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

by Craven III, Boyd

  “No jumping on the bed, you little monkey!” Angelica scolded.

  “Sorry Mom, it’s just that—”

  “No jumping on the bed. On your butt, or I’ll have Grandma get her spoon out!”

  Harry let himself fall onto the bed with eyes wide open. Angelica left the room, leaving the door open a crack. Bailey was waiting for her in the hallway.

  “Let’s go,” Angelica said.

  Roscoe was happy his human Andrea was back. She’d given him a bath after those men in plastic clothes and dark glasses left. He didn’t like the bath, but he loved when she used the big blanket thing to rub his skin dry. It felt good all over, and as an added bonus, he could rub his scent back on her, so she knew she belonged to him. He hadn’t forgotten her during her absence.

  Once dry, they both sat on her front porch. She drank something out of a round thing that smelled fruity, with a bite of something chemical smelling. He saw two of his other humans coming, his alpha’s mate, and the big woman he’d decided could stay with his pack.

  “Angelica, Bailey,” Andrea said, rising, using the railing to pull herself up.

  “Hi,” Angelica said. “Any chance we can talk for a minute?”

  “Sure, pull up a chair! Want me to make you girls a screwdriver? I know it’s early, but my nerves are shot after those agents visited. I know I’m not supposed to, but I needed a small one.”

  “Um, maybe you should hear what I have to say first. You might want to toss the drink in my face, or worse,” Bailey said.

  “This sounds serious,” Andrea said, getting up and getting a cup and making her a drink anyway. “What about you, Angel?”

  “It’s a little early, but what the hell. Tito’s?” she asked hopefully.

  “You got it,” Andrea said with a grin.

  She refreshed her drink after fixing the others one each, and sat down on the rocker on her cabin’s front porch and held her glass up. “To friends, family and new friends and family. I know I shouldn’t be having a drink, but today sucks.”

  They all said cheers and took a sip, Andrea’s the smallest of all of them. She put her glass on the railing and looked over at Angelica with a puzzled expression, trying to figure things out. Her new friend Bailey looked terrified, but Angelica just waited with a patient smile.

  “Doctor Mallory—”

  “It’s Andrea, we’re all friends here,” she interrupted.

  “Andrea… The day you were hurt and attacked… I was there on the bridge.”

  Andrea picked up her cup and took a bigger drink, then put it back.

  “I was ten feet back from the edge when somebody threw that brick. He’d missed plenty of times on the other side and had wanted to try to hit a fancy car and mess up the paint, maybe break some windows. I… I cheered when I thought he’d bounced one off your hood. I didn’t realize it had gone through the windshield and onto you. Then you hit the supports… and the mob… I saw it all happen, and all I could think was, good. This will get the city's attention. Then the gunfire, the screaming. I now know much of it was yours. You had to kill, you shot them.”

  Andrea was visibly shaking, and she closed her eyes, breathing deeply, but her breathing wavered as she fought to control a sob that wanted to escape. The events of the bridge played back in the theater behind her closed eyes. She focused on the memory, and pushed away the fear as best as she could before it swamped her.

  “That’s when I realized that shit had got serious. I didn’t care at the time, because all I figured was it was some rich old white lady. I was snatched up with a dozen others not long after that, and dumped at Kelso. I didn’t know who the lady in the car was until the FBI agents showed up and I heard your husband talking to them. It was easy for me to hate you for what you stood for when I didn’t have a face or a name to put with the person. Now that I’ve met you… you’re one of the kindest women I’ve ever met, and you’re a doctor. You’ve literally dedicated your life to helping other people. I’m so sorry. I’m a fucking worthless asshole.”

  Andrea kept her eyes closed. She focused on her breathing until she had that under control, and then opened them up. Bailey’s face was tear streaked. Angelica had her hand on the big woman’s arm. Andrea stood and grabbed her glass. She took another dainty sip, then dumped the contents over the porch and turned back to the big woman.

