Hell to Pay Ch. 02

She heard Ted scream and opened her eyes to see an arrow sticking in his shoulder. The arrow had gone partially through his body. Ted screamed again and fell to his side and off Dixie. She could see that about four inches of the arrow protruded out the back. Before she could get up Raff and Sam caught up to them.

Raff saw Ted lying on the ground clutching his shoulder. He turned and pointed his pistol at Dixie and then he stopped. Raff knew that Casey could just as easily put an arrow into him if he harmed the girl. He picked Dixie up, set her on her feet, and started down the valley toward the cabin.

"Help him up Sam," Raff ordered over his shoulder. "Let's get him back to the cabin where we can tend to his wound." He took several more steps and then turned and yelled back toward the trees. "Damn you Casey."

Raff heard a voice from back in the trees answer, "I told you what would happen if you hurt her. Your man's lucky to be alive." Then there was silence.

********************

Casey followed the men and Dixie back to the cabin. He stood behind the same big oak he'd been behind earlier that day and watched as Sam helped Ted inside. Raff shoved Dixie through the door and slammed it shut. Casey smiled to himself and circled around to the storage cave. Inside he went to the arms locker and returned the bow, quiver, and the remaining three arrows. He also stowed the ghillie suit. He reloaded the shotgun with double aught buck shot and took it with him.

Time to escalate the situation, Casey thought. If I don't get Dixie out of there soon, she's gonna get hurt, really hurt. Raff will stop bluffing at some point and I can't let it get that far. He put a dozen shotgun shells and two full clips for the Colt in his fanny pack.

Casey also checked his Colt 1911. He knew both it and the shotgun were loaded but making sure was something every sniper did before a mission. Casey went weapons hot by jacking a round into the chamber of each weapon, closed the locker, and left the storage area. He just pushed the main door closed because if everything went according to plan, he and Dixie and might need to get inside quickly.

He went to the entrance of the escape tunnel and slowly crept to the trap door. After listening to see if anyone was near the trap door, he slowly raised the door about an inch and peeked into the cabin.

Ted was lying on his side near the front door moaning and saying he was gonna die. Raff yelled at him to be quiet and Sam was looking out of a small opening of the shutter at one of the front windows of the cabin. Raff knelt down by Ted and using a towel to hold the razor sharp broad head while he slowly unscrewed it. Then he grabbed the arrow near the fletching and sharply pulled it out of Ted's shoulder causing him to scream.

"Is there a first aid kit?" Raff questioned Dixie. She nodded. "Get the kit, some towels, and heat some water. Make it quick," he ordered.

Dixie got the first aid kit from one of the cabinets, grabbed some towels, and took them to Raff. She walked back to the kitchen to heat water.

As Dixie passed the trap door, Casey threw it open knocking over the table while shooting several rounds into the ceiling with his Colt. In the commotion of everyone ducking for cover he grabbed Dixie, pulled her down into the tunnel and slammed the door back down before Raff or Sam could react. Casey quickly latched the door from underneath, gave Dixie a quick hug and pushed her down the tunnel. Picking up the shotgun, he took her to the old mine storage area.

Reaching the old mine shaft, he turned on an electric lantern then closed and locked the steel door behind them. "We'll stay here tonight and decide what to do about our 'guests' tomorrow." Casey and Dixie ate some dinner and he unrolled two sleeping bags. Every few minutes Dixie would reach out and touch Casey.

"What?" Casey finally asked with a smile.

"I can't believe you got me out of there," she answered. I can't believe I'm safe again."

Casey's smile got bigger and he hugged her. "I promised I'd take care of you," he stated simply.

"Casey?" Dixie said.

"Yes."

"Are you going to kill them?"

Casey stopped and looked at her. He stared for several seconds, shook his head, and answered. "I don't know but probably should. The last thing we need is for them to come back and ambush us."

"But," Dixie said.

"Yeah, but," Casey replied. "It's one thing to kill a man in a fire fight or protecting your friends and something altogether different to stalk and execute one."

"You could have killed Ted. Why didn't you?"

Casey shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "You're right, I could have. Just move the target area a few inches and he would have been dead." He gave Dixie a small and frightening smile.

