Adrift: The Complete Novel (19 page)

“Go faster.”

“But…”

“Just do it.”

Eli pressed the pedal nearly to the floor, still worried about the standing water that could send them careening out of control at any moment. He gripped the wheel and focused forward. His hooded eyes went wide as he realized there was a person standing in the middle of the road.

Hollie saw his friend pull off the gas. His voice came out like the rasp of a reaper, “Run him over.”

Eli hesitated, but Hollie grabbed the old man’s knobby knee and pressed it down, revving the engine, RPMs jumping.

They both saw the shock on the man’s face right before they slammed into him, the danger registering too late, the flashlight and shotgun flew high, the crumpled body trampled by the speeding truck.

+++

Laney turned to the left seeing headlights in the distance. They’d posted a man in each direction to redirect drivers. Obviously the idiot they’d put on the south end of the road hadn’t listened. Laney cursed and rose to meet the vehicle.

+++

The truck’s high beams cut into the night, aided by the miraculous respite of rain. Hollie saw them first. A line of men moving into the tree line. Putting his submachine gun to his shoulder, his companions in the cab doing the same, he opened fire, rounds smashing though the windshield.

+++

Laney’s men were temporarily blinded by the blast of the headlights, half turning away, the others ripping the night vision goggles from their faces. The first man went down in a hail of bullets that reached out and touched the man next to him, sending them both to the ground.

The two marauding vehicles tore into Laney’s ranks, old men now young again, disciplined, ruthless, deadly, avenging angels.

+++

Jaw clenched, Max Laney backed away from his position, watching as the roughnecks went down all too quickly. The remaining group of hunters had come to the road, curiously, stupidly, only to be mowed down, looks of shock plastered to their faces. 

Cursing his string of bad luck, Laney hopped into the truck and took off in the opposite direction.

+++

Eli Henderson searched the bodies, all dead save one, and he would die shortly. “I’d say we did pretty good, boys. Just like the old days.”

His comrades joined the search, grimly going to task, adrenaline still coursing like a raging drug, keeping them young if only for a few more minutes. More than one man knelt down to say a silent prayer over the dead, not because of regret, but because above all, these warriors knew the worth of life. They’d fought and bled for their country in lands far from its shores. They’d left as boys and come back men. They’d lost friends, some family.

Hollie was the most frantic, searching each man methodically, hoping Daniel was not among them. “Daniel! Daniel!”

Soon the others repeated the call, spreading the line, moving into the woods.

+++

I heard the calls. They sounded like muted gurgles. Maybe it was a trick. They couldn’t blow me up or shoot me. Maybe Laney was trying something new.

I felt rather than heard them moving closer, my mind realizing my hearing had dulled from the explosion. Squirming under the push of the tree, I stopped. Something about one of the voices pierced the ringing in my ears.

Hollie?

+++

Hollie heard it first, thinking it another survivor from Laney’s cadre, he moved in cautiously.

A grated sound, like a man gasping his last breath. Closer. Closer.

“Hayi. Hayee. Haay,” came the voice.

Hollie panned his flashlight back and forth, zeroing in on the sound. Most of the vegetation was shorn, a result of the claymores. A large tree lay up ahead. Movement. A hand waving.

Chapter 43

The men stared at me as I gulped down my fourth bottle of water. To say that I was parched was an understatement. I don’t think they knew what to make of me. I probably looked like a monster with my makeshift camouflage, most of which I didn’t remember putting together. The beast had done it without my help.

They’d managed to pull me out from under the giant log unscathed. Despite my reassurance that I wasn’t hurt, one of the men, a former Navy corpsman, inspected me from top to bottom.

“Might be a bit dehydrated,” said the corpsman, “but other than that, he looks pretty good.”

He patted me on the back and joined the working party who were loading bodies into the back of trucks, Hollie among them.

After two protein bars and another bottle of water, I walked over to where Hollie was talking to an ancient looking man, hunched at the waist. They looked up from their conversation.

“Feel better, son?” asked the older gentleman.

“Yes, sir. Thank you for…”

He waved the thanks away. “Us old dogs haven’t had this much fun in ages. You’ll see when you get to be my age. Times like these…well, let’s just say you won’t forget them.”

I realized that these old men, none younger than sixty, didn’t feel a bit of remorse for what they’d done. It was no small thing, waging war in an American town. Brave men.

Hollie interrupted my thoughts. “We’d better get moving soon. Now that the storm’s passed there will be people coming down the road.”

“What about Laney? Was he with these guys?” I pointed to the stacked cadavers.

“Nope. Not even sure he was here.” He turned to the other man. “Eli, let’s head back to your place. I’m sure Daniel wouldn’t mind getting cleaned up.”

As we piled in their vehicles I looked east just as the golden rays of morning cut through the filtering clouds. The beast inside of me howled.

+++

Max Laney parked the SUV in front of his friend’s condo. The drive had given him a chance to regroup. He was far from finished, but he needed time.

He’d driven by his beautiful home, now a smoldering ruin. There would be questions from the authorities, but he, Max Laney, could deal with it.

What he needed now was a vacation. Some time to think. Minutes later he climbed aboard his boat, taking in deep breaths of the clear air, savoring the promise of a new day.

Soon he was cruising out of the channel and into the gulf.

