Behind The Curve-The Farm | Book 3 | The Farm Craven Boyd (the reading list book .txt) 📖

Once they had started questioning their orders and the disinformation that had been given out, sometimes by the highest levels of their agency, they had questioned everything. Rob’s file had him listed as an infantry soldier, but the rumors had him as something else. The only official document they were able to find in a hurry was the after-action report, and that had included the German shepherd they figured had followed him back from the sandbox. He had instructed his K9, that he’d trained himself, to try to recover a wounded man. Then, pinned by sniper fire with mortars being rained down over them, he’d called in air support.

Rob himself had carried the body of the fallen radioman and a wounded soldier over each shoulder to the extraction point, where it was later discovered he himself had taken shrapnel in his lower legs, buttocks and back. Nothing terribly serious, but the big man had shrugged off the pain and told the medics to see to the worst wounded first, despite the blood that had darkened the back of his BDUs. For that, he’d gotten the Medal of Valor and a Purple Heart. Gorman figured nothing here was what it seemed, and if Bailey and Angelica felt they could take the agents if needed, he was going to believe it. If half the rumors were true, these were good folks to have on your side.

“Rob, we can handle this if you want to go with the ladies,” Curt said, then grinned. “Or you can tell us to fuck off, and we will.”

“You don’t think my little Angel can handle herself?” Goldie asked suddenly, smacking a wooden spoon on the table.

Everybody jumped. Everybody but the agents covered their backsides with one hand.

“Lord knows she can,” Curt said, “but if she goes off, it’s going to take both Rob and Bailey’s strength to pull her off them guys if they aren’t on the up and up.”

“Ohhhhh, good answer,” Andrea said, putting her arm around Curt’s waist. “You think it up that quick?”

“No, I’ve seen her fight, and what she taught Anna in a short period of time. Unless you can pick her up and hold her away from you, she’s the Tasmanian Devil, in Prada.”

The agents chuckled, wondering if this was a bit of theater for their benefit, or if Curt was being serious. Neither of them wanted to really find out.

Thirty-Three

“Where are we going?” agent Korey asked nervously as they headed past the medical center, the cabins, equipment barn and main house.

“We were working in the greenhouse. Since Bailey hasn’t had a chance to train with us much, she wanted to learn how to start seeds and how our hydroponics worked. I figure we can talk and work while you boys ask your questions.”

“Hydroponics?” Gorman asked.

“We’re growing ‘maters, beans, peppers, more salad, and spinach you could shake a stick at, and we’re growing all that out too, but for seed in the second greenhouse. Eventually, the community, all of it, is going to have to become more self-sufficient,” Angel explained.

“And as soon as we get the FDA off our backs, we have plenty of sows and cows ready for slaughter, that we could be bartering to the community. As it is, we’re giving away home processed meats, chicken, eggs and produce to those in need who can’t barter or do some work for us,” Rob explained.

“As far as farms go, this isn’t large acreage,” Korey said. “How can you do all of that?”

“As long as the fuel holds out, we’re pretty self-sufficient here. We have enough grains for feed, and animals and fowl for food. Hell, we even have a catfish pond and goats for milk, but we have to have Miss Eva teach us how to milk them.”

“Is that the old lady with the shotgun selling the glass bottles of milk…?” Gorman asked.

“That’s the one. If we keep things rotated, the chickens, pigs and cattle can be rotated to past fields. Pigs glean missed grains and turn over the field. Chickens come behind them, eating insects and any missed grains, spreading the pig shit around in the process. When they’re done, we fatten up the meat birds in the barn with grain we harvested, with our laying birds giving us eggs and new birds for meat grow outs. We’re not doing all of that yet, but I’m about to get things fenced and ready so we can get the chickens rotating. Leave the field to mellow for a few months after that, and it’s ready for the plow. Three main fields we can do this with and one big one we keep cattle on. One of our three production fields is always planted in hay with the other two in grains.”

“And two humongous silos,” Korey said, realizing the scope of things, but having no idea what secrets the farm really held.

“Yup, so as long as the fuel is here, we’re in good shape. Now, if we were on friendly terms with the BATF, we’d make our own ethanol and convert our gas engines. Steven is working on a way to make biodiesel, so someday we’ll truly be able to flip deuces to the world and close the gates. If we needed to,” Angelica told them.

“But power…” Korey started to say, but as they climbed the hill behind the catfish pond headed to two greenhouses, he caught sight of the massive solar array by the poultry barn.

“Small acreage, but we’re efficient with what we use it for,” Rob finished.

“Here we are,” Bailey said, opening the door to the greenhouse. “Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly.”

“I don’t know if I want to go in there now,” Korey whispered to Gorman.

“Be a man. Oh, and by the way, you get to go first,” Gorman shot back.

Rob snickered and walked in. The first thing the agents noticed was that, despite it being a chilly October, it was