Billy Palmer by Ronald Zastre
“No, he never mentioned it,” Tainer hollered moments later.
“Bullshit Tainer, I think you’re lying. I think you know what I can do. I went to the doctor, Mark, for a checkup recently. Mark, I had my hearing and night vision checked. They’re both great for a man my age, especially my hearing, aaannd, I think you can put two and two together. I have an advantage over you now. You confessed to me that you wouldn’t last a day in this kind of environment. Tainer, it’s true what Billy told you about me. The Bowman can hit a very small target in the dark. I’ve kept up with it Mark. All these years, it’s my forte.”
“Hey, I like this psychological bullshit. Bat and I never got to play mind games with the quarry before. This has an interesting twist, don’t you think so Bat?
“I like it too,” Bat shouted.
“Manny,” Tainer yelled again. “Boy, you know, you’re something, risking your neck like this just to prove you’re a man. I got to give you credit Manny, you’re not the pricy milk toast I figured you to be. My hat is off to you. Too bad it’s Bat I’m sending after you. If it was anyone else, you might have a chance.”
“Bat got beat up by my dog, and already missed me once,” Manny laughed loudly.
Tainer was silent, waiting for Manny to respond again, but Manny was done talking, it was time to move. He left the cell phone behind.
“I guess you don’t have anything to say, out there all alone, with Bat and me coming to get you. I don’t blame you Manny, you did a real stupid thing and now you’re going to pay.” Tainer gave Bat a nod, and the two men reentered the heavy undergrowth.
Manny was moving, trying to find his next position. He traversed across the hill slowly. It was incredibly dark, the thick clouds still covering the moon. He used the pen light sparingly and was very conscious of the track he was taking, keeping the last location firmly in his mind, because it’s where the rigged cell phone is.
Think, Manny, think, the one that does the best wins, and I can’t afford to lose this one. Come to me Wendell, you got me into this, now don’t let me down.
Manny moved down slightly, and then back up into another clump of boulders. He moved around them slightly and stopped. He could barely make out some shapes seventy-five feet away—the rocks he had come from.
Manny settled down to wait.
Manny crouched, listening intently, hopping for a sound to tell him where Tainer and Bat were, sniffing the air soundlessly, carefully, waiting for a clue. The smells and sounds of the night were all around him. He could hear the chirping of an insect close on his right, down on the ground fifteen feet away. He could smell the damp, decaying vegetation, the pungent smell of an over ripened fruit or flower. Something scampered through the leaves going across his front. It sounded small and in a hurry, moving away. A quiet hooting sound came from behind him, but he could tell it was in a tree, high up, so no danger to him.
Patience, Manny, patience. In the far reaches of his mind Manny heard a voice, he’s not sure if it is his own consciousness, or encouragement from elsewhere. Wait for them Manny, wait. They don’t know what you’re up to Manny. They’re hoping you’re scared and unprepared.”
Manny sat very still, waiting for the first clue. A slight breeze rustled the leaves of the tree he was waiting under.
What’s that smell, it sure doesn’t belong here? I’ve smelled that before, but where?
Manny lifted his head, raising his chin to get his nose up into the air, but nothing registers, the slight breeze was gone as fast as it appeared.
The air moves again, and the faint smell is back. Manny sniffed, analyzing the smell.
Aftershave. That stupid Tainer, that’s the scent he uses.
Manny moved his head around.
What direction is the breeze coming from? . . . Come on, a little harder. . . . Come on, give me a clue. . . . Damn, quit again.
Moments passed.
There it is, and it’s coming from across the hill. Gotcha Tainer, you bugger. Dumb fuck went for the cell phone.”
In the distance, Manny can hear a car coming down the mountain road, still a couple of miles away.
God-damnit, pay attention, don’t let your mind wander like that,” Manny scolded himself. I’m not in a position to make any mistakes.
He heard a twig snap across on the other slope, right where he suspected his target to be. He focused his senses to the direction and waited.
The car coming down the road drove around a corner and for a moment the headlights point to where the hunt is taking shape. In the brief second the lights are just right, and they splash intermittent light through all the foliage. For the briefest of moments, a man’s vague outline is there, fifty feet away.
