The Legacy Series (Book 2): The Ranch [A Legacy of Violence]

by Liscom, Sean

  “What about all of the little towns out there? If they get attacked, we will be too far away to help,” he pointed out.

  “I know but there is nothing that we can do about that. The towns know that they are responsible for their own defenses and they know what may be coming. If we alert them to what’s going on, they can be ready and thwart any surprise attacks.”

  “Alright,” he said after a moment. “I'll get them back home. Do you expect an attack here?”

  “At the ranch? Not really. I'd also rule out an attack on Elko unless this force is much larger than we've been led to believe,” I replied. He simply nodded. “Jill, Dan, I know that you guys were thinking that the security people were going to start getting days off but I think we need to put as many as we can on duty. Pull people from all non-essential tasks and get them on the shift roster. At midnight, switch to

  comm’s plan bravo. I want someone on the radio at all times. Monitor all frequencies for anything out of the ordinary. If these assholes are using radios, I want to know about it,” I ordered. I glanced down the long table at Bill Butler. It was easy to see that he had something on his mind. “Bill, got something you want to add?”

  “More of a question really. Major Jackson, it

  seems to me that we've gone from a really quiet spell to all hell breaking loose in the matter of a couple of days. We have bounties on the leadership of this ranch. Bounties on the leaders of the other towns and cities that are pulling it together and now, the decimation of a town that is known to be friendly. Is there a connection with all of this activity?” he asked

  “I hadn’t thought about it and I don’t want to stretch for a connection…. I guess there is a chance it could be though,” Dennis replied.

  “It's something that I think you should look at, Dennis. I don't believe in coincidences,” Bill said.

  “No, you're right. There is too much going on for it to NOT be orchestrated at some level. I'll be taking a much closer look at that, thanks Bill,” Dennis replied.

  “In the meantime, Jason is right to suggest that you get your people back here. Whoever it is that has the will and firepower to blow a small town off the map would quickly overwhelm anyone of the Teams. I'd get them close to home for the simple fact that they would be closer to help,” Bill pointed out. Dennis leaned forward and put his elbows on the table.

  “Alright,” he finally relented. “I'll bring both Teams back to Elko.”

  “It's the smart move, Dennis.”

  “I know, it just feels like we're retreating before we ever made contact.”

  “Call it a tactical re-organization,” Bill offered. That earned him a smile from Dennis.

  “Does anyone have anything else to add?” I asked

  of the room. Melissa raised her hand like she was in a classroom.

  “What's on your mind, Melissa?”

  “Go dark,” she said. Everyone looked at her for an explanation. “Go dark on the radios. Send one last message to the Teams that only they would understand, then go dark. If I were the enemy force the first thing I would do is hack the comm’s. They can't listen in if we aren't talking. Whoever lured us into Elko yesterday knew the frequency and the lingo,” she reminded everyone. I'm pretty sure she caught everyone off guard with her statement of the obvious.

  “Operation Bookshelf….” Jill and Major Jackson said in unison.

  “What’s that?” Jim Calvert asked. Jill took the question.

  “There are several operations that all of the team leaders and squad leaders are asked to commit to memory. If the orders are ever issued, Operation Bookshelf in this case, they will immediately go to a communications blackout and go mobile. They will be

  monitoring for further instructions but they won’t be talking, not even on their inter-team comm’s. Total radio silence. The only time the convoys will stop is if they need to get fuel and even then, it will only be one vehicle fueling at a time,” Jill said. Major Jackson picked up the conversation from there.

  “If they don’t hear from us within 24 hours, they will begin working their way back home. They won’t do it on the main roads either. They will use dirt roads and

  trails, hell, they may even come cross-country. The idea being that they want to avoid any and all contact at all costs. The enemy can’t report what they can’t see. Once they have returned to Elko, we can figure out what to do then,” the Major finished. There was a long period of silence from everyone at the table. I think everyone was weighing the options in their own minds.

  “Bookshelf?” Dennis directly asked Jill.

  “Best play, I think,” she replied. He nodded.

  “Yep, thank you, Melissa. I'm going to use your radio,” he said as he excused himself from the table.

  What had started out as a debriefing about the attack on the road had ended up leaving everyone, myself included, a little shaken. The report that Major Jackson had given us about the town of Eureka was scary as hell. A force that would wantonly attack and decimate a small town was something that was going to have to be reckoned with. Soon.

  Within 48 hours, Teams 1 and 2 had made their way back to Elko. They were told to stick within 25 miles of the city but to stay off the air unless it was a dire emergency. The longer it took for people to figure out that they weren't in the field anymore, the better. This was another of those quiet spells only this time, everyone was waiting for the other boot to drop.

  Saturday, August 12th, 2017

  It had been nine days since the attack that had almost killed me and Melissa Lange and left one of her

  squad-mates dead. While she had returned to duty two days earlier, I had yet to be released from Doc’s care. I wasn’t happy about it but I also knew that he was making the right choice. My shoulder was black and blue and it still hurt. I still had a hell of a bruise on my head and it was as tender as anything I could ever remember. It was so bad that it made it impossible to get a decent night’s sleep. The nausea and vertigo were pretty much gone by day four. Still, if I turned my head too fast or stood up too quickly, it would rear its head again. Even then, it was slowly improving.

