Jason looked over at Simon. From the look on his face, it was clear Simon was thinking along similar lines.
"We'll see what we can find out for you," Simon offered. "In the mean time, feel free to set up camp outside of town. There's plenty of space. If you need to trade for supplies, again, help yourself. I'll let you know what I find out. Sound fair?"
Conklin's grin grew. "Absolutely, sir. I appreciate your help."
"In the mean time," Jason said, "mind if I ask where you folks come from? We're trying to get a feel for how the rest of the country's holding up."
Conklin nodded, his smile fading. "Somerton. A few days ride over the mountains."
Jason knew his surprise was written all over his face. "How are things that way?"
"Great. We're trying to rebuild as best we can. Extending protection all over. We'd offer it to you folks, but you're a bit outside of our range right now."
Jason nodded. He noticed that the other man didn't bother to ask if New Eden actually needed it or not though. Jason figured there was something telling in that.
Conklin remounted his horse and barked orders to his men. They turned and rode out of the square.
Simon walked over to Jason. "So, think we need to have a little chat with our guests?"
Jason nodded, his eyes never leaving Conklin's men until they were out of sight. "Yeah. Let's."
Chapter 3
The small man with jet black hair and dark skin called Ramirez looked over at his commander. "Think they know where they're at?" he asked.
Conklin nodded. "Absolutely. They know something at least, but everything says they're here. Let's try and keep an eye on the commander and the other guy if possible."
Ramirez nodded. "Yes, sir." He thought for a moment, then continued. "You don't think they'll hand them over, do you?"
Conklin looked at his lieutenant. "They might. It depends though. If they've still got them and know they're thieves, they might refuse simply because the scumbags stole from them too. I can respect that. Then again, they might think they're somehow better than us and won't hand them over no matter what."
"If that's the case?"
The larger man grinned wolfishly. "In that case, things get interesting."
Ramirez stifled a shiver. "I'll have Todd's team gather intel. Just in case."
The column had entered a large clearing. Conklin said nothing as he climbed off his horse. The small column that left the town met up with an additional two thousand men. Conklin was going to get those prisoners back, no matter what. "You do that, Ramirez. You do that."
Ramirez nodded and spurred his horse down the row of tents already erected, rows upon rows of them. Tents had been set up back to back, with a road running in front of each row of tents. Each placed precisely according to plan.
An attendant stepped forward to take the reins of Conklin's horse. The big man walked into his tent, dropping the flap to keep the world away. He was going to get these runners. He'd be damned if he’d let her get away from him. Not this time.
** ** **
Jason followed Simon, his mind in a thousand different directions, as they approached the church. Hardesty never actually used the rooms most folks called the parsonage. Instead, he typically used it to help out newcomer families. Singles could crash on someone's floor for a time, but families had special needs.
Mark and Megan sat at the dining table playing a card game. The couple looked up as the two men entered.
"We've got a bit of a problem," Simon said.
"Oh?" Mark asked.
"Yeah," Jason said. "Tell us about Somerton."
The couple's faces fell. "How…how did you hear about that?" Mark asked.
"Man named Terry Conklin just stopped by, looking for you. Said you were thieves," Simon said.
Mark cursed under his breath, then looked at the two men. "We're not. Nothing like that. I swear."
Jason pointed to a chair and gave a questioning look. Mark seemed to understand and nodded in reply. Sitting down, Jason looked at the couple. "Why don't you two tell us what the hell is going on? We've got armed men camped outside of town, which isn't fun for anyone, so why don't you fill us in."
"A few months back, we worked our way up through Alabama and into Tennessee. We were trying to get someplace cooler and this part of the country sounded like a better place than East Texas for that," Mark began.
Jason nodded. He couldn't say he could blame the guy.
"Well, we were running low on food and came across this house. The windows were busted, the door barely hanging on, all that stuff. It looked abandoned. Weeds grown up, the works. Well, we go in to see if there's anything there. We weren't holding out a lot of hope, but damned if there wasn't a couple of cans of soup."
Megan reached out and took her husband's hand. "The cans had a layer of dust on them. They'd been there a while." Jason nodded.
"So," Mark said, "we grabbed them. Later that day, we're eating them and these two guys come up on horseback. They're well fed and aren't acting aggressive or anything. Asked where we scored the food. They're not right up on us or anything, and they're pulling out their own food. I didn't see any harm, so I told them."
Jason raised an eyebrow and asked, "They were eating?"
Megan nodded. "Yes, sir. They just seemed curious, that's all."
He nodded for the couple to continue. "So, they ask us if we want to follow them back to town. Now, we're looking for somewhere to settle, and a town seems like the best place to do that obviously, so of course we said 'yeah'."
Megan picked up, "We get to town, and they lead us into this room. There's a guy sitting behind a desk. They tell him that we found a couple cans of food in this old house. I guess they knew the people who'd lived there, because they used a last name. Don't really remember what it was or anything, but I guess that doesn't really matter.
"Next thing we know, this guy asks if that's true. Well, we've scavenged before and it's always been understood that if no one's living in the house, whatever's left is fair game, so we say it is."
Again, Jason nodded.
