by E A Lake
"Let me repeat, Dad. I don't have a plan. Other than begging, nothing else makes any sense to me."
He maintained his happy expression and that both worried and excited me. Either he was so far gone that he couldn't find water in the middle of a lake or he knew something I didn't.
"Tell me something, Ed," I continued. "Have you had word from Pastor Tim? Maybe something about more help being on the way?"
He shook his head and shrugged. "Haven't heard a word; I assume he's struck out and is back in Pimento tending to our new flock right about now."
Crap, that didn't help.
"But," Ed croaked, pointing at the sky. "My faith is as strong as ever. Good will triumph today. Of that I am certain."
Checking the somber faces of those close by, I figured that made one of us.
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED TWENTY
As the first hour came to a close, Ed just couldn't help himself. Slowing his horse, he dropped back amongst his people and encouraged all of them to have faith. Morgan rolled her eyes while my mother smiled broadly. Maybe there were two of us who understood the situation.
Noticing that Ronnie was muttering to himself while Petri and Art remained silent made me feel good. At least our core group of supporters were all on the same page.
Song broke out from the rear. It was a good thing we weren't planning a stealth attack because within several minutes, all 100-plus voices were rejoicing at full volume. If they kept that up, Shaklin would hear us coming from three miles away and know how nuts we all were.
Charolette rode up beside me with her head held high.
"How you holding up?" I asked, trying to sound cheery, most likely failing miserably.
"I'm a little concerned," she replied meekly. "But I'm not worried. No matter what happens, I've been blessed."
Oh crap, her too?
"I don't mean in the goofy religious way," she replied quickly. Apparently, my facial expressions weren't all that well hidden. "But I've got good friends, a man who loves me, people who care about me. What else could a person ask for?"
"How about a date with destiny?" Okay, that came out a little more sarcastic than I’d planned.
"It'll be okay," she said, biting her lower lip. "Everything will be okay."
"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to putting one of those stupid dresses back on," Morgan chimed in from my right, making me startle. I guess she felt the need to sneak up on me one last time. "That's only if Carla the witch doesn't peel all of the skin off my backside with a whip."
As impossible as it seemed, she and Charolette shared a laugh.
"Maybe one of the kids will be sick," Morgan continued, "and they'll need my help right away."
"That's my girl," I replied. "Always planning for the best and the worst at the same time."
I noticed Morgan staring at me. "What?"
"Did you really not bring a gun?" she asked quietly, most likely so Ed wouldn't hear.
"Haven't you heard?" I replied in a chipper tone. "We're riding with the cross. We have nothing to fear. No bullets can hurt us today."
She snorted and shook her head, looking away briefly. "You don't believe that for a second, do you?"
"Nope," I shot back, just as happy. "But right now, it's all I got, sweetie."
We paused about three quarters of the way to the appointed spot. Ed and his people dismounted while he went through the ranks, giving last minute instructions to his minions. I used the idle time to make the rounds with my own people.
"Petri," I began with the simplest of them all. "When we turn on to Shaklin Lane, there's a little rise. I'll stop the rest of the group and you can sneak to that incline and get a look down the road to find out how big Shaklin's force is, okay?"
He nodded and grinned as though he'd just been handed first prize in a pie eating contest. "Sure thing, boss."
"And I'll give you a pair of binoculars that Art brought along so you can get a real good look at them."
He nodded again and I moved on.
"Art and Ronnie," I continued, stepping between the pair. "When we get down there, try and stay back a little with the women. If bad things start to happen, get them the hell out of there if you can. But for God's sake, if they start shooting at you, forget it. There's no need for all of us to die today."
"I'd rather be up front with you, Sheriff," Art replied stoically.
"Me too, Quinn," Ronnie added.
Yeah, me as well. But it was going to be a little crowded up front with two ministers and 100 praying people, so the back was where they'd have to stay.
