The Rule of Three (28 page)

“Roger, acknowledged,” came the reply, full of static.

Almost instantly five men at the far edge of the funeral service broke off and headed north. Even from this distance I could tell by his size that one of them was Howie. He, along with one of the other men, was carrying a rifle. I didn’t know why that should surprise me at all. In fact, I knew that they all would be armed, as would another two or three dozen people standing there.

I watched, fascinated, as they fanned out, two crossing back over the creek so that they were coming up on both sides.

“What are they going to do?” I asked.

“Just go and talk to those people, shoo them away. It’s probably nothing.”

“And if it is something?”

“Then they’ll do whatever is necessary,” he said. “That’s what we all need to be prepared to do—whatever is necessary.”

This time, it turned out to be nothing. Some hunters wandering close to our perimeter in their search for food. But I knew it wouldn’t be long before that “something” happened. I just didn’t know what or when—today, tomorrow, or a week from now—but it was coming.

30

Five days later, it came.

I woke from a dead sleep in the early morning to the horn going off and the faint recoils of gunfire. I jumped to my feet and headed for the door. Brett was already there, his rifle in hand. He was still sleeping in our guest room and had been off duty tonight.

“Two long blasts means that it’s…” My head was still fuzzy with sleep. I couldn’t remember what that meant. Was it the south wall or—?

“South wall bordering Burnham,” Brett said.

The air horn kept going off, and I was sure that even in the limited light Brett could see that I was afraid.

“Where’s my mom?” I asked.

“She’s already out there on patrol, remember? Look, it’s probably nothing, just a false alarm or something simple. The gunfire has already stopped.”

I hadn’t even noticed, but he was right. I was feeling panicky and Brett was thinking clearly. He seemed completely calm.

Rachel and Danny came down the stairs. They looked scared, which meant I had to try to look as calm as Brett actually seemed.

“Go back to bed,” I said. “It’s nothing.”

“But we’ll go out and check anyway,” Brett added.

“We’ll lock the door on the way out,” I said. “You two need to go to sleep; you have school tomorrow.”

“Well, now you’re just being mean,” Danny said.

“Go to bed.”

They didn’t move. Brett reached out his hand and pointed back the way they’d come, and they both turned around and headed upstairs. Why didn’t they ever listen to me like that?

“Let’s go.” I reached for the doorknob, but Brett stopped me.

“Body armor,” he said.

“Oh, yeah, of course.”

He handed me a suit and slipped on a second himself. Somehow between the body armor and weapons this didn’t really seem to shout out “Nothing to worry about.”

The horn was still pulsing its warning as we climbed into the car. I was fighting to control the adrenaline flowing through my body when the horn stopped.

“Should we still go?” I asked.

“Aren’t you curious about what happened?” Brett asked.

“I guess.”

“Then let’s go.”

It quickly became apparent that we weren’t the only ones who had responded to the alarm. Lights flashed around us, some steady, on vehicles, and others bobbing, obviously flashlights held by people heading for the wall. It was good to know that the neighborhood was reacting the way it was supposed to, even if it was for no reason now.

Maybe the people on the wall had overreacted to a suspicious noise or something, and that was what the gunfire was about. It wouldn’t be the first time guards had panicked and fired at ghosts.

I pulled into the parking lot of the school. That was as close as I was going to drive. Brett jumped out before the car had stopped moving completely and ran toward the wall. I slammed the car into park, turned off the engine, and jumped out as well. I started to run as best I could in my clunky outfit, but even though I was thinking it was a false alarm my legs were shaking so badly I had to slow down.

There was a lot of movement and a lot of noise. Voices were raised, lots of yelling and confusion. The wall was lined with people, and I could see Howie, standing head and shoulders above the rest in the middle of the group.

“Could I have your attention, please!” It was my mom on a bullhorn. She was standing beside Howie. I was happy to hear her, to know that she was safe. Now I just had to spot Herb to know he was okay. He had to be here, and there had been lots of bullets and— No, there he was; he was fine.

