by Pete Lister
§ § §
Shiv Thompson was livid. Chris had never seen him so angry. When the two detectives walked into the office, Chris simply pointed to Shiv’s door and bolted past them out of the office.
“Looks bad,” remarked Scott.
“What the hell, we’re armed.” De Stasio pointed out. “Let’s go see what’s bothering him.” Together, the two cops walked into Shiv’s office.
“What’s going on, Shiv?” Ralph asked, as they came through the door.
“That rat bastard sonuvabitch! That shit! I’m going to kill him slow, with my own two hands! Find that cocksucker! I want him NOW!” Shiv paced the room, screaming, hardly aware that Scott and di Stasio had even arrived.
“Shiv!” Ralph yelled, to get his attention. “What’s happened?”
“They’re dead. All of them.”
“What are you talking about? We can’t help if you don’t tell us what happened.”
“I got a call from the Teton County sheriff’s office in Wyoming. There was an explosion. Some friggin’ farm house way the hell out in the country blew up. They found my
Escalades in the front yard, burning. The house was gone, just burnt pieces of wood on the ground and still raining hot ashes. No bodies, nothing. They traced the car to me and called. They searched the area, but there’s no sign of any bodies.
“Jack wasn’t just my best friend, he was my brother-in-law. We grew up together. Now I gotta tell Wendy. That friggin’ bus driver is gonna pay if it’s the last thing I do. You need to find this bastard for me.”
“We’ll do the best we can, Shiv. I’m really sorry about Jack. We’ll keep trying. Sonny and I are going back to the office. We’ll figure out a new approach. You do what you have to do. We’ll call and let you know what we’re looking at.”
“You do that.” Shiv growled, low in his throat. “You just do that.” Without another word, the two cops hurried out of the office.
§ § §
Scott and di Stasio drove up to River North and rolled into Rossi’s. Staring at each other over their beers, they knew they had to come up with something for Shiv or their lives would start to get very uncomfortable.
“You know what I think?” asked di Stasio. “I think they got suckered into a trap. That debit card thing was probably a set-up. That goddam bus driver knew we’d find out, and he did it on purpose.”
“He probably figured that after two years, we’d jump at anything.” Scott remarked.
“He was right, wasn’t he? But, let’s think about this for a minute. Would this putz go cross-country to the middle of nowhere, just to set up something like this? I think he lives somewhere in the area. I think tomorrow we call Shiv and see if he wants to send some of his boys out there to look around.”
“Maybe we should go out, look around.” suggested Scott. “We got time coming. It sure would take the heat off us with Shiv. I hate to think we’re tied to him for life, but the money’s great right now. I’d hate to piss off the goose that lays the golden eggs, y’know?”
“We’ll talk to him tomorrow. Your turn to buy.”
§ § §
16
“Honey,” Drew called up the stairs. “I’m going to run in to Flat Creek. I need to get that bridle fixed. Wanna go?”
“Sure, give me a minute. I’ll be right down.”
“Going to town?” John had just come in from the stable.
“Yeah, I have to stop by the saddle shop for a bridle.”
“Why don’t you pick up some more halters, too? With three colts this year, I think we’re going to need them.”
“Okay. Why don’t you call and tell them what you want, and I’ll pick them up while I’m there.”
“Ready! Let’s roll!” Ashley swept down the stairs, her ponytail flying behind her.
“Oh, Em, Gee,” Drew gasped. “What a picture! Pop, am I the luckiest guy in the world or what?”
“Well, I’d have to say you’re still easily in the top two.”
“We’ll probably have lunch at Snake River, so we’ll be back this afternoon.” Ever since buying the spread and settling into the community, they were always careful to keep track of each other. The cautious approach had become a habit that, they felt, kept them safe.
§ § §
“Nice place, but I’m not sure I’d want to live here.” observed Sonny Scott, riding shotgun in their rental car from the airport into Jackson. “Not a real building or sidewalk in sight. How do these people walk around?”
“They probably ride horses everywhere. Don’t you watch movies?”
“Well, I hope that hotel’s not far, I’m famished.”
Ralph pulled over in front of the Wort Hotel in downtown Jackson. The two cops carried their overnight bags into the lobby and registered for the double room they had reserved.
“Any good restaurants close by?” Sonny asked the clerk.
“Snake River Grill’s good. It’s just down the block and around the corner. You can walk it in five minutes.”
§ § §
Scott and di Stasio were sitting in the first booth past the cashier, just digging into their steaks when they heard the door open.
“Hi, Drew, Ashley. How are you guys doing? Haven’t seen you in here in coon’s age.”
“We’re just fine, Jean. Had to come into town for some tack, thought we’d stop in for lunch.”
“Just grab a seat, wherever you want.” the waitress said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”
The two Chicago cops looked at each other and smiled. Eating slowly, they dragged out their meal and dessert, then drank their coffee slowly. Paying their bill, they stepped out onto the sidewalk and hurried back to the hotel to pick up their rental car. Returning to the restaurant, they waited until the Sherrys finished their lunch and pull out in their truck. Staying a discrete distance back, they pulled out in the direction the Sherrys had gone. Di Stasio turned left onto Broadway as the pickup disappeared around a bend in the road. Dropping into trail, half a mile back, they followed as the couple drove west on Broadway, turning right onto 22.
