by Reed, N. C.
“Women?” Greg started at that.
“Attacked us directly and defended the men in question,” Xavier confirmed.
“We also rescued one grown woman and four…four teen girls that might be in puberty at best,” Zach nearly choked on the sudden rage that enveloped him over that, but he calmed almost immediately. “They are all in that truck over there,” he pointed to an old light green four-door truck that had likely come from a surplus auction for the national forestry service. Greg headed that way with Shane behind him, while Clay stayed, staring at Xavier and Zach for some time before speaking.
“How many times do I have to talk about this?” he asked finally.
“Probably best if you just stopped,” Zach surprised both Clay and Xavier. “If you think I’ll sit on my ass and let something like this go by me, then you don’t know me like you thought you did. The shit I seen tonight?” he shook his head. “No. Anytime from now on that I think or hear that something like this is happening, you can bet I’m gonna be right there, checking to see. And if it is happening, then I’m gonna do the same thing I did here. If that don’t work for you, I understand, and I’ll leave rather than make it hard on you. But I ain’t letting this shit go on around me. No sir.” The final two words were flat and final.
Clay was initially taken aback, as Zach had never openly defied or challenged anyone over anything. Tonight, however, seemed to have struck a nerve.
“Either of you hurt?” he asked finally, to which both snorted.
“Please,” Xavier scoffed. “By the animals in this pigsty? Let’s not devolve into insults, here.”
“Just checking,” Clay promised. “We may as well keep gathering whatever you’ve found here, I guess,” he sighed. “What made you think of this?”
“Somewhat of a get well present,” Xavier smiled slightly.
“I was just bored,” Zach admitted.
“Figures,” Clay snorted. “C’mon then. I’ll help finish.”
Meanwhile, Greg Holloway had approached the truck the women had been placed in, making sure his badge could be clearly seen.
“Ladies,” he said calmly. “I’m Sheriff Greg Holloway, Calhoun County Sheriff’s office. Can you all tell me who you are, where you’re from and how you came to be here?”
No one spoke. All of them just looked at him dully. Even the grown up.
“Ladies, I can’t help you get home if I don’t even know who you are,” Greg said gently. “You don’t have to talk to me about what you’ve been through, okay? All I need to know is how I can find your people. To take you home.”
Nothing. Eyes blinked at him but that was it.
“Okay,” Greg sighed. “I can take you to Jordan, but I don’t know what services they can render to you. I can also take you to Lewiston, but again, I don’t know what they can do for you. I don’t have any resources at the moment to help you with. All I can do is try to get you home if you tell me where that is.”
“I’m from Peabody,” the grown woman snorted. “How much of it is left?”
“There’s a good bit of it left, but no one stayed behind, it looks like,” Greg admitted. “You have family anywhere else we can search for?”
“I have a sister in Lewiston,” the woman nodded. “I did, anyway. No idea if she’s still there.”
“Then I’ll take you there for a start,” Greg promised. “Have any of the young ladies said anything about where they hail from?”
“No, and I doubt they will,” the woman shook her head. “They haven’t spoken at all. None of them.”
“I see,” Greg had been afraid of that. “We’ll do whatever we can for them. I know this was bad, and I’m sorry it happened. It won’t mean much, I imagine, but you’ve already seen that this bunch, at least, will never do it again.”
“You’re right,” the woman assured him. “It don’t mean shit.”
“Sorry,” Greg apologized. “We’ll get on the road as soon as we can. I’ll leave my deputy here to watch over you, and if you need anything, he can call me.” Greg turned away and started to speak to Shane, but the soldier just nodded.
“I got it.”
Greg nodded and headed back the way he had come, watching as Clay and the others continued to pull loot from the houses and other buildings.
“Ought to burn the whole damn place to the ground,” he muttered to himself, but not as quietly as he thought he had.
“Thought about it,” Zach assured him. “Afraid it would get out and cause another fire. Decided to just burn those assholes instead. Ten gallons of rotgut should have’em down to ashes before it’s through. Better than they deserve, really, but I didn’t want to risk ruining the water by leaving ‘em laying, either.”
Sometimes Greg forgot just how differently Zach’s mind worked from most of the rest of the people at the farm. Perhaps one reason he got along so well with Xavier and Brick.
“Good plan,” he decided to say. “And yeah, I got no desire to see another wildfire ever,” he agreed.
It took another twenty-five minutes to finish checking everything and gather all the firearms, ammunition and stolen goods. Greg took the time to take the copper worm from the still, knowing someone he could trade it to and possibly save a life or two in the process. He also noted there was over three hundred gallons of capped whiskey here that could be used as a fuel supplement, and decided he might offer it to Adcock if need be to get him to forget how this had all come to pass. But only if need be.
At last it was determined there was nothing of value left at the place, and the fire had burned so hot that there was little more than bone remaining. Greg snorted at that thought, thinking how appropriate it was.
The woman drove the truck herself, refusing to trust even Zach or Xavier to do so despite their having saved her. Neither took offense nor even acted as if it mattered. They had the truck they had taken from the farm full of everything taken from their target and headed for home, satisfied they had done the world at large a great favor.
