Chapter 21

There was a large silver SUV coming my way at high speed. I moved a few feet away from my truck. Behind that SUV, I could see a Brantley police car with its lights and siren operating. The policeman was barely keeping up with the SUV. As the SUV approached, it suddenly began to slow quickly skidding as it lost traction. The driver didn't know wet roads well because they hit the brakes harder than they should. I had removed the keys after locking my truck. I moved closer to where Eve and Joan were hiding as the SUV slammed into the tree with its side. The right side doors were blocked but four men came out of the SUV through the driver's side. The four were carrying rifles and began to shoot at the police car. The car stopped about a hundred feet away. I came around behind the shooters with my pistol in hand. From cover, I announced my presence saying, "I would hate to have to kill you but, if you turn around or don't drop your weapons, I will." One turned and I shot him before he could finish the turn.

The others dropped their weapons and raised their hands. I said, "Move toward the police car and spread out." They did. "Now, lie down on your stomachs with your arms and legs spread." They moved slowly into place and did as I told them.

The door to the police car opened and Todd stepped out. From the corner of my eye, I saw Joan start to move. "Joan, stay put!" Her movement ceased and she went back to ground. Todd approached the three live captives.

He looked at me. "What about the other one?"

"He tried to turn at me with his weapon. I shot him dead. With them shooting at you, I couldn't risk the odds. These three surrendered but we could still kill them." They couldn't see me and I grinned at Todd. "Do you have sufficient handcuffs?"

"Yeah, I'll have to get a couple of pair from the trunk. I pulled the hammer back on my pistol which helped make sure our prisoners would remain motionless. Todd returned with handcuffs and began hooking them up. Once he had all three cuffed, I shouted, "Ladies, you can come out now. It's reasonably safe." Joan and Eve came running to us and each hugged one of us giving us kisses.

Eve said, "You worried me there for a moment."

I said, "The issue was never in doubt."

She replied. "I could tell but I worried anyway."

Todd said, "They were home invaders in Brantley and had stolen the SUV when we put out rumble strips for their car. Thanks, Bill, for stopping them. We knew that the road would bring them to a halt sooner or later. Greg wanted them stopped before they killed anyone. Are the three of you headed to town?"

I said, "Yes, do you want my pistol?"

"Yes, but hand it to Greg at the station. I will call for the coroner to handle the dead one. The other three can be shoehorned into the back of my car. I can put their rifles in the trunk. Joan, Eve, did you see what happened?" They both nodded their heads. "You will need to give statements at the station." He looked back at me. "Did Charles have you headed our way?"

"Yes, we've pulled one couple from their damaged house. Todd, what do you know about families south of here?"

Todd said, "It isn't too bad. There are lots of downed trees but most seemed to miss houses. This area is actually worse. If you come in and make your statements, you will probably be asked to head back up here." I nodded. Todd took some pictures with his camera since he was also the department's investigator. When he was ready, we pulled his prisoners up and shepherded them into the backseat. It was a tight squeeze but they did fit inside.

The ladies and I got inside the truck and followed Todd to the station. Greg was there. When we walked in, he said loudly, "Bill, you're slipping. You left survivors this time!"

From Eve's look, I knew there were other questions that she would have for me to answer. I shuddered inside. Todd made his report to Greg. I handed my pistol to Greg and had it checked. He looked at my license and handed it back to me. Greg asked, Would the three of you write up your statements of what you saw and, in your case, Bill, did. Once you're finished, you can go back to helping people. Your area was hit harder than Brantley and we're now back on the air to so advise Charles." He grimaced. "Florida below us was hit very hard. We will probably be asked to assist down that way. I think the damage around your house is from a tornado rather directly from Horace."

We sat at tables and wrote out our statements. When finished, we turned them into Greg. He looked them over and nodded.

We left and called into Charles. He said, "I'm glad you're back on the road. I have four for you to check out close to your home, Bill. Basically, it appears that most of the damage was from just south of you almost to Luverne. We haven't been able to get east or west much. Once you complete these four, we'll send you west on the back roads."

"Okay, Charles. I will keep you advised. WR4L mobile is clear."

We spent the rest of the day getting people out of damaged houses. While a few were injured, no one else died in our county in the hurricane or its aftermath. Power transmission lines were another matter along with flooding of some creeks. There were two farms that we couldn't reach due to the roads being washed out. One small dam was simply gone! We followed the creek down a road checking on houses but, by the time, one was in its path, the waters weren't as bad. No one was even hurt though the people at the house suspected that what had happened had actually happened. It was getting dark when Charles sent all of us home though asked everyone to check in with him around eight the next morning.

South of us in Florida, things were much, much worse. The storm surge had hit Destin hard. One of the national shows had a crew in Destin and Eve saw that her condo had suffered badly. She said, "I don't think there's enough left to rebuild. We did have insurance for hurricanes. I will let it pay off and be done with it. If the others want to rebuild, it will be without me."

I told Eve that I needed to check the gas in the generator. We went out to the barn and filled the tank which was almost dry. She said, "I'm surprised that you don't have some large gas tank for it."

"I had thought about that but power outages are few for long periods. It's not a worthwhile expenditure. This tank is bigger than standard to let it run for two days or so before needing a fill. That's usually enough. This time, I'm not sure power will be back until some time next week. I think we had a tornado pass somewhere close by."