The young woman's eyes widened, then cut between Rick and McLaren. "You…you mean it's over?" she asked.
Rick nodded as McLaren said, "whatever it is, it's over. I promise."
** ** **
"Well," Simon said as he took the chair across from Jason's desk, "We caught him trying to get out of town. Megan's Rangers took custody of him and the girl."
"She say anything?"
He nodded and chuckled. The tone of it sent shivers down Jason's spine. "Oh, did she. Once we explained she was safe, she told us all about Norm. Holy crap, is that one sick bastard."
"Oh?"
Simon nodded slowly. "I…I kind of wish I didn't know what all happened. Norm there was into some sick stuff, which would have been fine if she was consenting, but the damn girl's only 18, and she's been with him for five years."
"WHAT?" Jason burst out.
"Yeah. We've got him on that, plus she wasn't a willing participant, so there's that too. And that's not the worst of it."
"How is it not?" Jason asked. He really couldn't imagine what could be worse than raping a 13 year old girl for years.
"He bought her from her folks."
Yep, Jason thought. There's worse. "Damn," was all he could manage to get out.
Simon nodded. "Yeah."
Jason figured even the council chairman was at a loss for words too.
"Any clue where?" Jason asked.
He shrugged. "She said west. That was all she knew. I mean, you remember when they came to town, right?"
Jason nodded. Norm showed up with horses pulling an old Winnebago. Theresa was in the vehicle apparently, since no one saw her until after Norm built his place.
"Well," Simon continued, "she said she was tied up in there the whole time. Once he got his place put together, he let her move around and all that, but she couldn't leave."
"He got into her head?"
"That too, but he also apparently had the place locked down so much that if there'd been a fire, she'd have died. She couldn't even have let anyone in to fight it, much less get out to save her own life," Simon said.
"Damn," Jason said again, the word feeling woefully insufficient.
"Megan's boys are going to bring him here in a bit. They need our lock up."
Jason nodded. "I figured."
As if on cue, two Rangers entered through the door, all but dragging Norm Boutham through. The thin man's smugness from earlier long gone. In its place were tears. "I'm telling you, the little bitch is lying," Norm sobbed. "I didn't do anything to her. I swear."
"Whatever," the Ranger said as they drug the thin man behind them.
"All the cells are open," Jason said. "Take whichever one you want."
"I know what this is about," Boutham screamed. "This is all a conspiracy. You're terrified of losing your power. I know Theresa didn't say any of that. She's a good girl!"
Boutham's ramblings faded as he was dragged down the hallway, but not silenced.
Simon said, "We're putting the word out, trying to find out where all he's been, what other people have seen, all that."
"Do we have jurisdiction on everything?" Jason asked.
Simon shrugged. "We're not sure, but we have plenty we know he did here. The age thing becomes more of a gray area, since the Grand Council hasn't put in an age of consent, but…"
"But since she says she never consented, we still have him," Jason said, then sighed.
"Problem?"
Jason nodded. "You and I both know that some folks are going to read this as me taking out a political opponent rather than catching a criminal."
"Possibly," Simon said, "but if he's convicted, they'll know it was legitimate."
"Won't matter. The election's just a few weeks away. If his people do what I'd do in their place, they'll put just enough doubt to put me out of office."
Simon considered, then asked, "Would you have done it any differently?"
For a moment, Jason said nothing, then said, "Not really. That girl deserved better than that. If I didn't do anything else in this chair, I'm good."
"And you've done a lot more. I think the people will understand."
Jason shook his head. "I doubt it."
"I'm the politician here. You going to trust me?" Simon asked with a smile.
Jason returned it and chuckled. "True, but I'm the one who covered politicians. The truth is, Norm's bullshit wouldn't have worked unless people were already thinking it."
"I think you're reading too much into it."
Jason smiled. It did nothing to hide the distress he was feeling, however. "It's funny. After we first met, I did everything I could to pretend I was the old me. No, I wasn't writing or anything, but I tried to pretend that I could just plug back into the old world. Jess did her best to remind me that world was gone, and to be who she figured I really was."
"Are you?" Simon asked, his tone soothing. He and Jason talked about Jess a fair amount over the last couple of years. He knew how tender the subject was.
Jason nodded. "From the moment I saw her lying there, I knew there wasn't any going back. Not mentally, anyways. I'd fought, I'd killed, and been damn good at it, but I thought I could back away. Then there she was. A couple hours later, and Allison would have been there too. No matter how much I'd delude myself, I was that other person I'd pretended not to be."
"Was that for you? Or for her?"
He shrugged. "No clue. Does it matter?"
Simon nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said, stretching the word out. "I think it does. Jason, I know you loved her. Hell, you still do. But you can't live your whole life for her ghost. You've got to keep going for yourself, for Rick, and for Allison."
"What do you think I've been doing?" Jason growled.
"I know, but you've also got to be true to yourself."
He nodded begrudgingly. "The funny thing is, I think I am. Hell, it's not like she didn't know me better than everyone else."
Simon tilted his head slightly and considered. "I can see that. So the question is, are you really are the warrior legend?"
