If that didn’t work. He had another plan.
He rounded the back of the cab on the passenger side as stealthily as he could. So far, he hadn’t alerted anybody to his presence. While holding onto the fairing with his left hand, he stretched himself out and reached over to try the passenger-side door. Locked. Darn.
Then, he saw a man in the passenger seat jump in alarm after spotting Hugh in the side mirror. The man then gestured excitedly to the driver, and held up a handgun, threatening Hugh with it.
“OK. On to plan B,” Hugh said.
He quickly sidled around to the back of the truck cab again. Once back onto the catwalk, he got a good purchase with his feet, and a good grip on the red emergency brake air line. He knew that once he yanked that line off where the glad hand connected it to the trailer all hell would break loose.
Hugh knew that the trailer spring brakes would instantly lock up the trailer wheels, bringing the whole rig to a sudden, screeching stop. He also knew there was a chance of jackknifing the trailer, and possibly capsizing the rig. But, it was a risk he had to take.
“Here goes,” he said, in warning to no one, and yanked the airline off.
With a sharp hiss of escaping air from the air line, the force of all the trailer brakes locking up threw him back, but he was prepared for that, and braced himself. What he wasn’t prepared for was the scream overhead, and a flying Jenny hurling off of the roof right at him.
He had presence of mind to catch her, and they went down together in a heap onto the catwalk.
“You do have a knack for showing up suddenly, don’t you,” he told her.
The locked up trailer wheels slowed the truck to a crawl, but the driver turned out to be more experienced than Hugh had counted on. The driver had noticed the sudden drop in air pressure, and had pulled the yellow knob on the dash before the sudden decrease in air pressure could engage the tractor spring brakes as well.
The driver continued to try to force the tractor forward, creating a massive screeching sound, smoke, and smell of burning rubber, as the locked-up trailer tires ground against the pavement.
Hugh desperately needed to put an end to this forward movement. So, the only option he could think of at this point to stop the truck was to cut the air to the tractor drive axle brake assemblies. So, he thumbed his knife blade open, reached down on both sides underneath the catwalk, and neatly sliced the rubber air lines leading to each axle.
A violent hiss of air indicated that the lines had severed, and mere moments later the drive wheels locked up under the spring brake pressure. The truck and trailer rig then finally came to a complete halt.
“OK. I’m ending this right now,” Hugh told Jenny as he felt himself getting into Marine combat mode. And then he added, “Please forgive me for what I am about to do.”
Without waiting for her answer, Hugh hopped off of the catwalk and hurried over to the left-side tool compartment door. He popped the latch with his knife, reached in and grabbed the fire extinguisher, then ran over with it to the passenger-side window.
With no hesitation, he hurled the fire extinguisher through the window with all the strength that his temper and his anger could muster. The window shattered and, before the hijacker on that side of the truck could react, Hugh reached in past the glass shards, grabbed a handful of clothing, and dragged the surprised man out through the window opening.
The broken glass rimming the window cut the man to shreds, but Hugh was virtually out of control. He pulled the man up off the ground into a sitting position, straddled him from behind, grabbed a yank of his hair with one hand, and the man’s chin with the other hand, and violently twisted. A sickening crack sounded, and the man fell to the ground, his head lolling loosely to the side.
The man’s body twitched on the ground with automatic nervous reaction, and the spasming of his trigger finger caused several rounds to go off from the gun that his lifeless hand still held onto.
Jenny screamed, “Hugh, look out!” And then Hugh felt a jarring blow to the back of his head. He started to topple over, but kept his balance enough to avoid the next killing blow that was aimed right at his face. Blinded by the pain, and fighting unconsciousness, he staggered back to get distance between himself and his attacker.
But, Hugh’s defensive actions were not enough. The man was right on top of him, and he managed to get a glancing blow against Hugh’s temple. Blacking out, and sinking to the ground, Hugh’s last barely conscious thought was about Jenny.