Ralph stayed back until the pickup turned right onto Walton Ranch Way. He pulled up to the corner and stopped on the shoulder.
“We need a bigger boat,” he told Scott.
“Boat? What are you talking about?” Sonny asked.
‘Didn’t you ever see ‘Jaws’? The police chief is out chumming for the shark and it sticks its head out of the water. Then he goes into the cabin and says to the other two guys, ‘We need a bigger boat.’ It means the one you’re using isn’t the right one for the job.”
“What’s that got to do with us?”
“If we drive this car up that road, wearing suits, we might as well put a sign on the roof. Let’s head back to the airport and trade this thing for a pickup truck. I hope you brought jeans, otherwise we’re going to have to buy some clothes.”
Doing a U-turn on 22, Ralph drove back to the airport to get his truck.
§ § §
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Ashley watched as Drew drove toward the ranch. “You’ve hardly taken your eyes off the mirror since we left town.”
“Did you see those two guys in suits when we were eating?”
“I saw them, but I didn’t pay much attention to them. Why?”
“They were the only ones in Snake River we didn’t know. Then, a car pulled out and followed us when we left the restaurant. It stayed with us when we turned onto 22, and then didn’t follow us down Walton. But, it didn’t cross Walton. That means it stopped alongside the road, or turned around. I didn’t recognize the car, so I’m a little concerned.”
“We better talk to John when we get home.”
§ § §
After the couple got home and discussed with John what had happened, he called Dianne and the four of them saddled up and headed out. Crossing the road in front of the ranch, they rode up the hill, crested, and dismounted, letting their horses graze. Dianne spread the large blanket they kept fo
r picnics, and they lay just at the ridge, watching the road in front of their home. John took out a digital camera with a telephoto lens and laid it down next to him.
“You may be on to something, Drew.” his father said. “We pretty much know most of the cars in the area, except the tourists, and they don’t normally come this way. It could be somebody from Chicago.”
“If it is,” Ashley asked, “what’s your plan?”
“Well, if I was Shiv Thompson, I’d sure as hell be pissed at us. They may be thinking that we live in the area of their latest fiasco. Did you see any strangers in town?”
“Couple of suits in Snake River, some families walking around town.” Drew told him. “But when we drove away from the restaurant, that car was on us almost immediately. I’m thinking it’s time to button the place up.”
“You may be right, son. But, I’ll tell you this. If this is them, and they make a play for us here, after we tear them a new asshole, we’re going after ol’ Shiv on his home turf. I think you’re right about that. The only way for us to be safe out here is to take the game to him. Before we do that, though, I need to know, are we all still up for that?”
“I can’t speak for anyone else,” said Dianne, “but, John Sherry, where you go, I go. We knew what we were getting into when we started this together. None of us could have touched this lifestyle any other way. I wouldn’t trade a minute of this last couple of years. Let’s play it out. If we go down, we go down swinging. If we don’t go down, we live well for the rest of our lives. I told you that night in my living room, it’s a no-brainer.”
“Ashley?”
“Where Drew goes, I go. I’m a veteran, too, remember? I have less experience than you had, John, but I had the same caliber of training. I can shoot, I can fight, and I’m perfectly willing to lay it all on the line to keep what we have. What’s the plan?”
“Drew?”
“Okay, maybe you’re right, Pop. Maybe, top two, but I’m still thinking the top one.”
John and Drew were still laughing when Dianne touched their sleeves to get their attention. A shiny new pickup truck was cruising slowly down their road. John picked up his camera and started shooting. As it approached their place, it slowed down to a crawl, then accelerated down the road a hundred yards, before making a three-point turn and coming back. It stopped, momentarily, in front of their driveway, then accelerated down the road.
“Shit. I left the truck out and they saw it.” Drew muttered.
“Not a problem, son. This is what we planned for. Let’s go to work.”
Mounting up, the four Sherrys rode down the hill and across the road, through their gate. As the other three rode up to the stable, Drew dismounted and slapped his horse on the rump, sending him galloping after the others. He swung the gate closed, latching it securely. Walking twenty feet down the driveway, he knelt down, brushing the dirt off a steel plate, then lifted the plate and pulled the lever beneath it. A stop-strip rotated up out of the dirt, angled from the edge of the driveway to the fence line, tilted toward the gate. Brushing the dirt from another plate six inches away, he pulled another lever, rotating another stop-strip into position, this one running straight across the driveway. Crossing the driveway, he rotated a third strip that ran from the edge of the driveway to the fence line on the other side of the drive. The gate was now covered by three strips, leaving no safe entrance to the property. No vehicle could get through the gate without crossing at least one of them. Looking around, Drew straightened up and walked to the stable, where he pulled a tarp off a small yellow Caterpillar bulldozer. Starting it, he drove off into the pasture. An hour later, he returned to the stable and pulled the tarp back over the Cat.
