JC: Ed Biggers
Part 5: Stasis
Chapter 10
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

A number of small boats with lanterns clung to the dark surface of 
the lake as men fished through the night. Inside the house, John 
and Walt watched through windows of the darkened house seeking 
signs of movement around the property. In the bedroom, Ling and 
Ed napped fully clothed for immediate response to an alarm. In the 
soundproof bedroom, George watched the security monitors with 
his full attention. 

Reaching over to his cup of coffee, George noticed a slight flicker 
on one of the monitors. Halting his motion, he turned to examine 
the monitor again. His back muscles tightened due to tension. 
Staring at the monitor, he caught the movement once again. He 
relaxed as he recognized the outline of a doe. Watching the doe, he 
grabbed his cup and took a sip of his coffee grimacing at the taste 
of one too many coffees for the day. 

Time passed slowly for the men waiting for something to happen. 
George checked the monitor for the house next door and saw Anita 
slipping through the front door covered by the dark. Earlier, she 
had shown her FBI credentials to Fred and told him to keep his 
door unlocked that night. It appeared that Fred had followed her 
instructions.

In the other room, John had noticed the movement around the 
house next door and tensed until he recognized the feminine figure 
of Anita. His tension had not gone unnoticed by Walt, who had 
turned to look at him with rifle in hand. Walt relaxed when John 
shook his head indicating that nothing was wrong.

George periodically checked on the doe as it moved slowly along 
the berm between the woods and the side of the property. When 
the doe suddenly raised its head and then bound back into the 
woods, George gave his full attention to the screen. Within a 
minute, he saw several human figures moving through the woods 
towards the cabin. Opening the door, he snapped his fingers. The 
sharp noise was like a thunderbolt from the sky and immediately 
captured everyone's attention. Ed and Ling moved out of the 
bedroom, Ling carrying her rifle. George returned to the computer 
and his fingers flew over the keyboard informing the FBI that 
events were starting. 

Once he sent off the message, he went into the front room and 
tapped John on the shoulder. John nodded and returned to the 
computer as George picked up his rifle from the corner of the 
room. Those with guns knelt by the open windows ready to defend 
themselves on a moment's notice. Unarmed, Ed stood in the center 
of the room ready for whatever action might be required on his 
part. 

Outside, a man moved behind the house to cover the windows and 
backdoor. Another man moved to stand next to the house next door 
to cover that side of the house. Three men were on the side of the 
house next to the woods covering the windows from behind trees. 
Two men moved towards the front of the house. 

The silence of the night was broken by a shout from the woods, 
"Ed Biggers. Come out of the house!"

Ed shouted out, "Now why would I want to do that?"

"We'll burn you out if you don't come out!"

Ling and George took aim at the two men outside the front of the 
house. They watched as they lit Molotov Cocktails. Frowning at 
the lack of imagination these guys possessed, Ed said, "On the 
count of three."

"One… Two … Three…" On the third word, Ling and George 
fired at the flaming bottles. Both bottles exploded as the bullets 
ripped through the glass. Within seconds, both men were 
screaming in pain as they were engulfed in flames. They ran 
towards the lake, feeding the flames with fresh oxygen. After two 
loud splashes, the flames spread across the surface of the lake to go 
out fifteen seconds later. 

The room filled with the acrid smell of modern gunpowder, 
tickling the nose and irritating the eyes. Ed shouted, "Why would I 
leave the house?"

The response to his shout was a burst of gunfire aimed at the 
house. Inside, everyone dove to the floor. John called out from the 
bedroom, "What was the rest of the plan?"

"We keep them busy until they are captured by the FBI," replied 
Ed from the floor. He breathed in the air enjoying its smell before 
his nose became immune to it. 

"So is it working?"

"Judging by how much they are shooting at us, I would say they 
are quite busy," replied Ed trying to make himself smaller as the 
outsiders changed over to automatic fire.

"When this is over, I'm going to kill you both," shouted Ling.

The shooting from the backside of the house stopped, suggesting 
that the FBI had taken the man that was positioned there. During a 
temporary slackening of the shooting, Walt rose up and took 
careful aim at one of the men in the woods. He squeezed the 
trigger and watched as the man staggered back away from the tree. 
He ducked back down under a furious barrage from the woods.

