"Well, who's your contact? I might be able to give you directions?" asked Darien.
"Guy name Price. The deputy looked at a scrap of paper taped to the dashboard. “Uh…Marty Price. You know him?"
The blood in Darien's veins ran cold. Harriet had been right about the old man as a potential threat. The deputy’s question bumped Mr. Price to the top of his threat list.
"Why yes, that's his house right over there," Harriet said as she pointed a slender white arm across the street to the unassuming house.
The deputy craned his neck to look over his shoulder and the leather of his utility belt squeaked in protest. "Of course, it's behind me. All right, well you folks have a good night and stay safe, alright? I’ll just drive around the neighborhood and check in with the other side, then I'll come back and visit Mr. Price before I wrap up my patrol. If you guys have any problems, just get word to Mr. Price and he'll contact us."
Darien stepped back and slapped the roof of the cop car. "Sure thing. And thanks for being out there on the front lines on this, we sure do appreciate it!”
Darien stood silent and his body trembled with barely contained rage as he watched the squad car pull away. He was so close. His plan, hatched on the back of a napkin at the beginning of the apocalypse, was about to bear fruit. He had the homeowners association in his pocket and some old man with an unauthorized ham radio was about to ruin everything. He ground his teeth in frustration and ignored Harriet as she attempted to put a positive light on the situation.
"Nothing good is gonna come out of this—that idiot is going to drive around the neighborhood, see how many houses we've busted into, then come back and confirm everything with Price." He pointed at the house across the street. "That man is going to ruin everything! If he can contact the Sheriff, that puts us on the map. And I do not want to be on anyone's radar right now." He turned and stalked away.
"But…but…where are you going?" Harriet called after him.
He stopped and turned to face her. "I told you, I've got a raid to plan. But we’re not raiding an empty house. We’re going to have to take down Marty Price. Tonight."
"I don't understand," Harriet said as she hurried to catch up to him. "Isn't that going to start a bigger problem? Cami Lavelle is not going to just stand there and watch you attack her neighbor."
Darien sighed. "No, from what you've told me, I don't suppose she will. But we don't have much of a choice. If we don't nip this in the bud right now, he’s gonna cause bigger problems in the future. If we have to take her down too, well...?”
"She has guns," Harriet hissed in his ear as she looked around to see if anyone had seen them.
Darien grinned. "So do I,” he whispered back. “I have a lot more people willing to use them than she does, too.”
“Maybe you can go after someone else…as a warning?” Harriet suggested.
“Like who?” asked Darien.
Harriet wrung her hands. “I don’t know…there must be someone you can use as an example.”
Darien pursed his lips in thought as they walked along the road back to his house. His house. He loved the way that sounded.
He snapped his fingers. “There is someone…my boys have taken notice of a house over on Archer. Woman with two kids…”
Chapter 20
Lavelle Homestead
Northwest of Charleston, South Carolina
Cami sat up on the couch, her heart ready to burst through her chest. She blinked in the near pitch-black darkness of the upstairs media room. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and then all the memories over the past week came back with a rush. Her back and legs, still sore from the forced march to and from their impromptu weapons training area in the forest preserve, ached as she stood up. What had woken her?
A desperate pounding at the front door answered that question. Her hand immediately went to her hip and found nothing. Cami cursed. She'd fallen asleep on the couch and left her pistol on the floor. She reached down and groped about in the darkness until she found the solid weight of the Glock. The pounding resumed at the front door. Whoever it was really wanted to get inside.
"Hey, wake up," she snapped. "Can't you guys hear that? Get your guns!"
Amber groaned in the darkness. "It's just me, mom. Mitch and Gary are…out there somewhere.”
"Right…” Cami said with a shake of her head. She felt her way across the room to the door, opened it, and stepped into the hallway. Someone was already on his feet, a dark silhouette in the dim light. "Mitch?" she asked.
"It's me, Gary.”
“Oh,” Cami said.
"Someone's at the front door…” groaned Mitch from a few feet away.
"Get your weapons," Cami snapped. "It could be a diversion." Cami rushed downstairs, not willing to wait another second. The plan had been for Mitch to keep watch through the night, so that his dad would be able to drive in the morning. Amber and Cami had gone to sleep secure in the knowledge that someone would be awake all night.
Cami fumed as she took the stairs two at a time in the dark. Their sentry had passed out and left them unguarded and vulnerable. She reached the bottom, held her pistol out and approached the front door.
A fist thudded against on the door again. "Cami? Are you in there?"
Cami holstered her weapon and slipped closer to the door. It was Mia's voice, but she had no