  Jill had been spending every possible moment by my side. She would change the bandage on my head and she would help me through the ordeal of getting a shower and getting dressed. She was busy but she always made time to be there for me. Even though I

  had reassured her that she was not to blame for my current state, I could tell that there was still a lot of guilt that she felt.

  She had gone on shift at 6am that morning and she had come home around eight to help me get moving. While I had nowhere to be and nothing to do, I always insisted on being up and dressed. I think it was as much for my morale as it was for hers. She left the house again a little after nine and I knew that she would return at noon for lunch. Per the routine, Doc would come by after she had left to check in on me.

  Before he left, I had given him a message to give to Dan. He had that huge grin on his face when he left but said that he would pass the message on right away.

  I busied myself in the kitchen making lunch for Jill and I, something I had not done since I'd been injured.

  Right on time, Jill came through the front door at noon and I could see the stunned expression on her face as soon as she walked into the dining room. The table had been set for two and there was a lit candle between the two settings. I had pulled the blackout shades down to make it feel like evening in the room. While I hadn’t made a fancy Italian feast, I had done my best rendition of spaghetti.

  “What’s all this?” she asked, bewilderment evident in her voice.

  “It’s me saying thank you for everything, babe,” I said as I pulled her chair out for her.

  “You…. You didn’t have to do this.”

  “You’re right, I didn’t have to. I wanted to,” I paused as she sat in the offered chair. It was a bit of a struggle to push it in for her. “Once again, you have been my rock while I recover and I wanted to do something nice for you,
” I said as I sat in the chair across from her. “I’ve already cleared it with Dan, you have the rest of the day off.”

  “But….” she started.

  “But nothing. Dan knows that you have been busting your ass with work and taking care of me. Now, I’m feeling pretty good today and I don’t want to waste it sitting around here staring at the walls,” I told her. She let out a heavy sigh. “Jill, listen to me. I know that I haven’t slept for shit in over a week. I’ve been keeping

  you awake with my tossing and turning and I’m pretty

  sure you have gotten even less sleep than I have. You are exhausted and you need a little time off….”

  “I’m okay,” she interrupted. I held up my hand to signal that I wasn’t done speaking. I put my hand back down and reached across the table to take her hand in mine.

  “Jill, babe, I asked Dan to give you 24 hours off the roster. Nobody will think less of you for taking a day to spend with your husband. So, after we eat this fabulous meal that I slaved to prepare, we are going to go sit in the hot tub for a little while. Once we’ve had a few cold beers and enjoyed the hot water, we will adjourn to our room…..” I gave her a coy smile and she slowly returned it. “We are still newlywed’s after-all,” I said with a wink.

  She started to relax a little and gave me a genuine smile. “Twenty four hours huh? You sure you can keep up with me for that long?”

  “We can skip lunch and the hot tub if you want to find out right now!” I said.

  “Nope, you are going to need to eat. Gonna need the food for energy,” her smile widened.

  CHAPTER 9

  Sunday, August 13th, 2017

  Jill and I had stayed in our room until well into the afternoon. After the previous evening, both of us were totally exhausted and for the first time in days, slept well. We made it downstairs in time to catch dinner with Braden and his family. Megan and Braden both gave us knowing grins when we walked into the dining room. We simply smiled back and took our places at the table.

  “You two look…. Relaxed,” Braden said. “Finally get some sleep?”

  “A little. You wanna pass the potatoes?” I replied. He chuckled and passed the plate of baked potatoes.

  “So, I've been pretty much obsessed with the whole journal thing since we found the last one,” Braden started. “It’s taken me a week, but I think I have finally figured out the code.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I started putting together full sentences this morning. Whatever it was that dad wanted us to know is going to be pretty extensive.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “It looks like there is going to be another full journal to decode. It’s going to take me some time to get it all done. Want to read what I got so far?” he asked. I nodded and he excused himself from the table. After a quick trip to the study, he handed me a full

  sheet of paper. I set the paper on the table and began to read as I continued to eat.

  “It’s taken me a long time to figure out how to tell you boys my story. If you are reading this, then I guess you have put the puzzle together. I hope you are sitting as you read what I have to tell you,” the page began. “There are only a handful of people in the entire world that know me as Jack Sterling. To everyone else, I’m known as Jack Kenshaw. It was a necessary evil to keep the two of you and everyone around you safe.”

  “I know that the two of you think that I abandoned you, pushed you off on your grandparents. I know that you resent me for that and no matter how much I try to explain my actions, resentment will always be there. I could apologize yet again, but would it really do any good? I think not. I know there are a million questions that you would like to ask me, but if you are reading this, I’m no longer alive to answer them in person.”

