The Grey Man- Partners

by JL Curtis

  “Why two?” Mo asked. “Normally we only have one person holding the back door security.”

  The old man replied, “Due to the fact that we don’t know how many vehicles, or how many escorts, they would potentially be the ones to stop a retreat. They can also bottle up the western curve of the hairpin.”

  Bob asked, “What about you and Aaron?”

  The old man pointed a hundred yards further up the road, “We’ll be proned out here. I’ll be on the right, Aaron twenty-five yards closer on the left. There is a powerline cut that crosses the road, and we’re going to use the better vis.”

  Mo cocked his head, “What about the off side?”

  “It’s a good drop off. I want you to string a couple of runs of det cord in the primary zone on the off side by the drop off. That way if somebody tries to bail that way, we can get them two ways, either guns or explosives. Set up dual demo, give me a manual means and you can rig an electronic way to detonate it.”

  Mo nodded, “I’m on it.”

  The old man looked around the room, “The rest of you will be up on the high side, there is about an eight to ten foot cliff on the inside of the curve. You’ll be shooting down on the vehicles.”

  Pointing at the map again, he said, “Bob, here, you’ve got the front of the ambush with us.” Sliding his finger back he said, “Mo, Ron, Willie, Duck, y’all will fill in the center. Figure fifteen feet between each of you.” Pointing at Bob and Duck, he continued, “Y’all will need to limit your arcs forward and back to prevent hitting us, or Tomas and Spears.”

  The old man leaned against the wall, “Everybody check your gear, we’ll load up at sunset. I want to be there and in position by twenty-one hundred. Everybody remember new batteries in the radios, NVGs and optics.”

  Pushing off, he walked over to Aaron, “You doing okay?” He asked softly.

  Aaron nodded, “I’m fine. Leg is holding up good, and I got a few hours of sleep. This is a lot like the missions we ran, even to the planning on the fly.”

  The old man grimaced, “I don’t like on the fly, but not much choice here.”

  Aaron replied, “I know. Why don’t you let me drive the hard-shell tonight? It’s a piece of crap, but I’ve driven worse in the Corps. Also, I’d say we need that partial case of thermite grenades too. They can destroy a lot of evidence, if you know what I mean.”

  “Good point,” the old man said. Aaron’s a keeper. He’s a warrior too, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Hell, I wish I’d had all these folks thirty years ago! We could have tore up some cartel types!

  ***

  Aaron positioned the hard-shell partially off the road, nose against the tree on the drop off, where Tomas had directed him. Hopping out, he left the truck running and lights on as he walked down the road with the old man and Willie.

  Tomas and Spears were already jogging toward the hairpin, as the other team members scrambled up the power line cut and started getting into position. The old man and Willie stopped, and the old man looked around carefully, “This will work. It gives me clear shots all the way to the hairpin.” Setting his rifle down, he motioned to Willie, “Let’s go help Mo get the det cord down.”

  At the west end of the power line cut, Aaron crossed the road and started looking for a good spot to set up. Lost in thought, he wondered what Jesse and Jace were doing, then jerked his mind back to the present. Finding a flat rock, he nudged it over to the edge of the cut, and sat down. He found a good place to brace his rifle and took a deep breath.

  He set his rifle down, got up and jogged down to where Mo, Willie and the old man were as Mo said, “I think this is about as far to the east as I want to try to run the cord.” Mo took out his knife, cut the first two feet off the reel, and threw it over the edge.

  “Cap’n, you want to stand here and hold these? I got a thousand feet so I can make three laydowns. Maybe one right at the road,” scuffing the dirt and peering at the drop off he said, “Maybe another two feet off the road, and one about four feet off the road.”

  The old man nodded, “Sounds good Mo. Go for it. Why did you cut two feet of the end of the det cord?”

  Mo shrugged, “Humidity. I’ll do the same on the other end when I get there. I like reliable ignition.” Mo turned to Aaron, “Can you be my stop point on the western end?”

