Bonner Incident

by Thomas A. Watson

  “Sheriff!” Moore snapped sitting up. “The government is the people, so don’t lecture.”

  “Don’t snap at me on my deck beside my lake or you will find yourself with a bullet hole in you at the bottom of my lake,” Buck said closing his eyes. “I will turn myself in of course, later after enjoying my lake and my deck, but no shit from anyone is tolerated toward me on my deck beside my lake.”

  Shaking his head hard, “Sheriff, I’m sorry and I do apologize for breaking an area of solitude,” Moore said genuinely. “But the government is the people.”

  “No, it’s not. If you believe that, then you’re an idiot. The government has never been the people, just representatives. The people are and will always be, America. The government now is money; people be damned unless they have money to support you or you can just take it. You have parties spending billions, that’s with a ‘B’ on a job that pays a quarter of a million a year. It’s a proven fact; the party that spends the most, gets elected. Care to explain how a congressman, whose salary is just over a hundred grand a year, can leave office in four years with a net worth of twenty million dollars? And that’s on the low side. I had to dig back all the way to the fifties to find a congressman that didn’t come out filthy rich after his term.”

  “It may not be perfect, but it’s America,” Moore said leaning back in the chair.

  “No, not anymore,” Buck said as his wife came out and refilled his glass. Sally cut her eyes at Moore, but set a glass filled with ice down and filled it with lemonade. “Thank you dear. That’s being a good host.”

  “I’m sorry ma’am,” Moore said tilting his head. “Thank you very much.”

  “He needs to relax, piss him off again on this deck; I’ll shoot you and throw you in the lake myself. He won’t arrest me because he would have to live with my mother without me,” she said raising her chin and walking inside.

  “You know,” Buck said nodding as he lifted his head up. “She is absolutely right. My wife could cap you right now and I wouldn’t say a word because bullshit and by damn, if I end up living with that cranky old woman by myself.”

  For the first time in weeks, Moore honestly laughed. “Then I shall refrain from breaking your harmony.”

  Lying back in the chair, still in shock over the revelation about himself, Buck sipped his drink. “I always thought I would do the right thing,” he mumbled to himself. “Shit, I wouldn’t do it,” he gasped thinking it over and over again in his head. “I would take the blame for it before living with her mother.”

  “Well, my ex-mother-in-law loved to call every chance she could and tell me how I could be a better husband and father. Looking back, I think she was right,” Moore said taking a drink.

  “Sally’s mother is nice to me most of the time but others, my word, she cusses like a sailor and won’t shut up,” Buck complained. “She talks in her sleep. We put her on the other side of the house and can still hear her. She’s ninety and I think heaven doesn’t want her.”

  Faintly from inside the house, “I heard that little Joe! I’m getting on my scooter and running your fucking ass over!” a very elderly voice screeched.

  “And she has great hearing. I don’t know why I spent six hundred dollars on hearing aids she doesn’t need to wear, when she can hear a duck fart on the other side of the lake,” Buck said, hearing Sally try to calm her mother down.

  “Sheriff, I truly didn’t mean to upset you, but this is growing bigger, faster and spiraling out of control. Please help me end it,” Moore said looking out over the lake.

  “Giving up an innocent man who was pushed too far?” Buck said glancing over.

  “Sheriff, let’s be honest, nobody is innocent. And that is not mine or your job, that is the job of the courts.”

  “In our hearts, we know our innocence and have to live with that but in this county, notice I didn’t say country; we are innocent until proven guilty,” Buck said. “You and I both know, if Joshua is ever taken into federal custody, he’ll never see a courtroom.”

  “What if I could guarantee it?”

  Buck turned to look at Moore. “Like you did Beatrice Rowell, the sixteen-year-old girl that was sleeping with the Undersecretary of the Navy and had first-hand knowledge of bribery? Funny, how a sixteen-year-old is found in a wrecked car with a blood alcohol of .36, four times the legal limit, and four different drugs in her system when every friend she ever had said she never drank, did drugs or drove. You mean, like her?”

