Behind The Curve-The Farm | Book 3 | The Farm

by Craven III, Boyd

  “God, I hope that worked,” Governor Christian said as the men in black guarding the gate fell back.

  “Watch,” Rob said as the first group touched the fence. When nothing happened, the dozen or so men who had been directly in front of the gate backed up as a group came in behind them, armed with riot gear.

  “They’re tossing teargas now,” Angelica said.

  Rob could see it all, and thought about sending some lead their way, but he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be left alone if he killed them. That stopped him for a second, because he’d been ready to wade through rivers of blood an hour ago.

  “Not for long,” Rob said, shifting. “Range to targets throwing tear gas and shotgun guys?”

  “Um… five hundred forty five,” she said, biting her lip, scared of what Rob was about to start doing.

  If he was going to though, she would watch.

  “Does anybody know what level of plates they are wearing?” Rob asked.

  “No,” everybody chorused.

  Rob prayed it was at least as good as the ar500 he had in his vest. He targeted one agent who was winding back to throw tear gas and let his breath out slowly, taking the slack out of the nearly slackless trigger until the rifle jerked in his hand. The bullet traveled in mere moments and the agent flew backwards, falling almost on the grenade. Rob was already shooting again.

  This time, at the man who had turned his head to see what happened. The man was kicking the grenade away from his friend when the jackhammer of god thumped him on the chest. His hand flew up to his face, holding his jawline, but he too crumpled.

  “Two hits,” Angelica said. “The first target is still moving.”

  “I’m not trying to kill them,” Rob said quietly as he pulled the trigger again.

  From the time he’d started firing to the time he stopped, less than four minutes had elapsed. They watched as the gate was breached and the few agents who’d caught a .308 to the plates were hauled away as their comrades tried to pull them to safety. Then the crowd got ugly. In the distance, Rob could hear the whup whup whup as a helicopter fired up and new sirens were sounding, this time from the wrong direction. A police siren.

  “Now it’s time to go,” Rob said softly. “The fence is breached, and they have hundreds running loose in there. Even if nobody breaks out, this is going to go wide. There is no way the president can ignore this.”

  “The fact you didn’t kill anybody to do this will go a long way in holding off any trouble that might get directed your way,” Christian told him. “I’ll personally call him just as soon as I can get to my family and a phone.”

  "I'll loan you mine just as soon as I make two phone calls..." Rob said, pulling the burner phone out of his pocket and dialing the number the state police had left for him.

  Twenty-Eight

  Sherry Parker had been effectively benched from doing any policing that involved the farm. That had at all come to an end when she'd been tapped for the investigation of the Owens girls. Hearing that more intruders had been found on the Langtry property, the 911 dispatcher had called everyone that she could. The farm had a reputation, it was filled with good people, the bad luck seemed to fall on everyone else around them.

  When the local officer had been dispatched, the 911 operator had gotten hold of the sheriffs and the state police. Sherry had taken the call at home, and had strapped on her vest and gear over her civilian clothing. When she had gotten there, she’d found Jennifer and Steff Owens both barely conscious, and a shamefaced Don sitting with his hands in his lap. The entire group had stood around the girls until they were taken into custody.

  The Owens girls had admitted to the trespassing and the fight, but they’d told Sherry a wild story about buried treasure, and hidden gold. It all tied in with the bones of their mother and older sister. How the bones fit into the situation didn't make a lot of sense coming from the two addle-brained ladies, but as soon as they were checked out by the EMTs, they were arrested and taken to the hospital for observation. Now the phones had been brought into the investigation. The state police had the better crime lab, but it originally had been the sheriff department's case. After a long night, she went back home for some sleep; the rest of the investigation could wait.

  That's how Sherry found herself the day of the riot back at the Langtry Farm in the evening. She radioed one of the group from the front gate using their intercom system, and was told to drive back to the workshop. When she got there, she saw that she'd probably been expected. Not everyone from the farm was there, but it looked like they'd just gotten done putting up grain for the day. There were shapes on a picnic table, under a sheet. The group surrounding it were looking at her, and then back at the shapes again.