"You might not like this, but it was a tactical decision," he told her. "I knew I could stop him from hitting you by putting an arrow into his shoulder." Casey paused for about five seconds and added, "And I wanted them to worry. I wanted them to worry about where I was, what else I could do to them, and when I would do it"

Casey saw a thoughtful look on Dixie's face. "I took a calculated chance that Raff wouldn't hurt you," he said. "He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but he knows that if anything happened to you, well...I wouldn't have any mercy on them."

Still looking thoughtful Dixie said, "I know I'm supposed to be the gentler sex but for the last 24 hours I've lived what seemed like a week in almost terror. For my part, do what you think is right. If they have to die so be it. At least they won't do this to anybody else they run into."

He paused for a few seconds surprised at Dixie's statement. "Let me think about it overnight."

Casey and Dixie zipped the two sleeping bags together so they could sleep closer to each other. There wasn't anything romantic about it, they just held and comforted each other all night. The next morning when Dixie woke, Casey handed her a cup of coffee and a big piece of beef jerky.

She smiled and asked, "Are all of our meals at this resort going to be this decadent?"

"Nothing but the finest for you Honey," Casey replied returning her smile. Then his face sobered. "I've decided what to do about Raff and the other two. Got an idea that should get rid of them."

Casey handed Dixie a pistol and holster to replace the one Sam took from her. "That's a Glock 19, 9MM. with a 15 round clip. It's loaded with hollow points which give it more stopping power. You carry the shotgun in case we get into close range." Dixie nodded and Casey said, "I'm gonna carry the sniper rifle. I think it'll make Raff think about things a bit more. Especially when I put a round through the peephole in the front door."

They left the storage cave and slowly made their way to the trees opposite the front door of the cabin. On their way Casey made a small detour to the front porch. He laid the ignition coil for the Jeep in plain sight. Back in the tree line, Casey positioned Dixie behind a fallen oak and stepped into the open holding the Remington 700 with the noise suppressor attached to the barrel.

He put the rifle to his shoulder and fired a round striking the peephole dead center. "Hey Raff," he yelled. "Did that get your attention?"

********************

Raff and Sam ducked when the trap door sprang open and knocked the table over; Ted was in no condition to respond. Before either of them could react, Casey had fired several shots then grabbed the girl and disappeared back into the hole in the floor. Raff stood and started toward Casey but the trap door slammed shut before he could get there. He heard the latch shoot home locking Raff and Sam in.

"Damn it," Raff yelled. Motioning to Sam they turned the table upside down and placed it back over the trap door. "If he used it once he can use it again," he explained. They stacked some of the firewood on the table to weigh it down so Casey couldn't open the door.

Sam looked at Raff in disbelief. "What happened?"

"Casey just made off with our insurance policy."

"Raff, what are we gonna do now?" Sam asked in a frightened voice.

"Quiet, let me think for a minute." Raff thought for a couple of minutes. "He'll make sure the girl is okay and safe. It's getting dark so I don't expect him to do anything until morning."

"But Raff..." Sam started.

"Listen, there's nothing we can do right now," Raff interrupted. "He might still be out there waiting for us to run out of the cabin so we'll just stay put," he ordered. "You take the first watch and wake me in four hours. We'll switch in another four hours."

Raff saw the worried look on his brother's face. "Take it easy Sam. It's all we can do right now."

The next morning as Raff and Sam were drinking coffee a bullet came through the peephole in the front door and struck the back wall of the cabin. Raff and Sam fell to the floor. What the hell? Raff thought and then he heard Casey. He slowly stood and went to one of the front windows. Carefully he opened the shutter just far enough to look out.

He saw Casey standing in the open with what looked like a sniper rifle propped on his hip. Raff opened the shutter a little more. A bullet broke the window pane and hit a cabinet.

"Hey Raff can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you. What's on your mind?"

Casey had to admire Raff's response. Not many would be that cool in this situation, he thought. Course maybe he's just too dumb to be afraid. "Raff, open the door and look at what I left for you," Casey ordered. "I'll hold my fire."

Raff went to the door and slowly opened it. Lying on the porch was the Jeep's missing ignition coil. "Yeah, I see it. So what?"

