The Road to Round Mountain II - The Alliance: By C.G Roberts

by C. G. Roberts

  he came back into the room. “Damn sure a lot of hang time with that one Bill”,

  Walt referring to Bill’s good morning ass blast.

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  “Flying to Reno”, Bill sounded confused? The Sheriff’s phone rang, “Call the airport and get us on the first flight to Reno and set us up with a rental car as well, I have to get this”, as the Sheriff answered his phone.

  “Good to hear from you Adrian, or should I say Thomas”, the Sheriff offered. “At this point in the game, Tom will do”, he replied. “Just to let you know that I’m in Reno and so is Billy and Vargas. I was hoping that Billy would have ditched Vargas by now”. “Me to, his Girlfriend was about to tell him about Vargas when the phone lines went dead”, The Sheriff replied. “Unfortunately that’s not the only thing that is dead. My friend Sanders was killed last night as he was my mole in a group of bounty hunters run by a guy named Rollins” , Thomas added.

  “Sorry to hear that. What happened last night”? “Rollins and his thugs had

  the Hotel surrounded where Billy and Vargas were staying, but they were able to

  escape. Unfortunately for my friend, he didn’t make it as our conversation last

  night was seen by Rollins and he ended up paying the price for it”, Thomas

  concluded.

  “Where at in Reno are you”, the Sheriff asked? “We’re i n a parking lot across the street from the Baymont Inn and suites. Billy and Vargas checked in just a bit ago”. “Where will we meet up with you at”, The Sheriff inquired? “Those four guys that came to Astoria to help, well two of them will pick you and your partner up at the airport. The other two are monitoring movements and phone calls with

  me . With any luck I should see you two in about two hours”, Thomas replied.

  “You’re being a bit optimistic, Bill is just now making reservations for tickets so I’m not sure when we’ll get there”, The Sheriff added. “Not a problem, but they have flights leaving Klamath Falls every hour for Reno, so I’ll see you guys soon

  and kee p trying to get through to Billy and warn him about Vargas”. The call

  ended.

  Walt went to finish his morning business as Bill got off the phone, “Two tickets

  are waiting for us plus a rental waiting in Reno. We’ve got forty five minutes to

  check in”, Bill said. “I’ll cancel the rental while we’re waiting for our flight, Two of Thomas’s crew will pick us up”, The Sheriff added. “Who the hell is Thomas”, Bill asked while trying to finish dressing? “Thomas is Adrian, who happens to be Vargas’s brother remember”, The Sheriff repeated himself? “Really Walt, I’m sixty and barely remember farting a minute ago”, Bill added with a smile as he grabbed his go bag.

  The Sheriff finished gathering his own gear and quickly followed Bill out of the

  Hotel room door.

  39

  Vargas got out of the shower to find Billy fast asleep on his bed. Vargas

  shook his head with a smile as Billy’s phone buzzed on the night stand between

  the two beds. It continued to buzz but finally stopped as Vargas looked over at

  Billy then back at the phone. Satisfied that Billy was dead to the world, he picked

  up the phone. Vargas’s eyes widened as he read the texts that were waiting for

  Billy.

  It seems that someone had found out what Vargas was up to as the texts

  repeatedly warned Billy to get away from Vargas as soon as possible, blah, blah,

  blah. Vargas didn’t read anymore, but sat down on his bed and started exploring the settings on Billy’s phone. It took him maybe two minutes to disable Billy’s phone and make it nothing more than an oversized clock.

  Vargas sat Billy’s phone back where he found it, but he made sure that he

  deleted all of the texts first. With Billy fast asleep he went quietly out the door

  out on the balcony to make his own phone calls. It seems that Vargas will have to

  make a change of plans of his own regarding the plans for Billy.

  “Yeah, it’s me. It looks like Billy’s little group has somehow found out about our intentions”, Vargas stated. “How is that possible, there’s no one that I know of that can possibly trace anything to us. And those Goobers that your dad keeps hiring to run interference for us are starting to get annoying”. “Calm down Marcus, they may be on to me, but they still don’t know about you. Although I can think of one person who could be a bit of a pest”, Vargas offered.