  Aaron nodded and trotted down almost to the hairpin and stopped. Tomas was right; we haven’t seen a single vehicle since we left Sin Nombre. I hope to hell nobody drives up on us at the wrong time. Mo puffed up with the det cord spinning off the reel and handed a length of Aaron, “Hold this and I’ll be back. At least Bob’s clearing me a shootin’ lane.”

  Aaron chuckled as Mo turned and jogged back in the other direction. A minute later, he was back, “Lay what you got there down with the right hand stuff right on the side of the road. Now put the left hand stuff about two feet over.” Mo keyed up, “Cap’n, if you’ll pull what you got in your right hand, we’ll hold from this end.” Aaron felt a tug as Mo said, “Good ‘nuff, Cap’n. You can lay that down. I’ll be back up there in a couple of minutes.”

  He handed Aaron one more wrap of cord, “Hold this. It’s only about a hunnert feet. I’m gonna walk it back up, then put an electronic detonator on it. When you feel me pull it three times, just put it on the ground.”

  Aaron replied, “Okay, Mo. You need anything else?”

  “Nah, I do my best work alone and in the dark.”

  Aaron looked up to see Mo grinning ear to ear as he said, “Gotcha.”

  A minute later, Mo jerked the cord and Aaron laid it down as directed. Walking back to his position, he looked up at the little bluff and saw Jeff, Ron and Bob huddling in the middle of the area, apparently deep in conversation. At the far end of the det cord, he found the old man and Willie standing quietly by the side of the road, neither saying a word. Aaron asked Willie, “Where are you going to set up, Willie?”

  Willie pointed to a fairly large tree about ten yards further up the road, with a fork in the trunk and about five feet closer to the edge of the drop off, “I’m going to be right behind that tree. I’ve got the third truck’s driver and I’m covering the base of the bluff down to just before the hairpin. Captain is going to have me do the manual det if required.”

  Aaron nodded, “Sounds good. I’m on the west side of the power line cut, right at the road. I’ve got the second truck.”

  Willie nodded, “Shoot ‘em good.”

  The old man led off up the road, “This isn’t the best, but I don’t think we have a better option. Keep your head down Aaron. You’ve got to make it back if this goes totally to shit.”

  Aaron looked sharply at the old man, “You do the same. I don’t think Jesse would let me back in the house if you weren’t with me.”

  The old man clapped Aaron on the shoulder, “Spotter calls. Just remember, I’m running a bolt gun.”

  Aaron nodded, “Spotter calls, aye!”

  Changes

  Jesse startled awake about four AM, in a cold sweat. Reaching over, she realized the bed was still empty, and Aaron wasn’t there. Listening closely, she didn’t hear Jace crying, but Boo Boo had heard her and came clicking around the bed to shove her nose under Jesse’s hand.

  Jesse sat up, shivered and tried to remember what had set her off. She didn’t feel like something had happened to Aaron or Papa, but she got up and checked on Jace, just to make sure. He was sleeping peacefully, blanket kicked off as usual.

  Covering him back up, she bent and kissed his head softly, then smoothed his hair. It’s gotta be a nightmare. But which one? Papa said I’d get them… Why can’t I remember it? All I remember is a falling sensation. But I never fell, well, that I actually knew I was falling…

  Sitting back down on the side of the bed, she realized it was wet with sweat, and she shuddered, Okay, not going to lay back down in that. Guess I’ll be washing sheets when Jace wakes up. Getting back up, she threw on a robe, dropped her cell phone in the pocket, and padded tow
ard the kitchen, followed by Boo Boo and Yogi.

  Starting the coffee, she opened the back door and let the dogs out. After it finished perking, she walked to the back door, opened it and stood looking out the storm door at the sky. She couldn’t see any stars, so that meant it was cloudy, and probably going to rain again.

  Shivering slightly in the chill, she opened the storm door and whistled softly for the dogs. Yogi, then Boo Boo bounded up the steps and past her into the kitchen. Jesse opened the cabinet and put down food for both of the dogs, then rooted around for something quick to munch on.

  Settling on toast, she dropped two pieces of bread into the toaster and stood at the counter sipping her coffee. She took out a paper plate and got the butter out of the fridge, then looked at the spice rack. Seeing a bottle of cinnamon sugar, she pulled it down.

