Chapter 83
Northern Ireland, 1984
The rain had stopped, but still Jason Connors shivered in the damp air as he stood outside the booth watching Deirdre O’Neill. He cringed at the sound of her drifting laughter, the cocky toss of her rain washed hair, and cursed the grins that spread wide on the mouths of the border guards. How in hell can she do it? he wondered. That scene back there? Now she comes on to them like they’re blood brothers.
Disgusted, he turned away to study an army patrol cautiously edging up the narrow side road. Every few feet, they swung in perfect unison so half were always covering the direction opposite of the other half. Put a dumb uniform on a dumb bastard, he sneered to himself, and you create a god.
Earlier, the youth had seen the car pull to the side of the road. One man had exited while the driver remained inside with the motor idling. Now the patrol surrounded that car with leveled rifles while four of their number approached the vehicle. Big heroes, he snorted to himself, they sure don’t like even odds.
Then he heard the yelled, “A DUMMY!” and he froze in shock as the soldiers were flung from the center of the blast. As if propelled by powerful shove their feet skidded rapidly along until their bodies smashed into an obstacle. A victim collided with a wall inches from Jason. Automatically he reached out and the body slumped into his arms, the eyes staring at him were swimming in blood. He screamed. Then someone pulled the dead man off him and pushed Jason down.
“Crawl, lad,” the soldier ordered and ushered him to a temporary barrier behind a lorry. “Stay put.” The man crawled away.
~~~
From her forced imprisonment in the locked booth, Deirdre yelled at Brian, “Find Jas, he headed into it.”
Ignoring the hollered warning to stay back, Brian darted from one protective covering to the next as the night became bright with flying missiles of destruction. Reaching his terrified cousin, who still remained where the solider left him, Brian yelped, “You ass, you trying to get ventilated!” He shook Jason attempting to get some response but Jason only stared at him. So he commenced dragging him.
They only made it a short distance when bullets rang off the metal hide of the truck. Brian tried to cover his cousin’s body with his own though he was screaming himself in panic.
“Take it easy, lad.” Brian looked up into the face of a British soldier. “They’re on the north side behind that wall. Their bullets won’t reach the ground. So keep low and stay behind the lorries. You’ll be fine.”
“Jas!” Brian tugged at frozen body beneath him.
“He’s just scared.” The soldier said. “Now move yourself. I’ll see to him.” He gave Brian a shove to get him started. Still the boy hesitated then he heard a sharp slap and a yelp from Jason so he began crawling. Several times he paused to glance back at a growled, “Keep movin’” from the soldier who was dragging Jason.
The shooting had stopped, a rifle was waved in the all clear sign, and the soldier allowed the boys to stand. “Fool kids,” he said but lightly tapped Brian’s hip in a gesture of compliment.
The American youths watched as two bodies were dragged by the feet and dumped near the smoldering wreckage of the car. The carcasses arched as boots were applied. A sharp groan came as one body settled. The youths saw a man, jerk like a rag doll in the dirt of the road, and felt nothing as their rescuer hurried them along to their van.
Deirdre entered behind them screeching at Kevin Henry. “Lot of help you were! Bri and Jas nearly got their tails blown—”
“Shut up Dee!” Jason yelled. “Shut the fuck up!” He crawled into a sleeping bag yanking the top over his face.
Brian jostled the girl into the passenger seat as he recommended, “Let’s just get the hell out of here.” He slid behind the wheel.
Amy squirmed to where Kevin sat with his face hidden by his arms. “Don’t listen to Dee,” she said. “Her mouth moves before her brain. You couldn’t have done anything. You still hurting?”
The boy only grunted.
“At least we didn’t lose the bankroll.” She giggled. “Skinny as I am,” she sighed. “When that rain started plastering my clothes. Dumb fucker did us a good turn with that rain slicker.” She uncorked a Harp each. Since the first beer went down easy, they followed it with a second and a third…
Before the van reached Grange, Amy and Kevin discovered a simple release for their nerves—they passed out.
~~~
Brian eased the van off the road. As the engine died Jason leaped from the side door and Brian followed out the front. Attempting to talk to Jason he was greeted by a sharply stated, “I’m going for a walk—alone.”
Deirdre came to stand beside Brian with the order, “Leave him be. It’s rough the first time you see the killings. He’ll get over it.”
They leaned against the van and searched the night sky as Brian said, “That was the first time I saw anyone killed. You’ve seen stuff like that before?”
“Worse. You realize it could have been all our people instead of only two.”
He didn’t admit they were thinking of different deaths as he muttered, “Wonder if any got away?”
“Naturally, from the sound of those guns…”
“Nah, you couldn’t hear right in the booth. It was the Army doing most of the firing. Crazy,” he admitted, “but you know those uniforms looked damn good to me when I was trying to get Jas out.”
“Cause you got Military blood.” Deirdre laughed.
“Here I am on the other side and the soldiers were helping me. How do you sort out who’s who over here?”
“You don’t have to—just listen to me.”
“Oh, sure,” Brian sneered. “And wear a bullet proof vest.”
~~~
Jason reached the top of a small incline. He perched on a stone that had once been part of a now crumbled fence. From there he could still see the van. Those eyes running with blood, he remembered, and then he puked.
He rubbed at his nose. He closed his own eyes but could still see the death mask. To kill like that, he decided, my dad’s right this is a stupid, senseless, mess. He heard the engine the same time his friends did but remained where he was.
~~~
“Turn on the lights,” Deirdre ordered and Brian rushed to obey. He flicked them the prescribed three times on and off. The lamps on the helicopter flashed in answer and came in for a landing.
