I wasn’t happy with where that last possibility would lead. “Seems like something the locals have a right to know.”
“Does that mean you want to tell them?” asked Millen.
I thought about it long enough to be resigned. “No. If we tell them now, we can’t predict how many would back out, and the whole effort could fall apart. If we’d told them to begin with, we might not have even gotten to the trial, much less an outright attack on Cherkoff.”
“You’re missing an important point, or maybe you haven’t voiced it.” Millen’s tone was as serious as I’d heard from him and far from the Western jargon that amused him so much. “There will be times, and this situation is one of those, when we will put people in jeopardy without their knowledge or assent. There will also be times, again like now, when we’re sure some of those same people may die.
“It’s a terrible thing to do, and I wouldn’t want to defend the ethics or morality of it. But there will be times when a greater good requires distasteful decisions. And yes, before you tell me about a ‘slippery slope,’ I’ll tell you I agree. All I can say is that we do the best we can, with as little collateral damage as possible, as long as the purpose is accomplishing the mission.
“When we leave Justice, we’ll be debriefed intensively, as you’ll find out. All our actions will be evaluated from multiple angles, including justification for everything we did. In theory, the people above us keep up a regular evaluation and bring problems to our attention before they become irreversible. Either that or our association with the agency will end early.”
Our discussion was cut short when Bossev and Felzoni came into the office, the latter pulling along Donal Wilton, the ex-deputy and nephew of the deposed marshal.
“Millen, Cole, Donal has other news you need to hear!”
“Dayton ran to Cherkoff when you kicked him out and begged to be allowed to stay at the ranch,” said Donal. “I was at the ranch when the hovercraft and other vehicles came back from Justice. I’d seen them loading with armed men and head toward town, but we weren’t privy to what was happening. When the vehicles returned with fewer men, and some of those wounded, no one, including Cherkoff, noticed me hanging around.
“It was quite a scene. I’d never been around Cherkoff all that much, but when I had seen him before, he appeared in total control. When he returned from Justice, he gathered all the unwounded men who’d returned and got firsthand accounts of what happened. He suddenly blew up, screaming at the men who’d returned. He finally got control of himself and asked for detailed accounts. That’s when he calmed down. It was like he’d made a big decision. You know when you’re faced with a problem, and then there’s relief when you know what’s coming next.
“That’s when he started giving out orders. I don’t know what it all means, but he’s having all the men from other ranches come to his headquarters, and he’s saying they should expect to stay several days. He also told one of the men to get into Justice and warn people to get their asses out to the ranch. He didn’t name names, so I guess the man knew who Cherkoff was referring to. One of Cherkoff’s main men is named Chikalow—a real nasty character. Chikalow asked how long they should plan on holing up at the ranch. Cherkoff told him to wait and went into the main building. A couple of minutes later he came out and just said, ‘We have to hold out for one or two days.’”
I looked at Millen to find him staring back. We had the same thought.
“Reinforcements,” I said.
“That’d be my guess,” Millen replied. “Two days, max. Maybe just one. That just shot our plan all to shit. He’s going to sit tight and wait for help. If we’re sitting here or at the ranch when that help comes, we could find ourselves between them and Cherkoff.”
“Help?” said Felzoni. “What help? Do you mean he’s got allies elsewhere on Astrild?”
“Allies or bosses,” said Millen. “You don’t seem to know where Cherkoff came from, but he must have resources or connections to get established here.”
“Don’t tell me Cherkoff is going to have even more men than today!” said Bossev, with desperation in his voice.
“What it means is we’re fucked unless we eliminate Cherkoff and his men before anyone else can get here,” I said, not bothering to sugarcoat it for the mayor and the judge.
“Everett’s right,” Millen said. “We’d thought to take a day or two to get organized. That’s out now. If Cherkoff is getting reinforcements, we can’t wait.”
“We’ll have to deal decisively with Cherkoff before that happens,” I said, “which is going to be messy.”
