Brush Creek Charlie by D. B. Reynolds (which ebook reader .txt) 📖

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Irene turned to her opposite side to hand Overstreet the phone. “Jerry, it’s for you.”
“Who is it?”
“Some woman named Sandy Barnholtz.”
Overstreet took the phone with resentment. Any sleep he got nowadays was priceless sleep. “Yes, what can I do for you, Sandy?”
“Charlie tried to attack me down here in Brush Creek!”
“Is that where you are now?”
“Yes I am, Lieutenant.”
“Are you sure it was him?”
“I’d swear on the soul of my mother and father.”
“Where exactly are you now?”
“Near the corner of Chestnut Avenue and Bush Creek Boulevard.”
“Stay right there.”
Overstreet got dressed and showed up fully-equipped to meet Sandy along the corridors of Brush Creek. Carey Schroeder and other detectives followed in his wake. Sandy didn’t want them to think she was some disillusioned nut who played silly games. Police officers from two divisions and S.W.A.T. team members also came equipped with enough artillery. Four canines were summoned to help wage war against the forces of Charles “Charlie The Machete” Rastelli. The good boys of law enforcement knew they were dealing with an extremely dangerous man. Men were posted up at the tunnels which poured raw sewage out on The Country Club Plaza.
“When’d you first spot Charlie down here?” Overstreet asked Sandy, aching to take the monster off the streets.
“I stood right here in the middle of the grass,” Sandy explained, taking some strong breaths. “I saw the shadow of a man coming my direction, and that’s when I pulled my gun out of my coat pocket.”
“Gun? Are you licensed to carry a firearm?”
“Lieutenant, I have a carry and conceal certification.”
“Okay, that works in your favor. Continue with your story.”
“When this person got up close on me, I quickly turned around with my pistol cocked and loaded. Guess who it was? It was Charlie staring right at me with that jacked up mug of his.”
“You turn around and it’s Charlie. What happened with you two standing face-to-face?”
“Surprisingly, we had a short conversation.”
“About what?”
“About him killing and mutilating those four women who they found in the trashbags. Charlie is one of the sickest sonofabitches in all of society. Excuse the French, Lieutenant, but Vietnam fucked him up real bad. The man is disturbed.”
“Any man would be messed up behind his privates being mutilated. Here’s a good way of looking at it. Imagine a carpenter showing up to a job worksite without his tools. He can’t get the job done without any tools to work with. Charlie wanting to have sex with a woman, and not having any tools to work with, is the exact same principal I’m driving at. You were there when we searched his apartment. This guy is imprisoned by the fact that he is missing the very organs which can create little Charlies. How did your conversation end?”
“Charlie lunged towards me. My reflexes led me to fire at him.”
“Did you hit him?”
“Got’em up by the shoulder blade.”
“How many shots did you get off?”
“At least two.”
“He ran away after that?”
“Sure did.”
“Which way?”
Sandy pointed towards the East end. “Going straight towards the bridge over by Swope Parkway and Brush Creek Boulevard.”
“He’s gotta be somewhere near or inside that large tunnel leading towards Satchel Paige Stadium.”
“He ran away holding his shoulder blade.”
Overstreet formed a huddle around Carey and some of his other detectives. “Guys, Charlie is somewhere inside that big ass tunnel over by Satchel Paige Stadium. Despite all the rats and raw sewage, he’s in there hiding out.”
Carey made a strong suggestion. “Jerry, I think we should dispatch a couple’a air units out here. Four canine units ready to go is cool, but we all know we’re not dealing with a normal human being here. This guy’s got a buncha tricks up his sleeves.”
“I totally agree with you, Carey. This filthbag is not going down without a fight. Adding a couple’a air units along with canines and S.W.A.T. with a slew of officers wouldn’t hurt matters.”
“Considering his tactical military training, he’s got enough expertise to take out a lot of us.”
“That’s why we’re gonna need all the resources we can get our hands on.”
“There’re several S.W.A.T. guys posted up by those tunnels near the end of The Plaza.”
“But we don’t know what he’s got inside that tunnel.”
“True.”
“We posted up two of the KCPD’s finest, and looked what happened to them and one of our canines.”
“True.”
“The air unit tried to help capture him that night, but we turned up empty-handed.”
“Trust me, we won’t turn up empty-handed this time.”
