My LEO contact was kind enough to send along a copy of the After-Action Report a month later along with an entirely unofficial “thank you” from the Sheriff. While the report contains references to “suppressed gun fire originated from an unknown source but not directed at law-enforcement officers on-scene”, there was little else in there that described my covert participation in the raid itself. The police were happy to take credit for the recovery of female hostages and the final demise of the warren’s leader. The photo of the dead Orc leader made me smile—my bullet hit him from behind, shattering the right-side should blade plus a few ribs and exiting through the right lung, breaking two more ribs on the way out—not immediately fatal, but a very drastic injury, according to the medical examiner’s report. No doubt, the eighteen additional gunshots wounds inflicted shortly thereafter by the police added quite considerably to his already extremely serious injuries. Bright spots aside, I mostly got the impression that no-one was ever really going to read this report twice, anyway.

Subsequent news broadcasts happily reported on the surprise night raid, the heroics of the police officers involved and recovery of living hostages plus the body of a missing woman I’d previous not heard about. I was totally good with letting the cops have this moment of glory—it was good PR to showcase their victory against the “Forces of Darkness”. It was interesting to see that my part in this epic story took the form of “a confidential source” that led law enforcement to the Orc warren responsible for so much death and destruction locally. There were even rumors that the County might finally demolish the entire Factory site.

I had considered trying to go see the former hostages but resisted the urge. I have nothing to offer that modern medical and psychological support isn’t already providing. All I can do is hope they get to return to something at least vaguely resembling a normal life at some point in their futures. I don’t doubt that each of them faced a long and difficult path to recovery—assuming anything resembling “recovery” was even possible after what they presumably endured.

Many months later, all three former hostages showed up at my doorstep. To say I was surprised is something of an understatement. I cooked dinner for everyone as we talked, and it eventually comes out that they were all under the impression that the one and only reason they got rescued was me. I disagree with that assessment, but I thought it best not to talk about that part and merely accepted their thanks as graciously as I could. They were quite clear, however, that an unnamed investigator within the Sheriff’s Department had told them the tale of how I shot a certain Orc leader, leaving him wounded and cornered in the Factory compound, creating enough of a fuss to ultimately bring the police to their rescue.

I decided it was unwise for me to press them for details of what were undoubtedly a harrowing and deeply traumatizing experiences at the hands of the Orcs. But over the course of dinner, they relaxed and started talking about how they each managed to end up so far from home. Their tales varied considerably: A runaway, a prostitute, and a functionally homeless squatter. All had deeply depressing back stories, but with a single common element; each had been kidnapped by unknown human assailants, subjected to various abuses, and then apparently “sold” to the Orcs for even more abuse. The thought of some shadowy, underworld trafficking ring involving Orcs as the final customers left me feeling uneasy. I’ve never been one to shy away from the evils of mankind, but this made for a truly dark tale. Of course, this also suggests a hypothesis concerning the Orc’s acquisition of new, human-made weapons, bartering captives and perhaps stolen goods for weapons and presumably other resources. Was someone around here involved in this sort of thing?

I tried to encourage the former hostages to reconnect with friends and family as soon as they were reasonably able. I’m quite certain they’d heard this same advice from others. All were attempting to do so, with the help of various government programs for survivors of Orc attacks. Such programs were put in place many years ago and were fortunately seeing fewer and fewer victims as the Orc threat continues to diminish over time. They had insisted that they would write letters or send emails to let me know how they were doing, and while I only rarely get such a message anymore, I’m glad to see they’ve managed to move meaningfully forward from the trauma they’ve endured.

A year later and I’ve more-or-less fully returned to my cybersecurity consulting gig. I still take lengthy walks in the woods, go hunting occasionally and enjoy the natural beauty surrounding my home, although I am better armed these days. I also continue to keep a watchful eye out for Orc activity, but I’m home more often than not, and my big, goofy dog seems especially happy about it. I still feel like the Orc situation isn’t completely resolved, but I try not to let that distract me. In a few weeks, my son and his family will be dropping by for a weekend visit. The story I have for them should prove entertaining, indeed!