Comeuppance Pt. 02

Most of the doors in the house hadn't been changed, but the outside doors, the door to his office, and the door to the master suite were steel, and each had a retinal scanner set beside the frame, about 70 inches above the floor.

The changes were all tastefully done, but considering their purposes gave her a sense of dread. What had Jack done to their house, and why?

As she made her way down the hall toward the living area of the ramshackle house, she heard amplified voices. Women and men were laughing and talking, music was playing loudly, and there were squeals of feminine delight.

She walked toward the sounds. The closer she got, the more dismayed she became; something about the conversations and music seemed familiar.

No one was in the living room, but the big screen TV was playing a video of one of the parties she had participated in just before their 'owners' were killed, and the surround-sound speakers made the words as easy to hear as the 4K video made the actions easy to see.

She stopped and watched as a wealthy Arab she thought she remembered as Sheikh Taha took her in his arms, caressed her bottom, and kissed her. The obscenely short and scant LBD she was wearing with the 4" CFM pumps made her availability as clear as the alluring smile and flirty body language she had assumed.

The video left little doubt as to her status as a high-priced prostitute, but had there been doubt, her words and actions quickly ended it. She watched herself reach under the Sheikh's robes and begin stroking his cock. "Mmmm, that's very nice! Can I take it out and taste it?"

April blanched, slapped her hands over her ears, and fled back down the hallway to the room Jack had assigned. She heard the echo of Jack's laughter behind her just before she slammed the door and collapsed on the floor, sobbing her heart out.

After the better part of an hour, she regained sufficient control to curl up in the fetal position on the bed, and try to recollect having sex with the Sheik. She knew his name and he looked familiar, so he knew she had, but all she could remember was the warm glow the drugs they gave her, and how sensitive and needy her body became when people touched and stroked her, or she stroked them.

She could remember having sex with faceless people, both male and female, and riding the orgasms until she collapsed, but individuals - other than those that hurt her so badly the drugs didn't offset the pain - she couldn't really remember.

She did remember being tied, beaten, and used anally, vaginally, and orally by the Senator, but she couldn't remember the sensations, or her reactions. She also remembered lying naked on a bed, surrounded by naked men, with man-after-man fucking her in the hole of their choice, until she passed out.

But, all those memories were fuzzy, unclear, and wrapped in the warm glow suffusing the world she inhabited when she was on the drug cocktail... like a fairytale horror movie.

Exhaustion overtook her, consciousness faded, and she slept naked on the bed, her clothes still in the dryer.

****

When April arose the next morning, she was covered by a light blanket and her clothes were folded neatly on the chair. Did she do that, or did Jack? She had no recollection after... after hearing the recording of her with the Sheik!

'Oh, Dear God, please don't let him have recordings of all the horrible things I did! Please, God,' she pleaded silently, 'if he's already seen me at my worst, help him see that my motivation was his protection!'

That last plea evoked a wave of guilt; she knew quite well that her motivation was not always pure! Sometimes, after she was properly "broken in," as the senator called it, she wanted to feel the drugs course through her veins, she wanted the rich and powerful to lust for her, and she wanted the orgasms they could give her...

Her motivation really was to save Jack, but when faced with having sex with strangers, she craved the drugs that begat the sensations and desires that suffused her body, allowing her to satisfy them, and herself, without the guilt and anguish she felt when sober.

She sighed at her predicament, dressed, and followed the smell of coffee into the kitchen. Jack was gone, but the pot was half-full. She poured a cup and wandered out onto the porch to look around.

It was barely 8 am on an early May morning, but the south Texas heat was already making visible waves in the air. She stepped out of the shade into the sun, and stretched; the heat felt good after the northern winter, and being here made the horrors recede further into her brain.

April walked to the garage/barndomenium to see if Jack's truck was there: it was, but there was no sign of him.

A familiar male voice greeted her, "Good morning, April."

"Good morning to you, Cuz! How are you this beautiful morning?" she responded, sounding cheerier than she felt.

Carl eyed her, then asked, "Needing to get into the back pasture and check on the cattle before the heat gets too bad. Wanna ride along?"

"Going horseback or pickup? I don't have clothes for riding." "Nah, pickup. I have the cubes and protein barrels loaded. I'm just gonna sook 'em to the pens to see how the calves and their mommas are doin'."

