The Road to Round Mountain: The Betrayal by

by C. G. Roberts

  “My guys have traced some of the information to a com-pany that doesn’t exist, except on paper. It’s a bogus con-tribution site for some political crap, and the amounts that have been deposited are quite real and real large in size”, the detective added. “But what’s any of this got to do with Billy”, the Sheriff asked.

  That’s when I chimed in. I told them both about what

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  agent Boling told me while she was posing as a nurse. I told them about how they have been working with people who have been struck by lightning and how I was going to be trained, well compensated, and could retire when I hit 25. As if on cue both the Sheriff and the detective both said, “Round Mountain”.

  Gordon had helped himself to some of the papers set on the desk and was noticing, “These pages show a lot of deliv-eries to a Round Mountain, Nevada, only there’s no address, just a P.O. box number. We’ve got a location, now what”? Detective Hargrove looked at Gordon like he just took the detective’s last Twinkie. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

  “Now is when you mind your own business you snot nosed little punk and let the grownups handle this”, the Detective snorted. Gordon looked at me shrugged his shoul-ders and added, “Well the last two grownups that decided to help us got killed, and I think we’ve been pretty helpful so far”, as Gordon looked at the Sheriff for back up support. “The kids right Ron, you need to get ahold of that anger of yours. Both of these boys have been mighty helpful, and we could use some more help, if you’re willing to accept the fact that they will be helping as much as they possibly can. This is far too big to worry about being all official; so are you in or not”?

  Ron looked around the room at all the players involved, shook his head in disgust and said, “Just tell me what you need and I’ll get it if I can”.

  The talk was hot and heavy but I paid little attention to it, the only thing I could think of was Jennifer. I was imagin-ing her and me walking hand in hand on the beach during

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  sunset. Just the two of us, no one else around to disturb us. Maybe we would be hiking along one of the many trails and watching the wonders of the waterfalls. Was it possible for us to be able to maintain a relationship with me in my current condition? Kissing was definitely out for now. I didn’t want to even think about what might happen if we did. The mind thing I can work around, possibly even put it to some good use, but this bottled up electricity just needed to go away only I didn’t have the answer as to how.

  My mind continued to wander to the possibilities the future may hold. The type of happiness that only Jennifer could bring would get me through this, and hopefully after the dust settles from this mess we can start on perhaps a lifetime together. That thought made me smile, and eager with anticipation. My journey to future happiness was interrupted, “Billy, you still here or what”, Gordon asked? I’m glad he didn’t ask me to explain my smile.

  The Sheriff and Hargrove were discussing what happened to the two FBI agents when the Sheriff asked, “Billy would you tell Ron what you and Gordon saw happen at Ray’s store”? “Didn’t see that much, I saw a flash of light, then Gordon saw another one, but there was no noise involved. That’s when I saw the back of their SUV open up and someone fell out of the back onto the ground. Me and Gordon ran across the street and I saw one of the Agents, with a big hole in the side of his head. I heard some moaning and ran to the back of the SUV, and that’s when I saw the other Agent with his hand out. He handed me the two flash drives and said that they would keep me safe. Then he stopped breathing”.

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  Detective Hargrove looked over at me and then back to the Sheriff, “That sounds like a professional hit, and how come we didn’t know about this”? The Sheriff looked as

  though he was getting red in the face, “That Female Agent just happened to show up and kick me off the scene, I know she was responsible for the hits, but I can’t prove it, yet”.

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  Agent bolIng And her colleague Doug were go-ing over plans that she had come up with. The empty ware-house at the end of the ship yard was perfect for the solitude needed to construct the perfect plan, and Agent Boling was confident she had one. She knew that with this plan, she would be back in good graces of the Director. Their Project, Billy, had proved that he was more than ready to put his new found talents to work.

  Agent Boling had told Billy that his being full of elec-tricity, was the main reason that he would be trained and be put in place to be of service to our country. She had lied. Agent Boling was well aware of his talents long before he was. The electricity was just a bonus, and if she could make sure that he doesn’t deplete his supply of electricity, then he could be recharged for life and oh what a dangerous weapon he would make.