The Sheriff’s MRAP led the truck with the surviving women in it straight to Lewiston, where Adcock was roused from his sleep to find a woman driving a truck with four teen girls who had been missing since long before he had arrived. Van Bronson arrived a short time later, confirming that the four teens were indeed missing from Lewiston and had family still in town.
The woman, whose name Greg hadn’t bothered to try to learn, had been recognized by Bronson as well, and was taken to her sister’s home with the promise that the doctor would be over shortly to see her.
“Really appreciate this, Holloway,” Bronson said quietly as family members arrived to take charge of the near catatonic teens. “They look to have been treated rough.”
“Very,” Greg nodded. “They were enjoying the hospitality of the Bone family,” he added. “All of them treated worse than dogs.”
“Ought to kill every one of them,” Bronson muttered.
“They did,” Greg told him. “Two of our men killed them all, stacked their bodies along the old rail bed, and burned them to ash. They won’t be taking women from here or anywhere else again. We recovered some stolen property. If we can’t find someone who can identify it, I’ll bring it down here. Might be some of it came from here, I don’t know.”
“How many of them were there?” Bronson asked, somewhat respectfully.
“Two, like I said,” Greg replied.
“No, I mean of the Bone outfit,” Bronson clarified.
“Twenty-six,” Greg forced himself not to smile at Bronson’s reaction.
“Damn,” Bronson removed his hat and rubbed his head. “You boys don’t play, do you?”
“It ain’t a game,” Greg shrugged. “They took the first shot, anyway. This looks like it’s under control and no longer our business, so we’re headed home. You guys stay safe.”
“You too, man,” Bronson waved. Greg stepped back onto the Cougar, as Shane climbed behind the wheel. No one else had gotten down.
“Find homes for
them?” Clay asked. He had worried about the girls all the way to Lewiston. He had already decided if there was no one in Lewiston to care for them, he was going to break his own rule and carry them to the farm for treatment.
“All with family,” Greg assured him. “Even let Bron know that two of your guys were all it took to wipe the Bone family off the map. He was suitably impressed, by the way,” he smirked.
“Great,” Clay’s sarcasm floated up from the back. “I came down here hoping to impress Van Bronson most of all.”
“Well, mission accomplished then!”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jose Juarez was sitting in front of Building Two, feet propped up on the table, when the ragged truck he recognized as one the farm had captured months ago pulled into the drive. Mitchell Nolan had warned him from The Roof that the truck was inbound, so it wasn’t a surprise. Nor was it a surprise when Xavier and Zachary got out, each carrying a bundle of gear.
“You boys been out on the town?” he asked, a faint smile playing across his features.
“Just taking a moonlight drive,” Xavier replied. “Is there any way you could have this washed and waxed while we dine?” he added, his dry humor coming to the fore.
“Not by me,” Jose snorted. “What do you really need?” he asked.
“If anyone is available to unload the goods in the back, we really need to clean up,” Xavier replied. “We have been in some disgusting places this evening. I wouldn’t bother but there are some things in the truck that weather will affect.”
“Why not pull it into Building Three for the night, then,” Jose ordered. “Just leave it there, loaded. We’ll go through it in the daylight. Better that way, anyway.”
“Excellent suggestion, my good fellow,” Xavier joked. “I shall add a tip to your usual fee.” He looked at Zach.
“I’ll take it,” the teen took the hint. “Will you hang on to this?” he handled the bundle of his gear over before getting behind the wheel and taking the truck to park it inside.
“You guys weren’t gone long,” Jose noted as Zach left. “You run into Clay while you were out?”
“Indeed,” Xavier nodded. “He seemed less worked up over our little jaunt and yet, still angry, somehow,” he sounded puzzled. “Odd, really.”
“He was like that when he came back down here probably three hours ago now,” Jose nodded. “I suspect he and Lainie had a dispute and she said something that set him off, so he had to leave for a while. He’ll probably be fine by the time he gets in. Speaking of which?” he hinted.
“There was a woman and four girls being held by the esteemed Bone family,” Xavier informed him. “The others have taken them to Lewiston to look for their family members. I’m sure they will be along presently. Have you any word on Amanda?”
“She’s doing fine,” Jose assured him. “Is expected to recover fully, though it will take some time. She’s still under but expected to wake in the morning. Jaylyn prefers to let her wake on her own, so she can rest.”
“Very good,” Xavier almost sounded relieved. “Well, I believe I shall avail myself of the shower and then get some sleep.”
“You were scheduled for early watch, by the way,” Jose told him.
“I’ll be there,” Xavier didn’t even wince.
“I’ve covered it. You have ground watch from twelve-to-four, instead. Both of you,” he added as Zach walked up, taking his gear back from Xavier.
“Cool,” the teen shrugged before starting up the hill. “I’m taking a shower and hitting the hay myself. Night.”
“I as well,” Xavier agreed. “Good evening, Pancho.”
“Night, X.”
-
Clay didn’t say much as the Cougar made its way home. Everyone on board was tired, so the ride was made in mostly silence anyway.