  “Who’s that”, Marcus replied? “Why, my brother of course”, Vargas said in a

  casual manner. “I thought your brother died in a plane crash”, Marcus pondered.

  “That’s the official version, but I’ve had my doubts on numerous occasions, and

  this is one of those occasions”.

  “So, what can you tell me about the others”, Vargas asked? “All I’ve been

  able to come up with is a couple of old beat up Cops. One’s a Sheriff Clatsop

  County Oregon and the other is a Captain with Lincoln City Police”, Marcus

  answered. “Nobody else on your radar”, Vargas questioned? “I’ve been getting phone pings, but the trace on it keeps bouncing me around from tower to tower,

  so they have been getting help, but I don’t know from whom”.

  “If it is my brother, we’ll need to be cautious, he’s no dummy”, Vargas added. “Were you able to get your black bag from your secondary house”, Marcus asked? “Most definitely, and once we get to Minden Nevada we’ll be stopping at

  Woodetts Diner right off of highway 395. I’ll get Billy and me a table and then I will meet you in the restroom to give you the black bag. Carefully place your fingers through the openings, they’re like brass knuckles only the finger rings are made of plastic and the needles are to be on the palm side of your hand, and be careful not to hit yourself with the needles, and then you come out to our table in about five minutes and come up to him and pat him on the shoulder like you know him and those little strap on needles will inject him with enough tranquilizer that he should sleep for two days”, Vargas finished.

  “Will he feel the prick of the needles”, Marcus asked? “Not if you’re quick and

  smack him solidly on the shoulder like an old friend would do”, Vargas reiterated. “I’m setting my alarm on my phone for three hours and by noon we should be on the road again and by two thirty we should be in Minden. Remember Woodett’s Diner and have the restraints in your van ready to go”, He added. “I’ll be looking for you guys around two thirty then”, Marcus finished. Vargas pocketed his phone and went back inside to lie down for a while. Alarm on his phone was set and time for a quick nap.

  40

  I woke up to the sound of an alarm clock. Vargas was sitti ng on the edge of

  the bed, holding his hands over his face. He reached out to the end table and

  silenced the alarm. My eyes felt heavy and my head hurt, not to mention hungry

  and in need of a shower. I got up to go to the bathroom and take a quick shower when Vargas said, “Make it a quick shower, we need to get another car and hit the road”. “What time is it”, I asked? “It’s eleven thirty, so get a move on so we can get out of here and on the road before we have any more unexpected company”.

  Great I got a full four hours of sleep. That would explain why I felt like telling Vargas to piss off. Off to the shower in hopes of a better mood to follow. The water was nice and hot but did nothing for my headache. I’m sure it’s nothing that a cigarette and a Dr. Pepper wouldn’t cure.

  All dressed and ready to hit the road as I saw Vargas out on the balcony having

  a smoke. I joined in the festivities. I checked my phone while puffing away and

  was discouraged to find no replies to my texts. Ma
ybe we were in a crappy

  service area.

  “There’s a car lot about five blocks down Mill Street. We’ll get what we need

  and hit the road”, Vargas offered. “How long before we hit Round Mountain”, I asked excitedly? “With any luck we should be there tonight, which would be a more opportune time to destroy the very essence of it’s being”. “What about

  food”. “What”, Vargas questioned? “Food, I don’t know about you, but I’m

  starving”.

  Vargas rolled his eyes and replied, “There’s a mini-mart next door to the dealer. You can load up on whatever and while you’re there you could pick me up some munchies”, as he was starting to hand me some cash. I brushed him offstating, “You take care of the wheels and I’ll take care of the Grub, Bub”.

  I was stocking up on nutritional items such as Slim Jims, chips, assorted candy bars, a couple of pre made sandwiches and a six pack of Dr. Pepper. The Mini mart did not ask for identification when I asked for a couple of packs of Marlboro.

