The kids turned around and looked back. The trailer was hurtling at them. With the cab gone, the trailer was free to run straight at them, bouncing down from the impact and steaming ahead full speed.
Tom let another missile loose, blowing the trailer into a million pieces. Shards of steel were hurtling in all directions.
“Duck!” Jackson shouted. Everyone hunkered down as shards of steel hit the windows, raining glass down on them.
With nothing pushing it any more, the Suburban stopped moving. It was dangerously close to crashing straight over the edge into the canyon below. The kids were shrieking and crying.
“Nobody move!” Jackson shouted. “We don't want to shift weight around. Everyone be perfectly still!”
Everyone sat frozen.
The chopper wheeled around and Tom appeared at eye level. He pointed to the evacuation rope, and Brad pulled back up.
He lowered the evacuation rig down, so it was hanging right next to Payton's window.
“Alright honey, reach out carefully and grab hold of that. They're going to pull you up and out. Hold on tight, and don't look down.” Jackson said.
She nodded and grabbed hold. There were no windows left, and barely a door. Swinging out, Payton was dangling out over the canyon. Tom was shouting at her. “Look at me! Look up!” He rolled it up and took her over to the road and gently set her down.
They came back and repeated the process with Sam, then Jackie.
When they came for Jackson, the air pressure from the chopper blades started to move the Suburban. Jackson grabbed for the rope. Just as he cleared the car, it shifted hard and tumbled over the cliff. It rolled into the canyon below and disappeared into the forest. Tom lowered him down safely, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Sam and the kids came screaming over to Jackson and held on tight. They huddled in a circle being blown around by the big chopper, hanging on as if they would never let go.
Brad pulled the big bird over and set down on the road. Tom waved them all over. “Hurry! Come on!” They all ran and jumped inside as Brad pulled back the throttle and lifted off.
“Brad, radio Sheriff McLeod and tell him what happened. Close off the road and keep everyone out. Especially the press. Tell him we'll fill him in later. Get them to clean everything up,” Tom said.
“10-4.”
Brad clicked over the Sheriff's band and called in as they headed back to the ranch.
Tom hit the door button, and looked over at the terrified passengers.“Well, kids, we promised you a ride. We just didn't know it would be quite like this.” He winked and gave the kids a little fist bump.
Back at the gas station, Adam, George, and Ryan had run up the hill and into the trees, but the mule had disappeared without a trace. They walked back to the bug and got in. It had cooled down by now.
“If I ever lay eyes on that little sumbitch again, I'm gonna kill him with my bare hands, and you ain't gonna stop me this time!” George spit out.
“I guess his wife and kids weren't as important as he said,” Adam said.
“I coulda told you that. That little pissant don't give two shits about anyone but his own damn self. You shoulda let me finish him off the first time,” George shook his head in disgust.
“Well, it's done now. Not much we can do about it,” Adam weakly replied.
They drove in silence the rest of the way. Adam was trying to figure out the implications of a mule out on the loose. Where would he be heading? What was his real motive? He knew one thing. He could not be trusted and was lying his ass off to them about being innocent.
40
The three pulled into Payson in the Volkswagen. It seemed to take forever. “I told you boys, Miss Rhonda would eventually get us up here,” George said.
Brunell pulled out his phone. “Hey, Jackson, we’re here. Where are you guys?”
Jackson told them to drive north on 87 and look for the Massada Ranch gates. Something had happened. He didn't elaborate.
“Something happened on our end, too,” Adam said. They agreed to discuss things when they got together. Jackson told him to call when they got to the gates.
At the Ranch gates, the kid piped up. “What is this? Some kind of redneck goat ranch?”
“Maybe you ought to wait and see before making judgments,” Brunell said.
“I've heard about these places. Probably a cluster of old beater trailers with chickens and crap runnin' around. Outhouse kind of a deal,” Ryan snarked.
“How about we check it out first, smartass?” George snarled at him.
Brad came roaring up on one of the new ATVs, and the kid looked up, mildly surprised. He unlocked the gate and waved them through.
“Hey, I'm Brad.” He reached in and shook George's hand. “Follow me.”
He hopped back on the ATV and headed up the road. The kid was looking out the window at all the trees.
When they pulled around the last corner and saw the lodge, the kid's jaw hit the floor. “Holy crap!”
“Told you, smartass. You need to learn how to relax before getting your knickers in a wad,” George said.
They got out and walked up to the front. Ryan walked over to all of the man toys and went up and down the rows, touching and looking at everything.
“Wow. This place is total dope!” Ryan said.
Jackson walked out and waved them all in.
“Nice digs, boys,” said George.
Tom hobbled out. “We kind of like it up here.”
“I can see why!” George replied.
“I'm Tom Bartholomew. Thanks for being our guests.”
He shook all three hands, and they made the usual greetings and niceties.
“So, we have retired FBI, current Arizona Intel, and a tech whiz. Nice team, guys! I like it,” Tom said.
“We haven't told you the whole story yet, Tom. After that, you can see how ‘qualified’ we all are,” Adam said.
