Grave Digger – Brothers At Arms #4
Grave Digger: Chapter 13

“I know you are a man of your word sir, so I believe you,” Delaney said to Leon. “You also have honor and that is something that my father and my brothers don’t have. And it wasn’t because my grandfather didn’t try to teach them.” Shaking her head she admitted, “He did try, he tried so hard, but my dad and my brothers just didn’t give a damn about that. Grandpa tried to tell them that a man only has his word sometimes and if he broke it then he had nothing. My dad and my brothers laughed at his warning but he was right. Anyone only has their words between them and the rest of the world. If you are true to your word then you have honor, but if you don’t live that way and begin stabbing your fellow man in the back then you have nothing… no, you have less than nothing and that’s a hard place to replace yourself in. Without the trust, you have nothing.”

Leon nodded. “Si, my dear. Like you said, that’s a hard place to replace yourself in. Some men however, don’t have these values. In my world, I have met quite a few like that, unfortunately.” He looked around the room and stated, “Now we wait for the end results of this little hunt.”

“And we pray,” Delaney whispered as she took her grandpa’s hand into hers.

Everyone turned back to the screen and the cameras outside the walls.

The day passed slowly. They all heard more shooting coming from a distance but no word came that they had captured the missing three men. Men walked the roof and the perimeter, keeping watch while Click watched the cameras.

Diabolus took a turn at the cameras while Click took a nap but it was well into the night when Click went back on duty.

It had been quiet for hours but still, Click kept his eyes on the screen then a shadow appeared to be moving around in the darkness. The figure was smaller than a man and this person seemed to know just where the cameras were placed. Because of this, Click couldn’t get a clear picture of who this shadow was, but there was definitely someone out there.

He watched this person move in and out of the camera range most of the night then around three a.m. he lost sight of the shadow. After looking for it for the next two hours, he finally gave up.

Around six in the morning, Leon’s men called him. They had been interrogating the wounded men since they got them and they finally had some news to share with their boss. Leon told them to come to the clubhouse and when they arrived, everyone was there waiting for them.

Leon looked at his son in law, John and asked, “What did you replace out?”

John snorted and said, “They couldn’t wait to talk to us but everything they had to say was lie after lie after lie. Apparently, Barrett had them convinced we would take whatever they said as gospel. That shows he’s nothing more than a fool. His men found out the hard way that he most definitely lied to them. Then there’s also the fact that he didn’t come in with guns blazing to rescue them.”

“And what did that tell them?” Delaney arched her brow at him as she smirked while knowing the answer.

John turned to her. “His lack of a rescue told them he’d just thrown them under the bus, that he used them to make good his own escape and had no concerns for their welfare. It also shows them while he demands their loyalty; he won’t give it back to them.”

She snorted. “Dad never did care about anyone but himself.” From the disgusted looks Leon’s men had on their faces, she nodded. “And that wasn’t because he wasn’t taught to care. He just didn’t give a damn about anything that didn’t put him first. For as long as I have known that bastard, all he thinks about is himself. He even used to take what little food we had and ate it himself. He didn’t care that his own kids went hungry. Usually, it was my plate he took but he didn’t give a fuck. As long as his belly was full, he didn’t care if I went hungry. He’d say, Just a no good girl, so she doesn’t need it.”

The men all looked a bit stunned and a sickened to hear this kind of thing.

John shook his head and turned back to Leon. “Our team has been chasing them all night but it wasn’t until this morning just before dawn that Barrett’s own men told us where they were going. Barrett told them if they got separated to go to a house just outside of town. They should wait there until everyone who was still alive arrived, then regroup and come in for another attack. The men figured they could whittle down the numbers eventually. Then once there was no one else on the other side of the fence line then Barrett and his sons could just walk in and take over the compound.” John shrugged his shoulders. “Not a bad plan really but there’s no way it would be that easy to get inside the walls of this place. Barrett must have known it wasn’t gonna be that easy.”

Leon scoffed and agreed, “Well, of course he did, but he wanted his men to be first in line didn’t he? He told them this would be easy-peasy and they would all get their fair share. He had to make it sound good, then when they did get in, whoever was left alive he would just shoot them.” He swore in his own language, “Gli stupidi scopano. You can’t fix stupid men’s minds.”

“And there will always be stupid followers,” Delaney spoke quietly but everyone heard her words, “Men like my father and my brothers who think they’re so damn smart. They’re out there and their schemes never come to much do they? When did mankind lose the idea to work for what you want? Work hard and you’ll see the rewards of your labor. A man can just take and take and end up with nothing in his hands in the long run when someone else takes it all back.”

“Some men just never learn that unless it’s the hard way, Neonata.” Alfredo shook his head. “I have a feeling your dad and your brothers are going to do just that, learn those lessons the hard way.” He took a deep breath and then let out a heavy sigh. “Well, so be it. The saying is don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. Barrett’s time is almost up all over again. I mean he just got out but he did not learn a damn thing and he has no idea he’s going down permanently this time.”

“But he will believe it when he comes eye to eye with me and stands before the High Council.” Leon growled. “And he will stand before the Council in chains.”

Just then, footsteps were running across the roof and heavy pounding could be heard on the ceiling.

