“Nathan,” Lanny said, and Nathan nodded. “Heath and Joan want to talk to you like adults, and I assured them you would listen.”
“I always listen,” Nathan popped off.
Shaking his head, “Sorry, but when you’re pissed-off, you don’t listen,” Lanny said with conviction. “You look like you’re listening, but you’re thinking of ways to piss off whoever you’re mad at.”
Leaning to Nathan’s ear, “He’s right on that one, hun,” Jasmine whispered with a grin.
Giving a shrug, “It’s in the past and I’ll leave it there,” Nathan told Lanny, and he finally turned to Heath and Joan.
Heath stepped up beside Lanny while the rest of the group walked in, and many gave regretful sighs that another tantrum was on the horizon. “Nathan,” Heath said, clearing his throat. “I’m sorry for my actions.”
Not expecting that, Nathan sat up straight staring at Heath in shock. Heath gave a wince from his swollen lips as he continued. “You’ve always helped anyone who asked and gave what you could, within reason of course,” Heath said, trying to smile, but his lips hurt too much. “The posse has always pitched in and never once complained. I was wrong to listen to Floyd and Anita. I hope you can forgive me because I was in the wrong.”
Joan stepped up beside her husband. “We,” she stressed, “were in the wrong. Nathan, it was more me than Heath, so if you have to be mad, be mad at me. I was the one who agreed with Anita.”
Looking from one to the other, Nathan really tried to suppress the guilt. Granted, it was small, but he felt a little bad. “Guys, I’ve always liked you, and so has the rest in the posse. What they didn’t like, was the way you two allowed Anita and Floyd to manipulate both of you. I’m willing to let bygones be bygones,” Nathan said, and glanced over his shoulder at the others standing behind him. “Guys?”
“I’m good with that,” Bill nodded with his arm around Janice.
“So am I,” Aiden said.
“I’m just glad you two have finally seen you were being used,” Rusty scoffed. “But I’m good with that.”
Leaning over the table, Heath held out his hand and Nathan shook it, then Joan’s. Heath and Joan moved around the table to shake the others’ hands. With the handshakes and vows, Anita and Floyd lost their last allies in the compound. Others, not members talked to them, but none of the nineteen founding member families.
“Bill, Rusty, before you boys wander off, I have something I want to discuss with the two of you.”
Nathan’s innocent sounding request, on the heels of the tense scene a few moments before, made both men anxious.
“What you got in mind?” Rusty asked, exchanging a worried glance with Bill.
“Nothing like that,” Nathan protested, holding up a hand. “Just thinking we need to visit with some of the neighbors, once things settle a bit.”
“Nathan, we just saw Ephraim,” Bill protested, “and Sheriff Hargrove is keeping in contact now. Who’re you thinking about?”
“Well, since I’ve got your baby just sitting in the garage, I was thinking you might want to take her out for a spin one of these days. You know, get the feel of the wind in your face again.”
Uh-oh, thought Bill, and he began to shake his head. He saw the grin grow on Nathan’s face, and began to worry a little more.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Hearing a tap at the door, Nathan sat up in bed blinking his eyes. “Yeah?” he croaked out, seeing it was just after four a.m.
The door cracked open and Tim stuck his head in. “Nathan, the outpost just called in two contacts,” Tim whispered, and Nathan vaulted out of the bed waking Jasmine.
“What?!” Nathan barked, grabbing clothes and throwing them on.
“Two contacts moving really slow along the ridge where the state line runs.” Watching Nathan pull on his gear, “Nathan, when I say slow, I mean slow,” Tim added.
“Who’s in the outpost?” Nathan asked as Jasmine got up, stumbling and looking for clothes.
“Janice and Tyler,” Tim answered.
Glancing at Tim and seeing he was dressed, “You dressed before telling me?!” Nathan cried out.
“No, I just got off gate duty at three,” Tim snapped, and looked at his watch. “When I walked in, the land line was ringing. They called contact just over nine minutes ago.”
Running around the bed, Nathan grabbed his rifle off the wall. “Jasmine, get the kids up,” he said, moving out to the living room grabbing the crank phone. He flipped a toggle to let him talk to the outpost, then cranked the handle.