  “Your mother, God rest her soul, was the most beautiful person I have ever had the privilege of knowing. She was kind, gentle, and had a heart of pure gold. The night that she was killed, Jack Sterling died with her. The man that arose like a phoenix from the ashes of that life, Jack Kenshaw, was someone that I’m glad you never met. Jack Kenshaw was a thieving, lying, murderous, conniving son-of-a-bitch. A man driven by anger and pure hatred for his fellow man.”

  “As Jack Kenshaw, I did things that I’m sure will cost me an eternity in Hell. If the two of you live full

  and happy lives then it was a sacrifice that I would make a dozen times over…...” it ended. I looked at Braden.

  “I am going to get back on it after dinner,” he said. “The coding is extremely complex. What you just read, that took me almost eight full hours to put together,” Braden said, pointing at the piece of paper with his steak knife.

  “Sounds like dad had a dark side. This ought to be an interesting read once you have decoded the rest of it,” I said.

  “No shit!” he muttered around a mouth full of pork chop. “It’s going to….” he started to say but was interrupted by Jake bursting through the front door. Major Jackson was right behind him.

  “Good, you're all here,” Dennis began without as much as a hello. “We just got another distress call. The little town of Austin was hit about 20 minutes ago. It was another fast and hard hit.”

  “Survivors?” Jill asked, pushing herself away from the table.

  “Unknown. They only got the single mayday out before they went off the air. We have been trying to raise them with no success.”

  “Who are you sending?” Braden asked from the far end of the table.

  “There’s no rescue party being sent,” Dennis reported.

  “Wait, what?” he asked. Dennis pulled up an empty chair and sat down.

  “Something stinks bad this time, Jason. Everything has been quiet since the attack on Eureka. No sightings of an enemy column or anything like that. Then this distress call comes in from Austin and within five minutes, I get a call from some bird colonel in Salt Lake City ordering me to send all available forces to Austin as soon as possible.”

  “How’d he know about the attack?” Jill asked.

  “There is no way he could have! On top of that, he was transmitting in the clear, no encryption what so ever, none! I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night!”

  “So, what’s the play on this one?” I asked.

  “The play? We dig in and hunker down. I brought all three Teams with me and they are bolstering your defenses as we speak. Elko has gone to condition one and every man and woman with a rifle is standing a post.”

  “What about Austin?” Jake asked from behind Dennis. He turned so he could see Jake.

  “There is a short platoon operating out of Fallon Naval Air Station. Probably 40 to 50 men and they are hauling ass toward Austin. I sent a burst communication to them to try and warn them, I can only hope and pray that they got the word and turned back.”

  “If they didn’t get the word?” Jake continued.

  “If they didn’t get the word, they could be headed straight into an ambush. I have no way to contact them directly without blowing our own

  operations,” Dennis said turning back around. “Either way, we will know within 90 or so minutes.”

  “How long are you going to leave the Teams out here and where is your Team at?” Jill asked.

  “I’m leaving them here for the duration, however long that may be. My guys are in Elko and they will remain there as a reaction force to help out here if the need arises.”

  “Are you worried about an attack on the city or the ranch?” I asked.

  “Elko? No. An attack there would be suicidal on their part. So far they have attacked two small towns, populations of less than 200. Elko has a citizen defense force that numbers almost 4000 people. The ranch, possibly. Then again, if they have done their homework, they would have to know that the fighters from the city could be here within 20 minutes,” Major Jackson said, standing from his chair. “I have to get back, if I hear anything, I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Thanks for the heads up Major,” Jill sa
id, also standing up. I started to stand but he waived me back to my seat. He reached across the table and shook my hand. After he got his hug from Jill, he and Jake started to leave.

  “Jake!” I called out.

  “Yeah boss?” he said, stopping in the doorway.

  “After you see the Major out, would you send Dan over, please.”

  “Sure thing,” he said, then was gone.

  After the door had closed and everyone had sat

  back down at the table, Jill spoke.

  “What do you think, Jason?”

  “I think we continue at condition one. We let the Teams do their guard dog thing and we add a couple more layers on top of them.”

  “What do you mean, layers?” she asked.

  “I’m still working it out in my head, but I think we need to extend our eyes and ears. I want to get Dan’s opinion but I think we need to set up observation posts. We need to set them up far enough away so that they could give us a little lead time in case of an attack.”

  “That would take manpower away from the ranch,” Braden stated.

  “It would, but we could make up for it by taking away their element of surprise,” Jill said. Her eyes were locked with mine when she answered Braden. “We could turn the surprise back on them.”

  “Exactly,” I replied.

  “We don’t even know that they will attack this place. I mean, hell, they are still a 100 miles away and they probably know that we are armed to the teeth!” Braden protested. He started to say something else when Dan Hawkins came through the door. He looked around the table and sat down in the chair the Major had vacated a short time before.

  “What’s up?” he asked, looking back and forth between Jill and me.

  “I need your opinion Dan,” I started. “I want to set up some observation posts ringing the ranch. I want

  them far enough out that they could give us some substantial time to brace for an attack. Is that something we could do and is it something that we should do in light of the recent attacks on Austin and Eureka?” he answered without hesitation.