The Crimson Fall (The Sons of Liberty Book 1) (2 page)

When the two men shook hands, a deafening thunder exploded from the horde below as they welcomed President Chambers into their lives as the new leader of the
Free World
.  Lukas Chambers, the man who would be the villain America needed in order to become the savior the world deserved, looked down and waved at his devoted sheep as he thought of ash.

C
hapter
O
ne

The New Fire

A late morning breeze filled the weathered barn as Adam Reinhart and his son slowly took up their positions. Dust and the last of the summer pollen danced along rays of gold that slipped through small cracks in the rickety roof made of broken beams and rusted tin. The cedar planks on the hayloft floor flexed gingerly underfoot as they tiptoed over to the second story opening at the far end of the barn. Even though the old wooden structure alone was something for the typical man to appreciate, it was the sight through the upper door that was equaled by none.

The San Juan Mountains stood tall against the horizon and walled off the surrounding aspen groves that were alive and in full bloom with early autumn colors. Clouds drifted miles away and miles above, gracing the clear blue sky with their company and casting shadows across rolling hills that were dominated by the greens, reds, and golds of a Colorado paradise. The majestic view threatened to take hold of their attention, but Adam and his boy were there to finish what they had started two days earlier, and their eyes were focused on the tree line below.

Less than three hundred feet away, a bull elk walked nonchalantly from the dense woods that had previously concealed it. Adam’s adrenaline began to surge. They had carefully tracked their game through the pine forests and flower fields only to find themselves close to their original camp, in their long awaited moment of truth. The elk was huge, at least seven hundred pounds of thick bone and meat. A massive rack of antlers crowned the regal animal’s head, giving him more the appearance of a woodland king than the quarry he currently was. Adam looked over and held a gloved finger to his lips, cautioning the boy to hold in his excitement until the task was complete. Ever so slowly, the watchful creature made its way from the tree line toward the small pond behind the barn. When it had finally decided it was safe to let down its guard, the animal began to drink from the cool mountain water. Exhilaration welled up in Adam as he looked once more to his son, leaned in close, and whispered what he had always silently spoke before a kill.

“We are the hunters, Judah,” Adam said. “It is the prey.” He then nodded to his son to take the shot.

Judah—his young teenage boy, who was about take a giant step toward becoming his own man—sighted in his target with his new compound bow and slowly drew the braided cord to his cheek. To hunt with a rifle was something the average man would have done, but Adam and the men who came before him did not want to settle for merely average. Hunting with a bow was not only a test of strength and dexterity, but of stealth and the strategy required to stalk such a cunning animal. A bow had been the revered tool in the Reinhart family’s rite of passage for generations, and regardless of what they would one day
do
as a man, every boy who wanted to
become
a man first mastered the lethal weapon and finished their most sacred of hunts.

The massive elk below raised its head, as though it knew its duty was to make that moment as magical as possible, and let out a bellowing cry that echoed off the side of the barn and down into the wide valley. Judah took a deep breath, and with a beam of joy on his face, he let loose his deadly missile.

The arrow whizzed not three inches above the elk’s back, missing the animal completely before cracking hard against a half buried rock behind it, shattering into numerous pieces. The startled animal sprung forward and darted away toward the trees. Adam quickly nocked an arrow, took aim at the running beast, but slowly lowered his bow for fear of wounding it instead of delivering the clean kill shot it deserved. Shock replaced Judah’s enthusiasm and he began to breathe deeply. Adam set his bow down and embraced his devastated son.

“Judah, it’s okay,” Adam said. “Look at me. It’s alright.”

His son took uneven breaths, trying in vain to hold back the tears that were already forming. It had been the perfect moment Adam had hoped for, but Judah had somehow missed the shot he could have made one hundred times in a row. The trip they had planned for many months would now come to a close as a failure, but still he had to comfort his boy.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Judah said as his breathing began to transform into a familiar rhythmic wheezing.

“Judah,” Adam said, “Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to be sorry.”

“But I missed it, Dad,” Judah said in between the painful breaths. “I never miss.”

Adam took out Judah’s tiny electronic inhaler and the boy gulped the soothing mist to calm his asthma.

“We all miss sometimes,” Adam said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But we’ve been talking about this forever, and I screwed it all up,” Judah said as his lungs finally relaxed. “We should have stayed at home.”

“Don’t say that. We both know you wanted to come,” Adam said.

“This was your trip, Dad. Not mine. You’re the one gone all the time working and this was your chance to make it up. And I ruined it. I missed my shot, and I’m sorry. You always do everything right and I always ruin everything,” Judah paused for a moment, inhaling once more before he mumbled under his breath and tucked the small tube in his pocket. “I’ll never be like you.”

The final words stung like a dagger to the heart. Adam struggled to counter what had been said, but nothing came those first few moments. During his adult life he had always found it easy to say what people needed to hear, and when they needed to hear it, regardless of the circumstances. It was one of those things that made him so good at what he did for a living. But standing there idly with his firstborn child as the old barn slowly creaked with every gust of wind, he could barely think of what to say to the boy he could hardly connect with anymore. He hated the fact that his devotion to his job had caused him to become part of the ever-growing absent fathers of America club. However, to try and fix that side of things now would surely end his new and rising career ten times faster and a hundred times easier than it had taken him to build it over the past three years. After careful thought, Adam finally spoke the words he
hoped
his son needed to hear.

“Judah, I love you. Don’t worry about me or the elk or whatever. You’re not a failure and I really love being out here with you no matter what. And missing that shot . . . well, it’s just one of those things that happens. And it happens to the best of us. Now look at me.”

Judah raised his head but looked off to the side, obviously trying to hide the red in his eyes as he rubbed the few tears off his cheeks with his shirtsleeves.