"Sure, I'd love to. Can I get another cup of coffee first?"

"You can, but I've got a thermos full, if you still take yours the way I do."

She nodded and laughed; she and Carl always got along so well, and his treatment of her this morning had already released much of the tension she harbored.

They loaded up and drove along the dusty, rough roads to the "north pasture." Conversation was light and limited to the condition of the ranch and farm, for which Carl had primary responsibility. He drove to the cattle pens, located along the fence line between pastures, emptied two sacks of cubes into each feed trough, checked the water, and yelled at April to honk the horn.

No cattle were in sight, but when she began blasting the horn heads soon appeared over the rise to the north. Carl returned to the truck, moved it away from the pens, and turned it so they could see the cattle entering and he could film. As usual, the Brahma-cross (+) cows and their babies were first, easily outdistancing the Angus + and Charolais + cows in the race to the pens.

The two-year-old Charolais bull was last, but he had priority on whichever trough he chose, so he wasn't as concerned about getting a place at the table. He jostled two cows aside, and they went looking for another slot on another trough.

All the cows and calves went inside the pen, excepting two big brindle cows with brand new babies. They stood outside the pen, bawled, and eyeballed the pickup until Carl stopped filming and backed further away. Then they carefully entered, making sure it wasn't a trap.

"They're all here and looking good, given the dry winter. Luckily, we had decent rains in the fall and in March, and the winter was unusually mild, so they've had decent browse.

"I also brought 600# of protein for the deer feeders in the west pasture. Want to come with me, or go back to the house?"

"I'll ride along; I'm about half scared of Jack now, and don't want another confrontation."

Carl nodded but didn't reply as they bounced along through the brush and prickly pear. When they stopped beside the first feeder, Carl killed the engine but sat still for a moment, before he turned toward her. "April, I'll be civil to you and Janice, for old time sakes, but what you two did to Jack, to me, and to your other family and friends, was just wrong.

"Don't try to explain; I heard what was said on the porch Monday and in the living room yesterday. Don't make no difference. You done what you done, and you didn't do what you should have!

"The disrespect you showed by not telling Jack and giving him - giving all of us - at least a chance to help... well, that cuts to the bone! Jack ain't some pencil pusher in a New York office, or a suburban soccer daddy! He's cut from different cloth, and you should have known that, damn it!

"In fact, it was NOT telling him that almost got him killed! Had he been innocently taking that old flatbed to Tal instead of Tal innocently bringing it back, he'd of been dead and never known why! You two was raised down here, and you know your husband. What the hell were you thinking, woman?"

Carl's controlled voice grew cold as he came to the conclusion of his condemnation, such as it was. Somehow, though, what he said didn't hurt like it had when Jack said the same things, asked the same questions.

"Carl, hell... I don't know why! I've asked myself the same thing a thousand times! I don't have any excuse, although the FBI told us we were being fed a cocktail of mind-altering and libido-enhancing drugs, including two that make you susceptible to control and persuasion. Still, if we were stronger minded and more courageous, we could have taken advantage of the times when we were lucid to call Jack, or escape.

"That seems so clear now, but then, all I could think of was them torturing and beheading my husband like they had done to some of the husbands who fought against them."

"So, April, you thought some assholes wearin' slick suits were gonna pull into Cowtown from Washington, DC or New York City, ask around to find out where Jack was, drive out to the ranch in their rental cars, sashay up to Jack, and gun him down?

"Damn, woman! Just like Jack said, them even showin' up in town would've drawn lawmen and friends like flies!

"Then there's Jack. He's always strapped, and you know he's the best shot in the county with a sidearm, rifle, or shotgun! Had either of you given him any warning - any warning at all - this would have turned out way different!"

April sighed. "And sitting here in the south Texas brush with the sun burning down, Carl, that's as clear as this cloudless day! But in a drugged daze in a hotel room a thousand miles from home, surrounded by powerful men threatening to kill your husband and your family if you don't do what they say, it wasn't that clear. Do you understand?"

"April" he replied with a sigh, "Jack and I have gone over the what-ifs a thousand times since you left, nearly fifteen months ago, and you know that's damn unusual for Jack. You and Janice know him as well as anyone - he's a straight shootin', forge-ahead son-of-a-gun! Equiv-o-cating and reexamining ain't what he's known for!