  The toast popped up, and Jesse buttered the toast, then sprinkled the cinnamon sugar on it, thinking Comfort food. That’s what I need. And this was the definition of comfort food when I was little…

  ***

  Jesse spent the morning cleaning and washing clothes, sheets and pillowcases, doing anything she could to keep busy and not thinking. Not hearing from Aaron or Papa was beginning to grate on her nerves, and she was seriously considering calling Uncle Billy again.

  It had warmed up a little bit, so she put a jacket on Jace, and let him go run in the front yard with the dogs. As she sat on the porch, sipping her coffee, her phone rang. Scrambling to get it, she knocked her coffee cup off the arm of the chair. She looked at the number, hoping against hope, but scared too, when she saw the sheriff’s number.

  “Hello?”

  “Jesse, Jose. How are you doing?” The sheriff asked.

  “I’m fine Sheriff, you?”

  The sheriff chuckled, “Other than the normal issues of being the sheriff, you mean?”

  Jesse laughed, “Well, putting it that way, maybe I don’t want an answer.”

  “I just wanted to know if you want to be penciled in for a shift on Saturday or Sunday. I’m down an officer each day. And since you’re back in the saddle, so to speak, I wanted to see if you wanted to pick up a shift.”

  Jesse thought for a couple of seconds, “Sure, let me get with Lucy and see when she can babysit, and I’ll let you know. Would this afternoon be soon enough?”

  “Sure, that works for me.”

  ***

  With Jace down for his nap, Jesse was working on the books when her cell rang again. Seeing that it was Felicia, she tapped the speaker button, “Hi, Felicia.”

  Felicia sobbed, “Jesse, Matt is retiring.”

  Jesse shook her head, “What?”

  “Matt, he is retiring because of the… The ROE thing. But I don’t know what to do.” Felicia replied.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Matt… I don’t know what he would do. He is worried about providing for us. Do you know if there are any jobs?” Felicia asked.

  Stunned Jesse asked, “You mean here? Or west Texas in general?”

  Felicia replied, “Fort Stockton. Matt is determined that he will bring me home. He says… He says his home is where ever I am happy. I told him we could go where he wanted, but he…”

  Jesse interrupted, “But he is being stubborn and is determined that you need to come back here, right?”

  “Si!” Jesse heard a door close and murmuring on the other end of the phone as Felicia continued, “I just want him to be happy, it doesn’t matter where we are.”

  Jesse heard Matt in the background say, “I heard that. But we’re going to Texas.”

  Jesse quickly typed an open job search for Fort Stockton, but didn’t see much. As she was scanning through the ads, she remembered Felix wanting to go back to running his business full time. Jesse typed in a search for ranch manager and salary requirements, and was surprised to find it was as low as it was. Then she realized most managers would live on site, so they basically got free housing.

  Jesse said, “Put Matt on please.” She heard a mumbled aside, and assumed Felicia was handing the phone to Matt. She asked, “Matt?”

  “Hi, Jesse.” Matt said, “I guess Felicia told you I’m pulling the plug. How’s Aaron doing?”

  Momentarily taken aback, Jesse replied, “Okay as far as I know. He and Papa are down in Mexico doing something. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  Surprised Matt replied, “You don’t know what they’re doing?”

  “Nope. Not a clue. And no, before you ask, I’m not happy with either one of them.” Jesse shook her head in frustration, “Matt, I understand you plan on bringing Felicia back here. Is that right?”

  Matt replied, “Yes, that’s the plan. Why?”

  “You’re going to need a job, right?”

  Cautiously Matt said, “Um, yeah. Sooner or later. I’ll have my retirement pay, but…”

  Jumping in with both feet, Jesse thought Screw it, if I’m in charge, then I’m going to make a decision. She asked, “How does fifty thousand a year, and a rent free house sound?”

  She didn’t hear an answer, and started to ask again, when Matt finally responded, “You’re kidding, right?”

  Jesse rolled her eyes, “Not in the slightest, Matt.”

  “What is the job? Or can you tell me that, Jesse?”

  “It’s managing a ranch.”

  Matt replied, “But I don’t know jack about running a ranch, and who’d be willing to try to train somebody like me?”