  “Bailey, do you have faith?”

  “In what?” she asked softly.

  “Do you believe Jesus Christ died for our sins?” Andrea asked her.

  “I’m not religious, if that’s what you’re asking,” Bailey said, being as truthful as she could be.

  “I’m not a go to church every Sunday type of girl myself,” Andrea told her, “me and Jesus have our own thing, like the country song. But I believe that Christ died for our sins. That means we all have a second chance. A chance to change who we are. A chance for forgiveness. A chance for a do-over.”

  Bailey was quiet, head down, still crying softly. “Do I even deserve a second chance? I’d like to, or a way to earn one. I…”

  “I’m not upset with you Bailey,” Andrea said walking over to the big woman and using her small hands to tip the big woman’s head up. “I forgive you.”

  “I don’t deserve it!” Bailey started crying harder.

  “We’ll see about that,” Andrea told her.

  “Doc, should I go get some medicine from the big house?” Angelica spoke up, and stood.

  “You have any left?” Andrea asked, surprised.

  “Tons. Rob knew we were pretty well stocked up on everything but our own personal booze, so he ordered a ton of it.”

  “Better make it a big bottle then,” Andrea said, looking at Bailey, who was confused.

  “Medicine?” she asked as Angelica took off jogging for the big house.

  “Sounds like you girls are going to be chasing worms tonight. Maybe we should call Anna and Leah over and have a girls’ night.”

  “Chasing worms?” Bailey asked, still confused by the turn in the conversation.

  “She ran off to get a bottle of tequila,” Andrea explained.

  Bailey downed first her screwdriver, then took Angelica’s and tossed that back as well. She figured if her tastebuds were already scalded, she wouldn’t choke on the tequila too horribly. She was right, more, or less.

  Thirty-Two

  The market was buzzing with activity. As word spread about the group’s membership only market, more and more people showed up. The numbers had almost doubled, but the vendors were running out of supplies. Most folks still paid in cash, but more and more, barter was becoming a way of life. The choices that had been broadcasting over the public radio and TV was that the shelters had food and safety. Many took FEMA’s message to heart and voluntarily relocated.

  Without a way of working, money was getting tight. The stores had virtually closed in the past week. They weren’t getting the trucks to replenish them. Those who hadn’t already taken the Lt. Governor’s offer had started thinking about it. Many didn’t have a garden, livestock, or the skills to provide for themselves. The government did, supposedly. Bailey and Angelica had heard the broadcasts and had rolled their eyes. They knew the three squares a day equated to three meals of oatmeal, and some fruit of questionable origin. If they were lucky, they had tacos with more beans than meat in the mix.

  “We’ve got a black SUV coming down the road, looks like the same plates as last week.” Luis’s voice came over the radio.

  He’d elected to stay with Goldie in the big house, preparing a big meal for the group for when the market day was done.

  “The FBI guys?” Rob asked over the radio.

  “Looks like it. Kerry, do you copy?” Luis asked.

  “I do. What do you want me to do?”

  “Let’s get the bosses on the horn.”

  “Andrea and Curt here, we’re at the egg stand.”

  “Dante and Leah here, we’re mingling.”

  “Steven and Anna?” Rob asked.
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br />   “Working downstairs,” Harry said over the radio. “Want me to go get them?”

  “Yes, but go through Luis’s cabin.”

  “Ok Daddy. Harry out,” he said, and everybody could tell he was amused. He’d been given his own radio by the group. The little man was mature for his age and had proven himself.

  “Bailey and Little Angel are headed to overwatch. We were in the greenhouse working on seed starts.” Bailey’s voice came over the radio.

  Rob was glad his wife hadn’t answered. They’d bought some gizmo and software from Sherry’s electronics friend that allowed them to reprogram the radios. Their radios were now encrypted, which was technically illegal, but more and more they felt that breaking such little laws didn’t matter. Look at what the government was doing, right under the nose of the president.