  It seems that a few of Billy’s neighbors and a few class-mates had noticed things being moved near Billy for no apparent reason. Billy’s next door neighbor had said that his dog was sleeping on the porch one day, then all of a sud-den the dog was flying through the air and landed in the garden. This was much to the neighbor’s surprise who hap-pened to be working in the garden at the time. The neigh-bor reported that only Billy and his friend Danny were in the back yard playing.

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  One of Billy’s classmates in tenth grade had said that he was sneaking a smoke in the school parking lot, and as he put his lighter up to his cigarette, the lighter went flying across the parking lot. The only outside activity was a gym class outside playing basketball, of which Billy was one.

  This is information that Agent Boling seeks out, and she is so thankful for all of the social media flooding her with information, most of which is crap, but sometimes she hits pay dirt and is planning on this particular pay dirt to become her big payday.

  The two of them continued their work as Agent Boling said, “You’ve got the restraints set up in the van”. Doug was busy cleaning his weapon of choice, “All is good with the van, it sounds like you’re getting a little nervous there Wendy”. “Not nervous, anxious”, she corrected. “Is that a new rifle, I don’t recall seeing that one before”? Doug looked up above his glasses at Agent Boling, “And you haven’t seen this one either, this is a Remington SR8, it’s a prototype, but they need real life input before they go into production, so that’s where I come in. They appreciate my input”, he said with a grin.

  “So when did you come up with this alternative plan Wendy”, Doug asked. “About ten minutes after they arrived at the Point, but there was no use in cancelling the other, I was sure it would work, until Billy pushed that truck out of the way like it was a beach ball”. Doug frowned at that and replied, “You were sure about the truck, so how sure are you about this one”? “Dear Doug, you are a sniper for hire because of your marine training and the CIA’s inability to reel you in has put you on the black list and no one will

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  touch you, so please do not second guess me, or I’ll make that phone call, and you know what that means”? Doug gave her another frown, “You sure are getting vindictive in your old age”. “Maybe Doug, but at least when I do hit old age, I’ll be able to enjoy it, while you’re stuck in hiding the rest of your days”. Doug went about cleaning his rifle, it would do no good to argue with her, no matter how twisted she had become.

  Doug’s physical presence didn’t intimidate Agent Boling in the least. At 6’3” and 240 well distributed pounds along with his flattop haircut he has kept since his days as a Marine, he looked as though he could break through a brick wall by merely staring at it. The only thing that Agent Boling saw was one of the top five snipers in the world and he was on her payroll.

  Doug had been hired by her for numerous disposal con-tracts and knew her to be all business and straight to the point. Her new demeanor of showing emotion was disturb-ing to him. That kin
d of change in personality could make her dangerous; he would have to be cautious around her.

  “I’m heading back down to Astoria, are you ready”, Agent Boling asked? Doug finished placing the rifle in its case and added, “I’ll be right behind you as soon as I secure these doors”. “Well hurry, I need to get back there”. Doug opened the sliding doors so he could back out the old van he was driving. She was already in her backup vehicle, a very non-descript 1997 Toyota corolla, forest green in color. She started the car and started to pull out. Doug needed for her to pull out so he would have room to back up. He was busy thinking of how nice life would be if he would put a

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  well-placed bullet between her eyes, and be free of her hold on him. As he was backing out he heard a thump coming from the back of the van. “Hey bub, watch where you’re going you almost ran over us”. Doug was so preoccupied with Agent Boling that he didn’t see the two homeless bums at the back of his van. “Move it or lose it, and trust me when I say that I don’t care which option you choose”, as the Vans tires spun dust and gravel at the two homeless guys. They quickly got out of his way as Doug stopped the van got out and slid the doors closed and locked up. The tires spun again as the van left the premises. “Did you get the GPS tracker on the bumper”, one of the homeless guys asked? “That was too easy; those older vans with the metal bumpers make it so simple”. “Are you going to call Adrian”? I thought I might wait until he’s out of sight, he might get a little suspicious seeing two homeless guys pulling phones out of their raggedy old coats”. They waited, and then called.

