Loyal Wolf (20 page)

“Maybe,” Jock agreed, “but I'd rather have its contents available as evidence—and not destroy any people along with it, either.”

“You're right, of course, sir.” Ralf smiled. And then he grew more serious. “Too bad we don't really know what they're up to.”

“Yeah. And it'd sure be easier for our Alpha Force members to deal with if those sportsmen stay on the ranch till nightfall. And that might make sense if they intend attacks on civilians. Why not do it under cover of darkness?”

“Exactly,” said Ralf.

“Let's hope that's what they have in mind,” Jock said. “That would make it a whole lot easier for shifted Alpha Force members to shut them down.” He intended to take on Tisal himself. But in any event, no matter what precautions the sportsmen were taking, no matter what kind of opposition they anticipated, an attack by a pack of wolves would not likely be what they prepared for.

Once again, Ralf and Jock were admitted onto the ranch grounds with hardly a glance by the guard. They were now accepted members, which could only help.

They immediately parked and began mingling among the crowd on the grounds of the ranch house and around the firing range. Jock heard a lot of angry grumbles, intermixed with mention of the talk Tisal was about to give.

Jock's mind seldom left Kathlene and what she was up to. She had come to this area nearly every time he had gone undercover here.

He understood that she believed she was doing the right thing to keep civilians safe.

Even as she endangered herself.

Just in case, he had called her briefly before, while they drove. She had sounded happy to hear from him but he cut her off quickly. “You need to go home,” he'd said.

“But—”

“Please, just do it. I promise you'll be included in our handling of the situation. But I can't explain everything. Not now. Just know that I've found some evidence that I'll try to fill you in on later.”

There had been a silence. And then she'd said, “Okay. I'm heading home...for now.”

That, at least, was something. Once he learned what the plans were around here, he would figure out a good excuse to leave temporarily, go and find her—and take her along when he met up with the Alpha Force unit as they arrived. Kathlene could definitely provide good background information to his teammates. She could work with their aides, do as they did, mostly observing and being ready to assist their shifted superior officers.

Stay with them—and remain safe.

It was midafternoon by the time Tisal had his sportsmen all assemble in the courtyard behind the ranch house where barbecues had previously been set up. Now chips and beer made the rounds but nothing more substantial.

Except what the crowd heard.

They still mostly wore hunting jackets over jeans. There were a lot of them—around sixty, if Jock's count was correct. He'd overestimated before thanks to their moving around the property so much, which was probably a good thing. He was sure the guys he had overheard talking about how much they despised government were here, and so, undoubtedly, were the ones who'd arrived at this ranch with a dark SUV containing weapons, even if he couldn't pick any of them out of the crowd.

But there certainly were enough of them present to wreak a whole lot of damage if they used the weapons of terrorists.

Tisal stood on top of a picnic table, and everyone quieted down and watched him expectantly.

“Did you hear what those damned county commissioners said today, my friends?” Tisal shouted.

“Yeah!” came the response that was nearly in unison.

“Wasn't it bad enough that there were already laws in place that supposedly told us what to do with our guns and hunting and other things important to us?”

“Yeah!”

“And now they're imposing even more governmental restrictions on us. Saying that we are even more limited in our ability to shoot game that should be available to us. Thinking that they have rights to tell us what to do, when we're the ones who should have rights.”

“Yeah!”

“Well, that's not gonna happen. Not more restrictions. No laws should apply to us, anyway, and no one should attempt to foist any more on us, right, my friends?”

“Yeah!”

It wasn't as if Jock hadn't seen other maniacs get crowds stirred up by using their dynamics, the psychology of groups aroused by outspoken individuals. Even though he attempted to be low-key in nearly all he did to keep the secret part of his identity completely hidden, as a college student years ago, and even once he had joined the military, he had observed how crowds worked now and then. Plus, there had been enough in the media about revolutions throughout the world to underscore how groups of people working together fed off one another to get riled into action.

But here, on this small ranch in the middle of nowhere, the dynamics seemed as potent as some huge crowds with common goals.

Something was going to happen in little Clifford County. Something dangerous to its populace. Something in which those dangerous weapons would be used.

Unless Alpha Force could stop it.

“You think we're going to be allowed to leave here easily?” Ralf whispered into his ear as Tisal continued his cheered-on rant.

“Of course,” Jock whispered back. “Just play along.”