  Setting his glass down, Moore wiped his eyes. “She left protective custody.”

  “A minor can’t leave protective custody alone. A parent or legal guardian must do it for them. But you were pulled off that case two days before that tragic wreck happened.”

  “Sheriff, that is my cross to bear,” Moore said in a whisper.

  “So, Joshua could be another,” Buck said picking up his glass.

  Moore looked over, “You honestly believe this confrontation that’s coming when they start to search, and teams demand to check private residences, is worth the carnage that will follow, just for one innocent man.”

  “Yes,” Buck said setting his glass down. “If I say no now and take the easy road, just giving up an innocent man, then how many next time to avoid bloodshed; five, ten maybe twenty innocent men or women. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty. Know who said that?” Buck asked staring at the lake. “Thomas Jefferson. He knew when government got too big, the people would pay.”

  “Sheriff, in the very least, don’t get in the way of the teams. Federal law says they may search a domicile in the pursuit of a fugitive.”

  “Yeah, I read that ruling. Exigent circumstances, if a cop believes crime is being committed, he is given grand latitude, like forcing his way inside a house, shooting unarmed persons, shooting someone when you served a warrant on the wrong house. You know, that’s the first time I’ve said out loud what I’ve always thought and it makes me sick,” Buck said with a sigh.

  A screech sounded behind them and Moore turned to see a tiny lady sitting on an electric scooter trying to open a sliding glass door as Sally tried to stop her. “You’re one of the cocksuckers who killed Ethel, fucker! I’m shoving this cane up your ass and going to pull your tongue out your ass and hang you up on a limb, you sumbitch!” she screamed, hitting the glass with the cane as Sally grabbed the handlebars of the scooter and drove her mother back into the house.

  “Can she get through that glass?” Moore asked. “The image of having my tongue pulled out my ass just… Makes me shiver.”

  “You can walk faster than that scooter can go,” Buck said calmly. “I’ve had her following me for a mile waving her cane at me till her batteries died.”

  “You left her there?” Moore said in shock.

  “I called Sally and told her where to pick her up,” Buck shrugged. “She wanted to cut my balls off and play polo with them on her scooter because I turned Judge Judy off.”

  “That’s a valid reason to call your wife,” Moore said as a shiver ran down his spine.

  “It was either that or deck her,” Buck said. “And unlike your agents, we just let the old people rant. Hell, they earned it. Look what we let happen to this great country they built.”

  Moore gave a huge sigh, lying back in the chair as Buck glanced at him. “Agent Moore, like I said, I’ve always followed the letter of the law. That’s what the people of Bonner County elected me for and I will follow it as will those under me as we enforce the law of Bonner County. But on this I warn you, in this civil atmosphere, the letter of the law will be followed and adhered to, but this is your warning: break this civil atmosphere into anarchy with jack boot tactics and I won’t follow the letter of the law anymore. I will follow the rules of war and they are thus: kill your enemy without mercy as quickly as you can, so peace can return to your homes because there is no second place in war.”

  “Who said that?” Moore asked looking over.<
br />
  “My grandfather did, talking about the Second World War.”

  “I’ll do what I can but you’re facing huge odds sheriff.”

  Buck threw his head back laughing, “Moore, you’re incredible. You want me to sacrifice an innocent man, have my people lay down so you can walk over them as you violate everything it means to be American. Then you act horrified when I tell you we are going to fight you and kick your ass.”

  “I’m a realist,” Moore said sitting up.

  “No, you’re not,” Buck chuckled. “You’re worried about the stuff on the sidelines and don’t see the wrath coming.”

  “Oh, how so?”

  Slowly turning till he faced Moore, Buck looked in his eyes. “You knew it, I saw it in your eyes when I showed up after the explosion, Joshua has started his war. You created this monster and you will have to deal with it.”

  “You knew Joshua shot that agent in Spokane?” Moore gasped.

  “As soon as I heard. It was 0912, if you want to know.”