  Jesse, deciding she has nothing to lose, said, “Oh I think your prospective employer would work with you on that if you got a good reference.”

  Jace started squalling and Jesse hurriedly said, “Y’all talk about it, and give me a call back later if that sounds attractive to you. I’ve got a screaming tiny human on my hands. Bye.”

  Jesse whistled softly as she walked down the hall to take care of Jace.

  ***

  An afternoon of playing word games, alternating with letting Jace chase the dogs outside had him worn out by six o’clock. A hearty bowl of chili-mac and green beans, of which she got at least half in his mouth, followed by a bath, and he was out like a light by seven.

  Jesse was halfway scared to try to go to sleep, after the nightmare the night before, so she brewed a pot of coffee. Slipping on a jacket, she poured a cup and headed to the front porch. Leaving the light off, she sat in the rocker and looked up at the stars in the cloudless sky and prayed for Aaron and Papa to come home.

  She rocked silently as Boo Boo and Yogi chased each other around the front yard. As she watched them, she saw that there was a light coat of frost forming on the cars. She shivered a little bit, knowing the cold was really coming. As she started up, her phone rang.

  She pulled it out, saw it was Felicia, and hit speaker, “Hi, Felicia. What’s up?”

  Felicia replied, “I’ve got you on speaker, Matt is here too. We have some questions.”

  Jesse looked up at the sky, knowing what was coming, “Okay?”

  Matt asked, “Jesse, who would hire me? I’ve done searches and so has Felicia and we can’t find any ranch manager jobs open anywhere down there. What is going on?”

  Jesse sighed, “Matt, we need a ranch manager here. Felix wants to get back to running his business full time, rather than trying to piecemeal both his business and running this place.”

  Matt asked, “What about Aaron?”

  Jesse said, “Honestly, he can’t do it. His prosthetic isn’t going to let him do what needs to be done, especially the riding and herding. And he’s getting more and more frustrated with it every day. I think he wants to go into law enforcement. Or at least that’s what we talked about before he left.”

  “What about Captain Cronin, is he okay with this?”

  Jesse replied, “He’s turning the ranch over to us. He’s fine with any decisions we make. And I know you know how to ride. You’ve also got management experience, and this isn’t nearly as complicated as running a bunch of Marines. It’s more an i
ssue of getting you up to speed on the cattle and what has to be ordered when, and how much to keep the place running.”

  Matt said, “I’m not sure, Jesse. This is too much like a hand…”

  Jesse interrupted, “Matt, I… We need help. This is a chance for you and Felicia to at least have a stable start to your retired career. And Felicia and I can help each other with the kids…”

  Felicia, ever practical, asked, “Where would we live?”

  Back on familiar ground, Jesse replied, “In the manager’s house. It’s the brown house behind the main house, closest to the road. It’s a three bedroom, two bath, with an office. It’s got furniture in it, but we can change out anything you don’t like.”

  Jesse heard some indistinct mumbling, then Matt came back on in a tired voice, “Okay, we’ll try it for six months. If it doesn’t work for either side, well, we can say we tried.”

  Jesse asked, “What’s wrong, Matt? You don’t sound like you want this.”

  Matt answered softly, “Jesse, I don’t want a handout. I…”

  Jesse bristled, “Dammit Matt, this is not a handout. We need help! Plain and simple. After you see what this job entails, you’ll know it’s not charity!”

  Felicia said, “Thank you, Jesse. Thank you. We will talk.”

  Firefight

  Hours of boredom, and moments of sheer f’ing terror… Rolling his wrist, the old man glanced at his watch, 22:15. The old man groaned and shifted position slightly, easing the pressure on various body parts for a couple of minutes. No wonder I can’t sleep on my belly. I did this crap for too many years. I hope that damn truck doesn’t catch fire before these guys show up. Sniffing the air, he could smell burning oil, and he wondered if he should run back and turn it off, just leaving the lights on.

  A mic popped and the old man heard Tomas say, “Standby, this may be our convoy. I see five sets of headlights. Three larger trucks in the middle, two mid-sized trucks, front and rear.”