The brave men of law enforcement were ready to make their move on Charlie. For them, the only way he was going to leave the tunnel, was to leave in a bodybag. Police officers had their weapons drawn. Carrying Beretta Model 92 9mm Parabellums and Glock Model 20 10mms were the only way. For the members of the S.W.A.T. team, carrying Ruger Model 44 .44 Magnums and Winchester Model 100 .243 rifles felt real good.
Before long, the Air Support Division swept across the clear dark skies with their candlepower searchlight beaming down on the wooded and watery areas of Brush Creek. The four large German Shepard canines were urgent to start their search. The canine officers released the dogs and all four hopped over the sewage waters and raced into the tunnel. The first two had picked up a scent. In the thickness of the dark tunnel, Charlie stood along the tunnel wall holding an M-60 rifle brought back from Vietnam.
How in Heaven’s name was he allowed to bring such a powerful weapon back home? One thing’s for sure, when Overstreet and the others searched Charlie’s apartment, they weren’t going to find his M-60. Leaving the machete behind was no big deal. The four canines sniffed closer to their target. The closer they got, their barking got more pronounced. Overstreet, Carey, the police officers, and S.W.A.T. team members, they believed the dogs had found something.
The dogs rushed at Charlie with sets of needle sharp teeth. Charlie made things simple for himself. He opened fire on all four German Shepards with the M-60, with only a few full metal jacket rounds killing all four of them. The shots were heard by those near the outside of the tunnel. The cries of the dogs being filled with rounds of ammunition were felt by those who’d sent them in there.
Charlie was beyond dangerous. Everyone realized this. Overstreet and Carey were absolutely right, he refused to go down without a fight. Gut instincts told them how all four canines were dead.
“Those shots sounded like an M-16 or an M-60,” Overstreet speculated, his service revolver drawn and ready to fire.
“The exact weapons used for battle in Vietnam,” Carey added, his weapon also drawn and eager to hit the psychotic target.
“Charlie could’ve brought weapons back from Vietnam.”
“But, how?”
“Soldiers have been known to bring weapons back with them.”
“Smuggle them back into the country, huh?”
“You’ve got it, Carey.”
“Jerry, he popped and killed all four of the canines.”
“Had we known he had a weapon, we would’ve had the canine unit hold off on sending the dogs inside the tunnel.”
“Dogs just can’t stay alive around that sonofabitch.”
The S.W.A.T. members surrounded the side and top of the tunnel with their specialized weapons. Police officers barricaded the opposite end of the tunnel with their pistols gripped firmly in their hands. Everyone carried walkie talkies for communication purposes. All of the S.W.A.T. members had high-powered light beams mounted on top of their rifles.
Overstreet and Carey had been given the most powerful flood lights to brighten up even the darkest surroundings. The brave boys of law enforcement had both ends of the tunnel blocked off. The tunnel itself stretched more than three city blocks. Water dripped from the top.
Green moss covered the tunnel walls. A small nest of large sewer rats splashed water as they returned to their inner sanctum.
“Look at the size of those things, will ya,” Carey brought to Overstreet’s attention.
None of them took chances. The rats made sounds which caused them to point their weapons in their direction.
“Guess all this sewage and trash has been good to them,” Overstreet said, proceeding further into the tunnel with caution.
“One of those things lunge towards me, I’m shooting it.”
“Don’t blame ya.”
Overstreet and Carey and the S.W.A.T team moved further into the tunnel from the north end. Police officers and other detectives eased their way in from the south end. Still, there were no signs of Charlie.
“What the fuck he do, Jerry, disappear into thin air?” Carey asked.
“No way, Carey, that sonofabitch is in this tunnel somewhere,” Overstreet said.
“Are you, are we, are all of us sure he didn’t sneak out of here?”
“Look for the psychotic bastard with sharp eyes.”
“You’re right.”
With the collaboration of all the lights, the tunnel lit up like a Hollywood movie set. More rats ran to and from holes dug by them leading to the outside. Like two strings being tied together from opposite ends, both parties approached each other at a cautionary pace. They bounced the beaming lights all around the tunnel. Where in the hell was Charles Rastelli?
“Jerry, are you sure that asswipe didn’t leave this tunnel?” Carey whispered to Overstreet, nursing the trigger of his weapon.
“Not unless he’s the world’s greatest magician.”