“I told you your ass was mine,” the man said with a vicious sneer, while he raised his tire iron for the final killing blow.
“No, uncle. His ass belongs to me. Good-bye!”
With that, Jenny brought the fire extinguisher down on the back of her uncle’s head with such force it caved in his skull and splattered brain matter all over the highway.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Hugh dreamed he was floating on a white cloud, with an angel’s soft, smooth hands caressing his cheeks and forehead, and cooing soothing words very close to his ears.
“Is this what it’s like to die?” he thought to himself. Perhaps he said it out loud. He wasn’t sure in his half-conscious state.
“No. Silly goose. This is what it’s like to be in the care of someone who loves you.”
Do angels talk?
Then lights and shadows moving before his closed eyes began to slowly raise his level of consciousness. He opened his eyes.
He found out he was on a cloud. It consisted of white sheets, pillow and comforter. He also was looking at an angel. The angel looked like a girl he used to know named Jenny.
Then he came fully awake, and realized it was Jenny sitting on the bed next to him, gently caressing his face. She bent down to whisper in his ear, “Welcome back, lover.”
“I thought I was dreaming,” Hugh said. “Where am I?”
“You’re home, sweetie.”
“Home?”
“Hi, Hugh, welcome back.” That was his mom.
“Hughey, you stinker. Don’t ever do that again.” That sounded like Mary.
“Hey, big guy.” And, “Welcome back, Bro.” Those sounded like Dad and Roly.
“Hello, Mister Mann.” That was a voice that Hugh didn’t recognize.
“Hugh, I’d like you to meet my kid brother, Jimmy.”
In answer to Hugh’s questioning look, Jenny explained how Roly had used some lawyer leverage to extricate Jimmy from his uncle’s guardianship, and have it transferred to Jenny until Jimmy turned eighteen—and that he’ll be living at the ranch.
“He’s already been a big help around the place,” Hugh, Sr., said. “He’s more than welcome to stay with us.”
“And, of course, Jenny is too,” Martha added.
“Well, Toto, it sure is good to be home to the new, expanded family,” Hugh ventured a quip, then winced as pain shot through his head.
“Take it easy, Hugh. You’ve suffered a bad concussion. You’re going to be in bed for quite a long time,” his mom said. Then she caught the attention of the others, and gestured for them to let Hugh and Jenny be alone together.
“What happened? Why am I here? Where’s my truck? Are you OK?”
“I’m fine, Hugh. But, you’d better slow down. I’ll explain everything. You just listen, OK? No talking.”
Jenny told him how she couldn’t bring him out of unconsciousness, so she had gotten her cell phone and had called 911. When she had relayed the urgency of the emergency, and because of the remoteness of their location, they had brought in a helicopter to med-evac him out to Spokane.
He had spent two days in the hospital there to stabilize his vital signs, and then they had OK’d him to be transferred home for care there. The doctor was certain that Hugh would come around as soon as the swelling had gone down.
He’d been at the ranch two days.
Jenny had called his company, and they had sent someone out to repair his airlines and deliver his load. Then, they had stored his truck in the co
mpany’s Portland yard.
“What about your uncle? How did you get away from him?” Hugh asked. The last he remembered, her uncle was just about to wield the killing blow against him.
“He won’t bother us … ever again,” Jenny said. “I took care of it. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“And, you’re OK?” Hugh asked her again.
“I’m fine. Just some bruises, mostly from taking that tumble off of the trailer roof. But, you caught me.”
“I remember that,” Hugh said. “What on earth were you doing up there anyway?”
“Once I figured that you’d had your chance to try to stop the truck, but it hadn’t happened, I decided to climb up to see if I could help.”
“That was crazy of you,” Hugh said, and added, “but, thanks, you saved my life. Again.”
“So, how do you feel?” Jenny asked.
“It’s hard to tell,” Hugh said. “I just feel like one big throbbing pain right now.”
“Everywhere?” Jenny asked, coyly.