Gotcha. It is quickly dark again, but it is enough for Manny to register a target. He drew the bow back and steadied his aim, waiting for something to give him the exact spot.
I’ve shot at three deer, but never hit one. I think I didn’t want to kill them, and subconsciously missed. I wonder if I will be able to do this?”
It was a couple of seconds before Manny heard a foot go down on some leaves.
Manny registered the exact spot in his mind, raised his aim three feet and quickly fired an arrow, but he was careless because the arrow went through the leaves of a tree ten feet away spoiling the shot and making noise, giving away his location. A burst of automatic rifle fire from the left caught Manny by surprise. Bullets smacked all around him, shredding the leaves and sending chips of rock flying. As he dropped like a stone to the ground, Manny felt a sharp pain in his side. He rolled up tight to the rocks.
Oh shit, they got me.
He put his hand to his side and felt blood.
Oh shit, I wonder how bad this is?
Manny flexed his arm and shoulder, then his side. A stinging pain registers, but nothing unbearable.
Oh man, where the hell did he come from? Oh shit, surprise, I’m in a world of hurt. Dammit, I’ve really done it, what do I do now?
Manny could feel what must be panic coming on. The need to run, to flee, to find safety, anywhere, anyhow.
Get a hold of yourself.
Manny can feel something else.
I’m not giving up.
Then he starts to feel anger.
Not now. Not after I’ve been wronged. I want to get even. I want to punish whoever is coming to get me, coming to spoil my life, take away my privilege to live. Assholes.
Manny could hear someone walking across the slope, heading right for him.
You want me?
Manny notched another arrow and raised up to his knees, ignoring the pain in his side.
Okay people, you might get me, but you are going to pay dearly. And he let loose with the bolt.
A scream of pain and surprise pierces the night.
Whoever is hit, retreated down the hit, cursing loudly.
“Bat!” Tainer yelled from down the hill. “That fucker just shot me! Kill him! Kill him now, and do it mean!”
“I think I might have got him!” Bat shouted from the location the automatic rifle fired.
“Like hell you did, you moronic elf! He just nailed me with another fuckin arrow! Kill him now!”
“Golly Tainer, that boy is pretty good with that thing. I don’t know?”
Manny fired an arrow at the sound of Bat’s voice, but the arrow struck rock. Bat was respecting Manny’s prowess by hiding behind the rocks.
Manny could hear Bat on the other side of the rocks, maybe sixty feet away.
“Hey Anderson!” Bat called. “I hit you, I know I did.”
Manny said nothing, thinking furiously. Shit, I’m screwed. He can come around the rocks from either side, and I can’t do a thing about it.”
“Come on mister, give it up,” Bat called, trying to sound sympathetic. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. If I have got to come and get you, I’m going to have to kill you though.”
Manny leaned back against the rocks.
“Hey Mister,” Bat called again.
Got to do something, got to do something. Come on, come on. Can’t let it end here, not like this. Manny pushed away from the rocks and listened carefully.
“Your times up,” Bat called out.
A sudden shift in the heavy clouds overhead allowed a dim outline of the moon to appear. It was just a faint light coming from above, but it seemed to bath the area where Bat was hiding, with an eerie glow. There was a cone of light, dim at the outer edges, brighter in toward the middle. Manny is transfixed by the strange occurrence.
Opened something, Kenny’s voice comes to Manny.
“Hey Bat,” Manny called out. “What kind of deal can we make? I’ve got a lot more money than Tainer.
“We can talk, sure,” Bat’s voice was illuminated in Manny’s mind.
You can feel him, you know where he is. It was the voice of Wendell Guterraz.
“Come on out,” Manny said.
“I don’t want to get stuck with no arrow,” Bat laughed.
All of Manny’s senses zeroed in on Bat. The darkness, the rocks, the trees, anything that stands between the two men, dissolves.
Manny looked up, raising the bow with an arrow notched, concentrating intensely, the flight path of the arrow outlined in his mind as he stood.
“Throw out the bow!” Bat commanded.