They stayed until Tisal had finished. The man's plans were not explicit, but he did make it clear that they would show these miserable locals tonight that they could not mess with men who had absolute rights to freedom.

The crowd started to disperse. It was time for Jock to make his play.

He couldn't reach Tisal, who was surrounded by his admirers and laughing along with their enthusiasm.

But Tisal's peon Hal was at the fringe of the crowd. Jock, motioning to Ralf, approached him.

“That was so outstanding!” Jock exclaimed to Hal. “I never thought there were others who hated restrictions as much as I did—except for my friend Ralf, here.” He nudged his aide. “But I always figured I might get so mad someday that I'd take a stand. Fight, no matter what the consequences.” He paused. “You know, to prepare for it I've been collecting some pretty special weaponry, though I have to dismantle and disguise it if I fly or otherwise get subject to some government jerks looking over my things. We left what we've got in the cabins where we're staying here. I'm not sure what Tisal has in mind, but a couple of AK-47s and an Uzi won't hurt.”

“Really? Well, yeah, go get them,” Hal said. “I'm not sure if we need them or if there'll be any questions if you leave right now, but extra stuff might come in handy.”

Extra? That did imply the existence of what Jock had found but wasn't exactly an admission. Not that it mattered.

“Just tell the guard to call me if there's any problem,” Hal finished.

“Sure thing,” Jock said. “We'll be back soon. Looking forward to being part of whatever happens tonight.”

Sure enough, they were permitted to leave.

Only when Ralf drove them through the gate and they got on the road away from the ranch did Jock breathe a sigh of relief.

“To the cabins first,” he told Ralf. “To get Click.”

“Not our collection of imaginary weapons?”

“Well, those, too.” Jock grinned. And then he grew more somber again. “Next stop will be Kathlene's. We'll go pick her up. By then we should have an update about the progress of our Alpha Force teammates—and where we'll need to go pick them up, too.”

It was going to be a long—and eventful—night.

Chapter 20

A
t home, alone and waiting, Kathlene entered the kitchen she had fallen in love with when she had first bought this house yet had hardly ever used for cooking large meals and entertaining. It contained a stove with two ovens, an island in the center for food preparation, a state-of-the-art microwave and a side-by-side metallic refrigerator, all synchronized by the pale wood of the cabinets that matched the oval table, and the yellow tile counters and floor.

She had most recently cooked breakfast for Jock and her here, and then had brewed coffee when Myra was visiting. But the room definitely wasn't used as much as she had initially planned.

She employed the fridge and microwave the most, depending on fruit and veggies and prepackaged meals for herself. She had no time for fussing over food.

Deputy sheriffs had very little time of their own, since even when off duty they could be called in for emergencies. And despite how small Clifford County was, it seemed to have more than its share of car accidents and vandalism and even thefts and robberies.

Now she sat on a stool at the island in that kitchen, staring around the room as if it belonged to a stranger. She had made herself a cup of herbal tea after heating the water in the microwave. She'd considered something stronger, something with alcohol, but she needed all her wits about her.

Tonight was key in the potential showdown that had started months ago, that had haunted her, frightened her. Made her stronger, even as she had reached out for help.

She sat still, using all of her strength to remain there, sipping tea while wanting to scream. To act.

To be with Jock, one of the men who had come here because of her quest for assistance in dealing with this potentially horrible situation.

The man, yet more than a man.

Was he learning anything now that would help in the upcoming fight? For she felt certain there would be a fight. The anarchists seemed to be spoiling for one. Maybe they had come to small, remote Clifford County because they thought they could win here, could use it as a hopping-off place to take over the state. The country. The world.

Or maybe her imagination was just working overtime in her fear for her friends and her adopted hometown.

She thought about her parents, and how she had lost them to those hoodlums who had robbed their convenience store and shot them.

No, she would not allow the bad guys to win, no matter who they were, or how many, or—

Her phone rang. She snatched it from her pocket. Was Jock checking in?

But no, the caller ID said it was Myra.

“Hi,” Kathlene said. “Are you okay?”

A short, ironic laugh was the response. “That's exactly what I was going to ask you.”

Kathlene's turn to laugh, but only a little. “I'm fine, but really concerned about what's going on. I was just considering a drive to the sheriff's station to check out how things are around there.”

“No need,” Myra said. “I happen to have a senior deputy here who just left the department a little while ago. He wanted to check on me, too.”

“Tommy X? Let me speak with him.”

She heard a mumbling away from the phone, and then, “Kathlene? You okay?”

