Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
“I told you,” Philip crowed as they walked through the Donaldson house and found it empty. Clark had even had the refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards empty of all food. They wanted to give the impression that the place had been empty for some time. He’d also turned the water off at the meter, and flipped off the main switch to the electric. Ryan knew what he had done, but he wasn’t about to tell the others about it.
After that first day and a half of getting Mr. Ducky moved out of his home and over to Broken, the men had ridden the fence line that bordered the two properties and made sure the fence was reinforced. Taking the advice of the sheriff, they had also put up the No Trespassing signs on every third fence post that faced the Donaldson property. With it clearly marked, they couldn’t get out of saying they didn’t see the signs. The men then gathered their military gear, gone into Colorado Springs for more supplies, and with several acres that bordered each other, they measured it out so they were staking their own claim. Thankfully, with being a mile onto Riceman property, they were able to set up their individual camps in the forest that was there. They lucked out and the only significant stand of trees on the entire property just happened to be in that stretch. They hoped their good luck would hold out.
Clark had made a trip into Fool’s Gold and was able to tell Ryan about their plans, and they knew they had both Jake and his Brotherhood Protectors, as well as Sheriff Jim Faulkner and his men at the ready. The only bad thing was that they were an hour away if the shit hit the fan. Jake had reassured Clark that if they hadn’t heard anything in three days, they would make their way to Erin’s Way, and Erin said they could use the larger cabins to be closer to the action, which would only be about twenty minutes away if they took trucks.
Ryan was the last one to enter the house, because he had toured the outside first and found the things that Clark had said he’d leave for him—a couple of guns, a walkie, and some earwigs. He left them there as there was no way the people he was with would be smart enough to find them. It had been requested by the sheriff for Clark and his men not to make a move until Royal was physically on Riceman property. They wanted to get everyone at once. Ryan knew that when everything happened, he would be arrested, but then later released. He was fine with that, as long as the people they were after were arrested, and their arrests would stick that time.
“New Guy!” Philip called out, and Ryan cringed. Instead of answering, he only turned his head and cocked a brow at him.
“What did you call me?” he asked in a deadly quiet tone, satisfied that the other man shuddered and audibly swallowed at the look Ryan gave him.
“Sorry, Carter, why don’t you go into town and get us some grub?”
“Why don’t you? You’ve been in this area longer than I have. I have no clue as to where we are. If you remember, I had to follow you here.” This was absolutely true.
“I’ll go,” Paul Miller said. He looked around at them, then asked Ryan, “Anything special?”
“Protein.”
“What’s that?” Ernist asked with a scowl.
“Meat, steak, hamburger, chicken. Since those assholes held me captive, I’ve lost weight and need to pack it on again. Doctors said to up my protein intake.”
“Got it,” Paul said, and quickly left, but he told them he’d be back in a couple of hours.
“Hey, Carter!” Philip called out from the kitchen. “How are we going to keep everything cold if there’s no power?”
“Guess you’ll have to go to town and pick up some ice and coolers,” Ryan said as he inspected the stove and turned it on. “Stove works, so we can cook.”
“I’ll go,” Ernie said, and quickly left.
“You don’t talk much, do you?”
“Only when I have something to say,” Ryan said as he shook his head, turned away, and rolled his one good eye. He couldn’t wait until this was done and he could get the hell away from these fuckers. He had never in his life seen someone so fucking lazy as the three men Royal had working for him. It shocked him that Paul Miller had held down a job at one time, since he had never lifted a finger to help around the farm. He continued to inspect the house, and again saw signs that Clark had been there. He claimed a room at the end of the upstairs hall, and after he told Philip, he went there and saw everything left for him. He sighed in relief. He had picked that room, not only because Clark told him to, but because it faced Broken and the trees where his friends were now camping out. When Royal arrived, Ryan was going to try his best to get the ball rolling in having these asshats start moving toward their objective. He was done with these people and wanted to get back to Pru and real people. He shook his head, closed his eyes, and concentrated on his breathing to get his head back in the game as to where he was, and not where he wanted to be. He didn’t want or need to mess up this mission, not when it was his redemption for what happened to his team last winter. It took several minutes, but he was finally back in the game, and continued to walk around the house.
