by Liscom, Sean
“If this is a dream, I'm gonna be so pissed,” I said still not believing my eyes. Jill gave me one of the most passionate kisses that I could ever remember.
“It's no dream,” she smiled after she pulled back.
Sunday August 27th, 2017
The ranch.
“Thanks for sitting down with me, Dennis,” Melissa said quietly. The two were eating lunch
at the table in one of the barracks buildings.
“Dan told me about what happened when you got back. I figured that I should at least meet with you, see what you had to say for yourself.”
“I did go off mission. I should have just come straight back here.....”
“I just banked my whole reputation on you not being in bed with the bad guys. Dan is ready to throw the book at you.”
Dennis replied.
“You saw the staging area. You know that I'm telling the truth.”
“Yeah, I saw it. I also saw what that Ghost crew did to Ray's men. If we'd been there 10 minutes earlier, we would have been right in the middle of that shit storm. There was no mercy and no quarter given.”
“That's how they've had to fight to stay alive. They are good people but they cannot afford any pleasantries. If you're flying the flag of the enemy, they will throw everything they have at you.”
“Whatever, Melissa. I pray to God above that you're right.”
“I'd bet my life on it.”
“You already have,” Dennis said flatly.
Melissa thought about that for a minute and decided that he was right. If this went bad. If there was one miscommunication..... She would be the one caught in the crossfire.
“Are we going to Vegas?” she asked.
“See, Melissa. This is the hard part for me. You knew about the fuel. I intercepted an encrypted message telling me when and where to find it. I still don't know who sent it and I still don't know where you got your intelligence about it. NOW, you want to know about our operations against Vegas. Ya see my predicament? I'm not 100% whose side you’re on, I don't know if I can trust you anymore!”
“Do you want me to step down?” she asked.
“NO!” he replied sharply. “I want the truth. I want Dan to sit in on this and I want you to tell the truth. I think you owe both of us that much.” Melissa stared at Dennis, one of her many mentors over the last few months. This had to feel like one of his children had stabbed him in the back.
She sat up straight and pulled her handgun from its holster. She didn't point it at Dennis, instead she pointed it at the ceiling and thumbed the magazine release. It made a loud thud as it hit the table. She then drew the slide back and sent the chambered round rolling off the opposite side of the table. She slipped the slide lock on and slid the weapon toward Dennis.
The next thing she did was to remove the radio from its pouch on her waist. She checked the frequency and put it to her mouth.
“Hawkins, Lange.”
“Yeah, Melissa? What's up?” Dan answered.
“Could you come to the dining room of barracks building two for a debriefing?”
“On my way,” was the instant reply. She turned the radio off and slid it to Dennis also. She then reached up and tore her unit patch from her left sleeve. After looking at it for several long seconds, it joined the pile in front of Dennis. Dennis and Melissa had locked eyes and neither showed any sign of backing down. They both heard the front door open and Dan stopped at the threshold of the dining room.
“What's going on?” he questioned.
“Sit down, Dan. You and Dennis here are about to get schooled in a history lesson. She said in a flat, even voice. Dan looked confused but he pulled up a chair next to Dennis. Melissa leaned back in her chair and began.
“I had this uncle growing up. He'd come around every so often and check in on us kids and my parents. He and my dad were really good friends and we were told to call him Uncle Jack. We didn't want for much as kids, me and my brothers had everything we needed. My mom and dad worked their asses off to make sure of it too.”
“Uncle Jack would stop by the house and give us little trinkets. They were just cheap little
things but we always treasured the grand story that came with each gift. I never really knew who Jack was or what his relation to my family was. When my father had his heart attack and the bills started piling up Jack came to visit. He thought he was being sly but I caught him with my mother’s checkbook. He didn't try to hide it. He pulled out a single deposit slip and replaced the checkbook in the drawer.”
“I was old enough to know what a deposit slip was and the fact that he didn't try to hide anything from me, I didn't say anything to mom and dad. I figured he wouldn't do anything bad, and he didn't. In fact, he put enough money in their account to pay all of their bills for the next year. When dad left the hospital there was a zero balance owed on his bill.”
She continued. “You see, my Uncle Jack was none other than Jack Sterling. The last time I saw Uncle Jack was July 6th, 2015. He said he was just on a quick layover but he had a special request for me and a very special present. He told me that someone would be by the house to install a HAM radio for me. He asked me to keep in contact with some of his friends. The request he had was that I do my best to keep an eye on his ranch. I was a 19 year old kid, I didn't really know any better so I agreed.”
“News doesn't really travel that fast around these parts and I didn't learn that he was missing
until the 8th of July. I was devastated and heartbroken. The morning of the 9th, two men showed up to install this HAM radio and its massive antenna. They brought with them a generator too. It wasn't like any generator that I'd ever seen before though. It looked like it was part bicycle and washing machine....”
“What's......” Dan started to interrupt her.