Heart racing in the heat of a battle, he called out to the others in the 
room, "It looks like there are only two of them left."

Ling looked out her window and saw that one of the men that had 
run into the lake was coming to the shore. Through the night vision 
sight on the rifle, it was clear to her that the man was furious. 
Without a second of hesitation, she shot the man in the stomach 
and watched as he collapsed with most of his body still in the 
water. She searched the shoreline for the second man and found 
him moving away while keeping low in the water. A single shot 
later and the man was floating in the water with a portion of his 
skull missing. George had made the shot. It was clear that he shot 
to kill rather than wound. 

At the shocked look from Ling, he said, "He didn't surrender and 
that made him a combatant. I've lost too many men to injured 
enemy combatants that didn't stop fighting."

Hearing the truth in his words, Ed looked over at his head of 
security and realized that a soldier did not survive to retire without 
being able to take such actions. "It is easy to be shocked by such 
actions."

Adjusting the night vision goggle for her eyes, Ling tried to see if 
she could spot anyone else attacking the house. A man had slipped 
away from the others and was moving away from the area. A 
group of men were advancing on the man that was firing and the 
wounded man on the ground. The gunfire stopped with a 
suddenness that was shocking. She said, "It would appear that they 
have been caught, but one has fled."

"Wait until the signal," said John as he crawled, his belly tight to 
the floor, into the front room. Even as he finished speaking, a 
foghorn sounded from the woods, which was the all clear signal. 
As Ed stood, Ling ran out the front door to the woods while 
carrying her rifle. He heard a shout from the FBI agents as she 
sped past them. John and Ed walked out the door to see what was 
happening. After a quick survey of the area, they walked over 
where the FBI agents were gathered with their two prisoners. 

Walt went to the shore to check out the man lying in the water. The 
man was still alive, but wounded in the stomach and covered with 
burns. Staring down at the man, he felt that it would be best to put 
him out of his misery. He faced a long battle with septicemia and 
third-degree burns. Pulling him out of the water, Walt used one of 
the plastic handcuffs to secure the prisoner. He left him on the 
ground after checking the wound. It was painful, but not 
immediately life threatening.

George had waded out into the water to retrieve the man that he 
had shot. Although the burns were not extensive, there was a major 
portion of the skull missing. He dragged the body to shore and 
dumped it on the ground. The odor of burnt flesh assaulted his 
nose. Squatting, he stared off into the distance as his hands 
trembled uncontrollably. Walt came over and put a hand on his 
shoulder. With a gentleness that was quite touching, he said, "You 
had to do it."

"No I didn't," swore the older man as he glanced down at the body.

"Your training dictated your actions. I would have done the same."

In response, George only grunted.  From past experience, he knew 
he would be depressed for the next few days as his mind sought to 
come to grips with his actions. In this respect, he envied Ling that 
wouldn't cross lines that made her doubt herself. 

Walt knelt next to George and said, "Think about the kids next 
door. He'd have gone over there and used them to make his 
getaway."

Fred and three other FBI agents were gathered just within the 
woods where two prisoners were on the ground with their hands 
handcuffed behind their backs. One was wounded with a gunshot 
in the side. The other was uninjured, but very angry. 

As sirens sounded in the background, indicators that emergency 
vehicles were on the way, Ed asked, "There were only two?"

Fred nodded and said, "Yes, there were only two."

"There were three over here." Kneeling down, Ed lifted the head of 
the unwounded man and asked, "Where is Devin?"

"Why should I tell you anything, nigger lover?" The man tried to 
spit on Ed, but it fell far short. When Ed released his head, the 
man's head fell into his own spittle. Ed wasn't about to clean it off 
the man's face.

Shaking his head, Ed said, "You just have to love these guys."

John asked, "So tell us, where is Devin?"

The questioning was interrupted by the sound of a gun shot far into 
the woods. Everyone turned to look in the direction from which the 
shot had sounded. The agents pulled their guns concerned that 
someone was sneaking up behind them. 