Once again Kathlene smiled. “That's a pretty common question tonight. I'm glad you're keeping watch over Myra.”

“Me, too. I'm also heading to Wendy's soon to check on her. I really didn't like how things went at the meeting earlier. Combined with those written threats—well, I tried to get Melton's attention while I was still on duty but he didn't seem concerned.”

No, he wouldn't. But Kathlene didn't want to tell Tommy X her suspicions about the sheriff and his leanings and the possible confirmation she'd learned about from Jock. And Kathlene also didn't want him asking questions about her visiting friends that she wouldn't want to answer.

Instead, she said, “I wondered about that. I get the impression that Sheriff Frawley may have some sympathy for the positions those sportsmen have taken against additional hunting laws.”

“Maybe, but I think there's more to those sportsmen than simply wanting to go shoot some animals.”

“It sure sounded like it tonight,” Kathlene agreed. “We'll just all have to be on our guard, especially our county commissioners. I'm glad to hear that you're checking on them.” She hesitated, trying to figure out what to say next. “My friends are going to be leaving town soon, I think, and once they're gone I'll be able to help out even more.”

At least that told Tommy X, her true long-term friend in this area, that she was on his side, the county's side, but had some distractions at the moment.

If he only knew what those distractions were...

Her doorbell rang, and her heart leaped into her throat. She made herself calm down just a little as she got off her stool and started walking from the kitchen to the hall toward the front door. “I've got to run now, Tommy X. I'm really glad Myra and you called and that everyone's okay.” For now. “My friends just arrived.” She hoped. Oh, did she hope. Who else could be at her door?

The anarchists?

As she finished saying goodbye, she stopped at the small bureau near the entryway that had a tall mirror on top and reached into the back of the top drawer. She pulled out the Glock she used on the job, checked it quickly to ensure that it was loaded, then walked up to the door. She looked out the peephole.

And almost melted in relief.

She had told Tommy X the truth. Jock and Ralf had arrived.

She returned the gun to its drawer, pulled open the door and smiled. “Hi. Come in,” she said loudly. But in case any neighbors—or sportsmen—were around listening, she said more softly, “I want to hear everything you did tonight.”

They both entered. If Kathlene hadn't known better, she could have assumed they truly were part of the sportsmen-anarchists. They wore hunting jackets over their casual outfits.

Before she shut the door, Jock said loudly, “We just have a few minutes. Some errands to run, including heading back to our cabins soon.”

When they were all inside and the door had been closed and locked, Jock said, “There's a lot going down tonight. I want you with us. We're heading back to the cabins, ostensibly to pick up the wonderful weapons I promised our fearless leaders at the ranch. But we're not going to be alone there, and I want you to be with us when we meet the people who're showing up.”

“Who's there?” Kathlene asked.

“Alpha Force.”

* * *

Without moving from the doorway, Jock explained to Kathlene that he'd found some pretty major, potentially lethal weapons at the ranch. After that, anticipating the tone, if not the results, of the meeting before, he had already called in his special unit, and the plane containing his backup would be landing soon if it hadn't already.

“We communicated with them with phones no one'll be able to hack,” Ralf confirmed, leaning his back against the nearest wall in the house's entry, arms folded across his chest.

Ralf was definitely acting the role of a good aide. He looked and sounded calm in the face of what could be total chaos if they were unsuccessful tonight. But that wouldn't happen.

“We've got them scheduled to meet us at the cabins,” Ralf continued. “There's a rental car I reserved for them and I provided them with GPS coordinates.”

“I'd really like for you to come with us and meet them,” Jock emphasized to Kathlene. He stood just in front of her, looking down into those skeptical blue eyes in her lovely, pale face. He wanted to take her into his arms, kiss the sternness from her lips. Reassure her that he was telling the truth. Which he was.

But what he wasn't telling her was that he simply did not want to leave her alone tonight.

He wasn't sure how things would go down, but he expected some major confrontations. The anarchists—no more euphemisms from him about their nature, either in his mind or spoken—had issued their threats. No matter what else they had planned to make their point, they had threatened several important people, including county commissioners.

And they had the means to really make good on their threats.

The sheriff's department did not look primed to protect them, so Alpha Force would take that on as well as controlling whatever other damage the anarchists intended to do.

Jock had wanted to pick his fellow Alpha Force members up at the Billings Logan International Airport, where the decision had been made for them to land to maintain better anonymity around here.

