Chapter 19

Warpath:

Mathew:

"Where are they taking her?" I snarled into his face as his eyes settled onto the shotgun less than an inch from his left eye.

"Fuck you!" the man snapped at me.

I smacked the barrel of the shotgun into the side of his head and he was out like a light. Grabbing him by his hair, I dragged him past the house towards the woodshed. Most of the adults were standing on the porch with their guns. I could see the kids inside the open door with Vanessa standing in front of them with her M-16 clutched in her hands.

"Matt..." CodieAnn said as I walked by,

"Stay out of this," I snapped as I reached the woodshed.

Pulling the door opened, I dragged the man to the back of the workshop and dropped him in the clear area where Rod Whittler would maneuver large sheets of plywood around. I looked at the scum and then searched him. Pulling a .357 Python from his hip holster I set it on the workbench and then found his handcuffs. I stripped him of his clothes and then handcuffed his hands together. With a rope tossed over the overhead support beam, I hoisted him up off the ground. After he was hanging, I went to close the door. The girls were standing there waiting for me.

"Don't do this," Judy begged.

"I have to, Judy. Go to the house and make lunch. I'll be in, after I get my questions answered," I said and closed the door.

Walking back to the hanging man, I looked at the blood running from his shoulder and leg. Going to the bench I looked at the chemicals that were laid out on the shelves. I grabbed a jar of liquid shellac. Shaking it up so it was well mixed, I opened it up, and grabbed a large brush. I then coated his leg wound with a large amount of the shellac and let it dry. I did the same to his shoulder and he woke up screaming as the chemicals burned his open wounds.

"Where are they taking my wife?" I said to the screaming man.

The man gasped out in agony as his eyes settled on me and then he said two words.

"Fuck You!"

"No thanks, you're not my type," I replied as I walked to the bench and looked at the tools.

I was reaching for the small blowtorch but stopped. I then pulled a pair of shears off the wall that were razor sharp. I opened and closed them for a second and then set them down. I then picked up the soldering iron and plugged it into an extension cord. Turning around with a grin, I walked back over to the scum.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"You'll never find the cunt and whatever you do to me, my boss will return on all of you," the man snarled out.

"Really?" I asked as I pressed the red-hot point to the man's left nipple.

I held the tip to the man's chest, and let him scream as I pressed in deeply. After a full five seconds, I yanked it away, tearing the layer of flesh away. He started kicking at me and I jabbed the iron into his flesh as his legs came up. Finally after a few more shrieks, I stepped away and placed the iron down. Grabbing a rope, I tied his legs to two different support posts and then picked up the iron again. Walking over to the man as he hung there, I asked again.

"Where are they taking her? If you tell me, I'll kill you cleanly. You have my word on the honor of being a Green Beret."

The man hung there huffing as he tried to catch his breath and then he responded with the wrong words.

"Once my friends get back, we're going to kill all you men, and your women will get the same treatment you're giving me. I will take special pleasure on that one that shot me," he slurred.

I looked at the man in shock and then grabbed his head. Holding it firmly, I stared into his eyes and realized this garbage was high on something. Going to his clothes, I searched them and found two small vials.

"Fuck!" I snapped as I looked at the crack.

Dropping the vials on the clothes, I walked back to the bench and grabbed the soldering iron, after I put some work gloves on. Turning back to the man, I asked again, "Last chance, scum!"

He shook his head as I walked back over to him and replied, "Ok, then it's the hard way."

Kneeling on one knee, I grabbed his ball sack and stretched it downward. Taking the iron, I shoved it right through the sack, destroying the vital flesh inside as I seared it with the red-hot iron.

He started screaming a high-pitched scream, and when I yanked the iron out, he passed out. Blood started leaking from the wounds as I tossed the iron on the counter. Going to the sink, I filled a glass with water and tossed it on the man's face. The man grunted, shook his head and opened his eyes. Hate stared back at me as I picked up a ten-pound sledgehammer.

"Tell me," I said calmly as I hefted the hammer.

He shook his head no, so I raised the hammer and brought it down on his left foot. It hit on the ankle joint and he screamed in agony as the delicate bones snapped. Sweat started pouring down his face from the pain as I hit his foot several times, shattering the bones in the toes. When I was finished pulverizing his left foot, I started on the right. He still refused to talk and after an hour of torture he finally broke and started begging for me to just kill him, but I wouldn't unless he told me what I wanted.

"Where did they take my wife?" I said as I grabbed his hair and stared into his eyes.

"Can't..." he screamed as I hit his left knee with the hammer.

"Tell me and it stops," I said as I picked up the jigsaw and turned it on.

His eyes went wide as he gulped, and then begged, "Please..."

"Speak up."

With a sigh, he ripped his eyes from the saw to look at me.

"The sheriff substation out on highway 33," the man replied as tears started running down his face.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He nodded his head as tears ran down his cheeks to drip on his chest, as I patted his face

"Thank you," I said as I walked to the counter, dropped the saw and picked up the knife. Turning around, I walked over and asked, "What is your name, where do you come from?"

"Martin Sanders ... originally from Elko, please just finish it," he begged.

"Go with God, Martin Sanders, and ask him for forgiveness ... for I cannot give it to you," I replied as I slit his throat.

Blood spurted out from the wound as I stepped back. He hung there staring at me as I watched the life drain from his eyes. When he was gone, I wrapped some Saran Wrap that was on the shelf around his neck, and then cut him down. Hefting his body, I turned and walked to the door. Opening it, I was surprised to find Norman standing there with his rife.

"What are you doing? I asked as I stepped out of the workshop.

"Making sure no one tried to get in. Did you find out where they took her?" he asked as we started walking into the woods.