"I'll give you the same deal I offered yesterday. You three take what food you can carry, hike back to your car, and leave us alone."

"Sure and as soon as we step out you'll shoot us down," Raff replied.

"I give you my word that you can leave." Casey waited a few seconds and added, "It's the best deal you're gonna get."

"We could just sit in here and wait you out," Raff offered.

Casey noticed a movement at the window to the left. "Tell Sam to put his pistol down or I'll put a round through his head." He threw the rifle to his should and put a bullet into the logs beside the window.

Sam ducked down and closed the shutter.

"There are two reasons that won't work for you," Casey responded. "Do you really think that the food in the cabin is all I've stashed? And second, I've got enough C4 explosives to blow the cabin to hell and back."

"You wouldn't blow up your cabin. Where would you and the girl live?"

"There's another place where we can live with all the comforts of home. We stayed there last night in fact." Casey waited a bit and asked "What'da you say Raff?"

"Why would you let us go?" Raff asked puzzled.

"Other than when Ted freaked out, you didn't hurt my lady. From what she told me you kept the other two from abusing her. The deal is for what you did, or maybe I should say what you didn't do." Casey paused and then continued, "This is your payback."

"Give us a minute to talk it over," Raff requested.

"One last thing. When you leave, drop your weapons by the door. I want to see your 9MM, Ted's .22, and the .38 Sam took from the lady."

Casey stepped back into the tree line and behind the big oak. It'd be sort of stupid to get shot now, he thought. He looked over to Dixie and grinned.

"You think they'll leave?" Dixie asked.

After a few seconds Casey answered. "It's their best move. If I don't blow up the cabin, they'll have to come out when the food runs out. I'll be there when they do."

"Hey Casey," Raff yelled. "We'll take the deal. Give us the combination to the food locker and we'll leave."

"Sorry, you can have the supplies in the cabinets but that's all," Casey answered. "Get the show on the road and come out."

"We're coming," Raff answered as he opened the door. He was the first through the door, followed by Sam supporting Ted.

"Drop your weapons," Casey ordered.

Raff had a bed roll in his left hand and pulled his pistol with his right hand, dropping it to the porch. Sam and Ted each carried a bed roll and dropped Dixie's .38 down and the .22. They began walking down the valley toward the Jeep. Raff bent over and picked up the coil and looked up as Casey stepped out into the open. Nodding at Casey, he followed Sam and Ted down the trail.

Casey waited until they were at the upper end of the valley and motioned for Dixie to go to the cabin. He slowly followed her keeping his eyes on the three men. As Casey got to the porch he picked up the three pistols and stepped inside. Inside the cabin he shut and locked the shutters.

"Lock up behind me," he told Dixie. "I'm gonna trail them and make sure they leave. I should be back in an hour or two." Casey took a step toward the door and turned back to Dixie. "One more thing....I love you," he said and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her and left.

Casey quickly caught up to Raff and the others even though he stayed in the trees. He watched as Raff replaced the coil. Ted climbed into the back seat and fell over. Raff got behind the wheel and Sam got in on the passenger side.

As the men got into their SUV, Casey stepped out into the open. He wanted Raff to know he was being watched.

"Wave at the nice man Sam," Raff said pointing to Casey standing just outside of the tree line.

"Son of a bitch," Sam said grabbing a small .380 pistol from under the seat and started to get out of the car.

"Don't be stupid," Raff ordered as he stopped Sam. "All we've got is his word that he won't shoot us. If you go after him he may decide to change his mind. He's got all the cards right now."

"We just gonna leave?" Sam asked. "Where will we go?"

"You want to stay and get shot or blown up?" Raff responded. "Once we lost the girl we lost our edge. Don't worry we'll find someplace." He started the Jeep, turned it around, and drove back down the narrow road.

Casey stayed in the brush and watched the vehicle drive away. He followed it down the trial until it turned onto the forest service road. He had a small smile on his face as he returned to the cabin.

Dixie had fixed a late lunch using MREs. Smiling Casey told her that was the best military issued packaged meals he had ever tasted. Together they cleaned up the cabin. While Dixie took the wood off the table and restacked it by the stove, Casey went around and back through the tunnel to unlatch the trap door. Never know when we might need it again, he thought.

