Chapter 44
The group crept quietly through the forest as the city ahead slowly came into sight.
She hated knowing that the men they were after were likely in the heart of the area.
Motioning for the first of the group to break off, she watched and waited as four of their riders split in different directions.
These men were tasked with warning those within the city limits.
She had managed to pry some information out of a group of young adults fleeing the city days before.
The men who had enlisted in Markwood’s militia had taken up housing in the old high school.
Only the houses that had candles and lights on were used by the city dwellers anymore.
Even then, with resources being scarce, they might not find any candles burning so late in the evening.
Still, Veronica wanted to warn as many people as possible before the chaos started.
The remaining four riders, plus Darrell and herself, dismounted and tied off their horses.
They were close enough to Darrell’s parents’ old home that she knew they could escape quickly if needed.
Moving from one house and structure to the next, watching their surroundings carefully to spot any centuries in the area, they inched closer to the center of town.
Immediately, she knew they were going in the right direction.
With each passing road that brought them closer, the number of armed guards she saw increased.
There was more trash scattered throughout, obviously not a concern of the men.
When they reached the town hall, she could hear an exorbitant amount of noise coming from within the walls and knew Markwood and his men had to be inside.
She refused to gamble with innocent lives, though, and raised her hand to tell the others to stay back.
She needed visual confirmation before she would let them unleash fury on the building.
Even as she tried to step forward, though, she felt Darrell’s hand on her arm trying to stop her.
As much as she appreciated his concern, it wasn’t the time nor the place for him to try to take control.
She was by far the most stealthy of the group and could easily slip into one of the many windows without being seen.
Jerking her arm free from Darrell, Veronica kept her voice low. “There is a window twenty yards away from us. I can get there and back better than anyone else, and you know it.”
“You and I both know he is in there and likely most of his men as well. We can take out the guards in front, lock those bastards in, and set the place ablaze,” Darrell said.
“Believe it or not, I love that plan, and that’s what we are going to do,” Veronica said. “However, I refuse to let innocent people die. We are not going to do anything until I get confirmation that there is no one but his followers beyond those doors.”
Darrell pursed his lips but nodded. Veronica knew he understood things better now.
He gazed at her apologetically for questioning her leadership.
She wasn’t going to dwell on it. Veronica knew his actions came from a place of love.
Moving away from the group, she kept her position low and her eyes sharp for any signs of trouble.
She made it to the window without any problems and carefully poked her head over the ledge.
Just as she had suspected, Markwood and his men had taken up office in the building.
It was apparent they had taken up drinking early in the day as well.
Despite the thick glass window, she could hear what they were saying without any problems, courtesy of their intoxicated state.
The words being spoken made her blood run cold, and a chill moved down her spine as she listened to what they had to say.
It was sickening to hear them speak of their victories and conquests on their perceived battlefields.
What was once a quiet community had disintegrated into a war zone because of the men.
Thankfully, she didn’t see anyone who wasn’t there willingly.
Veronica didn’t like the gamble of knowing that there might be others in the building.
She couldn’t come to terms with burning an entire group of people alive, no matter how her mind managed to justify the action.
They had to find another way to separate people.
She wouldn’t commit mass murder simply because of the convenience.
Even one innocent life lost wasn’t worth it, as far as she was concerned.
Moving back to her group, Veronica shook her head and spoke in a whisper.
“All I can see are Markwood and his men, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have some poor bastards who don’t want to be there working in the kitchens or back rooms. I don’t think we can torch the place,” Veronica said.
“What is our other option, then?” Darrell asked. “Listen, I will follow you wherever you tell me to go. I know you aren’t going to steer us wrong. You just tell me to jump, and I will ask how high.”
She shook her head. There was a plan there, but she was struggling to see it. They were running out of time.
“If only we had a way to subdue them all or flush them out, maybe then we could take them down one by one. But we don’t have the supplies for that,” Veronica said.
One of the men in the back cleared his throat and stepped over to the pair. He reached into the right pocket of his cargo pants and pulled out a gray canister. Another man stepped forward, producing a large bag of industrial zip ties.
“We sure can flush them out,” the first man said. “My pops lifted this off an army truck he was working on about twenty years ago. Actually, he lifted an entire crate of them. I know the bastards still work. Right here is enough tear gas to make the good Lord himself cry.”
“And these were leftover in my book bag from our last rock-climbing trip. I trust these bastards to hold me up, dangling about two-hundred feet from the bottom. They will hold whatever fat sons of bitches that come out of that building to be sure,” the second said.
Darrell grinned at her. “Well, now, lady in charge, what do you think about that?”
“I think I like this plan a lot better than the idea of innocent people dying. Hopefully, the others have made some progress and managed to get a few people out of town. If we are going to do this, though, we need to go now. Those guys could decide to come barreling out of the building at any second.”
“All right, fellas, you heard the lady. You two go around back and take down…subdue anyone you find and get that gas in there. The rest of us will hit the front and be ready,” Darrell whispered to the group.
Veronica could see the plan coming together in her mind as she smiled and nodded at the others.
It was a plan that would not only minimize the risk of innocent people dying but would assure that the men coming out would get a fair trial and not simply the firing squad.
She hated to think of taking anyone’s life, especially given their circumstances.
With the plan now in place, Veronica was certain they could succeed and bring down Markwood once and for all.
It was time for the people to be free, the way their forefathers intended it.