Julia trembled, terrified. These men weren’t just gun manufacturers. They weredomestic terrorists. They had an ideology. They were planning something. She held her breath as McKenna reached into the box he was holding, took out a small round object, and raised it high, like a priest raising a Communion wafer.
“Now, see this, men? This coin symbolizes our mission. Each coin has our proud American flag and today’s date, the date of our first attack! We’re kicking off the two hundred fiftieth anniversary celebration with a bang! It’s only the beginning, men! One of many! Two-Fifty! USA!”
“Two-Fifty! USA! Two-Fifty! USA!”
“Yes, men! Each of you has earned this coin, as a member of the Two-Fifty Brigade. This coin is an honor and a thing of beauty, thanks to Pat, who designed and printed them.” McKenna nodded in Novak’s direction, then turned back to the men. “I award this coin to each of you. Treasure it, as it symbolizes not only your mission, but also your honor, duty, and patriotism. We love this country and if necessary, we’ll save it with our blood. This is your last moment in the shadows, men! Today we lay down our marker and our lives, if need be! Are you with me, men?”
“Sir!” “Sir, yes, sir!” “Fuck, yeah!” The men hooted and hollered, and Julia’s heart thundered. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, hearing, witnessing. She held her breath in terrified silence. A dark chapter in American history was unfolding before her very eyes. She would never have guessed that investigating Kay’s murder would have brought her to this horror.
“This morning, we strike at Valley Forge!” McKenna’s voice boomed against the rumbling of the bonfire. “We stand up for this country against the tyranny of the government! Against the bloodsuckers who prey on true patriots! Tomorrow morning, we start the Second American Revolution! Two-Fifty! USA! Two-Fifty! USA!”
“Two-Fifty! USA! Two-Fifty! USA!” The men chanted again, but Julia felt stunned tears. She was watching the planning of a terrorist attack. She could only imagine how many innocent people would be killed at Valley Forge. She stood frozen with mute shock against the barn.
“Men, do you accept this mission? Would you pay for it with your blood?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The men roared in agreement, shaking their raised fists.
“Then accept this coin.” McKenna handed a coin to the first man in line, then to the second, then to each of the six. Novak was the last to receive one, then McKenna stepped back, taking a last coin from the box. “I accept this coin and the command of this sacred mission. I am honored to serve with you men to save our homeland.”
“Two-Fifty! USA! Two-Fifty! USA!” The men cheered.
“Dave, look alive!” McKenna said, pointing at a man in the middle. “You have the most important job tomorrow. You’re the driver. You know where to park.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Laird!” McKenna pointed to the next man. “You’ll meet the others by the encampment.”
“Yes, sir!”
McKenna faced the men. “Men, you know the plan. We’ve been over it a thousand times. The crowd will be getting ready to watch the first reenactment, which is the Battle of Trenton. The truck with the ordnance will already be in place. You’ll move at 0750. Act natural. Don’t run but don’t delay. When you’re a minimum safe distance away, I’ll hit the remote detonator, and at 0800,ba-boom!”
“Ba-boom!” “Yes!” “Fuck, yes!” “Boom!” the men cheered, raising their fists. The fire raged behind them, an infernal blaze in the night.
Julia stifled a horrified gasp. She realized the details of the plan. They were going to blow up the U-Haul at Valley Forge. They were going to kill innocent people. Families who’d come to have fun. History buffs who wanted to observe reenactments. Patriots who celebrated the historic day. Spectators would be in the thousands, so would participants. The scheme shocked her to her very soul. It was unthinkable. She had to stop them. She had to tell the cops as soon as she could get to a phone.
“Okay, we have to get ready. There’s not much time. I have one last task.” McKenna checked his watch, then looked up. “Pat?” McKenna looked over at him. “You know you screwed up when you lost the prototype. That was the model for our coin. You coulda blown up our mission. You coulda gotten us in a world of trouble.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Novak said, his voice newly shaky. “It fell out of my pocket at McGlinchey’s. Accidents happen.”
“You were wrong to have it on you, son. You were careless. Undisciplined.”
“But I fixed it, sir. I got the coin back. I wasted that Black bitch.”
My God.Julia realized with horror that Novak meant Kay. So Novakhadmurdered her to get the coin. She must’ve found it on the clean-up at McGlinchey’s.
“No, Pat, you didn’t fix anything.” McKenna shook his head. “You made it worse. You overreacted. You caused loose ends. Everybody came nosin’ around because of you. The granddaughter, the friend. The husband, the lawyer.”
Julia’s eyes flew open, realizing McKenna meant Courtney, Paul, Bennie, and her.
“It’s not on me, sir. I didn’t—”
“Shut up! Yes, it is on you, Pat. Nobody woulda known anything if you hadn’t fucked up with the coin. We woulda been on a glide path. You committed a fatal error. You suffer from the sin of pride. You’re so fucking proud of your coin that you carried it around. It was supposed to stay here, eyes only, but you breached operational security. Your carelessness threatened our mission. You made yourself a danger to the team.”
“Wait, please, Bill!” Novak edged away, raising his hands defensively. “You know me, we go back! Don’t do it—”
McKenna whipped a gun from behind his back and fired it pointblank at Novak’s chest. The muzzle spit flame. The shot rang out, echoing in the valley.
Novak collapsed as his body absorbed the bullet’s impact. He emitted an agonized groan. His arms flew up reflexively. He collapsed, dropping to the dirt. The other men recoiled. No one spoke. Gunsmoke filtered through the air, an acrid odor.