Late that afternoon, they went up the hill to the radio. Casey had missed a couple of days of the news. They caught the afternoon broadcast. The news was both good and bad. The National Guard had been deployed to the city and they were slowly stabilizing the area. The Guard had taken control of several of the food warehouses and was rationing food to the citizens. Everyone who came to the distribution points got something; maybe not as much as before the "virus" but more than they had been getting.

Electricity and gas were still a problem but actions were being taken to improve the availability. One of the first things the government had done was to take control of the water treatment plants. They brought in gasoline generators to power the pumps and water was again flowing into the homes. However the Guard didn't control enough of the city to stop the roving gangs. That was still a big problem. The rest of the broadcast was basically horror stories of what was still going on in some parts of the city.

Casey turned the radio off, disconnected the antennae leads, and hid the radio again. He and Dixie went back to the cabin for the evening. After dinner sitting at the table they talked about the last couple of days.

"I'm sorry Casey," Dixie said. "I should have locked up as soon as I saw Raff, like you told me."

"For what? Being human?" He replied. "You gave a man some food; that was a compassionate thing to do. They set up an ambush and took advantage of your good intentions." Besides you're safe now and that's all that matters."

Dixie smiled her thanks. "That was a good shot, this morning. I knew you were pretty good but I didn't realize how good."

Casey nodded and stared at the wall for a few seconds. "Dixie I need to tell you something. It might change your mind about me but I have to tell you."

He hesitated and then told her about being a sniper. Casey described some of his missions and finally told her about the boy he'd accidentally shot. "That's the real reason I let Raff and the others go. I'm tired of hunting and killing men. Oh, I'll do it if needs be but I'd rather find some other way." He was silent for what seemed like an eternity and added, "If you want to go your own way after the crisis is over, I'll understand."

Dixie stood, walked over to Casey, and sat on his lap. Putting her arms around his neck said "You're not getting rid of me that easy Mr. Stewart. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me for the next hundred years or so."

The rest of the evening was spent celebrating. A bed's a hell of a lot better than a sleeping bag on a rock floor, Casey thought. He looked down at Dixie sleeping with her head on his shoulder and smiled.

********************

Raff drove for about ten miles and pulled into a clearing. Sam had been napping and woke up as the Jeep stopped.

"Why are we stopping?" Sam asked.

"We're gonna give Casey and the girl a chance to calm down and then we're going back," Raff answered.

"But he made us leave our guns. What are we gonna do, talk him to death?"

Raff smiled and got out. He went to the rear of the Jeep and opened the hatch. "Casey made a bad mistake. He forgot about this." Raff opened his bedroll to show Sam the .22 Magnum rifle he'd taken from the cabin. That with the small .380 pistol from under the Jeeps seat gave them incentive to act.

"I was able to conceal it in my bedroll by collapsing the stock," Rafe said holding up the rifle. "We'll wait here for a few hours and go back. There's gonna be a full moon tonight so we'll be able to see the road to walk in." Sam smiled and nodded. Raff continued, "We'll set up in the tree line in front of the cabin and wait for morning. When Casey comes out I'll put him down and we can take over the cabin again."

At midnight, with a full moon lighting the way, Raff drove back to where the Jeep had been parked before. The three men walked back up the valley but this time they stayed at the edge of the tree line. Raff pointed to the spots he wanted his partners to hide and he sat down behind the same big oak that Casey had used as cover.

It was just after daybreak when Casey and Dixie walked out of the cabin onto the porch. There was no indication how long it would be before they could safely return to the city so Casey was going hunting. He was carrying a shotgun.

"I'll try for a couple of grouse," Casey told Dixie.

"Grouse?" She asked not familiar with the term.

"They're like a partridge or pheasant," he explained with a smile.

He stepped off the porch a little way and turned to wave to her. A shot rang out and Casey dropped to the ground. Dixie screamed and ran to him. He was unconscious and had a crease on the side of his head where the bullet had grazed him. She heard someone running toward them and looked up. Raff, with a big grin on his face, along with Sam and Ted were running toward Casey and Dixie.

To Be Continued...