B.B.U.S.A. (Buying Back the United States of America)

by Lessil Richards

  They gassed up, and took some extra cans of gas from grandma’s garage, just in case David might be low on fuel after driving over from Boise. If it wasn’t on his list he probably wouldn’t think of refueling in Stanley. They bought a bunch of quick snacks and jerky, vitamin waters, sodas, chips, and anything they could think of that they might want and didn’t already have.

  The two of them drove up the long slanting Main Street of Challis and headed up Garden Creek. The familiar ride went over Big Hill and dropped to the headwaters of Mill Creek. It was too dark to appreciate the beauty of the country they were driving through. Leo only saw the single track dirt road in his headlights as they crossed Mill Creek Summit and continued down to the headwaters of Yankee Fork.

  Doug sat alertly with a rifle across his lap. The new information had made a believer out of him. He wasn’t sure where the bad dudes might be. If they caught David before he got out of the house, they might have found out what old cabin they were heading for and the last thing he and Leo wanted would be a welcoming party and a nasty surprise. That scenario wasn’t likely, it would take at least four hours to drive at night from Boise, and only an hour for Leo and Doug, but they hadn’t started right away either and couldn’t be sure of anything at this point in the game. They decided to pull over in a little camping area by the creek tucked behind a few trees and sleep a couple of hours. Much to their surprise they both fell asleep quickly, leaning on opposite doors.

  After a few hours of much needed rest, they returned to the open road. The sun was not yet visible in the pre-dawn sky as Leo and Doug reached the edge of the old, deserted mining town of Custer. They slowed the truck to a near stop as they came around the bend below the old mill, where they could see the remains of the town stretched in front of them. The air outside was cool and crisp. The aspen and birch trees were turning yellow and orange. The museum in Custer was already closed for the season, and all the buildings boarded up for the deep winter snows to come, but luckily, the public outhouses were still unlocked until after deer hunting season.

  Not noticing any movement or vehicles in the small ghost town, Leo pulled the truck up alongside the home that had belonged to the Pfeiffer family about 100 years ago. The Pfeiffer house was located below the remains of Miss Lou’s stone cabin.

  Leo and David had both volunteered their labor at the Custer Museum one summer. The ghost town was originally run on donations and manned by dedicated volunteers until it became a part of ‘The Land of The Yankee Fork State Park’ during Idaho’s Centennial Year.

  Tuff and Edna McGown collected most of the artifacts and had lived in Custer with their family off and on for many years. Through their care and custodial work, much was preserved for posterity. After Tuff’s death, an organization called “The Friends of Custer” operated the site during the summers on mostly volunteer labor. The two had spent a full season working painstakingly hard helping to re-open miles of trails that crisscrossed through the old ghost town. Leo noticed the condition of the trails now that the Forest Service and Idaho State Parks were operating the area. He remembered the hours of backbreaking work he had done to reclaim the ancient trails, and he shook his head in disappointment, seeing how overgrown they had become.

  They were a little surprised that David wasn’t already waiting for them. Had he gotten away in time? But then again, he remembered having made the silly statement of telling David to take the scenic route. He wondered what that meant to David. Would go over Trail Creek Summit from Sun Valley and come up through Clayton?

  They were hopeful he would arrive soon. Perhaps David would hold the key to the password in the files he was bringing. Leo just knew that the answer to the password had to lie somewhere in those documents. He was having difficulty concentrating on the password, as he not only worried about David, but was continuously thinking about his own family as well.

  Leo left the truck semi-visible so that David would see it, but a stray late tourist might not notice it. Leo and Doug took their rifles and a pair of binoculars and walked up the side of the mountain where the old stone cabin overlooked what was left of the town site of Custer. They leaned the rifles up against the remaining walls and began to remove small boulders and rocks that had fallen inside the stone walls.

  Miss Lou’s stone cabin was unique in several ways. It was constructed of stone rather than wood and was the only known cabin in the area constructed with an actual fireplace.

  Miss Lou had made a rather unfortunate marriage to a man who often failed to come home, or even provide her with food or rent. Her brother had come to visit her one day and found her in a deplorable state. He’d immediately commissioned a stonemason to build her a sturdy rock one-room building on the hill overlooking the town. It was cool in the summer and warm and snug in the winter. An overflowing cool spring by the side of the house furnished her with fresh clean drinking water. Her brother had kept track of her and furnished her with groceries from time to time.

  Her brother had died in November 1904 under mysterious circumstances. Miss Lou, who had begun life as the daughter of a wealthy family from the South and had danced at Grover Cleveland’s inaugural ball, had asked the stage coach driver to take her to Challis. She left Custer without a backward glance never to reside in that stone cabin again.

  David loved Miss Lou’s old cabin and he desperately wanted to restore it to its original form. He’d offered to do it for free, but the red tape that went with a historical site had made it impossible, and he had given up hope of ever getting the opportunity to actually restore it.

  Leo and Doug felt that it was as good a place as any to set up the tent and their belongings. The stone cabin provided great shelter as it was recessed into the side of the hill, was located twenty feet from a spring with clean drinking water, and provided a strategic view. From the cabin they could see down to the truck and also the road in both directions.

