenty-four-year-old, Payne was more concerned than usual. He turned to examine the eyes of the boat’s captain and could tell the dreadlocked servant was very uptight.
“Bennie,” Payne said, “we’ll only get one shot at a surprise attack, so we need
everything
to go perfectly. If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk about your plan one more time.”
“Yes, sir. That’s fine. I don’t wanna be doing nothin’ that gets no one hurt—especially me!”
“Don’t worry!” Greene said as he moved next to Blount. “This will go smoothly.”
Remarkably, as Payne stared at the pair, he suddenly realized that they were a study in contrasts. Even though both men were black, their appearances couldn’t have been more different. Greene was thick and defined, muscle stacked upon muscle, veins literally bulging through his skin. His head was shaved, his nose was broad, and his teeth were pearly white. If he were a tree, he’d be the biggest, baddest oak in all the land.
Blount, on the other hand, looked like a sapling gone bad. His limbs sprouted from a thin torso and appeared too feeble to support even the smallest amount of weight. His face, long and narrow, was topped with a haircut that resembled a rotting fern, black stems and roots tangled in every direction. And his gold teeth were straight out of the Mr. T School of Dentistry.
“Like I told you earlier,” Greene said, “as long as you stay by my side, you’re not going to get hurt. I promise.”
Blount smiled, but the action seemed forced. “If you says so, Mr. Greene.”
“Yes,” he asserted, “I say so.”
When Payne was done watching their conversation, he turned his attention to the back of the boat. “Hey, D.J., come up here so we can discuss some things. I want to make sure everyone knows what’s going to happen.”
Jones hustled forward and took a seat.
“When we pull up to the western dock, Bennie said we should expect two guards. As long as we don’t look suspicious, that’s all we’ll have to deal with. Unfortunately, if we don’t make this look believable, they’ll radio for backup, and our mission will get ugly before it even starts.”
Payne glanced at Blount and saw confusion in his eyes.
“Do you know what I mean by believable, Bennie?”
“I think so, Mr. Payne. You just want me to play Bennie. Right?”
Payne grinned. Things couldn’t be any easier. “That’s correct. But I need to remind you of one little detail that you keep forgetting. You have to stop calling me Mr. Payne. I doubt that the prisoners are referred to in such a polite manner.”
Blount smiled, and this time it seemed more sincere. “You’s definitely right about that. I ain’t even referred to in that polite a manner, and I works here.”
Payne nodded, turning his attention to Greene. “Obviously, you have the most important role of all. You have to make the guards believe that you’re one of them and you’re bringing two new prisoners to the island. Bennie claims that your black cloak is similar to the ones they wear, but it’s not a perfect match. So don’t let them get a good look at it. Always keep moving, okay?”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
“And make sure your hood is up. If they’re sports fans and they see your face, the game’s over. They’ll immediately know you’re not a guard. Then, once we get past the dock, you’ll need to borrow one of their vehicles to take Bennie’s supplies to the main house and us to the holding area. But before we get there, you’ll cut our ropes and leave us in the woods. That’ll give us a chance to do some recon.”
Jones asked, “When will we get our weapons?”
Payne answered. “One of Bennie’s boxes has our guns. We’ll take what we need and stash the rest in the trees. We don’t want to be bogged down until we know what we’re up against.”
He turned back to Blount. “Bennie, this is when you execute your part of the plan. I want you to go into the house and start breakfast. While you’re making food for the guards, I want you to mix in the drug that I gave you. Pour half the bottle in the coffee, the other half in the scrambled eggs. That way, everyone’s bound to get some, whether they’re eating or not.”
“Okay, Mr. Payne, I will. . . . Oops! I mean, okay, prisoner.”
Blount smiled with pride. He thought he’d done a good thing by remembering his line, but his momentary blunder would’ve been enough to get everyone killed.
“Keep working on it, Bennie.” Payne sighed, praying that Blount would improve before the big show actually started. “Where was I? Oh, yeah, within ten minutes of breakfast, everyone should be unconscious. That’s when D.J. and I will make our move. We’ll emerge from the woods in serious S & D mode.”
