A Town Called America (14 page)

“I hope you don’t mind—and I mean no disrespect, sir—but I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.”

“Sure, Rick. What can I do for you?”

“Well, sir, first off, my friend Billy and I do appreciate all your hospitality. We really do.”

Jackie replied with a stern “But?”

“It’s just that we have another friend who’s…Well, we need to go meet her. We’d very much like to bring her back here.”

“Well, Rick, I’ll be quite honest with you,” Jackie said. “You’ve cost me time. I gave you a tour. I’ve answered your questions. And I’m here taking my time now. Don’t get me wrong—I like you. You’re my kind of people, but my time isn’t free. Think of it like an investment. I’ve invested in you. The M.M. has invested in you. We need to get our return on that investment. Now that’s not too unfair, is it?”

“What are you saying, Colonel Jackie? Are you saying we can’t leave?” Billy asked.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. You need to relax and enjoy yourselves. I’m only saying you can’t leave right now. All you need to do is work for a while, and then we can have this conversation again. I’ll have a few of my men fetch Chris and bring her back here—no problem. I just need to know where she is.”

“With all due respect, I don’t think we told you her name,” Rick stated bluntly, looking directly at the colonel.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, let’s not get caught up in little details such as names. Have I not been very civil to this point? Can’t we just enjoy this meal?”

A few minutes of silence lingered as Rick and Billy sat there and watched Jackie chew his food. As they were having their discussion, two waiters had come in and served them fresh fruit, vegetables, and what appeared to be smoked chicken. Although Jackie continued to speak between bites, Billy and Rick didn’t touch their food, nor did they say a single word.

“Colonel?” Billy finally said. “We intend on coming back.” He wasn’t sure Jackie was buying into the load of garbage he was trying to sell him, but he thought it was worth a shot.

The colonel wiped his mouth. “Billy, there’s no more room for discussion.”

“I see,” said Billy.

Billy and Rick looked at each other. Although Rick was trying to contain the anger building inside him, he knew he was still visibly angry. Rick then nodded at Billy. Both men stood from the table and headed toward the door.

“You’re making a mistake,” Jackie called out. “Please sit down, and we can enjoy this fine food.”

Billy and Rick ignored him and continued toward the entrance. With a nod to the two guards, they stepped in front of the doorway. Neafus and Richards were holding double-barrel shotguns. Without another second’s delay, in unison Billy and Rick rushed toward the two guards, who by then were only a few feet away.

As Neafus raised his shotgun toward Billy, Billy rammed him with his shoulder with the force of an NFLlinebacker, knocking him backward and unconscious, his head bouncing off the floor.

Richards raised his shotgun toward Rick and pulled the trigger just as Billy made contact with his body, causing him to miss Rick entirely. Rick punched Richards as hard as he could in the face, splitting open the bridge of his nose.

“Damn, my nose!” he said, grasping his face as blood poured from between his fingers. “I think you broke my nose!”

Rick, fueled with anger, hit Richards with a series of punches that ended the fight as quickly as it had started. He was on the floor when Rick, with his heavy boot, kicked him once more to ensure he was unconscious.

Jackie, having witnessed two of his men being taken out in a matter of seconds, yelled for his guards after he picked up his plate and hurled it against the wall in a fit of rage.

Rick and Billy peered into the hallway, where a group of soldiers was moving quickly toward them.

“Oh, damn!” Rick said.

Billy picked up a shotgun from the floor; checking it to see if it was loaded, it had no ammo. Billy tossed the weapon on the floor, and quickly retreated into the dining room with Rick. He closed the door behind them, locking it from the inside.

“It’s a thick door,” Jackie said, “but it won’t hold them for long.”

Rick and Billy moved through the dining room, running past the fine dining tables, toward the kitchen. Once they were in the kitchen, they stopped dead in their tracks, no longer caring about the guards in pursuit of them or the danger at hand. Rick and Billy stood in awe as they looked at the cooks; their white aprons were completely covered in blood. As soon as the cooks saw the two intruders, they dropped everything and ran to the back of the kitchen, almost stumbling over one another as they pushed through a doorway on the far side of the room.

The stainless-steel counters were covered in what undoubtedly were human body parts: legs, thighs, fingers, and every other part imaginable. The smell throughout the kitchen was sickening; Rick was barely able to keep himself from vomiting. Billy stood motionless, staring in silence.

Hands, feet, and torsos, all covered in blood, were spread all around them. The hum of a meat grinder that hadn’t been turned off rang out, echoing off the walls.

“What the hell is this?” Billy said. “This isn’t what the M.M. is supposed to be. What the hell are they doing?”

The only thing he thought in the few seconds before darkness came over him was that he knew exactly what was happening and why.
Those bastards are eating the people from the city
. Like a puzzle everything suddenly fit together, but it was too late. Rick and Billy had let their guards down and were struck hard on head from behind.

TWENTY THREE

B
illy woke up in an empty room that was ten feet by ten feet, with a door made of mesh wire. He and Rick were, no doubt, in a cell. The only light came from a single bulb hanging by a wire attached to the ceiling in the hallway outside.

Rick was still unconscious on the floor and bleeding from the back of his head. Billy’s head was pounding as he crawled toward him.

“Rick, Rick wake up.”