“That’s an understatement. The people we’ve got might be okay to sit and keep Cherkoff isolated, but using them for a frontal assault is something else and would have to be a last resort.”
I shook my head. “Get real, Millen. With no heavy weapons to suppress their fire, Cherkoff’s men will slaughter us. I hope we get fifty people, but they’re inexperienced, and a hundred and fifty might not be enough for an assault.”
“All true, not that it means shit. We would still have to do it if the only other scenario was waiting for more men to arrive to back Cherkoff.”
The problem was—I knew Millen was right. Our mob being caught between two forces could be disastrous. Once I accepted the inevitable, I quit thinking we were screwed and switched to thinking of what to do.
“What do you think?” I asked. “Dirigible?”
“Almost certainly,” said Millen. “Justice doesn’t have a landing strip to handle either the air-breathing planes used among Oslo and the secondary cities or the common shuttles to and from the space station. I doubt there are vertical-takeoff craft on Astrild big enough for that many men on Astrild. A combat shuttle could land anywhere, but that would draw too much attention, and I don’t know if there are any here. No, it’ll be by dirigible, and they won’t stop, except to refuel. The problem is, we don’t know where they’re coming from. If it’s Trondheim, they could arrive early tomorrow afternoon. If it’s Oslo or one of the closest secondary cities, it would be late tomorrow night or the next morning. It’s too late to organize and hit Cherkoff today, but it’ll have to be no later than noon tomorrow.”
“Well, shit,” I said. “We’re not getting much sleep tonight. I’ll comm Hamdan and tell her the change in plans—I hesitate to use the word. I doubt I’ll be able to meet with the farmers she thinks might help. It’ll be up to her, but I’ll at least tell her we’re going with or without her farmers—I assume she’ll be with us.”
“Also, see if the Nazar brothers are still down at the roadblock,” said Millen. “I got the impression they were miffed they didn’t get a chance to shoot more of Cherkoff’s men. Get them to hang around, while we scour the town for a posse to head out toward Cherkoff’s ranch.”
Millen leaned back to a map and pointed. “Here’s the road intersection from Cherkoff’s headquarters to the road into Justice. I’d like you to take as many men as we can round up quickly and block the intersection, so we know where he is while we gather more men. We’re lucky. The hovercraft is also confined to the road and maybe fifty meters to the south. They can’t take the damn machine through the woods on three sides of the ranch complex, and the ravine north of the road to the ranch cuts off that possibility. Whatever we do, if that hovercraft really has a 30-millimeter chain gun, we need to keep it confined to the ranch.”
“We’ve only got two of the RPG grenades left,” I said. “If they make a big push, I don’t know whether small arms are enough to stop them. Probably we’ll have to pack any vehicles we take to block the roadbed and adjacent land, like we did at the Main and Bond intersection roadblock. We can also try to make other physical barriers.”
“Do the best you can,” said Millen. “Take whoever’s available with you. Pick up the Nazar brothers’ group at the roadblock on the way out of town. But first, have them get the vehicles at the roadblock working again, and then head them out to Cherkoff’s. The heavy equipment we appropriated
should help. Maybe a big-enough berm can be scraped together to stop the hovercraft, as well as reinforce the barricade. You should stay there, in case Cherkoff responds. While you’re gone, I’ll keep drumming up help here in Justice and send more men out to you when I can. There’s no time to try and fix the drone, so we’ll have to do a visual recon of the ranch.”
CHAPTER 20
Baldur vanished as the last sliver of the sun’s disk sank behind distant western hills. I stood forty meters from the intersection and surveyed the barricade being constructed. It would block the dead-end fork leading to Cherkoff’s ranch a kilometer away. Fourteen men and two women had come with me from Justice. We’d brought eight vehicles, some owned by the sixteen, others borrowed from willing citizens or confiscated for the occasion. I left one incensed owner yelling, as I drove his truck away without permission.
“See Mayor Bossev about it,” I’d yelled out the window.
