Rescue: Book 3 in the After the Fall series Read online

  Rescue

  Book 3 in

  After the Fall Series

  A Novel

  By David Nees

  Copyright © 2019 David E. Nees

  All rights reserved

  This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by electronic, mechanical or any other means, without the express permission of the author.

  Rescue, Part 3 of the After the Fall, series is a work of fiction and should be construed as nothing but. All characters, locales, and incidents portrayed in the novel are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  To keep up with my new releases, please visit my website at www.davidnees.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the landing page to the section titled, “Follow the Adventure”.

  You can also click “Follow” under my picture on the Amazon book page and Amazon will let you know when I release a new work.

  For Carla

  It’s an exciting journey with much more to come.

  Grateful thanks for to my beta readers, Eric, Chris, and Ed. Your insightful and detailed comments are key to turning my rough agate into a polished (gem) stone. I appreciate your generosity of time.

  And thank you, Catherine, for your careful proofreading. Proofreading is hard. There are so many words, so many opportunities for mistakes. You and Carla help remove those pesky problems, greatly improving the text.

  Cover art by Onur Aksoy. You can find his work at https://www.onegraphica.com/

  Rescue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Afterword

  Rescue

  Book 3 in After the Fall series

  “Not to punish evil is equivalent to authorizing it.” –Leonardo Da Vinci

  “He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he that loses his courage loses all.” –Miguel de Cervantes

  “The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it.” –Confucius

  Chapter 1

  ___________________________________

  J ason studied the man in front of him. He was in his late thirties, unkempt, grizzled. He had a hard look about him, now tempered by concern. He was probably worried about what can happen to a messenger of bad news. He had reason to be.

  “So, you traveled all these miles by foot to bring me this demand?” The man nodded, concern starting to show. “And your name is Bud?”

  “I already told you. What the hell are you doing keeping me locked up? I didn’t have anything to do with this and you got no reason to hold me. I was just following orders.”

  “You must have known your message wouldn’t be well received.”

  The man glared back at Jason. “Go to hell.”

  “How did Knoxville hear about us? Why would they think we had anything of value?”

  He shook his head. “I ain’t telling you anything more than what I already said. You need to load up a hundred pounds of gold and jewels and take them out to Gatlinburg. Then you’ll get your two men back, Gibbs and Turner.”

  “That’s all?” The man nodded again. “And your boss, this ‘Chairman’ guy, figured I would just agree to this?” The man nodded. “I need to know more.”

  “Tough. I don’t know more.”

  “Are my two men in good shape? Are they being well treated?

  Bud just glared at him. “How the hell would I know?”

  “You have no idea?”

  “I heard the black guy was beat up some. Heard he was acting belligerent and some of the boys didn’t like that. Serves him right.”

  Jason stood up. “Wait here,” he said and stood up.

  “You let me loose,” Bud shouted after him. “You can’t keep me locked up in this piss-ant jail. Who do you think you all are in this town? The Chairman finds you treatin’ me this way, he’ll make you pay. You don’t know him. He’ll destroy this town, you mess with me.”

  Jason didn’t answer and quickly walked out of the room, locking it behind him. He met Kevin Cameron in the hall.

  “What do you think?” Kevin asked.

  “I’m stunned,” Jason replied. “First that Rodney and Billy got caught, second that someone would try to shake us down.”

  “Rodney wouldn’t talk to anyone about all the loot Stansky had assembled, so how would they know about it?”

  “Billy wouldn’t tell. Hell, he didn’t even know about it,” Jason replied.

  “Word must have drifted west from some of the militia who escaped—”

  “Or men from Roper’s squad. They might know.” Jason shook his head, making a decision. “It doesn’t matter. I need you to put this man in restraints, leg irons, cuffs and waist belt.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s been an SOB since he got here and gave us his message. He’s complaining about us keeping him locked up, not treating him with respect. Says the Chairman’s going to make us pay for mistreating him. And he refuses to give me any information about the situation in Knoxville. I need to know more about what’s going on there and I don’t have a lot of time. I’m going to have a private conversation with him.”

  Kevin gave Jason a long, questioning look. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but don’t do anything rash. We have rule of law now, not gangster law. Remember that.”

  Jason knew his face betrayed his hard intent. “Nothing rash. But I am going to stretch the boundaries a bit.” He could tell those words didn’t give Kevin much comfort.

  A half hour later, Jason led the man out of the mayor’s office and down to the street. They drove out of the city, departing from the northern gate. They angled west through the abandoned suburbs with the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains showing ahead.

