Chapter 26
Fairfax wiped the sweat from his upper lip. The room had heated too much with the fire, but he wouldn’t dampen it now. Not after Cole had made such a fuss about it.
That wasn’t the only thing he refused to back down from. They thought he’d miscalculated when he’d decided to push the town down, but he had to make sure no one followed on what Gideon started.
Maybe they had united in their loss, but it wouldn’t last long. It couldn’t. That’s why he’d had to do so much damage. And now that he’d gone this far, he’d keep putting the pressure on until everything panned out like he’d planned. Eventually, they would turn on each other, and then he’d restore the balance he’d spent the last several years perfecting. They had enough to survive, but not so much they were comfortable and had time to think about their hardships. The continued drought had only helped with that, creating a population that was too broken or too tired to respond to their pitiful state, and they had weather to blame.
If anything, he’d become too soft. He’d grown used to the ease with which he could rule. This was a wakeup call and reminded him to be vigilant.
“How long until the new totem poles are finished?” he asked Phineas, turning their attention away from the bickering. They had business to discuss.
“I told you, these things take?—”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. Four or five weeks?”
“You’ve got two if you want to get paid.”
Phineas’ mouth dropped open. “These are works of art. I can’t just whip them up at your whim.”
“You’re lazy, Phineas. Everyone knows it. If you spent half the time on your work that you do preening yourself, they would have been done already.”
“I only just got the wood in my workshop.”
“And you always have an excuse. I need those totems restored so we can refocus the people. And I’ll need a distraction for Nikki. Anyone have any ideas?”
“Her mom,” Peters said. “She’s a frightened little church mouse. I’ll have a crack at her. Destabilize her.”
“Good. Cole,” Fairfax said. “You work on Nikki.”
Cole raised his eyebrows. “As in…”
“As in, whatever it takes. Give her something to think about besides the church. Tow her car, I don’t care. I want her mind to be away from that church. It won’t take us long to put things back in order around here. This all started because of Gideon. And you’ve assured me, Sheriff, that you haven’t spotted him around town anywhere?”
“Nope. He checked out of the motel, and his truck’s nowhere.”
“He could be hiding,” Phineas said.
“Then let him hide,” Peters said. “As long as he’s not bothering us. But I’d be surprised if he hung around. He understood what it would cost him.”
Cole launched toward the window. “What’s that?”
“What?” Peters followed him over.
“I thought I saw something out there.” He rested his hand on the gun at his hip and shifted closer to the window.
“You’re just jumpy,” Fairfax said. “That’s what you get for talking about a mob heading our way instead of focusing on the way forward. Why don’t we stick to the business at hand for the rest of the night?”
“You mean the mess you made?” Cole said.
“Enough,” Peters said, leaning back on the couch and resting his ankle on his knee. “What’s done is done.”
“I agree,” Fairfax said. He’d been waiting for the right moment to share his ideas for the future. It would be the thing he needed to get everyone back on the same page. “I own this town because I have vision. I saw the opportunity, and I took it. What we are now facing, gentlemen, is a brand-new opportunity. We can take this town to the next level.”
“Oh, yeah?” Peters said. “And what’s that?”
“Golf courses and resorts. That is the future. We’re close enough and far enough from some significant hubs that this is the perfect place to create an oasis. With several houses being vacated, I can begin phase?—”
The sound of a car horn cut him off.
Peters and Cole looked to the window.
“It’s nothing,” Fairfax said.
“Horns blasting randomly is normal around here?” Cole said with a sarcastic sneer.
More car horns blasted, and Peters looked at Fairfax.
“Well?” Fairfax said. “What are you waiting for? Find out what’s going on. That’s your job.”
Peters shrugged. “It’s your house, you find out.”
“For crying out loud.” Fairfax hurried to the door. “If you’re not careful, I’ll find myself another sheriff.”
“I can see the pitchforks already,” Cole said as he followed the others out.
Fairfax’s shoes crunched on the stones in the driveway. He refused to be intimidated. That’s when the shouting started.
He turned in a circle with the rest of them, looking at the lights that had appeared at the tree line. Then the sheriff’s car’s horn bleated, and Gideon got out of the front seat.
Fairfax chuckled. “Ah, kid. You are a fool. I’m going to chew you up and spit you out.” He ignored the panic that twisted in his stomach. He’d never given in to fear before, and he wouldn’t start now.
Gideon remained behind the door of the car. Cole had pulled his weapon but was pointing it at the ground. Peters had his hand on his hip, ready to pull.
When Fairfax marched forward, Gideon put his hand up. “Slow down. I’m here to talk.”
The horns blared again, and Gideon couldn’t help but smile. From his position near the house, he could see that the lights and noise had the effect he was going for. It looked like the whole town had turned out.
“I shouldn’t have trusted you to do what you’re told,” Fairfax said. “I should have dealt with you before you got the whole town wound up tight. My mistake.”
“You never trusted me. You just didn’t want to risk your neck by following through by way of the judicial system, where all your dirty little secrets could slip out.”
“You think you know a lot more than you actually do. You can’t turn up in this town and think you get to have a say in the way it’s run. Everyone was doing fine before you. They’ll do fine when you disappear.” Fairfax was doing a good job of appearing unfazed. It was unnerving.
“This has got nothing to do with me. It’s them.” Gideon pointed toward the ring of lights. “They’re the ones who are asking for change. I just decided to stick around and make sure it happened.”
“It will take more than light and noise to get to me. Are you prepared for that? Cause I can tell you, nobody else is. They haven’t got the guts for it. That’s why you’re down here and they’re not. You’ve been sticking your neck out for a bunch of people that will turn on you as soon as you sneeze funny.”