  “I can’t tell if there’s more of them in the SUV or not, but it’s the same guys. Goldie says she’s coming up. She has her spoon.”

  Repeated cursing came over the radio and was cut off when they heard Harry giggling as he added to the conversation.

  “I got one too. Watch your language, we’ve got little ears on this doodad.”

  “Yes Mamma,” Rob replied.

  “Excuse me… um…” Agent Korey said, “I, uh, what’s all of this?”

  “This is the community cooperative. It’s a membership only market held on private property so DHS and FDA goons can’t raid us. They tried it twice and twice they were sent away. The first group didn’t get tarred and feathered though.” Kerry was smiling and straight to the point. Jeff, her new love, was sitting beside her in uniform.

  “So, the stories of the tarring and feathering were true?” Agent Gorman asked.

  “Sure are,” Jeff Daniels told them. “Some of the local state police were involved as well. We figured it was a lot better than shooting them on the spot or finding a tall tree to ugly up.”

  “Ugly up?” Korey asked, suddenly looking up and seeing everyone at the market was looking their way. All were armed, and many had their weapons ready.

  “They mean lynching,” Rob said, walking up. “Aunt Kerry, these two fellars are here to see the owners I reckon. You two aren’t coming for any sort of arrests or forcing any issues we’d be against, are you?”

  “Not at all,” Gorman said. “We looked up the orders your group gave us and… um… Can we speak more privately somewhere?”

  “That’s up to the owners I guess,” Rob said. “Half of us at least are probably needed for security.”

  “Rob, would you escort our guests to the egg stand?” Curt asked. “We’re about out here, and we can talk and pull security at the same time.”

  Rob had his radio broadcasting out loud. He grinned and tipped his head at the agents in a follow me gesture.

  “You forgot to pay your dollar,” Kerry called.

  Gorman started pulling out his wallet, and then saw both Rob and Kerry chuckling.

  “Humor is the last thing I expected,” Korey said with a laugh, and slapped his fellow agent on the shoulder. “But if it costs us a dollar…”

  “Don’t worry, my aunt is a funny one.”

  “It looks like you guys have the full gamut of groceries being sold here,” Gorman said aloud.

  “Food, as well as trade items. Since fuel has become almost as impossible to find as food, folks are truly shopping local for once. We got lucky since we have our own fuel for the farm, and got refilled before the crunch.”

  “This is like the Farmer’s Market I used to go to growing up,” Korey said, following Rob to the back of the market area. “But the first time we came in here, we didn’t see any of this.”

  “They do setup and tear down every time we have a market day. We had some Antifa goons try firebombing us, so anything left between the two gates and these fences could get severely damaged if and when they come back.”

  “I’ve read about what happened here. It seems trouble seems to follow your… group? Farm? I’m still not sure how everyone relates to everyone,” Gorman said.

  “I’ll let the owners fill you in more,” Rob said. “Agents Gorman and Korey, this is my mother Goldie. She’s the boss of the main house, and I believe the rest of the owners are headed this way through the crowd.”

  “Appreciate it. Mrs… Goldie?”

  “It’s Little, Goldie Little. Nice to meet you agents. Would you like some lemonade?”

  “I… yeah, actually. If it’s no problem,” Korey said aloud.

  “It’s no problem at all. I just mixed a batch up. Let me warn you, it’s got some punch.”

  Korey took a cup, and when she looked quizzically at Gorman, he nodded and said please. She poured him one as well. The agents both took a drink at the same time and Korey almost spit it out, but managed to swallow it and cough.

  “What kind of lemonade is this?” he asked, setting the cup down on the table.

  “It’s a vodka mix. ⅔ Country Time lemonade and ⅓ vodka. I heard on the radio y'all were at the gate, and mixed up a batch and came up here. It’s a cool day, but I figure we could all use some pick me up. I take it you checked out the info the family gave you?”

  “We did,” Gorman said, taking a long swallow, finishing off the little Dixie cup. “That’s good stuff.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled at him.