We had the roadway impassible, but there were fifty meters of flat ground and low vegetation south from the road to a stream with two-meter banks and trees beyond. We were working to make those meters an obstacle when Ashraf showed up with one of the big earthmovers. The machine constructed part of a berm before it died and became part of the barricade. We were using the truck I’d appropriated to bring in rocks and tree limbs scavenged from the countryside. It was the fourth such load, and the barricade extending from the road wasn’t solid or high enough. There were sections that a high-frame vehicle could drive over, and I was sure the hovercraft would just have to slow down to make it across.
“Hey, Cole! I hear something coming,” Ashraf called out, after dropping a rock that must have weighed a hundred kilograms.
I jerked my head to the west, toward Cherkoff’s.
“No. From the north. Toward Justice.”
I heard it. Wheels made noise. You had to be close to electric or hydrogen vehicles to hear the engines, but wheels ran over rock and dirt—which made up the roads this far from Justice.
“Ashraf, grab three men and bring your guns. We’ll see who’s coming.”
The five of us moved to the intersection and spread out.
“Sounds like one of the VLK ore transport trucks,” said a man I’d seen around town. “I make deliveries to their processing site and see the darn big things pretty regular. You can’t miss the sound of those wheels. I bet it’s also pushing up against brush and branches, the truck body is so wide.”
The sounds drew closer. We started to see low flashes of light that I finally recognized as headlights set on low, narrow beams. The man was right. It was a huge truck. When it stopped, I flicked a light briefly over it and saw VLK written on the door. It opened, and out came one of the Lamoa brothers—the light wasn’t good enough for me to identify which one.
“You Millen or Cole?” rumbled a deep voice.
“Cole,” I answered.
“It’s the one named Cole,” the Lamoa called over his shoulder. Out stepped Karl Schlottner, the other Lamoa, Ron Chang, and a man I didn’t recognize. How all five fit into the cab of the truck, I didn’t know. All were armed with rifles, except Schlottner, who had a pistol at his side.
“Some of my workers were in Justice today. They gave me an update and Mayor Bossev made an appeal for help. This better go well,” Schlottner said. “I’m going out on a narrow limb to get involved. I’m claiming I had to help settle a community conflict that was threatening our operation. I can’t be here myself, so I’ll be heading back to Justice using the cycle in the back of the truck. You know the Lamoa brothers and Chang.”
“I couldn’t ask any of the workers to come since it’s not their job,” Schlottner said, “but the Lamoas volunteered, and Ron Chang agreed.” He pointed to the added security man I’d seen when we’d served the trial’s sentences. “Two more trucks are coming, but the drivers won’t stay. Please don’t destroy my trucks—they cost about two hundred thousand credits each.”
Schlottner gestured to one of the men I hadn’t met before. “I understand you know of Jokam Nielsen but have never met him. He’s one of our mining engineers and has been on Astrild long enough to marry a local. He intends to stay on Astrild permanently. These four are here to help get rid of Cherkoff, but don’t get any of them killed. I’ve told them not to do anything suicidal, whether on their own initiative or participating in whatever you have planned.”
Chang and Nielsen both nodded to me. Nielsen looked earnest, meaning I assumed he’d never done anything like this. Chang was different. He had the eyes and manner of a man with a history of experience that might be useful.
“Thanks, Schlottner. We can use every man, and the trucks will fill the last holes in our barricade.”
The VLK manager nodded, retrieved a cycle from the truck, and disappeared into the night, back toward Justice.
I turned to Chang. “Military experience?”
“FSES. Eight years. You?”
“Ten years,” I answered. “Paraguay, Slovenia, and Yemen, among others. How about you?”
“Missed Slovenia. Made Yakutsk. Short time in Yemen before a rocket took part of one leg. After they regrew it, I decided I wanted a change in circumstance. Been doing VLK security the last two years here on Astrild.”
“Glad to have you with us. We need all the help we can get to keep this from becoming a total cluster-fuck. The initial idea is to have our people divided into groups so there’s a chance for keeping control. I expect we’ll want you with one of those groups.”