"This guy announces we're guilty of theft and we're sentenced to lifetime indenture for our crimes. Not only that, but because Xander ate some of the food too, he's just as guilty and shares our sentences."
Simon leaned back in his chair. "Indenture?"
Mark nodded. "Yeah, that's what they call it. Your 'indenture' is then sold to someone and you have to do what they say. They can do whatever they want to you, and you can't do anything about it. Hell, they can kill you if they want, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."
"Sounds like slavery to me," Jason said, his brows furrowed.
Mark studied the table for a moment before finally nodding his agreement.
"So, you ran?" Simon asked.
Mark repeated the gesture.
"How long did you wait?"
Megan face grew defiant. Jason shifted his chair, ready to keep her from laying a hand on Simon. "We were fine until that sick fuck Conklin announced he'd bought me. Everyone knew what he did with the women he bought. He likes hurting people. I wasn't going to go through that."
Mark raised his head. "We had to run. If not, she'd have killed herself to avoid him. I don't think I could have blamed her."
Jason leaned forward. "Why didn't you tell us this when we found you?"
Mark shrugged. "I don't know. On one hand, it seemed so surreal, like something we saw in a movie or something. I mean, I thought slavery died with the Confederacy, you know? On the other, announcing we'd been convicted of stealing didn't seem like a smart introduction."
Man's got a point, Jason thought. The truth was, there wasn't any reason they would have. They didn't know where this town stood on slavery. While Mark may not have heard about slavery making a comeback after the war, Jason was intimately aware of how it worked. Jess had been taken for essentially the same purpose. He could still remember the feel of the knife in his hand as he put an end to that situ
ation.
"Alright," Jason said. "You two lay low. When Xander gets back, he needs to lay low as well. We'll get you what you need."
"You're not…?" Mark stammered.
"Not my call, unfortunately," Jason said. "This is outside of my lane. The council will be dealing with this one. Simon's the chairman of it, but he's only one voice. However, I can tell you that I personally will do whatever I can."
"Same here," Simon said.
** ** **
It was late when Jason returned home. Word had gotten to Jess about what was going on, so the smell of stew filled the small house. Ricky, Allison, and Jess sat around the rough wooden table.
"Hungry?" Jess asked.
Jason nodded and forced a smile.
He pulled out a chair and sat down. Looking at his two children, he asked them about their day. Allison had gotten into a bit of a scuffle at school, which wasn't surprising. Older boys liked to try and push her around. Apparently, they figured because her father was sheriff, they'd get cool points for bullying her of all kids.
Unfortunately, the little bastards didn't realize that Allison was a fighter. Jess had started teaching her how to fight from the time she was old enough to throw a punch, and that was before she started teaching everyone at the school. Once as a damsel in distress in her life was more than enough, and she was determined her daughter wouldn't be one even once. At least Allison didn't break any bones. This time, anyway.
Ricky recounted his day in the fields, listening to guys who really didn't know anything, trying to be experts. The younger man simply nodded and did it the right way and moved on. Until the end of the day when he got the older man to describe how he wanted the beds prepared in front of Moonbeam, the hippy woman in charge of the gardening.
Jason laughed at the thought of the five foot two woman in overalls pulling a six foot six man down to eye level and educating him on the finer points of double dug beds.
Supper wrapped up and Allison went to bed, kissing Jason goodnight before turning in. He hated that he'd missed so much of her life.
Ricky announced he was meeting some friends at the pub someone had recently opened. Jason shook his head, imagining what his own father would have said if he'd said so openly that he was going out drinking. Of course, Ricky had grown up in a very different world.
Once they were alone, Jess asked, "So what's the deal?"
Jason filled his wife in on the details, including what the newcomers status was back in Somerton. With each sentence, her eyes seemed to widen more and more, as if she knew where this was going and couldn't believe it.
"So what's going to happen now?" she asked once the story was completed.
Jason shrugged. "No real clue. Simon will do what he can, and I promised them I would too, but it's up to the council."
She sighed.
"What?" he asked.
"The council," she answered.
Jason was confused. "What do you mean, 'the council'?"
"A bit of a change while you were out on that last hunt. Sam Morgan resigned. That put Cory Masters on."
Jason groaned, which elicited a nod from his wife. "Damn. A lot changes in a couple of weeks."
Cory Masters was unique, to say the least. Every name Jason had come up with for what type of person Masters was had been rejected. Jason saw no reason to insult dirtballs, shitbags, and weasels by associating them with Masters. Unfortunately, Masters was a slick talker and could usually convince people of things.
"So Masters is likely to make things interesting?"
Jess nodded.
"Great."
"Look on the bright side," she said. "Maybe he'll decide to go along to get along for the time being."
Jason shot her an incredulous look. "Like he would miss a chance to screw stuff up just so he can say he's responsible for anything good that comes out of it?"
"Yeah, you're not that lucky," she said with a playful smile.
"Great. Just my luck," Jason said. "Is he stirring up anything yet?"
She nodded. "Yeah. He wants to have you recalled."
He rolled his eyes. "He's still pissed about that wheelbarrow, huh?"
