The Colonel Vs. The Parson's Boogie Man
Chapter 6- El Llarono and Volkoff's revenge begins to take a serious turn for the worse as both Parson Annie and Colonel Casey pay dearly.
By the time Chuck, Sarah and the Pastor had run to the church facility a couple of blocks from the Carmichael's house, the entire church was engulfed in flames that shot sky high. The incredible heat from the old growth timbers used in the original sanctuary complex consumed the building swiftly and radiated a full block from the building. The fire engines were trying to contain the flames from spreading to the Christian Education Wing. Major Chad Shelton and the corrupt cop, Lt. Fletcher, were stepping around the church as close as they could get to check for arson. Unable to get very close, Chad and the Lt. gave up the hunt and came to stand beside Casey's girlfriend. Her back was straight, her jaw set, but tears were streaming down her face.
"Oh, dear Jesus, please don't let anyone be in there." She prayed out loud, and the Lt. instantly looked at her.
"Do you think someone is in there?" He grabbed her arm and squeezed tightly, until the Parson grimaced in pain.
"Ease off, Fletcher." Shelton forced him to open his hand up and relax his grab. The Lt. stared at the major, and then growled, "Don't think this little campfire barbeque is going to get you out of our deal." He pulled his arm away abruptly and went to tell the fire chief there may be someone in the church building.
"Thank you, Major. That man gives me the creeps." Annie looked up into the identical face to John Casey, and her heart seemed to stop. "Lord, I really could used the Colonel now," she muttered, and searched his cobalt blues eyes deeply, so like John Casey's. But then she began to notice the very slight differences in his body language, and the cocky way he held his head. He nodded once, and grunted, then watched the firemen try to contain the flames.
As Annie turned back to the flames, the sound of a male voice was heard at the south end of the C.E. Wing. "Help me, please. Please, someone help me." The voice was getting weaker, and before Chuck and Sarah could stop Annie, the Parson began to run toward that end of the building. Though not consumed by the flames, the wing was inundated with deep, black smoke, and as several windows were breaking, the smoke poured out into the street.
"Cliff, is that you? Oh, please, someone help him. It's my Leadership Council chairman. He came to set up for the board meeting tonight." The Pastor ran up to the large window and tried to peer in, straining to see through the black smoke. She banged on the window, and the Major pulled her away.
"Pastor, stop. The windows are being compromised by the heat vacuum, and you pounding on them is not helping." His large arms pulled her away and into a hug, her back pressed up to his chest, every fiber in his body straining to try and calm her down.
"He's on the floor, Chuck. Sarah, please, he's got a bad heart." Annie growled deeply, frantic to get to Cliff. She grunted, so like Casey, stomped on Chad's right foot, and crashed her palm into his nose. He instantly released her as blood again spurted from his nose, and he began to swear very loudly.
She ran toward the building again, until she ran right into a hoodie shrouded wall of great strength. The arms from the man in front of her grabbed her gently but firmly, and the man leaned down into her face.
"Nice job, Parson. Our self defense lessons are taking hold" The invincible wall growled, the corners of his darkened face turning up slightly. Annie threw herself into his arms, and he murmured soft phrases, trying to calm her down, as he held her once again in his arms. She sobbed, gulping loudly, "Oh, John, please help Cliff." She pointed to the room where the elderly man was lying.
"Bartowski, throw that garbage can into the window, and Chad and I can get in there and lift him out." Casey instructed Chuck and Sarah, and the two of them picked the garbage can up and threw it at the window. When Casey went to grab Chad, the man was still doubled over, blowing blobs of blood clots onto the alley driveway. He glanced at Casey, his eyes lit with rage, and then he looked at the Pastor, about ready to step into the building herself.
"John, go get the old guy, and let me corral the Pastor. She is a spitfire, bro. Man, twice in one day. My nose will never be the same." Chad was again stuffing bits of Kleenex up his nose, and gasping for breath, as he turned to limp over to the Pastor.
John clapped his brother on the arm, and left him there to tend to his nose. Chuck and Casey then stepped gingerly over the ragged edges of the broken window and leaned down to check Cliff's pulse.
"Sarah, go get the paramedics. Cliff is alive, but his pulse is pretty weak." Chuck yelled out to Sarah, who nodded and ran off to get the e.m.t.s. Chad trotted up to the window, and tried to reach in to help. Both Casey and Chuck were coughing violently, and the flames were now traveling up above on the ceiling.
"Chuck, John, watch out; the fire is traveling throughout the attic above you." Chad warned, and as Chuck helped Casey pick up Cliff, several beams began to fall behind them. John slung Cliff over his shoulder easily, and trotted to the open window. "Chuck, get out of here now." Casey ordered, backing away from the open window, once more making sure the Intersect was safe. Once Chuck was outside, both he and Shelton took Cliff away from Casey, who glanced backwards, the noise and flames shooting around him. Shelton yelled as a huge beam crashed down from the ceiling and hit Casey in his back. John whiplashed backward, and crashed down onto the window sill, shards of glass imbedding itself in his stomach. He looked surprised, as everyone yelled his name. The flames were devouring the back of his jacket, and his pants were throwing out tendrils of smoke.