  As they drove, the man tried more than once to start a conversation, but Jason didn’t speak. Nor did he look at him. They entered the forest, now two hours outside of Hillsboro. Jason stopped the car and motioned for the man to get out.

  “Where are you taking me? Why are we out here? You act like a tough guy with me in chains. You take them off and we’ll see who’s tough. Dumb hick. Just pay the ransom and let me go, you got no right t
o treat me like this.” His comments came with increasing anxiety in his voice.

  Jason did not answer. He picked up his backpack and motioned for the man to walk ahead. Jason’s mind raced with conflicting thoughts. Before this messenger showed up, he was a happy, content man, even if harassed by administrative details as temporary mayor of Hillsboro. He had a wonderful wife, a son and two step daughters, one married to Kevin Cameron, now head of the police department for the town. He thought he had put his days as a warrior behind him in the post-EMP world.

  Since the EMP attack on the U.S., Hillsboro had come under the control of a gangster named Joe Stansky. When Stansky threatened Jason and his family and friends in their rural valley, they initiated an uprising that overthrew the gangster and freed Hillsboro from his clutches. Since then the town had worked on getting electricity and some level of communications going. The increased trappings of the pre-EMP world had given Jason and everyone else a false sense that their world was returning to normal.

  Then this kidnapping and extortion demand. It brought home the fact that the country was still unsettled with no central authority. There was still danger outside of the city; danger that could intrude on their lives. The times still required hard people. He now had to put aside his gentle nature as he did once before and become the warrior, the killer, a dangerous man for a dangerous time.

  He had to get information from his captive, even if he had to be brutal to get it. His stomach churned at what he was about to do.

  Ten minutes later Jason halted next to a large red oak tree. Without a word he dropped his backpack and took out two short boards. He taped Buddy’s hands flat to the boards. He took a hammer and a nail from the pack. Next, he released one of Buddy’s wrists from the cuffs and before the man could react, he forced his arm out to the tree and nailed the board into the trunk.

  “What’re you doing?” Bud’s gravelly voice now was filled with fear.

  Without a word, Jason repeated his steps with Bud’s other hand. The man was now standing, facing the tree, with his arms wrapped around it, his hands effectively nailed to the trunk.

  “What’re you gonna to do?” Bud asked again. “You got no reason to hurt me. I just delivered the message. I don’t have anything else to say to you.

  Jason said nothing. He left Bud nailed to the tree and left to gather up some dead branches and kindling. Bringing them back, he lit a small fire behind the man. Then he walked back into the trees. He was looking for an Ironwood tree. It was very dense and hard to burn. It would work perfectly for what he had in mind. He returned a few minutes later with a fresh limb he had cut. He built up the fire and laid the end of the stick in the growing bed of coals.

  “You gonna burn me? Damn you. You’re a coward. Turn me loose.” Bud was now squirming and beginning to hyperventilate in fear.

  Got to be hard. Can’t let him think I can be reasoned with. It will save both of us a lot of pain.

  “Bud, I need some information and you’re going to give it to me. I don’t have a lot of time and I don’t have much patience.”

  “I ain’t telling you anything! You don’t know the Chairman. He’s one you don’t cross. He’s gonna take over the whole south one day. Say’s he saw it in a vision, and I believe him. You hurt me, he’ll come after you and your city. Just do what you’re told. I don’t know anything else.”

  “If you keep to that story it is going to be very painful for you.”

  “Go to hell!”

  Jason turned the stick in the coals. “I’m going to ask you some questions. I want to know everything you know. You’re going to tell me everything and I’m going to write it down. Later you’ll draw me a map. When we’re done, I’ll be able to see the place with your eyes, as if I had been there myself.”

  Bud cranked his head over, looking at Jason with a mixture of fear and anger. He shook his head. “I ain’t helping you. I don’t know anything but what I said.”

  Suddenly Jason took out his hunting knife and thrust it in front of Buddy’s face. “I’ve got two good men out there, one of them may be hurt and I need to go get them.”

  “You’ll get yourself killed.” Bud almost sneered at him. “The Chairman got too many men.”

  “It’s not me that is going to get killed. I’m going to do the killing.” He took his knife and put it to Buddy’s left hand. He placed the blade half way down the little finger. “I’m going to start cutting your fingers until you tell me what I want to know.”

  “He’ll kill me if I tell you everything.”

