Double Helix Ch. 16

"Well, that's it," I said. "Now we wait."

Neither of us spoke for several minutes as we listened for radio chatter. We had all agreed to keep our communications to a minimum, so hearing anything too soon would indicate a problem. It would then be up to me and Tilly to respond.

The radio crackled to life in my ear and Stansy's voice came an instant later. "Bates. Bates. This is Shark and Geek, over."

I touched the transmit button. "Bates here, go ahead."

"We're in position and standing by, over."

"Thanks, Shark, over."

It took quite a bit longer to hear from Nock and Nissi. They had further to go and needed to be a lot more careful. Still, I was beginning to grow concerned, which is probably why Tilly struck up a conversation. "Let's say we pull this off. Any thought to what we'll do next?"

I shrugged. "Get the hell away from here as fast as possible, I suppose."

"Right, but what about Jack and Alice, the family?"

I wasn't sure what she was getting at. "I think I'll advise them to do the same. Why?"

Tilly stole a glance my way before going on. "Well, I thought maybe we should offer to take the kids back with us. They would be safer with us on the farm, and the two of them could go back to living a normal life out here."

I smiled self-consciously. "You aren't kidding, are you?"

"You don't like the idea."

I sighed. "Kids are...they're complicated. We already have a lot to think about right now just to stay alive. And where would they sleep? Who would take care of them?"

She studied me for a moment and then looked away, peering out into the dark. I had the feeling that there had been more than one layer to the conversation. Sometimes I really envied her ability to read emotions. "It's getting cold," she said, and unbuckled her belt to scoot to the middle and press her body against my side.

"Here, turn your back towards me," I said. She did as I said and I guided her backwards so that she sat in my lap.

"Oh, this is better," she said, and wriggled her bottom suggestively.

"No time for that, you little minx," I scoffed.

She giggled and leaned into my shoulder, putting both arms around me. I slipped one arm around her waist and the other along her thigh. She sighed contentedly. "I love you, Norm," she said, her breath warm on my neck. After a moment, she twitched in silent laughter. "And what was that about having no time?"

I awkwardly moved my legs to try to arrange things so that the bulge in my pants wouldn't poke her quite so obviously. "That thing has a mind of its own."

"No, it's perfect," she said, emphasizing her words with a little grind of her hips that did nothing to quench my arousal. "I love feeling how much you want me."

We held each other in silence for some time, and I suddenly felt Tilly shaking me. "Wake up, it's Nock."

Nock's voice was in my ear. "Do you copy, Bates? I repeat, this is Bruce. We are in position at the northwest corner, over."

I touched my transmit button. "Bates here. Copy that, Bruce. Hold position. We'll move on my signal. Over." We had agreed beforehand that we would all power off our comms until dawn to save the batteries, so I switched mine off and pulled it off of my ear. Tilly had plugged hers into the car and left the speaker on so that we would be available if one of the other two teams needed help.

I looked at the clock and saw that more than an hour had gone by since Stan had checked in. "Shit," I said, "I fell asleep." The temperature had dropped quite a bit, and I was warm in some places and cold and stiff in others.

"Why don't you get some more rest?" Tilly said. "I can go for a good while yet before I'll have to crash. I'll wake you when it's time."

I just yawned and settled my head back against the window, too tired to argue.

When I woke the next time, it was to the surreal experience of realizing that a pair of lips were being pressed against mine. "Wake up, sleeping beauty," Tilly said, her brown hair spilling over my face as she leaned over me.

"You might have gotten a few things backwards," I said, and began to move muscles gone sore and stiff. I found that I had a blanket covering me, and my side was still warm where Tilly had spent the night cuddled against me. "Join me for a piss, Prince Charming?" I asked with a smirk.

"That's hardly the language of a proper lady," she said, "and besides, it's already been handled." Then she wrinkled her nose. "It must be nice to just stand there and let loose. Squatting in the dirt really sucks."

I stumbled to the backend of the truck to relieve myself and was momentarily captivated by the brilliant oranges and reds in the eastern sky, the sun still hidden behind the Cascades. When I returned, Tilly made me hold out my hands and squirted sanitizer into them, following it up with a paper towel and a rice ball.

I ate quickly, in spite of my stomach, which felt like it either wanted to clench down below its Schwarzschild radius or crawl out through my mouth. It was almost time to get going and we needed to focus on our jobs, so Tilly's question came out of nowhere.

