Bad Moon on the Rise (Soldiers of New Eden Book 3)

by T. L. Knighton

  "You need to hit the range more. I've been joking about turning you into a combat accountant and all that, but it's time for you to buckle down. They went after Hector, but it could have been you or Billy just as easily."

  "Not you?" Billy asked.

  Jason shook his head. "Nope. Looks like someone wanted to get my attention. That means they'd have gone after any of my people."

  Tears welled up in Sully's eyes. "You mean…you mean they did that to Hector and…I mean…"

  Jason nodded. "Yeah, I do."

  Billy shook his head as he studied his desk. "Damn. Hector didn't deserve to go out like that. But really boss, that was kind of harsh."

  "Sorry, Sully. But about Hector, no one deserves to go out like that. It pisses me off worse knowing that this was about me, not Hector."

  "What about the Rangers?" Billy asked.

  "They're looking. It's a needle in a haystack type situation though."

  Sully opened his desk drawer and stared into it for a long moment. Finally, he reached in and pulled out the 9 mm Glock he kept stored there. "Jason?" he asked.

  Jason studied the thin man carefully. "Yeah?" he said after a long moment.

  "I think I need a holster. Know where I can get one?"

  "Greg Carlton made mine. Go see him. He might have one or two ready that a Glock will work in. Tell him to bill the sheriff's office."

  "Yes sir. Billy?"

  "Yeah?" the big man responded.

  "Think you can help me out at the range after that?"

  "Yeah, I think I can make some time. Provided the boss is okay with it."

  Jason nodded. "Y'all go take care of business. I'll hold down the fort."

  ** ** **

  "Let me guess," Tabby said as Jason walked up to the bar. "You want a beef with broccoli, right?"

  Jason shook his head. "Not this time. How about one of those grilled chicken breasts and whatever veggies you've got ready?"

  Tabby looked in askance.

  Jason patted his stomach. "I need to get back into fighting trim and all that."

  She nodded. "I know what you mean. Lean out for the weigh in, huh?"

  He smiled. "Something like that."

  "You just doing the diet thing?" she asked.

  "I wish. Just between you and me? A shoplifter outran my fat ass earlier today. I need to get back to where I was a couple of years ago."

  "All this about a shoplifter?"

  Jason sat at the bar and shook his head. "Not really."

  "Your deputy?"

  He nodded.

  "You can't blame yourself for that," she said, resting her hand on his. "You're not responsible."

  "I know," he said. "I really don't. The thing is, it looks like it was a message to me. Someone's got it bad for me."

  "The question is, sheriff, do you know who that someone is," a voice said from behind him.

  Jason turned. The man was tall and broad, with a black vest and tattoos. His hair was up in a fauxhawk. One of the New Lords had waltzed right up to him. Situational awareness fail. "And you are?"

  "May I sit?" the man responded.

  Reluctantly, Jason nodded.

  The man sat at the stool at the corner, putting him perpendicular to Jason.

  "You still didn't answer my question," Jason said.

  "Oh? I'm Declan," he said.

  Jason fought the urge to drop his hand to his pistol.

  "I'm sure you have an idea of what kind of man I am, sheriff, and I'm not here to change your mind about that. The truth is, you're probably right about me."

  Tabby's eyes shifted between the two men. "Jason, I'd rather not have to clean up a mess, alright?"

  Jason nodded.

  As she stepped back and made her way to the opposite end of the bar, Jason looked at Declan. "Give me one reason why I don't haul your ass in?"

  "Well, to start with, I'm not the one you want."

  "So it wasn't you who was trying to send me a message?"

  Declan cocked his head to the side for a moment before answering. "In a way, I am. But the form that message took wasn't what I wanted or ordered. And it wasn't a message. More of a test."

  "A test?"

  Declan nodded.

  "Care to elaborate?" Jason asked, his patience starting to wear thing already.

  "I needed to see if the man responsible for my brother's death was strong enough for me to accept that outcome. At least for the time being."

  "Your brother's death?"

  Declan nodded again. "Terry Conklin."