“I’d like to thank you all for responding so quickly,” my mother said. “We had a disturbance outside the wall, but it’s resolved.”

A cheer went up from the assembled crowd.

“Nobody in our neighborhood has been hurt … It’s all under control and there is no more threat, so let’s all head home and get back to bed. And, again, thank you for your response.”

There were lots of smiles, and I could almost feel the relief as the crowd started to disperse.

My whole body just melted in response. I
could
go home but, still, I wasn’t going anywhere until I’d spoken to my mother. Brett was right. I did want to know what had happened. I walked toward the wall as others started filing away, back to their homes and beds. My mother was standing with Howie, Herb, and Brett off to the side by the gate. They were so preoccupied that they didn’t seem to notice me there. I would just wait for them to stop talking.

Looking past them, through the gate, I could see there was a truck out there, its shape outlined against the darkness. It looked like it had crashed into the wall on the far side of the road. That whole section of roadway had been cleared of cars, so nothing should have been there unless it drove up as part of what triggered the gunfire.

I listened closely—I thought I could hear an engine … Was it coming from that truck? Was its engine still running? I was too curious to wait any longer. I edged over and silently joined the conversation.

“So you’re saying that the gunfire originally came from that truck,” Herb said.

“That’s what the men on the wall reported. They heard the engine and saw the truck, and then somebody inside opened fire on them,” Howie explained. “Of course they returned fire.”

“Was most of the gunfire incoming or outgoing?” Herb asked.

“I wasn’t on this wall at the time, so I don’t really know. I’m sure we gave at least as good as we got. It worked.”

“Were there any other vehicles or men?” Herb asked.

“If there were, they fled,” Howie said. “That one crashed or I’m sure it would have gone, too.”

“Can you tell us anything more?” my mother asked.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t here when it began,” he said. “I was patrolling up in the north section and—”

“And you were doing your job,” my mother said. “Nothing to be sorry for unless you think you can be in two places at once or you’re psychic and knew it was going to happen.”

Howie looked relieved.

“Whatever happened, the people out there are no longer a threat,” Herb said. “Do you know how many rounds were fired?”

Howie shook his head. “I’ll check with everybody and give you a count.”

“That can wait until morning. We’ll take care of everything tomorrow,” my mother said.

“I think it would be better to get the ball rolling tonight,” Herb said.

“Morning light would be better,” my mother said. “There’s too much to lose and not enough to gain by rushing out.”

“I don’t want to rush out anywhere, but I do want to investigate,” Herb said. “What if we’re leaving an injured person out there to die?”

Those words produced thoughtful silence, although I was thinking that wasn’t what was behind what Herb was suggesting. There had to be another reason.

“Under cover of darkness is the best time to go out,” Herb said. “You have to trust me on this one.”

Slowly my mother nodded. “I don’t like it, but we’ll do it.”

“I’ll get a patrol together,” Howie offered.

“I was thinking of a very small group—me,” Herb said.

“Just you?” my mother asked. She sounded surprised. “I think it would be advisable to take at least one other person. Even before all of this happened, we’d always insist on patrol cars at night going out with two officers.”

“I could go with you,” Howie volunteered.

“I need you inside to be in charge of the guards on the wall. Believe me, I’ll be all right,” Herb said.

“Sorry to pull rank,” my mother said. “But I’m not letting you go out alone.”

I could feel the tension between them for maybe the first time.

“Okay,” Herb said. “You’re in charge. How about if Brett comes with me?”

We all turned to Brett.

“I’m in … you know … if you say it’s all right, Captain.”

My mother didn’t answer right away. Was she hesitating because she didn’t think Brett should be the one, or was she going back and thinking that nobody should go out?

“Okay, but we’re going to offer cover from the wall,” she said.

“I want the cover but with a slight change,” Herb said. “I want the guards pulled off this section of the wall and moved along to protect my flanks so that any men or vehicles that come along will be neutralized.”

What a strange word.
Neutralized
. Not killed, or dead, but neutralized.