This declaration from Bat gave Manny the range and he fired the arrow straight into the air. Manny quickly notched another arrow, and let it fly, then a third arrow went, arching high into the night sky.
Looking up, Manny projected his thoughts to the first arrow as it reached the top of its arch and tipped over, gaining speed, plummeting down.
Going down. Manny knew he had connection with the arrow, he could feel it, as the arrow accelerated, closing in on the unsuspecting Bat.
“Bang,” Manny whispered as he heard a plunk and a loud hiccup. Moments later, he heard a clank, as an arrow hit a rock, then shortly, followed by another plunk.
Manny waited, but he couldn’t hear anything but the night sounds. Finally, the pain in his side made him restless and he couldn’t wait any longer. He started slowly, sneaking around the outcrop of rock, another arrow notched in the bow. He got to the end of the rocks, stopped and listened. There was still nothing but the natural sounds. He moved slightly away from the rocks and looked intently to where he knew Bat was located last, but there is nothing out of the ordinary.
As he focused his eyes, he spotted something. It looked like the feather end of an arrow sticking straight up, just behind one of the boulders. Manny moved cautiously, keeping the unmoving arrow in sight, the bow aimed out in front of him. He snuck up to the other side of the rock, steadied himself on the surface, raised up and peered over slowly, following the shaft of the arrow down with his eyes. The arrow seemed to be lodged in something hairy. Manny stood up, suddenly realizing what he was looking at. Bat, the arrow sticking out of the top of his head, was wedged between two rocks, caught under his arm pits. Manny walked up to Bat, noticing another arrow protruding from his back and Bat’s Ak47 assault rifle laying in the dirt. Manny’s attention was redirected to the road by a car coming up it. He could see the lights through the trees.
“Bat!” Tainer yelled from close to the road. “Come on, quit screwing around and shoot the bastard, someone’s coming.”
Manny quickly turned, pulled the bow back and waited.
“Hey Bat!” Tainer yelled again.
Manny fired at the voice, sending the arrow arching up at a steep angle.
“Let’s get this over,” Tainer was shouting, as Manny waited, counting out the seconds to when he judged the should arrive.
“Now,” Manny whispered again, as there was the sound of an arrow slicing down through foliage.
Then there was a shout in the night. “God-dammit!” from Tainer.
Manny fired another arrow and started toward Tainer’s voice. Manny notched another arrow, as the car on the road got closer.
“What the hell?” Tainer yelled again.
Manny was almost to the bottom of the slope when heard this. He pulled the bow back and fired another arrow, this time at a shallow angle, listening to the arrow slicing through the underbrush. He could hear Tainer scrambling through the thick underbrush as he reached the bottom of the slope. Manny shot another arrow and a yelp came from Tainer. Manny started up the slope toward the road, firing arrows at the sounds Tainer was making in his panicked flight.
“Jesus christ Anderson, you’re nuts!” Tainer screamed. “Leave me alone!”
Manny loosed another arrow, shooting high, the arrow thwacking into a tree, somewhere above Tainer’s head.
Tainer panicked, screaming incoherently,
“Iiyyyeeee, help me, help me please! This fucker is nuts!” Tainer screamed, crashing through the brush, trying desperately to break free, to get to the road, to get to the car lights above.
Manny heard the car come up fast, the tires squealing on the blacktop, then the car stopping hard into the gravel shoulder. Doors opened, and he could hear Tainer. “Oh, thank god, thank you, thank you. There’s a crazy man down there. He’s trying to kill me with a bow.”
Manny stopped, not sure what to do, wondering how much trouble he had gotten himself in now.
“Manny Anderson!” A deep strong voice called from the road. “This is the Sheriff, put down your—”
Manny could hear the strong voice asking a question.
“What, he’s after you with ‘what’?” The deep voice sounded mystified.
“Really, that’s a nasty looking gun you have there, Sir.” Manny could hear the man with the strong voice clearly, “and you’re running from a guy with a bow?”
Manny could hear some more unrecognizable blathering. Then the strong voice. “Yes, don’t worry, Sir, we won’t let him shoot at you anymore.”