"Would you be bothered if I told you I think I might be bisexual?" She had said it casually, between bites of her rice ball, but even I could read the subtle signs of nervousness.

I considered as I chewed. "No, I don't think so. I mean, Nissi even hinted something like that to me once."

"Oh...really?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, well you probably better not tell her I told you this, but she said she had been with a few girls, but that she prefers cock. Something like that, anyway. But where is this coming from? Just something you've been thinking about?"

"Something like that," she agreed.

I finished my food and checked the time just as the first rays of the sun began to creep over the mountains. "Are you ready for this?"

Tilly shook her head. "Not really, but we're committed."

I nodded, reattached my earpiece, switched my radio on and keyed the mic. "This is Bates. Everyone check in." Geek, Shark, Presley and Bruce all signaled their readiness, as did Matty. "Anything to report?" I asked.

"Bruce here. I saw two men exit and re-enter the house during the night. One of them fits the description Matty gave us. I've also seen movement through the curtains. Nothing distinct."

Tilly asked him a few questions about the men's appearance and manner. "That's him," she said. "I have no idea who the other one is."

"Sounds like they brought extra help," Nissi drawled. "Guess they learned from their last encounter with Matty. Abort or go ahead?"

I would be lying to say that I wasn't tempted to call the whole thing off and head back home. "We go forward," I said after just a moment's hesitation. "Remember what we agreed. The family's safety comes first, but we can't let those men escape or call for help. Shoot to kill." I felt like a complete fraud as I said that last, as though I were an actor playing at being a tough guy.

I started the truck and got back on the road heading north. "Nervous?" I asked.

Tilly nodded. "A little. You?"

"I'm a little bit terrified," I admitted. "Good thing I took that piss."

I turned into Alice's driveway, slow and casual. We had decided that we would show up unannounced and earlier than expected, to put them off balance while hopefully not tipping our hand. I parked the truck and got out, slamming the door loudly to make sure our presence was known, though I knew that there were multiple cameras watching the property.

Tilly came around the front of the truck to join me and we headed for the front door. This was perhaps the riskiest part of the plan. If these men cared more about vengeance than money, they might just begin shooting at us from the house. Before we had taken a dozen steps, though, the front door unlocked and creaked open. A hand unlatched the screen door and Alice stepped out, moving slowly and stiffly. She stopped with one hand holding open the screen door.

"Alice," I said, forcing a smile. "Good to see you."

"Hello, Norm," she said, her voice quavering. "Why don't you come inside?"

I stopped. "Is something wrong? Where are the kids?"

"Everyone's inside," she said. "Come on in. I'll-uh-I'll make you some breakfast."

While she was speaking, there was a thin sound, a kind of thump that could have been a distant firecracker or a backfire. Over the radio, I heard, "Bruce here. One down. He was coming around the side of the house to flank you."

Nock had set up with Tilly in the southwestern corner of the barn, where Tilly remembered there was a gap large enough to shoot through. I didn't react or respond to the news. "You're acting strangely, Alice. Is something wrong?"

"Okay, that's enough of that," a man's voice called from the doorway, hidden by the gloom inside the house. "Both of you put your hands up and walk forward slowly." A moment later, the door was shoved open and two rough-looking men stepped out into the light, training handguns on Tilly and me.

"Whoa," I said, lifting my hands, "don't shoot. What's going on here?"

"Oh, don't worry," the man, still inside the house, said. "We won't hurt you. Piss me off, though, and I might have to take it out on the little lady next to you, the one who stole my damned truck. We figured out exactly who you are, young lady. You're both part of the group that shot up those cops in Seattle. So you see, you're worth a lot of money to us alive."

"We can take out the two on the porch," Stan said, forgetting his radio etiquette. "Should we take the shot? Repeat. Do we take the shot?"

Alice was thirty feet away. The two men were moving towards us now, weapons leveled at our chests. I caught Alice's gaze and held it, then dropped my eyes to her feet and back up again. She gave a barely perceptible nod. Drawing one more deep breath, I closed my right fist.