“DON'T! You want to hear this? Sit and listen!” she snapped at him. “It was a pedal powered dynamo generator. I never understood the need for it until after the EMP. Anyway, they installed this radio and showed me how it all worked. I wasn't really paying attention. I was still a mess. A couple of days went by and I read in the newspaper that the search for Jack's body had been called off. They had found parts of his plane in the shark infested waters.”
“It was almost a month before I had the heart to even look at the gift he had given me. I couldn't help but think that it was such a strange gift to give a 19 year old girl. I opened the manual and found a handwritten note inside the front cover. It was from Uncle Jack and it was dated the last day that I had seen him. He told me that he was going to be away for a while, probably a long while,” her voice cracked a little.
“He wrote down some frequencies so that I could contact his friends. He wrote that these were his very best friends and they could be
trusted. He also left me the phone number for a local HAM radio operator and a check so that I could take the class to get my license. He thought of everything,” she paused and dabbed at a tear in the corner of her eye.
“I had been in communication with his friends quite a bit. They even flew me to Costa Rica so that I could meet them. They were so wonderful. Such down to earth people. That's where I met the love of my life. Kari. She's so beautiful. Not just her physical appearance, she's one of those people with a heart and soul of pure gold.....” she could see the growing discomfort on the faces of the men across from her. “She came to visit me here a few times before the EMP. We always had to go to Reno because you know how closed minded some small town people can be sometimes.”
“When the EMP happened I thought for sure that I'd never hear from her again. Turns out that Jack bought a hardened radio and generator. It took me about a month but I was finally able to reestablish contact. Kari would plead with me to come here, to the ranch. She practically begged me. She knew that I would be safer here. It took her almost a year to talk me into it. It took so long because I wanted to be at the house when my parents and brothers made it home.”
“Kari was here a week bef
ore I came to the ranch. She told me that Jack had other friends.
Friends who were doing everything that they could to get here to help with the ranch and its mission. They had been held up fighting little battles all the way.”
“When Jason cut me loose and told me to get him some help, I didn't know if the ranch was still being held by Ray's men. I had a friend In Ely that was a HAM operator. I made a decision to go to him. I knew his radio had really good range. When I got there, I was so sick. I'd gotten some bad water. I felt like I was going to die. He spent two days nursing me back to health.”
“It was the afternoon of the second day when we were finally able to make contact with Kari. They were in Nevada but fighting with Ray's forces at every turn. They told me that they were going to try and hit a fuel convoy at the place I told you about. They themselves were desperate for fuel and it would be a one way trip if they failed.”
“I wasn't about to let that happen. I knew that the Teams had scattered before Ray got here. I was hoping that they were still in hiding. I had my friend, Cory, send that message for you to overhear. I was praying that you would figure out what to do with the information.”
“How did you know that Team 2 was with me?” Dennis asked.
“I didn't. It was nothing more than a guess and I didn't know that they were with you. As it
turned out, Kari didn't need your help but the fuel was desperately needed here too. It was imperative that Ray lost control of that fuel. Without it, his armor is dead in the water,” she finished her tale.
“Why didn't you just tell me this to begin with?” Dan asked.
“Tell you that I disobeyed a direct order. Tell you that I have mysterious contacts. Tell you that I was friends with Jack Sterling.....”
“Yeah! Jesus, Melissa. I thought you might have sold us out. I thought you might be trying to lure us into a trap! I didn't want to think that but that's exactly where you were leading me!”
“Can you recontact your friends?” Dennis asked.
“It's doubtful. Their rigs aren't equipped with the long range HAM radios. It was pure luck I caught them when I was in Ely. My friend, Cory, said that they were going to be headed to Vegas. They were going to go after Ray Judge. They are probably well out of range by now.”
“Can I have the frequency that you contact them on?”
“Yeah, gimme a piece of paper and a pen,” she replied. When she had both, she wrote down the frequency and the call-sign. She slipped it to Dennis. “If you reach them, please let Kari know that I'm okay.”
“I can do that. Thank you for coming clean
Melissa.”
“Yes, thank you, Melissa,” Dan began. “I think Dennis and I will go talk to Braden and get you back on active duty. We need all the hands we can get.” Melissa just nodded her head.
The two men left the table and walked out of the house. Melissa was still sitting there when Bill walked up the stairs from the basement.
“Stellar performance, my dear,” he said with a smile and picked up the half sandwich off her plate.
“I had a good acting coach. Thanks again, Bill. You think they bought it?”
“Hook, line and sinker,” he said.
“I still feel bad for lying to them,” she confessed.
“If you felt good about it, I'd be worried. Let it go, you told them enough of the truth to get them moving in the right direction,” he left the dining room and went back down the stairs without another word.
CHAPTER 34
Sunday August 27th, 2017
Caliente (Blisshaven), Nevada.
Jill and I were nearly late for dinner in the communal dining room. We almost decided not to go but both of us were famished. She was sick and tired of eating MRE's and I'd had enough jerky to last me a lifetime.
Rather than dressing in our filthy clothes, we simply donned the heavy cotton bathrobes and slippers. We made our way downstairs and into the dining hall. There was a massive table in the center of the room that could probably seat 40 people on a side.