“Manny Anderson,” the deep voice commanded, “drop your bow and arrows, and come on up here, now!” Manny could detect a chuckle.
Manny followed the game trail back up to the road, a couple of lights spotted him as he made his way. He had put the bow down, and was using both hands to part the thick vegetation. He stepped onto the road, lights blaring in his eyes. “How do you know my name?”
“I followed your sorry ass all the way from Minnesota, you friggin idiot,” Detective Swenson announced.
“Oh, shit, not you,” Manny said with disgust.
“Not happy to see me?” Swenson said, lowering his light out of Manny’s eyes. “Am I interfering with something?” Swenson continued, walking up to Manny. “You’ve got yourself in some deep shit now, turn around.” Swenson had handcuffs.
“Now, let’s not be hasty,” the deep voice said. A huge, black, sheriff walked up. “Am I to understand that this gentleman,” the sheriff pointed at Manny,” was being pursued by those two other gentleman, and seems to have won the game?”
“It’s my case, I’ll handle it Dillard,” Swenson said condescendingly.
“This is my jurisdiction Shorty, and I don’t particularly care for you,” Sheriff Dillard said to Swenson.
“Now just a min—” Swenson tried to object, but Dillard cut him off.
“Sir,” Sheriff Dillard said to Manny, “would you please come with me.”
*
Manny walked up to the sheriff’s car, where Mark Tainer was in the back seat, leaning forward, handcuffed, a bloody rag wrapped around his lower arm. Manny leaned into the window.
“You fucker Tainer, I actually wanted to kill you, and then I remembered the spiel you gave me. How you’re the one that deserves to benefit from Timtown. How I was such an asshole and didn’t deserve to live because I didn’t listen to Billy’s dream. You accused me of being responsible for his death.
“That’s right Manny, I still think I’m correct,” Tainer said.
“You are, that’s why you’re such a fucker,” Manny said, straightening up. “By the way, I know this great lawyer, and like a detective once told me, ‘You didn’t kill anybody, so it shou
Chapter 39
Manny was just starting to doze off in the cell he’d been put in when a deputy walked up to the bars and informed him he had a phone call.
“Who is it?” Manny asked, not even raising his head from the plain, hard, skinny pillow, with no pillow case.
“He says he’s your attorney, a Carl something.”
“Tell him to call back in the morning,” Manny said, his head still on the pillow.
“Ah, I’d appreciate if you would take his this call,” the deputy said nervously.
“Aren’t you afraid I’m going to try to escape, or something?”
“Don’t talk like that, please.”
“Didn’t they tell you how deranged I am?”
“Sir, I was instructed to get you what you need, and no one thinks you’re dangerous, not here anyway.”
Manny got up with a sigh, as the deputy opened the cell door. The deputy directed Manny down to an office, pointed the way in, and then shut the door behind Manny.
“Hey, Carl, guess where I am?” Manny said into the phone.
“I heard, Swenson called me. I’m on my way. They’re waking up a judge to set bail, and we’ll have you out in a couple of hours.”
“Oh, chill out, Andrews. I’ve had a long day, and the bunk in here isn’t too bad. I plan on sleeping quite a bit, so don’t bother me until tomorrow.”
“But, Manny, you’re in jail.”
“Big deal, I’ve had it worse today, believe me.”
“You are one crazy bugger, that’s for sure.”
“Good night Carl,” Manny said, hanging up the phone.
*
Around noon the next day, Carl and Jason McDermott were in Sheriff Dillard’s office when they brought Manny in.
“Where’s Swenson?” Manny asked.
“He’s not welcome here,” Sheriff Dillard remarked, handing Manny a newspaper, the headlines showing. “Minnesota Man in Custody. Arrested after shoot out near Lake Black Shear.” The following article read, “Sheriff Dillard says the Minnesota gentleman, a Manny Anderson of Red Pine, was being pursued by two other men from New York that were trying to kill him. Mr. Anderson, armed with only a compound bow, was able to kill one of his pursuers and disable the other. It is unconfirmed, but according to the Sheriff’s Office in Red Pine, the two New York men were Vietnam era Marine Snipers. Story page 1b.