Trying to put them at ease, John said, "Sounds like Ling just found 
Devin."

Wondering who had fired the shot, Ed said, "Those months in the 
woods with Leroy appear to have made a master tracker out of 
her."

Walt came over and said, "Boats are coming over here. It seems 
that we had quite a few people that witnessed the battle here."

Fred turned to the three agents in the woods with him and said, 
"Let's get these guys out of the woods."

Pairs of agents picked up the prisoners and carried them out of the 
woods. A little more gently than would have satisfied Ling, the 
agents set them down on the lawn behind the house. Another agent 
brought over the man from the woods while Anita showed up with 
the man that had been hiding by the Bender house. Walt returned 
to the shore and pulled the wounded man over to the others. 
George came over with the final body and laid it on the ground in 
front of the prisoners. The pair of men that were not wounded sat 
up with legs crossed tailor fashion. It was a very quiet group that 
stared at their fallen comrade.

Squatting to view all of the men, Ed recognized three of them from 
the time in Georgia. The wounded man looked a lot like Devin, but 
it wasn't him. He asked, "Are you Devin's brother?"

"I'm his cousin. You fuck with one of us and you fuck with all of 
us," snarled the man as he stared at the dead man that George had 
brought over. Glaring up at Ed, he vowed, "I'm going to kill you 
one of these days. You killed my kin and for that you are going to 
pay."

John turned to Fred and asked, "Do you think you can send two 
men into the woods to find Ling? I'm sure that she's trying to carry 
a dead man back here."

Even as he made the request, two of the agents walked to the 
woods searching for Ling. They turned on flashlights to light their 
way. They were gone for five minutes when her shout carried 
through the still air, "Turn those damn lights off."

"Sounds like they found her," remarked John. "Do you think she 
caught Devin?"

"I don't know. I'm sure that he would have wanted to be here to see 
me die, but he's a coward."

The cousin shouted, "You're the fucking coward, nigger lover."

Irritated, Ed went into the house and grabbed a bar of soap. 
Coming outside, he knelt down in front of the cousin and said, 
"One more word out of you and I'll shove this bar of soap in your 
mouth."

The cousin started to say something, but when he saw the soap 
moving towards his mouth, he bit off the words. Glaring at Ed, he 
sulked at his inability to hurt the man in front of him. 

Ed turned and watched as Ling, followed by the two FBI agents, 
emerged from the woods. The agents were carrying a body with 
them. They brought it over and set it on the ground next to the 
other. It was Devin Renzy and the man was definitely dead. There 
was a single bullet hole in the center of his back just below the 
neck.

The cousin shouted, "I'm gonna kill that …"

A bar of soap getting inserted roughly into the man's mouth cut off 
the shout. Ed bent down and said, "I told you that I'd shove the 
soap into your mouth if you said one more word."

The man tried to spit out the soap, but Ed held it in place. The man 
struggled desperate to get the soap out of his mouth. John put his 
hand on Ed's and said, "Enough."

Straightening, Ed said, "His mother should have done that to him 
when he was a kid."

"I agree," replied Ling as she glared down at the man who had 
screamed at her. If Ed hadn't moved as fast as he had, she would 
have broken the man's jaw.

The police cars and ambulances arrived with lights flashing and 
sirens blaring. Within minutes, the police were asking questions 
until they realized they were dealing with the FBI and that their 
role was to carry the prisoners to jail or to the hospital as was 
appropriate. It took twenty minutes for the mess to get cleared up 
and the prisoners removed. Ling, John, and Ed sat on the porch 
watching as the FBI took care of the mess. George and Walt ran 
interference for them, keeping the police away from the porch and 
handling all questions about their role in the operation.

A line of boats was offshore watching the action, fishing forgotten 
for the time being as they watched the police and FBI agents 
walking around the area collecting evidence. From the house next 
door, the Benders were on the porch watching the action. Although 
the kids looked like they were up long past their normal bedtime, it 
was clear that they wouldn't be sleeping for a long time.

Noticing the neighbors, Ed said, "I think we ought to go over there 
and let them know what happened."

"I agree," said John.

