Retribution Road Jon Coon (best android ereader TXT) 📖

at least in the short term, until we see where this thing goes. We stirred up a hornet’s nest, and until that calms down, he’s going to need my help. Remember, they took Paul and the Benson girls. They came after us, and that has to stop.”

“But will it stop? Won’t it just keep getting worse and worse?”

“I’m sure it will if we don’t stop it. We can’t just run and hide. They will get stronger, and eventually there will be no stopping them. We need to act now.”

“You sound just like my dad. This is impossible.”

“I hope not. I love you, and I hope not.” He put his arm around her and pulled her into a long and gentle kiss. She held back at first, but then melted into his chest and cried softly.

Chapter 26

TOM PLANNED AN OLD-FASHIONED BBQ to welcome Paul and Angelica. He led the family on a trail ride out to the lake where Consuela and some of the hands had roasted a hog on coals for hours and set up picnic tables with enough food for a small army. Traditional red-checkered cloths covered the tables, and a trio of country singers with acoustic instruments sang favorites from Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers.

Tom blessed the meal and gave special thanks for the return of the prodigal grandson and his guardian angel. Just the aroma of the feast was enough to cause stomachs to cry out for satisfaction, and the meal more than did the job. With apple pie and ice cream for desert and a bonfire to invite lingering conversation, it was a perfect night. Until ...

With the family gathered around the campfire, Tom had a speech to give. When he had everyone’s attention, he began.

“This is the first time in a long time that we’ve all been here, and there’s a lot going on you need to know, so here goes. Some of this is going to be hard to hear, so please just hear me out, and then we’ll talk about it.”

There were nods around the fire. Carol and Emily were huddled with Gabe, and Carol’s hand found his. He acknowledged with a smile but said nothing. Paul and Angelica were holding hands. He looked like a teenager with a first infatuation. Which, in fact, it was.

The fire danced and night birds called from the lake. Tom waited for quiet to settle in and then started. “I’ve sold the ranch. After Charlie’s death, I realized that when I die, none of you want to run it, or have the training to run it, and rather than let it fall to pieces, I decided to sell it now. We have the house and outbuildings, the airfield and horse barns for as long as I’m alive, and then they will go to the new owners.”

He paused and surveyed his audience. There were mostly just looks of shock, but no comments. “Part of the deal was the building of the command center. You’ve all seen it, and now I need to explain it. It’s my belief and that of my friends who bought the place, that we are now or soon will be under attack by elements of the cartels supported by a consortium of South American governments. Namely those involved in the drug business.

“The command center is tied into satellites that let us track the activities of the cartels in those countries. You know about the mass invasions of our southern border. Someone has to organize and fund those caravans. We think it’s the cartels. And we think the goal is to simply overrun our law enforcement until there are no borders. At which time we will no longer have a country. Any questions so far?”

“Isn’t that pretty extreme, Dad?” Carol asked.

“Not when you see the intel we’re seeing, honey. The coincidences add up, and evidence is overwhelming.”

“But why our ranch?” she asked.

“My task force is poking a bad bear in the eye, and we don’t know if we can still trust our government to protect us. I can’t continue to go after the Mexican cartel and not know that you all are safe. Vietnam was called a war of limited objectives, and we got our butts kicked. We can’t let that happen again. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves if the cartels start launching terrorist attacks to force us to back off. They want open borders and an open market for their drugs, and they have the resources to do terrible damage if they don’t get what they want.”

“Now wait—”

“That’s the problem, honey. We’ve waited too long. Look, I know this sounds crazy now, but when you’ve seen what I’ve seen, you’ll understand. Just trust me, please. These are the most important decisions any of us will ever have to make.”

Carol leaned into Gabe and squeezed his hand hard. “God help us,” she whispered. “It’s worse than I thought.”

“What’s the next step, Tom?” Gabe asked and Carol abruptly released his hand and pulled away.

“Senator Benson and some other friends are coming in a few days for a planning meeting. After that, we’ll know more. For now we just sit tight and continue to monitor the satellites. I’ll give you the tour tomorrow and introduce you to the staff. Then we wait.”

“Who else knows about this?” Carol asked.

“Only those who need to know, and it’s very important we keep it that way. I hope I can trust all of you. This is a sacred trust to protect what we believe.”

Tom looked directly at Carol and held her eyes until she nodded then looked away.

She got up and walked down to the lake, and Gabe followed.

“Why does it have to be us? Why can’t we just live in peace and let the lunatics in the world kill themselves and just leave us alone?”

“They want what we have: our wealth, our freedom. They don’t realize that by destroying us, this country will become just like the ones they left behind, or worse.