“Outpost,” Janice answered.
“Contacts still moving?” Nathan asked as he patted the gear over his body.
It was several seconds before Janice answered. “Yes, but Nathan, they must be crawling. The two little dots are barely moving. I marked the screen with a grease pencil and they’ve moved maybe twenty yards since we first picked them up. If I hadn’t marked the screen, I would swear they hadn’t moved.”
“Are they on the ridge?”
“No, just on the east side of it, or Montana side,” she answered as Jasmine ran through the living room.
“Okay, keep an eye on them,” Nathan said, flipping the toggle off before he flipped the toggle for the monitor room in the dining hall and cranked the handle.
“Hall,” Vince answered.
“You wake everyone up?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah, but Nathan, she says they’re barely moving. You think they’re just wounded or starving?”
“Not a chance in hell,” Nathan spat. “My money is on a sniper team.”
When Vince didn’t answer, “I’m on my way,” Nathan said, hanging up. “Apollo! Ares!” he called out, and they moved over beside him. Nathan grabbed his small backpack off the wall. “Tim, make sure you have your ghillie suit.”
Stepping past Sherry, Tim moved into his room as the kids came running out half-dressed and carrying what gear they didn’t have on. “Amanda, Tom, get the stingers and move up on the slope above the cabin. Take one person each to guard you. Jasmine, get your M240 and set up between them.”
“Sherry, will you watch the kids?” Jasmine asked, moving to the bedroom.
“No!” Nathan barked. “Everyone is leaving this house. Take the kids.”
Everyone froze, looking at him like he was insane. “Guys, teams like this are what call in airstrikes!” he shouted. “Jasmine, get them lined up along the slope!”
“Oh, God,” Sherry mumbled and headed into her bedroom.
“John, you’re with me. Grab your pack and make sure you have your ghillie suit,” Nathan told him, pulling on his pack. “Under no circumstance is anyone to use a radio.”
Dropping on the floor and pulling her boots on, “Just go and kill the assholes before they can call in where we are,” Amanda popped off. “We know what to do here.”
Watching Jasmine pull on her gear, Nathan gave her a smile before he patted his leg and spun for the door. John and Tim followed him outside behind the dogs. Nathan jumped in one of the electric buggies and when they sat down, he took off for the dining hall.
Locking the brakes and skidding to a stop in front of the dining hall, they saw Bill, Aiden, and Rusty already there. There were others, but that’s all Nathan was looking for as he jumped out. Bill started to ask a question, but Nathan just pushed past him and ran inside.
Nathan ran to the back of the hall where the guard monitor room was. “Any radio broadcast in the last twelve hours to our south?” he asked Vince, walking in and looking at the huge map of the area.
“Nothing new. The meth monkeys called out from Prichard yesterday and of course, the military units at Mullan on the interstate, but that’s it,” Vince answered as the posse stopped behind Nathan.
“Get everyone out of their houses and just under the ridge. Tell them to bring guns, big guns, and lots of bullets,” Nathan said, looking at the map. Clear glass was over the map and radio transmissions were marked in dry erase marker with time and d
ate.
“Why?” Vince asked, getting very nervous.
“These are the guys that call in air, trust me. You don’t want to be in a house when a rocket hits it. We have Patriot Air Force units in Montana and Wyoming, so I don’t think they’ll send in jets, but they can damn sure send in choppers. We do not want to play with the choppers. Trust me,” Nathan said, still staring at the map.
“Damn, didn’t think about that,” Rusty mumbled from the door, and looked up at Vince. “Start calling people now and get them out on the slope.”
Turning away from the map, “And for God’s sake, don’t anyone use a radio!” Nathan cried out, then turned to the posse. “We’re moving up and laying in ambush,” he told them, then pointed at the map. “They should reach here before dawn,” he said, sliding his finger along the map. “If they move up to the ridge here, they’ll see the valley, but that’ll be almost eight if they keep moving at the same pace.”
“Let’s get some,” Bill nodded.
“Everyone have your ghillie?” Nathan asked, and they all nodded. “And did everyone put the heat blanket in like I asked?”