But after discussions with them, Jock had figured it would be better, in case Ralf and he were being followed, to have his backup team members meet them at the motel, where they had already booked cabins in names that couldn't be traced.

“That's why we're here now.” Jock reached out to touch Kathlene's arm, very gently. She had changed from the dressy outfit she'd worn to the meeting to jeans and a royal blue knit shirt that hugged her curves. “I'll tell you a bit about what happened at the ranch tonight, but for now let's just say things are coming to a head, fast. We said we'd hidden some very special weapons of our own at the cabins that we'll bring back for our fellow anarchists to use, too, if necessary, since we're not supposed to know, at least not yet, about what the group already has. That's how we got away easily. My coming here to see you shouldn't be too suspicious if we're being followed, but I'd like for you to pretend that I'm coercing you to come with us—as if we want to keep an eye on my old buddy the deputy sheriff, rather than leaving you loose to do something against our interests.”

“I guess that's okay, but why do they think you'd have been in communication with me again if you're supposedly part of their team?”

“Oh, we're just being wonderful sportsmen,” Ralf said with a laugh. “We all saw you at the commissioners' meeting and knew you weren't happy. Jock's your old buddy, so to show how much he's wanting things to go well for the anarchists he offered to give them those really fun weapons, and if they ask we'll both say we didn't like your attitude so, while we were out and about anyway, we decided to take you into our control.”

Kathlene's eyes widened and she took several deep breaths, seemingly to calm herself. “This is all just an act, right? I mean, the fun weapons—and your supposedly taking control of me.”

“Right. No actual Uzis or AK-47s in our possession at the moment,” Jock assured her, “although I've warned my Alpha Force team and they're bringing along some heavy-duty military gear. And, yes, you're our team member.” His wanting to keep an eye on her, to protect her, was part of that teamwork, but he wasn't going to mention that to her and rile her all the more. “Now, we'd better get on our way. Please come, Kathlene.”

He wasn't sure what he would do if she dug in her heels to stay, as unlikely as that might be. She'd always wanted to be included as part of their team.

But despite his not saying so, if she realized he wanted her along mostly for her protection there was a chance that she'd balk.

If she did, forcing her would not be a good idea—even though that was the show he wanted to put on as they left here. He wanted her genuine cooperation.

He wanted...more. Whatever it might be. He wasn't sure. But he might need to convince her that, like it or not, he recognized she could help Alpha Force succeed if she chose to.

She certainly could deter it from succeeding, at least for a short time, if she didn't go along.

He looked directly into her eyes, wanting to read her thoughts.

Thinking he saw...lust? Oh, yeah. Or was that just wishful thinking? Even if he was right, they couldn't do anything about it, but just maybe, if it was true, it would encourage her to go along with them.

“All right,” she said. “Let's go.”

* * *

Kathlene hated playing games. Always had. She much preferred directness, especially on the job.

She'd rather arrest someone, a robber or whoever, rather than pretend he was simply a person who'd had a tough life and made some bad decisions and now had to suffer needlessly for them.

Ha. But this situation could be a matter of life or death. Not for her, but for her friend Myra and other commissioners who thought like her.

Not to mention Jock. And Ralf. And even innocent civilians.

And so, as she left her house with the two men, a substantial-sized handbag over her shoulder, she pretended to hesitate as she shut her front door behind them. She wasn't surprised when Jock took her arm beneath the elbow and tugged on it not so gently. Not enough to hurt her, of course, but enough to show he meant business to anyone who might be watching.

She appreciated his touch. Even liked knowing he was this close.

But this was playing a game, one she could not avoid going along with.

She didn't have to pretend much to show some resentment. And when he opened the rear car door for her she stumbled as she resisted getting in.

“No tricks!” Jock shouted. In a lower voice he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she whispered. Aloud she said, “Shove it, Jock. Some old friend you are.” She slid onto the seat, tossed her bag onto the floor, and yanked at the seat belt. He got into the passenger's seat in front of her and let Ralf drive.

* * *

Okay. She was playing along.

She also felt excited. They were going to meet up with some other members of the military unit to which Jock and Ralf belonged.

“Can you tell if we're being followed?” she asked. With her own skills as an officer of the law she had been keeping watch but did not see any vehicle or person that appeared to be spying on them.

Perhaps Alpha Force members had better skills in figuring that out, although she didn't know how, on the road.

“Doesn't look like it,” Ralf confirmed. “Jock?”

“Nothing that I see, either.”