Downstairs, he looked at Philip who was sitting in a lounge chair with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Shaking his head, he said in passing, “I’ll be outside looking around.” He didn’t bother waiting for an answer, and just left. Four hours later, Ryan came out of one of the barns and watched as both Ernie and Paul pulled into the driveway. Together they pulled coolers out of the back of one truck and carried it into the house. He had stood so he could watch them, but they couldn’t see him. After the three of them had carried everything in, he waited another few minutes before going inside. He immediately rolled his eye when he realized Philip was drunk and arguing with the other two men because they hadn’t bought any alcohol.
“You don’t need it,” Ernie said. “What will the boss think that you’re drunk and not doing your job.”
“What’s there to do?” Philip asked snidely. “We’re here, the place was empty like I said, now we wait for Royal to get here with the guns. Once he arrives, we go take that bitch down.”
Ryan couldn’t wait, so he asked quietly, “Are you planning on killing her?”
“Killing her would be a favor, no, I don’t, but I don’t know what Royal plans for her. Last I heard he wanted to capture her and keep her as his pet so he can prove to her once and for all that he knows horses better than she does. It’s some vendetta he has against her. I, on the other hand, only want to beat the shit out of her for taking my horse from me.”
“Me too,” Ernie said.
“I want her dead,” Paul said. “She lied to the authorities and in court. Her lies cost me my college, my way of life, and my parents.”
“Are they dead?” Ryan asked in shock.
“No, but they’re in prison for something they didn’t do. All because of her lies. After they were arrested, the fuckers froze their assets and my tuition wasn’t paid. I had to leave with my head between my legs. For that embarrassment alone I want her dead.”
“You couldn’t have gotten a job or a student loan to pay your tuition?” Ryan asked, and it took everything he had not to burst out laughing at the disgust on Paul’s face at the thought of paying for things his way. He only shook his head, turned away, and started cooking his own meal. When he was halfway through, he looked at the others. “I’m not cooking for you lazy fucks, cook your own food.”
“I bought it, you’ll cook mine,” Paul said vehemently.
“With the fucking money I gave you.” Ryan growled, and continued to cook his steak with fried mushrooms and onions. He even cut up a potato to toss in the mix. Twenty minutes later, he sat at the table with a piece of steak poised above his mouth.
“I don’t know how to cook.”
“Then I suggest you learn.” He took a bite, closed his eye, and moaned at the taste. He ignored the three arguing as he enjoyed his dinner. When he was done, he rose from the table, washed his dishes, and put them away. He wiped his hands on a towel and glared at them. “If there is one dish in this sink in the morning, I will dump them in your racks. I don’t live with slobs.” He hung up the towel, turned on his heel, and left, but not before grabbing a bottle of water. He walked up the stairs, then made sure he rigged the door in case he was paid a visit in the night, and settled into his room. He withdrew his notebook and continued to make notes on what had happened that day.
Four days later, Ryan looked up from his position in the barn to see three large SUVs enter. He had been in the barn because Clark had left a phone for him there where he could be in contact with them. When the others questioned as to why he was outside all the time, Ryan had shook his head and told them that someone had to keep an eye out for any family members that might be arriving to check on Donaldson’s home. They stared at him in shock, but just shrugged and went back to their drinking.
Philip had been drunk since they arrived. Ryan knew how much Royal hated the other man’s excessive drinking, and Ryan wouldn’t tell him now that he’d arrived that Philip was well on his way to passing out drunk, and it wasn’t even one in the afternoon yet. Shaking his head, he stepped out of the barn and stood in clear sight of the three vehicles as they parked.