  It could be that my pitiful choice of food made him feel sorry for me. The bottom

  line was that I have enough smokes for a while.

  I wondered across the street to the Lithium Chrysler dealership, where Vargas

  was nowhere to be seen. I sat down the three bags of goodies on one of the two

  chairs outside the showroom and opened up a Slim Jim and began the munch

  fest. Vargas came out of the showroom doors with a smile on his face as I handed

  him a Slim Jim.

  “They love it when you pay cash”, Vargas stated. “It shoul d be ready in a few

  minutes. They insisted on washing it”. Vargas and I relocated our bounty as we were asked to take our smoking to an accepted area; that’s some way to treat a cash paying customer. We were almost finished with our smoke when the vehicle came rolling around the corner, it was a dark green Jeep Wrangler convertible.

  “Are you serious, I inquired? “Another Jeep, as I recall the events from our last two Jeeps didn’t turn out so well”, as I shook my head in disbelief. “Like it or not, this is the only thing that will get us to where we are going. Once we are off the main roads, the terrain is less than forgiving, so you’ll excuse me for not buying some old lady sedan”, Vargas barked in return.

  I was less than thrilled over hi s choice of vehicles, but what could I say, it was his money and his choice no matter how much I wished for anything other than another Jeep. Vargas hopped behind the wheel and I put our bags of goodies behind the passenger seat and stated sarcastically, “You have chosen………..poorly”. He gave me an arched eyebrow and replied, “Honestly,

  Indiana Jones and the last Crusade. Try something a little more current”.

  I was too tired to oblige his request for more current references. We had got back on highway 395 south bound when Vargas offered, “We’ll stop at a nice diner in Minden and get some real food there, and you and I will go over the plans

  to take down Round Mountain”. That perked me up some, not so much the

  mention of food, but finally a plan to get these hired gunmen and the Round

  Mountain compound destroyed beyond recognition.

  All I wanted was my life back. Ever since I was struck by lightning and my parents were killed, my life has been anything but normal. Even the dye job on my hair was giving way back to white. I could see the white in the mirror after my

  shower; it was another reminder that I’m a wanted man. A fugitive if you will. Now that I think about it, the series The Fugitive, Dr. Richard Kimball had to die his hair as well. Perhaps not good comparisons since I didn’t kill my wife, nor did

  he kill his wife. All this proves right now that I have watched too much TV.

  I needed to focus on the task at hand, which was how we were going to

  obliterate Round Mountain. I would have to trust Vargas as to how we were going to do this and how to get there. He had been there. He had those implants right above his shoulders and a desire to get them back for what they did to him. Now you can add me to the equation, since I want them destroyed every bit as much as Vargas. It was senseless for the way they ran us off the road and for

  Miles, Brad and Gary to have to die because they want to exploit me.

  The fact that they had kidnapped Jenny and set a trap in Astoria had made me

  angry again. I would need to remember to control my anger if we were to be

  successful in our mission. I was looking forward to seeing not so much the

  compound, but the remains of the compound, and put an end to this crap once

  and for all.

  41

  Walt and Bill had just gone outside the Reno Airport and sure enough there were two rather large men waiting beside their Ford expedition. Walt recognized

  the taller of the two from Astoria. He was a couple of inche s shorter than the Sheriff but a rock solid six foot four was rather intimidating. His dark hair was nothing more than stubs from a recent crew-cut. The dark haired man waved at the Sheriff and the Sheriff acknowledged and gave Bill a nudge on the should er,

  “Our rides here”.

  The dark haired man held out his hand to the Sheriff, “Good to see you again Sheriff, I’m Hank and this young man is Cory”, as he pointed to his slightly smaller partner with bushy red hair. Cory held out his hand as well. All introductions had been made and they all got into the Expedition.

  “Adrian and the other two of our group are on the road. He said that he has a visual on Daniel and Billy. Adrian will be in touch shortly so enjoy the ride”. Bill looked over at the Sheriff, “I thought you said his name is Thomas”? “It is, just go with it, okay”, The Sheriff replied. Walt took notice that they are on highway 395 heading south. “What kind of a drive are we looking at”, Walt inquired?

