The Ranch

by Sean Liscom

  “Bill, could you get Doc Williams up here? I don’t care which one,” he nodded and left the room.

  “As for what to do? I’ll let him cool off tonight and question him more in the morning. I think we’re way past that for tonight.”

  “This is some serious crazy! I’ve never dealt with anything like it, Jason. He could have warned us but didn’t! He almost killed all of us!” he was referring to his wife, daughters and the family of Alex Perez.

  “I know. You should probably let me question him; I don’t need the two of you duking it out again.”

  “That’s fine! I want nothing to do with the man. The sooner he can get gone from here, the better,” he said as Samantha Williams came into the dining room. She was carrying her first aid pack on her shoulder. I stepped back and allowed her in close to do what she needed to do. It was about that time Jill came back in the room.

  “The kids?” I asked.

  “A little scared but they’re alright. Thank God Allison and Kalin were in the room with them. They might have freaked out otherwise.”

  “Good,” I replied and looked from Jill to my sisters and back.

  “On it,” came her quick, quiet reply and she headed into the kitchen where Kari and Isabella were quietly talking.

  “…. Two broken ribs, possibly. Without an x-ray there’s no way to know for sure,” Sam was in the middle of telling Braden. His shirt was off, and I could already see bruises forming on his sides. Sam proceeded to wrap his chest tightly with an elastic bandage to help stabilize the ribs. I could tell he was in pain, but he endured it like a champ.

  “Hey, Doc?” I asked from behind her.

  “Yeah?”

  “When you’re done here, could you head over to the security office and check on Jack. I’m pretty sure slugger here broke his nose.”

  “No problem.”

  “Make sure Dan’s in the room with you and his restraints do not come off. Got it?”

  “I got it. Not a problem,” she said as she finished up with Braden. “Whatever duty you got him doing, make sure it’s light duty for the next week. Doctor’s orders,” she emphasized the last part.

  “Yes, ma’am. Thank you for coming over and rest assured, he won’t be lifting anything heavier than a notebook,” I promised. She seemed satisfied with that and grabbed her bag. Bill held the door open and showed her out.

  “Jason, I’m going to go with her to check out Jack, okay?” Bill said from the doorway.

  “Yeah, Bill. That’s fine,” he followed her out. I looked back at Braden as he was struggling to put his shirt back on.

  “Screw it!” he threw the shirt into the nearest chair.

  “Listen, starting tomorrow, I need you and the girls to get on those journals. I really need to know what’s in them.”

  “What? You think I’ve been screwing around with them or what?” he asked indignantly.

  “No, not at all. I just think that with their help, you might be able to knock it out of the park. The thing is, I want you to give them some of what you’ve already decoded. Let’s see if they are as good as they say.”

  “A test?”

  “Yeah, let’s call it that,” I bent down and started picking up silverware and plates. Fortunately, the food had stayed on the table during the scuffle.

  “What are you hoping to find in the journals?” he stood his chair up and put his butt in it.

  “Some clues about Jack would be nice.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Think back a little here, you were the one who pointed it out in the first place. The first 22 journals were all about his life and regrets, yadda, yadda, yadda. Right?”

  “And the second set reads like a dryer repair manual, so?”

  “How far into the set have you decoded?”

  “I’m on volume 11.”

  “What have you found out so far?”

  “Honestly, not much more than what Bill told me when I was in charge. It’s a lot of talk about the ARK’s, so far anyway.”

  “What if.... I don’t even know how to say this. What if his coded message holds some clues as to what’s going on with his personality? Maybe he wouldn’t come right out and say it, but what if we can pick up on some of the transitions between Sterling and Kenshaw? What if that’s why there is such a drastic difference in the way the two sets are written?” I sat back in my chair.

  “I guess it’s worth a look.”

  “I’ve still got a lot I want to ask him but, even now, I don’t know how honest he’ll be with me,” I said as Jill, Kari and Isabella made their way to the table and took their seats.