  Jason gazed at the other man. As he did, he noticed the similarities to the former military commander and dictator of Somerton. The nose and eyes, especially.

  "So, you're Conklin's brother. Just my luck."

  Declan smiled. "I stopped using my last name. Didn't want to screw up his appointment to West Point. Dad thought it would straighten him out a bit."

  "So you all knew he was a sadistic bastard?" Jason said, wanting to see how the other man would react.

  Cool as a cucumber, Declan responded, "Unfortunately. Dad thought he'd get it out of his system in the military. Hell, he might have if he'd have spent long enough in it. Too bad the nukes screwed all that up."

  "So why are you talking to me? Find out what you wanted?"

  Declan shrugged. "Enough, I suppose. You command loyalty. That means something to me. Not just that, but your enemies are scared to death of you. That also means something to me too. I may not like you, but removing you doesn't serve my purposes. Not now, anyways."

  "Oh?"

  The other man smiled. "There are far worse things in the world than me, sheriff. When they get here, it's going to be up to people like you and me to deal with them."

  "Care to elaborate?"

  "No," Declan said.

  "Alright, fair enough. But there's still the matter of my dead deputy."

  Declan nodded. "The man responsible for that is named Walker Dennings. Small time thug who was in and out of prison for years until I met up with him. He was one of the original New Lords. I understand you're familiar with us as a group?"

  It was Jason's turn to nod.

  "Well, he bought into the philosophy. Knows it better than anyone besides me. Helped me hone it, actually. Anyway, his brother died at the Battle of the Pass, as you guys call it. He was far more attached to his brother than I was to mine."

  "So he's going to come after me?"

  "Looks that way. Worse than that though, he may know the whereabouts of some refugee troops from Somerton who are looking for some payback as well."

  Jason gazed at the ceiling as he sighed, keeping sight of the other man in the corner of his eye. "Why me?"

  "Walker's smart. Smarter than I let him think I believed him to be. The problem is, I don't know if he's got the brain for a military campaign. Either way, doesn't matter. He made a big mistake."

  "Oh?"

  Declan smiled. "He split with me. That means all bets are off. Hell, I might have eventually come after you, troubles down the road be damned, just to keep peace in the ranks. Now, he's gone and I don't feel the need to give a damn."

  "So I beat your brother, he gets hung, and now you want to be my friend?"

  The other man laughed. "Hardly. When everything is said and done, I'm still going to kill you. I may decide you annoy me and do it before then. Right now? Right now you living serves my purposes. Once that ends, I'm going to put your head on a spike."

  "I thought you weren't attached to your brother," Jason said.

  "I'm not," Declan said as he stood up from the bar. "I just can't let someone doing something like that to a family member of mine and get away with it indefinitely." As he finished speaking, he turned and walked out of the bar.

  Tabby made her way back down the bar. "Everything alright?"

  Jason nodded. "Yeah, more or less. I've just got more problems than I thought. That's all."

  CHAPTER 6

  Jason sat at the now familiar table in the investigato
r's quarters. Megan sat to his left, Rick to his right. Across from him was Simon Redfeather, his black hair finally starting to turn gray despite being several years Jason's elder—probably from near constant battles with the Grand Council that ran the TVA—his dark complexion contrasting starkly with the new hue. He was the chairman of New Eden town council and an old friend of Jason's. He'd just recounted the conversation with Declan to all three, and waiting for some kind of response.

  "You believe him?" Simon asked after a long pause.

  Jason nodded. "I think so. I mean, why tell me he planned on killing me later? Besides, the leader of the New Lords just walked into Tabby's without anyone noticing him on the way in. Why not just catch me in a back alley like they did with Hector?"

  "Basically," Rick said, "you don't see any reason he would tip his hand like that if he's bullshitting you."

  Jason nodded as he said, "Pretty much."

  "The idea that there are Somerton soldiers still floating around is what's bothering me," Megan offered.

  "Yeah, you can just rock me to sleep with that tidbit," Jason said.

  "Any ideas on numbers?" Simon asked.

