by Reed, N. C.
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“What do you mean by disservice?” Clay asked his friend.
“Just what I said,” Greg replied firmly. “We're sitting here talking about all of them as if they'll run away screaming the first time they see a soldier on the farm, but Beverly made an outstanding point. They've all made it through a hell of a training regimen, and are now always armed and able to care for themselves. If we're to the point that we're satisfied that they can defend this place, then maybe we should stop assuming they'll fall apart at the idea of a few guys in uniform living here for the winter months.”
“I agree,” Patricia spoke for the first time during this gathering. “Stop treating them as if they're fragile. I know for a fact that Beverly has had several sessions with each one of the young women who were rescued, both before and during their training.” Beverly nodded in confirmation.
“If they were so fragile as all that, then Beverly would have had no choice but to recommend that you removed them from the program, at least until they were more in control of their fears and emotions,” Patricia concluded.
“That is true,” Beverly agreed. “Professional ethics would have demanded it.”
“So, give them the benefit of the doubt,” Patricia declared. “They may be nervous about so many men being here, but we've all just agreed that we will be, too. Let’s not blame them for our own fears by using theirs to make a decision. Or rather, to avoid making one.”
Silence reigned for several seconds as everyone digested that.
“Where would we put them?” Ronny asked suddenly. “I mean, they won't be living on the hill, will they?”
“No,” Clay shook his head. “I figured we'd put them in that field over to the east,” he jabbed the air with his thumb in the proper direction. “It won't be a large camp if we're talking about twenty people. The impact on the hay will be minimal, if any. And they may need to be close enough that they can shelter inside here in the event of truly horrible weather, like a blizzard or ice storm. I've actually considered building a shelter for their tent, for that matter. A solid roof over it to keep snow and ice off the frame. Those tents are built to withstand pretty much anything, but again, no one is making those anymore. The more protection we can offer them for it, the longer it will last.”
“If they get here soon enough, it would be a good time to get some free labor and build a few more dorms,” Jose tossed a new idea into the mix. “One there,” he pointed toward the hay field, “and at least one more on the hill. Maybe even one here, somewhere, for that matter. Behind here, maybe,” he pointed to the rear of Building Two.
“That's really not a bad idea, either,” Greg mentioned. “We do need the room. We could even take it one step further and build small houses, instead. For here and on the hill, I mean,” he clarified. “Build a new square here, or on the hill either one. For that matter, if we did that on the hill, we could just make a larger square around the one we have now. The facilities there will serve a lot more people than we currently have there.”
“That's not a bad idea at all,” Beverly agreed. “One of the problems that bothers everyone the most is the lack of personal space. New cabins to allow people to spread out, even a little, would go a long, long way toward fixing that issue.”
“Yeah, it would,” Clay said at once. “And the extra labor would be ideal for that. You know,” Clay rubbed his chin, “I was thinking, too, of what Lake said about his men having to learn to ride. He's got nearly one hundred men and women under his command, and only eight knew how to ride. What if we, in exchange for their help, build a permanent structure that they could use for the winter, and when they are in the area and need a billet. Then, we also use the winter months to teach whoever stays here how to ride?”
“We can do that, I should imagine,” Gordon was already nodding his agreement. “We have plenty of people here who are more than qualified to teach something like that.”
“We do, but we'll have to consider numbers,” Dee Talbot weighed in. “All of Charley's brood mares are already bred. They're two months along, give or take, but the usual gestation period of the average equine is pushing a year. It would be another six months, perhaps, before the mare would be able to be ridden, and the foal be able to get by without the mother. That leaves a great many of her horses out of the picture.”
“What about our horses?” Gordon asked her.
“You have a total of thirty-seven horses in your herd,” Dee replied and Gordon nodded. “Fifty-six when we throw in those we found when we were gathering the girl’s things. Of those, twenty-two are suitable to breed, and we will breed them when the others are near delivery. With your herd and Charlene's combined, we're looking at one hundred and nineteen horses. Right now, there are thirty-six of her horses that are bred, and six of your own. That leaves seventy-seven horses that are suitable for use right now, but we really don't want to risk the stallions if we're talking about taking them into combat, so that leaves sixty-two total that are available right now for solid, every day use, off the farm.”
“We can put the stallions back into the count for just riding and working around here though,” Clay broke in. “Right?”
“Of course,” Dee said at once. “It's good exercise for them, so it's beneficial to them as well as to us. The only reason I don't want them used on patrols where they are likely to be in combat is because I want to ensure we protect the blood lines. Between the two herds there are fifteen stallions, all of which are capable of siring offspring and only two of which are related. That is amazing,” she informed the group. “We can go for years without worrying about inbreeding. So long as we keep good records, we may never have a problem. That also means we can breed mules with the number of female jacks that are in your pasture, too. They will be much sought after in the future.”
“So we've got the horses to teach Lake's men, some of them anyway, how to ride,” Clay stated. “That's what I'm hearing, right?”
