Next World Series | Vol. 6 | Families First [Battle Grounds] Ewing, K. (free ebooks for android .txt) 📖

“Yes, sir. We’re the Shetland twins—not identical.”

“I can see that,” he replied, still engaged in the story. “Shetland, like the pony?”

“Uh…yes, sir. That’s right. And before you ask, we don’t drink either but didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to be on this side of the gate.”

“Who up there can corroborate your story?” he asked.

“Well, it’s been a few years but is Bill still one of the higher-ups? He was the one who chose us to come back each year.”

“Why did you stop after year four?”

“Girls…girlfriends at home, specifically,” said the taller one. “But we missed it, for sure.”

“That may be the most honest answer to a question I’ve heard in a long time,” said Sergio, grinning… “Girls,” he repeated… “Why do you think they would want two of Baker’s group to stay now?”

“Well, we just recently learned they were headed here and looked for a chance to jump ship. We would never fight against Saddle Ranch; you have to understand that.”

“Oh,” the other twin added, “and we both are certified light aircraft and helicopter mechanics, and I can actually fly everything on these trucks.”

“Only you, huh?”

“Yes, sir, but my brother is the better mechanic and can fly a couple of the planes here, I’ll tell you straight out.”

“Okay, guys. Hold on just a minute.”

Minutes turned into an hour for Mac to verify Bill knew the pony twins. It would, of course, need a vote for them to stay, but with the expertise and one mechanic down, Mac was pretty sure it was only a formality.

“You’ll have to wait it out until tomorrow,” Mac told them. “You can head back where you came, or our guys here can pat you down even more thoroughly than when you drove the trucks across, and you can sleep here at the barricade.”

“That’s fine,” said one, with the other agreeing that they didn’t want to go back.

* * * *

“We got everything inside the barricade,” said Mac. “That’s the first hurdle anyway. I just hope we can keep them,” he told us.

“Nobody steps foot inside or around any of the trucks without my say-so,” Mac told the guards.

“I’ll be back in the morning,” he added, making a point to take each set of keys out of the vehicles and locking them in his glove box.

“I want to hear the whole story sometime,” he told Mike and Sergio, while shaking Hanson’s hand and acknowledging it had been a while since they had seen each other.

“How’s the family?” Mac asked.

“Oh, you know…good as can be, I guess. I’ve got them packing up and headed for Stove Prairie on horseback tomorrow.”

“I’m sure we can find someone to give them a ride up there,” said Mac.

“Oh, that’s not necessary; they know the way, and nobody messes with the dog. Besides, you all have enough going on here, as it is. Just know you can count on me for whatever you need. I’m here till the end, either way,” Hanson replied.

* * * *

I stopped by Vlad’s place, with Anna answering the door.

“Sorry for the late visit. Is Vlad still up?”

“He’s always up. Doesn’t usually go to bed until after midnight, at the earliest. Come on in.”

I followed her to the living room to find Vlad reading an old Guns & Ammo magazine by candlelight.

“I hope everything is okay?” he asked.

“Yes, it’s fine, but I have a favor to ask.”

“At an hour like this, it must be important,” he whispered, motioning to a sleeping Javi on the couch across the room. “He won’t sleep alone. He says he has nightmares, poor thing.”

“He’s already been through more than most fully aged adults,” I said. “And yes, it is important,” I added, sitting down to tell him what I knew so far.

He got where I was headed before I got there.

“You want me to call the Colonel before Samuel does, is that right? Because Samuel is a man of peace…and me, I’m not?”

“Well, you are reading a Guns & Ammo magazine by candlelight,” I said, holding my hand out in an it’s an obvious statement.

“Okay, point taken,” he said. “I, as much as anyone here, understand firepower, and I want any advantage we can get on those SOBs. They took little Javi here from his family—and many others, I am sure. We already faced them once, and they play as dirty as it gets. If you get Steve and Jim, I’ll try him right now.”

“Really?” I asked, acting less excited than I actually was. Truth be told, I was told that Hanson could fly a helicopter if he wanted to, and who knows if there were any other people here who could fly one or a plane. I didn’t know of any, but to be fair, I hadn’t asked. Either way, I thought, it’s half of their inventory that will be grounded at least, and I was thankful for that.

We stayed up for another 90 minutes, putting my watch at 12:36 a.m. when Vlad got hold of the Colonel. The word got out, and I was there along with Mike, Lonnie, Jake, Mac, Cory and Sergio. I hung back, letting Vlad, and occasionally Mike and Sergio, speak to him.

The Colonel was quiet at first, almost reserved, if that was possible, listening intently before responding, as I had never heard him.

Cursing and accusations followed—not towards Baker or any of his group but a group he called the Disrupters.

“They will go to any length to squash American values. This is not about Baker or any of you,” he said, clearly agitated. “It’s a direct attack on our country and the freedom we all take for granted. This battle, or whatever you all call it, will set us all on a trajectory in one direction or another as