CHAPTER SIX
“What the fuck?” muttered Chief staring at the flattened crops.
Running toward the team was the group that had stayed at Pat’s farm. Trevon and Rachel stared at the flattened ground, frowning, feeling the pain felt by Ernie and Tara.
“We have nothing now,” said Tara. “We’ve got nothing.”
“You’re wrong,” said Chief. “The document you signed had a disaster clause in it. Should the farm be hit by natural disasters, floods, fires, tornadoes, hail, anything, we pay for the replanting of the crops if the season is right. If it’s not, we pay fair price for what would have been harvested.”
“You can’t be serious,” said Ernie.
“Fucking dead serious,” said Chief. “Sorry, ma’am.” She laughed, hugging the big man and stepping back.
“You can curse all you like,” she smiled.
“It’s not too late to plant something else,” said Trevon. “We’ll spend today trying to figure out what happened to this section.”
“What do you mean, this section?” asked Pat staring at them.
“They only got the sections furthest from house. The other crops are okay for now but these, well, these look as if they were rolled over by a steamroller.”
“Or a pavement roller,” frowned Bone. “Like something they would use in construction.”
“What are we going to do?” sniffed Tara.
“It’s not too late to plant different crops,” said Trevon. “This section of corn is gone but the other sections are good. We’ll plant something new. For now, we’ll tear up this section today, examine the soil and the crop itself, and plant tomorrow.”
“Today? I’m not sure we can get that done today,” said Ernie.
“Trust me,” smirked Trevon. “We’re going to get it done.”
“He’s right,” said Chief. “I need you to gather your neighbors. We’ve got to meet. Christian? Call for back up. It’s time to set up some perimeters that they won’t breach.”
To Pat and Ernie, it felt as though they were at war.
In fact, they knew they were at war but these men were totally in charge of the fight.
Two hours later, after speaking to all of their neighbors and getting the thumbs up, fifty more men showed up, laying the foundations of what would be the most fierce security defenses ever laid out for a farming community.
By seven p.m., unseen electrical fencing was in place, cameras on every tree, fence post, sign post, or road signage were placed to trap the culprits. The field of corn was now bare and new crops were being readied to plant the next day.
At eight p.m., the entire team left the farms and headed into town for another town meeting. As they filtered through the door, all eyes turned to see a massive crowd of faces they didn’t recognize. Other than the farmers, no one knew who they were.
“Uh, gentlemen, this is a town hall for towns folk only,” said Mayor Carter.
“They’re with us,” said Ernie proudly. The mayor nodded, turning to look at Grant and Morgan.
“Well, we know that when we left you all last time you were still considering our proposal,” smiled Theo Grant.
“We weren’t considering anything,” said Pat. “We told you. Our land isn’t for sale. We’re not leaving.”
“Well, it seems you all have some problems,” smirked June Morgan. “I heard that some strange anomaly happened at Ernie’s farm. The crops were flattened by something.” She tried to frown but the smirk at the corner of her mouth gave her away.
“It’s not a problem,” said Ernie. “We’ve already cleared the field and readied for a new crop.”
“A new crop?” frowned Morgan. “How can you do that when you owe the bank money.”
“Actually,” said Chief standing to address the room, “no one owes the bank money. No one. Our company has invested in all of the farms. They are under our protection and even if they wanted to sell, you’d have to go through us.”
“That’s not legal!” yelled June.
“I’m afraid it is,” smirked Georgie coming into the room. “Sorry I’m late boys.”
“You’re right on time,” smiled Sniff.
“The paperwork has been filed with the city, county, and state government. We have invested in the success of these farms. We will protect them, help them when weather or other things hinder them, and if or when they should decide to sell, we will help them to find the right buyers or we will buy the land and disperse it to their neighbors.”
“Who are you?” growled Morgan. Trevon stood, Chief, East, Major and Sebastian beside him. All over six-foot-two. All over two-hundred pounds.
“None of you damn business,” said Trevon. “But we will protect these people and if I see you and your asphalt paver near any of these farms, I will blow it to pieces. That’s a promise.” He stared directly at the sheriff who smirked at him, nodding.
“You’ve made a terrible mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake,” said June. “You’re going to lose money.”
“They’re not going to lose anything. You are,” said Rachel.
“Tell me, what came back about the land? Minerals? Gas? Oil? Perhaps major hotel chains, casinos, or shopping centers that wanted this particular path? You know what? Never mind. I don’t need to know because we’re doing our own research and whatever we find, you can bet we’ll be bringing back to everyone in this room to prove what you’re doing. ”
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” said Theo.
“Oh, we do,” laughed Chief. “You’re Heartland Development, which we’re pretty sure is a front for something far more sinister than that innocent name implies. And when we find out what it is, you’ll be very sad that you thought to come into this community.”
Sniff whispered something to Chief who grinned. When the doors behind them opened, six men stormed in looking haggard and worn. They traipsed to the front of the room, whispering to Theo.
“Problem, Mr. Grant?” smirked Chief. “Let me guess. From the looks of your fellas there, they tried to get onto the farms while we were all here. Terrible decision. Terrible. Those electrical currents are set to hurt a man. I’m betting it singed the hair on their balls.”
The entire room erupted in laughter, some applauding as the six men stood staring at Chief.
“That’s illegal! Arrest them!” he yelled.
“Calm yourself,” said the sheriff. “I told you before. A man has the right to protect his land. Electric fences, even shotguns are included in that. You fellas need to understand these aren’t just dumb farmers. They know what they’re doing and they’re willing to risk it all to protect their land.”
“This isn’t over,” said June standing to leave. “We’ll fight you about this.”
“Fight?” said Georgie. “Oh, please. Please fight us. We have an entire legal team ready to take you to court. In fact, I have paperwork already drawn up to file with the courts tomorrow. Whatever your game is, it’s not going to work here.”
“And here’s the really good news,” chuckled Major. “If you think you’re going anywhere else to do the same thing, you won’t. We will follow you. We will stop you. And we will be ensuring everyone knows your game.”
As Theo and June left, their six men following them, the entire town stood and applauded the team. Ernie and Pat just grinned.
“We won,” said Ernie.
“Not yet,” said Chief. “They’re not going to give up just yet. But they’re going to throw everything they can at you. We’re not going anywhere until we figure out what their game is.
“Those two in there, and I’m going to include the mayor, have something more planned and we’re not going to leave until we know this is done and you’re all safe.” Pat nodded.
“You know what, I can’t think of anything better than having you all around a few more days, or hell, even weeks. This is the most fun I’ve had since my wedding night.”