Once they were home, Clay went to his office without much more than a goodnight to everyone around him, dropping his gear behind the small table he used as a desk. Along the far wall was a folding cot with a single blanket for a covering and another rolled into a makeshift pillow. Normally, he used it to catch catnaps when things were busy, but tonight he decided to sleep there rather than walk home.
He knew that part of that decision was because he was still angry over the things that Lainie had accused him and the others of and didn’t trust himself not to return her verbal assault, even if it were justified. He would rather avoid the matter altogether until he was certain he had a rein on his anger. Avoiding the problem would not make it go away, but trying to face it angry, and exhausted, would be more likely to make the problem worse rather than better.
As he stretched out on the narrow frame cot, he wondered if his reluctance to face the problem, even with the reasons he had for doing so, was a weakness of some kind. He knew that his anger was a weakness, and it was one he had fought against most of his adult life. In fact, he would have sworn it was firmly in hand until he had been blindsided tonight by accusations that had no basis in fact and hit more nerves than a blow to the nose would have.
Still angry, he pulled the rolled blanket beneath his neck and closed his eyes. He was asleep before he could think of the problem, or any other problems, again.
-
Lainie had waited for Clay to return, unaware that he had left due to the discovery that Xavier and Zach had gone temporarily rogue. The more time she spent waiting, replaying her words over and over in her mind, the more embarrassed and guilty she felt. She had allowed her own past problems to influence her thinking, which in turn influenced what she said. She had not meant to directly accuse Clay or any of the others of having committed such offenses, and yet her accusations had been intended as an indictment of men in general. Had she stopped there, she could have felt justified in being angry at Clay’s reaction to what she had said, and even pointed to it as another reason for Amanda’s reluctance to ‘say anything’.
But of course, she hadn’t stopped there, had she? Instead she had flat out accused them all of being ready in an instant to ridicule a woman who was having any sort of ‘female issue’ and using that to make life more difficult for her. She had nothing to base that on, no evidence of any kind really that it would happen. She had simply jumped to the conclusion that it would. In doing so, she had all but accused Clay and the others by name of being guilty of something that hadn’t even happened.
‘How did I become the bad guy, here?’, Clay had asked her. As she thought that over, she came to the conclusion that this was exactly what it had looked like to him, while to her it simply looked like she was defending a young woman who had made what seemed like the best choice she could.
Of course, it hadn’t been a good choice, as events had proven. In reflection, Lainie could see the source of Clay’s frustration. Amanda had made a mistake and as a result was lying in the clinic now, with a gunshot wound that didn’t have to happen. Should not have happened. It dawned on her that this was what Clay had been most upset over when he had tried to speak with her, Lainie, earlier in the evening. The fact that someone he felt responsible for was laying in the clinic with a gunshot wound.
Looking at the clock, she realized it was well after midnight. Either Clay had gotten busy with something, or else he wasn’t coming home. She didn’t know which it might be. Suddenly, she very much wanted to know.
Getting to her feet, she dressed quickly and headed for the Troy Farm.
-
Jose Juarez had stayed behind at the hangout before Building Two when all the others had dispersed. While he was not on duty himself, he had found the cool air and the quiet to be inviting and decided to enjoy it for a bit before turning in.
He had been sitting alone for several minutes when he heard footsteps from the direction of the Sanders’ farm and turned his gaze that way, expecting to see one of the watch standers moving his way. To his surprise, he instead saw a rather determined looking Lainie Harper moving toward him, jacket wrapped around her against the chill.
“Evening, Miss Harper,
” Jose smiled. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” Lainie’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, or her voice either, Jose noted. Suddenly he had an epiphany of why Clay had seemed angry earlier in the evening.
“Can I help you with anything?” he asked, doing his best to keep his voice casual. Willing to help, but not nosy.
“I’m just looking for Clay,” Lainie shook her head. “I assumed he was down here into something and wasn’t looking at the time.”
“Well, that’s partly accurate,” Jose nodded. “He went with Greg a little earlier to check on something, but they’re all back now, safe and sound. Last I saw Clay he was headed inside,” he pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. “Said he had some work to do but didn’t elaborate.”
“Thank you,” Lainie smiled again, headed for the door. “Have a good evening,” she added as she pulled the door open and disappeared inside.
“And with that, I believe I will go home,” Jose said aloud to himself, rising from his seat. Affairs of others were none of his.
-
Lainie noted that Clay’s office light was out, but went there anyway, flipping the light on as she walked inside. She heard a groan from her left and turned to see Clay shading his eyes from the light as he either tried to wake up, or else go back to sleep. Surprised, she didn’t say anything as he levered himself up to a sitting position with his feet on the floor.
“What is it now?” he asked, still looking at the floor. “I thought everyone was back.”
“Why are you sleeping down here, Cowboy?” she asked rather than demanded. Hearing her voice, Clay’s head came up.
“Figured you’d be asleep by now,” he said before scrubbing his face with his hands, trying to get awake. “What time is it?” he asked, looking for the cheap clock on his wall. “Great,” he muttered, seeing the time. “Not even an hour.”
“Sorry for waking you,” Lainie’s voice didn’t quite convey the idea of sorrow or apology. “What made you curl up on that cot rather than come home?”
