Page 28 of Night Blind

“I believe she can,” Cherry replied.

“Then, let’s hold on to that,” he said, slipping her hand into his own. “How’s your foot feeling?”

Slowly, she turned her head to eyeball him, squinting at the out-of-the-blue question. An unanchored question from her husband such as this one had legs of its own. She wasn’t going to play the game.

“Why, you want to show me your working dick?”

“Yes, I would like for you to hold it, possibly spank it for being naughty,” he said laughing. “I’m thinking, you might need to choke that fucker until it spits up.”

“And you look so normal,” she told him. “You have a filthy mind and an even nastier mouth for such a good-looking man.”

“But do you love it?”

“Yes, and I also love you,” she said, pulling him by the hand. Naomi was in bed fast asleep, and it was time for adults to have a bedtime story. “Maybe our bedtime story tonight should beThe Emperor’s New Clothes.

“Wasn’t that dude, like, naked?”

“Yes, yes he was,” she told him, double winking as she hobbled her way to the bedroom. “Now, please, try on this new suit I have for you.”

In her hand, she held up nothing as she hand-modeled the suit he would soon be wearing. Bare, open, and trusting of her, his clothing was gone. His hands were wide open and his body on the ready. The quiet times between them intensified the love they made. As much as he wanted his son, what he wanted more than anything, he was getting, and that was his wife at home with him at night. At least, for the next two months.

****

Evansville, Indiana

The two-hour drive was completed in silence. Helen, seated in the passenger seat, was focused on the small bit of information her cousin had provided. The image of the target had been shown to her. The man in question trafficked young boys who were taken from migrant camps with payments given to the parents.

The unwitting parents were sold a lie that their children would be given a chance to live out the American Dream and adoptedinto rich families. In truth, the children were herded like cattle to private sales. Men and women with filthy appetites arrived, sitting around tables like vultures picking over scraps, bidding on the flesh of innocents, and hoping to take home a new toy.

The only difference Helen could surmise between The Collector and these pigs was at least the women he selected were adults. A man who opted to plant his seed in a child or worse, in her mind, had no place on this Earth. Taking a life such as his wouldn’t cause her to lose sleep.

Mustang said nothing outside of the initial departure when he asked, “You have the keys to Cherry’s shop?”

Helen held up a set, dangling them, and told him, “I keep the spares, just in case.”

“Good enough,” he told her as they arrived in Evansville just after 11 p.m. Mustang followed the dot on the GPS and quickly located the truck. He drove one mile east of the truck and located the five stands of trees. He didn’t slow down at the center but made his way around the block before letting Helen out of the vehicle.

He was amazed at how his heart raced as she flipped the hood up on her jacket, her head down, and made a beeline for the tree. In his head, he wanted to inventory what she’d brought with her, but Slow told him she had it. He trusted she did. The rally point was for the rental car company to return the Mustang before they headed to Sheboygan. It would be an eight-hour drive that wouldn’t happen tonight. The best they could hope would be to stop outside of Chicago for the evening to rest.

Instead of going to the car rental place as instructed, he pulled two blocks up, parked, and turned off his lights. From where he sat, he had a clear line of sight to the middle tree. He could also see Helen on the dark street.

She disappeared behind the tree. All he could do was wait.

****

Her heart thudded hard against her breastplate as she eased out of the vehicle, double-checked her pocket for the truck keys, and closed the vehicle door. She pulled the hood up on her jacket, lowered her head, and started a purposeful stride to the set of trees. Once she reached the middle tree, she slipped behind it, pulled out a climber’s rope, and tossed it upwards and over a branch. Quickly, she made a Swiss seat with the dynamic rope and hastily hoisted her body into the tree.

From the lower branch, she looked up, seeing the weapon nestled in the trees. She also looked for the bird’s nest. Helen worked her way up the branch and located the nest, thankful the mother was not in the shreds of dry leaves and twigs. Smartly, she pulled the nest out, checking for eggs and spotting two, she gave a quick, “Aww.” She climbed up three more branches, securing the nest away from her firing zone.

Lowering herself to the working branch, she found that the ammo pouch and phone were still there. From her left pocket, she took out a phone charger and connected the phone to give it juice after she ensured the lights were off on it so no one could see the light from the screen in the middle of a fucking tree. With the ammo pouch around her waist and the Swiss seat cinched to the branch, she took her position.

Melody, Cherry’s favorite rifle, was also the weapon her cousin used to train Helen to shoot. Cherry used the Smith and Wesson handgun to teach her to fire small arms. Over the years, her cousin had taught her hand-to-hand combat, knife skills, survival tactics, and more. She only had to wait for the target.

Right on time, Karlton Manford arrived at the back door of the establishment with not only three young boys but also a girl child. Through the scope, Helen saw several things occur between Karlton, the girl child, and another man, and they werenot even inside the building. The girl was crying, scared, and trying to pull away from the men.

Helen took a deep breath, held it, then pulled the trigger. Before she exhaled, she pulled it again, taking down the other man as well. For good measure, a round or two extra were fired into the window of the building, shattering the glass. She didn’t know if it was timing or bad luck on their part, but the arrival of a patrol car passing by earned a nice bullet in the back tire, making it stop in front of the building. Suspicious police officers jumped out, running towards the building, sending men scurrying from the door like roaches when the lights came on. More children poured out of the building, making a mess of the crime scene where two dead men lay in the road.

She used Cherry’s phone, attached the mini zoom lens for the camera, and snapped a photo of a very dead Karlton Manford. Helen snapped several of the second man before returning the phone to the ammo pocket and breaking Melody down to fit in the bag that looked like a very raggedy old purse.

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