  “I’ll kill you if you don’t. Or I’ll send you back with two bloody stumps for hands and you’ll die slowly of starvation. You think anyone will take care of a cripple with no fingers?”

  Jason began to press down on the blade, cutting into one of Bud’s fingers.

  Bud screamed in pain and started cursing at Jason. “Damn you! I told you I don’t know nothing. You got no right.”

  “First question. Where’s his headquarters?”

  I don’t know anything, I’m telling you. They just picked me to deliver the message.”

  “You say ‘I don’t know’ a lot.”

  Jason pushed down on the blade. The man screamed, his body jerked against the tree. Blood spurted from the severed digit. Jason grabbed the Ironwood stick from the fire and stuck it to the end of Bud’s finger.

  Bud screamed again, even louder.

  “Scream all you want. There’s no one to hear you. Now I’m going to ask you again. Tell me everything about this Chairman and his setup. You ready to do that, or do I have to take the next finger off?”

  Bud shook his head. “No, no more.”

  “Now you’re being smart.”

  “I’m a dead man.”

  “Bud, I got no time for this. I’m going to cut another finger. You’re going to talk or you’re going to die.”

  “Okay, okay.” He threw his head back. “Oh God it hurts.”

  “The hurt increases with each finger.” Jason put his face up close to Bud. “You want to feel real pain? I can deliver more pain than you can imagine. You’re standing between me and rescuing my friends. You don’t want to be in that position.”

  He stepped back. “Now again, where’s the Chairman’s headquarters?”

  “In the Knoxville County Building. It’s next to the courthouse.”

  “How many men does the Chairman have?”

  “I don’t know. Please.”

  Jason put his knife to the man’s next finger.

  “Hundreds. It’s a lot. Stop. I really don’t know how many.”

  Jason released his pressure on the knife,

  “He’s got the whole city under his control, so it’s a lot of men. He’s got the police and a city militia. Knoxville’s gonna rule the south with him in charge.”

  “How well are they armed?”

  The man made no pretense of holding back now. He was obviously in great pain.

  “M16s, M4s. He cleaned out the armories.”

  “Heavy weapons?”

  “I don’t—”

  Jason increased the pressure on his knife. It started into the flesh.

  “Mortars, RPGs, machine guns! I’ve seen them.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I seen some big guns, cannons. But I don’t know if they work.

  “How well trained are men?”

  “All of ‘em are trained, but some not so well. We do some practicing but don’t use live ammo. The officers say it needs to be saved.”

  “You’re in the militia. Tell me more about the troops, where they are kept, how they’re organized, is there an elite group?”

  For the next hour the man gave Jason more detail including where he thought the prisoners were being kept and how the county building and courthouse were defended. Jason withdrew his knife from the man’s finger and began to write down the information, asking clarifying questions when needed.

  I’m a dead man,” Bud said again when they were done.

 
“Maybe, maybe not. At least you have most of your fingers. I could be sending you back with stumps.” Now we’re going back to town. You’re going to remain in our custody while I go for my friends. If I find you’ve lied to me about these details, when I get back I’ll take you back out into these woods, strip you, and stake you out on the ground for the insects and animals to feed on. You’d better hope a mountain lion comes across you before any dogs or wolves. You’ll die quicker. The dogs and wolves will eat you alive and you’ll be screaming for death before you get it.”

  Bud shuddered. “I’m telling the truth, but you’re going to get yourself killed.”

  “A lot of people have said that to me, and they’re all dead.”

  Chapter 2

  ___________________________________

  W hen Jason arrived back at the police station, Kevin was waiting for him.

  “What the hell happened?” he exclaimed when he saw Bud.

  “He needs some attention, but he’ll be all right. That stump should be disinfected and bandaged properly.”

  Kevin sent a militia soldier off to the hospital to bring a nurse back to attend to the prisoner. Jason headed into Kevin’s office while Kevin instructed a police officer to put Bud back in his cell and give him some food, water, and an extra pillow on which to rest his injured hand. After everyone got into action, he closed the door to the office.

  “Jason, you’ve got some explaining to do. I’m the acting police chief and this looks too much like what we had before. I hope to hell you got a good reason for this or you’re going to have some big problems with the town council.”

  Jason sat down heavily in a chair next to the desk. He sighed. “We’ve got a big problem. One that’s going to change everything.”

  “What do you mean? I know Rodney and Billy have been taken hostage, but we can work that out and free them.”

  “You think so?” Jason looked at Kevin who was taking a seat behind the desk. “You think that will be the end of it?”