When he walked into the house, the others had boxes of ammunition broken out, and were making sure that all the weapons in the house were loaded. Rifles and revolvers were arrayed on the dining room table and stacked against the walls beside the windows. All of the guns they had hidden in the outlying areas of the ranch were already loaded.
Returning to the stable, John and Drew released all the horses, watching with satisfaction as they galloped out to pastures away from the compound. Drew then pulled the pickup behind the stable and locked the truck’s doors. As they walked back to the house, their wives met them halfway, and they all walked back together, holding hands. Ashley laid her head against Drew’s shoulder as they walked.
“Scared?” she asked him.
“Of course.”
“Sorry?”
“Not a bit. You?”
“Nope. It occurs to me that I never really got to use all that tactical training I got in the Air Force, and now that I’m back in that groove, it’s all coming back to me. Something else occurred to me, too.”
“What’s that?”
“Shiv’s got all these make-believe soldiers with guns, and I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts not the first one’s ever had any real training. Somebody handed them a gun and said, ‘point and pull the trigger’. They probably don’t even know what those pointy things on the top of the barrel are for.”
“You’re probably right,” said John. “Most of their shooting is probably done from less than six feet away.”
“Well,” she went on, “they’re going to be here shooting at our lovely house, not realizing that we’re not there. Four of us and forty of them, doesn’t matter. They don’t stand a chance. We’ll have them surrounded.” She smiled confidently.
“Don’t forget what’s really important here.” Dianne added. “We’re not fighting for God and country. We’re fighting for money, lots and lots of money.” Suddenly, they were all laughing.
“You know,” John put in. “I believe we have enough time to grill some steaks while we wait for our company. I suspect those two in the pickup were only the scouts. They’ll have to call back to Chicago for the rest of the tribe. They won’t fly out, because they’re going to want to show up here with more firepower than they can take on an airline, just like that last bunch. This is probably going to be just like last time. They won’t learn from the others’ mistakes because they weren’t here and they don’t know what happened. I don’t think they’ll be here until tomorrow night, at the earliest. Maybe even the night after that. I can’t see these guys hitting us in daylight.
“They’ll do like they did at the Phelps place, two or three in the morning. Just in case, though, we should stand watch until they get here. If each of us takes a two-hour watch at night, none of us will be too tired when the shit hits the fan.”
It was the second night, again, as John had predicted, when they came. They must have driven straight through from Chicago. Two forty-five in the morning, right on schedule. Ashley was looking out the front window when she saw the lights of three vehicles coming down the road.
“They’re here!” she called out, and the other three joined her within minutes.
Each of them went to their assigned windows. They unlatched them, swinging the windows inside the house, to avoid broken glass. Hitting switches located under the window sills, they watched as the shutters, two inches thick, swung over the window openings. Each shutter had two narrow horizontal slits, just wide enough for a gun barrel to slide through.
They watched as the lead Escalade rammed the gate, not realizing the wood gate was actually thin painted planks, mounted over hardened steel. The gate held, and the SUV shuddered to a halt. The driver backed away from the gate, and they could see the steam from the radiator illuminated by the headlights behind it.
As the four men in the vehicle poured out, one of them walked up to the gate with a flashlight, lifted the latch, and swung it open. The second and third SUVs, swinging around the crippled lead vehicle, drove through the gate and fanned out to rush the house side by side. Drew could hear the popping sounds, as both SUVs rolled over the stop-strips and ground to a halt, one in the driveway, the other in the prairie grass.
Four men poured from each car, and the twelve gangsters now tried to jog quietly down the driveway.
Suddenly, powerful spotlights, mounted on trees and poles on either side of the driveway, bathed the driveway and ten yards on either side of it in bright white light. The twelve men froze in place at the unexpected development. Looking around, they heard soft popping sounds coming from the house. They didn’t recognize the subsonic rounds, until the first four dropped. The remaining eight dove for the ground.
“Spread out!” someone yelled, and the men started crawling toward the house, separating as best they could. It took them the better part of half an hour to crawl within pistol range of the house. When they did, they started pouring fire at the windows, doing no damage but to the paint on the shutters. When there was no return fire, they stopped shooting.
“Greg, Pete, check out the barn!” Two of the men crawled toward the now-empty stable, while the remaining half dozen kept a wary eye on the house. The entire compound was alight, so there was no cover for them as they crawled, but crawling made them feel safer than standing and running. It shouldn’t have.
When the two men reached the stable, Greg said, “Go around that side, I’ll check the door and the other side.” As Pete rounded the corners of the stable, Greg stood up and reached for the door. As it swung open, he was peering into the darkness when a single shot dropped him in the doorway. Several more of the soft pops came from behind the stable.
The remaining six, realizing that the pair that checked out the stable would not be returning, jumped to their feet and ran back to the protection of their cars. Opening the backs of the two cars that had made it through the gate, they pulled out milk crates loaded with gasoline- filled bottles.
Each man took two of the Molotov cocktails and, bending over, ran toward the house. When they were within a hundred feet of the house, and there had been no return fire, they stopped, each one lighting the two crude incendiary devices he carried. As they charged the house, one of the men pitched forward, dropping on top of his loads, which broke, covering him with burning gas. There was no screaming, he was dead before he fell.