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  tuesdAy nIght wAs not much more than Me and

  Gordon stepping outside for an occasional smoke as the Sherif f and Hargrove combed through information on the flash drive. I was sure that my session with Agent Boling for my training on Wednesday would not happen; I was glad of that. Up until an hour ago I was reminded by Gordon that I might want to consider putting on the left shoe I had been carrying around with me. It was amazing how much better that felt.

  One of the deputies went with us when we wanted another pack of smokes, and being under the age of 18 would make the attempt to purchase a bit embarrassing. On our journey across the street to the AM/PM mart, Deputy Dave, as he likes to be called, confirmed our choice of Marlboro’s finest for our purchase. We approached the counter as Deputy Dave purchased the smokes with the money Gordon gave him. Gordon and I were right behind Dave when the clerk scanned the Marlboros when, “Whoa, what the hell”, the clerk exclaimed. I already knew what the problem was as I backed up a few steps and the register returned to normal operating mode. I gave Gordon a shrug of the shoulders to signal that I had forgot not to get that close. I would hate to see what happens if I got too close to an ATM, Or perhaps I would.

  When we returned the Sheriff had Pizza delivered from

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  Fultanos; not a bad choice it wasn’t Goonies but then again what was. Gordon and I went into the Sheriff’s office and

  had a seat in the two remaining chairs. Detective Hargrove was staring at me when I came in and followed me all the way to the chair. “Real Subtle Ron”, the Sheriff scolded Hargrove. “Sorry about that Billy, I was telling Ron about the way you redirected that truck earlier, and I don’t think he believes me”. The Sheriff pointed at the office door, “Billy, would you mind closing the door”? “Not at all Sir”, and I started to get up and the Sheriff stopped me with his hand as if directing traffic. “No Son do it from your chair”.

  It sometimes takes a while for me to catch on, but eventually I do. From my chair I gave a little swing of my arm like I was hitting a backhand in Tennis and the door shut swiftly, just as Detective Hargrove’s mouth hung open in disbelief. Hargrove’s mouth was moving but word escaped him. “What’s the matter Ron, see something new and exciting”, the Sheriff asked while smiling widely. Detective Hargrove plopped in to one of the Sheriff’s chairs like all of his bones had been removed. “What the hell did I just see, this building is too damn old for one of those trick doors to be installed”. The three of us looked at Hargrove like he should be in a looney bin. A door opens without the physical aid of a human hand and he equates that to a magic door; some Detective.

  The Sheriff was still smiling at the befuddled Detective Hargrove, “You look like you could use something to drink. What do you say Billy, you think you could get him a cold beverage”? I was able to catch on a little quicker this round, concerning the Sheriff’s subtle hint. This would be a tricky

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  one which will require a bit of doing. I motioned my arm towards the door and swung my arm towards me and the door opened back up. Now the tricky part; I had to remember where in the fridge that certain drinks were located. I thought for a moment and made a motion with my hand to open the fridge.

  This is the first time I tried this on something in another room, I would need to concentrate a little harder. I could hear the squeaky door of the fridge opening and then remembered where the Dr. Peppers were located. Using my fingers I signaled it to the office like I was telling the Dr. Pepper to come here. It took a few seconds but in through the door came a can of Dr. Pepper and still using my fingers, directed it to Detective Hargrove. “Hold your hand out Ron, it won’t bite; at least not like your wife”, the Sheriff let out a loud belly laugh over that one while Gordon and I watched his drink float safely to his hand.

  “I’m impressed dude that was from the other room”, Gordon replied with his accolades. I must admit that I too was impressed. I could be the World’s greatest waiter in a restaurant and never leave my house. It wasn’t my vocation of choice, but it’s always nice to have something to fall back on.

