Chapter 50
Vin looked through his binoculars and watched as the Chain Gang poured through the ranch’s gates. He was amazed at how many lowlife criminals had flocked to this insane tyrant’s cause.
“Fucking shit,” he said to himself while still breathing a sigh of relief that they were moving out as expected.
Vin crouched down to check his equipment.
He had his trusty pistols holstered at his side, enough ammo for the task ahead, a few knives, some rope, and a flare gun that was integral to the plan.
He mentally ran down everything that needed to be in place one more time before committing himself to move out.
Adriel had left for the government remnant camp. He hadn’t returned, so Vin assumed he was in the supposed care of the military officials. This was expected, and Vin knew that if everything went according to plan, Adriel would easily be able to slip away when the time was right.
Jolon had led the elders and children off to Vin’s old campsite, where they’d be safe with weapons and supplies.
That only left Vin. He looked down beside him at a backpack provided by the Natives.
Inside the bag, there was ammunition and a special tool he was going to need to accomplish phase one of his purpose.
Vin had packed the bag himself, and he knew everything within there was exactly what he needed and exactly where he needed it.
However, he unzipped the bag and looked through it again just to make sure. There were boxes of bullets, a few spare guns, and a large red bundle of dynamite just ready to take those gates down and usher in the end of Chainz.
He just had to wait for the right moment. If he were to sneak in too quickly and be discovered, the Chain Gang might hear gunshots and come rushing back to the ranch. He had to wait until they were far enough away where any noise he made would go unnoticed.
Waiting was the hardest part. Vin had so much nervous energy, and the sight of his former home only sent those anxious tingles into overdrive.
Watching the sea of human life pour out from these hideous gates reminded Vin of insects pouring out of a colony or baby spiders dropping out of a massive egg sack.
It turned his stomach, but the metaphor felt right in his mind. He put the binoculars up to his eyes once more and scanned the area again. There was still a wealth of Chain Gang members positioned around the property, with many of them manning the top of the gates as lookouts.
That was expected, and Vin knew they had the numbers to either match or exceed what he was seeing below.
Chainz had actually sent more of his followers with Sean to the reservation than Vin had initially believed he would.
Vin allowed himself a private smile. He must really be living rent-free in the crime boss’s head if he was willing to send that many killers out to stomp out a few hundred people.
That was fine, though. Vin took it as a compliment and looked down with satisfaction as the final Chain Gang members left through the gate. The massive wooden structure slowly swung closed, barring the ranch from the outside world.
Vin scanned around the property behind the gate, hoping against hope that he might catch sight of Deb or Jimmy. He had no idea where they could be on the massive property but hoped they were safe and would remain so until the ranch was back in their possession.
He might not have been able to spot his wife and son, but Vin did catch Chainz in his line of sight.
His eyes narrowed in utter disdain and hate as his lips pulled back and away from his teeth in a snarl of rage.
Chainz was issuing orders, flanked by Jessie and Legion as always.
Vin actually growled like a feral animal at the sight of them.
These people had worked so hard to unseat this entire region.
They had taken out a tyrannical government only to replace it with a harsher and more totalitarian regime.
This was going to be the last day that the state of Arizona suffered under the hand of Chainz and the Chain Gang.
Vin was going to put a stop to it once and for all.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered to himself, watching Chainz saunter around his former home, fully content in the knowledge that he was safe and that nothing could harm him.
“Keep thinking that, you piece of shit,” Vin said, watching to see where Chainz was off to.
He needed to have a rough idea of where to find the crime lord once the gate was blown.
Vin kept going over the plan he had formulated with the Natives over and over again in his head.
Step one: infiltrate the ranch and take out the sentries.
Step two: blow the gates and set up a flare to alert the Natives.
Step three: As battle erupts, find Chainz and kill him.
Vin repeated it so many times that it almost started to sound like a mantra.
After some time had passed, he looked out toward the traveling Chain Gang army.
They were no longer within sight, but sound still traveled fast in this vast open space.
Vin knew he had to wait at least another twenty minutes before moving out.
He settled in, raising the binoculars up once again as he tracked Chainz through the ranch and started to repeat the three stages of his plan one more time.