"Well, he wanted it and you wouldn't sell it. Some people think the world owes them a living. Cory's one of them. What are you going to do?"
"I should have beaten him down when I had the chance."
She laughed. "And then he'd have had even more reason to try and stir up crap for you than he already does."
Jason cocked his head in agreement. Still, it would have been pretty satisfying to have at least done something to earn this kind of animosity.
"Think he'll be a problem?" Jason asked.
Jess shrugged. "Not sure. It depends on how many others on the council listen."
"He's only got to convince two of them."
She nodded. "And Evans seems to disagree with you on general principle, so she'll be easy."
Jason thought about the remaining three members. Simon was a no-go. He knew that for a fact. That left Mitchell and Reid.
"He'll get to Reid eventually. The guy is spineless."
She nodded. "So what'll happen then?"
He shrugged. "Damned if I know."
** ** **
The next morning, Jason entered his office. As usual, Billy was already at work. Hector was as well, sitting at one of the desks used by deputies in general. "Glad you made it," Billy said.
"There was a doubt?" Jason asked, thrown off by welcome.
"Had someone try and hit the Wayne homestead last night."
"How bad?"
"It wasn't. Jeff had some folks over for a card game, and they were all armed, so they handed the raiders their asses."
"Alright. I don't see the problem."
Billy held out his hand, a strip of yellow cloth hanging off from either side of his massive paw.
Jason took the armband. It was red with a yellow triangle stitched onto it, a symbol Jason had seen before. Swearing under his breath, he handed it to Hector.
"Brotherhood?"
Jason nodded. "Looks like."
"Son of a bitch. I thought we were done with those assholes."
"Not until we kill the last one, apparently."
"Who?" Sully said from behind Jason. He'd not heard the little man enter the room.
"Brotherhood of the Disgraced Pyramid. They tell people they're agents of the Illuminati, former Freemasons who brought about the war and now seek dominion over all mankind." Jason said.
Hector nodded. "The problem is, it's all a bunch of horseshit."
"How can you be sure?" Sully asked.
Jason rolled up his sleeve, revealing a tattoo, the compasses and square of a master Freemason. "I'm sure because I am a Freemason. I've been slogging it out with everyone else since the war. Trust me, if there was some easy path to the good life, I'd have taken it."
"He's right. They're just raiders hiding behind conspiracy theories, using them to scare the hell out of the gullible," Hector added.
"You find anything else?" Jason asked, turning his attention back to Billy.
The big man shook his head. "Besides their gear? Nothing."
"Well that's a complication we didn't need."
"The Hernandez family?" Billy asked.
Jason nodded. He trusted the three men in this room with his life, so he filled them in on everything he and Simon learned the previous evening.
"You've got to be shitting me," Hector said, his mouth hanging open.
Shaking his head, Jason said, "I wish. Of course, they might have also escaped from a regular jail and are lying. We've got to figure out if they're telling the truth."
"Yeah, um…you realize that calls for 'subtle', right?" Bill said.
"Hey! I can do 'subtle'."
Billy and Hector looked at one another for a moment before bursting into laughter. Sully decided to exhibit infinite wisdom and opted to leave the room before he joined the other two.
"Yeah, laugh it up." Jason said, clearly
not enjoying being the target of their mirth. "Of course, there's always another option."
Hector stopped laughing.
"Don't make me go. That's all I ask. I swear, I'm going to deck that stoner the next time he asks if I'm legal or not."
"I guess he can't imagine how a Hector Martinez could possibly be an American. For that matter, I guess he can't imagine that the United States doesn't exactly exist anymore," Jason said, his enjoyment growing at his second-in-command's discomfort.
"Just leave me behind. That's all I ask." The big man's discomfort had him shifting in his seat.
Jason laughed. "Don't worry. We're going to head that way. I'll deal with Milton while you can be safely busy doing something else."
Hector looked up toward the blue sky and made the sign of the cross on his chest. "Thank you, Lord. Thank you."
Billy was still laughing, now at his friend's near miss.
"You can go instead," Jason said to Billy with a huge grin.
The big black man stopped laughing as Hector turned and started.
"That's not funny, Jason. Not funny at all."
"Sure it is. For me it's freaking hysterical," he said, relishing the other man's discomfort.
Chapter 4
Simon was waiting at his dining table when Jason walked through the door. Jess sat across from him, each with a cup of tea in front of them. Simon looked serious. "Uh, hi," Jason stammered out. After a long day, he wasn't exactly expecting the other man.
"Heard about the attack on the Wayne homestead. Any luck?" Simon asked.
Jason shook his head. "Nope. Jeff and his buddies had all the luck last night. Found out who they were though."
"Well, that sounds like a bit of luck then," Jess offered.
"Not really. Looks like the Brotherhood are back."
Simon sighed. "Just what we need."
Jason pulled out a chair and sat down next to Jess. "Tell me about it."
"Well, I'm sorry to pile on more bad news, but the council's having a meeting tomorrow night," Simon said.
"I don't suppose it's about upping how much we're paid?" Jason asked.
Bloody Eden (Soldiers of New Eden Book 2) Page 3