The three of them stood and walked the short distance to the porch 
of the house next door. On arriving, Ed said, "I'm sorry about all of 
this. We did everything we could to get the owner to break the 
lease, but they were very stubborn. Once we realized that we 
couldn't get the house, we made sure that FBI knew their primary 
job was to protect you."

Swallowing heavily, Stanley said, "We threatened to sue if they 
broke the lease. I guess in light of this, it wasn't such a good idea."

John said, "We're really sorry. By the time we had everything set 
up, it was too late to back out."

Marsha asked, "They called you by name. Why did they want to 
kill you?"

"Ed put them in jail for land fraud, coercion, arms violations, 
murder, arson, and a half a dozen other charges. They broke out 
and killed one of us, so we had to respond." John looked over at 
his husband who had turned to watch the boats on the lake. Every 
minute, the boats crept closer to shore as though trying to get a 
better view of what was going on. 

Recognizing that the Benders had no idea with whom they were 
talking, Ling said, "I'm sorry, we've been very rude. This is John, 
our husband. John, I'd like you to meet Fred, Marsha, Susan, and 
Paul Bender."

Getting introduced to the Grand Druid was extremely exciting. It 
took some time for them to get through all of the normal questions 
that people typically asked John. In a way, it was a nice break from 
the serious business going on next door. The conversation veered 
back to the events of the evening, when Paul asked, "So when you 
were over here, you knew that there were a bunch of men that 
wanted to kill you?"

"Yes, I did," replied Ed.

"Wow, that's brave. You weren't nervous or anything."

Shaking his head, Ed said, "Well, we had two armed FBI agents 
here. John, Walt, and George were in our house watching 
everything that was going on in the area. There were two 
additional agents in the house next door with rifles. It wasn't 
brave."

Thinking about it, Susan said, "We could have been killed!"

Looking over at the young lady, Ed said, "You were very safe the 
entire time that you've been here."

Marsha, only now reacting to the implications of the events, asked, 
"How can you say that?"

Her voice showed tension and a trace of anger. Ling answered, 
"You might not believe it, but John and Ed would have thrown 
themselves between you and the bad guys. They ordered the FBI to 
make sure that you were safe before they went after the bad guys."

The Benders jumped when Anita, standing behind them, said, 
"After I came in your house, Fred took out the guy that was 
positioned right over here. He did that before anyone started 
shooting. Shortly after that, two other agents took care of the guy 
that was across the street. Once the shooting started, every agent 
we had was between your house and the bad guys."

"So what if they had thrown a fire bomb at us?"

Ed pointed to the round stepping stones around the house. "If you 
lift each of those stones up, you'll notice that there's a fire 
extinguisher under it. There's a total of forty of them around the 
house. You were ushered into the bathroom because we had 
installed a fireproof shower curtain for you to use in escaping. 
Anita was there with you, just in case anything went wrong. A lot 
of planning went into this."

The news that such preparations had been made on their behalf 
shocked the Benders. That Ed had known what had happened 
inside the house once Anita had entered only proved that he knew 
exactly what he was saying. Ling said, "We couldn't tell you what 
was happening earlier because we didn't want you to blow the 
operation. The guys captured tonight were really bad people."

Satisfied that all of the questions had been answered, Anita said, 
"We are heading out now. Two agents will stay here for the rest of 
your visit, just in case something else comes up. I suggest that if 
you stay here, that you keep your security force here as well."

As the spirit drained out of Ed, John said, "We are returning to the 
college tomorrow. There are two weeks left to the quarter." 

Standing, Ling said, "It is getting late and we are keeping these 
good people up. I suggest everyone head indoors and get some 
sleep."

The three members of the Carter Clan headed over to their cabin 
and joined George and Walt. George asked, "Do you mind if we 
use the second bedroom tonight?"

Ling looked at her two husbands and sighed. Shrugging her 
shoulders, she said, "Go ahead."

In the pale light of early morning, Ed went outside and walked 
around the house checking it for damage. The side of the house 
towards the woods was riddled with bullet holes. Entire boards had 
fallen, splintered by the abuse they had suffered the previous night. 
The side of the house that faced the road was not injured to the 
same degree, but would have to be replaced. 