“We’ll see. ”
“You better watch yourself, Mr. Stone.” Fairfax lifted his voice. He was good at speaking across a large crowd, and he used that voice now, probably hoping to reach those on the outskirts. “You think you’ve got us outnumbered, but you forget about all the workers I have who are loyal to me.”
Gideon held his face steady. That was the second part of the plan he’d made. “Beating a woman until she cowers in fear,” he said, “doesn’t mean she’s loyal. It means she’s afraid.”
“That’s just semantics. She was beaten by her father in Mexico. That’s why she came here. It’s all she knows. It gives her security.”
“Is that why she left you?”
“She was stolen from me. But I won’t let you do that to anyone else. For a lot of them, going home is a death sentence. You’d be surprised how feral one of those animals will fight to stay under my charge.”
“Animals? Seriously. What year are we living in?”
“Oh, stop it. Don’t pretend you’re offended. If it suited you, you’d say the same thing. It’s time for you and your friends to go home before someone gets hurt.”
“They’ll never fight for you.”
“You think so?” Fairfax looked at a short, stocky man that had followed the others out of the house when the noise started. “Carlos, go get them, will you? Make sure they’re prepared. I want them to understand what the cost is. We need to show Mr. Stone that his efforts are in vain.” Carlos nodded and hurried away. “This is your last chance, Gideon. Instruct everyone to disperse while they still can. ”
“Actually, I think it would be better for everyone if Sheriff Peters arrested you. It would save us all a lot of trouble. Unless he wants to lose his job too?” Gideon looked at the sheriff.
Peters laughed, but it was tense. “Have you already forgotten about your encounter with the ICE agent? I thought that would have shown you that you don’t have any ground to stand on. You should have left when you had the chance.”
“Oh, I’m not too worried about Agent Beck. I don’t think he’ll be interested in continuing your little arrangement once he hears about tonight.”
Gideon pulled his phone from his pocket.
“At least Beck was smart enough to make sure I wasn’t recording before he said something he regretted.”
Cole edged forward with his weapon raised. “We can’t let him get away with this.”
Peters slowly put a hand on Cole’s arm. “Careful. We don’t want to do anything we can’t take back.”
“ Now you’re worried about him taking a life?” Gideon said. “What about when he set my dad’s place on fire and almost killed him?”
“I didn’t tell him to do that,” Peters said.
“I was following orders,” Cole said. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Yeah, but they weren’t my orders.”
“Enough,” Fairfax said when he saw Carlos return. He waited while the other man whispered in his ear. Then his eyes widened, and he looked at Gideon. “Where are they?”
“Safe. ”
Fairfax’s jaw worked as he controlled his anger before he spoke. “What do you want?”
“I want you to return everyone’s property. Homes. Businesses. Farmland. Everything.”
“I own those fair and square. I paid for it all.”
“Paid for it by forcing them to settle well below market value. But if you’d rather, I can let the others come down and deal with you. There’s a few who I had to spend a lot of time talking down, but I can let them have their turn if you’d prefer. Otherwise, you can work with us peacefully, and no one has to get hurt. Well, maybe some pride will have to be sacrificed.”
Gideon could see Fairfax’s mind working, trying to find a way out. “Is that all you want?”
“I want you to sign an affidavit stating how everyone here has been involved.”
“It would never hold up in court,” Peters said.
“We’ll see.”
“That’s it.” Cole put his gun down and raised his hands. “I’m out of this. None of this was my idea.”
“You sniveling cow,” Fairfax said. “You’re in this as deep as the rest of us.”
“I don’t know,” Gideon said. “I wouldn’t say quite as deep. Especially if he’s willing to testify against you.”
“Whatever you want,” Cole said.
“Shut up, you idiot,” Fairfax said. “I’ll get the paperwork to give everything back. But that’s it.”
“I’m not finished,” Gideon said. “I also want you to sign an affidavit confirming all we’ve talked about here tonight.”
“Is that really necessary? ”
“After everything that’s happened, and all the dirty contacts you guys have, I believe it is.” He whistled, and some from the permitter came in. “I’ve asked a few of my guys to come down and assist while we sort out the particulars.” He picked up Cole’s weapon, then said, “Would you mind handing over your weapon as well, Sheriff?”
“You can’t take my weapon.”
“I think it’s best if I do. Don’t worry. I’ve got Gunther—you know Gunther? He runs the hunting store in town. He has a lot of experience with firearms. He’ll make sure they’re all secure.”
“Gentlemen,” Nikki said. She was the last to reach them. She tucked her hands in her jeans pocket as she sidled up next to Gideon. “Nice night, isn’t it?”
“Beautiful.”
“This isn’t going to work out how you think it will,” Fairfax said. “Things won’t go back to the way they were.”
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Gideon said.
“The reason everything’s gone so smoothly while I’ve been in charge is because I gave everyone what they wanted. As soon as I’m gone, you’ll carry that weight. They’ll tear you apart, Nikki, like they did to your dad.”
Nikki stiffened.
“Don’t waste your energy,” Gideon whispered. “He’s not worth it.”
“I know. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to punch that smug look off his face.”
“Don’t worry. He’s going to get what’s coming to him. ”
Gunther carried the case he’d put the guns into up to Gideon. “I’m ready if you are.”
“Let’s take this inside, shall we?”
“Are you really going to make us do this tonight?” Fairfax said. “It’s late. Why don’t we all get some sleep, and we can sort everything out in the morning?”
Gunther laughed. “Yeah, right,” he said. “I’m sure you’ll hang around till morning.”
“I’m not really that tired,” Gideon said. “In the morning, we’ll figure out who we can call, but not until I’ve got all my paperwork together and I’m confident the town is safe from you.”