by Reed, N. C.
John didn't reply, still digesting all that he'd been told. Jose gave him a moment before asking again.
“I said do you read me, boy?” he said softly. “Do we have an understanding or not?”
“Yeah,” John gulped his answer out, realizing suddenly who he was talking to. “I hear you.”
“Make damn sure you do,” Jose told him. “This is the last time we’ll have this little discussion if you know what I mean.”
And with that Jose Juarez walked away, leaving John Webb time to think about everything he'd been told, and perhaps to grow up a bit.
CHAPTER THREE
-
Clay was riding fence lines behind the Troy house when Jose came to join him on one of the battery-powered golf carts. Clay eased his horse to a stop and allowed him to crop the new grass at his feet as Jose pulled to a stop beside him.
“How's it going?” he asked casually as Jose got off the cart.
“About like normal,” Jose snorted.
“That bad, huh?” Clay grinned. “So, what's the problem now?”
“So far, just John Webb's attitude,” Jose shrugged. “Day ain't over though.”
“Let me guess,” Clay leaned on his saddle horn. “All our fault his family got hit so hard, that his dad is dead and that is mom is hurt and, and, and.”
“Got it one,” Jose nodded. “It's bad enough that Gordy already said he doesn't want John in the clinic with his mom alone.”
“Can't blame him there,” Clay agreed. “I wouldn't want it myself. How is Miss Deborah, anyway?”
“Same,” Jose sighed. “I doubt she ever wakes up to be honest, but Patricia swears there's a chance.”
“Well, she's pretty smart with that stuff,” Clay shrugged. “I hope she does. Recover, I mean. Miss Deborah is a good person.”
“Yeah, she is,” Jose agreed. “Are you over your little tantrum and ready to come back?” he asked, trying to make a joke of it.
“Nah,” Clay surprised him with an easy grin. “I like it this way. Less stress. I slept pretty good last night for the first time in.... hell, I don't know when. I’ll just keep doing like I'm doing. Standing watch and what have you. I think you're doing fine, by the way,” he added with a smile. “Good non-coms don't need an officer no way. Ain't that what you always say?”
“We say that when we have an officer we can irritate with it,” Jose pointed out. “Seriously, Clay, enough. I know you're mad, but this shit is ridiculous. Get over it and get back in the groove, man.”
“This is my 'over it', Pancho,” Clay shrugged comfortably. “I've had enough… and I'm not mad, either. I don't know that I ever was mad, now that I think on it,” he mused. “I was disappointed, and I was dreading what it would cause, rightly, so I'd point it out,” he gave Jose a look. “But I don't think I was ever actually mad. Between you and me, I'm just glad none of them got hurt. It was a stupid thing to do, especially when we were counting on them being here. If we had been hit, it might have gone bad. But I don't think they give a shit about that so long as they can mix it up.”
“Don't say that,” Jose frowned. “You know they're not like that. Wanting to help someone isn't the same as not caring how bad they might have been needed here.”
“That is true,” Clay allowed. “But the bottom line is still the same. Sooner or later someone is gonna run off doing their own thing and this whole place is going to suffer for it. I'm not going to be in command when that happens. I'm just not. This ain't Africa, and there's a whole lot more at stake than just looking for a terrorist or trying to protect a group of children. This time it's our kids. Our families. And I don't think anyone takes that seriously enough. If they did, they wouldn't do shit like that. They'd stay with the program and do what they're supposed to do.” He shook his head.
“It's not like I don't understand,” he continued. “I do. Hell, I want to go and kill these bastards too. I'd like nothing better than to go guns blazing into Peabody and clean out that whole rat’s nest for good. But last time we did something like that we lost Big John. This time who would we lose? Worse, what if they're waiting for that so they can come running in here while we're gone and destroy everything we're working to protect?”
