The Reinvention Of Rudd Carter. A Western Action Adventure Novel (12 page)

For the next hour, they reconnoitered the area around the encampment in preparation for the attack they would launch that night. These pirates had given little regard to security, much the same as the camp the night before.

“I’m going to recommend a smaller raiding party for tonight since there seems to be fewer men at this camp,” Günter said. “I think twenty-five men will be sufficient to get the job done.”

On the way back to the ship, Günter carried on a conversation with Rudd about various topics. “One of the things I don’t like about these excursions is that there are no women available,” he said smiling as if he were telling a dirty joke. “Not even girls.”

The off-handed comment caught Rudd’s attention. He thought about it for a moment and then forgot about it.
Well, it does get lonely out here, and one can be driven to some pretty perverse thoughts. Even fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls are not considered off-limits in Asia. After all, Elizabeth was sixteen when I got her pregnant—not a woman, but a beautiful girl. There are many beautiful teenage Asian girls, and no one gives it a second thought.
Nevertheless, he was bothered by the sinister look on Günter’s face when he talked about
girls.

That night, the raid went off as planned. Catching the camp asleep, they put everyone to death. There had been only 30 pirates in the camp, proving Günter’s call for a smaller raiding party a good one.

The raid on the third camp the following night was also successful. Once again, it was a smaller group of men than anticipated. Günter commented to Rudd that these last two camps had seemed more like outposts than bases.

“You know, Englisher, I’m beginning to think that this fourth camp might be the main base for these bastards. Our reports told us there were at least four hundred men in these four camps. So far we have only come across a hundred and twenty-five or thirty in the three camps we’ve hit.”

“So, what it sounds like you’re about to say, Günter, is that we’re going to have a real fight if we have to go up against two hundred and fifty with our smaller force.”

Günter laughed. “Remember, Englisher, we have superbly trained men, superior fire power, with six Maxim machine guns, bolt action carbines, and the element of surprise. Do you really think these pirates could be any match for us?”

“No, I don’t.” Rudd grimaced, shaking his head. “It’s the element of surprise that bothers me. We’ve been in the area for four days and left bodies all over the place. If there’s a main base, don’t you think by this time there’s a possibility of someone going to one of the outposts and finding the bodies that we’ve left strewn about? I’m not saying we can’t beat them. I’m saying we should be ready, just in case they’re dug in and ready for us, so we’re not the ones surprised.”

The German thoughtfully nodded his head. “Englisher, you make your point well. When we scout tomorrow, we’ll be sure to take all this into consideration.” He slapped Rudd on the back. “Good! You learn fast. Soon you’ll be leading your own scouting parties.”

Back on the ship at the orientation for the next day’s scouting party, Günter warned, “Be on the lookout for any kind of preparation for combat at this fourth camp. Watch for alerting devices or traps we could walk into. I want you to think of this last raid as a head-on, full military assault, instead of a covert action. Our decisions on how to approach this last camp are going to be based on how many people we see in there today. If there are more than a hundred and fifty men, we’re going in with everything we have.”

As anticipated on the reconnoiter the next day, they found the main base for the pirates to be three times as large as the other camps and housing at least two hundred and fifty men. Built on the water with a large boat dock, it had the capacity to handle 15 to 20 small or medium size sampans or junks.

“If we blow up the boats, the only escape left to the pirates will be to jump off the dock and swim or run right into our machine guns, carbines, and mortars,” Günter pointed out.

“That’s right, and if we set two machine guns up to rake the dock area on each side, we can catch a lot of them before they get in the water,” Rudd said, pointing to each side of the dock.

“So our real job today, Englisher, is to make positively sure that they have no advance knowledge of our presence in the area.”

“How can we be certain of that?” asked Rudd.

“We can’t, but one way to find out what they
do
know is to take a prisoner and interrogate him.” Günter smirked. “I have an assignment for you that should be right up your alley. In the next half hour, I want you to bring back a prisoner to interrogate. I’ll find out what they know about us, if anything.”