  “Jason?” Isabella said timidly.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry about shooting a hole in your ceiling,” it wasn’t really funny, it was the way she said it that caused me to chuckle.

  “It’s nothing to worry about, Isabella. The important thing is, you stopped the brawl before it really got outta hand.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me! You did what you had to do, and I can appreciate that. It’s all good,” I paused and looked over the food on the table. “Why don’t we eat and then get some rest tonight? I think all of us could use a break. I’ll talk to Jack in the morning and see if he’s come to his senses, fair enough?” my question was met with nods of approval.

  We ate nearly in silence. I think everyone was still trying to process what had happened. After dinner, Kari and Isabella retired to the living room couch with a bottle of Jack Daniels that had been brought up from the underground. Jill and I went to bed very shortly after Braden and Megan. As tired as Jill and I were, neither of us fell asleep right away. We spent a lot of time talking about what had happened in the dining room. She told me that Kari was the stronger of the sisters. While they may have been identical on the outside, Isabella was the more emotionally fragile one.

  She was shocked and terrified at the man she called father. She’d never seen an outburst like that, and she had never heard him admit to killing a man in cold blood. That’s exactly how she translated it when Jack had talked about killing the agent from the ARK. From what Jill told me, their plan was to sit on the couch and drink until they passed out. Kari was the stronger of the two, but the situation was extremely taxing for her too. I felt bad that they had to witness his outburst. That was not the Jack Sterling that they had known and loved. The man in the dining room was a monster.

  Sunday, September 3rd, 2017

  I woke up with the feeling that something was wrong. It was too dark to see the wall clock and as soon as I’d given up trying, the alarm klaxon sounded, and the lights came on. Jill and I sprang out of bed at the same time and started throwing clothes on. I was slightly faster only having put on my pants and slipping my boots on. I grabbed my pistol belt off the bedpost and had it on by the time I reached the door.

  I took an extra second to throw my body armor on over my head and grab my AR-15 from beside the door. I threw the door open and ran down the stairs. All the house lights were on as they were wired to do so in case of an emergency.

  As I ran out the front door, Jill had gained a little time and was right behind me. My sisters were right behind her. When I burst out onto the deck, the first thing I noticed was that one of the Jeeps was missing and the main gate was wide open. Jill and I sprinted toward the security shack in a neck-in-neck race. The door was open, and she edged me out to make it inside first. There we found Bill leaning over the still form of Dan Hawkins, he was feeling for a pulse. Jack was nowhere to be seen.

  “Is he….” I started but Bill knew what I was about to ask.

  “He’s alive,” he answered to my immediate relief. Jill continued to push in and quickly searched the rest of the shack.

  “Jack’s gone!” she reported when she returned to the main room. I took stock of the people that were standing in the room.

  “Where’s Melissa?” I asked no one in particular. She was supposed to be on duty tonight. By now both Jeff Owen
s and Jake Fields had joined the crowd forming inside the shack. I heard the senior Doc Williams pushing his way through the door. The crowd began to part like the red sea.

  “Jake, Jeff, take your Teams and begin a search of the compound. Door to door, room by room. Underground included and travel in no less than pairs. Go!” I ordered.

  “What do you want us to do, Jason? Kari asked.

  “Rally your people and get me a head count.”

  “You got it,” the twins turned and ran out of the office. A disheveled Braden made his way in the door after the girls had left.

  “What the hell’s all the ruckus....” he stopped when he saw Doc checking Dan over.

  “He’s alive but I need you to assume command of Team three,” I said.

  “Where’s Lange?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, she’s not here and her Team is on duty tonight. Round them up and find out where she is!” I barked and he moved for the door. I turned my attention back to Bill. “What the hell happened, Bill?”

  “I don’t know! I was keeping an eye on things from the underground security office and went to the head and kitchen to get more coffee. When I got back to the monitor, Lange was gone and so was Jack. I couldn’t see Dan because of the camera position.”

  “How long were you gone?”