“Remember our decision was to pull in, hunker down and wait it out. That was our plan. We protect our own and stick to the operation plan we drew up for this. My Old Man wrecked it with his 'town', but even that was doable. He had the right idea, just chose some of the wrong people. Had we thought of that idea, we might be in a lot better shape right now than we are, but no one came up with it. Didn't think far enough ahead. Leon was right about that. We had the mindset of waiting for things to go back to normal before we stuck our heads out to see what happened. Bad thinking. Bad planning. But now? Now we have to protect this place. We have to. It's all we have. There is no back up plan, Jose. No bolt hole, no alpha site, no nothing. And there's no place to send an evac call when it gets too hot. It's root hog or die. And I just don't think everyone gets that.”
He stopped suddenly, as if embarrassed by how much he'd said. He gathered his reins in his hands and looked down at Jose once more.
“I’ll stand watch like everyone else and do whatever you need me to do,” he said finally. “Whatever job needs doing, I'm good for it, just let me know. Meanwhile, I got ranching work that needs doing, including finishing up riding this fence. Need me for anything else right now?”
“No,” Jose sighed. “No, we got it covered for now.”
“Cool deal,” Clay nodded. “Talk to you later.”
And with that Clay rode away, stopping once in a while to shake a fence post or a strand of wire. Jose watched him for a minute before climbing back on his cart and riding away.
“What a fucking mess.”
-
“Boss still mad?” Tandi asked when Jose entered the kitchen at the Troy house.
“He apparently was never mad,” Jose sighed, taking a seat as Maria handed him a glass of water. “He was disappointed. Thinks that no one around here gets how important it is to protect this place and the people on it. By which I mean that protecting this place has to be the number one priority on every mind… and he's right,” he added before taking a drink.
“We didn't endanger this place,” Tandi looked almost hurt.
“Didn't you?” Jose asked. “You took an armored vehicle, a heavy machine gun and three men away from here without anyone in the chain of command knowing about it. Had the three of you been killed then a potential enemy would have had an MRAP with a Ma Deuce attached plus whatever you guys were carrying. Now, imagine what that Cougar could do, running through here with only a few seconds of warning, big fifty hammering as it went. How do you think that would go?”
“But we didn't lose it,” Tandi pointed out. “And Zach was guarding it the whole time.”
“And we all know that Zach and everyone else, including you and Tommy are bulletproof and invincible,” Jose nodded. “Just like Big Bear.”
That brought Tandi's argument up short, as he didn't know how to reply to that.
“Starting to see what the Boss is seeing now?” Jose asked. “And, on top of all that, at least one Webb has decided that since the three of you went and did something Clay said we couldn't do, that must have meant that Clay just didn't want to, apparently to get even with the Webb family for leaving in the first place! Which ends up with said Webb family member doing the same damn thing his old man did and placing blame for all his family's woes on the Sanders. The same Sanders family that has since taken them back in, cared for their hurts and provided for them.” He shook his head and took another drink of water.
“But. . .we did that against orders, just trying to help,” Tandi argued. “He can't blame that on Bossman!”
“Except that he is, and he's belligerent enough about it that Gordy doesn't want John Webb in the clinic around his mother without supervision. So now we have to keep someone on guard in the clinic at all times.”
“Why
not just put John Webb down?” a new voice asked as Jody Thompson walked into the kitchen and sat down. “If he's a threat, he needs to go. I can do it,” he added, as if he'd just offered to take out the trash. “Keep it quiet.”
“We are not still in Africa, Jody,” Jose's exasperation was starting to show. “Hell, Tandi was the one reminding Nate of that just a few days ago it seems like. Just because Webb is angry doesn't mean we get to remove him.”
“If he is a possible threat to Gordy's mother then that is reason enough to get rid of him,” Jody's voice still had about as much inflection in it as it would if he was offering to set the table for supper. “Doesn't matter where we are.”
“I have to agree,” Tandi was nodding. “Patricia is in no way responsible for any of this and has done more for his family than anyone. If he's threatening her, then he needs to go away.”