  Jason shook his head. "Not a clue, but we do know that some of the outlying areas of Somerton's territory didn't have the brutality that Conklin leveled on the city itself, so they didn't see what Scott and his people saw. It might have created a situation where more could escape."

  "Have you told him?" Megan asked.

  "Not yet. I'm going to though. I need to send a wire to Al Holliman too. If nothing else, ask him to swing this way so we can chat. Between the two of them, they might know a little something about this."

  "But without Conklin to hold them together…" Rick said.

  "The reality is that they were invested in Conklin's system. They probably have some civilians with him, people who were just as invested in it. Even if they're not literally with them, they're supporters, and that's just as much of a pain in the ass. Conklin's holding them together beyond the grave, probably because they don't think there's anywhere else to go," Simon said.

  Jason nodded and leaned back in the dining chair, considering for a moment. "There's someone else in town we might want to consider talking to, but I'm not sure I trust him. I'd leave him alone unless we're going to make this public."

  "Oh?" Megan asked.

  He nodded, then leaned back forward, resting his forearms on the table. "Yeah. Guy named Jackson Chu. Came up to me right after Hector was killed. Fought for Somerton, but says he's done with it. He might know something, but then again, he might be feeding them information too."

  "Seems to me that if he was a spy, he wouldn't announce himself like that," Simon asked.

  "Yeah," Jason said. "But, he said he talked to Hector when he first moved to town. Conveniently," he finished with a shrug as he settled back in his chair.

  "So no one can corroborate that," Simon said, leaning forward in his own chair.

  Somewhat reluctantly, Jason shook his head.

  "But on the same token," Rick said, "that's also why he'd be a bad agent."

  "How do you figure?" Megan asked, her eyebrow raised to emphasize the question.

  "Well, he was in Somerton proper, right?"

  "That's what I understand," Jason said with a nod.

  "Okay," Rick said, "then why use someone who is far more likely to be recognized when they know some Somerton folks moved here after the war? Why not use one of those civilians or someone stationed at one of the outlying settlements?"

  Jason cocked his head and considered. "Kid's got a point," he finally said. Grudgingly.

  "Like it or not, this Chu guy may know some things," Rick said.

  "You want to talk to him?" Jason asked.

  Rick nodded. "Yeah, I'll do it."

  "I think you should wire your buddy Al and ask for him to come here, then talk to Scott," Megan said.

  "Sure thing," Jason agreed. "In the mean time, I think it might be a good idea to beef up patrols outside of town. Not my jurisdiction or anything, but it does kind of make sense."

  "Agreed," Megan said with a nod. "Rick, pass the word. I'll work up a rotation by tomorrow morning."

  "Yes ma'am," Rick responded with a single nod.

  "Anything else?" Simon asked.

  "Just that we all need to hold onto our asses. It's going to be a bumpy damn ride from here on out," Jason replied as he pushed himself to his feet.

  ** ** **

  Walker and his people, all thirty of them, made their way through the dense foliage. There's no way that map is right. Bastard led me on a wild damn goose chase, he thought as he snatched a vine from around his ankle, an unseen thorn tearing at the thin fabric of his brown his pants.

  "How much farther?" asked the man beside him as he leaned against a tree, his mouth hanging open as he drank in air.

  Walker looked at him. He and Mike Haskins had been together for years. He'd converted the man to the New Lord's philosophy shortly after Walker got out of prison the last time, just weeks before the nukes had gone off and thrown everything in an uproar, but just before the winged dagger had been tattooed on the other man's chest. "Supposedly, not too much longer. If this doesn't pan out, I'm going to get my hands on that scrawny wetback and fuck his world up."

  Mike nodded with a sneer. "I'll help."

  After a few more minutes, they pushed their way into a small clearing. About twenty feet away was a small cave opening with two men dressed in all back pointing rifles at them.

  "What do you know," Walker said with a chuckle. "Guess the little prick didn't screw us over."

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mike nod.

  As the rest of his people stumbled into the clearing, the two guards' eyes grew wider.