  “It looks like some of you are still working on the harvest, huh?”

  Leah looked around, then back at her. “Andrea and Curt had to go back to the Memphis area for Andrea to get checked out. Rob went to go get Angelica. We expect both back tonight or tomorrow.”

  “Rob had to go get Angelica, from where? I thought Steff and Jennifer said they were in sniping positions?”

  “Listen,” Dante said, motioning for her to sit at the picnic table, “we’ve got a lot to tell you. It all started when Angelica was kidnapped at the farm and feed store.”

  “We… what?” Sherry almost yelled.

  “Not only did we find out where she was being held, it sounds like Rob was able to get her and a couple of others out without any loss of life.”

  “Who did it? Why didn’t you tell the police?”

  “The government took her,” Luis said softly, bringing a double handful of beers from their fridge to the table. “They stole her. Tried using her to blackmail Rob into letting them onto the farm to arrest all of us and steal our harvest. They can’t afford to let people fight back and win. You notice the media blackouts happening on current events?”

  “Wow, and no, not really,” Sherry said quietly.

  “There’s a large riot happening at the Kelso Detention Center. About three hundred peaceful protestors breached the fences, and are in the process of freeing who they can. It sounded like DHS went from less than lethal rounds to live ammo half an hour ago, but they were outnumbered by the folks inside the compound and those outside. Meanwhile, Rob is on his way back here with new friends. Actually, it’s good you’re here, because we’re going to need help figuring out how to get one of our new friends to his family in Oklahoma without the feds or the new sheriff knowing,” Steven told her.

  Sherry took an offered beer and downed nearly half of it before she looked down and remembered she was still in uniform. She cursed softly, then shrugged and took another slug.

  “And where’s Curt and Andrea?” Sherry asked after a moment, needing to change the subject so her mind could wrap around that info. She’d heard about folks being detained, but she’d been working more local issues and traffic enforcement up near Fort Smith.

  “They dropped Rob off, and then Andrea got her last cast off. They had to pack up their house, I guess they got a buyer. They’re actually expected any time now.”

  “So how are Rob and Angelica getting home if they aren’t with Curt and Andrea?” she asked.

  “One of your co-workers is giving them a lift,” Anna said. “Sugar, if you don’t finish that beer, I’m gonna get you a nipple for it.”

  “Shit, I forgot I was working, I never should have--”

  Anna reached over and smacked the bottom of her bottle on the top of Sherry’s. Beer geysered up, but not as spectacularly as it had when she’d pranked Steven last time.

  “Shit,” Sherry said, backing up from the puddle that was threatening to drip onto her uniform.

  “Here,” Dante said, pulling the old sheet that was covering things and mopped it up.

  “Thanks, oh, what’s that?” she asked, noting the four ammo cans.

  “That’s part of what we wanted to talk to you about,” Leah told her, then reached over and pushed the lid up on the closes
t one.

  “Gold and silver,” Sherry said softly. “The Owens girls were right?”

  “Partially, at least we think partially,” Dante told her. “The map that Lyle got from Dewayne was an ‘X marks the spot’ type of map. It was made by Dewayne’s wife though, not the Owens matriarch.”

  “Are all of these full of coins?” she asked.

  “No, one of these is full of bags of rings, necklaces, jewelry and some loose stones. One of them is full of silverware, like, real silver. There's one that has more coins in it, but it’s a mixed collection of gold, silver and really old coins.”

  “And you found this… treasure... from a map?”

  “Yes,” Leah told her. “Harry calls it pirate booty, but it amounts to the same. Most of this is old, but we figure they were buried sometime in the 90s, judging by one of the coins we found. We have one, maybe two spots left to find.”

  “So, Jennifer and Steff’s aunt was Dewayne’s wife, as well as Lyle Owens’ little sister?”

  “Yes,” Steven answered.

  “So, since you bought the land, the girls have no claim to any of it. All they got was a map from her, but it was on somebody else's property.”