  “Adrian will call with that info. So far we kn ow that they are heading south and Adrian is working his magic on Daniel’s latest phone call to give us an exact location”, Hank added. Bill tapped Walt on the shoulder, “So is Adrian, or Thomas really that good with the high tech stuff”? “Absolutely”, The Sheriff answered.

  Walt’s phone rang as he fished it out of his shirt pocket and recognized the number, “Thomas, what’s the good word”? “Can you put me on speaker”, Thomas prompted?

  The Sheriff obliged his request and continued, “Everyone listen carefully, they’re headed for Woodett’s diner in Minden. It’s right off of the highway and Walt and Bill, as much as you want to help, I’ll need you to stay in the vehicle and out of sight on this one”. Bill looked at Walt and shrugged. “Vargas does have a partner and who is going into the bathroom to retrieve an item from a bag that Vargas is going to leave in there for him once they arrive at the diner”. “What’s the item”, Hank asked?

  “Vargas described it as being similar to bra ss knuckles, only it has plastic rings that you slip your fingers through and each ring has a needle on it filled with some sort of tranquilizer and the partner is to put it on and go out to Billy as if he’s a long lost friend and give him a hearty tap on the shoulder and injecting him with the tranquilizer”. “Let me guess, once Billy starts to get woozy, Vargas will escort him outside and then Vargas and his partner will toss him into whatever vehicle his partner is driving”, Walt added.

  “You speak the truth Sheriff. To stop this we need to do two things. First, Cory I will need you to hang out in the bathroom in one of the stalls and when your phone buzzes that means his partner is in the bathroom and then you need to use one of your hypos in his n eck until he passes out and then plant him in one of the stalls”. “What about other traffic in the bathroom”, Cory wondered? “Chris will be standing guard once his partner goes in”. “Copy that”, Cory answered.

  “I’m banking on Vargas getting impatient about his partner and going in the

  bathroom to check on him. Once he does that, Bonner will be in position to talk to Billy and get him out of there. That’s the second thing”,
Thomas ended. “Am I going to give Vargas a hypo as well”, Cory added? “If you tried that, it would be the last thing you ever do, so stay in one of the other stalls and when your phone buzzes again, that will mean Vargas is coming in”. “What are my instructions for when he enters”, Cory replied?

  “Silencer, between the eyes”, Thomas offered. “What if Vargas doesn’t go into the bathroom to check on his partner”, Bill wondered? “Good question Captain, if Vargas doesn’t bite, then Hank will go up to Vargas and say that his friend had mentioned that he needs your help in the bathroom for something”.

  “I’ve pulled Vargas’s partners profile and have sent his picture to all of your phones so you’ll know who you’re looking for. When Vargas is finally in the bathroom then Bonner will calmly escort Billy out and put into the Expedition

  with Walt and Bill. I will be monitoring all events from the parking lot and once I get the signal from Bonner, we will continue to head south on highway 395 to a location I have set up so we can go over the plans to demolish the compound at Round Mountain”, Thomas ended.

  “One other thing”, The Sheriff was asking, “What if he doesn’t get impatient

  and doesn’t bite on his partners need for his help, and just stays put in his chair at

  the diner”? “That would be the third thing which would be that Bonner come up and ask directions while putting a bullet into Vargas’s hard head. Then he would pick up Vargas as if he is sick and take him to the Jeep, dump him in and we take off casually. I’m banking on part one or two coming to fruition. If not, then it’s Bonner Time”.

  The Sheriff satisfied with Thomas’s answer sat back and tried to relax. Thomas

  ended his call. Hank and Cory were monitoring traffic in hopes of spotting the dark green jeep. They had the Expedition well above the posted sixty five mile an hour speed limit.

  A few moments of silence ensued before, “The two of you back there get down; we have visual on the Dark green Jeep”. Walt and Bill slumped down faster than any two drunks could muster as The Expedition closed in on the Jeep.