Greene frowned. He was unfamiliar with the term. “S & D mode?”
“We’ll search for the prisoners and destroy anything that gets in our way.”
“You mean, you’s gonna kill people?” Blount asked.
Payne nodded. He’d already gone over this at Greene’s house and during the car ride to the dock, and he didn’t feel like discussing it again. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice. He had to keep Blount as calm as possible. “We don’t want to, Bennie, but we might have to. That’s just the way it is. Sometimes, the only way to help one group is to hurt another, and that’s the situation we’re facing. In order to help my girlfriend and the innocent people on this island, we might have to hurt some of the guards. We’ll do everything in our power not to, but if it’s us against them, they’re the group that has to lose. I won’t settle for anything less.”
“Okay,” he whined. “I guess you’s right. Just try not to hurt me.”
“You got it, Bennie.” Payne smiled at Blount, then settled into his seat for the next portion of the plan.
BECAUSE of his frequent trips to the Plantation, Blount knew the appropriate channel through the cypress swamp. He carefully navigated the boat toward the moss-covered poles of the wooden dock until he could see the two guards.
“Is that you, Gump?” asked one of the guards as he stared at the captain of the boat. “We were expecting you a while ago.”
“Yeah,” said the other. “Did the fireworks run late or something?”
Before Blount could answer, Greene moved to the front of the boat and spoke for him. “It wasn’t the damn fireworks!” he growled. “There’s been a security breach! Now quit your small talk and take our damn line before there’s trouble. I have two prisoners on board.”
The guards glanced at the large figure in the black cloak and jumped to attention. After dropping their guns to the ground, they ran to the dock, offering their assistance in any way possible. Greene nodded at them, tossing them the boat’s rope. The two guards snared the line and carefully pulled the craft against the side of the dock.
“It looks like they’re buying it,” Jones whispered. “We might pull this off.”
Payne nodded slightly, but for some reason, he wasn’t nearly as confident. His gut told him there was something fishy, and it wasn’t just the stench from the murky water of the swamp. “I hate to say this, D.J., but—”
The confidence drained from Jones’s eyes. “Don’t tell me! Your gut?”
Payne nodded. But before he could explain, Greene approached the duo and ordered them to be quiet. “Things are going well. Don’t blow it by talking.”
Greene followed his command by forcing Payne off of the boat and onto the shore while one of the guards did the same with Jones. Once both of them were on the ground, Greene turned to the workers and spoke. “Bennie and I will watch them while you get me a truck. There are a lot of supplies out there, so start moving.”
“Yes, sir!” they blurted, running to complete their tasks.
Greene smiled at Blount, then glanced at the two captives at his feet. “How was that? Was I authoritative enough for you?”
Jones tried rolling onto his back, but his bound hands hindered his effort. In a strange way, he looked like an upside-down turtle that had trouble flipping over. “You sounded good to me, but I’m not the one you need to worry about. Ask Jon what he thinks. He’s worried about something.”
Greene turned his attention to Payne. “Is there something we need to talk about before the guards get back?”
“Not really,” he groaned. “I can wait until they return, if you’d like.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, you’re just going to tell them anyway.”
The smile faded from Greene’s lips as his bewilderment grew. In order to sort things out, he lowered his black hood and knelt on the ground next to Payne. As he did, his bad knee cracked several times. “What are you talking about?”
“Yeah,” Jones demanded. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Payne wanted to look Jones in the eyes, but the position of their bodies made it impossible. “D.J., I’m sorry to tell you this, but if my guess is correct, Levon is one of them.”
CHAPTER 32
HOLMES
and Jackson had planned on speaking to the prisoners, but since Webster was doing such an eloquent job, they allowed him to continue his lecture.
“Independence Day is a holiday that is supposed to symbolize freedom in this country. Freedom? In America? What a joke! A country that turned its back on my people, black people, for decade after decade believes in freedom? My black brothers and sisters were smuggled into America in the hulls of slave ships in the most unsanitary of conditions, brought here like cattle, then purchased by white men for their own personal use. And you call that freedom?”