"Me and Ed will lead us down there," I replied, pointing at my father who was busy leading his people in prayer. "I told him he didn't need to be up front, but–"
"He wouldn't have it any other way, would he?" a different voice asked. I spun to find Pastor Tom standing behind me.
"Shouldn't you be over there with the good reverend and his flock?" I asked. "Don't you have prayer duty or something?"
"That's Ed's department," he answered with a sincere smile. Didn't that schmuck know he had the life expectancy of a fish out of water? "I'm more on the administration side of things, while he takes care of the spiritual aspects of the church."
Okay, that made sense... sort of...maybe.
"I need to keep your father alive through all of this, Quinn," he continued, removing his preacher's hat and shaking off the beaded-up water. "He's a great leader of people, truly one of God's prophets in this mad world. As such, I'm afraid our church would suffer if he were to perish."
I figured if I stared at Tom long enough with a stupid expression on my face, he'd just keep talking until something he said made sense.
"Our church fails if Ed dies," he continued, proving I was right. "Quite honestly, I don't want to go back thumping Bibles on the sidewalks and street corners looking for handouts. Ed's ability to bring people to God makes life so much more satisfying, and rewarding, and–"
"Profitable," I added, finally seeing where he was coming from.
"It does put food on the table," he admitted without a hint of embarrassment.
Shaking my head, I left to talk with the women. Things needed to be said.
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE
I took my mother's hands and gently kissed the backs of each of them. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Mom. That was never my intention. I love you; remember that always."
She smiled and gently cupped my face with her chapped hands. "I'm here to support my family, not because anyone forced me to. I love you and Morgan too much not to come."
We shared a hug and I moved onto Charolette. For the most part, she remained composed, though I did notice her eyes looked teary. How long she'd be able to remain calm was yet to be determined.
"Stay behind me with Morgan and my mom, Okay?"
She nodded and tried to smile.
"And don't look Shaklin in the eyes if you don't want to. You have nothing to prove, Charolette. We all know the real you; don't let him see anything else."
She nodded some more and I watched as tears began to flow down her cheeks. "I ain't scared of him. I ain't crying because of me neither." She looked up at me and blew out whatever shallow breath she'd taken in. "I don't want to live in a world that doesn't have a Quinn Reynolds in it."
"I ain't all that special, Charolette. I think today is gonna prove that real well."
She hugged me tightly and sobbed, but only for a minute. "Well, I think if you weren't already married to Morgan, I'd keep you for myself. That's how special you are to me."
"You can have him," Morgan replied sarcastically, snaking an arm through one of mine. "He's a little needy and gets real whiny sometimes. I may be looking for a better model when we all get back to Pimento."
She and Charolette shared a laugh and the younger girl left to mount up. Morgan turned me to face her and smiled.
"Actually, I'm planning on keeping you," she continued. "I think you can be trained if given enough time."
&
nbsp; Speaking of time, ours was getting short.
"Listen to me," I said, taking her hands in mine. "When the bullets start to fly, you and Charolette and Mom get the hell out of there. They won't shoot any of you...at least they shouldn't. But try to get away, okay?"
I expected tears, or a sad nod. Maybe even a weeping embrace. But how did my wife react instead? She punched me in the right shoulder.
"There isn't going to be any shooting," she scoffed. "Not today at least."
"Morgan, let's be serious for a second here. Especially while we have the chance."
"There will not be any guns going off," she huffed, her eyes narrowing as she gave me a loathsome look. "We don't have guns and Shaklin's people aren't going to shoot a bunch of unarmed idiots."
It was hard to read what she was actually saying. However, I quickly narrowed it down to three ideas.
One, she'd fallen under my father's spell and truly believed we were going to pray our way out of this mess. Because of her independent spirit, I found that option unlikely.
