The Barn on the Outskirts of Town

Ping, ping, ping, the rain pitter-pattered off the old tin roof of the run-down barn on the outskirts of town. Ray and Anthony sat in silence watching the flashes of lightning through the cracks in the leaky roof and listening to the local news alert on the radio of Anthony’s dad’s old Monte Carlo they had stolen. They sat with their assault rifles and ski masks laid across their laps. The barn had been there all of Ray and Anthony’s lives. They grew up playing hide-n-seek and various other childhood games in it. It was where they came after school to hang out with a select few of other neighborhood children. It was where they had both had their first cigarettes, beer; their first experiences with girls and drugs. In fact, most of their memories of life, to this point, had taken place in this barn.

The barn was down the dirt road, old Route 9, on a hill to the left of the road, just outside of town. When they wanted to have fun, they came here; when they needed to talk, they came here, and when they got in trouble they came here. So, it is no surprise to either of them that their first robbery and murder would end up here too.

“Why did you do it?” Ray asked as he sat weeping in the floor of the barn. Anthony just sat there still, in silence, not even acknowledging his lifelong best friend.

“That man did not have to die, Tony. We had the money we could have just dipped, split the cash and been free to go. But can you just leave? Hell no, you are too big and bad for that ain’t ya Tony. Big, bad, Anthony Towers gotta go out with a bang. Well bang Tony, it is all over the news. Local gas station robbed and off duty police officer shot to death in parking lot. They got security cameras of us leaving in your dad’s car. They got the tag number and it is right there on the radio. How long you think we got before this place is surrounded. We are done for man, ain’t no coming back from this. Big enough for you, Tony?” Ray yelled and ranted at Anthony.

Anthony just sat there with his head against the wall watching the rain drip from the hole in the ceiling above him. “Man, you got me into all this mess. If you had not shot that man, a freaking cop at that, we woulda gotten away. You screwed this up; you better answer my question. Why’d you do it Tony?” Ray said pulling his gun up pointing it at Anthony.

“You ain’t got the balls.” Anthony said, “The dude was on the phone when we pulled up. He was pumping gas; he saw us put our mask on; he saw our faces. When we ran out, he yelled and tried to stop us he realized what had happened. He was a witness, a witness that coulda picked us out of a line-up man. I didn’t know he was a cop.” Anthony answered dropping his head, realizing the guilt of what he had done.

The two men sat there in silence the rest of the night and until late morning the next day. They did not sleep, talk or anything, just sat there and thought about the robbery. Anthony turned the car back on to check the time and the newest news report and when he did, they heard “Breaking news, this just in” came from the radio. Then they heard screaming sirens and a helicopter coming down the old dirt road toward the barn.

“The suspects of last night’s Daleswood gas station robbery and the murder of off duty Daleswood police officer, Daniel Witherson, have been identified as 23-year-old Ray Mitchel Wallace and 24-year-old Anthony Fletcher Towers. Swat, state, and local police are on route to an old barn outside the town of Daleswood, where they believe the suspects are hiding out. Both Wallace and Towers have long criminal records of burglary, domestic violence, aggravated assault, as well as several drug charges for methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. They are armed and being treated as extremely dangerous,” the female radio anchor continued.

The scream of the sirens was right on them, as they heard the skidding and sliding of the police cars coming to a stop and officers jumping out, unholstering their weapons. “Shit,” Ray said, as he rushed to peek between the wood siding planks of the barn beside the door. Anthony walked over to a gap in the planks on the other side of the barn door and looked out at the small army of law enforcement.

“We gotta, we gotta turn ourselves in man. That is what we gotta, do it’s the only way out of this.” Ray said looking over at Anthony pleading.

“Ha, ha, yea you go right ahead and do that, bud. I am a cop killer hiding in a barn with an assault rifle and every law enforcement officer in a 50-mile radius is after me, by the looks of things out there. We both know I ain’t leaving here alive,” Anthony said, sticking the end of his barrel through the gap in the planks, aiming at one of the approaching officers and firing about 7 to 8 rounds, sending the officer crumbling to the ground. All the other officers scurried around taking cover around their cars, trees and the rusty old tractor that sat outside the barn.