  "Relax," Walker called out as he smirked confidenly. "You might want to get your boss. Ramirez sent us."

  ** ** **

  Walker eyed the black clad man in front of him. Jim Grayson was his name, supposedly, and he was the last guy left in charge. When Somerton still stood, he answered to Ramirez and Conklin. No one else. Now, with Ramirez standing with Declan, that left Jim as the head honcho. That meant it was ultimately his call as to whether or not to help.

  "So let me get this straight," Grayson said. "You have some kind of grudge against New Eden and you want us to settle your blood debt?"

  Walker shook his head. "It's not that. I mean, yeah, I want that fucker Calvin dead, preferably in a painful manner, but I know you boys have orders to go guerilla right?"

  Grayson nodded reluctantly.

  "I'm giving you a way. The fact that it'll take out that son of a bitch is a bonus. For both of us."

  The Blackshirt considered for a moment. "Ramirez gave me the authority to decide or not. You realize that, right?"

  Walker nodded. "Yeah, I got that."

  Grayson considered for a few moments, then sighed. "I'm sick of sitting here on my ass while the sons of bitches responsible for this are walking around."

  Walker smiled wolfishly. "Then we have a deal?"

  Grayson nodded.

  "Just one more thing that I want."

  "You're pushing it, Mr. Dennings," Grayson said, his tone hard as his eyes bored into the other man.

  Walker put his hands up, trying to calm the other man. "Relax. I think you're going to like this."

  Grayson raised an eyebrow in question, but kept his hard gaze aimed at Walker.

  "I want to leave this whole Tennessee Valley Alliance in ashes on our way out."

  The Blackshirt commander's stare softened, his mouth widening in an evil grin. "That, Mr. Dennings, can certainly be arranged." He turned and walked away, but stopped after a few steps. Grayson turned his head toward Walker. "And you're right. I do like it."

  ** ** **

  The knock on the door pulled Jason away from the file sitting on the table. He got up and wove his way through the debris littered floor to answer the rough wooden door.

  "Hey," Tabby said with a smile.<
br />
  Jason's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, hey."

  "I needed to talk to you. You got a few minutes?"

  Jason nodded and stepped out of her way. "Pardon the mess," he said. "Young daughter and all that."

  "She here?"

  He shook his head. "No. She's over spending the night with Hector's kids. They were pretty tight. Maria figures it's helping them deal for right now."

  She considered for a moment, then nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Plus, I guess she can relate a bit."

  "Maybe a bit," he said, then motioned toward the couch. "You want to sit? I'd offer you something to drink, but you've got all the good stuff."

  "I appreciate it," she said, walking to the couch. "The other day, you were talking to that guy in the black."

  He nodded as he sat. "Yep."

  "He said something about bad things coming?"

  Again, he nodded.

  She took a deep breath, her eyes seeming to stare off into the distance, held it for a long moment, then looked at Jason. "There are some things I can't tell you, and some things I need to ask you, and I can't explain why I need to know. You understand?"

  "Not particularly," he answered.

  "Okay, fair enough. That guy, do you trust him?"

  Jason shook his head. "Not really. He runs a gang, a former prison gang. No reason to trust him really."

  "When he said bad things were coming? Trust him on that, okay?"

  "I know it feels that way sometimes. Hell, it might even be true, but it's not like we have to let it get to us," Jason said. He'd seen a lot of people fall into despair in the last decade or so. Tabby hadn't shown any of the typical signs, but to be honest this was the first time he'd seen her away from the tavern.

  "I'm not talking about feelings. I know for a fact that they're coming."

  "How?" Jason asked.

  She studied the floor in front of her. Several times, she looked like she was about to speak, only to stop. Finally, she said, "Like I said, I can't tell you. Yet. God knows, I wish I could, but I can't. What I can say is before too much longer, I'll be able to tell you."

  Jason thought for a moment, then nodded. Being told bad things were coming didn't really change what he needed to do. He looked at Tabby. She was tense. He could tell this was eating at her. "If you say so."