Jason looked to the sky and exhaled. "God, I hate that 'legend' shit. You know that, right?"
He laughed. "Yeah, I know. But I've got to bust your balls."
"And that's what always made America great," Jason said with a smile.
Chapter 13
Jackson felt weird. It was obvious to anyone who cared to look, and since he was sitting at her table, Megan figured she had an obligation to notice. Fidgeting, eyes darting here and there, as if waiting for the table to transform into something that could eat him, he was rattled.
"Everything okay, mister Chu?"
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am. It just…well, with what happened with Somerton and you, well…"
Megan smiled. "You're not responsible for what happened. The son of a bitch that is did a pretty good impression of fruit when they strung him up."
He nodded again. "Yes, ma'am."
"You're pretty sensitive about having fought for Somerton, aren't you?"
"Wouldn't you be?"
"Probably, but there's no need. You've proven yourself so far as I'm concerned," she said.
"I appreciate that."
She looked at the man, his hands clinched in front of him, body leaned forward. It was clear that his discomfort wouldn't just disappear overnight, and she wasn't sure she could blame him for that.
"You're probably wondered why I asked you here," she said.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, first was to thank you. Your efforts have helped. A good bit, as a matter of fact. We're not having the problems with fights and other bullshit now. That's because of you."
He shrugged. "I don't know about that. If anything, they're probably just too tired to start anything," he said with a smile. He was humble enough, but he also knew better. She could see it.
"That may be," she replied with a smile of her own, "but I'm liking the results. Do you think you could write up your training plan?"
"I gues
s."
"Good. I've been sending letters to other investigators I know, telling them about what you've done here. They're wanting a guide to use themselves."
"Yeah," he replied. "I can do that. It'll take a little time, obviously. Partially because I'm not done, but I've also got to remember what all I did."
"Understood," Megan said.
A whistle sounded from above. Megan's brain tried to mentally classify the sound, something that seemed almost familiar, but she couldn't place.
Chu's face paled and instant before he bolted up out of the chair. "We've got to get out of here!"
** ** **
Rick recognized the sound. To some extent, it still haunted his dreams, followed by the image of his mother limp form in his father's arms. Recognition took almost no time at all because of that. He looked around the house, scanning for his wife.
Katie looked back, her blonde hair framing her face, her eyes wide in terror. She recognized it too.
"Get to the shelter!" Rick yelled.
She nodded once, then bolted out the door, grabbing an old SKS rifle and a brown leather duffle bag on her way.
Rick followed her in an instant, just in time to see the explosion on the far left corner of the commons, close to the Ranger garrison. The Rangers weren't there, however. Heads already peeked out from shelters constructed during training.
Katie would be going to one of the deeper underground shelters, but Rick was a Ranger. He had a job to do, and he'd learned early in life that duty wasn't something to be shrugged off. He sprinted to his fighting position. He placed his hand on his Glock, in part to keep it in place, but mostly to reassure himself that it was there.
He slid into the bunker, the sandbags overhead a little low for him to stand up. Instead, he crouched and examined the scene as more mortar rounds exploded. Over the last couple of years, he'd thought about the last time he'd heard this and how lucky they'd been that Conklin just sent rounds. Troops afterward could have gotten messy for New Eden.
The Rangers readied themselves. The barrage slowly stopped. They waited. Nothing.
In the distance, someone sobbed loudly. A moment later, someone yelled for help. Then someone else.
Megan poked her head out from her bunker. "All clear!" she yelled.
Rick stood up and started toward the sounds of activity. He realized he was alone after a few steps. Turning, he looked at his fellow Rangers. "You all have something better to do?" he bellowed.
They looked at him, one by one. Their faces shifted from elation at being alive to various forms of shame. They each began following him.
Making their way through town, the Rangers found where the worst of the attack had fallen. The Shanty district was a rough patch of huts thrown up years ago as temporary shelters that never had been upgraded into anything nicer. Dozens of the rough shelters were now nothing but splinters.
In the midst of the chaos, Rick saw his father digging through debris. He turned to the Rangers. "Help wherever you can," he said then wove his way through the crowd toward his father.
Jason looked up. "Hey," he said somberly, his eyes haunted. "Katie alright?"
Rick nodded. "She was headed to the shelter. Nothing hit near there." After a moment, he added, "Or near the school."
He watched as his father exhaled, then smiled a pained grin and nodded. "Good. I don't…"
Rick nodded. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "What's going on here?"
It was like the question snapped Jason back into reality. He shook his head quickly, like he was trying to clear his head, then said, "We've got people in a lot of these. They got hit first, so a lot of folks didn't have a chance to get to the shelter."
"Rangers are helping where they can," Rick said, then turned to help his father dig through debris.
His mind kept swimming. It kept returning to the stories he'd been told about Jason finding his wife. He and Hector dug through the wreckage of their home, desperate to find Rick's mother, but instead found her body. His mind flung him back to the moment he'd seen his father holding her, making his way down the road.
With every ounce of will, he tried to push the images from his mind. He could mourn again later, but not now. Now, he needed to see if he could find people that could be saved. No matter how much he wanted, he couldn't save Jessica Calvin's life. These people? That was a whole other game.