“What do you want us to do if you run into trouble?” Howie asked.

“Nothing. It’s friendly fire I’m afraid of. People on the wall pulling the trigger again would just put me at more risk. I want you and the captain here by the gate. Leave it open in case Brett and I need to come back in a hurry.”

Again my mother seemed to hesitate. I knew she really didn’t want anybody to go out there, but she trusted Herb.

“Howie, go and give the orders to move the men as Herb suggested,” my mother ordered. He gave a little salute, then turned and headed off. Now Mom turned to us. She seemed to notice me for the first time and offered an unconvincing smile.

“Okay, Herb, tell me, why tonight, why now instead of the morning?”

“Howie doesn’t know what happened out there. Nobody does. I think it’s best we find out before everybody else does. I just want to investigate,” Herb said.

“What’s there to investigate?” my mother asked.

“I just have a feeling.”

My mother stared at him, then nodded. “You go. We’ll be right here, watching.”

“We’ll be fast,” Herb said.

“Let’s do it,” Brett said. His voice was as calm and confident as Herb’s.

*   *   *

Herb headed out through the gate followed a few seconds later by Brett, who was on his “six,” covering him from behind. They both were wearing body armor and carrying rifles, with Herb wearing his night-vision goggles.

Howie and my mother, both with rifles in hand, stood on either side of the open gate. I was a few steps back, trying to peer out into the darkness. I wished I had night-vision goggles. I had to admit that I felt better knowing Brett was out there to provide cover. The two of them together—Herb, the old spy, and Brett, the rookie cop. Although now nobody seemed to be bothering Brett anymore about being a rookie. He was one of the people Herb seemed to rely on the most.

*   *   *

I struggled to see, but with the cloud cover blocking out any stars or the moon the view was pretty dim.

“How long do you think this is going to take?” I asked.

“I can’t imagine it will be long,” my mother said. She didn’t seem to mind that I was there, listening in.

“I’m still not sure why they went out there at all, why this couldn’t wait until morning,” Howie said.

“I don’t disagree, but I think we’ve just come to trust Herb on these things,” she replied.

“I trust him … I just know we didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Nobody’s saying you or the guards did.”

“It’s hard,” Howie said. “Being out here, watching, waiting, wondering what’s in the dark and—”

There was a sudden
whoosh
and a burst of light. The truck was on fire! Herb and Brett were several paces away, and now they came back toward the gate, moving quickly, their figures lit by the flames behind them.

“What happened?” my mother demanded as they ran back.

“Not sure. The fuel tank had ruptured, so maybe leaking gas was ignited by the hot engine,” Herb said.

“And the people inside?”

“All dead,” Herb said.

“More than dead,” Brett added. “They’d taken multiple hits—the truck was peppered with bullets.”

The fire was getting bigger and bigger, and then there was an explosion. Involuntarily I jumped. Flames shot into the sky. It was like we were watching a scene from a movie.

“There’s no more threat, but we should debrief,” Herb said. “Brett, I want you to reposition the guards along the wall while we talk.”

Brett nodded and left. Whatever was going to be talked about he already knew because he’d been out there. There was something in his expression and Herb’s tone that made me think there really was something to talk about.

“So,” my mother said, “the truck just spontaneously caught on fire.”

“We gave it some help,” Herb admitted. “It was important to hide the evidence.”

“Evidence?”

“There were three people in the truck,” Herb said. “An elderly couple in the backseat and a driver who looked to be in his late forties.”

“I guess the others fled,” Howie said.

“Nobody who was in that truck walked away. It was hit by over a hundred rounds of ammunition.”

“Whoever else was there might have been in other vehicles or on foot,” Howie countered.

“Did anybody see anybody else flee?” Herb asked.

“I don’t think so, but it was dark and—”

“I don’t believe there was anybody else, and neither do you,” Herb said, cutting him off.

“I can’t know that for sure, but they did fire first.”

“They had a twenty-two, and it hadn’t been fired.”