Rudd located a thicket adjoining a well-worn path and waited. After a few minutes, a young pirate with a machete and a six-shooter in his belt came along. Waiting for him to get close, Rudd reached out and pulled him into the thicket, simultaneously strangling him into unconsciousness. Binding his hands and feet and gagging him, he carried him through the brush back to where Günter waited. What came next, Rudd did not expect.

Günter pulled the prisoner’s pants off, exposing his genitals. He held his combat knife in front of the prisoner’s face and then placed the knife against the prisoner’s testicles and pressed hard enough so that he could feel the sharpness of the blade. In Mandarin, Günter asked the prisoner, “Do you know who we are?”

The prisoner, gagged and bound, shook his head. Günter placed the knife between his testicles and sliced deeply enough to draw blood and a muffled scream. “Are you preparing for any kind of attack?” he asked. The prisoner shook his head. He sliced deeper, drawing another stifled scream. Blood began to flow from the captive’s scrotum. “Have you heard about the attacks on the other camps?” The prisoner shook his head violently. His eyes bulged as Günter smiled cruelly and said, “I believe you.”

Rudd watched in disbelief as Günter slit the man’s throat. He knew you had to be tough and relentless during interrogation, but to torture a man by cutting into his testicles and then slitting his throat without batting an eye… he was not prepared for this. As the captive lay writhing in agony with blood spurting from his throat wound, Rudd hissed at Günter, “How can you be so cold blooded? How can you kill so dispassionately, like you enjoy it?”

“Because I do enjoy it. We’ve been sent out here to rid the world of these evil bastards.”

Günter was still holding the knife in his right hand as the man on the ground choked, wriggled, and sputtered blood in the last seconds of his life. He plunged the knife deep into the heart of the dying man. “Do you think for one second if this son of a bitch had you in this same position he would have gone easy on you? He would have cut your balls off, stuffed them in your mouth, beheaded you, and left you with your head on your chest for your friends to find. These are the most murderous, vicious sons-of-bitches in the world, and because of that, yes, I enjoy being judge, jury and executioner. Someday, the same opportunity to dish out retribution to some degenerate, depraved person the earth would be better off without will fall to you. I hope you remember this event when it does.”

Rudd knew that Günter was right. There was no mercy to be given or taken with these pirates.

Back on the ship that afternoon, the scouts gave their report. None had seen any preparation for defense at the camp. Based on the reports that there were at least two hundred and fifty men at the camp, the colonel decided that a full-out armed assault, with machine guns, mortars, grenades, the whole works, was called for.

That night they surrounded the three sides of the camp not fronted by water and dug in, zeroing in on the wharf from each side with machine guns and setting up a semi-circle of mortars, riflemen, and machine guns on the landside. They covered every possible angle of escape.

When the activity in the camp came to a halt and the lamps were out, in the moonlight Rudd saw a man climb an empty lookout tower. Reaching the top, he rolled and lit a cigarette and was immediately struck in the throat by an arrow. Colonel Jeffers gave the signal for the mortars to commence firing their rounds in two-second intervals into the pirate huts.

Pandemonium broke out as the pirates poured out of their huts and began to run, only to be cut down by traversing machine gunfire. Two of the mortars shot flares overhead, illuminating the entire camp so that the riflemen as well as those firing machine guns had good visual access. This allowed the mortars to zero-in on the boats at the wharf, destroying them before they could be untied. Pirates who weren’t hit running for the wharf jumped into the water and attempted to swim to safety. A dozen or so escaped, but with no arms or supplies to sustain them.

When the firing stopped, Colonel Jeffers gave the command, “Put everyone to death except two, who I’ll need for interrogation.”

Executing anyone still breathing, the raiders moved through the camp quickly with pistols or knives and encountered no resistance. Rudd and Günter brought two prisoners to Colonel Jeffers for questioning, bound and gagged, their feet manacled, led by ropes tied around their necks.

“I think these two are what you’re looking for, Colonel,” Rudd said. “They both appear to be in fairly good shape. Would you like me to interpret for you, sir?”

“If you will, Carter.”