“Shit, yeah, let’s go,” Aiden huffed. “I was getting ready to get the freak on when Vince called. I’m pissed because Penny was in the mood after guard duty to get freak nasty, but now that’s gone.”
Looking at Aiden’s wiry frame, Nathan couldn’t help but grin. “Well, guys, I say let’s capture the party poopers, so Aiden can take out his frustration.”
The others grinned as Nathan walked out of the room. “Don’t get between a Texas boy and some lovin’,” Rusty chuckled.
“Shit, after we catch these two, I’m shaving their legs and dressing them up, so I can get some lovin’,” Aiden grumbled.
“Vince!” Nathan shouted over his shoulder. “I have my group moving up with stingers, so tell everyone to guard them! The only reason I want you to radio out, is if that group turns back! If they turn back, we’ll have to chase them down!”
“Gotcha, and I’m on it!” Vince shouted back as he talked in the phone.
“Bill, ride with me and John. Tim, you drive Aiden and Rusty,” Nathan said, walking out.
“Nathan, Rusty and Aiden can drive,” Bill laughed.
Getting behind the steering wheel, “Not good enough to follow me cross-country. Tim can,” Nathan smiled, pulling on his night vision while Tim got in the other electric buggy.
When they were in, Nathan took off and pulled out into the valley. “John, can you hear me?” Nathan asked in a loud voice as they shot across the valley.
“Yeah!” John shouted back, but moved his head closer as he held on for dear life, seeing the stream ahead.
“John, I’m putting you in front of us to spot,” Nathan told him, then paused as he barely slowed before barreling through the stream. Bill sucked in a breath when the cold water washed over him, soaking him to his chest. When the buggy pulled out, Nathan angled up the slope and stomped the pedal to the floor. Somewhat envious, Bill watched Apollo and Ares leap the stream and barely get their legs wet as they ran alongside.
Ignoring the cold clothes, Bill held on tight, expecting to feel the buggy tip over and roll down the slope at any time as Nathan sped up the slope. “I’m setting up at a hundred yards,” John said, ignoring the fact he had to lean into the hill, so he wouldn’t slide out.
“You’ll be on the ridge and I’ll set you up, and under no circumstances are you to move,” Nathan told him as he drove around a tree.
When the rear end spun sideways, threatening to topple them down the slope, Bill closed his eyes as Nathan tapped the brakes and spun the steering wheel. “Don’t move, gotcha,” John panted.
“You’ll use hand signals to talk to me, but if either of them moves up to the ridge, I want you to shoot them in the face. I really want them alive, but we can’t risk them seeing the compound,” Nathan said, angling sharper up the slope. “One of us will take the other.”
Nodding even though Nathan wasn’t taking his eyes off his driving, “Kill them if they get on the ridge,” John recited.
“When or if they pass you, you’ll stay put. Do not move, understood?”
Seeing the crest of the ridge ahead, John gave a thankful sigh. “Yes, sir,” he gasped in relief and Nathan just grinned, not even addressing the ‘sir’.
When they hit the ridge, Nathan turned and rode along it heading south. Just before they lost sight of the compound, Nathan pulled off the ridge and parked near a large outcropping of rock. He jumped out while Bill pried his own hands off the roll bars. When Bill stepped out, he saw Tim was behind them also climbing out. In his night vision, Bill saw Aiden and Rusty staring wide-eyed in horror, still holding on for dear life. “Don’t even want to know how you taught Tim to drive like that,” Bill grumbled, pulling his ghillie suit from his pack.
“Me. Tim taught me to drive like that,” Nathan corrected. “Loggers can drive off-road. Shit, in places I never would’ve attempted.”
“I don’t want to learn,” John mumbled, pulling on his ghillie suit.
Climbing out, Rusty looked down at the valley floor two thousand feet below them. “It would’ve taken me well over an hour and a half to get up here.”
“Any sane person, it would’ve taken that long and that’s still hauling ass on the trails,” Aiden chimed in. “But with the crazy-ass logger and Nathan, we get here in fifteen minutes just going up the mountain.”