“Yes, it was an easy shot and yes, you could have nailed it, but I don’t think that means you were necessarily meant to. I know I haven’t been around much and I’m working on that. I have a feeling things will calm down in the next year or so, and that’s going to give us a lot of time to be together. So I’ll make you a deal. I promise you that I will be standing right next to you one day when you see the perfect shot.
Your
perfect shot—the one that you cannot afford to miss. I promise you, on that day, you won’t fail and you’ll no longer be my boy. You’ll be your own man.” Adam looked toward the trees, searching for any miracle that they would find the animal again, but he knew it was long gone, and their time to leave had come. “Now, what would you think about heading back home and getting some of Grandma’s good cooking? Beef jerky and beans can only go so far.”

The boy tried not to give his dad the gratitude of a laugh, but finally he chuckled.

“Sure, Dad,” Judah said. “Let’s go.”

They talked little on the way back to the camp and were packed up and on the road by late afternoon. Adam knew the best thing for Judah would be to process his thoughts about the failed hunt himself so they spoke about other things. Judah first talked about his classes and what he wanted to be when he grew up . . . at least, for that particular week. Adam raised his eyebrows when Judah began to tell him about the
very
pretty girl with dark brown hair that wouldn’t stop smiling at him when he saw her at school. Judah then mentioned how he was thinking of starting a rugby team back in Denver next year. Adam had often spoken about his collegiate rugby days, but never had he pushed the sport on Judah. The thought that perhaps his son wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps after all made Adam proud.

As his boy talked on, Adam took it all in quietly with a delightful grin. He was rarely able to spend the time he wanted with his family anymore, and failed as the hunting trip was, it had been a much-needed break from his busy and stressful schedule.

Adam’s earpiece began to ring, causing his nVision display—the tiny digital screens embedded in his contact lenses—to light up. But instead of blinking with his wife’s picture as he had expected, it strangely labeled the number as an unknown caller. Curious as to who would be calling from an unregistered phone, Adam touched his earpiece and answered the call.

“This is Adam Reinhart.”

The sound of rain and car horns filled his ear. A door thudded shut, cutting off the sounds of a busy street, and a ruffled voice began speaking in the background, though all Adam could understand was the word
airport
. After a few moments, a familiar voice spoke, labeling the mystery caller as anything but a mystery.

“Adam, it’s Joe.”

The sound of Joe’s voice immediately prompted Adam to smile. He swiped his right hand toward the radio, motioning for the nVision device to switch the audio to the truck’s stereo system.

“So, how’s my big brother doing, huh? Did you get a new number? Hey, I just put you on speaker. Say hello to Judah. We just got back from his first hunting trip. You should have seen the size of—”

“Adam, I need you to take me off speaker,” Joe said firmly.

Surprised by Joe’s tone, Adam motioned with his free hand again and disconnected the truck’s speakerphone.

“Okay, you big grump. You’re off speaker. What’s up? Upset about bailing on vacation with the family?”

Joe was silent for about ten seconds, with only the stifled sounds of a turn signal and an unusually harsh curse from his older brother as he yelled for someone to hurry up. Finally, Joe spoke again.

“Sorry, I’m scrambling out here,” he said. “I need you to meet me in Raleigh tomorrow.”

Adam couldn’t help but laugh.

“Funny,” he said plainly.

“I’m not kidding, Adam.”

“What do you mean you’re not kidding?” Adam borderline shouted. “You’re crazy if you think I can leave now. Do you know what Sarah would do to me if I left? We’ve been planning this for—”

“Damn it, Adam, just do it!” Joe broke in harshly.

Startled, Adam wasn’t sure how to respond. His first inclination was to berate his brother and tell him all the reasons why he wouldn’t go. But Adam had never before heard anger or fear like this in his brother’s voice. He knew something was wrong.

“What happened?” Adam asked.

“I don’t have time to explain. I’m not even sure I understand it all myself. I didn’t want you to get involved but I have no other choice. Just promise me you will be there tomorrow night by eight. And don’t say or mention anything to anyone. Especially the FBI or anyone else in government. It doesn’t matter what the laws are. You and I both know they’re already listening.” Joe paused for another moment before clearing his throat loudly. “I love you, Adam.”

“Joe, I’m not going to—”

The line clicked.

He tried calling back, but it wouldn’t go through. Adam couldn’t think of another time when Joe had told him he loved him at the end of a call. Worry and questions flooded him.
What had Joe gotten himself into? Was he in danger? What did he mean about the FBI and government?
Fear had gripped Joe in a way Adam had not ever heard nor seen in his brother. Sure, he had told his brother no, but even as he had spoken the words, he knew he would be there for him the following day. After a few moments, Adam realized Judah was trying to talk to him.

“What’s wrong with Uncle Joe, Dad?”

Adam tried to think of something he could say to reassure him, but he knew as well as Judah that something was indeed wrong. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s nothing too serious,” he lied. “You know how Joe likes to joke.”

“He didn’t sound like he was kidding.”

“Well, whatever it is I’m sure I can ask him when I see him tomorrow.”

“He’s coming here?” Judah asked excitedly.

“Damn it, Judah, just let me think for a minute!” Adam shouted. “And no, he’s not. I’m going to go there.”

“North Carolina? You can’t leave now! I thought you had the whole week off?”

“Son,” Adam said, “your dad is a congressman and your Uncle Joe is a senator. We never get the week off.”

An hour passed with little talk between the two as they rode in silence toward the ranch. Judah answered any further attempt Adam made to start a conversation with one or two word answers at best. As much as Adam wanted to spend his time getting closer to Judah and figuring out a way to convince him that he was sorry for his harsh words, Adam didn’t mind the silence. He was too wrapped up in thinking about the phone call to hold a conversation, and he didn’t think he could concentrate even if Judah had wanted to talk.