“Yes,” Dee nodded as she returned to her seat.
“Do we have sufficient gear and saddles for that?” Gordon asked.
“We have enough, and Kurtis is making new gear all the time, including working on saddles. And we collected a number of saddles from abandoned places, not to mention that Charley had several,” Clay informed him. “We're good.”
“Well,” Gordon seemed to look off into a distance that only he could see. Everyone waited as the family patriarch did his thinking. Finally, he seemed to refocus on the people around him.
“I'm not going to make the decision for the group, but I think that, pending our finding out what kind of people are being posted here, I'm going to say yes.” Several people tried to speak at once but Gordon held up a hand to silence them all, regardless of which side of the argument they took.
“I get that this may be unpopular,” he told them. “And, as I said, I'm not about to try and force this. But I want all of you to think about something before you make your decisions.” He leaned forward then, bracing his arms on the table where he was sitting.
“Clay, Jose, all of them, are pushed to the breaking point. Having the girls, sorry,” he smiled faintly, “the young women, added to the count will relieve some of that strain, but not all of it. Too many times they've had to go off this farm to do things that we simply could not in good conscience turn a blind eye to. That has made it even more difficult on them, and that leaves aside the cost in lives, or in resources. Not long ago there was a pitched battle fought right outside this building, and it was far from the first of them.” Gordon suddenly looked much too old, and it caught Clay by surprise. He looked toward Patricia in concern, to find her studying Gordon closely.
“Things will only get worse,” Gordon sounded tired as he continued. “Things will get worse and so will the people who have survived. I'm amazed that we haven't already seen a mass of refugees coming down the interstate from the cities to the north. I can only guess that there was enough around Nashville and Murfreesboro to keep them satisfi
ed, at least for now. I can't see that lasting. I also doubt that there are many places where they're as able as we are to put a crop in and gather it at harvest. Or where they have over nine hundred head of cattle on the hoof, and a small herd of hogs.” As he spoke, he seemed to look at each person in the room.
“We're going to be overwhelmed sooner or later if we're alone and isolated,” he said flatly. “I didn't want to believe it, but I've seen too much of it already to doubt it. If we want to stay safe, and hang on to anything for the future, for the kids we're raising on this farm, then we better start making friends. Friends who can and will help us hold this place and the resources on it. So, I say that if Clayton and the others evaluate the people who are going to be placed here and are satisfied with it, then we do it. Clayton made good points as he laid this out. Our secrets are already out there for the most part, and we can't do anything about that. Twenty extra people to defend this farm, and with at least a thread of actual authority to do so, is more than just a big help. It might mean the difference between making it or not. If not now, then in the coming year or two.” Finished, he sat back, seeming to wilt in his seat. Clay saw Patricia frown, and knew then that his father had not gone to see her, or else he had and the news was bad.
“Anyone else?” Clay managed to get back on track despite his worry. The others looked around the room at each other, but no one raised any other points, either for or against. Gordon's words had hit home with everyone, it seemed.
“Then, with the proviso that Dad mentioned, we'll talk to Adcock when he returns and see what we can work out,” Clay announced. “Meanwhile, I want us to reevaluate our food situation with an eye toward deciding if we can feed twenty more people through the winter. Figure only two meals a day, breakfast and supper, and then figure it for only one meal per day, either way. If we can provide even one good, hot meal for them per day to supplement what they're getting from their field rations, then it will be a big help for them, and buy us a good deal more good will than just a place to stay. If no one else has anything, that's it, for now.”
As everyone got up to go, Clay caught Patricia's eye and nodded toward his office. She returned his nod and began to slowly make her way through the crowd, talking to others as she did. Clay made it first and was sitting down when she entered. He motioned for her to close the door, which she did before taking a seat.
“Has Dad been to see you at all?” he didn't waste time in getting to the point.
“No,” she replied. “And I hadn't noted until today how. . .drawn, he looks, for lack of a better term. How long has he been like that?”
“I noticed it a little over a week ago, I guess,” he frowned, trying to remember which day it had been. “I know it was before we fed the Guard outfit, because I asked him then had he seen you yet. He told me he was going to see you the next day, and, well, I forgot it,” he admitted.
“Well, he didn't,” she shook her head, rising. “If he doesn't come see me, tomorrow, then I'm going to see him. He may just need rest, but I want to try and determine that for sure. I'll see to it, one way or the other,” she promised firmly.
“Thanks, Patricia,” Clay smiled. “It helps to know you're there, covering stuff like this.”
“You can't do it all, Clay,” she warned him. “Stop trying. We don't need you ending up like that. I haven't seen you in a while, either,” she reminded him with a raised eyebrow.
“I'll try and get a physical before the end of the week,” Clay promised, realizing she was right. “I honestly hadn't considered it. But I will. And you can remind me whenever you think I need to.”
“I'll do just that.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Better,” Xavier nodded as Amanda got to her feet, dusting herself off.
“I still lost,” she pointed out. “How is that better?”