“I’m going to remove your gag,” Rudd told his prisoner. “If you cooperate, you will not be harmed. My colonel wants to ask you some questions. Just be truthful, and in a while, we will let you go.” He removed the gag from the prisoner’s mouth and turned to Colonel Jeffers. “He’s all yours, sir.”

“Thank you, Carter. Ask him, how far he lives from here.”

Rudd relayed the question to the prisoner and waited as the man responded.

“About twenty-eight kilometers,” Rudd said.

“Ask him if the other prisoner is his friend, and if so, do they live in the same village?”

The answer came back, “Yes, they both live in the same village.”

“Splendid. Now, tell him we’re going to release the two of them tomorrow with enough provisions to reach their village.”

The next morning the two prisoners were taken aboard the ship. They sailed to each pirate camp that had been destroyed that week, and the prisoners were forced to witness the burning of the bodies of their fallen comrades. Returning to the fourth camp, they were given enough provisions for one day. Rudd took them ashore and left them with a message. “Remember well what you have seen here today. Go back to your village and tell everyone what you have witnessed.”

Three days later, he was back in Hong Kong snuggling comfortably in his love nest with Ming Li, and once again toiling at the bank.

1897, Hong Kong

After living in Hong Kong for five years and not hearing a word about Elizabeth, one morning a letter arrived from his mother.

Dearest Rudd,

I know you have languished for years over what became of Elizabeth and the child you sired with her. I want you to know I was never in favor of the way your father handled the situation. I wanted to send you to Canada to marry Elizabeth, but then there was your Uncle William to deal with, who is more fearful of a scandal than your father, if you can imagine. I know what I’m about to tell you will not make you happy, but perhaps it will help ease your mind to know what has happened to her.

Elizabeth’s family sent her to Alberta to have the baby. Relatives took care of her and the baby until she finished school. At the age of eighteen, she married Robert McDonald, a high-ranking executive of the Carter Bank in Vancouver. They have three beautiful children, including your five-year-old son, James.

We hear good things about you from Cousin Roger. You are sorely missed and are in my thoughts daily.

All my love,

Mother

Although it hurt to think of Elizabeth with another man, he felt greatly relieved to learn of her whereabouts and to know that she was well. He tried to put the fact that she was with someone else out of his mind. It bothered him, but after all, he had been living with someone for the last five years.

Rudd was offered a business trip to Vancouver by the bank, soon after he received the news about Elizabeth, and he accepted immediately. If he could see Elizabeth again, he felt he would be assured of her well-being. Also lingering in the back of his mind was the chance that there could still be something between them.

After a long and exhausting voyage, he arrived in Vancouver. On his first morning at the bank, he looked up Robert MacDonald. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but I am your wife Elizabeth’s first cousin, Rudd Carter. I am going to be in Vancouver on bank business for the next two weeks, and I thought there might be the possibility of visiting her while I’m here.”

“Oh, yes,” replied MacDonald, giving Rudd a proper handshake. “I remember, she mentioned you a few years back.”

“We knew one another quite well, years ago in England.”

“Of course. I’m sure she would enjoy seeing you, Mr. Carter,” MacDonald said, studying him for a moment. “Are you free for lunch this coming Saturday? It would be a pleasure to have you visit our home.”

“Why, yes,” Rudd said, “that would be lovely. How kind of you. I look forward to it.”

“Splendid. Drop by tomorrow, and my secretary will have directions for you.”

Rudd wasn’t quite sure whether MacDonald was being friendly and receptive or simply courteous. At any rate, he would see Elizabeth on Saturday, five long days later. By the way MacDonald acted, he felt confident that MacDonald knew nothing of the true nature of his relationship with Elizabeth.

Spending the rest of the week attending business meetings, he waited impatiently for Saturday to arrive, when he would at last see Elizabeth.

Since the MacDonald home was within ten blocks of the downtown area, Rudd decided to walk to his luncheon engagement. Elizabeth and her husband lived in an upper middle class neighborhood, which reflected Robert’s position at the bank. Rudd, quite impressed with the homes he walked past, felt good about the surroundings Elizabeth lived in.