“There might be a couple of places that don’t hurt,” Hugh said.
Jenny bent down, and kissed him gently on the lips. “How about there?” she asked.
“Needs just a tad more medicine,” he replied.
Jenny kissed him again, longer and harder.
“It’s feeling much, much better now,” Hugh said, but barely finished that last as he drifted off to much-needed, healing sleep.
Throughout the week of his bed-ridden recuperation, Hugh had a constant flow of visitors—much of the time it was Jenny, who came by often to check up on him.
One day, with Jenny sitting on the bed beside him, Hugh broached the issue that had been revealed to him during his horseback outing.
“Jenny?” he asked, “have you ever thought about God?”
Jenny pondered that for a moment. Then, she said, “Actually, I have been thinking about Him a lot lately.”
“How so?” Hugh asked.
“Well, I’ve gone to church with your family a couple of times, and I felt … different there, and afterwards. Don’t ask me to explain, because I don’t think I can.
“Also, being here with your family, and seeing how they live their lives, has made me think there must be something different about them. Different than how I was raised. Some reason. You know what I mean?”
“Yes, I think I understand what you are saying,” Hugh replied.
“So, yes, I’ve been thinking about God, and my relationship with Him. Why do you ask?” she asked him.
Hugh told her about what he believed God had revealed to him while he was up in the hills, and asked her if she’d like to know more about getting to know God.
“I’ll think about it Hugh. Give me a little time, OK?”
“Sure, sweetie, just think about it. Or, you can talk to my mom about it, too.”
An extremely pleasant surprise greeted Hugh one afternoon as he awoke from having dozed off.
He first saw Jenny, who told him that he had a visitor. Then he saw someone move into his field of vision. It took his mind a moment to focus, and to put the person in context, and then recognition came to him.
“Hey, old man. How’s it going?” Hugh exclaimed, pleased beyond words to see his old friend James standing there.
“I think I’m doing better than you are, kid. I hear that somebody finally took the martial arts guy down,” James said.
“Cold-cocked me from behind,” Hugh said. “It took Jenny here to save my life.”
“Yeah, she’s been telling me all about it. Surely she can’t be the same one you were complaining about the first time you told me about your hitchhiker. This one is quite a gal. You never told me just how beautiful she was,” James remarked.
“Hey, James, don’t you be making a play for her. She’s mine,” Hugh admonished James, only half joking.
“Don’t worry,” James said. “But, if I was twenty years younger I might be wanting to fight you for her.”
“You keep talking like that and I might just have to come up off my deathbed and whack you up alongside your head with my bed pan,” Hugh replied.
“Hey, guys. I’m right here, you know. You can stop talking about me like I’m some kind of trade item,” Jenny remarked. And then she added, “And, besides. I wouldn’t mind being fought over between you and James. You didn’t tell me what a cutie he is.”
“I don’t normally think of my guy friends as being cute,” Hugh replied.
“Well, he is. He’s like a big teddy bear that you just want to hug,” she said pinching James on the cheek.
“That’s it!” James exclaimed. “It’s time somebody slipped some poison into your coffee, buddy.”
They all got a good laugh at that.
“By the way,” James said, “after Jenny called me to tell me what had happened, I got a load to Portland. I located your truck, got the window repaired, and even the bumper, and drove it over here for you. All of your stuff inside is still there, and OK.”
“Hey thanks, pal. That takes a load off. I really appreciate it,” Hugh said.
“No problem, kid. That’s what friends are for,” James replied.
Then Jenny said she had another big surprise for Hugh.
“You’re famous,” she said. “That hijacking has been all over the news. They’re making a big sensation out of it—climbing out of the back doors of a moving trailer, crawling along on the trailer roof, stopping the speeding truck by yanking and cutting the airlines.
“Then, once they learned about all of the other hijackings, and how you single-handedly fought off a whole hijacking ring, you are suddenly the most famous truck driver in America right now.”