  The walls of the cabin were still about five feet high and constructed with mortar and solid rock. They were nearly two feet thick and could easily stop a bullet. The framed-in portion that had surrounded her one window still remained, as well as the frame for the front door. The door had long ago been removed or rotted away, but it still provided a perfect hideout. The two men cleared stones, sticks, and debris for nearly an hour. There was plenty of room within the boundary of the old stone walls for the six-man tent.

  The tent had been erected and all their supplies carried up to the cabin by the time David finally arrived. Leo was relieved to see his shiny white Bravada slowly driving down the road that had once been the mile-long, one and only street of Custer. David must have seen Doug’s truck as he parked next to the old Pfeiffer cabin where he had lived the summer he volunteered at Custer. Leo and Doug went down to meet him, still carrying their handguns concealed and their rifles in hand. David cautiously got out of the Bravada and looked around in every direction before closing the door.

  “Glad you made it, David. I was beginning to worry.” Leo greeted his friend.

  “I came as soon as I could. I wasn’t sure by what you meant when you told me to take the scenic route, so I drove through Mt. Home, Fairfield, Ketchum, Sun Valley, then on to Stanley and here. I hope that was what you wanted.”

  “Oh, that’s fine. You’re here and safe. I was just hoping that you would not be followed. Do you remember my good buddy Doug?”

  “Yes I do, he was at your Christmas party last year. How are you?” The two men shook hands.

  David turned to Leo and said, “I brought a little food, some cases of pop you had in the garage and two guns. I didn’t know what all you needed, and didn’t dare take too much time deciding.”

  “Whatever you brought with you will be fine. I think we have about all we need anyway, so whatever you brought will just be extra supplies to make our stay more enjoyable. Did you bring all the files?”

  “Yes, the files are in a box in the back seat of the Bravada.”

  “Good job.” Leo then noticed the side of Dav
id’s mostly-bald head. “Are those marks on your head and the stitches in your ear from the visit you had the other night?”

  “Yep.”

  “Gosh, David, I’m so sorry. They will pay.”

  “Don’t keep grudges on my account,” David counseled. “Life is too short to go around seeking revenge.”

  “Well, David, it seems ironic that we are camping or hiding out in the old stone cabin. Are you planning to stay with us or do you have other plans? You can leave if you want and take the vehicle and go where ever you feel you want to go.”

  “I’m torn between staying and just driving off to who-knows-where.” David was always totally honest.

  “It’s entirely up to you. I don’t think there will be any safe place for me and my family until they have been stopped. You probably don’t know this yet, but Natasha, our office manager, was killed in that fire at our office. I talked to Sarah before I called you last night and my Mom’s business has been blown up in Africa by the same organization and my family barely escaped with their lives.”

  “Are they okay?” David’s eyes got round in astonishment. He simply couldn’t believe the whole situation was as serious as Leo and Sarah had been telling him. At first it had sounded too much like a fairytale story, or like they’d been watching too many late night movies.

  “Yes, they managed to get away and are in the process of heading back to Boise, but some people weren’t so lucky and one man was killed and several went to the hospital. I have to break that code and end this mess real soon.”

  “Well then, I guess it’s decided. I’ll stay till it’s over. What makes you think they’ll ever come looking for you here?” David was dubious.

  “Because… I practically drew them a map. I left a note on Grandma’s front door telling her where we are. They can’t miss it. They had to know where to come but we needed a little time first to break that code.”

  “Well, what makes you think they’ll go to Challis and to Elsie’s house? Will she be safe if they come around there?” David’s hands were wind milling in his excitement and concern.

  “It’s ok, David, my grandmother is fine, and on a cruise to Alaska for two weeks. A guy that used to live with us for over a year is now working for the B.B.U.S.A. and he tipped me off that they were heading to Challis today. They will probably get to Challis by noon and read the message. They’ll get directions and head this way. I suspect they’ll be here by evening. We’re hoping to be able to break the password on the flash drive with the files that you brought. With that proof we can go to the cops and the press. If we break it before they show up, we’ll all pack up and head for Boise and protection. If we can’t break it in time we will take them on here at the cabin. We have hunting rifles and handguns. They will most likely only be carrying side arms and have no idea that we are prepared for them. We should definitely have the advantage this time.”

  “I don’t want any part of the guns, Leo. I’ll help load, or whatever, but I won’t shoot anybody.” David was adamant.

  Doug spoke up. “Don’t worry, David; I am pretty sure we can handle that end.”

  Bob did not hear the recording of Leo’s call to David until the next morning. By then, he figured it would be too late to poke around at Leo’s house. He couldn’t believe that no matter how much progress they seemed to make, Leo remained one obnoxious step ahead of them. Leo wanted to meet David out by the stone house he wanted to rebuild? That could be anywhere. He didn’t even have hopes of catching Leo in Challis now.

  That morning Ervin looked worse than the night before. His mouth was swollen and bruised and if it weren’t for all the pain pills he would have been in severe pain. The doctor at the emergency room had to pull what was left of Ervin’s two front teeth, and now, whenever he spoke, he made some strange whistling sounds. Every time he said a word with an “s” in it, the whistle came out. Ervin was conscious of the noise and unusually quiet. Florin never talked much anyway and the two men did not communicate with each other at all.