“Well, let's hear it. Me and Brad are all ears,” Tom replied.
Jackson said, “Hang on.” He walked down into one of the bedrooms. Sam and the kids were lounging on one of the beds watching TV. He gently closed the door.
Coming back into the room, he rubbed his hands together, “OK, let's get all this out and see what we can do.”
Over the next two hours, they laid out everything they knew. They discussed the goon trying to kill them all, the mule escaping, the other goon in the basement, Jackson's bosses, the terrorist attack, and the government involvement with everything.
Tom and Brad's eyes got wider and wider with each new revelation.
“Dear God. We thought something was bad. We really had no idea,” Brad said.
They decided to take a break and get some chow. Tom hobbled over and opened one of the huge Wolf units and pulled out a couple of dressed wild turkeys and produced a commercial-sized deep fryer.
“Who's up for an early Thanksgiving feast?”
41
They finished off both turkeys, leaving only bones on the platter. A huge bowl of mashed potatoes was empty on the table, and they all were sitting quietly, feeling the effects of the meal kicking in.
All except George. He had discovered the craft beer taps outside and was sitting at the bar watching a car race, slurping down the golden nectar. “I think I've died and gone to heaven, fellas!” he shouted from outside.
The kids were totally exhausted. Jackson walked over and kissed both of them on the head and Sam took them down to one of the bedrooms. She looked shelled, too. Frankly, everyone was shelled.
Tom said, “Let's all hit the rack and regroup in here at 0500. Everyone needs some rest. It's been a very long day.”
Brad suddenly sat up. “Crap! I forgot to feed the goon!” He walked over to the kitchen and made another sandwich.
“Let me go down there with you,” Jackson said. “I don't trust that freak.”
They grabbed two Tasers and headed down. They moved through the doors and opened the main door. All the lights came
on. They both looked through the window and saw the goon sleeping on the bench.
They knocked on the door, and he rustled around. They slid the plate through the flap in the door and said, “Eat up. We'll be back soon to have a nice little chat. Get ready.”
The goon came crashing over at the door, shouting what sounded like Russian expletives at the top of his lungs.
They walked back out, and Brad shut off all the lights, so he was left in total darkness to find and eat his sandwich.
“That freak is gonna be a handful to interrogate. We may want to get all hands on deck for that one,” Jackson said.
“Yep. We have some other tools at our disposal as well. Looks like we’re gonna need a little of everything,” replied Brad.
Jackson looked at his Oris. 11:45.
“This has to be the longest day of my life,” he sighed.
“We’d better hit the rack. I think we have more long days ahead,” Brad said dejectedly.
42
Jackson woke up and looked at the Oris. 4:45 a.m. He didn't know how, but he had a way of waking up exactly at the time he told himself to the night before. It had always worked. He thought of it as a blessing and curse. Once he was awake, that was it. He could not go back to sleep, no matter what.
He brushed his teeth, got dressed quietly, and walked out into the huge grand room. He headed into the kitchen, found the coffee, and started a pot brewing.
One by one, everyone else came out to the kitchen. Ryan came out last. Sam and the kids stayed asleep in bed.
“You guys keep some funky hours,” Ryan groaned.
“Pipe down, green pea. Everyone's tired,” George snarked over at him.
They all got mugs of coffee and gathered around the table.
“So… at this point, all we really know is that we think it will be Chase Field. Now, we need to figure out who, with what, and when,” Jackson said.
“How’re you fixed for web connectivity up here?” Ryan asked.
They had been so tired the night before, no one had bothered to think about it. It was amazing how a place full of cool stuff and a national crisis could take a kid off the web.
“Oh, you might say we're fixed up pretty good,” Tom said. “Follow me.”
He took the kid down a hall behind the kitchen and into an office with two large desks. The walls were adorned with deer and elk trophies. There was a huge aerial photo of the entire ranch on one of the walls, nearly taking up the entire side.
“Wow!” the kid said.
Tom hobbled over and opened a wall-sized door full of servers. Top to bottom and side to side.
“Holy …” the kid said. “That is… amazing!”
“There are just as many down below for backup, in case the worst ever happens. The entire house is wired with fiber optic and military-grade satellite direct web. It is the fastest network in the world. It’s the same kind of system the US military uses to fly drones all over the world. There is nothing faster or more bulletproof.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“Let's just say we have friends in some high places. It all runs through TOR on the bottom of the Dark Web. It connects through multiple servers all over the world. It is hack-proof. Not even the Russians or Romanians can get into it. Way more protected than anything the US government has. Let’s get you plugged in.”
The kid was shaking his head and grinning from ear to ear. He set his laptop down and hooked up.
Back in the dining room, George had asked for a stack of paper. “This is how I used to solve cases before all this tech crap you guys have become addicted to. We had to do it the old-fashioned way. And it worked 99% of the time.”
Brad brought him a box of copy paper and George pulled off the top page.
“Let's start at the beginning.” He wrote Chase Field.