Ignoring the patrol car and the two cops sitting in it, Ed ran his 
hand over the wall. Squatting down beside the house, Ed picked up 
a board and looked at the slug caught in it. The man who had fired 
it would have been overjoyed if it had struck Ed instead of the 
lifeless board. Disgusted at the dark thoughts he was entertaining 
this morning, he tossed it back to the ground. 

He wandered over to the two large burn spots in the lawn. The men 
that had wanted to burn him had ended up getting burnt instead. 
Without the blessing of the Goddess, Ed was convinced the man 
who had survived would feel the pain without relief. It was a 
punishment that he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.

Moving to stand behind his husband, John said, "I know this 
wonderful woman from Trinidad who works in the burn unit in 
Austin. Her name is Mary and, when I met her, her primary job 
was to empty trashcans. Now she helps hypnotize patients so that 
they will not be aware of the pain when they remove the bandages. 
She once told me that there were no mean people in a burn unit. 
The fire burns the meanness out of people."

Nodding, Ed replied, "I hope that is true."

"Walt and George are going to stay here and fix things up. I think 
they both have to come to grips with their role in last night's 
activities. George is pretty torn up about it."

Fumbling in the pocket of his robe, Ed pulled out his cell phone. 
He dialed the number to the house in Arizona, not realizing how 
early in the morning it would be there. A very sleepy Cathy 
answered the phone. Ed said, "Cathy, I'm sorry to wake you."

"Oh, it's you."

"Yes. I would appreciate it if you would make arrangements for 
two people to fly up here to Lake George."

Complaining, Cathy asked, "Can't you call me back in a couple of 
hours. It's three in the morning?"

"Oh, I just thought you might enjoy coming up here and staying 
with George and Walt for the rest of the week."

Hearing the news, Cathy woke up and asked, "Are you saying that 
Linda and I are to come up there?"

Laughing at the sudden interest, Ed said, "Yes. I expect you to 
arrive this afternoon."

"We'll be there."

Closing the cell phone, Ed looked up at the amused face of his 
husband and said, "Hey, nothing is better than the arms of a loving 
woman when the soul is troubled."

"Do you want to tell them?"

"Nah, I'd rather have it be a surprise."

Looking up that house, John said, "That's probably impossible. I'm 
sure that one of them heard every word you said."

"I'll invite the police in for breakfast. I'm sure that they can use the 
break after sitting in their car all night," remarked Ed as he looked 
across the lake. It reminded him that they should have taken better 
care of the officers that had watched over them. He stood and said, 
"I don't like gunfights."

"Neither do I," replied John.

Ed walked over to the police car and bent down to the window as 
the officer inside sat up straighter. Resting his hands on his knees, 
Ed said, "How do you gentlemen like your eggs?"

"Pardon?"

"We're about to cook breakfast and I wanted to know how you 
liked your eggs," Ed said with a smile. Thinking about the 
activities in the house, he added, "I figure you're pretty tired of 
sitting in the car, so why don't you guys come into the house. Most 
of us are awake and the rest will be up soon."

The officers looked at each other for half a minute trading a variety 
of shrugs in the manner of people who have served together for a 
long time. Finally, the driver said, "Sure. I like mine over easy."

"Same here," added the other officer as he opened his door. 
Stepping out of the car, he said, "We appreciate this a lot."

Ed led the officers to the house. Once inside, he introduced 
himself, "I'm Ed Biggers."

"I'm Tony Tarentino and my partner is Joey Crown," said the 
shorter of the two policemen. Tony just made the height 
requirement for his service while his partner was just under the 
maximum height. Together, they reminded Ed of the Mutt and Jeff 
cartoon characters. The two were used to that comparison, being 
called that by half of the men in the department. 

Ed called over to John, "They both like their eggs over easy. I'll 
take mine sunny side up."

John, busy frying bacon and sausage at the stove, remarked, "No 
problem. Are two eggs each, okay?"