  In light of the latest information regarding Leo, Bob no longer had a concrete plan. He wasn’t even certain that Leo was still in Challis; it sounded like he was leaving for that damn stone house somewhere. Most likely his Grandmother or someone in Challis would know where he went. Doug had family there, too, so the best bet was to head for Challis. They drove in Bob’s minivan. They had to finish this business quickly; however, he did not have high hopes of catching Leo anytime soon.

  It was midafternoon before they pulled into Challis. Since they had the address to the house, it was easy to find. Florin noticed the note on the door and commented about it.

  They drove around the opposite block in order to keep their distance and to try to remain unnoticed. The house looked deserted, and that wasn’t encouraging. Bob pulled his binoculars out of the glove compartment and squinted trying to make out the letters on the note. The distance was too great and the letters were too small. He would have to send someone directly to the door to read it. He didn’t want to be seen hanging around the house during the day. That was the trouble with small towns; everybody knew everybody else and they all watched out for each other. Some old biddy nearby would probably notice a stranger going to the door of their neighbor’s house and call the Sheriff.

  Bob decided to wait and approach the house after dark. They drove back down the main street, turned left at the intersection, and then pulled into a motel called the Northgate Inn. After getting rooms, they drove to the Y-Inn café for dinner. They would visit the two story Victorian house after dark.

  Chapter 35

  Doug and Leo worked on the password inside the tent. Leo explained all the transactions to Doug, desperately seeking some clue to the password, while David stood guard. At least, he was supposed to be watching for the enemy. When Leo left the tent at one point to go relieve himself, he found David stabilizing one of the old stone walls. He had several other rocks neatly stacked outside of the building. Leo asked him what he thought he was doing. David had responded that he might as well make use of the time. He was beginning to organize his dreams of rebuilding the cabin with or without the State’s permission. Leo laughed, not at David, but at the situation. Despite their current condition and position, David was still preparing to give something back to society.

  He had been so frustrated with all of the state bureaucracy that he had once volunteered to build the cabin all by himself without any assistance. Still, the State said that they could not approve the project until their Archaeologist and State Historian gave their approval. Besides, the project would have to be supervised by State employees and follow every regulation for exact duplication. They could not afford to oversee such a project at that time.

  David got the same response year after year, yet he was still determined to rebuild it one way or another. He told Leo that the very least he could do was mark the rocks, remove the portion of the wall that was bound to collapse in the next year, and attempt to stabilize the rest of the existing structure. He assured him that he was still keeping an eye out for visitors. Leo agreed with David that they would see and hear any vehicles approaching the town site of Custer long before they became a threat.

  By dark the temperature had dropped considerably, and David moved inside the tent with Doug and Leo, who were still frantically trying to break the password. He began inquiring about the password and the transactions. At first Leo did not have the patience to go over everything a second time with David, but Doug urged him to go over it a hundred times if necessary until something clicked. Doug reasoned that the more they went over the documents and the more people who were thinking about the password, the better chance they would have of accidentally stumbling on to it. Finally, Leo relented and began explaining the transactions to him.

  David listened attentively, and then asked how many transactions were done in partnership with Tim Bance.

  “There were eight transactions with Tim.”

  He was trying to understand, “Then the answer
has to lie within one or perhaps a combination of all of them.”

  Another twenty minutes passed with no success, and Leo became concerned about the light emanating from the tent. If Bob should trace them to Custer in the middle of the night, he would surely see the light on the hill and come over to investigate. David and Doug continued to work on the password while Leo hung dark clothing around the two windows of the tent to lessen the amount of escaping light.

  Leo went outside to breathe in some fresh crisp mountain air, and he stood in the dark for a while, waiting for his eyes to adjust. He had forgotten how dark it really was in the mountains when you were away from all artificial light sources. His thoughts remained with Tim Bance and the files. Tim’s words echoed through his head “The password will only make sense to you and Sarah.” What in the world had Tim meant by that statement? They were inches away from breaking the password and the answer had to be here, in those files.

  A low whine sounded off in the distance. He tried to place the familiar noise as it he became louder and deeper. Finally, it dawned on him that it was the low roar of a vehicle’s engine. He unzipped the tent and hollered at them to turn off all lights.

  He quickly grabbed both the semi-auto .22 rifle and the .30-30, and then placed the pump shotgun just inside the tent as a back-up if needed. Doug closed the laptop computer and David turned off the battery operated lantern. The tent became pitch dark and blended into the night. Doug used the small keychain flashlight and met Leo outside the tent with his loaded .30-06 rifle. “Where are they?” he asked softly.

  Just then, a streak of light pierced the darkness as the vehicle came around the last bend below the old mill. Both men instinctively dropped to their knees and peered over the top of the stone wall. “You know our scopes will be pretty useless at night?”

  “Dang, you’re right.” He looked through the scopes of both guns and could not see well enough to use them effectively. “My .22 has open sights under the scope; I’ll have to use it.”