Two nearly simultaneous cracks pierced the air and the two men jerked as though surprised. Another and another pair of bullets split the air before the first pops of the ARs reports reached my ears. Alice threw herself to the ground with a cry and I dropped my hand to the small of my back as I moved at a crouch away from Stan and Stansy's line of fire. Tilly was faster though, and before my hand closed around the grip of the 1911, she was already firing the little Makarov pistol through the screen door, popping off all eight shots in the time it took me to bring my own weapon to bear.

The two goons that had menaced us both went down in the hail of bullets from Stan and Stansy, who had dug in at the ditch to the north of the house. I leveled my gun on the screen door as it banged into its frame, unable to see what lay beyond.

The fire from the ARs had stopped, and Tilly looked over at me as Alice lay on the ground, whimpering and shaking, but appearing unhurt. "I think I hit him," she said, inclining her head at the door. "He went deeper in."

I lowered my gun to point at the ground so that Tilly could rush forward and grab hold of Alice to haul her to safety. As she did, though, movement caught my eye. I raised my gun to the screen door, even as the thick barrel of a shotgun jumped and roared. I felt a tug at my side, but concentrated on pulling the trigger of the handgun, popping four shots into the figure that I only dimly saw in the open doorway. The figure continued on through the doorway without stopping and ploughed face-first into the ground, revealing the ragged exit wound at the back of his head.

I looked away from the corpse quickly. "That's baldy," I said, feeling a little light-headed and wondering why my side was wet.

A bang and a child's scream from inside the house jolted me into action. I ran for the door and yanked it open, pausing a moment to scan the room. Blood and bits of gore spattered the far wall, evidence of my killing shot. I nearly slipped on a red puddle just inside the door. A few drops of blood zig-zagged the floor, a scattered trail leading back towards the hallway and the bedrooms.

"Norm, wait!" Stansy called, her voice ragged with exertion.

I turned back to look. She and Stan had broken from cover to rush the front door, but both were still sixty yards away. Tilly was helping Alice towards the truck, the latter limping and leaning heavily against her. Another scream broke my indecision and I moved toward the hallway, wincing as the screen door squealed and smacked loudly into the frame behind me.

I moved as quickly and silently as I could down the hall to the last room on the right, where sobbing and whimpering came through the open door. I paused for an instant just to the side of the door and pivoted into the frame, bringing my gun to bear as I scanned the room for targets. I heard the sharp intake of breath as my sights swept over the frightened face of the girl, Gabrielle. My heart jumped right into my throat when I saw the gun barrel against the side of her head. A muscled arm encircled her throat and held her up, shielding all but part of the man's face with her body.

"You think you're quite the hero, don't you, Norman?" the man said, stressing my name mockingly. "Now drop the gun or I blow this little bitch's brains all over the wall."

I moved slowly, lowering my weapon while I surveyed the rest of the room. Near the corner of the room to my right, Kevin knelt on the ground next to the fallen figure of his adoptive father, Jack, who lay in a pool of blood that was slowly spreading even as I watched. More blood welled from the hole on the left side of his chest and he wheezed for air. Ryan sat behind him, cradling Jack's and sobbing. The radio crackled every few seconds as the others demanded to know what was going on, but I couldn't focus to make out the words.

"I said drop it," the man said, lowering his voice and pushing the gun harder against the girl's head, making her squeeze her eyes shut. "You know I'll do it."

There was cold malice in his eye, and I believed him. I stooped and let the gun clatter to the floor. "Let her go," I said. "I know it's me you want."

"You're half right," he said, and shifted to point the gun at me. "Now where's that cunt that broke my hand?"

"I'm here," Tilly said, behind me and to my right.

"Perfect," he said, and I saw one corner of his mouth twitch upward. "Now toss your gun over towards the far corner. You try anything and I'll kill your boyfriend and this little brat before you ever reach me."

The Makarov bounced twice on the hardwood floor to my left. "Okay," she said. "Now let the girl go."

"You're hardly in a position to make demands, Tilly," he said, and kicked Gabrielle's ankle, making her yelp in pain. "Now you're going to put both your hands up and come around the corner, slowly, to stand next to Norman here."

I heard her measured footsteps as she came through the door. I glanced left and saw her gaze roving slowly about the room, pausing for a heartbeat on the big, curtained window before moving on. The deputy had shifted again to point his gun at her. "How many others are there with you?" he said. "What are their names?"

She looked at him and said, "Nock. Twenty-five C M down. Thirty-eight C M right."