  “I don’t know.... 15, maybe 20 minutes. I came to investigate and found Dan laid out, that’s when I sounded the alarm.”

  “Who was manning the main gate?”

  “Pete Nichols and Sarah Marks.”

  “Where....”

  “I need a medical team to the main gate, ASAP!” I heard Braden’s voice on the radio behind Bill. Susan Butler and the other doctor Williams took the call before I could get around him. I picked up the mic and called Braden back.

  “Braden, what’s going on down there?”

  “Nichols and Marks are both unconscious. Medics are on their way,” he replied.

  “Copy that. Is everyone else accounted for?”

  “So far, yes.”

  “Okay, Braden. Lock down all the gates and find out if anyone saw anything. Report back in person.”

  “Will do,” came his reply. I turned to face Bill again.

  “Get on those cameras and play back the video. Find out what happened.”

  “I’ll get you what you need,” he turned and left the shack as Kari and Isabella came back in. Isabella was the first to speak.

  “Wraith Team is all accounted for. All personnel are formed up outside, awaiting orders,” I looked from her to Kari.

  “Specter Team is minus two. Everyone else is outside,” if I didn’t know better, a flash of shame crossed her face. “The two that are missing were part of Jack’s personal security detail,” her eyes were looking at the floor.

  “Did anyone see anything?” I asked.

  “It’s reported that Wilcox and Ruiz went outside to smoke their cigars about 30 minutes before the alarm sounded. Their gear and weapons are also missing.”

  “Damn,” I muttered. A thought suddenly popped into my head as I remembered the observation posts around the ranch. I spun around and picked up the mic again.

  “OP’s, Sterling ranch. Do you copy?” I asked and one by one I got four affirmative replies. “In the last hour, have any of you seen any vehicles headed away from the ranch?”

  “Ranch, OP Three. About 20 minutes ago we thought we heard one but couldn’t see it in the dark. We’re not even sure we really heard it but if it was there, it was running blacked out.”

  “What do you mean you’re not sure you really heard it? Either you did or you didn’t!”

  “It was very faint, sir. Like it was a long way away and the sound was being carried by the breeze,” the man reported. I still didn’t know these guys by name yet.

  “Copy OP Three. What is your location again?”

  “Four point two miles south west of the ranch, sir.”

  “Thank you, OP Three. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and let us know if you see or hear anything else,” I hung up the mic again.

  “Uggghhhh....” Dan grunted from the floor. Doc had broken an ammonia packet under his nose to wake him up. Good ole Doc and his bedside manner. Dan started to struggle to sit up, but Doc forced him back to the floor.

  “Stay,” the old man ordered. I knelt next to Dan.

  “One hell of a first day on the job,” I joked with him.

  “Want your job back?” he asked through swollen and split lips.

  “Looks like you’re doing fine to me! You want to tell me what happened?”

  “I dunno, boss. The last thing I remember seeing was a fist coming straight for my face…. After that, you got me.”

  “I wouldn’t have taken you for the sort that had a glass jaw, Dan,” I tried to keep the mood light. That earned me a middle finger. “Tell me what you know.”

  “I ran over to the house to tuck the kids in and tell Miranda goodnight. I’d left Melissa here to keep an eye on things. When I came back through the door, Melissa was sprawled out on the floor and Jack had a gun in her. Before I could do anything, I got nailed,” he touched his lips with his fingertips and winced slightly. “Where’s Miranda?” he asked.

  “Right here,” his wife answered from behind me. She and Jill had just entered the shack.

  “Tell ya what, Dan. Why don’t you go ahead and take the rest of the night off? Now that everyone’s awake, I think we can handle it from here,” I said with a wink and moved to let Miranda take my place. Watching her squat down at five months pregnant made me smile a little. When I turned to Jill, she was grinning a little too. Theirs would be the second child born at The Ranch.

  Jill motioned toward the door and I followed her out. Specter and Wraith Teams were still assembled and standing at attention. I leaned back inside the door and told my sisters to stand their Teams down. When asked for an assignment, I told them to bolster security at the gates and towers. Nobody in or out of The Ranch.