"Yes, I did. He said they're taking her to the old sheriff substation out on highway 33," I said as we continued walking.

"I see, well I'm going with..."

"No. You're not qualified for the mission. I am. So you're staying here to watch over the women and kids while I hunt these bastards down," I said as we crossed the road and walked to the gully where we'd gotten rid of the last bodies.

Looking down into the gully, I heaved the body out and over the edge and it landed with a thud in the snow. Without another look, I turned and we started back to the house.

"Norman, can you do something for me?" I asked.

"What? I still think we should go with you," he said as we crossed the road again.

"Can you clean up the workshop for me? I would hate to have the children see what I did. I could do it, but I would be wasting time while they get further away with Ana," I replied as a shiver went up my back as I thought of my lovely Russian wife.

We walked for a few minutes, following our tracks back to the house. Our minds racing with thoughts, mine with what I was going to take with me. I had no idea what Norman was thinking until he spoke up.

"I will, but are you taking anyone with you?" Norman asked as we walked towards the house.

"No."

Going into the house, I walked up to the bedroom while Norman went towards the kitchen. Stepping into the bathroom, I stripped out of my clothes and turned on the shower. I did a quick basic military shower, and I was out and drying myself in less than five minutes.

"Mathew, we have your clothes ready," CodieAnn said from the other room as I hung the towel up to dry.

"Thanks" I said as I walked into the room to see CodieAnn, Judy, and Katie wearing all white. Their rifles were over their shoulders, and pistols at their hips.

"What are you three doing?" I asked as I grabbed my underwear and pulled them on.

"We're going with you. Now shut up and get your clothes on. Violet, Nicole, and Marybeth are staying here to keep an eye out. They have packs ready for us and John and Tim Tyron are getting the snowmobiles and sled ready for us," CodieAnn said as she handed me my long johns.

Knowing I didn't have a chance in the argument, I pulled my shorts and t-shirt on, I then pulled my snowsuit on. The all white suit would help me blend in with the background.

While I was dressing, CodieAnn set my Barrett on the bed, and the SV-98 Russian sniper rifle as well. I did notice both weapons were now white. Grabbing the sweater Ana knitted for me; I slipped it on and filled the inner pockets with rounds for the Barrett. I was reaching for my combat boots when Nicole came in with another pair she had used white shoe polish on to hide the color.

"Ok, how do you girls know this?" I asked as I took the first boot and slipped it on. Even the shoelaces where white I noticed as I tied them.

"Ana told us about her grandfather fighting at Stalingrad during the siege against Hitler's armies. She told us how his wife made everything white for him, including sewing white cloth to his ammo belts so they wouldn't stand out. Well I didn't want to waste cloth, so I used white spray paint for the bandoleers for your clips," Nicole said as she kissed me.

We broke our kiss, and she turned and walked out of the room. I know I saw tears in her eyes. Marybeth and Violet came in and kissed me as well. They then kissed CodieAnn, Judy and Katie before leaving the room.

Marybeth stopped in the doorway, turned and said, "Be careful, and stay safe you four. We'll see you when you get back home. Kill the bastard and bring Ana home with you. If Ana doesn't..." she turned and fled the room, never finishing what she was going to say.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going," Katie said as she picked up her 444 Marlin rifle.

"I agree," CodieAnn replied as she picked up the SV-98 rifle and ammo belt.

Grabbing my Barrett, I swung it over my shoulder. I picked up my shotgun and SKS as we walked out of the room. We reached the main floor and everyone but Violet, Nicole, and Marybeth were waiting for us.

"Come back safe," Norman said as he shook my hand and kissed the girls.

Ten minutes later, we were heading down the road following the kidnapper's tracks in the snow. We traveled for an hour up the road, and then down the pass towards the town of Driggs. We stopped on the hill looking into town, and everything seemed quiet. Pulling out our binoculars, we studied the town but mostly I was looking at the barricade across the road. We saw very few people out, mostly men, and they were unarmed while the men we did see armed were wearing uniforms and carrying automatic rifles. Putting our binoculars away, we road down towards town until we were about eleven hundred meters from the town's barricade. While CodieAnn watched, I pulled out the air horn and blew it into the megaphone I had scavenged three months ago from the fire station when I went over to Doc's place to have him remove the bandages from Sampson. With that thought I looked over at the dogs, I saw them lying in the snow waiting for the command to attack.

"Stay!" I ordered as I blew the horn again.

"What do you want?"

"I want my wife, and I want Nick Bolton as well as Victor Konstantinov delivered to me, or else!" I replied in the megaphone.

"Surrender your weapons. We're the law," came the voice again and I saw men come running out of the police station.

"This is your last chance. Give me what I want and we'll leave," I said calmly.

"Come and get them," came the reply and I sighed.

"Idiots," I said as I grabbed my Barrett and the bag of sand. Going to the car beside me, I set the bag down and then looked through the scope as I leaned against the Honda Civic that was partially buried under snow. I watched as the men poked their rifles over the roofs of the car and then I froze as one lifted up a LAWs, "Where the fuck did he get that," I asked as I settled the crosshairs on the man's chest.

"What the hell is that? CodieAnn asked.

I didn't answer; I just put my earplugs in, settled the scope on the man, and fired. The rifle tried to jump, but I didn't let it as I moved to the man next to the rocket man and fired another round. The echo of the big fifty reverberated through the mountains as I fired until the clip was empty. I ejected the clip and slapped a new one in. The men were firing their weapons at us, but we were way out of their range. I spotted a snowmobile coming towards our left, the man was holding the handlebars with one hand and spraying lead at us from an UZI. I fired from the hip, and the gun tried to jerk out of my hands. The round missed the driver, but hit the snowmobile and it exploded into ruins.