"Sure," replied Ed as Ling came out of the bedroom. Although she 
was dressed, her hands flew down the sides of her body double-
checking at the surprise of finding strangers in the cabin. She 
relaxed after Ed performed the introductions. 

Gesturing to the large table for the officers to have a seat, Ed set 
seven of the eight cups that had come with the cabin on the table. 
He reached over to the counter that separated the kitchen from the 
eating area and grabbed the coffeepot. After filling all of the cups, 
he emptied the pot and spent the next few minutes brewing another 
pot in the drip coffee maker. While he was doing that, Ling started 
making toast. 

Once the coffee was brewing, Ed went to the door of the second 
bedroom and opened it slightly. He called in, "Get up you too."

Walt called back, "We're up. Just trying to solve that problem at 
the moment."

Laughing as he closed the door, Ed said, "They're awake. They'll 
be out in fifteen minutes or so."

Tony asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Depends on your perspective," replied Ling with a smile. 

Trying to start a conversation, Joey said, "That was quite a mess 
last night. I've never seen so many spent shells in one place."

All three of the Carter Clan replied as one, "Not over breakfast."

The chorus of voices set back both officers. They looked at each 
other wondering if they had done something wrong. Ed explained, 
"We never talk business over a meal."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know."

Sitting down at the table and taking a sip of coffee, Ed said, "Don't 
worry about it. We find that meals are a good time to talk about 
things other than business."

Ling came over to the table carrying a plate of toast and a second 
plate with bacon and sausage. After setting them on the table, she 
took a seat and started sipping on a cup of coffee. John called out, 
"I've got three plates of eggs over easy."

Ed got up and picked up two of them while Ling picked up the 
third. Setting the plates in front of the policemen, Ed said, "Help 
yourself."

George and Walt came out of the bedroom. Seeing everyone at the 
table, Walt said, "We'll take our eggs however you're cooking 
them."

"Is sunny side up okay?"

"Sure."

It was a few minutes later that John called out, "I've got three 
plates of eggs sunny side up. One cooked more than the rest for 
Ed."

Chuckling, Ed went over and picked up the plate of eggs that John 
gestured at. The four men returned to the table carrying their 
plates. As everyone ate, a silence settled on the room broken only 
the sound of the coffee brewer making burbling noises and by 
requests for toast, salt, or pepper. It didn't take long for the hungry 
people to polish off their breakfast. 

Sitting back and patting his stomach, Ed said, "That was great."

Brushing the medallion on his robe, John said, "We'll leave the 
dishes for George and Walt to clean. I want to get to the airport 
and get back to the college."

Noticing the gesture, Ed nodded and said, "We'll have to stop and 
pick up Howard. I'm sure that he'll be glad to quit working as a 
bagger at the grocery store."

Tony said, "We'll follow you to the airport."

Ling drove down the country road with her normal care. Behind 
them, the police car followed at a respectable distance. A beat up 
truck pulled onto the road in front of them. Two men in the back of 
the truck opened fire with automatic weapons. As bullets flew off 
the windshield of the hugger, Ling pushed the accelerator to the 
floor with the result that she spun the tires as they broke loose from 
the road. Gravel sprayed behind the hugger until it achieved 
traction and hurtled forwards into the rear of the truck. Still 
keeping the accelerator pressed to the floor, Ling pushed the truck 
into a tree by the side of the road. 

After the hugger came to an abrupt stop, Ling unbuckled her seat 
belt and flew out of the door with her pistol drawn. Jumping onto 
the crumpled hood of the Hugger, she fired two shots into the man 
left in the back of the truck and then two at the man driving the 
truck. Leaping into the back of the truck she found the third man 
where he had been thrown during the crash. She fired two shots at 
him.

By this time, the police car had caught up to them and came to a 
screeching halt. Tony and Joey rushed out of their car to take 
control of the situation. Ling holstered her gun as she returned to 
the car. When Tony reached her, she said, "There's no need to 
hurry. They are quite dead."

Going over to the truck, Joey spent a couple of minutes examining 
the bodies. Frowning, he said, "You didn't need to shoot them. 
They were dead already."

Seated in the back of the car, Ed leaned forward and said, "John, 
she's getting dangerous."