“Your actions were smoother and more controlled,” Xavier assured her. “Your method is improving. That's why we train this way, Miss Lowery. To improve. You are improving; therefore, this was better.”
“Okay,” she replied simply. She had stopped arguing after her talk with Xavier a week ago. Taking his advice to heart, she had dedicated her free time to practicing her own discipline, and to learning from Xavier. Zach was notably absent from their sessions for the last two days.
“Have I somehow offended Zach?” she asked Xavier, as she moved went to get a drink from her water bottle.
“What do you mean?” Xavier asked, doing the same. While it was cooler than high summer had been, it was still easy to work up a sweat when working hard.
“He's not here,” she waved an arm around them. “Is it because of me?”
“Not at all,” Xavier assured her. “Zach has to do a number of other duties, many of which you and the others in your group do not. He is currently performing one of those duties.”
“What's he doing?”
“He's on a road trip.”
-
“Boy, those assholes did a number to Miss Lacey's house,” Zach noted. Her small, once neat home was completely trashed, the door literally hanging from the hinges and many of the windows broken. There was evidence of a fire having been set on the porch, but it had apparently failed to catch enough to burn the house.
“Man, what does that accomplish?” Titus asked. “I mean for real. I'm mad at you, so I'm gonna beat your house up? How damn four-year-old can you get?”
“She expected it,” Gordy informed them as they stepped down from the small Cougar. Ellen Kargay was already pulling the Beast alongside the fencing panels they were there to collect. Tandi was riding with her as Gordy, Titus, Zach, and Kurtis were waiting to load the panels. In the Cougar's turret, Kevin Bodee sat behind an M240 machine gun, watching over them. The plan was to get them loaded quickly and then return to the ranch.
It had been Gordy's intention to return before now, but there had simply been too much happening and too few opportunities to do so. Finally, they had both the time and the manpower to try and retrieve Evelyn Lacey's fencing and erect a permanent enclosure for her goats. They had been fine in the isolation pen, but that pen was in use too often for horses and cattle to allow the goats to remain there.
“Alright, let’s get to it,” Gordy said, pulling on leather work gloves. “Faster we get to it, faster we get it done. I don't like being out like this.”
“I like it fine,” Zach shrugged. “It's nice out here.”
“We don't want to have the neighbors show up again, though,” Gordy pointed out. “I'd prefer to be gone before they know we're here.”
The four teens fell into a rhythm fairly quickly, two men to each panel, disconnected and then stacked on the low boy trailer behind Ellen's truck. Tandi had dismounted and was helping keep watch as the four teens worked to load the fence. They had loaded well over half when Kevin's voice interrupted them.
“Company coming,” everyone heard in their ear. “Five tangos moving down the road toward us. I recognize three of 'em from the last time. Can't make out the other two yet.”
“Keep going,” Gordy told the others at once. “Let Kevin and Tandi handle it unless something starts. We can get a good bit more done before then.” Having never actually stopped loading the fencing, the teens merely nodded and kept working.
“Okay, these assholes are armed, this time,” Kevin noted, and this time the boys stopped. Pulling rifles that had been stored behind the cab of the semi, the four spread out, letting Kevin and Tandi take the lead.
“That's close enough fellas!” Kevin called, using the PA system in the Cougar. “What can we do for you?”
“You can get the hell out o' here!” one yelled. “You're trespassing! This place is ours now!”
“Yeah, I don't think that's how that works,” Kevin actually chuckled over the PA system as he replied. “We're just here picking up some property that belongs to Miss Lacey and then we'll be on our way. Nice decorating you shitheads did, by the way. I can't imagine how tough you sons-o'-bitches must be,
beating the hell out of a house like that.”
“Ah, shit,” Tandi muttered. Gordy looked over at him.
“What is it?”
“Every now and then, Kevin gets an attitude,” Tandi didn't take his eyes off of their visitors. “Something about this has hit him the wrong way, and now he's goading these bastards, trying to start a fight.”
“Ain't we supposed to not do that?” Zach asked the crowd in general.
“Last I heard,” Titus nodded. Before they could continue their own discussion, the neighbors were yelling again.
“We took the place over as a settlement for not letting us have them goats,” one of the men called. The five of them were still in the road, apparently hesitant to come into the yard. It appeared all of them were armed with shotguns, though one looked as if it might be a rifle.
“Ya know, there can't be three brain cells between the five of you to rub together,” Kevin laughed. “You never had any right or claim to the woman's property to start with, and you damn sure ain't owed nothing now. Now get your stupid asses back up the road and mind your business before something bad happens to you.”
“You threatening us?” one demanded.
“Why, yes. Yes, I am,” Kevin was nodding, even as he pulled the charging lever and chambered a round into the machine gun in front of him. “I was wrong, I guess. There must be a good half-dozen brain cells over there if you managed to figure that out,” he laughed again.
“Damn, damn, damn,” Tandi muttered. “Kevin, don't do this shit!”