"In his mind, it all comes back to this: what the hell did you two think would happen when you fell off into that sewer and didn't ask for help? It had to come to an end someday - there ain't no 60 year-old escorts! Were you just gonna do who they told you to do until they killed ya?

"Ya keep sayin' ya were protecting Jack, but how long did ya plan to keep it up? Until you got some incurable diseases, AIDS, or what not? Until one of your clients choked or beat ya to death? Until you messed up a job and they killed Jack anyway? What the fuck, Woman?

"Y'alls plan, as ya described it, makes no sense... none at all! To Jack, or to me!"

"I know, Carl, but you're here - we were far away, messed up on drugs, being bullied and intimidated! If we could do it again, I promise that both of us would have called Jack immediately! But, right then, we both did what we thought we had to do to save his life."

"So, here y'all are, all apologetic, wantin Jack to take ya back and forget what you've been doin for over a year, and Janice for nearly two years. If Jack hadn't... if those senators hadn't been killed, and the others exposed, you'd still be doing it, wouldn't ya?

"I ain't sayin I feel the same or don't, but to Jack, you couldn't have heaped more disrespect on top of him with a dump truck full of cow shit! Ya know how protective his is, but ya never gave him a chance to do anything to help ya, until it was waaay too late. Hell, I'll bet if you'd of called after ya got drugged and raped that first time, he'd of found a way to set ya free, get ya medical help, and taken you right back home, no apology needed!

"But even after them others were dead, ya' just kept on keepin on, from bed to bed! That makes your whole story perty damn suspect, even in my mind!"

April sighed. "Fill the feeders and take me back, please, Carl. Elias and Janice are coming to get me in an hour, and I need time to digest what you told me. Maybe we can talk tomorrow, or the next day."

"If you're still here, April. He's got a shark for a lawyer, and she says you'll have an injunction against ya by this time tomorrow, and so will your buddies."

As they neared the house, April asked, "So, is Jack in San Antonio with his lawyer?"

"No, they talk over some program on the internet. He and Alfred are doing something in the control room this morning. That's the room in the cellar that's got a T3 line, whatever that is, and is full of fancy computers now. I suspect they're wreaking more havoc on your former playmates."

"He has a room in the basement? I had no idea! Last time I was down there, it was full of canned goods and survival gear.

"Which reminds me - why are so many doors inside the house locked, why did he have new windows and doors installed, and why do the walls seem thicker?"

"I've already said too much. I always liked you, April, before all this, but I'm 100% on Jack's side. He's got a lot of secrets that only he can tell, so if you want to know more, you'll have to talk to him."

****

Elias and Janice were waiting when they got back to the house. She didn't see Jack, and wouldn't know what to say if she did, so she got in Elias' SUV and Carl got the tractor out of the barn.

April didn't contribute much from the back seat while Janice and Elias chatted; she was considering her conversation with Carl. On the way back, with several bags of clothes each, they insisted she tell them how it went with Jack overnight and this morning.

She rushed over her short evening with Jack, mentioning washing her clothes, hearing voices in the living room, watching a few seconds of her encounter with the sheik on video, and crying herself to sleep. Her recounting of her time with Carl wasn't word for word, but it was accurate. When she finished, Janice said, "Well, I guess I see where he's coming from. I never looked at it that way."

Elias offered a few ideas on how they might reframe it for Jack, if they could get him to listen, and they were still tossing idea around when they drove through town and turned toward the ranch.

Right after they left the city limits, Deputy Ramirez and Sheriff Rodriguez pulled out from a side street and frantically signaled them to pull over. "What's going on Danny, Rene?" Elias asked.

"We're not sure, Trooper Ramos," the sheriff answered, "but some rough lookin' men came through town and headed out this way about an hour ago. We don't want you driving off into something that will get ya killed."

"Damn, boys - you think...?"

"Yes, we do," the sheriff replied. "Jack had warned me it might happen. Alfred intercepted some chatter from back east, and it sounds like some of them that got their ox gored are out for revenge on the man they believe did the goring."

"So what's your plan, and how can I help?" Elias asked.