“He hasn't threatened her,” Jose was starting to lose his own cool now. “It was just the way he spoke to Gordy, making it sound as if he blamed the Sanders for all his family's misfortunes. Even brought up how the Sanders must think they're really special for having all this 'stuff',” he waved his arms to encompass the farms.
“They worked for all that,” Tandi objected. “It's not like the farm fairy just came and delivered all this shit to them. They earned it!”
“A fact that Mister Webb has conveniently decided doesn't matter in this case,” Jose nodded. “And when I spoke to Clay, all he said was 'I don't blame Gordy for not wanting Webb around his mother'.”
“That's awfully mild coming from him,” Jody noted cautiously.
“Which probably means that Clay will be putting an end to Mister Webb before the day is out,” Jose agreed. “So, you two idiots have given us the gift that just keeps on giving,” he told Jody and Tandi, both of who at least had the decency to look embarrassed.
“I hope it was worth it.”
-
“Was it worth it?”
Zach opened his eyes and looked up to see Vicki looking down at him, almost studying him it looked like.
“Was what worth it?” he asked, puzzled. “I don't get it.”
“Running off like that,” she clarified. “To the Webb place.”
“Uh, was I not supposed to?” Zach asked, frowning. “Tandi came up here and said we were going, so I went. I didn't realize we were running off.”
“You didn't know that Clay had already said we weren't going to help the Webbs?” Vicki asked him, head cocked to one side.
“He did?” Zach answered her with a question. “No, I didn't know that,” he added after a second. “I went off watch not long after they got here and went to sleep. I'd been up for like. . .twenty hours or something. I woke up right before Tandi knocked on my door.”
“So, you didn't know?” she asked.
“I already said that,” Zach frowned again. “I didn't know anything. I didn't find out that Joshua Webb was dead until we had been back for a while. There was a lot going on.”
“True,” she sat down beside him, leaning up against the cabin wall where she had found him. “You guys running off like that has caused a real mess.”
“Look, I didn't 'run off', I said,” Zach was beginning to get angry now. “And I didn't cause any mess, either. I did what I was told. Tandi made it sound like we were doing what we were supposed to be, and I did what I was told to do. I sat guard on the Cougar and then manned the gun on the way back. I had to pull ground watch maybe an hour after we got back, so I wasn't around when all this drama you keep talking about happened. When my watch was over I came home.”
“I didn't mean it like that,” she held up her hand. “I just meant that the three of you being off like that has caused a lot of turmoil.”
“Like what?” Zach asked. “I haven't really been paying attention to all that. I've pulled three watches since we got back plus been working around here,” he motioned to the cabin area where he lived. “With the Webbs gone there are a lot of chores that need doing around here. We're also missing Bryon Jessup, and his family pretty much just sits here, so there's a lot of work to do. On top of that we have that orphanage to watch over and that takes a lot of work too. There's a lot of slack we've had to pick up.”
“I hadn't realized how much there was going on up here,” she admitted. “Anyway, Clay has basically quit. Just. . .walked away and left everything in Pancho's hands. Said if we were just gonna do whatever the hell we wanted to regardless of what he said then he may as well just stop saying anything. He doesn't want to be responsible for what's happening if his instructions aren't followed.”
“Can't blame him for that,” Zach nodded. “Well, I guess Pancho will be the one setting the watch schedule now,” Zach leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Wonder how that will change things?”
“That's all you have to say?” Vicki asked. “After all that?”
“All what?” Zach opened his eyes and looked at her. “I can't do anything about any of it,” he shrugged. “I sure as hell can't make Clayton do something he don't want to do. He's a hell of a lot tougher than I am. I really didn't know we weren't supposed to go try and rescue the Webbs or I wouldn't have gone. I didn't disregard his orders on purpose, and I imagine he knows that, too. And if Pancho and the rest can't convince him to come back and keep running things then there sure ain't nothing I can do that will convince him to. So, what am I supposed to say?” he held his hands our palm up in a gesture of helplessness. “All I can do is keep on doing.”