  “Sheriff, he can’t fight the three thousand they are putting in the field to find him.”

  Giving a chuckle, Buck lifted his glass. “Yes, he can. You know how you eat an elephant by yourself? One little bite at a time. I’m sure in time you’re going to bring in people that are pure warriors but in the end, they too will lose. He’s fighting in an area he knows and has the support of the population. But most importantly, as long as he’s killing you, you can’t focus on his family. And Moore, I hope you don’t make that mistake again. That was some of the message from Spokane, he’s going to fight your war on the field. But mess with his family again and you’ll have more mass casualties, and I’m sure it won’t be here. Joshua will reciprocate in kind; he will go after your families.”

  “I tried sheriff. I wrote to every congressman and senator, but they will not pull out,” Moore said dropping his shoulders.

  Turning in his chair, Buck looked at Moore. “You know that one in Spokane was a warning. This I’m telling you for your own good because out of everyone stacked against him, you are Joshua’s biggest threat. He was letting you know; he can come and go as he pleases. He could hide and never be found. He can kill your people and remain anonymous. But he showed you, he’s not scared letting you know it was him and he’s coming to kill. No agent in America is safe,” Buck said then sighed. “My only concern is where he’s going to draw the line on who is his enemy.”

  Moore jerked back and Buck laughed. “Oh, I know he will never fight us because we didn’t threaten his family. No, I mean is it the receptionist at some federal building? Any federal employee? I’m praying he keeps it to agents only, sorry,” Buck grinned.

  “Then there is no stopping it,” Moore said.

  “Sure, but on your end only,” Buck said seriously as his mother-in-law drove her scooter back at the sliding door still screaming at Moore. Sally ran and turned her around back into the house. “I believe the people around here are sick of getting shit on by Washington. Taking land and money and demanding more.”

  Glancing at the sliding door, Moore was happy he didn’t see the demented woman. “How did Joshua convert two state troopers?”

  “Convert? What is he some kind of preacher now?” Buck laughed. “Moore, today I stopped several hundred people from attacking you. Did Joshua convert them?”

  “Sheriff, Agent Kellogg was a friend.”

  “Like I said, for that I’m sorry, but he was a friend who didn’t belong here. Now I’m going to give you one final warning, don’t go after his family again. Not only will I come after you but heaven forbid, if you hurt Sonya or William, Joshua’s going to go after your families. I mean your wives, kids, siblings, and pets. Shit, I’ll lay money that he’ll kill the kids that played with you on the playground. Family is everything in this world Moore. Don’t push him that way because nobody will be able to stop him until the body count is so high it will seem unreal.”

  “Well, sheriff, the tally from that explosion is four hundred and ninety-six so far, the three missing are presumed killed on a mountain somewhere and with the one in Spokane, Joshua’s war is over five hundred. That seems pretty high to me. There are still over two hundred listed in critical and unstable condition.”

  “Nope, that was just payback for going after his kid. Plus, you know the feds will never admit that Joshua did it, even if he confesses.”

  Nodding, Moore stood up. “Well, sheriff, I must say I wish I could’ve met you under different circumstances.”

  “Yes, I think I would’ve liked that,” Buck said as Moore picked up his laptop case. “Moore, this will be the last time you come to this house unless you get your boys to pull out. If you want to talk, come to my office. I have a feeling you’re going to end up on the wrong end of my gun,” he said pausing and looking up at Moore. “I walk the line and only those that cross it, end up on the other side of my gun. Drive careful,” Buck finished and looked away over the dark lake.

  Very sad, but knowing Buck was probably right, Moore left walking around the house to his car. At the front window, Buck’s mother-in-law was beating at it with her cane and screaming at him. “Yeah, if I was Buck, I wouldn’t turn in the wife either, if she killed someone. I’d hide the damn body myself, so no one would find it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Joshua had the car parked and the horses saddled and was moving back into the wilderness before 1000. What had taken him so long was that he’d had to drive the BMW to the place where he’d stashed the horses, unload the car, drive it back to park and then walk back to the horses. Before he left the car, he looked at it with a sigh, not really believing he would be able to use it again. “Well, it served its purpose. If it’s here, it’s here,” he said and left.