  “Yes,” Anna told her. “And finding the cave with the bones was how we figured out how to use the map. It gave us a landmark to start. The part we’re having a problem with, is that Dewey’s wife used steps between things to measure it out. None of us know how long her strides were, but Goldie’s seem to be the closest. Things have changed over time now, though. Trees have fallen down, or an area is overgrown, or the ground’s got worked by a tractor.”

  “So, you haven’t found it all yet?” Sherry asked.

  “That’s correct.”

  A radio squawked. Everybody started turning theirs up at the same time, including Sherry. It was Luis who held his radio up, letting Goldie’s voice come over.

  “Harry says Curt and Andrea’s SUV is coming down the road with two state police rigs.”

  “Open the gates,” Dante said, a grin spreading across his face.

  Everyone got up. Anna covered the ammo cans and, as they all left the barn to wait at the base of the porch of the big house, Steven hit the door opener button he kept handy, closing off the workshop.

  “Harry wants to know if he can wait outside with you guys,” Goldie’s voice came over once more.

  “Yes, but he has to keep Ranger from knocking everybody down,” Anna said when Luis hesitated.

  “It isn’t Ranger you should worry about,” Goldie said, then cursed as the front door flew open.

  Harry flew out of it, followed by two dogs who jam piled the door, almost getting stuck. Roscoe let out a hunting howl and jerked himself out first, leaving some fur behind. Ranger started soon after, but Anna was ready.

  “Heel up!” her voice was thunder as she tried to imitate Rob’s inflection to a T.

  They both took positions on either side of Anna. They waited, Ranger’s butt wiggling so hard he was wearing a spot in the grass. Roscoe tried to stay awake, the excitement was killing him. Harry was straining to see, so Dante swooped him up and put him on his shoulders. Goldie came out a second later, wiping her hands on an apron.

  “They already went through both gates, all three vehicles,” Goldie said.

  Luis came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned back into him with a small groan of appreciation.

  “I wish my Mommy and Daddy would hurry up,” Harry muttered.

  They all heard the crunch of gravel. The drive from the road was a long one, but it took them another minute until the police cruiser came into sight, with Curt and Andrea’s Suburban in the middle, and another state police cruiser bringing up the rear.

  Ranger let out a nervous whine. Roscoe looked at him, and then turned back and let out a louder woof. He wanted to wiggle and dance the way Ranger did, but that took energy, and he hadn’t quite eaten a bucket of food yet and didn’t want to deplete his energy stores too horribly. That went out the window when his Andrea stepped out of the Suburban.

  He took off like a furry missile, ignoring Anna, and came slamming to a halt against the front bumper. He changed direction and let out a happy bark as he saw his human. The smelly thing was off her paw, and in excitement, he spun in a circle and jumped onto his hind legs so he could sniff. Her face, something. Something was different. He could smell it. She was laughing and smiling and pushed Roscoe back gently. He went back onto all fours and accepted the scratches and pets from his human as she loved on him. Roscoe had missed her more than he realized.

  Ranger held the command right up until he saw his big alpha get out of the truck. He whined one more time, and Rob gave him a nod and a grin. The big dog barely got four feet on the ground in the thirty feet it took him to get to his master. Ranger barked happily, dancing in circles, everything wiggling. Angelica, his other human, got out next from the black and white car and she gave him a quick scratch on the head before running to the group. Ranger watched as she scooped up her own pup, spinning him in the air, crying and laughing at the same time, before covering the little human with kisses.

  Ranger looked up at his big alpha and barked happily, then rubbed his head all over Rob’s leg.

  “I know buddy, I missed you too.”

  Ranger chuffed.

  Twenty-Nine

  Rob had called the two troopers who had offered to help, and they had both taken work vehicles. They had checked them out to assist in the investigation at the farm. Instead, they spent almost ten hours driving. Rob, his gear and Angelica rode in one vehicle, with the Governor and Bailey in the other. Sherry and the other police officers had to leave in a hurry though, to maintain cover. They had offered the officers a spot at the kitchen table for dinner, but they had to decline.

