Odd Billy Todd (43 page)

“Go on,” Peter kicked him slightly, and the man screamed.

“Ain’t so tough, now, is that it?” Peter kicked him again. “Funny, you looked like a real bad man while ago, when you was helping beat up the women and children, burn them out, and the like. What happened to all that?”

“Pete, that’s enough,” George ordered.

“Aw, I ain’t hurtin’im,” the younger man complained. Seeing George nod his head, Peter followed the nod, and saw all the children watching him.

“Sorry,” he murmured. George walked over to the wounded man, and knelt down.

“So, how about this house of yours, yeah? And your boss? You just lie back, and tell me all about that, why don’t you?”

*****

It was a tight squeeze, but somehow, they managed to get all of them into the Ford, with Toby behind the wheel.

“You go straight back, hear?” George ordered. “You don’t stop, no matter what. When you get there, put them in at the Clifton Place,” he handed over the keys. “And then go get Terry, and bring him back with you. Tell him he needs his party favors. Got that? He’ll know what it means.”

“Yes, sir,” Toby nodded.

“Toby, you go by the house,” Billy said next. “Tell Rhonda I want the red box. You may have to help her get it, but let her ask for help. And bring Rommel with you. Oh, and tell her we need the green ammo crate, too.”

“Okay, Billy,” Toby nodded again. He looked at the three men. They had taken their own personal gear from the truck, and loaded the food and other items that the not so dearly departed thugs had taken from the house in the back.

“Get going,” George ordered. Toby eased the truck down the drive, and was gone. George waited until the truck was out of sight, and they could no longer hear it, either. Then he looked at Two Bears.

“He’s all yours.”

*****

The three of them walked two miles down the road, toward Columbia. George hadn't planned on this being part of the outing, but there was no way he was going to leave a pack of thugs like this anywhere he could help it. He looked over at Billy. In addition to his pack, Billy had a large soft case over his shoulder.

“You any good with that?” he asked. Billy looked at him, shrugging.

“Reckon,” was all he said.

“When we make our move, I want you on over watch. Toby can spot for you, and we’ll need him to feed us information. Think you can do that?”

“If you’re askin’ can I kill these people, I reckon I can,” Billy nodded. “Reckon it needs doin’.”

“It does,” George nodded. “You can’t hesitate, Billy,” he added.

“Reckon I won’t,” Billy nodded, still watching his surroundings.

“It’s important,” George stressed. Billy stopped walking then, and looked at the older man.

“George, I done took your orders, seein’ as how this was your trip. You fellas, you was soldiers, fought in the war together. I know that. Ain’t never been a soldier. Army ain’t got no room for such as me. But I reckon I done killed a man, and can do it again. Don’t take no special pride in it, mind you, but it don’t keep me up nights neither.”

“I’ll get it done.”

“Damn, Billy,” Pete grinned. “I think that’s the most I’ve heard you say at one time since I’ve known you.” Billy shrugged.

“Usually ain’t got nothin’ to say.”

“Ain’t no harm in silence,” Pete nodded. He had been taught silence and stillness since before he’d been out of diapers. It was habit for him.

“All right, then,” George nodded, satisfied. “Let’s see what we can see.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Toby didn’t waste any time. He drove carefully, for all that he drove fast. His eyes were on the sun. It was already after noon, and he had a ways to go. Regina Townsend was sitting next to him, holding a two year old baby girl.

“Where is it we’re going?”

“Place outside Cedar Bend,” he said absently. “Just a farming community, really,” he shrugged.

“And there’s room for all of us?” she asked, not exactly suspicious, but far from sold.

“Yep,” Toby nodded. “Clifton house is a big place. Reckon there’s eight, maybe ten bedrooms, all told. And that ain’t counting the basement. Probably room for two more down there. Nice place. Built back when they made houses big, ya know?”

“Sounds nice,” she admitted.

“It is,” he assured her. “We worked hard to get it cleaned up. Got electricity, hot water, all the comforts.”

“Hot water?” the Pinson’s asked in unison. They were fraternal, rather than identical twins, but they were still twins.

“Yeah,” Toby nodded, glancing in the mirror at the women. “It’s a good place. Plenty o’ room. And you guys need it, looks like,” he added.

“We do,” Regina sighed. “We’ve been taking care of all of these children since the plague. My house is, was, fine for a day care center, but it was never meant to be home to so many.”

“You’ll like it fine at the Clifton’s, then,” Toby promised.

“Is it very far?”

“Not too much.”

*****

“Holy cow,” Rhonda said softly as Toby drove into the yard. The truck was absolutely packed. Toby was out almost before the truck had stopped.

“Rhonda, I got a whole passel o’ folks here. George said to take’em to the Clifton house. This here is Regina Townsend,” he introduced, as the woman climbed out of the cab. “This is Rhonda Todd.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Regina offered her hand.

“Same,” Rhonda smiled. “You look like you got your hands full.”