  Back in his battle gear, Joshua steered the horses northeast, heading to the dugout to drop stuff off and grab other stuff. On the drive up, he’d heard on the radio the feds were building up at the Priest Lake Forestry Service Airport. Which was just a big name for a dirt runway beside the road with several Forestry Service buildings. At one time, the explosives he’d stolen had been stored there, but OSHA and the EPA had said they couldn’t be and they’d moved the storage building north.

  The airport was used for community events like sled dog races and outdoor events so he knew it well. What he didn’t like was that it was only four miles away from William and Sonya. On the hourly reports, he’d heard of a large group of citizens that had formed up to stand guard at his house with the sheriff’s department. Knowing his crew would watch his family did set Joshua at ease, but he still felt it was his duty to protect them.

  Stopping on a ridge, he climbed off King and waded through the bracken ferns. When he’d first come out, most of the ferns were barely knee high, now they were almost at his waist. The panhandle of Idaho was a temperate rainforest and the ferns shot up under the trees blanketing the forest floor. This factor would really help his plans because you had to push the ferns away just to see the forest floor.

  Lifting his binoculars, he scanned the valley below only seeing trees, but paused over the few glades that dotted it. Then carefully, he followed the narrow valley floor to see if he spotted movement. Not seeing men but a nice moose, he climbed back on King and continued on.

  It was just after 1700 and Joshua was a mile west of Little Grass Mountain still in Washington, when King stopped. Riding below the ridgeline in a nice forest, Joshua looked around then down at King. “What?” but King just looked ahead.

  Giving King a little kick, Joshua tried to steer him ahead, but King turned southeast like he was heading for the cabin. “King, we can’t go there, they will turn you into glue,” he said yanking the reins. He tried to steer King toward the dugout, but King would only take a few steps and stop.

  “Kin-,” Joshua started to say then stopped. Reaching down, he grabbed his M4 and pulled it across his chest. Then he patted King, “Good boy,” he said quietly and climbed off. Leading King with the mule trailing, Joshua h
eaded up the ridge and followed a ridgeline that led north, away from Little Grass Mountain.

  Knowing where the ridge led to, Joshua carefully followed it and kept looking over his shoulder at King. King seemed happy to go this way if Joshua wasn’t riding. Seeing a small clearing ahead, he left King and waded through the ferns, pulling out his binoculars.

  Below him was a nice-sized valley that eventually fed into North Priest Lake. Bringing his binoculars up he started scanning. It didn’t take him long to see ten people riding horses and following a road on the valley floor, barely two miles away. “Yep, horses are better than dogs,” Joshua said turning around clicking his tongue in his cheek calling King up.

  Ambling through the ferns, King led the mule and stopped behind him. Going to his saddle, Joshua pulled out his spotting scope and map. Raising up the spotting scope, he zoomed on the group and it wasn’t difficult to figure out that they were feds looking for him. Ten men riding horses with automatic weapons and tactical gear really gave it away.

  Dropping to his knees, he opened the map and tried to figure out where to move so he could follow them. “I’m thinking of following this slope down to the next ridge that runs parallel to the valley. What do you think?” he said looking back at King. King just wiggled his ears.

  “Okay, that’s what we’ll do,” Joshua said folding the map up. “Well, high-top’s notes said they only had ten horsemen on patrol, but they were two five-man teams. Guess they combined them to find little ol’ me.”

  Moving down the slope and staying in the trees, Joshua kept an easy pace. “You know, we watched them and they never even looked around,” Joshua mumbled. “Why are they following roads? That’s the only place they can see me, so why would I follow roads?”

  Not able to reason it out, Joshua kicked King in the side moving back into a normal walk. Thirty minutes later, he came to another clearing near the highpoint on the ridge and hopped off. Moving ahead, he pulled his binoculars out and looked down into the valley and saw he had cut the distance to them in half.