The grabbed planks and chunks of rock, whatever was in their way, and threw it as far as they could. The shanties were all small, so digging was quick. One by one, everyone was accounted for.
Sully kept tally on a clipboard. After the area had been as thoroughly searched, an operation that lasted well into the night, the butcher's bill was announced. Four dead, twenty three wounded.
** ** **
Jason, Billy, Megan, and Rick met up at Tabby's. Despite the damage not too far away, the tavern made it through without a scratch. Luckily, most places had done the same.
"I don't get it," Jason said.
"How so?" Megan asked.
"We got off easy," he replied.
"You want them to come back and do it over?" Billy quipped.
Rick chuckled. "No, he doesn't, but I know what he means."
The big man studied him. "Care to enlighten the rest of us?"
"Simple. They hit an area where most folks live, but wouldn't necessarily be. They fired enough rounds to get our attention and not much else."
Jason nodded. "Exactly. This was a message."
The door opened, Scott Latham entering from the cool night. He made his way over to the table. "You know what this is, right?" he asked.
Jason nodded and motioned toward the one empty chair at the table.
He pulled out the chair and sat. "So," he said, "who's trying to say what?"
"I think it was Walker Denning," Jason said. "He's sending me an invitation to a party."
Everyone looked at one another, as if afraid to say anything.
"Come on. You all know I'm right," he said, taking a sip of the Jameson sitting in front of him.
Rick nodded. "Stands to reason."
"So, what now?" Scott asked.
Jason shrugged. "The most likely spot to use mortars is the same clearing Conklin used back then. That's technically out of my jurisdiction."
"Unless you're in pursuit of criminals wanted for crimes within your jurisdiction," Megan replied.
Jason nodded. "It might be a hell of a time to go with the lawyer's plan, don't you think?"
Rick gleefully said, "Oh, this is going to be fun."
Scott's eyes darted around the table. "What's going to be fun?"
** ** **
Jason looked out at the gathered militia. He looked at his "troops". Try as he might, he couldn't help but remember that these were farmers, butchers, hunters, anything but soldiers. Try as he might, he couldn't help but wonder how many wouldn't make it home.
He steeled himself, pushing the morbid thoughts from his mind, then smiled at his troops. "Men," he began, cringing internally at the cheesy start, "this isn't the first time we've dealt with this. We've been attacked like this before. We responded then too. We will find these animals, and we will put them down."
He then turned and started down the road, the rest of the militia and the Rangers following him. To his right, Mal walked at a leisurely pace. "You're sure you can track them after all this time?"
"Most likely," Mal said. "It's been dry enough since then, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem unless they knew they'd be tracked."
"And if they did?"
Mal smiled. "Well, then it gets fun."
They walked on in relative silence. In the back, a handful of conversations flared up for a few moments in hushed voices made loud from the contrast. Each man's weapon held at the ready, each man's eyes scanning the surrounding terrain.
Two miles out, Jason called a halt.
Billy jogged up. "This the spot?"
Jason nodded.
"So?"
&nb
sp; "You take them on. Mal sticks with you to track. Keep radios on. If we can't find the trail, we'll call you to hold up for us."
"Don't you need a tracker?" Mal asked.
Jason shook his head. "I don't think so. If this is a message, they need us to follow. I'm willing to bet a couple pounds of bacon that they're going to leave us a trail that Ray Charles could follow."
Mal, looked at him quizzically. "Who?"
"Doesn't matter. Just keep the radios on."
Billy chuckled in his deep bass. "If you're so sure, why do we need the radios?"
Jason shrugged. "I want you to feel useful," he said with a smile.
Billy smiled in return.
"Rangers, on me. The rest of you, follow Billy. I'm placing him in command of the main element. We'll see you all back home when this is all done," he said, then headed down a small path off the dusty road.
He never looked back, but could feel the incredulous stares digging into his back. It was like he could hear their thoughts, how he was abandoning them. To some extent, he felt like he was. Billy knew what he was doing with a force like them, but they didn't have the confidence in him that they had in Jason.
As he walked down the path, his own doubts flared. He was betting an awful lot on what he believed, but there was little proof. It was all a gamble, and his stake was a lot of people's lives. He took a deep breath and pushed them down as well. Now wasn't the time for doubt.
The Rangers walked on following Jason, weapons at the ready. No one said a word.
The next mile and a half passed uneventfully. As they assembled in the clearing, they each looked around. Jason noted the debris littering the clearing. Empty boxes, presumably from the expended mortar rounds, and food packaging scattered the grass covered ground.
The Rangers spread out along the edges of the clearing. They'd been instructed earlier what to do, and now they did what needed to be done without prompting. Jason had to give it to Chu, the man knew his trade.
"Looks like you pegged where they shot from," Rick said as he walked up beside Jason.
Jason nodded. "Yeah, we've really got to do something about this. The first time, I didn't figure anyone else would use it for something like this. I didn't think anyone could use it for this. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."
Bad Moon on the Rise (Soldiers of New Eden Book 3) Page 14