“That we do,” Regina managed to smile. She was still a bit overwhelmed by all that had happened today. And the day wasn’t over, either.

“Miss Rhonda, I need. . .I mean Billy needs, the red box,” Toby cut in. “And the green ammo crate, too, he said. Said you’d know what he meant. I got to carry them on to the house, then I’ll come right back. And I got to take Rommel too. And go get Terry.”

“Hold on, Toby,” Rhonda held up a hand. “Let’s see to them before. . . .”

“No, ma’am,” Toby shook his head. “I’ll leave that to all o’ ya’ll. I need to get back ‘fore dark.” Rhonda frowned at that.

“I ain’t got the time,” Toby shook his head, heading back to the truck. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, if you need help. I got to hurry.” Regina sighed.

“It was nice to meet you,” she told Rhonda.

“I’ll be up there in a few minutes,” Rhonda promised. “Soon as I’ve got Toby squared away. I’ll bring our nurse up, too. Anything you need right away?”

“Diapers,” Regina sighed. “And food for the children.” Her voice made it plain she didn’t expect Rhonda to have it.

“We’ll bring it up,” Rhonda surprised her. “You better hurry. I’ll see you in a little bit.” Regina had to hurry back to the cab, as Toby already had it in gear. As the truck pulled out of sight, Rhonda called for Mary and Danny. She had a lot of work to do, and not much time.

*****

Toby left the women and children at the Clifton house, showing Regina quickly where the bathroom was, and turning the heat up.

“Rhonda and them’ll get you squared away, ma’am,” he promised, heading for the door. “I’m sorry, but I gotta go.”

“Thank you, Toby,” Regina said to his back.

“Welcome!” he threw over his shoulder. Then he was gone. Regina watched the truck for a moment, then turned around to examine her new home.

*****

“Party favors, huh?” Terry grunted. “Run into a hornet’s nest?”

“More like a skunk’s nest,” Toby snorted. “I got to go and pick up some stuff from Billy’s place. Be back in just a few minutes. How long you need?”

“I’ll be ready when you get here,” Terry promised, already heading for the house.

*****

“Man, this is heavy!” Danny exclaimed, as he, Rhonda, and Mary hauled a crate from the barn to where Toby would be able to get it into the truck.

“Yep,” Rhonda nodded. She wanted to know what was going on, but there was no way Toby would wait around to explain. She’d have to get the story from the woman. What was her name? Regina. Yeah, that was it.

The last box Billy had wanted was just on the ground when Toby roared up in the yard again. He jumped out, and ran to the boxes. Danny helped him load, while Toby explained as quickly as possible what had happened.

“So they’re going to attack the town, now?” Rhonda asked.

“No idea,” Toby admitted, short of breath. “But Billy don’t aim to leave no young’uns in their hands. That much I do know.” Rhonda nodded, sighing. He certainly wouldn’t do that.

“That’s it. Rommel!” Toby called. The big dog trotted up, looking at Toby in puzzlement.

“Rommel, you wanna go for a ride?” Toby asked hesitantly, opening the door. Rommel looked at Rhonda.

“Go on, boy,” she encouraged. Rommel calmly walked to the truck, and hopped in.

“Whew,” Toby sighed, closing the door. “Didn’t know but what he wouldn’t want to go. I got to go, Rhonda. You’ll see to them, right?” he asked.

“Soon as you get gone, I’ll head up there,” she promised. Mary was already digging out diapers, powdered formula, and baby food, among other needs.

“Well, I got to go,” Toby declared.

“Be careful!” Rhonda called. Toby waved, and then shot down the drive way. Rhonda shook her head. Twenty minutes, maybe, since Toby had pulled up, and he was already on the way back. She looked at Danny.

“Let’s go help Mary. Looks like we got a bunch of new neighbors.”

*****

Rhonda and Mary left Danny looking out for the farm. They loaded diapers, formula, baby food, food for more adult needs, and clothing for all sizes and ages. She also added basic hygiene needs like soap, shampoo, and ‘lady things’, as Billy called it. Without knowing what else might be needed, it was all she could do, Rhonda decided.

They stopped briefly to get Amy, explaining what had happened. Debbie couldn’t stop herself.

“You mean you aren’t taking the children yourself?” she asked acidly. Rhonda looked at her, eyes narrowing dangerously.

“I’ve had about all from you I need or want,” the little red head told her, voice low and dangerously calm. “Whatever you problem is, you need to get over it, before I break my foot off in your stuck-up ass.”

“Are you threatening me?” Debbie asked, astonished. No one had really spoken to her so directly about her own future well being before, despite her spiteful bickering.