On exiting, David Martin was immediately aware of the absence of noise., “Where are the others?”
“Asleep,” Deirdre answered and shuffled her feet nervously as Martin climbed into the van.
“Asleep, hell!” he yelled. “You were told to stay sober. It stinks like a brewery in here. Roughly he shook his young cousin. Kevin could only groan. Martin threw an empty can in a fit of anger as he jumped down to confront the two sober teens. “Where’s the Connors brat?”
“We got the money through safe.” Brian offered in an attempt to quell the fury in the man.
But Deirdre turned offensive. “You didn’t tell us there was going to be action at the border! We nearly became rat meat!”
Surprised, Martin asked, “Who bought it?”
“Army,” Brain said. “A bad scene.”
“The bomb was in a dummy, in a parked car.” Deirdre cut in. “A dead soldier landed in Jas’ lap—it really threw him.”
“So? Where is he?”
“Took a walk,” Brian answered. “I’ll go find him.” But as he started to move the man grabbed his arm.
“No,” Martin said. “Can’t have you getting lost too. Toss the money pouches in the chopper then get out of here. Camp on this side of the border don’t cross over till morning. I’ll find Jas faster alone. He can stay with me tonight.” The adult waited until the van pulled out then he went in search of the boy.
~~~
Jason had watched the helicopter land. Watched as his friends apparently abandon him. Now he waited, hoping David Martin would take off. He has been considering the idea of turning himself in to the law. But Jason Connors, born into a family of wealth and influence, admitted to himself, he was scared. He wasn’t sure how criminal his activities had been.
He toyed with the idea of hitching a ride to Dublin, grabbing the first plane back to London, and letting his brother fix everything. RJ would know how to keep him from landing in trouble. Deep in thought, he didn’t notice the shadowy figure making its way across the dark field.
The man hadn’t gone far before he spotted the youth. Instead of calling to him he circled and came up behind. Sensing, rather than hearing movement, Jason spun to face David Martin.
Jason relaxed only to be taken by surprise when the man grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him to his feet. “You sure as bloody hell made me waste a lot of time.” Martin’s anger was obvious and Jason flinched as a hand headed for his face.
Only Martin, catching sight of the bruised mouth, held short of delivering the intended slap. Instead he took a grip on the boy’s chin and none to gently examined the marks. “You run into a fist, lad?”
Jason shoved away the hand. “And just now I had a feeling you were going to make it two.”
“Not sure I’ve changed my mind.” Martin fought a grin. “You done crying over that?”
“I wasn’t crying.”
And the young adult male did smile at the indignant scowl on the teenage male’s face. “No shame in cryin’” he said. “You been hurt.”
“I asked for it,” the youth admitted. “They didn’t mangle Bri but then he knows when to keep his mouth shut.”
“That’s a fact. It helps. Sure, but I’d wager you’re one to collect a few more blows for ya learn.” Martin offered a cigarette, put one between his own teeth, then flicked a lighter and noticed the boy was shivering. Pulling off his own jacket he held it out.
“Don’t need it.”
“Put the damn thing on!”
“But?”
“But, hell, do like you’re told. You’re not settin’ so grand with me right now.”
Jason squirmed into the leather as he answered. “You don’t look so great to me either. Blowing guys up! Man that sucks.”
“Killings supposed to be pleasant?” was followed by a nasty laugh. “You ever see a chicken get its neck wrung—no blood but they die hard.”
“That’s not the same, these were men ripped apart.”
“Dying is dying, lad.” Martin shrugged. “It’s whose doing the dying and what for makes the difference.”
“Fine logic. I wonder how heroic your friends felt tonight?”
“My friends?”
“Didn’t Bri tell you? The Army got two of your side. We saw them drag the bodies out. Only one?” Suddenly he remembered one wasn’t dead.
He started to turn away but Martin spun him back with the demand, “Only what?”
“One was alive!” Jason nearly gagged on the truth. “I heard him scream. But they treated him just like the dead body.” A sudden rush of tears came and he sobbed. “I’m sorry, I’m an ass. I don’t belong in this.”
“Maybe so,” Martin agreed. “Let’s get to the chopper.”
“Not me, I’m done playing.”
Martin’s voice grew harsh with renewed anger. “You’ll walk or,” he warned, “or you’ll run with my toe up your ass—makes no never mind ta me.”
Jason moved sharply to keep well in front of Martin and offered no complaint when roughly shoved into the cockpit.
As they took to the air the violent set of Martin’s features worried the youth. He wished he could explain something he did not understand himself. Why had the treatment of the wounded rebel seemed so insignificant in the wake of the awful deaths of the soldiers? You have to choose sides, Dede warned, you try to figure right from wrong you’ll screw your brain up. Somehow, at that moment, in his young mind, the legal side now came up sufficiently lacking. He reached out and touched the man’s arm. “Dave,” he yelled over the noise of the descending engine. “Take another chance on me? I wasn’t raised proper yah know.”
In the weak light of pre-dawn, David Martin read something in the young face that he could relate to. His anger faded and he grinned as he said, “You got it. We’re going to stake a lot on trusting you. We need this money laundered and with the situation now Dublin banks could be a problem. So you’ll take it to London. I’ll tell you how to pass it on. You scared?”
“You better believe it.”
“Good. It means you won’t do anything stupid. Now when you get there you feel free to tell your brother, and anyone else who’ll listen, the truth about how you got a mug like that.” He gave the boy’s cheek an affectionate pat.