Insurgents

23

"This is Ben Perkins, Guardian Security Agent, I'm out near Everett close to the Pierson house. They're gonna get Junior. Four women just went up the road wearing ski masks and they had at least one gun."

"What women?" Detective Reyes asked.

"One's named Gretchen Salle, and I don't know the rest." I said. "She's the one that killed Freddie Divos, I think I can prove that, and now she's after Junior Pierson. You've gotta get some people out here. There's four of 'em, and they're headed up there right now."

"Where exactly are you calling from?" She asked.

"I'm just off Oak Hill Road." I said. "They're on foot, going up Fallowfield."

"Alright, I'll send some police down from Peninsula," she said, "and I'm on my way. In the mean time I want you to stay put do you understand? I'm going to want to talk to you when I get there."

She hung up and I immediately dialed Phil Relna's number and listened to his message. The machine beeped. "IT'S BEN," I shouted, "pick up."

It took a moment before I heard the click and then David's voice. "Yeah?"

"It's time." I said. "You need to turn yourself in right now. She's making her move."

"Fuck. Okay." He said. "Thanks man, for everything."

"Hey David, before you go, erase the message I just left." I said. "And break a window or something."

He said he would, and hung up. I thought about calling John and Jessie, but Gretchen Salle and her friends were on their way to kill Junior and it occurred to me that detective Reyes knew I was there. If they murdered him I would be considered pretty chickenshit for not at least trying to warn him that they were coming. I didn't care in the least if she killed him, but I wanted it to look like I had tried to stop it. I took the flashlight out of the glove compartment and went after them.

I was half jogging up the dark road, going up a steep hill, and I was out of breath when I reached the fence. It was about eight feet high, chain link, with razor wire in a neat spiral along the top and there was a sign that said Private Property - No Trespassing. I saw a flash of light in the trees, far away on the other side of the fence. It was only visible for a moment and I figured it was Gretchen and company. I wondered how they got in. I tracked my light along the bottom of the fence and didn't have to go far before I saw what they'd done. A segment of the bottom of the fence had been pulled upwards a couple of feet and they'd wedged a two-by-four under it, lifting it high enough to shimmy through. I got down on my belly and slid under, getting part of my hoody snagged on the wire. I was trespassing now, and the energy of that fact increased my speed up the hill.

I came to a fork in the road and decided to go to the left, because the light I'd seen had come from that direction. As I came around a curve I was confronted by light shining directly into my eyes.

"Get down on the ground." A male voice said. I held a hand up and tried to block the light to see who it was. "Now." He said.

I got down on my stomach and the man told me to put my arms out to the side. As he kneeled down beside me I knew it was Dennis Reston. He pulled my hands together behind me and slipped a plastic tie around them, tightening to the point of pain. "Wait," I said, "I came up here to warn you..."

"You're Ben Perkins right? What the fuck are you doing here?" He said. "You set off every alarm in the place, what'd you do climb the fence?"

"Wait, listen, there's a bunch of women with guns who came up here to kill Junior Pierson."