Jernigan's War (28 page)

Dix grinned, “We have an ice chest full of fish, let’s eat. When they don’t show up, we’ll see if they send someone else. If they do, we’ll kill them too. If they give us too much trouble, I’ll go clean them out, just like I cleaned out Ferriday. I don’t care one way or the other.”

They let Ben and Frank out and fired up the grease in the Dutch oven. They even had an ice chest full of cold beer in the truck. Dix stowed their weapons and ammo, took their jewelry and precious metal and dumped them into the money box. The fresh eggs and milk would taste good for breakfast. They also had a case of coffee and all sorts of canned goods. The old man squirreled away the tobacco, Dix took the whiskey. Dix laughed, “I can’t wait to see what the folks they send to look for them will have.”

Dix was up early the next morning. They cooked and ate breakfast as the sun was rising. Dix figured they would be paid a visit that day and he wasn’t wrong. They tied Ben and Frank up under Beagle’s camp. Dix had reloaded his empty magazine and once again he waited over behind the old upended fishing boat. Sure enough four thugs showed up in a black Ford Expedition. They got out with short barreled shotguns and AK47’s. The one driving had a Glock. They spotted Beagle, “Old man, did you see my men yesterday?”

“They were here at 4:00 o’clock yesterday afternoon. The last time I saw them they were in their red truck.”

Dix didn’t let them get too close; he stepped out and opened up on them. He had them killed before they could get off a round. Beagle complained, “I’m getting too old for this sort of thing, I need to sit down.”

Dix looked in the truck, popped the back open, and cleaned out all their stuff. They had a box full of stolen jewelry and several cases of wine from the local winery. They also had several cases of buckshot, a box of Chinese hand grenades and a two way radio. He picked up their guns and picked them clean of their jewelry. They even had some gold and silver coins in their pockets. He took their knives and threw them in a bucket for trading later. He again drained the gas from the tank and the oil from the crankcase. He loaded them all up in the shiny truck and sent them to the bottom with their comrades in the red Dodge truck.

Dix said, “I hate losing these fine vehicles, but I don’t want to advertise that we’re doing the killing. We need to keep looking harmless.” They turned on the radio, heard someone calling, but they gave up after not receiving an answer.

Butch ran by several days later, they had gotten word from Captain Miller that the Constitution Army had the Chinese bottled up between Alexandria and Lake Charles, Louisiana. They had a squadron of A10 Warthogs operational out of Bossier City that they had used to defeat the pro-communist police in the Shreveport - Bossier area. After the battle, our side was able to secure the air base, and support the squadron. “The A10’s hit them this morning at Bossier and it looks like the troops that came through here are going to try and retreat to Natchez where they still have planes, and support equipment on the ground. Captain Miller wants us to take the airport at Natchez.”

Dix was on the job, “I started several days ago. I’ve killed seven of the Natchez communists already. I’ll get started on the
airport in the morning.” Dix loaded Butch up with more AK47’s and ammo. “Is there anything else you need?”

“I haven’t eaten in couple of days.” Dix opened him a can of beans and Beagle dug out a couple of pounds of fried catfish.

The next morning Dix restocked his pack and loaded up Jake’s AR15. He carried two magazine pouches with six thirty round magazines. He had his Browning in the shoulder holster and the four extra magazines for it.

Dix told the old man, “I’m going to stick around all day just in case they send another team of collectors out. They are awful easy to kill when they think they are facing an easy target. If they send another team great, if not you’re going to take my boat and deliver me down the river and drop me off under the hill after dark. I’ll go into the city and start softening them up.” “I doubt they’ll come over here once I start killing them in Natchez. Keep one of those shot guns handy or take the catamaran down the lake with Ben and Frank if you feel uneasy. Don’t try to sleep unless you feel secure.”

CHAPTER 25

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT

B
eagle dropped Dix off under the hill below Clifton on the bluff. He took his time and made his way out of the river bottom. He was dressed in the same outfit he was wearing when he went into New Orleans to get Maggie and Bill. Once again he was haunted by their deaths. He had already convinced himself that they would have survived if it weren’t for him. He had the feeling in his stomach again just like he felt when he found them all dead. For the long walk up Learneds Hill he was an emotional wreck. Luckily this road was seldom traveled and by the time he reached the top he had regained his composure. This was the town where he grew up. He remembered riding in the front seat of his dad’s car and wondering if the car could make it to the top. He turned at the top of the hill onto Madison St. and again onto Linton. His rifle was under his coat and his hand was on the pistol grip so he could deploy it in a second. There was no power in the city and he slowly made his way down the sidewalk by the moonlight. He had become quite adept at moving around in the dark. He continued past the Victorian mansions until he reached the one owned by one of his friends.

He climbed the steep driveway and went to the back door. The back door stood open, he called out, no answer. He flipped on his green cap light and went in. His friend Tate was still there; his skeleton lay at the patio door. He recognized the cap and clothes. His house had been ransacked. Dix had hoped he had escaped to Louisiana where he had family. Dix walked out on the back porch and raised the hidden door to the basement. No one had found his wine cellar. It was still full and would be a great place to hide out in an emergency.

Dix left the house and walked down the driveway to the street. He worked his way back to the old bar on the corner. It was just down the street from the police station and the county jail. If the communists were in charge, they would be near here. He paused in the doorway of the bar and looked in. It stood empty with the doors open. He flipped on the green LED cap light and looked around. The floor was covered in litter and peanut shells. The peanut barrel was empty and all the beer and liquor was gone. There were just broken bottles behind the bar.

