The Ranch

"Halsey and his group will do their job, Roy."

"When are these people being arrested?" Sarah wanted to know.

"Tonight. From this point on, no one leaves the ranch until it's over. My team and I along with Roy are going to take the Evans as they move in convoy. The FBI is handling the take down at the site where the meet takes place. It will all be over tonight."

Roy stood in the doorway of the stable looking around at the grounds. There was the new corral, the spot where the old bunkhouse used to be and now had stakes planted to show where the new one was supposed to go, the area where Jeremiah had staked out the place for the motel, the dining facility, and the staff housing. Even the stable had been cleaned up. All of it was going to go to waste he thought. Once the case was over, Jeremiah would go back to his Army unit and leave Sarah in the lurch once more, having to find someone to buy the place. In the long run, it wouldn't matter. Sarah and Lisa could stay with him and he wouldn't mind a bit. But he knew that both of them loved the ranch and didn't want to leave it. He lowered his head, depression seeping in a bit.

"Want a penny, Roy?" Jeremiah asked behind him. He and Diane Shelby had set up a table in the stable and were doing something to a bunch of radio equipment

"Why would I want a penny?"

"I don't know. I just thought that if I gave you one, then I might be able to help with whatever's going through your mind."

"Ah. You mean a penny for your thoughts?"

"Exactly."

"I was just thinking about what happens after all this is over. What happens to the ranch? You'll be gone again, your mom will be down in the dumps because you're not around, and she'll have to find someone to actually buy this place. Kind of a shame, after all the work that's gone into it."

"None of that happens, Roy."

"What do mean none of it happens? You can't stay here if you're required to be somewhere else by the Army. I suppose that they provided the money for the down payment to run this little campaign."

"No, they didn't. I actually bought the ranch. My enlistment is nearly up and I intend to return here and run the ranch like I was supposed to before Mark sent me away."

"Really? How did you afford the place?"

"Investments."

"Investments?"

"The military school the Mark sent me to was ran by a Major Mills. Once he realized I wasn't the troublemaker that Mark said I was, he taught me how to invest my money to make more. I've been doing so since and have made quite a bit. Plus, I haven't had many expenses as I have been living on the governments dime since then. So, I have the money to do what needs to be done to bring this place up to snuff and make it profitable."

Just then, two ATVs entered the yard, one pulling a small trailer. Jake dismounted one of them while three others climbed out of the trailer or off the other. Jake walked towards the two in the stable. "Ambush is set, Sarge," he announced. "We'll raise the lights once were back out there and it gets darker."

"Roger that," Jeremiah answered. "The 2 5 4 is up and the commo set up in the Haulmark trailer. That will be our base." He looked at the watch on his wrist pulling back the Velcro cover to see what time it was. "Gather them up, Sargent Reynolds. Cluster formation here at the stable at one six three zero in full field gear minus MOPP suits. That gives them half an hour."

"Yes, Sargent," Jake replied and turned to inform the rest of the troops what was required.

"I don't suppose you have much protective gear in your car, do you, Roy?"

"I've got a Kevlar vest but that's about it."

"Better get it. We don't know what their full capabilities are, although we do know that they are armed. And stop by the house to tell mom that we will need dinner ready in about an hour. It shouldn't be anything too heavy. We'll need to be able to move pretty quickly."

"You got it."

The sheriff went to his Ford Explorer first and put on his Kevlar vest. He then unlocked the lockbox in the back and withdrew the M4 carbine that was there. It had been checked when Sean had been killed since it fired the same 5.56 round which he was shot with, but had been cleared by those tests. Now, it would be used to help take down Sean's killer. He loaded up as many magazines as he had with the rounds that were in the box, locked everything back up and headed for the house.

Jeremiah had said no more secrets. He probably would have excluded that evening's prediction of danger, but Roy decided that he, too, was through with hiding from the family what was going on. He entered the house and found the two women talking in the great room. It seemed that they were hammering out the feelings about the fact that Roy was Lisa's father and they hadn't told her about it before. "I've got good news and bad news," he declared. "Which do you want to hear first?"

"The bad," Sarah answered seeing the vest and weapon and figuring the bad had to do with it. "It's always better to start with the bad so then when you hear the good, it lightens the mood."