Rick didn’t respond.

Then Billy heard the sound of footsteps.
Boots
, he thought.
Maybe it’s one of those pricks in the jumpsuits
. A moment later a soldier stepped in front of the cell and slid a plate under the door. Billy knew exactly what it was.

“It’s ground beef. Eat it if you’re hungry,” the guard said, laughing.

When the guard stepped away, Billy pushed the plate back under the door. Human flesh would never be on his list of fine cuisine. He sat there thinking and waiting, until eventually the light went out. Rick hadn’t moved, and Billy knew he was alive only because he had taken his pulse and used his shirt to stop the bleeding.

In the darkness of the cell, having fallen asleep, Billy eventually awoke to find Rick was no longer there. After that it was day after day. No Rick and no contact with anyone other than the guard delivering
food that Billy refused to eat. It didn’t matter how hungry he was; there was no way he was going to human meat.

The plates would come in, and Billy would slide them back out. The lights would go off, and then they would come back on. The three hash marks, one for each day, Billy had scratched on the wall were the only indication of how long he’d been in that cell. He was beginning to believe he might never know the fate of his friend.

Rick awoke late on the third night. He found himself hanging by his wrists from a hook, with his feet bound. The hook was securely attached to a support beam in the ceiling. The force of his body weight pulling on his shoulders caused tremendous pain, but at that moment, the pain was the least of his worries. The room was dark except for the light from a lava lamp that sat on the floor in the far corner.

The taste of blood was in his mouth, and his head was killing him. Rick tried with all his might to free himself, but it was useless, as he lacked the strength. As he hung in that empty room, his mind wandered, as time seemed to pass ever so slowly.

He was unsure how long he’d been there or how long he’d been unconscious, when eventually the only door opened. A soldier entered, and this time Rick was sure that, one way or another, the man would pay.

“You look scared,” the soldier said.

“Scared? No, I’m not scared. But I am going to kill you,” Rick said with a slight laugh.

The soldier stood looking at Rick, also laughing. “Really? I’d like to see how you’ll manage that.”

Because the guard was stupid enough to stand too close, Rick managed to swiftly lift his legs and wrap the rope that bound his feet around the guard’s neck. Rick grunted and cursed as the soldier struggled to breathe. He kept squeezing until he felt the guard’s neck snap. As he let go, the man’s lifeless body fell to the floor.

It took every bit of strength Rick possessed to swing his body and kick himself off the wall. On his third attempt, he was able to swing far enough to hit a light switch three feet from him with his foot. The room instantly lit up. Having underestimated how bright the light would be, he instinctively closed his eyes, blinded for a moment. After his eyes adjusted, Rick, using the wall to his advantage, pulled up until he reached the large hook that held the rope binding his wrists. He lifted and pulled his body up, freeing himself. After dropping to the floor, he landed on his feet, adrenaline and rage flooding his veins.

After searching the guard’s body, Rick used a small pocketknife with a chipped blade to cut away the ropes that secured his feet and wrists. He had no other weapon except the knife, but it was all he needed. The M.M., whoever they were, had made a fatal error—they had pissed off the wrong person.

Rick moved toward the door, stopping for only a second to listen for movement outside the room. Hearing nothing, he opened the door just enough to see outside. After seeing the hallway was clear, he moved quickly. Unsure where Billy was, Rick kept going until he saw another M.M. soldier with his back to him.

Without hesitation and with rage like that of a caged animal now freed, Rick moved behind his prey, covered the man’s mouth, and cut his throat. He scowled as he shoved the guard’s body to the floor. The shotgun the guard had strapped to his back was a bonus Rick knew would shift the odds in his favor.

The room adjacent to the hallway was much larger than the room where Rick had woken up. Two guards stood next to a coffee machine five feet from where Rick was peering around the corner. The adrenaline coursing through his veins was a rush he wasn’t about to try to contain. He crept up, stopping just behind the two guards.

Rick put his fingers to his lips and let out a light whistle. He wanted to see their faces as he took their lives. When they turned around, the shotgun in his hands was pointing at the guard on the right. Rick pulled the trigger. After a thunderous explosion, the guard was instantly dead.

As the guard on the left reached feebly for his weapon, Rick hit him across the face with the stock of the shotgun. The guard fell to the floor, landing on his back and spilling his coffee across his chest. As he clutched his face and screamed from the blow and the burning-hot coffee, Rick placed his foot on the guard’s neck, pointed his weapon at his face, and pulled the trigger.

Rick was now on the loose and ready to take on an army.
These bastards are going to get what’s coming to them
, he thought, as he moved through the building, searching for Billy.

Billy was sitting in his cell when he heard the gunshots. He’d been waiting anxiously to find out what would happen next when the sound of the shotgun put a smile on his face. The guard outside the cell, who also heard the shots, looked at Billy through the mesh wire, his expression revealing just how nervous he was.

“You know, you done messed up, son,” Billy said. “That’s my friend you pissed off. He’s going to kill you.”

“Shut the hell up!”

Billy continued to wait, hoping that with a little luck, his friend would find him. It was early in the morning when he heard the sound of footsteps echoing through the hall. At first he had thought it was his Rick, but the sound was different. Something was being dragged. Moments later two men approached the cell, and it was clear they were dragging a body behind them.