Dix set up a chair where he could sit in the dark and watch the street. He knew the police would be the bad guys here. He could hear a generator running and he could see lights on up at the jail. He left the old bar and walked up the street as a police car pulled up in front of the jail. They pulled a lady out of the back seat, Dix recognized her in the lights from the front of the jail. She was the granddaughter of one of his mother’s best friends. She was about 40, if he remembered correctly. He raised his rifle up and killed the two cops. Before others could respond he grabbed their cuff keys off a ring and pulled her back into the shadows. He didn’t stop with her until they were in the bar. By the time the other cops responded he had her out of the cuffs and told her to not make a sound.

The police were running up and down the street with spotlights on the patrol cars flashing. Dix stepped out of the opening and killed three more cops as fast as he could put the orange spot on them and pull the trigger. They were experiencing mass confusion. He replaced the magazine in the rifle and poked his head back into the bar.

“You coming with me or staying?”

“I’m with you.”

They called her Rachel when they were growing up. Dix warned her, “When I stop you stop, do exactly what I say when I say, do you understand?”

She nodded, “Whatever you say.”

They turned on Canal Street and starting casually walking. She whispered, “Shouldn’t we be running.”

“If we run we might trip over something in the dark. If we take our time, we have time to react and think; besides, it isn’t easy running with the load I’m packing.” They stopped in the shadows when a patrol car came down the street.

“Rachel, if they spot us, I want you to get down on the ground behind me, I’m going to kill them.”

The car didn’t stop so they continued on as soon as it passed. They walked on down Canal Street until they came to Madison, then turned up Linton Ave and went to his friend’s house. They didn’t speak until they were in the house. Rachel stared at the skeleton on the floor.

“Don’t be afraid, my friend is dead but I am not going to disturb his body, I don’t want anyone to know that we are hiding here.” She stepped over the skeleton as Dix opened the door to the cellar. They walked down the stairs and closed the lid behind them. Dix had the green LED light on until he fished out a candle
lantern and lit it. “You’re Rachel Johnson aren’t you? I’m Minnie’s son, Dix.”

“Oh, I remember you, but I didn’t recognize you, you’ve changed a lot since I saw you last.”

“A lot of time and a lot of miles have gone by since I left town.”

“I remember when Ms. Minnie died, my grandmother talked about her all the time.”

“What were the police dragging you in for?”

“The Party Chief in Adams County likes fresh meat every day. He has his goons pick up new entertainment every day.”

“Who is the party chief?”

“Do you remember the old District Attorney?”

Dix thought for a minute, “Do you mean Damon Jones?”

“Yes that’s him, but he goes by his new Islamic name, Assad Abdul.”

Dix laughed, “I wonder how long it took him to think that one up?”

“What are you doing here armed for battle?”

“The Chinese are making a run back here to the airport. I’ve come in to soften up the resistance a little. You need to stay hidden here for a while. I’ll leave you some food, there’s plenty of wine and there’s water in the hot water tank in the corner.” Dix opened the valve and saw that it ran. “If you need to go to the bathroom, I suggest you go over in the back corner of the basement. If you have to go out, try not to travel in the daylight. I’ll try and get back to check on you, but you never know what I’ll run into.” He handed her the .22 Beretta pocket pistol and showed her how to click off the safety. “I recommend you use this at point blank range only.”

“Where is your family now, Dix?”

Dix looked back at Rachel, “They’re all dead, that’s why I’m killing all the good folks that enabled the communists to get and stay in power. I am working with the new Constitution Army.” He unloaded all but a couple of the MRE’s in his pack and headed up the steps. He called back as he closed the lid, “Good Luck.”

It was after midnight and he decided to go take a look at the airport. He walked north through the neighborhoods, all was quiet in town. Once he heard a car coming and squatted down next to a pile of uncollected garbage on the curb. It was a police car. The car stopped up the street and the cop got out and went up the driveway into a home. Dix heard a woman arguing with him and watched as he came storming out. When he got back to the car Dix was waiting. He waited until the patrolman was seated behind the wheel and shot him. Dix rolled him over into the passenger’s seat got behind the wheel and closed the door. He cranked the engine and pulled away in no particular hurry.

Dix cut through the neighborhood streets driving slowly along Martin Luther King Street and headed north out to Pine Ridge Road until he came to Airport Road. He followed it until he came to Artman Road, made a left turn and stopped on the first bridge. He pulled the dead deputy out of the passenger seat, took his Beretta 9mm and the extra magazines and emptied his pockets. He had a pocket full of wedding bands and several diamond engagement rings. Dix rolled him over the side of the bridge railing and listened as the body dropped about 30 feet to the shallow stream below. He took the car up to an abandoned farm house on the right hand side of the road and drove it into an old garage that was about to fall down. He listened on the police radio the entire time and never heard any chatter. It would be a while before they missed him.

He walked back to the road and casually strolled back down to Airport Road. He was less than a mile from the airport. The
night was cool as he approached. He slowly made his way into a little recreation area with a pond that was located next to the airport. The airport was dark and there were no signs of life. He noticed the tip of a cigarette flare as the owner drew a puff. It was a sentry standing at the front gate. Dix continued his wait, kneeling beside a big pine tree. The clouds parted and let the moonlight shine through. He could hear a generator running somewhere behind the little terminal building. Another guard walked out of the front door of the terminal. He flipped on a light for a moment while he was fiddling with something in his hand. Dix couldn’t see what it was. The light went out a moment later. A truck cranked up out in one of the hangers. The headlights flooded an area where a group of about 30 cargo planes were lined up next to the runway. The airport was small and they were parked where they didn’t block the two runways which were long enough to land large commercial jets.