Read Online Castroville: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 7 by Darrell Maloney - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Darrell Maloney
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severely damaged and delusional mind. A mind in which Robbie could have anything he wanted, or anyone he wanted, just by wishing it so.
It had taken quite some time, and had many contributing factors. His attraction to Hannah, his jealousy of John, the chaos the blackout had wrought. His having to spend each and every day for two long years dragging rotting and stinking corpses from residences to burn in huge pyres on city streets. His own childhood abuse, and the insecurities it left him with.
All those things had played a hand in creating the monster that Robbie had become. He was now stark-raving mad, with no hope of redemption.
He would live out his final days locked in a self-imposed prison. Living in an animal cage not much different than its previous tenants. Except that now they were dead. And maybe that was its own particular type of sweet freedom.
There was no doubt in Robbie’s mind that he’d soon be dead as well. But it would be on his own terms. For if he couldn’t have Hannah for himself, there was really no good reason to go on living.
He’d die. But he’d take John Castro with him. And anyone else who got in his way.
-13-
Sara tossed and turned, although she recognized the need of getting a good nap before the pair struck back out again in the evening hours.
Ranger Randy, more accustomed to the type of assault the pair was preparing for, slept like a baby.
Sara finally woke him up just before sunset.
“Don’t you have trouble sleeping, knowing that in just a few hours you might be taking someone’s life?”
He sat up, stretched, and waxed philosophically.
“Why should I? Any life I take will be deserving of being taken. I generally only take a life if they’re likely to take my own. And I have the added comfort of knowing that I have good and right and justice on my side.”
“Well then… don’t you have any trouble sleeping, knowing that you could find a bullet tomorrow and it might be your last night on earth? Don’t you worry about the things you might have left unsaid? The things you might never have a chance to do? People you might never have a chance to meet?”
He didn’t even hesitate. It was as though he’d had been asked the question a thousand times, and had his answer at the ready.
“No, ma’am. You see, a Ranger’s worst two enemies are worry and fear. Fear of dying is a sure way of getting oneself killed. So is worry.”
“How so?”
“Because there’s a distinction between caution and being over cautious. Many people don’t see that, or don’t believe it. You should be cautious to a certain degree. To make sure you don’t give the bad guys an unearned advantage. And to tilt the odds in your favor when you can. But if you worry to the point where you’re overcautious, where you’re obsessing over every little thing that could go wrong, you’re setting yourself up for failure.”
“Again, how so?”
“I’ve seen men who were planning for an assault and were so hung up on considering every little factor that they were up for two or three sleepless nights before they went in. They said, ‘What if this happens, or that happens? What do I do?’
“And they had plans to deal with this scenario and that scenario. And they had backup plans, and then backup plans to their backup plans.
“And when it came time to go into battle, to set their plans in motion, they got themselves killed. And sometimes they got others killed along with them. Good guys, not the bad ones. And it was all because they were so tired, so mentally exhausted from obsessing instead of sleeping, that they weren’t on their game.”
“Something went wrong that they didn’t plan for. And because they
It had taken quite some time, and had many contributing factors. His attraction to Hannah, his jealousy of John, the chaos the blackout had wrought. His having to spend each and every day for two long years dragging rotting and stinking corpses from residences to burn in huge pyres on city streets. His own childhood abuse, and the insecurities it left him with.
All those things had played a hand in creating the monster that Robbie had become. He was now stark-raving mad, with no hope of redemption.
He would live out his final days locked in a self-imposed prison. Living in an animal cage not much different than its previous tenants. Except that now they were dead. And maybe that was its own particular type of sweet freedom.
There was no doubt in Robbie’s mind that he’d soon be dead as well. But it would be on his own terms. For if he couldn’t have Hannah for himself, there was really no good reason to go on living.
He’d die. But he’d take John Castro with him. And anyone else who got in his way.
-13-
Sara tossed and turned, although she recognized the need of getting a good nap before the pair struck back out again in the evening hours.
Ranger Randy, more accustomed to the type of assault the pair was preparing for, slept like a baby.
Sara finally woke him up just before sunset.
“Don’t you have trouble sleeping, knowing that in just a few hours you might be taking someone’s life?”
He sat up, stretched, and waxed philosophically.
“Why should I? Any life I take will be deserving of being taken. I generally only take a life if they’re likely to take my own. And I have the added comfort of knowing that I have good and right and justice on my side.”
“Well then… don’t you have any trouble sleeping, knowing that you could find a bullet tomorrow and it might be your last night on earth? Don’t you worry about the things you might have left unsaid? The things you might never have a chance to do? People you might never have a chance to meet?”
He didn’t even hesitate. It was as though he’d had been asked the question a thousand times, and had his answer at the ready.
“No, ma’am. You see, a Ranger’s worst two enemies are worry and fear. Fear of dying is a sure way of getting oneself killed. So is worry.”
“How so?”
“Because there’s a distinction between caution and being over cautious. Many people don’t see that, or don’t believe it. You should be cautious to a certain degree. To make sure you don’t give the bad guys an unearned advantage. And to tilt the odds in your favor when you can. But if you worry to the point where you’re overcautious, where you’re obsessing over every little thing that could go wrong, you’re setting yourself up for failure.”
“Again, how so?”
“I’ve seen men who were planning for an assault and were so hung up on considering every little factor that they were up for two or three sleepless nights before they went in. They said, ‘What if this happens, or that happens? What do I do?’
“And they had plans to deal with this scenario and that scenario. And they had backup plans, and then backup plans to their backup plans.
“And when it came time to go into battle, to set their plans in motion, they got themselves killed. And sometimes they got others killed along with them. Good guys, not the bad ones. And it was all because they were so tired, so mentally exhausted from obsessing instead of sleeping, that they weren’t on their game.”
“Something went wrong that they didn’t plan for. And because they
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