Pulling his pack on, Nathan patted his leg and the dogs moved over beside him. When the others were ready, Nathan moved through the trees along the ridge. Holding up his hand for the others to stop, Nathan turned and waved Bill up to him. He pointed along the slope where a two-foot-tall rocky ledge ran for fifty yards on the east side of the ridge.
When Bill nodded, Nathan pointed at John and continued along the ridge with John and the dogs. Just a hundred yards away from the others, Nathan stopped near a large boulder that overlooked a small clearing and knelt down. “Lay here,” he breathed, and John laid down beside the boulder while Nathan pulled John’s ghillie blanket from his pack.
Leaning next to John’s ear, “If they take the west side, they’ll have to go way down the slope because it’s too steep to walk on. They can take the ridge, but as you can see, it’s narrow and very rocky. If they cross that clearing and move through the saddle to the ridge and use binoculars, they can spot the compound. From here, they’ll be able to see under the trees and spot the front of the cabins in the slope. I will be covering you, but no movement from now on,” Nathan said, and John nodded.
Covering up John with the ghillie blanket, Nathan checked the outline and pulled up a bush by the roots, setting it next to John’s legs. Easing back to the others, Nathan pulled out his thermal binoculars and then glanced at his watch. “You sure about leaving John out there?” Bill whispered very softly.
Nodding, Nathan scanned south and couldn’t see John in the thermal, nor anything else. “Yeah, we really need one alive and the ridge to the south is lower than we are. I just want to make sure they don’t peek at our shit,” Nathan told him. “If they stay on the ridge, jump out when I shout.”
“How long you figure?” Bill asked.
“Twenty to thirty minutes,” Nathan answered, pulling out his own ghillie blanket. Seeing Nathan getting down on the ridge, Bill moved off doing the same. With Apollo and Ares on either side of him, Nathan covered up with the blanket and peered through the thermals.
Forty minutes later, he thought he saw movement at the edge of the clearing two hundred yards away. Keeping his focus on the spot, for a brief second Nathan saw a flash of white indicating heat, then it was gone. “What the fuck?” he mumbled, and could see movement that was a different temperature than the surroundings, but not people.
The movement stopped halfway through the clearing and two white blobs appeared over the ground. Motherfucker, he thought, realizing the two had just pulled hoods off their heads. Nathan gave a soft bird call, letting the others know he’d
spotted the bad guys.
When one of the figures lifted something to his face, Nathan ducked his head and let the blanket touch the ground. “Please, John, know what they’re doing,” Nathan prayed.
Very slowly, Nathan lifted the blanket up to look through the thermal and saw the two figures side-by-side. After watching their movements, it looked like the two were eating while they stared east down the slope toward Montana. Taking his eye off the thermal, Nathan noticed it was getting lighter.
Setting the thermal aside after ten minutes, Nathan moved his head to his scope, since there was now enough light. Zooming in, Nathan sucked in a breath. It looked like two heads just hovering over the ground and eating. He’d seen some good ghillie suits in his day, but what he was looking at took his breath away.
When the two pulled on hoods, Nathan glanced at his watch and saw the two had taken a fifteen-minute break. Putting his eye back on the scope, Nathan couldn’t find them. Holding on the spot, panic gripped him when he thought the other side had some kind of invisibility cloak.
Calming down, it took Nathan five minutes to locate the two. One was ten feet in front of the other, moving just inside the tree line of the small clearing. They were moving so slow, they seemed to slide like an amoeba across the ground. In awe, Nathan watched the two moving and when he blinked, Nathan actually had to search for them through the scope, in broad daylight.
Watching the two, Nathan knew he was looking at professionals on a level he never knew existed. It took the two nearly twenty minutes to clear the hundred yards, moving below John. When they were past John, Nathan gave a sigh of relief on the inside. He was too terrified to actually move. The two men moved like shadows and if he took his eyes from them, he had to search to find them again.
As the two moved closer, Nathan really started thinking about just shooting them. He didn’t want to risk one having the chance to escape. Studying the two, Nathan realized they were actually moving at a set pace. Granted, a very slow one, but a set pace nonetheless. In what felt like years, Nathan watched the two ease below him along the two-foot-tall rocky ledge. When he lost sight of the last man, Nathan counted slowly.
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