"The bad news is that Jeremiah is having his troops gear up for a firefight. And 'troops' is the right word. It seems all of them are in the Army. Anyway, they are all changing into those camouflage uniforms like he was wearing to be ready to go out to the field to fight these guys. He says that he doesn't know how much of a fight they might put up, but he does know they're armed."

"So, the two of you are going into a dangerous situation?"

"Yes, but I think we can handle it."

"And the good news, Poppa?" Lisa asked.

"I like the sound of that," Roy beamed. The good news is that this is Jeremiah's last assignment for the Army and he will be getting out and running this ranch. He actually bought the place."

"That is good news. Thanks, Roy."

"Oh! He also wanted me to tell you to make some food for everybody and it should be ready in about forty-five minutes from now. Don't make anything too heavy since we'll need to be able to move quickly if necessary."

"Okay," Sarah announced. "We'll get something ready."

Roy walked back out to meet up with the others in the stable. There were still fifteen minutes to go before the meeting was to begin.

Jeremiah and Jake were in the stable when Roy got there. They had opened the secret room that they hadn't told Roy about yet and brought down the rack of weapons that had been hidden inside since Jeremiah had been there. Other pieces of equipment also had been brought down and placed on the table that was being used earlier. All that was needed now was to wait for the rest of the people to show up.

They came in to the stable in groups of two or three. At four-thirty, everyone was present and Jake called for quiet.

"Here's what we're going to do, people," Jeremiah began. "There is a path that cuts across the property that has been being used by the gun runners to move weapons out of their warehouse. We have an ambush set up at a spot along that path and that is where we are going to take them down. Here's how it's going to go down.

"First, the gun runners will be traveling in convoy. They will have as many as five trucks, but will likely be less. These are regular straight trucks, not the military type that you are used to dealing with. They will move into the ambush area and will be stopped by a blown tire. The idea is to take them while they're all out of the vehicles. While they are fixing the flat, we will saturate the area with lights aimed specifically at them, making it easier for us to see our targets while still maintaining concealment by darkness. We will give them the chance to surrender, before having to take them out by violent means. Maintain weapons hold status until told otherwise. We want them alive. Any questions?"

"Do we know the likely number of human targets?" asked a soldier.

"There could be as many as ten. But remember that Johnson is in one of those trucks." No other questions were asked and Jeremiah stepped to the table. "We have secure radios, but stay off them if you don't need to be on them," he added. "I'll hand them out now and assign you a call sign. At the same time, tell us your weapon number and you will be issued that as well. I will be Tango zero one. Sargent Reynolds?"

"Weapon fife niner, Sargent!" Jake called out as he stepped up.

"Tango zero two," Jeremiah said. Jake signed two papers that were on the table, one for the radio set up and one for the M16A3 that he retrieved from Specialist Shelby.

"Specialist Ryan Jackman"

The troops started in with a whopping sound like the blades of a helicopter splitting the air.

"Alright, that's enough," Jeremiah called out. "Huey?"

"Weapon tree one, Sargent!" the soldier replied.

"Tango zero tree. Specialist Susan Matthews."

"Weapon six two, Sargent!"

"Tango base. See me after we're done here and I'll give you our FBI contact's cell number. You'll need to be sure that we coordinate our attacks. Specialist Megan Cross."

So it went. Specialist Cross assigned the next number in the rotation followed by Specialist Diane Shelby, T-05, Specialist David Williams, T-06, Private First Class Paul Donaldson, T-07, and Private Two Andrew Turner, T-08. "Sheriff Roy Nelson.," Jeremiah finally turned to his mother's one time brother-in-law.

"I don't think you really need to know my weapon number as it isn't part of your lot, but it's zero, zero one," Roy offered.

"I'm going to issue you a radio just the same, Roy. Tango zero niner. Listen up," he raised his voice a bit. "We will be moving to the field at one eight tree zero hours. I'll be driving us out there in my truck. No exceptions. Matthews, you will have to drive it back here after dropping us off. I don't want anything visible in the area before the convoy rolls in. Mrs. Nelson should have food up now. Don't weigh yourselves down with too much. We might have to move quickly and I don't want someone having to stop to throw up or anything." The meeting broke up and people started moving off.