  Deputy Dave came storming into the room just in time to watch the floating Dr. Pepper can end up in Hargrove’s shaky hand. “Sheriff, did you see……”, as he noticed everyone in the room was watching what he was? “Settle down Dave, just giving Ron a little demonstration of what Billy can do”. Deputy Dave shook his head in disgust, “You might let others in on this, you just made Mallory pee his pants”. Mallory, the younger of the two Deputies was indeed in the

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  bathroom changing into his backup uniform; the Sheriff chuckled, as did the rest of us.

  After our little chuckle-fest, the Sheriff showed Gordon and me to a room that had a couple of beds and shower facilities off to the right of the beds. “We used this for Emergencies if we had to stay in here for extended periods of time. The showers and bathrooms are off to the right. Get some sleep, sorry there’s no TV, but you’ll just have to rough it”. And with that, The Sheriff closed the door.

  The shower was great with plenty of hot water. I got changed into fresh jeans and a t-shirt and laid down on the bed; Gordon quickly followed suit. I was asleep before he got out of the shower.

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  I woke up all groggy and my sense of bearings was screwed up. For a moment I couldn’t remember where I was. I sat up on the edge of the bed and looked over and noticed that I was the only one in the room. I wobbled my way to the bathroom to take care of some business and brush my teeth; I forgot to do that last night.

  There was no clock in the room which was probably a good move, so I had no Idea what time it was. My mind felt full of cobwebs so I doubted that I got much sleep. Out of our room, I looked about and saw Deputy Dave, no Deputy Mallory or Sheriff; Gordon was MIA as well. “Where’s the Sheriff at”, I asked. He continued writing something on what appeared to be a report of some kind and replied, “At home eating dinner”. Dinner, Holy crap, how long have I been asleep. I located a clock on the wall in the lobby and it read 7:30. “Dave, I take it that it’s 7:30 in the evening”. “You take it correctly, we thought we were going to have to call the Coroner”, Dave replied with a hearty chuckle.

  I wasn’t awake enough to appreciate the humor in that. I bypassed Dave, went through the swinging gate and went outside. Sure enough, the Sun had maybe an hour before disap
pearing on the horizon. The smell of smoke drew me towards the side of the building where I found Gordon puffing away.

  Without saying a word he pulled out his pack and gave

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  me a smoke. “Thanks, how long have you been up”? After a mighty exhale Gordon said, “Since maybe about 3:00pm”. Gordon took a longer look at me, almost a creepy predator type of stare. “What’s wrong, don’t you like my bed head”, I asked?

  Gordon continued staring as he did a 360 around me, “Dude, your hair, its, its, all white”. At first I thought he said alright which didn’t make any sense on my end, then I could see him looking at what I finally figured out was my hair. Sometimes I’m not as sharp as I need to be.

  Making my way over to the deputies patrol car, I looked in the side view mirror, “Holy shit”, was the only appropri-ate exclamation that I could come up with. I was indeed all white, not one bit of dark hair to be found. I was just getting used to my Pepe’ Le Pew look. At least I won’t have to answer to Bride of Frankenstein, Cruella, or my personal favorite Pepe’.

  I finally lit my cigarette and looked at Gordon pointed at my head and said, “Well what do you think”. Gordon took a few slow puffs while he thought about it, “You’re a combina-tion of Richard Gere and Steve Martin, maybe even a bit of Jolly Olé Saint Nick”. That’s a much better trio of reference compared to the previous; who knows, I could rock this look.

  The Sheriff pulled up in the parking lot as we were fin-ishing our smoke. As he got out of the patrol vehicle he briefly looks over at us and then back again. “Damn Billy, your hair it’s all…..”, as he pointed at my head. “Yeah I know, Gordon broke the news to me”. “Let’s go inside, we got us a few things to cover”. We followed the Sheriff inside and all the way back to his office. I got up beside the Sheriff pointed