Rudolph Royal was the first one to get out of the back of one of the vehicles, and Ryan snorted softly, because Royal never did anything for himself that he could pay others to do, like driving. He must have thought he was special.
“Everything ready?” Royal called out when he saw Ryan standing there. The others, at least ten men who exited the other vehicles stood in a semi-circle behind Royal. Ryan had to shake his head and rub his eye when he spotted two of them, but then ignored them. He thought he recognized them, but would wait until later to see if he’d been right.
“There’s no electricity,” Ryan said. “We’ve been making do with what we have. I’ve been walking the perimeter to keep an eye out. No movement, nothing coming at us.”
“Good. Go get the others so we can unload these weapons.” Royal pointed to the trucks as Ryan jogged to the house.
He didn’t bother being silent, he walked in, and yelled, “Royal’s here and he needs help.” He turned on his heel and walked out to go back to the newcomers. He had just arrived at the back of one of the trucks when the three exited the house.
Ryan turned his head to the side to cover his smirk when Royal took one look at Philip and lit into him both verbally and physically. Everyone froze when they heard the slap of skin on skin, and looked up in time to see Philip Firth fly back at least five feet and land on his ass.
“You fucker!” Royal bent over and screamed at him, spittle flying from his mouth as he dressed Firth down. “I told you that I won’t allow drinking until we take that bitch out! You’re a disgrace.” He stood and lifted his foot and kicked Philip in the face, causing him to fall back, passed out, but blood was gushing from his nose and lips. When Ernie rushed forward, Royal pulled a gun from the front of his waist and pointed it at him.
“Don’t try me, Firth,” he said as he glared at the other man. “Help the others unload these fucking guns. I’ve had about enough of your brother. Once he sobers up, we’ll get moving on this, I want that property, and I want it fucking now!” He ended up screaming at the end, and the men quickly lifted large wooden crates from the backs of the vehicles and took them where Royal pointed. When they were done, Royal told them to look around and find someplace to set up their camp.
“Carter!” Royal yelled as he stopped when he headed toward the house.
“Sir?” Ryan called back to him.
“Take two men and explain what you’ve been doing out here. It seems like you’re the only fucking one I can fucking trust around here. Give them the rundown of what you’ve been doing.” He turned toward the house, then turned back quickly and barked out orders for two men to drag Philip’s unconscious body into the house with them.
“Yes, Sir,” Ryan said with respect, but had to hold back his grin. He pointed to two men, who stepped toward him, then he explained to the others the lay-out of the house. One of the men stayed behind with the other two he picked out, and one of the original two looked at Ryan.
“He’s good.”
Ryan scowled at him, and with a movement of his head, he took them out around a barn and made sure they weren’t followed. He turned and faced the three of them, but he had pulled a pistol from his waistband and kept it down beside his thigh.
“What the fuck, Sanchez? Gould? Are you bad now?”
“No,” Sanchez said, then gave an “Oof.” When Ryan engulfed him in a hug. “Last time I saw the two of you, you were still recovering in that hospital in Germany.”
“Yeah,” Sanchez said as he returned the hug, then Ryan engulfed Scott Gould in a man hug. He stepped back and scowled at the other man.
“Ryan Carter, meet my brother-in-law, Duane Manchester.” When hands were shook, Gould looked at Ryan with an evil grin. “He’s FBI, as are all the other men with us.”
“What the fuck?” Ryan stared at him in shock. He swore he felt his jaw hit the ground between them. “How the hell are you guys here? How the hell did you know this was happening?”
“Jammer.” Sanchez laughed, then looked at Ryan’s confusion.
“Lloyd Berry, when we were on Echo team together he told us about the different fruit names you guys would call him. We decided to call him Jammer, you know, berries make jam.”
They shook their heads and shared a chuckle.
“Tell me how you came to be here,” Ryan said as he pointed to the ground by his side as he put his gun away.