Roy was the only one who saw it. Now that he had, he wondered why it had taken so long for him to notice. For that matter, why had no one else noticed? He thought it was probably due to the fact that they all were so preoccupied with everything else going on in their lives. That was true of him, too. He had been too caught up in trying to determine what John Turlow's hidden angle was, that he didn't see what was right in front of him.

Jeremiah finished talking with Susan about the FBI contact and finally made his way to the doorway where Roy stood. "Are you going to tell her?" Roy asked.

"Tell who what?" Jeremiah wondered.

"I don't know why it never occurred to me before, but it's obvious from all of the signs. You sent Cross out to help Shelby with the two five four, whatever that is."

"It's a ground-based antenna that sticks up into the air about thirty-six feet. And I didn't want her in there listening to what we were talking about."

"She's been helping Sarah with the cooking since she got here."

"So, she likes to cook. So, what?"

"It was Shelby who was helping you with the radio stuff in there," Roy pointed to the table that had been set up in the stable.

"That's part of her job. I still don't see what you're getting at."

"In spite of Cross being more domestic oriented, and Shelby being communication oriented, you send both them out to the danger zone and have Matthews stay back. Besides that, whenever you talk to Matthews, you stand just a little taller and your face shows your true feelings even though you try very hard to hide them. It's easier to read now without the beard. You are in love with Susan Matthews."

Jeremiah's face started to redden. "I'm her squad leader, Roy. Not here boyfriend."

"I didn't say you were her boyfriend. Only that you want to be her boyfriend. So, I just wonder if you're going to tell her."

"Let's turn this around. Are you going to tell Mom that you love her?"

"She's my sister-in-law. Such a thing would not be appropriate."

"Your brother is no longer here. There is nothing to prevent you from telling her. I see it in the way she looks at you that she feels the same. You probably should move back to the ranch and sell your place. You can marry whenever you feel it's right."

"People would talk," Roy declared quietly.

"Let them. Most probably already know anyway. Marie knew. She spoke of it."

"What?! What did she say?"

"She said that the only area that she could find fault with you was that of love. At least in loving the right woman. She didn't hold it against you, Roy. But she knew."

"Well, maybe if you tell Susan Matthews how you feel, I'll tell Sarah how I feel."

"Squad leaders do not go around telling their squad members that they love them," Jeremiah said as he headed back into the stable to sign for his radio equipment and weapon.

"At least you're not denying it."

"If you say one word to anyone about this, I'll throttle you, Roy."

"Not a word," Roy answered as he looked into the eyes of Diane Shelby as she stood against the open door of the stable. "I promise." He winked at the woman and she gave a knowing smile before moving off. He might not tell anyone, he thought, but he was sure that Susan Matthews would hear about it.

As he exited the stable, Roy saw Lisa talking to the soldier that Jeremiah had referred to as "Huey." He altered course towards them and was soon standing with them.

"Can I ask you something, Mr. Jackman?"

"It's Specialist Jackman, sir. But of course, you are welcome to ask anything."

"Sargent Nelson called you 'Huey.' How did that name come about?"

"Well, first, there is my last name of Jackman. It's the same as Hugh Jackman the actor. Then, I'm also a chopper pilot, although not for the Army. I keep my license current, but I don't have access to the Army's crafts."

"I see. Not much use for a chopper in ranching."

"No, sir. I don't suppose there is."

"We do have Life-Flight air ambulance services out of Des Moines. That's about ninety miles from here. Not too far, but to commute ninety miles one way and then ninety back is an awful lot, don't you think?"

"What are you doing, Uncle Roy?" Lisa cut in.

"Just re-establishing my observation skills, Lisa. Just observing." He walked on towards the house to get something to eat.

The truck bounced over the field. Jeremiah was driving with Jake Reynolds in the passenger seat and Susan Matthews between them. Roy sat in the back seat with Megan Cross and David Williams. That left the four others, Ryan Jackman, Diane Shelby, Paul Donaldson, and Andrew Turner, scrambling for handholds in the bed of the truck. The decision of who rode where was simple to make. Jake had to be up front to navigate since he knew the exact location of the ambush site and Jeremiah wanted to be sure that they didn't run over the light poles that were still laying on the ground. Susan was driving the truck back and needed to have knowledge of the way it drove. Jeremiah wanted Roy inside the truck because he wasn't sure the older man could hold on in the bed. And the rest had ran a race to see who would get the last two seats inside, with the losers having to sit in the bed.