+++

Eli’s men listened with rapt attention to my story. It felt like a dream as I retold my swim to shore in the raging storm. Stealing a running car to get back to Defuniak Springs.

No one batted an eye when I explained how I’d ambushed the police chief or Laney’s man, Renley Watts. “Good riddance,” said one of the old-timers, spitting on the ground.

“What about the lawyer?” asked Hollie. “It’s hard to believe Henry Ellison knew what Laney was up to. He was shocked to see how bad I looked.”

I didn’t tell them that there had been a moment when anyone I could get my hands on, who had any connection with Max Laney, would die. But in that instant, the beast relented allowing a tiny sliver of my humanity to peak out.

“I put him somewhere safe. Thought he might be useful if we came through it alive.”

Hollie nodded with a smile. “That’s good to hear. Now, what do we do about Max?”

The beast in me growled. I cut it off with a click of my teeth, grinning wickedly. “Don’t worry about Max. He’s mine.”

+++

Defuniak Springs was coming back to life, crews working hard to clear roadways and restore power as quickly and efficiently as possible. The citizens knew natural disaster well, and most had weathered their fair share of tropical storms and hurricanes. Neighbor helped neighbor.

So it was with Eli’s band of warriors. Dispersed in separate directions, we soon had a plan concocted, one that would not only cover our tracks, but would see the Laney empire dismantled piece by piece.

+++

Henry Ellison shaded
his eyes from the sun when we opened the woodshed door. I’d tied him to a work bench knowing he was too frail to put up much of a fight.

“Please don’t hurt me.”

Hollie stepped forward. “Mr. Ellison, it’s Hollie Herndon. We have some things to tell you.”

+++

Max couldn’t believe how calm the gulf was. Once a battle of waves and tides, the emerald water now glass-like, lazily lapping against the vessel’s hull. Laney sipped a water glass full of bourbon, savoring the burn running down his throat.

He wasn’t in any rush, already having made arrangements for his return home. The course set, Laney enjoyed the soft breeze blowing in through the windows, beckoning him westward.

+++

Henry Ellison sat in a state of shock. More than once he’d gasped at Hollie’s retelling. I could only imagine what was going through his head. He’d served the Laney family for years, never once questioning their motives. Finding out that he’d been, for intents and purposes, a willing participant in countless schemes of bribery, coercion and outright thievery, I was almost surprised the poor guy didn’t keel over and die.

“Are you sure about this, Hollie? I mean, are you really sure?” Ellison’s eyes pleaded.

“I’m afraid so, Mr. Ellison. Just sorry you had to hear about it like this.”

Ellison nodded, lost in his own thoughts, visibly calculating his next move. To my astonishment, the old man looked up, his eyes burning with determination. “You know, there was a time when a lawyer was afraid to look across the aisle and see Henry Ellison.” He stood. “I think it’s time to be that man again. Tell me, Mr. Briggs, what can I do to help?”

Chapter 44

He made a stop in Gulfport, Mississippi to buy supplies and a fresh wardrobe. Johnny and Watts had dumped most of the things in the stateroom, and Max Laney would not be seen wearing day-old trousers.

Now freshly showered, wearing a pair of loose khaki shorts and a Tommy Bahama button down shirt, Laney sipped his first cocktail of the night, gazing out at the setting sun from Smuggler’s Cove.

There wasn’t anything on the tiny Cat Island, but it was close enough to shore that he could stop in at any time. Besides, he’d picked the spot at random, liking the ring of the name Smuggler’s Cove, thinking that he’d probably had ancestors who had used the very same spot to smuggle goods into the country.

He lounged on the aft deck, the boat’s position giving him a perfect view of the sunset. The only sound that tingled his senses were the occasional screeches from soaring seagulls, doing a pass to see if he had any food.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a tangerine glow. Max closed his eyes, lulled by the gently rocking vessel.

+++

He hadn’t been hard to track. I’d gotten lucky. When I ambushed Renley Watts, I found the GPS locator he’d used to track me and Hollie before. It even had a piece of blue tape with
Herndon
stuck above one of the small screens. Next to it was another name, on the same blue painter’s tape. It said
Laney’s Boat
.

+++

The glass almost slipped from his hand, but he grasped it before it fell.
Must have dozed off
, thought Laney, shaking his head. Yawning, he lifted the nearly empty glass to his mouth when a searing pain tore through his leg. He screamed in shock, almost falling out of his seat when he tried to stand and look down.

The pain was unbearable. Laney flipped a switch next to the table and the area was suddenly bathed in soft light. He lifted his throbbing leg and found an arrow, or was is a spear, sticking out of his calf.

“What the…”

A whistle behind him made him turn, the fright clear in his bulging eyes.

“Hello, Max.”

+++

He felt the venom in my voice and backed away a step.

“Briggs?”

I nodded.

Laney looked around, probably looking for something, anything, to use as a weapon. Too bad for him, nothing would help.

“Uh, I’m sure we can talk this through, Mr. Briggs. I’m a wealthy…”

“I don’t care about your money.” I laughed. “Some other people do though. I’d say right about now your bank accounts are being emptied and the grateful citizens of Defuniak Springs are getting a call from Henry Ellison telling them you’ve given them their land back.”

“What?! I…Henry Ellison is dead.” It came out as more of a question. He didn’t know. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. I wanted to let the beast loose, tear him to shreds and sink his body to the ocean floor.