Two, Morgan planned on turning herself and Charolette over to Shaklin without a fight. That was also unlikely because of her personal experience in the prior seven years. I knew she'd rather drain her own blood from her neck than go back to the way things were before I “rescued” her, if you could call it that. I mean, given what we were facing, the whole incident was nothing more than a short vacation for her years of service. And now it was time to go back to work, perhaps permanently.
Three, Morgan had some sort of a trick up her sleeve. But that didn't make sense either. We were here; Shaklin was just over the hill. We planned on using the cross of Christ as our shield and safety net. The other side had guns and unless they decided to use the cross as target practice, it wasn't going to be pretty in the end. Not for our side at least.
"Just stay behind me and Ed when we ride up there, okay?" I asked it in the nicest tone possible and got a head-shaking smirk in reply.
"What's the third thing you have to do for Mayor Keenan?" Morgan asked as she mounted her brown horse. "You know, the last thing you have to do in return for Ed setting up a church in Farmersburg."
I mounted as well as glanced at her. "We can talk about that if we return to Pimento. And that doesn't look real good for either us, so I guess the pissed-off mayor isn't going to get her wish. Wishes. Love you, sweetie."
She nodded and pulled her sun bonnet back onto her head. The drizzle hadn't abated, so we were going to our Waterloo all wet and soggy. Maybe that was why Napoleon had failed; too much rain.
"I love you too, Quinn," she replied, smiling again. "I can't wait to tell our children and grandchildren about this day. It's going to be a helluva story."
I motioned our crew ahead. Morgan, I decided right then and there, had chosen door number one. She actually thought we were going to get out of this mess unscathed, all because of some mythical god my father convinced her existed. Poor woman.
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO
Petri came scampering back, zig zagging on the blacktop. I would have laughed it he hadn't looked so pathetic with his evasive moves. Of course, no one from Shaklin's side could see him or any of the rest us for that matter.
"I'd say he's got two, maybe three times as many people as we do," the lad said, nearly out of breath. "Some are on horses, but more than half of them are on foot."
After dismounting my horse, I strolled over to him. "Did you notice if all of them were armed? Or maybe just a few?"
He looked up from his crouched position and shook his head. "Hell, boss, they're more than 400 yards away from the top of that hill. I couldn't hardly tell you if they had clothes on or not."
I pursed my lips and dropped my head forward. Of course the idiot hadn't done what I had asked of him. What else did I expect?
"Think about using those binoculars around your neck?" I asked, pointing at the black set. "That is why I sent you up there with them you know."
"Hell, I almost pissed my pants when I saw them all there," he scoffed, momentarily losing his normal casual demeanor. "Sorry, boss; lost it there for a second. I got kinda excited and wanted to skedaddle back here real quick once I saw them."
I sighed and patted one of his skinny shoulders. "No problem, son. I don't blame you. I figure they're all well-armed anyway."
I turned and faced the rest of our group. "Everyone, mount up. He's there, we're ready and now's the time. So let's do this."
Everyone got in place and prepared to ride forward. An uneasy feeling washed over me as I shot Morgan a weak smile. One last time, I checked behind us, hoping to see a massive army led by Pastor Tim no less, but found none. And so it would be a group of starry-eyed fools meeting the greatest force in that part of Indiana.
I would have called it David verses Goliath, but that wouldn't have been right. It was a one-legged, one-armed, nearly blind David, sans his slingshot, versus a whole shitload of Goliaths. And even that made it sound as though we stood a chance.
"Maybe now's a good time to turn and get the hell out of here, Sheriff," Art stated. "Make them come fight us in Pimento."
"He'd probably burn the town down just out of spite," I replied, getting comfortable in the hard saddle. If I did get back alive, I was going to have to soak in a hot tub for a day or so to get rid of all of the aches and pains I'd accumulated. "And I don't want to involve any innocents if we don't have to."
A thought came to me and I brought everyone to a stop. I rode in front of the crowd and rose up in the stirrups to face them.