  “So, Bailey,” Rob said, digging into some fried chicken and cornbread, “how did you and my wife team up?”

  The group had avoided asking the question. They knew the madness that had infected Rob when Angelica was taken. They had figured many had died, a great many. Harry had been sitting in his Mom’s lap the entire time since they had arrived home, even though there wasn’t a huge size differential.

  “We were roommates,” Angelica said sweetly.

  “Roommates? Why didn’t you bust the ass of whoever worked her over?” Rob asked pointedly.

  Bailey started laughing softly, then looked at Angelica and nodded.

  “Bailey was sent to work me over my first night after I woke up from being sedated. I told her if that first monkey stomping wasn’t enough, I’d give it to her again, and make her my bitch.”

  Goldie couldn’t help it, she biffed Angelica in the back of the head lightly. Bailey chuckled, not believing she was sitting in a survivalist compound full of right-wing wackos and gun lovers and they were… normal?

  “So, I went after her again,” Bailey told Rob. “I had to. It was part of a deal I worked out with the guards there. I got my ass beat pretty badly, but it wasn’t by anybody but Angel.”

  “You did that?” Steven asked, his mouth dropping open.

  “I made her my bitch, and Momma, you biff me again or use your spoon, we’re going to bless each other’s hearts until one of us is going to be eating dirt and picking grass out of their teeth.”

  Rob started chuckling at his mom, who was turning an alarming shade of red as she sputtered.

  “So that is how you made friends with her?” Luis asked.

  “She came and visited me in the hospital wing,” Bailey said. “We had a long heart to heart talk. I sort of pitched my lot with her, I go wherever she goes. As long as she lets me be around.”

  “You’re almost as big as my Daddy,” Harry told her, having been staring at her multicolored hair.

  “I was born like this,” she told him. “Doctor said I probably have a hormonal imbalance, but I quit growing when I turned 20.”

  “Will I grow until I’m 20?” Harry turned to ask his mom.

  “Probably,”
she said, kissing him on top of the head.

  “Miss Bailey, is your hair… can…”

  “I dyed it. Come here, I’ll show you.”

  Harry had since lost all shyness around Bailey, who seemed to be his Momma’s friend, and walked over. Bailey leaned over and shook her short hair. It wasn’t in the spikes, but the colors were still in there. The sides of her head were stubbly. Harry ran his hands across the fuzz on the side of her head, then ran his hands through her hair. When he was done, she sat up, looking at both Rob and Angel quizzically, hoping she hadn’t over stepped.

  “Your hair is so pretty. I love the colors. Momma, can I get my hair done like that?”

  Angelica nodded to Harry. He just wanted an undercut, and she knew how to do that. She was surprised to see Bailey’s eyes welling up with tears.

  “Bailey,” Leah asked, “what day did the stitches go in?”

  It was as much a curiosity as a change of subject. Bailey told her and three of the group nodded.

  “As long as I get a mirror, I can cut the stitches out in a couple of days,” Bailey told them.

  “I can do you one better, I’ll pull them for you when it’s time. I’ve got a delicate touch, I’m told,” Andrea told her.

  “Sorry ma’am, I’d rather do it myself unless you folks know of a doctor I can go to?”

  Governor Christian was confused as they all burst into laughter, then he understood. He had heard the Langtry Farm had three doctors there. Maybe Angelica hadn’t had a chance to fill Bailey in on everything. Governor Tom Christian had a pretty good idea though. Between what he already knew about the group, what he’d learned during his incarceration after his supposed death, and what Bailey had filled him in on… he needed to get a call in to the president, but he wouldn’t do that until he knew his family was safe. Rob, Angelica, and Bailey had promised not to share who he was, other than Tom Christian. They might recognize him, and if they did, he’d ask them to keep it under wraps until he could see to his family. If they didn’t know, it would make his life easier. He’d also talked to Rob and Angelica about the government's capabilities to eavesdrop, and what had happened to him as a result of hackers.