“What the hell man are you crazy? We gotta stop this, man.” Ray yelled at Anthony.

“OK bud, you go on out there then. Go on, turn yourself in, but do it quick, I ain’t going back to prison,” Anthony replied surprisingly calm for the situation.

“Guys, come on out! We do not have to do this! No one else must die today. Turn over your weapons and come out and talk to us.” the Daleswood Chief of police said through the bull horn, beginning to try to talk out the suspects.

“Man, we got to” Ray said looking at Anthony as he stepped to the door and cracked it open.

Anthony shook his head watching Ray get ready to go confess everything and said “I thought it was me and you till the end, man, brothers for life, right? Go on then, get out of here.”

Ray stuck his arm out the door holding up the assault rifle by the barrel and said to Anthony “you are my brother; I’m hoping you are right behind me. If not, that’s on you.” “Easy, come out nice and slow,” the chief said watching Ray’s arm as the door continued to open slowly. Ray stepped outside of the barn holding the rifle up with one hand and holding the other hand up in the air. “That’s it, son, now slowly put the weapon on the ground and take 10 steps forward” the chief said. Ray did as the police chief asked laid the weapon on the ground and started walking toward the police cars the ten steps that he was instructed. Tears swelled up in Anthony’s eyes, watching Ray turn himself in for the robbery. As about four members of the swat team approached Ray, Anthony pulled a tiny vile out of his pocket and poured a small amount of cocaine on his hand in between his index finger and thumb and sniffed it. “Damn it!” he yelled at himself, emptying the rest of the vile on his hand and sniffing it as well. He picked up the rifle that he had leaned against the barn wall. Then he walked over to the door, kicking it wide open. He stepped out of the barn taking aim and firing multiple shots into Ray’s back. The swat members and other law enforcement officers started simultaneously returning fire at Anthony and the two men jerked back and forth as the bullets pelted and pierced their bodies before falling to the ground. After the dust settled and the bullets quit flying, the rest of the day was spent cleaning up the scene, and every news and media reporter around trying to get an interview with the chief or other responding officers.

That night police chief William Wallace sat alone in his old leather recliner in his den, sipping a glass of scotch and smoking a cigar’ silently grieving the loss of two fellow police officers and his youngest nephew, watching the TV news anchor tell the story of the day.

“Our hearts and. prayers go out tonight to the community of Daleswood, where last night two armed suspects robbed the Stop-n-Go gas station on the corner of 18th St. and Brevard Blvd. and killed 37-year-old off duty Daleswood police officer, Daniel Witherson. Today, swat, state and local law enforcement tracked the suspects down to a rundown barn just outside of Daleswood on Boulder County, Route 9, where the suspects had a standoff with the police. The two suspects, 23-year-old Ray Wallace, nephew of Daleswood chief of police William Wallace, 24-year-old Anthony Towers, as well as Boulder County highway patrol officer 32-year-old Lt. Jana Woods were killed in the shootout. Swat tactical resource team officers, James Tucker and Bill Collins also suffered minor injuries in the standoff. Both are expected to make a full recovery.

Daleswood police department believes that drugs played a big factor in the robbery and the shootout with police, after finding a pound and a half of marijuana, 14 grams of cocaine, along with 800 rounds of ammo in the trunk of the stolen Monte Carlo they were driving. The aftermath, the quiet, dainty little town of Daleswood is in shock, leaving 4 sets of parents, 4 sets of children, 3 wives and one fiancée, 4 entire families left with their worlds shattered. And the rest of Daleswood’s Citizens holding their own families a little closer tonight. Signing off for channel 19 news, I am Joe Clarkson, and this has been your 11 o’clock news. Goodnight Boulder County.”