“Is there a plan for how you’re going to root out Cherkoff?” asked Chang.
“I suspect there is, but much will depend on how many volunteers we get. Keeping Cherkoff and his men holed up at his ranch is one thing but rooting them out is another. There’s also a couple of major complications, but I’ll wait to hear from Millen before I break all the bad news to you.”
“I don’t like the sound of that. Schlottner’s told me in no uncertain terms the four of us from VLK are here to help, but not to get killed.”
“Well, you know as well as I do that there’s no guarantee once the shooting starts.”
Before Chang could comment, we heard more vehicle noise, once again from the direction of Justice. A minute later, the sounds resolved into the two additional VLK ore trucks. Drowned out was the rumbling from three smaller trucks that followed the two behemoths. All five vehicles stopped fifty meters from the intersection, and Millen got out of the lead truck’s passenger side.
“How’s it goin’, Everett?” he asked, walking up while eyeing Chang. “Ron Chang, as I remember. I presume from your presence, the VLK monsters we followed here, and Schlottner, who we passed alongside the road, that he decided to contribute. Did he get permission from higher up?”
Chang smiled. “Though he doesn’t confide in me, I suspect it’s more that he thinks he can explain away our absence. But I’m sure it will go better if you get rid of Cherkoff without affecting VLK operations.
“The Lamoa brothers are here, too,” I said, “along with Nielsen, the VLK mining engineer.”
I addressed Chang. “If you’ll excuse us, Millen and I need to consult. Maybe you can take the other VLK men to help Ashraf finish this blockade. He’s about as massive as a Lamoa—he’s the guy walking toward the two big trucks.”
Chang shrugged, located Ashraf, and headed off.
Millen scanned the surroundings. “Looks good here, Everett. You’re on the way to blocking the hovercraft from getting out. I brought eighteen more people with me, all armed with rifles and enough ammunition to stop an attempt to break out. But we don’t have enough manpower or ammo for an extended siege and multiple fights.”
“I doubt the last option is viable,” I said. “Whatever happens needs to be done by noon tomorrow at the latest. Any word on more people? I think we’re going to need upwards of sixty to completely seal off Cherkoff. He’ll either come straight at us here or try to move men around and come up behind us.”
“The numbers shouldn’t be
a problem. Bossev is sorting through a flood of citizen volunteers. Nothing like success to help people find a spine. I told him to send out about thirty—that’s based on the rifles and ammunition in the marshal’s office basement plus the firearms we liberated from Cherkoff’s men. The mayor said many who came looking to join us had pistols and a few shotguns but not enough ammunition to be useful. Also, news from Hamdan. She says to expect around fifteen to twenty farmers—all with rifles and a fair amount of ammunition. Seems like Cherkoff’s firearm confiscation didn’t reach the farms and ranches. Speaking of the latter, Abboud popped into town not long after you left. He must have been lingering around the outskirts of town to see the outcome of Cherkoff’s raid. He says he had an eye on where Cherkoff stopped at the Main and Bond roadblock and saw fewer men come out of Justice than went in—and some of those returning were wounded. He told Bossev and me he thought he could raise maybe a dozen men. I told him to get here as soon as possible and come armed. I cautioned Abboud about that farmer, Boutros, getting word to Cherkoff, but Abboud didn’t think it a problem. He said Boutros is more a suck-up than a serious Cherkoff man.”
“Any idea when they’ll all get here?” I asked.
“Should be along shortly,” Millen said. “Hamdan had them getting organized, in case things went well in Justice. If she wasn’t from Astrild, I’d think she had a background in military operations. In the next hour or two, we’ll have seventy or more people to work with.”
“I talked with Ron Chang,” I said. “He served in the FSES. I’ve got a good feel for him. I told him we might use him to help keep control of our people.”
“Well, this posse is looking up, relatively speaking. However, we need to settle everyone in place. Any bright ideas?”
A Tangled Road to Justice Page 26