  “Agents,” Curt called as the second gate started opening, “didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

  The side by side was full of people. It was almost overloaded with Roscoe on the back end.

  “Howdy,” Agent Gorman said, giving a small wave.

  The crowd parted as the rest of the group minus Angel, Harry and Luis converged at the table.

  Steven and Anna got off the side by side. Andrea whistled and Roscoe bounded over and flopped down on her feet. He lifted a leg and proved to the world that beans, in fact, are the musical fruit. Andrea yanked her foot back, laughing. The agents took note that everyone, like before, was heavily armed. Much better than anybody else there. Pistols, carbines, knives. Anna walked up to the table and poured herself a cup of lemonade.

  “Hey Grandma Goldie, this the good stuff?” she asked.

  “It sure is. You know I only bring the good stuff in my little cooler.”

  “Mmmmmm,” she purred as she took a swallow.

  “So, um… do you want to discuss this here, or should we go somewhere more private?” Agent Korey asked, “I figured you all heard from Kerry and Rob why we’re here. Your radios… quite impressive.”

  “We have our own repeating tower,” Curt said, “with plans for more, so we have perfect coverage around the farm. Now, how can we help you?”

  Korey sighed, then spoke. “You were right. Our orders to enlist your aid weren’t as straightforward as we were led to believe. When I tried running those orders you gave us up the chain of command, our field office got a call from the deputy director himself…”

  “He wanted to know where you got them?” Andrea asked.

  “Not only that, but wanted us to quit asking questions pertaining to those orders. We told them the orders were found on a body that had been killed by one bull named…” Gorman pulled a notebook from an inner pocket, “Big Red. When asked why the orders weren’t found before then, we told them that due to the massive confusion with the sheriff’s murder and the law enforcement mess out here, we were just now getting our hands on stuff.”

  “I’m surprised you’re not here investigating the bones,” Dante piped up. “We last heard the FBI was getting involved in that.”

  “I was told those weren’t a priority right now,” Korey said picking his cup back up and taking a sip.

  “So now what?” Steven asked.

  “Well, we were told our orders hadn’t changed, even though the reason for pressing you into service was bullshit. We were told to get your aide, or bring you in under the national emergency declaration, blah blah blah…” Korey explained.

  “And you’re obviously not doing that,” Leah said.
“So why are you really here?”

  “The governor,” Agent Korey said. “To put it simply, many folks up at the top believe he was killed. When we took those coveralls in to be tested, we put a rush on it. We would have been out sooner, but DNA testing takes time. I’ll admit, I was skeptical that we’d get a match, but we did. So, the governor of the state got into a shootout and didn’t die. The newspapers said the FBI arrested him, but we didn’t. I know news agencies get us alphabet boys mixed up all the time, but now I wonder. If it wasn’t us, who did he shoot and kill, and who was it that took him?”

  “Why would we know? We’re simple farmers,” Curt spoke up.

  “You’re the folks who kicked a hornet’s nest when the hornets tried to take over your lives, and then you lit them on fire and poured gasoline on the whole mess,” Korey answered. “We were hoping to talk to some folks who may or may not have been inside Kelso. I suspect, as does Gorman, that Rob’s wife Angelica Little is also here. We’d like to speak to her and her friend.”

  “I’m good with that,” Rob said. “Angel, Bailey, would you two ladies like to join us?”

  “You got it Big Daddy,” Angel’s voice came out of the radio. “And please ask Anna to leave me some lemonade.”

  Anna had been in the process of pouring herself another cup. She turned and flipped off the barn. Bailey’s voice came out of the radio, chuckling. The group all poured small cups of the doctored lemonade and waited. The agents turned to the rest of the market, getting another look around, and saw that the crowd had stopped what they were doing and there was a semi circle of over a hundred armed patrons. They had left a bubble almost twenty feet beyond the group.

  “I get a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore Toto,” Korey whispered to his partner.