A young lady introduced herself as Sister Stephanie and she escorted us to a place at the table. After Jill and I were seated she asked us if she could get us anything to drink. Both of us ordered a bottle of beer.
She returned a moment later with two very cold beers and a bottle opener. She also advised us that dinner would be served within 10 minutes.
“What is this place?” Jill quietly asked me.
“I don't have the foggiest idea. It's a nice break from sleeping on the ground and riding in a saddle, that much I'm sure of.”
“It's kinda like a five star hotel moved in
and took over a whole town. I wonder how they handle security.”
“I stayed at a five star one time. This place has got them beat hands down,” I laughed. Sister Stephanie returned with a large serving platter that had a full rack of beef ribs on it. Another woman who we'd not met yet was right behind her with salads and loaded baked potatoes.
“Oh, my!” Jill said under her breath.
“Would you like another beer or perhaps something else?” Sister Stephanie asked politely.
“A couple more beers would be great. Thank you,” I said. She turned and went into the back room again. I was just beginning to dig into my salad when two more men were shown to the table.
They were seated across from us and introduced themselves as Thomas and Anthony. They were dressed casually in clean Levis and black polo shirts. Both sported shoulder length hair but it was well kept.
“They sure know how to do it up here, don't they?” Thomas said to me.
“It's our first time here and I'm pretty blown away. I had no idea this place existed!”
“It's probably the best kept secret in the west right now!” he laughed. “Me and Tony, we try to get by here every couple of weeks. They throw a lot of business our way,” just then, Sister
Stephanie brought them their drinks. “Thanks
love.”
“What kind of business is it that you do?” Jill asked.
“Import-Export kinda stuff.”
“That's kinda vague.”
“Think of us as traveling traders. We go from place to place, find out what they need and what they are willing to trade and we broker the deals,” Thomas took a sip of what I guessed to be Jack and Coke. “I didn't catch your names, hon,” he said after he put the glass down. Jill glanced at me.
“I'm Reuben Cogburn and my good friend here is Eula Goodnight,” I reached across the table to shake his hand. That garnered a smirk from both men.
“Gotcha!” he chuckled a little. “If you don't mind me asking, how'd you two find this place?” another platter of ribs was brought for the two men.
“Just kinda stumbled onto it this morning. We been on the trail for a couple of weeks headed to Vegas and poof, here this place is,” I said.
“Don't know why your headed to Vegas, Mr. Cogburn, but you might want to rethink that move,” Thomas said seriously.
“Why's that?”
“It's, shall I say, not quite the place it used to be. The new management has a bit of an
abrasive style,” Thomas said around a mouthful of rib meat. Anthony nodded beside him. I decided to gamble a little.
“I've heard that Adolpha can be pretty hard but I'm sure that both of us have skills that she could use. Work is hard to come by these days,” I said.
“Adolpha was a sweetheart compared to this new guy, Judge. Pure asshole if you ask me. Since he took over her security, nobody can get close to her to cut any kind of deal. Like I said, you might want to rethink your destination.”
“You guys spend a lot of time in Vegas?” Jill asked.
“Not as much as we used to. We did a lot of deals for Adolpha and she took pretty good care of us. She'd also let us make side deals with the townies. Judge put an end to all of that.”
“Townies?” she asked.
“They were the ones that she used to build her little empire. They
did all the manual labor. We'd help 'em out from time to time with things like food and medicines. Adolpha didn't care. Now that Judge is in charge, he runs that place like the state prison. Nothing gets in or out without his goons getting their fingers in it.”
“I take it you're not his biggest supporters.....”
“Yeah, not even close. We've found that if we just make ourselves scarce, he forgets about
us and our services. We kinda like it that way,” he sucked the meat off of another rib. “What line of work is it you two are in?”
“Um.....”
Sunday August 27th, 2017
The ranch.
“Mayor, we've got an opportunity to hit back at Judge and retake a lot of these small towns. I talked to Winnemucca before I called you. Wayne is back in control over there and he's wanting to know what our plan is.”
“What is your plan?”
“Not over open air. Can you come out here for a meeting?”
“Tonight?” Jim Calvert sounded irritated.
“Yeah, Jim! Tonight.”
“Fine. I'll be there around eight.”
“Thanks, Jim,” Braden said but got no reply. He sighed and hung the mic back up.
“What IS your plan?” Bill asked from the open door.
“I've been thinking about it all day, Bill. I keep hoping Jason and Jill will walk through that gate and I can dump it back in their lap..... That's just not gonna happen though.”
“Doesn't look like it.”
“We need to hit Vegas.”
“Why?”
“Because they won't be expecting it. They think we are sitting here on our asses with no fuel. All of their relay stations are off of the air and have been for days. Judge has no way to know that we've seized all of his fuel and most of his equipment..... You said there is some big meeting going on at the end of the month, right?”
“That's correct. What do you plan to do about manpower?”
“We'll gather it as we go.”
“We don't have much time,” Bill reminded him. “What if you don't get enough fighters?”
“We go anyway.”