“Yeah, that and a dollar will buy me a cup of coffee,” Hugh remarked.
“It could be more than that,” James said. “The Associated Press reporter who’s been interviewing us said he’s interested in writing a book about it. He said it could go viral, maybe even get a movie out of it.”
“I’ll be durn,” Hugh said.
“Well, buddy. I’ve got to get going. Roly is driving me to Spokane, where I’m hooking up with another driver to ferry me back to Portland.”
“Thanks, James. For everything,” Hugh told him.
“No problem, pal. Stay in touch, and give me a call when you’re back on the road.”
Hugh was up and about a few days later, with no permanent damage done by the concussion and the blow to his temple.
A couple of days after that, Hugh and Jenny were sitting on the porch when they saw an Idaho State Patrol car come up the driveway. Curious, but not alarmed, by the visit, they descended the porch steps to greet the three officers who were just exiting the car.
“Well, I’ll be,” Hugh exclaimed. “If it isn’t Officer Donovan. It’s so good to see you.”
“Howdy, Hugh, ma’am,” Donovan said, tipping his hat to Jenny. “I’d like you to meet Herman Schwartz, Regional Commander of the Idaho State Patrol. And this is Officer Joel Benz, Public Relations.”
They shook hands all around.
“What can I do for you, officers?” Hugh asked. He thought that the legalities of the hijackings had been taken care of long before. And the last one hadn’t even taken place in Idaho.
The commander spoke up, “We’d like to present you with a commendation from the Idaho State Patrol for the part that you played in apprehending the men who had attacked one of our officers.”
He read the commendation, and then handed Hugh a plaque, while the PR guy took photos and made a short video.
“This will make the morning papers, and the television news,” Donovan said. “You’re going to be quite well-known.”
They invited the officers in for some fresh-squeezed, cold lemonade. And Officer Donovan regaled the family with details about the hijacking attempt that he had been involved in with Hugh.
After dinner the next day, they were all sitting on the porch enjoying the pleasant evening.
Hugh announced that he�
��d like to go on one of his outings.
“Can I come?” Mary piped up.
Martha nudged her in the ribs, shook her head, and mouthed, “No.”
Hugh continued, “Jenny, I was wondering if you wanted to ride out with me. You’ve camped, right?”
“Yes, Hugh, that would be great. It sounds like fun. When were you planning to leave?”
“First thing in the morning. Can you be ready?”
“Sure. I’ll check with Martha and Mary about what to bring. Is that OK, Martha?”
“Sure, sweetie,” Martha said, rising. “Let’s go get you outfitted right now.”
Hugh descended the stairs shortly after dawn, and found Jenny already at the table having breakfast with his mom. He grabbed a quick bite himself, and then asked her if she was ready to go.
“Yep. Let’s do it,” she said.
Hugh kissed his mom good-bye, and she whispered, “Go slow,” to Hugh. He whispered back, “I will, Mom.”
Then he and Jenny walked out to the horse barn.
“Hey, Buck, you good old boy. This is your lucky day,” Hugh said, while Jenny went to a different stall to saddle her favorite horse. She had been doing a lot of riding with Mary, and was now very comfortable working around the barn, and riding their horses.
Hugh tied their saddle bags on, shoved his Mini-30 into its scabbard, and they both mounted up.
He led Jenny up to the ridge where he had first spotted her down at the ranch the time she had nearly fallen onto the bench. When he arrived at the spot, he took out his binoculars, and showed Jenny what they could see from that location.
“You stinker,” Jenny said, peering through the binoculars. She told Hugh what his mom had told her that had caused her to get weak-kneed.
“Well, Mom knows best,” Hugh said with a grin.
“Yeah, but that seems like ages ago, doesn’t it,” she replied.
There was one particular location that Hugh had in mind to take her to. It was about a half-day’s ride if one wasn’t in a particular hurry. And, he wasn’t. In fact, he was quite nervous.
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