“I’m warning you, plain and simple,” Rhonda corrected her. “I’m fed up with your bullshit. Come at me with it again, and you’ll be sucking soup through a straw. You need to pull whatever it is out of your craw, and get with the program. The rest of us are trying to survive, and do what we can for others as we can. All you’re doing is running your mouth. I don’t aim to listen to it any more. And that’s my last warning,” she added. “Next time, it’ll be my fist.” With that, Rhonda stalked out of the house, leaving Amy to gather her kit and follow. Almost as an afterthought, she decided to take Amanda with her.

Debbie was still sitting there blinking like an owl, when the truck left the yard.

*****

Toby had stopped for less than five minutes to get Terry Blaine before pointing the Ford back toward Columbia. Blaine had looked warily at Rommel, in the back seat, but the dog had merely looked at him, licked his own nose, and then took a seat where he could peer out the rear window behind Toby.

“Why is he here?” Blaine asked.

“Billy said bring him,” Toby shrugged, watching the road. “All I know.”

“So, tell me what happened.”

Toby spent the trip explaining what had transpired. He had finished just as they rolled up to the still smoking house. He picked up his radio, set it to the pre-arranged frequency, and called for the others.

*****

George, Billy and Pete had humped two miles in less than thirty minutes, careful to keep watch. They had frog-hopped, one always still and on the lookout while the other two moved, all the way, checking their back trail as often as they did what was in front of them. There was no way to know if the five men they had taken out at the Townsend home were the only group out and about.

They were nearing the city’s edge, now. Technically they were inside the city limits, having passed the sign sometime back, but now they were getting into the city proper. That meant slowing down, and proceeding more carefully. They moved carefully into the shadow of a small store that had been ransacked, and nearly demolished. There was nothing of value left, bit it provided them with cover.

“According to our friend,” George told them, “we shouldn’t be more than two, maybe two-and-a-half miles from this ‘house’ of theirs. We can’t put too great a stock in what he said, though. He was as likely to lie, as he was to tell the truth. So, we find a place to hole up, set up camp, and start some recon. Once we find them, then we watch, and plan a way to take them out.”

“Works for me,” Pete nodded from where he was watching the front. Billy nodded, but then looked around him.

“I don’t think this place is gonna do as a camp,” he noted.

“No, it won’t,” George sighed. “We need to find a house that’s empty, or, even better, a barn. Somewhere we can hide the truck, and where people aren’t as likely to snoop around. I’ve seen a few places like that on the way in. We’re still far enough out we may find what we need, but we’ll have to start looking now. Closer in we get, less likely we are to find something useful.”

“Need to get off this highway, too,” Billy offered. “Get off on some of these side roads, might find a big old house, maybe with a garage. A two story place’d give us a good overlook. Make it easier to keep a watch.” George looked at Billy for a moment.

“Are you sure you were never in the military?” he asked, grinning. Billy nodded.

“I read a lot,” he shrugged. “And common sense tells me, the higher we are, the more we can see.”

“Got you there, George,” Peter called from the front. “Sounds like we got a plan. How about we see about putting it into action.” George nodded.

“Always need a plan,” Billy stood. “Got a plan, half o’ the work’s already done.”

“Let’s go,” George agreed. “We want to be settled before dark.”

*****

It had taken less than an hour to find what they wanted. Less than a mile off the highway, near enough to the city to actually see into it, and empty. Completely empty. No furniture, nothing.

“Wonder if anyone ever even lived here,” George said, looking around. There weren’t even any light fixtures.

“Maybe not,” Pete said from a side window. “There’s a few more on down, some with construction materials still there. I think this was a development, maybe. A new one. No one ever had the chance to live here.”

“Works for me,” Billy said, shrugging out of his gear. “That means there ain’t no bodies here, and ain’t nobody hid out in the house, hopin’ to get by. We need to check around before dark, though. Make sure we’re alone.”

“Pete and I will do that,” George nodded. “I want you and that rifle upstairs. If we run into trouble, we’ll need you to back us up.”

“I can do that,” Billy agreed. Taking his gear, he headed up the stairs.

“I don’t know about you,” Pete said, when Billy was out of sight, “but I’m always glad he’s around. Funny, huh?” George shook his head.

“No, I agree. Billy’s something else. I’ve never seen anyone see through the smoke as quick as he does. He doesn’t give himself enough credit.”

“Had a cousin like that,” Two Bears commented, as the two stripped down for their patrol. “Had a birth defect. Mom was a drunk,” he added. Drinking was a huge problem on most reservations. “He. . .he had some problems, but he could always find a way to get things done. He learned the old ways from our grandfather. Wish I’d paid more attention to the old man, now.”

“Yeah,” George nodded. “Well, Billy paid attention. I don’t know anyone who could have done as well as he has in this new world of ours. No one.” He checked his rifle, and his pistol.

“Let’s go. We got a lot to do before dark.”

They had just finished checking the last adjoining house, and clearing it, when Toby called.

“Ya’ll there?”he asked, avoiding anything revealing.

“We’re here, Toby. Come on up the road a ways. When you see a little store that’s been hard used, wait for us there. We’ll be a minute.”