"Better begin to slow down, Sargent," Jake announced as they neared where the site was set up.

A few seconds later and they came across the first of the six light poles lying on the ground and Jeremiah had everyone jumping out of the truck. The sun was just starting to set and the sky had that dusk effect where there was enough light to see as long as it wasn't too far. The lights were raised within minutes and Jeremiah sent Susan back to the homestead.

"Radio when you get back to the base and contact Halsey. You will have to ensure that we coordinate the timing of the attacks."

"Yes, Sargent," she answered as the generator roared to life then left the scene.

A wood cover was placed over the generator to quiet the noise and Jake made sure that all that was needed was to flip the toggle switch on the light panel for the lights to blaze to life. Jeremiah made sure that Roy was near him then the group got into position to wait for the convoy to show up.

They waited. They waited while the sky went from dusk to twilight. They waited as darkness set in and the stars became visible. They waited as the warmth the sun had given the planet during the day seeped off. They waited for the rise of the moon. Then Jeremiah understood why they had waited for this particular night. There was no moon. And they waited some more.

The sound of the truck engines finally pierced the night air as the convoy got closer. They were on their way at last. "All stations stand ready," Jeremiah said over the radio. "I will take out the tire of the front vehicle. Everyone else, weapons hold."

The convoy came in to view. They traveled slowly as they made their way across the pasture without any lights on. It was a perfect night for making the run, and Britney was confident that everything was going great. Then everything changed.

Jermiah let off one shot. The front tire of the lead truck blew and the driver had to stop. With the explosive force of the tire, no one noticed that a weapon had been fired causing the problem that now faced the convoy. All of the trucks stopped.

"What happened?" Britney asked the driver of the first truck as she got out of the second.

"Blew a tire, ma'am," he replied.

"Well fix it, damn it! We need to get going again."

"Tango base, this is Tango zero one. Is second group ready to execute? Over."

"Tango base. Negative. Second group is on site but targets have not yet arrived. Over," he heard Susan replied.

"This is Tango zero one. Roger. Report when ready. Break." There was a pause as he let up on the mic's key then pressed it again. "All stations hold. Do not give away your positions."

They watched as the people in the convoy worked to replace the flat tire. One of the men began to walk off the site. "I'm going to take a leak," he told their leader. He walked away from Jeremiah's position, but that would put him going right into the place where SPC Shelby and PFC Donaldson were lying in wait. This was confirmed a few seconds later as Shelby's voice sounded in his ear over the radio.

"Tango zero one, this is tango zero fife, over."

"Tango zero one, over," Jeremiah answered.

"Tango zero fife. Uniform Charlie asset recovered, over."

"Tango zero one, roger, over."

"Tango zero Fife out."

SPC Johnson was away from the targets. Now, they wouldn't have to worry about him getting hit with friendly fire. And still they waited.

It took twenty minutes for the men to change the tire. As they got ready to go, throwing the tools back into the truck cab, Jeremiah was about to give up on Halsey and his team and just give the go ahead for his people to implement the plan of attack. Just as he was about to do so, his radio spurted back to life.

"Tango Zero one, Tango base. Foxtrot Bravo India reports targets on site and ready, over."

"Tango zero one. Tell him to stand ready on our mark. Break. Tango zero tree, load your two zero tree and drop a four zero mike mike right in front of the lead vehicle, over." He waited. No response was coming from the radio.

A thump sounded through the night air loud enough that the members of the convoy looked around to ask what it was. Then the explosion happened. The 40 mm grenade that Huey had launched blasted a hole ten meters in front of the lead truck. "Tango base, go, break. Tango zero two, lights," Jeremiah yelled into his mic. The path the trucks were parked on became easily seen as the lights the team had put up came on and flooded the area with light. Jeremiah didn't wait for an answer from Susan, but relied on her to get the message to the FBI agent to take the meeting site. At the same time, Halsey would order the dock site where the weapons were being stored to be taken as well. "Federal agents," he called through the bull horn he had borrowed from Roy. "You are surrounded. Place your weapons on the ground and put your hands on your head."