“Do you need one of the paramedics to take a look at your injuries?” the detective asked.
“No. I think I’ll be all right. The Savannah Six are on board. I didn’t realize it until we reached this stop and they started causing trouble.”
Polivich grimaced and motioned to one of his men. “Get some guys on board and sort this out.” He placed a light hand on Reese’s arm. “Let’s go over here where it’s quiet, and you can tell me exactly what happened.”
Carlita and Mercedes watched the detective lead Reese away from the scene.
The officer finished patting Tony down. “I’m gonna run a check on the gun.”
“No problem.”
The cop returned to his vehicle, and Tony joined his mother and Mercedes. “Any idea what happened?”
“The Savannah Six struck again,” Carlita said.
A group of thugs had been terrorizing Savannah and harassing business owners. The group, nicknamed the Savannah Six by local media, had ramped up their aggressive behavior, and for the last week had begun targeting the city’s trolleys and tourists.
The most recent incident occurred when one of the vigilantes attacked a trolley driver, seized control of it and then drove it to the Bonaventure Cemetery where the Savannah Six proceeded to vandalize the historic landmark.
Outraged, area residents had picketed city hall and the police department, demanding the authorities take action after the press leaked the identities of the members.
Things had been quiet until the other day, when Reese confided to Carlita that they suspected someone had been messing around with the trolleys after hours.
“The cops can’t keep lettin’ them get away with this,” Mercedes said. “They gotta do something before someone ends up dead.”
The officer who had searched Tony and taken his gun made his way over. “I found your registration. You can have your gun back. One of the witnesses claims you were firing shots in the air.”
Tony took the gun. “I fired a single warning shot to get their attention.”
“You mean it accidentally discharged since it’s against the law to fire a gun inside the city limits,” the officer said pointedly.
“Yeah.” Tony grinned. “It accidentally discharged…while I had it pointed in the air, with the safety off, and my finger on the trigger.”
“That’s what I thought.” The officer stepped away from them, and Carlita waited until he was out of earshot. “Thanks for getting over here so fast, Son. Who knows what would’ve happened to Reese if we hadn’t called the police.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I was around to help. I better get back to work.” Tony crossed the street and went into the pawnshop.
While the women waited for Reese to finish talking to Detective Polivich, they made their way to the back of the trolley and the man who had been pushed from the emergency exit. He was lying on a gurney with bandages wrapped around his head. The EMTs rolled the gurney to the nearby ambulance and began loading him in the back.
Carlita turned to a man standing next to her. “Is he going to be all right?”
“I think so. I heard the paramedic mention something about a head injury. He was responding. Hopefully, he’ll be okay.”
The passengers began exiting the trolley single file. As each rider disembarked, an officer standing at the doorway checked their identification and motioned for them to step off to the side.
Another trolley arrived and parked in front of Reese’s trolley where the passengers began boarding.
Not everyone had exited Reese’s trolley, and Carlita could see several police officers were still onboard.
Mercedes had noticed, too. “Those must be the Savannah Six,” she whispered.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
The second trolley finished loading the stranded passengers before rumbling off. The ambulance followed the trolley, leaving only the police officers, Reese and the small group still on board behind.
Anxious to speak with Reese and curious to catch a glimpse of the troublemakers, Carlita and Mercedes waited for another ten minutes before Reese and the detective joined them.
The blood had dried on the side of Reese’s face, and a purple bruise began to form directly above the gash. “Are you sure you don’t want a doctor to take a look at you?” Carlita asked worriedly.
“I’ll be fine, although I do have a screaming headache,” Reese touched her temple.
“It looks as if the police are going to be a few more minutes.” Carlita turned to the detective. “Is it all right for Reese to come back to my place? I’m sure she could use a few minutes to catch her breath and settle her nerves.”
“Of course. I’ll contact you later,” Polivich told Reese.
Carlita put a light arm around her friend’s shoulder, and Mercedes and she guided Reese away from the scene.
Carlita glanced back at the small group now standing next to the trolley, sullen expressions on their faces. “Are those the Savannah Six?”
Reese followed Carlita’s gaze. “Yeah. They started harassing me right before we got to this stop. I told them if they didn’t knock it off, I was kicking them off. They rushed to the front of the trolley and told me I was the one getting off.”
“The ringleader…I think they called him Rutger, ran to the back. He threw the emergency door open and shoved a man out. One of the passengers, a woman, started yelling about calling 911 and one of the thugs attacked her.”
Reese sucked in a breath. “That’s when chaos erupted. I told Detective Polivich I want to press charges.”
“You should. The police need to do something.” Carlita watched as the group huddled together. “Let’s go inside.”
Reese slowly limped to the corner with Carlita trailing behind her. She could feel the hair on her neck shoot straight up, and she looked back.
One of them…a man of medium height, his hair smoothed into a man bun, had stepped away from the
