Part 7 (1/2)
”Cease fire!” Ben yelled. ”Cease fire!
Back off, people! Back off! It's over, G.o.dd.a.m.n it!”
Silence settled over the smoky, b.l.o.o.d.y carnage-filled highway. The men and women looked at what was left of that which they had so feared for so long.
”Doctor Barnes!” Ben yelled, standing up.
”Here, General.”
”See to West's wounds. We want him alive for barter. The rest of you gather up the weapons and tear down the barricades. Get the road clear of nails and gla.s.s.”
”We did it!” a woman cried, crying tears of joy and relief and disbelief. ”We really did it!”
Ben looked down from the overpa.s.s, his eyes touchingDoctor Barnes.
”Might rules once again, right, General?” the doctor called.
”An armed, disciplined, organized people cannot be enslaved, Doctor. were I you, I would keep that in mind.”
”Still the writer, aren't you, General?” Barnes said, his voice carrying to the top of the overpa.s.s. ”Still carrying your liberal-hating message to the ma.s.ses, right?”'
”Somebody d.a.m.n well better continue doing it,” Ben said.
The doctor turned away. The canvas patch on the seat of his trousers had worked loose.
His a.s.s was showing.
Chapter 6.
One hundred and fifty of the town's residents were now armed, with plenty of ammunition for the weapons.
Only a handful of West's men made it out of the ambush alive, and two of those died during the night.
West's leg, from the knee down, was amputated by Doctor Barnes. It really was not that tough an operation, for Ben's bullet had done most of the work.
When Barnes complained that he had nothing to knock the man out with, Ben looked at the doctor as if he were an idiot.
The doctor got the message.
”It's going to be very difficult closing all this off,” the doctor b.i.t.c.hed.
”Cauterize it,” Ben said.
The doctor finally lost his temper. ”You're a f.u.c.king savage, Raines! G.o.dd.a.m.n it, the man is a human being.”
Ben met the man's hot eyes. ”West has killed, in cold blood, no telling how many hundreds of people. He has raped, tortured, mutilated, degraded, enslaved, and G.o.d only knows what else, to countless hundreds more. If you're expecting me to feel any degree of pity for that sc.u.m, you're going to have a long wait, doctor. Like forever!”
”Now I know why the Tri-States was virtually crime-free!”
”That's right, Doctor. We just didn't tolerate it.”
West lay on the table, tied down with ropes, and cursed Ben.
Ben looked at the man and spoke quietly.
After his words, West shut his mouth and kept it shut.
Ben had placed the muzzle of his pistol against West's temple and said, ”I can put you out of your pain permanently, West. The choice is yours.”
Doctor Barnes said, ”G.o.d, Raines! I'd hate to have to live with your conscience.”
”I don't have any problems with it at all, Ralph,” Ben replied.
The contingent of Rebels rolled in just after first light. They were commanded by a Captain Chad.
”You made good time, Captain,” Ben told theyoung officer.
”We took s.h.i.+fts at the wheel, General.
Only had to detour three times and then not too far.”
He looked around at the looted and nearly destroyed city. ”This going to be our first outpost, General?”
”One of the first, I suppose. I'd like to set up at least two more between Base Camp One and here.
We'll see how this one works out.”
The Rebels were introduced all around. The men and women of what was left of Dyersburg could only stand and stare at the healthy, well-dressed, and fit Rebels. A young woman, dressed exactly like her Rebel counterparts, walked up to Ben. She wore a .45 belted at her waist and looked very comfortable with it.
”I'm Doctor Walland, General. We met briefly back at Base Camp One.”
”Yes, I remember, Doctor,” Ben said, shaking the woman's hand. He waved for Doctor Barnes to come over. He introduced them and said, ”I'll leave you two alone. Doctor Barnes doesn't care for my company.”
Gloria Walland looked at Ben and smiled.
”You're joking, of course, General.”
”According to Doctor Barnes, I am a barbarian and a savage,” Ben said bluntly. ”He doesn't care for the Rebel system of justice.”
Doctor Gloria Walland, a captain in the Rebel Army, faced Doctor Ralph Barnes.
Ben leaned over to see if the doctor had changed trousers. He had.
”Let's clear the air, Doctor Barnes,”
Gloria said.