"You mean how can WE help?" Janice interjected. "We got Jack into this - we're not going to stand by and let him shoot it out with killers that are here because of us!"

Elias pulled over; they discussed the weaponry available in the Sheriff's vehicle, their options, and settled on a plan. The sheriff made a call on his personal phone; they all donned body armor, loaded into his Tahoe, and drove to Jack's ranch.

Elias was afraid he'd changed the gate combination, but the Sheriff knew the new one, so they were able to drive through and straight to the front steps.

"Hello the house!" the sheriff stepped out and yelled into his bullhorn. "We're here to serve official papers on you, Jack Armstrong! Open the door and let us inside or we'll blow it down!"

No reply from inside, but Elia's phone rang. He answered and heard, "Fuck you guys! I'm not letting your asses in, and if you shoot the door the ricochet will kill you! Turn around and get the fuck off my property before you get hurt!"

The Sheriff gestured for the Deputy to get out and they walked to the door, tactical shotguns and assault rifles at the ready. When they were in place, Elias said, "Wait until we're standing behind them, and then let us in. We know what's going on, and we're here to help you! The Sheriff called for reinforcements from the Rangers and State Troopers, but you need help to hold out until they get here, so let us in!"

"Dammit, Elias, just get them back in the Tahoe and leave! There's no use anyone else getting hurt!"

"Fuck you, Dude! If the positions were reversed, would you leave? Just open the damn door, before they start shooting us on your porch!"

"Then make the women leave and I'll let you in!" Jack insisted stridently.

"We're not leaving, Jack!" April yelled. "If you don't let us in, we'll just stand guard on the porch with our rifles and be the first to die!"

"Damn, Woman! You come in here, you're most likely ARE gonna die! Just stay in the car, get the lawmen back in with you, and get the hell out of here! This is my fight, not yours!"

"Bullshit!" April and Janice yelled in duet, and Janice screamed, "This is all because of US, and we're not leaving!"

Elia added, "And friends don't abandon friends! You know you'd be breaking down the door to get in if we were in there, and you can't defend this big house by yourself, so fuck off and OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, ASSHOLE!"

They heard Jack sigh, and then quietly answer, "Okay, it's your funeral..."

Elias, Janice, and April climbed up the steps and stood behind the uniformed sheriffs. The door opened, Jack briefly appeared, and they stepped inside. He shut the door, turned to the Sheriff, and said, "Dammit, Rene, I warned you! What the hell are the bunch of you doing here?"

"You can cuss us later. Put us where you need us, and let's get ready! These fuckers have had plenty of time to get in place, and I doubt my marked car sitting there is going to stop them! But if we can hold them off for about, say, 30-40 minutes, our reinforcements should be here."

"Before you do, though, two questions: who else is here, and what did you do to 'harden' this place when you did all that work on it?"

"There is nothing flammable on the outside of the house; the glass is triple-layer bulletproof; the steel doors, both inside and out are 'impenetrable', whatever that's worth, and all have retinal scan locks on the outside.

"They applied two inches of something called BallistiCrete to the inside of the exterior walls, and three inches to the bottom two feet. An inch is supposed to stop a .50 caliber bullet, so I doubled up, and tripled up near the floor, where the gun embrasures were installed. Punch the button next to the steel covers for the slots and slide it open only as far as you need to see to shoot.

"Understand, though: if they have rocket propelled grenades or something like Javelins, those efforts are irrelevant."

"I hate to sound stupid," Deputy Ramirez said, "but what's an embrasure?"

"A narrow slot you can open to shoot your rifle through; look like a big keyhole. All these are near the ground, so you have to use the prone position to fire. Being that low doesn't always offer the best vision, but with the benches or chairs sitting above them on the porches, the embrasures are hard to see or shoot into.

"As to your first question, Carl and Alfred are inside. Carl in at a portal in the bedroom right there; Alfred is in the control room. He's not much of a shot, but he's hell on wheels with computers and things computers can control, like surveillance drones and IEDs.

"A couple of final instructions, before we take our posts - first, if we get breached and you can, make your way to the basement; I've got a few surprises down there. Second, Alfred will be watching CCTV from the house and from the drone he'll launch when it looks like they're ready, and we have IEDs ringing the house, and a few along the fence line, so expect some explosions."