"If anyone wants to leave," I shouted so they could all hear me, "now's the time. Once we crest that hill, there's probably no turning back."
I scanned the group for any sign of deserters. Several horses rocked back and forth, a number of people shared anxious looks, but not a one turned to bolt. My God, they were a brave lot.
"Okay," I called out, falling in line beside Ed again. "Let's move out people. We've got work to do."
As we crested the hill, I blew out a breath. Petri was right; there were plenty of people waiting for us. Three hundred would’ve actually been on the low side. With each horse step closer, I noticed more and more weapons. If the shooting started, and I was praying it wouldn't, it would be a quick finish to us all.
Four hundred yards closed fast; much faster than I would have hoped. In no time at all, our groups were 50 yards apart. I could plainly see Shaklin and three of his four wives, sitting high on their magnificent horses. Directly behind them I believed were Belinda, Chloe and Avellyn, though I couldn't make them out for certain. Behind that lay Tony's force, and they were impressive.
I stopped the group and rode forward with Ed and the women. When my horse was within 10 yards of Tony's, we all stopped.
Showtime!
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE
"I'm almost surprised to see you, Quinn," Tony called out. "Takes balls, real balls; especially when you know you're outnumbered. I see you still got it. Very nice, buddy."
Buddy. So typical of a schmoozer like him. Everyone was always his buddy, or pal, or friend.
“What are we gonna do here then?" he continued. "Certainly, you're not going to try and make a last stand or anything stupid like that, are you?"
When I refused to answer, Carla leaned close to her husband and whispered something. He smiled and nodded before looking my way again.
"I see you brought Mom and Dad," he said matter-of-factly. "Ed and Lisa, welcome to my part of Indiana. Here, I make the rules. Me and only me, that's who's in charge." He patted his chest several times with a gloved hand to prove the point.
"Weather sure sucks," he continued, as if making small talk before one of our business deals in years prior. "Probably fitting though. Drizzle and low clouds to match the task at hand for you, Quinn. This sucks for you too I'm sure. But, it's the way it's gotta be."
I still had nothing to say. The only peeks I could get at his hostages were of their legs and an occasional glance at an arm. As
for the faces, they were mostly hidden.
"I'm disappointed in three things here, Quinn," Shaklin said, rubbing his bearded chin. "First, you came to my land and caused a lot of commotion. I'm not done with you on that count. If Judge Lampler doesn't give me satisfaction, I'll have to come up with some other form of repayment."
"Doubtful," I muttered with a chuckle.
He shook away my response like he did most things, which means he ignored it.
"Second, I see you only have two of the five women you stole from me with you today. Now you're gonna make me ride all the way to Pimento to fetch the rest of my property. You're a real pain in the ass sometimes, aren't you?"
"I didn't bring Morgan and Charolette for you, Tony," I replied sternly. "I brought them so at the end of this, they would know they are truly free."
That got a grin from my former partner and my ex-wife.
"Whatever, Quinn," he replied, rolling a hand like he had better things to do. "Third – and this is kinda a big one, old friend – you're not armed as far as I can tell. And neither are none of your people. Now, I heard rumors about something like this, but I didn't believe them. No sir, not me. Because I couldn't imagine why Quinn Reynolds would come to my home without protection. That just don't make no sense to me."
"God is with us!" Ed shouted, though I was sure it meant little to Shaklin. "We do not fear the devil. We praise our God."
I noticed Wife One (her name evaded me) inch forward on her horse. "We must pray to different Gods, Pastor Reynolds," she said mockingly. "The one who protects our family seems a little more resolute about it than yours."
That elicited a laugh from anyone within earshot on their side. For once, Ed held his tongue and Shaklin moved his horse closer.
"This doesn't have to get bloody, Quinn," he said. To be honest, he sounded sincere. But he wasn't going to be involved in any fashion. As usual, he hadn't even brought his own weapon to the meeting. Why would he? That's what his army was there for – to do the dirty work.