One by one, they each said things, then wrote down everything they could remember, and each page went up in circumference on the wall. When one item was deemed more important, they would move the one in place out and put the more important in closer. A huge circle, forming around the first two sheets. George had also asked for pushpins and string. They drew lines with the string in between, all connecting parts of the story. Some had multiple pins and strings. They wove their way around the story, slowly tying the fragmented pieces together into a semi-clear picture.
Taking a break for a few minutes, George called Lindsay and checked on Liza, Julia, and the girls. Adam had gotten his wife to head over to the cabin to be with the other women and kids.
Ryan was busy in the office developing a tech plan and checking out news websites to see if anyone was saying anything. Breitbart and Drudge were always on top of things. He was also streaming Tracey Brent's show to see if she had any new info. He had never heard anything like her. He was stunned. He had no idea how much crap was really going on in this country. None of his teachers ever mentioned a word of any of this stuff, and he was both surprised and pissed at how much in the dark everyone was.
Sam and the kids had woken up, and Jackson didn’t want them coming out and seeing the wall. It was time to come clean with them; he needed them to leave now.
He escorted them outside to one of the large outbuildings to fill them in. He had to be careful to not scare the kids too much. Payton was old enough to understand, but he was worried about Jackie. He figured he needed to come clean with everyone, so they would understand. He wanted them to leave for the cabin, and get away from the chaos.
He chose his words very carefully, “Guys, I have been a lousy father. I am terribly sorry. I want you all to know that I vow to do better. A lot better. You have my word. Sam, I know I messed up. Bad. I know you are still angry about… a lot of things… and I know you only have the kids’ best interests in mind, but….”
She stood with her arms crossed and her head cocked to the side. Damn, she had a way.
Her black hair was shining in the late day sun coming through the window. Her green eyes bore into him. Jackson thought she was so beautiful, even more so when she was upset.
“OK, ok. Listen. There is no way to sugarcoat this, so here it is… There is a very dangerous plan in the works. I'm not sure who all is involved, but it goes up high. They are going to try and take out the World Series. They are the ones who grabbed you guys. Somehow, it's all connected. We broke a guy out of jail, and he is also involved. We got some info from him, but he escaped from us. His wife and kids are over at George's daughter's house. That’s where I want all of you to go.”
He paused.
Her mouth was hanging open and a look of horror was in her eyes. The kids were staring at him wide-eyed and huddled up next to Sam.
“What… who? Wait.. you broke a guy out of… jail? And there is a bomb coming?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes. Yes, we did. I'm not proud of it, but we did what we had to do. This is a dangerous situation. We’ve made headway trying to stop it, but things are going to get ugly. I can’t have you and the kids in the middle of it. It won’t work,” Jackson replied.
“Oh my God, Jim!” Her hand went up to her mouth.
He moved in close and put his arms around her. To his great surprise, she wrapped hers around him too and shivered.
“Listen, Sam, I know… I… was a terrible husband. Only thinking of myself. I don't deserve you… any of you. I know that. I am trying to do things better. This is no place or time to think about this, but I still love you and miss all of you terribly.”
She said nothing. She pulled him closer and started to cry.
He continued, a hitch in his voice. “I have been a lousy, stupid drunk. I am quitting all that. I haven't had a drink in days and never want to again. I have lost that desire. I can't explain it. I want to become the man and father you all always wished I was. If we all get out of this - when we all get out of this - I am willing do anything you want me to. Anything.”
She wept harder.
What was this? Fear? Joy? Relief? He couldn't te
ll. The kids gathered around and hugged him.
After a couple of silent moments, she pulled back and looked at him. “Prayer,” she said. “You have no idea how long I have prayed for you, Jim. For us. Many people have. You have been on the prayer list of everyone at our church and at my women's community group for a long, long time. All those nights you were in that bar, people were waging a spiritual war over you, and it was occurring in unseen places. This is not happening in the way anyone could have imagined. But it is happening. This is out of all of our hands.”
Jackson stared at her. He was stunned. She… They… had been praying for him?
“So, what we need to do now is pray. All of us. Together. There is no way you can handle any of this. None of us can. But we have a power available that is greater than the world. So, let's all gather up and pray. The rest we can discuss later.”
The last part gave him hope. Maybe she would give some thought to putting things back together.
“Come on.” She shooed everyone up to the house.
He was speechless. They walked out arm in arm, up to the main house with kids in tow, and entered the main room.
“OK, people,” Sam said to everyone. “We need to get together and pray. Hard. Right now. We all need wisdom and power. This is much bigger than anyone of us. Get Ryan and Adam.”
Tom hobbled over, and Brad and the kids gathered in. Ryan came out of the office, and Adam came walking in from the other garage.
They all stood in a circle holding hands. Tom started in.
“Father, we thank you for loving us. We know we don't deserve your love, but we receive it now as your free gift through your son. We recognize that we are not strong enough or wise enough to understand what is happening right now. Just like Moses wasn't in the days of Egypt. But you have the power and the wisdom to show us what and how to go about ending this terrible thing befalling our state and country. Just like you did for Israel. You parted the sea and made a way.”
Black Flag Rising: A James Jackson Thriller Page 19