  “We got a problem, Jason,” Jill said quietly as we watched the Teams from the Fortuna ranch disperse.

  “That’s one way of putting it,” I replied.

  “Seriously, Jason. Word has already gotten out about Jack’s arrest and some of those that came with him are itching for a fight. There was a lot of grumbling going on.”

  “Fan-freakin-tastic,” I muttered shaking my head.

  “Can we trust them on sentry duty?” she asked.

  “What else can I do with them? Arrest them too?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “I can’t blame them for being disgruntled, babe. I did have their fearless leader led out of the house in cuffs.”

  “All I’m saying is; we’re going to have to address them and their concerns. Sooner rather than later. They idolized Jack and that’s a big deal.”

  “I know. Give me till sunrise to pull something, anything out of my ass.”

  “Better think quickly, you only got an hour or so,” she glanced at her watch. I in turn glanced at mine. 5:18am.

  Things moved pretty fast for the next half hour. Jill had helped Miranda get Dan home. Braden was working closely with Kari and Isabella to get Wraith, Specter and Team three lined out for perimeter security. Unfortunately, it felt like we were closing the barn doors after the horses had already escaped.

  “His guys broke him out,” Bill stated as he walked up behind me. I was still watching all of the activity around The Ranch.

  “Huh?” I turned to Bill.

  “His guys broke him out. Wilcox and Ruiz subdued Melissa and cut Jack loose. After Melissa was secured, they went to the gate and took out Nichols and Marks. Wilcox, Ruiz and Jack took Melissa with them in the Jeep and hauled ass. Dan was unfortunate enough to walk in right in the middle of everything and got blindsided for his effort,” Bill reported.

  “She didn’t go willingly?”

  “No. In fact, she put up a hell of a fight before getting knocked out.”

  “That's what I was hoping,” I grumbled.

  �
��We could give pursuit.”

  “I thought about it, Bill. Except he’s got a hell of a head start, a prisoner and he knows every damn back country road for 100 miles in every direction. He could be anywhere by now.”

  “You’re right,” he shrugged.

  “I’ve got a bigger problem, though.”

  “Which is?”

  “Wraith and Specter Teams. Those were HIS people and they are none too happy about me arresting him.”

  “I must say; that was a little extreme.”

  “Heat of the moment and all that crap. I didn’t know what else to do with him.”

  “All you had was bad choices to make. If you’d let him and Braden settle their score with fists, Braden would probably be in medical. If you had let Isabella shoot him.... Well, that wouldn’t have ended much better. No. As bad of a call as it was, it was still the right one,” he reassured me.

  “I’m still stuck with the fact that his people don’t see it that way. If I don’t do something, I’m gonna end up with a civil war right here inside these walls.”

  “You open to suggestions?” he asked.

  “Let’s hear it, Bill. It’s gotta be better than what I’ve got, which is nothing!” I grinned at my father-in-law.

  “If I were in your shoes; this is what I’d do……”

  CHAPTER 11

  Sunday, September 3rd, 2017

  Bill and I had gone back into the security shack and he laid out his suggestions for me. He explained that the way he saw things, there were basically two clans vying for the same turf; the ranch. Those that had lived and trained here versus those that had come from Costa Rica. It was something that needed to be put to bed as quickly as possible. The clans needed to be united.

  After he and I were done talking, he quietly slipped out of the building to gather the command staff and regulars. I called on the leaders of all the Teams and had them join me in the office. I’d had to do a little rearranging of my people due to the apparent abduction of Melissa Lange.

  Isabella and Kari were in attendance representing the Wraith and Specter teams accordingly. I put Jeff Owens in charge of Team 1, the Badgers. Jake Fields was given command of Team 2, the Mustangs. When it came to finding a suitable replacement for Melissa, I made Alex Perez my choice to lead the Wolf Pack. He was a little taken aback by his sudden promotion, but I knew he could handle himself.