"Annie..."Casey groaned loudly, his hand clutched to his belly, staring deeply at his woman, who was rushing to hold his hand. The e.m.t. who was working on Cliff, immediately ran to Casey, and pulled Annie away to safety. "Chad, take care of her for me. Dear Jesus, the pain..." Casey looked at his brother, who reached out and pulled the pastor to his chest once more. Casey's entire body began to shake, as the e.m.t. carefully pulled the smaller pieces of glass from him. One large piece was deeply thrust in his right gut, and the e.m.t. wiggled it to see if he could pull it out. Casey set his jaw, and his entire body jolted in the movement. He grabbed the e.m.t.'s hand, and shook his head violently.
"Leave it in me. Just pull the frame off, and leave it in me." Casey groaned, and with one more gasp, his eyes went back in his head, and his entire body went limp. The e.m.t. radioed for help, and carefully, Chuck and the firemen pried the window frame slowly off, and lifted Casey, glass and all off the window. The Pastor kept calling his name, time and time again, and praying for the Lord to help him. The Major was shushing her, tenderly trying to console this woman he could see Casey truly loved. Sarah was weeping, and Chuck was holding tightly onto her as they watched the paramedics and e.m.t.'s work on both Cliff and Casey.
The elderly man was breathing with oxygen and was stabilized and that medic car roared away. Casey was still unconscious, blood oozing dramatically around the large 4 inch shard. The e.m.t. radioed ahead, and was given instructions to tape it down securely to Casey's body, lest pulling it out damage his internal organs. The firemen draped a blanket around Casey, and lifted the gurney up into the ambulance. The e.m.t. that had worked so hard with Casey went over to the tall man who looked like Casey, now holding a very distraught pastor. He was taken aback at the similarities he saw, but he leaned forward to speak to the pastor.
"Pastor Annie, we will take him to St. Peter's." Chad shook his head violently, and spoke loudly over the ambulance's engine roar. "I have a chopper and I can fly him to Seattle faster than you can get him to Olympia." He showed the e.m.t. his N.S.A. Credentials, and waited for the paramedic to get presiding doctor's permission. He directed the ambulance to drive Casey to the small airport to the south of town, and as Lt. Fletcher came up to find out what had happened, he cornered the man and pushed him roughly to the side away from the pastor. She stepped back, shaking in her sorrow, but Chad kept his hand entwined in hers to assure her.
"Major, where in God's name are you going? We have a deal." The crooked cop hissed, his hand reaching for Shelton's left arm, caring nothing for the injured men, not even realizing he was 5 feet away from Casey. Shelton swallowed his rage, and then nodded to Sarah and Chuck.
"They have what you want, Fletcher. Now get the hell out of my way." He shoved the cop away, and then helped Pastor Annie up into the cab of the one ambulance carrying Casey. He climbed in the back with the e.m.t. and watched the medic take care of Casey. As the ambulance roared off to the airport, Chuck and Sarah were brokering a deal with the Lieutenant, over the crates of specially made Sig Saurs in the back of the B.M.W.
"Fletcher, they are not here with us, but we can walk down to that new home over there, and the little lady and I will be much obliged to have you get them off our hands." Though tremendously shaken by what had happened to his handler, Chuck steeled himself into the role he needed to play, and once he got Fletcher's permission, the couple walked away from the fire, leaving the church building rapidly crashing in on itself.
The lieutenant followed slowly in his rig, and watched the couple closely as he drove. Once then, he put the car into park, and called Volkoff on the phone.
"Nice little barbeque you arranged, Mr. Volkoff." The crooked cop laughed into the phone, but sobered when he heard the tone of voice from El Llarono's boss.
"Keep your mouth shut, and bring me the guns in one half hour." Volkoff demanded, and then cut the line.
Fletcher slid out of the car, and opened the trunk. Chuck and Sarah were slowly carrying the case to his trunk, and as Chuck slid it into the car, he backed away and raised his gun.
"Now, I have kept the little lady here and my bargain. We will give you the rest of the guns when we are informed by our bank that you have deposited a nice 1 million dollars in our account down there in the nice bank run by Mr. Preminger. I believe you know Otis?" Chuck stepped into Fletcher's face, and pointed the gun at the man's chest.
"How...how did you know?" Fletcher blabbed nervously, and nodded vigorously as he stared at the gun.
"I get paid to know, Fletcher. You have a dead body to dispose of, and a very nosy major you saw commit a crime. So why don't I accompany you as you deliver this one crate, and we can make the rest of the arrangements with your boss?" Chuck clicked off the safety on his gun and pushed it even harder into Fletcher's chest. By now, the sweat was pouring off the cop, and he was almost ready to fall into the trunk himself. Chuck motioned for the cop to get into the driver's seat, and then he shut the trunk.
His raging facade dropped for a moment, as he kissed Sarah hard. "Make sure you get it all, now, little lady." He drawled loudly, and Sarah nodded, touching the wire that was placed under his shirt.
"Be back shortly, sweetcakes." He waved at Sarah as he got in the car, and then turned to Fletcher, and aimed the gun at Fletcher's crotch. "Do not do anything to jeopardize any of your little future cops, dude." He grinned widely at Fletcher's discomfort and the two of them drove around the fire trucks and to El Llarono's house.
Love the reviews! Thank you so much for tripping with me through the alternative reality of the Colonel and his Parson. Please continue with comments, criticisms, cute remarks and/or cookie recipes!