Zeus ran over to Angel, Marty, and Lily, attempting to cover them with his body. “Take cover!” he shouted. “We got something coming in and it’s not gonna be good.”

Leon’s men scrambled as John tried to cover both Leon and Calderone.

An explosion erupted as someone screamed and the men dove for the floor. Dust and debris shook from the roof. Screams were coming from the roof now and gunshots could be heard, then more shouts came from outside.

When all the chaos stopped, Zeus and the brothers slowly got to their feet. Zeus looked around the main room. “Is everyone here, alright?” he bellowed out.

Immediately, Grave Digger stood and ran down the hall. Kicking the locked door in, he found Emily and Anthony under the bed. He hauled them both out as his heartbeat raced with fear that they might be hurt.

Emily looked scared but she was trying to calm down Anthony who was screaming in fear. She had Anthony in her arms.

Grave Digger searched them over carefully, then he demanded, “Are you and the boy okay?”

Emily tried to nod but she was too stunned to move for a moment. Then she dove into his arms. “What the hell was that?” she whispered into his chest.

He held them both tightly for a moment. “I have no idea but I’m not leaving you guys alone. Come on, I have to go back and check the others for wounds.” He grabbed her elbow to hurry her out of the room and down the hall where everyone was just getting their bearings.

Memphis and Diabolus were rushing down the hall to get the roof.

Grave Digger got Emily and Anthony seated as he looked around for anyone who might be injured. “Is everyone here okay?” he called out. He saw Delaney on the floor with her grandpa and headed over to them. Staring down at Alfredo, he asked, “Are you okay, sir?”

Delaney looked up at him and shook her head. “I think he broke his arm when he hit the floor.”

Grave Digger nodded as he went into Doctor Mode. “Let’s get him back up then. I’ll try to be as gentle as I can.” He grasped Alfred under his armpits and gently lifted him up.

The older man cried out but tried hard not to. Alfredo had a sweaty forehead as he grimaced.

Grave Digger knelt beside him when they got him back on his chair and he was already feeling the bones in his arm. At one point, Alfredo gasped but Grave Digger didn’t feel a break there. He continued down along the arm and checked out his hand as well. “I don’t think it’s broken, but it might be fractured. We can immobilize it and have him wear a sling but until it is x-rayed we won’t know for sure.”

Leon watched and asked, “Is he going to be alright?”

Grave Digger shrugged. “He’s got brittle bones but I don’t think he’s broken any. Could be just a fracture or a sprain. Either way, he’s in pain and I can give him something for that. I’ll be right back.” He turned and hurried down the hall to his infirmary for supplies.

When he returned, he gave the older man something for the pain, then he put his arm in a sling and attached it behind his back snugly.

Just then, Memphis came back downstairs and shook his head. “Those dumb asses tried to throw a stick of dynamite at us. Lindy shot the stick out of their hands and it exploded. They got the worst of it and the one guy that escaped earlier with Barrett and Alijala is dead. So now, we’re down to just those two.”

“Any injuries up top?” Zeus asked.

“Scout got shaken up by the explosion but nothing too bad.” Memphis shook his head. “Is anyone down here injured?”

Grave Digger motioned to Alfredo. “He hurt his arm but I think he’ll be okay.”

Memphis nodded. “Well, that’s good.” He gazed around at the entire room and said, “What a mess.”

Everyone looked around the room at the dust and debris left by the whole house being shaken.

Marty kept waving her hands in the air as if to clear the dust and began coughing. “W-we have to get this dust out of here, it’s not exactly healthy to breathe in this much of it.”

Lindy showed up and hurried over to her and the girls. She looked worried and concerned.

“We’re fine,” Marty said. “But help me to get rid of some of this mess, ok?” She and Lindy went to the kitchen to get brooms and trash bags. When they came back, they began cleaning up the small debris.

Leon looked around and shook his head. “This has to stop.” Glancing over at John he said, “You get in touch with your team and get out there. Find this father and son. It’s time to stop this damn game. And that’s all it is to them, a game. It needs to end. When it does, they will realize they lost.”

John nodded. “We have a place to start looking for them now anyway. We’ll turn over every rock near here and we’ll replace them.”

Delaney turned toward John and said, “Better check the entrances to every tunnel you know of before you go anywhere else. I wouldn’t put it past my dad or my brother to hide right in plain sight. My dad is an idiot, he thinks he’s smarter than everyone else is and hiding in plain sight is something he would do, thinking you guys would never look for him around here. Then he’ll laugh his ass off while watching you leave, thinking you’re the stupid one.”

John thought about her suggestion for a moment then nodded. “I see your point and thank you for the tip.” He again looked over at Leon and shrugged. “What she says makes sense. That idiot could be out there waiting for us to leave, thinking we’re leaving you unprotected.”

Leon then turned to look at Delaney. He saw the stubbornness in her gaze and realized her words did make sense. Plus, the fact that she knew her father better than he did and in its own way, her suggestion made a lot of sense. “Grazie, my dear,” he told her.

She shook her head as she looked down at her wounded grandfather. “Like you said, the game has to end. It will end when he’s caught and under your control. He needs to stop hurting people.” Delaney wrapped her arm around her grandfather… the person that meant so much to her ever since she was a child.