“I suppose that is true,” she admitted after a few moments pause. “I guess I was just expecting a bigger reaction from you.”
“Too tired for a real big reaction, and I believe you told me you wouldn't put up with a bunch of drama, too,” he noted, eliciting a throaty laugh from her.
“I did say that,” she agreed. “I'm glad you didn't know what was happening,” she added softly. “That you thought it was just orders.”
“Well, I don't have any reason to go 'running off', as you called it,” he shrugged again. “This is home, now,” he waved his arm around the general area. “All that I have. If there's a place where I belong, this is it.”
“Yeah,” she smiled softly. “Me too.”
“So, you like my house?” Zach jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the cabin they were leaning against.
“I haven't actually seen anything but this wall,” she laughed. “It's a nice wall, though.”
“When the Webbs all left we were offered our own places,” Zach explained. “Rest of the guys stayed where we were, but I liked this place and took it for myself. There's nothing much in there, but it's mine,” he laughed. “I guess one day I’ll have to go shopping for furniture.”
“Looks roomy,” she nodded. He raised an eyebrow at her again but didn't comment on what she had said. He got to his feet and offered her a hand up.
“Come on and I’ll show you around.” She looked at him for a few seconds, then took the proffered hand and let him pull her to her feet.
“Sounds like an invitation I can't refuse.”
-
“There's something going on over there,” Angela said as she and Gordon sat down together than night for supper.
“Over where?” Gordon asked tiredly.
“At the old Troy place,” Angela clarified. “That whole bunch has been in an uproar for two or three days now.”
“Uproar?” Gordon looked at her. “I think I'd have noted an uproar, Angela. And there has been some trouble, most notably with Joshua Webb, but that was settled a couple days ago.”
“That was terrible,” Angela nodded. “It's a shame, what happened. He should have stayed here.”
“Yes, he should have,” Gordon nodded. “Would have been better all around for his family if he had. Some of them have survived, but too many of them are dead. Including that young woman and her daughter. The one that Deborah knew from. . .somewhere? The one that came with all the others?”
“She had a beautiful little girl,
” Angela sighed. “This world has truly turned into something terrible.”
“It's not the world, it's the people,” he told her. “The world is still the same place it's always been. The people have just turned a whole lot more vicious.”
“I suppose that's more accurate,” she nodded as she fixed their plates. “What is Clayton doing?”
“Nothing,” Gordon grunted as he took his plate. “He quit. Said if they weren't going to do what he told them, he wasn't going to be responsible for them. He's just working the ranch these last two days. That and working around his own place.”
“What?” this was news to her.
“He's done, he says,” Gordon shrugged. “Too many times people have laid blame on him for what's happened or hasn't happened and he's sick of it. Can't say I blame him, really,” he added.
“He can't just quit!” Angela exclaimed. “It's not like a job! He's the one who organized all of this, him and Leon!”
“Well, he apparently can because he did,” Gordon told her. “Like I said, one too many times he's taken the blame for things going wrong, or at least not going right. He makes hard decisions that no one else wants to make, then gets the blame when not everyone follows their orders or instructions or whatever, and he's tired of it. Everything gets dumped in his lap and he's had enough. It bothers me too, but I don't know of a thing I can do about it, and I kind of agree with him. I've dumped more than a little on him myself I'm ashamed to say. I'd take it back if I could, but I can't. All I can do is try not to do it in the future.”
Left unsaid in all that was how often and how much Angela herself had done the same thing to their youngest son.
-
“So, tell me, Cowboy,” Lainie said as she cleared away their supper dishes. “How long are you gonna stay like this?”
“Like what?” he frowned, handing her the last dishes from the table as she washed them. “What have I done now?”
“Nothing,” she assured him. “I'm talking about how you've just abandoned everything and everyone the last few days. How long will you keep doing that?”