The one eye of his that I could see narrowed in confusion, then went suddenly wide in shock. His finger slipped inside the trigger guard just as a tinkling and grinding sounded to my left. I turned to see the glass behind the curtain now had a spider's web of cracks. The curtain had puffed out suddenly and was beginning to settle back. There was a hole in the fabric a half-inch across that hadn't been there before.

My attention snapped back to the deputy as his gun bounced on the floor. Gabrielle gave a cry as he pulled her to one side, but then his arm came lifelessly away and he crumpled to the floor. Most of the left side of his head was gone.

There was a click next to me as Tilly switched off the toggle that locked the radio to transmit. I hadn't noticed that it had gone silent until then. "Tilly—I mean Matty. This is Bruce." Nock's voice was raw with urgency. "Did we get him? Repeat. Did we get him?"

"You got him, Nock," she said. The look in her eyes was haunted as she stared at the corpse, but she swallowed and drew a calming breath. "He's dead."

"Dad!" Gabby said, rushing to where he lay.

I tried to move, but my limbs wouldn't respond, and I felt someone gently push me aside to get by. Stan and Stansy were here. It all felt like I was and observer here, like nothing that had happened in the last minute was real.

"Somebody better go get Alice," Stansy said, her voice breaking as she carefully inspected Jack's wound.

"I'll go," Stan said, and ran down the hall.

The back door opened and closed and I turned numbly to see Nissi enter with Nock just behind. Lines of worry etched Nissi's face, but her expression turned to relief when she saw me. When her eyes dropped lower, though, she gasped. "Norm, you're bleeding!"

"Oh," I said, and looked down to see blood staining the right side of my shirt in a rough circle six inches across. The searing pain that had only dimly registered before now slammed into me full-force, burning and throbbing. Nissi and Tilly each took an arm and hobbled me over to the bed, each movement a little agony.

When I was lying down and they carefully peeled my shirt back, three little puckered holes were revealed beneath my ribs. "It's buckshot," Tilly said. "Most of it went right past you. If it had been three inches further right, you would have bled out by now. How the hell did I not feel that before?"

"Adrenaline and shock," Nissi said. "You couldn't feel it because he wasn't aware of it, and you couldn't see it with his back to you."

Stan had carried Alice from the front yard and he set her on her feet inside the room. "Oh my God, Jack!" she said, stumbling towards her husband.

"Alice," he said weakly, and began to cough.

I sat up, despite the stabbing pain, and watched as she hobbled over to him. She went down to her knees next to him and grabbed his hand. "Jack, hold on. We'll get you to a hospital. You'll be fine."

The older man shook his head slightly. "Too late," he rasped. "Never...make it. You and Ryan...take care of...Gabby and Kevin."

"No, we'll get you help. We'll—"

"Alice, please." He lip trembled and a tear spilled from each eye, but she let him go on. He tilted his head slightly to look back at Kevin. "You're good kids. You're mom and I..." he coughed again, weaker this time, and there was blood on his lips. "Always loved you...like our own. Be strong. For me." He looked at his daughter and wife in turn, and his lips rose in a smile. His chest rose, fell, and then was still.

Sobbing, Alice bent over her husband's body, placing a trembling kiss on his forehead. "No," Ryan said, almost too soft to hear, and then the four of them were crying and holding each other.

Tilly was weeping, caught up by their emotions, and I gently guided her to stand and follow me from the room. I felt the pain of their loss, too, though less directly. But as my shock began to wear off, I was afraid I might lose my composure as well, and the others needed me to show a strong front. I got Tilly out the front door and we sat on the edge of the porch. I held her against me and rocked her slowly as she sobbed.

"I'm going to ask them to come back with us," I said, the plan forming in my mind even as I spoke. "If they agree, we'll move them into the house across the creek. We can strip all of the solar panels and batteries from this house and load it onto the truck to take with us. They can stay off-grid."

"Are you sure?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yeah. But it's up to them, too."

The screen door squeaked and Nock came out. He sat down heavily on the other side of Tilly. "What a damned waste," he sighed. "He died to protect those kids. Did you know that?" I shook my head, and he went on. "They locked the four of them in that room when we showed up. After Tilly shot the bastard in the leg, he went in there and made a grab for Gabby. Jack went for his gun, and that's when he got shot."